Bandit Man

How you doin'

2011-07-27T13:55:00.003-05:00

Long time, no post. Lots going on, but what to write about? Did the barefoot 5K, then Reese and I did the Urban Epic obstacle race. (he kicked my you know what) Jaren and I went on a boy scout canoe trip to the Allagash River. A five day, 63 mile, carry everything you need, wet, nature extravaganza. Still slowly chipping away at the 101 things list. Preparing for the Webelos resident camp in a couple weeks with Dean. Reese has purple hair and a fauxhawk.

Going Primal

2011-03-03T12:09:00.002-05:00

Mel and I are starting a new lifestyle/diet/exercise program. It is all about eating and moving like hunter/gatherers. It is basically a meat and fruit and veggie only diet. No grains and limited dairy. The exercise side of it is all about playing hard, bodyweight exercises and quick all out sprints. I signed up for a barefoot 5K at Pineland farms at the end of May. There is lots of activities after the race including a 3 legged race, egg race, and other family activities. There is a barbecue and a beer and cheese tent.
I ordered some Vibram five finger shoes to exercise with. They are coming in next week so I'll report on them later. I can't wait to exercise in them, running around, climbing trees, building Striders new playhouse, working in the garden. Spring can't get here soon enough.

snowed out!

2011-02-06T17:04:00.002-05:00

enough with the snow already!
so much snow, no place left to put it. can't recover from one storm before the next one moves in. two more on the horizon, back hurts just thinking about it. patience wearing thin. longer warmer days mean heavier snow and ice. chip it away bit by bit. muscles ache and motivation wanes.

Rhubarb Wine?

2011-01-16T20:41:00.002-05:00

I have been waiting to taste this one for a while. I first heard of Blacksmiths Rhubarb back in October from an intern from MCP that I was working with. I finally bought some for Christmas dinner and we never got around to drinking it, so I had to open it and drink it myself. It was very good, not too sweet but enough so that it was enjoyable.

Blacksmiths Blueberry

2011-01-16T20:21:00.006-05:00

Thanksgiving this year we decided to unwind a little bit with a couple bottles of Blacksmiths wine. I brought the Rough Cut Cider and my Grandmother brought a bottle of Blueberry. This blueberry wine was really good. It might have just been all the sweet smells in the air and on the great food on the table but the blueberry was a perfect match. It was like drinking dessert. I am an amature at this wine thing but I look forward to more from Blacksmiths fruit collection.

Honeymaker

2011-01-16T20:11:00.003-05:00

A while back I had bought a hard cider at a local wine shop and instead of picking up the Rhubarb wine that I was going to get I found some mead by Maine Mead Works. I figured, how cool, wine and honey rolled into one and from a local company. I was a little let down by this mead but I am sure it is not due to the drink but to my expectations. I was looking for something sweet (but not as sweet as the ice wine). Maybe I shouldn't have started out with the Dry Hopped Mead, I don't know. It was good, but it was dry and tasted much like a regular white would taste. For Christmas I did get a bottle of Semi Sweat Mead from HoneyMaker so I look forward to uncorking the mead for another go.

gritty mcduffs

2011-01-16T19:53:00.003-05:00

I have been sampling Gritty's over the last couple months and it has had its ups and downs. I bought a sample pack because everyone raves about the Halloween Ale. To be honest, it didn't do much for me. It was okay but nothing to get excited about. However the Pub Style Ale and the 21 IPA were very good with the Pub Style being excellent. It was just so smooth and flavorful that I was looking forward to trying some more Gritty's. For Christmas my Grandmother bought me a six (I love telling people that my Gram bought me beer for Christmas) of Gritty McDuffs Christmas Ale. She liked the Santa on the bottles and knew I wanted local beers. Gritty let me down on the Christmas Ale. I starts off good, but leads to a bitter hoppy taste that changes and leaves an aftertaste of soap. Not loving that.

my boys

2011-01-11T08:50:00.004-05:00

My Boys

My boys make me laugh

Make me smile

Make me crazy

Make me proud

Make me think
Make me pull my hair out

Make me a kid again

Make me adventurous

Make me want to cry
Make me love life and tolerate the hard work

But mostly

My boys make my heart overflow with love

Hard Cider

2010-10-15T20:12:00.003-05:00

I was looking through Yankee magazine and was reading an article on a hard cider brewery in New Hampshire when I decided that I just had to get me some. I looked online at Farnum Hill Orchards but couldn't find any local retailers. Sure, I could order some from a place in upstate New York or from New Jersey, but I decided to look a little more local. Blacksmiths vineyard is just up the road a bit in Casco. I have always wanted to check them out but never got around to it. One of my interns this month is from Casco and gave their Rhubarb wine a great review for a novice wine drinker. I went to their website and, sure enough they have a hard cider that they brew. They sell at all the local supermarkets but also at The Good Life Market up in Raymond. This market is an upscale sandwich shop, local food mart, and wine retailer. Mel and I went in for sandwiches and I came out with a bottle of Blacksmiths Rough Cut Cider. This stuff is good. Sweet, and clean and still very much a wine. Not dry or tart like many wines can be or overly fruity like many fruit wines make themselves into. I will definitely be looking for more local hard ciders.

October swim

2010-10-12T19:39:00.003-05:00

I had planned on doing this as early in the month as possible. No such luck. October 11th is not too bad I guess. So I thought. It was sunny, with a mild breeze. Just jump in, swim out to the float and come back. Really it had been such a hot summer, I am sure the water was still pretty warm. After all I have seen the mist drifting up from the lake on the cooler mornings so I knew that the lake was warmer than the air. First it was just me, then Jaren said he wanted to go also, then his friend Nick. Strider and Dean decided to put on their suits as well.

Jumping in was breathtaking, it was hard not to climb back out and say thats it, good enough. I forced myself to swim to the float, short shallow breaths. The ladder on the float was slipper from non-use and the top was covered with duck poop. Jaren and Nick were right behind me and I helped them up on the float. Reese was in the kayak paddling back and forth in front of us. I actually thought of getting in the kayak and riding back in with him. I knew I couldn't do that. Now the hardest part was jumping back into the water. It was cold up on the float but memories of the water was not good. Nick and Jar went first and I waited until they were most of the way in before diving into the water. It wasn't as bad as I thought. I guess I had got used to it, it was still cold but I casually made my way out of the water and high fived Dean and Strider as they splashed around in the shallow end.

Morning Ride

2010-09-19T05:34:00.003-05:00

Stars fade from existence as the light eases away the darkness.

Angel clouds dance across the sky as it grows from black to pink.

Mist swirls up from the water, apparitions gliding twelve feet tall.

A fish jumps, no, not a fish, as it still sails through the air,

Swooping, darting, lightning fast, how many are there?

Bats fly all around me, as I stop to watch.

Six, ten, hard to tell, dive for water bugs or a drink from the lake.

Uncomfortably close they come as I dodge their manic movements.

Small bodies with leathery wings avoided as I continue to paddle on.

There beautiful ugliness left behind as I disappear into the fog.

On a roll today

2010-09-18T16:43:00.003-05:00

I think this is my fifth post today. Not to brag but I just needed to put this down.

After kayaking, then finishing the snow bars, I ordered tickets to see "39 Steps" at The Portland Stage Company in October. I am quite intrigued. The website says there are 150 characters played by 4 actors. Should be some interesting quick changes. I bought 5 tickets, for Mel, Reese, Jaren, Dean, and I. Hope it is as funny as they say it is.

I also installed a light socket in the back corner of the basement where we keep the camping and holiday gear as well as the food racks. It was a little tricky because there was no light in the dark basement once the power is cut and all of the flashlights were dying. I encountered no problems and just the one light makes a big difference.

Peak Organic Beer

2010-09-18T16:31:00.002-05:00

After cashing in my returnables last month I looked around in the package store to find something to whet my appetite. I came across this Peak Organic and one of the salesman said he had lots of customers ask for it but no one had bought it since he ordered it. The bottles were a little dusty but there was a four pack of espresso amber ale. I just had to try this remembering the Drew Carey Show and his "Buzz Beer".

The espresso was not that great. Pretty bitter and usually had to force myself to finish the bottle. Luckily I also picked up a nut brown ale which was very good and easy to drink. Not a light summer time ale, it was hoppy and nutty that is a good all around beer. Smooth and refreshing and delicious all in one bottle.

snow bars are done

2010-09-18T11:21:00.003-05:00

Finally finished putting up the snow bars that we started ordering last September. We did order in two stages but it still took a long time. It was nice to finish when it was warm out, unlike doing them in snow pants and a winter coat last November.
I actually thought this was on my 1o1 things list, so I was a little disappointed when I finished and found out that they weren't. Darn, I thought I could cross something off again today.

lake death cycle

2010-09-18T08:31:00.003-05:00

countless deaths in the darkness
unsuspecting victims.
decay layering the depths
with animal and plant alike.

minding your own business
when life is snatched away.
fulfilling an others hunger
until a bigger predator
repays the favor.

the blackness devours the crime
as the prey itself is devoured.
surviving to take lives
just another necessity.

time moves on
death litters the floor.
eaten by worms and bugs
breaking down the layers
returning life to earth.

Kayaking around Brown Cove

2010-09-18T07:54:00.004-05:00

Set out this morning just to do my usual morning exercise of kayaking. I actually hit the snooze a couple times so was up and out later than I planned. 47 degrees by the thermometer and 6:35am by the clock as I was dipping my paddle into the cool misty lake water. Quiet, serene, silent.

Kyle, the falcon flew over head as I passed the middle of our small cove. He perched in a tall pine tree and surveyed Brown Cove. I continued paddling and was enjoying the calm waters and the swirls my paddles were making into the darkness.

I was feeling good and decided to head up to the small inlet connecting Brown Cove with the rest of Little Sebago Lake. I kept close to the shore line and went in and out of each cove. I was starting to think that maybe today should be the day that I went around the entire Brown Cove as it is on my 101 things to do list.

The depths of the lake came to me as I floated on top. Grasses and rocks appeared below me sometimes brushing the bottom of my kayak. The mist drifted by. Loons moved warily away as I coasted past. Dip, pull, swirl, repeat.

Shoulders came into existence as I noticed them starting to ache. Am I half way? How far does this sub-cove go in. A great blue heron is a statue standing in the marsh waiting to grab breakfast. Into new territory I row exploring areas never seen by my eyes. Beautiful old homes and camps once the height of style now run down and in need of repair and paint. Fish come from below to grab the unsuspecting water bugs that are so plentiful on the surface.

Sun is blinding as I head toward it while it is just breaching the trees. Shade and shadows return my sights as I twist and turn around the shorelines. How long have I been cruising? Paddle faster I tell myself, enjoy the soothing calm I tell myself.

Around the final point as I know there is only one more small inlet to explore before I am homeward bound. Faster, pushing, forcing myself to keep pace. Into the final cove I hear the small waterfall emptying our lake into Mill Pond next door. The soothing falls usher me onward as I head home tired, sweaty, content.

working at work

2010-08-06T06:38:00.002-05:00

So busy lately, trying to get everything under control for becoming an immunization pharmacist and trying to coordinate with 2 schools on being a preceptor and staying up to date. I never wanted that job that continued when you came home from work and after 16 years, it seems like I have one now. I has made work a lot more interesting, and exciting. I just hope I am doing everything correctly.

cleaning circuits

2010-03-16T08:51:00.003-05:00

Mel came up with the idea this morning to do cleaning circuits. We spent 5 minutes in each room on the first floor cleaning, seeing how much we could get done in just 5 minutes. Then we would reset the timer and move to the next room. I know that this is not a new concept but it worked really well this morning. It got us up and moving and on a good pace for the day. We have made several plans for the rest of the day. Now, lets keep moving and continue on this trend!

