Lauren & Steve's Home Journey...

Sunset & Update on Yard

2010-07-26T16:24:00.002-04:00

Not too bad for our backyard.

Not much has actually happened in the yard yet, but we do have a final design and are meeting with the installation people on Weds to figure how much it is going to cost - eek. We may do it in stages, or at all at once. This hasn't been decided yet, but we have plans for a new patio, back steps, and plantings around the perimeter of our backyard and along the house. In addition there would be all new plantings in the front, replacing our current root-filled, bumpy grass. New edging and front stoop would complete it.

Progress, maybe?

2010-06-07T09:33:00.004-04:00

Big doings in our yard underway. We are working with a designer/contractor to redo our lanscaping, including adding a "real" (non-asphalt) patio. The first step was to fix up the lawn, though we suspect they messed up and used the wrong dirt to fill in the holes/overseed. There are a TON of small rocks all over the grass. Not exactly what we had in mind. I am confident it will be sorted out - the contractor has great Angie's List reviews, I have a friend that has used them and raved, and the designer has worked with them for years.

The big stuff (patio) will be done in late July (likely).

Updates to the house since Fall

2010-03-08T09:41:00.004-05:00

New toy storage for the living room

curtains for the family room

radiator covers are finally stained (and dry)

new artwork for the dining room

Ugliest yard in town?

2010-03-08T09:36:00.003-05:00

that is without spare parts and rusted cars?

We finally have down all the ugly, rotten fence, leaving ugly piles of dirt, old metal fence poles (presumably from an older chain link fence) and general ugliness. The removal was in 2 phases, because of the funny property lines here (nobody really knows what is whose) one set of neighbors removed the bulk of it in August and Steve did the rest yesterday.

We plan on adding something to close off the backyard (keep roaming children in), and add a gate between our garage and our neigbors to the rear who have 2 sons about our kids' ages.

If we get our act together, by the end of the summer we should have a small vegetable garden, a new fence along parts of the back and some sized-for-4 patio furniture.

Given our new neighbor to the side with boys age 2 1/2 and 5, I think the fight with the toys in the back will never be won! We do love the boys will have so many other boys to place with in adjacent yards. (All the parents seem like-minded too).

Let there be light (and paint)

2009-09-29T08:58:00.003-04:00

Only 3 years after I thought it would happen, we have a new light for our dining room!

The radiator covers are stained, but still are stinky from the polyurethane, so they will remain airing out in the garage for awhile more.

The dining room was completely repainted, as was the living room. All our halls are the same sand color as the top of the dining room walls.

Now we just have to hang everything back up! ugh

Over the Kitchen Sink

2009-09-12T17:26:00.004-04:00

We finally put something up over the sink in our kitchen. In what is probably the only thing I would change if redoing the kitchen, the window's (which is the only thing remaining from the original kitchen) scale is off to the raised ceilings making it an awkward spot. I think these Target items fill the space ok and are kitchen friendly. Better than the $375 versions I saw in a catalog, that is for sure.

Painters are coming Monday!

New Ceilings..

2009-08-31T16:34:00.003-04:00

They look so much better. Even though we lost about 1/2" of ceiling height, the consensus is the rooms look bigger.

As you can see, we need some new paint in the dining room - ripping off and replacing the molding doesn't do good things to walls, it seems.

A mess is coming!

2009-08-16T13:40:00.004-04:00

Well finally, after 3 years the ugly, barely hanging on (really according to Steve!), fan is gone. We are having our dining room and living room ceilings re-plastered on Thursday. There has been a damaged spot (see below) in the dining room since we moved in and we finally got around to dealing with that too.

Of course that means we need the ceilings painted, which means we might as well do 80% of the rest of the house too while the painters are here;/ The living room walls, front hall walls, stairwell walls and upstairs walls/trim are all going to be repainted along with the 2 ceilings! Stay tuned for an exciting new living room color (hopefully we will like it!).

The new dining room light I have picked out (the room will be light-less for awhile since we haven't ordered it yet...

Dots

2009-06-30T15:02:00.011-04:00

I finally got around to painting the dots on the our "accent" wall (to use an HGTV term). They are far from perfect up close, but I do really like how it came out! It took far less time than I thought it would, too. The trim of the bed skirt and the quilt have the same color polka dots, which is where the idea came from.

(If you are confused by the perspective, I am standing next to the glider when taking this photo - the crib is to the right of the door you see.)

We still need some more wall art, then again we need more wall art in almost all our rooms. I would also like a new lamp - I find the one in there a tad too bright, and short for the space.

We acquired an extra camera for our video monitor - it is pretty cool. We can now switch the channels to see each kid's room. Given how loud Jack is, we rarely need his anymore, but it is nice to check up on him now and again. We also find it useful to be able to see if he is standing and whining in his crib, or still lying down and whining.

Really looking like a room now..

2009-06-22T12:04:00.001-04:00

Coming together...

2009-06-20T21:59:00.007-04:00

After a foible with our new crib mattress (thanks Magic Beans for amazing customer service!), baby #2 now has a lovely place to sleep. Of course for a variety of reasons he most likely will sleep in our room in a pack n play bassinet at night for a few months. I am pleased to have this ready to go and organized though!

The crib came in even nicer than I had expected - the wood & finish are of such high quality.

Nesting - continued

2009-06-01T21:05:00.006-04:00

Jack's room is substantially different too. We removed the glider to nursery #2 (see previous post) and in its place we put his train table (a hand-me-down from a coworker of Steve's!). Strangely the trains always spend more time on the ground. Oh well.

We also got a red chair from Ikea that works perfectly for reading bedtime stories. Not quite as luxurious as the glider, but at hundreds of dollars cheaper, it more than meets our need.

We also hung a Curious George/alphabet poster which he seems to enjoy (the monkey part, not so much the letters:)

Nesting - 1 month to go

2009-05-31T22:10:00.010-04:00

Steve and I made great progress (Ok, mostly Steve) around the house this weekend preparing for baby #2.

#2's nursery has all the major stuff in it, except the crib which is ordered. The big boxes are actually Jack's birthday gifts (from a variety of people) so ignore those in the second picture below.

We have a new armoire (the room has no closet), new window hardware and new curtains. Misc. accessories and the rugs are to be placed soon. The radiator cover is drying in the garage from its last coat of paint. The lamp in the picture is, in theory, temporary. All of the tiny baby clothes are washed and in the armoire. The rest of the bedding, if you don't recall, looks like this:

I am going to be painting large polka dots on one accent wall that mimics the trim on the bedding. The crib blanket (on the chair in the photo below) will be hung above the crib.

Jack's room (pics to come) has a new chair (since the glider moved) and now has some toys and his train table in it.

Fenced

2009-05-15T19:31:00.006-04:00

We had been thinking of tearing down the fence in our backyard as it was a) an eyesore and b) about to fall down. Luckily for our wallets it turns out the abutting neighbors actually own the fence and knocked it as an add-on to removing an ugly shed they had in their yard. (This family just moved in last August and inherited the 2 lovely features.

The good news is it is gone. The bad news is that a small part remains (the remaining piece is obviously not on their property, but lord knows who actually put it up) and there is a big mess remaining in the spaces that used to be hidden by fences.

That said, once we get it clean and de-poison ivy parts, it will be, effectively, about 2-3 more feet of yard for us along the back. Also nice, they have 2 boys, one 2 1/2 and one 3 months, so I am sure there will be many playtimes to come now that we have easy access to their yard! Jack is already eying their basketball hoop.

Postponed...

2009-04-17T15:32:00.004-04:00

Due to everyone's feet dragging (ours and some of the contractors) we have decided to delay the basement for least for 6-8 months. With baby #2 looming soon, and a busy time at the office (and out of the office) for Steve, construction would be too much chaos right now. We are going to clean out the "finished" part of the basement and see how that works as our office area for awhile. Given how much we learned from living in our old kitchen before renovations, this is likely going to change our plans down the road (for the better) anyway. So, no fun pictures of demo are impending I am afraid.

That said, a new armoire for the nursery should be here in a week or two and I hope to get going on painting some polka dots or stripes in that room too. More modest, but changes are still on the way.

Contractors have came...

2009-04-06T15:23:00.003-04:00

and quoted (well 2 of 3 of them have)... It has been an interesting experience seeing how different the recommendations and process of the 3 contractors have been - all three are comparable in terms of reputation, standard jobs and all are based in our town. - so I expected somewhat less variance.

Steve and I have also redesigned the layout ourselves about 5 times - adding a 1/2 bath, removing a 1/2 bath, adding a closet, not adding a closet, moving the washer/dryer, not moving them etc. I think we finally decided on a really open, flexible layout. Due to our changing ideas, we have to get new quotes from the 2 that already quoted since we changed our mind on some substantive issues. The third should be back to us in a few days. All three come highly recommended so we will probably pick by their ability to start quickly. One looks like it is going to higher than the others too, so he likely is out.

We hope to have this decided by the end of the week (realistically the end of next...)

The contractors are coming, the contractors are coming..

2009-03-25T22:21:00.004-04:00

We had the first of 3 (planned) contractors come today and look at our basement. He had a lot of good ideas and Steve thought he seemed very nice, knowledgeable and trying to be a good member of the community as well. We will have an estimate shortly.

We shall say what the other have to say on Friday and Monday.

Major changes in the planning stages..

2009-02-20T16:29:00.024-05:00

So I think we have at least figured out WHERE things are going and what is going to change in terms of furniture for the arrival of #2. As I previously mentioned our current office will be the new nursery. It is sort of an L shape room on our second floor. It has the stairs leading to the 3rd floor in it. The second picture is the short length of the "L" shape. Storage will be an issue as there is no closet. These pics are from when we looked at the house, when it was being used as a guest nursery.

The basement is where the office is moving. The pics below are from awhile ago so in reality there is a lot more "stuff" being stored down there that will need to be reorganized/trashed/donated etc. The actual space where the office will be (you can see that area - it is the picture where the TV is) is pretty finished off. There are real walls, ceiling, a door, a closet and trim in that area. However, like the rest of the basement the floors are concrete.

We plan on removing the weird shower and replace with at minimum a large "work/laundry" sink and possibly a tiny half-bath. We also think we will closet off the furnace/hot water heater. And, separately, closet off the washer / dryer and finish the walls behind those. Shelving for detergent and platforms to raise them higher are planned for in the large closet too.

We also will add a door in a long wall where there isn't one to add easy access to some valves.

We also plan on finishing the floors in some way. This will require some work as the floors are not at all level. The ceiling in the presently unfinished area also needs replacement - it is cracking and crumbling in places.

A workbench area will be retained for tools/projects etc.

As I am sure some are concerned (knock on wood) there has never been water in the basement since we have lived here, nor is there evidence there ever has been. The old owners had a child sleeping down there, so I can't imagine they had any issues either.

Lastly, I am slowing reorganizing and cleaning the 3rd floor and making a play space up there. Jack and I are already spending at least an hour a two a day there and I think we may be heading in the direction to make it the main play space. This would be great as a) there is no TV there so no temptation for either of us, and b) would allow our living room to be slightly less toy-cluttered. Much of the floor needs to be retained at this point for storage, but it is a big room, thankfully!

At some point soonish we plan on replacing the carpet and painting the walls.

For memories sake, here is what the 3rd floor looks like empty(ish):

PS

2009-02-17T08:13:00.002-05:00

The picture in the prior post is from a catalog - thanks to all who thought we might be that organized or talented to make a room that nice in this time frame. Our nursery is still very much an insanely messy office.

And no, we don't have a name yet - not even remotely close.

Long time..

2009-02-12T09:10:00.005-05:00

And not much happening around the actual house...

However, with baby #2 on the way we have a lot to get done and very definite timeline:)

Our "office" will have to become a nursery which means a lot of cleaning, organizing and probably some contractors to fix up our basement to make it more habitable for office use.

I bought our first real item for #2 this week - bedding and decor. Our walls are already a baby blue, which isn't my absolute favorite, but I found cute stuff to match so it will save us the hassle of painting the room. It is a touch hard to see, but it has blue and orange monkeys on it and is accented by polka-dots.

Now we have to find furniture to fit the small, odd-shaped room with no closet!

Guilt Trip

2008-12-23T12:33:00.005-05:00

My (Lauren's) presents are hidden under the blanket. Sadly, these warnings are necessary...

And safer too!

2008-10-31T10:03:00.004-04:00

We now have radiator covers in all our rooms - they still need to be painted or stained (depends on room) but they are already a huge improvement over the metal we think. Plus, now we don't have to worry about Jack burning himself!

More artwork..

2008-10-12T22:28:00.016-04:00

This time it is a real vintage poster, not just a print/reproduction. Yikes we are old!

Steve and I bought it for ourselves as an anniversary gift yesterday. It is from 1955 and we went to Iguazu on our honeymoon to Brazil. I also visited Iguazu in college when studying in Argentina - the falls are on the border of Argentina & Brazil. I would say it is the most amazing natural site I have seen so far... You just can't get its scale (or even all the falls) in pictures. The main drop isn't even in any of these photos!

