Funny picture I found online...

First Adult Cayman shirt!!!

Here are some pics sent to me from the girl who purchased the first "Cayman" adult shirt! Very cool to see my stuff out there...

I'll be sure to post any pics I get here when they come in...

Hint, hint Tammy... :)

Shoes are finished!

This is the 100th anniversary of Converse this year, and here's my tribute.

They is finished I declare!

Jim VanHorn

I didn't mention it on the exact day, but Jim VanHorn passed away a year ago April 22nd.

I was a wreck this year. I hope it hurts less next year.

I listened to alot of ACDC and that made it better...

For those of you who knew him, please join me in remembering our brave and loyal friend.

Turning the lights on

So I decided to give my blog a brighter look. It's minimalistic, but clean.

Things are going well. I leave tomorrow evening for Chicago! I can't wait to see my precious wife and son. I've missed them so.

I've definitely used the time to focus and create. I'm very excited about where the clothing line seems to be headed. I finished the shoes, and I'll have pics up soon.

Work's been decent. I'm still uncomfortable with my current situation, but who knows? Everything could change in one decision by the right person. So I'm praying for that to happen. If the right person decides to move me to a different job, it could happen immediately. That's how it seems to work around here. Stall, stall, stall... change now.

Kiah's growing in leaps and bounds. His phone conversations are starting to make sense. (Alot of talk about trains and fish and kitties) He now says "I love you" clear as a bell when saying goodbye!

Well, I best get back to what I was doing...

Peace

Sorry

The pics aren't showing up in the post below... my apologies.

I am attaching them here in hopes you will see them.

Dumb blogger.

New shoes

My Converse All-Stars are announcing their retirement today... They've seen alot in the past two and a half years, and while they were my first pair of Chuck Taylors... they will not be my last. Case in point, I've already purchased their replacements. As before, I will be coloring on my shoes, but this time I have been encouraged to send pictures to Converse, and see if they'll use the design. This sounds very exciting to me and I have determined to do so. While the last design I used on my shoes was sparadic and haphazard, this time I am putting a great deal of thought and planning into what I want them to look like. I've begun work on one of them, and here's what I have so far... The "Fire Circle" is a design I've been using throughout my work, and you can actually purchase several articles of clothing with it off my cafepress.com webstore. The design itself began as a tattoo idea for the upper center of my back, and based on my growing love for the design, it may still become that. In some ways, I feel the circle still needs some perfecting, but the imperfect qualities it has have grown on me... I may not change them at all. Hmmm... Anyway. I still have a week before I see Sarah and Kiah again. I've been missing them terribly these last two weeks. Three weeks is too long. I have determined that now. I've been able to be very productive, but screw productivity! I miss my family! I would much rather have one of our hectic "can't get a thing done because Kiah won't stop being clingy and breaking stuff when he's not being clingy" days than these incredibly productive lonely ones... our bed seems like a mattress without her... Work's been good, but frustrating. We're still hurtling toward a cliff this summer, and nothing's been done on the management side to slow our hurtle... :) I hope I'm wrong... but I don't think I am. Well, that's it for now. Love and peace to you all. P.S. Feel free to stop by HollyCross and have a look around. We appreciate your support!

Rooftop thoughts and high brow tomfoolery.

So Sarah and Kiah are in Chicago for a few weeks, and I've got some time on my hands. And it won't wash off.

I cleaned a disgusting window in our upstairs bedroom/apartmentish room which has a small roof below it. So now, my super clean window allows me access to the roof, on which I have placed a folding chair, and I now have a lovely place to sit in the evening and look out over the fields. It's really quite relaxing, and I enjoy my little fortress of solitude. Well, it's not particularly solitary, as Ezra realized he can throw tennis balls at me while I sit, but when he's not harassing me, it's very "solitudary."

I watched the Lady in the Water the other day, and couldn't have been more impressed. I'm an M. Night fan (except for Signs which was a total piece of crap) but I had heard that the Lady in the Water was supposed to be a flop.

It was touching, funny, suspenseful and refreshing... everything I had hoped, and nothing I disliked. Totally ownable.