Books for the boys

2010-03-15T08:20:00.003-05:00

Last night I finished reading The Kingdom Keepers by Ridley Pearson to the boys. They really liked it. The story was fun and exciting and they liked getting to revisit the Magic Kingdom in Disney World in their heads. It was just a year ago that we were there and it was great to be able to picture where the kids in the story were and jealous not to be there with them.
My dilemma is what to read next. I was going to read How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell because the movie is coming out, but Jaren started to read it at school for a book report. That is okay because I have so many others to read.
I also want to read to them The Rookie by Scott Sigler. It is a sci-fi football/action book based in the future where different alien races are mixed together to play football. It is a great story.
I could also read Peter and the Secret of Rundoon by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. I have read the first two books in the series to them and they are lots of fun.
However I think I am going to slip in a bit of classic literature to them and read them Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. It is short and interesting and definitely shocking at the end.

Shipyard Brewer's Brown Ale

2010-03-07T21:35:00.002-05:00

Now this is a good beer. I am sad that it is gone. I feel like I just opened it, and now my bottle is empty. Nice nutty/hoppy taste but not overpowering. Leaves you with a sweet aftertaste and the desire for another Brewer's Brown Ale. Maybe I am biased because Shipyard is a local brewer, maybe it is just because everything Shipyard puts out is great, or maybe it is just because I feel like I needed this beer tonight. You know what I mean. Grab one for yourself and see if I'm not right.

Irma Vep

2010-02-21T16:55:00.003-05:00

Mel and I went out on a date Tuesday night. I bought tickets to see a play that I had seen advertised in the Portland Phoenix. The Mystery of Irma Vep at the Portland Stage Company seemed like it was going to be an interesting play but you just never know. We have seen many plays on Broadway and I wasn't sure if seeing something local could ever live up to past performances. The website said it was funny and promised a good time, but of course they weren't going to say that the play sucked and we should come watch it anyway. I took a chance and was able to get tickets in the second row.

It was snowing like crazy when we left Windham so we left early and planned on hitting Starbucks in Portland if time permitted. We were supposed to get up to 6 inches of snow and the way it was coming down it was possible to get more. The snow stopped by the time we hit Portland and we were able to spend a few minutes relaxing in Starbucks drinking our Java Chip Frapachinos. It is about the only thing I get at Starbucks because I love them so much.

The Portland Stage Company was a nice theater. Small and comfortable, and a lot better than a big auditorium. It was great having the hand panted floor and scenery. The play was a riot. There was only 2 actors performing all the characters in the play. They played the men and the women and if someone told me it was directed by Mel Brooks I would have believed it. It was so campy and corny and filled with pregnant pauses and stares. I think we laughed nonstop. It was deserving of the standing ovation and then some

just push forward

2010-02-16T13:03:00.004-05:00

Only 8 more hours, it is really not a big deal, then the mind starts to rationalize...

why are you doing this? Its not like you are trying to be completely healthy during this. Is one cookie really going to be noticed? You proved you could do this for 40 hours, do you really need to do it for 8 more? Come on, you and Mel are going on a date tonight, shouldn't you be allowed to go out for some food first? Are you really going to spend your time off from work not enjoying yourself?

There is something about setting a goal and finishing it. Whether it is for a reason or not. Set a goal, accomplish something, start to finish, don't cut corners, do it right.

plasma donation on a liquid diet

2010-02-16T12:49:00.003-05:00

Keeping with our liquid diet we had only a smoothie for breakfast before heading out to donate plasma. Thinking that if we got there early we could just get in and get out, we left before the kids woke up. The place was packed. Long wait with some loud people. It took almost 3 hours before we got back home and I was definitely hungry and tired. I made us some corn soup and some coffee.

Was getting grumpy and cranky, not sure if it is do to missing my meds yesterday and today, being on this diet thing or maybe I am just cranky and grumpy.

Only 8 more hours on liquid diet to go.

my favorite new smoothie

2010-02-15T19:04:00.002-05:00

Maybe it was because I was hungry, or maybe because all I have had lately are spinach smoothies or maybe because I made it myself (don't get me wrong, I like my spinach smoothies, especially with strawberries or blueberries), but I just made a smoothie with pineapple juice, coconut milk, yogurt, and frozen bananas and it was the best. Yeah, I know, it's almost a pina colada, but I made it, so I crowned it king smoothie for the day!!

It was also dinner for my 48 hour liquid nutrition. I think I'll go make some tea now to round out the evening.

48 hours of liquid nutrion only

2010-02-15T13:38:00.003-05:00

Technically I started this at 8:30 last night with Mel. I have, after all, done 4 days and 4 nights with nothing to eat. Of course I was not expending too much energy at that time either, just praying and meditating for guidance. This is different because I expect myself to keep doing things and not just sit around.

Breakfast was coffee and a green smoothie. (spinach, strawberries, and maybe bananas.)

By 10:30 this morning I was pretty hungry. I knew this would happen because your body is wanting its routine meal, I had a cup of juice and Mel and I went out to get supplies to survive the next 40 hours.

The grocery store was very difficult, just looking at the food made my stomach rumble. We got some assorted juices and some veggies, along with some Bolthouse Farms- Perfectly Protein all natural liquid drink stuff.

Had a red-pepper soup for lunch along with a cup of Bolthouse.

It is 2 now. I am still hungry.

sebago Frye's Leap IPA

2010-02-11T09:09:00.003-05:00

I am not sure why I picked up a six of Sebago's IPA. Maybe it was because of the Frye's Leap reference bringing back childhood memories of friends, boating, and leaping. I ended up getting my first surgery due to a torn rotater cuff because of jumping off Frye's Leap. But that is another story.

I am not usually a pale ale person, I typically like my beer richer in flavor than just hoppy as some IPAs can be. This IPA, however is not hoppy at all. Not in smell or flavor. It is just bitter. If I do want a lighter flavor beer, I want it to be refreshing. Something to cool you off and be lip-smacking after working outside in the hot summer sun with dirt and grime clinging to your neck and arms.

This beer just leaves me wanting something else and instead of me grabbing my beer bottle and thinking "What! I finished it already?!?!" , I end up grabbing it thinking "do I really still have half a bottle left? Should I just dump this and get some water?"

decisions...

2010-02-11T08:32:00.007-05:00

Trying to cut back,spending too much

wanting to be with my wife

experiencing new togetherness.

Opportunities arrive

but at a price.

Decisions to make.

Taking a chance,

I hope it is worth it.

Stop being so selfish.

Money saved and stashed,

for the guys weekend or a kayak.

She is worth more than that,

a thousand times over.

Throwing cushions (caution) to the wind,

for a night out together.

Ice wine

2010-01-10T12:49:00.003-05:00

wine critique 2

The other wine that I bought while in Canada was an ice wine. Hernder estate Iced Strawberry to be exact. It is labeled as a sweet fruit wine. It tasted like the frozen drink mix before adding water to it. It was good but very sweet, almost thick. I don't think I would get this again or if I did I would mix it with frozen fruit and ice to thin it down.

Wedding date

2010-01-10T12:39:00.002-05:00

Mel and I went to Ashley and Bucks wedding yesterday. We had a nice time but it was soooo cold. Getting from the car to the church and then to the reception was freezing. Poor Mel with her dress on was freezing her little legs off. Then at the reception we were in the back corner (of course) right next to a door with a really bad draft. Our toes were freezing and the band didn't start for several hours so there wasn't even any music to dance to.
It was long but nice, there was a homemade photo booth there with costume hats to wear for silly pictures. That was a lot of fun.

Boot to the head

2009-12-11T08:20:00.002-05:00

Went to the Edge day show back in October and am finnally writting about it. It was Have Hearts last show and Bane was playing as well as Cruel Hand from Portland. It was so much fun. I some how ended up getting a bad black eye. It lasted over a week, which created some interesting conversations with customers at work.

I am the guy with the Future-Breed written on me and the sleaveless guy climbing over my back. I was so physically exhausted by the end of Bane that I only lasted one song with Have Heart before I had to go and sit down.

Mac Attack!

2009-12-11T08:14:00.003-05:00

I shot an apple (Macintosh) with an arrow. Not as difficult as I thought it would be. When you spent as much as I did on my bow I guess it should be easy. Maybe I should have tried it without using my sights. Naa.

I had to put the apple on a spike on top of a bucket in front of my target because I didn't want to lose another arrow in the woods.

Wine review 1

2009-10-08T07:13:00.002-05:00

I opened one of my wines that I bought in Canada for my first wine critique.

It is a 2007 Pinot Noir from Inniskillin. It was one of the wineries that we passed by in Niagara-on-the-Lake on the way to the Whirlpool Jetboat tour(which was so awesome).

I am a self proclaimed wine ignoramus. I know pretty much nothing except that there is red, white, sparkling and other types of wine out there. I have had some wine at some weddings and some was good and some was not. I figured I would try to find some good stuff but could never remember what I have tried so I thought I would write about them here.

The first thing I noted about the Inniskillin was that it had a screw off top. Maybe it's just me but that screams cheap, bad wine. Maybe not, but that's what it seems like. Sure I only paid like $10-15 Canadian for it, but I didn't notice the non-corkness at the store. I cracked it open and poured it into my wine glass (our wedding glass-the only wine glasses that we own). I tried acting all professional and swirled it and sniffed it. It has a nice bouquet (like I'd know a good bouquet, it didn't smell like crap, how's that). I took a taste and it set my tongue all fizzy and weird-like. Mel said maybe I should let it breathe more, I forgot all about that.

It was pretty good, after it aired for a little while it was smooth and has a pleasant grape/woody taste with a nice aftertaste that isn't bitter and make you want to chase it with gum to get the taste out of your mouth.

I guess I would give it a 7 out of 10 due to the fact that I have nothing to compare it with but would not hesitate to buy another bottle of either Pinot Noir or something from Inniskillin.

Date Night

2009-10-08T06:43:00.002-05:00

All week long Mel and I talked about going out on Friday on a date. Mel had seen an ad for a movie and thought it would be cute so we planned on doing the dinner and a movie date that seems too typical and boring but is a classic date night because it can be fun. Mel and I can make anything fun.
My first boo-boo. I had assumed that we would leave Reese in charge and it would be no big deal. Mel wasn't crazy over the idea because we wouldn't get home until late and thought it might freak Relo out too much. No problem, a quick call and luckily Grammy said she would stop over and check in on the boys, making Reese still feel responsible but not feel nervous.
Next problem--- We had planned on going to eat at a local Italian place that we had always wanted to check out; then we looked at their website and found it was a bit more $$ than we wanted to spend. Had to make last minute eating plans and decided to go to The Old Country buffet. It has been an ongoing joke for us because every time we wanted to go they were either closed or had lines out the door. We got there just as a bus from Canada pulled in and so we decided to just wait in the line anyway. It was a decent price and the food was good. Weird though, the main courses we much better than all of the deserts. The deserts looked good but were nothing to get excited about.
We got to the movies and I decided to see The Informant! instead of The Invention of Lying, which was the ad that Mel had seen and sparked this night out.(note to self-do what she wants not what you think will be better!) Oh my Lord! after about 15 minutes of The Informant! I knew I had made a mistake. What a boring, worthless movie. It never got any better. One small twist in the plot and that was it, dumb and boring. We kept asking each other on the way home, "Who thought that that would make a good movie? and When they realized that the movie was going to be crap Why didn't they just stop filming and cut their losses?"

