Erik's Basement Project Phase I

This year I took on the project of finishing the basement to give us a complete home. The project started at the end of the February and was approved by the county in late August. It took longer then I had hoped but as you can see from previous posts on this blog we have had some other fun distractions this year. All work was completed by myself including the electric/plumbing/drywall/paint. Randall laid the tile in the utility room and Chance was a great long distance consultant. In the end it was fun, but I don't think I will do it again, well at least not until Phase II gets approved by the boss.
Here are some before and after shots:
This was what I started with.

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This is the future workout room 3/10/07. Picture on the left is looking back to front. Picture on the right is looking front to back. The yellow paint in the picture covers the stains from the previous owners who had a dog kennel for their dog. Duffy was happy to see it removed.
    
This is the final work out room. Kim has already put in several miles on the treadmill and even Duffy has put on a few steps too.

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A full bath adds value too the house but also convenience too!! No more running upstairs during those Belknap billard games!!! Duffy didn't care for the bath tub as he hasn't quite made friends with water yet but he is learning.

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And finally the Laundry room. I don't know much about this room but Kim says it looks great. Notice the tile floor! Thanks Randall!


The work looks much better in person so feel free to come visit!!!! (Just don't point out the rough spots)

Trips to Tallahassee and Blacksburg

Oh, the anticipation and heartbreak that is game-day! In the last three weeks, Erik and I made two trips to see the 'Noles. One to Tallahassee for the Miami game, and one to Blacksburg for the Virginia Tech game. The high points were spending time with family and friends with some heart stopping football. The low points were turn overs and a quarterback with a concussion. There is nothing more to say, we are hoping for a late season rally against the other Florida school on Thanksgiving weekend.

Erik did ask me if I had the choice would I rather beat Tech or Florida. Of course I said, "Both!" He made me choose and I had to say, "Florida." So maybe we will see a victory in the swamp before this season is over. It could happen Chris Rix managed it afterall.

Check out my Slide Show!

Soccer Day

Today Kim and I spent sometime with the family enjoying some friendly soccer. Carley's team coached by her dad was defeated 5-2 but played very well. Carley had several shots on goal and appeared to have had a blast. We then trekked to the other side of the county to watch Bailey fine tune his skills. After all the soccer we rushed home to entertain the Simei family with Kim's good cooking and my Wii skills.

Preston Parker's Punt Return Against Colorado

Preston Parker put on a show in Colorado. He almost broke through the Colorado special teams on a punt return even after nearly getting his head taken off. With the face mask penalty on the Buffalo's, we should have gotten into the endzone on this drive. Alas, it was a night for special teams and defense and not yet the offense. We're being patient Jimbo.

Doggie Dip Day

Each Tuesday evening after Labor Day, our neighbor-
hood pool opens for the dogs. Last year, Duffy was the driest Lab in the whole place :). (He seems to be missing the Lab gene that defines the love of water.) This year, Erik went into the pool with him and Duffy didn't fight it too much. He even bound in once on his own while chasing another dog. He had a great time interacting with his neighbors and was exhausted by the end of the event. Can't wait until next year!

Rock 'N' Roll Half Marathon Weekend

Labor Day weekend found us once again in Virginia Beach for the Rock 'N' Roll Half Marathon. Philip is working towards the Heavy Metal which a runner gets for running all of the music events in one year. This one was #4 of 5. He has done 2 halves and 2 fulls with one more half marathon to go in October.


(All photos compliments of Erik Belknap)
The race, which is a musical event, is part of a larger music festival weekend in Virginia Beach. This year our hotel room overlooked one of the venues. Erik stayed up to listen to Vertical Horizon from the balcony. Each mile of the race features a different local band. One of my favorites was a group of eclectic instrumentalists dressed up like leprechauns. It makes for a festive atmosphere all around.




The weather was beautiful for Labor Day -- mid 80s with very little humidity. There was also a strong ocean breeze which made the last two miles along the boardwalk much more bare able. Philip finished in 1:49 minutes and I finished just short of an hour later in 2:40. For me it was the slowest time that I've run, but I didn't feel like crying at the end and I never felt as sore as I have in the past. We'll consider that a victory!!

What we did on our summer vacation......

For those who know us, you know that one of the common interests that Erik and I share is live music. The summer of '07 provided us with many opportunities to participate in this pastime! We started the summer with a trip to Philly to see KC (that would be Kenny Chesney) and his gang at Lincoln Financial Field. If you are a country music fan in any way, then you must get to a KC stadium show. I know that those times will be ones that "I go back to" every time I turn on the radio! This summer KC enlisted Pat Green, Sara Evans, Sugarland, and Brooks and Dunn to help him on his way to another Entertainer of the Year award. Jill and Andy Waskow joined us for the show. I'm not sure what it is about Jill and I, but we seem to always get tickets in the section where no one else wants to get up and dance!?! A B&D fan from New York asked Jill if we could sit for the slow songs.....huh? Why do you spend $$ on tickets and travel if you don't intend to sing and dance? To quote Lauren, "I didn't come here to stay sober (or sit and watch)." Jill and I sang and danced along with our favorite artists and had a blast. A little cooler of Cruzan Confusian during the tailgate party didn't hurt, either.