I met with my HR manager this week to discuss my recent issues at work, and I think things are really going to improve. He and I have a great repoire, and I enjoy talking with him a great deal. They've decided to add to my title here, and give me responsibility over the public areas of the hotel in addition to the rooms. I've already been assuming responsibility over them for awhile now, but they finally decided to make it official, and back me. Up till now, I've just had my housekeepers clean whatever I saw was dirty, and other people "didn't have time for."

I hope to have another location or two added to our department shortly, and a pay raise for the added responsibilities is in the works. I hope it's big. We'll see.

For my birthday, I got the money for a Nintendo DS, which I have found to be highly enjoyable. Being such a flitabout person, I find portable gaming systems to be so much more enjoyable than a TV bound one. Although, the Nintendo Wii is a fantastic idea, and Sarah and I hope to have one someday.

I purchased a game called Trauma Center: Under the Knife, where you operate on people who have been infected by a Bio-terrorism virus that adapts and changes. The DS has two screens, and the bottom one is a touch screen that uses a stylus. In Trauma Center, you use your stylus to scalpel, stitch and suction your way to greatness. It's a blast!

I also got Professor Layton and the Curious Village, which is a fantastically well designed, well drawn mystery puzzle game. It's deep and engrossing, challenging but fun. The in game videos are beautiful and keep the game interesting, and the music is repetative but pleasant. I beat it in a week, but you can save your favorite puzzles to do again, and new puzzles are available for download weekly.

Well, that's it for now. I'll keep you posted on new developments. I'm creating a Cayman t-shirt tonight for a friend of Kristen's! My first adult design for sale! Very exciting.

Adios!

6 months of silence...

Yeah, so as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted...

It's been a crazy last few months. Lack of broadband, and excess of thought requiring tasks have led to a profound amount of silence on my blog. It's amazing how much of my writing stems from random thoughts, and the wish to inflict them on my family and friends on a whim. Remove the ease of jumping on the computer and shooting off a rant/thought/ramble, and you get 6 months of silence.

I've missed it though. Especially the responses and conversation with friends that writing here spawns. Reading over the past few years here, I see conversations with friends we've lost to death and distance. And friends we haven't lost at all.

The moves, the jobs, the pains and joys... it's been a great couple years, and I've been honored to spend it with such fine people.

I don't know where to begin if I am to update you on my life now. Suffice it to say that I have moved back to my "hometown" as it were, and I am still working in hotels. I am working for the best hotel in the area, as I wouldn't have it any other way, and while the road has been a bumpy one, I am happy that we have done this move. I miss my mountains, and the sunshine, but being near family has been as priceless as advertised. Sarah and I are both looking forward to building our own life in our own home, but have enjoyed the closeness and hospitality that my family has provided by letting us stay with them until we find our feet.

I have recently solidified a past dream of mine, one that involves drawing designs on clothing. I have made several half-hearted attempts in the past to see it to fruition, but I have a really good feeling about this time. I am planning to begin an actual clothing line under the moniker "Hollycross", which is a previous design of mine which first appeared on this blog.

My first work under the label was this onesie, made for a wonderful little girl, born to dear friends of ours. I have named the pattern "Cayman" after her, and I have been pleased to see it very well received. I have been taking orders via email, and hope to soon have a website up and running where I can begin to fill orders as well. I must find a good way to produce what is needed, before I get in over my head... but it's great to see a demand.

Once I know more, I'll fill you in. Again, it's good to be back in the blogosphere... I missed you.

Move to Ohio, and the first few weeks here...

So I haven't been near a high speed connection lately, and thus, have not been writing.

Sarah and I have made the move to Ohio from Colorado. It's been a short fuse, high-impact couple of weeks. We came down to the end of my training at the Hilton, and at the same time, our lease on the apartment came up. I had been in contact with a wonderful hotel in northwest Ohio for several months, and while they hadn't offered me a job yet, we were confident that after all the discussions I'd had with the upper management, and our all around positive-ness about me working there, they would be very likely to offer me a great job once they got to meet me. And if not, I'm very confident that I could get a job elsewhere.

