I couldn't get out of bed Wednesday morning. I was so tired. Went to work, and made it through.
When I got home we only had the youngest boy with us. The oldest two where at the lake tubing for their young men/young women activity. The younger daughter was at my in-law's for piano lessons. We decided to go grocery shopping because we are so exciting. We also got some dinner.
My wife had been to a meeting at the youngest's new school. We're both excited for him to start. He will be going 5 1/2 hours a day to an autism school. The meeting was just about policy and procedures. They have an open house for his school tomorrow.
Had a good night at the gym last night. It was arms day. Pretty typical workout, three different sets of exercises focusing on bicep, triceps and delts. The one change was a new triceps exercise using the pull-up bars.
We put them on the lowest setting, and then bent with our heads under the bar. You then simply do an arm extension. These seem really simple at first, but after about 10 your arms are tired. I'm feeling it in my triceps today.
I also felt good because there was only one other person at the gym, and she was new. She was fairly fit, but I was able to outwork her easily. I was an entire cycle in front of her at the end of the workout, including a run.
When I got home the oldest two still weren't there. The finally turned up just after 10:00 p.m. One of the boats had run out of gas, and they had to go and tow it back in. They had a great time. Pretty good day.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Monday, August 6, 2012
Sunday Recap
Yesterday was a busy day. We started with a Lutz Family Reunion. We haven't had one of these in decades. Got to see lots of cousins and aunts and uncles that we used to see a lot. Also got to see my little sister whom we haven't seen in years. We also got to meet her husband. Here is a photo.
The biggest downside was that my youngest, autistic son was overwhelmed. After four and a half hours at the reunion, we left for my in-laws for dinner. My youngest was freaking out because he was so tired. His older brother decided he would calm him down by taking him for a walk. My wife and I both told him not to. He went anyway.
After a time I started to worry and went for a car ride to find them. After a few minutes I received a call from my Mom's house. My youngest son had got close to the in-laws and freaked out because it wasn't where he wanted to be. He scratched his brother and took off. His brother saw that he was safe and followed him up to the other grandma's house where he could have Popsicles and watch Animaniacs. He fell asleep in a chair.
When I got to my Mom's house my little brother and his family where there from Nevada. My folks where at a meeting, so I stuck around to entertain and enjoy their company. I left my with at her folks' house for awhile.
When my folks got home they had a car full of used clothing. We helped them carry it in and then I went to get my wife and daughters. When they got back they had a clothing party. All if the woman folk went through the clothing and shoes. We were there for hours.
My youngest woke up briefly and came and laid in a nest of used clothing. My daughter and her cousin decided to try on a pair of pants.
It was finally time to go home. The youngest woke up at about 3:30 am but let us sleep while he watched tv.
Long day, but good.
The biggest downside was that my youngest, autistic son was overwhelmed. After four and a half hours at the reunion, we left for my in-laws for dinner. My youngest was freaking out because he was so tired. His older brother decided he would calm him down by taking him for a walk. My wife and I both told him not to. He went anyway.
When I got to my Mom's house my little brother and his family where there from Nevada. My folks where at a meeting, so I stuck around to entertain and enjoy their company. I left my with at her folks' house for awhile.
When my folks got home they had a car full of used clothing. We helped them carry it in and then I went to get my wife and daughters. When they got back they had a clothing party. All if the woman folk went through the clothing and shoes. We were there for hours.
It was finally time to go home. The youngest woke up at about 3:30 am but let us sleep while he watched tv.
Long day, but good.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Level 6
Okay, I realize I'm horrible at this blogging thing. It is either feast or famine. But I had a pretty good day on Friday and wanted to write about it.
First off, we are having a biggest loser contest at the gym, and so far I'm ahead. In the past seven weeks I've dropped 26 pounds (most of it occurring in five weeks time.) That's great. It puts me down 74 pounds overall.
Second, we had level testing at Fire House Fitness. Our trainer, Jason Muir, has six levels of fitness he would like to get everyone through. Just because you hit these levels doesn't mean you are done, but he gives you a special deal when you pass the last level and show you are committed to working out. I took my level six test on Friday.
All levels start with a static squat. For level one it is 60 seconds. It goes up in 30 second intervals for each level until level five, then you jump up to a four minute squat. Level six it jumps another minute to five minutes. Sometime during the past few weeks I had kind of pulled one of my gluteus minor muscles and it has put a bit of a strain on my lower back. I haven't been able to do a five minute squat since then. I really just had to go to my happy place and power through it, but mission accomplished.
I was the only person going for level six at 5:30 a.m. so everyone else had started their run by the time I was done. For the lower levels you run around the block, which is around .5 miles. You then move up to a run down the street that is about .8 miles. Then one to two of those runs for level five. Finally you do a combination of the other two and run 1.5-1.75 (I'm not sure of the exact length, I just know it is over 1.5 miles.) Running has never been my strong point, but in the past two weeks it has gotten much easier. I'm not sure if it the extra 10 pounds coming off, or what. I ran about 1.25 miles without taking a break, and finished up with only one 30 second walk. My runs in earlier tests (the .8 mile run) usually took me just over eight minutes. This one that was twice the length took me 14:23 seconds. I was quite proud of that.
We then moved into the thing I dreaded the most, the "3 minute drill". This is one of those things that doesn't seem like a big deal until you try it, and are told you have two chances to get through it without stopping or you fail. This entire drill is done in the push up position with your hands on a medicine ball. You start out with 30 seconds of mountain climbers, then 30 seconds of V hops (jumping both feet up to one side of the ball, back to the starting point, then up to the other side of the ball.) You then do 30 seconds of straight hops, just jumping both feet forward and apart, to both feet back at the starting position and together. By this time my "hops" felt like they were only moving about four-five inches at a time, very small. You then go back to 30 seconds of mountain climbers, and finish with a one minute plank, 30 seconds with your left leg in the air, and 30 seconds with your right foot in the air. The plank almost finished me because I was so unstable I almost fell over (which would have meant starting over.)
I finished that and was told not to stop, but to run over to the TRX system for the final test. For those unfamiliar with the TRX, it looks like truck tie downs, but hangs from a bolt in the wall, and has two handles. For the final test we do a TRX 3 ab combo. This was the first exercise I ever did at FHF, and it almost convinced me not to come back! You shorten the handles so they hang between six and ten inches off the ground, and put your feet into the handles. You get in push up position, and start off with 15 pikes (basically raising your butt straight up into the air), then without stopping you switch to 15 pendulums (keeping your upper body straight and moving your legs side to side using your obliques.) Then without stopping you move into 15 peddles (you bring your knees up to your chest one at a time, this is almost like a small one legged pike with a bent knee.) Then you move into the collapsing on the floor in exhaustion exercise, which technically isn't an exercise, but nice none the less.
At this time I realized that everyone I had thought had left the gym had really been hanging around in the front area out of site, and come back in to cheer me on after the trainers started yelling at me not to wuss out. I got a big hug from the trainers, well the ones who aren't averse to immense amounts of sweat, and will eventually get to sign the wall as a graduate. I'm pretty proud of this accomplishment, but have to keep going. I've got about another 45 pounds to lose to get back to what I weighed when I got married 16 years ago. Wish me luck!
First off, we are having a biggest loser contest at the gym, and so far I'm ahead. In the past seven weeks I've dropped 26 pounds (most of it occurring in five weeks time.) That's great. It puts me down 74 pounds overall.
Second, we had level testing at Fire House Fitness. Our trainer, Jason Muir, has six levels of fitness he would like to get everyone through. Just because you hit these levels doesn't mean you are done, but he gives you a special deal when you pass the last level and show you are committed to working out. I took my level six test on Friday.
All levels start with a static squat. For level one it is 60 seconds. It goes up in 30 second intervals for each level until level five, then you jump up to a four minute squat. Level six it jumps another minute to five minutes. Sometime during the past few weeks I had kind of pulled one of my gluteus minor muscles and it has put a bit of a strain on my lower back. I haven't been able to do a five minute squat since then. I really just had to go to my happy place and power through it, but mission accomplished.
I was the only person going for level six at 5:30 a.m. so everyone else had started their run by the time I was done. For the lower levels you run around the block, which is around .5 miles. You then move up to a run down the street that is about .8 miles. Then one to two of those runs for level five. Finally you do a combination of the other two and run 1.5-1.75 (I'm not sure of the exact length, I just know it is over 1.5 miles.) Running has never been my strong point, but in the past two weeks it has gotten much easier. I'm not sure if it the extra 10 pounds coming off, or what. I ran about 1.25 miles without taking a break, and finished up with only one 30 second walk. My runs in earlier tests (the .8 mile run) usually took me just over eight minutes. This one that was twice the length took me 14:23 seconds. I was quite proud of that.
We then moved into the thing I dreaded the most, the "3 minute drill". This is one of those things that doesn't seem like a big deal until you try it, and are told you have two chances to get through it without stopping or you fail. This entire drill is done in the push up position with your hands on a medicine ball. You start out with 30 seconds of mountain climbers, then 30 seconds of V hops (jumping both feet up to one side of the ball, back to the starting point, then up to the other side of the ball.) You then do 30 seconds of straight hops, just jumping both feet forward and apart, to both feet back at the starting position and together. By this time my "hops" felt like they were only moving about four-five inches at a time, very small. You then go back to 30 seconds of mountain climbers, and finish with a one minute plank, 30 seconds with your left leg in the air, and 30 seconds with your right foot in the air. The plank almost finished me because I was so unstable I almost fell over (which would have meant starting over.)
I finished that and was told not to stop, but to run over to the TRX system for the final test. For those unfamiliar with the TRX, it looks like truck tie downs, but hangs from a bolt in the wall, and has two handles. For the final test we do a TRX 3 ab combo. This was the first exercise I ever did at FHF, and it almost convinced me not to come back! You shorten the handles so they hang between six and ten inches off the ground, and put your feet into the handles. You get in push up position, and start off with 15 pikes (basically raising your butt straight up into the air), then without stopping you switch to 15 pendulums (keeping your upper body straight and moving your legs side to side using your obliques.) Then without stopping you move into 15 peddles (you bring your knees up to your chest one at a time, this is almost like a small one legged pike with a bent knee.) Then you move into the collapsing on the floor in exhaustion exercise, which technically isn't an exercise, but nice none the less.
At this time I realized that everyone I had thought had left the gym had really been hanging around in the front area out of site, and come back in to cheer me on after the trainers started yelling at me not to wuss out. I got a big hug from the trainers, well the ones who aren't averse to immense amounts of sweat, and will eventually get to sign the wall as a graduate. I'm pretty proud of this accomplishment, but have to keep going. I've got about another 45 pounds to lose to get back to what I weighed when I got married 16 years ago. Wish me luck!
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Triathlon
Okay, so I said earlier that I was needing a health related goal to help continue loosing weight. Last year, it was running a 5k and getting up on a wake board. I had never had the arm strength to drag my fat butt out of the water, but last year I did all of these things. Then I promptly stopped loosing weight. This year I've decided that I'm going to participate in the Bountiful Triathlon .
This tri is a "Sprint", which means that it is possible for normal people to do. I say that, as I have a few friends and coworkers who compete. One of my management team is currently training for his first Iron Man, and he is nervous.
