Friday, November 13, 2009

Lots o' pictures uploaded....

Sorry (again) for the lack of posts... Just a lot going on in our lives at the moment. Chances are that if you are reading this you have already seen my Facebook updates lately with pictures. But in case you haven't seen them... below are links to the recent photo albums I have created.






Freemont Street Experience:


--C

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

View from my office...

Snapped a couple pictures with my phone from the 11th floor here at the office. Nice view sometimes...

--C


Monday, October 12, 2009

More work in the garden...

Two things inspired our day of working the in the garden. 1) Buffy kept digging up the irrigation line in the dog run... and 2) We spent some time at a friend's house that had grass... in spite of living in Vegas, we decided to put in some grass. More grass to come later.

My muscles are still screaming at me for all the work.


--C

Cats and Dogs living together...

A little while back, Monika and I punched a hole in the side of the house for a doggy door so Buffy could be outside when we aren't home. We had the bright idea of putting her cage up against the doggy door so when inside she wouldn't eat our TV. I guess Spike (the cat) was looking for a little freedom too and decided to make use of the door. One day, I came downstairs to see this....


I guess they have resolved their differences...

--C

Monday, September 07, 2009

La Madre Springs Hike...

As a change of pace this weekend, Monika and I decided to pack Buffy into the truck and head off to do some hiking. A good friend of ours is crazy into it, and it sounded like it would be a nice way to get us some exercise. Our first attempt was on Sunday with a couple that mentioned off hand they were going up to Mt. Charleston to do a "short little hike" with their dogs. Monika and I decided that this "short little hike" would be a good way to ease ourselves into the hiking world.


Sunday morning arrived and we started our little caravan up the mountain. After parking at some elevation over 7000 feet, we then began the "short little hike" with the dogs running circles around us. It wasn't very far into the hike that I realized that I was in trouble. With our guides not even breaking a sweat, my legs were screaming and my pulse was trying to break some kind of record. We took some breaks, but I finally had to throw in the towel before we reached the end of the hike. As soon as we started to descend, my heart rate slowed back to a human level and things were fine. This "short little hike" was not a good way to start for us I think.

Not to be deterred by our first foray into hiking, Monika and I looked up what would officially be classified as an "easy" hike. There seemed to be some good options out at Red Rock Canyon, so we packed up Buffy again and headed out. After purchasing an annual pass to the park, we drove on around to where our trail should be. Hopped out of the car and we were on our way. This hike started off much MUCH easier than the previous day's. After going about a quarter of a mile, we hit a trail sign that pointed in two directions but the trail names did not include the one we thought we were on. Whoops... One of the two was called "La Madre Springs" and was classified as moderate hike. We decided to give it a try. It wasn't all up-hill, but it sure did feel like it at times. After 1.7 miles we finally reached the natural spring at the end. Monika and I kicked back for a little while munching on granola bars while Buffy frolicked in the spring with a couple other dogs. This was Buffy's first time being around water and she didn't even pause before jumping in. It was very cute.

The 1.7 mile hike back down was much quicker and much easier than the ascent. I think I could be really good at the whole "down hill hiking" thing. :-) My only regret about Monday's hike? We forgot to wear sunscreen. Yeah... ouch! Next time....

I don't like knowing I couldn't make it to the top of the Cathedral Rock hike, so I do see us re-visiting that one in the not too distant future. I hate leaving stuff like that unfinished.

I should have the pictures posted up on facebook tomorrow (they are having issues this evening), and will update this post when they are posted. Until then, here is movie of Buffy learning how to drink from a bottle.

Update: Pictures are now available on my facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=104620&id=580092347&l=79ba64b1ae

--C


video

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Kicking off my favorite time of year...

With the college football season starting this weekend, my favorite time of year will officially be starting. I can relive some of my college days every Saturday watching UGA make their way back to national title contention. The temperature here in Vegas finally begins to cool off from "hotter than the surface of the sun" to "I can actually live with this temperature if I am in the shade". The holiday season is just around the corner... I don't know... Everything just seems a little more festive once we see September on our calendars. At least that is how it is for me.


On the home front... Monika and I are doing really good. We seem to have finally gotten over our jet-lag and are settling into the fall schedule. Monika has started her penultimate semester in school and we are both positively giddy with the prospect of her finishing next May. Getting a civil engineering degree is very difficult and I couldn't be more proud of her. I have been there as she has sacrificed evenings and weekends to study or do homework. I have seen the 14 hour days she has had to put in. Not once has she ever complained or even considered throwing in the towel. She is an amazing woman and thankfully for me... I am smart enough to realize it.

Given our new, more hectic, fall schedules... we found ourselves with a problem a couple days a week with regards to our Buffy. While she can make it in her cage for the eight hours we are gone, it just isn't fair to her. She just isn't mature enough to be left alone in the house. While she hasn't destroyed any furniture yet, I am fairly confident that left alone for that many hours, there is a good possibility she would eat our sofa... or worse... one of the cats. So after considering our options, we undertook the project of installing a doggy door into the wall. I won't lie... It wasn't easy, but the work was pretty straight-forward. It was a little disconcerting though about half way through the project when there was just a gaping hole in our wall.

After returning our initial purchase and returning with better brand doggy door, the installation was finally done. I can take very little credit regarding the project outside of suggesting where we should cut the hole and being available to be the runner for tools and supplies. Monika did most of the work. Don't laugh... I am the last person in the world you want approaching your wall with a reciprocating saw.

It only took us about 10 minutes to train Buffy on how to go in and out of the door. Now she loves it! The door goes out to the side of the house and we put up a little temporary fence so she kinda has a dog run but can't get to the trees and flowers in the back yard. (I got a thank you card from our fig tree for that.) In the house, we took the back off of her cage and backed it up to the doggy door. Now when we are gone, she can be outside as much as she wants... and when she comes inside, she is confined to her pin for the safety of our cats and sofas. So far it seems to be working out really well.

Hope everybody is doing well.... I am still working on the "Wedding Reception 2.0" post. Hopefully in the next few days.

--C

Thursday, August 20, 2009

The Wedding (2.0)...

So I am home from our trip to Poland which was for our Church wedding. I find myself completely daunted by the prospect of describing it here in my blog. Words just won't do it justice, but not writing anything isn't an option either. I will skip writing about the rest of the trip until I finish this post because I really want to finish this before my memory begins to fade.

First of all, I want to express how much it meant to me being accepted into Monika's considerable family. I found my head spinning when meeting everybody trying to keep track of how we are now related. I think pretty much everybody got labeled as aunt/uncle or cousin. I want to actually write down the family tree at some point in an effort to get it straight in my head. I also find I don't have the words to appropriately say thank you to my new parents for an outstanding wedding and an incredible trip to Poland. Getting married to Monika was the best day of my life back in October, and now I have another experience just as special. I know how much work goes into planning a wedding, and everything was just perfect. Whoever ends up translating this blog post, please convey how deeply moving the experience was for me. Marrying Monika is the best thing I have ever done, and the celebration surrounding it will be something I treasure for the rest of my life.

Ok... now for the run-down.

Things began on Sunday (Aug 9th) with me waking up to Monika and her mother already being out of the house. They had hair appointments, which meant I was able to relax and gather my thoughts with Mom over a cup of coffee. It would turn out to be the only quiet time I would get for the next 40 hours or so. (No... that is not a complaint! I loved the excitement.) Once Monika got home, it began. The make-up artist showed up to the house and family began to trickle in over the next couple hours. I broke away and got dressed in my tux that I had carried in a garment bag for 32 hours on our trip to Poland. Thank goodness it still fit! It was very odd getting ready in such a full house. Our last wedding... I took my shower and got dressed in a hotel room by myself before heading out to the wedding. This was the opposite. As I tried to lace up my shoes, people were knocking on the door asking questions. Asking if I was ok... etc. It was also odd to see Monika all day since we got ready separately here in Vegas. I have to say I liked this better.

Around 1 in the afternoon we were ready. With our photographer giving instructions in Polish the day began. It started (in the living room) with me getting down on a knee handing Monika's bouquet to her. Then while on our knees, her parents gave us their blessing. Then we walked out the door with the best man, maid of honor leading the group of family behind us... a band started playing in front of the house. It was a quartet that I know included an accordion as well as a saxophone. Beyond that, I don't remember what else. The entire front of the house was decorated with balloons and people were stopping on the street to clap for us as we climbed into our horse and carriage. Renatta and Thomek (I know that is spelled wrong), rode with us as we made our way to the church. As we rode through the streets of Poland, cars honked their congratulations and children ran outside to wave to us. It felt like we were in a parade. It was a very very awesome experience. I am smiling just thinking about how proud I was of being a part of this. I had the most beautiful woman in the world next to me and we were going to get married.

Before going to the church, we stopped several places for pictures. One of the places we stopped for pictures was this castle (http://goeasteurope.about.com/od/poland/ss/PolandCastle2_4.htm)... Talk about a Kodak moment! And then it was on to the cathedral (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Olsztyn-katedra.jpg) for the ceremony.

We arrived about 20 minutes before the ceremony was scheduled to begin at 3pm. As we walked up the steps leading to the cathedral we were greeted by tourists and family members all congratulating us. I tried to take it all in as Monika whispered in my ear who everybody was. Honestly, I couldn't catch it all. I was overwhelmed already by the experience and was trying to burn every moment into my memory. I knew I would see all the family again at the reception.

As the time of the ceremony grew closer, the rest of the wedding party headed off to their places while I stayed at the entrance to the church. At this point, I was joined by four knights in full armor. Yeah... you read that right. Knights... in full armor. They were lead by Andre who I had met the year before (as well as on this trip). Andre is Monika's cousin and I guess he has a full set of armour along with knight friends who agreed to be in the wedding. Very very (VERY) cool. Fortunately for me, Andre speaks English and was able to give me instructions on what I had to do and when I had to do it... Until Monika would meet me at the end of the isle.

Music started and before I knew it, the ceremony had begun. I was speechless as I walked down the aisle of this ancient cathedral. I had a group of knights in formation behind me. I was surrounded by family who had already accepted me sight unseen. I was in Poland... I was marrying my Monika... again. As I smiled at everybody while walking down the aisle... I just took in a very very surreal experience. It was amazing. Like I said before... I don't have the words to describe it... Not even close.

After the rest of the wedding party joined me, the real ceremony began. It was a full catholic mass which meant the ceremony was a full hour. Since it was all in Polish, I really thought I was going to be bored. I am happy to report that was not the case. While I didn't understand all the parts of the ceremony, it gave me the time to savor what was happening to me... to us. It gave me time to appreciate the setting, the music, the tradition. One note about the music... We had an AMAZING singer who is very well known in Poland. I won't even try to spell her name here, but I will find a link at some point to information about her on the Internet. It was like a scene out of a movie with the ceremony and the music.

The part of the ceremony involving the vows was the only I part in English. Another of Monika's cousins (Alexander from England) took on the task of translating the parts of the ceremony where I needed to respond. He speaks like 20 different languages, so he was definitely the right choice here. He did an outstanding job even though I could tell he was a little nervous.

After the ceremony ended and the bride had been thoroughly kissed, we headed back out of the church. The sea of smiles we walked through warmed the heart and I couldn't wait to get to know everybody better. After we got outside the church, Monika and I stood together with our maid of honor and best man at our sides. Everybody who had attended the wedding then formed lines and congratulated us while giving us their wishes. In Poland, instead of hugs from the women, they do the three kisses on the cheek thing. I like it, but I think my cheeks were almost raw by the end of the line. (Again... not complaining.) As people handed us gifts and flowers while giving us their wishes, I had Thomek whispering in my ear the translations to English. What really touched me was that since everybody knew I was American and didn't speak Polish... Many from the family took the time to learn how to say their wishes in English to me. I know it wasn't easy and I could tell some were nervous which made me appreciate it even more.