Moving out seemed to be the best path. Mainly, getting to be with family, and having access to Chicago and our family and friends there. The only real tie to Colorado Springs was our fantastic church and the great friends we've made there. I enjoyed the Hilton, but the money just didn't seem to be there for what was going to be required of me. I turned down two offers in the last month, and it just didn't seem to be coming together. It was nice to be wanted, but it didn't turn out that they wanted to spend what we would need to stay. After all, we were figuring in what it would take to buy a house, settle down, and still be able to come visit family more... all in all, we ended up deciding to make the move out here.

My hotel was really cool about it. My GM even set up a free night's stay in the Omaha Hilton on our trip here. (BEAUTIFUL hotel, by the way...) The restaurants staff threw me a going away costume party, and the hotel as a whole signed a photo of the hotel for me to keep. It's a neat way to remember everybody, and I hope to soon be hanging it in an office.

Our small group in Colorado Springs threw us a going away party as well. It was awesome! They even took up a collection that enabled us to replace the tires on the Civic before the move. They were much needed, and I felt alot more secure taking them on the trip. We are going to miss everyone at the Vineyard soooooo much! We definitely made some friends for life there, and I truly hope to see them all again soon. Perhaps on vacation. :)

The trip out was anything but uneventful, and included getting a bit lost in Omaha, and a blown tire in Iowa (thanks to the rib of some unfortunate road-killed animal). I ended up getting the tire repaired in Iowa and replaced the next day in Illinois. I highly recommend Discount Tire. They are really nice, and totally took care of everything.

Upon arriving in Illinois, we loaded up our Budget rental truck (Awesome value!!! Very good truck.) with what we had left in Illinois several years before, and rested a day before heading on to Ohio. (So good to have the grill back!!!)

When we got to Ohio, we unloaded a bit into my parents' house. Mom, dad and the boys cleared a "suite" for us as the boys surrendered their room and its adjoining toy/junk room. We have Kiah all set up there, and he's been sleeping quite well. We took the rest of the stuff to a storage place, and honestly, it doesn't even fill a 10x10!

Returning the truck was an ordeal, as the Budget rental place in Toledo that we were supposed to return it to had closed two weeks before... Would've been nice had they told us... but after a bit of wandering around, and some angry calls on my part to Budget, we dropped it off at a different location.

On our first full day in Ohio, the hotel I've been looking into called me for an interview. The ops director asked me if I could come in sometime. When I said absolutely, he asked if a half hour from then was good! Why yes! The interview went well, and set up a second interview the following Monday. The second interview was with the Director of the property and the human resources director. We had a great time, and really enjoyed the discussion. Many good things came from it, and while we were completely unable to determine where I would be best used at the hotel (they're even considering me for sales/marketing! Must be my sparkling personality:) we did establish that we all want to work together. I left in high spirits.

The following day, I dropped off thank you cards to the three folks who took the time to speak with me. (A practice I've adapted. It seems to be an extra sign of hospitality, and shows gratefulness.) I took Kiah along. (Good to get cute kid brownie points!) The scheme worked perfectly, and everyone ooohd and ahhhhh'd at Kiah. It was all good.

Funny Story: To purchase the thank you notes, I stopped in at a local drug store. At the counter I was informed that unfortunately, they did not accept credit cards. Alright... well, I didn't have any cash, so where was I to find a place that did accept cards? "Well," said the cashier, "You should just charge it, and come in and pay it later." Matter of fact-like. Now I don't know about the rest of you, but I have never "charged" anything to myself before. I've worked with a business account to charge stuff at Kinkos, but the idea of simply coming back later to pay is an odd one to me. All the same, minutes later I walked out with a little yellow receipt with my signature on it, and I now owe them about $8. We are truly in a different land!

Today I heard back from the hotel, and I am to come in on Monday or Tuesday to solidify things. Something that will make Sarah and I very happy. We need $. However, we're staying rent free, and just got my last check from work... so while we need your prayers, we have high hopes that we'll soon be in a much better situation.

