Nesting Instinct to the Extreme?

There has been much commotion in the Wildhaber household.  Usually, when people are only a few weeks away from the due date of their first child, they will be busy putting the finishing touches on the nursery, just waiting for their little one to join them in the outside-the-womb world.  That is definitely something we've been working on, and I absolutely love the way it turned out.

Well, that has definitely been a major focus for us over the last few weeks, however, we've also been busy with some... 'non-typical' nesting behaviors.

The first thing is that my (Derrick) parents wanted to bless us with the gift of a new family room.  TALK about a blessing!  Lesley and I are and have always been incredibly blessed to have such wonderful parents, and it's things like this that are just the icing on the cake.  Check out this great cozy couch!  We figure we can seat 6-7 average size people on there to watch movies or play rock band.  There's also much more room for Liam to romp around and wrestle with Dad :)

To add to the room, we found a lovely entertainment center and LCD TV (Dad is very excited!)
Although the furniture is the main focus in the pictures here, there's something else new in the room.  The CARPET!  Yes, part of my parent's gift was ALSO new carpet.  Needless to say, Lesley and I are completely floored - pun intended.

Well, I should say that we were almost completely floored when that picture was taken.  However, Lesley's nesting instincts really kicked in when I came downstairs to find her tearing up our kitchen floor.

What the???  I think she was convinced that there was dirt under the vinyl that needed to be cleaned up before our baby boy arrived.  Just look at the fury!

Well, the only option was to put in another floor.  So, I called in the troops and we went to town!



The layout we selected for the tile required that every single tile to have a corner cut off at a 45 degree angle.  This turned out to be a fairly difficult cut to jig correctly so that when laid out the grout lines between the accent tile and large tiles was the same as the grout line between the large tiles.

That is probably confusing to read if you don't have a visual.  So, with out further ado, I present to you the NEW improved Wildhaber Kitchen floor!!

Ta-Daaaaaaah!

Weighing in at over 800lbs of tile, 80 lbs of mortar, 25 lbs of grout, and requiring 2-6 guys working over two days for a total of 18 hours.  That compared with 15lbs of vinyl and 3.5 minutes of tear out time, the tile is quite a bit more substantial, and QUITE a bit more BEAUTIFUL!!!

We can't say it enough, but we completely owe it to the help we were given.  Not only would this have been an insurmountable effort to take on my own, but it wouldn't have turned out so perfectly.  We absolutely love it.

Baby Liam, I think we're finally ready for you!  We hope you like your new home.

Phone Tag

Phone tag has to be one of the dumbest games ever invented.  Usually, productive conversations can be had by leaving messages back and forth.  For example: John leaves a message saying, "Hey Fronk, we're going to meet up before the concert at my house at 5pm to have fish n' chips.  Hope to see you there."

Then, Fronk calls back and misses John, because John is on the can, and leaves a message saying, "Hi John, I got your message about the fish n' chips.  Sorry, can't make it.  I have a class on making Russian nesting dolls at 5pm.  See you at the concert though."

The end.  Conversation complete.

This, however, is almost never how phone tag is played.  Here's how it usually goes: John says, "Hey Fronk, this is John.  Give me a call when you get the chance."

Now, Fronk is wondering, "Dang!  Are they not going to the concert anymore?  Does John want me help him move his couch? Hopefully he's not inviting me over for those disgusting fish n' chips again..." 

So, he calls John back, and of course John is on the can AGAIN.  So he gets his voice mail and says, "Hey, this is Fronk.  So... I got your message.  What's up?  Call me back."

Here's where things have the potential to get very annoying.  Fronk asked a question: "What's up?"  Now John calls back, gets Fronk's voice mail and has the chance to do the appropriate thing and tell Fronk why he called in the first place, OR he will make some remark like, "Hey Fronk. Gosh, haha, guess we're playing phone tag!  You're it!  Call me back."

By all rights, Fronk does not have the obligation and should not return the call.  It's obvious that John is whipping up a batch of his disgusting fish n' chips.

"I Don't Do Casseroles"

Derrick has heard me say several times that I just don't know how to make casseroles, even though they're said to be the easiest thing. Maybe even the best thing since sliced bread. My mom doesn't do casseroles and I don't identify as much with my Ohio family as I do the sauve, sophisticated Greeks. I hate meatloaf...it's a mess of chopped meat with random spices, sometimes bread shoved in there and ketchup. I don't like Sloppy Joe's...another mess of chopped meat and weird, ketchupy flavored sauce. Those are casserole-like, definitely county-like. Oh, and onions too, not my favorite. Green bean casserole, tuna casserole...blek! My mom makes Greek Green Beans. They are so much better! Great spices, tomato sauce and artichoke hearts AND it's not all slimed together in a casserole. Just a regular, delicious side dish.

