1. Vespa Rocking Horse

Make no mistake: children love rocking horses. It’s about as much on-demand fun and adventure as a year-and-half-year-old can have imagine. It seams to me that rocking horses seem to come in two varieties. 1) The traditional wood “old timey” horse that is often uncomfortable and easy to break 2) The cheap plastic horse that’s is surprisingly durable and comfortable but still remarkably tacky. <– We have that one. My hope is that later in life I’ll be able to build a beautiful Vespa rocking horse like this one:

2. The LCD TV Easel from Restoration Hardware

Televisions may forever be a source of pride and insecurity for Americans. I recently read an article in an interior design magazine that asked ten hardworking designers how they address the sensitive issue of putting a massive blabber-box in a well-appointed living space. They only had two solutions: hide it or put it on display for all to see. What is interesting is that when they presented their solution, every designer—every designer—began their answer with a disclaimer.

1. “Since we’ll use it all the time, why hide it?”  -or-
2. “Since it’s a hideous black hole hung on the wall, we had not option but to hide it.”

There just didn’t seem to be a solution that was free of insecurity. Or maybe there is a solution. Check out Restoration Hardware’s TV stand that’s inspired by an artists easel.

Here’s why this works. You look artsy without having to commit to purchasing a piece of art. (I know that my art school friends hate what I just wrote, but I am of the sophisticated crowd composed of art patrons who believe that modern art is garbage. Garbauge.) Plus you can hook up an Apple TV and you have yourself a dynamic family photo album. What could be better?

3. Salt, Pepper, Sweets

Have you ever seen a fancy marker rendering of a new restaurant concept? You’ll never see salt and peppers shakers on the tabletops. Why? Because these tacky necessities interrupt the visual cleanliness of a restaurant’s dining area. It’s for the same reason that you will never see a rendering of a concept car that includes door handles, antennas, or windshield wipers. In other words, they just don’t look cool. I snapped this photo at Postino Wine Bar in Arcadia (Phoenix).

The slip of paper that reads “Gum Here” is a brilliant idea. For one, it’s punchy and clever… it adds an emotional lift in an unexpected place. Two, it’s a clean piece of paper for writing down phone numbers of new friends. Three, it helps the restaurant save money—little by little—by discouraging patrons from wrapping their A.B.C.* gum with a perfectly good packet of sugar.

4. McDonalds, Detroit Airport

McD’s is not a popular destination for hip people and they know that. It seems like McDonalds is trying to fix that. One example is an atrocious McDonalds near my home that was given a “spa-treatment” with acres of natural stone and earth-toned paint. They even had a “water feature” that tried hard to convince patrons that they’re eating cheese burgers by a babbling brook. You might actually think after reading those words that this could in fact be an improvement on the colorful plasticy interiors of most McD’s. But it was certainly not an improvement. One word: ridiculous.

However, the McDonalds in the Detroit Airport actually got a visual upgrade and looks better than most.

5. Water Closet

Okay, let’s get this out there: photographs snapped in bathrooms are of any worth to our civilization. There are few exceptions to this rule, and you are looking at one of them. Why did I take this photo? It’s a simple yet clever reinvention of the least-glamorous corner of our lives.

(Have you ever dropped your phone in the toilet? Don’t laugh—because it could happen to you. This doesn’t just happen to those who choose to multi-task by chattering with unsuspecting friends. No, if your phone has ever fallen out of your pocket while sitting on the couch, know that the same thing can happen on a porcelain throne. This is an issue of gravity. With gravity always comes drama.)

Here you have a discreet tray for you phone, keys, whatever. It’s there if you need it. It can be ignored if you don’t.

6. This Shed

This is a small but cool picnic area in the charming Agritopia community outside of Phoenix. What I love about this structure is the attention to detail. Take a closer look…

7. This Truck

This is the most interesting truck at the car show in midtown Phoenix last fall. A four-door (stock, I presume) Chevy C-10 from the late 1950s with a drastically altered suspension. It’s amazing to see that airbag suspension and big rims can make a previously unexciting pickup into something unique and cool.

On my dining room table I have a ten-inch stack of black binders filled with documents, notes, and assignments. Depending on which of my three classes I’m preparing for, I’ll start my day by fishing out two binders and begin working. I’m expected to master all of the knowledge about accounting, global marketing, and economics. It’s exhausting. Within two days I’ll be finished with these three subjects and I’ll have four days off until we start a new trimester.

Yesterday my sister Katie and her husband Brian have a new little baby named Jack David back in Georgia. I know that those two names will be with me for the rest of my life. Also yesterday others in my family attended a funeral in Arizona for my unborn nephew named Kolbe Michael. How do you write about these two experiences? There is such joy and pain in the hearts of people who are so close to me. I have not reconciled the juxtaposition of these two events. I’m lost in the emotions of both.

(Out the window to my right is the coast of Southern California with a few islands scattered in the distance.)

My father is now home safe after a two-week trip with Eric Martin to Haiti to help with the earthquake recovery efforts. He was deeply moved by his experience. We’ve spoken on the phone a few time since he’s returned home, but I believe the complexity of his experience cannot be communicated over the phone. I’ll be seeing him in a couple of weeks and I’m anxious to spend time with him and hear his stories.

I can’t wait to get home and be with Candyce and Norah again. It’s only been 36 hours but I miss them so much.

But before I move on, let’s talk about the privilege of having a job. I think it’s only fair that if you are employed right now, you should stop and be thankful for what you have. Be positive in your workplace and do good work. There are many people who would love to have your “worries” in exchange for a paycheck. As my barber told me yesterday: “I complained that I had no shoes until I met a man with no feet.”

I am NOT excited to restart classes in the MBA program. I’ve needed this winter break like Wall Street needed a bailout. The high expectations of both school and work totally wore me out in the last months of 2009, and I cannot say that I’ve regained my strength. But like it or not, I have an accounting class on Wednesday.

Sometimes I get confused about how to make priorities in this messy world. I mean, right now there are countless people buried alive in the rubble in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The earthquake has left people with so much suffering…I cannot even imagine. I got home from work yesterday and turned on the news to get a more up close look at what people were going through. The news reporter told the story of a man who lost is wife beneath a collapsed building. The husband pressed his hand against a the rubble and held his ear to a concrete slab hoping to hear her tapping below. The tapping came and went. The husband and the rescue workers prayed and dug. The segment ended with the sad reality that they had not found his wife.

The thought of losing Candyce or Norah shreds my heart. I cannot imagine the pain this guy is experiencing. At this very moment, I am sure he is still digging for his wife. Me? I am at here at Starbucks at the airport typing on my laptop. What’s my biggest problem right now? I don’t want to go to class. What’s your problem?

How am I supposed to reconcile my life of privilege with the misfortune of others?

I don’t know if there is a clear way to keep my own life moving forward while still caring for the rest of the planet. I do what I can, even if it’s not enough. …I pray for those in need. I donate money to worthy causes…I volunteer my time…I try to be a caring friend and neighbor.

I try not to get enthralled in the dazzle of the material world. Because it’s hard to be a genuine person if you are easily impressed by fortune and fame. I do try to be successful in what I do–career, education, investments–but I constantly remind myself that this too shall pass.

Ultimately, I try to be the best husband and father that I can be. If every man made their family their top priority, much of our society’s ills would wash away.

::::

Honestly, I am still unsettled about this. About how to make daily priorities in such a messy world. I need to pray more about this. And right now I need to finish this so I can get on my plane. Boston here I come.

Unfortunately, the recess just does not function well with a modern-day flat panel television. Most homeowners in the neighborhood choose to hang their TVs above their fireplace because there it is centered in the room and has ample width for wide screens.

