Stuff about our life... and yeah, it's on my blog.

Hi there.
Welcome back.

Life has been interesting, full, and very positive as of late. My dreams and aspirations have been coming to fruition as of late. Sarah becomes a better wife, mother and woman every passing day.

Kiah has been ridiculously insane lately... he never stops twisting, turning, making faces, head-butting furniture, kissing, crying, talking in jibberish, biting, eating, trying to pull cords out of the wall, and generally causing havoc. That Sarah hasn't eaten him yet, amazes me.

Work has been going incredibly well for me. I am now in the engineering department, where I have been able to be useful once again in several areas I did not think possible. (And by "again" I am referring to my stint in the accounting department.) I've done an audit of every key that we have in the engineering department. All of which "should" correspond with its lock somewhere in the hotel. The problem has been, that the last time someone did an audit and reorganized the keys was 1986. The Challenger blew up that year... the Bears were in the superbowl... I was 6. So yeah, it's been awhile. The hotel has changed hands at least 4 times since then, and many of the rooms, titles, and keys have been changed long since. And have never been updated.

Needless to say, I had my work cut out for me. At the same time, I've been revamping our preventative maintenance schedule and overseeing its execution by one of our engineers named Tracey. Yesterday I ran out of keychains, and decided to clean and paint the back room that I've been working out of. Because I can, because it's dark in there and the white walls and ceiling would really brighten it up, but most importantly, because I was bored. So I cleaned it yesterday and one of our guys who is a drywall genius mudded it for me. It looked great. Today I painted it, and when it dried, I retyped any memos that we needed, laminated them, and stuck them on the nice new wall. It's night and day from what it was just two days ago, and earned me some more brownie points with the engineering staff. They're so happy to have all the machines back there clean, and the room is so much brighter.

Sarah, Kiah and I are headed to Chicago and Ohio for the week starting tomorrow morning. It should be a great time to spend with our family and friends and we are very excited. After I get back, I am going to do a hotel wide fire drill evacuation. While I am planning to delegate a portion of it to our director of security, I will be overseeing and tracking the drill, which will be one of my major duties in engineering before I leave. My next departmental shift should take place in March. And will most likely be a split week between housekeeping and security. I am looking forward to both. Everything has been pie in comparrison to the front desk. I hate the front desk...

One last thing about work, I was able to overhear a discussion between our controller and our front office manager two weeks ago that was about me. In the midst of that conversation, they were discussing my performance in their departments, and Jo, the controller, said that corporate can't stop talking about me. They think I'm a "god" for bringing in the nearly 200k in aging accounts that I made my goal for my time in accounting. She said that they keep expecting them to live up to my performance every month, and that is "not possible." She was so proud, and annoyed... it really made me feel like what I'm doing is worthwhile, both for our hotel, and for Sarah, Kiah and my future... My name is known, and my old GM is now the senior VP of the company. He hired me to my current position, and has every right to brag about me as his hire. Currently, he's looking good, the hotel's looking good, and I'm looking good because of some amazing circumstances, timing, and initiative that some would attribute to blind luck and skill, but I know different.

A year ago, I was without a job, and had never even considered working in a hotel. You all saw it happen, and you've seen the steps of faith that we've taken this year. I can't help but say that this is 100% because of what God's been doing in my heart, my attitudes, and the attitudes of my superiors. At every job I've worked at, I've given it my all, only to be passed over by my managers. Ata-boy'd, but never given a raise... and at some jobs, it almost felt like the truly good people were punished by having to pick up the slack of the poor performers. (Jim V. knows exactly what place I mean...) But God has been blessing this job at every turn. I've given it no more than I've given any other job, but it's been noticed. I haven't changed my personality, but here it's appreciated. I've always tried to go above and beyond to boost moral and do my best, but here it's rewarded. In many ways, I feel like this job is direct result of trusting God to take care of us, being patient, and being open to doing something I'd never done before. And alot of prayer.

In addition to the work that God has done in us, for us and through us this year, I want to thank all of you for supporting us through the difficult times we've faced.

Jim... you and Paula were such a blessing to us in such a crazy time. We will never forget that. We love you.

Ryan, I have never been blessed with a shoulder like yours, and I don't plan on ever letting go of our friendship. You have been, and continue to be, my best friend.

Family Miller, you have been such a consistant source of love, support and acceptance for me. Knowing that you believe in me, gives me the strength to do the same.

Family Schmitt, your patience with what's been happening in our lives, your words of encouragement, and your support of Sarah when I'm at work have been invaluable to us.

