6 years old

Sunday was Lily's 6th birthday.  It doesn't seem like she should be 6 already.  She has grown and changed so much in the two and a half years that she has been a part of our family.

She asked for a "ramonica" (harmonica) for her birthday.

Not necessarily a birthday gift, but friends of ours recently gave Lily this adorable handmade sock monkey hat.

Happy 6th birthday, Lily!  You're my favorite Lily in the whole world...Love you!

an opportunity

I am hesitant to use my blog "commercially".  Yes, with internet ads everywhere, now even bloggers can put ads on their blogs to generate income.  Slightly tempting, but I don't think I have enough readers to make it profitable, it would change the whole atmosphere of my blog, and I like having total control of what appears on "my" page.

Nonetheless, here is a "commercial", of sorts.

I met an adoptive mom in my travel group, when I went to China to pick up Lily, who had also adopted a little girl.  We have since maintained a friendship through blogging and facebook.  Her and her husband have felt the call to a second adoption, and have recently been matched with a special needs little boy.

I can attest to the fact that there are many bureaucratic costs associated with completing an adoption, and many families (like ours) try to find creative and tactful ways to raise funds to offset some of those costs.

I wish I could link you to some of her blogs, but because bloggers sometimes struggle with privacy issues, she has made the difficult decision to make her blogs private.  So, if you decide to help her out, you'll just have to trust me on this one!

Here's what they are doing... and I wish I had thought of it.  I think it's one of the simplest and most creative ideas I have heard in the world of adoption fundraising.  They have purchased a 500 piece puzzle of China's Great Wall, and they are selling puzzle pieces, through PayPal, for $10 each.  With your donation, you can dedicate that piece (or pieces) of their adoption journey in the name of your choice.  They will write that name on the puzzle piece, and create a treasured family heirloom representing the people who helped to bring their son home.  Awesome idea, huh?

Would you care to help?  I believe in this family and this effort, and I purchased 6 pieces... one for each member of my family.  If generosity or giving was a part of your New Year's resolutions, here's an opportunity.  If you would like to help this family, send an email message to (goneartoorphans(at)gmail(dot)com) with dedication names and ask for a link to the secure PayPal site.  Tell 'em Backside of Forty sent ya!  Thanks for considering this cause.

some progress

With my current work schedule, I don't have nearly as much time to work on my remodeling as I used to have.  So, just before Christmas, I made the decision to hire a drywall contractor to get the first floor walls and ceilings hung and finished.  It's amazing what some cash and a hired workforce can accomplish.

The Monday they started, I left for work in the morning and the area looked like this:

I came home from work in the evening, and it looked like this:

By the end of the week, they were finished, packed up, and gone.  The walls were ready to paint!

Or... maybe not.

Once they were finished (but before I paid the bill), I inspected my new walls.  What I found was not exactly what I had in mind.  Granted, I'm a bit of a perfectionist.  And, in all fairness, the result wasn't terrible.  But, I'm an amateur do-it-yourself-er and I felt I could have done a better job on the final finish sanding.  Maybe it's just me, but my thinking is that if I hire a professional to do a job, they ought to be able to do a better job than an amateur, like me... or, at the very least, just as good, right?

So, I called the contractor (he's a nice guy... I like him) and he was very cooperative.  He assured me they would make it right.  He sent one of his finishers out to meet with me.  I discussed my concerns and he went back over some of the finish.  He called me that evening and assured me that if I had any other concerns, they would take care of them.

I inspected it a second time and found it considerably better, but I still found some flaws that I felt should be remedied before painting.  I believe he would have tried again to meet my satisfaction, but at this point (after two chances), I'm tired of calling and meeting to explain my concerns... you know, "if you want something done right, do it yourself".  So, since I was off Wednesday, I got out my drywall tools and finished it to my standards, which means that I now need to call him and discuss a billing adjustment to compensate myself for the material and labor I invested in his work.

But, pick out the paint colors, now it's ready to paint!  (Well, after I sweep... and sweep... and sweep the dust... and apply the primer...)

another child home

For those of you with an interest in orphans, adoption or China, here is the blog of a family that I met in my China travel group in 2008.  They arrived back in China yesterday to complete their second adoption, bringing them (for now, anyway) to a family of seven.

