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     I don’t think it is possible to cover in full what I’m trying to say here; or at least what I’m about to try and say.  Let me go ahead and say that I’m sure I’ll fail miserably at getting my point across however, I’ll do my best and if you get even a tenth of what I’m trying to say then I figure we’ve accomplished something.
     Today a buddy of mine worked his last day in my department.  He and I started just about a month apart and he and I were on similar paths as far as where we would end up in the department.  Spent a lot of time in the trenches of cubeland and worked on several away-from-work projects so the guy means a lot to me.  I’m happy for the opportunity he’s earned himself, he’ll still be at the same company and all, but it’ll be different.  Going to miss working with Mr. Sinister.
     I left the office today and headed to the new place.  We’re in the process of moving and tonight I was to meet the fam at the new place and help out with a few things.  Getting there my wife and daughter attacked me with hugs.  There’s a fireplace at the new house and papaw had a fire going.  Wife and her mom were unloading boxes and papaw was doing a few different things.  I was blessed with putting together the new tv stand; I got the daughter to give me a hand.  She’s in an ultra ‘love-daddy’ mode so she was more than stoked to help.  There was Christmas music playing on the raidio so the fire, the closeness of family, the music; all added up a general sense of well being and happiness.
     We ate sandwiches around the bar in the kitchen; just had a good time sitting around.  As my wife did the dishes I told her that the new house looked good on her.  She’s really happy, as is the rest of the family, with the new place.  We wrapped up what we were doing and all loaded up in the different cars to head home.  The raidio was playing Christmas music as we snaked through town.  Maryville City has turned on their Christmas lights as have several downtown shops so the whole ride home was somewhat unique.
     You see for the longest time I have been an anti Christmas person.  I guess to some degree I may still be but as this season marches on I feel myself changing.  In the past my focus was on what traditions meant, whether I could participate in them or not, and the over commercialization of thoe whole thing.  What I’m coming to realize is that it’s got more to do with family than anything else.  The funny thing is I get home tonight and ‘Love Actually’ is on tv.  I don’t know if there’s a better movie out there.  I wish I could say, even get close to saying, how much my friends and family mean to me.  I am my daughter’s hero; my wife’s champion; I don’t think there is anything more I can ask for.

Last week was pretty rough.

     Four people I know lost loved ones. I’m an empathetic person by nature which means I tend to take others problems on as my own. Not that I’m trying to solve anything, it’s part of who I am in that I’m naturally a compassionate person and if I can help someone out I want to. Typically I deal with one person at a time so it’s no big deal; 4 in one week though was a bit much. The last of these is close to me, my own family of cousins. My wife has paid dearly for my mood, but with her urging and honesty with my LifeGroup things kind of fell back into place. Well, it’s God’s grace and love that brought me back to my senses.
     It was odd going to Mary’s service last night and today. Their family attends a church that I used to go to, one that means a lot to me especially in my Christian walk. The family also used to go to a church I grew up at, it was odd to see people from my early childhood at my Christian childhood church. But it was good . . . the service was great in that it did a good job of celebrating Mary’s life. It was great to see all those old pictures, kids growing up, different points of her life. It was good.
     Today was graveside. Danny Davis of Calvary Baptist Church in Alcoa officiated. Just out of high school I attended this church and really started my walk as a follower of Christ there so it was good to hear him speak again. He’s still the firm solid speaker I remember him to be. I’m going to have to go back and visit some day.
     What made everything good was the dinner after the grave side service. It had nothing to do with how good the food was or anything like that . . . it had everything to do with the site of people joining in fellowship. The sound of people’s voices bouncing off the block walls and tile floor mixed into a hymn that took me back to my early childhood. I can recall going to “Homecomings” there and breaking bread with friend and family alike. This time was not really that different, good food, good family, good conversation; just one person less. My heart breaks for the family left behind, but it leaps for the fact that Mary is “living” now more than ever!
     I’ve more work to do on learning how to deal with certain things. It will come in time. Tomorrow starts again, take the lessons I’ve learned, the peace I’ve been given, and dive headlong right back into what I do best.