We still had fun and we finally got to eat at the OCB but we should have gone to see Zombieland. Ha!!

quick review

2009-09-28T21:29:00.007-05:00

time flies and alot has happened and i'll try to remember everything. Mel and I have started to donate plasma and have been in twice. It takes a little longer than we had hoped it would and we can't bring Strider into the place. I went to Toronto with Mike and Rob and we went on the whirlpool jet boat in to whitewater on the Niagara River, but doesn't really count as whitewater rafting. While I was up there I did by a Stephen Hawking book A Briefer History of Time and I bought two different types of wine from the Niagara region, but again, I have to read the book and drink and critique the wines in order for them to count. We did see a Blue Jays game so that counts towards the professional sports games.
Today I chaperoned with Jaren to the Cumberland Fair with school. It was a lot of fun and we had a beautiful sunny day.

I think I got everything, it is hard to remember what has been going on without writting daily. I will try to keep up.

Home improvement II

2009-09-10T21:43:00.005-05:00

this is a continued post -read the one below first.

We had 3 employees taking apart these shelving units and stacking them on a cart for us. Once we paid and loaded them in the van we knew that our plans for the day had just changed. We went straight home to take care of our new plants, and once we had lunch and repotted the plants we started to unpack the shelves.

We weren't exactly sure where everything was going so we moved a few things around and started to set up the first couple of units. We then decided that we needed to clean up the craft area of the basement in order to figure out where everything was going to go. Next came the decision to rebuild the craft table. It makes sense. So much of the crafting supplies that is just stacked in the basement used to be in this table that is sitting in pieces in a corner of the basement. The problem is, I'm not sure I can remember how to put it together. It has been over a year since we took it apart. We cleared out the area and pulled up the rug and found a play may underneath the rug. I knew something was there I just wasn't sure what it was. Now tomorrow (if I ever get to bed) I will be able to do my exercise on a mat. The carpet doesn't give much padding.

Back on track--I was able to get the table together a lot easier than I had expected. Now Mel just has to load it up, we'll hook up some sort of extension cord to a strip of plugs to plug in the sewing machine and maybe some organization will start to come to the basement.

We have 4 of the 6 shelving units built, two of the fancier ones are in the picture. The craft table is done so this completes number 91. The storage shelves aren't completely built and arranged so I cannot say that 47 is done yet.

Home improvements

2009-09-10T21:14:00.003-05:00

Things did not turn out as expected today. To say the least. We knew we had some errands to do today; going to the chiropractor for Mel, the post office, new shoes for Mel and Strider, Walmart, and maybe Home Depot.

I thought that I might be able to pick up a pink shirt for work at Goodwill, which is right next door to the post office. So I was excited because the pink shirt is number 9 on my list and I knew Mel might be getting some shoes so it would be cool if we could both check off something. However there were no pink shirts to be found. Oh well. Our next stop was Olympia, and with absolutely no help from the employees Mel did get her new sneaks.

Next we decided to go to Home Depot to get some Great Stuff foam to fill in all the drafty spots from our home audit. As we walked in Mel said that she wanted to get a plant, because she has to keep a plant alive for a year and she wanted to start now. On my list I need to get and keep alive an indoor tree. I don't know why but I have wanted an indoor tree for the longest time. I just thought it would be cool to have this large plant in the living room. This seemed like the perfect time to pick one up. I found a dracaena massangeana which would grow up to 9 feet tall. This seemed good and I picked it up.

Now here we are going in and around the isles of Home Depot with the race car cart and a rather large plant/tree in it. I have to look to the side in order to see where I am going. We decide to look at shelving for the storage area in the back room. As we were looking at the stuff in the isles a friendly employee comes up and says that if we are interested in shelving he has some display models from a promotion that they had marked down. It was too good of a deal to pass up. We ended up bringing 6 shelving units home.

to be continued

Poem 1 and explanation

2009-09-09T19:52:00.004-05:00

Settling down with something warm to drink,

Getting comfy, makes me stop and think,

Of all the things I've done with you,

Filling me with smiles, through and through.

Although together we can not always be,

Make yourself a warm drink, and think of me.

Mel asked me to create a quick poem for her cocoa bags that she is making for craft fairs and this is just what I whipped up. Not my typical poem subject but it came rather easily and it is number 30 on my list.

I also set up an appointment to donate platelets for next Monday.

Take me out to the ball game

2009-09-06T19:24:00.003-05:00

First Seadogs game that I made it to all year and what a beautiful day. Started off by going to the Portland Expo to an open house of the Maine Redclaws, the new local basketball team. We met up with Mike, Meesh, Julia and Sam at the Expo. We got to shoot around on the court and they had a contest where if you made a shot from half-court then you got season tickets. I missed, of course, but I was surprisingly close. I actually hit the backboard.

Next we went to the game and got our seats. Nice seats for general admission, but no seats are bad at our little ball field. We all went and found a player signing autographs and had the kids picture taken with him. There were a few home runs and a lot of excitement, but unfortunately they lost the game. There was lots of food, songs, and everyone had a good time. The kids even got their picture with Slugger. It was nice to go and do something with Uncle Mike and family and it was a nice day altogether.

Hikin and swimmin

2009-09-05T22:23:00.005-05:00

Everyone had plans to go hiking on Monday and of course I was working so we decided to go today instead. We left early in the morning knowing that it was a hour and 15 min drive just to get there and if you show up to late and the parking lot is full then you have to wait until someone leaves. No worries about that though, very few cars in the lot and away we went. It was a beautiful day and the only thing we could complain about was the mosquitoes on the hike. It was not too hot nor too cold. All the boys were great and Strider only had one minor breakdown.
When we got to the beach the waves were huge and everyone had a great time. However the water was freezing and the undertow was pretty strong. Just made things all the more exciting.

This is the first hike on number 3 of my 101 in 1001.

Keep the home fires burning

2009-09-05T21:14:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I decided to have a cookout on the fire, complete with ice cream for desert. I was going to make it easy and just have ham and pineapple in foil, but the ham was a thin slice and it seemed a little to much like cheating. Instead I decided to go with the corn bread in pie irons as appetizers, and sweat and sour pork chops as the main course. The corn bread in the pie irons actually came out better than I expected. I thought it would be burnt on the outside and raw on the inside. Next Dean and I had fun layering all the ingredients that Mel had so graciously prepped for us. We rolled everything up in the foil and tossed in on the hot coals. It cooked a little bit too long but was mostly edible. The ice cream was a hit. With everyone (except Stri) mixing up their own batch of ice cream, we all had cold hands from shaking up the bags of ice and then quickly got ice cream headaches from eating it to fast.

this was number 41 on my 101 in 1001.

X'ed up!

2009-09-04T12:17:00.002-05:00

Had a great workout this morning. It was the Shoulder, Bicep and Tricep routine in p90x. I pushed myself right through the ab routine. Feels good starting the day pushing yourself to the max and finishing on a strong note. JUST PUSH PLAY AND BRING IT!
Have lots of fun plans this Labor day weekend. Hiking, baseball, and maybe even try to squeeze in some fishing and a campfire somewhere.

I missed it by that much

2009-09-01T20:30:00.002-05:00

Earlier this month I had bought myself a Mission bow by Matthews. Its a real nice compound bow with all the gadgets, and fun to listen to the pop as the arrows hit the target. I try to get out to practice on my days off and have been successful to shoot for a half hour or so most days.

I missed the target for the first time today. It just zoomed off into the woods behind our shed. My left elbow buckled just as I was pulling the trigger on my release and the arrow disappeared. With my bow set up the arrow probably travels between 250-275 feet per second, so by the time I recovered from my elbow twicth, the arrow had silently vanished into the trees. Mel and I searched for the neon green and orange feathers for about 20-30 minutes with no luck.

Just writing about shooting makes me want to go out and practice some more. Its way more fun than even I expected.

Last day of summer vacation

2009-08-31T21:11:00.003-05:00

I can't believe it is here already, so much was planned and most of it got done. The summer seemed short but it seems really short now that the kids go back to school tomorrow.

The day started like most others, I didn't want to get up, hit the snooze, got up-fed the dogs-went back to bed. I kept telling myself that it is the last day of summer so why not sleep in a little. Also I knew that I was doing the kenpo routine in p90x, and that only takes an hour so I can push snooze one more time, and I'll do it while Mel is at the chiropractor.

I did the routine and had fun, the kenpo routine is fast paced and full of punches, kicks and you just sweat like crazy. Mel came home shortly afterward and all six of us went out in the boat and Reese and Jaren went tubing. It was windy and gave the kids some good bumps.

After lunch we visited some Cub Scout friends to try to plan the year. It was good to sit around with the adults and watch all the kids play.
After dinner we had an open house at the middle school to help Reese remember where his classroom is and where his locker is. We got to meet one of his teachers and the band director. We went to The Dugout for some ice cream and then came home to tea and cookies with Gram-Gram. Doesn't help the diet, but it tasted good.

I got my book it the mail today. It is The Rookie by Scott Sigler. I listened to the podcast first and have been a Sigler Junkie ever since. This is an autographed numbered limited edition that I can't wait to read to the boys. It is supposed to be a toned down version because Siglers stuff can be a bit graphic/disturbing/harsh language, which is probably why I love it.

I am still reading Peter and the Shadow Thieves to the kids, so before bed tonight I was able to get in several more chapters. Alas, we are not really even close to halfway through it. (But it is also a great book that I highly recommend)

motivation waning

2009-08-30T21:42:00.002-05:00

Had a hard time getting up this morning, I don't know if it was because I really didn't want to go to work today or if I didn't want to do my p90x routine. It was Legs and Back today, followed by the ab workout. 1 hour 20 minutes. such a long time at 5 am.
Took a long time to get into the flow at work also, I just didn't care.

I did buy some floss so I can start keeping track. See # 3.

tired good night.

everything takes so much longer than it should

2009-08-27T21:20:00.003-05:00

I had my day planned out so I knew it wouldn't work. I had every thing written down in time slots based on how long I thought it should take.
I wanted to get up early, work out, then wake the Reese, Dean, and Stri and go fishing. Jaren was sleeping at a friends house and Mel had a 9am chiropractors appt. The turtle eggs started to hatch last night so we were up late with the eggs and were checking on them first thing this morning. Dean was too tired to go out and Stri was being a sour puss. So instead of fishing I got out my bow and did some archery for about 45 minutes. It took longer than I expected to put my gear away and needed to find a place to hang my bow, and while I was at it I hung Mels jewelry rack. Then I remembered that I was supposed to paint a second coating on the holes in the living room that I had patched up. Painting always takes longer than it should, then there is the clean up.

I was running about 30 minutes behind at this point and my next job was to bring both cars to get oil changes, return something at Staples, go to the bank, and get windshield wipers for my car. Pronto oil change was amazingly fast and all the errands went smoothly. But I was still behind schedule, so I said the heck with it and picked some blackberries (which Reese ate most of) for about an hour. I then washed the van until the financial planner came over at 2.

I only scheduled 1 hour for the planner and, of course, he left about 4. I finished the day with mowing the lawn before dinner, then making a blazing campfire to cook marshmallows over.

I did not get to fish, practice the guitar, call for platelet pheresis, play on itunes, or read to the kids. My new Scott Sigler book The Rookie should be here in a couple weeks and I can't wait to read it to the boys but we are not even half way through Peter and the Shadow Thieves.

busy days

2009-08-26T20:12:00.004-05:00

Well my birthday was Monday and I was working so I decided to wear my kilt to work and get one of my four days done. It was fun. Made lots of people smile and probably question my sanity, but that's nothing new. I only had one customer who really had no idea of what I was wearing and was surprised that it was allowed. I got lots of women who asked my technicians what I wore under the kilt. I couldn't lie and said that I needed something under there since I was at work. Now I can update #8 to 1/4.

I have been getting up to exercise every morning and am on day 8 of P90x. I really pushed myself this morning and got nauseous while doing the chest and back routine, tomorrow is the pylometrics workout (aka jump-training). Another killer morning routine. My before pics will hopefully be attached to this post. (scary pictures, I'll only attach one.)

Melissa had scheduled the energy audit for the house today. The woman showed up at 8 am and I assumed that it would be a couple hours at the most. She left at 1pm. She was very thorough and we went over the entire house. She had a thermal-imaging camera and was able to show us all the spots that heat would escape in the winter. The final report and recommendations will come in about 2-3 weeks. She only gets paid one flat fee and give us lists of places that the house should be made more air-tight and some tips on how to make the fridge run more efficiently etc. We will have a list three miles long no doubt. Lots and lots to do. She will have a breakdown of what is the most cost effective jobs and how to do them. Definitely worth the $ just for the info, now we just need some $ to implement the recommendations.

Another item on my list that we did today was to go out fishing on the lake. All six of us squeezed on the boat and we anchored on a rocky point. I had a bite and saw him jump but that was the closest thing to a fish we had all year so far. We did see a bald eagle circling above and heard some loons calling back and forth. It was nice. I finally, after 37 years, can tie a lure on my line. Thank you Dad, your persistence has paid off.

101 in 1001

2009-08-23T20:52:00.043-05:00

Here it is, do 101 things in 1001 days. Sounds easy doesn't it..

HEALTH AND PERSONAL GROWTH
1.) finish p90x workout (0/90)
2.) floss -finish three 55 yard containers (2/3)
3** hike on 5 different trails (5/5)
4.) lose weight to below 175 and maintain (175)
5** get certified to give vaccines
6**48 hour only liquid nutrition
7.) blog ongoing results minimum 150 times (36/150)
8.) wear my kilt to work 4 times (3/4)
9.) get a pink shirt to wear to work
10** canoe or kayak around this side of Little Sebago Lake
11**try 6 new wines and critique them on blog (6/6)
12**try 6 new beers and critique them on blog (6/6)
13** get a massage (probably after finishing #1)
14.) write out daily/weekly schedule with slots for exercise, archery, guitar...

CHARITY AND COMMUNITY SERVICE
15.) donate platelets 10 times (4/10)
16.) buy at farm stand/farmers market 5 times (1/5)
17** walk for charity/cause
18** buy a Toy for Tot 3 times (4/3)
19** fix Grams dryer vent so it doesn't blow into the attic
20** volunteer/chaperon at school 3 times (3/3)
21.) give or buy from scouts or organization outside of grocery store
22.) participate in a Habitat for Humanity project

CULTURE, MOVIES, ART, & LITERATURE
23.) learn to play 2 songs on the guitar (0/2)
24** finish reading Les Miserables and 4 other classics (5/5)
25.) read The Bible -old testament
26**read 5 novels to the boys (5/5)
27.) go see Spamalot on Broadway with Melissa
28** listen to my podcasts and get list to below 5 (5)
29.) see 6 pro sports games (4/6)
30** write 5 poems and post on blog (5/5)
31** see 4 shows/concerts (4/4)
32** read 5 non-fiction books (5/5)
33.) see a Michael Moore film (Sicko?)
34.) watch An Inconvenient Truth
35**Read a book by Stephen Hawking

WORSE CASE SCENARIO
36.) take primitive skills class
37** take gun safety course
38.) purchase gun and gun safe
39.) 24 hour blackout once per season for a year (1/4)
40.) plant 6 more apple trees (0/6)
41** cook entire meal on campfire with homemade ice cream for dessert
42.) learn to pay the bills and file receipts
43** shoot an apple with an arrow
44** make fire outside in the winter
45.) make chicken coop
46.) get archery sets for boys
47** build storage shelves for basement
48.) stock shelves with emergency supplies/food

FUN & FAMILY
49** go on cruise with Melissa
50.) get new tattoo (after donating platelets)
51.) whitewater rafting
52.) bring kids to Red Sox game
53.) play 20 games of pool (5/20)
54**Lord of the Rings movie marathon
55.) finish ICE files
56.) update wills
57.) bring boys on Superman ride at Six Flags
58**sleep under the stars
59** camp out in living room next to fireplace over the winter
60.) take L.L. Bean outdoor discovery school class
61** take week off from work to volunteer at cub scout camp
62** go swimming at midnight
63**go swimming in October
64.) get harness for Pearl to pull kids on sled
65.) go on Casco Bay Cruise
66.) go galactic bowling
67**rate 1000 movies on netflix (1005/1000)
68.) go to Acadia National Park
69** go to Baxter State Park & see Mt Katahdin
70.)visit friends in NY
71.) go fishing 10 times (you think this would be easy) (8/10)
72** see Reese perform in a band concert
73.) eat out at a Greek, Indian, and Thai restaurant (2/3) thai,greek
74.) dress up on Halloween 3 times (2/3)
75** shop on Black Friday
76**subscribe to Old News
77** go on 5 dates with Mel (not during school) (5/5)

HOME IMPROVEMENT
78** kitchen -
79.) bedroom -
80**livingroom -
81** kids room -
82** energy audit of house
83.) organize workshop
84.) grow and keep alive an indoor tree
85** prune and weed around raspberry bushes
86** grow 10 different fruits/veggies (10/10) pumpkin,squash(2),beans,cukes,tomato,green pep,strawberries,grapes,eggplant
87.) get organized tupperware
88**get home water treatment system
89** replace 2 appliances with energystar rated appliances (2/2) -a/c count?
90**giveaway, trash, goodwill, sell 30 books of mine (30/30)
91** rebuild Mel's craft table
92.) declutter 200 items (86/200)
93.) get oil changed in cars 12 times (8/12)
94** max my IRA every year
95**be able to park my car in garage during the winter
96** install light in camp/holiday side of basement
97** re screen all windows or get new windows
98** insulate Grams attic
99**insulate/finish off boys attic
100** get carbon dioxide detector for basement
101.) build 2 bat houses and hang them (0/2)

**-done

Night Music

2008-05-25T05:41:00.003-05:00

I still have been practicing, just not posting. For a while I was getting good at just picking up the guitar when I had a few minutes and strumming away or practicing a technique. Have also been playing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to the boys at bedtime. It helps Strider to stay in bed and keep everyone be quiet to get to sleep. It can be tricky to see the sheet music by the light of the night light and I have to be careful when leaving so that I don't bang my guitar/stool/music holder on anything on the way out and wake everyone back up.

gettin da blues

2008-03-09T10:59:00.002-05:00

Had another lesson on Friday, with an introduction to a few new things. Started off playing some chords to Happy Birthday and Country Roads. David showed me an alternative G chord to make the G/C chord switch a little easier. It will take awhile to get used to it if I decide to use it. We then switched gears altogether and started playing some R&B style chords. That's what David called them anyway. You are just strumming two strings and using your first and third fingers to switch sounds. It was easy and pretty cool. Doing 2 quick 1/8th notes switching back and forth, I had Strider singing along to the notes with me playing. It was fun. David says it is a very Bluesy way to play especially when you mute the notes with the heal of your hand. It is a style that Chuck Berry made popular and then started to bring it into Rock'n'Roll.

So many updates...

2008-02-28T18:36:00.002-05:00

Let's start off with the most important update. Mel got me my own guitar for Valentine's Day! Along with a music stand and a stool to sit on. It's an accoustic electric guitar because she knew I wanted to try an accoustic just to be able to compare and get a feel for which direction I wanted to go in. It was kind of timely because I had just broke my first guitar string on Mels B.C. Rich about 2 days before. It was tricky at first because it kept going out of tune and the strings were rather high off the fretboard.
At my next lesson, David examined the guitar and filed the top nut so that the strings could rest in it without sliding around and it also lowered the strings somewhat. After my fifth lesson he suggested that I take out the bottom nut and file it down about a 16th of an inch to lower the strings some more. I have taken it out and filed it down but I haven't put it back in yet.
Also, yesterday, at my last lesson we started to leard the scale and how to read music. I said that I wanted to learn how to play "Happy Birthday" for Striders birthday in May. We went through the song with playing the chords a few times and then he wrote the frets under the notes for playing the song just on the third string. It was fun to practice and hear the guitar sing the words.

chord switching

2008-02-07T21:41:00.000-05:00

My main focus the past couple of practice sessions has been learning my new chords and swapping back and forth between more than just G and C. With the practice today, I was shaky but better than last time. I find that working through songs helps me more than just switching back and forth from one chord to another. I haven't been doing the upstrokes and bass picking as much, unless I get a chord several measures in a row. Then I will either throw in an upstroke or do a suspended chord just to keep my head moving and to try to keep timing. I have also been trying to concentrate on my right arm movement. I need to just keep my forearm still and move my wrist and fingers. Thats about it for what I'm doing now.

Third Lesson

2008-02-02T13:59:00.000-05:00

Eight AM guitar lesson, what a way to start the day. I learned more about the naming of chords, about suspended chords, and bass chords. I have to practice (of course) some more chord changes and some new chords. I have some minor and some dominate 7th chords added to my list. I mostly have been practicing switching between G and C thinking that some of the others were easier. I found out, that if you don't practice them then they aren't easy. SHOCKER!!

We switched guitars for part of the lesson today because I kept bending my E string up while playing the G chord. David has a nice electric accoustic guitar with 11 gauge strings. They are thicker and don't bend as easy. It was real nice, I didn't want to trade back. We talked about putting on some new strings soon and oiling the finger board.

David told me to keep the guitar handy so I could pick it up whenever I had a few minutes to practice. We also printed out and practiced Dust in the Wind by Kansas. It has a lot of chords that are a bit new to me. Amsusp2, Amsusp4, C2,Csusp, and a bunch of others. They aren't as hard as they sounded at first. Suspended chords are just ways to make the major and minor chords more interesting by making them slightly different.

The guitar at the top is what I use, except in blue.

I've been so bad!!

2008-01-27T21:27:00.000-05:00

I haven't practiced for over a week. I promised myself that I wouldn't let work get in the way, even if I was only able to squeeze in 10 to 15 minutes a day. I did okay though, not great by any stretch of the imagination, but better than I expected. Wasn't a great practice session either, I was in the living room with Strider trying to play along with me. I really have to do this everyday if I am ever going to get better and learn new stuff. As it is I have to reschedule my next lesson because of work so who knows when I will get something new. I guess that is okay because I still have to get my chord switches to be smoother. This time I posted after I practiced so I won't end this post with now I have to go practice, I can just go chill.

Lesson 2

2008-01-20T14:49:00.000-05:00

Nothing major with this lesson. We practiced a lot of movable chords and upstrokes. It was fun and interesting and I learned (well, was taught anyway) about the chords and their relationship on the fretboard. We tried playing Leaving on a Jet Plane together, and I just stunk it up. He was just jumping in with notes and rhythm and I just sounded so monotonous. Straight tempo, 3 out of 4 beats per measure, strum, strum, strum, skip, strum, strum, strum, skip... my guitar sounded like it was trying to be an annoying 5 year old bothering his older brother. David thought I did good, I just need more practice. (years and years more practice) It was fun and the next thing I knew it was over.