Eventually it was time to move on to the reception, but before we left... we found ourselves standing together surrounded by family and friends who were smiling and obviously very happy for us. I can't really describe what a good feeling this was. It just was... and I won't forget it either.

Monika and I along with Thomek and Renatta headed back down to the horse and carriage that would take us to the reception... But that is the subject of another blog post.

Again... to everybody who made this day so special to us, thank you. Thank you so much....

--Chris

Monday, August 17, 2009

Home soon...

So I thought I would have time to blog while here in Poland. I was wrong. I thought I would have time to post pictures while here in Poland. I was wrong. Guess we were too busy having the vacation to write about it. I promise to post some pictures over the weekend. There are some great ones!


Tomorrow we head off to Gdansk for the night, and then on Wednesday it will be time to fly back to the states. It has been a wonderful trip and I have loved getting to know my new family. I am still getting used to how big it is now. :-)

It is time for bed, but I wanted to let you know we are doing good and will be home soon.

--C

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Pictures...

I know I promised I would blog while here in Poland, but it isn't looking like that is going to happen for a few days. Until then, I have posted some pictures up to Facebook. Don't worry... there will be more pictures from the wedding, but since I was a major participant in the ceremony I couldn't exactly be whipping out my camera every three minutes to take a pictures.


Until then....

Here are some pictures from our first couple days here including a wonderful family dinner at Aunt Theresa's house. Some of these photos are new... (I added to an existing album)

These are some pictures from the actual wedding day. Best day of my life... I am truly lucky to have been able to get married to the woman of my dreams twice in one year. I recommend EVERYBODY have a civil ceremony and a church ceremony.

Apparently traditionally in Poland, there is a big party the day after the wedding. These are the pictures from ours. What I didn't get a picture of was the lake and beach that were also right there for people to swimming in.

More to come....
--Chris

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Thoughts over lunch...

So here I sit having just finished my lunch on my last day of work before the trip to Poland. If you are reading my blog, I am sure you are aware the impetuous of this trip to Poland is for me and my lovely wife to take part in the second part of our wedding vows. We got married here in Vegas back in October. This was the civil ceremony and probably the best day of my life. This coming Sunday, our church wedding will be held in Olsztyn, Poland.


Sitting here with my lunch hour winding down, I find myself awash in unexpected emotions. I am very VERY excited about the trip and the wedding, and I don't know how I am going to survive until we get on the plane tomorrow morning at 8:20am. I can't concentrate. I am finding focus to be a little beyond my abilities. Fortunately for me, what I am working on today doesn't require much brain power. I have done this type of work for years... At least I am being productive even if my brain is already on vacation.

The wedding this Sunday is still kind of surreal to me. I have a pretty good idea of what to expect, but as with most unknowns... I am sure many of my assumptions are not going to be spot on. I know that I am going to be welcomed into a huge loving family this week of which I am only going to be able to communicate effectively with a few of. I know the wedding is going to be a Catholic mass. I know we are getting hitched in a cathedral built over 600 years ago. I know my Mom is going to cry. I know as I watch Monika walk down the aisle to meet me a second time tears or joy won't be far from reality for me. I know Sunday is going to be another "best day of my life"... and I can't wait.

It is the unknowns that I find myself thinking about. How is it going to feel being in a room with such a big family, and having to have a translator for a lot of it? (I really REALLY need to work on learning Polish better) The reception is from 5pm until 3am the next morning. What is a 10 hour party in our honor going to feel like? How bad are my feet going to hurt? All my thoughts are good and I am not worried or stressed about anything. I just find myself wondering what it is going to be like.

Of course I am looking forward to seeing Monika's parents again... Seeing my new friends and family who I met on my last trip. I look forward to meeting other people I have heard about for the past two years. I... just... can't... wait.... No other way to put it.