In addition to the above, it should also be noted that my Grammie Hutchins, now 91, is staying at my parents house as well. She is a joy, and is constantly reading and learning and talking. I hope to be half as lucid and amazing at her age. The boys have been awesome, and very helpful. We've been playing football at every available moment. Mom and dad have been great, and are extremely busy all the time. The whole family is gone from early morning until late afternoon every day. For me, not working is odd enough, but to be alone at someone else's home adds to it considerably. It has been nothing short of WONDERFUL to spend the time with Sarah and Kiah. I love them so.

Well, that's all I've got in me now. I love and miss you all. Hope to be back to write soon.

Jim/James

18 degrees of Jim and Sarah

So we went up to Pikes Peak earlier this week. The temperature at the top was 18˚. Brisk.

We had a great time, so here's a few pics to share. Peace!

Also included are a few pics of Sarah's birthday...

Gore wins Nobel Peace Prize

Yes. Yes. Yes. We are indeed moving to Ohio.
(Or Ohia as they say in many parts of that fine land.)

Sarah and I have been working on plans to rejoin our family in the Midwest for quite some time. We didn't want to say anything because we didn't want anyone to get their hopes all up in case it didn't work out, but now we have solid enough ground to stand on, and we are going to be moving on October 31st!

About seven months ago, I opened talks with a hotel in northwest Ohio, near my dad's hometown of Archbold. We hit it off immediately, and after several long calls, and after they checked out my references, they let me know that they would be looking for a way to fit me into their future. They simply didn't have anything yet. I have kept in contact, and we've continued to build our relationship.

At the same time, things at the Antlers have been winding down. I've been coming to the end of my "training" and as such, was expecting an offer. About 2 months ago, I was moved to the front desk to "temporarily" help out while they found a new asst. front office manager. Soon after I began my second stint at the front desk, they offered me the job. I turned it down. Partially because of the money offered, but mostly because I hate that department, and would not want to be miserable every day. It's the one place in the hotel I don't like working... complaints all night long... etc. (Ask Sarah...)

Needless to say, I'm still there, "helping out." A few weeks ago, the assistant restaurant manager left for Pittsburg, and that opened her position up. When she left, they decided to restructure her job into an assistant restaurants manager with responsibility over all beverage in the hotel. Alot of work. Especially in the beginning because our beverage control is pretty lousy right now. I was interested in the job, and it had alot of benefits, but like I said, alot of work. After several interviews and several days of getting approval on the offer from corporate, they offered me her job two days ago. But before we get to our decision regarding that job, let's step back a few weeks.

After turning down the FD job, Sarah and I got thinking seriously about moving to Ohio. Our thinking was that if the Antlers wasn't going to work out, and our lease on our apartment was up in October, we may as well make things work elsewhere. Near family. So we continued our research into the home market (which is great in Ohio!) and the job market there. The hotel in Ohio still had nothing, but vowed to look harder into positions that might work. Moving to Ohio without a job lined up wasn't impossible, because we can live rent free for a short time with my family in their farmhouse, but wasn't preferable at the time.

We decided then to plan for two contingencies. One of moving to Ohio and making things work with my family until we can buy our own house, and one of staying here, taking an Antlers job, and waiting till the Ohio job opened. We began praying heavily for answers regarding which path to take, and our small group began praying for the same. Around that time, in my personal prayer time, I became impressed with a specific number. A salary number, that would be the sign we were looking for in whether to stay or go. It was concrete, reasonable, and would enable us to be comfortable with either decision. If the Antlers offered me a job at that number or above, we stay until something opens up, if not, we head back to Ohio and figure things out. I've never had anything quite like this happen in my prayer life before. Usually God gives me a blank piece of paper and crayons, not a sheet with lines on it, but as we were asking for direction, He obliged in this case and gave us some.

Now moving also depended on having the money to do so, and since we didn't have it, we were viewing that also as "doors" God would need to open for us to go. In the last two weeks, over $1000 has come out of the woodwork, and we were able to get the moving truck at a fifth our expected price! My parents' advice was to move forward and God would shut the doors if it wasn't the right move. Well, the doors have been flying open, but the offer still hadn't been made. So we waited.

