Dodged a bullet...again!

Wezul's project in Raleigh comes to an end this week.  He found out today he will be going back to Cary to work.  However, some other people are being displaced at the same time.  To say we are thankful for him having the opportunity to work, is an understatement...Just hoping the upswing begins soon for all those working and not.

Chuck Box! Part Deux (2009)

It has been awhile since the opportunity presented itself for us to work on our box.  We were able to make a good amount of progress.  Saturday began with us attaching everything to the base.

Yes, it is starting to look like a box...maybe...you think?!?

I got to use a jigsaw!  Woo hoo!  Power tools rock.  I am going to give Bob the Builder a run for his money.  Heehee!!!  Not!  Wezul had loads of fun using his router.  By fun, I mean swearing and flying wood.  :)  His router was definitely not made for large scale projects.  He was able to make do with what he had.

Our next round of activity will probably occur this weekend; however, only if we get the cleaning done. I am just asking for one room per weekend, to do a top-2-bottom cleaning.  This has been on the schedule for months and I have been very patient as the house has been.  You can hear it wimpering every night from all the neglect.

With that said, we do have a deadline to meet...November 21st!!!  Go Canes!

Chuck Box - The Beginnings

We are tailgating nutz!!  Earlier this fall, Wezul got a wacky idea in his head to build our own chuck box.  Some might be familiar with other names such as:  patrol boxes, field kitchens, camp kitchens, etc. Wezul asked me to help...which meant I got to go help pick out wood...which meant we ended up spending twice the amount of money on wood because I opted for the better wood...WHAT?!?

• I offered to pay for half of the wood
• This box is going to hold a lot of stuff...needs to be durable
• We want it to look good
• You KNOW you would buy the better wood IF someone offered to chip in half the money
• If you looked at the cheap stuff and saw what we saw...you would have wanted the better looking wood too!

We had an ominous start.  We went to the HD to get the wood, and we were thoroughly disgusted with their lack of help.  We needed them to trim down some of the wood, had them page for help, and we were left standing there...luckily for us, we have a wood nut in our circle of friends, and for a case of beer and some male bonding time, Wezul was able to get the wood cut down to the pile you see below...we are back on track!!!

It is taking a bit of time, but as you can see, we started to get the pieces cut out.  Wezul is doing most of the cutting because the plans are in his head.  He has some rough sketches, but I wouldn't be able to follow them since I don't think it will be safe to crawl in his head to see them, and his verbal descriptions leave me scratching my head when he speaks...kinda like the teacher in Charlie Brown...heehee...just kidding...However, I will have you know, I am a MEAN wood gluer, wood holder, and sander...That's right...I have used another power tool.

I hope you like the action shot below...all I can say is...I so want to use the router!!  However, the wood was splitting...and it is a little scary for me...plus I think Wezul is afraid I might put his eye out, chop my hand off, or fling a piece of wood into the car's windshield...who knows...or he is just in Manspace, and wants to keep all the joy to himself.

There is part of the base...still not quite sure how it is all going to turn out...what I thought was going to be the final box...is no where close to what Wezul described to me yesterday...we are slowly make progress...though...it might help if we had an experienced carpenter giving us a little guidance...

What a month so far!

First, Little Wezul turned 18 this past week.  That is right!!!  Wezul's daughter hit the big 18 year old mark!  He "Officially"  has an adult for a child...and he will be 40 in February.  There is nothing like your wife pointing out the obvious that you will be 40...and that you are getting OLD!  Did I type that?!?

I also celebrated another year...who would have thought!!

Tonight, we are trying to recover from our little football game watching taco night.  The scariest part is that Wezul tried out "NEW" recipes...I would have preferred trying them out ahead of time...but how fun is that?!?  It wasn't too shabby...just a few tweaks needed...and it could be some AWESOME food...but after two defeats yesterday...NCSU and the Carolina Hurricanes...the Carolina Panthers finally won their first game of the season....woo saaaaaa!!!!

Yeah...Me...SHOES!!!

What a crazy week!  Last Friday, one of my project chiefs was sitting at my desk when I returned for lunch writing a note for me.  Naturally, I was assuming she wanted some changes made to a report I was customizing for our cooperators...Yes...she was...then she was like..."uh oh...you caught me..."  That is NEVER good to hear.  Then she said you can read my note as I finish writing it...and as I began to read her message - she is reciting it aloud..."you HAVE finished writing the abstract for the national conference in April???"...you guessed it...I started laughing...oh yeah...just finished it...hmmmm...NOOOOOOO!!!  Well, she did want me to submit one...and guess what...that was the 18th...and it was due by the 19th...which was a Saturday...small glitch...anything we submit has to be peer reviewed by two coworkers, approved by my direct supervisor, go through our publications unit, and then reviewed and approved by our head honcho...FUN?!?

I went into denial over the weekend...she emailed to see if we could get an extension, and she did...so, for the next three days...i was in a little space i like to call ABSTRACT $#@@.  We had until Wednesday to submit it...and I was able to get everything rushed through and submitted by 2pm on Wednesday (2.5 hours before our new deadline).  YEAH!!  Now, I have to wait until January to hear if my abstract has been accepted for presentation.  UGH!!!

The best part of the week was this Saturday.  About 2 weeks ago, a little entry appeared in iCal on all the calendars on our macs..."Cass's Pre B-day Dinner at the OG"  Awwwww...yup...Wezul took me to the OG last night...the best part...he took me shoe shopping!!!!  I actually got to buy a new pair of shoes...heehee!!  I used my allowance that I have been saving...but I actually got a new pair of shoes and OG...and then we came home and played Halo until 12:30 am...what a perfect day...Thank you sweetie!!!  Yes, they are Chuck Taylor's Converse All-Stars...my feet-ies love new shoes...