News for May 2007

work at home/stay at home/stuck at home

it’s true that i’m a stay at home dad.  it’s also true that my wife goes to luther seminary and is on her full time (6 days a week as recommended by our health conscious church body) internship.  You may ask yourself how does a stay at home dad and a full time student make ends meet?  Well folks, I work from home. 

and it kinda sucks because everyday is take your daughters to work day.  this would suck less if i weren’t so anti-child labour and what not.  but i am.  it would also suck less if i could multi-task.  but I can’t.  what i usually end up doing is being a half-assed dad who’s mind is constantly wandering from the coloring/painting/diapering/animalplaying task at hand and trying to figure out what to do as soon as the family falls asleep or plays with tired mom when she gets home.  and then, because i suck at multi-tasking, my mind goes back to all the ways i could’ve been a more focused dad during the day and i find myself looking for a way to clear my head.

this morning jodi took the two girls grocery shopping and i recieved 3 hours of quiet house.  it was the best morning of my life.  I tinkered on my single-speed, changing the chain ring and obtaining a much more satisfying gearing.  rode for 10 miles. got home. cleaned house. cleaned body. had a beer (it was noon by this time and that makes it okay.  especially if its the best morning of your life.) and listened to ryan adams while making lunch for the ladies.  I didn’t get any work done.  and it was awesome and it totally cleared my head. 

and then i went back to being a half-assed dad – although i will say in my favor that jodi and lydia took off again for an hour and elsa took the most bottle feeding she’s ever taken and was altogether content for the most part in her mother’s absence, which makes me feel like a more whole-assed dad which is every half-assed dad’s goal i imagine.

and now i hear her again.  and i finally downloaded the season finale of lost.  so i’ll go downstairs, rock the kid, and whatch lost with jodi.  and that will bring a semblance of normalcy to the somewhat shocking state of being a parent of two beautiful girls.

Posted: May 30th, 2007
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ideally

idealist nate says,

i may not be on the same page as judith, but what a great way to reevaluate ones place in the consumer food change.  as she has noted the experiment is not about frugality (hence keeping the diabetic rat.  i mean cat) but i’m sure that she’ll make some interesting financial discoveries and relate that to quality of life.  would it hurt any of us to take time for a consumption fast?  and in so doing wouldn’t our consuming be more joyful and less of a void filler?  hmmm… maybe i should consume more thoughtfully.  Good work Jude.

Posted: May 30th, 2007
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glad i didn't buy it.

this is the book i’m reading.  so far, two chapters into it, i remain torn.  call me natalie ‘noxema’ imbruglia. 

cynical nate says, “how lame. rich well educated majority has issues over whether or not hair cuts are necessities, and doesn’t bat an eye at purchasing insulin for the diabetic cat.  don’t get me wrong i’ve heard the whole ‘judge a society by how they treat their pets,’ but give me a freakin’ break.  solution: let the cat play in the street, go to the humane society and get another cat (trust me, we’re not running out of them anytime soon) and let it feed on the mice around your house in vermont or your apartment in brooklyn.  that’s right the author has two homes with her partner.  there’s a necessity if i ever saw one.  another time she gets all anxious about borrowing wax for her ski’s because the wax got left in one of the other 2 cars (total 3) that these two own.  and she bumbles over this dilema for the entire 25 miles she’s driving to go to a place to cross country ski.  Admirably they’ve given up processed and prepared food.  Luckily, they can afford to shop at co-ops and purchase lemon grass and organic tofu.  I, cynical nate, hope to God that something changes as this book continues, ’cause right now its pathetic.

 tune in later for the idealists take on things.

Posted: May 30th, 2007
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in recent conversation discovered

so J. Rimbo and i were chatting and giving each other a hard time for not blogging and so here i am to blogship, here i am blog down, here i am to say that you’re my blog…

The folks at AFP did a bang up job on the cranberry hymnal – i love it.  I’m not sure why we still use bulletins when we’ve got something as spiffy as this.  The church I currently attend has been wading into the pools of power point and I wish them all the best, but really I love hymnals.  I’m not entirely against power point, if it’s done well.  But nobody does it well.  Again, if you’ve got power point who needs bulletins?  I want a church that can exist bulleting free.  that’s what i want.

I picked up the book at the library about not buying anything for a year (it’s not handy and i’ve got to hurry down to supper so no time to get the title right) i hope i like it and it doesn’t make me hate the left.  i hope i don’t approach it like the cynic i am, but more like the idealist i was.

here’s to hope.

Posted: May 29th, 2007
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someday I'll do his




someday I’ll do his

Originally uploaded by natehouge.


Posted: May 28th, 2007
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daddy does my hair




daddy does my hair

Originally uploaded by natehouge.

sunday morning

Posted: May 28th, 2007
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get a grip

sure shootin’

Posted: May 18th, 2007
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citizens unite

I don’t know if you read American Hunter like I do, but if so then you know how awesome the regular ‘armed citizen’ feature is.  What?  You don’t read AH?  Oh, then allow me to elaborate.  In its selfless  promotion of guns in the home American Hunter dedicates an entire page to AP stories concerning people shooting (often unarmed) intruders and then what happens to the intruders (always injured, often dying).  Next time someone breaks into my house unarmed to steal my kick ass TV I hope I have the foresight to make it to my office, grab my keys, unlock my gun cabinet, load a hand gun that I normally only use for dear hunting, and, still undetected, pop a cap in the perp. (I learned ‘perp’ on Law and Order).  

When Jodi and I got married I registered for a chainsaw at Target.  Mostly because I was amazed Target carried chainsaws.  Partly because I knew her relatives would buy me one.  She made me take it off the registry for the meer reason we don’t have any trees.  I explained it was to keep beside the night stand in case anyone broke into our house.  Think about it.  Someone breaks into your house and you grab your gun, they don’t know if you really have one or not, they don’t know if your bluffing, and you don’t know if they have one or if they’re bluffing and 99% of the time it ends with someone getting shot.  That sucks.  Buuuuut, if rather than grab a gun you crank up your chainsaw I guarantee the perp will run because there is no longer any doubt in his or her mind that you are one crazy ass mother…

I think we can all see the importance of excercising our right to own chainsaws.  And if you’ve got a problem with my chainsaw just remember.  Chains don’t kill people.  Saws do.  What the?

 ______________
“Sure animals got rights. They have the right to garlic and butter.”-Ted Nugent

Posted: May 16th, 2007
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life in the last few days

ND, riding lawn mowers, driving in pickups, guitar hero with nephew, long car rides, jabbermouth, home, baptismal brew in secondary fermentation, in funk, dark cloud etc…, hate church, love church, wash car, maybe borrow keyboard, take out recycling, sick squirrel, daughters hands, soap, soap, soap, broken faucet, fixed, last night wedding, we were all so cheesy once i’m sure.

Posted: May 13th, 2007
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vo-freaking-cation

yes vo, not va

it just hit me. again.

in 3 months we’ll be back in the twin cities. woo-hoo.

jodi will be back in grad school. bummer.

we’ll need money.  nate’s life as an independant musician/writer/tinkerer doesn’t = mortgage payment/health care/peas and carrots

now seeking input.  what should i do with my life?

Posted: May 7th, 2007
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