Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Day 88: Vent


Day 88: Vent
Originally uploaded by hcuevas_98
Today was another busy day. I primed some more sections of our kitchen and before I knew it, it was 11:30pm when I realized I had neglected to take today's photo. As I shared my dilemma with my bride, she mentioned why not take a picture of the vent above the bed because it is the last thing you will see before you close your eyes. Hmmm, good idea! So there you have it! Nighty Night.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Day 87: Priming the kitchen


Day 87: Priming the kitchen
Originally uploaded by hcuevas_98
I started priming the walls of our kitchen this evening. The sage green will need 2 coats of primer to cover it up but in the end, our kitchen will be brighten it up which will make my bride happy.

Day 86: Coal Chute


Day 86: Coal Chute
Originally uploaded by hcuevas_98
Today was opening day for my son's baseball team.  It was a long day  but at one point, I had the opportunity to take a walk into Carytown.  Carytown is a section of Richmond that is pretty arty and it attracts a pretty diverse crowd.  Now on my way to Carytown, I came across this coal chute on the side of one of the buildings. I still find it fascinating that urban residents had to have regular deliveries of this sooty material in order to heat their homes.

Day 85: The 1/2 gallon container gets smaller

Today I opened our refrigerator to pour myself a glass of OJ.  When I retrieved the container, its appearance seemed thinner. Upon further inspection, the OJ container now lists its volume as being 1.8 quarts.  Why?!

Day 84: A new stage


Day 84: A new stage
Originally uploaded by hcuevas_98
Well the wee one hit a new stage today.  She's moved up into a booster seat in our new car and she is so proud.  When I brought the new booster home, she had to sit down in it immediately. But what really made her happy was the fact that it had pink trim and flowers all over it. A perfect match for my little girl.

Day 83: Colorburst


Day 83: Colorburst
Originally uploaded by hcuevas_98
Early spring always surprises me with small bursts of color that seem to appear out of nowhere.  Today was one of those days where my daily trek to the middle school brings my by a plot of ivy.  What caused me to pause was how rich the color was in these flowers and how they seemed to come out of the blue-sorry couldn't resist.  Now I'm not 100% sure but I believe these are bluebells.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Day 82: Lease Me


Day 82: Lease Me
Originally uploaded by hcuevas_98
Toyota is having its fair share of woes but their latest lease was too good to pass up. So we took the plunge and I'm happy to say that we finally have a 2nd car that can hold the entire family safely.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Day 81: An Old Building


Day 81: An Old Building
Originally uploaded by hcuevas_98
In one of the older sections of Richmond, there is appears to be an abandoned wooden building which I believe may have served as a school or school offices at one time. I came across this structure while my son was at baseball practice and I couldn't resist checking it out. As one can see, everything is made of wood. There is wood rot in the typical places and the paint, which I am sure is loaded with lead, is peeling everywhere. I love the character of older homes and couldn't resist taking a photo of this piece of history.

Day 80: Yard Debris


Day 80: Yard Debris
Originally uploaded by hcuevas_98
It was a beautiful weekend and yesterday I managed to get lots of work done around the yard. We're still dealing with a torn up front lawn because of a new sewer line but we are making progress. As one can see we have lots of yard debris and I'm hoping it will be taken by our trash service. If not, it looks like another trip to the county landfill. We still have a long way to go, but the yard is getting tidier and tidier with every passing weekend.

I could sure use a DIY Yard Crasher! Anyone seen Ahmed Hassan? It would be great to have 10-20 people to help with this yard.

Day 79: Problem solving and the Riding Mower

I was really excited to break out my new riding mower today but the battery had another idea. The past winter wore down the battery to the point where I could not get the engine to turn over. This is a new mower and I only used it 1 other time this fall but I was determined to bet it started. Being a nube with this type of equipment, I hit the web to check and validate that I could jump start the mower with my car without damaging the car or the mower. As I suspected, one can jump start a riding mower with your car!

Friday, March 19, 2010

Day 78: Hooray for Spring


Hooray for Spring
Originally uploaded by hcuevas_98
I know we haven't hit the spring equinox just yet but today felt like spring. The daffodils and jonquils are popping up everywhere and the sun's rays had everyone on campus in good spirits.

Hooray for Spring!

Day 77: Heading home


Day 77: Heading home
Originally uploaded by hcuevas_98
t was another long day. PT, baseball practice, followed by a drive home at dusk. I almost feel like I put in another day of work and I still have things to do when I get home. Phew this parenting stuff is wearing me out but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Day 76: Yum Yum Good


Day 76: Yum Yum Good
Originally uploaded by hcuevas_98
It was a crazy busy day today! Everyone seemed to be going every which way in the family but my bride had the wisdom to take a moment to email me and suggest that we get Chinese food for dinner. The funny thing was I was thinking the same just moments before I received her email. But to add to the digital karma, after reading my bride's email, my daughter texted me saying that she was studying China in one of her classes and she asked if we could get Chinese food too. Coincidence?

Day 75: Icing down after PT


Day 75: Icing down after PT
Originally uploaded by hcuevas_98
It certainly looks a lot worse than it is but as part of her PT routine, my daughter has to ice down her knees for 10 minutes. The good news is that the pain has gone down and her strength and flexibility have improved. At this point, because she has Osgood-Schlatter, it appears that we will have to deal more with pain management as we wait for the "growing pains" to abate.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Day 74: Snack time before bed time

Tonight we got the wee one ready for bed, teeth brushed, hair brushed, and we actually had her in bed until she looked up and said, "I'm hungry". So we head downstairs to get a little snack of multigrain Cheerios. As one can see, she is a happy camper. Nighty night!

