THE SAME.
Since I gave up tv shows for lent, I've had a little more time to visit with my wife in the late evenings and also read. Recently (at different times!) we both read a book called 'We Are All The Same' by Jim Wooten. The video attached is a very short version of what is covered in the book - extremely inspirational & moving. It's a tremendous story of a young boy who battled AIDS in South Africa and his passion to help others (along with his foster mom).
Go get a copy of the book!
I.B.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
Birthdays
To be honest, today was an alright day. Probably not the best birthday ever, but not the worst either. All 4 kids were home sick, so SuperLu had to stay home from work (she was a little sick too on top of it all). It was a productive day at work and we enjoyed going out for ice cream together despite most of us being sick. My wife made chicken pot pie for our birthdays (Spark-plug & I share the day!) since we needed some comfort food. It's a good thing we celebrated birthdays over the weekend instead! Spark-plug had a great party on Saturday and then I got to hang out with around 30 friends at our house last night. Very good to connect & laugh together! And Super Lu made the most amazing red velvet cake ever for me. I may have to put in requests for it more often!
A year ago on this day, I woke up with the sun shining in our bedroom and had my (then 3) kids run in and climb in for a cuddle (early, but who can complain?). Then after they went to play, Super Lu & I signed the acceptance papers for Dude's adoption. It was a perfect morning.
We later got to share about our referral in church and spend the day celebrating birthdays and good news! It was also the first full day that Super Lu & I had together after receiving our referral and we were exhausted by the end of the birthday parties and celebrating.
Our first family picture on March 28th.... sort of!
That's it for talking about 'the good ol' days' for a while - on to what's happening now!
Later,
I.B.
A year ago on this day, I woke up with the sun shining in our bedroom and had my (then 3) kids run in and climb in for a cuddle (early, but who can complain?). Then after they went to play, Super Lu & I signed the acceptance papers for Dude's adoption. It was a perfect morning.
We later got to share about our referral in church and spend the day celebrating birthdays and good news! It was also the first full day that Super Lu & I had together after receiving our referral and we were exhausted by the end of the birthday parties and celebrating.
Our first family picture on March 28th.... sort of!
That's it for talking about 'the good ol' days' for a while - on to what's happening now!
Later,
I.B.
Friday, March 25, 2011
On this day in our family history
What a year! It was last year on this day (March 25th - a Thursday in 2010) that we received our referral for Dude. Pretty cool! Super Lu has written a bit about it on her blog in case you haven't read it.
It was 11:43am when our phone rang (yes, I actually remember). I was home that morning trying to work on a correspondence class I was taking. Previously I had put a note by the phone with our case worker's number and had recently signed up for call display - the number didn't quite match, so I didn't think too much of it. Turns out our case worker was sick that day... and BAM! We have a referral!!! I walked around the house for about 30 seconds in a bit of a daze before falling to my knees. It was another moment that will be etched in my brain forever.... And I know it will sound weird to you, but all I could think of was the last verse of the hymn 'All Creatures of our God and King' and Psalm 8 ('What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?').
In a cool turn of events during the call, I mentioned that my wife was away at some training and the case worker 'happened' to have a wife who was in the exact same training as my wife (2.5 hrs away) and had an office & phone at the facility. So that's how I was able to get in touch with her about our news! She had to frantically track down someone that would actually let her use their computer so that she could see pictures & read about him - and for some reason, some of the computers couldn't get into her email account, so I think minutes felt like hours for her!
After waiting for the kids to finish school & daycare, it was time to tell them! I grabbed them some fast food and raced home to call Candra (now in her hotel room waiting for us to call). I got each of the kids on the phone with her and while she told them our news, I handed them each a picture of Dude. It was quite a moment! Spark-plug began sleeping with that picture immediately until we returned home with him. Sparkles and Mario were ecstatic and took his picture everywhere to tell people about him.
On a gross note: It was a few hours later before I realized I hadn't eaten (lunch or the supper I had bought). I looked at my cold Filet-O-Fish sitting on the table.... and yes, ate it.... quickly. Most people make fun of me for liking them, but there's something about the tartar sauce that keeps me coming back. More than the fish, that's for sure! Anyways... Then friends started arriving as I was calling other extended family members!
