If Only

Have you ever had one of those moments where you think, "If only I had done this or that, I'd now be here or there?"

I had one of those moments this morning.

I was walking around campus heading to class, and I thought, "If only I had gone to college immediately following high school. By now I would be finished my undergrad, my masters, even my doctorate, and instead of walking around campus on my way to sit in a class, I could be walking around campus on my way to teach a class."

Yeah, if only...

Just to be clear, though, I am in now way complaining. I've had the opportunity to do some truly amazing things because I didn't go to college right after high school and I'm a better person because of it.

But maybe someday...

The Baby's Room

Carla and I were discussing how to decorate the babies room this morning. She was looking at the Babies R Us website and commented on how there are so many different styles, which makes it hard to choose. I suggested we just come up with our own theme, and proceeded to tell her about my idea for a "Literature Baby" theme. I said we could go buy all the classic children's books, like Peter Rabbit, and the fairy tails, hang shelves in the room, and stack the shelves with books. Being an English major, I thought it was a great idea to introduce our child to the world of literature and reading. Carla looked at me and said, "I was thinking something more like circles." I love my wife. She always brings me down to earth. Yes, circles is probably better.

Cousins Night

I'm one of the lucky guys who has something like twenty-two first cousins...and that's only on my mom's side of the family. Add my dad's side, and well, let's just say that family get-together's are a large affair. The crazy thing is, I'm actually close with a lot of my cousins. But, as life goes, the older we get, the less we see of each other. That is, until recently.

Three of my cousins, Jordan, Kyle, and Karla (and Karla's husband Justin), have all recently moved to our area. All of my life, they've lived in Texas, but now they live right down the road. With their arrival has come a weekly Tuesday night cousins night (we need to come up with a better name). I'll be honest and say we don't make it every Tuesday night, but having a time where Carla and I can get together with my cousins has been great! Anybody would enjoy spending time with these people!

This past Tuesday, they came out to our house. We had more food than we could handle. When we were done stuffing ourselves, we all sat down to watch The Biggest Loser. Why is it that I always overeat or eat unhealthily when that show is on? Anyway, it was great hanging out, and hopefully one of these days, the majority of the cousins will all be able to get together. It's always a good time!

Burnie:



Jordan:



Karla:



Shana:



Gent:



My Carla:



Blurry self portrait:

House Projects

When Carla and I first bought our house a little over two years ago, we spent the first three weeks refinishing the hardwood floors. Nights and weekends were spent sanding and staining our floors alongside tremendously patient friends and family who graciously helped us accomplish our task. When all was said and done, the floors looked amazing, and we moved in. There was only one problem. We were so spent physically, emotionally, and mentally (yes, I'm exaggerating) that any other projects we wanted to do around the house were put on hold. One of those projects was a bedroom turned office. We knew at some point we wanted to revamp it, new color, new curtains, new furniture, but we kept putting if off, and putting it off, and putting it off.

Not a big deal, right? We had a desk and a chair in there, and it was serving its purpose. Except for the fact that it became the bane of our existence (again, I'm exaggerating). Not only was it bland, but it became a catch-all for papers, mail, files, etc. Oh yeah, and there was one more thing...the unfinished wall. Being that we live in an old house, the closet space is minimal at best. I guess eighty years ago they didn't have as many clothes as we have today, which is a whole other discussion and blog post for a different time. So, Carla and I decided, with the help our good friend Mike, to bust through the back wall of the little closet we did have in our bedroom, and frame out a bigger closet. The wall, however, went into our makeshift office. I ended up finishing the inside of the closet (which I kept putting off as well), but never got around to finishing the outside. So, in our office we had a protruding wall that had drywall on it, but wasn't spackled, nor painted. And that's how it stayed...for...two...whole...years.

Needless to say, it was time to get over the emotional distress that finishing our hardwood floors had caused us, and come back around to being homeowners who actually care about their house. So, I eventually finished the wall and painted the room. My wife picked out fabric and made curtains, and we bought new furniture. Pictures of the office will arrive shortly. We still want to hang some pictures and do a few more things, so bare with us.