Lesson 2. Sharing a dish is wise, but there’s no such thing as sharing a dessert with Daughter

     Taking a lesson from some friends of ours we decided to share an entree at Uno’s on Sunday. This would help with controlling how much we eat since restaurants have portion sizes WAY off the mark and should cut the cost of a meal almost in half. Well feasibly anyway. So we ordered a Stuffed Chicken breast, some brown rice with Craisens and Mango, and some roasted summer vegetables. It was great stuff. For some reason though I have had a craving for chocolate. Normally I don’t have much of a sweet tooth but as of late it’s been going nuts.
     Then I spot the ‘Chocolate Wow’ . . . it’s like a half baked brownie with chocolate crunchies covered with molten hot fudge and a scoop of ice cream. Well we had shared everything else and it’s rare that we order dessert so why not. Kat, our server, brought it out to us with 3 spoons. Wife and Daughter dove in. Funny Daughter is somewhat interested in eating lunch, but all about eating dessert. Daughter was sitting on my side of the booth and was leaned over in front of me effectively blocking me from chocolate goodness. Wife kept encouraging Daughter to sit down and every now and then she would and I’d steal a bite. By the time Daughter was done the Ice Cream was gone and I was left with the scrapings on the bottom.
     I just laughed inside. I love my daughter so much, Wife even more . . . I should have known to never try and come between women and chocolate!

     It is said that we never stop learning, and those that do are dead already. Well I have great news, seeing as I learned a few things this past weekend it would seem I’m still alive.

Lesson 1. Trying New Foods is Not Without Risks

     It is typically rare that the wife and I go out to eat. Well it seems to be more common as of late but that just changed (wife did some AMAZING shopping). Anyway, so on Saturday after facilitating an event I put together we were worn out and ready to call it a day . . . and it was 2 o’clock in the afternoon. We had a joke of a breakfast and we were ready to eat the town. So we stopped in at Oriental Quisine. It’s a unique place, they serve Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, and American (I don’t quite get the American, I mean I understand that it’s Burgers and Fries . . . but why?). On par my wife orders Beef and Broccoli.
     I should take a moment to point out a mild irritation of mine, and I stress MILD. To a point it’s almost endearing, but come on . . . if we eat Mexican she orders Shredded Chicken Chimichanga with Cheese Dip, if it’s Chinese it’s Crab Rangoon and Been & Broccoli with Wanton Soup. I try to get her to try new things but she holds to her faithful dishes. In all seriousness I really don’t care, like I said, it’s cute, and I love her for it. Me on the other hand I like stretching the limits, trying something new. After all it was me trying something new that developed our love for Sushi.
     So I peruse the menu, I want to try something new . . . maybe some Thai, I’m in the mood for a little spice. Ahh this looks good, Thai Red Curry Chicken . . . so I place my order and wait. When it came things looked great . . . nice cooked vegetables of squash and zucchini, onion, red bell pepper, chicken . . . it all looked great. Unfortunately it tasted like the smell of dirty dish water, not much heat either. Needless to say I was sorely disappointed. But I’m the kind of person if I paid for it, I’m going to eat it. My “system” hasn’t been the same since . . .

More Lessons to come

     I hope to have pictures up soon, but last night Littlefoot got her first bicycle. I got in from the gym just at the right time as Wife was setting supper on the table. After we ate I went and got things ready and had Wife come outside with the camera so we could catch Littlefoot’s expression when she saw it. She was quite pleased. She was even more excited when I showed her the helmet. After some adjusting of the helmet she got to put it on and love it.
     Then it came time for the bike. She was scared at first obviously; but she eventually said she needed to get off of it as she couldn’t reach the pedals. I had Wife run in and get my tools while Littlefoot and I talked about the different parts of the bike; sprockets, chain, reflectors, horn, etc. I’m trying to convince her that the horn is only for emergencies; but how can a 3 year old resist something so close to her hand? ha ha With the seat adjusted we tried again.
     Away she went, peddling on her own. We were not more than a few inches away but she did it all on her own power. We need to work on turning and watching where you’re going but for the most part she did great. I figure once she gets some strength in her legs and her “undercarriage” toughens up some she’ll be ready to go! She’s an amazing little girl, we are so blessed to have her in our lives. A big thanks to Mr. Payton and his daughter for this gift.
     Now that Littlefoot is going to be rolling along soon, sometime tells me there are bikes in mine and Wife’s future!

