The gang's all here!

Someone recently pointed out to me that I have pics of only some of the "five" here on the blog, so...

Here is a picture of the whole family - All five of the kids, my wife, and myself. This photo was taken in September, so it is pretty recent.

Enjoy!

An old email

An old friend of mine emailed me today. He told me that he was cleaning his "inbox" and came across an email I sent him quite some time ago. He said he still laughs when he reads it, and also said he could "feel the look" I got.

This email was dated 02-04-06 (before I started blogging), and titled "Am I a Bad Dad?"
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So...

Jonathan (4th grade) came home from school in a quandary. He had to do a history report on a "historic US figure". There were some rules with this report. The kids could not choose a president (current or prior), any one that they have already studied in class, or anyone in recent news - so that the class has recent knowledge about that person. I believe that they were trying to broaden their historic horizons - beyond the standard "4th Grade History".

He was stuck.. Michele and I started helping him by coming up with a few ideas... He said he asked about all the names we came up with, and they were already taken or could not be used (see above rules).

I finally asked him to ask his teacher about the possibility of "Charles Manson", "John Wayne Gacy" and/or finally "Jeffrey Dahmer".

Michele was not pleased with me.

(But Jonathan thought it was pretty funny!)

I was just trying to help...

IT IS FINISHED!

I am sorry about my absence here on the blog. I have been busy writing a journal entry for my duck hunting trip this year. Dont know what my hunting journal is? Be sure to check it out! Use the link at the bottom of this post.

It has taken me three weeks (working on it a little bit here, and a little bit there), but...

Duck Hunting 2006 is complete!

Check it out HERE.

Enjoy!

David.

A little extra "exposure" while cleaning the garage.

I am sure most of you have heard of craigslist.

One of my co-workers have had some sucsess selling items on craigslist, and so, while cleaning out the garage, I'll try it too!

Need a BUNKBED? -- SOLD --

How about a HEADBOAD / FOOTBOARD? -- SOLD --

There is a small white DRESSER & MIRROR avaiable too! -- SOLD --

Wish me luck!

Thank you.

I just wanted to thank my cousin Bob.

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Hatebreed - Supremacy // Lamb of god - Sacrament // Low - The Great Destroyer

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Can anyone tell me why this is such an odd combination? I will give kudos to the first right answer! I am looking for a couple of specific key words to tell me why this combination of CD's is so.... Diverse

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Post your answer on the "comments" link below...

Good news and bad news.

Well, if you are a regular reader, you will see that my "Busy Week" post is gone.

It is gone because this morning, my supervisor notified me that one of my co-workers who had taken vacation had just cancled their vacation.

What does this mean to me?

A lot more time at home (which I need and want - the good part) and a lot less money (which I need and want - the bad part).

Hence, the good and bad news....

Someone owes me $700.00! (You know who you are, and I know this post will get to you!)

Busy week!

As you can see from my work schedule this week, I have a busy week ahead of me...

0700-1900 (7am-7pm) Saturday - 12 hours
0700-1500 (7am-3pm) Sunday - 8 hours
============================ Start of new two week cycle
0300-1500 (3am-3pm) Monday - 12 hours
0300-1500 (3am-3pm) Tuesday - 12 hours
0700-1900 (7am-7pm) Wed - 12 hours
0700-1900 (7am-7pm) Thursday - 12 hours
0700-1900 (7am-7pm) Friday - 12 hours
Saturday - Off
Sunday - Off
Monday - Off
Tuesday - Off

0300-1500 (3am-3pm) Wednesday - 12 hours
0300-1500 (3am-3pm) Thursday - 12 hours
0300-1500 (3am-3pm) Friday - 12 hours
0300-1500 (3am-3pm) Saturday - 12 hours
0300-1500 (3am-3pm) Sunday - 12 hours
============================ Start of new two week cycle
0700-1500 (7am-3pm) Monday - 8 hours
0700-1500 (7am-3pm) Tuesday - 8 hours

Yup.. Those are extended shifts EVERY DAY of that two week cycle. Thank goodness I still have my days off...

For those of you who are not familiar with how our work week operates. It's a 7 on, 3 off, 7 on, 4 off cycle and looks like this.

=============== Start of new two week cycle
Monday - On
Tuesday - On
Wednesday - On
Thursday - On
Friday - On
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday - On
Thursday - On
Friday - On
Saturday - On
Sunday - On
=============== Start of new two week cycle
Monday - On
Tuesday - On
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday - H day (Holiday)
Saturday - On
Sunday - On
Monday - On
Tuesday - On
Wednesday - On
Thursday - On
Friday - On
Saturday
Sunday
=============== Start of new two week cycle
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday - On
Thursday - On
Friday - On
Saturday - On
Sunday - On
Monday - On
Tuesday - On
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday - H day (Holiday)
Saturday - On
Sunday - On
=============== Start of new two week cycle

The whole cycle starts all over again (go back to the top) from this point.

Overall, I like it. I love having every third weekend off (and it is a 4 day weekend!)

Another notch in my belt.

No, it's not how it sounds...

I am just feeling very good about having to drill another hole in my belt!

