Snap Back to Reality

It's Monday, we're back from Vegas, the weekend is over, the house is almost unpacked, and it's Megan's first day at her new school. We are officially back into the real world.
But it's kind of a good feeling too, getting into a routine and getting settled into our new life here. We had a great weekend of shopping and spending time with the kids and we got to visit with Jason and Lise and Alyssa and Kaden yesterday, that was great.
So, I'm a little nervous for Megan today, new school and all. I really hope things go well and she doesn't feel too uncomfortable or sad. Having kids is hard sometimes.

Anyway, we're back into real life and looking forward to Spring. We'll see how it goes.

The Crisis is Over, Everyone Can Relax

We have TV again. After weeks, maybe months, of uncertainty and countless sleepless nights, the satellite TV was installed last night and everything is up and running smoothly.

Thank you for all you calls, emails, and words of support, it really helped us get through this tough time. I know there will be times like this throughout our lives where we are pushed to the edge and put to the test, but we'll stick together through it and be stronger for it in the end.

Thank you.

The Final Countdown

(insert Europe song here) So, it's here. Moving weekend has arrived. I have been looking forward to this for months, and now that it is here I only have 1 overwhelming feeling...fear.

The amount of work that will HAVE to be done between now and Sunday afternoon is daunting and somewhat depressing. And now that moving day is so close, the reality of us leaving Summerland and living down here is really hitting, and I'm feeling a little apprehensive and sad.

But, looking at the next few days and everything that will be involved in them, there is only one thing to do, suck it up.

I can sleep again next month, I'm sure of it.

It was all going so well...

Sunday night and last night were both so successful at the new house. I finished the drywall work and got the new room painted and cleaned out. I finished painting the living room and I'm ready to paint the girls' room. Today was supposed to be a great day, the satellite was getting installed and the carpet in the new room was getting installed.

It wasn't meant to be.

The satellite installer was even nice enough to show up extra early to accomodate my schedule, he was there by 6:35am, ouch! We figured everything out in terms of where the dish would go and how the wires would be run, but then he couldn't get into the cable box in the garage to hook up the wires. Apparently only Shaw Cable has access to that box and the satellite guy wasn't allowed to break into it. So, the satellite did not get installed. We will try again tomorrow morning.

Even after stopping at the carpet place to double check the install, when I phoned to find out how it went, I found that the installer was not given or able to find the garage door opener that I had left with the sales guy. So, the carpet did not get installed. He will try again tomorrow.

So, tonight I will paint the girls' room, assemble the bunk beds, and cut the baseboards/door trim to size. That way, tomorrow night will only be installing the baseboards/door trim, cleaning up all the garbage, cleaning the house, doing some laundry, and getting prepared to fly back on Thursday for the big move.

Piece of cake. (sleep is over-rated anyway)

Never again...

I can't remember if I ever said to anyone that doing the drywall myself shouldn't be too tough or too much trouble. I sure hope I didn't say that. But in case I did I will say right now publicly, I was wrong and I shouldn't have said that.

I will never work with drywall again.

This tiny little project has sucked the life right out of me. Just thinking about that room puts me in foul mood.But don't worry Vicki, I will make sure that the end product is a good looking playroom, ripe for resale.

Maybe I'll post again later when I'm not so tired and bitter.

Who's the Idiot...

...that invented mudding and taping? I swear, there is a good chance our kids will be playing in a playroom with an upainted, half-finished wall. At best, the wall is going to have a lot of "imperfections" that will most likely show through the paint. Ah, it's a playroom anyway, right? I just hope Vicki shares my sentiment.

So, tonight's agenda: Pickup a bunch of stuff at Rona, 2nd coat of mud on wall, install microwave over the range, 1st coat of paint on living room, and maybe the bunk beds. Fun, fun, fun.

Then, tomorrow it's back to Summerland for two birthday parties, a bunch of packing, and maybe even some family time. Man, when this is done, Vicki and I are seriously going to need a vacation.

Which brings to mind, my birthday gift for Vicki that I gave her last weekend. Two words:

Vegas Baby!

Vicki has the details.

Peace out homies!

Hey, Look What I Made!

It's a wall. Yup, there is now offically a wall in our garage. We got all the drywall up and the insulation in, AND we even got the door moved over and installed.

Go Dono, It's Your Birthday, Go Dono, It's Your Birthday

Everything went very well, with only one mistake that cost some time. And at the heart of that mistake was...Me. You've heard "Measure twice, cut once" but with me involved it's a little different, more like "Don't let Donovan do the measuring.". No big deal, Jer was there to help save the day and in the end the night was a complete success.

