OFF THE DEEP END

With all the illness going around, and the because all my pants seem to be shrinking, I decided to eat healthier.  I will try to eat grilled chicken at the fast food places and avoid fries as much as possible.  Robyn said she would try to cook dinners that were better for us.  Canyon isn't thrilled but it will be better for all of us in the long run.  I call it a "diet" but really healthier food and smaller portions are my goal.
Robyn and I went grocery shopping to find some good food.  For work I got several boxes of Hot Pockets... I mean Lean Pockets.  I can keep them in the freezer at work.  We also got some cottage cheese and some yogurts.  We picked up some fresh fruit to eat around the house as snacks instead of chips.

The "diet" begins

Monday at work I had two hot pockets... I mean lean pockets for lunch.  They weren't bad.  Then we poured the other two pieces of the office desk for work.  Here's an action shot...

all hands on deck

That night Robyn made chicken in her new favorite cooking device.  It keeps the food up out of the grease and it will cook anything.  So far I got the healthier food thing going good, the bad news is it was so good my smaller portions plan isn't working.

space age technology

Tuesday at work all the cabinets for the first office desk went in for the finish coat.

The finish makes the grain more colorful

For lunch I had two lean pockets. They are kinda bland.  Then I finished up the form to go around the pond I talked about in an earlier post.  It will have a rock face edge, a stainless steel inlay and fiber optic lights.

a lot going on in this piece

Tuesday night I had to bar tend.  One of the customers was celebrating her birthday.  This prooved to be a bad thing for me, because there was birthday cake.  Maybe it was low calorie cake.

Party H.Q.

7am Wednesday morning I meet the floor crew at the Coke plant.  We are doing a couple of floors there and they wanted me to help install the base.   By the way, pop was only 25 cents in their machines, I wonder if you can get a car in Detroit for a quarter.  Anyway, I was told it would take less than two hours to finish the base which was good because I was trying to get the cabinets set in the office.  It was close.   

time flies when you're having fun

For lunch I had..  you know what I had, and they weren't very tastey.  Then I was asked to go over to the bar that was being remodeled and help put on a final coat of sealer.  Their grand opening was the next day.

awesome!

Wednesday night I found Robyn at home in the office beginning preperations for our annual filing week-end.  All year long any important paperwork gets put in a large basket and we sort everything just before tax time. (It's more fun this way)  We had taco pizza, because it's like a salad on a pizza crust, at least that's what I'm telling myself.

No, seriously, there's a system here

Thursday I got the first desk put together and the tops in place.

Looking pretty cool

For lunch I choked down a couple lean pockets.  I don't care for lean pockets anymore.  

After lunch I started putting in the second desk while my boss set up his desk.  He asked me to build cabinets for the main office next week.  I love it!

very functional

My sister Debbie called and asked if Chris and I would stop by her house and check the plumbing.  Chris is a plumber by trade and he helped me put together her bathroom.  She said whenever she flushed the toilet, she can hear water running past her shower drain.  Chris said it sounded like a blockage in the vent stack causing a vacuum to draw the water out of her shower p-trap.

We checked everything out, but just like when you take your car to the mechanic, it wouldn't make any noise when we were there.

the rare roof top plumber

Friday we poured the pond wall cap.  We used a four color process that should be very interesting.  Then we installed a beautiful and giant island for a client. 

they are filming the next 'Survivor' on this island

For lunch..  I couldn't take it anymore, we went to Dahl's and I had hot wings with ranch dressing, for a side dish I had tuna casserole and for my other side I had mac-n-cheese (Dahl's mac-n-cheese is the best) and I got a small helping of apple crunch for dessert.  I feel much better now that I've confessed that.

After lunch I continued putting in cabinets and we demolded the pond cap.

You can see the marble effect

I was feeling bad about falling off the "diet" wagon and thought BLTs would be good for supper, until I saw this bill board..

What are they doing with the bacon?

I don't remember but I think we skipped supper.

