Month: June 2007

Wade and I stayed up much too late last night. We did make it on time to the new church in Greenville where we were meeting Kendall and James. I have to admit it is the friendliest church I have been to and puts all other host teams to shame. At this church, the entire congregation acted as a host team. The people were genuinely interested in us and quickly found people we would connect with (age, job, location, etc.). After the two hour service, the four of us went to lunch at a local diner. We haven’t seen the Pickens in quite a while so lunch was a couple of hours long.

Wade and I had dinner plans in Greenville and not enough time to go back to Anderson. Instead we ran by the mall and then went to the park and took a nap. I haven’t had such a relaxing day in ages. The park is in downtown Greenville with an awesome suspension bridge. There is a river with rocks that make it easy for everyone to wade in and play.

Dinner was the planning of something fun. More about that in a few weeks.

I have the perfect job. There are always smiling faces, power tools, and interesting conversations. A group of 15 guys planned a cartoon showing of Transformers at lunch today and Wade and I joined in. Where else could you watch old school cartoons on a big screen tv during lunch with a group of friends? I love this job.

After two days of not working (I had been checking and hoping), the tv suddenly came back to life. We still aren’t sure what happened or if this will happen again, but for now we don’t need a new tv. Thank goodness. The sad part is Wade has spent the last two days researching new tv’s. (Wade can’t help himself. Before we make any significant purchase he has to do his research. It’s great for me and very frustrating for him.) He doesn’t want all that work to go to waste. Therefore, I am going to share what he has learned with you. He says the ideal flat screen tv (for the measurements of our entertainment center) is a 42″ LG LCD panel Tv.

We have lots of tools at our house. Wade and I both brought quite a few to the marriage and we have accumulated even more in our 2.5 years living together. Some things we consider jointly owned and others have a specific owner. I have my own drill and orbital sander. I do not have my own belt sander. However that seems to be one of the tools I use the most. I have been working around lots of Ridgid and Ryobi tools and really want a Ridgid belt sander (I like the orange). I tried to buy one at the last tool sale but they were only sold in combo kits. Then I randomly found one in an extra cubicle of my department. I did the good thing and found the department owner (I have no idea how it got in one of my cubicles). I let him know I knew of a good home for it, but he took it anyway. Then today he brought it back!! Now I can’t wait to go home and find a new project. I think I am going to bake him cookies!

It has not been our month. Not long after we get our refrigerator fixed, our tv breaks. We have been discussing buying a plasma tv in recent months and now we have a really good excuse, but we had actually decided against it for now. Wade bought our current tv when he was an undergrad, which means it is around six years old. The cost of repair is significant enough we might as well get what we want. Guess we are going tv shopping tomorrow.

On a side note, I normally do the ironing while watching television. I guess this is a good reason not to do it for a while, right?

I spent a good chunk of Friday night putting a second coat of paint on the trim in the mudroom. Oil-based paint is just not fun. And trying to clean up a drip from an uneven brick floor is near to impossible. Good thing I like the “lived-in” look.

Wade spent part of Saturday making me a coark board for the wall. We recently bought one for the kitchen and after much searching bought the best we could find. It isn’t very nice. The cork is very thin and backed with a board. Trying to push in a push-pin takes super effort. Wade knew exactly what I wanted so he built a nice one, with a thick cork board, for the entryway of the mudroom.

Now there are only two projects left in association with the mudroom – Wade is going to lay hardwood steps and we are going to redo the shop door. A dog has previously chewed on it quite a bit and I broke one of the window panes when we first moved in.

Target seems to be getting rid of most of it’s pet supplies. I bought Madison a half-priced duck. She had a snow goose at Christmas and carried it around for a week or two before she killed it. The duck only lasted two days. If you look closely you will see the stuffing hanging to her chin. Such a neat dog when she kills her duck, isn’t she?

Well I’ve had a Market Fresh Turkey sandwich on my mind. Today I actually went to the right restaurant and got almost what I ordered. Evidently “no sauce” doesn’t include mayonnaise. I’ll have to be more specific next time. I wiped off what I could and still enjoyed my sandwich.

Wade had a lunch meeting today so I took the opportunity to get a bunch of errands done. I got my car washed, dropped off the dry cleaning, and got a haircut. Somewhere along the way I realized I also needed to get food. The idea of a Market Fresh Sandwich sounded perfect. I waited in a long line at the drive-thru, got to the microphone and ordered. The woman responds with, “Arby’s serves the Market Fresh, not us.” I look up and realize I am an idiot and had pulled into Chick-fil-A. I can’t even claim that I thought I was in the right place. I just wasn’t paying attention. I quickly ordered a chicken sandwich and got on my way…

Evidently Wade has become enthralled with googly eyes. I found them in the bathroom this morning. Who knows where they will pop up next?

A few months ago, my friend Michelle asked if I wanted to go see CATS. I hadn’t been in a long, LONG time so I said yes. When I talked to Wade, he wanted to come too. That meant Michelle bought Nate a ticket too, only he didn’t want to go. In fact, Michelle didn’t even tell him for quite a while that he was going. We all went to dinner (Flat Rock) and then spent the night at the Peace Center. Wade’s first comment at “half-time” as Nate called it, was “What the heck just happened?” Wade had heard some of the music and assumed he would like the musical. Turns out he just got confused. Michelle and I had a good time though!

I reorganized Wade’s project board. I moved all the small, quick projects to the list to be done this weekend. I’m hoping to get all the little stuff taken care of and then focus on big things. The first project Wade tackled was chopping the wood that has been sitting in our driveway for 3 months. After it is chopped, we move it to the basement to wait for next winter. I knew Wade was out chopping, but I didn’t realize everything he was up to until he showed me the pictures below:

I have tweaked my list of links over the years, but I tend to add and never subtract. As of today, if nothing has been posted in this calendar year (2007) then I am removing the link. Below is a list of the updated links and who/what the link is:
Mike’s Blog – I met Mike and Sarah Diehl while living in DC and before they were married. We ran into Mike at a church we were visiting and invited him to trivia. He came and brought his roommate Rob and we quickly formed the “dinner group”.
Traci’s Blog – Traci and her roommate, Cassie, lived in the same complex as Mike when I was in DC. They were a big part of our “dinner group”.
Rob’s Blog – Rob was Mike’s roommate. Rob now lives in Atlanta and is getting his Master’s in ID at Tech. Rob and Mike used to host the big Halloween Parties we go to in DC. Rob dates Sarah who moved from DC to Atlanta so that they could be together.
Sarah’s Blog – Sarah is Rob’s girlfriend. She and Rob started dating after I left DC, but I feel like I know her. She writes fun blog entries.
Mike 2’s Blog – Mike is a friend of Rob’s from college. He and his wife, Rob, and Sarah all live in the same apartment complex in Atlanta. I have met him a few times, but I don’t know him well. I got to his blog from Rob’s. He writes hilarious entries.
Steven’s Blog – Although Steven and I were at Tech at the same time, I met him through a friend in DC. He wanted to work at the patent office. When I lived in Atlanta he lived a few streets away. Now he still works in Atlanta and dates a nice girl.
Lindsay’s Blog – Lindsay was one of the first people I met at Catalyst Church. Very active and always friendly, Lindsay always has something going on.
Upshaw’s Pictures – I have mentioned the story behind Toadfrogs and Elephants before. Ben Upshaw was an original Toadfrog. He married Stephanie and they now have a daughter, Liza, and a second daughter due in October.
Melilla’s Blog – I met Travis Jones while at Governor Scholar’s Program in high school. We have kept up through the years and this is a blog about his daughter.
Matt’s Gallery – Matt Hodges was one of the first friends I made in DC. He was always up for a lively debate or any other crazy stunt I had planned. Matt recently passed away, but I am not ready to remove his gallery from my list.
Mission to Ethiopia – Lea Ann and her husband, Jim, were the very fist people we met at Catalyst Church. She and her husband took a mission trip to Ethiopia and are planning another one soon.
American Brittany Rescue – Wade and I often take in foster dogs for this rescue group. If anyone wants a dog, there are lots of sweet ones.
Shiny Shiny – Some days I get bored. I look at techy things.
Pop Gadget – Some days I am really bored. Then I look at wacky things.

We all went to early church and had an early lunch before Wade and I got in the car for the long drive home. We fit in a little more computer work and sorting of old stuff before we loaded up the car.

After waiting over a week, Wade called the repair people to see when the necessary part should arrive. They told him that it was back-ordered from the supplier and they couldn’t even give us an estimate. The repairman suggested we call Maytag customer service and maybe we could get an answer from them. After three different answers and being disconnected four times, Wade called the VP of Costumer Service at Whirpool. He called back in a few hours. We got the necessary part the next day and were told all of our expenses (including the mini-fridge) would be reimbursed. The part arrived and the repairman was at our door 10 minutes later to install it. Turns out it was the wrong part. The first repairman had diagnosed the problem incorrectly. The man ordered the new part and promised it would be in the next day. He brought it to our house a few minutes after Wade got home and now we have a working fridge. Geez!

Wade decided to tackle can lights this weekend. He installed two in the mudroom and one in our foyer. I think they turned out pretty well. The next big project will be putting them in the two hallways and kitchen, but those projects are going to wait a while.

Wade always has a project ongoing or a scheme cooking. His newest want is a shopbot CNC router. He has decided this piece of machinery would be perfect for a creative outlet. If it makes him happy and it is possible to make enough money to cover the cost, then I have no problems with it. Wade happened to mention it to his Uncle John in passing last week and Uncle John wanted to hear more. Uncle John and Aunt Louise came to Anderson for a nice dinner out and then the boys talked business plans and Aunt Louise and I talked girl talk. It was a fun evening spent with family. Maybe Wade is even a little closer to getting his new toy.