Luckily now they don't have steamboats spewing black smoke, though they do still have boats that bring you as close as is safe to the falls.

In one of the modern rubber rafts in '98 during my FSP to Buenos Aires...

Steve and I in '05...

Rainbow in '98

View in '05

Spicy Lamb with Tomato and Cilantro

2008-09-30T09:31:00.003-04:00

Ok we made this recipe with beef, but it was still very tasty and pretty easy..

Finally, a new post!

2008-09-30T09:06:00.006-04:00

We finally hung our Mucha prints from Prague. No matter what, the wall colors still come off a little odd but you get the idea! The buffet isn't "styled" or anything, just some random stuff still. Unfortunately, though I love the prints, they seem to just draw attention to that outlet on the wall!

We still need things to hang on the other walls...

So now our front porch trim/stairs is boring "deck grey" which honestly makes the house look much crisper than the red that preceded it. I am so impressed that a small change makes a big difference... This is what it looked like when we moved in.

We are still in serious need of a new screen door- hopefully one of these weekends we can figure that out!

New Updates

2008-09-02T09:20:00.005-04:00

We framed and hung 4 8 by 10s from our travels and hung them on the stairwell...

We bought a random Chicago travel poster already framed at a discount store and hung it in the front hall...

We have a coat of deck grey paint on our "new" front stairs - It replaces the barn red..(We haven't started the risers yet, thus the sloppiness..)

Pretty!

2008-08-03T13:30:00.003-04:00

Let's hope we can keep it alive for awhile;)

Dining room...

2008-08-03T13:01:00.004-04:00

Ok, so it isn't done being decorated, but this is a somewhat better pic of the colors...We have some nice prints from Prague at the framers - should be back in a week or so.

Dining Room Preview

2008-06-30T09:31:00.008-04:00

We finally had a weekend totally free. It is a little brighter than I expected, but I like it. I am excited to see once all the tape is removed. "Painter's Tape Blue" adds nothing to the color palette.

For those interested the Freshaire choice paint (available at Home Depot) no-VOC paint experiment - it did a great job. It covered well and was just as easy to work with as other brands. It is also has almost no smell which is fantastic. And as it has no VOCs it is even healthier for the air (and the baby).

Finally taking root

2008-06-24T11:35:00.001-04:00

(and then some)

We planted this the fall of '06 and last summer it was a dud...

Our Esteemed State Senator

2008-06-06T10:58:00.008-04:00

Has checked into a psychiatric facility after a series of "lewdness" claim against him...

My favorite part(s) of thestory...

"The state senator made the woman uneasy by asking her questions about her body, so the woman went into a nearby building and informed the staff what had happened, the prosecutor said. Police arrived and spoke to Marzilli, who allegedly gave them the name of Martin Walsh, which happens to be the name of another state legislator, and said he lived in Medford.

As police dispatch checked out the false name for warrants and an officer went to speak to the victim, Marzilli bolted, running the wrong way up a one-way street, while locals, including a bank teller using a loudspeaker, alerted police to his whereabouts, Mucci said. Two men outside a city parking garage flagged down police, where the officers found the state senator, Mucci said.

While speaking to police, Marzilli began to cry and told the officers they were destroying his life and that his life was over, according to the police report.

As police attempted to handcuff him, Marzilli allegedly tensed up until officers convinced him to relax his arms by threatening to use pepper spray on him, Mucci said.

Once cuffed, Marzilli admitted he had given the officers the wrong name and lamented that he was a state senator and his life was over, the police report said.

In the backseat of a cruiser, Marzilli said, “I can’t believe this is happening … She was flirting with me … I was flirting with her … I can’t believe this is happening,” before an officer told him to stop and informed him of his right to remain silent, the report said.

“I really screwed up,” Marzilli said after that, according to the report."

On the other hand, I have to say I am impressed with the Lowell locals who apparently take their crime seriously!

Also - the comments on the story are fascinating - apparently Arlington has some bizarre (and new to me) dynamics. I didn't know that there was vast "socialist" group trying to ruin Arlington.

Long time no blog..

2008-05-30T11:37:00.003-04:00

We have been super busy doing everything but home stuff! Actually that isn't quite true someone rebuilt much of our front stairs about 2 weeks ago - hopefully we finally (and by we, I mean Steve) will get them primed and painted this weekend. We also still haven't yet painted the dining room and living room, but I did manage to buy something for the dining room walls in Prague. Two matching size Moet et Chandon posters by Mucha (bought at the Mucha museum)... They should complement the paint colors well - I actually had my paint chips with me!

One

two

Spring Flower

2008-04-24T17:25:00.001-04:00

Update: Dining Room & Yard

2008-04-18T09:44:00.015-04:00

My mom picked the exact colors as I did out of a pile of paint chips without prompting, so I think that is a sign. The space under the chair rail in the dining room and the living room will be blue, and the area above the chair rail will be the beigey color. It isn't so bright in person as it appears in these pictures. We are going to give this brand new paint a try, especially since Jack and I spend so much time in these rooms: FreshAire I will let you know if it is any good. It just started being sold April 1.

We have some daffodils about to bloom and some tulips on the way. One lonely hyacinth is already blooming.

Our new dining room curtains - they are semi-sheer and have super subtle stripe effect.

We now have lilacs, that eventually will hide our neighbor's cars. Right now they just look like sticks poking out of the ground though.

We have a trellis which makes our garage look much nicer from the kitchen table. I had just watered them which is why the garage looks like it is of varying colors. It is hard to see as the ground is black but the pots are black at the bottom. We thought having a black/white combination would extend the kitchen colors.

Dining Room & Yard

2008-04-14T21:08:00.006-04:00

We have been very busy in house land. Our new dining room table, chairs and buffet arrived. It looks great and fits the space perfectly. We also got curtains for the room though they haven't been hung quite yet.

Now we just have to finalize paint colors and get to painting!

Steve has also put in some serious time in the backyard raking some icky dead stuff out and putting down some new seed. I also finally put together a trellis we bought last year to go against the part of the garage that faces our kitchen sliding doors. We will plant some sort of climbing plant.

Wednesday we are having some generous visitors (my mom and stepdad) visiting and they will plant some lilacs so as to block our view of our neighbors garage.

For posterity, we are hoping this is the worst the yard will ever look!

Almost 2 years

2008-03-31T16:44:00.004-04:00

from when we signed our Purchase & Sales agreement, we have figured out what to do with our Bedroom and Dining Rooms.

Our new bedroom dressers came on Friday and we finally have our clothes hidden from the world.

We also bought dining room furniture that fits the space and it will be delivered in a about 2 weeks.

