We Have a Loft and a Decent Basement!

Well, I should rephrase that. We've had a loft and basement ever since we moved into our house over two years ago, but we were lazy and put a bunch of junk in the loft, like boxes that we didn't feel like unpacking. The basement had our exercise bike, punching bag, and my dad's desk that he gave us. Neither room was being used at all by any of us and I was beginning to feel claustrophobic. This past weekend, we gritted our teeth and got both rooms fixed up.

For the loft, we had to unpack or move all the boxes, take the wonderful gold chairs to the basement (they are from Jeff's parents when we moved in), move the desk upstairs (disassembling it in the basement and reassembling it upstairs), move the boxing equipment to the garage for later installation there, and finally take our old TV and stand from the garage to the basement.

The boxes were simple enough to go through - we unpacked most of them and moved a few of them into the office for later unpacking. Jeff took the chairs to the living room and he and Jordan then went down to the basement and took apart the desk while I vacuumed the now-empty loft. I then went down and helped them bring up the desk in pieces. Back in the loft, we reassembled the desk and it looks fantastic. I moved all our office supplies into it.

In the basement, Jeff and Jordan took apart the boxing equipment (punching bag and speed bag, all on a stand), and we took that out to the garage.

Then came the really hard part. We had to move the TV into the house from the garage, down the stairs, and into the basement. Our TV is an old 36-inch Sony Trinitron and weighs more than any TV I've ever encountered. It took Jeff and I quite a while to get it off the stand and onto the padded dolly. We then had to wheel it up three steps from the garage to the house, which took probably 15 minutes. The stairs to the basement took another 30-40 minutes, then we had to do it again with the stand (which doesn't weigh nearly as much, but it's still a ton). I think it took a total of about 2 hours to move both the TV and the stand and get them set up in the basement. But the results are fantastic. We got the PS2 and the Xbox set up. Both devices can play DVDs, so movies are now an option for down there.

Since completing the work over the weekend, Jordan has spent every evening (after his homework is done) in the basement playing games. Why he would never play them when they were upstairs, I do not know. He seems to like his solitude down there. He has also taken to practicing his trumpet down there. I don't mind hearing him practice, but he seems more at peace when he knows he isn't bothering others and that we're not eavesdropping. Whenever I am in the kitchen while he's practicing, I can barely make out the songs he is working on.

Having two more rooms in use for us is proving to be quite wonderful. While we still have some unpacking to do, the entire house is becoming more open and less crowded. It even seems much bigger now.

Here are some pictures of the loft. As you can see, there isn't a box or pile of junk to be seen now. Plus, the view from the living room no longer looks like it's all walled off up there. I'm so happy. I haven't taken any of the basement yet, but will do so sometime soon.

Loft as seen from the office

Loft as seen from Jordan's doorway

Loft as seen from the living room (kind of blurry, as I took this with my cell phone and apparently can't stand still...lol)

Halloween

We barely managed to snag Halloween this year as it raced by. We've been busy working and attending school, we were sick for a while, and household projects have taken plenty of our time.

Jordan has never been a big fan of any holiday, including Halloween. He isn't a big candy-eater, as evidenced by my finding last year's candy still stashed in his closet last week. While he enjoys watching others go door-to-door in their costumes, he can't stand dressing up. Perhaps the traditional freezing weather has something to do with his aversion. This was the first year that he decided not to do anything specifically for Halloween. On the night before Halloween, he went to a couple haunted houses with some friends and loved those. But he opted not to dress up and go trick-or-treating. Too bad he didn't want to go this year, since it was almost 70 degrees outside during the evening hours. It was the warmest Halloween on record in Denver since the 1950s. We have yet to receive our first snow of the season.

Normally for Halloween we completely decorate the inside and outside of the house with scary things, turn on strobe lights, black lights, scary music, eat a scary dinner (usually alien-green chicken & rice), hand out candy, and go trick-or-treating with Jordan. Because we were busy or simply unaware of the approaching holiday, all we did this year was hand out candy. Since Jordan chose not to go out, we gave him the glorious task of handing out candy to kids who came a-knocking. He didn't like this job any more than we do, so maybe next year he'll be more eager to do something (either go out or have some friends over).