How fitting was it that later that week we also participated in a Parrothead festival at Nissan Pavilion? So to recap that was Brooks & Dunn with KC in one day and Buffet the same week. As I texted Allen from the Buffet tailgate, "I LOVE my life!" Despite the pouring down rain that started just as we got to the gates, it was awesome. Ironically this was also the first concert that we saw from the lawn and the rain still couldn't dampen our spirits. The fact that we had a bucket of margarita's didn't hurt either, or maybe there is "a little bit of fruitcake in every one of us!"
Our biggest week was that of August 11th. We saw DMB (that would be the Dave Matthews Band) at Nissan on Saturday night, traveled to Virginia Beach to seem them again on Wednesday night, and then had a party with Jill and company at the Keith Urban concert on Friday. It was a "once in a lifetime" opportunity.













So what more do we have to look forward to you ask?
First, one more opportunity to see KC at Nissan. Then, the 'Noles kick off against the Clemson Tigers on Labor Day Night!

Back to School Dream

It happened. I had the "back to school dream" last night. It is a usual occurrence during the summer and only happens once, thank goodness. In real life, I will be teaming with a new English teacher to teach American Civilization, and I am a little nervous about it. The person that I thought that I was teaming with is now going to be the Assistant Activities Director and will not be in the classroom. The anxiety made itself known through my dream. In the dream, it was the first day of school and the new teacher (a male) was very dynamic and had the kids totally engaged with his personality. When it was my turn to teach, I had nothing ready for them -- no copies made, nothing written on the board, no class roster to take attendance. I was mortified and "ran" out of the room to make copies. I couldn't make it to the copy room because stuff kept getting in my way and whenever I try to run in a dream it feels like I'm walking through quicksand.

I woke up relieved to find that it is Saturday and there are still 5 weeks of summer! Thank God! I will be sure to live each of those weeks to the fullest :)

What Kim's been working on....

One of the requirements of the Institute that I'm involved in this summer is working on personal writing. The idea is that if we are going to be able to teach student's how to write, then we must write for ourselves as well. It has been a growth experience for me. I am in a Reading/Writing group in which we each bring a piece of writing to share, read it to the group, and then make contructive suggestions on how to make the piece better. Unbelievably, I started with poetry. At the end of the summer we submit them to be published in a class anthology so we get the satisfaction of other people reading our work. Here are two things that I've worked on:

Here
(this one a did for the writing course I took in the fall)

I’m a long ways from home
and yet not really

Here is my home
Ashburn, Virginia

The place where I live
because Jacksonville, Florida
never felt like home

I miss Sunday dinners with
Mom, Dad, Lauren, & A.J

I miss Chase – the talker
Baby Caroline is on the way

Yet, that place
despite my family
it never felt like I was meant to be
there

Nothing against the city
or her people

It was like the time I knew I was
in the wrong relationship
Always restless
Understanding that I had to make a change

Have you heard the line from
When Harry Met Sally?
“I knew
just like you know
about a good melon…”

Here, I’ve found the serenity
that comes
when you’re
in the right relationship.

Here I met Jill
teaching at Herndon High School
so
Here I met Erik and was
adopted by the yellow lab, Duffy,
my new family.

Here
I am home

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LIVE LIFE TO ITS FULLEST!

We hear that advice
in times of grief

when a life has been

cut short.

What does it mean?

Is it different for each of us?
Do we pack our days
or
spend them in silent meditation?
Do we focus on responsibilities
work, eat right, exercise, more work
or
frivolous activities
watch TV, read, go shopping?

What does it mean?

Does it mean that we are
simply
doing what God created us
to do?
How do we know
if
we are doing that?
Will we feel serenity
or
exhiliration?

What does it mean?

Is it
simply
that we should not
waste
any opportunity?

FSU Video

You must check out this FSU highlight video that I found on YouTube if not for the images, then for the FSU Anthem by Rufat who is rapping to the warchant.

Enjoy!!

2nd Anniversary

Today is our second anniversary!

Time sure flies when you are having fun!!

Thank you to everyone who continues to make us feel loved and supported in our partnership.

I want to do it all on this day, not a different day.

We did it! 14 hours and 3 Disney Parks! Since we didn't have any kids with us, Erik and I took off at a "sprint" through MGM Studios, EPCOT Center, and the Magic Kingdom with a detour to meet Philip and the Skippers for a quick dinner at Downtown Disney. The karma was up and down throughout the day.