I've spoken with a few people who have done this, and they said it is a nice start, although they have mixed feelings about Bountiful's. The deal is that this triathlon runs in reverse. You do the running first, then biking, and then the swim. Usually this is the other way around. I will be competing as a Clydesdale, which means a really big guy (+200 pounds). The one guy that I spoke to who has only run two sprint triathlons told me that he really preferred the Bountiful format.
So, last week I started my preparation, and I have until August to be completely ready. I'm starting by getting to the point I can run for a half hour straight. When I say run, I mean shamble along while moving my arms in a running motion. I haven't done much running over the winter because it was cold, and I was in the gym (which is kind of cross-fitish.) Now, we are running more as a gym, and I've started running three days a week using the Couch to 5k program from coolrunnings.com. This week, I alternate between running for 90 seconds and walking for 90 seconds. By the end of the program, which is eight weeks, you are just running for 30 minutes straight.
On the other days of the week, I'm going to the gym, and I just got my bike out and in working condition. I plan on just using my mountain bike for this race, and seeing as I used it for transportation for more than a year of my life, I think this will be fine. I might end up buying some narrower tires for it, but I don't have really beefy off-road tires anyway.
In the summer I'll work on swimming at my parents' house, and the local pool. I've already told my brother, who swam in high school (and did really well), and his son who has swam in high school that I'll need pointers. I've also spoken with my step-dad about it as well. He taught swimming for a long time, that's why they have the pool.
I really think I could complete this tri right now, but it would take me a long time. So you start with a 5k run, then move onto a 10 mile bike ride, and finish with a 350 meter swim, in the indoor pool.
Now I've got to get serious about my diet. I know that I changed my diet when we went on vacation last year, and haven't really gotten serious about it since. I haven't been horrible, but I haven't stayed focused on eating right either.
I'll be giving updates on the training as I go along, so wish me luck.
This tri is a "Sprint", which means that it is possible for normal people to do. I say that, as I have a few friends and coworkers who compete. One of my management team is currently training for his first Iron Man, and he is nervous.
I've spoken with a few people who have done this, and they said it is a nice start, although they have mixed feelings about Bountiful's. The deal is that this triathlon runs in reverse. You do the running first, then biking, and then the swim. Usually this is the other way around. I will be competing as a Clydesdale, which means a really big guy (+200 pounds). The one guy that I spoke to who has only run two sprint triathlons told me that he really preferred the Bountiful format.
So, last week I started my preparation, and I have until August to be completely ready. I'm starting by getting to the point I can run for a half hour straight. When I say run, I mean shamble along while moving my arms in a running motion. I haven't done much running over the winter because it was cold, and I was in the gym (which is kind of cross-fitish.) Now, we are running more as a gym, and I've started running three days a week using the Couch to 5k program from coolrunnings.com. This week, I alternate between running for 90 seconds and walking for 90 seconds. By the end of the program, which is eight weeks, you are just running for 30 minutes straight.
On the other days of the week, I'm going to the gym, and I just got my bike out and in working condition. I plan on just using my mountain bike for this race, and seeing as I used it for transportation for more than a year of my life, I think this will be fine. I might end up buying some narrower tires for it, but I don't have really beefy off-road tires anyway.
In the summer I'll work on swimming at my parents' house, and the local pool. I've already told my brother, who swam in high school (and did really well), and his son who has swam in high school that I'll need pointers. I've also spoken with my step-dad about it as well. He taught swimming for a long time, that's why they have the pool.
I really think I could complete this tri right now, but it would take me a long time. So you start with a 5k run, then move onto a 10 mile bike ride, and finish with a 350 meter swim, in the indoor pool.
Now I've got to get serious about my diet. I know that I changed my diet when we went on vacation last year, and haven't really gotten serious about it since. I haven't been horrible, but I haven't stayed focused on eating right either.
I'll be giving updates on the training as I go along, so wish me luck.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Soccer Saturday
Saturday was supposed to be really stormy, and by the end of the day it was. It started nicely, however.
I started the day running our Bountiful Baskets site. It is a food co-op that is growing like crazy. We discussed our upcoming changes, and we'll be moving earlier in the day next month.
I furtilized the lawn and did some housework. Then the weather turned bad.
This also coincided with the start of my oldest soccer game. As I said before, we've changed from a 4-4-2 to a 3-4-3. Out last game was fun to watch, even though we lost. This game started out great, with my oldest anchoring the right side of our defense. The other team could barely get the ball across our half line. When they did our defense shut them down.
Our midfield has got it suddenly, like a light switch was turned on. Two of our players, D and M, are working almost flawlessly together in our central midfield. They are winning balls and making beautiful passes.
Our wing players are a great mix. Our left wing is a super skills player, M. He is kind of slow but has such amazing ball control and vision. He kept playing balls that would make me cringe because he didn't play the obvious pass. But he made perfect through passes that beat four defenders and let a striker off by himself one-on-one with the keeper. Our right wing is a bundle of energy and is everywhere on the field. He, CS, is very skilled as well but makes really good runs.
Our defense has been working well together, but they really balanced out yesterday. They were attacking and covering for each other. They were making nice passes to the wing, not right up the middle like we did last season.
Our forwards have come a long way too. We have one with so much raw talent, C, he had at least five shots in the first 15 minutes. The other two have gained confidence and are starting to make the right runs.
We could tell that it was only a matter of time before we scored. And finally C ended up one-on-one with the keeper. He drew him out and picked his spot.
My oldest ended up being subbed in and left forward, which is unusual. He took the opportunity and made a run in, trapped the ball and put us up 2-0.
The other team only had one real chance to score. They had a break away, but their forward played the ball too far forward. Our goalie ha it covered, but grabbed the other player earning a penalty kick. Our keeper, J, can get down on himself when he gets scored on. He lined up, and the forward took the shot. Our goalie moved the right way, but it looked like he would be nutmegged, when the ball goes between your legs. He sat down hard and trapped the ball by sitting on it. It was crazy. That is how the first half ended.
Having been on the other side of a game like this we knew it would be hard for the other team to get out of their half. One coach went shofar as to predict we would get two more goals and a shutout.
The second half started much like the first, with us controlling the game. C added another goal in a one-v-one situation. The D, our central midfielder chipped the keeper from 25-30 yard out. One of our other forwards, JF, charged the goal and put a rebound away (this was a controversial offside decision, even out coaches thought he was off. Our linesman was new, and we aren't sure he understood the offside rule. He actually tried to call M offside while he was dribbling the ball forward.) My oldest was put back in at leery forward and put another shot away.
The game ended 6-0. The boys were so excited. The wife is sending me a photo and video of my oldest first and second goals and I'll post them as soon as I get them.
I started the day running our Bountiful Baskets site. It is a food co-op that is growing like crazy. We discussed our upcoming changes, and we'll be moving earlier in the day next month.
I furtilized the lawn and did some housework. Then the weather turned bad.
This also coincided with the start of my oldest soccer game. As I said before, we've changed from a 4-4-2 to a 3-4-3. Out last game was fun to watch, even though we lost. This game started out great, with my oldest anchoring the right side of our defense. The other team could barely get the ball across our half line. When they did our defense shut them down.
Our midfield has got it suddenly, like a light switch was turned on. Two of our players, D and M, are working almost flawlessly together in our central midfield. They are winning balls and making beautiful passes.
Our wing players are a great mix. Our left wing is a super skills player, M. He is kind of slow but has such amazing ball control and vision. He kept playing balls that would make me cringe because he didn't play the obvious pass. But he made perfect through passes that beat four defenders and let a striker off by himself one-on-one with the keeper. Our right wing is a bundle of energy and is everywhere on the field. He, CS, is very skilled as well but makes really good runs.
Our defense has been working well together, but they really balanced out yesterday. They were attacking and covering for each other. They were making nice passes to the wing, not right up the middle like we did last season.
Our forwards have come a long way too. We have one with so much raw talent, C, he had at least five shots in the first 15 minutes. The other two have gained confidence and are starting to make the right runs.
We could tell that it was only a matter of time before we scored. And finally C ended up one-on-one with the keeper. He drew him out and picked his spot.
My oldest ended up being subbed in and left forward, which is unusual. He took the opportunity and made a run in, trapped the ball and put us up 2-0.
The other team only had one real chance to score. They had a break away, but their forward played the ball too far forward. Our goalie ha it covered, but grabbed the other player earning a penalty kick. Our keeper, J, can get down on himself when he gets scored on. He lined up, and the forward took the shot. Our goalie moved the right way, but it looked like he would be nutmegged, when the ball goes between your legs. He sat down hard and trapped the ball by sitting on it. It was crazy. That is how the first half ended.
Having been on the other side of a game like this we knew it would be hard for the other team to get out of their half. One coach went shofar as to predict we would get two more goals and a shutout.
The second half started much like the first, with us controlling the game. C added another goal in a one-v-one situation. The D, our central midfielder chipped the keeper from 25-30 yard out. One of our other forwards, JF, charged the goal and put a rebound away (this was a controversial offside decision, even out coaches thought he was off. Our linesman was new, and we aren't sure he understood the offside rule. He actually tried to call M offside while he was dribbling the ball forward.) My oldest was put back in at leery forward and put another shot away.
The game ended 6-0. The boys were so excited. The wife is sending me a photo and video of my oldest first and second goals and I'll post them as soon as I get them.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Week in review
This last week was crazy. I've been staying in the office lately, but had a full week out and about. It meant I really didn't have time to sit down and record any thoughts.
Spent the first few days at Salt Lake Community College for their benefits fair. Then off to the state capital to meet with all of the state agency HR directors.
Yesterday, April 12th, we had wonderful weather that included snow, again. Mainly rain.
Of course, this was the oldest first soccer game. We ran a little behind, but made it during the first half.
We've changed up our playing system this spring. We were playing a 4-4-2 (four defenders, four midfielders, and two forwards), and now we're playing a 3-4-3. My oldest has been a standout defender, but he's trying to cheat a little too much. The head coach moved my son up to midfield for the second half, and he was a scrapper. It was fun to watch him push people off the ball (in a legal way), and just to see him run. This is a big change from last fall. Joining the wrestling team, and their tough conditioning has really made a big difference. Our kids played such pretty soccer. I know it sounds weird, but it was impressive.
They have finally learned what we've been teaching them about possession. We haven't had the speed to play the ball up and over, no boom ball for us. And as coaches we've tried to keep them from doing that anyway. We had lots of shots on goal, but their goalie was good, tall, and had a mustache (he's only 12). The other team scored because our goalies couldn't stop the rebounds. They did make the initial saves though. We lost four to one, but our team seemed very upbeat.
Now you'll start seeing more soccer from me. Have a great weekend!
Spent the first few days at Salt Lake Community College for their benefits fair. Then off to the state capital to meet with all of the state agency HR directors.
Yesterday, April 12th, we had wonderful weather that included snow, again. Mainly rain.
Of course, this was the oldest first soccer game. We ran a little behind, but made it during the first half.
We've changed up our playing system this spring. We were playing a 4-4-2 (four defenders, four midfielders, and two forwards), and now we're playing a 3-4-3. My oldest has been a standout defender, but he's trying to cheat a little too much. The head coach moved my son up to midfield for the second half, and he was a scrapper. It was fun to watch him push people off the ball (in a legal way), and just to see him run. This is a big change from last fall. Joining the wrestling team, and their tough conditioning has really made a big difference. Our kids played such pretty soccer. I know it sounds weird, but it was impressive.