I think that waiting period was what was hardest on Sarah. Planning for two very different contingencies is difficult to wrap one's head around. We waited and prayed, and packed and planned, and the offer from the Antlers came on the same day a call from the hotel in Ohio came.

Actually, I called them to check in, and the HR director told me of a job opening that he thought I'd be great for. It's a general managership of the hotel's restaurant! The operations director is out on vacation, but once he gets back, we would start talks regarding that position.

So now we had an option. Something to go on, but still hadn't heard from the Antlers. My pastor was asking hard questions in the week before, like "What if they offer right below the number you think is right? What if your 'number' is just a ballpark?" That sort of thing. And I had to admit, it bothered me a bit. But I decided that the provision for us to move was twofold. It would depend on the Antlers failing to offer above the number, and us having the money to move. If they shot just short, and we didn't get the dough... well then, we'd stay. So I headed into work after getting the call from Ohio ready for anything.

The offer was low. I mean real low. Shocking even to me low. Not what I expected. Apparently, they felt they were really offering me something because the offer was approximately 10% of my current income. But it wasn't even up to what the last person in the job made, which with all the increased duties I expected them to excel her salary. But they didn't, and after talking to the management, they really expected me to fall over myself to say yes. They still have the utmost confidence in me. Obviously, if they keep offering me jobs... but it just isn't where we need to be if we're going to stay here. So I gave them my notice, and we're heading back to Ohio. We have the money to move. Jessica is flying out to help with the move and baby. We have tons of friends here to help with the lifting. And our family can help us with the transition.

The job offer isn't final out there, but I have faith that the hand that opened all these doors so far, is the hand in control of whether the job opens up or something else comes available. On the practical side, it makes alot of sense to leave when our lease is up, and Sarah mentioned that once we're out there, the hotel will feel a great deal better about making offers. With me still out here, and my hotel having an offer pending, they've probably been nervous.

So here goes. Another step of faith. But this one is stepping back to family, friends and a life we want for Kiah. I couldn't be more excited. Thank you all for your continued prayers and thoughts as we continue living as un-normal a life as possible! We love and appreciate you.

Poetry-shmoetry.

A poem I wrote a ways back for a friend. I like it, and so should you.

If you were an egg,
I'd tell you a yolk.

If you were Al Pacino,
I'd buy you some coke.

If you were a racecar,
I'd spell you both ways.

If you were an old friend,
I'd miss you all day.

-by me.

Kiah's finally earning his keep, the little slacker.

It's been such a busy and crazy couple months, I've neglected to mention several things on the blog. One such thing was the death of my iPod. My fourth gen iPod kicked the bucket approximately 3 months ago. Due to bigger things going on, I simply accepted this as its time to go, and moved on. While it was disappointing, Sarah let me use her iPod on my drives to work, and my workout sessions, so I wasn't music-less (A fate worse than death for me.).

Anyway, the iPod had been slow, and had been crashing occasionally, but one day, it just refused to start up, and showed the sad iPod face. I tried all I could, but was unable to do anything for it. Needless to say, it soon became a toy for Kiah who enjoyed full access to his own iPod which always made a funny (sad) face at him.

Yesterday, he was playing with it on the floor, and I suppose it still had a bit of battery charge to it, despite the fact that I charged it last 2 1/2 months ago in an attempt to revive it, because he was getting symbols on the screen. It looked strange, so I took it from him (which resulted in Kiah making a sad face) and saw a screen I've never seen before. It seems that whatever combination of key presses Kiah used activated some sort of programming screen. It had five options or so, one of which was resest. I tried it, and the iPod rebooted. I plugged it in to the mac and it ACTUALLY LOADED! I then wiped it clean, and reinstalled its OS, and loaded it with music again. It's been working perfectly for 2 days now!

I'm so happy, and to have Kiah be the one to fix it is hilarious. He's lost a toy, but earned my respect!

Here's a few recent pics. Enjoy!