Author Archives: AJ Bourg

I checked our electric bill the other day, and after so many sunny days and warm but not hot temperatures, our solar has generated a lot of excess power. We’re not running A/C yet, so we aren’t using that much power, either.

Well it’s an exciting milestone as we now have a negative electric bill:

These negative amounts get rolled over into a “solar bank” which we can withdraw from in future months when we draw more energy from the grid than we put on it.

Right now our meter is sitting at something like 210 kwh, and every day it goes down. Looking forward to seeing what the meter does when it goes negative. 😆

Shawn Blanc sets a 5 minute timer to defeat procrastination. I have used this strategy a number of times to get through tasks I have been procrastinating on (tidying up my office, doing the dishes, anything I have been dreading/delaying) and highly recommend it.

It’s frankly embarrassing how many times I’m completely done with the task before the 5-minute timer even goes off.

One of my stranger hobbies is thinking of what to name different groups of things. You know how people say that a group of owls is a parliament of owls? Or how a group of baboons is a congress of baboons? (which, supposedly, isn’t even true) Anyway, this is what I have come up with so far…

• A group of young boys is a mess of boys.
• A group of older boys is a trouble of boys.
• A group of girls is a drama of girls.
• A group of influencers is an entitlement of influencers.

What’s fun is that sometimes I will see a group of tween boys and sometimes ponder to myself, “Is that a mess or trouble?” Or we’ll see a group of boys and go, “There’s a trouble of boys.”

But my proudest moment was waiting in line at the local pumpkin patch when, I kid you not, an entire charter bus of Instagram influencers showed up. Picture 60 sorority girls with their sun hats, trendy boots and clothes, ready to do it for the ‘Gram.

That was a real entitlement of influencers.

I wanted to focus on five happy things from the past week:

1. Noah’s birthday. It is hard to believe we have an 18-year old in the house. He went skydiving and had a total blast. I will probably never do it, but watching the video was so much fun.
2. Bees! We got a box of bees. Literally a box of bees. And it’s been so fun to watch them explore their new home and fly around.
3. Spring is here. As I sit at my desk and work, I can see the beautiful pink blooms on our crabapple tree. Spring is such a wonderful season.
4. 7 days ago on my last day of funemployment, Alissa and I spent a couple hours at the Denver Botanic Gardens. It is so beautiful there, especially over spring. I think we are going to make this a tradition. I’ll bring my laptop and work for a few hours surrounded by nature.
5. After a minor set back a few days ago, my hamstring is healing and feeling better. Today it has not hurt at all, even after a walk. Praise be.

For Christmas last year, I got Alissa a starter beekeeping kit. Today her first set of bees arrived.

When she ordered the bees, I was expecting a queen and a few bees. When we arrived to pick up the box of bees, it was literally a box of bees. They buzzed together.

Literally you pour the bees into their hive. Fascinating. So exciting. And so looking forward to our own honey!

Last week for our middle school youth group, we looked at Psalm 23. A slightly famous passage that can easily look outdated or irrelevant if you have read it too often.

But last week was a hard week for several different reasons, and as I read it last week, it felt fresh. Relevant. Needed. Revitalizing.

I also read last week a blog post about how Christians just can’t stand seeing anyone enjoy their life. And while I think that charge is warranted and completely justified, I think it’s incongruent with the picture that Psalm 23 paints.

Meadows and streams. Tables and feasts. Peace and stillness.

What a balm for the soul this passage is. No matter what good or bad thing you’re going through in life right now, God’s nearness refreshes us, revitalizes us, renews us. And it’s not because of our religious duty (did I have my morning quiet time, did I read enough or pray enough, am I enough) but because God is enough. I hope no matter what we all are dealing with right now that we can take some time and enjoy the nearness of God and rest in God’s enough-ness.

A day in the life with Noah. These are all the questions Noah has asked us tonight, just since dinner. (dinner was about an hour ago)

Noah: What would happen if you pickled a person? What would they taste like?

Noah: Guys, do you want to meet Nicki Minaj?

Noah: How many nights until Kwanzaa?

Noah: Does air have a soul?

Noah: Guys, do you want to hear more things happening inside my head?

The weather in Colorado lately has been nothing short of spectacular. I got the mountain bike down and replaced the seat. Also got the road bike/acoustic bike out and took it for a quick 30 minute ride.

Being outside when the weather is gorgeous is really great for the soul. Get out there and ride, whether you’re riding an ebike, an acoustic bike, or a mountain bike.

We saw Tristan last year wandering around the neighborhood, in our yard and neighbors’ yards. I didn’t know the neighborhood had named him, and we haven’t seen him since last fall. Good to see he’s back! Alissa saw him on a walk this morning, at someone’s front porch.

“I’ve been trying to reach you about your car’s extended warranty.”

We have recently invested in a suite of new e-vehicles. Not cars but scooters. Alissa has one and Noah has one too.

Now that the weather is warming up, I’ve been scooting more often. Sometimes to run a quick errand at King Soopers, or just to go outside and enjoy being alive.

Scooters are slowly replacing our cars for quick little trips. I love it.