Tuff Shed or Man Cave?

For years I've wanted to own a Tuff Shed.

We have some storage inside our carport shed, but it always overflowing with the kids stuff.  Whether it is bikes, scooters, or other assorted kids' equipment there wasn't ever any room in the shed for my stuff. There certainly wasn't enough room to work on outdoor projects in or near the shed.

So, I've looked at the different sheds at Home Depot for the past couple of years.  Tara and I have discussed the idea of buying one, but it never seemed to fit into the budget.  Either there was a major home repair or an everyday emergency that required any extra money I was saving for the shed.

Finally the time was right.  Our tax return was available and there wasn't anything that "came up" at the last minute.  We bought a demo model from the Depot and, at long last, I had my shed.

Once the shed was installed I quickly started putting it together.  First came the mower, then the ladder, and finally all the garden tools.  After a a few days we finished the wiring and installed some outlets and a couple of lights.  Everything was starting to come together.

The final step was reworking the rock path in front of the new shed.  We've had a flagstone path on that side of the house for a few years, but it needed a major makeover.  We dug out all the rocks, worked the dirt, and added some gravel to fill out our path.  It turned out great.

Now that everything is done I've spent quite a bit of time outside.  So, I guess my real question is:  Did I finally get  a shed or have I created an outdoor man cave?

Easter 2013: The Weekend in Photos

Easter came a little bit early this year, but that didn't slow us down from having a great weekend.  The kids decorated eggs with cousins, found easter baskets and eggs at home, and participated in some mammoth egg battles.  We had a lot of fun and lots of great pics.  Enjoy!

Diary of a Red Sox Fan

2012 was one of my worst seasons as a Red Sox fan.

The team was full of players I didn't really like or want to watch.

The manager seemed to dominate the headlines, rather than the play.

The Red Sox sucked.  With a final record of 69-93 it just wasn't fun to watch bad baseball.

But I believe the old adage in baseball - Spring brings eternal hope.  I have been waiting for weeks for the 2013 baseball season to begin.  The Red Sox have a revamped team, having cut loose several players, the manager, and, hopefully, the loser mentality.

Today I was able to watch a little bit of opening day.  Of course the Sox had to start the season in NY to play the yankees.  I was just praying the script would be a little different today than it's been the past couple of seasons.  Well guess what..

The Red Sox won!

They played great with clutch hitting, good pitching, and a solid bullpen.

It was actually fun to watch them play again.

I don't think this means I need to book my World Series reservations just yet, but I have a good feeling about the 2013 Red Sox.  I know I'll be watching...

Let There be Light

One of the things I hate most about an older home is how dark they are.  I guess people in the 50's didn't really like overhead lighting.  Several of the rooms in my house are under lit and the living room is just plain dark.  For the past few years I've been planning to put in recessed lighting in our main room - it just never seemed to happen for whatever reason.  That all ended last weekend.

I borrowed some tools, chalked the ceiling, squeezed into the attic - and created one huge mess!  In spite of my outbursts, a little colorful language, and one major mistake.  The lights are in and they look good.  Shining a little light on the room has changed everything about it.  I think there should be a metaphor in there somewhere, but we'll settle for being able to see for now.

UCET 2013

At UCET last year I had the weight of the entire conference resting on my shoulders.  As president, I had spent months preparing for each little detail that may come up the two day event.  Then, my term  ended.

I could exhale.

I could stop and smell the roses.

I could get ready to do it all over again.

We just concluded this year's UCET conference and I had a total blast.  It was so much fun to see colleagues from around the state.  To learn new ideas and ways to integrate technology.  To teach and share some of my stuff with the teachers of Utah.  I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the conference.

One of the best parts of being involved  with the organization is the chance to work with good friends.  In fact, one of my best friends, Robert, was this year's UCET president.  A couple of years ago we made a pact.  I would serve as president one year and he would follow the year after.  It was great working together and I think we carried on the tradition of excellence at UCET.

As part of the conference Robert and I took on the roles of the Tool Man and his faithful assistant Al.  I bet you can guess pretty quickly which part I got.   Sometimes you get typecast for having a beard.  The spoof we were in was a classic.  Bad puns, terrible acting, and a great time.

So our busy season is over for a time.  I hope everyone else learned as much and had as good an experience at UCET 2013 as I did.  Let's do it again - say 12 months from now....

Check out UCET's Tool Time