Surprisingly Difficult

We are now working on reassembling the cabinet we are redoing. I have replaced hinges on our bathroom vanities and now this cabinet and never once have I bought the correct type initially. This has been the case whether I had the original hinge in my hand at the store or not. I just don't get it. So hopefully we can get the correct type tomorrow. Jason is going to try and go. Maybe he has better hinge-picking abilities than I do.

Children's Orchard

Today we ran several errands, including stopping by Children's Orchard, which is a children's consignment store. We found a few things for each kid, but I don't think I will be going there regularly. The clothes are really packed in and it is a very cramped store, which makes me feel claustrophobic. They were running a special to get $10 for every $35 you spent. I think Jason will be redeeming the $10.

Mr. Gyros

Today I went to lunch with two friends I used to work with at Sprint, Tricia and AJ. It was really good catching up with them since chitchatting with them is really the only thing I miss about that job. We went to Mr. Gyros, which was totally yum!

Jason, Clint, Mario, and Luigi

I'm in St. Louis for a business trip, so I called my friend Clint to see if he was available to hang out.  He was.  So he, his fiancee, and I went to dinner and then played New Super Mario Bros. on the Wii.  We had planned to only play for a bit and then go out, but it ended up being so fun, we played it all night.  We're pointing to the Exit Course option, because that's the way to restart the level without penalty.  We used it, well, frequently.  I never get to play video games anymore, and it's been a long time since I've seen Clint, so it was a great night.

Nice Rack!

Today we officially finished the bathroom as Jason installed our second towel rack. We have totally different strengths and I do not have the attention to detail required to get something like this exactly straight, whereas he is very exact and will work to get it just right.

BW3

I have a group of guys that I meet with usually every other week.  But due to the holidays and travel, it had been a couple months since we met.  Tonight we finally got a chance to meet again, though we were missing one person.   We had a good time, though we sometimes struggled to hear each other due to the ridiculously high volume of the commercials during the game which was broadcast over the restaurant's speakers, though hopefully that problem soon goes away.

Replacing China With Toys

As we mentioned here, we're working on a project to convert an old dingy used china cabinet (bought off craigslist just for this project) into a fun toy cabinet for the kids.  Meghan was inpired by this project, but we're already finding that it's taking more work than we'd hoped. I did get the crown molding done, but now we're on to the priming and painting phase of the project. Here Meghan tries to prime it without being overcome by fumes.

It's Official

Today we joined the church we have been going to for awhile. You have to go in front of the whole church to do that, which was really nerve-wracking for me. But we did it and now it's official. This is us, shortly after we joined.

Get some hot water! Get some disinfectant! Get some iodine!

This is us at our friends Jason and Callie's house with their dogs, Cody and Millie. Cody is the one kissing Jason. We had a great time with them and their son Vincent who is learning some Spanish so he can help the kids learn English. They were also nice enough to lend us some Duplo blocks and some other things for the kids.

Maybe In Louisiana, Unhelpful Signs Are The Norm

Tonight we went to one of our favorite restaurants: Jazz, A Louisiana Kitchen.  Here we stand in front of a giant chef statue whose sole purpose is apparently to let you know that a special exists, but not what the special actually is.  Also, apparently we should not be expecting more than one special.  Thanks for the info, chef!

The DMV

Today I registered our car. This is me in front of the DMV. The nicest DMV I have ever been in. Not only was there no line, but it's in this new and modern shopping center with tons of natural light. Totally not what I was expecting. They must have moved since I registered my old car because this was definitely a better experience. It probably helps that no one's registration expires Jan 31st, so this is probably the best month to go.

In Training

I had planned to run a 5K last year and began to train for it.  Unfortunately a few weeks before the race I pulled my hamstring while playing soccer, so I couldn't train and therefore couldn't race.  I'm tentatively planning on running a 5K this spring, so I'm starting to train for it now.  I run occasionally anyway, but I'm going to have to up the frequency if I want to have a respectable placing.

