Fingers Crossed

Tomorrow afternoon, I have a couple of guys from our church coming over to see if they can help me fix my sprinkler system. I just don't have the tools to do this kind of a job and I don't feel confident in being able to get this fix done right the first time. If there are any leaks in this fix, the results could be even more expensive sine the repaid needs to be done under a sidewalk. The guys I talked to seemed confident they could fix it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they can. I't not so much that I need the system. It's more along the lines that it's nice to have and eventually, it will need to be fixed anyway. Here's hoping things will go okay tomorrow.

Back In Time

Last weekend, we drove through Logan, UT. Even though we haven't lived there for a couple of years, we still love that town and it hasn't changed a whole lot. I noticed that most of the main street stores hadn't changed, including the store that sold bridal lingerie. If it were possible that I could have found a job in that town, I would have taken it. The town is great, quiet, and a great center for those looking for a great education.

Another Joke

Ok, so this isn't exactly a joke, but at least it is funny. My sister-in-law is always finding these funny pictures of cats and then a funny slogan with the picture. I though this one was funny for a couple of reasons. One, the expression on the cats face. That would be the same expression on my face if someone gave me a bunch of money. Also, I'm laughing thinking of what the cat's owner had to do to get the cat to do that look on que. I hope this isn't a fake picture because it is hilarious.

A Switch

Television sure has changed these days. It seems now there there are more advertisements on tv than there are television shows. And, you can advertise just about anything. You can advertise things like a medicare supplement, date hotline, and even weight loss pills. What ever happened to the days when commercials only lasted about 2 minutes and then it was back to the show? Now, it seems that the show lasts for about 2 minutes and then it is back to the commercials.

Expensive Toys

When I was kid, we didn't have any real fancy toys like motorbikes, fourwheelers, or inflatable boats. So as you can imagine, we didn't go to the lake every weekend and spend it on the lake. We didn't have much in the way of expensive things, but we did still have fun when we did go to the lake. Now, I kindof laugh at those young couples who want to have all those things. You can have all those things, just as long as you don't break the back doing it.

Benefits

When I first applied for the company I work for now, I took a look at the benefits they off and the first thing I noticed was the medical insurance they give their employees. They give their employees one of the best insurance plans I have ever seen and there is no premium, regardless of the family size. In addition, there is no deductible either. So it is basically free. I had never heard of a company giving their employees free insurance. It truly is a great blessing and the reason why they hardly ever lose any employees.

Joke Of The Day

I thought this cartoon was really funny. I hear tales all the time about people hating their inlaws. That isn't the case with us, on either side. That seems to be the running joke, though, that people can't stand their inlaws. I don't understand what the difficulty is. Obviously, you married your wife because you connected with her. But in these cases where the person hates the inlaws, was the spouse the odd person out of the group? I don't think that is the case in every situation. Perhaps people may just need to be a little more understanding and less stereotypical.

Funny Episode

I love the Simpsons. I wish they would hurry up and bring the next season to dvd. I saw a great episode today where the kids of Springfield were invading the neighboring town to get their lemon tree back. Millhouse got into his tactical gear, which he envisioned would make him completely invisible when he stood in front of any brush or tree. It's great episodes like that that keep me watching the show.

No Desk Space

We used to have this really nice CRT monitor for our desktop computer. It took up a lot of room on the desk, but it did look good. Now we have a nice lcd monitor for our newer desktop and I am glad we do. The desk it sits on is not very big, so the monitor is a great touch to the desk. If the monitor were any bigger, I don't think there would be much desk to work with.

Life Insurance

It's never a good thing to think about, but something may happen down the road that will take me out of this world. With a wife and kids involved, I am glad I have a good life insurance policy from my employer. With that policy in place, I know my family at least won't have to worry about finances if something were to happen. I don't expect something to ever happen to me, but you usually don't get insurance when you are expecting something to happen to you.

Back To Basics

My sprinkler system is now offline. I tried twice today to patch up the crack in the pipe with the waterweld and both times when the water was turned back on, the pressure blew the bonding material right off. The only way to fix it is to cut the bad section of pipe out and its accompanying coupling and insert some new pipe. Did I mention this was all under a sidewalk? Dumbest thing I ever heard of, running a sprinkler pipe under concrete from one end of the yard to the next. What could possibly do wrong? Anyway, to get it fixed, I would need to find someone who does this for a living, just so I know it will get fixed and fixed right. Problem is, that may cost hundreds of dollars and money is too tight to justify that right now. So the main water is turned off and the timer is set to Off. Now, I'm pulling hoses over my whole 150 square feet of grass. Perhaps someday, when money isn't so tight, I will have someone come out and fix the sprinkler system back to full functionality.