My goal was to build a cabinet within the recess that would hide the family’s TV junk like the DVD player, Blu Ray Player, X-Box, Wii, and Tivo. Plus, there needed to be plenty of room for the gaming accessories including the DJ Hero turntable, Rock Band instruments, and the numerous game controllers. I felt like that corner of the home had way too much packed into it and it always stressed me out. Plus everyone tripped over the stuff on their way out the back door. It was a hot mess.

So take a look at the photos…after the click, be sure to read the notes on the lower left.

I chose to use Pine for the shelves and Oak stained gray and then weathered for the exterior. I felt that the room had too many competing warm wood tone and I didn’t want to add yet another. The weathered gray also looks like driftwood that gathers on the shore. It’s casual and beachy.

Some details I added:

• Full-extension drawers
• Drilled holes with routed edges at the back center of each shelf. This makes it easy to feed wires up and down the cabinet
• The top half houses the media units that generate a lot of heat. The doors for this area will have stamped aluminum faces that will allow for plenty of air circulation.
• I plan on building custom bins made of Poplar to store DVDs, games, and controllers. Two bins will fit side-by-side on two shelves.

I believe that I would’ve gotten the project finished had it not been for the rain that slowed the drying of the stain on the wood. I look forward to finishing it in the future.

Before I move forward, I feel like I need to give some context here. I was raised on a farm and I know what it means to work hard. Those formative years set a high standard for myself that has never wavered; I have always worked hard at home, school, or at work. For me, working hard and with passion brings elevated meaning to even the most ordinary tasks. Anyone who knows me will be quick to tell you that I work with purpose and fervor. This will never change.

But what set 2009 apart from each previous year of hard work was that I was more deliberate with managing the twelve months of the year and the five days in a workweek. In short, I always began with the end in mind. I was focused on short- and long-term goals through each day of the past 364 days of this year. It was my most masterfully executed calendar year since graduating college. This allowed me to accomplish each of my New Year’s resolutions plus my massive professional workload.

So was all that work worth it? I guess that’s the big question that deep down I want to find an answer for and why I’m writing about the subject. If all I wanted to do was to publish my accomplishments this year, it would be simple enough to copy and paste all of my completed to-do lists from the year. But at the moment I am heavy with exhaustion that’s entirely unpleasant. I’m burned out. It is hard to know if it was worth it.

Here are my thoughts:

1. I doubt that everyone on my team at work appreciates what I’ve given to our organization over the past twelve months. That’s okay, because everyone was busy with their own work and they didn’t have the time to stop and appreciate my effort. As with most things in life, I will just have to be patient to see the impact of my labor. The reward won’t come with a bonus (we don’t have bonuses) or a promotion (we don’t have promotions), but with seeing our ministry grow and excel.
2. Part of the reason I worked so hard this year was because I wanted to see if I could do it. I know that the professional athletes that I most admire succeed because of their legendary effort, and I wanted to see if I could apply the same drive to my own life. I can say without a doubt that I gave legendary effort in 2009. Unlike professional athletes—however–I have no post-season where my team enters the playoffs and primed to dominate other teams. There is no deciding game where the victors hold the championship trophy high above their heads. Nobody gets the MVP trophy in my world. This kinda sucks.
3. Working so hard can make you self-absorbed. I started to think that the only thing that mattered on this planet is the stuff that I had to get done. It was hard to spontaneously make time to help friends when my schedule was packed so tightly. Plus when you’re consumed with ambition for twelve straight months, you don’t have much to talk about other than the stuff you’re doing. I wonder if I was a bore to listen to for a whole year.
4. It’s hard to live in the moment. One example that comes to mind was when Candyce drove me to the airport. I had just finished my midterm at school the night before and was soon going out of town for a long weekend. I knew that as soon as I returned, I would be preparing for class assignments for another five days straight. So that 20-minute drive to the airport should’ve been spent just enjoying the company of my kind and beautiful wife. But instead I was completely consumed with the next seven days. I got on the airplane feeling lonely and unfulfilled.
5. Let there be no confusion here: getting a master’s degree while still working full time is difficult for anyone, but especially for a married man with a family. I know that many people have done it before me, so I try not to get too intimidated by the insane amount of work I have to do each day. But I’ve learned that an overbooked lifestyle starts to make you feel like someone else is running your life. It’s ironic, isn’t it? I started this whole thing so that I could get my control over my future.

So there you have it—a blog update from an exhausted man after a long year of hard work. I would like to come up with a clever way to pull this whole thing together, but I’m out of energy. The end.

::::

I was happy to Dad’s campaign manager. I handled his media strategy including web and print campaign materials.

Here are a couple items I designed:

Campaign Flier, photograph by Laura Womack

Campaign Yard Sign

I am vaguely aware that the World Series will be soon. I just went downstairs to get some water and saw that the Yankees might knock out the Angels tonight and progress to the World Series. I haven’t watched baseball in sometime. Actually, I haven’t watched much of anything. I am excited to not have class later this week. I’ll take off a few days from work and get out of town and try to find my equilibrium again.

You like the idea of a challenge because it tugs on your ego’s desire to accomplish something you didn’t know you could. That’s why it is easy to get drawn into tales of others overcoming challenges. But make no mistake, when you are in the middle of a challenge, it sucks. I do keep an attitude of gratitude, but the reality is there is no romance in being pulled in three directions all day. I don’t feel like a hero or a champion. I feel tired.

My ride from Essex to Detroit was pleasant because of the company of my driver, a man named Rene who drove a brand new Chrysler 300—a retirement gift that Chrysler gave him. We talked about the complexity of Labor Unions, and the inability of American automakers to stay competitive with foreign carmakers.

One of the unexpected subplots of my life as an adult is recognizing trends that I willfully ignore. Maybe it’s that adulthood frees me from blindly following the crowd, that is, I am too busy to care. My list includes, but is not limited to, the following: American Idol, skinny jeans, Survivor + 95% of all other reality shows—including my own show—the Real World, and American Idol. The newest addition to this list is the book/movie Twilight. These are facets of modern day pop culture that I am completely comfortable knowing nothing about. I don’t beat people over the head with my gleeful ignorance. Again, who has the time?

The reason why I bring this up is because I’m sitting at the Detroit airport waiting for my connection to Chicago before I’m back in Phoenix. I spent 10 minutes at the magazine stand amusing my mind with words and pictures of pop culture. Twilight is the new thing and I expect that I’ll eventually have to figure why these teenage vampire movies have the attention of every high school girl so I won’t be considered out of touch. But I’m in no hurry.

I moved to the “grown up” magazine section. I read in Time Magazine that Detroit has a 29% unemployment rate. That is one out of every three people who want a job do not have a job. It makes the national unemployment rate of 9.5-10% look like good times. Part of our drive on the outskirts of Detroit was particularly dismal. I can’t imagine why anyone would want to live here. I don’t want pick on the city anymore, but it’s clear that the decay of Detroit is real and shows no sign of stopping.

It’s remarkable how much cities can change. Downtown Tempe, once a mecca for nightlife and shopping, is no longer a worthwhile option. People would much rather go to Phoenix or Scottsdale to spend money and be seen. I’ve read many articles about the evolution of Downtown Tempe, but it doesn’t seem like anyone knows why the trendy college town just kind of went away.

So I ate at Ruby Tuesday this afternoon here at the Detroit airport. I felt like I owed them a trip because they’ve worked so hard to entice 20 and 30somethings into their establishment with a new menu and a drastically upgrade to their restaurant ‘s image. In short, it seems like they ditched their whole concept and started over. I’m assuming everything is new because I have no personal encounter with the “before” version of Ruby Tuesday, only this afternoon’s “after”.

