taking shape

I am old.

The wife and I have started work on the nursery and honestly it's been a ton of work. Putting together a crib, no problem. Figuring out where all the other stuff is going, painting, and furnishing the room? Problems.
With no real football on Sunday the first coat of paint went on the walls this weekend. And this was with Saturday to prep; get supplies, laser level and tape up the outline of the two colors we have going up, clean the walls. With an early trip to the hardware store for dropclothes Sunday was time to get moving. It was a long day.

I wasn't about to let my pregnant wife spend the day in a roomful of paint fumes, so I was doing most of the work solo. Edging, climbing the ladder, rolling, touching up, it was an all day affair. With the window open in January. Good times.
As the sun set I was wrapping up and happy to be able to breath normal air again. I was sore as all hell the next day though, surprisingly so. I guess all the crouching and crawling to tape everything and edge along the baseboards took its toll on my legs and back. And that was just the first coat! I'll probably do a second this week. At least it's in the 50's today so it might not be as bad with the window open.I've still got big plans to paint a palm tree on one wall, to go with the water and sand theme. We'll see which gets here first, the tree or the kid.

Current beer-scale: 5.3

thanks guy

It's been a decent week on the bike. Decent enough that when I almost got rubbed into a parked car by someone veering into the bike lane this morning I simply knocked on their passenger window and kept going. They didn't seem to appreciate getting the heads up so of course they let out an angry honk. I sent back a thumbs up and shook my head.Unless it's some-car-is-slamming-on-the-breaks-while-I-grit-my-teeth-close (which happens more than I would like with people turning left across Lincoln), I'm of the feeling the thumbs up is way better than a middle finger. Confront someone already upset with more anger and things just escalate. Give them back something positive and it can stop them in their tracks. Even sarcastic positive.

Too bad it put me in a crap mood for a busy Friday. The fact that it's idiots setting idiotic meetings on a Friday might not be helping with that either, but I'm old enough to buy beer on my way home so I don't really care. Half Acre here I come.

Current beer-scale: 8.3

Dee-lic-oussss!

Man a few hours make all the difference. All the Lincoln bars smelled damn good on the way home tonight. Put me in the mood for a few beers.

Current beer-scale: 7.7

fenders that actually fend

Ugh. 5+ inches of snow on Friday have turned into winter muck by Monday morning. At least I could get back on the bike. A couple of days off and my still-healing ass is a little sore this morning.

It was a rough weekend. Our Saturday morning walk with the dog was so bad it ended with a trip to a local shop to get her some boots. She did not like them, despite how she sprinted the entire evening walk.

At least she didn't have to wear them this morning. As much as we'd both rather still be in bed a 45 degree walk in January isn't too bad.

Current beer-scale: 8.1

Off day

The wife has a Dr's appointment this afternoon as she heads into the start of her third trimester so it was the train for me this morning as we're meeting up so I can go with her. Yah responsible parenthood!

It feels like a good time for a break as last night's commute home drove me crazy. It's wasn't too cold or too wet but I left a few minutes late and the assholes were out in full force. The hardest part about leaving late is all I want to do is rush home, but I have to remember to slow down and let any cars driving like dicks make their dick moves while I'm in the cold waiting for them to finish. Last night was particularly abrasive so the train didn't sound too bad today.

Once I was on the train that changed pretty much immediately, but it will be worth it to ride home with the wife tonite. Especially if it's below zero out like they're forecasting. Sounds like the dog is getting a short walk tonite too.

Current beer-scale: 7.7

Joys of a successful trip

Back to babies r us today, with a side trip to pick up a bike tree and some paint samples. Out and back inside three hours, in time to put the rack together while the saints committed two quick turnovers against the 49ers. Ouch.

The tree went together pretty easily, even w/o directions. It was more like a diagram of what the finished project would look like. Woo hoo.I love putting things together in the garage when it's cold out, not so much when there's snow to track in. That floor gets slippery as shit, and there's a lot to do in there over the next few weeks. But getting the bikes up, including the trainer, was a good start.The trainer had to go up too b/c the wife wanted to get some sample colors for painting the future nursery. Once we had paint, there wasn't going to be much time before it got tested on a wall so the bike had to move for its own safety. That was surprisingly fun. Which is good, b/c we're not sure about the tan color. Good thing they were just samples I guess.

Current beer-scale: 6.3

Tebow really is evil

How has no one said anything about this yet? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!

Yeah, I'm way too excited for a movie that's still 6 months away.

Current beer-scale: 4.2

Ended up being a good day.

This was at noon:

This was at 7 PM when I was going home.

Too dark to really see any difference but that was a solid 7 hours of snow. Good times. Thankfully the train was pretty easy to handle, b/c I got promoted and found out in a surprise late meeting. My first "real" promotion. So now I'm home, drinking a whiskey, and ready to have a good Friday.

Current beer-scale: 8.8

Fine, let it snow

There's a winter weather advisory in Chicago for the next twenty-four hours. Bring it on I say.
Actually, I would rather sit this one out but there's no use complaining about it. I hemmed and hawed about not riding today but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Instead I hopped on the bike for one last easy snow-free ride. It was the best way to start the day.

The plan is to have the tank spend the night in the office since I have to stay late tonite and probably won't feel like riding through snow drifts and the first real snow of the year. People are not bright-a few real inches and this turns into Atlanta. No one can drive and everyone freaks out. Hooray!

Current beer-scale: 6.2 and looking forward to some work beers tonite.

That's a lot of box

Picking up baby furniture this weekend turned out to be more of a challenge than expected. We thought everything would come flat-packed and easily fit into the hatchback. The dog stayed home and we made the drive out to the store early on Saturday to pick everything up.

Oops.The crib was flat packed but I think they basically laid everything out and put it in the biggest box possible. And the little dresser we bought is in one piece, surrounded by 3 inches of styrafoam and put into an even bigger box. Fantastic.

Thankfully, the in-laws were home and able to come by with both their cars. They took the caliber home while the wife and I each drove one of theirs to drop the furniture off in the garage. And the dog happily hopped in when we turned right around to drive both cars back and pick ours up. Everybody wins.
Except the tank, who was literally boxed in this morning.

There's still a lot to do-I have no idea how to get this stuff out of the garage, and the trainer bike currently in the nursery will make 4 bikes in the garage with no real way to store them. Good problems to have I suppose.

Current beer-scale: 1.8

Not only warm

but worth looking at too.

the pre-ride view from the patio this morning

Why do all the good things in life always sound like women?

It's not January out there, it's May. A high in the 50's and an open window in the office to hear the buses and foot traffic on Michigan Ave. A good late night ride, a decent morning ride, and who knows what to expect on a Friday LFP ride tonite. Life is good.

Now let's go drink whiskey and pick up baby furniture.

Current beer-scale: 9.1

heh

I forgot I had this pic to post from the holidays of the dog enjoying a trip in the car. The look of pure joy on her face made me laugh the entire time we were in the car. She can immediately tell if we're going out to the burbs and she loves it.

That day was from over new years when we went out to look for baby furniture. B/c the babies r us on Western is a total craphole and we couldn't get anyone to stop and help us spend $700. Oh well, we spent it somewhere else. This whole "getting ready for the baby" stuff is insane. If only we could agree on names.

Current beer-scale: 8.7

Welcome to 2012

No pics today, just cold.

No pit bulls today (thank god), just annoyances.

No train today, just enough to get me up and going.

I miss home, the wife, the dog, and the bed. But time marches on, and so does the bike.

Current beer-scale: 5.9