Zumba addiction

48 pounds. 4 pants sizes. 2010. One word: Wow!

I'm really proud of my wife. With the births of three kids over the course of eight years, my wife's body hasn't been "hers" for quite some time. But, barring the miraculous or supernatural, we are pretty sure we have closed the book on family additions.  (Well, we have considered a puppy, but that doesn't count!)  She's now reclaiming some of her youthfulness.

She's not doing it for me, or anyone else... she's doing it for herself. She's like a completely new person... and I don't mean just outwardly. She has much greater self-esteem, and she says she feels better than she has in years.

What's her method? Two things:

1. She has a modified view of food after completing a self-study Bible course titled, The Lord's Table.
2. She discovered a form of exercise that she loves, called Zumba.

She has a final goal in mind for 2011, and she hopes to hit it by her birthday in July. I'm pretty confident that she will.  If she does, she has a vision of hosting a Zumba party, at our home, with her Zumba instructor and a yard full of dancing friends. I'm pretty sure the neighbors have never seen anything like that, but I think it's a great way to celebrate 35 years and a job well done... and expose others to the health benefits of her new Zumba addiction!

of witches and slugs

I enjoy living in a region of the country where the four seasons are very distinctly diverse, and I love to hike in all of the four seasons.  Although it takes more motivation to get out in the cold and hit the trail in the dead of winter, it can be one of the best times.  Think about it:  The woods are very peaceful, the trails are virtually abandoned, you can see so much more without leaves on the trees, the weeds and underbrush are sparse, and bugs are non-existent.  On the right winter day, the cold is actually refreshing and, if dressed in the proper layers, the body heat you generate makes an afternoon on the trail very comfortable.  Today was one such day.

I hadn't planned to go hiking today.  The thought really hadn't even occurred to me.  But, it was a beautiful sunny day in Ohio, and Zachary asked to go hiking.  I checked the forecast:  Sunny, with a high of 27 degrees (F).  Cold, but with no wind chill, not bad.  Of all my kids, Zachary is generally my best hiking buddy, so I hated to discourage him from joining me in an afternoon of my favorite activity.  Dress warm, Zachary... a hiking we will go!

Zachary, my best hiking buddy.

While we were on the trail, Zachary commented, "I've been sitting around the house playing video games for days.  I wanted to get out here with you, so I won't be a slug when I go back to school tomorrow."  I can't argue with that, Zachary!

Hiking is my drug!

We found this cool stream cascade that we had never seen before.

Icicles on the rocks by the flowing stream.

Green ferns growing on rocks in the dead of winter.

I am always in awe of trees growing on the side of rocks such as these.

We discovered this huge hollow tree trunk.

Zachary discovered this uprooted tree with a hole through the upended earth and roots.

This used to be a road before the state took this land for a State Park.  Now it is the main artery through a snowmobile/mountain bike trail system.

Zachary enjoys discovering the foundations of old buildings when we are hiking.  He was excited when our hike led us here... that is, until I told him... the story.  He asked me why there was a bunch of candles and wax on the stones of this old foundation.  That's because, Zachary, it's supposedly not a foundation... but a gravesite!  Its after dark popularity is pretty well-known among local ghost hunters, teenage thrill-seekers, and would-be devil worshippers... hence the evidence of the candles.  Known as "Witch's Grave", this is the site of a well-known local legend.  Although not acknowledged or publicized by the State Park, popular legend says that these woods are haunted by the ghost of a female who was accused by locals of being a witch.  The story maintains that they killed her and that she was buried at this very plot (before the State Park owned the land).  Many locals claim to have seen a ghostly female figure in these woods.  We didn't see her today (not that I wanted to!), but there is a stone within these stone walls that is very indicitive of the base of a headstone.  The actual headstone is busted off and missing.  I suspect, as I told Zachary, that this is just an old family burial plot... but then again... I prefer to get out of these woods well before dark!

it wearies me

There are some social situations that weary me.  I could go so far as to call them social pet peeves.  Two, in particular, have been popping up more than usual, lately.  Granted, I'm a bit of an anomaly in these areas.  I am who I am, but I wasn't made to always fit perfectly in this current world.

