Why Do I Bother?

I’ll edit and re-post this in a bit. I just wanted you all to see my nephew R.J. at his best. R.J., Joe, and Kayla, our nephews and neice from California stayed with us for a couple days at the beginning of this week. We drove them up to meet Aunt Emily halfway to Seattle. The poor kids were so tired! Anyway … I’ll give you more of the story on my long week later. If you get this post by email, you probably won’t receive the edited version so you might want to check the site later tonight.

Tags: Family, Home, Mentoring by Jeffrey
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creek

Ok … here’s your chance to show your true colors. I’ve been talking about this project in my back yard for a while now, and next month I’m actually going to get it going. This past winter the channel that holds the creek in my back yard finally collapsed. It was a well designed project, but it incorporated inferior materials and the years of moisture and sun have rotted out the timbers. Now I have to remove all the old rotten timbers and replace them with new pressure treated ones. I would love to do the job with concrete, but that is too expensive and too time consuming.

I could really use your help! I am taking some time off from June 19 to June 27 and I expect I will be working on this project everyday during that time. If you are available to help, could you send me an email or give me a call to let me know when? As the time gets closer I will plan some specific activities based on the amount of help I can round up. I also plan to provide anyone who’s willing to help with food and beverages. We’ll probably have a big barbeque at the end of the week. Some of you have already offered to help but didn’t know the exact dates I had available. If you could let me know when works best for you I would appreciate it.

Thank you all so much!

Technorati Tags: project, back yard, creek, barbeque

Tags: Announcements, Home by Jeffrey
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(link to title reference)

I haven’t had a good nights sleep for oh … at least 3 to 4 months. By that I mean that it is typical for me to be up 3 or 4 times a night for whatever reason; to pee, to check the thermostat, to get more water, to check out strange noises, whatever. Needless to say, my physical and mental health have been suffering because of this.

Did you know that sleep deprivation is used as a method to torture prisoners? Did you know that sleep deprivation and sleepwalking has been successfully used as a defense in murder trials? Did you know that Sleep deprivation afflicts about 25% of americans and results in limited physical and mental functioning and has even been linked to adult diabetes?

Now before you call in emergency services, I was not yet to the point where murder seems like a reasonable behavior. So far, my symptoms were limited to my own personal suffering. Who knows what might have happened though …

Maybe my wife already knew about that murder thing when she agreed that we should get a new bed. I had been complaining for a couple months that our bed was inadequate and last week we finally went and invested in a new bed. I say “invested” because it is no small expense to buy a decent bed. We decide to get one from Sleep Comfort. You know the Sleep Number Bed? Lindsay Wagner?

It arrived via UPS after about 4 days. I came home to find 4 large boxes sitting on my front porch. Thank God I live in a decent neighborhood where it is somewhat safe to leave $1800 worth of mechandise unattended on your front porch. Anyway, after about an hour of work the bed was in place and beckoning to me.

I spent the first night alone, since Mel had not yet returned from Chicago. For the first night in a very long time I didn’t get up once! You can’t imagine how relieved I was to look over at the clock by the bed and see that it was 8:30, not 2:30!

There are a few things that you should never skimp on in my opinion. They are a good pair of shoes, a quality vehicle, and a good bed. I might also add a good shot of scotch to that list.

Technorati Tags: sleep, pee, physical, mental health, sleep deprivation, torture, sleepwalking, defense, murder, diabetes, bed, Sleep Comfort, Sleep Number, Lindsay Wagner, Mel

Tags: Health, Home by Jeffrey
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I’ve devoted a lot of space on my blog lately to anything but blogging. Not that I’m not still concerned about traffic, or my renters, or Wordpress updates, but there are more important things going on that I seem to be avoiding. Like what?

Like the house for example. Did you know that it has been raining here for 40 days and 40 nights and if I had an Ark I could float it down the creek running through our backyard? The ground has been so saturated that the banks of the creek are collapsing. This spring I have to dig up my entire yard and install a drainage system that drains into the creek, then I have to rebuild the creek bed with concrete and wood. Then I have to remove some trees and replant the lawn.

I also haven’t told you about my job lately. Did you know that I didn’t get a job that I interviewed for a while back? Did you know that I have interviewed for another job since then and I have another interview next wednesday? The first interview was for a parole/probation officer with Marion County, the second was for a parole/probation assistant, and the third is for a unit coordinator here at MacLaren.

I haven’t told you about my brother being selected for the lead role in a local film. He’s a very talented actor and I’m pretty excited for him. You can read all about his new role on his blog. He’s also the one who gave me the great new header for this site. Thanks, Chris.

I haven’t told you that Mel and I have been going to the gym every week. I could be doing better, but on the other hand I am doing better. As much as I love the feeling of being healthy, I hate going to the gym. It makes me grumpy. But the I-pod Mel bought me for Christmas, and the headphones she got me for my birthday make it much more enjoyable. It’s also a good way for us to spend time together.

Did I also tell you that I’m overusing my technorati powers?

… Phew … I feel better now.

Technorati Tags: blog, traffic, Wordpress, house, raining, creek, drainage system, lawn, job, interview, parole, probation, Marion County, MacLaren, brother, film, actor, gym, healthy, gym, I-pod, technorati

Tags: Family, Health, Home, Love and Marriage, Work by Jeffrey
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If you know me at all, you know I love to cook. If you don’t know me, any of my friends will tell you that I’m pretty good at it. Last night was no exception, if I must say so myself.

It’s called Tagine. A Tagine is a portable oven used in moroccan cooking. It’s also the name of a dish made from vegetables and meat. I cooked the meat separately this time, but I’m sure it would be terrific in the pot. It’s funny, I’m not really a big vegetable eater and some of the vegetables in this dish are not very appealing to me, but the combination of the vegetables and the spices makes this something special. You have to try it.

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into chunks
1/2 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small butternut squash, peeled and chopped (I cubed mine into about 1/2 inch cubes)
1 can garbonzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 can diced tomatoes with juice
1 can vegetable broth (I used chicken broth this time because that’s what I had)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspon salt
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 dash cayenne pepper

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and cook the chicken, onion, and garlic about 15 minutes unil browned.

Mix the squash, garbonzo beans, carrot, tomatoes with juice, broth, sugar, and lemon juice in the skillet. Season with salt, coriander, and cayenne pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil and continue cooking 30 minutes until vegetables are tender.

This really should be served over cous cous, but I used some home made moroccan bread instead. If you try this recipe, tell me how you like it.

Tags: Cooking & Recipes, Home by Jeffrey
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