Saturday morning I woke up and said a quick prayer just thanking God for another day.  Then I asked Him to give me someone to pray for that day.  After my prayer, I got up and began my day.  

Robyn and I went into the office and sorted some paper work.  After about an hour of that we took a break and returned a movie, grabbed some lunch (A market fresh sandwich from Arby's, no fries) and took a load to the Goodwill.

Happy to take my donation, I think

Then it was bak to the annual filing fun.  I took up my usual position by the shredder.  There was so much paper work that I set up our old shredder too.

you've heard of dueling pianos, well..

The amount of shredding made me feel like a dirty politician, 

If I ever run for president this may come back to haunt me.

We actually filed some stuff too

Here it is 10:30 Saturday night, and I still haven't found someone to pray for.  Maybe it was the guy at Goodwill but I didn't feel it.  Maybe it's Robyn, Canyon or myself but I pray for us all the time.  My only guess is that I should pray for someone reading this blog right now.

Father, I ask you to bless those who find themselves reading this.  May you open the eyes of those who are not sure who you are and let them see, with your eyes, the true beauty of the world you created.  Lord, if it is in your will, turn that one person's life upside down and show them life abuntly.  Prove to them that there is hope, and that hope lies in you.  Thank you Jesus.  Amen.

I have to be up very early Sunday to help some friends serve the coffee and donuts at church in the morning so I will draw this blog to a close but before I do I want to give you some food for thought, (no, not 'diet' food)

I can't swim so I only go in the shallow end of the pool or stay close to shore when we are at the beach.  One day when I was young I was doing what is called the dead man's float at a local lake.  I plugged my nose and placed my face and upper torso down in the water.  Then I slowly raised my feet off the lake bottom and I would float.  As long as I held my breath I would continue floating.  On about my third attempt as I ran out of air I tried to put my feet back down but the lake bottom wasn't there.  I had drifted out to deeper water.  Panic struck me and I floundered around, splashing and struggling to get back to shore.  Although the lake and beach were packed, no one noticed.  I thought I was going to die.  Then suddenly I felt the muddy bottom on my toe.  I was able to somehow make it back to shore and there I stayed, afraid to go back in. 

In the same way I have grown in my relationship with God.  At first I was afraid to go in too deep.  But after several times holding my breath I found myself in the deep end.  The difference is that I am not floundering, I'm swimming.  With Jesus as my life guard, I have no fear.

Come on in, the water's fine.

Peace

Dan

NURSE DAN

Sunday Robyn had stayed home from church with some kind of stomach bug.  It kept her in bed all day.  We went out Saturday night but I could tell she was actually sick.   

Monday morning she was still feeling horrible, and Canyon was not well either.  Our pets could tell Robyn was feeling down and stuck close by to comfort her.  I headed off to work and left them to their diseases.

Snowwhite with dopey and grumpy

Monday at work we went over to a new bar that is being remodeled.  The owners have another bar in town that we put concrete tables in.  They had Speck USA stain the concrete floor in this bar and asked us if we could put a heavy duty sealer on the bar.  It would be a couple day process.

sanding to help the sealer bond

This is pretty, but it is only the primer coat

Monday night Robyn was showing no sign of improvement and Canyon was getting worse.  Luckily, the remodel was done so I only had to try to clean the kitchen.  I say try because I am lost in there.  I know where to find a glass and a plate but after that it's just guessing. (I would rather remodel)  Later that evening Robyn asked me to run to Walgreens and get her something for nausea.  No problem.  When I got to the store, the pharmacy was closed so I had to search for the remedy myself.  Now, I am the kind of person who takes no medicine.  The only pill I take is an asprin on occasion.  So to me walking the aisles of medicine was like being in a forign country.  Even though there are only three aisles, I put about two miles of wear on my shoes.  The only thing I could find was for sea sickness.  Robyn tried it but it almost made her toss her cookies.  I brought her a glass of 7up and some crackers, then I slept in the guest room.