Sarah, you've been the strongest, bravest, most amazing teammate I could ever ask for or imagine. I love you so much...

Google - Kiah...

How FRIGGEN awesome is this!!!!???

Comet McNaught

For any of you who are either into astronomy enough, geeky enough, or simply like the "astronomy picture of the day" website... you've been aware of comet McNaught. It's one of the brightest in ages, and has provided some beautiful pictures from around the world. One of the most stunning is the picture below. Taken in Perth, Australia during a fireworks show. The storm blowing in from the sea, and the fireworks on the left frame the comet travelling up the center of the photograph.

Back by popular demand...

"Mommy and the baby, sittin in a tree...""Mami and baby, standin near a tree..."

Mami, Kiah and I at Garden of the Gods...

"Out of my face! Papparazzi!"

Gonna eat the camera!!!

Photo Update.

Because it's needed. I sat down with some of the great pics

that we've taken recently, balanced them out, and combined a few... So for your viewing pleasure, I give you Jim, Sarah and Kiah!

This first pic was taken after I got home from work... I was changing, and Kiah was playing with my watch and necklace. He was having such a good time, I decided to snap some pics... I'm glad I did.

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These photos are less than an hour old! Hot off the presses.
Sarah and Kiah were getting ready for his evening bath,
and decided to make some smiles!

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Kiah has these little cereal puffs that he absolutely loves!
They're sweet potato or apple cinnamon flavored,
but better than the taste, he loves being able to feed himself.
He grabs them, and looks at them, and shoves em in his mouth...
He's so proud, and so are we!

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Lately, I've been experimenting with black and white photos,
and I've really been pleased with the results.
Sarah and I took a few pictures of ourselves on the couch the other night,
and I like the look so much I made two desktop pictures
in case any family or friends want a Sarah and Jim desktop.
They are 1024x768. Email me if you want them cropped different.
The first is really artsy, and the second is a clearer version.
They are, of course, different photos, and nothing was blurred intentionally.
My hand wasn't that steady at the time, but I like the effect. Enjoy.

Updaticus Maximus...

Well, I'd like to thank those of you who have put up with my music posts.
Lately, it's what I've been motivated to write about, but I'm feeling guilty telling people that if they want to know what's actually going on in our lives, they need to check Sarah's blog.

Blogs go through phases, because the writers do. And this blog is going on 3 years... so it's seen some very different incarnations. For a long time, it was the emaciated refugees of my little brain... then it was a place to buy salmon... and for a long time, it was almost a Tom Waits fan site.

We seen some horribly painful times... we've seen some amazing things happen, and along the way, I have been so blessed to have all of you comment on what was said. Often times, I've enjoyed the comments section much more than the actual post. Especially when Erina posts.

So here's a bit on our lives right now. Kiah's started army crawling. It's really fun to watch, and we've been enjoying watching him explore the apartment. He loves going under the computer desk, and is especially fond of the metal trash can that we have under there. We have to keep our eyes open, but thankfully, he's still really slow, and grunts alot while he crawls. So he can't really "sneak" into anything.

Our friends Daniel and Lara have volunteered to start babysitting on Wednesdays now. So we can have a "date night" to look forward to. Last Wednesday, we stayed home and watched an entire show on tv without having to jump up, or change a diaper, or bounce Kiah to keep him from crying... it was nice. And then we went out for dessert at Chilis. It was really enjoyable. This Wed. I have an idea of a nice date... It's so nice to look forward to a set time to be together. What a gift!

Sarah's feeling under the weather today. Something with her throat that's been bothering her lately. She is at the doctor's office right now getting it checked out, and Kiah is taking his nap. Lately, Sarah's created a schedule for him, and it's starting to work. Last night, he gave me some trouble. Woke up around 11:00 and wanted to play. Finally got him back to sleep, and went to bed myself. But usually, he's been conforming. So that's really nice.

Oh, it was my mom's birthday yesterday. Happy Birthday mom! She's finally 39.

In work news, I got a raise. But we added Sarah to our health insurance, so my check was $2 less than normal... lol. That's the way it goes, huh? But you could look at it as we added Sarah to our insurance for only $2 a paycheck right? Otherwise, things are going splendidly. I've been enjoying accounting quite a bit. Unfortunately for me, they hired an assistant controller who is going to take my beautiful office. :( I love my office. And my non-sucky computer... but all good things must come to an end. I just wish that they would've hired her after I left the department at the end of the month...