We have the table, 4 chairs and buffet pictured below. We also have 2 chairs that are made of the same wood as the table and are upholstered just on the seat. The table also has 2 leaves not pictured. Hopefully now we can have people over to dinner and seat them without being totally squished.

"Bug"s Bunny

2008-03-19T08:48:00.005-04:00

Apparently I have a knack for finding funny vehicles.

I SO wish I could have taken a picture, but yesterday I saw, I swear, a VW Bug with a bunny costume!

It was a white bug, with big - appropriate scale - bunny ears attached to where the roof/side windows meet. It also had a white tail above the license plate. I wouldn't be surprised if I missed whiskers up front while I was trying to figure out the ears!

I really laughed out loud as it was really well done and unexpected.

The "Dye" is cast...

2008-03-17T20:09:00.006-04:00

Ok, it is really paint...but you get the idea.

We have painted test squares on our dining room wall and we have painter's tape up to do tests on the living room. After 1.5 years we are finally getting our act in gear to get some more decorating done.

We aren't thrilled with the DR colors, so I think I will be hitting Benjamin Moore again soon for more samples.I have a nifty Benjamim Moore program that lets you paint pictures of your own home with all their colors. It doesn't work perfectly, for example, light colors are always too bright. Then again, colors and lighting are always hard on computers and this is easier (and cheaper) to fool around with than photo shop plus it gives you paint color names. One of the myriad of combinations I have been playing with...

Who you gonna call?

2008-03-11T08:56:00.003-04:00

Ghost Pros!

We followed this van over the causeway to Sanibel. I had no idea such a thing existed.

Check out their What we do page.

Finally...

2008-03-09T11:06:00.007-04:00

We soon will have our clothes hidden from visitors. Until now our master bedroom has been seriously in need of 'proper' storage. By proper I mean something that is neither a bookshelf bought at a used bookstore nor not an ancient dresser that used to live in my aunt's garage. We have some wall space issues since we have 2 windows, a radiator and 3 doors in a not huge room. Well, we finally went ahead and ordered a dresser a "sweater chest" and a nightstand. Neither of us are passionately in love with it, but the size was right, the price was right and it came in a cherry finish that approximates our bed color. I am contemplating getting different pulls, they aren't bad but I think we could do better. For some reason the pics from the website won't upload right, so you will have to wait until it is delivered for pictures.

Sunsets

2008-03-06T10:58:00.003-05:00

Some were taken from the car window - so clarity isn't amazing.

30th Birthday Gift

2008-03-03T09:46:00.004-05:00

I haven't decided if Steve should get me this...

or this...

HAHA

They are ridiculous houses being put up on tiny lots on a very main street in FL. There are lots of other big houses on this road, but these will take the cake for sheer size and over-the-top everything (at least in public view).

I actually found the builder's site and you can see what they are meant to look like done.

House 1
House 2

Going Postal

2008-01-23T10:11:00.000-05:00

I have gone to the post office two times in the last two weeks and boy do I regret it.

Trip #1 - Background: day after a decent-size snow storm - 2 packages to mail - drive downtown to get out of the house and some errands off my list - no parking in front of the post office so I have to walk 1 1/2 blocks from a paid public lot - Jack is in his stroller

I get to the front of the building and the ramp (which I had intended to use) was blocked off at both ends with yellow caution tape. I had no way to get in the front door as there were about 10 steep steps and I had a baby, stroller and 2 mid-size boxes. Somebody helped me carry the stroller up the stairs but I was totally shocked the federal post office wasn't, at this time, handicapped accessible. What on earth was someone on crutches or in a wheelchair supposed to do? I waited about 10 minutes in line and after mailing my packages I asked how I was supposed to get out of there. The clerk said there were icicles near the ramp and so it was closed, I pushed and spoke my mind about how bad it was it wasn't accessible. She brought me to the "superintendent's office." He basically said "well you aren't handicapped" so it isn't an issue. Also, I kid you not, he said "handicapped people do not go out on days like this." WHAT? It was 35 and sunny. He also informed be that the ramp is closed due to the potential of sheets of snow from the roof sliding down and hitting the ramp. Umm, ok, but the stairs are right next to the ramp, does it not effect those people? Is there a way to get the snow off so that isn't a danger? Handicapped people can't go to the post office unless it hasn't snowed recently? He also told me in the future that this wasn't an issue at the other 2 Arlington POs. A lot of good that does me this time. I wrote a letter to my congressperson and the USPS.

Trip #2 - Background: Jack needs a passport - you must appear in person for new passports and both parents need to be there (or have a notarized form saying it is ok from one) - Steve and I head to the Lexington PO that starts doing passports at 9 (rather than 10:30 like Arlington). We have all the forms pre-filled out and our check made out and ready to go.

We get there at about 9:15 - the two women in front of us both also have passport issues. They both need to renew expedited. It took at least 25 minutes to get through the first woman!! WHAT? This is not an unusual procedure. She had to, no joke, address the envelope to the state dept and then insisted and putting in their return address for them on her return envelope. Couldn't they have a stamp for this? Pre-filled forms? She also, after it was all closed, realized that the express mail by which she wanted her passport returned required a signature, and she wouldn't be home. So they had to reopen the whole package and write a note.

The next woman was equally inane but luckily (saved us another 20 minutes) another clerk decided he too could do passports. Well turns out, that even though it says a new passport is $82 on the sign and on the website, it is actually $52 to the state dept and $30 to the PO so you can't have one check. Ugh... Admittedly if you read the medium (ok, not quite fine) print on the website this is made clear, but it isn't at the PO where there was a big sign saying "$82" and nothing else. Once we got to a person, we were done in about 5 minutes, for what is a more complex procedure than a renewal as the clerk actually verifies documents and our identities.

There are SO many ways to increase the speed on these transactions it is ridiculous. I guess all my quality improvement exposure at my last job (including on flow) did indeed rub off on me. Of course part of the problem is people can't read and don't do the easy thing. Both women could have renewed their passports with a regular clerk had they just read instructions and paid for 2 express mail envelopes.

Another easy recipe

2008-01-04T10:33:00.000-05:00

Italian Meatloaf

I use whatever bread we have on hand (usually whole wheat) and only use 1-1/2 slices.

By request...

2007-12-31T11:52:00.000-05:00

We served this to our cousins, Nikki, Rob and Robby last week and Nikki liked it enough to ask for the recipe.

grilled chicken with oregano, cinnamon and paprika

served with

tomato and red onion compote

We are just catching up with life having returned for 2 nearly back-to-back trips out of state!

Some interesting things:

1) Steve and I had passports that expired a month or two ago.

