The last day...

Wow, 2003 has come and gone. But, what a year it has been! I've gotten to see my child take her first steps, say her first (understandable) words, and experience her first birthday. Stacey and I bought a new house this year (yikes, but cool). At church, we moved into our first building and experienced a lot of other "firsts" (i.e., dramas, public band performances, etc.). We made new friends, deepened existing friendships, and (hopefully) engage people's lives for the better. Granted, looking back on every year, I can think of things I would have liked to have seen/done differently, but I can't really complain. 2003 was a good year.

Tonight, there's a party at Eli's house to celebrate the new year (and the old, I guess). I hope a lot of people turn out. I picked up a small stash of fireworks this afternoon, so maybe we can have some fun with that. Jack - stay away from the ones that say "blue with tail...or anything with an exceptionally long fuse, for that matter...LOL.

Goodbye 2003.

KEY PHRASES: "Okay, anyone in the band who has NOT purchased, repaired, or finally received new musical equipment lately raise your hand and say, 'Wooooooooo.'" "Oh, crap...Dave's back...did we clean up all those empty beer bottles?" (j/k...lol).

The Road to Recovery...

Wow, it's nice to be recovering from the "rough" part of the holiday season. Had a great Chrismtas with the fam. My 'rents left Saturday morning to head back to Atlanta.

Saturday night we "shared" the mall with the hundreds of people scrambling for last-minute sales and holiday returns. It was quite a zoo. Bought me some new shoes, bought Kailyn some new shoes...generally, a good night for "footwear." (Note to self: Never go shoe-shopping with critics, or you wind up spending more $$...-sigh-). Eli was supposed to meet us there, but -as she has blogged about- had a domestic FUBAR, and wound up staying home. "Life" happens, sometimes...sometimes too much of it, I guess. Anyway, we wound up just walking around, then called it a night.

Had an unplugged set for worship at church Sunday morning. It was good...relaxed...I like alternating things like that...we'll do the full band thing again this week, which should be a lot of fun. Afterwards, we headed to Applebee's...strangely, Klye was not there...nor at church either...Hey, man! YOU DO KNOW YOU'RE WELCOME TO COME WHEN YOU'RE NOT PLAYING, RIGHT??? Really, we are DEFINITELY NOT the kind of group that measures spirituality by church attendance (thank God!), but it's nice to see band members OUTSIDE of band stuff, o-tay?" I know we're a "quirky" group of people, but we're still fun to be around...besides, "quirky" is good, right? So, Kyle, consider yourself publicly "dinged"...LOL.

My brother left Sunday afternoon for Nashville...one more stop on "Gareth: The 2003 Tour" before he headed back to Charlotte. After that, Stacey, Eli, and the young-uns wound up going BACK to the mall. More money spendage...-sigh-.

Sunday night, Jonathan, Brian and Amber (and her young-uns) joined Stacey, Eli and I for some burger grilling and some mudslides. Mmmm...chocalatey. As J-mo has already mentioned, Brian and Amber really seem to "fit in" well sometimes, especially when they open up and laugh, etc. It's good to see them laugh and connect with friends after going through such rough times in their lives over the past year, respectively.

Yesterday and today have been spent in recovery. Since I was sick so much last week, I've used the past couple of days just to relax. We went to the Guad last night, which was...weird. Everyone seemed to be in a bad mood....or, at least, a -tense- mood. Supwifdat? Can't let weirdness invade the sancitity of the Guad...LOL.

Blog, blog, blog...hopefully, now that the holidays are over, I can blog more normally (and with briefer entries).

KEY PHRASES: "Uh oh...a little ID and BG...arrrggghhh...Fire in the hole...er, um...bowl!" "Um...I would leave the word 'wench' out of future conversations." ;-). "Are you sure it's really YOUR bass?" "Um...it's a poem...a poem? And the other day...inbox entries? Is he running a fever?" "J-mo, I can smell your drum-lust from over here."

"That's the Thpirit of the Grithwald Family Chrithmas..."

Ah...that's my all time favorite Christmas movie: Christmas Vacation... Great lines, like "I can't swim, Clark," "I know that, Eddie." -or- "We needed a coffin...er, um...I mean..a tree...there are no lots open on Christmas eve, so...voila..." Only problem is, I haven't actually seen the movie this year...

