Let's Try That Again, Shall We?

Wow, it's been quite a while since I last posted on my blog.  It's not that there hasn't been plenty to write about, I mean WOW!  This country is upside down, sideways, and inside out right now.  I have been hesitant to write because it's so emotional--which kinda flies in the face of why I even started this blog and titled it, "Was That Out Loud".  So, this morning I am coming back to it because I woke up dreaming that I was speaking to a group and trying to calm people down about this election.  I have no illusion of grandeur to think I would have any influence to change what's happening, but then again why write a blog?  Why do any of us thrust our "noble" opinions onto the world?  We are blessed or cursed depending on how you look at it, to have so much opportunity now that it's almost irresistible.  We can post on Facebook, Tweet on Twitter, or do--whatever it's called--on Instagram, the choices are many.  Passion! That is why we write, post, blog, or vomit our collective opinions all over the place.  We believe, we are right, and others are wrong.  Our opinion is what counts, right?  But, in reality it's like that color of the dress thingy that was posted.  I guess some people saw the dress one color and some saw it another--"That's called perspective, can you say perspective?"--sorry I was free associating Mr. Roger's Neighborhood for a second but I'm back now, anyway, I learned something very powerful as a business owner: my customer's perspective is my reality and how I deal with that reality is vital.  I may keep the customer and preserve the relationship and a source of future revenue, or do I deal with it from the standpoint that the customer is wrong and that pandering would be detrimental to the business, or perhaps there are other cases that may come into play; whatever, it became my new reality.  So, I guess this is why I'm writing this today.  Our perspectives have become very polarized, and I am no different.

Do You See What I See?

I once heard that our nation is struggling to find the "soul of America".  I didn't think much about it, after all, our nation is divided and we are engaged in a bitter and anxious election cycle.  Of course we are struggling, happens every four years.   Many of the current topics divide the nation and it seems appropriate that we would use this term, "soul of America", to describe our current state.  However, I have thought on this for some time.  I have asked questions of myself in order to gauge my own soul.  Without fail, I tend to hearken back to the days of my youth.  Most of the adults of my youth would voice concern over the "soul of America" even then.  When I would ask them about their youth, they would say that their parents would also worry about the same thing.  I guess you could say that our nation has been in a downward spiral, depending on your point of view, for a long time.  I wondered if I was putting too much concern over what is happening now, and whether I should just realize it is part of the natural progression of things.  I have come to the conclusion that, yes, it is a natural progression of things, but, I should be concerned.  To  illustrate my point, I would like to discuss only one principle, the first amendment and our freedom of religion.

Are We Divided? Can We Unite? Because, WE Are the Answer!

I find the division in our nation the result of failed political manipulation that has been going on for generations.  It has always amazed me, especially during an election cycle, that the politicians can push their snake oil on to us and in the process, tell us that certain classes of people are at fault for our unhappiness and frustration; they will then tell us that they are the only one that can fix it.  During the election season we invest our time, passion, money and state of mind, in extolling their virtues, or making excuses for the lack thereof.  There is only one reality in the whole process, and that is that once a person gets to Washington DC, they almost always disappoint us.  Why is that?

Well, they have been manipulating our rights over decades and decades to addict us to government hand outs.  They have outright lied to us about the stability of our financial systems, they have exempted themselves from the laws that you and I have to obey (for example, it kills me that they can't be prosecuted for insider trading, and they don't have to sign up for Obama Care), and they take our money and give it to their friends so they can get reelected.  This is not a Republican vs. Democrat problem, it is a systemic crisis of government across the nation.  I don't mean to make this an indictment of all politicians, I know that there are some who are genuine and honest, but, they are few.

How About a Break from Politics?

Tensions are so very high, and they are high in every presidential election.  It does seem that they are increasingly high during this one.  So, in an effort to keep my blood pressure at a normal level, I thought I'd write about something else, RELIGION!!!!  Ha! Just kidding.  Seriously, with all the many things we can complain about today, I wonder how many of us, including myself, look for the good in life.  Question: Is there anything good going on in your life right now?  Can we share the good with each other?

I missed the fight?