During the week leading up to Halloween, we watched most of the scary or Halloween-like movies we have: The Addams Family, Addams Family Values, Hocus Pocus, and finally, Wait Until Dark. I've seen the first three many times over the years and didn't get much more out of them than usual. However, I haven't seen Wait Until Dark since I was a teenager and it was so much more enthralling than I remembered it to be. Jordan was mostly bored throughout it, but stayed on anyway, although he couldn't quite say why he kept watching. The DVD version of the movie has subtitles and I was amazed to hear (read) much more of the dialogue than I had known existed before. While the movie wasn't as edge-of-your-seat captivating as my memory led me to believe, the intricacies involved in the plot are so wonderful that I enjoyed the movie more than I expected to. Jeff and I were both thrilled with the story and how well it was told. Plus, it was one of Audrey Hepburn's first acting roles where she wasn't meant to simply be eye candy and she did a marvelous job convincing the audience that she was blind and terrified. It was a most memorable movie this time around, although I was appalled at how many people smoked in it, as though the idea that breathing stinky, sticky smoke into your lungs could ever not be bad for you apparently never occurred to anyone back in the 1960s.

Since we had no major happenings aside from a movie on Halloween and therefore didn't have anything important to take pictures of, I will reminisce about the holiday in past years through some pictures. I couldn't find any pictures past age 7. They are either located somewhere else on my storage drive or maybe in actual printed pictures. Either way, I can't find them at this time. Let's see - in 2005 he was a skeleton, in 2006 he was a pirate, and in 2007 he was a death eater from Harry Potter.

Halloween 2001 (Age 4)

He wanted to be a ghost for his first time trick-or-treating in the neighborhood and to wear at his preschool Halloween party. I searched all over for a ghost costume but resorted to making this one by hand. We tried it in a simpler form, but it kept slipping off his head, so it got more and more extravagant. The final result has elastic sewn into the head section so it would stay on Jordan's head.

Stirring the ingredients for pumpkin pies.
Filling the individual pie crusts with the pumpkin pie mixture.

Halloween 2002 (Age 5)

I don't recall if he wanted to go as a dinosaur or if we just gave him a costume to wear that year so he could dress up for school.

From the side

Halloween 2003 (Age 6)

He didn't like the movie much, but wanted to go as Superman anyway.

Two of the pumpkins we carved while visiting Jeff's parents.

Halloween 2004 (Age 7)

Totally enthralled with astronomy, he decided to be an astronaut. Here he is without his helmet on.

And with his helmet on.
Jeff's parents came to visit and carve pumpkins
We made tombstones out of styrofoam and engraved them with fun epitaphs.
Jeff's tombstone reads: Here lies Jeff. There's no place like 127.0.0.1. R.H.I.P.
Jordan's tombstone reads: Here lies Jordan. He ran out of numbers. R. I. P.
Tara's tombstone reads: Here lies Tara. I put my wife beneath this stone for her repose and for my own.
Our cat, Smoky's tombstone reads: Here lies Smoky. She had 9 lives but now they're gone. She wished she had another one!
Our late hamster, Mario's tombstone reads: Here lies Mario. His wheel came off.
Robert & Linda's tombstone reads: Here lie Robert & Linda. In perfect health, died in a sudden and unexpected manner while reading tombstones.

The three of us holding our tombstones (Jeff's in the Terminator mask and Jordan's in the other freaky mask).

My Color: They Nailed It!

I recently took an online quiz that asked some questions and then classified my answers into a color. I was pretty surprised with the results. If this doesn't sum me up perfectly, I don't know what does:

You're brown, a credible, stable color that's reminiscent of fine wood, rich leather, and wistful melancholy. Most likely, you're a logical, practical person ruled more by your head than your heart. With your inquisitive mind and insatiable curiosity, you're probably a great problem solver. And you always gather all of the facts before coming to a timely, informed decision. Easily intrigued, you're constantly finding new ways to challenge your mind, whether it's by reading the newspaper, playing a trivia game, or composing a piece of music. Brown is an impartial, neutral color, which means you tend to see the difference between fact and opinion easily and are open to many points of view. Trustworthy and steady, you really are a brown at heart.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Many years ago a great man was born: my dad. I hope he gets in a game of golf (or maybe just thinks about hitting some balls) on this special day. :)

Here are some things that I remember doing with my dad throughout the years:

• Dancing in the living room with him (standing on his feet)
• Hearing him sing "Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay" quite often
• Enjoying his macabre jokes and puns
• Laughing and laughing as he would make up new words to songs (mostly hymns...)
• Running like crazy as he chased me throughout the house
• Saying "Book-a-shoo!" and then throwing my stuffed animals across the room
• Screaming in fear whenever he tried to teach me to ride my bike (I was sure he would let go too soon)
• Giving him "haircuts" (pretending to cut his hair, not really doing it)
• Squishing into his old orange recliner with him
• Listening to him tell the story of "My Detour"
• Driving in the mountains and his need to be Al Uncer Jr., speeding around those winding curves, which caused me to upchuck
• Being utterly surprised at his reaction when I tried to dig to China in the backyard
• Wondering how he could eat bread and gravy and nothing else
• Watching him make fabulous roses for cakes (he'd always make extra just for me)
  