We are taking our computer with us on the trip and we have a brand-spanking-new camera going with us too... To all of our friends who really wanted to come with us, but couldn't.... I promise to take tons of pictures and I will try to post some of them while I am there.

Hope everybody has a happy and safe couple of weeks. This Sunday at ~6am (PST), if you are awake... Think about us saying our vows half a world away.

--C

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Finally... Some content!...

Yeah yeah yeah... I know. Sorry. I do plan on blogging though when we are in Poland for a couple weeks. So that should hopefully kick-start me adding content regularly... We shall see.


To hold you over until then, I posted up some new pictures to FaceBook. Check them out... Buffy is getting sooooo big!


--C


Wednesday, July 01, 2009

By popular demand...

By popular demand, and to get my Mom off my back... it is time for another blog post. I won't beat the dead horse of explaining how busy I am and why I haven't updated... That's just how it is and I will eventually figure out the part of my day that is ripe for me to do some blogging.

2009 seems to be humming right along faster than any year prior. Although, it seems like that every year I guess. We are just a little over a month from our trip to Poland for our second wedding. Given how much effort we had to put into planning the first one, and how hands off we are on this second one; It doesn't feel real yet. Maybe when I go to reserve my tux this weekend that will help make things feel a little more real. Don't get me wrong. We are super excited... it is just hard to believe that in a month and 8 days we will be standing in a Cathedral built in the 1300's before god, friends, and family getting married again.

This week my office switched over to the 4/10 (10 hours a day Mon-Thurs) work schedule. Getting here at seven was no change for me, but having soooo many people here in the morning has been an adjustment. The message I am trying to politely get across is "Just because I am here and working at 7am, doesn't mean it is ok to call me. Until I have had time to drink a cup of coffee and check my email... I am unavailable." A couple of curt phone calls seems to be getting the point across. I don't love staying until 6... but I am sure it will seem like less of an inconvenience come Friday when I am playing golf instead of writing code.

Monika just found out yesterday that she passed her Thermodynamics class with a B+! I know this is a really tough class and many many people have to take it multiple times. I couldn't be more proud of Monika for getting such a good grade on her first time taking the class! Way to go honey!

The big life changing even for our family is that Monika began playing golf! She is doing so well that it won't be that long before she posts a score lower than mine. That day will be a hard one for me, but I will find a way to muddle through I am sure. I had asked Monika to play golf with me for quite some time, but schedules never worked out and I got the impression she wasn't that interested. With our hectic lives during the week and weekends only being two days, I never liked leaving Monika at home for the 4+ hours it took to play a round of golf. So I had started to play a little less often. Then one day Monika announced she would be joining me at the driving range. From the first swing of the club when she sent that little golf ball flying through the air... she was hooked. Since then she is always up for a round when we can find the time. I have played golf more in the last three weeks than I think I played all last year. Color me a happy husband!

Other stuff:
  • Yesterday our pool table finally made the move from the old house to the new house. I missed having it.
  • Buffy is loving her trips to the dog park. Monika and I take here twice a day and she (Buffy) goes nuts the second she hears here leash... because she knows where she is headed.
  • Congrats to my friend Brett who tied the knot over the weekend. I really wish we could have made it to the wedding.
  • The average temp here in Vegas is now over 100 every day. I look forward to getting over to Poland in August where it should be much much cooler.
  • ... in the strangest places... Last night at the dog park Monika and I met a Polish couple that happens to live near us. It was very funny when Monika just heard this lady calling her dog in Polish.
  • Life is good
Cheers!
--C

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

He cut me!...

Soooo.... A little over five years ago, I went to a dentist. A very VERY bad dentist. She botched some fillings and put me through hell via a botched root canal... Half way through she actually sent me home with instructions to go to an Endodontist the following morning. I was not happy. At least she got the crown right.

