We finally got around to upgrading our TV service. We had had enough of DirecTv cutting out during the rain (that and the fact that they wanted to soak me $300 for an HD receiver when a new subscriber can get one for free). So we got hooked up with AT&T U-verse today. WOW! How did I ever live without HD? I am going to try and make all my TV watching HD channels, otherwise I feel like I'm just cheating myself.
And how cool is it that the girls can watch all their shows in the basement instead of forcing mom and dad to watch the same episode of Spongebob or iCarly over and over. I have to say as well, the wireless router is great.
The only drawback is the fact that we have to pay for DirecTv until the end of July. Not too bad, and at least it'll give me time to get all the stuff off of the DVR.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Uncle Chris
I forgot to put this up over the weekend since the Brewers were playing the Astros, but every time the Astros play Milwaukee, the girls have to comment about Lance Berkman and how he looks like their Uncle Christopher. The Astros have become Sarah and Alison's unofficial second favorite team just for that reason. Here are a couple of pictures, you be the judge:
Another School Board Meeting
There was another school board meeting tonight, and Sarah was picked to attend by her principal. Recently she was chosen to attend a writer's workshop for the afternoon with an author. I forget the guys name, but they ended up writing poetry. Tonight she got to read it to the school board. All she wanted was to not go first, and wouldn't you know it, she was picked to go first. She did a pretty good job, though she was just a bit nervous. All the public meetings (school board, village board) are filmed for the public access cable channel. I'll have to see if someone we know can record it for us since we don't get it (we've got a dish).
Good Fences Make Good Neighbors
We had a guy come out and quote us a price on finishing off the fence around the backyard. For some time we have been wanting to do it but either haven’t had the time or the money to get it done. Three years ago we had a length of fence installed along the lot line to our north, and it is the best thing we ever did. The one thing the guy who was measuring etc., told us was that we should wait until the ground dried up, and not just at the surface but to a depth of 3-4 feet. See the pictures here of what the neighbor’s yard looks like after a good rain. If we put a fence up along the back lot line, the excess moisture in the ground will weaken the concrete footings and will cause it to simply crumble in a couple of years. If we wait until that happens (the ground drying up) I think we probably won’t get it put up until, roughly, mid-June.
And speaking of the neighbors, let me just say that we hate ours!
The people behind us will leave their grass go for weeks, and then when the guy decides to do it, he’ll cut half of it and then quit and go inside. It’ll then sit for a week until the feeling moves him to finish. Case in point... the guy didn’t rake his leaves last year. Correction, he raked them into a pile and left them. The result was that by the first snow, the leaves were spread back over his yard (and mine). So this spring, about three weeks ago, he begins raking. Again he rakes about 1/3 of the yard and stops. But he leaves a garbage can sitting outside, next to the pile he has raked. Nice. Again, during a good breeze, they get blown all over my back yard. Luckily I hadn’t raked yet. So hopefully the fence will do a little bit to help curb that as well as block our view of the swamp behind us. I mean, I built up our backyard seven years ago, and it took probably $300-$400 for dirt and sod, but it was a minimal investment, and a couple of days worth of work. So I ask myself why can’t this guy do the same thing?
Now, on to our neighbors to the north. First, we can’t have our windows on the north of the house in the family room because the neighbors constantly park their cars RIGHT in front of them. Here is the view we had yesterday:
Why do they do this you might ask? Well it is because they can’t fit anything in their garage. They have a 2 and a half car garage that is just piled full of crap. Apparently they treat it more as a storage locker than a garage. So as a result, their cars are parked outside. And since they are, when they want to sit outside, or want their rugrats to play outside, they back the cars down their driveway and park them right outside our windows so they can play, or sit, at the top of the driveway, which they wouldn’t need to do if they would simply 1) organize their crap, and 2) throw some stuff away.
Note the red car that hasn't moved since at least October. If they could put it in the garage, they could move the other car up rather than parking it right in front of our window. Next time they are out with the garage door open, I’ll snap a picture from upstairs to post so everyone can see what slobs they are.
Now toss on top of that the fact that they don’t do any upkeep to their house of the yard, and you can see our frustration. We basically feel like they are bringing down our property value. And it isn’t as if they don’t have time. Only the husband works, so there is someone always home. I work 10-12 hour days and I still come home and will do my upkeep outside (cutting the grass, cleaning out the gutters, cleaning up the yard, etc.) plus we make sure the girls clean up their toys and put them away wen they are done rather than leaving toys scattered all over the place for weeks. This is a pretty good story, and Kris and her friend Laura can atest to this... Last year they apparently replaced their bathtub. So where do you think the old tub went? Well is sat upside down in the front yard for two weeks. TWO WEEKS! It was like living next door to Fred Sanford!
I could rant forever, but I think you get the picture. Stay tuned for progress on the fence.
And speaking of the neighbors, let me just say that we hate ours!
The people behind us will leave their grass go for weeks, and then when the guy decides to do it, he’ll cut half of it and then quit and go inside. It’ll then sit for a week until the feeling moves him to finish. Case in point... the guy didn’t rake his leaves last year. Correction, he raked them into a pile and left them. The result was that by the first snow, the leaves were spread back over his yard (and mine). So this spring, about three weeks ago, he begins raking. Again he rakes about 1/3 of the yard and stops. But he leaves a garbage can sitting outside, next to the pile he has raked. Nice. Again, during a good breeze, they get blown all over my back yard. Luckily I hadn’t raked yet. So hopefully the fence will do a little bit to help curb that as well as block our view of the swamp behind us. I mean, I built up our backyard seven years ago, and it took probably $300-$400 for dirt and sod, but it was a minimal investment, and a couple of days worth of work. So I ask myself why can’t this guy do the same thing?
Now, on to our neighbors to the north. First, we can’t have our windows on the north of the house in the family room because the neighbors constantly park their cars RIGHT in front of them. Here is the view we had yesterday:
Why do they do this you might ask? Well it is because they can’t fit anything in their garage. They have a 2 and a half car garage that is just piled full of crap. Apparently they treat it more as a storage locker than a garage. So as a result, their cars are parked outside. And since they are, when they want to sit outside, or want their rugrats to play outside, they back the cars down their driveway and park them right outside our windows so they can play, or sit, at the top of the driveway, which they wouldn’t need to do if they would simply 1) organize their crap, and 2) throw some stuff away.
Note the red car that hasn't moved since at least October. If they could put it in the garage, they could move the other car up rather than parking it right in front of our window. Next time they are out with the garage door open, I’ll snap a picture from upstairs to post so everyone can see what slobs they are.
Now toss on top of that the fact that they don’t do any upkeep to their house of the yard, and you can see our frustration. We basically feel like they are bringing down our property value. And it isn’t as if they don’t have time. Only the husband works, so there is someone always home. I work 10-12 hour days and I still come home and will do my upkeep outside (cutting the grass, cleaning out the gutters, cleaning up the yard, etc.) plus we make sure the girls clean up their toys and put them away wen they are done rather than leaving toys scattered all over the place for weeks. This is a pretty good story, and Kris and her friend Laura can atest to this... Last year they apparently replaced their bathtub. So where do you think the old tub went? Well is sat upside down in the front yard for two weeks. TWO WEEKS! It was like living next door to Fred Sanford!
I could rant forever, but I think you get the picture. Stay tuned for progress on the fence.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Raking
I have finally finished raking the grass. I am at least a week behind with where I want to be. I should have my first round of fertilizer down already. Hopefully I’ll get in on the grass this weekend, depending on the forecast for when it is next going to rain. I finished up the back grass last weekend, and ended in the rain. I was about 15-20 minutes from finished when the rain started. So the last couple of days have been pretty decent, so I tried to get the front yard done, though getting home at 5:30 p.m. didn’t give me much time. I was able to, luckily, split it between Thursday and Friday. Every year I say it, but I really wish I could wipe out the lawn and start fresh. The ground is uneven, and there are about (3) different types of grass in the front. I’m doing my best to reseed and get some sort of coherence but as much as I would like it, I don’t think that’s going to happen.
Spring in WI
Monday it was snowing, and Friday it is 84 degrees, and today the temp is supposed to be a high of about 60, with temps in the 40's by mid afternoon, and rain. Someone tell me why I am still live in WI?
School Board
We have an important vote coming up here by our school board that is going to affect where Alison will be going to school. We had a referendum a couple of years ago for the purpose of, as we were told, building a new elementary school to alleviate the crowding of one of the schools. Right now we have (4) elementary schools. The enrollment at (3) of the (4) is in the neighborhood of 350 students, with the 4th having an enrollment in the neighborhood of 750-800, which is much more than the school can handle. At the time the referendum was voted down (rightfully so in my opinion). So after paying some consulting company a load of money they were apparently told that they could move some of the existing schools around and redistrict, and this was after the village voted for a different referendum that funded repairs to the existing schools.
So now after remodeling Riverside and installing A/C the school board is proposing to close Riverside (Sarah & Ali’s current school) along with another one and consolidating them into one bigger school that will have an enrollment of about 700 students with larger classes, oh and for the price of $2.5 million. So we will go from (4) elementary schools to (3) with enrollments of 500, 700 and 300 (roughly). While the new school is only about 4 blocks away, it is the idea that Alison will be going from a small class to a larger one, and a school that is twice the size of her current one. The girls had dance Monday so I took care of shuttling them back and forth while Kris went to the meeting to try and voice our input as to our desire to keep Riverside open. Maybe I need to try and become more active with the school board. I realize the (the board) need to represent all taxpayers, not just those with children in the public schools, but it sure seems as if there is absolutely no plan for the school system.
So now after remodeling Riverside and installing A/C the school board is proposing to close Riverside (Sarah & Ali’s current school) along with another one and consolidating them into one bigger school that will have an enrollment of about 700 students with larger classes, oh and for the price of $2.5 million. So we will go from (4) elementary schools to (3) with enrollments of 500, 700 and 300 (roughly). While the new school is only about 4 blocks away, it is the idea that Alison will be going from a small class to a larger one, and a school that is twice the size of her current one. The girls had dance Monday so I took care of shuttling them back and forth while Kris went to the meeting to try and voice our input as to our desire to keep Riverside open. Maybe I need to try and become more active with the school board. I realize the (the board) need to represent all taxpayers, not just those with children in the public schools, but it sure seems as if there is absolutely no plan for the school system.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Springtime
We had the first really warm day when there hasn't been snow on the ground or the ground saturated with water yesterday. The girls spent the day outside running around which was nice because they weren't destroying the house. Alison took several trips around the block on her bike. Her bike however, is just a bit small. Kris and I think that we'll have to end up getting her a bigger bike, probably a 24" 10 speed mountain bike. It's hard to believe that she isn't even 7 yet and she already needs a 24" bike. Plus, she only started riding her bike without training wheels last year. But her seat post on her bike now is at its limit and she can't extend her legs when pedaling.
Sarah was helping her friend next door practice for softball. Ali wanted to help as well so Sarah tossed thee ball to her. Ali missed and POW! She took it right under her left eye. Her cheek was all red and swollen last night. Hopefully the ice she kept on it all night will keep it from turning black and blue.
Finally, last night as the girls were getting cleaned up and ready for bed, Ali was complaining that her arms hurt. After looking at her I saw why, her arms were slightly sunburned. Sarah also had a bit of a pink face from being outside. We'll have to start remembering the sunscreen from now on.
Sarah was helping her friend next door practice for softball. Ali wanted to help as well so Sarah tossed thee ball to her. Ali missed and POW! She took it right under her left eye. Her cheek was all red and swollen last night. Hopefully the ice she kept on it all night will keep it from turning black and blue.
Finally, last night as the girls were getting cleaned up and ready for bed, Ali was complaining that her arms hurt. After looking at her I saw why, her arms were slightly sunburned. Sarah also had a bit of a pink face from being outside. We'll have to start remembering the sunscreen from now on.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Bucks Game
We got to go to a Bucks game over the weekend. The girls each got a free ticket for hitting the goal for selling Girl Scout Cookies so it was just Kris and I that needed to buy tickets. Boy, I remember now why I don’t go to Bucks’ games any more. We ended up sitting in the upper deck, and the cost of the seats was almost $30 each. So if I was going to take the girls, the tickets alone would have been $120, plus the parking money, plus food, drinks etc. It would have been a good $200 if not for the free tickets. Here was the view we had.
But Alison liked it, Sarah didn’t really care. Ali actually asked when she could start playing basketball after watching the state girls final that Uncle Dave was coaching in. Overall the game was good, the Bucks won. Then again, they were playing one of the 4 or 5 teams that has a record worse than Milwaukee.
