what I have been up to
 

Well, I have been a busy little man in trying to establish my future, beautify my home, and try to remain sane.

Home fires: I tried looking at new homes, but have not liked much that I have been seeing for the prices they are charging for homes. I owe 82k on my home and it is appraised at 215k. So, I am taking a loan out on the home and making some changes to it. The patio is going to be an expansion on the home, it will be a large breakfast room made mostly out of glass to add some natural lighting. This will allow me to expand the kitchen. The house used to have an attached 2 car garage that was converted to 2 rooms. There is an awkward closet in the middle that eatsup space. by eliminating the closet I I will have a clean divide that will make for a new living room and the office will have glass double doors which will open it up more. I will put a small coat closet in the current living room which will reshape it to have a foyer and allow for a nice family room/library. I will add recessed lighting . The basement is just one big open area. I will eliminate the small closet next to the small bathroom so I can install a shower stall and make the half bath a semi full bath. The basement will be divided to two rooms. One will be a utility/laundry area and be a good place to store cleaning supplies, vacuum, etc which will resolve storage issue. The other room will just be a nice play area (bar, pool table, etc. and I will keep a nice futon down there for guests. Now for the upper level. I will have the bathroom expand into my bedroom to make it larger. I want a luxury tub with a shower stall, nice double basin, mirrors, etc. Then my bedroom will encroach into my daughters bedroom to make my room larger and have a nice walk in closet. My daughters room will not only encroach, but eliminate the third bedroom giving her a larger room...with a walk in closet and a nice dressing area as she gets older. The way I am sectioning this will allow me to have room for a small linen closet in the upper level and also allow me to install a lift (i will get to that later). I will also have a 2 car garage added to the back yard, privacy fence, and a japanese style garden. From the garage I will have a small stone pathway to the breakfast room which will have a small mudroom with a coat closet on what is now the outside and lead to an open entry to the new living room.

Daddy Front: My daughter is having a rough time. She is six and I have her in counseling. She goes into crying jags at the drop of a hat. She also has taken to pulling her hair. She is very bright, very happy, but she has trouble with new things...like first grade. I wish I could explain it better, but it is hard. She has some form of anxiety stress disorder...which sounds odd for a six year old, but there it is. We still go on our once a week dates to the zoo, arboretum, etc. We have mastered shoe tying and monkey bars and are working on two wheeler sans training wheels.

Business. I almost gave up on it, but it is starting to boom! I am also finally enjoying it again. I am co owner of one company and sole proprieter of another and slowly getting some media attention. Business one is Gigastrand International. http://www.gigastrand.com . Our largest seller is the Linspire Laptop Plus. Making and selling computers online...yawn! You cannot touch Dell. Especially when you sell Linux. So we have an independant agent program. Our agents buy into the business for the price of a laptop. They get the right to sell our laptops...and well...a laptop. It is strait forward. they show the laptop, they take an order, they get a commission, the customer gets a computer. Any service issues are handled by US, not the agent. We also have incentives for the agents. They get stuff for selling so many in a certain time frame. That stuff can be a PALM, a MP3Player, or even a free laptop depending on what they sell. The other front is the one taking a major change. My original pet, Silver Strand Solutions. Silver Strand was mainly a consulting arm and IT on call service. My most lucrative clients have been training and technical writing. So, in a few days the website will be re geared to reflect that focus. It also lends itself to more speaking engagements.

I was recently quoted in a press release as an industry expert commenting on some changes in Palm Source. I may be in a webcast on server migration (not for sure yet) and in May of next year I got something REALLY big coming up that I cannot talk about yet. Add to that being on the board for Freespire and the Freely Project and things are starting to tun around. I damn near gave up recently.

Personal life? Well that part sucks. Friendships are good. being a dad rocks. I just found that I am not good at that whole personal deal. I have some health issues as well. The lift I spoke of is necessary. in ten or fifteen years, I may not be able to use my legs in the same way. To extend that sentence, I have befriended a retired Navy Seal who is meeting me at the gym 4 days a week. The goal is to not only lose weigh, but to be as strong and fit as possible.