I'm up for employee of the year. Statistically, I have a 1 in 11 shot. (January's team champion isn't at the hotel anymore...) But in reality, I think my odds are better. We'll see. If I do win, it's $500 buckaroos, and a nice little addition to the resumé. I'm on the committee that makes these decisions, but I couldn't vote for myself. It just didn't feel right. In other competitions, I can see doing it, but employee of the year seems like something I should leave to the other folks. If I'm good enough, it won't matter how I voted.

Sarah and I booked our flight to Chicago yesterday. So we should be out there in February, go to a wedding, and spend a few days with the family. Then head out to Ohia, and spend a couple days with the family out there. I am looking forward to it, but I'm still sad that our Ohia family hasn't seen Colorado yet. We gotta find a way...

Well, Kiah's waking up, so I'm gonna go get 'im. Later 'yall.

Jim

This is the best "I told you song" ever. Nothing rubs it in their face quite like "If we were still together you would never have been killed by that bear."

Killbear
by Hayden

The afternoon light
was reaching down to the site
As my old love stared
Into the fire with her new love there
Camping up North, the same place we shared

Behind the van
They heard the crashing of land
And they looked to see
A grizzly bear lurking amongst the trees
Searching their ground for something to eat

From what I'm told
My old love just froze
But her man got scared
He started to run, thinking she had begun
But he left her there, alone in the woods with the bear

So the bear all surprised
Looked right into her eyes
And decided that
She was it's prey or some kind of threat
So it followed it's instincts to deal with it

It charged up towards her
And stopped just before her
And stood up high
Swiped at her shoulder and dragged her by the torso
Around the site, And that's how my old love died

If I'd been there I wouldn't have run from the bear
That's the worst mistake
I would've yelled and banged pots
And made sure that my love wasn't taken that way

Christmas presents...

Oh, I didn't mention that Jessica and Kaitlin pitched in for Christmas, and got me a $25 gift certificate to iTunes. So here's what I got in 10 minutes flat.

I bought the album "Elk lake serenade" by Hayden. It's freeeekin awesome!
Everything I hoped for.













Second, I bought the Tom Waits modern classic "Mule Variations"
This one's a must have for the Waits fan...













Lastly, but not least-ly, I picked up the "In Moderation - EP" by the Soft Drugs. (Who were essentially Pedro the Lion, but with David playing drums instead of singing, and TW singing instead of playing keys. It's really good. I wish it had more songs.

Accounting, vomit and intelligent christians...

So I've made the transition to the accounting department. It's been a great experience so far. Very stable in comparrison to the front office. Similar duties every day, nobody screaming at me... can't go wrong with that.

Kiah however, has had a very "wrong" week and has fallen victim to a stomach flu of some sort. Vomiting... not vomiting... crying... farting... He's been pretty miserable. So we've had to hold him alot. Away from open flame. It's been a rough week. And now Sarah has it, so it's been pretty nasty for her as well. But I think that they're coming out of it now.

The blizzards have come and gone, but the snow and ice have been far too thick for the sun to melt, and the plows are incompetant here, so there's very little hope for those of us on the road. What the sun does melt, freezes again in new spots by nightfall... This has been some of the worst winter weather I've seen, but mainly because of the way it's not been dealt with.

Lastly, our good friend Joni has made my week with a link to an online forum of intelligent christians. PROVING THEY EXIST... RYAN! Just kidding... but it was a truly refreshing experience to see so many comments from such different directions, all together around the same central relationship. The article that I came in on centered around the culture of the church, and its openness to imperfect people and being a welcoming community. It focused on homosexuality as an example, but the conversation resulting from the article was fantastic.

Anyway, I highly recommend the Burnside Writers Collective.

New phones, new years and new jobs.

Well folks, here's to the first post of 2007.
I hope it's as good a year as 2006, but with no getting fired or pregnancy.
(We've had all of those we can handle for awhile, even though both led to some of the best things of the year... so... hmmm)

We got our phones yesterday, for many of you, we'll email you the numbers if we haven't already. We have signed up with Tmobile. I was with them before, and very happy with everything. We reviewed all the deals out there, and were most satisfied with Tmobile's plans, phones and flexibility. Their coverage is excellent (identical to cingular's) and they had some wonderful deals. Because of their Fav 5 service, they are having to use some really good phones as their "free" with plan phones. While many services have a pretty pathetic line of free phones, The four-six phones under $50 on Tmobile's line-up were very impressive. Sarah and I opted for the Motorola Pebl. It debuted near the time of the Razr, but hasn't been anywhere near as popular. Its reviews however far excelled the Razr. It is VERY stylish and small. Has a very unique opening movement, has similar controls to that of the Razr, but has almost a rubber-like coating to the shell. It's bluetooth, has speakerphone, and is a quadband worldphone. All in all, a very cool phone. To top it off, it comes in black, green, orange or blue. (And in some parts of California for some reason... pink. No kidding.)
Sarah and I got the black models through a deal service she has online. Normally, we would've paid Tmobile $50 each, and received $50 rebates in the mail. But with this deal, an additional $50 was taken off at purchase, but we still get the rebates, so they paid us $100 to take the phones off their hands. Nice of us. Needless to say, we're stoked. Call us up. We'll chat.