The first social peeve:  Team sports.  I have no real use for team sports.  I know, I know... it's the holy grail of American society, but they really do nothing for me, particularly, of the professional variety.

(Let me just clarify, though, that if one of my kids were interested enough in a sport to convince me (and I can be convinced) to let them play, I'd be their biggest fan... even if I didn't understand the game very well; which I often don't, since I follow so little of any sports). 

Here's my deal:  It's simple... my Dad was never into team sports, so I didn't grow up having any interest in watching or playing any team sports.  That's all.  (Although, I briefly considered running track in school.)

OK.  My opinion here.  But, isn't it a bunch of spoiled millionaires playing a game that has become so high-tech and sophisticated that there is no real "sport" left?  And, everyone takes it so seriously... spending billions every year to support the system and fuel the obsession right down to youth sports.  When five year-old T-ball teams practice 2-3 evenings a week and arguments or brawls break out in the stands over an error or a bad call, isn't it safe to say we, as a society, have taken sports a little too seriously?  What about the old adage, "it's just a game"?  I know, what a cold, crass opinion, right?  But, MY blog... MY opinion!

(And, while I'm on my soapbox, let me establish a few things for the record:  Being a non-team sports person does not equal being non-athletic!  I enjoy walking, hiking, cycling, and backpacking... all of which could fall in the category of athletics/sports, and all of which require physical participation, not just watching someone else participate.  Frankly, a lot of avid sports enthusiasts are anything but athletic!)

But, the pet peeve isn't that sports exist.  It isn't even that you may have an interest, or possibly a passion, for sports.  That's fine.  The peeve is that sports are so inseparable from being an American, especially an American male, that I become an anomaly just for choosing to take no interest.  Try making social small talk if you're a non-sports American male... virtually impossible.  A classic example (that helped spark this post) is the mandatory daily morning sports meetings sales meetings at our car dealership.  I regularly sit there, with no input or interest, and listen to all the armchair athletes passionately debate what should'a could'a would'a been done in the previous days sports matches.

It wearies me.

The second social peeve:  Introverted people are not very well understood by much of the population.  It seems more attractive and accepted to be extroverted... to the point where some introverted people miserably pretend to be extroverted in some situations.

Of course, there are levels and degrees of introversion and extroversion.  I am probably extremely introverted... to the point where I frustrate my moderately introverted (with extroverted tendencies) wife.  While I'm not [quite] a total hermit, I like being home, and I like being with my family.

"The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family"  --Thomas Jefferson

Where this becomes a social peeve is when people do not understand or accept that this is just the way the Creator of the Universe wired some of us to operate.  A classic example (that also helped spark this post) is office parties.  I despise office parties or company Christmas parties.*  I don't despise co-workers (usually), I just don't like to spend additional time away from my home and family to spend more time with the people with which I already spend the large majority of my time, probably doing a lot of social peeve #1...

I work with some nice people.  I get along (despite my lack of sports-talk) with everyone at my workplace.  Thankfully, I was spared the misery of a formal company Christmas party.  But, a few of the guys organized an after work dinner/drink social at a local restaurant last week.  I didn't want REALLY didn't want to go.  It's not all about finances, whether or not I drink, or any of that...I'm just not wired to enjoy these settings.  But, my wiring is hard for many to understand or accept.  I'm easily labelled "antisocial"... but... doesn't that kinda parallel the definition of introversion?  Hmmmm

I didn't go, but not without feeling social peer pressure (and people think peer pressure is just a teenage phenomenon!)  And, a few co-workers (probably the ones with introverted tendencies) confided that they'd really rather not go, but felt they "had to".  What?  Had to?  How old are we?  Why can't we just be who we are comfortable being and be accepted for that?  Extroversion might be the easier of the two social spectrums, but it's not necessarily better!

It wearies me.

* ... with the one exception of PLD Christmas parties.  PLD has been known to read this blog, is a past employer, a good friend, and hosts family company Christmas parties that even this introvert can appreciate and enjoy!