Not Good Enoughh

It's just can't be good enough. Since fixing my sprinkler system last weekend, there have been pinhole leaks in one or two seals that have been squirting water. That's been bugging me because I didn't know how that would affect my water bill since it's just wasted water. So today I bought some bonding material to fix the pinhole leaks, and that seemed to work good. And wouldn't you know, the bonding closed the pinholes, but another problem arose. The added pressure from sealing the holes caused a pipe to split. And that pipe runs right underneath my side walk. I'm just fed up with it and I think I'm just going to call someone this time since if I fix it and something doesn't work, I could have really big problems. Now, the added 5 dollars to my water bill doesn't seem that bad considering the couple hundred dollars it may take for someone to come fix the system, again.

Family Health History

I am so glad my family does not have a history or cancer in any forms like mesothelioma, brain, or lung. I'm knocking on wood really hard as I say that. I have known people that have had to battle cancer and it is not an easy battle. You may think that it is an overreaction to call it a battle, but it is not. It really is a battle and you can't afford to lose that battle. I know that if more research is done, we can find the reason for cancer and ultimately cure it.

Weight Loss Update

Man, losing weight sure is a lot harder than putting it on. At least when you are putting it on, you don't have to think about how much you are putting on. Since starting to actively lose weight last week, I have lost 4 pounds. I can't believe it myself. 4 pounds already have gone off. My body is yelling at me, especially my legs. They just aren't used to running since I haven't done any real running for a couple of years. I want to quit sometimes, but I know I need to win this thing. Man, my body is going to be screaming at me by the time I am done.

Joke of the Day

It seems that the rising use of credit cards is affecting everyone, as you can see with the cartoon above. I think I read report the other day that showed American owed billions of dollars to the credit card companies. That's just what they owe, that is not included the interest they may end up paying. We actually paid off our cards when we bought our new house, mostly because we knew we couldn't afford to have them around since we couldn't pay them and groceries. If you find yourself using one card to pay the bill of another on a monthly basis, it may be time to rethink your lifestyle

Joke Of The Day

I've been noticing a lot lately that kids don't go and play outside much anymore. When I was a kid, we were always riding bikes, jumping on the trampoline, playing tag, or running. Now, kids are always on MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, or on other sites of the Internet most of the day. That has a bad effect on the health of kids. With that in minds, I thought this joke was great because kids do need to lose the addiction to the computer and get out and be active again.

Sunday Joke

I thought this was a great joke for a Sunday. Kudos to the church who posted this on their sign. I think this is applicable to all churches. Churches are filled with people trying to do their best to do what God would have them do. Unfortunately, some of those same people get a little nutty and only those seem to be the one who make the news and get publicity for the church. Judging a whole church by their crazies is like judging a whole state because of what the news shows during a disaster. They never reflect what the whole picture looks like.

Joke of the Day

I thought this joke was great because it reminds me of how my dad operates on teh computer. Basically, we have to get to the web page for him, create his search, and then he can go through the results. However, if something pops up on the page or the page switches to a different tab, he has no idea what to do. He just sits there and stares and the computer, waiting for help. Okay, that may not be as extreme as the carton depicts, but I think it's close. Sorry, it's a little small. Get your glasses.

Topical Joke

I thought this joke was a direct reflection of the American consumer of 2008. I'm amazed that people can afford to do ANYTHING anymore. With the price of gas going to unprecedented levels, food prices skyrocketing, and a high percentage of homes in forecloser, how do people buy anything anymore? You may thing that the home foreclosures and high gas prices aren't related, but they are in direct relation to each other. Here's why:

When the housing market collapsed because of all the subprime mortgages going in foreclosure, the amount of debt in the economy jumps, which greatly affects the economy and the value of the dollar. As the economy slumps, so does the value of the dollar. Since oil is priced in those low value dollars, the price of oil goes up because it takes more dollars to buy the same oil that we had a year ago. The solution: People slow the demand for gas, use public transportation, and only buy something if you can afford it. That would help the economy, help the price of oil go down, and help the whole world out. That's ECON 101 from me.

Weight Loss Update

For those of you who are wondering about how much weight I have lost so far, yes, I know it's a huge crowd, I thought I would give you an update. I weighed myself last night and I have actually lost 1 pound, according to our scale here at home. Woo hoo, it's actually beginning to work. I'm actually starting to lose weight. I just have to keep working on it and hopefully in 5 months I will have lost enough weight to ein the prize and look super great.