Tuesday morning I headed to work without waking anyone.  I put doors and drawer faces on the cabinets for the office

professional grade quality

ready for a coat of finish

Tuesday night I made sure Robyn and Canyon were comfortable, (really I peeked my head in their rooms and said good night, I am not a good nurse) and went to work at the bar.  

Wednesday at work I took a menu holder we made over to Famous Daves.  It matches their bar.

Like it was made for this place

Wednesday night Canyon was feeling better but Robyn was still feeling "yucky".  On the news there was a report of a stomach flu going around.  A couple people at work had been sick so we thought that was what they had.  Robyn was able to make some homemade chicken and dumpling soup.  I know it made me feel good, it was just like mom's.  While we ate we watched the premier of American Idol, season 11.  I have already picked this years winner.  Phillip Phillips. (that's really his name) He sings with a mix of blues, jazz, country and rock.  His passion was clear.

Thursday at work we stained and sealed some patio samples for the up coming show.  We will have a walk way through our booth made of a dozen panels.  Here's two of them...

dried mud and slate

We also put a coat of sealer on the colorful candy dish..

recycled glass

Thursday night Robyn was still under the weather, so we had soup leftovers and relaxed

Friday at work we poured the desks for one side of the office.  It is a process of mixing a different pigment into a batch of mixed concrete.  Here you can see some of the procedure..

glass inlays in place

concrete setting up

flipped and ready to grind

The finished tops should be awesome.

Friday night Robyn had still not fully recovered..

I think the animals may be tethered to her

Saturday Canyon and I decided to give Calvin a bath.  I'm not sure where he picks up all the dirt, I mean we do have grass in the yard.  Never the less, he stunk.  Calvin dosen't really care to be clean, so bath time isn't his favorite moment.  To keep him from shaking the water off or just to stand still is an experience.  I took about a dozen pictures of the bath project.  This is the only one where Calvin isn't a blur..

I would never want to do this for a living

I smell wet dog

Last week I told you about how I felt I was falling away from God.  How I felt I was failing Him, and Robyn because of my sinfulness.  I asked for an affliction from God of some sort to stop me from this sin.  

About mid-week Robyn called me at work and told me to read the devotional.  I did.  It helped me to realize that I don't need an affliction, or a cure, or any other type of band-aid to heal my wounds.  I only need to repent.  I need to tell God I'm sorry and ask for His forgivness.  He knows my heart.  Although I feel He acted on my behalf and brought Glory to Himself through this episode in my life, all I really needed to do was bow my head to Him.  Any other self pity I felt was completely the work of Satan.

Read on and discover for yourself...

words to live by

By the way, the unpardonable sin is unbelief.  How can you be pardoned by a God you don't believe in.  Once you accept Christ into your life, the unbelief is obviously gone.  There is no sin of a Christ follower that is too big for God to forgive.  If you don't know Jesus as your personal savior, won't you please ask Him into your life now.  It will be the greatest moment in your life.

Peace

Dan

MOVING FORWARD

I am going to start this blog by sharing something very personal.  Normaly I would keep it light but if by sharing this it possibly helps someone else than it is worth it.

I left the last post saying I had been feeling crabby, bitter or angry even.  I said that I had the feeling that I was pulling away from Christ.  That is not my usual self.
Monday I went into work with a dark cloud hanging over my head.  It seemed to me that I was not delivering on my full potential.  I felt like I was falling short in my work.  I served my time there and went home to work on the bathroom.
As is typical with me, everything I worked on seemed to be a comedy of errors.  But I didn't see the funny.  It was as if I was failing in this endeavor too.  Then Robyn came in and asked if I could repostion a shelf I had put in.  I snapped.  I said some choice words and stormed down stairs.  I didn't see it at the time but she was really shocked and hurt.
As I sat on the couch, pouting, I began to realize that she didn't deserve what she had just been delivered.  I went up to the bedroom, she was under her covers, crying.  I tried to apologize but the words just tumbled into a pile at my feet.  I knelt by the bed and told her I didn't know what was wrong with me.  I told her I felt like I was failing as a husband, a father, at work and above all I felt like I was failing God.  We discussed that I may be going into a depression and I may need to seek help.  We both cried and I begged her forgivness.  And I prayed.
We went to sleep confused and sorrow filled.