I had to wait over 2 more days before Super Lu got home to celebrate with her in person (and officially sign the acceptance document) - and even then it was crazy because of a couple birthday parties the next day. But we'll talk more about that in my next post!
What a day!
I.B.
It was 11:43am when our phone rang (yes, I actually remember). I was home that morning trying to work on a correspondence class I was taking. Previously I had put a note by the phone with our case worker's number and had recently signed up for call display - the number didn't quite match, so I didn't think too much of it. Turns out our case worker was sick that day... and BAM! We have a referral!!! I walked around the house for about 30 seconds in a bit of a daze before falling to my knees. It was another moment that will be etched in my brain forever.... And I know it will sound weird to you, but all I could think of was the last verse of the hymn 'All Creatures of our God and King' and Psalm 8 ('What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?').
In a cool turn of events during the call, I mentioned that my wife was away at some training and the case worker 'happened' to have a wife who was in the exact same training as my wife (2.5 hrs away) and had an office & phone at the facility. So that's how I was able to get in touch with her about our news! She had to frantically track down someone that would actually let her use their computer so that she could see pictures & read about him - and for some reason, some of the computers couldn't get into her email account, so I think minutes felt like hours for her!
 |
| Hearing the news!!!! |
On a gross note: It was a few hours later before I realized I hadn't eaten (lunch or the supper I had bought). I looked at my cold Filet-O-Fish sitting on the table.... and yes, ate it.... quickly. Most people make fun of me for liking them, but there's something about the tartar sauce that keeps me coming back. More than the fish, that's for sure! Anyways... Then friends started arriving as I was calling other extended family members!
I had to wait over 2 more days before Super Lu got home to celebrate with her in person (and officially sign the acceptance document) - and even then it was crazy because of a couple birthday parties the next day. But we'll talk more about that in my next post!
What a day!
I.B.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Concession
I think I am finally beginning to concede that I need to hire something out. Every time I look at my roof plan I either start twitching or glaze over. It doesn't help that the roof will end up being around a 48 ft span and one or 2 people doing that (with no experience) may not be... well... a good idea! The only problem is that it's become more expensive than originally thought for a crew to come in & put all the roof on (and the posts/frame for the covered deck). The plus side is that I don't break my neck and it doesn't take 2-3 months.... Obviously it's a difficult decision! I'm not that fond of my neck anyways, but 3 months extra on the timeline might do me in!
You might think that an extra 3 months of trying to figure the roof out myself might be financially worth it, but it really does not seem like it. When you have to pay rent & a builder's mortgage, time can be money. Super Lu keeps the books pretty tight & we've set up a budget I'm pretty confident in, but still, the sooner that money goes to a mortgage & not to rent/interest the better!
Beyond that, I will confess that I think about adopting again on a daily basis. Every extra day added on to building makes that more of a distant reality to me. So more than the rent money, it's the kids that will be in the house that motivates me. I guess that's the fun of building your own home - every step I take onsite, I get to imagine what will be happening there. It makes me build more carefully and keeps me going!
Later!
I.B.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Ah, France...
Mario & Sparkles came with me to some annual weekend meetings that were important for me to go to & report at. They came to continue to learn early on in life about leadership and also to get spoiled by their dad a little. We jumped on beds, had some meals together, stayed up late eating caramel apple, laughed in the car until our stomachs hurt, etc. (seriously St*rbucks - calling it a whoopie pie?!)
As we were driving home late last night, we drove past an oil refinery plant that was all lit up. Upon seeing it, Mario asks: 'Dad, is that Paris?'
Nice.
Later!
I.B.
As we were driving home late last night, we drove past an oil refinery plant that was all lit up. Upon seeing it, Mario asks: 'Dad, is that Paris?'
Nice.
Later!
I.B.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Super Macho Dad & An Orange Juice Box
In the past 12 months, I really have not had a lot of injuries. 2 injuries from running (nerve in leg/back & painful feet) & 2 noticeable homebuilding injuries (air nailer into finger & falling/rolling down a ladder ending by landing on my back).
Those hurt, but not in the same way as last night.....
It's different when your child gets hurt.
