Furlong Christmas 2011

I did something a little different this time:

If you'd like the see the photos in higher resolution, click here.

New Flooring

With the help of Sarah's parents, Robert and Joan, we have installed some new hardwood flooring. Still 2 bedrooms to finish but that can wait for the new year:


Wish I had some before and after shots.

Diploma in Bachelor of Business Administration

2 years ago I received this:

That was the first step in my seemingly never-ending quest for a degree.

Today this came in the mail:

 

This demonstrates my completion of step 2 of 3 on my way to my degree. You'll notice on this one the words "with distinction". That caught me by surprise as I was not expecting it. It took me awhile on MSVU's website to find out what it means; there's no ready definition. I guess its simply an indication that I kept my GPA above 3.5 while completing this diploma; distinction also comes with a little pewter award:

The Nursery

These are just a few photos of our nursery. On Friday Sarah and I picked up the crib and changing table; we found them on Kijiji.On Saturday, while Sarah was in the valley visiting her nieces, Dad and I painted the room. The last photo is of the hardwood flooring we just purchased. This will eventually be laid all through our upstairs, including the nursery.

Some shots I snapped over Thanksgiving

New Photos of the Fetus

Video of Baby Furlong

Baby Furlong 12.5 weeks in

From Baby08112011 13 weeks

Photos From the Yard this Evening

Enjoy.

Professional Wedding Photos

I recently obtained the digital copy of all of the professional photos at our wedding, which took place almost 3 years ago. Enjoy.

Some Photos From Around the Yard This Morning

These are some photos I took this morning from around the yard. Enjoy.

A Few Photos from Camping

This past weekend Sarah and I went camping near the Shubenacadie River with a few friends. These are a few photos we took around the campsite. It was the first time tenting for both Sarah and Bailey. Sarah didn't mind it nearly as much as she thought she would and has advised she would be willing to go again. Therefore, this trip was a success.

Random Pics From Monday

These are just some random photos I took while in the yard on Monday.

What an interesting day. Canadians are electing a new government and Osama Bin Laden has been murdered. I do not typically post politically related thoughts on this blog, however, this is more of a reflection on the days events.

Standing in the RIM cafeteria awaiting the arrival of my wife for our lunch date, Osama Bin Laden's face is plastered all over the many mounted LCD televisions around the room. As I'm getting a coffee I notice a fellow tech support worker is also in the room staring at one of the monitors, his name is Mohammed Muneer Uddin and he is from Pakistan. "So what do you think Mohammed?" "Meh, does anyone trust what governments say anyway?" Exactly. An older lady who works in the cafeteria chimes in, "It would've been nice to have at least seen some proof." Indeed. Skepticism in regard to the story being sold to us was rampant throughout my office. Distrust in what our governments feed us seems to be growing into a mainstream phenomenon.

Its odd, watching Americans all over the TV celebrating. I can't help to think, Bush made the idea of pre-emptive war acceptable, Obama is doing the same for the idea of assassination by presidential decree. At what point did our society begin celebrating murder without trial? At what point did Americans provide their president with the powers of judge and jury? These revelations are all very distressing and with the 2012 election on the horizon, there is no hope for change...except for one candidate. But that's for another post.

Besides the distraction brought to us by the American government, us Canadians are busy running to the polls. Noone I talked to at work today planned on not voting. Everyone was very determined to fulfill their democratic duty, however noone seemed overly excited about their choices. The general sentiment was that, if only Jack Layton was the leader of the Liberals it would be a landslide. When I arrived at the fire hall at 7:30, the parking lot was packed and there was line up to get into the building. I looked at my choices with great disdain. The green party? Socialists. The liberals? Socialists. The NDP? Socialists. The conservatives? Socialists. Ah well. I closed my eyes and made my mark.

Sarah suggested I should've put a big X through the ballot and then write-in Ron Paul.

More Bailey

I can't help myself.

I like the ending.