So, that has been the last few months of my life. Wink

Missed ya all.

Tux,

First off, I'm glad to see ya !!!! :)

Second, :eek: WOW, you've got a lot on your plate but, you know, that's half the fun -- seeing an idea go from concept to reality.

:thumbsup:

Third, I empathize with you....these last months have been a bit of a roller coaster ride for me, too. But, we'll get through it....come hell, high water, or hip-deep, lake-effect snow, we'll get through it.

:)

Tux, It's so good to hear from you! It's good to see you handling the rough stuff with forethought, I'll be praying for your daughter--a friend told me, when we were in the midst of moving stress that they are little barometers of the stress parents are facing sometimes, and we all want our children to feel safe and secure always. The house plans and business plans sound very positive. Wishing you the best, always.

Jewels

Life is always a mixed bag isn't it? I have made it the last three years self emplyed from home. It has not always been easy...or sane.....but it is coming to fruition. Now if I can get the daughter through this and be a hot and well built 180 pounder.....life will be a dream. ;-)

ME? well I over strained a muscle in my left arm a week ago, and have been in pain since.
But being a person who believes in natural therapy and treatment, I use a fabulous herbal oil from Switzerland, and it gets nice and hot when massaged in, and it's been healing my inflammed muscle very positively.

Movement has been restricted, so I look a little strange when trying to do my coiffure in the mornings....on my worst day when the pain would shoot through my arm and the tendons would catch with the slightest movement in the wrong way, trying to just dress, was an almost impossible feat...times like that you realise how much we may take for granted our otherwise good health and the good working order of our limbs... ;)

May you all be enjoying good health out there! :wings:

We are glad that you are back Tux!

I always say "Life is what gets in the way living. " There is always so little time and so much to know and do. Hang in there sweetie.

Be glad you are not in California where the houses are half the size and twice the price. I have no idea how Brian and I are making things work.

As for me, you missed the whole drama a few months back of me moving my mom to a senior appartment complex and the family turmoil. Well, 3 weeks ago she fell and broke a knee, a few ribs, and her nose. So yesterday I packed her up again (3 months later) and moved her to Assisted living. The plan is for her to go back to Independent in 2 months. We will see if that happens.

Meanwhile, I am trying to get my wedding cake business going. Target start date is January 1!

Big hugs!
Dy

Hi Kamakaze Athena, :salute:

Just wanted to wish you the very best with your wedding cake enterprise!

We have not been acquainted with one another yet, but I love your full costume and "in character' avatar!! Trés magnifique Athena!

Do you specialize in any particular area of wedding cake/ patisserie delights?

I too, learned many years ago, under my mother's guidance( she's an excellent cook and pastry cook) how to bake cakes. I especially love gateaux, they are so beautifully pleasing after creating one, and pleasing upon the eyes too, not to forget mentioning the gastronomic experience!

I'm nearly a month old C.F. member here, and hope to get to know you a little too, adding to my" wingmen clique" on the forums.

Regal wishes to you"!

:salute: Hi tux! Remember me? We had a run-in with eachother some time back on "The Last Person"thread.(well maybe I ran into you unbeknown to you)...how are you? I understand how it is to be self employed from home...i'm in the same circumstance with my work too, but don't lose hope, as it does sound as though you are beginning to see the fruits of your labour. Good for you!

Hope all your hopes are realised!
And if you ever want a work out, I'd be happy to wrestle for the thread, or just plain race you for it :LOL: :balloon: i last tied it on a balloon...

Thanks Sarika! I am still developing my specialty as I use a lot of techniques. I think that I am best with fondant and gum paste art, meaning both molded and sculpted pieces that are then painted. I am getting pretty good at the whole, hand formed and painted flowers thing. I recently made a cake that is a 3D stand up wedding dress; 4 tiers stacked for under the skirt which and then a carved bodice. I am working on a website and when I finally get it done, I will post the address.

It really is very cool to pick up where our moms left off, huh?

Thanks so much for the well wishes!
Dy

Hi K. Athena! :salute:

How lovely to hear about your artistry, and your work sounds to be beautiful. I truly admire the delicate work of wedding cake makers, especially all the hand molding of flowers and icing work. Your wedding dress 3D cake also sounds like a master piece!

I look forward to seeing your chef-d'oeurvres on your forthcoming site!

Indeed it is lovely to carry on something from our mothers to hopefully pass onto our -off spring one day.

I also enjoy dabbling in chocolate making, like praline truffles, which are just delish!

I look forward to further communique Dy

Best wishes :girl:

Hey Sarika,

You might trip out a little on this. It is the link to my mother in law's candy store:
http://www.prestonscandy.com/

Makes you want to take a dip into a pot of melted chocolate, no? :girl:

;) Hmmm...your mother-in-law's candy store looks absolutely delish! Kudos to your M.I.L!
Thank you for sharing with me, K.Athena!

How do you contain the urge to delve into those sweets?

Ahh yes, moderation is certainly the secret to it, oui?
But to indulge every now and then, is essential to enjoying life! :colada: :balloon:
I find a fine swiss chocolate is the ultimate to a tiring day... ;)

Well, aside from working and trying to survive. I have been working on getting a writing RPG that I have been putting together for sometime up and running, as a few of you are aware of. ;) I have gotten the first post (or episode as I like to call them) written. I am now working on Part II of what I call the pilot episode. If anyone wants to know more about it, I would be glad to tell you about it. Until then...


Unfortunately, sis, I'm not supposed to have chocolate. Doctor's orders. Of course, if I could have it, I would love to have a pot of melted white chocolate. Mmmmmmmm!!!!!! TTYL.

Hugs and kisses to you and mom,
XOXOXOXOXO

Ares, out

My bro's reference is to Dr. Dirk who would smack me silly if I dipped into the chocolate bath. (Ok, there is the occassional taste test. There HAS to be! :) )

Basically, I don't eat it because I know how much better I feel when I don't eat sugar. Funny how going without something can make you realize how you really should not eat it.

But yes. M.I.L. knows how to deliver the goods! It is most dangerous after 9pm and friends come. Remembering that you have a key to a candy store after hours is just plain dangerous! I am really bad at it too! "Don't you just want to try these 2 or 3 other things?" says the girl who is sitting there drinking water.

I am a little stinker!

You and Cy are family? How nice to become acquainted with you both! And, you sound to have a great sense of humour, with an agreeable opinion of "taste test"...occassionally, of course! ;)
I am a great aqua addict as well, I drink like a fish....I get a mal de tête (head-ache), if I don't get my daily quoter of H2O... :cool:

Yeah, he hunted me down because of my avatar and said I was his sister. We have been good buds ever since. He is a good egg, even though he is really a Cylon! ;)

Indeed he took a chance choosing a cylon name....it could be chancy,

But now I get it with the "sister" thing.... :LOL:

I never know if I need to keep my lazor close to me when Cy's around :eek: :cylon:

I may need a quick getaway :viper: :colonial: :rotf:

Yeah. I know what you mean. And a male one at that! :girl: A girl has got to be careful! ;)

We love ya, Cy!

Fear not, ladies. You need not worry. I have re-written my programming, so that I will not bring harm to anyone in the fleet. Especially ones as beautiful as yourselves. ;)

OOC: Besides, I like to be different.

Oh man! Now we know that we are in trouble! ;)

:girl: *smootch* :girl:

K.Athena, your my wingman now, we must indeed stick together....just in case, Cy's new programming has any glitches, you know the kind of malfunction when you shake hands with a friendly cylon, and next thing you know, he's strangling you... :eek: :yikes:
But that's just a hypothetical scenario.... :blink: :cylon: :toaster: :Ncylon:

:viper2: :viper:

Right there with ya sister! We can't be too careful with these boys! :girl:

We are offically flying together now. Something tells me that we had better hold on tight! :eek:

sorry that I haven't been here in a few weeks but i have been busy with the house and hubby's schedule has changed again, this time for the better. On top of all this, I was sick for a few days during my absence. So now I am back!

Are you ladies saying that guys in sci fi forums are........never mind.....I got nothing to defend our honor with. Hm.........