It is at least with a little understanding (I hope), that you can see why I have not darkened the door of a dentist for quite some time. Yes. I realize that is a mistake. You don't have to point it out to me. EVERYBODY feels the need to point out that I should have gone. And yeah... it is starting to irritate me a little. Let me get this out of the way... "I KNOW I SHOULD HAVE GONE AND THAT IS WHY I AM HAVING SO MANY PROBLEMS NOW!" Oh... also... I do brush several times daily. I just didn't floss....

Anyway.... (rant over).... Today I went to see the endodontist to have my root canal and he was going to determine if I needed a second one. Yeah. I was nervous. I had been referred to Dr. David Fife and from what I had heard... it would be a breeze. Didn't matter. I was still nervous.

Turns out this was easier than a teeth cleaning. After some quick x-rays and an explanation of what he would be doing, he leaned me back... numbed me up and went to work. It was great. Didn't hurt at all and I think he was actually working on the tooth for all of 20 minutes. When he leaned the chair back up and told me he was done, I couldn't believe it. Really really great job!

Now... several hours later I can't even tell I had anything done. No pain is a good thing. AND.... he sent me home with the groovy picture below.

Thank you Dr. Fife. You did an outstanding job!

--C

Thursday, June 04, 2009

Life in General...

Not to sound like a broken record, but in spite of trials here or there... life is good.  Life is REALLY good.  I don't get tired of typing that, but I know y'all probably get tired of reading it.  Sorry... just how it is.

Monika and I are gearing up for our trip to Poland.  The tickets have been purchased, time off from work approved, and Mom gets here a couple days before we all leave for Poland.  OMG... I just realized that we leave two months from tomorrow!  I won't lie... I am a little bit nervous about the wedding over there, but nowhere near as up tight as I was about the one here.  I think it is because we aren't having to plan everything.  Outside of getting ourselves, and our clothes there... Monika's mom is taking care of the rest.  Definitely a different experience.

One thing I don't think I was prepared for is... what it means to get married in the Catholic church.  I am Lutheran, and Monika is Catholic.  We decided that we were going to have the "church wedding" in a Cathedral in her home town.  I figured that was pretty much it.  Decide where... book the church.  Done.  haha... I was WAY wrong.  Apparently when you want to get married in the Catholic church there are all kinds of things you have to do before the church will approve your wedding.  Thank goodness Monika had the 411 on this.  When we went to see the priest at a local church here in Vegas, she whipped out document after document after document documenting baptisms, birth (certificates), affidavits from friends and family... I sat there stunned as the priest asked for something and she handed it to him.  We had two more sessions with the priest (deacon actually) where we talked about general life issues to make sure we (Monika and I) had talked about some of the things that can cause some friction in a new marriage.  I was not happy with having to do this, but now that I have been through it... I actually really enjoyed it.  The deacon was very nice and the three of us had some really great conversations.  I have to say... I am thinking about attending that church now.  I also really can see the value in these sessions for younger couples who are about to get married.  It isn't counseling... Just a time to make sure you are both on the same page of some of the bigger issues.  

Next weekend (13th), our final hurdle to get our marriage approved will be in the form of a "pre cana" class.  This is basically an 8 hour pre-marriage counseling class.  I really wasn't looking forward to this, but after our meetings with the deacon I am a little more open minded.  And... I will be with Monika, which makes anything we have to do ok.  After our class, we get our certificate to the deacon and he sends off the paperwork.  We should get everything done *just* in time.

On an unpleasant note... I went to a dentist for the first time in over five years.  You can guess how well that went.  I am in the midst of getting things taken care of and fortunately for me I have found an OUTSTANDING dentist.  But... that is a topic for another post that I will write once I am on the other side of all this.

Lastly... If anybody out there is looking to buy a '67 Mustang, I am selling.  Or if you know anybody, send them my way.


--C

Friday, May 22, 2009

Nickels and dimes...

I would not classify myself as "cheap", but I get annoyed when it is obvious that some random company is trying to take advantage of my wallet.  Below is something I have known about for a while, but last night while at Smith's (our grocery) store the difference was just so blatant that I had to blog about it.  Is this going to be interesting?  Probably not.  Potential to save you some money?  If you actually follow the instructions.  Will you save enough to take a vacation?  Not bloody likely.


