Changes are going to happen....

So this is the before photo. I should have grabbed one before we started, but this is the best I can do.





This project was supposed to be next spring, but a Lowes sale on cabinets started the project early....


Here is the bathroom stripped. There were creaks in the floor which apparently means that tiles will break and come up, so I had to put down concrete board with about 200 screws...



This is what happens with a wet saw when cutting a bazillion tiles.....



And here is what we have so far. We have measurements for granite on Saturday and maybe an electrician on Saturday as well as I cut right through a cord with a sawzall that got away from me.




Not the best picture, but not much room to take a good photo.

More to come....

On the road again...

Welcome to Philly and it's a ga-zillion degrees. I arrived in Philly on Sunday and immediately needed to start working. I went to Pennsylvania and New Jersey to meet with and see 34 hotels in just a little over 5 days. So on Sunday, I saw three hotels over by the airport and had the rest of the day to myself. What to do?? I figured that I needed to have a cheesesteak sandwich that I have heard so much about. So I take out my phone and lookup the location to get one. There are two main places that are "must visit" when in philly and they are Pat's and Gino's. They are literally across the block from one another and competition doesn't get better than this. I was at Pat's when I took this photo. There were lines at both places and the square was jamming. So after 15 minutes in line I was thinking that I don't have any cash on me and I was thinking that they might not take any credit cards, so I looked over and sure enough, they don't take any credit cards.... Then this nice guy that was sitting at some table while I was in line pointed to me and told me that a bird just pooped on my shirt.... Great. So I took out one of the business cards that I got earlier in the day and scraped off the poop.

After tracking down an ATM and waiting in the line for 30 minutes in the ga-zillion degree heat, I have to say that I would probably skip this "must do" and grab a pizza.

So, when I got back to the main square, I figured that since I had never been to Philly, I needed to walk around to check it out. Reading Terminal, which has been on the food network and is like Boston's Quincy Market (the food area) which ended up being closed. It was nice though and I was thinking that if it was open, I probably had room from the smallish cheesesteak that I had about an hour earlier. Then I made my way over to the center of town where this photo was taken. Again it was so hot out that there were not many people around and those who were, were actively looking for spots in the shade.
So then I felt bad about going back to my hotel and thought I should grab another shot of the city since I might not get back there until later in the year. The building on the left is city hall and the statue on the top is what philadelphia is known for. It's william tell and I could not "tell" you anything about him which means that I apparently absorbed nothing from grades 3 - 9. The building in the center is the headquarters for Comcast.

Here is one of my favorites. I shared this with a few close friends who know me well and know that one thing that I love is a nice pressed shirt from the cleaners. This is what happens to me when I travel, but surprisingly enough, I can get around an iron quite nicely. I do have some skills.

This was a perfect photo of traveling with Matthew Gamache. Starbucks from the morning and a sonic slush for the afternoon. This was actually taken at 10:45AM, and I will admit that I have issues. I was in Willow Grove, PA when I drove by a brand new Sonic that was just opening. I was headed from one hotel to another which was right down the street. So I said to myself that when I come back around to travel to Allentown (About 90 minutes away), I would stop for one and did. Delish.

I had another photo that I was going to post, but thought that one of my friends may never forgive me for doing it. When the week ended, I flew into Martha's Vineyard to meet up with Sandy, Nathan and Isabel as well as 9 other of our friends for a camping weekend. When I landed in Providence, RI, I noticed that it was raining. I found out that it was raining on the Vineyard as well and had been all day. This was the last thing that I wanted to do after a week of traveling..... But we had a great time none the less.

Good Bye New York.... Hello PA/DE/NJ

So, after a failed plan A for a new job, I have secured plan B. So, I guess there are two wheelers that are leaving New York in 2010. My new job will entail me taking on two markets (New Jersey & PA/DE) and two teams.

New York was not as much fun the second time around, but this move should be great.

Take me out to the ballgame....

We ventured out to the Red Sox Game yesterday. Got the monkeys out of school early for a nice treat. Unfortunately Sandy was not able to join us as we had some last minute changes with her family flying into town. The kids had a great time!

Sonic pulls at me.....

So I had my first challange in this whole avoiding Fast Food. We had a very busy day on Saturday and were not able to eat prior to our venture out to Little League game, followed by trip to Sonic. I did admit that I would go to Sonic as they do have some fantastic drinks, but we were starving.

So we go to the new one in Wilmington and get in line. I told Sandy that I was not getting any food, but would get a drink. Route 44 Lemon Berry Slush - Delish, which probably has about 1 million calories. Anyways, I made it without ordering and am still going strong. It was hard though. Harder than I thought. Fast food is so easy to get in a pinch.....

