Greetings blog-reading fans (…ok, family). Many of you know this past July I visited China. While I was there I took lots of pictures and even jotted down some notes to blog about. So, over the next few weeks, I will be sharing some of my China moments with you.
Consider this your thirty-second intro…
So, instead of posting something interesting, I decided to change my blog theme. I haven’t decided if it’s too girly. Only time will tell.
Speaking of girly, let’s talk football. Specifically, let’s talk about Mr. Brett Favre. If you recall (I assume you don’t), I posted about Brett’s first fake retirement a couple of seasons ago. I was saddened to hear he would no longer be a Green Bay Packer. And that’s saying a lot, as a die-hard Chicago Bears fan. It was like my childhood was coming to an end. Just as I was coming to terms with my grief…the iconic cheese head decided to unretire, move to New York and become a Jet. It was shocking!
Nevertheless, he unretired and played for a year. His year started off ok, but then went drastically down hill toward the end. I think his final professional play was interception. We all knew his unretirement had been a mistake…I did, anyway.
I was relieved when I heard Brett wouldn’t be returning this year. He was officially retired. Even he said he wouldn’t be 100% if he returned. Finally logic proceeded love of the game.
…or did it…
Just a few days ago we discovered Mr. Favre had unretired YET AGAIN, and signed with the Minnesota Vikings. TREASON!! I almost feel sorry for Packers fans out there. Almost.
Anyway, I can’t say I blame Favre for selling his soul. He has signed a two-year, $25 million deal that places him in charge of a top-contending team. Not to mention, he’ll be playing a lot of his games in the comfort of a dome this season and next. He may even finish with a ring on his finger.
NOTE: I, of course, hope the Bears crush the Vikings (specifically Brett) in, say, a conference championship.
On the other hand, maybe jewelry isn’t important to Brett. In fact, who knows, maybe Favre will keep on playing as long as teams hire him. All I know is I can’t keep posting about his retirement…or unretirement.
I understand it’s been a hundred years since I last updated my blog. I’m sorry. It’s not that I haven’t wanted to blog. I’ve just been too busy! However, this morning’s storms inspired me…
Lately, I’ve been carpooling to work. It’s not because I’m green. Well, I believe in stewardship. But, I confess my primary motivation was to save money…not the planet. Anyway, as I left this morning, I noticed there seemed to be fairly low clouds in the sky. There was also a lot of lightning. But, no rain.
Well, in a matter of minutes, the sky went from being partly cloudy, to slightly green, to completely dark. It was creepy. The lightning stepped up its game and then it started to pour! The rain and hail was so bad, we could hardly see. As we drove in on the interstate, we saw signs that said we were downtown, but the visibility was so bad, we couldn’t see a single building!
We sat out in front of my building for fifteen minutes waiting for the rain to lessen. It didn’t. An ambulance pulled up behind us, so we had to move. We drove around to the other side of the block and got as close to the parking garage as possible and I had to make a run for it. It only took five unprotected steps to be absolutely soaked.
I can’t imagine the condition I’d be in if I was still parking four blocks away. No umbrella could have kept me dry!
I found some pictures online of this morning’s storm. Here’s a sampling…
The sheer amount of rain was unbelievable!! When lightning flashed, the sky lit up as though someone was turning a light switch on and off. And the thunder! Boy, it was loud!! Storms are always a good reminder of how small we are. When God uses nature to force us to pause, all we can do is obey. If we try to fight it, we end up getting stranded in high water, I suppose. Hmm.
…there’s a lesson in there somewhere!
I realized the other day that I hadn’t blogged in quite some time. Quite frankly, I just haven’t had the time. Nor, had I anything intersting to say. The latter might still apply. Shhh.
So, where does my time go? Well, I spend most of my days at work. I’m still enjoying my time at Frost Brown Todd. After hours, I spend two nights a week playing softball. I had the opportunity to play four nights a week, but thought that that was a bit excessive.
I have also been attending an unusual amount of concerts. It’s been great! Two weekends ago I attended a Kenny Chesney concert, which included other notable bands (Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Montgomery Gentry and Sugarland). It was amazing!
Last weekend I attended a Taylor Swift/Keith Urban concert up in Cincinnati. Got to say, Taylor’s crowd was a little too young and skreetchy for me, but I enjoy her music. On the other hand, Keith Urban is amazing in every way. Up next, Kelly Clarkson and Gavin Degraw. That’s not until August.
