Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Doing something new.

I've never done any tiling before. I've read a little bit, watched a video on youtube but that's it.

We've spent the summer slowly remodeling the kitchen. the backsplash is about the last thing left. We picked some tile, bought it a while ago. But I've been afraid to get started, afraid it might be a slog, afraid it might be hard, afraid I might screw it up.

But today, I got started. It was easier than I could have imagined and it looks great.

I love it.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Today was a good day.

I did something I love today- I went for a bike ride. Nothing fancy, not all that long, just an hour around the lake. But it really felt good to get out. Couldn't have asked for a better day.

Yesterday was a bad day.

It shouldn't have been- it was my daughter's first soccer game, my parents came to visit, I cleaned the house and everything should have been good. But I was depressed, so all I managed to do was mope, occasionally putting on a brave face.

There was a moment of pure joy as I watched my daughter run down the field, kicking the ball towards the goal. I'm so proud of her.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Hanging out with my daughter.

She's almost four years old. It won't be long before she's too busy, too cool to hang out with me. But today, we hung out. We played, we went to soccer practice.

Sometimes, it's like I can't see the forest for the trees- I get bogged down in the little annoyances of trying to get a strong willed little girl to get dressed, brush her hair, eat her lunch. But when I step back, I see the whole picture, a wonderful afternoon with a little girl who's just like her daddy.

Friday, September 16, 2011

A good shave.

The razor belonged to my grandfather. I never really learned how to shave when I was a kid- my Dad has had a beard almost as long as I can remember.

But somehow over the course of years, I pieced together the proper ingredients for a good shave. When it's done right, my face feels better than it did before I shaved.

There are a hundred ways to shave faster, closer. It's a ritual. It's slow. The foam is heavy with oils, the brush is just stiff enough, the hot water is perfect. And then the shave, slow, short, repetative strokes. Don't try and take it all off in one go, just relax. First my left cheek. Then the right. The mustache is next, followed by the neck and then the chin, leaving the toughest hair to sit and soften the longest.

More hot water to rinse my face, then a dab of aftershave cream.

Perfect.
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Thursday, September 15, 2011

A friend once told me



Once when I was feeling down, an old friend told me to do something you love every day. So that's what I'm going to try to do.

Today, I rode my bike to the store to get a soda. Simple pleasures. An old Schwinn, a crisp fall day (even though it's still summer) and a diet Coke.