I just signed up at Parkland College to take a class on JavaScript programming. Watch out world. :)
I am using Javascript in several websites, but I sometimes have a hard time debugging things. So, having a greater knowledge depth on this will really come in handy.
Still playing. :) Here is a photo gallery where (eventually) friends and family can post pictures. Only a couple of pics taken by Holly there now, but check them out and leave a comment!
Barnhart Photo Gallery
Well.. we got our first horse today. He is about 13.1 hands tall, a Hackney, very calm and has a great disposition. He's about 5-6 years old (which is pretty young for a horse). I spent the day building the make-shift corral for him as well as the pasture. Since he hasn't been on grass a lot, we need to introduce him to it slowly. (Otherwise, he'll eat himself sick!).
Luckily, Broderick and I worked this area with a disc yesterday and killed off all the weeds, so this was the perfect spot!!
If you enjoy Smallville, you might like this.
Smallville - Goofs and Nitpicks Guide
As part of my training (i.e. playing), I've built a dynamic stories page. I am really hoping that friends and family add stories here to help remember them.
Often times, a story will pop into one's memory at random times. I am hoping that people will take advantage of this and come here to record them.
Barnhart Stories
Not the election, but I am trying to decide which logo to use for my web store. I'll be selling books relating to Champaign County. Either about Champaign County (such as small towns around it, U of I, etc) or by Champaign County Authors.
So, take a vote!
http://prairiecorp.com/logovote.cfm
If you are curious as to the results (you get a summary right after you vote) but you can come back to http://prairiecorp.com/voteresults.cfm
I fixed most of the seams and got 5 of 8 recessed might cans installed yesterday. (We have to buy 6 more cans to finish the kitchen and do the entryway).
We did a lot of research yesterday on putting up a horse fence. I think we have it pretty well mapped out and I imagine that we'll start the process this next weekend.
Just realized that I haven't posted any updates in quite a while.
First, the house...We have all the drywall hung in the new kitchen and Holly has started to Mud. I have to fix some of the seams in the ceiling before we can start on that and I may go ahead and get some lights installed.
The pantry is done!
The Bathroom is done! (Working fixtures and everything)
The Shop is done (Received the shampoo chair today, which is the last piece we need). I have to install doors on the Bathroom and shop, but I want to wait until I have the hallway floor done. (Much easier to put down the floor if the doorway trim is not yet up).
So, all of that is coming along really nicely!
Today was a weird day at work. I've been switched to a new coordinator. He is a really nice guy, so that isn't the issue. I guess I am bothered by the fact that I am now in a group of DB programmers instead of web programmers and Project Managers. Leigh says that this is just a reporting structure and doesn't make any difference to things, but it still doesn't feel right.
I am also disappointed in that it looks like I will not get getting a coordinator position myself, which was heavily marketed to me during my interviews. It is still possible, but I don't think it looks good. Sigh... I guess I need to get over it.
Thanks Mitch for sending this... I got quite a laugh!!
College Laughs
Good news on Friday. The lump on Broderick's back is normal. His bottom floating rib has a bump on the end instead of being curved.... no worries. (I wonder why they just couldn't tell us that over the phone???)
The floors are installed in the shop, the pantry, and the bathroom and I spent today down in the crawlspace plumbing the shop and 1/2 bath. At least it is done!! (Well, almost).
Holly's shop is now 100% functional. She needs to get a shampoo chair and I still have to trim around the window, floor, and door, and install the door, but it is very nice to have it this close.
Tomorrow, I'll finish up the drain for the toilet and install the sink and toilet. Then we can start tearing apart the old bathroom and start on our bedroom.
I suppose I might want to hang the door for the bathroom as well!
Aunt Joyce was in town for her 30th High School reunion. I realized that she is almsot exactly between Amber and Trent in age. Kinda strange having an Aunt the same age as your older Sister and Brother!
Alex came by again this weekend. It is always good to see him. Unfortunately, his job isn't doing so well... think "Office Space". Bosch has hired consultants to come in and evaluate everyone's position, etc. Looks like layoffs are in the future. :(
Last night was nice, we sat out in the hot tub and watched the Perseid Meteor shower. We started about 10:30 and I came in about 11:30. The best time to watch would have been 2 AM or so, but no way to stay up that late. We saw a dozen or so, which was nice.