Ok... So... You know that special "foam" based hand soap that came out a couple years ago?  Much easier to use and wash off than the original gel-like hand soap.  After trying it once, I quickly replaced all the soap in my house for this new fangled type of soap.  I didn't love that it was more expensive, but I figured that with a better product you have to pay a little more.  No big deal.  

About a year ago I read online that the only difference between
 the old style soap (pictured left)
 and the new fangled foam soap (pictured right)  was the little dispenser nozzle and the amount of water.  The soap is exactly the same... only watered down.  So... the soap company (dial in this case) actually uses less of their soap product... waters it down... puts a dispenser that infuses air to the mix to make foam... and "voila"...  New product and they charge about twice as much.  Color me annoyed.*

So what can we as consumers do?  Follow these instructions....
Instead of paying $1.90 for the foamy soap, spend $0.99 for the old school gel soap.  (You will actually have to have one of the foamy soap containers to start with.... sorry.)
  1. Take an empty foamy soap container.
  2. Marvel at the marketing that managed to pull one over on us.
  3. Fill the bottle 1/3rd to 1/4th full of the old school soap.
  4. Add water to fill the rest of the bottle.  (do this slowly or you will end up with a mess)
  5. Put the foamy soap dispenser cap back on.
  6. Shake a little to make sure it mixes up well.
  7. Enjoy stickin' in to the man by making that one $0.99 bottle of soap last the equivalent of 4 foamy soap bottles.
There... now I feel better.  

--C 

*Disclaimer:  I say there is no difference other than the dispenser and more water being added.  This is my observation and not based in any research.  I could be wrong, but to me the results seem to indicate I am correct.  But I leave the determination up to you.  So... Dial people... if you stumble across this blog... Don't sue me for shedding light on this!

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Days in the sun...

You know what the average temperature is supposed to be in Vegas right now?  In the 80s.  Is that what we had the last couple weekends?  No!  *%*$&#!  When Monika and I moved into our new house, the backyard was just a barren expanse of dirt with a smattering of rock.  Not very inviting, and we knew we needed to do something about it.


Being married to a soon-to-be civil engineer, pretty much the sky was the limit with what we could do.  We toyed with the idea of pouring a concrete patio, but eventually decided that it wasn't what we wanted.  Instead we elected to go with pave stones.  The planning began and when we finally went to Stone World, Monika had a page of calculations supporting the amount of material we wanted to order.  It was actually very funny because the guy who worked there was plugging away on his calculator to get the information.  I don't think he believed Monika had done the calculations correctly.  After about 15 minutes he gave us the numbers.  Monika politely smiled and showed him the paper with a couple numbers circled.  He had done nothing more than confirm her numbers.  Ha!  And to this guy's credit he took it in stride and didn't flash any attitude... Instead you could see his respect level jumping up a notch or two.

We ordered everything and had it delivered later that week.  We had originally planned to build the patio back in early April, but what happened? Of course... it rained.  We get about four inches of rain per year, but you KNOW when you need to do something like this, it is 100% chance of rain that day.

Due to our schedules, we had to wait until the past two weekends to finish the project.  With the thermometer soaring around the 100 degree mark, the conditions were less than ideal... But with a lot of sweat, a lot of sunscreen, and a lot of help (thanks Luke!) we finished.  I won't lie.  It was difficult and not something I would want to do again, but after we were done, the sense of accomplishment walking across the patio was awesome.  Below are a couple pictures that don't do it justice.  These are from my phone, but hopefully I will find the time to get the high-res photos off my camera this weekend.  As for the tent... this is only a temporary solution until we decide on what to do for shade.

Dimensions of the square area are 16' x 16'.  Then there is a smaller area of where we put the grill.

--C

*PS... I knew it already, but this project just confirmed again what an awesome wife I have.  I definitely won the lottery when she said "I do".