What is Culture??

So I feel that I have been pretty multi-cultural the past couple of weeks but so often when you hear people talk about culture they limit their definition to things like opera and museums. So what do you think it means? I'm curious to know. Either way, I've had a great time the past couple of weeks, here is a list of the events:

Roger Creager is a great Texas Country artist. Writes great songs and always puts on a good show. One thing I enjoy is that he really seems to be enjoying himself. 

The next night we went to the TUTS performance of Les Mis. I had never seen it before, The Wife had seen it 3 times and The Sister had seen it twice. It was a really good show. Also, before the show we ate at a German Restaurant called The Old Heidelberg in the Galeria area. At least I think that's the area it was in. I won't say it was like being in Germany but it was still good. 

The next weekend we went to Wrestlemania 25 at Reliant Arena. There were almost 73,000 people there. I have been a wrestling fan for a loooong time and this was a great show and a great experience. I have to thank The Wife since the tickets were awesome and they were a Christmas gift. 

Then this past Monday I went to the Astros opening day game. I think this is the 3rd year in a row that we have gone. No, we didn't win but we were there supporting the team and there's still 167 games to go so there is plenty of time to catch up. 

So this has been a couple of great weeks. Does it count as culture, maybe I don't care if it does or not because they were all fun and I had a great time. 

Tag.........I'm it

So for the past 6 months or so The Wife and I have been pretty stressed out with getting the house rebuilt and put back together and all of our friends have been great at being supportive and helping us out. 

Well now I think it is my turn to be there for our friends and family. In the past week the Sister has has been dealing with some nerve racking medical issues, just tests, nothing worth worrying about has been found; 2 of our close friends have lost or been notified that they are losing their jobs; another close friend had to break off his engagement; another friend is battling breast cancer and 2 more are currently pregnant. Yes the pregnancies are happy things but they still are a huge life changing event. 

Now it is our turn to give back some of that help and support that has been shown to us the past few months so if anyone needs anything feel free to let us know and we will be there.........just like all of you have been for us. 

Man Space

Since so many people have been asking to see the house now that it is finished and we are moved home I thought I would post a few. Here are a few pictures of my favorite parts of what has been done since moving home. 

You can see in this picture that the garage has upper cabinets and a very nice work bench. 

Some of the special items that make this a Man Space are the taxidermy and the special cabinet for the shop radio. 

One thing that I am very pleased with is cut out for the miter saw. Now I can lay boards across the entire length of the bench for support. 

Yes, this is a bit of a joke but not totally. I have always enjoyed working in the garage on many different things and this is the first time that I have had a blank slate to work with and I am pretty happy with what I have been able to do so far. So as for pictures of the house this is what you get for now. Now that the tools all have a home I will be able to easily find them and get all the other projects taken care of in the house. 

Finally..............

we are moving home!! The house is probably 99.5% complete right now and we are going to move home today. Last night our contractor finished up the last of the major projects and said we were ok to move back in. We were told to look around and just make a list of anything we come across that still needs to be done and he would come back this weekend to finish those last little things.

So tonight should be fun. We have purchased some furniture and a few other things that are already delivered but have some assembly required and that is what I will be doing .... assembleing furniture and probably setting up a TV.

Hope to see you all at the house real soon.

Counting the days....

and hours....and minutes......and seconds till we get to move home. I know I recently posted that it might have been last week or this past weekend but sometimes things take a little longer than you hope. This is a huge lesson in delayed gratification. Right now it feels like it is so close to done I can taste it but those last few details seem to take the longest. 

It really looks like a real house again, we have all the flooring done now, carpet went down yesterday and it looks great next to the tile and the wood floor. We have a couple of appliances installed and the others should be put in place tomorrow. Tonight we painted a bathroom and added the last few switch plate covers. I know that doesn't seem like much but every little thing gets us one step closer to moving home. 

I can't wait for everyone to see what it looks like, I'm not posting any pictures right now because we don't want to spoil the surprise when everyone can come see it in person. 

See you all back at our house real soon. 

Very Soon......

We will be moving home!!!! Eladio told us just a few minutes ago that we may be able to move in by Wednesday. That is only 6 days away. I'm trying not to get too excited so I don't get disappointed if it takes a little longer but I don't think that's working. 

While it is very exciting to think about moving home it is also a little overwhelming since when we move in we still need towels, sheets, a bed, food, cookware etc, etc. I don't claim to be psychic but I see trips to Target and Bed, Bath and Beyond in my near future. 

Be prepared for a reoccupation party in the near future!!

Exciting Times

OK, so I have not been blogging much in a while but that is mostly because there just has not been much worth talking about that I don't already spend every minute that Im awake already talking about. Luckily the times they are a changin'; there is actually some exciting, and good things going on. 

First, I'll start with the house. We are getting very close to getting finished and ready to move in. We are looking at about 2 weeks right now. Even though we had a lot of trouble with our original contractor the new one is GREAT!! and things are looking even better than we had originally planned. 

The next, super exciting thing that happened is that I passed the Principal Exam. Woo Hoo. That gets one more thing off the list to being fully certified to be a principal. I have 2 classes left in school and then all that is left is a little paperwork and getting intern hours. I have done a few intern hours already and it has been a really nice change of pace to be principal for a day. I like the fact that things change all day long instead of giving the same lecture about electrons or how to calculate speed four or five times a day. 

The last thing that I will mention may not be quite as exciting for some of you but it is for me. In order to do some of the work around the house I have begun replacing some of the tools that I lost in the flood. I bought some and also got some for Christmas. I decided to upgrade some of them and they are awesome. So far I have used my new Makita circular saw, my Bosch Jig saw and my Dewalt orbital sander and they are so nice to use. Very smooth and plenty of power, I would highly recommend them all. 

Well, that's all for now, I'll try to get back here more often.