If you're using my FeedBurner RSS feed you shouldn't have to update anything (I hope). If you're using one of my other RSS feeds, you might want to update and use the FeedBurner one. Hopefully I'll figure out a way to redirect those old feeds, but I'm a busy guy.

(This post may also be difficult to read, as all my individual entries are redirecting to the corresponding entries on my new site--and this entry doesn't have a corresponding entry. I expect it to freak out.)

Anyway, Kottke reflects on his decade of blogging, something I hope to be doing about 9 months from now.

The only thing to do is wait.

And raise money. Yesterday we applied for two adoption grants. I'm not very hopeful though. But free money is free money.

We're also quickly moving towards our rummage sale. The collection of rummage goods has taken over our porch, the baby's bedroom and the garage. Oh, and there are a few piles in the basement. Goodwill better look out come April and nicer weather.

And if it sounds like nothing has changed since my last adoption post, well, you'd be right. Except that we're two weeks closer.

Me in 2002:

Me in 2008:

Why compare the two? Hopefully it's good fun, and not just my ego growing as big as my hair.

While I love the idea, it's clear some have more to sacrifice than others. (via DJLitten)

Boring, that is, until you hear Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer weigh in on NPR:

"We're putting up with the federal government on so many fronts and nearly every month they come out with another harebrained scheme, an unfunded mandate to tell us that our life is going to be better if we'll just buckle under on some other kind of rule or regulation. We usually just play along for a while, ignore them for as long as we can. We try not to bring it to a head. But if it comes to a head we've found that it's best to just tell them to go to hell and run your state the way you want to run your state."

Hilarious. Check out Wired for more background on the Real ID debate.

• The guys who installed our washer and dryer hooked them up wrong. Didn't help that I didn't properly install the drain hose on the first try. That was messy.
• The overflow drain in our jacuzzi tub failed, sending a ton of water seeping through the ceiling and dripping into the living room. We got it fixed easily enough, but we still have some stains on the ceiling that we don't care enough about to fix.
• While removing wallpaper in the bathroom we had the window open and the hot water running, and were soon smelling gas. We thought it might have been something dangerous with our instant hot water heater, but turns out it's normal. I suspect the exhaust may have been located too close to the window.
• Our doorbell stopped working.
• The toilet in our basement started leaking and soon we realized it was the main drain backing up to the toilet, the tub and the floor drain in the basement. It got to the point where nothing was draining at all. One Roto Rooter visit later we were back in business.
• When it got cold and we turned on our gas fireplace only to discover it wouldn't stay lit. Definitely not a necessity, so we opted to ignore it for a while.
• Of course then the furnace went out. Those were a cold couple of days.
• Then our wood burning fireplace (yes, we have two fireplaces) decided to clog up. I can only assume the chimney is in desperate need of a cleaning (I suggested we call that friendly chap from Mary Poppins). Another expense we decided to forgo for a while.
• And now the toilet in the basement is leaking again and this morning I determined that it is in fact the main drain clogged up again. The Roto Rooter man said the guy who came out six months ago didn't have a big enough machine to fully clear out the roots. But he supposedly got it. We'll see in six months (when his guarantee expires).

So basically we've had a problem with every major appliance in our house, except the dishwasher. And if the dishwasher goes, well, then I give up. Have I mentioned that sometimes I hate being a homeowner? Yeah, I guess I have.

I'm partial to Dudley the Monkey.

Oh, I also designed the header on the shop. Though that's not saying much, since I just used the fabric Limor asked me to use.

It's kind of weird reading blog entries from nine years ago. Back then I didn't even know what the word 'blog' meant.

But if you can read between the lines you can figure out when big moments happened, like the beginning of the end of a three-year relationship, the beginnings of a new relationship, and the short-lived end of my parents' marriage (who knew 'that too would pass'?). And sometimes I completely skip over big moments (I guess blogging isn't everything) and talk about them after the fact, making inane comments like, "So far the coolest thing about being married is the ring." Eventually I did give up the cryptic act and just played it straight.

The Swiftly Changing Internets
In addition to my style, the web itself changed a lot in nine years. Very few of the links from those original posts still worked. Most went off to long forgotten sites that have since fallen prey to cyber-squatters. I ended up leaving out a lot of the old urls--a vague reference to a link but no link seemed better than a broken link.

I find the broken links troubling, but I guess that's just the transitory and temporary nature of blogging. A blog entry is a snapshot in time, and as soon as it's posted it's out of date.

A Good Laugh
But among the broken links and cryptic remarks, I did come across a couple posts that just made me laugh:

When Tim returned from England:

I think the best comment I've heard so far is when somebody said, "Hey Tim, you're back. Say something English." For me it clicked that Tim was back when he stretched out on the floor with a pillow. All that was missing was a book he was way behind in reading.