I was working on the house last evening before our Sacred Marriage group and I suddenly got a hurried phone call from Super Lu asking me to come home as quick as I could. Sparkles had cut her finger. Deep. We needed to get her to a doctor soon. And for some reason, all Sparkles was yelling was 'I want my daddy!!!' (she hasn't really called me daddy for a while!). So I rushed home, got my muddy clothes off and rushed her to an emergency clinic. Usually Super Lu is the point person in these situations since she knows a lot more medical stuff and remembers instructions/details better.
As Sparkles & I head out the door:
Super Lu: Thanks for doing this. She really wanted you to take her.
Me: No problem.
Super Lu: Just keep an eye on her. She may F-A-I-N-T.
Sparkles: I can spell! I just don't know what faint means!
Fast forward to the room of pain....
Sparkles: Daddy, I want you as close as you can be. Can you cover my ears & hide my eyes?
Me: Sure honey - I'll do whatever you need. Don't worry. The doctor isn't even in here yet.
Fast forward a few minutes to the doctor examining the cut....
Me: (internal monologue) man it's hot in here. How can Sparkles be so cold? I need to take off my coat.
Dr: Aw... Shame. This looks like it hurts.
Me: (internal monoluge) hey! I haven't heard 'shame' used like that since spending time in (African country) last spring & meeting some new friends! (I wish you could met these women - we think the world of them)
Fast forward a few minutes to doctor leaving to get forms....
Me: (internal monologue) man it's STILL hot in here. I need to take off my bunnyhug (hoody for all you Saskatchewanites who caved to the pressure years ago). Sparkles is sure trying to hold it together well.
Fast forward a few minutes to doctor cleaning wound & giving Sparkles needles (for freezing)....
Sparkles: OWWWWWWWWWW!
Me: you're doing great honey. This is the worst part. It's gonna be ok. I hate needles too!
Me: (internal monlogue) why am I still sweating? It's going to soak thru my hat soon....
Fast forward a few minutes to doctor giving more needles & beginning stitches....
Sparkles: OWWWWW! Are we almost done? (she was really brave - despite what was happening)
Me: The worst part is over sweetie. Why don't you tell me more about your school day? (trying to distract her)
Me: (internal monologue) echhhh... I need to take my hat off. I can't believe how bad I'm sweating in here.... Why am I feeling so weak? Man.... Just breathe....
Me: Sparkles, you're doing great. Good job...um... Dr?.... Dr.... Umm... Could you just get me... a cold wash... I mean cold paper... you know.... cold.... from over there... comes from out of.... from the tap... a cold papertowel....????
Room starts getting smaller and everything starts going black.....
And just as the room is the size of a nickel I find my way to a chair....
And suddenly I'm super macho dad.... or just the opposite! Sparkles almost starts laughing at me as a nurse gets some oxygen started (yes, for me)....
Dr: Your dad just loves you so much that he doesn't like seeing you in pain.
Me: It's true Sparkles.... but that's a little... too... generous...
Me: (inner monologue) Is this stuff even on? Will they notice if I kick it up a few notches? Why am I still sweating?
Sparkles: Ohhhh.... Is that what faint means?
After we're all finished up & Sparkles is a little flush & exhausted from the experience:
Dr: Nurse, why don't you get a juice box for our patient, it will help her with a little energy. And you better grab one for dad too.
Me: (fist pump) Score! (Sparkles laughs)
And then, as Sparkles sits on a chair & I sit on a little step, we smile & visit & sip our orange juice....
Sparkles: And mommy was worried about me F-A-I-N-T ing! I can't wait to tell her it was you!
Me: (laughing) Almost! Almost fainted Sparkles!
Sparkles: I love you dad. Thanks for taking me.
And as I sit there I'm not embarrassed (although maybe I should be!). I just remember what my wife says on her blog (despite the pain & frustration & things that go wrong): We are blessed. And I thank God for the moment despite what got us to it. It was another one of those great moments where time seems to stand still for a little while.
Those final moments sipping our orange juice boxes & visiting were the highlight of a very long day where very little seemed to go right.
It looks like Sparkles will be okay. There was some concern about the possibility of a tendon being cut, but it looks good right now. We go back tomorrow to get the Dr. to check on everything.
Amazing how time with a loved one and an orange juice box can redeem the day a little.
And now you know how to get a free juice box!
Later,
I.B.
Those hurt, but not in the same way as last night.....
It's different when your child gets hurt.
I was working on the house last evening before our Sacred Marriage group and I suddenly got a hurried phone call from Super Lu asking me to come home as quick as I could. Sparkles had cut her finger. Deep. We needed to get her to a doctor soon. And for some reason, all Sparkles was yelling was 'I want my daddy!!!' (she hasn't really called me daddy for a while!). So I rushed home, got my muddy clothes off and rushed her to an emergency clinic. Usually Super Lu is the point person in these situations since she knows a lot more medical stuff and remembers instructions/details better.
As Sparkles & I head out the door:
Super Lu: Thanks for doing this. She really wanted you to take her.
Me: No problem.
Super Lu: Just keep an eye on her. She may F-A-I-N-T.
Sparkles: I can spell! I just don't know what faint means!
Fast forward to the room of pain....
Sparkles: Daddy, I want you as close as you can be. Can you cover my ears & hide my eyes?
Me: Sure honey - I'll do whatever you need. Don't worry. The doctor isn't even in here yet.
Fast forward a few minutes to the doctor examining the cut....
Me: (internal monologue) man it's hot in here. How can Sparkles be so cold? I need to take off my coat.
Dr: Aw... Shame. This looks like it hurts.
Me: (internal monoluge) hey! I haven't heard 'shame' used like that since spending time in (African country) last spring & meeting some new friends! (I wish you could met these women - we think the world of them)
Fast forward a few minutes to doctor leaving to get forms....
Me: (internal monologue) man it's STILL hot in here. I need to take off my bunnyhug (hoody for all you Saskatchewanites who caved to the pressure years ago). Sparkles is sure trying to hold it together well.
Fast forward a few minutes to doctor cleaning wound & giving Sparkles needles (for freezing)....
Sparkles: OWWWWWWWWWW!
Me: you're doing great honey. This is the worst part. It's gonna be ok. I hate needles too!
Me: (internal monlogue) why am I still sweating? It's going to soak thru my hat soon....
Fast forward a few minutes to doctor giving more needles & beginning stitches....
Sparkles: OWWWWW! Are we almost done? (she was really brave - despite what was happening)
Me: The worst part is over sweetie. Why don't you tell me more about your school day? (trying to distract her)
Me: (internal monologue) echhhh... I need to take my hat off. I can't believe how bad I'm sweating in here.... Why am I feeling so weak? Man.... Just breathe....
Me: Sparkles, you're doing great. Good job...um... Dr?.... Dr.... Umm... Could you just get me... a cold wash... I mean cold paper... you know.... cold.... from over there... comes from out of.... from the tap... a cold papertowel....????
Room starts getting smaller and everything starts going black.....
And just as the room is the size of a nickel I find my way to a chair....
And suddenly I'm super macho dad.... or just the opposite! Sparkles almost starts laughing at me as a nurse gets some oxygen started (yes, for me)....
Dr: Your dad just loves you so much that he doesn't like seeing you in pain.
Me: It's true Sparkles.... but that's a little... too... generous...
Me: (inner monologue) Is this stuff even on? Will they notice if I kick it up a few notches? Why am I still sweating?
Sparkles: Ohhhh.... Is that what faint means?
After we're all finished up & Sparkles is a little flush & exhausted from the experience:
Dr: Nurse, why don't you get a juice box for our patient, it will help her with a little energy. And you better grab one for dad too.
Me: (fist pump) Score! (Sparkles laughs)
And then, as Sparkles sits on a chair & I sit on a little step, we smile & visit & sip our orange juice....
Sparkles: And mommy was worried about me F-A-I-N-T ing! I can't wait to tell her it was you!
Me: (laughing) Almost! Almost fainted Sparkles!
Sparkles: I love you dad. Thanks for taking me.
And as I sit there I'm not embarrassed (although maybe I should be!). I just remember what my wife says on her blog (despite the pain & frustration & things that go wrong): We are blessed. And I thank God for the moment despite what got us to it. It was another one of those great moments where time seems to stand still for a little while.
Those final moments sipping our orange juice boxes & visiting were the highlight of a very long day where very little seemed to go right.
It looks like Sparkles will be okay. There was some concern about the possibility of a tendon being cut, but it looks good right now. We go back tomorrow to get the Dr. to check on everything.
Amazing how time with a loved one and an orange juice box can redeem the day a little.
And now you know how to get a free juice box!
Later,
I.B.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Building personality
I realized that I have a building personality.
Expert & Mouth are calculating types of builder - which is maybe why they are professional builders and I am not. I understand the importance of exacting measurements especially when it comes to foundation work, being level, walls being square, etc. But I get a little ansy and can't find enough other things to do sometimes. I'd rather my entry way was 1 inch smaller and make progress than remeasure & figure out how to get it perfectly right (i.e. a few weeks ago). I think I will be thanking these guys a lot at the end (I already am - they are great friends along with knowing their trades well - they've already been able to hide some of my measuring mistakes), because I'm the 'LET'S JUST WORK HARD & GET IT DONE BABY!' builder. Without people like that around, I'd probably be finishing the framing and have the inspector ask a lot of questions that go something like 'so what were you thinking here?' This is really not a shock if you know me. I tend to be fairly results and progress orientated. Details are important to me, but only in the context of 'getting it done'. Relating to that, January & February were frustrating months since the weather has been incredibly cold and progress was slow. It's been hovering around +1 the last few days, so it's been good weather finally! I realized already with the mud (and a little rain), that I would much rather gut it out in the cold than be out getting soaked & mucking around.
Here is Expert with Dude and I at a lunch break:
Putz has been out helping me a lot over the last few weeks - I think he is the 'everyone-else-has-plans-&-there's-nobody-cooler-to-hang-out-with-so-I-might-as-well-do-something' builder. At some point with all the help he offers I may start feeling guilty about calling him Putz all the time.... Not yet. But maybe someday.
A couple days ago Photoshop was back over to hang out & help. He was conquering his fear of heights again with me as we were putting insulation sheets on the underside of the floor for a few hours. It might have been a little too much in a day, but he made it up to the 3 step!! Ha! I need to heat the basement so that the frost thaws under my footings so that the company will install the grade beam for the garage (and I can begin construction of the garage & our room above it) - hence insulating.
Beyond that, the landing is finished! So now I get to finish sealing up the basement & get back to framing the upstairs and begin framing the front wall for the landing. I'll try to take a few pictures today or tomorrow.
Later!
I.B.
Expert & Mouth are calculating types of builder - which is maybe why they are professional builders and I am not. I understand the importance of exacting measurements especially when it comes to foundation work, being level, walls being square, etc. But I get a little ansy and can't find enough other things to do sometimes. I'd rather my entry way was 1 inch smaller and make progress than remeasure & figure out how to get it perfectly right (i.e. a few weeks ago). I think I will be thanking these guys a lot at the end (I already am - they are great friends along with knowing their trades well - they've already been able to hide some of my measuring mistakes), because I'm the 'LET'S JUST WORK HARD & GET IT DONE BABY!' builder. Without people like that around, I'd probably be finishing the framing and have the inspector ask a lot of questions that go something like 'so what were you thinking here?' This is really not a shock if you know me. I tend to be fairly results and progress orientated. Details are important to me, but only in the context of 'getting it done'. Relating to that, January & February were frustrating months since the weather has been incredibly cold and progress was slow. It's been hovering around +1 the last few days, so it's been good weather finally! I realized already with the mud (and a little rain), that I would much rather gut it out in the cold than be out getting soaked & mucking around.
Here is Expert with Dude and I at a lunch break:
Putz has been out helping me a lot over the last few weeks - I think he is the 'everyone-else-has-plans-&-there's-nobody-cooler-to-hang-out-with-so-I-might-as-well-do-something' builder. At some point with all the help he offers I may start feeling guilty about calling him Putz all the time.... Not yet. But maybe someday.