We went directly to MGM Studios and The Rock 'N Roller Coaster & after a 35 minute wait got inside to discover that the coaster was not working. Since we were in the building when it went down, we got passes to come back through the FASTPASS line anytime during the day. Part of the experience included some Disney trivia led by the cast members running the ride and a glimpse at the engineers whose job it is to make sure that the attraction is in working order.

Next was the Great Movie Ride. It is a slow moving ride through the movies. This is best for a break from the heat or for the old movie lover. Erik thought that we could have skipped it. Once we were done with that, it was time for our FASTPASS to Tower of Terror. We walked right into the elevator and entered The Twilight Zone. Back to the Rock 'N Roller Coaster where we went almost to the front of the line. It was worth the wait as we were catapaulted to 60 miles an hour into a loop-de-loop. We finished our tour of MGM Studios with stops at Star Tours and Muppet Vision 3D. There was more good karma at Star Tours as the cast members working the line gave us a FASTPASS to the front.

The only kink in our plan was navigating the Disney Bus Transportation between the parks. When we made the transition from MGM Studies to EPCOT we had to wait 30 minutes for the bus to arrive. That was the first time that we really noticed the heat and humidity, and our only real complaint throughout the day.

Once we made it into EPCOT, we hightailed it to Mission Space -- the intense version, of course -- and then to FASTTracks. The single rider line is the way to go on the FASTtracks as we once again got to go to the front of a really long line. We visited Nemo and friends at The Seas and got in line for Soarin'. There was a 70 minute wait for Soarin', but karma was on our side again as we missed the afternoon thunderstorm while inside waiting for the attraction. Soarin' is different in that it gives you the opportunity to experience an IMAX movie by becoming a part of it. Riders sit in a chair as the floor drops away and the movie begins. It was is a cool concept.

The monorail ride to the Magic Kingdom provided a nice rest. We had 90 minutes before our dinner meeting so we race walked to Space Mountain. As we were getting our FastPasses to come back after dinner, a woman walked up to me to give me her passes which were good for that hour. Her kids had ditched her and she wasn't going to be able to use them. We were elated at the good karma, only to be deflated as Space Mountain was down for technical difficulties. After a 10 minute hike to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, we were once again disappointed to find that it was also closed for technical difficulties. We were 0-2 in the Magic Kingdom with 60 minutes until our dinner meeting. Erik blamed it on acknowledging the good karma that we were having. Not to be totally dejected, we checked on the line for Pirates of the Caribbean -- it was only 20 minutes! Things were turning around :). After our visit with Jack Sparrow, we made our way to the bus terminal.

As it turns out, you can no longer take a bus from the Magic Kingdom to Downtown Disney? Why? Because parking at Downtown Disney is FREE, and parking at the parks is not, you can't cheat the system by parking in the free zone and taking the bus to a park. That through a kink into our system as we walked to the Polynesian and waited for a bus to take us to dinner. As we rode the bus around kingdom, Philip and the Skipper gang scoped out a restaurant and shopped for a toy in the Once Upon a Toy Store. We ate at Wolfgang Puck Express -- the food was delicious considering that we'd shared a pretzel and 9 pieced of sushi total during our marathon of a day.

To save us some time on our trek back to the Magic Kingdom, we were given a ride in the Skipper Odyssey. We arrived just as people were gathering around Cinderella's castle for the fireworks. We were able to ride Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain before the park closed at 11. The adventure ended with the Electric Light Parade & a ride back to the parking lot on the Riverboat Ferry.

In the end, we had a blast together on our anniversary weekend trip to the happiest place on Earth. Would either of us recommend getting a one day park hopper and hitting 3 parks in a day? Not really. We proved that it can be done, but if you want the true Disney experience, it is best to spread the magic out over several days.

We'll wait for dad to get us all reservations at Shades of Green before we visit Mickey again. Maybe when Caroline is older or there is a little Belknap to experience the magic.

Duffy Belknap

Here's a picture of Duffy, just in case you forgot what he looks like ;). This was taken in the backyard of 2259 Fallen Tree Drive. Isn't he a cutie? We've been running together, but the heat is so intense that he can't go more than a loop around the neighborhood. Although, I suspect that he drags is feet when he knows that we are close to the house because he doesn't want to go inside. The rabbits and chipmunks have him so excited that he can't wait to get his leash on and get out the door in the afternoon. He is learning to "leave it" so that he does not take my arm off when he sees Chip and Dale run across our path.

Do I have anything to say?

This blog is an assignment given during our technology session of the Norther Virginia Writer's Project Summer Institute. We are exploring the emerging technologies on the web and how they might be used to get our students to write and collaborate. The amount of information available is absolutely overwhelming.

I can see a great value in keeping an online blog to update family and friends about what is going on, life in general, feelings, ventings, pictures, etc. The questions that keep popping up are -- when will I have the time to do this? How much will this cut into my TV watching time?

What do I really have to say that is of any importance?