New Blog

Awhile ago I told Sarah (my wife) that I wanted to start making dinner Saturday nights.  Why Saturday? Well usually the dinner I make takes awhile and therefore since we eat an early dinner I wouldn't have time to do it on week nights.  Well, it turned out that we ended up dropping this on the wayside.  Life got in they way.  Well, starting in 2013 I'm going to make this a rule again.  And in order to help me stay on top of it, I figured I'd have some fun with it and blog about each meal.  Most of the meals will be found online in various places and so I will give the source but I will also likely make changes to them as I go.  Most people won't care about what I make for dinner but I know a few who might be interested in what new recipes I'm trying so this blog is for them.  Click the link above "The Pantry Blog" to see the new blog.

Clean

A year or so ago a friend of ours introduced us to a product line called Norwex.  Today I used one of their products (the Envirocloth) and some water to clean the carpet in my office.  I have no idea what the person before me ate/dropped on the carpet but it was nasty looking.  Enter Norwex:

Before Norwex

Close Up BEFORE Norwex

Lots of nastyness on the carpet.  With just the cloth, water, and about 15-30 seconds of rubbing...

After Norwex

Close up After Norwex
 (still some spots but I didn't want to sit in my office on my hands and knees for too long)

Not bad huh?  I love this stuff!!!

I wish more parents would understand this concept...

Dad teaches a useless lesson in how unspecial children are:
From Cyanide and Happiness…

What do you do?

Since starting my new job a few weeks ago a lot of people have asked me, “What do you do now?”  That’s not a simple questions to answer so I usually respond with my title and a joke about how “it’s complicated, but basically I help people with Intellectual Disabilities get services in the community rather than in institutions.”  That’s such a watered down definition of what I do that I figured I’d take a moment to elaborate here on my blog for the few people who care about what it is I do…exactly.

To tell you what I do I’ll have to give a little bit of history…

First to help clarify terms the term Intellectually Disabled is a fairly new term in this field.  Prior to that the term Mentally Retarded was used.  Their definition is the same.

Prior to 1981, people in need of long term care services could only receive Medicaid funding for such services when the services were provided in an institutional setting such as a nursing home.  In October 1981, the Social Security Act was amended to allow states to choose to offer Medicaid funding for long term care services when those services are provided in the person's home or community.  This became known as the Home and Community Based (HCB) Waiver or Medicaid Waiver option.  This program saves the government (and tax payers) money by getting people out of the high cost institutions (nursing homes and institutional care facilities for the intellectually disabled) and allows them to live in the community, at home or in group homes. 

The state of South Carolina currently has 8 different waiver programs.  4 are operated by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) through Community Long Term Care (CLTC).  DHHS also administers four waivers that are operated by the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs (DDSN), where I now work.  My specific job is the Intellectual Disabilities/Related Disabilities Waiver Program Coordinator. 

Anytime new policies come around from either CMS (Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services – Federal), or DHHS (state), or the higher ups at DDSN, it is my job to get the policies implemented through adjusting the waiver manual that is used by our providers.  Our providers consist of various entities around the state that get paid to actually do the service coordination.  They meet with the people using the waivers, monitor their needs, and ensure they get the services they need.

Of course my day to day duties consist of more than updating a manual.  I’m involved in proving to DHHS and CMS that we are following their standards and ensuring that our providers are following their standards.  I participate in meetings in which various policies are discussed and changed, and then there are the other various tasks that are assigned by my supervisor. 

In addition to my job as the waiver program coordinator I am working as the IT liason for my department.  This consists of being a “translator” from IT jargon to common speak :-).  I’ve also been given the role of our agency’s HIPAA Privacy Coordinator which means if anyone in our agency has questions involving the privacy of protected information they will come to me.

That’s it in a nutshell, for the 2 of you that didn’t fall asleep. :-) I’ve learned a lot about my role in just the few weeks I’ve been here and look forward to continuing on.  

For more info on the SC waivers opperated by DDSN and to see the waiver manual you can go here:

http://ddsn.sc.gov/consumers/medicaidwaiver/Pages/default.aspx

  

It's been awhile...

It's been awhile since I've posted anything here.  I've been kinda busy.  Caleb has started all out crawling which, as you can imagine, has cranked up our activity level in terms of keeping watch over him.  I've also started a new job since my last post.  It's a long and crazy story how that came about so I figured it'd be good for a blog post...