I start back to work tomorrow so it will be interesting to see where I can squeeze in practice.....

Have to admit I'm getting better

2008-01-18T07:07:00.000-05:00

getting better all the time. ---It's amazing what 3 to 4 practices can do! I am not a guitar genius now by any stretch of the imagination, but I can really tell the difference. I started just playing the first 2 beats per measure before switching chords and then only with really looking at my left hand. Now I can do 3 and sometimes 4 (depending on which chords) beats per measure. The C chord is still a tricky one to switch to just because of the 3 different frets I guess, but usually it is the easiest to switch from.
With my chord knowledge limited to the major, minor, and D7, the number of songs I can do is fairly small. Especially because I don't have any B chords and because when I look up songs to play the were by Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Dire Straits, and other classic masters. I'll either have to ask David today about some basic songs or learn some more chords. Most likely I should do both. I did find Mother by Pink Floyd that was only basic chords, so I have added that to my repertoire.

I got up at 5:15 this morning to practice and I was able to get in a good 30-40 minutes before the kids needed me. I won't be able to do this everyday because I should be at the gym at that time, but today I have a orientation at 4 so I will work out then.

I have my second lesson with David today at 2:00. I can't wait to see what I learn today!

practicing

2008-01-15T11:09:00.000-05:00

I have practiced a couple times since my lesson. It can be boring. Just switching back and forth between a couple chords is aggravating and monotonous. I think I get it down okay, go and work on something else, come back and make the same mistakes. I know I only have done it a twice since my lesson and I need to be more patient. Like everyone says "If it was easy, then everybody would be doing it".
You just can't hear the song as you play chords as you can with notes. One step at a time, I'll get there. It is fun even though it can be frustrating.
I still need to come up with some more songs to be able to play. Right now I have Leaving on a Jet Plane, Country Roads, and Take it Easy. I need to look on Chordie.com to check out Sweet Caroline and Dust in the Wind.

Lets stop talking about it and go upstairs and practice.

First lesson

2008-01-11T17:09:00.000-05:00

I had my first lesson with David today. It was a little nervewracking at first. It was rainy and I wasn't sure where to go. There were 3 doors to the main house and one to a large barn. There was a light on in the barn and a couple cars in the driveway. David answered the door and everything was good from there on out.
He checked over the guitar and adjusted a few things on it then we got to work. I showed him some chords that I knew and he fixed the way I held the guitar. He asked what songs that I wanted to play and I told him Leaving on a Jet Plane by John Denver. He quickly got a songbook and wrote down the chord sequence for me to have. I started to play and he noted that since I take time to switch chords that I should change sooner. (I.E. instead of G,G,G,G,C,C,C,C just do 2 chords per 4 beat measure until I can change quicker.) He also wants me to chose 2 chords to switch back and forth between. Try to get to switch 16 times without problems and this will help me get better for those chords anyway. Another thing to practice is hold down a chord, play the top string then quickly play the bottom 3 strings then play the 4th string, hold, then the bottom 3 again. Alternating back and forth with the first and third bass string.
I also need to come up with more songs that I want to play for practice.

Lessons

2008-01-09T10:20:00.000-05:00

This Friday I get to start lessons with an actual teacher. He is a friend of my aunts and lives fairly close by. She had contacted him before, but I bugged her again yesterday and she emailed him again. Last night around 9:30, he called me. His name is David and he says he has around 40 students. I am scheduled for 2 o'clock on Friday. I have to bring my guitar, of course, and a three ring binder for some instruction sheets and homework that I will have. I can't wait. I am going upstairs now to practice my chords. I wonder what we will work on first? Will we start off with chords or picking notes? Maybe both at the same time?

lets switch things up some

2008-01-05T18:55:00.000-05:00

Back to chords! That's right folks, after saying I was going to go straight for the B string today; I didn't! My life is so full of unexpected twists, I don't know how I stand it. After talking with Mel about when she and her dad started to play; I decided to get into the chords again. It is much more difficult to find the chord strings and keep some type of tempo. I just need to look my fingers too much. I need lots of practice, and I believe that is the name of the game. It's hard to get used to a rhythm when strumming. Just another part of guitar that I took for granted and assumed was easy. I have to get my brain working on both hands at once. I can't get a good strumming rhythm when I am thinking about where my fingers are supposed to be for the chords. It will take a while before I can play chords to music.

Its funny because my middle finger and pinky are a little sore. With playing the notes only, I haven't been using those fingers.

moved my "studio"

2008-01-04T19:24:00.000-05:00

Mel and I decided to move the guitar and gear up to the bedroom. I had been using the computer to listen to my lessons CD, but someone is always on the computer or wants to be on it or I have a problem getting it to work correctly or the kids are around making noise or getting in the way. I brought in an old CD player, the amp, and the guitar case. We have chairs and a coffee table in the reading area of the bedroom, and I set my gear up there. I went to play today and noticed that I can't sit in the chair and look at my lesson book, let alone work the CD player with the guitar on my lap. I ended up standing with the lesson book on the bookcase and the CD player on the bureau.

I had begun playing the guitar while standing and have worked my way to sitting at the computer to play. I didn't think I would have any trouble but when I was standing before I was just playing chords. Now with playing notes, sometimes when you strum the one string you are not pressing any strings with your left fingers so I had some trouble controlling the guitar. The guitar was also at a different angle because it wasn't sitting on my lap. This caused me to strum the wrong string or miss the E string altogether. So many excuses so little time.

I did start with the E string and worked up to the B. I used the music and did okay with B,C,D notes but again, when I got to the Two string rock song, I just couldn't get the flow and the timing it sounded really bad and just wasn't coming together. At that time Gram Gram showed up so it was a natural stopping point.

Tomorrow I will start right away on the B string.

new string B

2008-01-02T20:19:00.000-05:00

after working on the E string for a few minutes today, I moved on to the B. I didn't play along with the CD I have so I could get used to the notes before worrying about timing. I practiced the 2 songs using the B,C, and D notes and did okay. again I didn't use the CD because my computer was slow and I couldn't get it to cooperate, but I did work on 3 songs that used both strings. It was tricky for the first song because it was just a "2 string rock" and I didn't know the tune, but the other songs were Ode to Joy and Jingle Bells. It was fun to try these familiar songs and see how I could read the music and play, albeit very slowly. I never thought I would enjoy this as much as I am.

Happy New Year

2008-01-01T17:49:00.000-05:00

Resolutions-same as most people I am sure. Lose weight, exercise, be a good person... and practice, practice, practice my guitar. I have only practiced once since my last post and I did okay I guess. I tried to go up to the B string but that was a disaster so I quickly jumped back to the somewhat familiar E string. I plan on squeezing in a session sometime tonight.
I really want to try to get on some type on schedule. Get up at 6, exercise, have breakfast, play guitar. Simple as that. I'll tell you how that goes on the next exciting blog.

break for christmas

2007-12-23T12:21:00.000-05:00

Haven't had time to play in the last couple days, and only a short time to play in the days before that. Christmas time is upon us and we have been busy cleaning and now my mother-in-law and brother-in-law are here. It will be interesting to see what I can remember come Wednesday. I talked to my Dad yesterday and he was talking about an acoustic guitar that was his Dads that he thought that he might have given it to Deb a long time ago. I think this might be the guitar that I gave to Mike a couple years ago as a joke gift when he was talking about getting a guitar but I can't remember if I did get it to him or if it just ended up getting trashed. I'll have to check with him.

The last few times I played I had a real hard time with my timing and when I went to play a song that didn't start with E it really messed me up. I really have to get into practicing more and for longer periods before I go back to work.

Merry Christmas to all

picking away

2007-12-18T15:40:00.000-05:00

how fun and frustrating! it actually sounds like music! I played just 3 notes, E,F, and G, but it was nice to hear a real tune. playing chords is fine but it just sounds like random strumming now. it was interesting to play while looking at and reading sheet music, but it was tricky to keep your fingers in the correct spots even though it was all on the same string. i kept strumming the wrong string or putting my finger on the wrong fret or lose my timing. it was a fun challenge.

change in pace, again

2007-12-17T21:42:00.000-05:00

Once again I switched my self-teaching guide. I started off with a book that only taught 3 main chords to start (G, D7, and C), then changed to reading and picking notes. I was only there for a little while when I went to the computer self guide that Mel had found. That one was all about the chords, wanting you to be proficient at all chords, major, minor, 7's, 6's, and everything before going on to notes. I just bought a guide from Walmart that had a CD, and a DVD. This one starts out with notes! Obviously there is no definite rule.
I haven't practiced all that much lately, although I did spend about an hour yesterday with Mel restringing and retuning the guitar and it does sound much better. I didn't get a chance today because I was busy all morning and never had a good block of time this evening.

moving on

2007-12-09T14:47:00.000-05:00

Like I said last time, I skipped to the next lesson which is on the 12 fret blues. It was a nice change of pace but I don't sound anything like the guy on the computer. Shocker, eh? Still ended up doing the chords a few times and it wasn't bad. Ended up practicing for an hour or more, as compared to the usual 20 minutes when I just was doing the chords.
I actually took the last two days off because I was busy. I needed a reminder on the minor chords but the majors I have in my head. Just need to get my fingers to move faster and to go where they are supposed to go.

minor chords are a major pain in the...

2007-12-05T16:00:00.000-05:00

fingers. I really thought my fingers were used to the strings, but I was wrong. I started the minor chords yesterday and they sure are tricky. C minor is near impossible, trying to get your pinkie finger up to the fifth string-third fret, while keeping your index and middle in the first fret, and while trying to keep your ring finger out of the way? Then you only strum strings 5-2. Seriously, who came up with that chord? Then you have F and G minor, I just can't get good pressure from my index finger across all six strings. I know, practice, practice, practice.
I might skip on to the next lesson tomorrow after practicing my chords some.

major chords

2007-12-03T19:56:00.000-05:00

I know the major chords now and just printed out the minor chords to study. I am slow but can actually do A,C,D,E,F, and G without much trouble. My big problem is that I have to constantly look at my fingers to get them on the right strings and frets. My fingers are getting used to the strings so they don't hurt as much as they just feel weird. I recently started to plug the guitar into the amp and it sounds so much cooler even though I am not actually playing music. All in good time.

knee update

2007-11-29T17:03:00.000-05:00

Saw the doctor today and I am finally able to get out of my knee immobilizer. Its nice to not have to have that thing on, but I do feel vulnerable with all these kids around. He tapped my knee to drain off some fluid and got out 30 mls.
I get to start physical therapy next week. I have mixed feelings about that. It is painful and costs $30 so where is the fun in that.
Still have about 3 to 4 weeks until I go back to work. I have to build up my stamina in standing. I can only stand for about 45 minutes to an hour now. At work I stand for 13-14 hours a day.

I practiced my chords today but my finger tips were getting sore so I had to stop after about only 20 minutes.

Guitar practice

2007-11-28T16:22:00.000-05:00

I have been practicing the guitar and of course it is so slow going. I have been doing the guitar secrets website lessons for the past several days. I like it because it tells about how to hold the guitar and more of the fundamentals that I just would have taken for granted if I was just doing the book that I have. I know from karate that bad habits can be hard to break in terms of posture and positioning in the long run, so even if something seems uncomfortable now, just let yourself get used to it.
The lessons have you go through and play each and every chord, major, minor, power, barre, and 7th. It seemed like such a waste of time at first because, "like I was going to remember any of them". But my next lesson (which I put off until tomorrow) is Learn how to swap between chords quickly and easily. That basically means, now that you have the chords memorized, practice switching back and forth until you can do it in your sleep. I think I'll be on this lesson for awhile.
I also got a couple podcasts on guitar lessons so eventually I can check these out and compare.