I have some more great pics. I’ll share soon.
I have also expanded my interests to include ATVing. I’ll be going camping/off-roading in a couple of weeks with a large group of peeps. Should be fun, provided I don’t kill myself. Don’t worry Mom, I have protective gear!
Other summer plans include a trip to China and working on my house. Both equally exciting…to me. I anticipate having some amazing pictures to post for both events. Ha!
…until then…
It just occurred to me today that I hadn’t blogged in quite some time! I’m not really sure why. But, that’s neither here nor there.
Lots of things have happened since we last spoke. First on my list…my car. The Volkswagen Passat is no more. It was a great car, but it was approaching 100k. So, it was time for something new. I traded it in for a 2006 Honda Civic…and I must say, the gas mileage is great!! And, and I stayed right on budget. It was a good day.
More recently, I made an addition to the family. My roommate and I decided to rescue a dog. His name is Indy. He’s a medium sized dog with lots of energy. Not really sure on his breed (or mix of). He’s allegedly a Shepard mix. We were told he was 8 months old. But we later found out from the vet that he was more like two years old. So, training is taking a little longer that what we had hoped for. But, that’s ok. It will just take some patience. Here’s a picture of him…
He's lounging on the deck.
We have been on a few runs already. He does ok, but we’re working on his endurance. Haha! He spends too much energy trying to chase after birds and rabbits. I’m hoping the more we go, the more focused he will be. I’ll keep you posted.
That’s the latest in my world. Thanks and have a nice day.
Thought I’d share a few pictures from our most recent winter storm. We still have a few snow piles around town. But, today’s 68 degree weather will surely take care of the remaining ice chunks. Hooray!
So, I know January is almost over…HOWEVER, my resolution is still relevant. But, before launching into my New Year’s Resolution for 2009, I feel obligated to update you on last year’s resolution. Last year, I gave up diet coke in efforts to eliminate my typically heavy intake of the artificial sweetener called Aspartame. It was the first year I actually came up with a resolution and I’m happy to say I haven’t had diet coke (or Aspartame) since 2007. Now would be the time to congratulate me on my extraordinary will power. Thank you.
This year, I won’t be giving up a food group. Nor will I be committing to exercise (I already do that…thank you, again). No, this year’s resolution will look a little differently.
I’m hoping to accomplish two things. First, I want to commit to reading through the Bible in a year. But, I don’t want to just read it. I want study it. Understand it. Ask questions about it. And this takes time. I have a habit of breezing through things at the surface level…usually because I don’t have enough time. I’m either needing to get cleaned up to go somewhere (i.e. work) or my favorite TV show is coming on in 15 minutes. I must be intentional about the time I devote to reading.
And, I even have a website to help me along. It’s called Back to the Bible. They provide several different reading plans for readers to choose from. I opted for the chronological plan.
Secondly, I’m hoping to apply the words found in Acts 20:24 to my life. It’s going to be my theme verse for the year (or perhaps longer). It says, “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.”
Luke had it right. The most important thing in life is not riches and fame. It’s not what we accomplish or who we befriend. Rather, it’s about sharing the good news of God’s grace. God loves us for no reason. We don’t earn it, nor do we deserve it. But, it’s given to us nonetheless. Grace. Why shouldn’t I share it?
So, in 2009, I want to pursue God. Serve others. Love beyond condition.
…And thereby testify to God’s grace.
That’s it.
It’s the day after Christmas, which means it’s either time to go shopping OR it’s time to post pictures and videos of your favorite nieces…
The first video is Christmas morning. Ella is exploring the gifts under the tree, and learning to not open the ones marked for other people. 
The second video is a little dark, but worth the watch. I’ll try to edit it soon. We have just finished Christmas dinner and Ella is entertaining everyone.
And now for a few pictures…
Ella watching Dora.
Kayla in her high chair.
Ella is drawing.
Kayla playing with her gifts.
Ella entertaining us at dinner.
Sleepy Kayla.
Tyler, Katrina, Ella and Kayla arrived back in Kentucky some time after 1 AM this morning (I lost track of time). Once we got back home, it was of course time to play.
I’m sure I’ll be able to catch a few more moments over the next couple of weeks…
I just realized I didn’t post one thing in November. How sad!! I think I wrote a few drafts, but never got around to publishing them.
Well, I guess I could blame it on my busy-ness. But, instead of sharing every detail of my schedule with you (that’s what the Christmas update letter is for), I’ll share my evening at The Melting Pot with you.
Wednesday night was ladies night at The Melting Pot. Sounds fun, right? My friend Heather made reservations for 7:15 PM. A group of us were to meet there, have dinner and exchange Christmas ornaments.
I had never been to The Melting Pot, so I didn’t really know what to expect.
When I first arrived, I got a front row parking space in a very crowded lot. I knew this was going to be a good night.
Upon entering the restaurant, I was immediately overwhelmed by the mass of women standing by the door waiting to be seated. It was ok, though. I was just glad we had reservations.
Or did we?
Heather insisted she had set reservations for 7:15 PM. But, once 7:45 PM passed us by, we began to question. Not long after that, we were finally seated toward the back of the restaurant, near the kitchen, with only one neighboring table.
Our waiter took our drink orders and returned promptly with drinks in hand. He asked if we wanted sit and chat with our drinks for a while or if we were ready to order. I promptly responded, with my water in hand, “bring the food, please.”
I realized a little later into the meal that a nice thing about The Melting Pot is that they don’t rush you through anything. Which, of course, is why we didn’t get seated right at 7:15. The meal experience lasts for several hours per table.
Our appetizer was a white wine/sherry based cheese sauce that included a shredded cheese blend, blue cheese, spice of some kind and shallots. I’m usually not a blue cheese fan. In fact, I loathe blue cheese. So, when he dumped the blue cheese into the pot, I felt my heart sink. But, I decided to give it a try. And, much to my dismay, I actually liked it! We had bread to dunk in the cheese, as well as apples and an assortment of vegetables. The apples were my favorite.
As we ate our appetizer, the table next to us (four “ladies”) became increasingly loud…which of course coincided with the amount of liquour they were consuming. Martinis, if you must know. Anyway, it wasn’t that bad at first. They were talking about mild things…like anti-aging cream.
After we finished our appetizers, the waiter cleared the table and then delivered the freshest of salads. It was a field greens-type salad with cubed pieces of mango (or something like that) and hearts of palm. It had a citrus vinagrette dressing. It was perfect for clearing the palette.
Meanwhile, the group next to us continued to get louder. They shared things that I wish I had never heard. I’m glad they have healthy sex lives with their special someones. I truly am. But, really. I don’t need to know the details. I don’t need to know what turns them on. I don’t need to know to what degree of pleasure they’ve, um, experienced. I really don’t.
The entrees were brought out once our vegetable broth had come to a boil. We had two large plates of meat that included chicken, shrimp and sirloin. There was also a few stuffed ravioli on each plate. And, we were given a bowl of vegetables that included potatoes, mushrooms, broccoli and squash with a “search and rescue spoon” in case food items fell off the fondue forks while cooking. The waiter also gave us all kinds of sauces to dip our food in. We had a curry sauce, a teriyaki sauce, a barbecue sauce, a Gorgonzola sauce, a spicy cocktail sauce and a green goddess sauce (a house favorite). They were all delicious.
While we were enjoying our entrees, excitement rose at the next table. Apparently, one of the ladies found a hair in their food. Naturally, the discovered hair led to another delightful conversation. Again, I don’t care to know where these ladies did and did not have hair. It’s not table conversation. Their waiter and manager soon returned to their table offering a free round of drinks. Great.
By the time our entrees were eaten, I was fairly full. But, I could manage some dessert. We had a white chocolate dipping sauce with chopped butterfinger (the candy bar) stirred in. The dessert plates contained cheesecake, brownie bights, pound cake, oreo covered marshmallows, grahm cracker covered marshmallows, rice krispie treats, strawberries and bananas. All were good. The rice krispie treats were divine!
As we finished up dessert, the table next to us got eerily quiet. I realized they were all trying to figure out their tips. When their waiter returned one of the ladies felt the need to share her feelings regarding the Jonas Brothers with him. I felt sorry for him. He had to stand their and smile and pretend to be interested. I wanted to tell him that they had already filled out his tip…he didn’t need to fake it anymore.
I was uncomfortably full by the time we were ready to leave. But, I was ok with that. If I’m going to spend $27 (tip not included) on a meal, I better be ready to pop by the time it’s all said and done.
All in all, it was a good experience. The food was tasty and the service was great. And, I have to admit, the ladies next to us certainly made it memorable. I’ll be back. Just not on ladies night.