And a great quote from Josh Lewis!:

"If I had more of the qualities of Kermit the Frog, I'd be a great guy."

Going Forward
Now that my archives are finally complete, it's time I move on to a new blogging system and mess everything up again. For those curious, I'm contemplating a switch to WordPress. I still haven't decided if this is a good thing or incredibly stupid.

And since we haven't been talking about it much lately, sometimes it's easy to forget there's going to be a new addition to our family soon. It's easy to just settle into business as usual and not realize what kind of interruption that's going to be. A very welcome interruption, but an interruption all the same.

Anyway, yesterday I was driving around town picking up furniture for our upcoming rummage sale (and we're talking high quality stuff here, not your Goodwill cast offs) and it gave me a needed opportunity to talk about our adoption. I found myself explaining that we've already paid more than $17,000 for the adoption--and I realized how insane that is. Where did that money come from?

But the majority of it we've been able to pay out of pocket. And I don't really know how we've done that. It's not like we have $10,000 just sitting around. While we have cut back on expenses (I miss you Netflix, sniff, sniff), we haven't vastly altered our lifestyle. Certainly not $10,000 worth. But we were able to write checks here and there and absorb the financial blow. It helps that Abby has steady paychecks and I've had steady work and a few extra jobs here and there.

I'm not really sure how it's worked out. Well, that's not true. I know how it's worked out--God provides. I don't know the particulars of how it works out, but I know that's why it works out. God is good.

Nine years ago I spent a summer yo-yoing on street corners learning that God provides. And almost five years ago we bought a house while losing my job (every time I remember that it sounds so dumb) knowing that God provides. Four years ago I started my own business and continually learn that God provides. And now that we're adopting a child and having to pay this huge sum while all you hear about on the radio is recession--we're again seeing that God provides.

I'm not the type to get all mystical and spiritual, especially about money, but it's amazing to see how it all works out. We're very grateful and humbled for all the support we're getting, all the freelance jobs that keep me afloat, and all the things we're realizing we don't really need.

Though Sesame Street has changed a lot from when I was a kid (duh). Yesterday's show was brought to you by the letter M and the number 20. And McDonalds, Beaches Resort, EverydayKidz.com (AstraZeneca), New Balance and Earth's Best. Each sponsor (except for M and 20) had a 15 or 20 second commercial plug at the beginning and end of the show. I remember underwriters getting a logo and a mention, and that was it.

And while it has changed (and Elmo's World is enough to drive anyone crazy), Sesame Street does still have classic moments:

Elmo: "What's it like being a yo-yo?" Yo-yo: "Well, it has its ups and downs." Yuck, yuck, yuck. Then as the yo-yo left: "I've got to go walk the dog."

Then there was the sketch about Jack be nimble who couldn't jump over the candlestick because he didn't eat breakfast. So he calls out: "Mom be nimble, mom be quick, please give me breakfast on the quick!" I love breakfast time.

The Count watching his favorite TV show: 24. Each show is only 24 seconds long and consists of counting to 24. And yes, it did feature a puppet Jack Bauer.

It also kind of weirds me out that Muppet characters sound like Sesame Street characters. Kermit sounds just like Ernie, Miss Piggy sounds like Grover and Fozzie sounds like Bert. And yes, Jim Henson (and now Steve Whitmire) voices both Kermit and Ernie, and Frank Oz voices Miss Piggy, Grover, Fozzie and Bert. It's strange that the kids never catch on--though you never see those characters together.

First Lexi kept asking me to pray for people. We prayed for all kinds of people. And we started repeating people (they got a double blessing I guess). Then I asked Lexi if she wanted to pray. She put her head down and folded her hands (which she must be learning in Sunday School) and prayed:

"Pray adopted baby amen."

"Pray momma amen."

"Dear God amen."

Then we were singing "Praise Ye the Lord (Alleluia)" and I tried to tell Lexi what 'alleluia' means. First I said it was worship (I think it literally means 'highest praise' or 'let us worship God'), but then I realized that probably means nothing to her. So I told her worship is kind of like giving God a hug. I'm no theologian, but the definition kind of works for me.

Then Lexi wanted to pray that God would give the adopted baby a hug. We're starting to mix metaphors now, but I think that's a good definition of prayer, too.

Justin's last few albums have been more in the slower, acoustic vein, and this is more of the same. Though it's also more political than his previous stuff. I think the best way to connect with that kind of music is in person, and Justin is definitely best in person (from Sonshine, to opening for ska bands to solo coffee shops). But the videos are a close second and a nice way to experience the new album.

Here's "Bullhorn Theory" from the new album: