Ergonomic Keyboard

The ergonomic keyboard helps to minimize muscle strain by allowing a slight angle for the hands. Recently I received a Natural Ergonomic Keyboard in place of my plain old fashioned keyboard and I must say it is much more comfortable than the old style. With all the typing I do throughout a days work it is nice to have a more comfortable way to type. So if you are having problems with your hands or fingers aching after a long day of typing I would suggest you pick up one of these ergonomic keyboards. It may reduce some of the pain and discomfort caused by the plain keyboard.

Dale

Garden Woes

So, I've been trying to get a garden planted for a while now and finally got around to getting the frame built over the weekend, (actually, Ruben was nice enough to build the frame for me with his fancy tools. It looks so nice!). I bought the materials a few weeks ago to build a 4' x 4' raised garden, but when I got everything home I realized that it wouldn't be big enough. After some thought, Ruben and I decided to put the garden in the corner of the yard and use the fence as two of the four walls instead of cutting the two 8 foot boards in half. Yippee, we now have an 8' x 8' garden. So close to planting!

I finished leveling the rocks in the bottom of the bed pretty quick. After that I mixed the sand, soil and compost so the bed would drain well. I'm pretty exited by this point because I'm just minutes away from planting all of my fruits and veggies. I start to pour the soil mixture into the bed and...aw snap!


















Remember how I bought enough materials to make a 4' x 4' garden? Well, that included the soil. Once we made it an 8' x 8' garden instead of needing 16 cubic feet of soil, we now need 64 cubic feet of soil. Darn, darn, darn. Guess planting will have to wait until payday.

At least it's a short week!



-Shala-

Weekend is here

Friday is finally here. After 4pm, it is the start of a three day weekend for us here at OLDWILL's. All of us here at OLDWILL's want you all to have a fun filled and safe Memorial Weekend. Also, be sure to understand and remember that this holiday weekend is in remembrance of the fallen soldiers.



Be Safe
Dale

SpaceX

History was made this morning at 6:56 a.m. PDT. SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft was captured by the robotic arm of the International Space Station. This is a huge milestone in the history of spacecraft development. Previously led by large governments and huge aerospace companies, small private companies are now leading the way.
If all goes well during this mission, SpaceX has clearance to begin fulfilling their $1.6 billion contract with Nasa. The contract is for 12 cargo flights to the space station. This is definitely an awesome new era in spaceflight.

Got Plans for Memorial Day?

Usually on Memorial Day weekend I would plan ahead to go camping or do some type of mountain excursion, but not this year.   I have zero plans but to just relax and maybe soak up some sun as I'm starting to resemble Casper the friendly ghost.  If I'm feeling like I want to get out and do something there is definitely a lot going on in the Denver area this holiday weekend -

 * Denver Day of Rock 5/26
*  Rockies vs. Astros 5/28 - Fireworks after the evening game
*  Downtown Denver Arts Festival 5/25-5/28
*  Memorial Day Parade 5/26
*  The Big Eat 5/27 
*  Water World Opening Weekend
*  Multiple Denver Art Museum Events

If that's not enough options to keep ya busy, well then you are just crazy :o

Happy 3-day weekend!
Allison 

Camping Time

Tomorrow will mark my 1st camping trip of the year. My fishing poles and tackle will be packed up. The cooler will be filled with beverages so I can stay hydrated. The tent and sleeping bag will be brought to ensure a good nights rest after catching many fish and staying up a little later than this old man should. Needless to say I am ready for my 1st camping trip of the year. I'll be camping at a lake near Denver, Co called Jackson. If you are in the area stop by and say hi. I will be the one with all the fish.


Happy Catching
Dale

Garage Sale

This Saturday Ruben and I are going to have our first ever garage sale. We've talked about having one for the last few years and never have, but this weekend our whole neigborhood has organized a sale, so we figured we'd better join in.

If you take a peek in our garage you'll notice that we've collected, replaced, outgrown and grown tired of quite a few things. It'll be nice to clear out the garage and the basement, plus it'll be nice to earn a little extra cash. I just hope it doesn't rain...

