Awake at Night

No this isn't a haunted ghost story or zombie tale...just me not sleeping in the wee hours of the morning. I hate when I do this...wake up at 3:30AM and just toss and turn trying to fall back to sleep. It isn't anything that I am worrying about. My wife says, "Stop worrying about everything." and "You know what the bible says, 'You cannot add one measure to your day by worrying.'"

Well it isn't worrying....just stuff.  Stuff floating around in my head.....and the fact that I fell asleep at 8PM last night...on a Friday night no less! I am thinking about the storm coming in land tomorrow and running through the details of what we need to do to prepare for it. No biggie. We have prepared for many storms.  Just get food, water, batteries, gas for the grill and few candles.  you can almost call it a romantic event if it wasn't for the heavy rain that will be coming as well. Also, thinking about a mummy costume for the 10K Wicked Race tomorrow....and no I am not wearing a costume.....just thinking about how I would make one if I did decide to wear one. Such a waste of brain power!

Or here is a good one, I am running through the details of how to install the ceramic tile on my fireplace. First is contacting the supplier again that I met with last week to run through the samples. Second is examining the areas where the tile will actually be installed. I will need to calculate how much tile I need to buy. It will wrap around corners so I will need stainless steel sleuter strips. Outside corner ones that will go here and here. Also the standard edge sleuter strip for the bottom edge where the tile will meet the floor or edge of wood moulding. And how about the curvy section where the wood moulding runs into the existing brick hearth? Slueter strip or just chaulk the edge? If is was a strip then how would I cut and bend the stainless steel to fit the profile....ahhhhhh Stop it!

Okay lets shift to the kitchen. We can think about how I am going to redo the flooring and expand the kitchen area.....Don't do it! I already have plans prepared for this. No need to run over the specific step by step details unless I am planning on writing a book of "How To".

Okay, roll over on my other side for a while.....now it is thoughts of work and some of the design details for some projects we are currently working on.  Did we ever get that detail to the contractor? I forgot to write an email requesting the permit acceptance letter from the city. Or, we got a new project and the facade details are already running through my head. And of course, "Did that client pay us yet?" I already know that answer.....it is more like "When will that client pays us."

Time is up...counting sheep is out (really, you know that would never work....I will be thinking of exactly how those sheep are jumping over the fence, is there a number on their side, are they going to stay in single file or get mixed all up with the ones I have already counted, or are they all white, black or a little of both...if they are a little of both, what is the pattern on their wool....Wool? how do they actually shear the wool and how do you spin the wool).......you see my dilemma......ahhhh. Well that is enough about that...I think I will play Sim City so i wont wake up y wife clicking here on the keyboard writing about absolute nonsense.

And there you have it. Awake at Night.......I have changed my mind.....It is a story about a zombie....that is what I will be doing tomorrow as I stagger around everywhere! Have a good day my friends!

Home Alone

Well it is just me and Mavrick this weekend, Home Alone. The girls headed off to Tennessee for the annual Winterfest Youth Rally in Gaitlinburg. So pup and I have just been hanging out.  Not really accomplishing much at all either.  I have been working on a few rendering and a few new models for potential projects. Other than that, I have just been roaming the house looking for snack food.....there is none! My wife did a good job of keeping the fatty foods away from me.

Truly bored though. There is only so much old television, rendering, and wandering a person can do. Funny, the house used to be a thriving bustle of noise but now the noise of kids just comes from the neighborhood kids playing out in the evening on probably one of the last warm days before the snow hits.

So Mavrick and I watch some TV, eat some.....so called food and SLEEP.  Mavrick sleeps alot....and takes up too much room on the bed.  He sprawls out everywhere.  I rolled over on my side last night on the edge of the bed and he rolled up right against me.  I could even roll back.  He was dead. I had to drag him by his paws to move him over.  Funny dog.  The rest of the time he stole my wife's spot.  I guess he misses her too.

Sleeping in Mom's spot

This is one of those weekends where I really could have got some things accomplished but I already knew I was going to be swamped with work next week.  I have four jobsites that I need to field measure and one of them is in Raleigh. I will be wiped out I am sure.  So, I am taking my rest time now. I could have played a little bit of XBox Kinects but wasn't really into it.  I could have played a bit of Sim City....I did...just a bit. I love that game. I could have exercised.....really? I know I should.  I will run today...I promise! Other than that, I plan on being lazy.