How did this whole thing start? I was working one day and forgot to make lunch, so I ventured out to the local Wendy's, which is one of my favorites. I pulled through as I do from time to time and made my order. When I finally got my food, I noticed that they screwed it up and gave me too much. So what did I do? Of course, I ate it. Way too much food and I felt horrible for most of the day after that. From that point I decided that I needed to make a change. I am also cataloging what I eat on dailyburn.com. My goal is to stay within 2100 calories a day.... My goal is to get to 185 again as I now am at 200 and rising......

In the spirit of heath....

I am going to start to avoid fast foods, but I want to qualify this for all who might be reading this.

For me, fast food would be something that could be prepared while in a drive through line, or something that can be prepared within 5 minutes of ordering. So that would mean the Burger King, McDonalds, Wendy's, Sonic, and other fast food places around the world.

Complicated? Potentially. I will admit that I will most likely venture to the Sonic for a beverage or two over the summer, but no food.

The countdown begins...

Good Morning Sunshine

I never thought that I would come to enjoy the sunrise over the Everett skyline, but it is sort of nice. This is a view from my office every morning, weather permitting.

This is my life in the new job. Hopefully all will settle down soon.

Photos of the kids, taken by the kids

Update on Fathers & Families Shared Parenting Bill

September 14th, 2009 by Ned Holstein, MD, MS, Board Chairman

Fathers & Families’ Shared Parenting Bill HB 1400 will be heard this coming Thursday (9/17). Massachusetts is one of the worst states in the country for shared parenting and for fathers, but Fathers & Families has nevertheless made considerable progress there. This includes:

Over one-quarter of the Massachusetts Legislature has expressed clear, public support for Fathers & Families’ Shared Parenting Bill, many of them signing on as co-sponsors.

Fathers & Families gathered thousands of signatures to place shared parenting on the 2004 Massachusetts ballot and led a successful campaign for its passage, winning 86% of the vote.

Fathers & Families persuaded the Boston Globe to become first major newspaper in the United States to endorse Shared Parenting in principle in an editorial (Feb 23, 2008).

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick told the Legislature that if they pass Fathers & Families’ Shared Parenting, he will sign it.

Fathers & Families recently met with Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick concerning Shared Parenting and related topics.

Fathers & Families pushed “Shared Parenting ” to the number one issue on the Massachusetts Governor’s website for citizen input.

Fathers & Families ignited a debate in the Massachusetts Democratic Party over Shared Parenting , leading to a spirited, 40 minute debate on the floor of the 2009 Massachusetts Democratic Party Convention and winning 40% of the Convention’s vote.

How is it?

That we live in 2009 and before a father is able to speak in court, he is looked upon as less than the mother? Why does a judge believe that empowering a woman in court by saying "I'm not changing a thing unless the mother says so" belive anything other than how that may hurt an already troubled relationship? Maybe even show her dividends on how not to get along could lead her into sole physical custody?

How does a mother believe that "extreme limitation, or elimination of visitation" will benefit her children or even her, in the long run?

The fear of losing money in child support holds her from allowing me to see my children more than I already do. Let the record show that I already pay more than the state tells me that I need to pay, and now expects me to not see them.

Why are there no term limits on Judges in our court system? Does one person provide that sort of unbiased opinion that lasts through their lifetime? Has anyone experienced it?

Enjoying the summer in the yard!

Camping in the great outdoors!

Hope for a new season!

So it has come up again with the ex. I have asked permission to sign Nathan up for Little League for next year as I have just been asked to coach again for the kids that I had last year. I am hopeful, but my expectations are low for their mother to agree to have him play in Billerica.

More to come.

Random Tuesday Night

So I forgot that Eric Sullivan was going to be up in the area again on vacation with his girlfriend. So after a quick phone call last night, off we go. What a great night that we had with everyone catching up. More promises of moving back up to Boston, but until the bags are packed, I will not believe it.

August....

It's hard to think that it's almost the end of the summer and I don't have many photos posted. It's also hard to believe that Lily has been with us for about 6 weeks now and is pretty much doubled her size. Yikes.

Our goal

Again, I am not sure where I am going with this blog, but thought it could be a good idea to document our trials as we do our best to get additional time with our little ones.

Here is the starting point.

Ok, so this is not really the starting point, but it is the largest physical mark that I can show to be a point at which to start, so bear with me.

The actual starting point for me would be July of 2007 when I took a quick little trip to California for Marriott. Little did I know that I would meet someone who would become part of my path to getting better.

I just love this idea!

Here goes something, although I am not sure exactly what. I have always been a little wary of blogs and was pretty much believed that I would never create one of my own, but since we started our family blog www.wheelerfotos.blogspot.com and now that I see a few side blogs, I like the idea that we can now branch out to create one of our own to make it a bit more personal. Heres to new starts!