Well, sounds like I missed the most exciting debate of the season last night.  Full confession, I missed it on purpose.  I knew the candidates would have the long knives out for each other, and if Trump is upset for the treatment he received last night, he need only look in the mirror and thank himself, in my opinion.  I know, I know that this stuff happens every election; every primary election cycle is an act of mass cannibalism, especially with the Republican Party.  As voters, we collectively say, "stick to the issues and give us details", but, that never really happens.  The truth is we are sycophantic lovers of the blood bath.  "Did you see Trump really give it to him and call him a liar?", or, "Did you see how Rubio finally slammed Cruz?", what a bunch of crap, in my humble opinion.  I am one who truly does want to know the Who, What, When, Where, and the all important, HOW!  But, the primary season is very exciting to be sure.

People vs. Establishment, and Why We Are the Answer

Wow! It's getting exciting folks.  The establishments of both political parties are freaking out, albeit Hillary won in Nevada on the Democrat side, they are still fearful of us, the AMERICAN PEOPLE!  It's far from over though.  Rumors about a brokered convention on the Republican side, and the ever present super delegates on the Democrat side, keep the establishments of both parties in play.  My opinions of this election is this: It is the parties vs. the people.

Having said all of that, I must now say that with all the excitement of the election, there is palpable fear.  We, as a nation, are more divided, more bitter, and more angry than I can remember since the 60's and 70's.  When I compare the two periods of revolt, the cry was for freedom...FREEDOM!  The same college professors extolling the virtues of Socialism (a system of government that limits freedom in order to produce sameness and fairness) are the same Hippies that were crying for the government to get out of their free love, and drug taking lifestyle.  I confess that I struggle to see the correlation, but, maybe they took too many of those drugs back in the 60's and 70's.  The cries we hear today are for more freedom and more liberty, more protection of our "inalienable" rights as listed in our constitution.  Many in the government are actively trying to limit these rights, and sadly, many in our country have no clue why we must protect ourselves from them.  College students are crying because they can't pay off their student loans, low wage workers are complaining that they don't make enough and are being mistreated.  The list of fears is very long, and what we are fearful of varies greatly.

Bitter, Nasty, Sneaky?

We Americans, are watching a campaign for the office of President of the United States and the descriptive words I hear are, bitter, nasty and sneaky, among others.  We hear candidates using personal attacks and name calling, and even if a candidate appears above the fray, his/her supporting PAC's will conduct the game of blood letting.  Should we be alarmed?

Well, while the party participants may nip at the heals of the opposition from time to time, the intra-party cannabalism is what is most vicious, especially among the Republicans; true there are far more Republicans running than Democrats, but, the sniping can seem to some voters as off putting and nasty.  However, we can learn from our history that the early years of our Republic show that campaigns were every bit as nasty and even life threatening at times; some campaigns ended in duels.  But who is at fault?  Is it us?  Should we demand more clarity?  Do we respond to rhetoric over substance?

What the Heck is Woodbadge?

For two weekends this past January I volunteered as a staff member for a Woodbadge Course.  What in the world is Woodbadge you ask?  Well, it is a leadership training course offered by local councils of the Boy Scouts of America, and something I avoided for many, many years.  I have been involved in Boy Scouts for many years, I was a boy scout, I have been in several leadership positions in Boy Scouts and I have been luke warm through it all.  I never got my Eagle Scout rank, and I was never really into the dopey songs and silly things that the Scouts do.  I didn't want to wear a uniform and on, and on, and on.

So, why would I dedicate two weekends to such an organization?  Wait; two weekends? How about the training meetings I attended for the 6 months prior to the course, and the home preparation I had to do for my presentations and training that I would provide during the course.  Why indeed?  Well, sit down and let me tell you a story....

Once upon a time, there was a man that endured scouting because he felt an obligation to his church whose leaders sponsor scouting and its benefits for young men.  He endured it because he was asked to serve in many callings that involved scouting.  Over the years he hoped that the church would someday drop scouting all together, after all, there were many activities that were done outside of scouting that promoted the same principles of service and provided character building opportunities.  "It's so hard to balance them both", he would say; "and it is an added burden to families that are already involved in so many other good things".  On top of all of this, there is the added financial burden of, uniforms, donations, fund raising, scout camps, and more.  "What a waste of time and resources", he would say.

Fast forward to January, 2014, this same man was talked into spending $215 to attend a 6 day (over two weekends) WOODBADGE COURSE (NOOOOOO!); "okay", he thought, "this will finally shut them up and I can go back to my life".  So, prepared for all the rah, rah, and silly activities, he never liked doing before, he showed up in full uniform, dropped of his bags and was directed to go to what they called, The Gathering Games, where he was asked to play silly, childish games....or so he thought.  Pretty soon he found he was having fun and thought, "well, if the food is good, I guess this  could be worse".  He was asked to believe he was a Cub Scout (ages 8-11) and put into a Den.  As the day went on he progressed from a Cub to a Boy Scout and thought, "ok, I get it", he said, "I know that the program needs to be run properly, but, do I need to go through all this?  Couldn't we have a 2 hour meeting somewhere?", and then he realized, "actually, I have attended many 2 hour meetings....nothing really changed after that, hmmm".  But, as good as the training was, he still felt like he could be doing something more important, but, he committed to it and decided to stick it out.

As the day ended he laid in bed and said to himself, "okay one day gone, as if he was counting down to a coming birthday or vacation".  He was simply enduring, even though the training he was receiving was entertaining and fun, he just wanted to go home, and his attitude about scouting had not changed.  The second day was filled with fun activities and competitions, the staff was fun and silly and promoted a very, very, competitive atmosphere.  Everyone was having fun, but there was an edge to everything that was going on.  The participants were experiencing victory, defeat, being denied victory and being cheated.  Rules were changing on the fly and it was just crazy, but engaging.  By the time the night came there was a culminating activity. At the end of this activity, all were exhausted, all were pondering their own personal views, opinions, and not just about scouting, but, about life in general.

So much was going through his mind and this entire training had now taken on a new aura.  He saw scouting for what its founder, Lord Baden Powell, had intended it to be.  He thought to himself, "what organization asks of a young man to make an oath, based upon his honor, to to abide by a moral code of ethics on how he treats himself and his family, his community, his country and his God." Asking him to better himself through a program of games, activities, service, and high adventure, designed to have a higher purpose; a purpose that is designed to help him become a good man".  And we do need more good men in the world today.  An organization that helps a young man navigate a young man in today's world of victories and defeats, highs and lows, truths and untruths, is a worthy organization.

Okay, so, the story is obviously about me.  I can only say that it was a life changing event for me.  It helped me realize a lot more about myself rather than scouting structure, and I do not have the time to go over all that I experienced in this short blog.  The training...it was great.  I had just finished my MBA and had gone through many leadership style classes, and the training I had at Woodbadge was every bit as effective.

At the course, participants are assigned to a patrol critter, and I am a proud Beaver.  We called ourselves the Thunder Beavers and had a lot of fun with it.  I made lifelong friends at my course, and now, as a staffer in 2016, I was able to increase my circle of very close friends and enhance what I had already learned in 2014 as a participant.

And as a Beaver I say, Gnaw it out Loud!  Support the BSA!

Cruzing to a Bern?

Congrats to both sides of the political isle last night.  For Republicans and Democrats, a rebuke of the "establishment" of both parties was clearly on display.  Poor Hillary suffered a humiliating loss in 2008 and now she seems to have a humiliating victory/tie in 2016.  The country is sick of the Clintons and their misadventures.  Sadly for my Democrat friends, they have a 74 year old Socialist and a would be felon running for to be the nominee of the Democrat(ic) party.  As for the Republicans, there appears to be a 3 man race now, and other than maybe Marco Rubio, none of these guys are establishment candidates.  I am not a supporter of Donald Trump, however, I am glad he is in the race and has brought political correctness to it's knees (at least for the campaign) and discussed some very important issues that are usually treated, as the issues that shall not be named.  Still, Iowa was a great, and hopefully not temporary, victory for the non-establishment voters.

Super Debate Tonight!

Okay, I have to comment on the Republican debate tonight, I felt that Fox Business did a great job of bringing up substantive issues that the American people want to know about....well, I wanted to know about.  I'm not interested in keeping a score, but, I will say that Kasich and Bush did better than their last debates, buuuuut, don't think they moved the needle, but hey, it isn't over.  I thought Carson was funny and had some really good points on foreign policy, and Christy did a good job on those subjects as well.  Now, the three amigos, Trump, Cruz and Rubio, wow, they were on fire.  When I say they were on fire that does not necessarily mean I agreed with all they said, just that there were some good points scored against and for each of them.

Having said all of this, I would crawl, in shorts, on broken glass, to vote for any of them over any of the democrats.  I'm so tired of the, "hate this class of people over another", "punish the producers of this country", "the cops are all bad", "give our enemies billions of dollars", and "let's take more rights away so they have no strength" and, "Gee, our country sucks".  But hey, that's me. Socialism is simply and entry level drug for Communism, sorry, but that is what I believe....which leads me to a concern I have about this coming election.

Stand for Something, Even if You're Standing Alone

I've often heard the phrase; "stand for something even if it means you're standing alone", and when I hear it, I'm always moved to a self evaluation of sorts.  To my knowledge there is no one person to give credit to this phrase, and I've heard it delivered in slightly different ways but, to me it represents a person who has core convictions and high moral character.  Core convictions do not always mean correct convictions.  To be sure, there are many today who are willing to perform horribly outrageous acts in the name of their core convictions.  They are motivated by hate and disdain for anyone who is at odds with their beliefs.  These too, are willing to stand alone...and kill.  But this is not what I am referring to.

To me, standing for something means that a person is willing to break with today's norms and altered values.  It really wasn't very long ago that many of the things we considered morally valuable are now repulsed by the popular culture, and the popular culture includes far more than enthusiastic youth movements, in my humble opinion, it is throughout all classes and age groups.  The phrase, "stand for something even if it means you're standing alone,  requires one to examine his/her core values, does it not?  I ask myself, how important are my core beliefs and values to me?  I see many of them being mocked, belittled, destroyed and altered by popular demand.  Contrary to popular values, I do see people who brave the ridicule of pop culture and it seems to often come from our youth.  Youth? Yes, youth!  Don't get me wrong, there are still a lot of kids that willingly walk with the larger, more popular crowds but, if you look, you'll see kids that serve their communities, refuse to weaken themselves by through drug and alcohol abuse, choosing to abstain from sexual activity until they are married, and strive to speak with little to no foul language.  Contrary to the elite's who preach to the contrary, our youth do believe they can control appetites of the flesh and be the masters of their fate. They do believe they can maintain self control and be the masters of their destiny.

Okay, time for some personal observations and comparisons from my own historical perspectives.  In my youth, Christmas was, Christmas.  It was common to say, Merry Christmas with practically zero offense to others.  Oh sure, there where a very few who were anti-Christmas, but it was a very few.  Today, they have a prominent voice.  As a young man, we were urged to be morally clean, granted this has been an ongoing human struggle since the beginning of recorded history, but, it was commonly desired even though the failure was more common than not.  We were encouraged to abstain.  Today, our youth are encouraged to engage.  We can debate the reasons why, but, my only point is, that there is a shift in thought regardless of the reasons why.  Freedom was a common proclamation by the left, the "60's radicals" demanded freedom from the government in order to live lives deemed immoral by society,  and the conservatives were engaging the government to restrain them; today the same "60's radicals" are demanding the government control morality and conservatives are demanding the government get out of our lives.  Again, the reasons can be debated, but there is now a definite push toward socialistic policies and procedures on the left side of the political aisle and a demand for liberation from government over reach on the right side.

The previous paragraph is a simplified generalization of my point, that life and the world has drastically changed.  In many ways it has stayed the same too, yes, but it is clearly a different time.  As someone who believes in the worth of high moral character and Christian values, I am now finding myself feeling compelled to stand.  No, I'm not alone, nor am I a Sophie or Hans Scholl, I'm just someone who values religious freedom and views this constitutional freedom as the most valuable of the amendments.  We are guaranteed the freedom OF religion, not freedom FROM religion.  I believe many are actively trying to take away the right to free worship.  I am almost surprised to hear that come from my mouth, "was that out loud", yes it was.  Never have I been a conspiracy theorist per se, but actions are louder than words and I do not trust this administration to preserve my freedoms.  For example; Obama was against gay marriage and then came out for it as if it was always a part of his lexicon.  By executive order we now have it, okay, so be it; but now we see people being sued for not baking cakes or hosting receptions of same sex weddings, what's next?  Well, the rumor is, that churches that are unwilling to perform such weddings could be in trouble.  I personally would have baked the cake or hosted reception, but I'm also a capitalists and I do not believe doing so threatens my personal values, however,  I support those who do not want to participate because the feel it does threaten their beliefs.  Isn't it their choice?  Apparently not, so, they stood for their values, and they were sued by activists and governments, even when the couple had no desire to sue their long time baker and friend.  Don't tell me there is no agenda.

So, I respect those who stand.  I've watched my kids and their friends stand, my good buddy who lost his life, Nate Ford was a great example who stood firm on his values, he was killed a few months back in a car accident.  His death resulted in a galvanization of our little community and a sense of brotherhood and friendship because he had that kind of effect on all our lives.  He was just a good young man who was always willing to stand for what is right, no matter the cost, and people noticed.  There is value in standing for something, even when you feel alone, when the world is screaming at your face, demanding you change....don't listen and don't change, be firm in your values.

