Tree Thingy

Randy put a picture of this up on her Facebook/Twitter but I thought I would include it here for all others who didn't see it there.  It contains several miscellaneous hooks so it is meant to be used as a coat/bag/etc. rack.  We built it with some miscellaneous wood we had come across over the past month or so (we had been planning on making it for a little while).  I still have a lot of leftover wood so if you need any for a similar project, hit me up.

 

And here's a random picture of Tom in the baby room.

Crunch Time

Life is about to drastically change. Randy is still very pregnant and is officially due two weeks from today.  There's no telling when she'll go into labor but I'm sure it'll be the one day in the next 3 weeks when there's two inches of ice on the road. So, pray for our sanity and pray for the health of both Randy and Owen. I think we're as prepared as we'll ever be...

Owen's Changing Table

Being the weirdo that I am, the first thing I thought of when Randy told me we were having a child was what I would build for his/her room.  Of course, the first piece that came to mind was a crib that could be hand-crafted by his/her old-man and it could be passed down from generation to generation. Yeah, right... assuming it doesn't get eaten by mice in the attic where it'll sit for 20 years between generations.  Even with this thought in-mind I was still open to the idea of building the type of crib that could be converted into a bed and used for many years.  I looked at several models and I was all set to make this dream a reality until we found a crib that we absolutely loved (it can't be converted into a full-size bed, so there is potential for still making a bed one day if I get the itch).  See the picture below of the crib we chose.  The best part, it was significantly cheaper than most cribs we were looking at.  With this option now a reality, I moved on to the other piece I would inevitably build, the changing table.

Owen's Crib (w/out Bedding) and Chair

 Again, I didn't want to make something that would only be used for a few years and then tossed to the side or converted into a microwave stand.  I wanted to craft a piece that could be used for many years as a dresser.  I wanted to know that the blood I would shed building it would be worth it (yes, there was a hint of blood shed).  After doing some research (Randy loves perusing Pottery Barn and I love Amish Furniture websites and the always-trusty Google Image searches) we decided on a plan and I sketched it up.  After the boss approved the plans, I went to work.

It's made of solid 3/4" Pine, 3/4" Birch Plywood for the top/sides/shelves and 1/4" Birch Plywood for the door panel and back.  I went with Pine/Birch ( as opposed to Oak, etc.) because it would be painted white.  I painted it with enamel latex paint (diluted with just the right amount of water) using my trusty Harbor Freight HVLP spray gun and then sealed with clear satin polycrylic which really adds a nice finish.  I was able to fully reap the benefits of spending a lot of time fine-tuning my painting techniques while building our entertainment center.  The painting process was a snap and was the easiest part of this build.  I then finished it off with self-closing euro hinges and full-extension drawer slides.  Randy found some "button" door knobs to cap everything off. If you have any specific questions, please let me know.

Face Frame

Test-Fitting the Drawers

Drawers All Installed

Just Installed the Drawer Faces

Ready for Paint

After 1 Coat of Primer, 2 Coats of Paint and 3 Coats of Clear

Making Sure Everything Still Functions

Drawers Still Fit and Operate Perfectly

Full-Extension Drawer Slides and Adjustable Shelves

Set-Up in Owen's Room

Lots and Lots of Space

Done!

Main Tools Used: My cheap Table Saw (I reallllllly want/need to get a better one), 10" Sliding Miter Saw, Router Table, Pocket-Hole Jig, Cordless and Corded Drill (life saver), Palm Sander, Belt Sander, Various Hand Planes, Hand Chisels, etc.

Owen better enjoy it!

Life Happened

A lot of happened since my last post (mostly, things I can even possibly begin to remember enough to write about).  However, the main thing that's happened (and possibly, the main reason I haven't written in so long) is that we are expecting our first child in a little over a month.  Owen Jeffrey Yeats is due December 21.  Pray that everything continues to go well as we quickly approach the due date.

I have a couple of posts in the works regarding a book or two, another woodworking project and some other miscellaneous info.  Stay tuned.  

Tom!