Tuesday at work these heavy feelings kept yanking at me.  I was going through the motions but it was like I was not really there.  I was asked to go to Home Depot for some supplies.  I got in the truck and turned the radio to my favorite Christian station.  The song playing was 'Mess of Me' by Switchfoot.
A line in the song says, "I am my own affliction".  A ton of bricks smacked me right in the face.
I realized that this funk I was in was a gift from God.  How?  Let me explain.
I am a man.  I am a sinner.  I find myself looking at other women.  I don't want to but my nature draws my eyes to the jogger running down the street, or the pretty girl across the room at the fast food joint.  Jesus said that to look at, or even have thoughts of other women is the same as adultry.  I only want eyes for Robyn.  So I had been asking God to afflict me in some way to stop my sin.  I asked for Him to give me headaches or stomach pain whenever I had a roving eye.
It struck me that since I had been in this funk I hadn't even wanted to look at other women.  I was my own affliction.
Then I thought about the scripture that says to be thankful in ALL things.  So I immediatly began praying and thanking God for this overwhelming sense of "blah".
When I got back to the shop I read my daily devotional.  It struck the nail on the head.  It was so perfect for that moment I knew it was a God thing.
It was the story of king David.  A man after God's own heart.  But he fell away and commited adultery, got the woman pregnant and had her husband killed to try to cover it up.  He married her and they had the child, but the child became very ill.  David went into a state of depression, praying unendingly and lying on the ground, refusing to get up or eat for days.  The child died.  Then David got up, washed and went to the house of the Lord and worshipped.  He went home and ate and went on with his life.

The lesson here is that when you have repented of your sins, and have been forgiven, you must get up and move forward.

My dark cloud suddenly evaporated.  My feelings of failure disappeared.  Just after that I was asked to build all the cabinets for the office desks.  The only thing I like more than writing is fabricating cabinets.  It is like therapy for me.  I called Robyn and told her of my epiphany.  She wasn't so sure, and I can't blame her, but I assured her that the egg shells she had been walking on were gone.
Time will tell, but I said that when I was praying for God to ease my burdens I knew He would, and He has, just as He Promises.  His peace is once again rising in me.

Tuesday at work we completed the mod table.  The stained edges give a sleek look.

very slick

I then templated the office for the desk tops and formed them up for concrete

hard to picture, but trust me, they will be cool

I had to tend bar that night, and asked several customers to continue praying for God's wonderous workings in my life.

Wednesday I began working on the cabinets

The office layout in my work area

The day went amazingly smooth.  I was told I would be asked to fabricate the new desk cabinets at the main offices if this went well.  (another blessing)

Wednesday night when I asked Robyn what I could do to help she told me she just wanted me to relax and take the evening off.  I love her.  We enjoyed a glass of wine by the fire.

How relaxing is this?  Ahhhh..

Thursday we poured the desk tops for the main offices.   In this particular office there will one black desk top with pea gravel aggregate and one grey desk with no aggregate.  A table between them will hold the printer/fax machine and will blend them together.  Here is a pic of the fax table to give you an idea

neato

Thursday I stopped by the church to help my friend Tim with a small project.  It just so happens that on this day the girl scouts were picking up their cookies.  POG was used as a drop off point and central distribution center.  It was difficult not to sneak a cookie or two.

Where's Waldo,..I mean Tim?

Friday I began facing the cabinets for the office.  It's a little more time consuming but this is the stage where they become beautiful

Solid maple faces

Friday night Robyn and I completed the master bedroom...

Like a luxurious hotel suite

the guest bath...

Robyn has an eye for design

and the master bath..

a diamond in the rough?

The polished, precious gem stone

I think we should have our own remodeling/interior decorating show.

Saturday we ran some errands and took our old dishwasher to a place called the Baptist Mission.  They take old appliances and refurbish them.  Then they sell them to raise money.