In mid May of this year I received a text out of the blue from my previous supervisor from when I worked at Rich/Lex Disabilities and Special Needs Board.  We worked closely together while I was there and she was a great supervisor.  She informed me that she had recently taken a job at SC Disabilities and Special Needs (this is the state agency that my previous employer, Rich/Lex, was contracted with to provide services).  Anyway, she had a job opportunity open and wondered if I'd be interested.
I called her and found out more about the position and it was something that really interested me.  The job duties sounded right up my alley and there were plenty of perks (more vacation/sick leave, more holidays, flexible hours).  I told her I would have to think about it but I was interested.
It took several months for the position to be listed and for the interviews to be completed.  I didn't end up interview for the job until the end of July.  During this whole time I was praying, as were family and friends, for guidance from the Lord as to what to do.  Well in the end of August they finally called and offered me the position and made an offer for compensation. The offer wasn't quite what I was looking for so I countered and then they countered again a few weeks later.  I accepted that offer and started my new job on September 17th almost exactly 4 months from the initial text message.
So far I've been at the job for almost 2 weeks and I'm really enjoying it.  I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I had my own office (a big change from my little 6'x7' cubicle I was in before) and an office with windows at that.

My Office (still need to do some decorating)

I'm still up to my neck in reading of different policies and things to catch up on what has changed in my 2 years away from the DDSN/DHHS system but I'm catching up fast.  My actual job title is ID/RD (Intellectual Disabilities/Related Disabilities) Waiver Program Coordinator.  As to what that all means...that would take alot longer to explain then a blog post.  :)  I'm also DDSN's HIPAA Privacy Officer which means I get to sort through all of that policy in case there is a question. (HIPAA is, put very simply, laws that dictate use of confidential personal information) I know, most people probably think that sounds crazy boring and tedious but I'm really excited about this job.  Here's to the future!

"How did you live all those years without him?"

I might get judged for this post…if so, so be it, I don’t really care.

Ever since Caleb came along I’ve been asked more times than I can count “Don't you wonder how you lived all those years without him?” (or something along those lines).

I’ve never understood this question. 

Maybe it’s because Sarah and I were married 7, almost 8, years before Caleb even came along.  I don’t know why but when people ask me that I think to myself “Is there something wrong with me?  Should I have totally forgotten what my life was like before Caleb? Should he be the end all/be all of my life now? Am I a bad parent?”.  Then I quickly follow that up thinking “Nah….that’s just a typical question people ask” and smile and nod or give the expected answer and walk away. 

I can absolutely remember life before Caleb.  It was great! It’s great with Caleb here now, but it was also great then.  Sarah and I had more freedom and flexibility, more spare time, and more money. 

It was nice.

Am I a bad person for admitting this? 

No, commedians bring it up in their jokes all the time.  Its common knowledge. 

Do I miss that time?

Sure.

Would I ever go back and undo our decision to have Caleb?

Never. 

Caleb is awesome and is a huge blessing and I would never trade him for the world.  He’s a lot of fun and worth every minute of my time and every dime we spend on him.  Maybe that’s the intent of the question, but if so it should be rephrased.  Maybe something like “Hasn’t he just changed your life in such amazing ways?” or “Isn’t he so worth everything you’ve given up?”.  The answer to those would be an immediate and enthusiastic “Yes!”. 

But can I remember life without him…absolutely.  

9 years ago...

Yesterday...

Last night my heart broke...and the pieces swelled with pride

Caleb has been doing a lot of new things lately.  It’s been quite exciting for us.  Last night, however, was a new first that was not as exciting for me.

Last night for some unknown reason Caleb woke up screaming his head off at 1 AM.  It wasn’t an “I’m tired” or “I’m hungry” scream, it was just an all-out “Something has scared me or upset me” scream.  I got up and went in to try and calm him down and get him back to sleep.  Nothing I did had any effect at all, not rocking, singing, holding him and whispering in his ear, nothing!  Finally, Sarah realized that I was not having any success and came in and took him from me and within seconds he calmed and quieted in her arms.  It broke my heart.  It was the first time that I was not able to comfort him and he truly just wanted his mommy. 

