Sweet Chicago

Had a good day trip to Chicago on Thursday - I always have to drive up and down Lake Shore Dr to get my fix - I love it there!! I always wonder - What if I would have made that move 13 years ago? My how my life would be different!!

My Drink Choice

Mmmmm - Chai tea latte :-) I love my Starbucks!!

Newest Yellow Belt

Andrew did it... Last Sunday afternoon he broke a board.

To view a video of Andrew breaking the board, click below...

Andrew breaking a board

He had a little problem with the first board that was selected, but after a little coaching from his teachers he broke the new board.

Andrew was just beaming after he broke the board... he was very proud of himself. But, not NEAR as proud as Laurie and I were of him. Here is Andrew being awarded his yellow belt... how awesome!! He has worked so hard on his disciplines and it paid off. To view a video of Andrew receiving his yellow belt, click below:

Andrew receives his yellow belt

That new yellow belt adds a lot of color to that uniform... but, look at that smile :) WAY TO GO ANDREW!! Savannah took full advantage of Andrew's white belt being available... she worked on a few stylish ways to wear the belt :)
So, now Andrew begins working on his orange belt. A few more months of hard work and many many hours of practice.

Below is a quick explanation of the different belt colors:

Novice Students

• White Belt – The color white signifies innocence, as that of the beginning student who has no previous knowledge of Tae Kwon Do.


• Yellow Belt – The color yellow signifies the earth. The beginning student begins to create a firm foundation in Tae Kwon Do technique, just as a seed begins to expand its root system deep in the earth as it begins to grow.


• Orange Belt – The color orange signifies the changes of Autumn, as the student's mind and body begin to develop and grow as a result of the new Tae Kwon Do experience.
  

Intermediate Students

• Green Belt – The color green represents growth, like that of the green plant as it sprouts out of the ground. The student has built a firm foundation and now begins to grow in the art of Tae Kwon Do.


• Blue Belt – The color blue represents the sky. Reminding the student to reach for the heavens and continue their Tae Kwon Do journey.


• Purple Belt – The color purple represents the changing sky of dawn, as once again the student undergoes a new change and prepares for the transition to advanced student.
  

Advanced Students

• Brown Belt – The color brown represents the ripening or maturing process as that of the advanced Tae Kwon Do student whose techniques are beginning to mature.


• Red Belt – The color of blood signifies danger and is a warning to the student to temper her newly found skills and techniques with control and wisdom.
  Senior Students


• Black – The opposite of white signifies maturity and dignity, as that of a senior student of Tae Kwon Do who has learned the basic curriculum of Tae Kwon Do and is ready to become a true student of Tae Kwon Do.

Frozen Waterfall

Here is what happens with our waterfall when it gets down to single digits...

Notice that you can still see/hear the waterfall running under the frozen "mask." Kind of cool... This is the first winter I haven't used a heater in the pond... last summer I installed a skimmer at the opposite end of the waterfall and it appears to produce enough water flow that only the top of the pond and the "waterfall splash" freezes creating a type of insulation for the pond.

Random Thoughts & Updates

Andrew's test seemed to go well today... we have a meeting tomorrow at Victory Academy (where Andrew takes his taikwondo thru and Savannah takes her dance)... the meeting is for all taekwondo participants/family members to give some updates on various things. But also, new belts will be rewarded. So... we'll find out tomorrow if he passed. He also will be required to break a board tomorrow... I can't remember what the "chop" is called, but he's been practicing it for the past week. He will have to do it in front of all of the other members. He's excited about it, but... I'll be honest, I'm a little nervous for him.

Today was get organized day around the house... a lot of picking up, cleaning out, throwing away, putting away. Snowmen are now out and around the house for decoration... remainder of the Christmas decorations got put away (a little later than usual). However... I am VERY proud to announce that I have NO Christmas decorations left outside!! Considering it's January 12th... THIS IS A FIRST!! Usually, Laurie is kicking my butt to get it done in late February or beginning of March. :)

I did discover one thing today... After almost 10-years of marriage I learned how to please my wife: clean out my drawers and closet and throw away all of my clothes I haven't worn for the last year and take them to a clothes recylcing bin. Laurie was VERY happy with me today!! I couldn't believe the amount of room I gained in my drawers and closet!!

The bathroom... hmmmmm... yeah. Ok, so it's still not done. I can't believe that my original goal was to have it done by Friday, December 21st (Laurie's birthday). HA!! Now THAT cracks me up!! I'm in the process of painting the built-in cabinet doors. I'm doing the painting in the workship at our church, which requires me to spend more time there staring at drying paint than I wish to... so, needless to say, I haven't given the time I should have. Monday... Monday the cabinet doors will be done.

But, the shower curtain rod is causing a little delay, too... it's hard to explain, but we don't have your "normal" straight shower curtain rod. it's a round one that attaches to the ceiling on one end of the shower and the wall on the other end. Anyway... it was white, but our fixtures are now all brushed nickel with NO white trim on anything in the bathroom. So, Laurie REALLY wanted it to be brushed nickel to match the other fixtures. However, we can't buy one. So, I found a spray paint that gives a brushed nickel look. It's not too bad, but... a little too dull. And, we think the curtain rings might start to scratch the painted finish. I looked for something to put over the rod (Laurie thought they made a clear cover to slide over curtain rods) but, couldn't find anything. So, I'm going to spray paint a clear hardener over it. So... now I have to take it back to the church to do that, too. Luckily, we have a shower in the basement Laurie and I have been using. But, on really cold days, we're REALLY missing the warm bathroom. But, at least we can use the bathroom again everything else... new light, mirror, storage cabinets (besides the built-in cabinets), the new faucet works, a REAL outlet in the wall, a light switch that DOES something, and a nice new ceiling that doesn't drop insulation and dust out of a 12"x12" hole (the kids especially like that one... Savannah was afraid of the hole and didn't like to be in there by herself because of it).