I have the next two days off. Which will be awesome, as we will spend them with Mami. We plan on going to Garden of the gods at some point... we've been to Denver this morning to get her luggage. (a story I chose NOT to tell. Baggage handlers are the devil) And we'll probably go shopping. (Japan's national past-time.) When I return to work, I will be working in the accounting department. I'm a bit scared, but all in all, I think I'll do ridiculously well. I seem to be ok when I really apply myself. So here's to that.

Well, I'm gonna get a snack and head to bed. I'm gettin' old.

Peace, love and happy new year!

Snow, lies and Japanese girls...

So last week we had the 7th worst blizzard in Colorado history. No exageration. And now, less than one week later, we're getting hit again. It's crazy snowy out there, and the highway to Denver is a suicide run...

Sarah and Kiah spent the night with me at the hotel, and when we woke up this morning we decided to make the trip home. Partially to get Kiah back in his normal surroundings, and partially because our cell phones were to be delivered today. Well, we missed the Fed Ex person by a few minutes, so we'll have to wait till tomorrow for the phones. :(

Erina Kamata's little sister Mami has been planning on visiting us for some time. She flies in today. Yeah. Today. In the middle of a blizzard. Strangely enough, Denver International, where she was scheduled to fly into, is still open. Her travel arrangements are non-refundable, so she flew into Dallas this morning and was getting ready to fly to Denver when she called us. I stressed just how bad the roads were, and said I'd do everything I could to get to Denver to pick her up, but I might not be able to, and she might be stuck there. She was worried, but I said that she should try getting a flight to Colorado Springs from Dallas. She tried and called back to say that they wouldn't let her. I told her I'd start out right away for Denver, and we bundled up and went home. When we arrived, I was ready to jump back in the car and head up to Denver when we got a call from Erina. She said that Mami had gotten a flight to Colorado Springs, and that we could pick her up there! That was awesome news, as suicide missions don't appeal to me. Erina told me to check my email where she would catch me up on the whole story.

It turns out, that after I emailed Erina this morning with the suggestion for Mami, she called Mami and found out that they had told her "no." Mami was in tears by that point, and Erina told her to tell the American Airlines people that her grandma was in a coma, and that she needed to get to CS right away! I can't believe this girl! Anyway, Mami was too embarrased, and said she couldn't, but Erina insisted, she did, and they put her on the next flight to Colorado Springs! What an unbelievable morning!

So thanks to Erina's coniving, I won't be spending the night in our civic, half way to Denver buried in a snow drift on the side of the road... Mami won't spend the night in Denver International Airport... and Mami's grandma just might come out of that coma.

Peace,
Jim

Merry Christmas!

Blizzards and babies.

I just got home from work this morning. My first overnight at the hotel. We've fallen victim to one of the worst blizzards in recent memory. The winds have been the worst part here in the springs, with the drifts they produce. Highway 25 (the highway) has been closed from Denver to New Mexico, and the governor has declared a state of emergency in several areas.

I worked until 11 last night, and then went to my room. I stayed in our most humble room, known as a shower queen. Our queen rooms only have a shower, and do not have the bathtub. While 2 people might be cramped in the room, I found it to be perfect for me. I had a city view, and with the snowstorm, it was beautiful. It was hard to be away from the family for the night, but Sarah and I both felt that it was safest. About 25 of us stayed over, and were able to be up and at 'em this morning. I sent myself home this morning, and after talking to my boss who is working tonight, I probably won't have to come in tonight. The rest is welcome.

This morning, Kiah opened his first gift of the holiday season.


He really enjoyed the paper. Here's a picture of him wearing it as a hat. The gift was a present from one of our good friends Evan Wolfe who gave him a crunchy, squishy ball. Kiah likes it very much, and especially likes the tag.

Well, that's it for now. Peace out.