For my entire life, I’ve never been able to tell the difference between TGIFridays, Ruby Tuesday, and Chili’s, and where applicable, Benegins. My indifference towards these establishments has not always been rooted in snobbery. When I was young, we were too poor to eat there on the rare occasion we traveled out of our small country town. By the time I grew up and had enough of my own money to go out to eat, the last thing I wanted to do in my new big city was to patronize restaurants that became famous for serving predictable food within 100-yards of a suburban shopping mall. So for an entire decade now, I’ve ignored these restaurants.

On the drive from Arcadia to the airport on Friday, Candyce and I passed a new Ruby Tuesday next to an equally new Aloft Hotel (W Hotel’s new line) along Phoenix’s newly Light Rail. It was an impressively urban “Creative Class” snapshot. My vanity was tugged with curiosity. So 24 hours later I ate at Ruby Tuesday here at the Detroit Airport. It was a good meal inside an airport, but I don’t think I’ll make it my Saturday night destination any time soon.

Well, that’s it for me. It’s time to get on the airplane and start studying for my Statistics midterm.

Photos of a random car show we stumbled upon in between Megan and Bradly’s wedding and wedding reception. After clicking on the thumbnails, look for a description on the lower left.

We traveled to Atlanta + Tiger, San Diego, Tucson, and Prescott (and hopefully back to San Diego later this week.) Somewhere in there I went to Ohio for a weekend. I am infinitely thankful that Candyce and I planned out the summer back in early May, otherwise this summer would’ve felt like our lives were spinning out of control. Our planning paid off because our summer was fun and rewarding, even when you throw in the fact that Candyce and Norah have been sick…

…after several days of worsening head and sinus pain, I took Candyce to urgent care last Thursday. The doctor told us she had sinusitis. The prayers and antibiotics have combined to help her get better each day for the past five days. Norah had two bad weeks of teething that coincided with Candyce’s sickness. That meant both of my girls were in pain and sleep deprived, which ultimately meant they had no patience for one another.

I had to stop all of my projects and just try to hold our household together. I had to cook, clean, care, and coordinate. (I don’t think that it’s cute that each of those words started with a C. It just came out that way.) Thankfully they’re both feeling better now, and most of our weekend was spent trying to get our lives back in order.

Last night at Pei Wei Candyce’s aunt Stephanie declared that she could beat Candyce’s dad in an arm wrestling match. It seemed unfair to let a challenge like this go without resolution, so I used my force of personality to get two adults to clear plates off the table to make room for the main event. Big John Stud pinned her to the table in a matter of seconds. Next match up? Big John Stud v. Johnny Jr.–tied. At this point I realized John was tired and therefore easier to conquer. I figured I’d impress Candyce and challenged the Grizzly to go knuckle to knuckle. John pinned me with both his left and right arms. He’s just that strong. We spent the 10 minute ride home challenging John to increase his fame by arm wrestling random people we know. It was an oddly satisfying end to the Sabbath.

Dad removes the tacky tile that will soon be replaced by travertine.

Once the floors were stripped down to the concrete foundation, I laid most of the the tile in a 16-hour marathon that began at 6pm and ended at 10am the following day.  The tile needed to get done ASAP so my brother could install the baseboards in the great room.

The good news is that my hard work paid off–my brother began the baseboards the next morning and the remodel continued on. The bad news is that the grout between the tiles “sunk” as it dried which made the tiles look uneven. I don’t know if the grout sunk because it was too thin and seeped beneath the tile, or maybe the dry Arizona air pulled the moisture out of the grout and caused it to lose volume. Regardless, the end result was a floor that looked good, but it didn’t look great. It wasn’t a priority at the time to apply more grout and make it perfect, so I left it as it was.

Now that the remodeling finished–18 months later–I’ve made my rounds and regrouted and sealed/polished the tile. Here are photos of what I did over the last couple of weekends…click on the small image and look for a detailed description on the bottom…

Now it’s time to clean the other side of the great room. It’s going to be a busy Saturday afternoon.

(I am beginning to see that the inside of my house and my website use the same color palette. That means I’m either consistent or boring.)

Now that we have refrigeration, Candyce and I no longer living out of a picnic cooler. Life is beautiful.

I want to re-state a critical part of this whole ordeal because I do not want anyone to miss it. I called a half-dozen friends to see if they could help me pickup the new fridge. Everyone had something going on and were not able to help. After thirty minutes and no help, I posted the following Facebook status:

Can one of my manly man friends help me move a fridge? It’s big and heavy, but I have a moving truck and a dolly. I can move it as soon as one of you calls me. 2 hrs max. What’s in it for you? Treasure in heaven AND homemade muffins. Text me if you can help.

I got a call 2 minutes later from Joe B. and soon we were off to get the U-haul. How cool is that?

]]> http://supafly.com/manly-men-move-their-own-fridges/feed/ http://supafly.com/my-favorite-power-tools-hand-tools/ http://supafly.com/my-favorite-power-tools-hand-tools/#comments Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:40:29 +0000 Matt http://supafly.com/?p=1897 I’m writing this blog because a lot of my friends have begun work on their newly purchased “bottom of the market” homes and are intimidated by the work ahead yet eager to get started. As I write this, my brother-in-law is preparing to make a once-flooded foreclosed house into a livable home for his wife and young son. He’s texted me a couple times this week asking about tools he can borrow from my arsenal and what tools he should buy on his own. This brings up a big question: What tools does a new homeowner need to buy?

I couldn't have made this paneling without the right tools.

My short answer is buy whatever tools you need.  I don’t like the idea that you need a complete and expansive arsenal of tools before you can get started. Every project demands a different set of tools, so prescribing a “must have” list of tools for an unknown project is misguided. Plus let’s not forget: tools can be expensive. Most of us can only afford one tool at a time.

Having said that, the tools listed below have come from my own needs as a homeowner. These are essentially wood working tools for finish carpentry, wainscoting, and furniture making. Although I did extensive drywall work and tiling throughout my remodel, the tools for those jobs are specialized, single-purpose tools that I won’t cover here.

So friends, here is a quick introduction to 20 versatile tools that will help you do a job that’s both professional and quick.