And that should be "out loud".

New Year's update

Happy New Year everybody.  I haven't posted in a while, work has been pretty strenuous and busy as I have some dead lines to meet.  So, I am taking a few minutes to update my family room project.  Thought I'd leave politics and other opinionated blogs for another day.  So, with that disclaimer out of the way, here we are.

We started this project with two goals in mind; get rid of the built in shelving, and turn the TV area so it can be seen from the kitchen.

We have completed the drywall, paint, lighting and even have some temporary flooring and bookshelves.  The fireplace works and Lora has begun hanging family pictures and other wall art now that Christmas is over.

First a few catch up photos.  Drywall, not my favorite thing but has to be done.  My son snapped this shot of me mixing up some mud using an old school technique, yea that's it, old school.



Below are a few more shots leading up to where were are now, getting the drywall hung, taped, textured and applying paint.

To the right is a good shot of the inset area I wrote about during the framing stages on my last blog of this project, before and after taping or texture. My only regret here is not running a small spot light above the area, but it turned out pretty good.  Better shots are below...

Merry Christmas

What a wonderful time of year.  I know that there are many, many distractions from the spirit of the season.  Ironically in our attempt to celebrate the season, we are found rushing to shop, attend get togethers, finish work projects before our PTO kicks in, dealing with travel, traffic, rude people, haters of Christmas, and on, and on..................................all before we wake up that Christmas morning.

I have had my struggles with Christmas, usually because it was so commercialized, and as a kid I thought Santa Claus was the ultimate discriminator, I mean, why was my buddy deserving of the newest slot car track and I was only deserving of a wood burning kit, but I digress.  My struggles have greatly dissipated over the years.  This was an all too slow transition for my poor wife.  I'm so grateful for her patience with me, more on that in a minute.



My transition to loving this time of year has to do with gratitude.  When Lora and I started having children, it was a lot of fun to see their faces on Christmas morning, and as our family grew, we watched them join with cousins and friends to perform the Nativity as we read the story of that day from the New Testament, I was so grateful for children and family.  As we progressed to having a young adult aged kids, they became more involved with the preparation, and I was grateful for family traditions.  When my daughter got married, I was grateful for future blessings and a new son-in-law.  Now, I have 4 grandchildren...difficult to write this without a lump in my throat and damp eyes...what a blessing.

I'm grateful for the ability to recognize all of God's blessings in my life.  It is so difficult to notice blessings as they come sometimes, for me, I have often looked back at my life's journey and recognized his hand in my life, and I have to repent that I was bitter during many of life's challenges because, it was those challenges that produced some of my greatest blessings and personal development in my life.

"Lacks a firm grasp of the obvious"

In an imaginary game of Jeopardy, a contestant says, I'll take, "Politics of Change" for $500 Alex.
Host: "And the answer is, Lacks a firm grasp of the obvious....";
Contestant: "Who is the Republican Party"
Host: Ding, ding, ding, ding; "That's correct, pick your next category"



This morning I saw an interview with the former majority leader, Republican congressman Eric Cantor, who lost in his primary race a few years ago because of his unwillingness to stand up for our values.  He was extolling the benefits of presidential candidate, Jeb Bush for our next president; claiming that the anger the American people are showing is because of the bombastic campaigning of Donald Trump......really?  So, you're saying that I'm too stupid to know when I'm angry and unless a candidate gives me a reason to be angry, I would otherwise be as happy as could be, I should be grateful for all that Republicans have done for me; what are you, a Democrat?

I am so sick of the establishments on both sides telling us who we must vote for.  I am not a Trump supporter, per se, but I am happy for the dialog that is now being discussed during this election cycle because of him. The establishments on both sides DO NOT want the people in control of these elections.  They have set up systems to ensure this.

Horse Pucky!!!!

My wife and I enjoy watching HGTV and all the renovation projects that they do.  For me, I get good ideas for my own little construction company, and see different techniques, good and bad, that are fun to watch (beware of anyone who claims to know it all), but mostly I like to see how utterly unrealistic the budgets are.

