5 Years?!

Oh my! Has it really been 5 years since my last blog post? Where has the time gone?! Truth be told, it is really difficult to justify writing blog posts when you are supposed to be writing on a dissertation. In fact, it made me feel down right guilty. A lot can happen in 5 years. I did manage to finish up my PhD after 11 years. It was a lot more like a trail ultra than a fast half. There was plenty of walking rather than running. There were some big hills in the way, and at times I wondered if I should just throw in the towel. I kept going, though, and I am so glad I did! I learned a lot, and it was a complete experience rather than an exercise in checking the block. I even managed to get a journal article published which you can read if you would like.  The title is Immersive Rehearsal in a Simulated Environment (IRISE), and the focus is on designing virtual environments to help those with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Wright State also wrote up a nice article on my work as well. If you find yourself up at 3am (like I am while writing this blog post), you can checkout the entire dissertation at OhioLink. 

In even bigger news, Jim and I were blessed with a little one. To say JC has kept me busy is an understatement. Raising a child can definitely be an almost all consuming task, and before I became a mom I had no idea. He is incredible, and I am certainly biased without apologies. There are such huge changes along the path from baby to toddler, and I am constantly on my toes trying to keep up. One minute you are supporting his head because his neck cannot keep it upright and the next he is telling you he wants to do things "all by his own self". Time goes into warp speed after you have a child, and these last three years have just flown by. Without further ado, here is a picture of the 3 of us after my doctorate graduation ceremony.

Of course, there has also been been a bit of a pandemic going on over the last year. You've heard of it, right?  I may have changed jobs 3 times since the last post. Jim has also changed jobs and is now working his dream job. He also happens to be really good at it. But I know what you really want to know.  Did we make any progress on the barn? Or perhaps the cabin? Well, the cabin is a big fat no, but the barn ... oh the barn!  It has come a long way. Did I mention that it is 3 in the morning? I need to get back to sleep. Coming up in the next post, I will post some great pictures of the loft area that Jim built. I played interior designer and had a lot of fun doing it. Stay tuned!  I promise the next post will happen much sooner.  

We have a barn!

Wow! It's been a bumpy journey, but we learned a lot and wound up with an awesome barn! From a contractor who did not get around to working for us to a big box home improvement store (referred to hereafter as Store M) that failed us on multiple levels, there were some big obstacles... but success! After we picked another contractor, Grand Garages and Pole Buildings, the project went full warp speed.

Jim and I both took a day off to attend the barn building kickoff party, and it kicked off with a bang. It went from us working out there by ourselves to 15 or so people descending upon property at once. When the builders arrived, I was surprised and very pleased to see a group of Amish men exit the van. It was then that I felt as if we had received the blessing jackpot. Anyone who tries to follow the teachings of Jesus is my brother or sister in Christ.

"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ." Colossians 3:23-24

There were plenty of things that did not go smoothly with Store M:
1. You need 24 special order poles for our pole barn kit you purchased? Okay, we will ship all but 3 of them, and you will need to wait a another week. (Our awesome builders solved that problem for us, and we were not delayed a week.) This was not the only item they miscounted.

2. You need that delivered? Sorry, our delivery truck broke down, and we can't figure out how to get it out there where you need it. Jim and I spent 3 evenings after work picking up our items on his trailer which was a bit scary for the heavy stuff.  That said, we did it. Wonder if they ever got that truck fixed after a week of missing deliveries.

3. You need the trusses earlier? Sorry, the manufacturer said they cannot do that.  Jim had called the manufacturer after Store M said they would check, and the manufacturer confirmed that COULD do it. Store M basically did not contact the manufacturer. Good thing Jim did.

4. You want 2 of your 3 garage doors cancelled? Sorry, special order, we cannot do that. Oh wait, we did it.  In fact, we cancelled all 3 of them.  Too bad you actually wanted one of them.

5. You want to leave with those items you purchased and have a receipt to prove it? Sorry, our system is showing they aren't even out back. We cannot let you leave.  This is where I told them they either needed to let us out of the gate or get a manager. They let us out.

Despite the hassle, or perhaps because of it, it was extra sweet when that barn was complete. Store M could not dampen the joy we both felt when we saw that barn. It is a work of art! Did I mention how awesome the the builders were?  God is good, ALL the time.

"Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope..." Romans 5:3-4

Of course, this post is much better with pictures....

The beginning...

Building up...

Stick soldiers (aka the poles)...

Concrete slab!

Wow!

Double Wow!

Work of art :-)

The inside.

It was an amazing week!

Happy Spring! Here comes June...

Jim and I celebrated our one year anniversary in May. I was really looking forward to the one year anniversary for many reasons. Initially it was a huge change when we combined households, and if I told you it was easy, I would be lying. I spent my entire adult life as a single person, and a change as large as getting married and becoming a stepmom isn't something to be taken lightly. I knew it would take some time for the household of 4 to adjust to all the changes, and I assumed at the 1 year mark we would all be well on our way. To me the one year mark symbolized that we had successfully negotiated a lot of those changes. Success!

As a side note to any new stepfamily, I highly recommend the book Smart Stepfamily by Ron Deal. People who have children but are not in a blended family are in a very different boat than those blending families, and those people will give you advice based on a completely different knowledge set. Having friends that are in similar situations to yours (thanks, Mary!) can be a real lifesaver as well. 

For our 1 year anniversary, we once again returned to the Tye Die 50K. Gina, the race director, had given us free entry into the race this year as a wedding present last year. How could we turn that down? Thanks, Gina!

Tie Dye 50K 2016

Luckily there were no sprained ankles this year. We also had plans to spend a weekend in Hocking Hills, and we had a great weekend. It is by far one of the most beautiful places in Ohio.

Old Man's Cave at Hocking Hills

Jim looking at some water falls

One of the many benefits of being married is having a bug killer on call. Of course, those who know me know I am not really scared of bugs. Those who know Jim well know he can be a bit of a goofball. Since spring has sprung, the bugs have taken to flying around the home security cameras which sends a lot of bug spam emails. I was traveling for work last week, and asked Jim to take care of a few of those bugs so the emails would stop. This was his response...

Yep folks, married life. Not quite like the movies... which is a good thing. While being married has a lot of good times and some difficult ones, getting a driveway installed apparently can be very difficult. Jim has been hard at work trying to get the plans into place for barn materials delivery, but the driveway, or lack thereof, has been causing him much stress. This is how Jim looks when he gets a driveway...

That's one very happy man! 

I am not completely sure what the next year will hold, but I am hoping the next blog post include the building of a barn. 

After a brief rain delay, we have more progress

After deciding on a contractor and getting on his schedule, we thought that progress would be swift.  The driveway was roughed in, a half acre was cleared with grass planted, and the shed was nearing completion.  The barn material had been purchased and was waiting for us at Menards. DP&L was contacted for electricity installation and we were on their schedule. Unfortunately, that driveway would have to be in a more finished condition for any heavy trucks to be able to deliver anything. All we had to do was wait for a couple of dry days for the top layer of soil to be removed. Then it rained for a month solid....

The day before Cassie and I took a weekend getaway to Hocking Hills, we were told that the driveway had been started. We were very excited to see it on the way to Logan, but we had to see it in a downpour of rain! Still, it was nice to see something done.

In the meantime, I had a chance to get some more of the land cleared with the big mower pulled behind the old Ford. Clearing weeds and a chunk of cedar trees made the place look completely different. We had joked that we were glad the previous owner didn't mow any of the land, as it would have made the property look a lot more desirable. We found several scenic spots where a little landscaping would make a tremendous difference.

I remember thinking that I could build the 10' x 20' storage shed during my spring break. As it turns out it was a huge undertaking which is just now, nearly 2 months later, just starting to see an end. The last of the roof panels just went up, and now I'm wondering how the roof cap will go on.

Progress!

Jim has been busy getting permits and quotes for tasks on the property as well as moving equipment and material to the site. We finally have a culvert! That is exciting since it means it doesn't feel as if the car will turn on its side when we drive in. Our general rule is that we get 3 quotes before picking a company to do any work which saves money but adds time. The quotes ranged from $1000 to $2400 so it was very worth the time.

One thing I have learned is that your property really isn't. Want to put in a culvert? Get permission. Want to build a barn? Get permission. Want to build a shed? Get permission. I've visited countries where the shed we are building is the equivalent of a family's home. The homes those families live in would not even be allowed here. It is a very strange thing. We were told that we aren't allowed to live in the barn. Oh darn. 

The shed we are building has been a huge learning experience. It takes a long time! In between getting permissions, work, school, running, traveling to the Bataan Memorial Death March in New Mexico, traveling to Germany etc., fitting in the time has been difficult. Still, Jim managed to make some progress with clearing the area and getting material to the site. That required getting the trailer and tractor and transporting it from an hour and a half away. He's a hard working man!

He also happens to have a tremendous amount of physical strength. It is amazing to me how easily he lifts things that I could not fathom being able to pick up. Along with site prep, he also put together the building plan and list of materials. He initially dug the holes and put in a straw man plan for the shed, and yesterday we spent some time (with the help of his parents) getting everything square and in place. As Jack said, it was a real teamwork experience! 

Before...

After!

We have a large list of things to do which makes my head hurt. The immediate items to complete are finishing the shed, picking a contractor to install the barn, and doing something about our tick problem. In the meantime, I have to visit the chiropractor as my back is not a fan of all the heavy lifting we did yesterday. I'll bet I won't forget my back support belt next time. Ouch! 

Jack and Glo heading down the "driveway"

Two Bears in the Woods

Wow! It's been a tough few weeks. The flu went around the house and is still hanging on for dear life. I am happy to report it is on its way out the door. In the middle of the flu chaos, we added a new member to the Clouse clan - Kody! Kody is short for Kodiak. Puppies are adorable, but they are also a lot of work. Luckily Kody seems to be getting the idea, but he still has a lot to learn.

Da Bear

The Honey Bear isn't exactly sure about what to think. She was very down after our pup, Charlie dog, lost his fight with cancer. She seems to be doing better, but Kody can be completely annoying at times. He also tends to get a lot of attention because 1. he's a puppy and 2. he can get himself into a mess. He also thinks it is fun to crawl, bite, and jump onto Honey. He especially loves to try to bite her legs, just like she used to do to Charlie. Watching Honey's personality morphing from a youngin' into responsible head dog has been nothing short of amazing.  Watching the rest of us trying to get it figured out and working smoothly would be comical if we weren't smack dab in the middle of it all. Trying to convince a 9 week old pup that he needs to go poop doesn't work as well as you might hope. I am sooooo thankful it is an unusually warm February! Kody will be starting doggy kindergarten soon. Hey, I need all the help I can get.

Dog Daddy Jim

Running is for Lovers

Valentine's Day 2015 @ -9°F.
Yes, Jim is wearing shorts.

I have a general rule when it comes to running in cold weather. If it is below 14°F, I don't run outside. Well, except when I do. This time last year, Jim asked if I'd join him at Can't Stop Running for the Running is for Lovers 5K. When I agreed, I had no idea how cold it would be. It was Valentine's Day, and it was with Jim. It could have been 30 below, and I probably would have gone. After all, we had already run through icy water and snow for 30+ miles together at Tecumseh. Before Tecumseh, I had vowed after entirely too many miserable runs that I wouldn't do a mud run again.  Mud. Ice. Water. Whatever. Jim was going and so was I. At least this run wouldn't have the mud, ice, and water.

I met Jim and Madison at the running store, and Madison was the only one of the three of us who had enough sense to enjoy the festivities and pass on the freeze fest. It wasn't 30 below. It was 9 below. I had never run in a temp that low before, and I haven't since. The runners headed into the darkness.

Within the first half a mile, I like to say that Jim fell for me. It turns out there was some ice, and he managed to find it. He was back on his feet just as quickly as he had gone down, and we continued on. I could feel the muscles in my face going numb because of the cold and the wind. Right before the turn around point, Jim asked if I'd marry him.

You know on TV how a guy asks a gal to marry him, and she starts crying? My eyes were watering alright because that cold wind wasn't giving them a choice. We discovered a brutally cold wind coming off of the river on the return trip. I have never been so cold during a run in my entire life.

After spending some time with the other runners in the store, it was time to depart. Madison had given me a Creeper for Valentine's Day (think Minecraft) which I happen to think is geeky adorable. I headed out with a pretty potted flower Jim had given me. Unfortunately those 2 minutes in the cold were a flower death sentence. You know it is cold when it takes such a short amount of time for a plant to give up the ghost. I put the poor thing under the car heater on the trip home, but it just wasn't enough to save it.


It wasn't until later that it really dawned on me that Jim and I had gotten engaged on February 14th, Valentine's Day! It seems Jim just might be a romantic at heart. Love you, sweets!