Power Tools

	01. Electric Drill This one is pretty obvious. Drilling out holes with a hand tool will make your muscles rock-hard, but you’ll waste your day getting the job done. Screwdrivers? You will certainly use a screwdriver with almost every project, but I’ve never met a man who has enough patience to use a screwdriver for an entire project. Save your sanity: buy an electric hand drill. I own a corded drill and a cordless battery powered drill.
	02. Compound Miter Saw This the ultimate power tool for doing finish carpentry. You can make accurate angled cuts for all moulding: baseboards, chair rails, and crown. This saw also makes light work of quickly cutting two-by-fours for framing. Unfortunately, a compound miter saw is expensive, even if you get a cheaper model. So if you aren’t planning on doing a lot of carpentry around the house, a basic miter saw will do a good job.
	03. Circular Saw A circular saw is a must-have tool for anyone working with wood. It’s small and easy to bring with you to different job sites. Although a table saw can make more consistent cuts, you don’t always have space or time to set it up. An added bonus is that a circular saw is one of the more affordable tools.
	04. Table Saw This is essentially a circular saw turned upside inside useful table. The advantage of a table saw is that you are able to make longer cuts–especially on sheets of plywood–straighter and more consistent, thanks to the table surface and the table fence.
	05. Reciprocating Saw This is not a precision cutting instrument, but a furious deconstruction tool. I’ve seen guys use a circular saw to take down a wall because that’s all they’ve had, but reciprocating saw gives better leverage and is more comfortable in your hands. This makes the job quicker and more safe (as long as you don’t cut through pipes and live electrical wires.) In short, if you need to tear it down, use a reciprocating saw. It’s fun.
	06. Shop Vacuum A shop vac is an important tool for a DIYer because it keeps your work space clean. A broom and a dust pan work fine if all you’re doing is cleaning the sawdust off the floor of your garage, but if you do work inside your home where cleanliness is a higher priority, then know that a shop vac is your best friend. An added bonus is that a shop vac can be fastened to some wood working tools to prevent dust from ever touching the ground. In my opinion, the best feature is that many shop vacs work both wet and dry. It’s works as well sucking up drywall dust as it does sucking up dirty puddles of water.
	07. Router A router is a powerful tool that allows the wood worker to make fancy edges, like a curved perimeter of a table top. This is my favorite power tool to use because when I pull it off the shelf in my garage, it means that I am putting the finishing touches on a project that will give it the “wow factor”. If you are planning on doing a lot of trim work on your home (baseboards, crown, chair rail), you can save a lot of money by purchasing ordinary boards and then giving them a fancy routed edge. I used my router to build up layers of wood to make the crown moulding that wraps the top of my kitchen pantry. Keep in mind that the router isn’t just for show. I’ve found that my router was very helpful when I was trying to make clean and consistent recesses in my wood doors for the hinges.
	08. Finish Nailer + Air compressor A hammer is a useful instrument that shouldn’t be forgotten, but it’s not the best tool for putting in every nail. A finish nailer is a low-impact tool for fastening wood pieces to one another. If you plan on doing framing or a larger construction job, be sure to get the more powerful framing nailer. I know there are some battery-powered nailers out there, but I haven’t had a chance to use them yet. I like my air compressor because it is a low-maintenance power source for many of my tools. A convenient tool for removing finishing nails is pair of end nipper pliers.
	09. Random Orbit Sander Let’s get real here–nobody wants to spend an afternoon sanding their wood project. It’s boring and monotonous and you will eventually lose patience and be tempted to skip to rolling on your finish. So if you are expecting to do a lot of remodeling on your home, it’s wise to purchase an electric sander. Bypass the small and limited hobby sanders and sheet sanders and go right for the electric random orbit sander for clean, consistent, and quick results.  It’s worth knowing that you have to purchase specialized sandpaper made specifically for your sander. Although it’s pricier than ordinary sand paper, you can save money by ordering online ahead of time. If you are doing a lot of sanding, it’s wise to pair this sander with your shop vac.
	10. Jig Saw Jig saw is the “tug boat” of my power tools. It may not be big and brutish, but it can make quick curvy cuts that no other power tool can accomplish. If you have children who want to join you on a carpentry project, the jig saw is one of the least dangerous power tools. (Of course, train your child well and keep a close eye on them as they work.)

Hand Tools

	11. Hammer + Prybar The hammer is an obvious tool for a new homeowner. However, a prybar is a handy addition to a hammer because it helps pull stubborn nails from wood. Also, a prybar is a terrific tool for helping lift heavy objects. I’ve used my prybar to lift a heavy pre-hung patio door off the ground while my brother slid in shims to make the door plumb.
	12. Level A level isn’t just for perfectionists! A good level is a convenient straight edge when you want to mark cut lines on a sheet of wood. Plus, a level can help you save time measuring. Let’s say you want to hang three framed photos on the wall 55 inches off the ground. You can measure once and mark your point. Then hold a level to the point horizontally and trace a line from left to right. That’s a lot more efficient than measuring and marking 55 inches three different times.
	13. Tape measure Because who wants to carry a rigid 10-foot ruler around the job site? Note: buy a bright colored tape measure or you will lose it again and again.
	14. Plane This is a small but powerful tool to have at your disposal for when sandpaper seems too weak to remove excess wood. It can be used to smooth out rough wood or to reduced the thickness of a piece of wood. This is an ideal tool for thinning out a wood door that gets stuck in the door frame.
	15. Clamps Want a third hand? That’s what a clamp is for! There are many different types of clamps out there, but the most effective clamp for the work that I’ve done is the pistol grip clamp (or “bar clamp”) because it only requires one hand to properly set the clamp. Buying a clamp is not as exciting as buying a cool new power tool, but I’ve never met a guy who regretted purchasing clamps. They will without a doubt make your job easier.
	16. Sanding Block It’s tempting to start rubbing a flat surface with sandpaper alone, but you will not get consistent results because your hand is a pliable surface. But an inexpensive rubber sanding block can be quickly  wrapped with sandpaper and will return admirable results. However, if your want to sand a curved surface, say excess dried wood filler from the face of crown moulding, try purchasing inexpensive abrasive sponges. They will adjust to the contours of your moulding more consistently than your hand alone. If you have a variety of surfaces to sand, try adhering sand paper to a variety of wood shapes with spray adhesive.
	17. Nail Set Don’t expect to do professional carpentry work if you do not have a nail set. It’s a pretty straight-forward tool. You fix the tip of the nail set on the head of a nail that has already been hammered into the surface. Strike the nail set with a hammer to drive the nail head beneath the surface of the wood. Next, fill the hole with wood putty, let it dry, and then sand the surface smoothly. A good woodworker makes it nearly impossible to detect where he used nails. Note: get a bright colored nail set so you don’t lose it.
	18. Chalk Line/Chalk Box with a String Level A chalk line a smart tool for marking long and straight lines. It’s most obvious use is for snapping lines on sheets of wood or drywall or for marking roofs for shingles, but it’s also good for finding the center of rooms for laying tile. While you are buying a chalk line, look out for a simple metal level that hooks onto your string. Together the tools will help you snap perfect lines.
	19. Miter Box and Saw It’s not necessary to set up the electric miter saw every time you need to cut a 45 degree angle. A classic handsaw and a miter box gets the job done just fine. What I also like about a miter box and saw is that they’re inexpensive–less than $20–and it’s easy to use. New carpenters build their confidence in making angled cuts. (Your whole family can use this set for school and craft projects.) Purists may not like the bright yellow plastic miter box, but these ubiquitous miter boxes come with handy pegs that brace the wood while you cut. Just be sure to screw the miter box into your worktable to keep it from rocking around as you saw.
	20. Chisels Chisels are capable of removing excess wood in narrow or awkward spaces. With proper care, chisels can last for a life time. For what it’s worth, there’s a timeless satisfaction that comes from sharpening your chisels in between woodworking projects. Chisels have been used by generations of woodworkers.

Summary

If you are interested purchasing any of the tools above, consult the the senior staff members in the tool department at your local home store. They can help you find the right tool for your job that works with your budget. Also, spend some time researching online to find out what companies make the most precise and reliable tools. You want to feel confident that the purchase you are going to make is a wise investment for the long haul.

Pour yourself a cup of coffee and listen to Jack Johnson.

Big Design Inspiration in Humble Buildings

A life guard tower in Carlsbad, CA

Before we get into the houses, let’s first stop to appreciate the icon of the beach: the lifeguard tower.  The three details to notice here are the color, and railing, and roof:

1. Color. Over the decades, the Southern California lifeguard towers have always been aqua in colored: power blue, teal blue, teal green, mint green, etc.
2. Railing. Here the railings are modest bent piping, probably stainless steel. Although pipe railings might have reached peak popularity in the 1980s (think art-deco Miami Beach around the time of Miami Vice), they’re still a stylish and low-maintenance option that let you maximize ocean views.
3. Cantilevered Roof. Notice that the roof extends out far beyond the walls of the tower without any structural support. These cantilevered roofs shade the lifeguard from the sun, but they also point the way to the ocean view, a detail you will see in many beach houses. Although you won’t see it in this tower, early lifeguard towers had simple, low-pitched roofs that accentuated the forward-looking overhand.