They have finally learned what we've been teaching them about possession. We haven't had the speed to play the ball up and over, no boom ball for us. And as coaches we've tried to keep them from doing that anyway. We had lots of shots on goal, but their goalie was good, tall, and had a mustache (he's only 12). The other team scored because our goalies couldn't stop the rebounds. They did make the initial saves though. We lost four to one, but our team seemed very upbeat.
Now you'll start seeing more soccer from me. Have a great weekend!
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Easter Egg hunt #1
We had my side of the families annual Easter egg hunt yesterday. We had 24 children running around.
Our youngest, who is autistic has never really taken part. He would find one piece of candy and stop to eat it. Yesterday, with some prodding, we got him to pick up eggs and put them in his basket. He tired of it before the end of the hunt, but did really well. The wife has all the photos, so once they are up I'll link them.
We spent the morning "rodent shopping" as the wife called it.
The children were all excited when they saw that the bunny had brought them bikes, or in the case of the oldest a skateboard. I road around the block with my daughters. Excellent morning.
Our youngest, who is autistic has never really taken part. He would find one piece of candy and stop to eat it. Yesterday, with some prodding, we got him to pick up eggs and put them in his basket. He tired of it before the end of the hunt, but did really well. The wife has all the photos, so once they are up I'll link them.
We spent the morning "rodent shopping" as the wife called it.
The children were all excited when they saw that the bunny had brought them bikes, or in the case of the oldest a skateboard. I road around the block with my daughters. Excellent morning.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Happy Easter weekend!
This is what I saw on Friday April 6, 2012 when I left for work. Hooray Utah weather. 
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Wednesday Recap
Wednesday was one of "those" days. Basically I had long boring stretches, followed by insanely busy periods. Everything was completed though, so that's nice.
When I got home, I was in charge of dinner. We had fish and chips. We'll, I say we, but the kids didn't want to try them, I didn't have any malt vinegar so I only ate one, and my wife was happy with her tartar sauce. I should have taken a picture, they looked great.
I cut the fries, or chips if you're British, on our mandolin, the cooking kind not the guitarish thing. The only problem was I couldn't find the thick slicing blade, so they were super thin. This led to having half burnt, half potato chip fries. Not my finest moment.
Besides that I did a little laundry. Exciting times.
When I got home, I was in charge of dinner. We had fish and chips. We'll, I say we, but the kids didn't want to try them, I didn't have any malt vinegar so I only ate one, and my wife was happy with her tartar sauce. I should have taken a picture, they looked great.
I cut the fries, or chips if you're British, on our mandolin, the cooking kind not the guitarish thing. The only problem was I couldn't find the thick slicing blade, so they were super thin. This led to having half burnt, half potato chip fries. Not my finest moment.
Besides that I did a little laundry. Exciting times.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Weekend, Monday, and Tuesday
So this weekend was general conference, and I had tons to do. In typical conference weekend weather, it got cold and rainy/snowy. That kept me from working outdoors.
The wife wanted to make some bread, so I looked around and found a simple recipe for Amish White Bread. I let her sleep in and made the bread. By the time she was awake my kids had polished off one loaf, and each batch makes two. Shortly after we finished the second. So, I made more bread. Those two loaves were gone by Sunday morning. So I made another batch that was finished by Monday morning. In under 48 hours my family ate six loaves of bread.
Now time for a kitchen update. I had ordered some new hinges for our cabinets, because our old ones had been painted over and I had to use an extractor to get the screws out of over half of them. Turns out I ordered the wrong hinges, so I set about removing the paint. After soaking them in paint remover for a few hours I soaked them in mineral spirits. They looked pretty good. I finished antiquing the cabinet boxes themselves by painting them our cream color and then using a stain over the top. I have re-mounted the doors, but have not antiques the exterior face yet. Right now I don't have any pictures of the installed doors, but I'll update the post later with some.
I spent some time cleaning and the normal weekend activities.
As for Monday of this week we had a soccer scrimmage, and this was the first time the oldest got to play since his concussion. He had spent the day skateboarding and his legs were tired. We played a really good team and they picked us apart. One of our coaches was really discouraged, but our best trainer showed up a little late and was able to get some good play out of our team. I think after we've played a few games we'll be okay.
Tuesday I had a cardio day at the gym. My weight-loss has plateaued and I spent some time talking with the trainer about why this is. One thing he asked was if I had any fitness related goals. Last year I did. I wanted to run a 5k and wakeboard. I did both of these things. Now, it's like I've made it. So, I'm now setting my sites on a sprint triathlon. My bike isn't the best for this, it's a mountain bike with big knobby tires, but it will work. I have access to a pool for swimming. But to start I need to run more. We have a fitness room at work, and for $5 a month I can use it. I think I'll start the Couch to 5k program. I know it isn't great to train on a treadmill, but we do enough running at the gym to get in street running three times a week. This program takes eight weeks.
There is a tri in Bountiful that is popular, but one is run in May, and I think they usually do one later in the summer. If not, I'll find one. By the way, if you know of one in the SLC area in August let me know.
I spent most of Tuesday evening cooking. I got complaints about the smell, but the kids ate everything. The reason they complained? Garlic and Apple Cider Vinegar. I made BBQ chicken and some pan fried garlic potatoes.
Ad for today? I guess I'll write about that tomorrow.
The wife wanted to make some bread, so I looked around and found a simple recipe for Amish White Bread. I let her sleep in and made the bread. By the time she was awake my kids had polished off one loaf, and each batch makes two. Shortly after we finished the second. So, I made more bread. Those two loaves were gone by Sunday morning. So I made another batch that was finished by Monday morning. In under 48 hours my family ate six loaves of bread.
Now time for a kitchen update. I had ordered some new hinges for our cabinets, because our old ones had been painted over and I had to use an extractor to get the screws out of over half of them. Turns out I ordered the wrong hinges, so I set about removing the paint. After soaking them in paint remover for a few hours I soaked them in mineral spirits. They looked pretty good. I finished antiquing the cabinet boxes themselves by painting them our cream color and then using a stain over the top. I have re-mounted the doors, but have not antiques the exterior face yet. Right now I don't have any pictures of the installed doors, but I'll update the post later with some.
I spent some time cleaning and the normal weekend activities.
As for Monday of this week we had a soccer scrimmage, and this was the first time the oldest got to play since his concussion. He had spent the day skateboarding and his legs were tired. We played a really good team and they picked us apart. One of our coaches was really discouraged, but our best trainer showed up a little late and was able to get some good play out of our team. I think after we've played a few games we'll be okay.
Tuesday I had a cardio day at the gym. My weight-loss has plateaued and I spent some time talking with the trainer about why this is. One thing he asked was if I had any fitness related goals. Last year I did. I wanted to run a 5k and wakeboard. I did both of these things. Now, it's like I've made it. So, I'm now setting my sites on a sprint triathlon. My bike isn't the best for this, it's a mountain bike with big knobby tires, but it will work. I have access to a pool for swimming. But to start I need to run more. We have a fitness room at work, and for $5 a month I can use it. I think I'll start the Couch to 5k program. I know it isn't great to train on a treadmill, but we do enough running at the gym to get in street running three times a week. This program takes eight weeks.
There is a tri in Bountiful that is popular, but one is run in May, and I think they usually do one later in the summer. If not, I'll find one. By the way, if you know of one in the SLC area in August let me know.
I spent most of Tuesday evening cooking. I got complaints about the smell, but the kids ate everything. The reason they complained? Garlic and Apple Cider Vinegar. I made BBQ chicken and some pan fried garlic potatoes.
Ad for today? I guess I'll write about that tomorrow.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Tuesday night, gym...
It was a strength day at the gym yesterday. I got there for the 9 p.m. class. It was chest and back.
So in traditional fashion, we beat the crap out of them.
Started out with 60 chest presses and 60 standing rows. Alternated in 15 rep sets. I felt pretty good that I was lifting 30 pounds heavier than any other guy there. We then did Push-up Row Rows (you do a push-up on dumbbells, and at the top, you row to your hip.)
We then moved onto the TRX chest press/TRX two arm rows. Again, 60 reps, but this time spread out in 20 rep sets. The third exercise in this group was jumping pull ups. You'd jump up into a pull up, then catch yourself on the way down. At the end of these, my fingers actually slipped off the bar, and I landed on my knees. It was on sports court tiles, but it didn't actually hurt. I had to move an exercise mat underneath me for the last few reps after that, though.
Then came the tires. Our trainer, Jason Muir loves his tires. I think it makes him feel like he's in Rocky. He has three tractor tires, of varying size. Yesterday we used them to do push-ups off of. You'd put your hands on the ground, and your feet on the tires. You'd do 10 "inclined" push-ups. Then, while your hands are still on the ground, you'd hop your feet down onto the floor then back up onto the tires. It kind of looks like a donkey kick. You'd do 5 of those, then back to the push-ups. We did three sets of this combination followed by 50 crunches.
I then moved on to TRX Rip chest press/row. The rip is a heavy exercise band attached to a bar. We attach it on both ends, kneel inside, and do an inclined press. This was 60 reps of both exercises broken up into 20 rep sets. The rows are underhand rows, to your belly. Keep your arms body width apart. I jumped ahead a few exercises, because he had Roman Chair leg lifts. Since we only have one Roman Chair, where you put your back against a pad, your forearms on some pads and hold the handle in front of you. There is not an actual seat, you are suspended. (I'll find a picture and post it later.)
Then it was time to run. My legs are tired and sore, but for some reason last night's run really hurt my shins. I made it back, and did some planks to finish it out.
All-in-all a good night's workout, and I'm sure I'll be sore tomorrow.
The wife has been having really bad carpel tunnel syndrome attacks. She usually has to work after I'm home, the kids like to bug her. She's also working more to keep insurance. This is nice because of teenage problems, including braces. I'm sorry you're feeling so bad honey!
So in traditional fashion, we beat the crap out of them.
Started out with 60 chest presses and 60 standing rows. Alternated in 15 rep sets. I felt pretty good that I was lifting 30 pounds heavier than any other guy there. We then did Push-up Row Rows (you do a push-up on dumbbells, and at the top, you row to your hip.)
We then moved onto the TRX chest press/TRX two arm rows. Again, 60 reps, but this time spread out in 20 rep sets. The third exercise in this group was jumping pull ups. You'd jump up into a pull up, then catch yourself on the way down. At the end of these, my fingers actually slipped off the bar, and I landed on my knees. It was on sports court tiles, but it didn't actually hurt. I had to move an exercise mat underneath me for the last few reps after that, though.
Then came the tires. Our trainer, Jason Muir loves his tires. I think it makes him feel like he's in Rocky. He has three tractor tires, of varying size. Yesterday we used them to do push-ups off of. You'd put your hands on the ground, and your feet on the tires. You'd do 10 "inclined" push-ups. Then, while your hands are still on the ground, you'd hop your feet down onto the floor then back up onto the tires. It kind of looks like a donkey kick. You'd do 5 of those, then back to the push-ups. We did three sets of this combination followed by 50 crunches.