I should add that it was kids night as well, and the Bucks were giving away baseball caps. After the game, we had vouchers to go down onto the Bradley Center floor and shoot a free throw. Kris and I didn’t really care, but we thought the girls would think it was cool, so we stuck around after the game. By the time we got down to do it, it was about 10:45 PM. Alison actually was saying she was tired and wanted to leave, but we stuck around and I think she was happy that we did.
But Alison liked it, Sarah didn’t really care. Ali actually asked when she could start playing basketball after watching the state girls final that Uncle Dave was coaching in. Overall the game was good, the Bucks won. Then again, they were playing one of the 4 or 5 teams that has a record worse than Milwaukee.
I should add that it was kids night as well, and the Bucks were giving away baseball caps. After the game, we had vouchers to go down onto the Bradley Center floor and shoot a free throw. Kris and I didn’t really care, but we thought the girls would think it was cool, so we stuck around after the game. By the time we got down to do it, it was about 10:45 PM. Alison actually was saying she was tired and wanted to leave, but we stuck around and I think she was happy that we did.
Time for Yard Work
It is the middle of April and I am lagging with my yard work already. I should be out raking the grass, getting ready to seed and fertilize. But the crummy weather and cold is keeping me from doing it. It was sunny this past weekend (Easter) but it was also only about 45 degrees outside. The result is that I wasted some good, sunny, and most important, dry, weather because it was cold. Normally by the third week of April I am putting the first round of fertilizer down and working on the low spots or bare spots with grass seed, getting the mower ready, etc. Hopefully we’ll get a break soon. This week the temps aren’t supposed to get over the mid to upper 40s, so I may be forced to start raking. Also, the ground is still pretty damp. In fact we had some sleet this afternoon. When the sun has been out, it has been cold, and when it has been warm enough to actually be outside, it has been raining. It’s really getting frustrating!
Beetles
One lovely thing that is starting up right now, and it happens about this time every year, is the infestation Asian beetles. The little bugs that look like lady bugs, but are about 500 times more annoying. They stink, the bite, and they are everywhere. Even though it has been cold, the sun has been heating the south and west sides of the house so the beetles are starting to come out. I must have killed about 20 or so over the last weekend, and I can only see it getting worse. This is the absolute worst time of the year with respect to these bugs, now and late September to mid October. Maybe I need to research ways to get rid of the dang things, but it seems like once they are in, they are in (such as in the attic) and there is no getting rid of them.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Two and a Half Hours Out Of My Life
Well that was two and a half hours out of my life that I'll never get back. We had to get to the Spring concert 45 minutes early and even then our seats were terrible. The lucky thing was that we sat on the aisle so we had a pretty good view of Alison, but the parents for all the little kids going nuts was unbelievable. The only bad thing is that the parents at the little kids' concert are much worse. Actually, the gym for the 3rd through 5th graders was only 3/4 full while the K-2 grade show was packed. Plus, after sitting around for 45 minutes before Ali's concert we had to wait for a half an hour for Sarah's to start. Thank god we don't need to do double concerts anymore!
Busy Day Today
Today is going to be a hectic one. The company I work for, unlike the rest of the country, is pretty backlogged with work. In fact, we have been HIRING people for the shop to cut down on the order backlog. Well today, from 11:00 until about 4:00 I'll be helping out with interviews for a new inspector. That means no work is going to be completed today.
Then when I get home I'll be helping Kris get the girls ready for their spring concert tonight. Unfortunately, the concert for K-2 starts at 6:30, which means in order to have a good seat we need to be there by no later than 6:00, and that doesn't even guarantee a good seat. We'll probably have to get there between 5:30 and 5:45. Which also means getting home at 8:00 or 8:30. That also means fighting to get the girls to go to bed. Oh joy!
Then when I get home I'll be helping Kris get the girls ready for their spring concert tonight. Unfortunately, the concert for K-2 starts at 6:30, which means in order to have a good seat we need to be there by no later than 6:00, and that doesn't even guarantee a good seat. We'll probably have to get there between 5:30 and 5:45. Which also means getting home at 8:00 or 8:30. That also means fighting to get the girls to go to bed. Oh joy!
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