This Saturday's Forecast? Chance of  Rain

-Shala-

Summer is for Sweatin' and Stretchin'

It's almost summer and for me that means it's time to get back into my yoga regimen.  I did yoga for the first time just a little over a year ago, and it was such an enjoyable experience.  The health benefits of yoga are endless - http://www.abc-of-yoga.com/beginnersguide/yogabenefits.asp.  The only downside is that a yoga membership can be quite expensive if you want to go a studio other than your local gym.  Luckily this year I can cash in on a major student discount :)  Colorado has many great yoga studios, but my favorite is CorePower Yoga.  They have so many different classes that it's always challenging and never gets boring.  My favorites are hot yoga, yoga sculpt, and candlelight yoga.  If you're in the Denver metro there is probably a location near you, if not there's lots of other studios out there and even many wonderful private instructors that will come to your house for sessions. 

Namaste,
Allison

Not For Another 105 Years!

Coming to a night sky near you, the Venus transit of the sun. On June 5 at sunset you can watch Venus transit across the sun at sunset. This will be the last time you can watch the Venus transit until 2117! There will be many star parties going on that evening at astronomy clubs and colleges in many different cities. If you decide to catch a glimpse of the transit in your backyard, make sure that you have special glasses that are made for looking at the sun. Do not look at the sun without proper eye protection, and sunglasses are NOT proper eye protection. There are a lot of websites selling eye protection for the transit, most costing less than five dollars. I found a site here that has a ton of good information on the transit. Read the safety section and grab your kids, it should be a fun event. I just hope the clouds stay away.

Trevor

Real Sugar

I assume to boost some sales or bring in additional sales, some major soda pop brands have introduced or should I say "brought back" real sugar as an ingredient. I recently drank a Dr Pepper with the real sugar and I must say it wasn't that tasty. I think I will stay away from the real sugar sodas and stick with sodas with the high fructose corn syrup.

Dale

More Irony?

The state of Vermont is currently trying to pass a bill outlawing hydraulic fracturing.  This is a process used to extract and collect natural gas.  Their House Committee has already voted to support the bill.  Did you know that Vermont does not have any natural gas?  


On January 26, 2012, President Obama made a speech at a UPS Plant to push for federal investment in "clean energy vehicles."  After the speech, he was escorted away in a 22 gasoline burning vehicle motorcade.  


Al Gore, while promoting his movie about global warming, "An Inconvenient Truth" hopped from state to state on his own private jet.


This one isn't technically ironic, but I thought it was pretty funny.  "On Saturday, President Obama launched his campaign by telling Americans not to ask if they are better off than they were four years ago, but how they’ll be tomorrow." - www.mittromney.com.  Let's look back at all the promises made 4 years ago, and the promises kept over the last 4 years.


When Mitt Romney was Governor of Massachusetts, he proposed a bill for the mandatory purchase of health insurance for everyone in his state.  It is widely believed that President Obama's plan is a more socialist version of Romney's original, and bares many striking resemblances.  Romney still pushed for his bill to pass while strongly urging against Obamacare on the grounds of States Rights.


The presidential candidate that makes the most sense is still being blacked out in the media.  News stories are continually asking "Where is Ron Paul".  Well, Ron Paul is still running the race.  Visit RonPaul.com and decide for yourself.  


--Ruben

I'm Going To Asia!

I've spent way too many days at the Denver Zoo in the last year. Having kids sort of forces this on me. I feel like I know every little creature, all the hiding spots, and all the short cuts. Last time the family was at the zoo we took short cut through a fence. No lions, tigers, or bears on the other side, just a boring walkway full of people. I'm sure the next time we cut through a fence we'll come face to face with Sir Panthera Leo.

I've been waiting for quite a while for Asian Tropics to open up. The Denver Zoo has been building Asian Tropics for well over a year. Set to open on June 1, you probably don't want to go for the first few weeks. It freaks me out to think of how packed the zoo will be. The highlight of Asian Tropics will be the Asian elephants. There will be two females and two bulls, two bulls with giant tusks. This will be the first time I've seen tusks on an elephant in real life. Should be a lot of fun for the family. Save your trip for after I've gone. 

Trevor

Isn't it Ironic?

Normally you would expect a post from me with some cutesy DIY projects for Mother's Day.  But, not this week.  I've been griping about my busy schedule recently balancing a move, grad school, and work...and this week has been "one of those" weeks.  So instead, I feel like sharing a list of ironic things that have happened to me this week. 

- Assembling a desk from IKEA with 1,000,000 pegs.  The dogs sneak away and eat two pegs.  Those two pegs happened to be the most crucial pegs to finish the project.  NOTE: IKEA doesn't give you extra of anything - don't loose the crap that comes in the bag.

-Needing the ONLY tool you left packed in a random box, so you have to open EVERY box until you find it.

- Mowing exactly half of the FRONT yard to realize you've got no gas when the mower dies on ya.  Also, HOAs aren't so cool with the half mowed yard look.

-A co-worker tipping over your coffee the one day you don't lock the lid. And you NEED that whole mug of coffee.

-A professor asking you to write a reflection.  Same professor is not so fond when you inform them the definition of a reflection is, "an expression without words."

And it's only Thursday...

Thanks for your empathy :)
Allison

May 5th

Cinco de Mayo is right around the corner so grab your drinking hats and celebrate. I am sure there will be a party going down in your city. If you are in the Denver area here is your one stop spot for all things Cinco de Mayo in Denver,

http://cincodemayodenver.com/index.php

Happy Cinco de Mayo
Dale

Yay Moms!

So, Mother's Day is coming up and I want to do something out of the ordinary for mine. This day usually sneaks up on me leaving me running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to find some type of gift that I can ship to her in time (We have a state between us). I'm not going to lie, her gifts usually show up a bit late. Luckily, this year I'm a little ahead of the game and I have the perfect gift idea.

My mom loves plants, so I thought about sending her a hardy houseplant like a Croton, ZZ Plant or Peace Lily, but my mom also loves being outside. Maybe she'd like something for her back porch instead?

After giving it a bit of thought I decided the perfect gift would be a living succulent picture she can hang up in the yard. Perfect, but not so perfect. It'd be a little hard to mail her a box full of dirt and plants that will probably be dead by the time they arrive. What to do? Well, she loves working outside...


Ding!


This year for Mother's Day I am going to build her the frame for her picture frame garden and send it to her along with a gift card to Home Depot, so she can buy the succulents she wants, and instructions for creating her living picture.

I'm super excited about this one! If you have no idea what I'm talking about, there's a great tutorial with pictures at http://www.bhg.com/gardening/container/plans-ideas/make-a-living-succulent-picture/


Yay for Moms!
-Shala-

Happy May Day!

For those of you who haven't heard of May Day, or realize it's a holiday I think it's about time we revive it.  When I was a kid my mom and I loved May Day.  Each year we made different baskets.  Sometimes they were just plastic cups filled with popcorn and candy.  The premise of May Day is that you create a handmade crafty basket filled with goodies then leave them on your neighbor's/friend's/family's doorstep, ring the doorbell, and RUN!  It was so much fun and I'm not sure why many people don't celebrate May Day anymore.  Just imagine coming home to a handmade spring basket of goodies just waiting for you to enjoy...so c'mon people bring May Day back!  Here's some fun and creative ideas for your May Day basket: http://www.tipjunkie.com/may-day/

Happy May Day,
Allison

What's Your Plan?

Memorial Day weekend is right around the corner. Most campsites are already reserved, especially here in Colorado. Your best bet at this point is to do some open camping, if you're stuck on camping that weekend. There will be an endless amount of activities to do on Memorial Day weekend no matter where you are located. I'm trying to decide between camping or staying down in Denver for various events. On Saturday May 26, the Denver Day of Rock is a possibility. The main draw is that it's free, not bad for twenty bands on four stages. The Denver Arts Festival will be going on at the Denver Pavilions all weekend long, that's also free. The Colorado Rockies play the Astros on May 28, a Rockpile ticket only costing $5 on game day. The second annual Big Eat is going down on May 27 at Union Station. Twenty-five bucks gets you the best foods from thirty-six restaurants, along with some circus-themed entertainment. This list could go on for pages and ages. So I ask again, what's your plan?