Time from day sent to day received: 11 business days

The backlog is truly over! Actually, it may have been as few as 8 since we had our mail held and I am even counting Christmas Eve as a business day since it isn't a federal holiday. Those who haven't seen the new passports are in for a surprise. They are quite flashy, even tacky in my opinion. Each page has images and quotes of/from American icons (statue of liberty, Mt. Rushmore etc.) drawn in a way I would describe as propagandistic, considering they are designed to be seen by foreign officials. There is also an overbearing abundance of eagles. It looks like the same people who designed the intro to the The Colbert Report made it.

2) We discovered our screen door has a storm door. Oops, we should have noticed that in our basement last year. It looks a lot nicer than the green fleece blanket we had hanging over our door last winter. Good thing I took to riding our exercise bike about 2 weeks ago and noticed it. (You can tell how much we used it last winter).

Ick!

2007-12-13T10:30:00.001-05:00

This is off our normal topic (ok, I guess there is no "normal" topic for this blog), but here it goes.

OK, I am not a germophobe at all and generally am not a fan of news exposes, but this is disgusting.

Just in time for holiday travel :(

Hotel Glasses

ok, enough with the trains!

2007-12-10T10:03:00.000-05:00

Think it is genetic?

Yum

2007-12-07T21:15:00.000-05:00

Balsamic-Glazed Sirloin Steak

Just tired it for the first time this week, but will definitely make it again. We had it with brown rice (and green beans) to soak up the glaze - great stuff. Oh, and we doubled the sauce like some the commenter mentioned. I am glad we did.

Lights

2007-12-07T09:05:00.001-05:00

I should have gone to the street and taken the photo from there, but it is cold out!

Another Lego Train!

2007-12-03T10:33:00.001-05:00

This one is for the little man of the house. It is part of the now discontinued "Lego Baby" line.
We got it free (well we had to pay shipping) for buying enough pampers to redeem points.

A Christmas Miracle

2007-12-02T14:48:00.000-05:00

Ok, I am using that term VERY lightly, but not only did our chimney not cause us any problems with the first fire of the season (YAY), but we finally figured out what our hall light switch does (YAY, YAY).

I swear we have tested every outlet in the living room to see if it is tied to the hall, but apparently we hadn't. So now I can switch off our Christmas houses with the flip of a switch. These houses, save the lego-themed one, date to when I was in middle school/early high school and my mom and I had way too many Christmas decorations. Some, like these, have been handed down to me. Luckily I like these and some are even worth some money now (they are collectible and get "retired" every so often). I have some more playing to do with the "snow" to make it better , but I am guessing next year there will be too much attraction to the high cords so this will be our only chance to use them for awhile and wanted to get them out.

Holiday Project - LEGOS!

2007-11-28T18:33:00.000-05:00

We also have a motor and some track. As a kid I always thought it would be cool to have a train go around the tree and now we will have a genuine Lego Christmas train.

How it began...

The end!

The two Steve let me make...

Spicy? no, Yummy yes

2007-11-09T19:53:00.000-05:00

This is a standard dish for us...very easy, quick and quite tasty. The name is misleading, it isn't really spicy. It is amazing what you can find on the back of the box!

Spicy Chicken & Couscous

Much needed

2007-11-07T16:18:00.000-05:00

With Jack doing a lot of this, but little actual sleeping....

this is just what Lauren needed!

Hmmm, Mexican

2007-10-19T13:54:00.000-04:00

Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde

From cooking light - yummy.

Something New..

2007-10-15T12:14:00.001-04:00

I thought I would liven up this blog by adding links (or text) of our favorite recipes now and again. Here is the first...

Chicken-Stuffed Bell Peppers Spanish Style

Hot Spot!

2007-10-12T08:56:00.000-04:00

"Arlington is hottest place in Eastern Mass." according to a 10/10 Globe Article by Sacha Pfeiffer... a sampling of the description of our home, sweet, home!

"Welcome to Arlington, which is enjoying its own housing bubble while many other communities in Eastern Massachusetts struggle with declining sales and prices. Despite spiking foreclosures and subprime sorrows nationwide, real estate in this suburb northwest of Boston remains freakishly hot. Prices are stable, activity is brisk, and frenzied behavior not seen since the boom years - deliberate underpricing to fuel bidding wars, multiple offers over asking price, tight deadlines for submitting offers - is often routine.

Why home sales in Arlington continue to be so robust offers a case study in how a community with a key mix of attributes can muscle through a difficult real estate market. For many buyers and sellers, Arlington has that magic blend: proximity to Boston, respectable schools, desirable housing stock, prices notably lower than in surrounding communities, and city amenities in a town setting, such as a thriving restaurant scene.

Densely populated, tree-lined residential streets are largely populated with handsome Colonials, Capes, and two-family homes, many of them converted into condominiums. Bustling Massachusetts Avenue is the spine of the town, and is home to popular spots ranging from the charming Capitol Theatre movie house to the upscale Wild Child children's clothing store, to the newly expanded Argentine restaurant Tango.

That vibrant scene is attracting legions of buyers, particularly young couples trying to buy their first homes or trading up from condos."

Bed is here...

2007-10-10T11:00:00.000-04:00

hopefully someday soon we can show pictures of the rest of the room too - it is still a big old mess! It is getting much better though.

Back from Maine

2007-10-01T09:00:00.000-04:00

Didn't have much free time with all the wedding activities, but here are some photos from the Belfast/Searsport area...

Art is up

2007-09-11T10:14:00.001-04:00

michigan art finds

2007-08-23T10:36:00.000-04:00

Steve and I have some art for the new kitchen & half-bath on the way...

We bought three of these below in Glen Arbor. (First column, second down. Third column, fourth down. Fourth Column, 2nd down.). We had the paint swatches with us and they will match great. Pictures to come once we have them up!

More exciting (but w/o photo) we acquired a piece by Steve's grandmother Carolyn. It is a lovely painting of lilacs (taken straight from one of her bookcases!) and will match the kitchen perfectly.

Table and BED!

2007-08-13T09:06:00.000-04:00

So we got our new kitchen table together and ready and we love it. It is as big as possible and still keeps the flow ok in the room, which is ideal. We also now can look at our backyard which is an added perk.

Also, thanks to our tax free weekend here in MA, Steve and I decided to purchase a bed we had seen a few months ago. It will be nice to not have our mattress on the floor anymore! For less than the cost of one from pottery barn, etc. we got this that is made in Vermont (by hand no less) and is solid cherry!