Spent all week prepping for the arrival of the family...lots and lots of last-minute cleaning, which has been tough since Stacey and I have BOTH been sick over the past 2 weeks (throw in a big Christmas program at church, and where does the time go??). My brother and parents arrived (separately) yesterday afternoon around 2:00. Got them settled in, went out for a last-minute grocery run, then headed to the church for Crosspoint's first-ever Christmas Eve service. I liked it a lot, because it was VERY different from anything I'm used to. Lots of candles, incense burning...music courtesy myself and Matthew Rose (on the new Roland, no less)...people came and went as they felt led. I hope more people engage the program next year. I found it to be a great way to focus amidst all the hecticness I found myself caught up in this week. In the past, Christmas has been one of those times of the year when I've been able to experience Christ in a "refreshing" way. However, in the past few years, that "experience" has slacked... But the quiet, personal nature of the program last night was a much-needed thing for me. Even now, I'm trying to think of ways to create that kind of environment for other times of the year...

Afterwards, I went home...had a late dinner with Stacey, Kailyn, and my family... Then it was onto the joy of wrapping last-minute gifts and assembling Kailyn's Christmas presents! Stacey and I got Kailyn - among other things - a Little Tikes "car" that she can sit in and ride around...it was a pain to assemble, but it came together okay. Also got her a kid-sized table and chairs, so we assembled that. My parents got her a pretty cool wagon (even has cup holders and a cooler onboard...LOL)...so we assembled that, too. Then went to bed feeling pretty lousy...my fever returned, and my ears were so clogged up with "gunk" that I couldn't stand it.

But, in spite of the mess, stress, and lingering sickness of Christmas 2003, it's not been bad at all. This was the first Christmas that Kailyn seemed to enjoy (it IS only her second one, after all). We got her up this morning, and she wandered into the living room...her eyes got HUGE as she noticed all the toys and presents around the tree. That made the late night assembly of her toys (last night) all worth it.

She immediately became attached to the car, which she opted to stay in and out of the whole day. She also became attached to a fake cell phone that my brother got her. On top of the already-mentioned gifts, my parents her a got a Hokey Pokey Elmo (yes, an obnoxious, but cute, noisemaker).

My family and I exchanged gifts, so in the childhood tradition of "guess what I got," here's what we all exchanged. My parents gave Stacey and I some much-needed bath towels, a nice can opener, some clothes, and a keyboard for my Palm Zire 71. I gave Stacey a Dell Axim X3i, which she can really use at work (there's a lot of very good pharmacy-related software available for Pocket PC's. We gave my parents some picture frames and an outdoor low-voltage lighting system for their house in Stone Mountain. Stacey's gift to me was my Roland Fantom - and that may cover my NEXT Christmas gift and birthdays as well...d'oh.

We prepped and ate a (late) Christmas Dinner around 4:00...but it was VERY good. Then I crashed for a much-needed nap. Dana came by this evening and dropped off a couple of presents for Kailyn from her family and Andy and Dixie. Shortly after that, J-mo dropped by, and we laughed at my usual kitchen clumsiness and drank homemade mudslides (which turned out VERY good, considering it was my first attempt at making such a thing).

Now, I'm at the PC while my WIRED 17-month-old is walking all over the house. Was I like that on Christmas when I was a kid? She had a very good day today... Seeing her have such an exciting day was so much more important than all the gifts and good food. Up until today, I've been bummed (for years) that I'm no longer a kid at Christmas. But Kailyn's joy today was very contagious, and I may actually enjoy being the parent of a child at Christmas more than I miss being a kid myself (Shhh...don't tell anyone...my parenthood "geek" is showing...again).

Anyway...Merry Christmas to all...and to all a good night. Peace.

KEY PHRASES: "Is that wagon supposed to look like a ferris wheel?" "Wow, we almost had a major catastrophe at church...yikes" (noted when Dave realized that some of the candles had "melted" the plastic stands they were sitting on. nearly causing a "fire"). "Matthew, where's your family?" "I don't know...they left me all alone up here..." "Crap, no crabs this week." "It's the chocolate syrup that makes the 'mud.'" Kailyn: "Move!" (yes, she actually told Stacey to 'move' earlier).