I then moved on to TRX Rip chest press/row. The rip is a heavy exercise band attached to a bar. We attach it on both ends, kneel inside, and do an inclined press. This was 60 reps of both exercises broken up into 20 rep sets. The rows are underhand rows, to your belly. Keep your arms body width apart. I jumped ahead a few exercises, because he had Roman Chair leg lifts. Since we only have one Roman Chair, where you put your back against a pad, your forearms on some pads and hold the handle in front of you. There is not an actual seat, you are suspended. (I'll find a picture and post it later.)
Then it was time to run. My legs are tired and sore, but for some reason last night's run really hurt my shins. I made it back, and did some planks to finish it out.
All-in-all a good night's workout, and I'm sure I'll be sore tomorrow.
The wife has been having really bad carpel tunnel syndrome attacks. She usually has to work after I'm home, the kids like to bug her. She's also working more to keep insurance. This is nice because of teenage problems, including braces. I'm sorry you're feeling so bad honey!
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Anti-roofie and an early morning
At the gym last night I told the trainer I was tired. I also know and trust my trainer. He told me he could give me a little something to get me through the workout. I can't remember the name, but it gave me energy. So much that I staid up way too late.
This morning I had to be in to work by 6:20ish. I was playing tech support for our department's focus group on promotional items. I got to set up web cams and audio streaming. So we could "secretly" observe the going-ins. It's fun to do different things, and this was a fun project.
This morning I had to be in to work by 6:20ish. I was playing tech support for our department's focus group on promotional items. I got to set up web cams and audio streaming. So we could "secretly" observe the going-ins. It's fun to do different things, and this was a fun project.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Sunday observation
I teach primary, eight year olds, and am always amazed at how well the kids can read the scriptures. The one observation I have to make is that their breathing patterns sound like they've been jogging while they read difficult words.
That just made me laugh yesterday.
That just made me laugh yesterday.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Hooray for Saturday!
So I started Saturday off strong. It was warm, and really nice.
I help out at a local produce co-op, Bountiful Baskets. We spent the morning distributing produce, but we only had eight volunteers compared to our usual 12-18, so it took a little longer than usual.
I then went home and rallies the kids to clean up the backyard. We had to get rid of the dog's "mess" and the mess made by the dog and kids. Our dog has become a chewing animal. Actually, she always was, she just seems to have gone on a bender lately.
Anyway, I got the kids working, and I started trying to level some ground to lay some pavers. I hit a rock pretty early and set out to dig it up. Right about this time, one of the neighborhood teenagers came over to heckle me, so I recruited him to the rock removal cause.
The rock turned out to be a three by three foot square of concrete with large river rock on the bottom. It was 10-12 inches thick I was able to pick it up and move it, but just barely. Moving this piece uncovered another small piece, so we started digging again.
This time we had problems finding the edge. And soon another neighbor joined the party. We took a few breaks to play with our friend Mr. Snake. He's about 16 inches long now.
After around an hour we had found more of the edges. It was about 3.5-4 feet wide and 5 feet long. This piece was between 8-15 inches thick. It also looked like it might go under the fire pit I built last year.
We tried to break this piece with a sledge hammer, we tried to pry it up, we dug under it and tries to break it again. Nothing was working. Then my neighbor mentioned he had a hand wench in his car. So he got that and we anchored it to a stump in the back. We ended up pulling the stump out of the ground (see below.)
So we anchored it to our apple tree and just tries to put some tension on the slab so we could break it easier. Still no dice. I got out my cheap Harbor Freight angle grinder, and I burned out the motor. We took some more whacks at it. It wouldn't budge. We dug some more, and got it to move a little bit.
We moved the anchor over to our maple tree. This helped pivot it a bit more. I didn't have a really good lever to use, or so I thought. I had bent my pick axe trying to use it. I went searching and found a 10 foot 4x4. I decided to use this, and we were able to move it a little bit.
We changed how the rope was placed around the slab, we went from a simple loop to a harness and it moved quite well.
Now our only problem was we were hitting the fire pit. We ended up damaging a couple of bricks on the top, which I'll have to fix later. We used the 4x4 to pry it around the pit and were able to drag it out of the hole.
I'd decided that I wasn't going to get this out of my backyard very easily, so I'm going to incorporate it into the patio. This meant we had to flip it over.
After another half hour, some more leveraging, and a bit of brute strength it was finally flipped. After the ground is leveled I'll move it into place.
This also took most of my free time for Saturday, and kind of wiped me out.
We had a barbecue at my sister-in-laws that afternoon. The wife got to hold our newborn nephew for quite some time, even though it probably wasn't enough for her.
I'm thankful for our family and neighbors.
I help out at a local produce co-op, Bountiful Baskets. We spent the morning distributing produce, but we only had eight volunteers compared to our usual 12-18, so it took a little longer than usual.
I then went home and rallies the kids to clean up the backyard. We had to get rid of the dog's "mess" and the mess made by the dog and kids. Our dog has become a chewing animal. Actually, she always was, she just seems to have gone on a bender lately.
Anyway, I got the kids working, and I started trying to level some ground to lay some pavers. I hit a rock pretty early and set out to dig it up. Right about this time, one of the neighborhood teenagers came over to heckle me, so I recruited him to the rock removal cause.
The rock turned out to be a three by three foot square of concrete with large river rock on the bottom. It was 10-12 inches thick I was able to pick it up and move it, but just barely. Moving this piece uncovered another small piece, so we started digging again.
This time we had problems finding the edge. And soon another neighbor joined the party. We took a few breaks to play with our friend Mr. Snake. He's about 16 inches long now.
After around an hour we had found more of the edges. It was about 3.5-4 feet wide and 5 feet long. This piece was between 8-15 inches thick. It also looked like it might go under the fire pit I built last year.
We tried to break this piece with a sledge hammer, we tried to pry it up, we dug under it and tries to break it again. Nothing was working. Then my neighbor mentioned he had a hand wench in his car. So he got that and we anchored it to a stump in the back. We ended up pulling the stump out of the ground (see below.)
So we anchored it to our apple tree and just tries to put some tension on the slab so we could break it easier. Still no dice. I got out my cheap Harbor Freight angle grinder, and I burned out the motor. We took some more whacks at it. It wouldn't budge. We dug some more, and got it to move a little bit.
We moved the anchor over to our maple tree. This helped pivot it a bit more. I didn't have a really good lever to use, or so I thought. I had bent my pick axe trying to use it. I went searching and found a 10 foot 4x4. I decided to use this, and we were able to move it a little bit.
We changed how the rope was placed around the slab, we went from a simple loop to a harness and it moved quite well.
Now our only problem was we were hitting the fire pit. We ended up damaging a couple of bricks on the top, which I'll have to fix later. We used the 4x4 to pry it around the pit and were able to drag it out of the hole.
I'd decided that I wasn't going to get this out of my backyard very easily, so I'm going to incorporate it into the patio. This meant we had to flip it over.
After another half hour, some more leveraging, and a bit of brute strength it was finally flipped. After the ground is leveled I'll move it into place.
This also took most of my free time for Saturday, and kind of wiped me out.
We had a barbecue at my sister-in-laws that afternoon. The wife got to hold our newborn nephew for quite some time, even though it probably wasn't enough for her.
I'm thankful for our family and neighbors.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Tough night at the gym
Missed the gym yesterday morning, so I went last night. Now, this is tough because it means that on Friday morning I'm getting up early and heading right back.
To add to this, my youngest child slept from 2:00 p.m. until 7:45 p.m.ish. This meant I knew I was in for a long night.
Anyway, I got to the gym, and it was a really tough strength day. We started by alternating between 10 push-ups and 10 burpees, with a exercise band upright row on the jump. We did 10 sets of this. This took quite some time. This was also the end of our super-sets.
Next we moved onto arms, and did 100 curls. I'd do 10 regular, then 10 hammer-fist curls. By the time I was done with this my biceps were cramping.
Then moved onto delt raises. I'd do five out to the side, then five out in front. Again totaling 100 reps.
Then moved onto eight sets of 15 rows. Did these on an adjustable pull up bar, very low with my feet on the floor and my back toward the ground. I rotated between wide grip, overhand rows, and close grip, underhand grip rows. That's as far as I got, then I went on a run. I was exhausted.
Got home, and didn't get to sleep until 2:00 a.m., thanks to the well rested child. When he was back up at 5:00 a.m., so was I.
I decided that I was up, so I'd go back to the gym. Did mainly cardio, and I started getting light-headed. I really should have ate, and slept before going to the gym, but what you gonna do?
The routine this morning started with a 1/2 mile run, then moved into lots of mountain climbers, jump rope, more mountain climbers, hop-touch-reach, and some abs. I finished with a five minute static squat, and by the time that was done, my head was spinning. I figure by the time I'm done with work today, I will be in complete zombie mode.
Hooray for the weekend!
To add to this, my youngest child slept from 2:00 p.m. until 7:45 p.m.ish. This meant I knew I was in for a long night.
Anyway, I got to the gym, and it was a really tough strength day. We started by alternating between 10 push-ups and 10 burpees, with a exercise band upright row on the jump. We did 10 sets of this. This took quite some time. This was also the end of our super-sets.
Next we moved onto arms, and did 100 curls. I'd do 10 regular, then 10 hammer-fist curls. By the time I was done with this my biceps were cramping.
Then moved onto delt raises. I'd do five out to the side, then five out in front. Again totaling 100 reps.
Then moved onto eight sets of 15 rows. Did these on an adjustable pull up bar, very low with my feet on the floor and my back toward the ground. I rotated between wide grip, overhand rows, and close grip, underhand grip rows. That's as far as I got, then I went on a run. I was exhausted.
Got home, and didn't get to sleep until 2:00 a.m., thanks to the well rested child. When he was back up at 5:00 a.m., so was I.
I decided that I was up, so I'd go back to the gym. Did mainly cardio, and I started getting light-headed. I really should have ate, and slept before going to the gym, but what you gonna do?
The routine this morning started with a 1/2 mile run, then moved into lots of mountain climbers, jump rope, more mountain climbers, hop-touch-reach, and some abs. I finished with a five minute static squat, and by the time that was done, my head was spinning. I figure by the time I'm done with work today, I will be in complete zombie mode.
Hooray for the weekend!
Thursday, March 22, 2012
City Creek Shopping Salt Lake City
So I took my lunch hour and braved the crowds downtown SLC to check out the new City Creek Center.
I like it. It is a very nice. The East side has a removable roof, much like a football dome. It was a nice enough day that it was open today. It felt like a mall, kind of intimate, but you could enjoy the open air. Places like the Gateway feel really stretched out, but this was nice. The use of rock, and water (there is a "creek" running down the middle) look great. They even have a cool fountain.
There are many stores you wont find anywhere else in Utah. There's even a Disney store. Most importantly for certain people in my office, Express moved there. It was funny to see women lining up with the blue Tiffany boxes to get a picture.
I dragged my coworker through restoration hardware, the only store that kind of held an interest for me, and he had never been in one. They have some really cool rooms set up. Of course my first thought was I could make 80% of the items in there for much cheaper than they sell them. Hmm, maybe a good idea for a side business.
Anyway, I'll go back sometime with the wife. We'll stroll the stores and look. I probably wont be buying anything anytime soon though.