I just watched an episode where the reno budget for an older home was $177,000.  for this money they would take out a huge all brick fireplace and chimney, build a new fireplace and chimney in a different location (large view through with expensive hearth and mantle.  Doing this opens up the kitchen to the living room.   The new kitchen will require all new cabinets, appliances, flooring, etc.  this will also require relocating the plumbing and tearing our a lot of concrete to do it.  For these two phases alone I did my own little estimating:
Demo fireplace and kitchen-$5000
Build new premium fireplace-$15,000
Patch roof-$500
New roofing-$10,000
Custom cabinets-$15,000
Granite counter tops-$8000
High end tile back splash-$4500
Viking and Subzero appliances-$20,000
New high end flooring through out-$25,000

This totals up to be $103,000.  This is assuming no complications and no profit for the contractors on most if not all of it.  So your probably thinking, "yeah but, there is still $74,000 left in the budget", yes, yes there is.  Now, if only I had pictures of the Master Bath and Bedroom remodel.  All I can say is, WOW!  Beautiful stone tile on the expanded bath areas that went up the walls and, in some areas, covered a new arched ceiling.  The large soaker tub, wet shower area, custom antique cabinet and stone counter tops, This could have easily been a $70,000 bathroom.  Everything was high dollar.

Process is DEAD!

Have you ever been involved with a project?  From planning a party to enacting policy change in a large company, there is a process involved.  The process usually the least enjoyable part, but is necessary to achieve a successful end.  I've been involved with lots of these types of projects and I'm here to say that the process is necessary.  It is the way that we debate the best means to achieve the best end, it follows and reports on the progress of reaching that end, and holds accountable those responsible for the means needed to accomplish the goal.  Some projects are an ugly, tedious process and others not so much.  Any great project follows this minutia in order to reflect the vision of the group.



America, has a process.  It was laid out for us from our founding, and we no longer follow it.  Our government has successfully removed the American citizens from this process.  If you have to ask how we are even involved, then you are proving my point, but, we are involved by voting in representatives to go to Washington DC and represent our personal best interests, and the interests of our states.  The process of passing bills, especially budgets, is an ugly process, AND IT SHOULD BE!  In our current situation we have a government that is overtly governing against the will of the people and the states.  I just watched our congress pass a spending bill that funds everything the president wants, and continues to inflate the deficit and put money in the hands of organizations and people that have no right to the hard earned funds of we the people.  

Here's how we have been shut out of the process: our president says he will veto the budget (or any other bill he doesn't want to pass) if it doesn't have everything he wants and will blame the congress for shutting down the government.  The congress knows they WILL be blamed for a shut down (which is not correct in my humble opinion) and instead of fighting with the representatives of the people and the states that want to debate and go through the process, the feckless leaders go behind closed doors and make deals to pass a bill that is never debated, and never open to the American people.

Yes, the president has been elected and re-elected to the office, but since his first election, he has lost seats in the house and senate at every election.  To me, this means the people of this country are sending a message that we do not want to continue to go down the road we are on.  As an example, pole after pole shows that, Obamacare, has never been liked by the American people and they want it stopped.  Instead of doing the will of the people, they force this horrible law down our throats to avoid a controversy.  They like their cushy jobs with health care that is NOT governed by the laws of the Obamacare.

May the Force, force you to pay too much to see it?

IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY...

I still remember the first time I saw Star Wars.  I was 14, I went to the Tyler Mall in Riverside, CA with my cousin Rob and Aunt Betty.  The movie absolutely blew my mind, it was visually stimulating, had a great story line, it was good vs. evil, a beautiful princess, AND, it was all done in space with the most amazing (at that time) special effects.  It was funny, lots of cool characters, I could go on and on.  Truly one of the most influential movies of all time, in my humble opinion.

Now, brief disclaimer, I'm not a collector or an Star Wars expert or anything like that, but a fan, absolutely.

So, about a week or so ago a story of someone paying $700 bucks to be able to see the movie on opening day surfaced.  You read that correctly, $700 bucks, dollars, dinero, benjamins, fun tokens, etc. and now Disney (the new owner of the Star Wars franchise) is trying to hit up the theaters for more of the box office take.  Typical Hollywood greed, which is socially  far more acceptable than larger corporate greed, but I digress.  Hey, I am all for capitalism and if they can get it, good for them, and I hope my retirement fund bought into Disney.  But, $700 dollars to see the movie?  Wow!  And all so he/she can view it on opening day.  You go man.