Saturday night we went out.  We met my sister Debbie at Stormy's to celebrate her birthday.  Robyn made fast friends with some people new to the bar.  In this picture, one of her new friends demonstrates the latest dance move..

what the...?

And as everybody knows, it ain't a party till someone gets out their lariat.

Debbie tries to lasso a fresh beverage

Sunday I went to early service to witness my friend, Dale get baptized.  Prior to getting dunked he spoke of the reason it was important to him.  He said he was in a relationship with Christ for a while, but when he got involved in small group, that was when the relationship really grew, more than he thought possible.  It is in small groups where you can ask the questions you need answers to.  And by studying God's word more closely, like you do in small group, you really begin to see the truth clearly.  Baptism isn't what saves you, that happens when you ask Christ into your life.  Baptism is a public display, a shout out to anyone listening, that you are a follower of Jesus.  It's another step forward in your walk with the Lord.

ready to take the plunge

Next week I will be much more humorous, I promise.  In the mean time, get up and move forward.

Peace

Dan

TAKE A BREAK ALREADY

Uf-da!  The remodel goes on.  And on and on and on.  Sunday night I was able to get the grout on the tile.  That's about all.  Why, you ask?  There have been some disruptions in my plans.

My brother, Steve was in town.  I don't get to see him very often so I thought I would run to my sister's house and visit for a bit.  He flew into Kansas City and rented a car to drive up to Sioux City for  Christmas.  He stopped by Des Moines to see his son and daughter before driving back to K.C. for the flight back to Florida.  The great thing was that he rented a small car for good gas milage.

Steve and his clown car

Unfortunately, it only got good milage in town.  There was appearantly too much wind resistance on the highway for the one cylindar engine. (I'm just guessing on the engine size, it could be a pedal car)

After a short visit I had to get home.  There was more remodeling to do.  But we went to Best Buy instead.  If you remember, a few blogs ago I talked about getting a new dishwasher because ours in on the fritz.  Well, that turned into a dishwasher and a microwave.  We are going to get a oven and fridge to match next year.  Robyn wants to have stainless appliances so the house will sell faster when we put it on the market in a couple of years. (After canyon graduates)  So I opted to install the micro.  An easy task, one would think.  

The microwave isn't like most that I have installed.  I won't go into the gory details here.  Suffice it to say that when you buy the inexpensive model there will be blood... and tears.

Sparkley

Canyon helped me and wanted to be the first to use it.  He made microwave popcorn.  Robyn hadn't even seen it installed yet.

Killroy,.. I mean Canyon was here

While the install was going on, Robyn was upstairs painting the guest bath.  Yes we are fixing that one up too.  If you look at the pic you can see the blue color from the 70s.

I think an update is appropriate

that looks much better

Canyon got the microwave cleaned out before she had a chance to see the mess.  

Now you can understand why I was only able to get the grout done this week-end.  But it is looking good.  Here are a couple more pics of the remodel in progress..

coming together

needs a few finishing touches

Oh,  and I forgot to mention that Canyon wanted help assembling one of his Christmas presents.  It took several hours but the pay off was great.  He won't admit it but I took him to school in ping pong.

live action shot of a spanking

Monday at work I was given this...

the picture is not actual size

We are going to use this pond in the show.  I need to fabricate a fiber optic cap to go on the wall around the pond.  It will have a fountain, fish and the lighted wall cap.  It should be awesome.  

I also added a second tier of shelves on the mod table base

ready for a coat of finish

Tuesday we poured two more of the pieces for the Iowa State University job.  We demolded them later that same day

looking kinda rough now

We continued the processing of the first two pieces.  They want a green product for their project, that's why they chose concrete.  But what really sold them was the fact that we could use recycled glass as the aggregate.

It really looks pretty

Tuesday night I had to bartend.  It was an unusually slow night and I was all alone in the bar.  100% of the people in there were named Dan.  I was stocking the coolers when a friend came in.  His name is Danny.  Still holding the 100%.  It was only 10 minutes later that another regular came in, and his name is Dan too.  Honestly.