Woodworking Projects (Entertainment Center Catch-Up)

 I've been bad at the one thing I would like to do with this outlet.  Share updates on projects.

If you didn't know, the Rangers made it to the World Series.  We got to go to several home playoff games (quite a few actually...) which included a World Series game!  Anywho, I meant to talk about our experience but have simply forgotten.  So, to sum it up, it was AMAZING. Yes, they didn't win... but simply making it to the World Series and the way they made it (beating the stupid Yankees in triumphant fashion) was more than anyone could ask for.  To see pictures, go to Randy's facebook.  And yes, I'm still a huge Cardinals fan.  But, I'm a huge baseball fan and being a few miles away from the Rangers makes it way too easy to go to games and follow the team.  My favorite past time is listening to the game on the radio while working in the garage on my projects...

I've been promising Randy that I'd build her an entertainment center just the way she wanted it.  I've been into woodworking for years.  My grandpa is a big woodworker and I used to build things at his house all the time.  He's my personal go-to source for woodworking questions.

In the evenings of the summer I would listen to the games and work on the entertainment center.  I won't go into much detail, but I'll put up several pictures so you can get an idea of how it is made.  If you have any questions or want any details, use the comments.  (Note: The pictures were taken with my phone... I don't claim to be a photographer)

 

  

Close Encounter of the NASCAR Kind

Warning, the following story relates to my experience at a NASCAR event.  Let he who is without a little WT-ness cast the first stone.

 

Note: If you actually make it to the end of this post there are videos to document the experience.

 

A friend of mine works at a job that hands out race tickets to clients.  She had extra tickets to Friday (Truck Race) and Saturday (Nationwide Race) and she knows how big of a racing fan I am (note: she also gave me tickets to the IndyCar race in June - as mentioned in this post).  Needless to say, she's the best!  So, a friend and I went to the Truck Race on Friday and had a great time.  Unfortunately, my least-favorite driver won.  But we still had a great time.  My friend had never been before and was very intrigued by the entire event.  He was in shock at how big the track was.  I took another friend with me on Saturday and we also had a great time. We even got to see Carl do his famous victory-back-flip.  Unfortunately, our racing scanner was not working or 3/4 of the race due to a "system outage".  That takes away a lot of the fun because its harder to follow when you can't listen to a radio broadcast.  I worked the system and got a couple of vouchers for free scanners next time. So, all is well.

 

Next up, Sunday.  The big one.  I actually had to buy tickets to this race for Randy and I.  FYI, if you ever go to one of these events you want to be as high up as possible so you can see the entire track.  If you're on the first row you can only see the front stretch and you are constantly being hit with small debris from the track (not to mention how much louder it is when you're 5 feet away). 

 

You may remember about my post back in April, but if not, I'll catch you up.  Long story short, I won a two VIP passes to attend the "public" Sprint Cup drivers meeting before the April TMS race.  Well, it rained that weekend and because of some weird planning on their part, they had to cancel the "public" meeting and gave everyone rain-checks on the passes.  A couple of weeks ago I received our new passes for the November TMS race.  Luckily, the radar looked promising and our chances for a beautiful weekend were high.

 

We showed up to the track about an hour before the meeting and jumped thorough the two-hundred hoops it took to reach the infield (via a pedestrian tunnel under the track).  We show up 30 minutes before the meeting was scheduled to take place.  They had just opened the doors and we were able to sit on the second row.  When all the fans showed up, there was probably 60 people total.  Of course, as soon as we sit down we realize how big of a mistake it was to forget Randy's nice camera at home.  Also, we should have thought ahead and borrowed someones video camera.  Instead, we were limited to the power (and the battery life) of our iPhones (I had video, Randy didn't).  Lets just say the camera was rolling and the little iPhone was put to the ultimate test.

