My Pride Is Showing

Over the weekend, I did a few projects. I had to add a valve in the front yard, and I put up a fence and gate to keep the dogs from further destroying our side yard. Now I do a lot of projects–it’s part of having a wife with a neverending honeydew list. But this is the first time I’ve built something substantial from scratch, so I’m going to show off. Here’s the fence and gate:

Lumber by home depot, hardware by Ace, Miter Saw by my father-in-law (Thanks Dennis)

More Website Troubles

For those that don’t know, my website was hacked a few weeks ago. Someone inserted a malicious link that hid in the code waiting for unsuspecting visitors. My site host and I had to wipe everything out and restore it from backup. (you may have noticed the new look / layout).

The unfortunate result of that is that all the “controversial” posts from before I went to law school were back up, and I overlooked it. Imagine my embarrassment when a potential employer asked me about the post that concluded with the words “Cops Suck.” Fortunately, he didn’t ask me about the one that questioned U.S. immigration policy.

The moral of this story is to always be thorough. When you restore from backup, you have to go back and weed the garden. Ah, well. Hopefully it won’t hurt me too much.

And Speaking of Fearless Zephyrs

The crazy little two-year-old convinced me to go swimming with him the other day. That kid’s a water fiend. I guess 45 degree water won’t stop him.

Quick Disney Survey

So the boys were watching Mulan the other night, and I quickly remembered that I think that movie has by far the best music of any Disney movie. It’s not quite my favorite (although it’s up there). That would probably be Robin Hood for its old-fashioned humor and classic voices (plus I just love the story). So leave a comment telling me your favorite Disney movie, and which one you think has the best music (if they are different).

-S-

Zephyr and Connor at the Park

This one is short. It just shows how fearlessand trusting Zeph is and how fun it can be to toss Connor around

Zephyr Loves the Barenaked Ladies

Here’s the first of a couple videos:

It’s a video of Zephyr singing Barenaked Ladies. There are a couple of Barenaked Ladies songs that I have sung to Zephyr at bedtime since he was very little. One of the is “When I Fall.” When I decided to dust off and tune the guitar because I haven’t played it in ages (be kind, I’m a bit rusty), I decided to play that one so Zephyr could sing along. As you can see, he had a blast. Now I need to learn how to play “Light up My Life.”

Enjoy!

Winter Wonderland

Hi all. We just got back from a trip to Minnesota over my Winter Break. It was phenomenal. Brie says she felt like she had gone home for a time. The weather was around -10 degrees when we got there, and fluctuated between 20 below and 40 above while we were there. The “bitter cold” really wasn’t all that bad unless the wind was blowing. Even with wind, it wasn’t so bad with a leather jacket or something else to cut the wind. Honestly, all you folks who have moved from Minnesota to this brown desert because it is “too cold” up there are a bunch of whiners. When the air is still, -20 there feels like 40 here.

They say the heat here is a “dry heat,” I think the cold here is a “dry cold”. Brie and the boys are able to cope much better with below freezing temperatures there than the overnight chills here. It’s just a matter of layers. I think the Minnesota natives that move here are just too lazy to shovel their driveway every couple weeks. It has nothing to do with the cold.

Plus, the boys had a blast playing in the snow. In the Summers here, you can either stay indoors or go swimming. In the Winters there, you can stay indoors, have a snowball fight, build a snow man or a snow fort, go for a walk (as long as you remember your layers), or walk to the nearest fishing hole (no more than 20 minutes walk in the land of 10,000 lakes). We had a really great time. We’re looking forward to Jenny’s wedding in June, but we also hope we can make Winter or Fall visits a semi-regular occurrence. The boundless life of spring and and a hot, lazy summer will no longer feel the same without a frosty, winter-wonderland with which to compare it.

We had a really hard time coming home, although no small part of that was due to the boundless hospitality of Uncle Charlie and Aunt Pat (and the rest of the Roth and Darnauer clans). We love you all and hope to see you soon.

Below are a couple videos. There is also a picture gallery if you click on “Pictures” to your left (or click here if you are reading this on a RSS feed). Enjoy!

Spencer

update Brie just told me (while warming her hands by sticking them in my shirt, “I think I need to go back to Minnesota to defrost.” What did I tell you about a “dry cold”?

O Winter! ruler of the inverted year, . . . I crown thee king of intimate delights, Fireside enjoyments, home-born happiness, And all the comforts that the lowly roof Of undisturb’d Retirement, and the hours Of long uninterrupted evening, know.
–William Cowper (1731 – 1800), Task (bk. IV, l. 120)

30

Yes, I’m 30 now. Conventional wisdom says I should feel old, but I don’t. It doesn’t help that I put together a list of things I wanted to have done by the time I turned thirty. I don’t have the list, and I don’t remember everything on it, but here’s a sample.

* Learn how to take apart and put back together an old engine
* Earn a black belt in some kind of martial art
* Visit Ireland

Okay, so I’ve done the last one, but most of them are left undone. And yet, it doesn’t really bother me. I finally feel like I’m going somewhere. I have a career instead of a job, and it actually challenges me intellectually. I have the chance to live a comfortable life soon, without living paycheck-to-paycheck. I have a loving wife, and two wonderful children.

Life is good.

Rest in Peace, Titus Magnus

I’ve been meaning to write fr awhile now. I have lots of things to write about . . . family vacation to San Diego . . . turning in my Comment . . . starting my Summer Job . . . the list goes on and on. Unfortunately, it takes a tragedy to get me writing. Our cat, Titus, passed away on Saturday. This is a tribute to him.

I found Titus seven years ago. I was working at a residential treatment center for teenagers, and took some of the kids out to lunch for making all their goals for the week. When we got back we heard some meowing and a kitty came out of the dumpster begging. Some of the girls gave him some chicken, and I didn’t think much of it.

When I moved to the graveyard shift shortly thereafter, he would come sit on my lap when I went out front for smoke breaks. After a while, he would follow me up to the dorms and hang out with me when I was on duty. Eventually the nurse noticed and she said he was a health risk. She was going to call animal control. Now I’m not (wasn’t, I guess) a cat person, but I wasn’t going to let him be put down. So I called Brie and told her I was bringing home a new friend.

Titus quickly became part of the family. He followed me everywhere at first, but soon took to everyone. You couldn’t sit down on the couch without a Titus jumping on your lap. Connor was only 1 or so when I brought him home, but Titus was very patient with him. Hell, he put up with everything. He’s the main reason Zephyr is so good with animals. He never ran away, like the other cats did, when Zeph would come trundling up to pester him. He would sniggle Zeph as Zeph snuggled him, giving the baby a gentle, remonstrative “rowr” if Z became too rough. He was the perfect cat for kids.

But having grown up in a dumpster, he never outgrew romping. He spent more time outdoors than in. One day, he didn’t come back. He never spent more than a few hours away from the family, so we knew something was up. I won’t go into details, but I found him later the same day. I’m glad I did, because now at least we know what happened, and I get to keep his name tag.

So long, Titus. You were an awesome kitty, and you will be missed.

The cat could very well be man’s best friend but would never stoop to admitting it.
–Doug Larson

Allie’s Wedding

On Monday, April 7, my sister in law, Allison, married her true love, Bruce Preston. The wedding was a lot of fun, if a bit warm. Connor had his first sip of champagne, and I really wish I’d taken a picture of the look of disgust on his face when he did. Zephyr simply could not be dragged off the dance floor, and made everyone smile. Below is a video clip of Zephyr dancing with the beautiful bride, and another one of him cutting a rug by himself. There are also several pictures available here.

Bruce, we’re glad you were feeling better for the honeymoon.
Allison, you truly were the most beautiful bride since Brie’s wedding
Here’s hoping your days are filled with happiness, and your nights are . . . well . . . filled.

STP & Family