Give me some tots!

Well, I've had to change my tune a little. I MADE MY FIRST CASSEROLE! Haha! It was Tater Tot Casserole...no kidding! That's as hick as you get. We adopted country accents for the evening and drove tractors. Here's my excuse: I wanted to please my dear, sweet husband (who loves things like meatloaf) and I needed to feed our eight Bible Study people who were going to be doing landscaping up in Longmont. The food had to be hearty and transportable. We didn't have a table to eat at. We were eating with foxes, actually. Derrick had even bought all the ingredients for me. He really wanted that mix of ground beef, corn, onion, tomato soup, and tater tots. Mmmm, good. Well, he got what he wished for. People said it was good. I couldn't eat a big portion but it was good if you like casseroles. Tater tots make anything better. They're hard to share, ask Napoleon Dynamite. He'll tell you to go get your own. But I'm still not sure I like casseroles. I don't think little Liam especially liked it. He liked the fruit salad and cookies much better. That's my boy!

So now that I've broken into the realm of country casserole cookin', what should I try next? The Tater Tot Casserole recipe came from the Back Stall Cookbook I was given by sweet, old people who call me Matilda. Seriously, they do, but I don't know why. It was compiled by my buddy Liz's grandma. Liz and I were college roommates and we'd go visit her grandparents, play cards, see their leather shop and even see her grandpa driving horses is shows. Grandma Margaret really does have her job cut out for her, feeding those hungry horse men during shows. I can see how all the Back Stall recipes are perfect for that crowd. I feed a different crowd but maybe they would still like Beanie Weenie Tropicana or Drunken Meat Balls or Linguine with Clams ala Ron Albers. Which should I try next? You see, pineapple adds a nice tropicana twist. Who wouldn't love meat balls drowned in beer and catsup? Apparently Ron Albers got fresh clams flown in special for the linguine dish and the cook must set aside two portions for Ron. If those don't sound perfect, there are other options.

See, I told you we
rode tractors!

There are numerous recipes that use these mighty fine ingredients: Bisquick baking mix, beer (or water), mushroom soup, catsup, liquid smoke. But in all seriousness, the cookbook does give good tips on how long to cook lentils whether you're using them for salads or main dishes or soups. My parents would love it if I made them "Three Bean Salad- or Four". They like it so much they get a big jar of Four Bean Salad from Costco. Derrick would probably devour the Beanie Weenie Tropicana. I only sort of like Beanies and Weenies without the beanies and definitely without the tropicana. I'm already a pro at this Back Stall's recipe: Diana's Fabulous Twist and Tear recipe - 1 bag tortilla chips, 1 jar salsa. "Take a bag of tortilla chips in right hand - with left hand, firmly rip open top of bag. With some hand twist open jar of salsa - serve immediately. A Blue Ribbon Winner I'm sure." See, you too can embrace your country side. I bet you already have. I'll have to keep trying...my Greek genes are just so strong. Happy Cookin'!

New Family Car

Beast of  a Jeep

For a few weeks we were prodding the lists of Craig (Craigslist) to see if we could get some bites on selling two of our vehicles.  We got very close to a closed deal on one, and had almost nothing on the other.  Then, of course, we discovered mid-sale that one of the vehicles needed about $500 of maintenance.  For a car that no one was interested in for $2000, that's a hefty sum.  Well, we decided to go ahead and pay it and hold onto the car as a loaner.  When family or friends are in need of a vehicle we typically lend that one out.  The original plan, however, was to sell that vehicle and the beast of a Jeep I have had since college and use the funds to buy a truck of sorts that would seat a whole family as well as have good power, off road ability, and the potential to install a Flippac camper top.

Well, none of that really worked out, and the hit to the ol' bank account would be pretty huge for a sweetola truck.  So, back to the drawing board for now.

Twike

As some of you know, I'm fairly interested in HPVs (Human Powered Vehicles).  I ride my bike to work as often as possible, and really like the idea of using HPVs for everyday more practical ventures.  Trips to the store, park, to and from friends homes, etc.  Well, a bicycle can hardly accomplish this very easily.  Cargo space, comfort, and awesomeness are tough to come by on a bicycle.  Yesterday a colleague and I were discussing Penny Farthing bicycles which then, through some crazy segue that I have not yet figured out, ended on talking about Twikes and Surreys.