Fantom of the Opera...

The bad news: Suddenly, I feel sick as a dog again...supwifdat? I was fine right up until about 20 minutes ago... Now, I feel all feverish again...and I've still got a LOT to do to get ready for visiting parents and family. -sigh-

The good news: My Roland Fantom S-88 arrived today...WOOHOO! Although the box seemed pretty beat up, the keyboard itself looked to be in GREAT condition...and it sounds great, too. It may take me some time to learn all the ins and outs of the board...but at least we can use its stunning piano sound for the Christmas Eve service.

So, I'm pretty much happy and bummed at the same time today...if you know what I mean...

Wheee....ow, I bit my tongue...

Oh, man, I hate being sick. I hate having a sore throat...but at least I'm in good company, since almost everyone at church is sick right now (or has just gotten over it). Amber, Brian, Wes, Jordan, and more... And now, it's 5:30 a.m., and I'm sitting her "cringing" in pain every time I have to swallow. Ewww....

But in spite of this, the weekend went very well. On Sunday morning, we pulled off our first-ever live drama at church. Everyone in it was sick...LOL...with everything from sore throats to rashes. But you couldn't tell...the "actors" remembered all their lines and the vocalists could actually sing... I'm still amazed at how well Holly and Heidi did with all of their lines. Wow! They didn't stumble at all. Amber's solo went well, and I think the acoustic worship (carols) went well, too.

Why did we do all this? Mainly, we wanted to use the drama to get people to think...about what Christmas is really all about... We wanted people to laugh...we wanted them to be entertained...but not without the purpose of "priming" their hearts to focus this holiday season on what really matters...that amidst all the shopping, rude people at the mall, heavy traffic, dinner preparation, and all that - that amidst this Christmas is and always will be about the birth of Christ. And I loved Dave's point yesterday morning...that Christ was born in Bethlehem, then moved home to Nazareth ("Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?"). He issued a wonderful challenge to us to think about or lives in Decatur. Many of us gripe about Decatur (a lot!) for many reasons...that it's boring or that you can't go anywhere without bumping into people you'd rather not bump into b/c of past pain... But if God can do something wonderful in Bethlehem and Nazareth, he can certainly do something wonderful here in the right armpit of Alabama. It's no Birmingham, it's no Nasvhille, it's no Atlanta...but God's possibilities for Decatur, Crosspoint, and changing this community are endless...in SPITE of our own expectations/limitations. So that's cool to think about? So, do we believe our God is big enough to work in our lives and help us find purpose in this town? Or have we "capped" the possibilities because of our pre-conceptions and past experience? I dunno...I'm just thinking (typing) out loud... It's just something fun to chew on...

Anyway, after church I hooked up with J-mo, Eli, and her family at Camino Real. Pretty good...it was no Guad, though...LOL. Went home...attempted to nap, but nada...so I played around at some Deus Ex: Invisible War on the PC.... When Stace got off work, we went over to Applebee's. As expected, we saw the Root there and talked to him for a bit. Turns out, he missed church 'cause he woke up at 2 p.m. (supwifdat?).

That's it...another weekend gone...now we plunge into Christmas week itself...holy crap, is it here already????

At least my Roland shows up today...WOOHOO!

BTW...what does "updating like a mug" mean (see Chad's site)? Does it mean "I update once a month?" LOL. Throw me a bone here...need info...'bout what's going on in B'ham....

KEY PHRASES: "Kyle, we can be your friends, too...and you don't have to tip us." "Amber, did you wipe the phlegm off the microphone?" "Maybe it would be a good idea to Lysol all the mics...LOL." "Emma, sit down....Emma, sit down...Emma, sit down..." "Can we quit passing this illness around, please?"

No Grinches here...

Tonight was our first time hosting a Christmas party at our house. It was a lot of fun, in spite of several people not being able to make it...for whatever other FUN thing they had to do tonight. Okay, people...don't say we've never invited you to anything... :-).

Good crowd with Joel, Daniel, Chastity, Kenny, Debbie, Eli, Patti, J-mo, Dave, Dana, Jordan, Andy, Stacey, me, and our young-uns. Lara jumped in for a "brief" visit. We had good food, a cool Dirty Santa time, and then people just "hung out." All in all, a good party...but I'm sorry several people were sick (or dealing with sick-uns) and couldn't make it. We just have to gather more often, and we shouldn't have to wait for a holiday to do it.