• Helping him bake pies so I could eat the pie crust when he wasn't looking
• Having him be with me when I had my appendix removed and how he was constantly playing my Nintendo games during his hospital visits
  
• Listening to him laugh - it fills the house
• Driving to an unknown destination somewhere across the state - just to be together
• Being totally embarrassed when he would dance the Sugar Plum Fairy down the aisle of the grocery store
• Wishing I could wiggle my ears like him
• Comparing my hands with his and asking him when I would get my "grown-up" hands
• Having him threaten to pull my loose teeth out with pliers since I was too scared to pull them out myself
• Laughing as he would scruff my neck with his whiskers
• Tickling me with "Scapula, scapula, scapula!"
• Having me walk on his back
• And many, many, many more memories
  

I love you, Dad. Happy birthday!

Here is one of the more memorable songs he made lyrics to:
Sung to the first part of "Welcome, Welcome, Sabbath Morning"

Welcome, welcome, Saddam Hussein;
Won't you sit and have a beer?
Welcome, welcome, Saddam Hussein;
Here's a missile for your rear!

What Could Possibly Take That Long?

We were watching Mythbusters last night. At the beginning of the show there is a preview of all the myths that are going to be tested. Jeff paused and asked us what we thought the overall outcome would be of the myths presented and we proceeded to discuss the various scientific ramifications that could apply to each test. So, before we had even really begun the show, we spent about 20 minutes talking about what was to come.

Jumping back into the show, we began to watch the first test (creating a stun gun that shoots electrified water instead of the typical wires). Roughly every 5 minutes we had to stop and discuss more. Sometimes one of us would pose a question to the others. Other times we might just be indignant about how the Mythbusters were going about their testing.

Cut over to the other Mythbusters who were checking to see if a fire extinguisher could smother a fire when placed into a fire (causing the extinguisher to burst, spewing its contents). More discussion on the science of fire and the chemical process of creating a fire. We then continued to watch the show.

Back to Adam, Jamie, and their testing of the stun gun. More discussion.

On to Kari, Tory, and Grant, finished with the fire extinguishers (I won't give away the results). They were now testing the process of walking barefoot on hot coals. We stopped again to discuss this.

We continued trading off watching Adam and Jamie, discussing and complaining, watching Kari, Tori, and Grant, discussing and complaining, and finally the show was over.

This one-hour show (only around 42 minutes by skipping all the commercials with TiVo) had become a two-and-a-half hour show. We could have watched a movie for less time than we spent on this one show.

Amused by how long this took, we talked about that for a few more minutes. Then Jordan decided to go to bed (now that we had eaten into his entire evening with one show). I proposed to Jeff that we watch one more, thinking that it would be faster. He agreed.

We started the new show (testing of whether NASA actually went to the moon) and then proceeded to discuss the scientific theories presented.

All in all, our two television shows (one hour each) took almost five hours to watch. We could have been a good portion of the way through the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy in that time!

I enjoy watching Mythbusters because they get me thinking. Whether I agree with how they test a myth or not, my mind is actively working to test the myths in another way. I realize that it is an entertaining science show on Discovery and that they do have to cater a bit to the audience, but I am often miffed that they don't show more of a test. A lot of the time it seems to me that they performed one test, and then jumped the scale to an outrageous test, completely avoiding any tests of the middle range (the stun gun myth is a good example of this). I don't know if they really do the more painstaking testing and it just doesn't make the cut for television or if they are not quite the thorough scientists that I believe they should be. All I know for sure is that I'd better clear my schedule better if I want to continue watching the show.

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Happy Anniversary, Jeff!

We recently celebrated our 12th anniversary. In some ways it doesn't seem that long, while in other ways it does. I've enjoyed the experiencing the last 12 years and I am looking forward to many more. Marriage is such a fun journey. I love you, Jeff!

"Marriage is about being yourself, just with someone else."
Helen Thermopolis O'Donnell

Holy Cow...

Jeff mentioned something to me today that really made my heart skip a beat. In his roundabout way, which I won't even try to repeat, he finally got to the point that he and I, as parents, only have about seven years left with a child in the house. Can you believe that we'll be empty-nesters in less than a decade?!? Where in the world did our time with Jordan go? It seems like yesterday that we brought him home from the hospital.