Surprise!

2007-11-25T17:07:00.000-05:00

Saturday was my 12th anniversary. My wife bought me 20 or so individually wrapped gifts and I get to open one a day until they are all gone. Yesterday I opened some coffee which is great, then this morning I opened up ... guitar picks and a note for 1 month of lessons! She was so excited when I picked up the guitar the other day to start again, and I was so excited to be supported by her. I hear so many wives at work complaining about there husbands hobbies. I practiced today for about an hour just playing around with the chords, switching back and forth between the G, D7, and C. Mel also mentioned about a website that she had about lessons so I plan to really look at that tomorrow while the kids are at school. I can't wait to check it out tomorrow.

been awhile

2007-11-22T13:15:00.000-05:00

I have been away from blogging for a bit, but I have just started to play guitar so I thought I would blog about it. Starting guitar because I am once again out on disablity due to knee surgery. So for now karate, and any type of physical activity is out.

I had originally picked up a guitar in the summer (back when I was heathy) but I had so much going on with karate, camp, activities with the kids, work, so on and so forth, that I just stopped playing. I had actually asked for money for either a guitar or a bass for my birthday back in August, got none, but haven't played anyway. I would like to think that if I had bought one I would have been practicing. Who knows? I'll play with my wifes old axe for now or maybe try to steal the record nerd's guitar that just collects dust.

Didn't do much as far as practicing today, because it is Thanksgiving and all the kids were all over me and we were trying to come up with cute catch phrases to put on our christmas cards. I just practiced a couple chords, g and d7. Just to get my fingers used to the feel and to try to switch back and forth between the chords. I only lasted about 10-15 minutes, but it was cool because Jaren got Reese's guitar and strummed along also. We'll make a noisy guitar duo.

Tartan Day

2007-04-10T12:00:00.000-05:00

The girls at work have been counting down to Tartan day for over 3 weeks. They actually have a calendar up so they can cross off the days until it got here. They just can't wait to see me in my kilt. For those who don't know what it is, Tartan day is a day to celebrate being Scottish. It commemorates something from back in the 1300's and the U.S. made it special back in 1990 by making every April 6th Tartan Day. Your tartan is your plaid or your Scottish colors.

Now since the count-down calendar has been up several people have asked about it and said that they would come in for a visit to see me also. Therefore the anticipation keeps building, and the promise of many cameras always makes it even more interesting.

I have to work 13 hour days, and wearing a kilt is not very comfortable. All that wool and the long wool socks get very itchy. Plus there are no pockets so my normal habits will be off. I refuse to wear my lab coat with the kilt on as it takes away too much by covering everything up, so I don't even have those pockets to use.

All and all the day went very well. Most of my regular customers came in and no one was freaked out by it. (I have had some people that had no clue as to what it was and said it was not right for a guy to wear a skirt at work) My supervisor was in to check it out and she liked it, as well as several of my technicians' husbands. Unfortunately one of my technicians partners is actually from Scotland but she couldn't come in today because they only have one car. My partner came in and took a picture and she said she was going to send it in for our companies monthly newsletter. That would be funny to finally get in to that in my kilt, maybe my colleagues from Rhode Island would remember me.

my clean little boy

2007-04-04T16:36:00.000-05:00

I want my team to stop winning!

2007-04-04T16:12:00.000-05:00

I am not a huge basketball fan, but every year my brother Mike, our friend Rob, and I make a road trip to Boston to see the Celtics play. This year I am actually routing for them to lose. We went to see them play last Wednesday and I am glad they won that game because we were there and it went to double overtime. But they keep winning and it has to stop now! I know it is bad but I really want the top draft pick. Not that there are any team changing players coming out this year, but it would be fun to get a good player to cheer for and watch.
As for the Red Sox, it was only the first game of the year but that was horrible! Inexcusable! Josh Beckett had better be able to pitch better than Schilling did on Monday.

Emergency at work

2007-04-04T08:03:00.000-05:00

This is what happened from my point of view as the pharmacist at a usually busy store. I was just answering a phone from a school nurse who had a question when a elderly woman came up to the consultation window. I told her I would be with her in a minute and went back to the nurse with the question. The nurse had a Chinese family bring in a bubble packed medicine for their son at school. The nurse couldn't identify it and didn't feel comfortable giving the kid something that she had no idea what it was. She spelled out the medicine for me -alphachymotrypsin, and I had no clue as to what it was. I looked at the few computer references that I have available and came up empty. She then told me that she believed it to be herbal, and said that it was from a Chinese family and that the Aunt was a doctor and gave them the medicine for the boy. I looked in one more reference for homeopathic meds but it was kind of an old book and again couldn't find anything. I told the nurse that she should call poison control and maybe they could help her.
All this time I had seen the elderly woman standing at the counter waiting for me. Someone had also dropped of three narcotics for me to count and get ready. After I hung up, I started to go over to the counsel station and she was gone. No big surprise really, happens all the time, either people give up, don't want to wait, find what they were looking for, figure out what they need or just see that I am busy and don't want to bother me. I glanced down a few aisles that I could see from where I was to see if I could find her. I asked my techs who were trying to catch up with the mornings work. (Also someone called out sick so we were short handed.) One of my techs said she must have figured out that foot care was way up in aisle one; a common question back at the pharmacy, and we all thought nothing of it. It was a quiet morning as far as the the front store goes, no one was picking up their meds and I just had that one person who dropped off their narcotics who was waiting. As I was counting and verifying her scripts I heard a soft "somebody help me" it was faint and seemed childlike. I glanced behind me at the registers thinking maybe someone was at the counter waiting to pick up, or maybe it was one of the front store kids playing a trick on us. I didn't see anybody, so I started to look down the aisles when one of the front store girls came around the corner and saw her on the floor. I came out of the pharmacy and saw her and ran back in to call 911. Luckily there is a fire department in the same parking lot as the strip mall we are in. The 911 operator asked me some questions, she was in and out of consciousness with a shallow breath, he had us move her to her left side and then the fire department was there. They quickly got an i.v. in her and took pulse, blood pressure, and did the things they needed to do. Come to find out she was coming to ask me about constipation because she was just out of the hospital last week. She was in the hospital because she had a stroke. I really felt like a jerk for not being able to do anything. Her son came in the next day to thank us for all that we did in taking care of his mother. She was still in the hospital but I don't know anything else about what or why or how she is doing. Hope all is fine.

The results are in

2007-03-11T09:05:00.000-05:00

The karate tournament was yesterday, and an interesting day it was. Reese woke up in a major funk, dragging himself around and doing everything halfway. Jaren seemed to be feeding off of his energy, bringing himself down to that level. We practiced downstairs and I had definitely seen both of them do better. Jaren was really starting to get all the parts of one kata in but at the expense of accuracy and grace. I figure it is no big deal because he is after all only 7. At the last minute I have each of the boys do one pinion just in case their was a tie. Jaren couldn't remember it at all and Reese and I quickly had to show him how.
When we arrive at the dojo the place was packed as expected and Reese was still in his mood. I am hoping that he will get into the grove when he watches Jaren do his events. Jaren starts off in sparring as we all did. He did a great job, and it was a close match but he lost. He did a very good job in his form but he came up with a tie and had to perform one pinion. It started off okay, but ended up doing most of it backwards. He ended up getting third place, and I was very proud of him.

We had around an hour to kill until Reese's turn. I tried to get him to warm up in the private dojo but there was a bunch of kids fooling around in there from other schools and he was still not himself. No matted what I did he wouldn't go in and was just ignoring any attempts that I made. Melissa was able to finally get him to go in and do four pinion twice which was good. I went in with him again and was able to get two more practices out of him. There was a nice brown belt kid there from Massachusetts who gave Reese a few pointers that surprisingly Reese tried to work in. The results were the exact same as Jaren. Reese sparred against a kid who was a full head taller than he was and lost first round. He did a good job in his forms and got third place.

We had around two hours until it was my turn so we went to Standish House of Pizza. Strider was so thirsty that he drank almost the entire bottle of cranberry grape juice. We were almost done and everyone was laughing at Stri because it looked like he was falling asleep. I picked him up and he threw up over my shoulder on the seat, all over his coat, my pants, Jaren and the table. So we decided to go home to quickly change before heading back to the studio.

Mel wanted to hurry because all of her friends and classmates were on before I was and I wanted to hurry just to be there and settle my mind and warm up. It was nerve racking figuring out all the people who were in my ring with me. Sizing them up and watching them practice and do their forms. It was intimidating. One lady was very tall and one was very quick. An older lady was practicing sparring with her son and looked pretty good. Collette, Christine and I did our forms a few times to "get the bad ones out of the way" then we headed to the dojo to watch our friends. I tried to get into the zone while I was there, doing my breathing and relaxing techniques. Collette kept kicking me saying "no Zen for you". It was pretty funny.

My name gets called and I have to spar against the tall lady. I won, and all I could think of was that at least I would place. Last year I lost in the first round to Julie from our school, so it was good to get a win under my belt. The next person I went up against was the quick girl who beat Collette. At one point I was down 2-3 but came back to win 5-3. In the final round I fought Christine and won 4-1. I couldn't believe I got first place, even though there were only women and me in the ring, you can't underestimate them. I was feeling good going into my form. It seemed to go as well as I could do. Then I get called up again at the end to do a tie-breaker with one pinion. I didn't practice it in the morning but I seemed to do good in that as well. Sitting on the floor as they start calling off the names of people last to first, so you do not want to hear your name. When they called the name of the person I had tied with for third place I knew I had second and I congratulated Laura (the quick girl) next to me because I knew she had first. I was glad it was over but love the build up to it, it is such a rush to hear your name get called to go up there even if it is for only twenty or thirty people to watch you perform.

Karate Tournament

2007-03-08T18:38:00.000-05:00

Anxious? Nervous?

Anticipation

Confidant, Yet not so

---

Two Kata

Energetic, trying to stay centered

Focus, trying to stay balanced

Balanced, but without the enthusiasm

Bend the standing leg

More circular motion

Make it feel like a rear kick

Too much thinking

Does not feel automatic

Nothing works out

That felt like a good form

Good control, good speed

Memorize how that felt and repeat it

Sparring

Energy overflowing

Extending too far

Everything wide open and exposed

Block and counter

Kick and hammer

Maintain composure

Difficult to breathe

Sweat in my eyes

That point was mine!

Getting drawn in

Don't be so aggressive

wait for their error

---

Been waiting so long

Preparing for months

Finished with pride

Snow Tubing!!

2007-03-04T19:32:00.000-05:00

Today was a beautiful day to be outside in Maine, and luckily we were actually able to get outside to enjoy it. My Mom called this morning and asked us to go to Seacoast Snowpark in the afternoon with her and Steve. He had some passes and we were all able to get in free.

At first Dean said he didn't want to go, then changed his mind. We tried to get someone to come over to watch Strider, but no one was available. We decided to just bring him and Mel and I would take turns sitting with him. Mel took first watch and off we all went. At the bottom of the hill, just after we got our tubes, Dean said he didn't want to go. Being the mean, forceful Dad that I am, I encouraged him and told him how much fun it would be. We got hooked on the towrope and pulled up the hill. Then we get to the top and he starts to panic bigtime. We all pick the easy trail and Steve, Reese, and Jaren all link together and off they go. Dean is in a state now but I put him on the tube and hopped on and down we went. He cried at the bottom because he was mad, but there was no way I was going to walk down the hill. The two of us went to relieve Mel of Strider duty.

