Life Hacks

I saw a version of this floating around social media, so I thought I would share. I've added a few of my own as well. Enjoy...

1. Go for women you perceive to be out of your league. You just might surprise yourself. 
2. Never hit anyone unless they are an immediate threat. 
3. Every hat should serve a purpose. 
4. Never take her to the movies on the first date. 
5. Learn to wet shave. 
6. Nothing looks more badass than a well-tailored suit. 
7. Shave with the grain on the first go-around. 
8. Always look a person in the eye when you talk to them. 
9. Buy a plunger before you need a plunger. 
10. You are required to exercise. 
11. Brush your teeth before you put your tie on. 
12. A small amount of your paycheck should go directly to your savings account every month. 
13. Never wear a clip-on tie. 
14. Give a firm handshake. 
15. Compliment her shoes. 
16. Never leave a beer unfinished. 
17. If you aren't confident, fake it. It will come. 
18. You can tell the size of a man by the size of things that bother him. 
19. Be conscious of your body language. 
20. The only reason to ever point a gun at someone is if you intend to shoot them. 
21. Always stand to shake someone’s hand. 
22. Never lend anything you can’t afford to lose. 
23. Ask more than you answer. Everybody likes to talk about themselves. 
24. Keep a change of clothes at the office. 
25. Buy high quality tools so you only have to buy them once. 
26. Manliness is not only being able to take care of yourself but others as well. 
27. Go with the decision that will make for the best story. 
28. When you walk, look straight ahead, not at your feet. 
29. Nice guys don’t finish last. Boring guys do. Don't be boring. 
30. Find something you are passionate about and figure out how to get paid for it. 
31. Don’t let the little head do the thinking for the big head. 
32. No matter their job or status in life, everyone deserves respect. 
33. The most important thing you can learn is personal responsibility. Bad things happen, it’s your job to overcome them. 
34. The first one to get angry looses. 
35. Do what needs to be done without complaining. 
36. Never stop learning. 
37. Always go out into public dressed like you’re about to meet the love of your life. 
38. Don’t change yourself just to make someone happy, unless that someone is you. 
39. If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room. 
40. Luck favors the prepared. Be prepared. 
41. Women find confidence sexy as hell. 
42. Do whatever you want to do in life, but if your going to do it do it well. 
43. No one is on their deathbed wishing they spent more time at work. 
44. Enjoy your life.

Port Royal Cottage Fall/Winter Progress

The Port Royal cottage project is moving along nicely. The objective was to be able to own a second home in a place we enjoy without breaking the bank. The operative word here is "own". We are renovating out of pocket to avoid a mortgage. It takes time, but in the end we'll have a charming little cottage nestled in the oaks with a beautiful view of the Port Royal sound. Its also twenty minutes from Hilton Head Island, so it has significant rental potential; not that we would rent it outside of family. At any rate, it has been quite some time since my last post chronicling the progress, so I have taken the time to upload some images of the work accomplished this fall. We are very excited to have the kitchen and bedroom nearly complete. I would actually estimate the kitchen to be 95% complete. We want to tile the back-splash, but decided to live with it a while before selecting anything in particular. We are leaning toward glass mosaic, but haven't quite settled on a color. The laundry room is complete, with the exception of a little trim paint. The Bedroom is about 85% complete, with the only remaining work left being to hang the closet sliders and entry door. The bathroom still needs tile, but it is fully functional. Tons of work remains on the exterior, but I have big plans to knock much of that out this spring. I plan to screen in the front porch and add a pair of large Bermuda shutters for a little privacy. It will also get a durable ceiling fan, I'm still looking around for a model that wont so easily succumb to the salt air. Landscaping is also on the agenda this spring!

Cottage Update

The Port Royal cottage is getting her kitchen. All of the appliances are in except for the microwave - we had a snafu with the vendor - but we expect that to be corrected this week. We're really pushing to get the place livable because we intend to spend our first vacation down there the week of the fourth. It should be great. We spent four days down there this month, so I think most of the kinks are worked out. I have the hot water heater working properly and the bathroom fully functional. We also have the bedroom finished. Ill attach some photos of the kitchen work in progress as well as the master bedroom. We may splurge on a grill this weekend so that we can cook out next week. Having ice cold beer in the fridge is a real bonus. It feels less like camping and more like home. Last trip down I even took a stack of my favorite paperbacks. I still have all of my tools piled up in the laundry room, so rebuilding the shed has become a top priority. If all goes well, hopefully I'll tackle that this weekend too. I've been able to get a lot of work done and still get out in the boat in the afternoons. Its been great so far, more than I could have even hoped for. I enjoy my mini-vacations down there so much that I find myself eagerly watching the clock on Fridays. I just can't wait to get down to the cottage on weekends - even if its to work!

