Adventures in beekeeping, Uncategorized 5 comments on My beekeeping adventure begins

My beekeeping adventure begins

And so it begins…

Last week I went to a beekeeping class. The teachers were hilarious. They just kept making fun of each other. Some of them do it for fun like I will. One of them does it as a side business. It’s pretty amazing to see how into it they still are after 8, 10, 15 years.

The warnings are stark… you will fail. You will have a hard time keeping them alive. It is expensive to get started.

But the opportunities are there too… lots of honey, lots of wax (chap stick forever!), and a whole new hobby to explore.

I’m really excited because it gives me a hobby that isn’t technology. It gives me a pet who I can leave for a month at a time, and it will be ok. And it gives me something really fun to do with the kids that also teaches them about simpler things.

So after class number one, I’ve sat here tonight and looked at multiple bee equipment vendors finding the least expensive one. There’s a tie between two of them, and the guy teaching the class had a very clear winner in his eyes.

I think I’ll go with that one, but I’m going to call them to see if it’s even cheaper than I thought. Then we’ll build the hive. Take one more class in March. And then the bees show up in April.

Then we rock and roll.

Here’s the crazy thing… your bees take about 6 weeks to find themselves. Well in that six weeks, the only bee that you bought that will still be alive will be the queen. The rest will have died, and the queen will have repopulated her hive.

And in 18 months when she can’t lay any more eggs? Well, they off her, find a new queen, and start all over again.

Crazy, huh?

just thinking out loud, Uncategorized 0 comments on AHHHHHHHH!

AHHHHHHHH!

I very rarely find myself wishing this blog were anonymous or that I could just go off on folks without needing to consider being an adult and the ramifications of not being an adult.

But holy shit has it been one of those weeks.

Back to your regularly scheduled programming… I guess I’ll scream in a pillow instead.

Life Updates, Uncategorized 5 comments on This week in review

This week in review

This was a week of ending our holiday, and getting back into the swing of things back home.

It all started with Uncle Dan’s wedding in Edinburgh. First of all, why is it pronounced borough, but spelled burgh? Someone has to figure that one out for me. The wedding was lovely, and the reception was fantastic. Amelia had a phenomenal dress sewn together by Wendy, and Luka looked the part as well.

We then moved to the southern coast of England to see Abbey and Dave (Amelia and Freddi hit it off like champs, and Luka learned a few sword tricks from Elliot), took a detour to see Mike (because central heating is NOT overrated), and then up to Michael and Justine’s for a New Year’s bash. It’s essentially a perfect hit list to end a trip.

Once we got home on New Year’s Day, it’s been all about jet lag 🙁

1am wake up; 2:30am wake up; 4am wake up, and I’m hoping that tomorrow is the day we crack it. I’m feeling lucky 🙂

It’s also been a week of watching the babies grow up too fast. Using forks and knives properly. The way they speak and communicate with us and each other. Amelia riding her bike that Santa brought for Christmas. It’s all too much, too fast.

And so it goes… on to the photos and a cute video 🙂

Dancing robots

New Year Resolutions, Uncategorized 1 comment on A year in preview

A year in preview

My 2015 New Year’s resolutions for all to see, and to help hold me accountable.

Lose 30 pounds

I hopped on the scale after landing from the plane today at a very unhealthy 199 pounds. In 364 days, I’ll be a much healthier 169 pounds if I hit this goal. I’d love to be at 175 pounds as a minimum, but 30 pounds would be good for the soul.

Read 12 books

I read a lot more this year than I have for a really long time, and I really enjoyed it. I’m going to go for it again, and read 12 books this year!

Food-related resolutions

  • Sugar/honey in my tea only once per day (this resolution is suspended when in the South, and drinking sweet tea)
  • Increase my list of things I can cook beyond kofte, rice, and salad

Business-related resolutions

I have 3 very specific goals to hit at TokBox this year, and I’m going to hit all three with roaring success. Within those goals are business, people, and product objectives all of which I’m hoping to write about with gusto over the course of the year.

I’m also adding a stretch goal of building the mobile versions of Amplifize and re-launching AboutMyDive.com (as I’d like to dive a bunch this year).

Personal-related resolutions

I want to end the year knowing that I’ve done a better job with relationships than I have the last few years. There’s no great way to measure this. It’s really just a feeling more than anything else. But I do know that I want to be better at it, and I’m going to work on it.

Here’s to a wonderful 2015 (that I’ll fully document here for everyone to see)!