Now lets take a look at some beachy details on some modest buildings at my favorite campground overlooking the Pacific Ocean. These buildings and structures are important to a DIYer because they are low-cost and simple to build, yet they still glow with beachy details.  Click on the photos below to get large images with detailed descriptions.

What details did we see?

1. Layers of painted woodwork: white and aqua in color
2. Cantilevered roofs / deep overhangs
3. Exposed rafters / no soffit or fascia boards
4. No elaborate wood cuts
5. Slender support posts
6. Staircase posts (or balusters) that attach the the exterior of the staircase and dip below the structure.

Let’s see some of these details from both the lifeguard tower plus beach side buildings and structures can be applied to a home.

Elements of Beach House Design

I snapped this photo below in Leucadia, a beach side community in North County San Diego. Notice the aqua colors and the low-pitched cantilevered roof, both details taken from traditional lifeguard towers. What is interesting here is that this room above the garage doesn’t even have an view of the ocean. The windows facing left open up to the side of their neighbor’s home; the real ocean view on the far side of the home. But the simple details give this low-cost structure an undeniable beachy feel.

A simple home with big charm.

Although the builder used fascia boards to hide the ends of the rafters, he opted not to use soffit boards so the rafters would be exposed. (Look under the overhang by the white door into the home.)

Below is another small but attractive beach house within walking distance to the beach. The details to appreciate here are the low-pitched roof, exposed rafters, white painted trim work, and clerestory windows on the left structure and above doors to the deck. These windows maximize natural sunlight without sacrificing privacy.

Notice too that the deck railing is constructed of both painted and natural wood.

The two photos below are of one of North County’s more remarkable ocean side homes. Clearly, the homeowner had a larger budget than the homes above. But it’s interesting that they did not deviate from the mystique of the lifeguard tower.

The stunning interpretation of a lifeguard tower gives a commanding view of the ocean in the distance.

Notice the multitude of exposed rafter tails.

The front entry is filled with good design.

The photo above reveals a multitude of architectural details.

• Exposed rafters are exposed beyond the roof, capped with galvanized steel to prevent them from rotting.
• Slender support posts that hang below the cement block stair structure.
• Hand rail the uses taught lines of cable, not unlike the cable found on yachts.

Let’s take a look at another well-thought-out home in quiet neighborhood close to Encinitas’s Moonlight Beach. The details to notice cantilevered roof supported by simple four-by-four post. The railing that wraps the deck is similar to the staircases that lead people from the bluff down to the beach.

A small beach house with contemporary leanings.

Again, a cantilevered roof suggests a beautiful view in the distance. But in the case of the home above, the only view is of street-side parking (notice rear window of the black SUV). The home was built on a peculiar plot of land that dipped a good 15 feet beneath the surface of the street. But clever design with well-placed beachy details allowed a charming home to rise out of made a scrappy lot.

Architectural Details

Now let’s take a look at a dozen beach homes and see how they repeat design details.

Ranch House >> Beach House

So how do you apply these architectural details to a home that wasn’t “built for the beach”? Let’s take a look at a straight-forward ranch style home that was redesigned to look like it belonged by the ocean…

My Favorite Home: Modern & Beachy

I want to close with a gallery of one of my favorite homes in San Diego. The architect successfully combined traditional beachy elements like white-painted trim, exposed rafters, steal cable railings, and sunshine-colored siding. But you’ll also find boxy contemporary details including concrete fencing, tall contemporary windows, and the boxy stuccoed structures that wraps the garage and continues along the side of the home. Although this homes leans towards contemporary, it is without a doubt a beach home.

Over the past four weeks, I’ve been a speaker/presenter at three big events: summer camp for junior high kids at Covecrest, a Steubenville Conference for teenagers in Ohio, and the Life Teen Training Convention for adults in Carefree, Arizona. Each stop was a powerful experience of community–people taking time to care for other people. It is good for the soul.

Matt, the King of San Diego

While other eighth graders are squandering their last summer before high school with mindless video games, Matt is in the ocean surfing like there’s no tomorrow. Matt’s the man!

Thinking About Cars

I had “scheduled service” done on my car and Candyce’s car over the span of two weeks. This was unpleasant. Car owners have a complex relationship with mechanics. Mostly, it comes down to the fact that people don’t like to spend money repairing/maintaining a car they already pay for each month. (Not to mention the fact that we pay for insurance as well.) Plus we’ve all heard horror stories about how greedy mechanics scare you into doing work that doesn’t need to be done.

So when it is your turn to stand in front of the auto repair shop as the mechanic preaches about the hell and damnation waiting for the car owner who refused to be saved,  you can’t help but feel like discouraged. Why me?! Why now?! Although I understood in my head why I had to pay out $1500 to keep our cars running strong, that didn’t mean I had to like it. The only way I can make myself feel better is to imagine we avoided a massive mechanical overhaul that would cost us $5000. That’s a savings of $3500.

Restoring the Kitchen Floor

Eighteen months ago, my dad and I laid the travertine tile in the living room, dining room, and kitchen at the beginning of the massive remodel of the first floor of my home. We had to work fast so my brother could install the baseboards, door casings, and finish the kitchen island. The end result? My brother’s trim work looks great, and our grout job looked uneven and sloppy. After a year-and-a-half of living with this ugliness, I recruited my brother-in-law to help me make all things new.

We cleaned the kitchen floor with soapy scrub brushes and the shop vac. Then we did it again, and again, and again. There was a lot of dirt that had settled in the natural “craters” within the stone tile. If we left that dirt no the floor, our grout wouldn’t adhere and we’d have another problem to deal with down the road. Then we floated grout, let it dry, and then sponged off the excess. I woke up every three hours through the night to put on coats of sealer/polish. By morning, the kitchen floor was so smooth and shiny I wanted to ice skate. Next step? Fix the tile in the dining and living rooms. (See July 2009)

Robber!

I am sad to say that I was not apart of this next story because I was out of town. The location: Seattle Espresso, Tempe. The crime: robbery. A punk kid grabbed the tip jar from the counter and bolted out the door. Richard, the emo-Jesus barista, sprinted out the door and down the sidewalk. Four hundred yards later, Richard is gaining on the thief and shouts to him, “I can do this all day!”

The chase halted 100 yards later when the robber was blocked by a busy street. Now just steps away, Richard shouted a few curse words and yanked the jar from his hands and marched dutifully back to the coffee shop. Richard was greeted by a long line of confused customers. He placed the tip jar firmly where it belonged on the counter, then turned to first customer in line and started taking orders like the whole “I just chased a crook thing” never happened. What a rock star.

Mother’s Day

I wanted to treat Candyce to a tour of the Queen Creek Olive Mill because she’s addicted to olives and sometimes you just have to feed the fire. But they didn’t offer tours on Mother’s Day.

Plan B it is. Candyce, Norah, and I ran 4 miles on the Tempe Canal. What a beautiful run! Later in the morning, Candyce and Norah put on fancy dresses and sun hats and we drove downtown to have lunch at Postino Central. We hung out at Lux and then explored Haus before heading back home to Tempe.

Traveling

We made a last minute decision to hitch a ride with John out to San Diego to surprise Candyce’s family. I enjoyed lounging in the backyard and reading Do You Matter? How Great Design Will Make People Love Your Company, a book Jeff gave me for Christmas. Did I mention Life Teen had a staff retreat in Georgia earlier this month? It was fun to have our staff from around the country come together again. Plus, I got to see Mom, Dad, and Grammy. I’m excited to get back to Georgia in next week.