Taking a nap on the fancy pillow

The girls will be home tonight so I will need to make sure I clean up a few things.  I didn't make much of a mess or dirty any dishes...... (Mavrick cleaned the dishes for me)....Maybe I can make a nice treat for them when they get back as a surprise. A snack treat or something since I am not sure when they will get in exactly.......I guess that means I will have to go to the dreaded grocery store otherwise the only thing I could probably make is a dry sandwich or salsa favored popcorn.  By the way, why do we have so much salsa in this house but nothing to put it on? Take care my friends.  I believe I should be rescued from this solitude and saved from having to survive on Triskets and Laughing Cow Cheese. Don't worry, I wont let the girls know we missed them.....we will play it up like it was the best guy's weekend ever! Take care my friends....Stay lonely....NOT!

Spare Time?

So tell me....Do any of you actually have any spare time? Me neither.  I just squeeze something in if I want to do it bad enough.  Work keeps me busy enough at the office, but a great design staff allows me to take some time for myself every now and then.  But what do I do with that time? What do you do with your time? When you actually find that there are a few moments available what do you do with it?

Usually there are periods of time or lengths that become available.  Like 5 min.....15 min.....an hour.....an afternoon or morning.....the ever so infrequent DAY......maybe possibly but the unlikely  weekend. Forget about the full week vacation....and no longer does the month long get-a-way happen ever since college. (Maybe once I get all the office running independently I can take some sabbaticals to far away distant lands.....we will see.)

Well I do not plan on going through the entire "things I do" because it will make me feel like I need to DO all those things......and I don't want to right now! Primarily, at nearly 46 years of life, I like to find time to rest.  Rest and recovery (sounds like a computer necessity....a reboot). If I have a few minutes I actually like to keep up with the news, sports, yes facebook or even this silly blog. I can even burn through an hour reading up on stuff on the Internet. If we get to an hour time frame, there isn't really much I can PLAN for....it just becomes spontaneous. Yes, I should come up with a few tasks that need to be done around the house or office, even a few chores but alas that doesn't help in the recovery category.

When it comes to a morning or afternoon time slot, I often try to mix in the TASK along with some down time. There is much to do regarding the yard work.  It seems it always needs mowing or trimming or something.  Nice part about that is we are getting close to winter so that will come to a close soon. Maybe the home repairs lists will kick in at that point? It would be nice to finish the base cove, a new coat of paint, remodel the stairs, redo the main bathroom.....ahhhh and yes the new kitchen floor which includes the walls, demo, lighting, wood flooring, tile flooring....and more.......stop already! Maybe I will just take some time to watch TV......a total waste of time. But I can unwind.  Better yet, I will do a little city building in SIM CITY! (I know, a complete departure from what I do all day long at work! Plan for commerical, industrial and residential areas, make sure there are proper traffic flows both private and public transportation. Incorporate parks and recreational areas for ....get this.... DOWNTIME....I think I will go live in one of my sim cities. Make sure there is enough police, fire and medical facilities and plenty of options for education.  Don't get the city bogged down in traffic or don't let the air and water pollution overcome the occupants. And do all this under budget!)

Okay, if I had a weekend.....it never really consists of just down time.  I always have to DO SOMETHING.  We did get away to the camping site over labor day and that was a complete departure....mostly because it rained the entire time. I usually have to accomplish a bit of everything during a weekend....maybe a bit more relaxing time for a holiday weekend....a real holiday weekend not like Columbus Day.

What about a week long? Well that happen very infrequently.  I haven't taken a vacation in a while. Keeping an eye on the business prevents that mostly.....having no money prevents that the rest of the time. But again if it does occur....I have the tether of the laptop and blackberry that keeps it all at my finger tips......I need a few of these soon.....maybe half weeks?

If I had a month to DO SOMETHING it would have to be an agenda item....you know one of my bucket list items. I have a few that I would really enjoy doing and it would probably be much like a TASK than a VACATION......something to all planned out and coordinated and organized and budgeted and and and.....yep....WORK. I have a massive Bucket List already containing 50 or more items.  I may share that with you all soon........until then......I a going to play SIM CITY!

Get some rest my friends.....or go do something!