home improvement update

Well, the electrician comes tomorrow at 8:00am. He's roughing in all the new kitchen wiring. Jared and I finally framed out the party wall so he could come in. Once he's done, the next step will be to get the drywall up on the two walls (party wall and dining room wall). Spackling and priming follow. I can't decide if it will be easier to paint before bringing in all the cabinetry, but I think it will be. Seems to me that painting without obstacles is the easiest thing to do.

It's a nice feeling to be making some progress, finally, on the kitchen. I'm frustrated at how long it's taken me to get to this point. I just want to be finished it. An image is beginning to form in my head as Becca and I come closer to choosing counters and appliances. I'm going to starting thinking about the menu for the first meal soon.

In other project news, the office is primed and ready to be painted. I haven't felt like doing the ceiling the last couple of days, but it needs to get done so I've got a place to work when I'm telecommuting. And it'll be nice to have that room finished for Becca's computer and crafting materials.

I spent all evening cleaning up the basement, making room for the electrician to get to the places I think he'll need to get to. More bags of trash, more vacuuming, more dust...there's just so much crap. I want to make a wine rack under the basement stairs. It's a decent space for that and it's certainly cooler down there in the summer than anywhere else in the house. I also figure I'll move the slot cars down there.

Sigh. So many plans for the house.

the year of...

I want to follow through on things more. There are lots of things that I want to do that I don't for one reason or another and this is the year that I want to start following through on some of my wants, a few of my needs, and some things that I probably don't even know about yet.

1. Finish the kitchen
Duh. And this needs to be in the next couple of months. I'm sick of not having one.
2. Confidently drive a manual transmission
Preferably, the cute little red and white car that someone I know drives.
3. Make a (huge) dent in my debt
This one is going to take time and won't be completed in 2009, hence the dent qualification.
4. Mystery Thing
You're just going to have to wait on this one. But trust me, you'll know when it happens.
5. Stay committed to Daily Snap
This goes right in line with following through on things. I suspect there will be more than a few photos taken late at night as the clock ticks closer to midnight.
6. Do something nice for my father
Because he deserves it.
7. Read more
I like to read but I don't read enough, as far as I am concerned. I often get sucked into TV or the internet or Scrabble or something. There is the goal to read Infinite Jest in 2009. We'll see about that, but if I finish it in 2009, I think it would qualify as "reading more."

That's what I've got right now.

I'll finish this later...

i want to be on top

Get your mind out of the gutter.

It seems that everyone these days has the blog roll where the most recently updated blog is on the top of the list. Not me. My list is alphabetical because it keeps Becca's blog on the top of the list, which is where I want it. Sappy, sweet, whatever. I admit it, I want her blog first on the list.

Anyway...I want to be on the top of everyone else's list. It's kind of how when I'm driving if I'm the only car on the road or all the cars are behind me, I'm more likely to drive the speed limit. My problem is when there are other cars ahead of me. I want to be in the front. Part of this is because I want to be first. Another part would be that I simply don't trust other drivers. Either way, I want to be on point. Same thing here. I want to be the first blog listed in your roll. So there. Now I should be.

The issue here is that in order to stay on top, I'm going to need to post a little more often. I could probably try to do it more than once a quarter. That might be a good start.

Since I'm updating my blog and my roll, I decided to look over the blogs in my roll a little closer and figure out what it is about them that I enjoy. Why I follow them, if you will.

Becca Elizabeth: Well, honestly, this is Becca's blog. I love her and I care about what she's writing about. Plus, her writing is optimistic and funny and intelligent and I enjoy reading it.

c neu photo: Christa's blog. Christa and I are best buds online. We actually have a goal to connect electronically every possible way we can...flickr, facebook, linkedin, etc. We know each other through Becca and it took forever for us to actually meet in person. For a long time in the beginning, I was checking out her flickr page. I would get to it through Becca's page because I wanted to meet Christa before adding her as a flickr friend. I'm weird like that. But Christa went and added me as her friend, so I returned the favor. And so it began. I also really, really like the photo of the bowl with the eggs that she uses for her header. Her photography is incredible.

Euro Trashed / Marley's on the Move: Heather's blog. Heather straight up makes me laugh. Wickedly funny and straightforward. And she goes cool places occasionally, so I get to travel vicariously through her writing. Which reminds me - Heather, go someplace interesting so I can read about it. Thanks!

Philadelphia Restaurants... From A to Z: This is Scott's blog. It's new. The plan is to visit a restaurant for each letter of the alphabet in 2009. I like food. Scott is a phenomenal writer. It's a good pairing...like lamb and petite sirah.

same object: A group blog to which I was invited by Christa. A subject matter is selected and everyone is supposed to take a photograph of said subject matter and then post it by the deadline that is provided. Participation is somewhat sporadic, but it's fun and some of the photos are amazing.

Strobist: An awesome photography blog that focuses on how to use off camera flash. I'm fascinated by it. The posts are well written and interesting. I learn from it and hopefully apply what I learn to my photography.

The DJstina Blog: Dan and Christina's blog, with links to additional blogs they have. Just because. Although, I think I am going to steal their Haiku blog idea. Because I like haiku.

Two-Oh-Oh.....crap: Danielle's blog. She commented on a photo of mine on flickr and I checked her flickr page out. I loved the self portraits in bathroom mirrors and kept checking back. Never met her, but I know she's got a fantastic sense of humor and she's married to Joe. She also has cute kittens.

Winheld's World: Josh's blog. This blog tells the story of his life with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. I've known Josh since middle school and had fallen out of contact with him for years when he found me on facebook. Since then, I've followed his life through his blog. He is an inspiration to all.

There you have it.
I'm on top.
For now.