New obsessions... Facebook (I swore I'd never belong to facebook, but I finally gave in...) and blog surfing in blogger. I love hitting random blogs and reading them. Sounds stupid, but... :) what can I say... that's me.

Yellow Belt Testing Day

As I write this, Andrew is in the middle of his test for his yellow belt in Taekwondo. He has been SO excited about it all week! But, I've been reminding him to keep focused on the test NOT the belt. I explained to him that it's just like a championship football or baseball game; A player can be SO excited and focused on the trophy that they LOSE focus on what it takes to GET the trophy. He's done a very good job of keeping that focus this week, but you could tell on the way to the church this morning that he was VERY excited. He did admit that he was also a little nervous, too (which is good).

World Traveler or World Sleeper

It's hard to see, but that's Tumnus sleeping in a suitcase.

Cabinets installed

Bathroom cabinets installed - you wouldn't believe how long it took me to do this!! Wow - glad i don't pay myself hourly!!!

Blame it on the Cold…

Tumnus is back to normal finally, after spending three nights at K-9 Country Club over the past weekend. He spent most of Monday laying around sleeping… must have gotten some good workouts with his "friends" at the "country club." We were THANKFULLY surprised about a couple of things after bringing him home:

1. He slept through the night Monday night – after being gone from his normal routines we were afraid we'd be having to take him out 2-3 times a night for a few nights again. But, he slept like a baby!!
2. Not a single puddle or poop in the house since coming home – he'd gone several days without any "accidents" (oh yeah, like they're really accidents!!) in the house before we took him to K-9 Country Club for boarding. We were prepared to take a few steps backward in house training, but he's done EXCELLENT!!
   

However… Late afternoon or evening Monday I took Tumnus out for a potty break. It had been snowing for awhile, and, although Tumnus usually likes to frolic in the snow when he goes out, it was starting to get quite cold. He was acting a little stubborn on the porch not wanting to go down the stairs… I finally convinced him to go down and we wandered up and down the sidewalk. Well, I wandered… Tumnus whined and kept running for the stairs. I finally gave in and headed up the stairs to go in when I saw the "yellow evidence" on the porch…. Where he had been standing before he finally went down the stairs. I guess the little stinker was tired of having to go all the way down the stairs in the snow and cold so he just lifted his leg on the porch!! I told Laurie about it and we laughed… but, then he did it again, and again. So we're back to carrying him out and down to the sidewalk like when we brought him home as a puppy. I guess we can blame it on the cold, though. I mean… I sure wouldn't want to go pee or poop in 6" of snow at 20-degrees and 20+ MPH winds!! After I shoveled the porch, stairs and sidewalk he didn't seem quite as bothered to go on down.

Today, though… the poor little thing… it was SO cold!! He was having a terrible time even walking he was so cold. I honestly think he was so cold he just COULDN'T pee or poop unless he absolutely HAD to. I pulled out his coat I bought him a few weeks ago (then all he did was wrestle with it when he had it on). But now… once he got outside… he loved it!!

Laurie made fudge, caramels and buckeyes before her family came on Sunday… I've eaten a REDICULOUS amount of it over the past couple of days. Hmmmmm… I guess I can blame it on the cold ;')

My Schedule for the Next 7-Days:

Outback	Jan. 1 10 a.m.	Tampa, Fla.	Wisconsin vs. Tennessee	ESPN
Cotton	Jan. 1 10:30 a.m.	Dallas, Texas	Missouri vs. Arkansas	FOX
Gator	Jan. 1 12 p.m.	Jacksonville, Fla.	Virginia vs. Texas Tech	CBS
Capital One	Jan. 1 12 p.m.	Orlando, Fla.	Michigan vs. Florida	ABC
Rose	Jan. 1 3:30 p.m.	Pasadena, Calif.	USC vs. Illinois	ABC
Sugar	Jan. 1 7:30 p.m.	New Orleans, La.	Hawaii vs. Georgia	FOX
Fiesta	Jan. 2 7 p.m.	Glendale, Ariz.	Oklahoma vs. West Virginia	FOX
Orange	Jan. 3 7 p.m.	Miami, Fla.	Virginia Tech vs. Kansas	FOX
International	Jan. 5 11 p.m.	Toronto, Canada	Rutgers vs. Ball State	ESPN2
GMAC	Jan. 6 7 p.m.	Mobile, Ala.	Tulsa vs. Bowling Green	ESPN
BCS National Championship	Jan. 7 7 p.m.	New Orleans, La.	Ohio State vs. LSU	FOX

New Plumber in Town

New faucet is installed and works!!! Woo Hoo!!! And yes, I did it :-)

Cheer Bear Twins

Which one is the REAL Cheer Bear???