Here are a few things that I was looking forward to when we got the house to ourselves:

• - Peace and quiet
• - An extra room (unless he wants us to keep his)
• - No fighting over the washer/dryer
• - Being able to up and leave at any time I want, even for weekend getaways
  
• - No food mysteriously missing, when I had planned on using it for dinner
• - No messes that I didn't create

After being around Jordan for 11 years, here's the modified list of what I'm looking forward to:

• - An extra room (unless he wants us to keep his)
• - Being able to up and leave at any time I want, even for weekend getaways
• - No food mysteriously missing, when I had planned on using it for dinner

That's it. I removed:

• - Peace and quiet - Jordan has never been loud (his friends are, not him)
• - No fighting over the washer/dryer - He does his laundry on the weekends and I do the rest during the week so we never fight over that
• - No messes that I didn't create - Any mess he creates, he cleans up (with the exception of cinnamon sugar spilled on the counter - he loves to leave that for me to clean up). Sometimes he even cleans my messes.

Although I'm good with going out and leaving him home alone for several hours at a time, I've never left him overnight by himself and won't for a few more years.

It's strange to consider him leaving home, going to college, and getting a job. When we used to bring the subject up, he'd burst into tears. Now he just stoically dismisses the idea as too far in the future to be worthy of any worry at this time.

While I look forward to having a consistent amount of bread and milk in the house (for some completely inane reason, he absolutely loves toast and eats a ton of it), I will miss having him around. At this time, here's some of what I like a lot (not everything - that would be too long of a list) and will miss when he is on his own:

• - With him being taller than me, I'm thoroughly enjoying having him reach things I cannot
• - I like his willingness to bend over and pick up what I clumsily drop and am too lazy to immediately pick up
• - I love watching him cuddle our cat and treat her like she's his own personal child (and chastise anyone who treats her differently)
• - I love his enthusiasm to pay for his own things, like his video games, and how much more he enjoys them than if I had paid directly for them

He's a great kid (soon to be a teenager - yikes) and I hope that he continues growing emotionally and mentally so that he becomes a most wonderful adult. I look forward to knowing my son in ten years.

It's the End of Summer

Wow! Jordan started 6th grade a few weeks ago. Yikes - middle school! However, with all the rules, forms, and appointments required to register for sixth grade now, he almost didn't go at all. It was hectic there for a few weeks, when I realized too late that new sixth graders are now required to have certain immunizations before school starts. Too bad this occurred to me two weeks before school started and not a single doctor could fit him in for an appointment (not even Tri-County Health) until mid-to-late-September. Agh! But we got him in by getting a note from the doctor saying he would be getting his shots soon. He is playing trumpet in the band (second year doing so) and thriving. He is now in three advanced classes: Reading Honors, 7th Grade Math, and Band II. I'm proud of him.

Here are a few things I learned (or reaffirmed) about my son this summer:

• - Has huge feet (size 8.5 already)
• - Is taller than I am and still growing steadily
  
• - His voice reminds me of James Earl Jones
• - His eyesight is going the way of his father's - poor kid
  
• - Has a strong personality
• - Has far more mathematical skill than I ever will
  
• - Plays the trumpet wonderfully
• - Sings very well, 2-3 octaves lower than the trumpet - lol
• - Isn't obsessed with everything dairy like I am
  
• - Can troubleshoot almost anything
• - Has a ton of knowledge in anything related to science, geography, and history
• - Plays video games very well
• - Follows in my footsteps regarding grammar rules, spelling, and punctuation
  
• - Has a wonderful sense of humor
  
• - Can program in his favorite video game's scripting language and be asked if he wants a job
• - Can program in C++ and has no problems understanding it
• - Loves Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis
• - Is much more willing to try new foods than I am
• - Has no idea that he needs to rewind a VHS tape before putting it back - lol
  
• - Makes his friends laugh and laugh when he tells them jokes
• - Can't be bullied by peers, as he believes that "worthless people have worthless opinions"
• - Has more courage to do the right thing than I do (particularly in his ability to decline dessert, but also in more important decisions)

He is becoming a skilled person who will be quite capable of living on his own when the time comes along by:

• - Doing his own laundry on a weekly basis
• - Taking the trash out and bringing the empty cans back in every week
• - Getting the mail daily
• - Making his own meals when I'm too poor of a mother to do so for him
• - Cleaning up from the family's dinner almost every night
• - Happily participating in family activities, even when they include manual labor
• - Doing his homework when he gets home from school, rather than putting it off for later
• - Putting himself to bed at a reasonable time when I'm too lazy to remind him

He makes me want to be a better person so I can better appreciate him and his skills. He's a great kid and I miss him a lot when he's at school. Reading this list makes me realize that he probably does more work in the house than I do!

Here I Am

Since it seems as if everyone else already has a blog, I've decided to jump on board. Let's see if I have the ability to keep it the least bit current in the long run. :)