A couple days ago Photoshop was back over to hang out & help. He was conquering his fear of heights again with me as we were putting insulation sheets on the underside of the floor for a few hours. It might have been a little too much in a day, but he made it up to the 3 step!! Ha! I need to heat the basement so that the frost thaws under my footings so that the company will install the grade beam for the garage (and I can begin construction of the garage & our room above it) - hence insulating.
Beyond that, the landing is finished! So now I get to finish sealing up the basement & get back to framing the upstairs and begin framing the front wall for the landing. I'll try to take a few pictures today or tomorrow.
Later!
I.B.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Make Friends
THIS idiot at church was talking about how it's important to make friends (along with meeting God & changing the world - balanced relationships are vital). He's right - I've been realizing that good friends ARE hard to find & very important (despite writing a while ago that good help is not hard to find - there is a difference!). To be honest, I think I would rather have good friends over good help - but for some reason I have the best of both worlds! I've been fortunate to have some quality people around me - so thanks to all my friends (whether you are mentioned in this blog or not).
Saturday (yesterday) was suppose to be spent building, but I was behind with my work so that took up the morning & evening. Over the lunch hour we went to go get a few quick groceries at a bulk store and ended up buying laminate for the master bedroom and our oven! The oven is a funny story. To make a long story short, Super Lu has been watching online for it & in store for 3.5 months - only to have me accidentally stumble upon one of only 3 in the store (the lady there was shocked that they actually got some in - apparently they are a hot commodity in the chain of stores). So then we had to phone our bank from the store to get our point of purchase amount increased, buy it, find a truck, and find a place to store this stuff. Friends helping out again!
So here's to friends!
I.B.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Supper quotes
So I was cooking supper & hanging out with the younger 3 kids (Sparkles & Super Lu are setting up something for church) and here are just 2 of many quotes....
Mario: Dad, you wanna know what I'm gonna be when I grow up?
Me: Nope. What?
Mario: An airline pilot. Wanna know why?
Me: Why?
Mario: So I can go on free vacations!
And my dear, dear Spark Plug (she turns 3 this month):
Spark Plug: Daddy?
Me: What?
Spark Plug: When I grow up I'm gonna go to the principal's office.
Later!
I.B.
Mario: Dad, you wanna know what I'm gonna be when I grow up?
Me: Nope. What?
Mario: An airline pilot. Wanna know why?
Me: Why?
Mario: So I can go on free vacations!
And my dear, dear Spark Plug (she turns 3 this month):
Spark Plug: Daddy?
Me: What?
Spark Plug: When I grow up I'm gonna go to the principal's office.
Later!
I.B.
Things you never knew about dinosaurs
Ahhh. The imagination of kids!
Any guesses about what this picture is about? I'll give you a hint: it's a fossil of something that Mario made at school.
Mario's answer: A dinosaur looking through a telescope.
Later,
I.B.
Any guesses about what this picture is about? I'll give you a hint: it's a fossil of something that Mario made at school.
Mario's answer: A dinosaur looking through a telescope.
Apparently in Mario's world, the earth is only 400 years old! (Here's a history of the telescope in case you care). The penne makes a telescope easy to understand. I have no idea where he learned about a telescope (and neither does he - I asked). I know where the dinosaur came from: in Mario's world he has a pet dinosaur named Yoshi.... Wait. That's the video game.
To be honest though, we actually do have a pet dinosaur in our house. Her name is Molly and she is invisible but somehow has pink & purple spots. She's always getting into trouble and losing stuff around the house. Sometimes she takes stuff out again that the kids were suppose to put away. Silly Molly. I'll tell you this: someday Molly is going to be taking the fall for something I forget to do! Like celebrating an anniversary or something. I'm sure my wife will go for that excuse... I bought you flowers but Molly ate them? But until then, the kids are fortunate that she found her way over to our new house a few months after we moved. Who knew invisible dinosaurs were like homing pigeons?
To be honest though, we actually do have a pet dinosaur in our house. Her name is Molly and she is invisible but somehow has pink & purple spots. She's always getting into trouble and losing stuff around the house. Sometimes she takes stuff out again that the kids were suppose to put away. Silly Molly. I'll tell you this: someday Molly is going to be taking the fall for something I forget to do! Like celebrating an anniversary or something. I'm sure my wife will go for that excuse... I bought you flowers but Molly ate them? But until then, the kids are fortunate that she found her way over to our new house a few months after we moved. Who knew invisible dinosaurs were like homing pigeons?