Soon after we settle in, the drivers start trickling in.  Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin.  Did I mention that EVERY driver and crew chief was REQUIRED to attend?  Meanwhile, here we are between 3 and 30 feet away from all of them.  If you're not a NASCAR fan you can't comprehend how surreal it was.  Mixed in with the drivers were team owners (Richard Childress, Roger Penske, Chip Ganassi, etc.), NASCAR officials (Mike Helton, Robin Pemberton, etc.), and individuals involved with the pre-race ceremonies and what-not (Dick Vitale, Lance Armstrong, Big Black, C.J. Wilson, Tommy Hunter, etc.).  The best part about the meeting was hearing Kyle Busch ask a question about the rules of a restart because he was upset with the way the Nationwide race finished the night before (he thought Carl Edwards jumped the start).  Kyle, "Excuse my ignorance, but can you explain the difference between the single starting line and the double starting line?" I wasn't the only one snickering.

After the meeting we stood outside and watched as the aforementioned attenders left the meeting.  However, not all those in attendance left because after the meeting they had a "Motor Racing Church" service.  Randy and I stuck around and got to experience a little praise and worship and a sermon along with the drivers who stuck around. It was pretty awesome.

When everyone had finally disappeared to the garages to prepare for the race, Randy and I started wandering around the infield just trying to take everything in before we made it back to the grandstands with the common-folk.  We saw the entrance to pit-road and thought, "Why not try?"  We meandered over to scope it out.  Sure enough, our VIP passes gave us access to the pits!  

 

We proceeded to walk up and down pit-road (both behind-the-wall with the crews and over-the-wall with the cars).  It was here where I got some of the amazing up-close-and-personal video as we stood next to the 24 (5 feet from Jeff Gordon) during the national anthem and fly-over.  We were even on TV behind Jeff's car during driver introductions!  Through the course of our wandering, we came across Big Black (of MTV's Rob and Big) and Tommy Hunter!

We kept expecting them to kick us out but they NEVER did!!  We could have watched the entire race from pit-road.  We stayed for about 20 laps and got to be up-close for a pit-stop (again, all of this is documented on the videos).  Finally we went up to our seats because we really wanted to sit down and eat some food (oh yeah, and my iPhone battery was at 4%).

 

We eventually made our way up to the stands via a pedestrian tunnel under the race track.  I scoped out a section from the infield that didn't look very full and we made our way up there (not our seats which were much lower).  They were great seats.  I won't bore you with the on-track festivities.  All you need to know is that my driver, Jeff Gordon, was wrecked under caution (very bizarre) by another driver, Jeff Burton.  Gordon walked the 50-yards down the track to Burton's car and gave him a piece of his mind (watch the video here...its worth it).    As excited as I was to see him take-up for himself, I was devestated because he was done for the day.  The race finished at dusk with Denny Hamlin crossing the line first.  The overall race was one of the best of the season and it was awesome to be there. 

 

Now, I leave you with the aforementioned video footage.  I recommend watching both...but that's just me :)

 

Video 1: Friday Night, Saturday, and the Drivers Meeting on Sunday

Video 2: Pit-Road and The End of the Race

Order of Operations

Because I have been a bad blogger (not surprising), I have to reset and take care of some business.  First, I am going to post about the most recent thing that I want to blog about (the TMS experience this past weekend).  THEN, I will attempt to go back and catch you up on a couple of other items I've been meaning to blog about (particularly the World Series and a couple of other things).  By then, I'll probably have pictures and stories about our new niece that was born Monday! (Emily's Second)

This is normally the time someone would apologize for not blogging on a consistent basis, but you should know better than that (Hint: Read the 'What It's All About' section).

If you're lucky, the aforementioned posting will commence as soon as TONIGHT.

Catch Me If You Can

Alright, first some house cleaning items:
- Kaptain Robbie Knievel made his death-defying jump.  It was actually pretty amazing to see in person.
- We survived Mexico and had an absolute blast!  We went on a Jeep excursion, parasailing, deep-sea fishing, and a lot of relaxation.  You can check out Randy's Facebook page for pictures.  It was an amazing vacation and I loved every minute of it.