Ordered a table

2007-08-02T09:35:00.000-04:00

Well, I am not sure what it will look like in person since they don't have it at the store, but this is the table we ordered for the kitchen. It is a little bigger than I would have liked for the space, but it is counter-height which will make it more functional. Also, since the stools push all the way under it should feel the same size as a smaller table with chairs. (At least that is my current logic!)

PS - After speaking with friends who have the same problem trying to find a small table for a small kitchen, we should all start a company making them! There is virtually no selection out there.

DONE!

2007-07-23T10:49:00.001-04:00

The painters came this weekend and save buying accessories (wall decor, curtains and a tiny table/chairs) the kitchen is done!

I can pick 'em

2007-07-21T08:40:00.000-04:00

I picked a color called "stem green" for the kitchen walls. My mom and I were at Williams Sonoma this week and they had a similar colored spatula so I got it. Turns out it is really as identical as could be and they have a whole line of things in that color - including le creuset cookware and kitchen aid stuff. Too bad we don't need any of it and I am not a huge fan of le creuset (too heavy and too expensive). However I did get the mixing bowls and all the spatulas! Apparently I have high class color preferences.

We are waiting for the painters to show up. Hopefully I will have final pictures on Monday!!

That explains it.

2007-07-13T17:09:00.000-04:00

So, miracle of miracles the interior is done! The good carpenters came today and fixed all our last minute things indoors. yipee...They still have to insulate some in our crawl space, which they would have done today save the unwelcome discovery of like a bizillion bees in that space. They took it upon themselves to spray the living daylights out of the area. (No worries about the baby, we can't smell it in the house) They plan on coming to finish that tomorrow.

We also found out about the contractor. Apparently he got a job at a rival company and when he gave his 2 weeks notice at his old job they didn't accept it and asked him to leave! That is why there was no appropriate transition etc. He was nice enough to call today to apologize and explain. This makes WAY more sense.

Once the painting is done, I will post more pics!

interesting development....

2007-07-11T16:26:00.000-04:00

This may explain a lot. Our main point of contact for the kitchen, who ran one of the company's two storefronts, apparently is "no longer with the company.' He had worked for them for like 15 years so this is a bit shocking, especially because we only learned of it when Steve called to leave a message and noticed the answering machine had a different message. The company's owner returned our call and said he would be our point of contact and would review our final punch list and get back to us. Yikes, given the suddenness and lack of handover, I suspect he was fired. Not entirely sure why - he was a bit ditsy, but did know his stuff and after that long, one has to wonder. Glad our kitchen is 99% done.

Long time no post..

2007-07-07T11:18:00.001-04:00

I was waiting to post "final" pictures of the kitchen. Sadly, it STILL isn't 100% done. We do now have all the doors installed, but are missing a few door pulls. There are a few other odds and ends for them to do. This was supposed to be done last Saturday but the contractor's car broke down (which I believe as it has seen better days). I guess with the holiday week they didn't get to us. We still owe them money for the final items, but I am thinking the amount isn't enough to push them that fast:(

The good news is now that it is functional we are very pleased and though, as is to be expected, there are a few small things we would do differently, it works for us far better than the old kitchen.

Now we really really need to finalize a paint color for both rooms!

He's Here

2007-06-15T12:36:00.000-04:00

Jack Robertson
9lbs 6.8oz, 21 3/4 inches

Coming Soon....
Jack's Blog

And I thought the kitchen progress was slow...

2007-06-11T17:48:00.001-04:00

I have no labor signs at all, so most likely I will make it to the induction scheduled for this week. I call on Wednesday to find out what time that evening I should come in, and will be given a preparatory treatment that evening for the induction drugs on Thursday. I am very much hoping that the hospital isn't super super busy and they have to reschedule (which is not common, but does happen apparently). Of course I truly have my fingers crossed that I go into labor naturally before then.

In more productive news, thanks almost entirely to Steve we got around 85% of our stuff clean and back into the kitchen yesterday! Thank goodness....

Before & After!!!

2007-06-08T17:05:00.000-04:00

Ok, so it isn't 100% done, but close enough for this.
Now on to finalizing paint colors and cleaning the dining room..

Still here...

2007-06-08T11:16:00.000-04:00

Both the kitchen guys and me!

The kitchen guys should be 98% done today! All the carpentry/touch up work is slated for completion. After that we are just waiting for 2 missing doors, some shelves, the toilet seat and a part for the bathroom sink. So the contractors will be in here next week at some point for an hour or so.

Baby and I are doing fine, I was monitored this morning to check the baby. During this they simultaneously monitor contractions, or in my case, lack of contractions.

I will try to post kitchen pics tomorrow...

Giant Feet

2007-06-06T10:44:00.001-04:00

I had an ultrasound yesterday to check the baby's position since the OB and I thought he may have turned sideways. Luckily, he didn't and is head down as he should be. It was nice for Steve and I too see the little guy again.

This confirmed without an inkling of a doubt that he is indeed a he - though we are saving that picture to annoy him as a teenager. We also confirmed that he has huge feet, like both his parents. The nurse doing the scan seemed a little taken aback by the size of the feet so I guess it wasn't just our impression. You can be a judge...

The foot is the oblong light spot at the bottom of the image, you can also see the leg going up the image towards the top.

Looks like if I don't go into labor on my own, I will be induced on the 14th, so at longest we have 7 more nights of sleep.

Food milestone...

2007-06-05T21:39:00.000-04:00

Well, I didn't get a picture, but Steve actually cooked dinner in our kitchen tonight. Sadly, that doesn't mean it is all done, but the appliances now all work so we tried out the range. It boils water for pasta just fine:)

Nothing to report...

2007-06-03T15:15:00.000-04:00

For those wondering, our lack of an update is not because Lauren is in labor. I am still here, feeling pretty good and we are both hoping our kitchen is done soon.

We went to see Knocked Up on Saturday. I was hoping for my water to break or something during the movie, as it clearly would make a memorable story. Alas, it was not to be. However, the movie was worth it, we both found it extremely funny.

Status Report

2007-05-29T21:10:00.000-04:00

Updated 4:00 Friday..notice nothing has changed since 1:00 PM on Thurs - though the plumber did show up for 1.5 hours this morning...

Done:
Fridge in place and working ~~w/ power but no water it seems-- (need to check on that)~~
Dishwasher in the room
Range in place and working
Glass installed in the 2 cabinets with glass fronts
Reordered cabinet and door have arrived

Still to do:
Install last 2 cabinets
Install microwave (after adjusting the vent)
Once the prior 2 are done, install the crown molding above those 2 cabinets
~~Install and hook up toilet~~
~~Intall bathroom sink, faucet, then hook up to water~~
install toilet seat
Install backsplash on bathroom sink
Install bathroom mirror, hardware
Install footboard at base of all cabinets
Install & hook/up under cabinet lights
Finish off last of outlets
Finish off outlet for dishwasher
Hook up dishwasher to water
Hook up radiators

I am starting to get very impatient and am not at all convinced they will be done by Friday. I will not be amused if all our dishes are still on the dining room floor when we come home with a baby.