Sour Muscles

My stomach muscles hate me right now. I never knew I had so many of them and how easy it was to get them aggravate. They are screaming at me to stop working out. Ever since starting this weight loss program from work, I've started doing Pilates. That involves one of those big balls and then rolling the ball in front of you while still hanging on to it. It's about 10 times more muscles building than situps. At least with situps, I would gradually get my stomach muscles mad at me, rather than instantly mad at me like I've done with the Pilates.

Changing

I didn't realize how much I actually ate in a given day. Ever since committing to this weight loss thing at work, I've had to watch everything I eat. Even commercials that didn't look good before suddenly look great. Is this what it feels like as far as your appetite goes while you are pregnant? So far, I've done really good. I've started eating breakfast, running more, and watching what I eat. I'm hoping as I keep this up, I will be able to gradually lose the weight I need to to win the contest.

Another First

I actually woke up earlier than usual this morning, without any help from the wife. Can you believe that? I actually woke up early, intentionally. I did it so I can eat breakfast, which is something I haven't done for a very long time. From what I hear, though, breakfast can get your metabolism going. I need that metabolism to get going as long as possible so I can win this weight contest in 5 months. Here's hoping I'm not wasting a half hour of possible sleep by getting up earlier.

Out Of The Bag

A few weeks ago, I bought a bag of golf balls because I had lost a number of them on the golf course. Give me a little credit, I haven't golfed a lot in my life. Well, I bought whole bag of balls because it was cheaper and just grabbed balls as I needed them. Well, I guess last time I grabbed some, I didn't close the bag tight enough because now they are all over the trunk of my car. Now, I need to find my ball in the trunk of my car before finding it multiple times on the golf course.

Not Enough Memory

We seriously need a memory upgrade on our desktop computer. Sometimes it will just freeze and the only way to get it going again is to restart it. Not a good thing if you are typing something up and the computer freezes. We haven't done an upgrade so far because I think we want to just get a new one or restore the desktop we have downstairs. Only time will tell, I guess. Or, the upgrade may happen wen our patience just plain runs out.

And Now For Something Completely Different

Today, I signed up for a weight loss contest with a group of people at work. I have never actually tried to lose weight, it has just come naturally through work or working on landscaping projects. But, now that I don't have major landscaping projects to work on or a heavy job, I need to start losing weight. The reason I signed up for this program at work is because it has a nice incentive. Each person pays $500 dollars in the end and whoever lost the highest percentage of weight gets the whole pot. There are 10 people signed up for this contest so that makes the pot worth $5000 dollars. My wife says I have to win this because $500 dollars is a lot of money plus it would be due a month before Christmas and also about the same time the baby is due. So, I have 2 incentives to win: I can't lose the $500 dollars and it would be really nice to have $5000 dollars around that same time. I'm just hoping I can do this. The final weigh-in is at the end of November so I have 5 months. In addition, to match the percentage lost of the winner last year, I would need to lose 25 pounds, which would not be bad. I'm hoping and praying I can do this and win. There is a lot of money involved here, both if I win and if I lose.

Joke Of The Day

I thought this joke was pretty funny. Mostly because I've been on both ends of this situation. We don't really have a naughty step, but we do use time out and the occasional spanking for our kinds. As for when I get in trouble, my punishment is much harsher. I get the silent treatment for hours on end. Believe me, when I get in trouble, I would welcome just sitting on the step versus dealing with silence for hours.

Joke Of The Day

It's election season and many of us will probably be doing this during the campaign: looking through all the frivolous speeches to try and find the true promises. In the case of the cartoon, it will be the promise of a tax decrease. I'm hoping if whoever gets elected can get a tax decrease through the proper channels that they will make it a smart tax decrease. An income level in one state does not mean the same in another state. If they do a tax decrease, I hope they do it state by state as well as income level by income level.

Real Estate

One thing I've always wanted to get into is real estate. Whether it's local real estate, Winter Park real estate, or my own property, I would love to be able to get into the hobby of buying and selling real estate. It's not exactly a secure hobby to get into. That first transaction will be the one to make or break you. If you do good on the first purchase, you can keep going. But if you lose out on the first one, you end up paying for it for a long time. Perhaps it's just a hobby for me in the observatory mode.

Life Insurance

At my current employer, they give term insurance to every employee. You also have the option of getting more coverage if you want. You never know what life will throw at you, so life insurance is very important. If you have people relying on you and the income you bring, they will need some sort of support if you suddenly are gone. If you have the change, get life insurance.

Joke Of The Day

I thought this joke was fitting seeing how Father's Day is tomorrow. There are many things in the stores that are just as good as another, but they say "Turbo" or they are a certain brand. To further stress this point, I'll give you a personal example.