I like it. It is a very nice. The East side has a removable roof, much like a football dome. It was a nice enough day that it was open today. It felt like a mall, kind of intimate, but you could enjoy the open air. Places like the Gateway feel really stretched out, but this was nice. The use of rock, and water (there is a "creek" running down the middle) look great. They even have a cool fountain.
There are many stores you wont find anywhere else in Utah. There's even a Disney store. Most importantly for certain people in my office, Express moved there. It was funny to see women lining up with the blue Tiffany boxes to get a picture.
I dragged my coworker through restoration hardware, the only store that kind of held an interest for me, and he had never been in one. They have some really cool rooms set up. Of course my first thought was I could make 80% of the items in there for much cheaper than they sell them. Hmm, maybe a good idea for a side business.
Anyway, I'll go back sometime with the wife. We'll stroll the stores and look. I probably wont be buying anything anytime soon though.
Wednesday Recap
I didn't get much done last night. First, my oldest daughter had junior high orientation. That means number two is entering her teen years. Hooray, or something.
We had a parents meeting for my son's scout troop. I think I'm paranoid, but the scout master, who I was in an Elder's quorum presidency with was looking at me more than the others, and there is an opening in the Deacon's quorum.
The scouts will be going to a really cool camp this year, Camp Loll (all the kids thought that was great, even after we explained it wasn't spelled LOL.) This camp is located between the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. They do an all day hike that will go into either Yellowstone, or Tetons National Park. It is beautiful, but the kids are bummed they have to drive six hours to get there.
So my wife went to the junior high, and I went to scouts. While I was in scouts I started getting text from my wife that her mother was mad at her. Turns out that her folks sewer had backed up, they had some roots in the line, and they hadn't cleaned their carpets. My wife had called our guy, and had him on the way over. My mother-in-law doesn't like being helped, this is according to the wife, and that made her mad.
By the time I was back from scouts, my wife was going up to her folks house to help our carpet guy. She also had to finish my daughter's video book report, our computer was too slow and kept crashing, so she used iMovie on the in-law's Mac.
The weather is beautiful, so I'm going to get the kids out in the yard to clean up this weekend. This is a big deal, as we have a front-yard fence, when most of our neighbors don't. We catch every bit of trash that is blown down the street in the front. In the back, we have a dog that likes to chew stuff. We have trash to get up, and it should be nice to do in the sunshine.
UPDATE: I forgot to mention that the oldest used his birthday money to buy his old scout master's x-box. Time to fight the video game battle again. He's been told that he will have limited time everyday, and that if his grades drop, I get to take it. Hooray!
We had a parents meeting for my son's scout troop. I think I'm paranoid, but the scout master, who I was in an Elder's quorum presidency with was looking at me more than the others, and there is an opening in the Deacon's quorum.
The scouts will be going to a really cool camp this year, Camp Loll (all the kids thought that was great, even after we explained it wasn't spelled LOL.) This camp is located between the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. They do an all day hike that will go into either Yellowstone, or Tetons National Park. It is beautiful, but the kids are bummed they have to drive six hours to get there.
So my wife went to the junior high, and I went to scouts. While I was in scouts I started getting text from my wife that her mother was mad at her. Turns out that her folks sewer had backed up, they had some roots in the line, and they hadn't cleaned their carpets. My wife had called our guy, and had him on the way over. My mother-in-law doesn't like being helped, this is according to the wife, and that made her mad.
By the time I was back from scouts, my wife was going up to her folks house to help our carpet guy. She also had to finish my daughter's video book report, our computer was too slow and kept crashing, so she used iMovie on the in-law's Mac.
The weather is beautiful, so I'm going to get the kids out in the yard to clean up this weekend. This is a big deal, as we have a front-yard fence, when most of our neighbors don't. We catch every bit of trash that is blown down the street in the front. In the back, we have a dog that likes to chew stuff. We have trash to get up, and it should be nice to do in the sunshine.
UPDATE: I forgot to mention that the oldest used his birthday money to buy his old scout master's x-box. Time to fight the video game battle again. He's been told that he will have limited time everyday, and that if his grades drop, I get to take it. Hooray!
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Late night Tuesday
At about 8:30 p.m. last night I was told that I needed to help my daughter edit a video. Now we don't do much of this, and our desktop is slow. Her and a friend had made a movie of "Little House on the Prairie" for a book report, and it was due in the morning.
The video had all been recorded on an iPhone, so it mp4 format, which meant we couldn't edit it on Microsoft Movie Maker. I have a converter program, but after waiting an hour and a half, and only having one-quarter of the videos converted, I gave up on that.
I ended up spending quite a few hours working on it, then I had to get my wife involved. She had done the filming, and new what was "bloopers", and what was good film. (Not putting down your acting skills kids, but sometimes it was hard to tell.) At this point, our computer freaked out and I lost all the work, but by this time I was much better at putting it together, so I remade the movie to a point, then let the wife take over.
I was so tired this morning, I slept through the alarm clock and missed the gym. I'll have to go tonight.
Besides that, not too much went on Tuesday. I've got plans to build a dining table bench from some old dimensional lumber I have laying around, and I need to primer my car. Expect to see reports on those soon.
The video had all been recorded on an iPhone, so it mp4 format, which meant we couldn't edit it on Microsoft Movie Maker. I have a converter program, but after waiting an hour and a half, and only having one-quarter of the videos converted, I gave up on that.
I ended up spending quite a few hours working on it, then I had to get my wife involved. She had done the filming, and new what was "bloopers", and what was good film. (Not putting down your acting skills kids, but sometimes it was hard to tell.) At this point, our computer freaked out and I lost all the work, but by this time I was much better at putting it together, so I remade the movie to a point, then let the wife take over.
I was so tired this morning, I slept through the alarm clock and missed the gym. I'll have to go tonight.
Besides that, not too much went on Tuesday. I've got plans to build a dining table bench from some old dimensional lumber I have laying around, and I need to primer my car. Expect to see reports on those soon.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
John Carter, or A Princess of Mars
For his birthday, my oldest wanted to go and see the new film, John Carter. This movie is based on a book by Edgar Rice Burroughs, and was written before he wrote Tarzan of the Apes. That means that this book was written over 100 years ago.
To be honest, I haven't read the books in over 25 years. I remember enjoying them, and could remember a few basics. Tars Tarkas was the leader of the green martians, or Tharks. A princess, obviously since the book is A Princess of Mars. And our hero, John Carter who served as a Captain in the Virginia Calvary during the Civil War.
To give me quick review, I liked it a lot. Some other members of the family hated it, but I'm pretty sure they would be happy just watching Remember the Titans. Now that was a good movie too, so don't get me wrong.
My 17 year old nephew went with us. I heard a few grumbles from him during the romantic bits, but he seemed to really enjoy the action.
The CGI was well done, and I thought the way characters and animals moved was great.
Overall, it is a go see. My only complaint was that we were out past 10:00 p.m. on a school night, and our youngest was so hyper that it took almost until midnight to get him to sleep.
To be honest, I haven't read the books in over 25 years. I remember enjoying them, and could remember a few basics. Tars Tarkas was the leader of the green martians, or Tharks. A princess, obviously since the book is A Princess of Mars. And our hero, John Carter who served as a Captain in the Virginia Calvary during the Civil War.
To give me quick review, I liked it a lot. Some other members of the family hated it, but I'm pretty sure they would be happy just watching Remember the Titans. Now that was a good movie too, so don't get me wrong.
My 17 year old nephew went with us. I heard a few grumbles from him during the romantic bits, but he seemed to really enjoy the action.
The CGI was well done, and I thought the way characters and animals moved was great.
Overall, it is a go see. My only complaint was that we were out past 10:00 p.m. on a school night, and our youngest was so hyper that it took almost until midnight to get him to sleep.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Weekend wainscot
I decided to use the time on Saturday, before the storm hit, to work on the wainscoting.
Luckily, I had ripped enough MDF down that I didn't need to move the car out of the garage. I only needed my miter box.
I focused on the upstairs hall, and was able to get it done quite quickly. The problem is its hard to take pictures of, but here is what I have.
!
I also painted the backs and sides of the cabinet doors. I have unique hinges, and they have been painted over, so I had to drill out the screws. Looks like I'll be replacing them.
I started painting the wainscoting in the kitchen. Originally we were going to paint this white, but I'm painting it the same cream as the cabinets. Not sure if we'll antique this or not, but after the cabinets are done I'll see how it looks.
It is starting to come together
Luckily, I had ripped enough MDF down that I didn't need to move the car out of the garage. I only needed my miter box.
I focused on the upstairs hall, and was able to get it done quite quickly. The problem is its hard to take pictures of, but here is what I have.
!
I also painted the backs and sides of the cabinet doors. I have unique hinges, and they have been painted over, so I had to drill out the screws. Looks like I'll be replacing them.
I started painting the wainscoting in the kitchen. Originally we were going to paint this white, but I'm painting it the same cream as the cabinets. Not sure if we'll antique this or not, but after the cabinets are done I'll see how it looks.
It is starting to come together
Happy birthday!
Yesterday, Sunday, March 18th, was my oldest's 13th birthday. The highlight of the day was him opening his Facebook and YouTube accounts. He has been excited for this for years.
In looking back, I can't believe how quickly the time has gone. I love you, and am proud of you.
In looking back, I can't believe how quickly the time has gone. I love you, and am proud of you.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
St Patrick's Day
My daughters were concerned the dog would get pinched, so they put a shirt on her that had green on it.
Poor mutt.
Poor mutt.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Politics in Utah
Attended my caucus meeting last night at the local high school.
First comment, it was the hottest day of the year so far. Then you stuff. 115 people in a small science room and it was boiling.
Spent an enjoyable three hours with my neighbors and took care of our party business.
It was fun to participate.
First comment, it was the hottest day of the year so far. Then you stuff. 115 people in a small science room and it was boiling.
Spent an enjoyable three hours with my neighbors and took care of our party business.
It was fun to participate.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
My mother-in-law's table
So last fall my mother-in-law mentioned that she wanted a table for her birthday/thanksgiving. Okay, it was more than a mention. She said they wanted to build one, and did I have any ideas.
Here is what I was told, it needs to be big so all the grandchildren can fit around it. They didn't want to spend too much on it. And finally, we talked about style.
Now I love Arts & Crafts style furniture and architecture, so I drew up se plans for a trestle table. I did this for two reasons, first we decided they wanted built in benches on one wall, and a trestle table is ideal for pushing under a built in. Second, I like the look.
I suggested we make it out of Douglas-fir, which my father-in-law thought was weird. I said it would keep costs down and we could use a super hard finish on it to compensate for the softness of the wood.
We spent a Saturday working on the legs. We used traditional mortise and tenon. My father-in-law cut all the parts to size, and I bored holes and used a chisel to make the mortises.
A few days later I came back and glued up the top. The top was a bit bendy, but we thought we could pull that out when we attached the top.
My father-in-law then did the hard part, sanding.
Work came to a halt when we figured that my mother-in-law wouldn't be hosting thanksgiving. Anyway, this last weekend work picked up again. I helped move the table inside and attach the top. My father-in-law was worried about the top flattening out. He decided to use lag bolts through the top. We pre drilled holes so we can use a dowel to plug the holes.