My New Golf Clubs

No longer will I suffer through the Spring, Summer, and Fall being asked to go golfing and having to constantly say no, as I do not have clubs.

Today I picked up a 10 year old set of Taylor Made clubs for $100. The story behind the clubs goes something like this: The previous owner is an avid golfer. He knew these clubs inside and out, boasts a single digit handicap, and advised he worked in a pro-shop when he was younger. Back in the year 2000 he went golfing in Arizona and his clubs were stolen. Insurance paid for these clubs as the replacement, which supposedly cost $1400 at the time. He knew I'm new, and made very clear these clubs are not good as good as $1400 clubs today, but advised he stopped golfing for about 6 years, and these have mainly been used at the occasional corporate retreat. They have a graphite shaft and the grooves on the face of the clubs look to be in good condition. They apparently have a larger sweet spot than he liked, which allows for more forgiveness for a newb. The owner was asking for $125. Even if he was full of it, for $100 I think I did okay to start out.

Bailey, Meet Bailey

Meet Bailey

After much consideration, and despite the advise from many, Sarah and I have brought a new friend into our house.

Bailey was born on January 19th to an American Cocker Spaniel mother and a Bocker Spaniel father (split cocker and beagle). She came to our house the night of March 17th.

She's super friendly, and super spoiled. She loves to wimper if she doesn't get her way; she's been doing a lot of wimpering. The first night I slept out on the couch with her. Sarah wanted her in a little kennel but Bailey wasn't having it, so I stayed with her in the living room. She slept all night on my belly. She seems to learn fairly quickly, although she still needs a little training to avoid certain accidents. She's starting to let us know when she has to pee, but she's not so great with the number 2's. We've been taking her out once every 60 - 90 minutes just to make sure she does her business outside.

Today was a big day for her. As Sarah and I were getting ready to run out and grab some groceries, Bailey jumped off of our couch, which is a big jump for such a little puppy. So big that we almost thought she broke a leg. She couldn't walk on it, so instead of grocery shopping Sarah and I took her to the emergency animal clinic in Dartmouth. By the time we got there she was able to walk with just a slight limp. We think she just wanted to trick us into taking her for a drive. Then we took her to a couple of pet stores; Bailey attracts lots of strangers, people just loved her.

She'll have her first full day alone in the house on Monday. We don't want her to have free reign so we've been debating different options in regard to limiting the space she can walk to.

Enjoy the photos.

Kitchen Renovations Part IV

Our adventure in the Kitchen continues, though for the moment, we rest. The upper cabinets are finished, the floor is done, new baseboard has been put in and we've bought a new baseboard heater. We're still waiting on the counter-top from Rona, we have to finish painting the older bottom cupboards to match the new, we're going to put crown moulding up, some work still needs to be done on the new drawers and we're looking for a new light fixture. Also, the cupboard with the unpainted panel across the front, we're going to put a waste basket behind it on rails. It'll look like a cupboard, but really you'll just pull it out, and there will be our trash.

Tomorrow we head to Port Hawkesbury to see Dr. Boucher; wish us luck. Tomorrow night will be a much needed night to ourselves. The most awesome in-laws have departed and Sarah and I have our house back.

Kitchen Renovations Part III

We're still working at it...

This is how it looks here; how does it look there?

Kitchen Renovations Part II

Here's another update on our kitchen. It's coming along.

Kitchen Renovations...

Robert and Joan are down for the weekend (or longer) to add cupboards and counter space to our kitchen. While out shopping, we found some porcelain tiling that we like for a good price and decided, why not? These photos are of some of the progress made so far.

Also, for those wondering, Sarah had her first consultation at the treatment center in Halifax yesterday. She's been given the options between a few different medications and once she makes a decision it won't be long before she starts. The medication is NOT expected to relieve her symptoms but rather meant to limit future relapses. On the 19th we will be visiting with Dr. B to discuss the possibility of this being lymes.