Author Archives: Joel

Would you believe we had our 3rd basement leak in 4 years this month?

Posted on December 10, 2018 by Joel

Water is crazy. Water is formidable. Water is life-giving. Water in your house where you don’t want it to be is a pain in the ass. Our first Spring in 2015, we had a bad leak from a pipe that … Continue reading →

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We’ve begun our final home improvement project of the year – updating our master bedroom

Posted on December 10, 2018 by Joel

You know what’s ironic to me? This year, we had planned to add recessed lighting to the family room, and paint the interior walls for the entire main floor. If we were lucky, we wanted to paint/stain the railings as … Continue reading →

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We saw Ralph Breaks the Internet and I found it worked on two different levels

Posted on December 2, 2018 by Joel

It took us a week after opening weekend, but we went to Freehold to watch Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018). The film is a sequel to the original Wreck-It Ralph that came out six years early. That’s kind of unheard … Continue reading →

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Raj’s surprise 40th birthday party

Posted on December 2, 2018 by Joel

My friend Raj recently celebrated his 40th birthday party. His family threw a surprise party for him at Spice Rack in Franklin Park. We met up with some old friends and acquaintances, plus a little dancing to boot.

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A photo shoot in Central Park after Thanksgiving

Posted on December 1, 2018 by Joel

For our Christmas / holiday cards, we have tried Sears and JC Penney with middling success. Often the photos need a lot of editing and cleaning up in Photoshop (by me) to make them decent. Last year, we were so … Continue reading →

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The rest of our Thanksgiving weekend was sorta laid back with some minor running around

Posted on November 25, 2018 by Joel

I hope everyone else out there enjoyed their Thanksgiving weekend. On Saturday, we tried to relax a bit during the day. Except Toasty as he avoided us for some reason. Saturday evening, the four of us drove down to south … Continue reading →

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The Ipes kept Thanksgiving simple this year and we were cool with that

Posted on November 22, 2018 by Joel

Thanksgiving weekend was shaping up to be a bit busy, but Thanksgiving day itself was turning into a low-key day. We hosted for ourselves and my wife’s parents this year. Simple was good, because Nums and I were working pretty … Continue reading →

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Part 3 of our Midwest road trip – Saturday activities in Michigan and the drive home

Posted on November 11, 2018 by Joel

On Saturday morning, I was up super early to grab breakfast downstairs, and to relax and read. Paul and I had made prior plans to to meet up early for a class at his local Orangetheory Fitness gym. We each … Continue reading →

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Part 2 of the Ipe road trip to Michigan and Pittsburgh (Friday)

Posted on November 9, 2018 by Joel

We work up in Michigan Friday morning, and it was hard to not notice the blinding white light bleeding out from between the window curtains. Color me surprised to see snow everywhere. Snow? Wait, it snowed? That wasn’t in the … Continue reading →

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The Ipes took a road trip to Pittsburgh and Michigan in November

Posted on November 8, 2018 by Joel

It’s been a while since we have seen friends out in Michigan. We didn’t have any plans for the long 4-day weekend in mid-November dedicated to the NJ teacher convention. Why not drive out to Michigan for a few days? … Continue reading →

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