Finally Finished Floor

Well, I'm finally done finishing the floor. I started out thinking I'd sand the whole floor which included removing all the old finish with a hand held orbital sander last Thursday. It looked as though it would take a week to finish at the rate I was going so I rented a finishing sander from Menards last Friday and had the floor sanded down by Saturday Morning. It's a time consuming process, but well worth it in the end. Here's what the floor looked like be fore (Old Floor 1) and (Old Floor 2) and here's what it looks like now (New Floor 1) and (New Floor 2). I one coat of finish on Saturday and put two down on Sunday. It's good to be done making a mess.

Lots of Rain

We got pounded with about 2 inches of rain yesterday in about a half an hour. Man, talk about crazy. We drove around to see what else we could find, but didn't really come across any life threatening events. So that was uneventful.

Wood floors can be expensive to refinish. I'm in the process of getting everything around to refinish our Great Room" and dining area. Let's just say that by the time it's done we could have gone to some exotic island. Okay, so maybe not that expensive, but it's still takes a few Benjamins to get the job done.

Kim had another baby-2-be checkup on Monday. Everything's looking and sounding "A-OK". She gained an additional 6 ponds in a month and a week so she's right on schedule.

Chad's Last Day

So, today is Chad Kraus's last day at Pioneer. He's going to join up with his Dad's family business (Dairy Queen). We decided yesterday to give him one last hurrah before today so we filled his cube with some moving stuff to help him out. Here're some pictures of the results. His desk is usually the most organized of those I work with. We'll miss ya, Chad. Good luck and stop in and see us sometime when you're in town.

Steam Power Rules

So, Kim's Dad, Dale, has a steam powered toy tractor that's been passed down through the family. We got to watch it running yesterday while at her parents place. It runs on solid fuel that looks like paraffin wax. He's running out of the "true" fuel so Kim's brothers put some sterno in it to see if that would work. It worked and was hotter as the steam engine ran faster. The name of the tractor is the 1313 Mamod Steam Tractor and here's a picture. I can't believe that you can actually buy these things yet. They're made in England and it lists for around $150.

Fun Weekend and a Half

Well, it's been a very busy and fun weekend. Friday I took the day off to do some odds and ends around the house and built and sealed a picnic table. Friday night Kim's parents, niece and nephew came up to stay the night and then we all went to a bunch of garage sales around Ankeny on Saturday. We found a lot more baby clothes. Then in the afternoon I got 2 more sides of the deck sealed. This morning I applied a weed and feed mix for the lawn before we headed off to church. It was cool going to church today as I met one of my classmates from the ISU Iowa State Singers. Then this afternoon we drove to Creston to surprise Kim's Mom for Mother's Day. All of her brothers and sister were there. Her Mom and Dad were pleased and surprised to see us all there...mission accomplished.

What a Krausburger

Well, the guys at work and I were talking about Google's page ranking and how to get it higher. We also were talking about how some pages don't seem to be showing up in the Google search results. So, we're all going to try this on our sites (Derek Brooks and Nick Leeper) and see what happens. Here's a link to a Krausburger. It's really just a fictitious name of a burger named after one of our co-workers Kraus (who we're sad to see leaving Pioneer). Now all that's left is for Google to index our sites.

Good Eats, Bad Roads

What a nice long weekend. Kim and I went on a vacation together to Kansas City this past weekend, starting on Friday. The last time that I'd driven in Missouri I remember the roads being more to be desired of. And the same held true for this trip. They suck. Pot holes on most of the interstate. We got to Kansas City Friday afternoon and decided to walk around The Country Club Plaza to see what all the shops had. Then went and had supper at The Melting Pot. Man is that place ever good. I'd highly recommend going there. It's a fondue restaurant. We had the fondue for two. We were stuffed after our meal so we decided to walk around some more then headed back to the hotel.

We woke up Saturday morning to find our day was forecasted to be cloudiness and rain. So, instead of going to the zoo we opted to see what else Kansas City had to offer. We ventured upon the Union Station, but hadn't had anything for breakfast so we went back up the road to a McDonalds (I think it's the first time eating at a McDonalds for about 2 years). Well, we survived our breakfast without getting shot...Kim pointed out a sign on the wall that said, "Kansas City Police Work Station". On our way back to the Union Station we saw a huge tower and decided to figure out what it was. It was the Liberty Memorial Tower. So, we took a ride up to the top of it. Pretty neat place to visit. We next made our way to the Union Station. We looked around a bit there and went to the Science City which is part of the Union Station. Next we went to Oak Park Mall near Kansas City and then ate at the Rain Forest Cafe. And finally retreated back to our hotel to relax and soak in the hot tub.

Sunday the weather was much improved and we were able to enjoy the Kansas City Zoo. We saw a lot of cool animals and got to watch the Coral Reef Adventure in the Sprint Imax Theatre The zoo concluded our stay in Kansas City and we launched for the home front.

The end.

Rain + Hail

I usually find watching the weather fun. There's a certain rush to it, but I'm not in favor of bad storms doing damage. Last night at around 11:30 Kim and I woke up to huge wind/rain sounds. After surveying the situation we found it was actually hail hitting the side of the house with a bunch of wind. Here's a picture of the hail on the deck. We also found a small spot that was leaking on the ceiling where the kitchen/great room roof meets the rest of the house. Any normal rain it doesn't leak but with winds at around 50-60 mph the water made its way through. At least we didn't have as bad of storms as people in other states.

VEISHEA No More?

Friday was a good day to have off. I first cleaned our front deck so that I could seal it on Saturday. Then went up to Ames to ride around on my bike with a good friend, "S" (Scott Heider). We rode around Welch Ave and then hit some trails. Got to see a bunch of college students lining up at the bars at 3:00 PM.

Saturday Kim and I went up to Ames to watch the VEISHEA parade and then walk around campus to see what's all changed. Toured through the new College of Business building and got some free cotton candy. Yum. Quite a nice building...too bad it wasn't there when I was attending ISU.

So, all in VEISHEA land was good and then came a long these punks that think they're adults. Well, these punks go and start a riot that created quite a mess and loss for Welch Ave. businesses and the city of Ames. Now comes the question if VEISHEA will continue. I find it disheartening that these little brats could cause something that's been going on for the past 80 years to not happen again. I look at VEISHEA as a time to get together with friends, see what's new on campus, ingest a few cherry pies, and in the future take my kids to see the parade and visit the activities setup on central campus. If VEISHEA ceased to exist you wouldn't get to see and hear the Groove. The list goes on as to what you'd miss. Something needs to be done, but I hope it's not the killing of VEISHEA.

Time passes

Not much new has been happening, but I thought I'd try and remember tidbits from last week. This past weekend Kim and I went to my parents home for Easter. It's been the first time home since my Dad sold the milk cows. He's taking it pretty well. Although, he still gets up every morning at 5:30. It was nice to be able to spend more time with him as in the past he was always out doing chores...until night time. We got to see some new baby calves while we were up there. Kim wanted to see one being born, but we didn't get to see that (plus, I think she would have probably been grossed out anyway).

Last Friday we went in for our monthly Dr. visit and everything was in good shape. So, that was good news. A funny thing happened when the midwife was listening to the heart beat of the baby. When she put the microphone with some cold gel on Kim's belly, the baby kicked at it. Even made the midwife jump. :)

I'm Back

Okay, sorry it's been so long in writing. I changed to a different host...not that there was anything wrong with my old one (nata2.org). But, I just wanted to try something different.

So a lot has happened since I last wrote. I helped one of my co-workers get some lumber from Lowe's last week and we came out with his purchases. A guy was standing near my truck and came over to help us load the plywood into my truck. After we got done he asked who's truck it was and I said it was mine. I thought he was going to compliment me on my truck or something like it. But that wasn't to be. I said, "I have something to show you in the front of my truck." Well, turns out he back into the front of it with his truck. His truck had a topper on it so he couldn't see what was in back of him very well. We exchanged insurance and phone numbers and went on our ways. I called my agent and he said to call the other guy's agent so I did. The owner of the other truck had already called in the claim and all I had to do was find a "Service First" location that would accommodate the paper work. So, today I got my truck fixed and it didn't cost me anything (would have costed $840). I'm very glad that the guy stuck around to tell me about him hitting my truck. You don't find honest people like that everyday.

Ahhh, but you think that's the rest of the story. hehe. Well, we put all the plywood in the truck and had it tie strapped in. I decided it would be better to not go on the interstate so we went home to Dave's house by way of 100th street. Well, at the Hickman and 100th street intersection the light changed and all of a sudden...slloooobaaammmthuud...and the wood was in the middle of the road with cars backed up and we had to load the wood back up in the middle of the day on that intersection. It could have been worse. No one was injured out of both mishaps. So, I'm happy things turned out they way they did, even though my truck got a little hurt outta the deal.

The Best $15 Ever Spent

Today's turning out to be a wonderful day. It's hard to imagine what $15 can give you these days. Kim went in for her ultrasound today to get a checkup for the baby. Her last visit she hadn't gained the 3-4 lbs. that the Doctors/Nurses said she should so they scheduled her for an ultrasound. Kim was pretty quiet and nervous this morning before we went as she was fearful something would be wrong. Well, everything turned out just fine and the baby has 10 fingers and 10 toes and by the measurements is 2 days ahead of schedule on growth. :) The baby weighed in at 11 oz.

It's something that can't be put into words the description of watching the baby swimming around in Kim's belly. The baby was moving all around and liked to wave at us while getting the ultrasound. We could easily see the heart and it's valves opening and closing, the brain, eye lenses, kidneys, stomach, ribs, spine, arms, and legs. The only thing we didn't see (or want to find out) was the prominent placement of a special organ that determines the sex. Hehe. So, that'll be a surprise for us yet. You can see the pictures in the gallery under before birth.

Smells Like Pickles

So, at work we've been playing a little game on one of our co-workers (Chad Kraus). It all started when we put a donut on a note on his desk while he was vacationing at the end of last year. Well, we decided to put the donut and note in his desk. That wasn't all bad in itself, but then we decided to take it to the next level. We started collecting various foods and put them in his desk drawer. Then one day he started to smell "pickles" in his pen drawer (little did he know that one drawer down he had a Quizno's Pepper bar). We thought, "Oh, wait, we can't have him find the drawer so we switched drawers with Cedric. We then moved the food drawer back yesterday. Well, today we got girl scout cookies delivered by Bob's daughter and he decided to put them in the food drawer. Well, he opened the drawer far enough to find the hidden treasures. LOL. Go here to find the photo gallery.

The End of an Era

What a weekend of traveling. Kim and I went up to Rockwell City to watch our 5 year old nephew, Tyler, wrestle. That was pretty fun to watch them all. Oh how the agony of defeat hurts. :) Tyler got second overall so he did really well. We then travelled to Humboldt to visit Kim's Grandparents for a bit. Then drove back to Gilmore City to see Kim's Brother's family. Then drove back to Humboldt to eat at the Fireside bar/grill for some good eats. Then we departed for Nevada to visit some friends there and finally back to Ames. So, we accomplished the Central Iowa Tour.

My Dad got home yesterday from the hospital with no back pain other than the incisions from the surgery so that turned out good. I got quite a shock when I talked to him today as he sold half of his dairy herd and will be selling the rest tomorrow. It's quit hard to believe that it's happening as this is something that he's been doing for at least 30 years. He started out with just a handful of milking cows and through the years built a heard of around 40 milking at one time. He's had hired help to help him milk following my brother and my moving off the farm, but as of late can't find only one (who can't do it all alone) that is reliable enough to make it in the mornings or nights to milk them. He still has beef cattle that he can work with and the land to farm (pending his healing), but life won't be the same for him or my family.