This all started in June. (The last time I weighed myself). I was down about 10 lbs. I was so excited about this that I decided to start eating a little bit better (and a little bit less), and limiting my soda pop intake. I have also been walking one or two miles during my breaks at work.

In June, July, and August I had not noticed much of a change. It just felt good to be down a little bit of weight. Recently though, I have noticed something. I noticed that I can barley fit into my jeans. In the past this has always meant I needed to go up a size. This time "barley fit" means they are starting to fall off - even with my belt (before adding "Another notch")!

I took out some older jeans that (last time I tried) I could no longer button, and not only can I button them, but I need a belt to help hold them up too! I have a pair of pajama bottoms that I used to have to "Squeeze" into that now fall off involuntarily (I have to hold them up as I walk). And finally my hunting pants (which I have not been able to button in at least two years) I buttoned up this year!

I bet (I have not weighed myself) that I am down about 20 lbs now. THIS IS GREAT!

Garage Remodel

Before I left for my duck hunting trip, Michele and I had decided that it was time to clean the garage, and that with my days off after I get back, we would start cleaning and organizing the garage. Honestly, while away I had forgotten about this decision, and upon returning I was looking forward to finishing up the last few things that needed to be done on the deck.
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After I got home, and Michele "reminded" me about cleaning the garage - I was disappointed. I had an idea on what I wanted the garage to look like, but I figured I did not have the time or money to do what I wanted. Michele was motivated, so I "played along". (The garage did need some cleaning after all.)
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The inspiration for the ideas I had for our garage came from a co-worker and friend who has recently bought a new house. The "King-of-Clubs" (a self-proclaimed perfectionist (SEE HERE)) was over at my house, and after looking at my garage, told me that it (my garage) was his version of "birth control" - which made me laugh! I still get a chuckle out of this!! (You need to use your imagination and try to think what a garage (in a home with five kids) looks like.) Not long after, he invited me over to his new house, and I got to see his garage, and the ideas and plans he had for it. Then, just a few weeks ago, he invited me out again (this time to show off (grin)). I got to see the culmination of his plans. (SEE HERE) I was so impressed with how it turned out, I wanted to find a way I could do something similar.
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DAY 1
First, I started cleaning off the wobbly wooden shelving unit I built in the garage when we first moved in. Wobbly in that it was never properly secured to the wall. It was supposed to be a temporary solution to a storage problem. It has gathered so much junk in the past six years I could not believe it. I spent the first day just cleaning off this monstrosity. I still did not believe I would have the time to finish the job I had planned.
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DAY 2
The first thing we did was go to Target and choose an appropriate sized Rubbermaid bins to keep our things in. We ended up choosing the #2245 - 25 gallon - 28 1/2" wide by 19" inches deep and 16 1/2" tall bins. Because they taper just a bit at the bottom, they are only just an "ency-wincey" bit bigger than the 24" shelves I had planned (even though the top of the bin is 28 1/2"). They are very strong, and suited our needs. We went home with 12 of them.
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Once I had it cleared off, I needed to remove the old shelf. I tipped it over and laid it down on it's side. As I then contemplated the demise (and outcome) of the old shelf, I tried to find a way to reuse the actual shelves into the new plans which I could do very easily (If I wanted to). As I started dismantling the old shelf, a brainstorm idea hit me! What if I used part of the old shelf as a workbench (which I did not have)? I got out the tape measure, called Michele to the garage, and together we came up with a brilliant plan! I simply took my skill saw, and "dissected" the shelf in a couple of key places, and voila! I had myself a new workbench!! I hauled the 8' workbench into the place it was to go, secured it to the wall, and spent the rest of the day cleaning up some of the mess from the old shelf (Like my Miter saw, Bandsaw, misc boxes of screws, etc.) utilizing the new workbench!
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DAY 3
The next morning I had to work at 3am - 7am. After work (on the way home) I bought the lumber to build shelves that (instead of sitting on the floor like the old shelf) are going to hang from the ceiling and hold up our new bins. Hanging the shelves from the ceiling would also provide me some additional storage below the shelves for bigger "off season" items like my snow blower (or lawnmower), Christmas manger scene, etc.
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I spent the remainder of the day building and hanging three shelves. I installed the three shelves seen on the left.
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DAY 4
The next day, I tweaked the third shelf, built and installed the 4th shelf. I had some concerns about the weight I want to put on these shelves and the method that they were attached to the ceiling. (I had seen some "separation" between the support boards and the ceiling when I tried pulling downward on the shelves). I spent the next couple of hours crawling into the cockloft of the garage, and shoring up the rafters where the brackets (from below - in the garage) needed some additional support. By the time I was finished, I was able to jump on the shelves, and they do not budge an inch. The rest of the day was spent hanging some pegboard that I bought (when I bought the lumber) and hanging some lights for the workbench. I put the (so far empty) bins in their place and called it a day.
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The rest of the job is going to have to wait, as my schedule does not provide me with any additional time to spend on the project for at least a week.
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I still have a long way to go. I have a lot of cleaning and rearraging to do, but I wanted to get some pictures up so that you have an idea what I have done.

David - the "Father-of-five"