It was an odd feeling, though, because while my heart was broken that I couldn’t console my baby, it swelled with pride that this wonderful woman that I love has bloomed into this amazing mother.  This girl that for the longest time did not want children has become a mommy that is capable of completely enthralling Caleb’s heart and in the process my own.

Last night I had to come to grips with the fact that no matter how great of a dad I am, my role as a dad is significantly different than Sarah’s role as a mother.  Despite the cultural trend to abolish gender roles, they are undeniable.  Sarah will always be who Caleb will run to when he falls and scrapes his knee (until he no longer runs to anyone).  I will always be the one he looks to as the instigator of the activities that cause him to scrape his knee (Just kidding, but of course some truth there as well).  My role as a dad will be the leader, the rock, the example.  I’ll admit, I’m not one of those 100% manly men.  I have this nurturing side that craves to be the comforter.  And I can still be to an extent...probably more for Sarah than for Caleb, as it should be.  But my role as man of the house, spiritual leader of the house became more clear to me last night at 1 AM when my heart broke...and the pieces swelled with pride.

New (to us) Car

Well as you may have seen on Sarah's blog we had an accident and the Mazda we had is no more...
Last week I/we spent lots of time looking at cars and looking at reviews online, comparing millage and cost and reliability and factoring them all together to finally make a decision.  And we settled on....



A 2007 Honda Pilot.

The biggest thing (besides it being a Honda) that sold us on this car is that it has a fold up 3rd row seat.  We can actually fit 8 people in this thing! Not real comfortably...but for short trips it will be great!  We've already taken it on a road trip to Tennessee this past weekend and it did great.  We're super happy with it!

I did have to go against every grain in my being when we bought it from Carmax though.  As you might know Carmax doesn't negotiate on their price.  I did find, though, that their sticker price is lower then the starting price at dealers by a significant amount.  I looked around at other dealers and didn't find any Pilot that we could have gotten a better deal on.  We have a friend who works there and he was great, super nice and informative!  His name is Nathan Aylestock if anyone is interested in buying a car at Carmax! 

Here's hoping this Honda is with us for many years to come!

8 Years!

8 years ago today I stood in front of friends, family and my Creator and committed to love Sarah until my dying breath.  What an 8 years it has been!

We’ve made so many memories and had so many laughs.  We’ve traveled and we’ve been happy just relaxing at home. 

It has been my greatest joy, however, to see Sarah become a mother.  To see her grow from the 20 year old I married into a mature woman, seeking after God’s will in her life.  To see her love poured out on Caleb and the patience she has developed with him.  Yes, we’ve been married 8 years, yes “We’re old” as she says, but she is more beautiful to me than she was when we started dating in High School, more beautiful than she was when I asked her to marry me on the boardwalk in Ocean City, and more beautiful than when we were married those 8 years ago.  We have many more years to go and I’m sure she will continue to grow in beauty even as we age. 

Sarah,

I love you from the depths of my heart and can’t wait to see what the future brings. 

P.S. I used beautiful in the above blog post as a term that reflects Sarah’s outward and inward beauty but just for clarification…she’s also still smokin’ hot!

Dollar Shave Club

So I stumbled upon this company through a friends recommendation on twitter and now I feel the need to pass the word to anyone else who reads my blog. 

I’m not writing this as an ad or anything.  I just wanted to let guys (and girls) know that there is an option out there besides the big names in razors.

For years I have always used the latest and greatest name brand razor when I shave every morning.  I prefer Gillette (mostly due to them sending me a free razor when I turned 18 which kept me in that brand ever since).  Before I discovered Dollar Shave Club I used the Gillette Proglide Fusion Power (Sounds like a video game weapon doesn’t it?).  These blades, when purchased through Amazon’s subscribe and save option (giving me a discount and the cheapest price I could find) come out to $3.68 per blade.  These are great blades and I thought they were worth it to have a nice shave.

Now, anyone who knows me knows I’m a hairy guy and no matter how close I shave, I will have a rough face and a shadow by lunch time.  My facial hair is very coarse so a disposable BIC was never an option for me.  Obviously the Gillette blades really racked up in terms of cost for me so I knew there had to be a better way.