Now it’s time to get along with my day.

Candyce continues to snap photos and shake the toy and then slowly explains, “She just looked so cute I couldn’t help myself.”

Whenever Norah had on a particularly “precious” outfit, Candyce would carry her outside and trample through our front yard to our neighbor’s yard. Then she would lower Norah onto his flawless thatch of green and start snapping photos. Why? My patchy brownish yard was a raw and savage terrain that was not fit for an infant.

This hurt my self esteem.

That was two months ago. How things have changed! Take a look at the photo below that I snapped over the weekend. The black Jeep in the distance is the driveway belongs to my neighbor, the young doctor who has unknowingly hosted photo shoots with Norah. Sure, you can see a minor shift of texture between the two yards, near the white planter box. But make no mistake, that big ocean of green that covers most of the photo is my own yard.

Greenalicious

I cannot take credit for nursing my yard back to health. I can only take credit for hiring Marcel & Associates to do the job for me. After nearly eight years of home ownership, I recognized that life has changed and I did not have the time to take care of my yard.

Now my yard is ready for a photo shoot with Norah. If any of my friends and family want to take some photos on a flawless yard, just give me a call and we’ll arrange a time.

We are the champions.

The run was beautiful. It was exciting to cross the Tempe Town Lake and run through the south end of Papago Park.  I was proud to push Norah in her running stroller because I love my little girl and I want her to experience this kind of thing. (Note to self: start the race with the 7-minute miler because the 10-minute milers are really just walkers who are delusional.)

The stands at Sun Devil stadium were packed with cheering friends and fans. We crossed the finish line with great sense of accomplishment. We ran and we ran hard.

To celebrate, we met friends and family who also ran at La Grande Orange for a festive brunch. There were dozens of other runners there, all sporting their race number pinned to their chest. The place was glowing with pride. This is why I’ve become a huge advocate for these road races–because it builds pride in yourself and in your community. Plus, exercise makes you look hotter and live longer. What could be wrong with that?

I will avoid chastising people who do not exercise, because I understand that it’s difficult to keep exercise as a top priority in your life. It’s rare to find an adult who has exercised consistently throughout their adulthood, that is, unless that someone is a professional athlete. There are just too many big life experiences that demand your attention. My post-college years were active for sure–working in the yard, on the house, traveling–but I wasn’t getting my heart thumping.

Lucky for me, life changes. Candyce and I have been married for two years, and we’ve run several times a week through most of those 24 months. It’s a huge part of our lifestyle together.  We enjoy the weather, nature, and looking at the beautiful homes in our neighborhood. We talk to each other and share about our day. It’s wonderful. For the past seven months, I’ve had the added bonus of buckling baby Norah in the running stroller and pushing her down the streets of my neighborhood. She loves adventures outside of the house, and that makes me and Candyce happy.

Norah bundled up in her stroller on a cool evening, taken in January of this year.

Today we’re not running. We’re relaxing and letting our bodies rest after yesterday’s race. We’re feeling good. …I know that hot summer months are coming and they aren’t the best condition for running. This makes me sad if I think too much about it. Candyce and I have talked about how it will be more difficult to exercise as our family grows in the years to come.  I imagine that our life together may get more complicated as our years unfold. Who knows if we will be able to continue to exercise as consistently as we do today? I certainly don’t. But what I do know is that Candyce and I will always remember these first two years together as being blissfully active. And we’ll always be pressed to recreate this feeling for the rest of our life together.

Now let’s admire a beautiful custom 1970 Dodge Super Bee called The Mutant Bee.

What did they do? They shaved door handles, side marker lights, emblems, windshield wipers,  and antenna. They tweaked the suspension and stuffed big rims under the fenders. The “halo” headlights are something I’ve never seen before–but they look cool. The recessed grill that surrounds the headlights are black diamond-shape pattern, a subtle upgrade from the original vertical slats.  It looks like front air dam beneath the headlights is completely custom. The custom details are everywhere on this car. I don’t know much about the 1970 Super Bee, but after looking at photos of the original car, it’s clear that every change was for the better.

…but it would be nice to be able to have been around in 1970 to buy an original for around $3,000.

Read More about the “Mutant Bee”

The first three months of this year have been profoundly productive in both my personal life and my professional life. (I opted for “profoundly” because “extremely” and “ridiculously” are overused.) Today I will write about the profound productivity in my personal life.

This all started because Candyce and I crashed for the last two weeks of 2008 on the beaches of San Diego and the slopes of Big Bear. It was good to relax and enjoy Christmas with family. We returned home with a new year prompting us to be go-getters. We spent the first week in Phoenix explaining to each other all of the things we had to do. By the weekend, my head was spinning with the dozens of things we had to do right now. I was filled with anxiety.

In years past, I would see that there was something to do and then immediately do it. The kitchen is dirty? Clean it. What’s next–the car needs an oil change? Drive it to the shop down the street. Are my gold teeth getting dull? Polish ‘em!!!

You get the idea.

This impulsive and never-ending laboring is a sign of a young overachiever who hasn’t reckoned ambition with reality.  In high school and college, a young overachiever takes difficult classes, plays lots of sports, gets a job, and you stays involved in clubs.  I’ve learned that packing your schedule is a good thing, but it’s also a linear way to be productive. It’s good to get stuff done, but am I getting the right stuff done? Don’t confuse being busy with being productive.

Make Priorities, Save Your Life

I like to think I’ve matured into becoming an overachiever who obsesses over making priorities.  How does this look? You step away from your projects/goals/ambitions and analyze what you need to do before you do it. You recognize what projects are more important than others. Then you get realistic with your time, money, and energy. Next you spread out your projects over a realistic time frame. Then you get to work.

It’s a straight forward process, really.

Now that I am married, it’s absolutely critical that we make priorities together–because we’re both trying to get things done. If we don’t work together, our home is filled with tension and frustration. We see one another as an obstacle to accomplishing our goals.

So Candyce and I sat down at the dinner table in early January and wrote down everything that was on our mind: dentist appointments, finally mailing Christmas cards, fixing the hot water heater, childproofing the house, taking down the Christmas tree, etc. These are the obvious chores that scream at you as you walk through your day.

Some couples will make the list and then make priorities. But I strongly encourage you to write down all the things that aren’t chores or projects, but things that steal our joy: fear of high cell phone bills, or the fear that the tree in the backyard was dying and might blow over, etc.  It takes humility to be honest with yourself (and your spouse) about what is causing you anxiety in your life. Most of us have been so battered by inconsiderate people in our lives that it’s hard to be vulnerable and explain the things that frighten us, so the thought of sharing those things with someone else seems like a bad idea. But the way I see it, there are a million things out there that can steal your joy or make you an anxious person. Anxiety is a useless state of being; you feel horrible and you are paralyzed from getting things done, which creates more anxiety. It’s a vicious cycle.

So we talked through each of the joy-stealers. Candyce assured me that our cell phone plan had free picture messaging so it’s okay to send photos to her parents. I told Candyce that the tree was dying and would need to be cut down, but it’s not going to fall over this unless we get a hurricane in Arizona. After talking through the other joy-stealers, we both felt better.

Now that we had calm hearts, we looked at our list of stuff to do. (For the record, this was a big list, filling up both sides of a sheet of paper.) It was time to prioritize. Which things need to get done today? This week? What can be postponed till next month? Later in the year? We weren’t procrastinating, but we were being realistic how long projects take. This is why a newly-elected U.S. President doesn’t try to get everything done in his first 100 days. He spreads his work over a 4-year term.

After we prioritized and scheduled our chores we were new people. We looked at that long list with a sense of pride. The anxiety, fear, frustration–all gone! Sure, there was plenty of work to do, but we knew what and when and why.

Changing Priorities as Time Passes

We start each week by reviewing the list and then communicating what both of us will be working on. This list sits on our dining room table so that it’s convenient and visible for both of us. If we had a free hour or two and felt energetic, we’d look at the list and pick out out a project to work on.  And of course, we took great pride in crossing things off the list.

Over the past three months, we’ve added things to this list because life gives you more work to do.  Sometimes random things happen and you have to change your priorities. But don’t slide back into your old ways and impulsively jumping into a new project;  first add it to our list and seeing if the project is more important than the things we said we wanted to do at the beginning of the year.

So What Did I Accomplish?

If you are feeling voyeuristic, here’s a look back at the things on my half of the list.

1. Run. Run. Run. Candyce, Norah, and I have run at least three miles 3-4 times a week. Last month we ran in a 5k race and did well. This Saturday we’ll run in the Pat Tilman Run here in Tempe.
2. Made a wooden block set for my nephew Jack.
3. Got ticketed in Scottsdale for having an expired license plate. Although it was humiliating to be lit up on my way to a Bible study, the officer was a cool guy. He didn’t ticket me for speeding, just for the expired plate. I got some insider info on Charles Barkley’s arrest from a couple weeks earlier. To set my life in order, I got the car tested for emissions. Then renewed my plates. Through January and February, I went to court twice: the first to get my ticket reduced (which happened) the second to get the moving violation expunged from my record (which didn’t happened.) This was not on our list, but stuff happens and your list changes.
4. Made sense of Norah’s big fast stack hospital bills. This was HUGE. Dozens of letters had to be opened, deciphered, organized, and fact checked. And some had to be disputed.
5. Inbox Zero. The guys at the office are having fun finding creative ways to be more productive (see 42folders.com), and my favorite new technique is to purposefully check your email with the end goal being an empty inbox. From their site,
   

   “Clearly, the problem of email overload is taking a toll on all our time, productivity, and sanity, mainly because most of us lack a cohesive system for processing our messages and converting them into appropriate actions as quickly as possible.”

6. Prepared for and delivered eight talks in eight different cities–in less than three months. That’s about 15,000 miles of flying.
7. Had Candyce’s pearl earrings fixed–not the biggest chore, but what man likes to plan a trip to the jewelry store?
8. Condensed our two remote controls into one. You cannot imagine how much easier this makes my life. Fixed our Tivo (with the help of a guy on the phone) so we can record one show while watching another. Don’t accuse me of being a couch potato because you don’t know me.
9. In the kitchen crown molding, I recessed the nails with a nail set, filled in with wood filler, caulked the joints, and finished with two coats of paint.
10. Hiked Picacho Peak, Elephant Butte, and South Mountain (twice)
11. Sanded and finished my kitchen bar stools
12. Switched car insurance
13. Switched dentists
14. Banking matters
15. Hired landscape guys to maintain the yard
16. Started twittering: http://twitter.com/supaflycom
17. Kept this blog updated
18. Made major progress on a freelance web project
19. Cheered for the Phoenix Suns.
20. Cleaned my garage
21. Celebrated spring by attending about 15 picnic lunches hosted by Candyce and Norah.
22. Hosted Candyce’s family in town for Holy Week
23. Got my 1954 Chevy fired up gain, drove it around the block
24. Filed my 2008 taxes

The end result? We’re a happier couple and more satisfied with where we are in our lives. This style of planning and prioritizing will be a big part of our life together. Now it’s time to plan for the 2nd quarter.

Music for the Wedding Mass

1. John Michael Talbot - Holy is His Name
2. Bach - Jesu, Joy of a Man’s Desiring
3. Chris Tomlin - Take My Life
4. Chris Tomlin - Indescribable
5. Chris Tomlin - How Great is Our God
6. Delirious - Our God Reigns
7. Tim Hughes - Beautiful One

Music for Wedding Reception

1. Elton John - Tiny Dancer
2. The Killers - When We Were Young
3. The Format - The Compromise
4. The Troggs - Love is All Around
5. Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars
6. John Mayer - The Heart of Life
7. The Beach Boys - Surfer Girl
8. The Format - Inches and Falling
9. The Shins - New Slang
10. John Mayer - Daughters
11. U2 - Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own
12. Fleming and John - Love Song
13. Howie Day - Collide
14. Howie Day - Brace Yourself
15. Mat Kearny - Nothing Left to Lose
16. Coldplay - Fix You
17. Jimmy Eat World - Hear You Me
18. Weezer - Perfect Situation
19. Justin Timberlake - My Love
20. U2 - Beautiful Day

Friday evening we traveled down to Picacho Peak in near Tucson to spend some time with Candyce’s grandparents. Our crowning achievement was climbing to the top of the mountain on Saturday morning. The wildflowers were in fool bloom. We loved it. Take a look at the photos below.

Candyce, Norah, and Matt Smith

On Saturday the Smith family ran the Faith and Family 5k at Tumbleweed Park in Chandler. It was a sunny and cool spring morning, perfect for a run. Hot air balloons lowered into the park while we were running. Norah was so overwhelmed by the action she saw from her little running stroller. Eventually she just fell asleep.

I can’t believe Norah is already six months old. Here are some photos from random places from the weekend.

1. I just got back from a two-night trip to Dover, Delaware. Although I was painfully unprepared for the cold weather, it was a great trip. One of the priests I met, Fr. Gabage, is a serious art collector. He gave me an hour-and-a-half tour of his collection. I felt like I stepped into the final scene of National Treasure. The collection made most of the stuff I saw last week at the Phoenix Art Museum look like garbage. I could write forever about my concern over modern art, but I’ll try to keep this quick… It is a grave problem when the finest art from a generation doesn’t show any talent. When you strip away the intellectual bullsh!t that artists and their collectors say about the work, you are left with something that is entirely unimpressive.
2. My new favorite thing to eat at the airport is oatmeal. It’s simple, wholesome, and comforting. Starbucks and Cereality serve it up just right.
3. I don’t know how much more news I can handle about the “Financial Crisis.” I’m an avid reader of the Wall Street Journal, especially over the last six months when every day held a new story. But it’s getting me discouraged and I think it’s time to find something else to do with my time…
4. …like saving money. Candyce and I worked together to cut costs–including a different cell phone plan, car insurance, canceling subscriptions–and came up with $96 a month.  That’s adds up to more than $1160 in savings over twelve months.
5. It’s worth noting that when the economy is red hot, it’s cool to be seen living “the good life.” You know, vacations, car accessories, home upgrades, piling up investments. But when the economy is ice cold, everyone decides it’s cool to be seen saving money. Most of the people I know like to keep one foot in poverty and another in wealth. They lean in either direction when they need to, but in the end we’re all in pretty good shape, doing our best to responsibly manage our money as the years of our life pass by.
6. Rumor has it that one of my favorite restaurants is now a victim of a sluggish economy. What will downtown be without Palatte? I am grieving.
7. My six month old daughter has two bottom teeth now. This brings the grand total of teeth up to two. But make no mistake–when she bites you, you are in for some pain.
8. Trends are trends–if you ignore them, you’ll look like you’re just a leftover scrub from a decade past. I’m too old and sensible to wear the super-tight jeans like the trendy boys do, but my jeans are more snug now than they’ve ever been. I’ve been on a lot of business trips in 2009, and I’ve counted myself as one of the more stylish dudes in the airplane. But I’m also one of the least comfortable. I got a flicker of hope at 20,000 feet when I read the January issue of Esquire Magazine. Richard Dorment hinted that 2009 is ready for relaxed clothes:

For the past few years, a man could be forgiven for thinking that some fashion designers really had to be joking. The rib-crushing fit of certain suits, the tourniquetlike taper of so many skinny jeans, all those wacky school-boy proportions: While many in the fashion world were embracing these extreme views of silhouette and fit — the shorter and tighter, the better — those of us who wore their clothes were left sucking in our guts and praying to God that our pants didn’t split. Fashion being fashion, though, the collective mood seems to be shifting — think of it as a market correction — as designers from Bottega Veneta’s Tomas Maier and Burberry’s Christopher Bailey to the duo at Dolce & Gabbana are embracing more sensible, relaxed fits in their spring collections. Not baggy or saggy or overly loose-fitting. No: relaxed, with clothes maintaining a close, easy, and, above all, comfortable relationship to the body.