Sam is coming along nicely.. unfortunately being a non-house-broken pup and just coming out of surgey results in several accidents.. but that's to be expected. He was wanting to play this morning (with just about anything that moves). How do you explain to a puppy that he is not supposed to run/jump for a week? :)
The iffy news. When Broderick went in for his physical a few weeks ago, Holly pointed out a lump on his back to the Dr. (We noticed it on the beach, but it is very easy to overlook, unless he is turned just right and the light is just right. They took x-rays and called the next day to say that they looked normal but they were going to talk with a specialist. Today, the office called and scheduled a consultation with the surgeon tomorrow at 3:30. This is freaking Holly out as it seems like they are trying to rush him in. I told her that we may just be lucky that he had an opening. Of course, the nurse didn't say what they think it was. Her only comment when she came back from putting Holly on hold is "Sorry for the wait, I wanted to make sure our surgeons did this sort of thing."AGH!
We talked with Stuart (my Brother-in-law who is a cardiologist in Springfield) when we first took him in who said that we really need to see a orthopedic surgeon who specialixed in children. Of course, there doesn't seem to be one in Champaign. Springfield has one, but evidently Amber (my sister who is also a Dr in Springfield) doesn't like him.
Well... no use in freaking out about it until we know something.
ThinkGeek :: Cube Goodies :: Toys @ Work
William had a link to this on his blog, pretty neat toys!!
Same came back home today. I don't yet know the details of his care, but Holly has been puppy-proofing the house the last couple of days (nearly impossible, btw). So, $670 later....
We got lights installed in the pantry and Holly's shop and set her station in there to see how it would look. We may even put in some flooring tonight!
Hopefully, she'll get the bathroom and pantry painted soon so I can finish them up as well.
Today was definitely a rough day. Our little puppy got hit by a car this morning.
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Damn allergies kicked by butt this weekend. Still, we got quite a bit done.
Most of the kitchen ceiling is drywalled and the north wall in the kitchen. Before I can finish up the walls, I have to run wires for the stove and oven through the crawlspace (i.e. cat litter box) which I have been putting off.
Holly got the pantry, 1/2 bath, and shop all mudded and sanded. She put the primer on Saturday and painted the ceilings yesterday.
Today, she'll put on another coat of paint on the ceiling and get the first coat done on the walls. Hopefully tonight, I can get the lights put up in the shop and pantry as well as finish the ceiling in the kitchen and entryway while I still have the drywall-jack.
Donna and Connie Smith (along with Aunt Geri) came over Sunday to see our progress... always good to see them. :)
I finally got around to scanning in our wedding pictures!
Brett & Holly's Wedding Album
The weather today was just about perfect. A wonderful day for playing Basketball, last night was perfect for sleeping (and tonight looks good to), perfect weather for sitting in the hot tub.
Tonight has also been a good night. I got the slate floor finally all torn up, the kids got their kites out and flew them. Bridget and Broderick were flying Bridget's kite together and they accidently let go. You might think that the kite would get stuck in the tree, but no! The string holder got caught in the tree about 30 feet off the ground, so now the kite is in permanent flight!! One of the funniest things that has happened in a long time.
Our goal for this weekend is to get the drywall hung in the kitchen area and pull up the carpet in the downstairs bedroom. I think that is pretty realistic. The weather is supposed to be nice and cool and we don't have any other plans.
I bought the store software for my new web business and I've started to configure everything. I still have to figure out how to create thee overall design of the site.. that's probably the thing I am most nervous about.
Bridget and Broderick had a great time at horse riding lessons today.
Oh! Donna Smith is in town this week and we all got together at Karen's for dinner last night. It was a really nice evening!
Sorry for the long delay between updates!
I took Broderick to the Monster Truck show at the fair on Thursday. We had a blast and had the driver of "Raminator" sign a checked flag.
We had a garage sale on Friday and Saturday... did pretty well although we still have a ton of stuff left over. Surprisingly, the kids things did not sell well, which is shocking. We did sell some of our bigger items (dresser, fridge) which is nice. We didn't have that much traffic. :( In Sept, a church up the road is having their sale, which always does really well, so we'll set up for that.
We got a lot more of the slate floor torn out... only a small 3'x4' area left.
I bought a new monitor (17" flat screen) for my computer and gave Broderick the old one. We also moved the computer upstairs to the office, although I have not moved the Internet connection up there yet.. hopefully get that done tonight.
Oh, apples on our trees are ready. Nice crop this year... I'll send out an email here at work, but if you are reading this and you want some free apples for pies or whatever, come on out!