Here are some photos. He has to use some pre-stain conditioner to keep the wood from blotching, then stain and finish it.
I have to say I'm happy and I like the look.
Here is what I was told, it needs to be big so all the grandchildren can fit around it. They didn't want to spend too much on it. And finally, we talked about style.
Now I love Arts & Crafts style furniture and architecture, so I drew up se plans for a trestle table. I did this for two reasons, first we decided they wanted built in benches on one wall, and a trestle table is ideal for pushing under a built in. Second, I like the look.
I suggested we make it out of Douglas-fir, which my father-in-law thought was weird. I said it would keep costs down and we could use a super hard finish on it to compensate for the softness of the wood.
We spent a Saturday working on the legs. We used traditional mortise and tenon. My father-in-law cut all the parts to size, and I bored holes and used a chisel to make the mortises.
A few days later I came back and glued up the top. The top was a bit bendy, but we thought we could pull that out when we attached the top.
My father-in-law then did the hard part, sanding.
Work came to a halt when we figured that my mother-in-law wouldn't be hosting thanksgiving. Anyway, this last weekend work picked up again. I helped move the table inside and attach the top. My father-in-law was worried about the top flattening out. He decided to use lag bolts through the top. We pre drilled holes so we can use a dowel to plug the holes.
Here are some photos. He has to use some pre-stain conditioner to keep the wood from blotching, then stain and finish it.
I have to say I'm happy and I like the look.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Hallway wainscot
Did the first section of the hallway wainscot. I had to make some additions around the cold air intake, and will have to do something around the electrical outlets.
The wife is happy, so I am happy.
The wife is happy, so I am happy.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Stair wainscoting
So after the excitement of Friday, I used Saturday to work on the wainscot, specifically on the stairs.
I knew this would be the most dramatic part, because I was making a wall of panels. Here is my blank canvas.
So I'm using an eight inch base and a six inch top rail. You want to use a smaller to rail because visually the base will look smaller because it's farther away from your eyes.
On this big wall I wanted to make it a feature. So I ran multiple cross pieces to make panels.
I'm using four inch uprights. This gives a traditional arts & crafts look. In the corners I'm using a two inch upright.
Here is the completed wall, before paint.
Then I did the other side. I found something interesting, the wall on the middle of my stairs loses an inch in height from the bottom to the top. I actually have one of my uprights (battens) in the wrong place. I'll fix that tonight.
I think the hardest part of this project is finishing the edges. To save costs I used multi-density fiberboard (MDF). This paints really well because it is fine saw dust and glue pressed between paper. The problem is the edge. It absorbs paint. You have to cover it. You can buy an expensive product, but drywall compound works great. Now I have to cover all the edges, caulk, and fill nail holes. Then it's on to paint!
I knew this would be the most dramatic part, because I was making a wall of panels. Here is my blank canvas.
So I'm using an eight inch base and a six inch top rail. You want to use a smaller to rail because visually the base will look smaller because it's farther away from your eyes.
On this big wall I wanted to make it a feature. So I ran multiple cross pieces to make panels.
I'm using four inch uprights. This gives a traditional arts & crafts look. In the corners I'm using a two inch upright.
Here is the completed wall, before paint.
Then I did the other side. I found something interesting, the wall on the middle of my stairs loses an inch in height from the bottom to the top. I actually have one of my uprights (battens) in the wrong place. I'll fix that tonight.
I think the hardest part of this project is finishing the edges. To save costs I used multi-density fiberboard (MDF). This paints really well because it is fine saw dust and glue pressed between paper. The problem is the edge. It absorbs paint. You have to cover it. You can buy an expensive product, but drywall compound works great. Now I have to cover all the edges, caulk, and fill nail holes. Then it's on to paint!
Monday, March 12, 2012
He's a pain in the neck
UPDATED WITH PHOTOS
I mean he had a pain in his neck. So the wrestling coach called the wife at about 4:15 on Friday afternoon. He said my oldest had hit his head and couldn't wrestle until he was cleared by a doctor.
My wife went to pick him up, and took him over to the doctor. Once there, it was clear he had a concussion. He had slow responses to questions, but then he said he had a pain in his neck. The doctor immediately put a brace on his neck, and wouldn't let him move.
They called an ambulance to transport him to a nearby hospital for images of his neck. This is about when I got there. I barely beat the ambulance there. I waited for the in-laws to show up and take my youngest. Then I was off to the hospital.
I got to the hospital before they had the oldest off of the backboard. He was complaining that his back hurt, mainly because he had spent half an hour strapped to a board. He was responding well to everything, except his blood sugar was a bit low. He hadn't eaten lunch, he thought the enchiladas were nasty. I secretly think he is trying to drop to a lower weight-class.
This is when I finally learned what happened to him, from the horses mouth, so to speak. The varsity wrestler at his weight-class had gotten a double (where his arms are wrapped around both of my son's legs.) He was picking him up to take him to the mat, and fell himself. The other wrestler hit the mat, and my son hit his head.
We spent a few hours in the hospital, had x-rays and spoke to people. The oldest even took part in a study on concussions and sports. One of the x-ray technicians made a comment about having done something very similar himself, and I believe one of the EMT's did too.
Long story short, everything checked out. They pronounced him having a case of whiplash, and a concussion. He has to be checked out by his primary care physician at the end of this week, and has to wear a neck brace until then. He gets to wear it while sleeping, and even while bathing. It was fun to get a tie on him for church yesterday.
He seems to be doing great, and isn't experiencing any pain (except in his teeth because the brace forces his jaw together at night.)
In better news, the oldest daughter got her cast off on Friday. I'll come back in an update this post with some photos when I have time.
I mean he had a pain in his neck. So the wrestling coach called the wife at about 4:15 on Friday afternoon. He said my oldest had hit his head and couldn't wrestle until he was cleared by a doctor.
My wife went to pick him up, and took him over to the doctor. Once there, it was clear he had a concussion. He had slow responses to questions, but then he said he had a pain in his neck. The doctor immediately put a brace on his neck, and wouldn't let him move.
They called an ambulance to transport him to a nearby hospital for images of his neck. This is about when I got there. I barely beat the ambulance there. I waited for the in-laws to show up and take my youngest. Then I was off to the hospital.
I got to the hospital before they had the oldest off of the backboard. He was complaining that his back hurt, mainly because he had spent half an hour strapped to a board. He was responding well to everything, except his blood sugar was a bit low. He hadn't eaten lunch, he thought the enchiladas were nasty. I secretly think he is trying to drop to a lower weight-class.
This is when I finally learned what happened to him, from the horses mouth, so to speak. The varsity wrestler at his weight-class had gotten a double (where his arms are wrapped around both of my son's legs.) He was picking him up to take him to the mat, and fell himself. The other wrestler hit the mat, and my son hit his head.
We spent a few hours in the hospital, had x-rays and spoke to people. The oldest even took part in a study on concussions and sports. One of the x-ray technicians made a comment about having done something very similar himself, and I believe one of the EMT's did too.
Long story short, everything checked out. They pronounced him having a case of whiplash, and a concussion. He has to be checked out by his primary care physician at the end of this week, and has to wear a neck brace until then. He gets to wear it while sleeping, and even while bathing. It was fun to get a tie on him for church yesterday.
He seems to be doing great, and isn't experiencing any pain (except in his teeth because the brace forces his jaw together at night.)
In better news, the oldest daughter got her cast off on Friday. I'll come back in an update this post with some photos when I have time.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Wrestling meet
Went to the oldest's wrestling meet yesterday. It still makes me laugh to see the cheerleaders sitting there cheering. The other school only had six there, but my son's school had a dozen.
My son got pinned in the second round. He did really well. He got into one hold where he had been pinned repeatedly, but was able to escape. He was then pinned with a headlock from a two on one hold (here's a video), like most of his team. The other school has a really strong team, and our varsity only won three matches.
Just wanted to say good job to the oldest. It's fun to see him learning do much, and being part of a team.
My son got pinned in the second round. He did really well. He got into one hold where he had been pinned repeatedly, but was able to escape. He was then pinned with a headlock from a two on one hold (here's a video), like most of his team. The other school has a really strong team, and our varsity only won three matches.
Just wanted to say good job to the oldest. It's fun to see him learning do much, and being part of a team.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Fun at the gym
So I've helped out around the gym. I've done some web stuff, social media stuff, I even helped lay the flooring. Last night I helped install these...
We had fun with a hammer drill, sledge hammer, and red heads. They should add some excitement to the gym. We have four to install, but didn't have enough red heads (those gingers are amazing.)
For those of you who don't know what a red head is, it is a cement anchor. It is a long bold, that expands at the bottom when tightened. This locks the bolt into the floor.
These pull up stations have adjustable bars on the uprights, and a high fixed bar. We'll be using the lower bar a lot, mainly because we don't have a bunch of members who can do full pull ups. They should be fun!
We had fun with a hammer drill, sledge hammer, and red heads. They should add some excitement to the gym. We have four to install, but didn't have enough red heads (those gingers are amazing.)
For those of you who don't know what a red head is, it is a cement anchor. It is a long bold, that expands at the bottom when tightened. This locks the bolt into the floor.
These pull up stations have adjustable bars on the uprights, and a high fixed bar. We'll be using the lower bar a lot, mainly because we don't have a bunch of members who can do full pull ups. They should be fun!
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Back to the gym
So the last couple of weeks I only went to the gym once. Long story short we had an outbreak of pink eye in our house (hate it) and I had a head cold.
Monday morning went back in to the gym. Did a ton of squats and now my hamstrings are hurting. Then on Tuesday night I took my oldest to the gym with me. He was frustrated that I was getting done with the exercises faster than he was. The big problem was that Tuesday was a leg strength day. Now my hamstrings really hurt.
It's good to be going again. At our gym we test every six weeks, which has been extended to ten now. We see if we are making our goals, and the trainer has six levels he would like us to work through. I've been stuck at level 5 for some months, mainly because I've plateaued on my weight loss goals. I've now set a goal to drop 15 pounds over the next ten weeks. I'll keep you updated.
Monday morning went back in to the gym. Did a ton of squats and now my hamstrings are hurting. Then on Tuesday night I took my oldest to the gym with me. He was frustrated that I was getting done with the exercises faster than he was. The big problem was that Tuesday was a leg strength day. Now my hamstrings really hurt.
It's good to be going again. At our gym we test every six weeks, which has been extended to ten now. We see if we are making our goals, and the trainer has six levels he would like us to work through. I've been stuck at level 5 for some months, mainly because I've plateaued on my weight loss goals. I've now set a goal to drop 15 pounds over the next ten weeks. I'll keep you updated.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Airport
I had to drop someone off at the airport this morning, and as I drove away I saw a gaggle of missionaries behind a big uhaul van getting there luggage out. I don't remember doing that, but what do I know. It's been 19 years.
I was sad I was driving so I couldn't get a picture. I was happy trying to come up with a proper name for a big group of missionaries. I really think a quorum, or a district might be the best. Although if you are anti-Mormon you might think a murder is better.
UPDATE: I think I have come up with the correct term, an Army of Elders. See it is a reference to the Army of Heleman, and if you are anti-Mormon it could cast them in a negative light, like the forces of darkness. I think this is a win/win naming scheme, and I expect to hear everyone refer to the missionaries using it. That is all.