Later,
I.B.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Happy Lent?
The words 'happy' & 'lent' really don't seem like they should go together, but I don't really know how else to phrase it. 'Merry Lent'? 'Blessed Lent' maybe? Or 'Suck it up & get over yourself'? Ok, to be fair I'm just as bad at getting over myself as the next person. Whatever way you want to refer to it, it starts today.
For lent this year I am giving up t.v. shows. It might actually be more accurate to say that I am giving up shows on iTunes or streaming tv via computer. I never get home in time to watch most shows (because of my job usually and now due to building a house), so I catch up that way. Either way, they are gone for a while. It's only around 20-40 min of tv most late evenings, but it has slowly crept into time spent on better things (time with Super Lu, homework for my class that is now due in 5 weeks & I'm out of extensions with, sleep, reading, exercise, etc.) It might sound ridiculous to you, but those 40 minutes have really stolen away some important things in my life. The flip side is that at least I laugh more often (which is good too!). Did any of you decide to give something up?
On the dad front, Sparkles asked me yesterday what 'sexy' meant. She's in Grade 2. She already had an idea as I asked her what she thought it meant - I just explained a little more. I wish I could remember the words she used because it was quite entertaining. It seems like the phrase 'doing all that there' came up a few times. To clarify: she was talking about hair & makeup & clothes. I'm really glad she feels like we can talk about these things though!
On the house front, I feel like a different man this week. Having Mouth here helping for a few days was a huge boost. And it worked out that I put in over a full week of work before he even showed up, so I didn't even need to take vacation days. Nice! I sometimes forget how acclimated I am to working in the frigid cold - it felt balmy this past weekend hovering around the -22C mark, but Mouth reminded us early (& OFTEN) about how cold it was! I think our record was making it out the door 40 seconds one morning before he started complaining about it. Putz was even out with us for a couple days too! Super Lu was again awesome in taking care of the kids while we worked hard. I really enjoy working with results orientated guys. We get stuff done and laugh while we do it. But we do get stuff done!
I'll get a few more pictures posted of our progress soon, but overall it was a very productive weekend!
Later,
I.B.
For lent this year I am giving up t.v. shows. It might actually be more accurate to say that I am giving up shows on iTunes or streaming tv via computer. I never get home in time to watch most shows (because of my job usually and now due to building a house), so I catch up that way. Either way, they are gone for a while. It's only around 20-40 min of tv most late evenings, but it has slowly crept into time spent on better things (time with Super Lu, homework for my class that is now due in 5 weeks & I'm out of extensions with, sleep, reading, exercise, etc.) It might sound ridiculous to you, but those 40 minutes have really stolen away some important things in my life. The flip side is that at least I laugh more often (which is good too!). Did any of you decide to give something up?
On the dad front, Sparkles asked me yesterday what 'sexy' meant. She's in Grade 2. She already had an idea as I asked her what she thought it meant - I just explained a little more. I wish I could remember the words she used because it was quite entertaining. It seems like the phrase 'doing all that there' came up a few times. To clarify: she was talking about hair & makeup & clothes. I'm really glad she feels like we can talk about these things though!
On the house front, I feel like a different man this week. Having Mouth here helping for a few days was a huge boost. And it worked out that I put in over a full week of work before he even showed up, so I didn't even need to take vacation days. Nice! I sometimes forget how acclimated I am to working in the frigid cold - it felt balmy this past weekend hovering around the -22C mark, but Mouth reminded us early (& OFTEN) about how cold it was! I think our record was making it out the door 40 seconds one morning before he started complaining about it. Putz was even out with us for a couple days too! Super Lu was again awesome in taking care of the kids while we worked hard. I really enjoy working with results orientated guys. We get stuff done and laugh while we do it. But we do get stuff done!
 |
| Here's me & Mouth putting up exterior walls. |
Later,
I.B.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Momentum, thy name is Mouth
My Boss knows what I need.