I used to work in a cheese packaging plant. In that plant, we packaged cheese for Walmart, Costo, Albertsons, and even Winco. Each one of these brands charged differently in their stores, but almost always, the cheese came off the same block. That means regardless if you buy the store brand in your favorite store, it may just be the same cheese as the store brand of a cheaper store.

So, if you are buying something for your husband, you don't have to spend extra on a gift because it says Turbo. You can save money buy just buying a similar one and then write Turbo on it. This would be the best Father's Day for both you or your husband.

Just Not The Same

When we first got married, we purchased an HP laptop so I could do my homework at work. It was a great investment and it held up good, until the ac adapter port stopped sending current to the battery. Then, when I was about the graduate college, we got another one, but ended up selling that one when money got tight. It was a nice one, but at the time, not totally necessary. We have another laptop now. It's nice, but it's still not the same as the original one we got. We still have the original one, but I think I've already spent enough money on it trying to get the ac adapter fixed. One day we might actually resurrect that original laptop.

Hospital Trips

I don't really have much of a medical history. In fact, I believe before we moved to Pocatello, I had only been to the doctor once for a sprained elbow from a bike accident on my LDS mission. Then, moving to Pocatello, I ended up in the ER after rolling a bobtail truck and after having my thumb accident. I think I need a medical id now so I can just give the people that when I walk into the hospital and save them the trouble of trying to get my info when I'm in the ER for a medical emergency.

Joke of the Day

Do you ever feel like this? As a software engineer, there are many times that I want to just throw my computer out the window. The funny thing is that computers only do what they are programmed to do, which means when a program I'm writing isn't doing what I want it to do, it's because I haven't programmed it to do what I want. Hence, the cartoon for the joke of the day. Gotta hand it to people who do tech support because I am sure they get a lot of people like the guy in the cartoon.

Funny Cat Picture

One of the benefits of living in the Salt Lake valley is being close to IKEA. For those of you who don't know what it is, it's a huge furniture store. We've walked through it a couple of times, but haven't bought anything. I don't think we've seen any cats in a box there, but you never know. It's a big store. Maybe one of these days when we have extra money laying around, we can actually buy a piece of furniture there. Believe me, one of these days, we will have money laying around. It may not be real money, but it will be money.

Joke of the Day

I thought this cartoon was funny on two levels. First, it mentions blogging. When my wife first started blogging, I didn't think much of it because she did a lot of it. But once I started doing it, I realized that it wasn't that bad of a thing. In fact, i quite enjoy it. So it's funny that the parent in the cartoon was apprehensive about blogging.

The next level that's funny about it is the joke itself. The parent tried to get his son to stop doing something that he has no information about. I'm hoping parents these days aren't like that, that they give ideas at least a slim chance before shutting them out. Anyway, enjoy the comic.

Joke Of The Day

The last couple of days, I've tried working out more. There is actually a nice workout room here at my work that includes bikes, treadmills, weights, and other exercise equipment. It can feel painful to run and walk at a steady pace for length of time, but I find that I feel better at the end of the day. In addition to the workout routine I'm doing now, there is also the flight of stairs that I walk up and down about 10 times a day. I'm hoping as I continue to exercise, I will lose the 20 pounds I've gained since I've started working at a desk 8 hours a day.

Who's Following Who?

I'm not sure if we are cleaning up after the kids or if the kids are following us and messing things up anymore. It feels like it all goes around in one big circle. If you can imagine, parents going through and cleaning up the messes of the kids. Then, the kids following after the parents putting the mess back together. Is it really worth trying anymore? I think we just give up until someone decides to come over and visit. Then, the vicious cycle starts all over again.

Joke Of The Day

I think a lot of us feel this way sometimes. I know I do. The best way to manage stress, I think, is to have some time to yourself to just do nothing. In addition to this, don't invite stress into your life. If you think something is going to add to your stress level while reducing its benefits, it's time for that thing to say goodbye. Honestly, I think if more people took the time to relax, the world would be a much better place.

Joke Of The Day

Thought this was a pretty funny joke, even for a Sunday. I haven't been fishing since I was on my LDS mission, but I love to do it. I don't have any equipment, however, so that first trip may be a bit expensive. When I do go fishing, I do feel like that guy that has his hook in a rift in the water. And, no, I don't have any fish stories.

Friday Feast

Appetizer

When you drink soda/pop/coke, do you prefer to drink it from the bottle, a can, or after pouring it into a cup?

-The bottle, that way I can close it so the kids can't drink it.


Soup

What television show are you willing to stay up late to watch?

- Leno, Craig Ferguson


Salad

Name one person, place, or thing you think of as brilliant.

