I wear plaid. I'm a blogger.

Sometimes in order to preserve beauty, you have to kill it. Though things are going quite well as they are and everything seems hunky-dory, you have to take it away from its comfortable living conditions in order to save it from the harsh weather that is eminent. Just this past week I cut one of the nearly blossoming yellow tulips from my front yard because I knew that the weather was supposed to turn sour this weekend and I wanted to save this delicate little flower from the frost. I wanted to enjoy its life-giving warm color from the inside of our house even as the snow raged furious outside. I wanted to give this flower a chance to do what it was designed to do--add beauty to the cold slumber of awaiting spring. So I picked it. I plucked it. I had Katie put it in a vase and gave it all the water and sunlight it could ever want. It blossomed yesterday and today it stands on our kitchen window sill, proudly displaying its full beauty as it defies the snow through the pane of pr...

San Diego. The sunny city. Well, at least sunnier than Cincinnati when it comes to the first week of March. Katie and I took Isaiah on his first plane ride (Indianapolis-LA-San Diego) to visit Tim and Julia last week and it was a real treat. Not just because we dodged the 4 inches of snow that hit our home while we were away; not just because we were able to wear T-shirts and flip flops while everyone back home was wearing parkas and snow shoes; and not even because we did a bunch of great touristy things...the fact of the matter is that this was the best vacation for me so far because I got to spend time with my family. Since Isaiah has been born, I have only had 1 week off to enjoy spending time exclusively as a family. Christmas had a couple days in a row, but otherwise all of our family time comes on Saturdays and weeknights. So the best part of this vacation, hands down, was spending time as a family, enjoying each other's company. Now, with that said, it was also grea...

I'm gonna make me one of these some day http://www.instructables.com/id/Rubens-Tube-Yule-Log/

One of my favorite comedians of all time is Bill Cosby. Why? you may ask. Because Bill Cosby is witty, humorous, and a great role model. In fact, it was just this morning that I decided to listen to some of the great advice that Bill Cosby has to offer. This particular piece of advice comes from one of his most famous bits about preparing breakfast for his children. If you are at all a Bill Cosby fan then perhaps you are a step ahead of me and you already know the rest of the story. Allow me to cut to the chase: I devoured half of a chocolate cake for breakfast this morning. Yum. And thanks Bill. In other news, I have spent the past two weeks (from SuperBowl Sunday to Oscar Sunday) working on home rehab projects; the last of which was completed this past weekend. Since the SuperBowl, Katie and I have framed in a doorway which used to be a wall, expanded our closet, installed a utility tub, and built industrial shelving. I have decided two things after completing these projects: ...

It was a dark and stormy night. And very cold, if I remember correctly. That was the night the white, trashy midget came into my life. She sat in my front yard (or rather, my neighbor's foreclosed driveway) and brightened up the place with her presence. Through rain, through snow, and through falling tree branches, nothing seemed to damper her spirits (which were pretty thoroughly rusted away anyhow). There she sat. Just waiting to be gutted for spare parts and random projects. Until....yesterday. They came like a thief in the night to take her away. Except....it was the day, and they were tow truck drivers. Oh well. They loaded her up and drove off, laughing merrily to themselves at the income they would collect at the bank's expense for towing away such a tiny hunk of rusted metal. And now, the white, trashy midget is no longer a part of my life. You will be missed.

And the end tally....Squirrels 0, Daniel 1 After much headache, heartache, and backache, the squirrels are gone. They survived expanding foam, loud noises, new gutters, and even escaped the clutches of The Cage. But if there's one thing a squirrel can't stand, it's having their access branches cut down. That's right. I climbed up a 24' ladder into the limited reaches of a 124' tree and sawed the 4 low hanging branches that the squirrels had been using as rooftop access. Nevermind the powerlines that run beside the tree and connect to the rooftop, and neverind the instructions on the saw to never use the saw-on-a-pole near powerlines. The fact of the matter is that the squirrels have left of their own accord, the hole is patched, and the home owner is happy. Now, onto creating holes inside the house--next project: first floor rehab.

‎'Twas the night of Squirrel Appreciation Day and all through the attic not a creature was stirring though they had a place to habit. The peanuts were placed, the cage door was sprung And all of the gutters were carefully hung. The tree limbs which normally hung o'er the roof Were no longer there, it seemed they'd gone "poof!" The homeowner leaned back and grinned like a cat, "Now try to get off of the roof and then back!" But weather in Cincy remains a big mystery And squirrels don't come out when the temperature's misery. So hunkered and fed, the beasts stayed inside The frustrated homeowner's one-day-eviction dream died.  The stalemate had lingered a bit more than wished, As Old Man Winter's wind whipped 'round and swished. The house guests stayed put as the cage door stayed lifted, No owner will see that his tenants are evicted. So sleep well, dear cute ones, for a day or two longer, And chatter it up while m...