What was this BEFORE you took it apart ?!

Below are the pictures of some "remnants" of my destruction this morning:

(Okay, you got me!  The plate that's holding the

screws and bolts wasn't originally part of this item)

And here are a few hints, if you haven't already figured out what the item was before I deconstructed it today:

- it is was a piece of furniture
- I have wanted to throw it away for a while
- it had duct tape on it to prolong its life
- it used to have a t-shirt on it (to cover the duct tape)

(More remnant pictures ... but these are a sure give-away)

So by now you can see that this is a recliner which we have had for several years.  We got it from my parents when they moved to their new house.  It was in mediocre condition then, but since my kids are still young I haven't really been in the market, as it were, for anything new or in very good condition.

If you've been to our house you already know that this recliner has lived in our family room (the one with the fireplace and my puzzle desk).  It was still very comfortable but a few months ago the back broke so it was pushed up against the wall and was not safe to recline in.  Today I finally had the time to take it apart, piece by piece, so now we can just throw it away with our normal trash.

I took it apart partially for that reason, but moreso because I am always curious as to how complex the systems are in things we use every day.  When my car dies, I plan to take it apart a little each day, so I can see all of the inner workings and hopefully learn a lot about how cars actually work in the process.
I'll do a separate blog that year and showcase a piece or two each day and explain what it is, what it does, and rate how difficult it was to take out.

Until then, this was a very fun, although challenging, experience.  I am pleased that the chair is gone and feel much more adept at fixing our other recliners, if ever anything should go wrong with them or their mechanical parts.

In the battle of TOOLS vs CHAIR ...

TOOLS definitely WON !!!

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Hand me downs from a "little" brother ?!

Late last week I received a welcome gift from my younger brother and his wife.  They brought me a large sack (think Santa's bag!) of some clothes that he had ... um ... outgrown ... :)

I was ecstatic for the new partial wardrobe, especially considering it included 3 new belts, a nice pair of jogging pants, several nice dress shirts (long sleeved ones too!), and two VERY unique shirts that I will be sporting very soon for "special" occasions.

Since I know you're dying to see them, here are those two "special" shirts (the first of which my oldest son said was "totally cool" and then he tried to see if it would fit him!) ...

So here's a shout out of "thanks!" to my little brother and his wife (who we will be hanging out with this Wednesday evening) for the cool clothes!  Kinda makes me happy to have a "little" brother who is bigger than me!  :)

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Who doesn't like a snow day ?

Here's a random picture from a "snow day" my kids had several weeks ago.  It became apparent very quickly that we are/were in need of more cold and waterproof gloves for the kids.  :)

Colorado "snow days" are the best because the sun usually comes out and coats or earmuffs become "optional" based on whether or not they will compliment your outfit (see: Brooklyn's example!)

(L-R)  Brooklyn (8), Ben (almost 10), Josh Jr (12)
Savannah (6) and Catalina (4)

You might be wondering "Where was Myra for all this fun?"

This next picture is your answer.  :)



Myra (16 months old) enjoying the fun from INSIDE !!!
And YES that IS snow on the window!  :)

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We're to THAT stage already huh ?!

Kids are naturally curious.  They climb.  They open things.  They taste.  They hide.  They tear things up.  They pull things out.  They draw.  They leave a trail of their inquisition throughout any locale they visit.

It is never the exact same age when kids decide to be "little destructive terrors" ... but it is always equal parts frustrating and fun.

Here are a few pictures of Myra, who is almost 18 months old now, and her "curiousness" in all it's glory!

She's so proud to have climbed up
high enough to mess with her nlinds!

Her lack of concern for her "baby" is alarming!  :)

The answer to that age old question:
"How long does it take to empty a Kleenex box?"
Apparently ... about 11 minutes.  :)

Truth be told, I helped a little with this one.
She had climbed in the Lazy Susan* on her own.
*(in this house it's called a Dizzy Lizzie)
I made her move to the back for the picture!  :)

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So who's Winning here ?

I think the answer is: everyone!

I've always enjoyed being "one of those dads" who physically interacts with his kids.  I love holding my daughters' hands as we walk places.  I still hug my boys goodnight.  But the best are our "wrestling" matches!  :)

As often as I have the chance to sleep in, my children will get the chance to play one of their favorite games:

Push Daddy out of Bed!

The rules are simple:
 - Get daddy out of bed.  By any means necessary!

They always eventually "win" but I teach them about teamwork by making it difficult to get me out of bed unless they are all working together.  My "favorite" has always been whichever child is the youngest one trying to help.  They try so hard even though they really don't "help" at all.  I've "given up" before a few times just because of how much that child (and it has rotated through almost all of the kids) is straining to get me out of bed.

We also wrestle in the living room or family room, often in a very impromptu situation (such as after bedtime prayers or just before dinner).  I always picture myself as the "daddy lion" wrestling with his lion cubs.  All "daddy lion" wants to do is sleep, but those pesky cubs just wanna play!  :)

These are some of the "moments" I am trying to enjoy to their fullest potential before my kids become to grown up to enjoy this healthy activity!

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What's it like to bowl a Perfect Game ?

As far as I'm concerned, it's AWESOME !!!

Here's a picture of my perfect game in bowling:

That's right!  I threw a 300!

12 Strikes!  In a ROW !!!

Oh sure, you "haters" will just have to point out that it wasn't real bowling and was instead just a bowling app on the iPad.  So what?!  Have YOU ever bowled a 300 game?  Real or computer simulated?  My bet is NO!

I am certain the "real thing" would be ridiculously more satisfying, but I refuse to let that lessen my joy in the virtual accomplishment.  I'll never bowl a 300 for real.  I'll almost certainly never hit a hole-in-one in golf either, but if I did that in a video game I'd be just as excited!

So mock me if you must, but I took a picture of PERFECTION so the world will always know that The Original JC "lived the dream" ...

for at least one brief, shining moment!  :)

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A New Beginning ?

At work, earlier this month I began reporting to a different Manager, who works in a different site, and joined a different part of our organization (although my function and role will remained basically unchanged).

Normally these kinds of changes put me in a reflective mood.  But this one is just getting me excited for the winds of change.

Here are a few of the POSITIVE things I am very excited about in my immediate future as related to this change:
 - Learning pros and cons of being managed remotely.  I have WFH (work from home) reps that have reported to me for years and this will help me understand better what they may be feeling or experiencing.  Good or bad.  Then I can adjust to correct anything that isn't already good.
 - Gaining greater clarity on the Progressive world outside of just Colorado Springs.  It is easy to do things the CO way and assume that is the Progressive way.  Perceptions will be broken down.  Greater consistency will be achieved.  And for one of my reps (John F) I will be in a better position to support him as he just came from PHX.
 - Broadening my "contact" list.  I love to get new ideas from different people.  Being able to reach out to a whole different site and workgroup will allow me to continue to grow into the person I want to be.
 - My new Manager sounds like he is very committed to helping us develop skills that make us more qualified for that next job level.  I haven't ever really had that in my current role so the chance to be "coached" on my areas of weakness (always referred to as "opportunities" in the Progressive world) is a VERY exciting prospect.
 - A fresh start.  I'm anxious to move from the performing level to the mastering level and I think movement (especially around the end/start of the year) allows for this to happen more easily (team members don't push back when it's a "new year's resolution" of sorts).

So bring on the new reporting relationship.  Bring on some diversity of thought.  Bring on peers that I've never really worked with before, whose strengths I can hopefully learn from.  Bring on the next diem to carpe!  :)

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