Happy Birthday!

2007-05-27T11:54:00.000-04:00

We went out to explore the Arlington "res" this morning instead of doing chores (and because it is such a nice day). It turns out it has a 1 mile walking path around the reservoir and a small beach run by the town. You need passes to use the beach in season, but they do provide lifeguards, bathrooms and also a small playground. It is no Lake Michigan but not bad for 1.5 miles from our house...

After a couple of false install dates... flooring...

2007-05-24T18:36:00.000-04:00

The floor is in and we are very, very pleased. The wood brings some color to the room and warms it up nicely (as we had hoped).

My last “Case of the Mondays”

2007-05-21T10:22:00.000-04:00

In honor of Office Space being on Comedy Central last night I thought I would take a second and reflect on my last Monday at work (at least for awhile!) I have mixed feelings about leaving. For many months I was extremely excited at the prospect of no more deadlines, fewer off-the-wall requests from bosses, and less time spent in traffic. Making my own schedule (ok the baby will make my schedule) seemed somehow a nice change of pace, even if it wasn’t going to be stress-free or relaxing.

However, the closer it comes the more I realize I will miss my amazing, caring coworkers and being lucky enough to work in Harvard Square. I took a walk around the block to enjoy some fresh air this morning before heading into the overly-fluorescent bulbs of the office (another thing I won’t miss) and took these 2 pictures. Though I rarely have enough time to enjoy the views and atmosphere during the work day, it really is a pretty amazing place to work. What makes this somewhat easier is the prospect my organization is about to undergo a major change resulting in different staffing and likely a major move out of the Square WAY out into the suburbs. I actually hesitate to use the word “suburb” as it is that far out. I most likely wouldn’t have considered staying given that daunting potential commute, but regardless I am approaching the end of an era.

Of course what is to come promises to be more unpredictable, more exciting yet at times even more routine, and will push me in ways I haven't been challenged before.

Ok, well no floors

2007-05-19T10:48:00.000-04:00

BUT, we do have counters installed!

The plumber should be here Monday to hook up the sink/fridge. The floor should be delivered any day (the contractor has been bugging them regularly and they are dragging their feet apparently). Then it has to "season" for 2-3 days before being installed, apparently. Hopefully that means the floor can be done this week. I am hoping that the week of Memorial Day it will be all done.

This week, besides the counters, all the trim around the doors and windows was installed. Other than that we are waiting on the floors and the replacement cabinet to show up so the final touches can be done in the area above/next to the range.

Kitchen Pics to Come Next weekend

2007-05-13T21:07:00.000-04:00

We are getting our floors AND our counters this week! Too much excitement. There will be a grand reveal of the almost finished kitchen next weekend.

In the last week our cabinets got hardware (brushed satin pulls), the trim/molding was put up around the doors and windows and all the cabinets we have are installed. (One had to be sent back and a replacement has been ordered.)

More Kitchen & Nursery Updates

2007-05-08T18:41:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the bad lighting -- but you can see most of the high cabinets, the vent for the range and the bottom cabinet doors are up on this wall.

The molding is up and doors are on for this side!

The bathroom - the mirror still needs to go on the wall cabinet (duh) and the bottom cabinet door isn't in yet either...

And the glider was delivered for the nursery - it is so comfy!

Couldn’t ask for a better place to work!

2007-05-04T18:54:00.000-04:00

My office threw me a shower today and besides being very generous, they showed remarkable thought and creativity.

In addition to the assortment of outfits, books, toys and other such things they got me an adorable cake of my favorite flavors from where our wedding cake came . A few months ago I had a discussion about local bakeries and wedding cakes with a coworker who remembered. Luckily she ordered plenty and my office is health conscious so Steve and I will be eating it all weekend!

One of my other coworkers is extremely creative. She actually appeared on an HGTV show called “crafters across America” showing off greeting cards she makes. She made me the tee-shirt below.

For those that don’t immediately get it, check out or corporate logo below!

Appliances and Cabinets!

2007-05-03T17:59:00.000-04:00

Really and truly it is starting to come together!

~All the cabinets (save one high cabinet) are up on the interior wall and the fridge is here (though clearly not pushed in all the way.
~ All the bottom cabinets are in on the exterior wall - and the slide in range is in place.

Even more progress..

2007-04-28T10:25:00.000-04:00

We have...

~finished walls and a ceiling (just need paint)
~overhead lights that work
~cabinets IN the house (though not installed obviously)
~ an appointment for appliances to be delivered (Thursday)
~ our millionth black granite sample – (nero angola black)
~ an appointment for our granite to be templated (Friday)

Finally starting to look like a room -

2007-04-24T20:12:00.000-04:00

We have walls (almost). The plasterers come tomorrow, then they will be done! The cabinets should be up shortly after that - probably Thurs/Friday.

We are going to pick out our granite slab on Friday too.

There has finally been a bit of glitch. Now that I realized that the cabinets weren't in boxes (which I assumed!) in the garage I peeked in. The bathroom vanity is not at all what I had expected/envisioned. It wasn’t a stock design so they had to do some custom work. Luckily I don’t think it will be a huge deal for them to make it right and I am sure they will. I gave them a photo of what I wanted and we discussed it at length. There is no question what they sent isn't the same (or even that similar) to the picture. A little bit of carpentry will solve that though.

Luckily the kitchen cabinets look great.

I should have known...

2007-04-20T09:33:00.000-04:00

Looks like the kitchen will be completely insulated by the end of the day - just in time for our (nearly) 70 degree weather this weekend. I didn't know the contractor had a deal with the gas company.

Inspected!

2007-04-19T13:16:00.000-04:00

So the "kitchen" has been inspected by the town, and our floor has been leveled. According to the carpenter the floor was off by 1 1/2 inches from one side of the room to the other! It is now now only level but also sturdier.

They are now saying they should be able to start putting up the real walls as soon as Monday. Thurs-Sat they will be finishing up some of the floor and insulating the walls!

Most importantly they say that the “hard” part is done!

Major Progress!

2007-04-15T14:32:00.000-04:00

Thanks to the rainout of the Sox game, Steve and I (well mainly Steve) were able to put together the baby’s crib and the baby’s dresser today. We also cleaned up a lot of dust and put down the rug. We are still waiting on the delivery of the glider/ottoman which will go in the corner between the windows.

