Goodbye 2008, Hello 2009

I know, fellow Chalkboard readers... regular updates, pictures, and such all ground to a halt after Thanksgiving and the Obama election.

What happened?

Did funding for the Chalkboard dry up? (Blame the economy)

Were these authors abducted by aliens? (No, that's Uncle Mark)

Were we tapped to help guide the Obama transition team? (Nope... although that would've been cool)

Too busy traveling the world? (Wrong again!)

No, we've just been busy doing boring things that nobody cares about. Working (a lot), hanging around the house, etc. etc.

All-in-all not much to report.

If 2007 was a year of world-traveling, life changing, pick-up-and-move-across-the-country-awesomeness, then 2008 was the exact opposite. Not a whole lot exciting to do... built a deck and patio (which was cool and our attempt to stimulate the economy), but that was the one bit of excitement on an otherwise so-so year.

So it seems fitting that I closed out 2008 on the Chalkboard with a bang--literally-- when I backed Holly's prize possession (her car) into an old, rusty jeep at about 0.5 miles per hour while visiting her family. No damage was done to the jeep, and the Malibu drove away unscathed... with the exception of a nice 2-inch hole that was punctured into Holly's bumper by a winch bracket...

Anyways, I didn't want to post pictures until the problem was solved. Add bodywork to the list of things I've learned how to do (instruction and analysis of course provided by Dad!)... and I think the results really turned out well (or else I wouldn't have posted them).

Before and After: