Basement Installation Complete

Last night I finished cutting and installing the trim in the basement. As I mentioned in my previous post, I haven't done any sanding, spackle, or paint. So, you're seeing the "rough draft". This was my first attempt at an outside corner and dead ends. I had to work around the surround sound speakers, air vents, and shower tile. That's why I did them last. All in all I'm happy with my first attempt. Using adhesive and foam is really forgiving...you can pretty much move, cut, and sand down everything until it looks right.

The last step down here before moving up to the main level is to spackle and sand all of the joints. This is a crucial step (from my experience with the window sills) if you want the end product to look good. I'll attempt to eliminate the rough edges in the bathroom and, to use a buzz word, make everything "seamless".

5 Months Old

I can't believe Jonathan is already 5 months old. His looks are changing - however, he still looks a lot like Stacey. We've already noticed other significant differences between he and Julia...namely, he's a lot more active (he's a boy) and he's a lot less shy. He smiles at everyone and will let anyone hold him.

Today's Number Is...

...300. Badger 1, over and out.

Basement Crown

I couldn't resist starting on it after I had all the materials and my work space setup. I started in the basement so that I could work out the kinks...since we aren't down there as much, it's darker, the ceilings are lower, there are a lot of overhangs, etc. I've learned some good lessons before hitting the main level.

All I've done thus far is cut and glue the trim. No seam patching, no painting, nothing. It still looks pretty good though. I'm working my way to the space with the television (where we sit), if you don't catch that in the pictures. We'll need to add some more color and decorations later. All in all, it's easier then I thought it would be and the installation will probably go faster that I expected. The tedious part will be painting and caulking it throughout the entire house.

Election Results

Stacey and I did our civic duty yesterday and voted. Everyone knew that the country was going to get more red and less blue, so I'm really not writing this post to talk about that. I'm writing about the state, county and local issues that were presented to the voters. Overall...man, what a waste of time! The ballot was covered with mostly bad to really bad ideas. I feel safe in saying this since most of them were defeated and that I was in the majority on the majority of the issues.

Amendments 60, 61, and 101 were some of the largest losers in addition to 62. These 4 were defeated by an average of over 70%. It makes me wonder how things like this can even get on the ballot...but I guess if it was too difficult things would never get done.

I was really hoping that the D49 school bond and property tax issue would get approved. It was narrowly defeated, probably because a lot of the people that live on this side of town have lower incomes, likely to be more anti-tax, are more transient, and the overall timing was bad related to the current state of our government and economy. In short, it would have probably increased people's average taxes around $6-$10 a month. It would have been used to upgrade our schools and build new schools to cope with the overcrowding that's taking place in this area since it's loaded with young families. We just built a brand new high school and this would have also increased its capacity to 1600 (that's more students then the school I graduated from). The high school would have also gotten an auditorium, additional athletics field, etc. This would have improved the capacity issues at both the middle school and high school our kids will be eligible to attend (should we decide to go that route).

At the very least, I was hoping it was pass so that it would help keep our property values high. If things get too crowded this area won't be as desirable and people will buy elsewhere, lowering our home values. More concerning, it will change the TYPE of people buy homes here. I hope the district might still be able to build some of these new schools and expand others through other non-voting avenues. I don't see this issue getting any better in the near future, so it will probably be addressed and fixed in the coming years anyway. Well, at least that's my hope.

Tottenham 3-1 Internazionale

Good things come to those who wait. Tonight's historic win against the defending champions is a far FAR cry from where we were almost exactly 2 years ago. When Harry took over as manager at the end of October 2008, we had only 2 points from 8 games in the league. It was a miserable time and all signs pointed to relegation. In the spring of 2009 (the end of the same season) we started to put down some good performances. Last season we consistently played well and qualified for the world's top club competition. Now, 2 years later, after some good signings and good management (coaching), we've beaten one of the best teams in the world and are at the top of Group A in the Champions League. It's been an amazing run has and evoked memories of the glory days in decades past.

In addition to the average players in the squad raising their game, Rafael Van Der Vaart (VDV) and Gareth Bale have been revelations this season. VDV has been the creative force in our Champions League matches and has scored some big goals. Bale has captured the world's attention with his play out wide. Tonight he destroyed his opponent every time he had the ball, embarrassing Maicon (arguably one of the best defenders in the world). It was silly how he just ran past the Inter defenders at every opportunity as if they were standing still. You just don't see a player slicing through a defense at this level like Bale did tonight. What made his performance so memorable was that after he sliced open the defense, his final pass was inch-perfect, creating 2 of our 3 goals.

