Painting: And painting and painting. And more painting - this had been all I've done with my spare time over the last four days. I started the trim tonight, and its going so slow (and needs a second coat besides, that I think it's never going to end.

Eggs: To keep myself company while I've been painting, I've had the same radio station on pretty much constantly, and I'm now at the point where I'm hearing the exact same commercials over and over again. There's one in particular I've heard a gazillion times - an ad for a place for women to donate their eggs (and be compensated for the time and effort, of course). The first few times I heard about it, I thought about my philosophical and ethical viewpoint on donating eggs (not liking it), but here's what I keep hearing now - they only want women ages 21-32. Why 32? What happens after 32? Maybe I need a four-year plan...
Vacation: Ocean City was great. Not everything I expected, but I'm really good at unrealistic expectations. Anyway - it was a good break. And the Chespeake Bay Bridge Tunnel is absolutely gorgeous. I could actually handle a commute like that - I think I would arrive to work every day in a good mood (except for $12-each-way fee and the complete ugliness on the other side of the bridge from Norfolk).

House update: I'm finally in the home stretch with the house stuff, which is a good thing, both because friends are coming to visit the second weekend in September, and because I'm tired of living in chaos. The kitchen just needs a few finishing touches - paint, the dishwasher and refrigerator's water line to be hooked up, new light fixtures, the rest of the cabinet hardware, and a good cleaning. Today I (with my friend Heather's help) primed the walls in the living and dining room (goodbye, green and yellow) and I'll work on painting them and the hallway over the next couple days. I'd like to go ahead and paint the trim, as well, if I have the motivation to keep going once I finally finish the walls. The floors have been refinished (and look incredible), and furniture can be moved back into the guest room/office (the last room to do) anytime this week. My hope is that I can finish painting the living room, dining room, and hallways by Tuesday, and spend the rest of the week putting things back together. Then the weekend can be reserved for the few things left to do in the kitchen.

Back to school party: Our church hosted a back to school party Saturday for Nick & Heather's neighborhood. This is the first church preview event - an event where we preview to the community the things that we value. We value community, and we value children, hence this event. It went well, but boy was it hot! I've never enjoyed a cold shower so much.
Brandon: I added my friend Brandon to my list of friends and family at the left. Not that anyone really cares about that, but hey, Brandon, if you're reading this, look to the left!
Vacation: When I was a kid, we took vacations all the time - a big one every year (during the school year, so we could miss school for "educational reasons"), and lots of smaller ones, too. Somehow, though, somewhere around college, vacation became synonymous with heading home to Mom and Dad's house. Finally starting to break out of that mold in the last couple years, so I'm liking that.

OC: I'm headed to Ocean City on Friday for a long weekend at a condo on the beach with the family. I can't wait (especially to see Jake). My floors are being refinished while I'm gone.

Jon's card: If you know my brother, or know me well enough to have heard me talk about him, or have a younger brother of your own, you'll appreciate this - this is the card I'm giving Jon for his birthday (when I see him this weekend):

Magnet: The first magnet on my new refrigerator - these were included in the door hangers packets we passed out today.

New plan: No titles. Enough said.

Door hangers: Tomorrow morning the Bridge Church is using the kids here for the Beach Bash hosted by Portsmouth Alliance to place 5000 door hangers on doors around north Suffolk. Tonight, they stuffed the door hanger envelopes, which was a huge help, believe me, because Thursday night I and 7 others spent a little over an hour stuffing 1500 of them, and I was glad there were others to help with the work.

Airport security: I've heard and read a lot of opinions about the recent changes in airport security, particularly in light of the recently thwarted plan to blow up planes over the Atlantic. So, I figured I would throw mine in the mix. If I have to be a bit inconvenienced or lose some money in the form of items thrown away at the security checkpoint, it's a small price to pay. And if the TSA officials seem a bit grumpy, who can blame them? They have to deal with quite a lot of annoying people.

Weekends

I think I expect too much out of Saturday. I spend most of the days of the week planning to sleep in on Saturday, finish that big project on Saturday, get my house in order, relax with friends, do all my laundry, and so on.

I think I set myself up for failure.

Kitchen remodel

I'm right in the middle of my kitchen remodel, and I've been taking pictures throughout the process. I'll keep adding to this photo set as things change.

Hot

This heat is insane - are there other areas in the East getting this? It's like walking into a sauna when you step outside.