So, I'm a little tired and my hands are sore and bothering me (don't touch fibreglass insulation without gloves) but I am looking forward to banging out some good coding here at work and heading back home to start the mudding and taping. It will be interesting.

I'm looking at my list of things to do at the new house before moving day and comparing it to the available time left and I'm thinking maybe some of the painting will have to be put off til later.

Or I could just not sleep because I mean that's a good 6 hours per night that I am simply just wasting being lazy.

OMG, Who Let Him Near The Power Tools!

Yes, it's true, I am using power tools. Anyone who knows me also knows that I am quite possible the most useless human when it comes to anything "handy". I know how to fill the vehicles with gas, and I know how to replace the light bulbs. Other than that, I'm tragic. Here's the problem:

I refuse to accept my limitations, so any chance I get I will try to do it myself. Usually, it ends in damage and a half-assed finished product that needs to be fixed by a professional. But this time it's different, so far at least.

I am putting up a wall in our new house to create a playroom for the kids. So far, the wall is framed. Not much, but for me it's huge. And last night I took a trip into the world of electrical when I cut open the drywall and moved wall switches around. So, now I have moved the switches to their new happy homes and patched up the drywall around them.

Tonight, Jeremy and I will be putting up drywall and attempting the 'mudding and taping' of the new wall.

Generally, most of my past problems have come from trying to do a task without actually having the proper tools, so tonight I am renting the proper 'drywall screwdriver' and I think it's going to go well.

Even if it doesn't go well, there will be beer, and that's a good thing.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VICKI!

It's Vicki's 28th birthday today! Woo Hoo!

Have a fantastic day, sweetheart, I love you soooooo much!

Richmond is Bad

I don't like going into Richmond. I just had to go there to get some paperwork for buying our house and again I realized, I do not like Richmond. The layout is a mess, it's got zero curb-appeal, and I ALWAYS get lost when I go there. Today's 30 min trip took 55 min, due simply to the suckage of Richmond.

I don't want to go there anymore.

Except maybe for the casino.

The Couch Mission: It's All Good Baby

Just got authorization for putting the couch/loveseat in the new house. Just confirmed that Costco still has them. Just confirmed the cargo van pickup. I'm going to go pick it up at 1:30 and Jeremy will help me unload tonight.

Sweet.

Update: The Couch Mission

"Houston, we have a problem."

It was all going so well. I found a good deal on a cargo van and I had Jeremy lined up to help load/unload. The request to the current owners went in this morning. All was well.

By 5:38pm, there was no response from the current owners, probably due to a lack of checking their email. The van rental place is closed at 6pm. The mission has failed, for today.

However, at last check, no couches or loveseats had been sold from the Richmond location. We will get a "go/no go" for delivery by tonight. So, as long as there isn't a ridiculous run on Costco furniture in the next 24hrs, we'll be ok.

Check back tomorrow. And try not to worry too much, we'll make it through this.

My Valentine

Since the moment I met her, my life has been better, every day. She is intelligent, compassionate, and beautiful. Her smile lights me up inside and she takes my breath away, often.

I am truly blessed to have her. She will always be My Valentine.

I love you Vicki.

The Couch Mission

Today, it is my mission to get the couch and loveseat that we want from Costco.

That might not seem like a very exciting or difficult thing, but here is the catch. The couch/loveseat have just recently been reduced to clear and they are very popular. There are only a handful left in the lower mainland, so they need to be bought today. Also, Costco doesn't 'hold' items for you, you have to take it when you buy it. Still, it doesn't seem too tough, right?

Not only do I not have access to any sort of truck, but I also don't have a house to put the couch/loveseat in! I have a call in to the realtor for the house we bought to see if they'll let us put them in there early, and if that comes through I'll have to find a truck rental place and put this all together this afternoon. Of course, since I'm not exactly the Hulk, I will also have to find another human to get involved in this, possibly during work hours.

The outlook is not good. I'll keep you posted.

P.S. This was going to be a nice, mushy Valentine's Day post, but then I read what Vicki wrote for me, and there is no chance in H-E-double hockey sticks that I could compete with that, so that is the reason for the couch mission post.

New Rule

No more whining and complaining on my blog. What a waste of perfectly good bytes this has been lately. So, here is today's post...

This weekend was great. Vicki and I got a good amount of packing done, we got rid of a bunch of stuff we didn't need, and we got to have a bunch of fun. The bad thing was that I barely saw the kids, whoops. And of course Megan let me know that fact in no uncertain terms. She's good for that, keeps me in check.

The girls got to have a sleepover with their Aunt and Uncle and cousins and they had a blast! We dropped them off Saturday afternoon and we were supposed to pick them up Sunday morning. However, my parents decided to pick them up for us and we didn't get them back til 1:30pm on Sunday! Very cool. Then, we spent a couple hours at home and then went to the Buckinghams for dinner. Very cool.

