It's been too long...

It's been quite a few months since I've posted anything. Having a full-time job and a baby son takes a lot more time than I ever imagined.

We are working on another remodel in the house. We are adding a master bedroom. The new Koi pond is done. I'll post pictures as soon as I can.

The master bedroom upgrade upstairs includes a master bathroom, a general bathroom, and a rebuilt second story deck. We have an architect working on the plans. We'll have to get permits and then schedule the work with our contractor.

We don't plan on starting the job until the beginning of the year.
I started a new job about three months ago and that has been going very well. I have a more flexible schedule allowing me to spend more time with Sam and spend more time at home. It's pretty much the same job as my last. Consulting is consulting, I suppose.

Sam's Home on the Web

I've set up this new BackPack page for pictures of Sam to share with friends and family.
If you haven't checked out BackpackIt, it's defintely worth checking out. I've set up a ton of stuff to-do lists and task lists to keep up on all sorts of projects, both personally and professionally.

Snapshots

A week ago I had the grand opportunity to spend two days of vacation at home with my son Sam due to child-care scheduling problems. We took walks to the park and spent our days playing with toys and reading books. I found many ways to make him smile and laugh, including tickling his feet and hiding behind the sofa, springing out and saying, "Boo!".

Here's a good snapshot of him with a wide smile.

A New Home Project

Our old Koi pond is probably 20 years old. The fiberglass is is brittle and beginning to crack in many places. The filter system is also starting to fail and is not very effective anymore.

Here's a picture of it:



I've decided to build a new pond in a different part of my yard and transfer my exisiting fish (6 large Koi). The pond will most likely use a liner and will have a waterfall. I wish I would have snapped a before picture. I removed the large stepping stones the other day. Today, I used a pick-axe to remove some giant tree roots and soften where the outer wall will be. I've dug out the basic shape of the new pond. Here are some pics of where the new pond will be and the work I've done so far.

In the future I'll post the cost of the materials I use to create the pond.

Sam's First Cold

Sam has been sick for a week and it’s been pretty rough going. His fever finally broke this weekend, but he’s left with congestion and a bad cough. Here’s a picture of him and his mom before he got sick.



I stayed at home today to take care of the little guy. He will drift off to sleep for a few minutes at a time. During these periods I’ve cleaned dishes, ate some minestrone for lunch, and drank too much coffee. I’ve been having three to four cups a day to combat lack of sleep. Sam has been sleeping in our bed and every so often, he coughs himself awake and cries. This has been his first real bout with sickness and I can’t help but think he’s confused. Every so often he’ll give me a look that asks, Hey, Dad, what’s going on with me!? This isn’t how it’s been for the last six months?

Well, Sam, this is the real world.

A New Year, a New Entry.

After a long holiday break from blogging, I'm back with a couple of recent pictures of my boy, Sam. He is doing very well -- healthy and happy!











Tomorrow I'll break down three New Year resolutions I made (and will probably break).

New Direction

I've decided to take my blog in a new direction, hopefully narrowing the topics covered. I also wanted to change the look and feel a bit and design my own front-end. To that end, I've created The Duh Project. I hope to see you all there!