It's Friday

Well, seems like another work week is wrapping up. My Dad went through a successful back surgery this morning so that made the day go smoothly. Now for his speedy recovery. He should be out of the hospital tomorrow. Well, Kim and I had her monthly Dr.'s appointment this past Wednesday and we get to go in and have an ultrasound in two weeks. The mid-wife who checked Kim over wasn't concerned about Kim only gaining 1 lb., but would still like to make sure everything's ok with the baby. Well, we're about to head up to Rockwell City to visit Kim's Brother and family then it's off to Humboldt to visit her grandparents. Should be a fun weekend. I'm outta here.

Wind Sucks

Well, it's been a while since I last wrote so I thought I'd do a little blogging. I'm glad today isn't windy as yesterday was just too much. Sunday wasn't much better for wind either. Went to Office Max and got me another compact flash card reader for at work yesterday. When I send in the $10 mail in rebate it'll be free. w00t! Now I'm all set to better document my day with photos. heh

Had a good weekend. Went up north to visit my family and celebrate Kim's b-day. Saturday was kind of weird as my Dad and Grandfather sold 15 heifers to a farmer in Sheffield. They sold a few cattle off as my Dad's going in for surgery on his back this Friday and won't be able to do as much till he heals up. So, hopefully everything goes well in the surgery and he'll have a fast recovery. Hopefully they won't have to sell anything else off till they really want to. It's hard to see them having to sell some off as farming is what they love to do and they've been working at it for their entire life.

Floppy Disk

So I'm sitting here copying some floppy disks to a network drive so I can get to them from my computer here at work. In fact, I have my "a" drive disabled on my workstation because I never use it. I can't remember the last time that I've even used one. I usually use my trusty USB drive or ftp to my host computer. I can't believe how incredibly slow the drive is. I'm certainly glad technology has improved over the years.

So, here are some pictures that I took this last weekend at ISU. Some are funny some are not. It's always fun to document a day with photos.

Welcome Home

Ah, it's so good to have Kim back from her trip to Florida. Friday afternoon and Saturday were fun days. Went up to Ames to hang out with a college buddy. We snapped some photos of various things at ISU and went to the movie Paycheck. A flick worth seeing.

I think there should be something done about Monday mornings. Have you ever had a morning where you put cereal in your glass instead of the bowl. At least I didn't put the cereal box in the fridge and the milk in the cupboard. haha

Busy Week

Man what a busy week it's been. I just got done painting the baby room. Last night I primered it so tonight I put the real paint on. What a job. I certainly appreciate my job at Pioneer. Painting sucks. But, I guess the finished product is worth it. I painted it this week as Kim is in Florida soaking up some rays and dipping her foot in the gulf for work. So, now my bachelor weekend can begin (yeah, I know tomorrow is Friday, but it's close enough to the weekend to count).

I got my DSL modem from Qwest today. So, now I'm all ready to save some money and lose Mediacom like a bad habit. I warned them this would happen if they continued to charge me the $10 on top of the already $40. I guess monopolistic companies just don't listen.

Johnston, IA Sucks

Okay, I've decided that I should mention that Johnston, IA isn't the place for me to live.

Here is a list of why it's not the place for me:

1. There is a stop light on every block and the light never changes when you're the only one there.


2. The roads suck in winter. Johnston City crews come out when it's too late and the roads are already packed with snow/ice.


3. There is a cop on every corner sitting where everyone can see them with a radar gun clocking every car, bicycle and pedestrian going by.


4. The speed limit is incredibly slow. You can have a corn field on both sides of you and it will still be 25 mph.


5. From Kim's experience with the schools, parents are rich snobs who could care less about anyone else except themselves. Oh and their kids are perfect too.