- I have a lifelong fried that is the smartest person I know. I always went to the smartest schools, took the most advanced classes, and made the best decisions.


Main Course

Would you be willing to work 4 10-hour days instead of 5 8-hour days in order to save gas?

- I would prefer 4 10-hour days. Not so much because of saving gas, but so I could always have a 3 day weekend.


Dessert

If you were a superhero, what would you call yourself?

- Great Nate :D

Joke Of The Day

I completely forgot that I was trying to do a Joke Of The Day thing for my blog. I think it has been nearly a month since I last did one. For all those who were enjoying those jokes, I apologize for my absent-mindedness. I will try to do better. I hope I didn't lose any readers because of me forgetting to do that. If anyone has walked away because of that, please come back (Me shouting really loud in the Blogoshpere). Here is the Joke Of The Day, back again.

Happy Birthday Jacob!

Yesterday was my son Jacob's second birthday. I can't believe the little guy is 2 years old already. You wouldn't think he was just 2 because of how smart he is. You can actually have full conversations with him and he knows a lot of words. It seems that only yesterday we were all sitting in the hospital getting ready to go home. And it's been two years since that was the case and I can still remember everything. It was in Logan, UT, and all the family was in town. Man, 2 years ago. Time really does go by too fast. Not to say a lot hasn't happened in 2 years. It just seems that time is just slipping away. Happy Birthday, Jacob!!!

A Nightly Battle

Every night it's the same battle. We get the kids in bed at 8:00 after brushing their teeth, saying prayers, finding the right blanket, and getting their sippies full of water. Then we spend the next hour keeping them in bed. Every night, one of the two boys gets in the other one's room, keeping both of them up. We even have baby gates in front of their doors to keep them in and they still manage to get around them. If they are not getting in each other's rooms, they are screaming to get out of theirs. We had it all down in Pocatello and it was nice to have a couple of hours to ourselves after the kids were asleep. I guess we didn't have that routine embedded enough because ever since the move, we haven't been able to get back to the way it was in Pocatello. Maybe we should just let them run around for an hour before bed. Maybe that will get them sleeping at 8 o'clock again.

Upgrade?

I had to laugh a little this last week because the company I work for switched to a new kitchen supply company and they replaced all their microwaves (6 to be exact) with these high power microwaves. They even got one of these fancy looking espresso machines. What was funny about all of this was they didn't think about the upgrade needed to the electrical wiring of the break room. When all the employees hit the break room for lunch and started using the microwaves, the breaker got thrown. Turns out the new microwaves were pulling too much power all at once and only one could work at a time. This make it difficult because 60 employees were restricted to one microwave. They got the wiring upgraded, but it was still funny to listen to storied of how it took 20 minutes for someone to get their soup warmed up.

Accidental Blessings

At the end of last year, I started doing some job searching. I wasn't really looking to get a new one, but I did want to see what else I could get out there. Call it job shopping if you will. It felt like I sent my resume out to at least a hundred companies. I did end up getting some interviews. That was a bit tricky to do since I was in Pocatello, and I was applying for jobs in Salt Lake City, about 200 miles away. Nothing seemed to come from the interviews. What is really funny is the job where I felt like I made the worst impression is the one that made me this great offer and gave me this great job. I guess it just goes to show that sometimes blessings come by accident. Or do they?

Bad Purchase

My first semester in college was finally over and I was headed home. As I was getting into my car, a vehicle pulled up along side me. They motioned for me to roll down my window and they said they had a bunch of speakers they were selling. I thought it over and eventually bought a standup 15 inch speaker. I though it would be great in my apartment since my roommates had a whole bunch of audio equipment like audio racks, equalizers, and cd players. Little did I know, they were moving out the next day. So, here I was with a huge speaker I could no longer used. The thing followed me till just after I got married when I sold it to my brother-in-law for a fraction of the price. I would tell you the figures. Note to self, don't by electronics from some guy who pulls along side you in a van.

One More To Go

Since moving in over two months ago, the garage has been in a state of disarray. It has always been one of the places left with unpacked boxes. I've been meaning to get around to organizing it since about a month ago, but something always got in the way. Finally, I found the time this last Friday to get the garage organized. It took about 3 hours to get it all done. Most of that time was spent going through my tools, which had been lumped together in a box, organized and put back in their proper sets. Now that the garage is all organized, that only leaves one more area to tackle, the shed. Right now the shed holds all the garden tools and the lawn equipment, but there isn't much organization to it. It honestly shouldn't take that long to get that area organized. I just need to get up the motivation to get out and do it. But, hey, go me for getting the garage finally organized. Now it doesn't take me 5 minutes to find a screwdriver.