We are now probably 1 draw away from qualifying for the "sweet 16" phase of the world's top club competition. Heck, since we will win the tiebreaker against Inter, we could even win the group and get a favorable match up in the first round. We host Werder Bremen next and Inter host Twente. Most likely the home teams will win or at the very least draw. The way I figure it, as long as we don't lose our last 2 games we'll be in the next round. That is, 1 more point regardless of who it is against should see us through. I think we could win them both though.



As I've mentioned in the past, I'm just enjoying this ride considering where we were only 2 years ago.

Goals: VDV (18), Crouch (61), Pav (89)

Julia's Motorcycle

Julia has gotten very good at riding her bike - no, no, motorcycle. That's what she insists on calling it. Today we went for a 30 minute walk and she pretty much rode her motorcycle the entire way. A month or two ago I tried to tell/show her that when she got riding fast enough, she could pick her feet up and coast for as long as her momentum carried her.

Today she really figured it out. There were times where she coasted (and steered) with her feet up/balancing for 30 feet at a time. It was really fun to watch her ride a bike (essentially) for the first time in her life. When she took off down the sidewalk I cheered her on until she coasted to a stop. Most of the time she would drop her motorcycle and run back to Momma to give her a hug, the entire time calling out to Stacey to make sure she had seen her ride her motorcycle.

As if almost learning to ride a bike (except the pedaling part) before the age of 3 wasn't good enough, I was very pleased how well Julia took instructions from me. She seems very teachable. One joy ride ended with a little bit of a crash because she picked up too much speed - a consequence of good balance and good steering. I only needed to tell her once that sometimes she might end up going too fast and that all she needed to do to slow down was to use her feet. Sure enough, the next time she started to coast she put her feet down to slow herself down after picking up enough speed.

Perhaps the best part of the day was seeing her eyes light up when I told her how good she did on her bike and that I was proud of her. At the very least I got a hug out of it. It's the little things like this that make me glad I took some time off work to stay home and that make being a parent worth it.

Treat Or Trick

This week we sat down and watched one of our family favorites, It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. Julia saw it for the first time and really liked it. In fact, she asked to watch it again the next night. I think Snoopy was her favorite character...much like her Dad when he was younger.

I've watched this show over 20 times, but this year something new caught my attention. What's the deal with the phrase "trick or treat"? When Charlie Brown goes trick or treating, every other child gets candy but he always gets a rock. I've always assumed that it's just because he's Charlie Brown. This year, it dawned on me that maybe the phrase meant that we could "trick" a kid or two in addition to giving others candy. The film was written in the late 1960s, so maybe in our all-accepting, everyone wins culture, the practice had changed and everyone only ever gets treated.

I asked my Grandma about it, and her understanding is the same as what is listed in Wikipedia. Trick or treat normally means "give me a treat or I'll play a trick on you"...from the point of the requester. I realize the word "or" should make the order irrelevant, and that it probably means "trick unless treated". In today's common language, the order of words in a threat usually go in the opposite order though. The want is followed by the consequence. For example, "you'll be grounded unless you stop swearing" is awkward and unconvincing compared to "stop swearing or you're grounded". It's awkward to say it the other way around, like trick or treat. Maybe we've just changed over the years so that the reversed order seems more awkward then it was originally. So then, today the phrase should be "treat or (I'll) trick", right?

So there you have it. It's now "treat or trick". Or, we could just change to what's often heard in Canada, "Halloween Apples". Or, my personal favorite from Quebec, simply, "Halloween". It would be hilarious if a kid rang my doorbell and just said, "Halloween" (so give me my friggin' candy, pops).

So, from here forward, if I ever do start handing out candy as my kids get older, rest assured the basket will be filled with a few rocks and whatever else I was planning on throwing away anyway. "Trick or treat" will probably land you an old smelly sock. "Treat or trick" and I'll likely give you my entire stash of candy. I will be extorted by sugar-crazed whippersnappers no more. The tables have been turned, little Johnny...it goes both ways!

Tickle Fight

Posh Spice