Megan and Norah at LGO

Megan and Brad, the two happiest people in Phoenix.

Mr. Monkey, Norah's new best friend. She chews on his head.

Later in the afternoon, I went to the Chandler Car show and snapped some photos of my favorite rides. After you click on each photo, you’ll see my thoughts about the car beneath.

Many of the people in the community came to the church to pray for the president and for our nation. We are such a politicized society that it is hard for anyone to believe there was no agenda behind the prayer service. Well you know what, we prayed for George W. Bush through an 8-year administration. Why would we not pray for Barack Obama? Do you know who else we pray for? World leaders. Local leaders. And for the people that they lead. That’s what Christians do–we pray for peace and justice.

I snapped some photos from the morning, including a few shots of the new grass they put in around Dobson High School to impress the president…

Here are some photos from over the weekend. Don’t miss the commentary beneath the photos after the click.

My driver from Providence to Cape Cod told me about the time twenty years ago when picked up Franklin Delano Roosevelt III, the grandson of the U.S. president Franklin Dealano Roosevelt, at the port where the ferry arrives on the Massachusetts shore from island of Martha’s Vineyard. There wasn’t much to his story besides the fact that FDR the Third thought he was too good to speak to him on the two hour drive to the airport. My driver explained: “He was an asshole.”

Although I felt like I had to stick up for the grandson of a US President, I couldn’t argue on his behalf because I honestly didn’t know there was an FDR3. Instead, I changed the subject to talk about cars. That lasted for another hour until we arrived in Cape Cod.

Since I’ve been back, I did a little research and learned that FDR3 is a respected economics professor at Sarah Lawrence College in New York state–an honorable position within our society. You can see his faculty page on the university’s website.  When I reconsider my driver’s experience with the man, I imagine that both of the guys in that taxi on that random day in the 1980s were unsatisfied with where they were in life. What boy wants to grow up to be a cab driver? And how can even the most accomplished economist not feel like an underachiever when he was expected to grow up to be nothing less than the President of the United States?

I imagine this scene plays out every day in each corner of our society. The characters and circumstances are different, but the consistent theme is reconciling the dreams and aspirations from youth with the tough realities of life.

Several years ago I heard a great story on This American Life a man who played in a 1970s British punk rock band called The Automatics. They had little commercial success, so he moved on to other things in life, eventually became a successful mortgage broker in Beverly Hills. One afternoon while at his office, he went on eBay to find if any of his band’s old records were being sold online.

That moment of curiosity began a story that ended with the discovery that his band’s old records had garnered much attention in Japan, enough fans to warrant a reunion tour through Japan, although he would be the only original member of the band on the tour. So he took a break from his high-dollar job in Beverly Hills and traveled to Japan with his wife to play the songs he wrote in high school. Except this time, he was in his late 40s, and he would play in front of hordes of fans. One venue was so packed with fans that his only way out of the building after the show was to be passed over the crowd.

Host Ira Glass asked what it was like to experience a postponed fame:  “We don’t get what we deserve. We get what we get, and you have to be okay with that.”

However, after ten years of heavy traveling, the United States is starting to seem like a smaller place. This afternoon I will travel to Rhode Island and finish in Massachusetts, a region of the country I’ve traveled to at least a dozen times. I’ve made at least twenty trips to the New York / Long Island, and just as many to Southern California. These places are no longer foreign to me; they are more like suburbs of my life separated only by a flight.

Earlier this month I made a quick trip to Denver to speak at a couple events. My most vivid memory of Denver comes from 2003 when I went on tour with Third Day through five cities in the West. By the time was made it to Denver, I was tired of living in arenas and the tour bus. I stumbled out of the bus early that morning and–barely awake–I walked away from the Pepsi Center with hopes of finding adventure in the city. On my way out of the parking lot I peeked through the windows of a cool bar inside of a historic brick building. In the five or so years since that trip, I’ve recalled the site of that building and wondered what has become of it. I was hoping on this trip into town we would maybe drive by. The crazy thing is that one of the events I spoke at was in the basement of that bar. How awesome is that?

It is satisfying to reconnect with a place that once new. The shimmer is gone, but in it’s place is something that is better–familiarity. I am at a point in my life where traveling for the sake of traveling is not as rewarding as it used to be. If I do travel, I want to bring Candyce and Norah with me. And if that’s not possible, the next best thing is to travel to an area that is familiar.

Depending on who you ask, Barack Obama is more than a president, he is a celebrity, an icon, a super hero, a civil rights leader, or a savior. How can this type of adoration be anything but a speculative bubble, a big disappointment waiting to happen? One man cannot undo the adversity that our nation faces. One man cannot solve every man’s problems. These words may seem negative or even unpatriotic today, but I can guarantee that you will hear this same sentiment grow as each day passes in the Obama administration.

I sincerely hope I am wrong here. I recognize that each president has gifts, talents, and wisdom apart from his predecessors, but each president faces adversity more daunting than anything he encountered in his fight to win the White House.  To campaign as a solution to our problems is one thing, to solve those problems is another.

I will close with this. In all of the news coverage on Obama’s inauguration day, the most balanced perspective came from a twenty-second comment from Ted Koppel on NPR’s Talk of the Nation with Neil Connan:

He is not a foolish man, Barack Obama. He understand that the challenges that confront him now are going to make some of these high flown speeches seem almost quaint in a few months.  He still faces all of the same problems that George Bush faced. Will there be a difference in tone? You bet. They’re already is. Will there be a difference in terms of tactics? Very likely. Is the ultimate strategy going to change? I would be surprised.

It is in just such times that we should make an effort to remember in our prayers how much we have to be thankful for.  Above all, we should never allow ourselves to be consumed by the present moment, but should foster that calmness that comes from noble thoughts, and measure everything by them.  The fact that most people cannot do this is what makes it so difficult to bear with them.  It is weakness rather than wickedness that perverts people and drags us down, and it needs profound sympathy to put up with that.  But all the time God still reigns in heaven. 

I looked online to find some more information, and I was happy to find stunning photography of the home. What I like about the house is the freshened interior with thoughtful details that make the home both modern and livable. Don’t get me wrong, a glass and steel structure with minimal furniture looks great in a magazine, but it’s torture to live in. That’s why mod homes like this one are so desirable.

By the way, if you’re interested in buying the house, it can be yours for $849,000.

I snapped this photo from the switchback on the wooden staircase from the bluff to the beach. The setting sun gave a beautiful glow.

Thirty minutes later, I captured this scene while standing on the beach. The sun was setting behind the Pacific, casting a cooler, bluer light.  Notice the lifeguard’s tire tracks on the left and right.

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