Winter's like a fish

It's nice for a week or two, but after that it really stinks.

Home Shopping, and Networks

Dani and I have taken our intent to buy a home to a new level. We've been touring homes in central Utah county (from Provo up to Pleasant Grove).

As of this morning, we had one picked out. It had pretty much everything we were looking for, and we felt it was a little overpriced but were willing to pay it because it seemed like it would require very little fixing to make it exactly what we wanted.

Boy, that was wrong. I went through with the home inspector today, and that really opened my eyes. Just about everything that could be done wrong with the electrical systems was. The Inspector pointed out at least a dozen building code violations in the wiring.

Building code aside, some of the stuff in this place was just plain dangerous. They had exposed wiring touching insulation in the attic at multiple places. It was the newspaper-based insulation in the attic too. Yeah--the whole attic was essentially a well made camp fire with a lighter sitting right in the kindling. All that takes is a single jolt of power when you turn on your lights to set your roof on fire within minutes!

The Coup De Grace with this house, however, was the ventilation systems. They were done completely wrong! They let some of the vent pipes dip down--and it had caused a Carbon Monoxide backdraft! So, essentially, if we had used hot water in that house, we could've been killed.

Despite all this, we felt like it could all be fixed. So, we withdrew our offer, and told him we were still interested, but that we'd only buy it at a slightly inflated market price (rather than the largely inflated market price he was asking). Long story short, we still offered him well above what the home is worth, and he wouldn't talk to us. I don't know what the housing market is going to do, but I do wager it'll take a significant hit when the 8000 tax stimulus passes its deadline. So, we've moved on.

I'm not that picky with the home we'd live in. All I want is a safe environment, a fiber-optic line ran to my house, a place for my computers, and four bedrooms so our growing family can fit comfortably. Really, is a LAN too much to ask for? I've wanted one since I was a kid. Now that I have the beginnings of one, I'm starting to realize that I don't have friends to populate one should I build it. Oh well, maybe I can get a calling in young mens? Maybe I should just get a new hobby, and only do computer networking for my job.

In retrospect, I'm glad we withdrew our offer. If we're still looking in six months, then I might revisit that house and see if the price has come down to a fair market value. If it hasn't, then, oh well, the guy who tried to flip it can pay the mortgage on it.

In the mean time, some new prospects have opened up, and I'm really quite excited about them. I hope it lasts long enough. I really hate shopping, so we'll see how long I last.

N Speaks

Just now, this morning, N was fascinated by what I was doing on my computer--for about three seconds, and then walked off. Before she was out of range I called out, as I often do, "I love you."

For the first time ever, clear as day, N responded, "I love you too"

Crashed

V

Here are some recent pictures of V (click for HD)

Center of Attention

This clip speaks for itself. I was teaching N how to play with little sister:

If you can't watch it here, then http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN5Izh73qPI

Our Second First Date

So, Dani and I don't get out much. We try, but it always takes such careful planning to find a babysitter and to prep the house for our absence by providing food and other needs of life for our kids--you parents know what I'm talking about. Even just thinking about all the planning that needs to go into a date is sometimes exhausting.

Two days ago, both Dani and I were going absolutely stir-crazy. N was whining about every little thing, V wouldn't stop crying for more than five seconds to catch her breath, and both Dani and I were so tired that we wanted to go to sleep about three hours before we actually were able to. At one point we both came very close to saying, "I can't take this right now, I'm going for a walk, I'll be back when I'm ready." Of course, when both parents are at that point, you're in a bad situation.

So, yesterday, I still was kinda "snapped," and took some quiet reflective time to focus on just one thing I really wanted that I could do today. The thought hit me rather quickly, "I want to fall in love with Dani again."

I'm still very much in love with my wife--but the whole process of meeting and courtship has a lot of thrill to it. So, I asked Dani out on a spur-of-the-moment second "First date." Where we'd both pretend that it was a first date, and that we were free to talk about anything. The goal was to get to know each other again, and hope that it led to a second date :).

J. Buck was kind enough to watch Mulan with our kids for an hour in a half, and I took Dani to Olive Garden. The "First date" mentality started as soon as we were out the door.

While we already knew most of the things we talked about (how many siblings we have, and hobbies and interests) it was nice to get a fresh perspective on it. Dani said that she learned a number of new things about me, and I found it to be much more enjoyable than our more recent dates.

It was fun, feigning shyness, trying to avoid physical contact due to the typical awkwardness associated with a first date. I definately think that our next date will be a "Second Second date." It felt a little silly at first, but turned out to be a lot of fun.