Then a friend from church came in.  No, her name isn't Dan.  It's Joleen.  She just happened by and had never seen the place.  I introduced her to Dan and Dan.  She took my number down to 75% though.  But in the most unique of coindinces, another couple came in.  I hadn't seen them in a while and although her name slips my mind, I could never forget his name.  Yup.  Dan.  Six people in the bar and 80% were named Dan.  I had to get a pic for the blog.

From right to left, Dan, Danny, Daniel, Dano and the girls

Wednesday at work my boss texted me a pic of a cabinet he saw in some showroom.  I texted back to see if he wanted me to build one for the show.  He said Yep.

professional blue print

I whipped up some drawings and built a cabinet.  

looks just like the blueprint

Wednesday night we had to go up to the hospital.  Robyn's brother was admitted for pancreitius.  This is a guy that likes to eat.  But the treatment includes a no food diet.  You may be able to tell in this picture that he was looking at me in the same way Wile E. Coyote looks at the road runner.

I'm staying just beyond his reach

Thursday at work I made this bench for my other new tool.  I got this from the same garage at the Speck USA main offices.  Between the band saw and this disc sander, I will be able to produce much higher quality foam knock outs.  (Used in pouring countertops)

Bob Villa would be jealous

Although I had nothing to do with this next thing, I had to get a pic.  We have a client that wants this pattern on her lower level concrete stamped floor.  This is a sample for her to take home.

Partridge family?

Friday at work Chris and I went to a clients home to reseal some countertops.  This rarely happens.  There was a bad batch of sealer but at least it is fixable.  We spent most of the day getting everything taped, covered and tented.  Chris was going back Saturday to finish.

thats alotta tape

Saturday, my plans to work on the bathroom were foiled again.  Robyn and I are thinking of switching to the new cell phone plan from Wal-mart.  Unlimited minutes, texts, and web for only 45 bucks.  So we headed up to Verizon to cancel my phone.  I'm not sure what happened but this guy is one hell of a salesman...

Tony closed the deal

My first smart phone

I found out that I wouldn't get the coverage I wanted if I switched.  This phone will cost a little more but after several hours of weighing the differences we chose this route.  My new phone is called the Commando.  It is made for people in the construction industry.  I am told there is a video on you tube of a guy affixing one to his tire on a off road truck and taking it for a few laps with no real problems to the phone.  The screen is gorilla glass.  The thing is built like a tank.     

Uhrg uhrg uhrg.  (Manly grunts, in case you weren't sure)

Sunday morning Robyn and I served at church.  Afterward, I thought I would quickly install our new dishwasher and then finish the bathroom.  I thought wrong.  When someone asks me what I know about plumbing I always say I know that you call a plumber.  I feel the same way about electricity.  So why than did I think I would install a dishwasher.  That job dosen't call for any carpentry skills, just plumbing and electrical.  So, after several hours, a couple bloody knuckles and lots of tears, here is the devil machine..

two appliances down, two to go

That evening we got a phone call from one of our pastors.  He had been up to visit Robyn's brother in the hospital.  He told us that Mike had accepted Christ during his visit and asked us if we would take him a bible.  Of course we did.  Mike was excited to show us his re-birth certificate.  Praise God.

On a personal note, I have been told by both Robyn and Canyon that I have been quite crabby lately.  I've noticed it in myself too.  I want to believe that there may be too much on my plate for the last few weeks.  Maybe it's finacial, or a lack of sleep.  I also noticed that I feel like I have fallen away from Jesus.  I'm not sure why I feel that way but I don't want to be like that.  So I prayed.  I prayed that He would forgive me of my sins because I am a sinner.  I asked God to ease the burdens that tether me down.  I asked for His peace to once again rise up in me.  And I ask these things knowing that He will do them, because of His promises.  God loves me.  

God loves you.

Now I think I am going to take a hint from Canyon..

mblkxzz.. slobber.. cvhfqjk

Peace

Dan