Almost as soon as Mel left, Dean started in. "How long are we going to be here?, Can I get a drink?, I'm hungry, can I get a candy bar out of the vending machine?" We settled on fries and a soda. I placed the order and got the drink. Strider woke up at this point, and wanted some of the drink. Just as the fries came, Mel came back. We munched on the fries and Stri really liked the honey mustard sauce. I went back to the hill to catch up with the others.

We went for a couple more runs before Steve went to go watch the kids so Mel could come out with us. When Mel came out we took some pictures at the top, and did a few more runs. Mom and Mel went back inside and I got to stay with Reese and Jaren. The lines were starting to thin out so we did a bunch more runs before going in. Jaren really wanted some fries and that is probably what got him and Reese to go in. I wanted to go back in because I'm sure Mel was really getting bored hanging out with Dean and Stri.

Overall, it was a good day, but I wish Dean would have stayed out with us.

Good pet in training

2007-03-03T16:10:00.000-05:00

We are determined to have Oscar, our new ferret, behave better than all the other pets we've had. Melissa has been constantly on him to make sure he goes the bathroom in the litter box and we both have been taking him out to make sure he stays friendly and doesn't bite anyone. He is mostly using the litter box, having only a few mistakes and he only bites if he has been out for a long time.
Mel and Dean built a scratch box for him yesterday while Reese, Jaren and I were out shoveling the snow. She just glued some sandpaper into a cardboard box, when we put him in it, he scratches around with his front feet and then tries to jump out and kicks and scratches with his back feet. For now the box is a perfect size, but I'm sure he will grow out of it soon.
This morning when we took him out to play I put him in the hood of my sweatshirt. He actually liked it and stayed there for quite a while. We went upstairs and woke up the boys with him in my hood and then played around for a bit. He stayed in my hood the whole time. He probably would have fallen asleep but we took him out to let him try to go to the bathroom.

Wacky Crazy Day

2007-02-28T21:32:00.000-05:00

Our day started with the excitement and anticipation of the septic pumper coming. We talked to Dean about how all the waste from the toilets and the sinks and showers go into a holding tank in the front yard, and how the truck has to come and pump it out so we can continue to flush the toilet without it getting backed up into the house. It finally came around noon, just after Mel and the boys got back from Walmart. Mel and Dean went out front to look into the hole that the pump hose went into, I opted to stay inside because I was still finishing my lunch. As the guy was getting to the bottom of the tank he was telling us about the nail polish and other cosmetic supplies that Strider must have flushed down the toilet. Luckily all this stuff made it down and I didn't have to pull up the toilet to get it out.
On another note, after our private karate class we brought the boys to the pet store. We ended up leaving with a ferret that we named Oscar. I thought we would end up with one eventually but not this soon. Everyone seems to love him and even the dogs don't mind yet. Strider is excited and loves to watch him.

Pet Store!!

2007-02-27T17:09:00.000-05:00

In running our errands today, we had to go to the pet store to get dog food. Dean didn't want to go in but we made him anyway. We checked out the mice and hamsters and rabbits and ferrets and birds and lizards and rats in our first pass through. Mel started talking about the ferrets and we were checking out the cages and the ferrets. They had ferrets that looked just like Sammy, Maddy, Pepper, and Taylor(bones). It was kind of sad. We talked to the employees and they let us take one out. Dean refused to look at it or touch it and kept asking if we could leave.

As we were playing with the ferret a dog came in to the store all by itself. The employees got it and tried to put it back into the car it came from but all the doors were locked, one window was down enough for him to get out but not back in easily. They called Shaw's and had them page over the loudspeaker but no one came for awhile.

We put the ferrets away and move over to the rats. They were soft and warm but were a lot squirmier and faster. Let alone the one we had out kept pooping on me. We put the rats away and went and got the dog food that we came in for. As we were checking out the owner of the dog came over asking if the employee who found her was a special needs patient because of how rude she was even though they had just caught her dog and watched it for the past 20 minutes. We just laughed and shook our heads glad we got to see the exciting conclusion of the wandering dog.

Who knows what will come of this trip in the future.

Just when you thought you were doing okay...

2007-02-27T16:59:00.000-05:00

Last night a karate, Master Cheryl was talking about how bad every one's posture was. It is, and I know it has been since I started a year and a half ago. Last night it was my push-ups that were the main focus. I need to tuck my hips in more as well as arch my back upwards slightly. She says I am tightening up my lower back muscles and essentially making them shorter, sooner or later she says I will throw out my back. Not good.
I need to find a way to remind myself throughout the day to keep my hips up and focus on my core muscles. If my core is always engaged it will help. She says we need to always walk around like we are on the beach trying to look good. Don't throw the shoulders back because that causes other problems. For the past 34 years I have stuck my gut and but out, now I have to train myself to do the opposite. Not going to be easy.

Just not myself

2007-02-11T06:56:00.000-05:00

I have been in a bad mood all week. I think it started on Tuesday, but I don't know why. Everything just set me off for no reason, and I hate that. At work I usually have to be the one in a good mood because no body else is, so when one of my technicians asked me if I was feeling poopy, I knew they noticed it too. Most of the time once I recognize that I'm in a bad mood I'll just put in a CD or just mentally slap myself out of it, but nothing worked this week.
What made it worse was that it carried over to my days off. Both Wednesday and Thursday I was short with the kids and probably even with Mel. She even asked me if I had been taking my meds. Yesterday morning I was talking to the assistant manager and he was saying how he had been in a bad mood all week and he bought a case of beer the day before but promised himself that he wouldn't start drinking until after his room mate got home from work. I told him that I was feeling pretty much the same way and for some stupid reason it made me feel better. I had talked about it with my technicians, with my wife, and even with someone from karate, but saying it yesterday somehow worked and I mostly snapped out of it. I was real tired last night, mostly from my small cold that I have, but I think I am mostly over my bad mood phase. I hate the human mind, life shouldn't be so complicated.

Commission for chores

2007-02-08T06:51:00.000-05:00

We started paying the kids for doing chores yesterday. This is not the first time we have done this but it has been awhile since we tried. The kids actually understand the concept of money now and how much things cost. We assigned Reese, Jaren, and Dean certain chores to do each day and each week with each chore being worth ten cents. When they do the chore they put a sticker on the corresponding spot on their chart. If they don't do certain chores then they lose a dime. Reese can earn up to $4.50, Jaren up to $3.50, and Dean can get $2.50. It's not much but they seem motivated and excited.

We are calling it commission because they need to earn it, where an allowance is something you get no matter what.

Mel and I are also trying to come up with chores for us as well. Practice karate, walk the dogs, things of that sort that need to get done but tend to get skipped.

We will pay the boys by check to deposit in their savings accounts, but Mel and I will get actual money to spend on things. I better get working, since I have the Celtics game at the end of March I am going to.

Weekend updates

2007-02-04T20:06:00.000-05:00

What a crazy weekend. Started on Friday, with another clogged toilet. I don't what this one got clogged with, it might have just been stuffed with toilet paper. Strider was upstairs for awhile unguarded. This was in our bathroom, and once again I had to remove the toilet to break up the clog. Friday night we failed at making s'mores because we were out of Sterno for our s'more making kit, we were able to use the toaster oven but its not quite the same. Instead we had a big marshmallow fight in the kitchen, with Strider walking around picking up the marshmallows and eating them.
On Saturday I went to pick up Jaren, who had slept over a friends house, at about 10am. Jarens friend, Chance, asked if he could come over to our house to play. He had a birthday party to go to at 1pm so I said he could and his mom would pick him up on the way to the party. We got a call from Chances Mom a little after 12 saying that they had made a mistake and the party wasn't until next weekend. No big deal, he can stay for a few more hours.
Later Sam called and wanted Dean to come over, he said he would. Then Dean changed his mind and we called Sam and told him to come over. Then we told Julia she could come over and sleep over also. Somewhere in the middle of all this Chances Mom came over and Chance and Jaren convinced her that he could sleep over. Therefore Saturday night we ended up with seven kids under 9 years old. It was noisy and wild but went fairly well.
Today we had my Mom and Deb over for dinner. I made meatloaf, green bean casserole, biscuits, and a cherry pie. It was fun and we stuffed ourselves silly.
Reese's progress was as expected. We told him a couple times each day that it would be a good time to work on his projects, but to no avail until Sunday afternoon when he started to work on his comic book for his counselor. He mostly finished it with several distractions and delays and it came out pretty good for his first comic.

Mel's thinking about getting pregnant again

2007-02-03T18:47:00.000-05:00

Yesterday in the newspaper I saw an ad in the classifieds that caught my attention. In bold print at the top of the ad it said -Love Pregnancy? I immediately thought of Mel because except for a few minor problems (I say this carefully because I do have a penis and have not had the experience) she seemed to enjoy being pregnant. I wasn't sure how she would feel about being a surrogate, but I believe she mentioned it a long time ago. She was sleeping on the couch at the time so it wasn't until later when she was playing Kingdom Hearts II, and I was bored that I decided to bring up the ad. She made what I thought was a dismissive comment and I regretfully tried to forget about it. (I love the way she looks and absolutely glows while pregnant)

Later on she mentioned it, so I ran and found the ad. There actually were two ads with websites so we checked them both out online. It was actually very interesting with one based out of New Jersey that does stuff here locally in Maine, the other was in Los Angeles and said that they would pay for all travel expenses for the surrogate and partner for the appointments. The one in L.A. also had increasing payment for the second and third time you were a surrogate.

Who knows? My wife may get pregnant almost a year after I had my vasectomy.

Let's see if this works

2007-02-02T08:40:00.001-05:00

We are trying something new with Reese. He has always had a difficult time starting homework or anything that he really doesn't want to do. He has been known to whine and cry for two hours before getting started with some homework that takes him less than ten minutes to do.

After talking with his teacher on Wednesday morning, we came to a difficult decision of just let him fail! Now this isn't going to be easy for Mel or I to do. Sure it gets frustrating when fusses a lot, but we don't want him to get lazy(lazier).

The theory is, if we don't push him, he will see what it is like to not get things done and to have to feel embarrassed or ashamed at school when he can't turn in the completed assignment. We will ask him what work he needs to do once and tell him to do it, after that he will not get another reminder. This wouldn't be something I would normally do, but Reese is extremely smart and he knows it. He knows that he can get by, with only doing the minimal amount of work, and be perfectly happy. So hopefully he will see what it is like to have to rush to get things done and to understand that it is a good idea to do the work when we ask him to do it and have it done and over with.

Hopefully this will work but I'm not too sure, he really doesn't care much about what adults think of him. To him everyone is either his equal or less than he is.

What a wonderful ending

2007-02-01T22:37:00.000-05:00

I got home from work, another 13 hours on my feet answering demands of my customers. I just get inside and Strider is in Mel's arms calling for me, whimpering really. I take the exhausted boy out of her arms as soon as I get my jacket off and he smiles at me and puts his head down on my shoulder. Mel turns off the TV as I sit on the couch, she lays down puts her legs on my lap and pulls a blanket over herself. I gently stroke her warm calf and shin as I start to nod off. Strider snores and nuzzles in closer. I think how lucky I am and try to stay awake to cherish the moment. Strider coughs a couple times and wakes me up from a doze. Mel is sleeping and as warm and as comfy as I am, I know I have to get up to put Strider to bed. Carefully I raise Mel's leg so I can get up. I bring Strider upstairs and lay him down on his Spongebob Squarepants pillow cover. He hardly moves as I kiss him goodnight.

More to do every day

2007-01-31T17:55:00.000-05:00

I have just started to make my give-aways for camp this year. I have several good size bead projects that I am going to make. I just have so much to do every day between karate, give-aways, work, cleaning the house, and most importantly spending quality time with wife and kids.
I do love to do the bead work though. It is nice to just do some handwork instead of mind work. Still it is hard because I have to keep it away from Strider. He has a tendency to be able to spill the messiest of projects.
The bead projects are also good because each piece is for someone personally, and I think about them almost constantly while doing it. It is good to be able to put those positive memories in each piece, knowing that they come from my heart as well as my time.
I will post pictures when I finish each one.

Mel's birthday

2007-01-30T17:40:00.000-05:00

Today is Mel's birthday, I let her sleep-in a little. Although it wasn't until I all my winter gear on and the dogs ready for their morning walk (it was -2 degrees!) that I remembered. I had planned on going back upstairs to make sure she was up before I left, but I thought a "Happy birthday, now get up and clean the closet and the craft room" might just not be a good way to start the day.

I was ice cold when I came back in so after I fed the dogs and took off my gear I went back upstairs and climbed into bed trying to warm up. In about 10 minutes the boys alarm went off and we listened to them get up and start getting ready.

I pulled out a bag from under the bed that contained her other presents. The first one I gave her at her party a week and a half ago. As she unwrapped the undies and bra from Victoria's Secret, I explained how embarrassed the boys were in the store when we were buying them. She said she may want to exchange the bra to get it in black instead of tan because she already has a tan, but she said she may just keep it and buy another. I guarantee that she won't exchange it and she would never go buy a new one. I have never known anyone who hates to spend money on herself as much as she does. I am so lucky, because she keeps my spending in check and spends close to zero on herself.

Starting a resolution a little late

2007-01-29T07:19:00.000-05:00

Mel and I have come to the conclusion that we are lazy and unmotivated, that there are small things in our lives that can easily be controlled and are not. Therefore as of yesterday, we are going to be more organized!!

Starting off by getting up at 5am and not hitting the snooze button at all. This is a big step for me, I always have ambitious goals for the morning and am likely to hit the snooze button so many times that there is not enough time to do anything.

Going small at first I am going to run through my karate moves doing my combinations and forms one day and my kempos and grabs the next. After this, I will take two of our dogs for a walk, trying to get them under submission, and get some exercise. This is also tricky, yesterday was 10 degrees and snowing, and today was 15 degrees and a small but bitting wind. The dogs enjoy it none the less.

I am also trying to put a lot more in my PDA, just as reminders for what needs to be done. I work well when I have a list because I can see progress. I have put little things like pick out my clothes, and which exercises I am going to do.

I have to go so Reese can do his math practice, and so I can get stuff done instead of just writing about it. Hopefully we can keep this up and can get organized.

Lessons at karate

2007-01-24T15:41:00.000-05:00

Wednesday is karate day for us, I have every Wednesday off and there is an afternoon class that Mel and I go to. The older two boys are in school and the younger two boys entertain themselves by watching a movie or playing in the small kids area.

I love being able to do this together with my wife even though I know she doesn't care for it all that much. I started in order to help out Jaren because he was struggling at it and Reese was advancing really fast. I also didn't want the kids to be able to kick my butt when they got older.

Mel started because they were offering a three month free trial and several of the kids mom's that she hung around with while the kids were in class were going to join.

It is nice to have this in common, and to be able to practice together and go over moves together and dread getting beat up at class together. It is hectic for sure, with having to get the two little ones ready and settled.

Today made me a sad though. One of our better friends was in class with us and mentioned not wanting to go home after class because her husband was home. I just can't image living like that. Why live a lie? Why just hope things will get better? Do something about it! I hate to and won't but into friends lives, but if you are not happy, make a change.

Every day I can't believe how lucky I am to be where I am. I know my house is crazy, messy and loud, but how insignificant is that when you think about not even wanting to go home to the person you married and loved, the person you are raising your children with, and at least for me, the person who you want your children to grow up to be like. I love and respect my wife more than any person in the world and I don't know how she does all that she does. I can't imagine where I would be if I lost her. All that I do, I do just to try to be worthy of her.

Of course, as I am writing this I am in charge of not just three of my boys that are running around (Strider is upstairs sleeping) screaming, but also Jarens friend Mykenzy is over also.

I guess I had better go since I have rambled quite a bit from my original topic and Dean is now crying. (he bumped his knee)

Mistaken birthday party!!

2007-01-21T10:41:00.000-05:00

For Christmas my mother's boyfriend, Steve, gave my wife, Mel, a 2007 calender that he had made up with pictures of us in it and special dates written in. Unfortunately, the one date that was wrong was her birthday. Not a big deal, her birthday is January 30th and it was put in as January 20th.

So today we are celebrating Mel's party! It actually works out well, because next weekend I would have to work and the following weekend would be after her real birthday and it would be the day of the Superbowl!!! Which depending on the outcome of today's game against the Indianapolis Colts, my beloved New England Patriots will be playing in and trying for their fourth Superbowl title in six years. Go Pats!!!!

Anyway, back to the party, I came up with three new recipes that I made yesterday and today that will hopefully turn out well. I made a chocolate cookie bark which was simply melting white and regular chocolate, mixing in crushed Oreos and swirling them together. I also made some layered squares. The first layer is crushed Oreos and melted butter, followed by a layer of cream cheese mixed with sugar and Cool Whip, that is topped with a layer of chocolate pudding, and finally a layer of Cool Whip. For a birthday cake I mixed up a recipe that I found in a magazine. They used vanilla cake and I used chocolate since that is Mel's favorite. But basically it is a "poke" cake, where you make the cake, let it cool, poke holes in it with a fork and then I poured black cherry Jell-0 (before it solidifies obviously) over it. You let it set up, frosted it with chocolate frosting then topped the whole thing with a Cool Whip frosting. I'll let you know how all the recipes worked out and if I'll ever bother with them again.

Luckily I was able to get her 2 gifts from different places before we put on our "spending freeze". Of course she knows where I bought them from because she has been right on top of the bills and has seen the credit card statements and was here when one of the packages came from UPS. One I'm sure she knows what it is but hopefully one will be a surprise.

mood music

2007-01-19T20:04:00.000-05:00

I love music, all kinds of music. I use music to influence my mood, attitude, and surroundings. Nothing profound here, I know most everyone does it. I listen to punk, hardcore, alternative, country, classic rock, showtunes, comedy, or whatever turns me on at the time.

The lyrics and singer are what control how much I like or dislike the song. If it is profound, I will like it no matter the genre. The singer has to be able to express his feelings and emotions and to convey the lyrics on a level that is true. Someone can cover a great song and absolutely kill it because they can't put the feelings into the vocals. Whether the song is antigovernment, love, death, friendship, or lack there of; whether the music is grinding old school hardcore, melodic and dreamy, or good ol' country; if it is able to move me, I'll listen to it.

Sometimes you need to get the engery moving, drop in a hardcore disc, get the bass up, guitars blasting, vocallist screaming, and you have no option but to start crusing and getting done what needs to get done. Sometimes you just need to pick up the attitude or have some fun, pop in some country or folk (I love John Denver-brings back my childhood) it just lifts your spirits and makes you sing along.

Right now I am on a big Pink Floyd kick, somehow even the instramentals convey so much emotion. Floyd can make you angry, want to cry, sing-a-long, and laugh all on the same record.

I once told an older woman friend who was whining about some heavier hardcore music that I had on that music isn't supposed to make you feel good all the time. Sometimes you need to be angry, to hate, to just want to yell and want to hit something. I really feel that you can't try to run through life "even keel", you have to let your emotions ride the rollercoaster. By doing it in a controlled way, by choice, through music, you gain the upper hand and hopefully you can control yourself when you need to in other settings.

Crappy post

2007-01-16T13:54:00.000-05:00

With having four boys you think I would have seen this before, but up until my youngest started to walk it hadn't happened. Today was the third time in the past three months that I have had to actually remove the toilet to remove a foreign object that had been flushed.

Unfortunately, and there always seems to be an unfortunately around here, each time that this has happened, someone has decided to poop in the clogged toilet. Now this is a house that has four toilets. Two of the toilets have been clogged, the first time it was a section of a bug vacuum toy, the second time was an Eeyore block, and today it was an apple core that if someone had eaten more of it, it might have made it all the way down. None the less, each offensive item was quite offensive and covered in crap.

I am not a plumber and not really even that handy. Luckily removing a toilet is pretty easy. The only thing that is holding it down is two bolts, and a nut connecting where the water pipe flows into the back tank. You do need a wax ring to put the seat back on to make a water tight seal.

After this happened the second time my wife told me to buy 2 wax rings "just in case we need to do this again". Of course I just laughed it off and only bought one even though they cost less than $1.50. Today, however, I did buy two. So I can guarantee that this will never happen to us again. (Unless I just cursed us.)

Hard to be happy at a job where everyone is miserable

2007-01-13T22:45:00.000-05:00

I work in a pharmacy, and the majority of people I see are either in pain or are sick. Therefore the majority of the people I see are in a bad mood and don't care how many people where here before them, they just want there meds and to get home. Most people are also worried about the cost of their meds and why the insurance isn't paying for more of it.
Because of all this it is very hard to stay in a positive mood and keep everyone I work with happy. Always busy and surrounded by grumpy folks; not a great atmosphere. We have tried several moral boosting ideas over the past year and all of them have lasted about one week, if that.
I try to be polite as I can to people who ask me questions about laxatives, cold medicines, vitamins, foot care, and then not listen to my answer or choose something different because they already had something else in mind.
My daily goal at work is to make as many people as I can happy, and let the rest just roll of my shoulders and leave me unaffected. My karate master taught me, as things occur throughout the day ask yourself "how am I going to let that effect me today?" Keep the positive happy thoughts and just let the rest go. Don't let them win by dragging you down.

Eye Toy

2007-01-13T22:32:00.000-05:00

Looking for fun with family or friends? Well if you don't mind being embarassed while playing games/getting exercise then the Eye Toy for playstation 2 is for you. We have had so much fun laughing at each other while laughing at ourselves.
One of the kids got Eye Toy games 2 for Christmas and we had so much fun (there has to be about 15 or more games on it) my wife got the Kinetic games for her birthday. It is similar to the Wii that Nintendo just put out but you don't use a controller. You are constantly moving and punching and ducking and sweating and laughing and it can really wear you out, leaving you wanting to jump back in for another game.
I'm telling you, this is what all video games should be like.

Introduction-first report

2007-01-11T20:09:00.000-05:00

Writing to you for all the world to read! It is hard to be a guy in this day and age. I think of myself as a fairly normal man, married, four boys (I guess that isn't too normal), two jobs to make some extra spending money, and a house in the country. What I just don't understand is why people are so miserable.
We all have our moments of anger/depression/irritation and usually for no good reason at all. I am extremely guilty of this, so I intend to write some examples as they come up with some personal insight mixed in.
For instance, why are we so nice to strangers, at work or at the store- we'll say "excuse me", hold the door for people, offer a seat on the subway, smile; then we get home, or are with the people we love and we snap at them for nothing, yell at the kids to be quiet, or try to do something to be away from them.
It doesn't make any sense but once it was mentioned to me I noticed how true it was. Since I have been aware I try to be nicer and not let the little things bother me. Take a look around your world and see if it is true for you, if it is I encourage you to try to change.

This is just one observation I have made, others will follow as they come up.