That's my boy!

Here ya go Dad (and everyone else who doesn't have facebook).


This was taken at Auburn's homecoming dance a few weeks ago. The little girl is John's "girlfriend;" they both go to the same sitter, and her mom works with Sharon (her parents also own a great little Italian restaurant over in Cambria called "Amelias" - everyone should check it out). The two of them are so funny and cute together - the night began with an extended "make out session" which consisted of John and or Adison either kissing each other or touching each other's noses, after which the other would run away giggling and then come running back. Not too long after we had the picture taken, we took them into the dance where they were little wild things. They always seem so excited to see each other, and it's good for John to have a little friend close to his age at the sitter to play with.

This will be a busy (and probably too fast) weekend. Auburn has it's last football game tonight, and the band is doing a "fun" show - they are teaming up with Floyd (the visiting band) and are performing "Thriller" with a dance break in the middle. I choreographed the dance with a little help from Michael Jackson - I'm available for hire if you would like a cheesy, marching-band, halftime dance. It's also my father-in-law's birthday, so we will probably have cake afterwords. This is a crazy birthday time of year - within a 2 1/2 week time span, my dad, my sister, Sharon's dad, and her brother all have birthdays.

Tomorrow we are leaving early to go to the Montpeiler hunt races. There are 5 horse races (I think) and Jack Russell Terrier races. Sharon was anxious to race Hokie this year, but I think I mananged to hold her off for a year or so :) Perhaps next year. Should be fun.

We could hardly find Halloween stuff in Target last night - the Christmas decorations have already commandeered the back portion of the store. After tonight, it will be all "Jingle Bells" and "Deck the Halls" (I think that most stores just forget about Thanksgiving).

When can I start hanging Christmas lights?

LEED

I have been asked what LEED is, so for all of you non-architecture / construction people, here goes.

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It is a multi-dimensional program, but it has two kind of major elements of "accredidation." Professionals (ie., architects, engineers, contractors, ect.) can become a LEED-accredited professional (LEED AP) by passing the exam published by LEED / USGBC (United States Green Building Council). By passing this exam, you are understood to comprehend and know the LEED process and basics on environmental design.

Buildings can become LEED certified on different levels (certification, bronze, silver, gold). Buildings are certified based upon a points system determined by LEED. Points can be gained in any number of ways, ranging from building materials used and energy consumption during the construction process to finished project proximity to bus routes and number of bike racks and showers on site.

In my opinion, it is a great start for an essential idea, but at the same time a very flawed system and process. For example, the accredidation exam is more focused on LEED-specific principles and building certification processes, and NOT on a broad scope of energy-efficient (green) design (which I think it should be). The process for building certification is extremely labor intensive and expensive as well, and many clients simply cannot afford it, thinking that they can't afford to do a "green" building. LEED is not the only system, but is practically the industry-standard right now. There is no reason not to practice environmental and energy friendly design and construction processes in our every day work, regardless of certification system. To me, it is more of a status symbol in a new "trendy green" market. With that said, I am pushing to complete my exam and gain LEED AP status, as it is becoming a competitive title and resume advantage to have.

Now, do you feel smarter :) ?

Yep, I'm a slacker.....

.....my every other day or so posts have diminished down to one a week or so. I'll try to get better.




We had John's "1 year portrait" taken a few weeks ago (albeit a few weeks late). It's amazing to see how much he's grown in a year. For some reason, he looks chunkier in this picture than he really is, not that that's a bad thing.......

It seems like things are calming down a bit now. Sharon's band season is practically over (they only have one last "fun" performance on Halloween night), and they did very well at their last competition. Tech football is in a bit of a home-game lull, so the weekends are pretty laid back right now (though I haven't been able to get into it near as much this year).

Work is looking up - the economy was seeming to make some of our clients run and hide, which is unusual because our clients tend to be quite wealthy and usually aren't so affected by market downturns. Things were looking bleak, but we are in contract negotiations on a huge (and controversial) development in south Roanoke that will really boost the company. We are also negotiating another large community project in the Fredericksburg area, and we have our somewhat "normal" stable of residential work. I'm trying to get serious about the ARE (I need to start studying) - my 7 part licensing exam. The boss man is also encouraging me to become a LEED AP (green architecture stuff) due to the fact that the one LEED AP in our office is moving on to a new job. This has been another goal of mine, but it is another grueling exam to study for (and another butt-expensive testing fee).

Sharon's been feeling pretty nauseous and extremely tired lately, so I've been trying to help out as much as I can (fixing John's lunch, making dinners, putting him to bed). I really appreciate all that she does when I have to cover it! It's hard to get everything done at nights; the house is such a mess! I have a lot of admiration for single parents - I don't know how you do it all.

The rope, even though it's slackened up again, seems to be working quite well at keeping the goats out. I still have several small sections to finish - it's somewhat discouraging because now that it's all done, it's too cold to sit out on the deck at night or to grill out.

We are super excited about Christmas this year. It will be so much fun with John really being able to enjoy things (he was only 3 1/2 months old last year). We have added to our Christmas decorations since last year, and are ready to start putting them up! I may have gone a bit overboard on our exterior last year, and I tend to go further this year! My big addition will be a runway for Santa. I only have two deer right now, but I hope to add a sleigh this year and two more after Christmas (when they are on sale). We also started collection the North Pole Village by Department 56 this year (the lit, hand-painted porcelain villages), so it'll be fun to put that up. Don't laugh - they are quite the examples of craftsmanship.

Christmas, here we come!