Watty's ingenious idea for how to get the 16' boards back from Lowe's.


I started reading the ASP.Net 3.5 book last week.

Last week was a pretty productive week for me.  I've got a list of goals that I'm working towards and at the end of each week I plan on laying out which actions I took to work towards those goals.  The format will be:

* Goal
   * Action
   * Action, etc.

Last Week's Goals & Actions:
* Improve programming skills and finance/business knowledge for work
   * Read 300 pages of the ASP.Net 3.5 book
   * Read two articles daily on various technical topics
   * Goal setting session with manager on Wednesday
   * Set up meeting to sit with clients to learn more about their business

* 60 continuous pushups and 20 continuous pullups :: stay fit and healthy
   * 2 days of weights this week including 60 broken pushups and 15 broken pullups each session
   * Mountain biking w/ Harris on Saturday
   * Racquetball w/ Tyler & Seth on Thursday
   * Ran one day this week on the way to the gym

* Be a great husband and (soon to be) father
   * Did laundry 3 times last week
   * Cleaned out and arranged the baby room and our bedroom
   * Cooked dinner 3 times and breakfast twice (improve cooking skills goal)
   * Movie night with Jen on Friday night
   * Continued to read the Baby Care Book each night before bed

* Improve handyman skills
   * Worked on the deck with Watkins on Saturday afternoon and got the ledger board up

* Nurture and improve relationships with family, old friends, and new friends
   * Had Clarke over for dinner on Saturday night
   * Had Steve & Farrell over for dinner on Sunday night
   * Had beers w/ Watkins while working on the deck Saturday
   * Worked with my parents to get their web cam up and running so they can see the baby when she arrives
   * Spent time with Harris while mountain biking

Recap:
This past week I plowed through the baby room and got a lot of work done in there.  It's almost complete!  In doing so I had to clean out a lot of our old junk that we don't use anymore (or never used).  This is difficult for Jen to watch so I did it while she was away and she was okay with that. 

On the work front I had a goal setting meeting with my manager at my request and we nailed down some pretty good areas for me to focus on for 2010.  I haven't done the best job of updating my skills at work lately because I was so focused on triathlon over the past couple of years.  My skills aren't way behind but they could use some minor updating.  It shouldn't take long.  My plan is to read a book on ASP.Net 3.5, C# 3.0, SQL Server 2008, TSQL programming, MSRS, and a book on finance and the stock market to learn more on the business side of things.  On top of that I plan to read two technical articles daily and spend a little time each week messing around with new technologies on a pet project.

I have to admit that I've been itching to get out and run but I don't necessarily miss the full on triathlon training schedule.  I got in a run earlier this week and it felt great.  I might try running a few more times next week but don't want to take it too seriously.  I think I miss the interaction with my training partners more than anything.  Also, it's tough to get as good of a workout as a solid run and strength session combo.

Next Week's Goals To Focus On
* Improve programming skills and finance/business knowledge for work
* 60 continuous pushups and 20 continuous pullups :: stay fit and healthy
* Be a great husband and (soon to be) father
* Improve handyman skills
* Nurture and improve relationships with family, old friends, and new friends
* Learn to speak fluent Spanish
* Improve cooking skills