So, it was a busy, fun, overall good weekend. The drive back this morning sucked pretty bad. The snow had just hit on the connector and there were no visible lines or lanes whatsoever. As well, the snow was falling heavily so the headlights were only good for giving the 'Star Wars - Warp Speed' effect. Fun but not so good for safety. Add in more than a dash of 'Oh God I'm tired' and you have a less than enjoyable trip.

However, I am about to leave work and when I get back to Jeremy's I will be firmly planting my derierre on the couch til tomorrow morning, so I don't have a darn thing to complain about, that is for sure!

I am planning on posting something EVERY day this week, without any complaining or whining. Good luck to me.

Bye for now!

Having a Blog is Depressing

It really illustrates just how uninteresting my life is. I thought I'd have two or three great things to post every day, but all I can come up with is blogging about not blogging. I think I could make top 5 on the Lame List for sure.

We get our new place in 2 weeks and we move in 4 1/2 weeks, Wow. There is so much to do between now and then, it makes me want to take up drinking. But drinking isn't cheap, so then I'd have something new to worry about.

Ok, definitely top 3.

The Hope-Princeton

Coming back to Vancouver after this weekend, the Coq was closed for over a day and so I had to eventually give in and take the 'other' road yesterday afternoon. As some background, I have always contested that the Coquihalla is a much superior route in all areas: travel time, safety, enjoyability, and even cost since you spend the equivalent of the $10 in extra gas if you use the Hope-Princeton. Now, a lot of people are scared of the Coquihalla in the winter, and for good reason. I mean, both routes are mountain roads but the Coq can definetly be the worst of the two. However, after having driven the Coq weekend after weekend in the winter for the past 3 months, and now having done the same on the HP, my position has absolutely been solidified, past the point of opinion and squarely into the world of fact.

The HP yesterday was painfully slow, windy, and poorly maintained. Even in being a little generous to the HP with my calculations, it added no less than 45 minutes to the trip and used up more than enough extra gas to eat up the $10 in savings. I also witnessed two near accidents which would have been 'head-on' accidents compared to the 'impact with a snowbank' type accident that I have seen on the Coq.

Anyway you slice it, the HP is a slower, more dangerous route between the Okanagan and the Lower Mainland, and why anyone would use it unless the Coq is actually closed, is completely beyond me.

Let's Clear the Air

Yes, it was Pillsbury. Pillsbury Chocolate Chip Cookie dough in the plastic wrapped tube format that looks like a big sausage. But NO, I did not sit down and polish off the whole thing, that is ridiculous! I ate about 1/4 of it while watching some TV with Jer.

I didn't finish the rest of it til the next morning at work.

General News Update for the World

At this point, I have no idea who knows all our latest news and who doesn't, so if I blog about it then I'm off the hook. I can always say, "You didn't know? I posted it on my blog, I thought you read that!?". See, it's all about the easy way out. But seriously, here is all our latest good news.

VICKI IS PREGNANT! Woohoo! We found out just before Christmas, actually on the same day of the year that we found out about Megan 5 years ago. And, as it turns out, Vicki's due date is August 29, the same as Megan's due date. Cool. Of course, after her pregnancy with Megan, Vicki vowed to NEVER AGAIN have a summer pregnancy. Well, I recently vowed to eat better, so OOPS to both I guess. It will now be my sole responsibility to keep my beautiful wife cool and comfortable this summer, which I will do with as many air conditioners as necessary. (stay tuned for some good deals on almost-new air conditioners this September)

Also, we have found a new house down here in Langley. (pretend like I didn't already tell you that in the previous post) We remove subjects this week and we get possession on Feb.22. Moving day will be Mar.11 so everyone we know at either end of the trip can consider themselves on notice to help those days. It's going to be a little crazy getting everything ready to move and getting the new place ready(i have to attempt some minor construction-cringe) but it will be all worth it to have my family back together. I CAN'T WAIT!

So, there you have it, we sold our house, we bought a new one, we're moving over Spring Break, and we're having another baby. Wow, life is boring sometimes.

OMG, We just bought a house...

Yup, after much(probably way too much) thinking and considering and painful decision making, we put in an offer on a townhouse here at the coast this morning, and our offer was accepted.

So, as long as we remove all the subjects, on February 22 we will be the proud owners of a new(to us) home. I should be more excited, but I'm just worn out mentally. I don't know why I worry and over-analyze some things and other things I'm way too laid back about. I'm such a pain in the ass sometimes, as Vicki will attest to.

Anyway, yay for us, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel of not living together.

Of course, now we have to pack up our house. And by we, I mean Vicki.

Love you sweetheart!