As for me and my house, we will see it after the opening day.  I will go see it, but at this stage in my life, if I have to wait several weeks I'm okay with that.  My frustration with the whole thing is that I did not get online and buy up a bunch of tickets to auction off to the all the chumps in the world that would pay $700 dollars for an opening day ticket, what a great Christmas we would be having.  Oh well, you snooze, you loose.

So, here is my wish for all the Star Wars, opening day goers; may you be able to purchase a ticket at the booth to see the show, then, turn around and scalp it to the dork behind you for $700 bucks.

Was that out loud?

Presidential Debate?

Okay, I am going to bite the bullet and delve into politics for a moment.  I am a registered Republican, but struggle with aligning with the establishment of the party of Lincoln.  So, am I a Democrat? ..................Sorry, I was laughing at myself for a moment...................okay, I'm finished.............No, seriously, I'm finished now, no I'm definitely not a Democrat.  Libertarian?  Well, perhaps, but there are many positions within that party that I struggle with.  Basically, I'm a fish out of water, and I am getting the impression that many of us are feeling the same way.  I even sense this in many of my friends, who are Democrats and voted for President Obama, are feeling a similar sensation.  This leaves me with a thought, idea, or perhaps, a conclusion?  Perhaps.

It's like, totally, like, ya know?

I'm around a lot of youth, I have 3 teenage boys at home, I am a volunteer in the Boy Scouts of America, I work with the youth of my church...and...we have failed them!  I would love to blame today's teen language on them, but, it's actually our fault.  Do you remember the song, Valley Girl from Frank Zappa?  The lyrics were not very appropriate, but they included Like, like, I dunno, like a million times.

So, like, have you ever been around someone who, like, uses the work like, like, all the time?  It like, totally drives me, like insane, or something.  It's like listening to someone, like, giving a speech and um, like, saying um, like all the time too.

Don't get me wrong I like, like the word like, but like, it totally gets like, overused, right?  Okay, okay, I'll like stop, okay?

Not long ago I was listening to a young group of high schoolers and I could not believe what I was hearing.  Their conversation would have taken half the time if they had just eliminated a quarter of the hesitation words they used.  I've done my fair share of public speaking, mostly church or work presentations, and I know I am guilty of saying, um, once in a while, but seriously our youth need help, and the people of my generation owe it to them, because it's our fault.  This Valley Girl talk has been around since the early '80's, we had plenty of time to correct it.  Talk about unfortunate staying power...it's like a silent but deadly lingering around long enough for the investigation to uncover the guilty party.

So, what's my point?  Well, I'm not like, totally sure, it's just that I am so like, sick of this language.  I don't believe there is like anything that can be done, ya know?  I guess I'll just have to endure it and like, persevere, ya know?  Hopefully they will increase their language skills as they grow older, but then again, I watched The Voice and like, 46 year old Gwen Stefani and like Pharrell Williams were like bad at talking good and stuff, ya know?

Anyway, thanks for listening...oops, Was That like Out Loud?

Expand and Reduce? Yes!

Okay, I told you that I saw a chance to expand and reduce, so here is what I meant by that; our family room was 15' wide and 30' long, a long and narrow room, roughly 450 sq. ft.  We decided that by taking out the built ins would wide the room by 2' which would allow me to build a 9X17 room at the end of the family room, and while this would shorten the family room, the added width would keep it a decent sized family room.  to sum up, we end up with a storage room of roughly 153 sq. ft. and a family room of roughly 357 sq. ft. Sold!

Let the framing begin!

My boys and I began to frame the wall that will separate the family and storage rooms.  I also had acquired a fireplace from a remodel that I was doing, thanks Cody, so I decided to incorporate this into the remodel.  It is a gas fireplace and I will be able to vent it out the side wall, Lora is very happy about this, and we just hope to have it ready for the 2 or 3 days we may be able to use it in our Arizona winter ;-).

The framing continued:

 We added some can lights and I framed in a little window box under the return of the stairs which will be easier to see in the next photos.

On to drywall; all the wiring has been rerouted, no new circuits so it was all pretty easy, just tedious work.  Had my good buddy Sean, at Maricopa Electric give me a hand on this.  He is truly the Master of all things electrical.  So, we put up some wall board and hooked up the can lights.

If you look closely you can make out a framed section under the stair return.  This is where will will hang a picture of Christ that we love, or we can use if for a nice family photo or whatever.





I decided to cut down the stairs so I could add a railing with open sided treads and risers, I'm exited to see this when its done, I'll bet you are too, huh?