A "Me Commercial"

Just a quick post this time. I submitted an application (by video) for "The Best Job in the World" and wanted to share it with you. It's also on my Facebook page, but some of you aren't part of the cult yet, so here it is...

December 2008

Here is my promised 'catch-up' post for our December happenings. Next up is January...which I hope to get posted with less 'lag' time between posts.

December was pretty much a whirlwind of activity, as it usually is. This year seems extra frenetic and weird in some ways, more relaxed in others. The frenetic aspects stemmed from feeling not quite in the same time warp as the rest of the world. Our time on Kauai really messed with my sense of time, which is not my strong point anyway. It took me all of December and part of January to catch up with the pace of my every day world.

December is dominated by preparations for Christmas, of course, so I won't bore you with details. The hardest and coolest part of this Christmas season was our resolve to do a cash only Christmas. We've been implementing Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover principles to get our debts paid off. We're making nice progress, though with a few setbacks here and there (Murphy is alive and well) and didn't want to get caught up in the feeding frenzy of Christmas and ruin our progress. Because of our trip, we were down to a minimum of cash reserves so it was a 'slimmed down' version of gift buying this year. It sure feels good not to have those big credit card bills come up in January, though!

I have to confess I got 'big screen fever' early in the month and just knew life would not be complete or satisfying until I'd upgraded to a giant TV. We've had our 'door buster sale' 27" TV for over a decade and I was feeling left behind. Everyone was getting a big screen except me. Boo hoo. Thank goodness for my drive home...I listen to Dave Ramsey's show every evening and he addressed this very thing one night when I was really struggling. I was able to see how I'd gotten sucked into the discontent of not having things when it is relationships that life is really all about! Ah...that is a much better place to camp.

Blessings to you and I'll catch you up on more recent happenings soon...

Time Flies...

Wow! I get such a reality check about how fast time passes when I check in on my blog and see that I haven't posted in such a long time. Sorry folks. 

Isn't it amazing? I actually think about blogging several times a week...I just don't seem to get to it. (I often like to blame this on the fact that Di and I share a single computer...but the truth is that I am often just too lazy to get it done. I still want my own computer though.) Well, let me start playing some "catch-up" on what's been happening in our lives since we got back from our dream vacation.

When we got back it was time to get straight into preparations for the holidays. We busily set about making final arrangements for where we were going to have our Thanksgiving meal and who would be attending. This may sound unusual, but my family is in a state of transition (hmmm, that seems to be a theme with a lot of people). 

Traditionally, we've had T-day at my parents' house. My brother Jim comes up from California (sometimes with his wife, Carol, sometimes not...it's complicated) and if my oldest brother Earl is nearby (again...it's complicated), he and his wife join in the fun, along with Di and I. My 'youngest' brother (8 years older than me) Ken has a really large family so he hosts his tribe at his home on T-day and comes over during the weekend as weather allows. Last year, however, my mom was not feeling particularly well and announced that she was no longer able to handle hosting the ravening horde (we're not quite that bad...but close) so we had the big meal at Earl's new house. He and his wife had just moved back from Arkansas and are living in a town nearby. 

This year, we had to make decisions. Earl and Nancy have a new grandchild in Reno, so we knew where they were going to be. Jim has been recovering from back surgery and had missed several weeks of work so we didn't think he could handle the travel up from Cali...and our household has grown by two, so we knew that we couldn't really imposed on Mom & Dad. In the end, we decided to host it at our house. We were joined by Mama Jan & Jerry (my in-laws), Rochelle & Eden, and Mom & Dad. It was a great meal followed by some killer pies Rochelle made (kudos and thanks Rochelle) and a beautiful turkey & fixin's prepped by my lovely bride and her mama (kudos and thanks to Di and Mama Jan). 

This year, I reflected again on how grateful I am for my life. I'm a young-feeling 50, active and pretty fit and have the physical ability to do pretty much anything I decide to try. I feel so blessed and grateful. I am especially grateful in light of the health challenges some of my friends are having. My prayers are with you Tom, Steve and Barry! I'm asking God to restore you to complete health every day. 

I have so much to be thankful for. Our country, though flawed and undergoing strain, is still the best place in all the world to live. I have great friends and family, a wonderful church home, a good job and a warm, snug home to live in. God is challenging me to live a more purposeful life, to focus more attentively on learning and living and doing, rather than just watching life go by and wishing it were different. 

Among the many blessings in my life, I am most grateful for my wife of nearly 22 years. What a blessing to wake up and go to sleep each day with my best friend and favorite person in all the world. She is the treasure of my heart. My life is richer and fuller for having her in it. I love you Di! You bring out the best in me and give me courage to try new things because you believe in me without reservation. You are the best!

Next post...I'll catch you up on December happenings...