Enter Dollar Shave Club.  This company is great.  They remove the mark up and the marketing and will set up a monthly subscription where they mail you the blade refills.  There are 3 different blades ranging from 2 blades, 4 blades, or 6 blades in the razor.  I went with the middle and got the 4 razor blade model for $6 a month.  For that you get a razor and 4 blades (one a week) shipped to you.  Shipping is included in the $6.  $6 for 4 blades that’s $1.50 per blade.  That’s less than half of what I was paying before.  At first I wondered if they would last as long.  And I have waiting until I used them for 2 weeks before posting this.  I can say that they last about 2 days shorter than the Gillette blades do (on my face) and so it is still a much better deal for me. 

So anyway, check it out, give it a try if it will save you money and see what you think.  If you do decide to jump in and you want to be nice use the link below so that I can get a free month of razors!

https://www.dollarshaveclub.com/ref/1zek/njdrv8

Drinking...

Since Caleb came along a few months ago I’ve spent a lot of time reassessing my habits and practices to see what type of example I set for Caleb.  One of the subjects I’ve been dwelling on lately is alcohol.  More specifically, should or should I not continue to drink while Caleb grows up. 

To start with I thought about whether, as a Christian, I should be drinking in the first place.  I asked myself:

Is drinking a sin?

The Bible has a lot to say about drinking wine and there has been debate on whether the term for wine is fermented or not.  It can all get very confusing.  To save my readers (all 3 of you) from wading through an exegetical argument with verse after verse about drinking I’m going to make some generalities.  It seems to me that most instances in the Bible that condemn drinking or show drinking resulting in sin are really pointing at drunkenness.  Several times in the Bible there are instances where someone got so drunk they passed out in their tent and caused some type of atrocious sin.  I think this is where sin enters into the act of drinking. It is not the drinking itself that is sin but when it is done to the point of loss of discernment that sin rears its head.  But even then I don’t think the drinking itself is the sin but rather the actions that come from it.  I think that drinking becomes sin when the motive for that drinking is wrong.  So that lead to the question:

Why do I drink?

A lot of people drink alcohol to get drunk.  They go out Friday night and drink so much they say they can’t remember a thing. They drown their sorrows and “have a blast”.  I don’t know about any of that, I’ve never taken it that far.  I drink because I like the taste, the way wine compliments food, the sophistication of its flavor.  I like the taste of a good, well-made ale and the smooth coolness as it goes down. I don’t drink to find joy in a glass. I don’t drink to push down troubles in my life.  For that I have a Savior to confide mytroubles in and who gives me joy unmatched by anything man has concocted.  Would it be a sin for me to look to other things to find that joy? Absolutely. Whether that thing is alcohol or drugs or chocolate, if I’m looking for something else to make me whole it is idolatry (and I will never find the satisfaction I seek).  So if I’m not drinking to drown sorrows or find happiness, then how is drinking alcohol any different than enjoying a good cup of coffee?  Enjoying the creativeness of a Creator God combined with the resourcefulness of created man that produces the various foods and drinks we enjoy. 

So I decided that I was not sinning by drinking.  I also realize that this is not a view shared by all Christians and try to be considerate of that and not push my beliefs on others, nor drink around someone who wouldn’t be comfortable with it.  That being said, where does that leave me in how to raise Caleb?  Well this post is already crazy long for a blog and most people have probably stopped reading already so I’ll save that entry for another day…

Bouncing

Lately Caleb has been really interactive and full of smiles. Last night I was bouncing him on a pillow while in a sitting up position and he loved it!

Leonard, the Lonely Astronaut

I was first introduced to Andrew Osenga while we were both in the nursery of our church in Normal, IL.  Okay, I don’t actually remember that but that’s what my parents and grandparents have told me.  In truth, I was introduced to Andrew’s music by his brother Robby who happened to be visiting my grandparents while we were there and he gave us an autographed copy of the album “Coming to Life” by the Normals.  I have followed the career of Andrew Osenga (the Normals lead singer) ever since.  After his stint with the Normals he joined Caedmon’s Call (another group I have loved from the beginning) and has continued to also work on his own individual music.