The Twike is a vehicle that can sometimes be seen around Europe.  It's a battery assisted HPV, also known as a HEHV (Human-Electric Hybrid Vehicle).  Each passenger sits in what is essentially a spiffed up recumbant bicycle seat, complete with pedals.  It's capable of speeds up to about 53mph, has a variable range depending on the battery you purchase, and has a fully weather sealed compartment.  The best part: You steer using an airplane-like joystick!  Pretty cool, huh??  Well, it'll cost you.  For just the basics you're looking at about $25k for a bare-bones short range battery setup. Guess that's a dead end... since a used truck is less than half that.

Surrey

Then I stumbled upon THIS beauty.  At just under $5k, you can pick up a fully human powered vehicle.  If the Twike has two seats and two sets of pedals, then surely 8 seats (6 adult, 2 children) with 4 sets of pedals is even better!  I tried to find videos of one of these in action, as I expect they're pretty slow, especially when powered by only one person... no where near 53mph.  maybe... 15mph?  But for trips to the store, park, friends houses (close by), perhaps this isn't so bad of an alternative. Some people out there have to have them, right?

I just wish there was one close by that I could test drive. I have a feeling that I might have to travel to China or India to find one very easily.

Dirty Bathtub Hypocrite

Derrick here.  Maybe it's just me, but I have a habit of sneaking a peek at the cleanliness of the bathtub in people's houses where the toilette is located right next to one of those shower/tub features.  Typically people have some sort of opaque curtain to hide the tub and all of their bath accessories.  I especially can't resist the sneak peek when I find myself in a bathroom where everything is ever so clean.  Then, of course, I "tsk, tsk" to myself when I discover that the cleanliness of the tub does not match the sparkle of the rest of the bathroom.

The other day, I was using our own bathroom that has the exact shower/tub configuration I am talking about, when I suddenly realized that I might not be the only person who takes the sneak peek!  Since Lesley is pregnant, it is my duty to clean the shower and inhale the toxic fumes that could harm our defenseless baby boy. I don't even REMEMBER the last time I cleaned the tub.  I slowly pulled back the curtain only to discover that the volume of space on the opposite side should not be fit for human life, let alone my wife and I.  The only reason I can come up with for why I never noticed this before is that I don't wear my glasses in the shower and have therefore never really taken in the filth.  Lesley is probably biting her tongue, knowing that there are many other duties I have yet to perform in preparation for our baby that trump the need to clean the tub.

I can only hope that I get that thing clean before anyone comes over and "tsk tsk"s my own hypocrisy.

Don't judge me.

Keeping Up with the Joneses... and EVERYbody else...

There are so many great people out there: friends, family, and other, that maintain wonderful blogs. My wife, Lesley, and I have always enjoyed following certain people's life events, anecdotes, advice, and funny tidbits via their blog and have never had a family blog of our own. I, Derrick, have tried a couple times to keep up a blog and have utterly failed after only a few months.

Well, with the expectation of our first child, a son, it's high-time that we get with the program. Perhaps if my wife and I join forces we'll be able to maintain a semi-respectable blog. Here's to hoping anyway... As I write this first entry (yes... from work...) my wife is at home scurrying to prepare our home for our long awaited - long term - guest. She has no idea that I am forcing her into blogging, but with her creativity and natural nostalgic inclination it's a wonder she hasn't had a blog for years now.

That's about it for this first entry. Just an introduction, but one piece is missing. One critical component of any good blog, as far as my attention span goes, is a nice picture. Since this post doesn't really speak to any sort of picture, I submit a brief anecdote.

Llamas are something that consistently come up in conversation between us and our best friends. Not sure why we like them so much, I think it may have spawned from our shared enjoyment of the movie The Emporer's New Groove. I really don't even know much about llamas, other than they are rude. How do I know this? On my ride to and from work there is a small plot of land with a single llama. The llama is ALWAYS sitting in the same place with its nose tilted up slightly as if to say, "What? I am a llama. Look at me."

Every day as I pass by, I loudly say, "GOOD MORNING, LLAMA!" or "GOOD AFTERNOON, LLAMA!" Never, not once, has this llama ever even flinched so as to acknowledge my exclamation. I'm not looking for a full on stare or humble bow, just a quick glance, or even a flutter of the ears. I'll give the llama the benefit of the doubt, in my ignorance, and assume that llamas must be very hard of hearing and nearly blind.