Other to dos - I still have to paint the changing table (I don’t like the wood color with the rest of the stuff).

And the final touch will be the murals that will go up sometime soon.

2 big arrivals

2007-04-11T16:38:00.000-04:00

Our cabinets arrived today and our crib came in yesterday.

The former should be up on the walls either the end of next week or early the following. I finally feel like it is progressing. We have lots of new pipes and the bathroom wall /door is framed. I believe the room will be inspected for the plumbing /electrical soon, then insulation will be put in and the walls will go up.

The latter is still in a box in our living room. Once our nursery trim is finished, we can bring it upstairs and assemble.

Let there be light!

2007-04-05T21:04:00.000-04:00

This is the first big improvement we can see! A new slider instead of the old, very drafty door-

(You can also notice there is, at present, no wall between the kitchen and the bathroom. The window you see in the right of the frame is on the bathroom wall!).

View from the front door....

Joys of living in the northern US...

2007-04-05T09:53:00.000-04:00

We got some snow yesterday/last night...Steve had to shovel the stairs/sidewalk this morning. It wasn't very much, probably 3/4 of an inch, but all the rooftops are white and it makes walking outside slick, especially for me in my front-heavy state. When I got into Harvard Square (about 4 miles - if that- from our house) there was not a speck of snow or ice remaining!

In kitchen news, we will have a new back door quite soon. The hole has been cut in our back wall to make room for a sliding glass door. This will allow us much more natural light and solve the problem of the back door opening into cabinets (or in the old layout opening into and denting our fridge). We also have had visits from the electrician and the plumber to some “rough” prep work.

Baby Shower and Kitchen Update!

2007-04-02T10:40:00.000-04:00

Steve and I spent the weekend in Connecticut so I could attend my baby shower. It was a lovely afternoon filled with family, friends and much joy all around. People are so generous with their time and money I am truly touched!

The kitchen is still totally gutted, right now they seem to be replacing one of our structural beams that support the ceiling of the kitchen. This was a planned repair as the carpenter didn’t think the old one was sufficient or installed properly. In addition it allows us to raise the ceiling height a few more inches. Steve can correct me if I am wrong on any of those details. We also had some collateral damage from all the pounding. One of the tiles (luckily hidden behind the toilet) in our upstairs bath broke in multiple pieces and fell off the wall, and a small piece of plaster in the dining room that abuts that ½ bath that is gutted feel off. Given the plaster is 80 years old and the interior wall there appears to be only 1-2 inches deep, I can’t say I am shocked.

I came home to

2007-03-26T18:20:00.000-04:00

THE GOOD
Nursery - colors are benjamin moore's "lake tahoe" and "jasper yellow" (the blue is just one wall)

AND THE BAD/UGLY!
The Kitchen
this is our ceiling (top photo) and part of the outside long wall (bottom photo)

Busy, Busy weekends

2007-03-17T09:56:00.000-04:00

We are right now on opposite coasts, but one thing is the same - we are going to be much busier than normal this weekend.

Lauren - work 10-6 Saturday and 8:30-7:30 on Sunday

(I get quite a few breaks and none of it is physically tiring - don't worry!). The major upside to working on the weekend is I am in lovely weather and from my room at the Hyatt I can see the bay bridge, the old port building and the water. View from my window at 7:20 pacific time: (Sunrise is late here!)

Steve - We have some exciting news - a dumpster is coming a dumpster is coming! Steve has the not enviable job of emptying all our cabinets so they can start ripping out the kitchen. We never got a full-size dining room table, so hopefully we have enough free floor space for all the added pots/pans. Steve also will start painting the nursery.

An (almost) clean slate

2007-03-10T16:23:00.000-05:00

People just came and picked up our guest mattress/box spring from the house. We discovered it doesn't fit in any other room and since we need to fit a crib now, it had to go. We sold it on craigslist. This was our first big sell this way and were quite please with the results. ---For my mom: they paid cash so I don't think we will end up on Judge Judy!

So what had been the guest bedroom, now looks like this...

Hopefully next week the walls and trim will be repainted.

I don't think the relative emptiness will last long. Tomorrow we will purhcase the dresser. My shower is in three weeks, after which, presumably, more boxes filled with baby stuff will need a good home! Oh, and the crib and glider/ottoman have been ordered but won't be in for some weeks. (A special thanks to Linda/Rick for the crib and Bill/Pat for the glider & ottoman).

By request...

2007-03-10T16:21:00.000-05:00

..a pic of my growing belly.

Feeling unaccomplished

2007-03-02T18:12:00.000-05:00

I just got my high school alumni magazine which, like most college ones with which people are likely more familiar, is a glossy set of pages to brag about alumni enough to make other alumni so proud to have attended this institution that they send money. (Unlike my college one it doesn’t have ads, nor are classes charged for it). I digress.

Apparently a student - Ryan Sager - that was a year behind me (making him only 27 or 28), and who I actually knew quite well being a fellow day student, has written a book. It has been reviewed and quoted by the Economist, the Wall St. Journal and has been the topic of 2 Times Op-Eds. He has been on CNN, Fox News and many other radio and news programs. I had heard he was on the editorial board of the NY Post (impressive enough), but this is too much.

Of course, had he been on the Daily Show or Colbert Report I probably would have heard about his book when it came out instead of months later.

The premise of his book sounds an awfully like another book I read “The Right Nation” that also argues that the Republican party is composed of two main groups that at some point are going to have to split as the glue that binds is becoming less and less effective. I think the Right Nation was more historical, however.

On top of this, another student I knew that was TWO years behind me (also a day student) just published about about how to use advanced math to evaluate poker moves. (I am sure his parents are glad he is using his Cal Tech degree to good use).

And up to this afternoon, I just felt like I was unaccomplished because I had a to-do list a mile long and need to do some laundy.

Nothing major to report

2007-02-27T18:27:00.000-05:00

So we have nothing major to report - we spent the weekend cleaning and doing things around the house which we had neglected for months. We are also starting to prepare the attic for its impending transition to our guest room and the guest room for its transition to a nursery. I suppose we better get that done now, as otherwise it will be many years before anything is done (or so people tell me). Also, I am in single digits until my due date.

A milestone, of sorts…

2007-02-20T13:41:00.000-05:00

I just dropped in the mailbox my pre-admission for the hospital where I will be delivering…one more thing to make this seem very very real :)

Interesting Fact: The King of Thailand was born at the same hospital. The only reason I know is the “Square” (read 6 by 6 brick area) outside my office is named in his honor to commemorate his birth in Cambridge.

Bhumibol Adulyadej