UPDATE TWO: I had to go and pick the folks up, their flight filled up. I had to take them back a few hours later, just in time for the snow to hit. I cannot believe how much snow the storm dropped so quickly. Hooray for snow in March.
I was sad I was driving so I couldn't get a picture. I was happy trying to come up with a proper name for a big group of missionaries. I really think a quorum, or a district might be the best. Although if you are anti-Mormon you might think a murder is better.
UPDATE: I think I have come up with the correct term, an Army of Elders. See it is a reference to the Army of Heleman, and if you are anti-Mormon it could cast them in a negative light, like the forces of darkness. I think this is a win/win naming scheme, and I expect to hear everyone refer to the missionaries using it. That is all.
UPDATE TWO: I had to go and pick the folks up, their flight filled up. I had to take them back a few hours later, just in time for the snow to hit. I cannot believe how much snow the storm dropped so quickly. Hooray for snow in March.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Busy weekend
Saturday was non-stop. Woke up, and got to Bountiful Baskets to volunteer. Bountiful Baskets is a great produce co-op currently running in 20 states. For around $17 you get 12 produce items every week. You can also add on other items. Good quality and good value. Luckily this weekend I wasn't in charge and just had to be a worker drone.
As soon as that was done, I had to run home and get my oldest ready for soccer practice. We had a good session with some specialized running training. The one thing I noticed at practice was the size of my son. He was middle of the pack height wise at the end of fall season. Now he is the third tallest kid on the team. He must have grown four inches since October.
Then I had to run home because the wife had to go to a baby shower and was in charge of music for our Stake's baptisms. She sent me a text that Elder M. Russell Ballard was there.
When she got home I had to go pick up more MDF for the wainscoting, and supplies to make a slide for my son. As we were doing that, my folks called and invited us to go see "The Lorax".
So we got home from Lowes, and packed the kids up and headed to the theater. I bought a couple of tubs of popcorn, they are refillable, and my mom pulled small popcorn bags from her purse, and we fed the entire extended family. Then they invited us to Chuck O Rama.
This is always a special adventure as our autistic son gets overwhelmed and wants to run around. We have to strap him down and serve him. My other kids love it though. We did get to have my oldest nephew sit with us, and he is a great kid. (I'm still going to call him kid even though he is 17.)
We had previously been invites to my sister-in-law's house to watch some old UFC fights. We were running a bit late, but really enjoyed the fights. My oldest fell asleep with his head under a blanket. I carried him most of the way to the car, and it really freaked him out. By this time it was 10:30, and time to go to bed.
Sunday was slower, but we got a new bishopric, so church was exciting. We're excited for the new bishopric, but sad to see the old Bishop move. I was also able to get laundry done on Sunday as I didn't have time on Saturday.
Our oldest went to church with my folks. They are doing a local mission with a Spanish speaking branch, and he needed some practice for his Junior high class. He seemed to enjoy it.
We went visiting family, and I got to see my newest nephew for the first time.
It was busy, but enjoyable. Hope everyone has a good week.
As soon as that was done, I had to run home and get my oldest ready for soccer practice. We had a good session with some specialized running training. The one thing I noticed at practice was the size of my son. He was middle of the pack height wise at the end of fall season. Now he is the third tallest kid on the team. He must have grown four inches since October.
Then I had to run home because the wife had to go to a baby shower and was in charge of music for our Stake's baptisms. She sent me a text that Elder M. Russell Ballard was there.
When she got home I had to go pick up more MDF for the wainscoting, and supplies to make a slide for my son. As we were doing that, my folks called and invited us to go see "The Lorax".
So we got home from Lowes, and packed the kids up and headed to the theater. I bought a couple of tubs of popcorn, they are refillable, and my mom pulled small popcorn bags from her purse, and we fed the entire extended family. Then they invited us to Chuck O Rama.
This is always a special adventure as our autistic son gets overwhelmed and wants to run around. We have to strap him down and serve him. My other kids love it though. We did get to have my oldest nephew sit with us, and he is a great kid. (I'm still going to call him kid even though he is 17.)
We had previously been invites to my sister-in-law's house to watch some old UFC fights. We were running a bit late, but really enjoyed the fights. My oldest fell asleep with his head under a blanket. I carried him most of the way to the car, and it really freaked him out. By this time it was 10:30, and time to go to bed.
Sunday was slower, but we got a new bishopric, so church was exciting. We're excited for the new bishopric, but sad to see the old Bishop move. I was also able to get laundry done on Sunday as I didn't have time on Saturday.
Our oldest went to church with my folks. They are doing a local mission with a Spanish speaking branch, and he needed some practice for his Junior high class. He seemed to enjoy it.
We went visiting family, and I got to see my newest nephew for the first time.
It was busy, but enjoyable. Hope everyone has a good week.
Friday, March 2, 2012
New iPhone App (at least new to me)
I just downloaded an app called Stop Motion Cafe. It allows you to easily make stop motion, think claymation, animations. Below is my directorial debut. Enjoy.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Viewed on the train
So I had to sneak a picture of this ear ring. It looks like a peach pit on the end. The great thing is I had a wonderful talk with this guy and his partner, who looked like Donald Sutherland and was at least as old. I saw pictures of their iguana and their chihuahua. 
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Stair wainscoting
I painted the wainscoting on the stairs last night. Utah is expecting two days of snow, so I won't be able to get more wood for a dew days. I thought I might as well finish the part I could.
I have also painted our upper cabinets, but haven't "antiqued" them yet. More updates to come.
I have also painted our upper cabinets, but haven't "antiqued" them yet. More updates to come.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Next project after the wainscoting
So, I've been planning out the next project, as I haven't finished the kitchen or wainscoting yet. My wife would like a "laundry center", and she has seen some things on Pinterest. I looked at them, and have decided I like the idea, but will build it correctly, as my old boss the carpenter would say.
We have a hallway in the basement, by our furnace and water heater. It has a little set back, which is an ideal place for this. Below are my Google Sketch Up renderings of what I'll be doing.
First, the overall view, from the side.
So the original plan called for the box to sit right on the ground. Now, having built kitchen cabinets and furniture this looks bad to me. It is purely aesthetic, but I wanted a toe-kick. Instead of being 36 inches off the ground, mine will be closer to 39 inches. I'll be grouping two side-by-side, and it will be 52 inches long. The height is taller than a standard cabinet, but that doesn't bother me, as you're going to fold laundry on top of it, and I think this might be a bit more comfortable.
Here is the front view. This cabinet is designed to hold six standard laundry baskets, so you can separate your laundry.
The original plan called for pocket holes to build this cabinet. I plan on employing my stacked dado head cutter, in the tablesaw. This will allow me to use glue and brads to hold it together, and not have to deal with the screws. This is also how I was taught to build cabinets.
Here is a view of the side. I will run a rabbit at the top, and a dado a few inches off the ground. (I'll do a follow up post with the exact measurements later.) That is it for the sides.
The top and bottom of each cabinet are a simple rectangle.
For the toe-kick, I'll cut two pieces. One will sit behind the other, and be painted black. This give the impression of a piece of furniture, but doesn't allow a bunch of dirt and garbage to get under the cabinet. I'll cut a simple arc on the front piece, mainly because I like Arts and Crafts style furniture, and this fits.
I will put a face frame around the front, to hide the edges of the plywood. This is the place I'll use the pocket holes.
The top will be a single piece of plywood, with a piece of pine wrapped around it. The entire cabinet will be painted the same color as the walls, and should make a nice addition to the laundry process.
Once I start the project, I'll post some pics.
We have a hallway in the basement, by our furnace and water heater. It has a little set back, which is an ideal place for this. Below are my Google Sketch Up renderings of what I'll be doing.
First, the overall view, from the side.
So the original plan called for the box to sit right on the ground. Now, having built kitchen cabinets and furniture this looks bad to me. It is purely aesthetic, but I wanted a toe-kick. Instead of being 36 inches off the ground, mine will be closer to 39 inches. I'll be grouping two side-by-side, and it will be 52 inches long. The height is taller than a standard cabinet, but that doesn't bother me, as you're going to fold laundry on top of it, and I think this might be a bit more comfortable.
Here is the front view. This cabinet is designed to hold six standard laundry baskets, so you can separate your laundry.
The original plan called for pocket holes to build this cabinet. I plan on employing my stacked dado head cutter, in the tablesaw. This will allow me to use glue and brads to hold it together, and not have to deal with the screws. This is also how I was taught to build cabinets.
Here is a view of the side. I will run a rabbit at the top, and a dado a few inches off the ground. (I'll do a follow up post with the exact measurements later.) That is it for the sides.
The top and bottom of each cabinet are a simple rectangle.
For the toe-kick, I'll cut two pieces. One will sit behind the other, and be painted black. This give the impression of a piece of furniture, but doesn't allow a bunch of dirt and garbage to get under the cabinet. I'll cut a simple arc on the front piece, mainly because I like Arts and Crafts style furniture, and this fits.
I will put a face frame around the front, to hide the edges of the plywood. This is the place I'll use the pocket holes.
The top will be a single piece of plywood, with a piece of pine wrapped around it. The entire cabinet will be painted the same color as the walls, and should make a nice addition to the laundry process.
Once I start the project, I'll post some pics.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Wainscoting
We've had a lot going on in our house. The wife has me doing some home improvement. It started when our youngest, who's autistic, figured out he could peel the paint off the walls. This went on for some time, and he peeled all of the paint off of our stairwell and most of our main hall. He then moved into the kitchen. This led to a big drywall repair session.
Basically, I skim coated all of the walls. In turn, this meant a ton of dust from the sanding.
After the sanding, I two-tone painted all of the walls. The bottom is white. The top of the hall is a tan, and in the kitchen a colonial blue.
I drew up the plans on Google Sketch Up, and got them approved by the planning board (the wife.). I started in the kitchen, using 1/2 inch MDF (multidensity fiberboard.). This paints well, and is relatively cheep. The only negative is that the cut sides need to be sealed. The cost effective way to do this is with drywall compound. You simply apply a thin coat. This will dry hard and take paint very well. here is the first wall.
I then moved on to the pantry.
I still have to buy some more paint to finish the wainscoting.
From there the foreman asked for some more changes. Our house was built in the 70's, and we have slab front, contractor grade cabinets. I found some small accent moulding at the Lowes. I don't understand the rules of English that make you add the extra 'the' in front of hardware stores, but it exists. Before:
After:
I am now painting them a cream color, then we will be antiquing them.
We then decided to move our pan storage. We had a wall mounted hook rack that blocked our window. We ran out to Ikea and bought some wall mounted ones. We now have out of the way pan storage.
Then, Saturday night I caught the youngest trying to peel the paint on our stairwell. I had repaired this, and repainted it. The hallway, and stairs are stage two of the wainscoting project, and I know I didn't do the best around the edges (as they would be covered.) So I grabbed the last of the 1/2 inch MDF I had, and did this:
Needless the say, the wife is happy, and excited for the rest to go in. She can't wait for the paint. I'll post more pics as I go. Enjoy!
Basically, I skim coated all of the walls. In turn, this meant a ton of dust from the sanding.
After the sanding, I two-tone painted all of the walls. The bottom is white. The top of the hall is a tan, and in the kitchen a colonial blue.