His latest album, “Leonard, the Lonely Astronaut”, is his best yet.  In this new album he introduces us to a character of his own making:

Osenga introduces us to Leonard Belle, whose story we enter in the wake of the unexpected death of his wife—a beginning made all the more tragic by the fact that they were in the midst of settling their divorce. With so much left unresolved, Leonard’s grief takes the form of his accepting a job as the lone pilot of a space freighter delivering cargo to the far reaches of outer space. Because of the laws of relativity, all of Leonard’s friends will have grown old and died by the time he returns to earth. Leonard wants out of his own life. In fact, he’s probably been absent from it for quite some time already. 

(Taken from Jason Gray’s review of the album here: http://www.rabbitroom.com/2012/04/leonard-the-lonely-astronaut-blasts-off/)

The completely unique approach of this album allows for Andy to really delve into some heavy issues.  The songs will lead you through a roller coaster of emotions and leave you with plenty to think about.  Personally it made me really appreciate my wife and want to show her my love so much more. 

Also of note, this guy threw himself into this project to the point of building a "spaceship" and then writing and recording the album in the spaceship while wearing a spacesuit!  Talk about getting into character!

This album is phenomenal for those who put more emphasis on lyrics than on radio worthy catchy beats (although the beats are wonderfully catchy in my opinion – I’ve been whistling and humming these tunes from my first listen).  Jason Gray’s review (linked above) puts my feelings into much more eloquent words than I ever could but I did want to say I fully recommend this album.  The catch is that Andy is only selling it at the rabbitroom.com store and only until midnight on 4/24/12.  After that he’ll lock it away and start a full-fledged publicity push until the fall.  So if you want a copy go get it soon! 

New Son

Life spins on its axis

Everything in balance

Then a new sun appears

Filling the absence

Wreaking havoc on the planets

New gravity changes course

But it offers us comfort

Radiating warmth from the source

A beautiful sun

To brighten the day

Defrosting the harsh freeze

And warming in every way

Caleb, sweet son

Our lives will never be the same

So much love to give you

We are elated that you came.

Path to Painting Part II

Continued from Part I:
I've also painted a few small paintings for around the house:

Here are a few paintings I did this year for Christmas Gifts:

For my grandparents who were missionaries in Africa

For my sister who doesn't see many seasons in China

I've recently finished a couple of new paintings to decorate Ashley's new house.  One of them is my first forte into abstract art.  I enjoyed it and will post a post about that one once it's hung and I get a good picture of it.  For now please feel free to check out my new Etsy shop (http://www.etsy.com/shop/OrnersCorner) which I will hopefully be updating overtime.

Update:
Here is a photo of the painting I did for Ashley's entry way.  I call it "Hand of the Maker"

Path to Painting

I recently opened a shop on a site called Etsy where people can sell handmade and vintage items.  If you've never checked it out you should.  It has some great, creative stuff.
Well since I've opened the shop I figured I would do a blog post to tell my story and show some of my paintings.  I've always been into art.  I started taking art classes as an official elective class in 6th grade.  I took it all through middle school and then in the 9th grade I was able to skip Art I in high school and start at the Art II class.  Whether it was the teacher, the subject matter (ribbons mostly) or just being in a class with kids older than me, I didn't take are class after that.  I continued to sketch off and on, one in particular I remember sketching a picture of Sarah and I at the beach while I was in college.  I don't know what happened to that though.
Then when my sister-in-law Ashley moved into her apartment after graduating from college she was looking to decorate her walls and had a picture of a daisy that she liked but she wanted the colors to be different.  Somebody (I don't remember who) said "why don't you have Ben paint it?"  Well, I wasn't totally sure I could do it since I hadn't painted anything in a long time, but I figured I'd give it a try.  And so my love for painting and art was reawakened....

Ashley's Daisy

After the Ashley's daisy I started getting requests from other people in my family to paint things...
Sarah always liked a picture she had seen of a couple dancing on the beach in the rain but our living room has a Parisian theme so I combined the two into this painting:

A Painting for Sarah

Next (I think...I can't totally remember the order), I painted more flowers for Ashley:

My mom asked for a field with flowers:

And later I painted a picture based on a photo from their trip to Italy:

Blogger must have a limit to how much I can put in one post.  So I'll have a Part II coming in a few days.  For now please feel free to check out my new Etsy shop (http://www.etsy.com/shop/OrnersCorner).

link to part 2...