Happy Birthday, Jenni!

Sorry the photo is over two years old. I only had one photo of you from Christmas at Gammaw Yowell's, and there were too many other people in it.

Thanks for the birthday card and especially the old photos of us. I wish I knew how old we were in that birthday photo. And did you notice in the photo of the three of us that Stacey and I have the same haircut? We don't have a scanner at home anymore--not since we bought a digital camera. Maybe I can talk Scott into scanning them at his office one day soon, so everyone can see how adorable we were.

I can't believe I'm 45...that's half way to 50! At least you'll turn 40 before I turn 50. Oh well, better 40-something than teens or 20-something again. (Justin and Lauren may scoff at that remark, but life gets so much better after 30.)

Scott and I are sending all kinds of birthday love your way, Jenni. Hope you had a special one!

Love,
Your OLDER brother, Steven

P.S.: Scott and I were in Vancouver, BC part of last week and took photos of that beautiful city to share with everyone. I hope to get them posted online later this week. And I need to post a basement remodeling update, too.

Another Christmas "Thank You"

I received an Amazon gift certificate from Jim, Scott's sister Kathy's husband, for Christmas, and thought I'd let him (and everyone else) know what I bought with it. You may not appreciate some of my purchases, but trust me--it's all good stuff.

• Mary Poppins (2005 Original London Cast Recording) [Audio CD]
• Seesaw (1973 Original Broadway Cast Recording) [Audio CD]
• 52nd Street [Audio CD] Billy Joel
• Where Our Love Grows [Audio CD] Swing Out Sister
• and a Brushed Nickel Arrow Base Door Stop for the upstairs bathroom

Thanks, Jim! Let me know if you want to borrow any of the CDs.

Our Remodeled Upstairs Bathroom

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Originally uploaded by steventhemusical.

As promised, I've uploaded photos of our (almost) finished upstairs bathroom to Flickr. The photo posted here is just a tease...you'll have to head over to Flickr to see all 19 photos! But even if you compare the finished photos with the before photos, you really will need to see our remodeled upstairs bathroom in person to truly appreciate it. Who's going to be the first to come see it?

Also as promised, there are photos of the demolition of our basement. We spent most of the day Saturday shopping for materials, and bought almost everything we can haul in either of our cars. BTW, thank you Mom and Dad! The Lowe's gift cards each of you gave us put a dent in the price tag. They helped us pay for hardwood flooring, can light fixtures, bi-fold doors, dimmer switches and electrical outlets, and a kitchen faucet for the basement.

Happy Birthday, Jake!

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Originally uploaded by currierstacey.

Sending you all kinds of fun and love on your birthday! Hope your birthday card arrived in time.

Love,
Uncle Steven & Scott

And So It Begins... Again

The remodeling of our basement started today. Yes, that means the upstairs bathroom is done! Well, almost done.

The upstairs bathroom is beautiful. I promise to post photos on Flickr this weekend to prove it. Unfortunately, there's a problem: water is seeping under the glass mosaic tile where it meets the top edge of the tub/shower surround, and this is causing a gray discoloration behind the bottom few rows of the tile in a couple of areas. Because the tiles are transparent glass this discoloration is very noticeable, but it also allowed us to discover the problem in time to insist the contractor fix it. So, as work begins in the basement the contractor is also trying to find a non-porous material to replace the existing concrete wall board behind those bottom rows of tile, to not only repair the existing damage but also prevent it from recurring.

When we first discovered the discoloration I was very disheartened and pretty upset. Here we were, finally, with a bathroom to be proud of, and already something is wrong with it. It felt like we somehow didn't deserve to have a beautiful bathroom in our house. We hadn't spent enough money or bought nice enough materials, so of course something would go wrong. But then you realize you just have to take a deep breath...and insist that the problem be fixed so you're getting the finished job you paid for. It helps our contractor wants to keep us happy, if only because we're spending a nice chunk 'o change with her.

Well, it's time for me to go to bed. In addition to the photos of the (almost) finished upstairs bathroom, I'll also post some of the basement demolition on Flickr.

Is This a New Year's Resolution?

Late in 2006 I sidestepped my natural inclination to procrastinate and started working on a writing project. Fiction, not theater-related (so I'm still not really using my college degree), but still an actual artistic endeavor.

Unfortunately, I seem to have the most success writing in the morning before work, which is when I'm supposed to be at the gym. However, even though I succeeded in motivating myself to start writing again, the writing is a demotivation (you can tell I'll be a good writer because I make up words) to working out. My pride in writing is undercut by my shame in having barely gone to the gym during the last few months.

So, in 2007 I need to figure out how to balance both writing and working out. Maybe it's okay for me to go to the gym only three mornings a week--Tuesday, Thursday and one weekend day--instead of the 4-5 I think I should be going. Then I would be free to write before work on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Writing three days a week is better than not writing at all, just as working out three days a week is better than not going to the gym at all.

But let's not call this a New Year's resolution. People have a tendency not to keep those.

Scott Has a Blog Now, Too

So, there's even more pressure for me to start keeping my own blog more up to date. I had planned to do some blogging this holiday weekend, but a head cold hit me hard late last week and had me in bed or on the couch most of the time. I finally started feeling better New Year's Eve night, although my nose is still plugged up and I'm blowing it often.

Visit "A Blog By Scott" at http://ablogbyscott.blogspot.com