He arranged a pretty cool phone call late last night from Mouth (one of my best friends who, along with his wife K-Kacang, form one side of Sparkles godparents). And yes, the new nickname of Mouth is a shout-out to the movie 'Goonies'. It had to be every pre-adolescent boys' favorite movie when it came out!! They should have made a sequel! I'll have to watch it soon for old-times sake. One time Mouth & I were being dragged on an inflatable behind a boat that was being driven by a maniac and out of the blue he starts spouting off Chunk's confession when he thought he was going to die in the movie ("and then, I pushed my sister down the stairs, and I blamed it on the dog!" - here are more Goonies quotes to relive your youth). We were laughing so hard that we could barely hang on. Anyway...
 |
| Here's me, Super Lu, our newest god-daughter, K-Kacang, & Mouth this past summer. Their son Toothpick was getting into trouble with Mario while we were trying to get this picture taken... Shocking. If they are anything like their dads, Mario probably came up with the idea and Toothpick was doing it and then took the brunt of the punishment. |
The call went something like this:
Mouth: "Hey.... (long pause)...oh right..., I'm calling (I.B.). How's it going man?"
I.B.: "Hey! Good. How's it going out there?"
Mouth: "Really good. Listen, you gotta pick me up at the airport on Thursday night"
I.B.: "What!?"
Mouth: "Yeah, the ticket is booked. It's literally the only time I could come out and help you before the end of summer"
I.B.: "Seriously?!"
There's a lot more discussion (and laughing), but some of it censored because it's Mouth talking. And by his estimation, anyone thinking of going to a bootcamp workout or interested in losing weight should just come out to help us this weekend. The cold mixed with lifting lumber should do the trick nicely.
 |
| Mouth with Dude this past summer. |
Long story short, he's coming for a few days (with the support of his very cool wife & kids) to help me out no matter what the weather is like. He lived in Yellowknife for a year, so he laughs in the face of cold.... Or whines about it constantly. Hence he lives in the Okanagan. Seriously. Now he complains that the Okanagan is too cold. I'll have to get my Oma & Dziadziu (not nicknames, but what I actually call them - their identities remain safe!) to give him a talking to since they live in the same city.
Did I mention that building homes to lock-up stage is what he does for a living? He's also a part time youth pastor (yes, my censorship comment still stands). He also just barely moved into the house that he built for his own family, so life has been crazy for him.
So here's to pushing when there is momentum - thanks Boss and thanks in advance for coming out this weekend Mouth! The help & laughter is perfect timing.
Later,
I.B.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Building progress? (of different sorts)
Well, there has been very little progress made on the house in the last couple weeks and it doesn't look good for the rest of this week either. Partly because of work, partly because of weather... here are a couple of pictures of what the weather has been like:
And little work has been done on the house partly because I was away with my bride on an annual getaway (continuing to build toward a great marriage):
And because of the weather I get a little extra time to build my kids up & build with them (lego!) instead:
I think I'll brace myself and head out to the site on Saturday - no excuses not to (I'll have already put in more than enough work hours before then). I've been getting pretty frustrated & discouraged with the lack of progress on the house. I told Super Lu in the fall that I need to learn (with life in general) to push hard when there is momentum and be disciplined when there isn't. I'm definitely being tested on that!
Later,
I.B.
 |
| Believe it or not, this was the nicer day (temperature wise) out of the two pictures. Our house is out there somewhere! I even enhanced the photo so you could at least see the power box! |
 |
| -48 when this picture was taken. Nice. The sun is great here, but so deceiving when it comes to temperature. |
And little work has been done on the house partly because I was away with my bride on an annual getaway (continuing to build toward a great marriage):
 |
| This sure beats a weekend in Edmonton like we've done a few times! |
And because of the weather I get a little extra time to build my kids up & build with them (lego!) instead:
 |
| Building a tow truck with Mario! |
I think I'll brace myself and head out to the site on Saturday - no excuses not to (I'll have already put in more than enough work hours before then). I've been getting pretty frustrated & discouraged with the lack of progress on the house. I told Super Lu in the fall that I need to learn (with life in general) to push hard when there is momentum and be disciplined when there isn't. I'm definitely being tested on that!
Later,
I.B.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)