Favorite songs

Well. About 5 years ago, Ryan, my best friend, and I were having a discussion regarding our favorite songs. I was hard pressed to come up with a list of fav. songs... albums are easy for me, but songs... there's just too many!

Well, anyway. 5 years in the making. I finally have my top 15. 10 wasn't enough, and 20 is too many. So 15 it is.

I'm going to start at 15 and go up to 1, giving my reasons. Please consider these songs required listening. I encourage you to purchase or pirate these, depending on your feelings regarding the record industry.

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Number 15. "Make you feel that way" by Blackalicious
This song is a fantastic feel good song, and that's not normally something you can say about rap. It has a great instrumental background with a soft trumpet and crackling record sounds, layered with a totally soothing vocal discussing things that make you feel good in life. From promotions at your job to winning your first fight. It's a song that seems truly made for driving down the road with the windows down in the summer. It's awesome, and it's my number 15 favorite song of all time.

Number 14. "Dynamite walls" by Hayden
Dynamite walls is a quinticential Hayden song. Gravelly, but not Tom Waits-y. Moving, but not weak. Slow but never boring... It's a classic, and should be highly revered by any who value this style of musicianship. It deserves my number 14 because of its excellent construction, seamless flow, and touching lyrics.

Number 13. "Let down" by Radiohead
This is a totally depressing song if you listen to the words. If not, you may find it to be wonderfully uplifting. Either way, the opening guitar is totally and completely unique. (Not to mention a fantastic ringtone for your cell...) Radiohead at their best in my opinion, and #13 on my list.

Number 12. "Sleeping in" by the Postal Service
Deathcab for Cutie has some incredible music, but as the Postal Service, they totally carved out a niche. There is no single band out there that plays this music. Sleeping in is never boring, always a great sing-a-long, and has a lyrical depth that completely catches the listener by surprise. It's a great tune, and my #12.

Number 11. "Inertiatic E.S.P." by the Mars Volta
The Mars Volta have what I consider to be the best drumming in rock music today. This song encapsulates their drum style. It is deep and flowing, with bursts of pure energy and passion. Sweeping melodies, and soaring vocals carry the intensity of this song to the edge. It is a must have. A must abso-freakin-lutely have for every drummer, and rock fan on the planet!

Number 10. "Ball & biscuit" by the White Stripes
I'll stop at #10 today. There are so many songs by the White Stripes that could easily be on my top 10, but I simply don't want any band having too prominent a place in the list. I respect their music so much, and feel that Jack White is everything that is right in rock today. His music is classic and new, aggressive and penetrating, with honesty, flair and a rock-n-roll spirit, the White Stripes' Elephant album was what I believe to be the best album of the new millenium. One song off the album that solidified it for me was Ball and Biscuit. It's so bluesy and real. The lyrics are unparalleled in modern rock. His swinging machismo is such a refreshing slap in the face to all of the superficial money/girls/fame rockers of the radio set. Here's to the White Stripes becoming a commercial success despite their awesomeness.

Music game

My friend Adam posted this on myspace. It's a game where you try to find all of the bands alluded to in this picture. I'm gonna give it my best shot, but if you see any I missed, let me know. (Click on the picture to see it bigger...)



1. Led Zepplin (in the air)
2. The B52's (in the air)
3. The Eagles (in the air)
4. The Pixies (in the air)
5. White Zombie (on the sidewalk)
6. The Postal Service (on the sidewalk)
7. Madonna (store window)
8. 50 Cent (sidewalk)
9. Guns and Roses (foreground left)
10. Alice in Chains (right side)
11. Queen (foreground)
12. Prince (foreground)
13. Sex Pistols (Queen holding)
14. The Eels (on street)
15. Gorillas (around buildings)
16. The Rolling Stones (on street)
17. Smashing Pumpkins (on street)
18. Matchbox 20 (on street)
19. Scissor Sisters (on street)
20. White snake (on pole)
21. The Police (background street)
22. Lemonheads (fruit stand)
23. Blind melon (fruit stand)
24. Blur (right side)
25. Beach boys (ride side w/ surfboards)
26. Garbage (on street)
27. The Cars (on street)
28. Television (In right storefront)
29. Radiohead (on street)
30. Red Hot Chili Peppers (fruit stand)
31. The Byrds (on street sign)
32. Black Flag (on corner)
33. Blues Brothers (with guitars in street)
34. Queens of the Stone Age (behind blues brothers)
35. Seal (in poster)
36. Korn (fruit stand)
37. Dead Kennedys (on left store)

...ok, I'm stopping for now. There are supposed to be like seventy-something.