I drew up the plans on Google Sketch Up, and got them approved by the planning board (the wife.). I started in the kitchen, using 1/2 inch MDF (multidensity fiberboard.). This paints well, and is relatively cheep. The only negative is that the cut sides need to be sealed. The cost effective way to do this is with drywall compound. You simply apply a thin coat. This will dry hard and take paint very well. here is the first wall.
I then moved on to the pantry.
I still have to buy some more paint to finish the wainscoting.
From there the foreman asked for some more changes. Our house was built in the 70's, and we have slab front, contractor grade cabinets. I found some small accent moulding at the Lowes. I don't understand the rules of English that make you add the extra 'the' in front of hardware stores, but it exists. Before:
After:
I am now painting them a cream color, then we will be antiquing them.
We then decided to move our pan storage. We had a wall mounted hook rack that blocked our window. We ran out to Ikea and bought some wall mounted ones. We now have out of the way pan storage.
Then, Saturday night I caught the youngest trying to peel the paint on our stairwell. I had repaired this, and repainted it. The hallway, and stairs are stage two of the wainscoting project, and I know I didn't do the best around the edges (as they would be covered.) So I grabbed the last of the 1/2 inch MDF I had, and did this:
Needless the say, the wife is happy, and excited for the rest to go in. She can't wait for the paint. I'll post more pics as I go. Enjoy!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Chest Press
Went to the gym yesterday, and part of the workout was three sets of 12 dumbbell chest presses. Usually our chest workouts are either fewer reps, or kind of a pyramid (starting at lighter weights with more reps, and working up to heavier weights and fewer reps.)
Now the flashback. . . just a week ago, I had gone to the gym in the morning, and then went again in the evening with my wife. That day we did five sets of 10 reps of dumbbell chest presses. I complained to my wife that I felt week. In high school, my typical warm-up on bench press was a set of ten with 185 pounds. Then I realized that in that day I had done 100 reps of 100 pounds, and didn't feel so bad.
And back to the present. The trainer said he wanted us to go at least five pounds heavier than we usually do. We have a weird gap in our dumbbells at the gym, we have everything in five pound increments, except 60, 65, and 70 pounds. I usually use the 50's, or 55's when I do chest press, so I decided I'd push myself and use the 75's. I was happy that I could get out 27 reps of 150 pounds. I had to finish the last nine with the 55's.
The crappy part of the workout was that I started in the middle, and went really heavy. Then I had to go back to the first, and that involved a lot of burpees, and my chest was really tired. We also did tri-ball push-ups (both of your feet on one medicine ball, and then a medicine ball for each of your hands), followed by 30 more "atomic push-ups". The atomic push-up is a combination chest and ab workout. You put your feet on top of an exercise ball, or in the TRX, and do a push-up, straight into a pike.
Anyway, my chest is tired today!
Now the flashback. . . just a week ago, I had gone to the gym in the morning, and then went again in the evening with my wife. That day we did five sets of 10 reps of dumbbell chest presses. I complained to my wife that I felt week. In high school, my typical warm-up on bench press was a set of ten with 185 pounds. Then I realized that in that day I had done 100 reps of 100 pounds, and didn't feel so bad.
And back to the present. The trainer said he wanted us to go at least five pounds heavier than we usually do. We have a weird gap in our dumbbells at the gym, we have everything in five pound increments, except 60, 65, and 70 pounds. I usually use the 50's, or 55's when I do chest press, so I decided I'd push myself and use the 75's. I was happy that I could get out 27 reps of 150 pounds. I had to finish the last nine with the 55's.
The crappy part of the workout was that I started in the middle, and went really heavy. Then I had to go back to the first, and that involved a lot of burpees, and my chest was really tired. We also did tri-ball push-ups (both of your feet on one medicine ball, and then a medicine ball for each of your hands), followed by 30 more "atomic push-ups". The atomic push-up is a combination chest and ab workout. You put your feet on top of an exercise ball, or in the TRX, and do a push-up, straight into a pike.
Anyway, my chest is tired today!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Body Transformation Challenge
So the gym is doing a body transformation challenge, or eight week biggest loser. I decided I'd sign up. I'll keep you posted on how it goes. I'm half way to my weekly goal already, and it's only Tuesday.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Fun with the TRX
I had to run into the gym this morning, I'm taking part in a body transformation challenge, and one of my friends was showing someone else how they had done a fancy push-up with the TRX. My friend probably weighs 80 pounds, so not as scary for her. I mentioned to Jason, my trainer, how I wanted to try it, but didn't think the TRX was rated that high. He told me that he had done it, and he out weighs me by 30 pounds. I thought I'd give it a try.
He walked into the office to register someone else for the challenge, and I did it. One of the other trainers was in the office and could see me and she got excited. Jason stuck his head out and asked me to stick around for a second. I had no idea why. He then asked if he could film me doing it. This time I didn't get the full push-up done. It felt like the bands were squeezing my shoulders, and my arms were below my chest, so I couldn't use my pecs. It does make a pretty good picture though n
I would like it noted that I was using extensive safety equipment. That mat underneath me is almost half an inch thick!
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Holiday recap!
It's time for the first annual holiday recap!
I don't know how much I'll remember, but I'll give it a shot.
My last post was December 14th. In that time, I built a table and a desk set. My mother, who is impossible to shop for, told me that she wanted a narrow console table for her entryway. She told me that I should start building, because I had a year to get it done. (I'll post a picture later.) I had some red oak lumber in the shop, so I decided to give it a go.
My daughter wanted a table and chair for her room. I, being so smart, decided that a desk and chair would be better. So I set out and made an old school style desk and chair. My daughter only got the oak plywood (hers was painted after all.) It is a nice bright purple. (I'll also update this with a photo later.)
That took most of my free time leading up to Christmas. We then had Christmas, which was good. The kids got pretty much everything they asked for, which wasn't too much this year. The oldest got a lot of "cool" clothes. The older daughter got some cooking stuff and art things, and a lalaloopsy doll (don't ask). The younger daughter got a lalaloopsy doll (don't ask), and a desk. The entire family got a Wii. The youngest was totally not interested, and didn't open his presents for days afterward. My wife got some clothes and a huge pan. I got a Roku II.
I'm moving the family away from cable tv, too expensive, and the Roku is awesome. The only drawback is it is hard to get sports. I also had to upgrade the router to make sure that the signal was strong enough. I'm also running Netflix on the Wii, but seem to be having network problems occasionally. I'll probably get a cheaper Roku player for the basement.
After Christmas we had a short work week, and then New Years Eve. I spent a good part of New Years laying down with the youngest. Part of his autism is sleep problems. We give him some medication to help, but sometimes it doesn't kick in very quickly. He was up until 11:20 p.m. I then got up, and played a few games of Uno with the wife and daughters. Then we went down and watched the ball drop in New York. Man, Dick Clark looks scary!
Then the youngest had to go in and have some dental work done. As part of his autism, he seeks for sensory input. One of his favorite is grinding his teeth. This has resulted in some bad teeth. We took him in, and he had to be sedated (general anesthesia). They weren't able to get great x-rays of his teeth in the office, so the first thing they did was take x-rays. They found worse problems than they thought, and he ended up with eight crowns, and numerous cavities. When they brought him out of anesthesia, his mother went back with him. I could hear his screaming from the other end of the surgical center. When they finally called me back, he had blood on his face and was throwing a tantrum on the ground. We think he was upset because he had Novocaine on top of the general. It must have felt like he had a bandage on his face, and he kept trying to scrape it off. I picked him up and took him to the van. He threw one more tantrum before I could get him in, in which he made it to the ground. I put him in, and strapped him down. About half way home, as we were on the interstate, he managed to squirm down in his seat until he caught his chin on the seat belt. I had to pull over so my wife could fix it.
We finally got him home, and he was inconsolable. We gave him his sleeping medication and he finally went to sleep. After he woke up, he was still dazed for the rest of the day. He was also dazed the next day. Finally, around 3-4 in the afternoon, he woke up and started to be himself again. Now he is starting to act normally, but the crowns are bugging him. (They left the crowns on his molars longer so he had difficulty grinding his teeth.)
Well, that pretty much sums it up. I'll update the post once I have the pictures. Hooray for the holidays.
I don't know how much I'll remember, but I'll give it a shot.
My last post was December 14th. In that time, I built a table and a desk set. My mother, who is impossible to shop for, told me that she wanted a narrow console table for her entryway. She told me that I should start building, because I had a year to get it done. (I'll post a picture later.) I had some red oak lumber in the shop, so I decided to give it a go.
My daughter wanted a table and chair for her room. I, being so smart, decided that a desk and chair would be better. So I set out and made an old school style desk and chair. My daughter only got the oak plywood (hers was painted after all.) It is a nice bright purple. (I'll also update this with a photo later.)
That took most of my free time leading up to Christmas. We then had Christmas, which was good. The kids got pretty much everything they asked for, which wasn't too much this year. The oldest got a lot of "cool" clothes. The older daughter got some cooking stuff and art things, and a lalaloopsy doll (don't ask). The younger daughter got a lalaloopsy doll (don't ask), and a desk. The entire family got a Wii. The youngest was totally not interested, and didn't open his presents for days afterward. My wife got some clothes and a huge pan. I got a Roku II.
I'm moving the family away from cable tv, too expensive, and the Roku is awesome. The only drawback is it is hard to get sports. I also had to upgrade the router to make sure that the signal was strong enough. I'm also running Netflix on the Wii, but seem to be having network problems occasionally. I'll probably get a cheaper Roku player for the basement.
After Christmas we had a short work week, and then New Years Eve. I spent a good part of New Years laying down with the youngest. Part of his autism is sleep problems. We give him some medication to help, but sometimes it doesn't kick in very quickly. He was up until 11:20 p.m. I then got up, and played a few games of Uno with the wife and daughters. Then we went down and watched the ball drop in New York. Man, Dick Clark looks scary!
Then the youngest had to go in and have some dental work done. As part of his autism, he seeks for sensory input. One of his favorite is grinding his teeth. This has resulted in some bad teeth. We took him in, and he had to be sedated (general anesthesia). They weren't able to get great x-rays of his teeth in the office, so the first thing they did was take x-rays. They found worse problems than they thought, and he ended up with eight crowns, and numerous cavities. When they brought him out of anesthesia, his mother went back with him. I could hear his screaming from the other end of the surgical center. When they finally called me back, he had blood on his face and was throwing a tantrum on the ground. We think he was upset because he had Novocaine on top of the general. It must have felt like he had a bandage on his face, and he kept trying to scrape it off. I picked him up and took him to the van. He threw one more tantrum before I could get him in, in which he made it to the ground. I put him in, and strapped him down. About half way home, as we were on the interstate, he managed to squirm down in his seat until he caught his chin on the seat belt. I had to pull over so my wife could fix it.
We finally got him home, and he was inconsolable. We gave him his sleeping medication and he finally went to sleep. After he woke up, he was still dazed for the rest of the day. He was also dazed the next day. Finally, around 3-4 in the afternoon, he woke up and started to be himself again. Now he is starting to act normally, but the crowns are bugging him. (They left the crowns on his molars longer so he had difficulty grinding his teeth.)
Well, that pretty much sums it up. I'll update the post once I have the pictures. Hooray for the holidays.
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