On Saturday, April 5th, Stacey and I had our first anniversary. Before I get smacked upside the head for messing up our wedding date I should mention that I'm talking about our house. It's been an entire year since we moved in on Easter weekend 2007. To celebrate, we did the same thing we've been doing almost every weekend since that time: worked on the house and/or went shopping for furnishings and decorations.
I'm not joking when I say it's been a grueling but fun year inside the Sudduth household. Painting, decorating, and furnishing 2000 finished square feet takes a lot of monetary, physical, and mental resources. I'm sure you feel very sorry for us right now...but you have to remember that I spent the first 7 years after college in the military. I've never really had a true home since I left my parent's house for college in 1996 (11 years).
Our goal has been to finish the house as soon as possible since we have the time and resources to do so with Stacey working and not having or having very young children. There is soon coming a season where we won't have weekends to ourselves. So what have we done in a year? Everything except the kids bathroom and our master bedroom (the unfinished basement is another story). When we're finished I'll give you a video tour of the fruit of our labor complete with before and after shots.
We feel very blessed in our current situation. Although a lot has gone into this, we are careful not to make it our treasure. We desire to have a relaxing, nice, safe, and quiet place to raise a family and are hoping to create that before we our attention is turned elsewhere (i.e. toddlers, soccer games, high school and college graduations). The reason for that is one day soon we're going to wake up to an empty house and wonder where the last 20 years went.
Julia, Mommy, Grandma and Great-Grandma...
Just me playing around with iTunes, iPhoto, and iMovie... These are all pictures I've taken in the last few years.
I want to sell my 2003 Interstate West 4x6 enclosed trailer. The problem is, I don't know what it's worth. I've done some searches on Google and Craigslist, but I can't seem to find anything comparable for sale and there doesn't appear to be any consistency in the trailer market. A guy at work said that he may be interested, and was wondering what I would sell it for.
So, I'm asking you what you think. I purchased this trailer in 2003 in Washington for $1,400. I found a dealer in town who is selling the same trailer brand new for $1,400 as well. So, I feel confident that my trailer is worth $1,400 new. I've put approximately 3,500 miles on the trailer. The only thing that needs replacing is the red plastic cover on each of the taillights. They are both cracked (from me walking it into its place in my garage) but still work.
Do you think $950 is too low or too much? Do you know where I can get the value of a trailer? It has a current registration and would come with two disc locks and a hitch lock. Here's a picture of it:
As many of you may know, I am still driving the same 1994 Toyota pickup that I have had since I was 16 years old. It was the truck that no one wanted, mainly because it had no A/C, had no radio, and was entirely manual (transmission, windows, locking hubs, etc). In fact, it didn't even have a rear bumper! That, apparently, was extra. But, what it did have was 4 wheel drive, only 6 miles on it, and under the hood one of Toyota's famously indestructible 22R-E 4-banger engines. 14 years and 120,000 miles later, my truck still runs (and looks, in my opinion) great. I plan on driving it until it dies...which, apparently, according to these video clips, is never.
So in honor of my truck and Toyota Motor Corp, I hope you enjoy these videos. Thanks goes out to my parents for the initial purchase, my brother in law Pat for these videos, and the show Top Gear for these awesome clips. Trust me, they are worth watching!
Top Gear: Killing a Toyota Part 1
Top Gear: Killing a Toyota Part 2
Top Gear: Killing a Toyota Part 3
A few weeks ago I was going to post a blog on Prince Harry and his service in Afghanistan...but time somehow managed to escape me. Luckily I was reminded by an email I received today.
Prince Harry of Wales is the 3rd in line to the British throne. For approximately 10 weeks he secretly served on the front lines in Afghanistan. He volunteered to go and serve, to fight for his country, even though he did not have to considering the fact that he was born into the Royal Family. For obvious security reasons, the military asked the press to keep his service secret - in effect, allow him to serve as a regular soldier and not to be a high interest target for the enemy.
The prince was a member of a group called Joint Tactical Air Control, or JTAC. For the lay-person, what this group does is pretty much encapsulated in their name. This is a force comprised of various services such as the Army and Air Force from allied countries (Joint) tactically (Tactical) coordinating and controlling (Control) the use of air power (Air). To simplify it even more, it's a really big coordinated effort by a bunch of people from various services and countries on how best to use bombs, aircraft missiles, and air support to accomplish an objective.
By all accounts, this British-equivalent Second Lieutenant served well and fought alongside his brothers with the same courage, dedication, and commitment. That is, until his secret was revealed by an Australian news agency which prompted his recall back to his homeland. His desire to serve and to be put in harms way should be applauded.
Fast forward to the email I received today...
Forward Operating Base Delhi, a gritty and violent Afghanistan outpost set deep inside Taliban country, was taking fire from multiple sides. Observing the action from a fortified post, a joint terminal attack controller with the code name "Widow Six Seven" needed close-air support. He patched through to Capt. Ben Donberg, an American F-15E pilot cruising overhead. In a lilting but adrenaline-fueled British accent, Widow Six Seven guided Donberg and a companion F-15 pilot to the entrenched Taliban fighters for one, two and, finally, three rounds of laser-guided bomb strikes.
Only later did we all find out that the young freshman I knew at CU, Ben, had just executed Prince Harry's (Widow Six Seven's) first air-strike. Congratulations man (right in picture)...now that's what I call a memory that will last a lifetime.
Judging by the dazed look, the spit up, the inability to walk, the uncontrollable giddiness and the beer gut, I'd say this "Little O'Cutie" has had one too many. Happy St. Patty's Day everyone.
