New "hobby"?

So recently I've developed a new "hobby".  Why do I have quotes around the word "hobby"?  Well because I'm not sure you can call it a hobby but it is one in some ways.

I have recently been introduced to "Wet Shaving" with a double edge safety razor.  It's the old school shaving method that they used before the cartridge razor was invented.  It uses a nice solid razor with disposable double edge blades to cut with and a nice brush and soap to lather up your face with.

This is what I use to shave now!

Shaving as a hobby?  Really?  We yes, it is in some ways.  Its funny how since switching I look forward to shaving in the morning.  It may wear off eventually but I like refining the technique, the smell of the soap, the feel of the brush, and that manly feeling you get doing it the old fashioned way.  The draw of this type of shaving is actually really growing and there are a lot of communities online to share tips/techniques etc.  A lot of people go way overboard (in my opinion) with what they have coined "Acquisition disorder" where they basically collect the various razors, brushes, soaps to the point where they could never possibly use them all.  Because this type of shaving has been around for a long time it is fairly easy to find old razors that are still very usable with a new DE razor blade put in them.

So why did I get into this?  Well the biggest reason was that I was tired of the crazy cost of my Gillette cartridge razors.  I was using the Gillette Fusion Proglide which cost about $3-4 per cartridge.  That cartridge lasted me about 10 days before it dulled.  With the DE razor the blades coast about $0.14 each and although they only last about 3 days that is still significant savings.  I can shave for a year on about $15 for razors whereas before that $15 would last me about 2 months.  I may spend slightly more now on the shaving cream because I can't stand the stuff out of the can but even that is not much more.  For $6-7 I can get a tube of cream that will last me several months, and there are cheaper soaps/creams out there that I have not tried yet.

I've been shaving this way now for about 3 weeks now and it's still fun for me.  It takes a little longer in the morning but it's kinda relaxing now rather than just a chore to get done.  I even got an extra razor that I don't put a blade in so that Caleb can shave with me sometimes :-).

Major News

Its been awhile since I posted here but some things have happened that have brought me back here simply because it's the easiest way to keep everyone up to date.

One thing that has happened is the saga of our house.  To start at the beginning, Sarah and I sold the house we bought when we were first married.  We put it on the market and it sold in about 45 days which is a huge blessing in the market.  We wanted to sell our home to upgrade to a larger home to make way for the possibility of expanding our family in the future. While possible to do in a  bedroom home we felt we could afford a larger home and it would make life a bit easier.  This all happened last Spring.  Originally we looked around town for an existing house to buy but couldn't find one that had everything we were looking for.  We finally decided to build in a neighborhood near Sarah's sister, Ashley.  The house plan was great and we fell in love with it.
They started building the house in late July and after they had the foundation poured Sarah and I both realized that we both were feeling like we shouldn't buy this house.  The big reasons were 1) the yard was teeny and 2) with interest rates going up we felt like we should get a home that wasn't quite so close to our "budget limit".
So with that decided not to build that house after all.  It wasn't a custom house or anything so the builder allowed for us to back out knowing they would sell it to someone else.  We did lose our earnest money but we felt that was better than the alternative of living in a house for 15-20 years that we did not really like.  So we went back out on the hunt for a already built house that had everything (or at least almost everything) we were looking for.  Over labor day weekend we found that house.  Today we officially put a contract on the house and will close in mid-november.  While that is a long way out we are very excited to finally have a house to move into.  While living with Sarah's sister (I left that part out - yes we've been living with Sarah's sister for the last 3 months) has not been bad at all, it is always nice to have a space of your own.
The house is beautiful, with a large backyard, a small basketball court, a neighborhood pool/playground right down the street!
So...by Thanksgiving we will hopefully be settled and moved into our new home.  We will have 3 bedrooms and a large FROG (Finished Room over Garage) so please come visit us sometime.
And that is the saga of our house.  Please pray for smooth inspections and closing process.

Our future home, Lord willing.