Port Royal Cottage Progress

Its been almost a year since my last post on our cottage project. I wish that I could report that it is complete and we are using it every weekend, but unfortunately that is not the case. Work and life compete for our time. We have had some bumps along the way, but overall, it is moving in the right direction. We lost our general contractor as he struggled through a nasty divorce, and the project stalled as a result. I spent a few solid weeks down there this winter just trying to ensure that we completed front facade. The natives were getting restless while the house remained in a perpetual state of disrepair. As you can see from the attached photos, it really does look great. All of the appliances have been purchased as well as the base cabinetry and kitchen pennensula. They are being installed in the next two weeks. The tub surround will also be in during that same time. From this point forward, the only remaining big-ticket items will be completing the AC install (we're using a window unit right now), and interior trim and hardware. Everything else is done.

The central AC work...

This 1/4 ceiling use to support 12x12 tiles. Landon pulled every one of those staples out by hand.

The cupola before siding

The cupola before siding

Front porch under construction

Metal roof installed.

Tub installed

Washer and Dryer hook up and rough plumbing complete

Columns in

Windows trimmed

Drywall going in

Furring the exterior block walls

Hardie-Plank siding and first coat of paint

Drywall finished, electrical going in

New cottage toy, this may help get me down there more often!

The reason we're here...

Bee Bee's Birthday Present...

Bee loves her hens. So, for her birthday this year, I got her these Japanese Silkie Bantams. I also built this Taj Mahal coop. I spent three weekends on this, and Bee actually got to help. I gave her a hammer and let her go. She stayed out back with me the entire day, in the heat, with no complaints. Lucy and Ethel have settled their differences and are roosting together again, and Lucy is laying eggs again. I have grown rather fond of the hens. It's a real treat to see them greeting me in the morning before work. I know it sounds strange, but I have my coffee with them while they feed on scratch grains first thing in the morning.

Port Royal Progress

So the metal roof is finally up. The porch is completely framed too. Oyster shell concrete is going in this week for the porch and outdoor shower. The windows are in, the soaker tub has been delivered, and the AC is being roughed in over the next few days. Rough plumbing is all that keeps us from getting the drywall up. On the exterior we are going to fir out the block and side the lower half with Hardie-plank lap siding and the upper half in a board-and-baton style. It will look very nice when it's all said and done, but the dream of being able to use the place by Memorial day has came and went. We're now shooting for the Fourth of July. Keep your fingers crossed...

She's all but gutted...

The work at the Port Royal cottage is moving along quickly. As you can see, its mostly gutted. Most of the work to date has been focused on the infrastructure...running new water and power supplies. We had the services buried so the beautiful oak would be unobstructed. That took some work. We also ran a new water service from the city main and completely gutted the interior space. The guys still have to remove the drop ceiling so we can rewire. We are planning to pour three inches of new concrete on top of the existing slab. That will give us the blank slate we were looking for. We have found (from experience) that it's often cheaper to gut the space as opposed to trying to preserve something not worth saving. I'ts still hard to get excited the project just yet. I have a vision of what I want it to look like in the end, but I get nervous trying to manage the project remotely. I've got a great builder, but when you don't get to see the progress as it's happening, it's just not the same. I've found that i'm spending quite a bit of time lately focusing on completing the cottage. I'm daydreaming at work. Surfing the web for the right outdoor shower , etc..I'm absolutely in love with the area and spend most weekends there as it is - never-mind the two hour drive and the eighty dollars in gas. Bee and I went down this morning. I just couldn't go a week without seeing the progress first hand. It's coming together...both in my mind and in person. I made subtle changes to my vision of the end product, so it wasn't a fruitless visit. We also visited downtown Beaufort for breakfast. I took a few shots of the waterfront park. Spring is definitely in the air.

Sing Louder!