Spending the Evening with a Model

Today Jason made models of the rooms we are using for the kids and made furniture pieces we could move around to determine best placement and whether we had the right amount for each room.

K-State Fans

Jason and Natalie watched the K-State game today and they were thrilled when the Wildcats upset Texas.

He Has A Protractor And Isn't Afraid to Use It

I bought this really terrible looking cabinet off of Craig's List because it was cheap with the idea that I would paint it and use it as a toy cabinet. Well I thought it could really use some crown moulding at the top. The problem is we have no miter saw and don't want to buy one. So Jason is working on manually creating the right angles. We aren't sure if it will work out, but we are only shooting for mediocrity so we are hopeful. Jason has great spatial perception that I am totally impressed with.

Ecru, et al

We are in the process of converting our two offices into a kids' bedroom and a kids' playroom. Today we did one of the more fun parts of the process: picking out the colors.

It's Buffoondo, right?

Meghan is trying to improve her Spanish before we go to Colombia. We worked on it more tonight using the book shown here. One word she is struggling to remember is "la bufanda" for scarf, so I took this picture with her wearing a scarf while studying the words.

The Little Guys Are Back

I hate boarding the dogs, so I was really excited to go pick them up today. Even though they are annoying at times and put a bunch of muddy paw prints on my nice white leather interior of my new car, they are so worth it. This is us in the car on the way home.

The Big D

Today I got back from Dallas after spending some time with my client to transition some things and meet with them to do some training. It was a productive trip and I really like Dallas. What with the weather difference, I am all ready to move there really.

Dual Business Travel

In an unfortunate coincidence, Meghan and I are both traveling for business this week. Meghan is in Dallas and I'm in Chicago. I'm staying at the only hotel I've ever stayed in which has metal keys instead of the new plastic cards. They said they're undergoing a renovation soon. I wonder if this "charming" little quirk will be retained.

Hopefully the last snow post

We have had snow on the ground every day since Christmas Eve. That's 18 days. There have been only six years in Kansas City that surpass that and I would bet that it wasn't 15 inches on the ground for that long. It's historic. Not in a good way.

Our Family Chef

Meghan is a fantastic cook. She makes a wide variety of meals and frequently tries new recipes, and they're nearly always delicious. This is fortunate for me, because my culinary skills are, well, lacking. My favorite meal at Olive Garden is the Steak Gorgonzola Alfredo, and tonight Meghan perfectly replicated it for our dinner at home.

Merry Belated Christmas

Today Jim and Deb came down to celebrate the holidays and bring Joanna back. Julie and Andrew came from Lawrence. It was really nice to see everyone and play games.

When You're Here, You're Family

We braved the extreme cold and went out to Olive Garden tonight. It was delicious. I stepped out of character and ordered a different kind of soup than minestrone because I am crazy like that.

Neverending Winter

Today and tomorrow may be the coldest that we have ever experienced together. The low tomorrow is supposed to be something like -10. Terrence is so unhappy with it. He is only willing to go where it's warm: in bed under the covers or by the fire.

OCC

Today we met with Pastor Ken at our new church. We have decided to join OCC and he wanted to meet with us before we officially joined so we could get to know each other.

Best Laid Plans

So I thought maybe today's picture would be me triumphantly finishing the bathroom. Instead I got the worst migraine of my life. I lost vision for the first time ever, which really freaked me out before I realized it was migraine-related. Natalie is my little BFF and goes wherever I do, so she laid with me while I slept.

The Pit of Despair!

Okay so maybe not despair, but I hate this room and I will be so relieved when it goes away, which should happen sooner rather than later because it's going to be the bedroom for our kids.

Snow

I have never seen this much snow except that one time we went skiing. It keeps coming and never gets warm enough for it to melt. It's unlike Kansas City, thankfully.

New Car

My first ever new car and also my first "mom" car.

Happy New Year!

This is on New Year's Day, around midnight. We went to Manhattan to see the apple drop in Aggieville and celebrate our last New Year's with no kids.