Littlefoot was on Style today, love my baby girl!

Check out the video here

Follow link and select, ‘Great looks in Children’s Fashions’

     So I’m 31 years old and last night was the first night I’d ever been to a club or bar or anything of that sort. Going out with friends is just not my scene, I normally stay home and either flip through the tv or work on the latest project . . . thus, what you’re about to read is a BIG change of pace for me.
     Anyway, my wife deep down is an ‘out-on-the-town’ sort of person. Unfortunately she married an old fuddy-duddy in me. She used to go to the beach every summer and while not every week, she’d go up to k’town and have a good time; non of this has happened since we’ve been married. Oh we’ve had our dates but never out with friends.
     But, last night the culmination of a lot of planning came together. I got home and my wife was as beautiful as ever. I spied her out through out the night, she’s truly a beautiful woman and I’m blessed to have her in my life. Wife is wired for fellowship with friends . . . she was in her element. Heels, make-up, kind of makes me think she was more herself last night. She’s just great. We went out with some friends of ours to Hana’s for sushi, then it was off to Swank’s for some live jazz and martini’s. Well, I should say martini as we only had 1 each. I had the Capone which tasted like liquid caramel apple while wife had The Rat Pack Royale, in her words, “Oh that’s good . . . just perfect”.
     I think last night was really good for me. If we do the same thing again we’ll park at the library and walk to Hana’s and then walk to Swank’s. While I’m uncomfortable with the growth Maryville is seeing in regards to the loss of our normal farmland rolling countryside not to mention the traffic issues; I’m pleased with the addition of our new library, restaurants, and nightlife. It was good for me to get outside of my shell, to go out and try something new. To sum up last night’s experiences; the food and beverages were good, the atmospheres were great, but the fellowship was the best!

Good times guys, good times!

     I have 2 good things to report. Mind you there are quite a few more good things to speak of but 2 are at the for-front of my mind this morning.

1. Exercise ~
     It has been my routine for the past couple of weeks to head to the gym after work. While I’m still working on building consistency I have someone going with who’s being a great encouragement. I’m seeing more and more of my co-workers there which also makes for some good fun as it’s building relationships with other people outside of the daily grind. It’s also affording me to build relationships outside of my immediate and church family. After all, what good is salt and light if it only hangs out with salt and light.
     But I digress, my point is that yesterday I hopped on the same bike, hit the same levels, rode for the same time frame; and my heart rate was a solid 15 beats per minute slower. My pulse tends to run high and we won’t even talk about blood pressure; but yesterday during my ride my heart rate stayed consistently low; well lower than normal. I take this as a sign that the cardiovascular portion of my workout is having an effect. I also had to add weight to my routine as I was not getting the typical burn that I normally do. And for the first time I went through my circuit twice. I head back tomorrow, hope to see the same results.

2. S.O.A.P. ~
     It has been since 18 April that I had soaped; something that I’m not too proud of. I had been trying to get up early enough to spend time in devotion during the wee morning hours but I all to often rolled over and slapped the snooze button. This morning though I got up and hit it. I didn’t do my normal devotion . . . I reverted back to my Men’s Study Bible which is something I’ve had for close to a decade now. It’s written from a man’s perspective with his duties and struggles in mind. It has been quite helpful in the past, I’m finding it still is today.

     So there it is, 2 things I’m happy about with myself. Well, again I say, there are several things that are good, more than I can list. But I like the idea or aspect of improving my body and soul. Working or exercising one with out the other would be . . . well, just not as good it seems. Obviously the spirit is more important, but I hope that as I improve my body my spirit will get some exercise as well. The school that I’m attending is helping quite a bit in that area, I’ve never been so stretched in all my life; but it’s a good stretch.

     Man I had a good workout today. I’d say, and I think I am accurate in this, that today was one of the first times that I got the endorphin high. I’ve got someone going with me so there’s some accountability there which helps out a great deal. it was good. What really topped the day off was getting home right at supper time. The wife was in a grilling mood so I came home to Grilled Chicken, Grilled Onions, Burgers and dogs. We were out of bread so I had a patty, chicken breast, and baked potato. After that I cleared the table, took the trash out, then went on a short walk with the family. Not a bad night at all!