So, for a Birthday/CPA present, my dad gave me a NASCAR Racing Experience.  What does that mean?   Well, I got to spend 8 minutes (I think it ended up being 10 laps or so with pit-road and what-not) on the track at Texas Motor Speedway in an actual NASCAR stock car by myself.  I wasn't a passenger, there wasn't a co-driver, there wasn't a remote-control, and there wasn't a pace car.  It was just me and a spotter giving me directions.  The car did have a governor that was supposedly set to 150mph, but my fastest lap turned out to be around 153mph.  You can check out a short video of the experience, HERE.  Overall, the experience was amazing and it makes me want to race even that much more.  You think I'm competitive in card games, get me behind the wheel.

For the fourth of July, Randy and I went up to St. Louis.  We stayed with a couple of friends, Jason and Caroline Green.  We went to a couple of Cardinals games, toured the Budweiser brewery, went to the Fair under the Arch, toured Busch stadium, went to Six Flags, and ate at a couple of cool restaurants.  Because it was the 4th of July, we caught a couple of firework shows, including one at the Arch that followed a John Legend concert.  It was pretty awesome and we had a blast.  It was a great trip. 

The only other thing I wanted to mention was that the Texas Rangers are having an amazing season.  Living in Arlington, about 10 minutes from the stadium, its hard not to be a fan.  I'm still a Cardinals fan, but the buzz around this Rangers team is infectious.  Its hard not to keep up with them when every game is on TV and thats all the sports-talk guys talk about.  We've gone to several games and will probably go to a few more.  In fact, I'm going to the Ranger/Yankee game tonight to watch Cliff Lee pitch.  Talk about exciting...

I've finished a few books and am in the middle of one right now.  I'll probably post about them in the next few weeks or so.  I will leave you with this:

Viva la Mexico

I took a break from packing for our upcoming trip to share what we're going to be doing the next week.  Randy and I are going with the Martin family to Cozumel for 8 days and 7 nights of pure relaxation and all-inclusive freedom at Iberostar. Tom will be spending the week with Randy's dad, John.   Trust me, John is looking forward to it as much as Tom is.  They love spending time together

So come back in a few weeks and maybe I'll have some pictures or videos to share (Randy is really excited about our new under-water camera, so I'm sure we'll have plenty).

P.S. I was given two suite tickets to the Firestone 550 IndyCar race tonight at TMS.  Before the race, Captain Robbie Knievel is going to jump over police cars that span over 200 feet.  I'm pretty excited about it.  I'll report back if he lives through it.

Biz-y

A lot has happened since my last post.  Things have been extremely hectic and quite the whirl-wind.  Since my last post I've..
-- Spent a day kayaking down the Brazos River
-- Taken a trip around Texas Motor Speedway in a NASCAR car (4 laps at 160mph in full racing gear)
-- Attend the Spring NASCAR race at TMS (Friday, Sunday and Monday - all 3 series)
      -- Side Note: I also won two VIP passes to the Sprint Cup drivers meeting but it got canceled because of the rain.  Fortunately, I will be receiving rain-check passes for the Fall race in November.
-- Spent a weekend in OKC with Randy and my family.  Randy participated with my Sister, Brother-in-law, his friend, and his cousin in a Marathon relay.
-- Worked a lot
-- Mowed the yard a few times

All-in-all, I'm pretty worn out.  Randy and I have a big summer planned.  I'm sure I'll be filling you in along the way.   I don't really have anything interesting to talk about.  I just felt like I really needed to take a second and fill everyone in on what's been going on in the life of Jace and Randy.


Enjoy this video. If you can make it all the way through you are more of a man than I.

Wildcatter Ranch

I was working a few hours northwest of Fort Worth this past week in the town of Graham, TX.  It is a quaint little town and is a highlight for me simply because I love the client.  A coworker and myself spent all week with the CFO of this company and had a great time.  This is my second year with this client and it's by-far my favorite.  We ate at The Dinner Bell, the Graham Country Club, Papas Wheelhouse on P.K. Lake, and the Wildcatter Ranch.  Fortunately, we also stayed in the hotel at the Wildcatter Ranch all week.  You should really check out their site.  The restaurant across the road from the hotel is amazing.  I ate like a king (and probably gained a few more pounds)!

I would highly recommend visiting if you're looking for a weekend getaway and would like to do a little horseback riding, etc.  It's also just a few minutes away from Possum Kingdom Lake which is beautiful.

We went to an easter egg hunt today with our church and had a great time.  The weather was gorgeous (I LOVE Texas this time of year.... unfortunately, it won't last very long).  Afterward, we went with some friends to the dog park.  Tom LOVES the dog park.  I posted the following picture on my Twitter/Facebook last week from the last time we went out there.  Unfortunately, he found a muddy spot.

Nevertheless, we still enjoy taking him out there.  He will play fetch until his feet bleed (literally.... it's sad).  I hope you noticed the extremely filthy tennis ball on the ground in front of him.

Influenza - Army of Juan

Wow, so I haven't posted in a while. I would apologize but it seems to be the norm and therefore, you should expect it.

To address my previous post, the Rangers are wayyyy done and the Cardinals are in! So, needless to say, the Cardinals Beacon of Victory will be getting some major use in the next several weeks.

Randy and I have both been a little under the weather. She started feeling bad around Thursday evening of last week and I started feeling bad around Saturday afternoon (I already made her feel bad for getting me sick....don't worry, its taken care of). She was smart and went to the doctor the next morning after being sick whereas I waited until today (3 days later) to go to the doctor. She only missed the one day of work and I am at two and counting. Good news is, I am feeling better and hopefully will be back at work tomorrow. I can't afford to take anymore PTO (gotta save those suckers up and use them when I'm healthy and can enjoy them).

The biggest thing that happened since my last post was a lot of rain and a little leak. We have gotten more rain in the last month that I've ever experienced. Its been awesome (thick green grass) but it also exposed a water leak around our fire-place. So, I got on the roof in the pouring rain and patched it up as best I could. The leak proceeded to stop and we called the insurance adjuster to come and check it out. They totaled the roof because of hail damage and included the interior damage because it was caused by the faulty roof. Praise the Lord!

Randy is really enjoying her new Job. She is CRAZY busy all the time with after-school activities, practices, and concerts. She even convinced me to attend a few events. The first was a car wash that I was at long enough to be able to leave with a clean truck, and a lock-in. I haven't been to a lock-in since I was in high-school and it was exactly what I expected (way too late). However, the place had some pretty awesome go-karts. If you know me, you know that this is the ONLY think I did for the 5 hours I was there. I left with black stains on my face from the exhaust and extremely sore thighs from workin the pedals. I took those middle-schoolers to school!!! I know, I'm sad...what can I say, I was MADE for racing.

For your enjoyment, I have included this photo of me and a buddy from a few years back. We were modeling our club intramural team's new soccer jersey that we designed.

Red Snappered

I call this, "The Abominable Snow-Man Guards the Fire"

I didn't have any pictures of the HUGE fish we caught this weekend, so I posted this old picture of Tom instead. I left straight from a client's office in Dallas and drove to Brownwood, TX where I met met up with the boys who were travelin from Abilene. We drove another 6 hours to Bay City, TX which is right outside of Matagorda Bay. We got up every morning before the sun, drove 30 minutes to the dock, and drove the boat another 20 minutes down the Colorado (the river, not the state) until we arrived at the gulf of Mexico.

From there, it was atleast an hour and a half to the fishing spot. The gold mine was actually a couple of sunken ships that were acting as a reef for the fishies to call home. We were able to catch our fish in 30 minutes (on average) and then would proceed to drive to other spots (sometimes another hour and a half) and attempt to catch some bigger fish (dolphins, etc.). Don't worry, we only caught King fish....no dolphins were harmed...

We got "weathered" out on Sunday morning. The waves were too intense for it to be worth it. One of the guys get sea-sick pretty easy and had a rough day one the first outing. I think he threw up in excess of 20 times. It made for a long day.

But, like I said, I have no pictures. I do have enough Red Snapper in our freezer to last us the rest of the year, however. It was hard to go back to work today, but this Friday is my 9/80 day (for the summer, we work 80 hours in 9 days and get every other Friday off). That will make the week go by a little faster.

Until next time,

"He won't give it to you, unless he knows he can use it through you."

Deep Sea

Well,

I said I would have pictures to put up of the finished screen door...but I don't. I'm a liar. This last weekend was the might Roaring River trip. Everything went great. There was lots of hanging out, lots of sun, and lots (and I mean lots) of sweat. The trip went great until the ride home. The green machine (I guess that's what I'm calling my truck) didn't like the drive home. The oxygen sensor went out aaaagain... and my air/fuel mixture was messed up for most of the ride home. What did that mean? That meant a 2-hour delay in Tulsa while I made two trips to AutoZone and about 30 mins underneath my truck. That ALSO meant that my engine was pumping too much gas into the engine and I got TERRIBLE gas mileage on the way home. So....Jace wasn't happy.

Anywho, I took Monday off work (THANK GOODNESS) and got back to work on Tuesday. On Tuesday night, I got a call from a buddy in Abilene who gave me an offer I couldn't refuese. As of about 30 minutes ago, I'm officially going deep sea fishing this weekend. We'll leave right after work tomorrow and drive until the wee-hours of the morning and fish all day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I'm pretty excited about it. I'll be sure to tell you all about it.

On my way home from work I thought of something funny I was going to say in my post, but I forgot it.

I'll leave you with this...

Raaaaaiiiiiiin

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. Thanks for being a faithful follower(s) (but really just singular). Nothing much is really new...but I'll fill you in on what we've been up to the last month or so.

Randy has started singing in the choir at the church we're going to. She really enjoys it and seems to be meeting some good people. The three services in one day thing can be pretty tiresome, but she still enjoys it. ALSO, she got two jobs in the span of one week! She got a part-time job at Old Navy (or, the Nav as I will affectionately call it) for something to do this summer, AND a full-time job for the upcoming school year! This is really exciting because she has been stressing about getting a good job, or a job at all in these "trying economic times". Now, we relax and sleep well knowing there are no more interviews or job applications to fill out.

As for me, I continue to study for the CPA exam in my spare time. But, when I need a break (which is often) I have been working on our back porch/patio. Its fairly large and enclosed with large screen windows, but most of the screens have been torn out through the years. Its been on my to-do list for quite a while, and now its about that time. After a trip (or two) to Lowe's, I bought screening to re-screen all the windows, and wood to build a screen door. I couldn't just buy a screen door because the door opening was an odd size. Nevertheless, I am building one (see in-progress picture below) and, have no fear, it will have a doggie-door so Tom can let himself out to do his biz. We also got a new grill and have been putting it to good use. I'll update you on the screen door when its complete. The porch is going to be awesome when its done.

Tax Time

My computer froze the first time....stupid Vista on a home-made machine....so this is my second attempt.

Randy and I have both been very busy this last month. Randy has been substituting EVERY day and I've been extremely busy with work. On top of that, Randy's mom had hip surgery and I have been studying/taking the exam. So, we've had no time. Sorry I haven't blogged.

Nothing exciting has happened recently because of the aforementioned busyness... The only productive thing I've done is organized paperwork that's been stacking up on my desk and taking care of our taxes. Randy and I have been saving some dough up and our tax return will go right into the pile.

Matt and Jess are coming to Dallas with Matt's family. We're pretty excited to see them and hang out with them tonight.

Last thing, NASCAR has started and I am super pumped. Jeff Gordon is starting the year off strong and it looks like he might get a couple wins this year. Don't worry, I'll keep you updated. I might just have to start a NASCAR section at the bottom of each post that you can promptly skip if you are so inclined...

Daytona

Well, things have been picking up a little bit lately. This time of year is especially busy and I've definitely felt the effects. With studying and work, I don't have much time to do anything else. I'm not complaining, but I do have to make myself more productive with my free-time.

Not much has happened in the last month or so. We we took a trip to Edmond to see some friends (and b/c I wanted to watch the UFC fight on PPV). It was a good time and turned out to be a nice break.

Tom spent 8 hours at PetSmart last weekend getting a haircut. Its really short...thats the sacrifice you have to make when you're too poor to afford to get it done monthly. PetSmart was having a pretty hectic day (it was adoption day) and it took them twice as long as it was supposed to. I didn't really mind because it was a quiet afternoon around the house.