Day 73: Taxes are done!


Day 73: Taxes are done!
Originally uploaded by hcuevas_98
Where would I be without Turbotax?! I took about 4 hours to complete, but our taxes are done and have been e-filed. Time to clean up the mess and start a new folder for 2010.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Day 72: Martinis


Day 72: Martinis
Originally uploaded by hcuevas_98
I finally had some 1 on 1 time with my bride this evening so we headed out to Maggiano's for dessert and a couple of martinis. She had the Lemon Drop whereas I had the Pomegranate Martini along with New York Cheesecake and berries. I was actually going to photograph the dessert, but we started eating it before I could take the photo.

I suppose not being able to wait was a good sign! :)

Day 71: Nature's Geometry

After returning from the Great Wolf Lodge, my bride sent me out for some supplies. I found myself at Kroger and as I was spying the fruits, I came across a rather large bunch of bananas. I've seen large bunches of bananas before but I've never quite seen them arranged in this fashion and with so many. It had me wondering what the entire cluster may have looked like.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Day 70: Great Wolf Lodge


Day 70: Great Wolf Lodge
Originally uploaded by hcuevas_98
Today we ventured to Williamsburg to spend the night at The Great Wolf Lodge. It is a family friendly place with a massive indoor water park. The Lodge has something for everyone, including our 3 year old. I'm a bit water logged for the first day but you can be sure I will be able to rally tomorrow. Nothing like some family fun to end our Spring Break.

Day 69: Baseball Practice


Day 69: Baseball Practice
Originally uploaded by hcuevas_98
As my children get older, it seems like the days increase in length as well. Today was the start of my son's regularly scheduled late evening baseball practices but fortunately for me, the temperature was still mild.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Day 68: More and more mulch

If you saw yesterday's photo, today's shouldn't be much of a surprise. After dropping off yard waste and the county dump, I loaded up with a mound of mulch destined for our yard. The bad news is that I probably need 3-5 more truck loads. The good news is that the county uses the yard waste that is dropped off by residents and turns it into mulch. The mulch is free for the taking and for that I am grateful.

Day 67: Yard Work


Day 67: Yard Work
Originally uploaded by hcuevas_98
Part of our Spring Break Staycation is designed to get some much needed yard work done. We've been at this house for under a year and the yard requires some TLC. I've already made 2 trips to the dump with yard waste so it makes sense that this wheelbarrow under cover of night is the focus of today's image.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Day 66: Recycling?


Day 66: Recycling?
Originally uploaded by hcuevas_98
Seems like I've been a day behind for a number of days with my posts but my photos have always been taken the day the photo was due.

I've been through the Atlanta airport 2x in 4 days and I am perplexed by these recycling cans. They use electricity to sort the recyclables. To me it would have made more sense to have 3 different containers stacked on top of one another rather than go through the expense of purchasing these electric recycling containers and paying for power. What do you think?

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Day 65: Google Swag


Google Swag
Originally uploaded by hcuevas_98
We received a Google Swag Bag at the Google Teacher Academy for Administrators and it was full of some neat gifts. However, at the networking dinner, they had 1 more item to add to our bag. Many of us were wondering, hoping, and dreaming that perhaps the new piece of Google Swag was going to be a Nexus phone but hey that's what dreams are all about.

Now I just have to figure out how to stem off the arguments my kids will have over who gets to keep this piece of swag. In any event, thank Google for a wonderful opportunity.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Day 64: Google Teacher Academy for Administrators

What a day! Met lots of incredibly bright people, enjoyed meeting folks in my PLN F2F, and I learned lots! It's a shame this program is only 1 day because by the end, I felt prepared to have some in depth conversations about teaching, learning, and empowerment. I look forward to chatting with many of you as we continue our journey.

Day 63: Lunch @ Schilo's


Day 63: Lunch @ Schilo's
Originally uploaded by hcuevas_98
After checking into my hotel in San Antonio, Texas, I made my way over to the riverwalk in search of an eatery that was not Tex Mex. As I wandered around, I came across Schilo's Delicatessen. A German deli with the vintage flair of the early 20th century and the gizmos of the time period. Now the food was outstanding and the restaurant itself had lots of things that were worthy of photographing but it was this sign that caught my eye. I suspect it's the 19 years I've been working with MS boys that influenced my decision for today's picture but I just found this too funny to pass up.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Day 62: El Caporal


Day 62: El Caporal
Originally uploaded by hcuevas_98
On this cold and damp day, what could be better than take out from El Caporal for dinner. Let's just say everyone was quite happy with the meal and there were hardly any dishes to wash too.

It's a favorite eatery for the Cuevas household so if you are in search of excellent Mexican food, check out El Caporal.

Day 61: Pudding Ying Yang


Day 61: Pudding Ying Yang
Originally uploaded by hcuevas_98
My bride was feeling under the weather today so my son and I purchased all of the accouterments for the evening's dinner and dessert. As we were shopping my son expressed a desire to have pudding, then it expanded to include the Oreo cookie pie shell, and finally it had to include 2 flavors.

As I was preparing the meal, he mixed the pudding, placed it in the refrigerator, and then added it to the Oreo cookie pie shell to produce the Pudding Ying Yang.

Day 60: Lava Lamp


Day 60: Lava Lamp
Originally uploaded by hcuevas_98
I've always been a big fan of lava lamps and this one is particularly special. I purchased this lamp while I was a science teacher and it was a big hit with my MS boys. Well, I know longer teach science and the lamp has come home with me but it has been passed down to my MS aged son.