But the other day, I was doing some things in the office that I figured I'd share. We bought shelves from Ikea (that's comfortable) to hang on the walls. The particular shelves we bought are great because you can cut them down to whatever size you want, and the hangers go over the ends to hide the cut. However, the hangers were a bright silver that didn't fit the warm decor of the room, and after I hung them, they annoyed me. So, I decided to take them down and spray paint them. I found a great bronze color paint that ended up working perfectly, and now I love the shelves and their hangers.



We also decided to keep the closet door off and use the closet as a big shelf. We bought baskets of different sizes to put in there, and it really works great. I decided to doctor up the shelves themselves (rhyme...sort of) by pin-striping them. I found a can of paint in the basement that was left over from when the previous owner painted the room. After priming them, I painted them with the left over paint, then measured and taped them all up, then used the same color we painted the walls to pinstripe them.


Before:



During:




After:




They turned out okay. It definitely livens up the closet, but the shelves are so old and kind of have a dull feel to them, while everything else in the office is nice and new. Oh well, I more than anything, it was fun painting them. Oh yeah, I picked the windiest day of the year so far to go outside and do all of this painting. Wind and spray paint can be a tough combination. Wear old clothes.

When the office is finished, I'll post pics. I will say though, that I'm writing this post from my new desk in my new office, and I love it!

Back In The Saddle

I know, I know...it's a lame, overused, cliche way of saying that the guys and I are back at it, but I figured I'd go with it. Last night was the first of many scheduled nights in the studio at Second Story Sound in West Chester. We're hoping to spend the next three months trying to get something together by Christmas.

For the past three years we've played at a conference for Campus Crusade for Christ called Radiate. This past year, we had all the sessions recorded live, and the idea is to try and put out a live album. Last night we spent 5 1/2 hours listening through all the tracks. I don't think I've laughed as hard as what I did last night in a long time. But all in all, we were able to find a handful of tracks that we think might be possibilities, so here's hoping!

It was nice having some visitors there with us. Lindsay, Owen, and Tyler hung out for a while. Somehow Steve and I started playing this game where we pretended Owen was a football. He loved it, and kept asking if we could play it again and again.

So we officially have some hours logged in the studio, with many more to come! Here we go!

Creativity

Right now, at this moment, I'm astounded at the amount of creativity that is out there. I was just glancing over some blogs/photo blogs and websites, and they just seem to go on and on. One website leads you to another, which leads you to another, which leads you to another. It seems never ending. And while there is a lot of not so good/bad stuff out there, there also is plenty of tastefully creative things to look over and read. In one sense it's daunting (a deluge of creativity can sometimes lead to a lack of creativity). In another sense, though, it's inspiring. I think finding a couple of places/websites to keep tabs on can go a long way in helping to keep the mind thinking creatively.

Hitting it Right

This past Saturday, Carla, Denise, Patsy, and myself took Bennett (yes, four adults took one child) to Highland Orchards. This is the second time I've been to Highland Orchards to go apple picking. I think in my head, I have this romanticized idea of what apple picking in autumn should be like. Cool air, jeans, sweater, hot apple cider, snuggling on the open air truck that takes you to the apple fields in order to stay warm. But every time I've been, I guess I just haven't hit it right. Both times have been hot and muggy, with little fruit flies and bugs swarming around my face the entire time I was walking through the fields. It's not at all the picture I have in my head.

That's not to say we didn't have a good time. Bennett loves petting the goats, and always remembers to mention that there is a llama amongst the other animals. Cider donuts are must buy while there, and they're amazing the following morning with hot coffee. Oh yeah, and there's the added benefit of spending time with friends and family. That's always a plus.

Maybe one of these years, everything will line up properly, and the romanticized idea I have of apple picking will come to pass. One can only hope.