Randy's mom is in the hospital recovering from hip-replacement surgery. So, keep her in your prayers. Randy's been up there every day the past few days after she gets done at school and I'm going up there with her this evening.

NASCAR season officially starts this week with the Daytona 500. Praise the Lord. Jeff Gordon won the first qualifying race yesterday (whoop). I was fortunate enough to be able to "watch" it on my laptop b/c it was on at 1:15 pm. I'll let you know how he does in the 500 this weekend...I'm sure you're dying to know.

New Kitchen Sink

Mike and Lynessa decided to make a mid-week trip down to the ol' TX. They like doing the "hey, we're going to come in town the day after tomorrow...that ok?" This is not a complaint...just a statement of fact. We love for them to visit and usually give them a hard time for not visiting enoguh so we are always happy to have them around.

Randy received a new sink for Christmas from my dad. It sounds kinda weird, but it was actually an awesome gift becasue we really wanted one but were too cheap to buy one right now. So, we bought a new faucet and I installed it a few weeks ago. I couldn't finish it because I had to order a set of mounting clips custom on the internet. They came in this last week and my dad was very elated to be able to help me finish caulking and locking it down. He loves helping me out with projects around the house.

Do you know anyone who got a ticket in the mail because of a red-light camera? Well, now you do. I was trying to follow someone from work the other day and they ran a yellow-light. I guess I thought it was a good idea to run the red-light in order to keep up with them. Anywho, I am now $75 poor...thanks technology.

I need to start putting up pictures...maybe I'll work on that for next time.

Randy and Tom are doing well..they're bothing taking Sunday naps right now. I've got to get back to studying....

Eye-Trim

Made it back from Houston. The rest of the week went much like I had predicted. Everyone did loosen up a little towards the end and it wasn't too painful. This weekend was our company's "winter party" (not to be confused with a "Christmas party"). It was downtown at a place called four-day weekend. They are an improvisational comedy house (like Who's Line is it Anyway?). They did some pretty hilarious skits and overall, it was a good time. A group of us went out afterward and had a pretty good time. It was the first time Randy got to sit down and talk to some of my co-workers.

Randy and I have started attending a church regularly. Let me clarify, we've been attending regularly, but not the same one. We came from an amazing church in Abilene and its been extremely difficult for us to attend somewhere where we feel like we will be able to fit-in and be able to contribute on a deep level. We're pretty satisfied with what this church has to offer so far. I'll try to keep you updated on the church situation in the future.

Tom's hair is about as long as it has ever been. With that being said, we're poor enough that we're going to stretch it out as long as possible. SO, the other night I cracked out the scissors and trimmed the hair around his eyes. It was getting so bad, we couldn't tell if he was awake or asleep and he was having trouble "following" the ball while playing fetch. So, we had to do what we had to do. I think it turned out just fine. We should be good to go for a few more weeks.

Last thing... Randy and I actually started watching '24' this season.

Stuffy Stuff

Its been about 5 days and I've about had it with this sickness I've got going on. Its one of those that's not bad enough to make you want to go to the doctor, but is just bad enough to make you miserable. You know the kind... Lets just say I've had a few 4-hour nights and if I'm able to "breathe out of both nostrils" when I got to bed I'm happy. Anywho... Its still hanging around and I'm still dealing with it.

Tom hasn't had a haircut in a few months and he's gotten to the stage where I'm amazed he's not running into things. At times, he looks at me and I swear I can't even see that he has his eyes open. So, its time for the "eye-cut" to hold him over until we bite-the-bullet and pay for the full-blown cut. Randy will be taking care of that this week while I am in Houston.

I'll be in Houston all week doing training with a couple of coworkers. It shouldn't be too bad. I think Randy is dreading it because she doesn't know what she's going to do with herself. Luckily, I work for a firm that doesn't have me traveling for weeks at a time to places halfway across the country. I'm a home-body and love that I can drive to work every day.

I'll try to let you know how things go in Houston. Stay classy San Francisco.