Tomorrow is our run-through for the drama-thing...w00t. That should be fun, but sickness is plaguing the production. Please pray that all illnesses will be quick, so we can actually pull this thing off...

KEY PHRASES: "What a cool pig with glasses!" "Oh, man...it's a dusty vintage PC controller." "See? I told you it was the nectar of the Gods." "Is that fruitcake fresh? Or is it a past Christmas present from 3-4 years ago?"

In the meadow we can build a snowman...

Er...out of...sand? Dirt? Debris? I wish we had more snow in Alabama. Good grief...I know some of you commuters hate snow (unless you get to stay home), but I love it. I'm a winter weather geek.

Today was a pretty good day. Stacey came back from B'ham with a truckload of Jim N' Nick's chicken fingers, onion rings, and fries (Eric, there's plenty left if you have a craving for God's food). On top of that, she bought a full gallon of their honey mustard, i.e., the nectar of the goods. If you think I'm "weirding" out over food, then you just need to try it. Mmmmm....chicken...

J-mo came by today to give us something and to give us the J-movie review...He said "Return of the King" is eggcellent, so that will be a must-see soon. I mentioned that to Dave later, and he freaked! I guess he likes movies to be total surprises, with no "accidental" spoilers...which can happen when other people talk about the movie.

Napped a bit this afternoon...then went to the church for a drama run-through. That went well, though Eli bailed on us. Eli? Eli? The church is on Spring Ave...if you forgot ;-). Really, I hope everything's okay with her... Overall, it went well, though, so that's good. I surely hope all the work going into this pays off...by that I mean that it goes smoothly and makes for an effective service on Sunday.

KEY PHRASES: "Maybe she's screening her calls." "Don't tell me anything about the movie...you guys always ruin it for me..." "By saying, it was good??" "Hobbitses? At Chik-fil-a? Did anyone get a picture?" ;-).

Btw, Dave...Gollum turns out to be Frodo's great, great grandfather, and Gandalf turned him into a frog-looking guy by accident a long time ago...d'oh! (hehe).

Hmmm

FYI...there IS a Christmas party at my house Friday night starting at 7:00. So, come...bring a friend and a dessert, or an appetizer...

Eli's helping plan this thing, and I know she tried to send out an e-vite, but if some of you guys aren't getting the word, then d'oh...we'll have to correct that!

Last night, I was wired at midnight, so I decided to go shopping at Wal-mart. There are some weird people in there after midnight, btw. Got some more shopping done for various people, then came home. Bam! Still wired. So I goofed off on the internet, catching up on ALL the news in the world, then finally felt sleepy enough to go to sleep at 3 A.M. Yikes...I hate medication that makes you wired...or maybe I hate my own stupidity for taking it and thinking, "It won't be a problem."

Looks like my new "toy" ship date was hosed after all...I ordered on the 16th (Tues.), so it should've shipped yesterday. I even confirmed that with a customer service rep. Unfortunately, a "glitch" somewhere meant it's not shipping until today. Losers! So, I won't have it until Monday, which really sucks, because I could've used it Sunday. At least my current "toy" will work fine for Sunday. Overall, the vendor (zzounds.com) has great reviews, but this disappointed me, so I lodged a minor complaint, especially since they pride themselves in lots of self-praise about shipping items "promptly." Other than that, I've been pretty pleased with the experience, so I'd probably shop with them again. After all, their price-matching system was very prompt and automated (so no haggling with customer service reps) and they gave me a pretty sweet deal in the end.

Stacey, in spite of having strep, had to work for Walgreen's in Birmingham today. -sigh- And she did NOT sleep well because of her sore throat last night. I hate it when she has to make that drive when she's sleepy.

KEY PHRASES: "Bring some earplugs and a lot of caffeine." "Wow, they look like a redneck gay couple...plaid flannel, fishing hats, and...are they hugging?...that's a scary image, in a Deliverance sort of way." "(whining) But I was going to go to Tashi station to pick up some power converters..." (that's how I sounded after learning about my "toy" delay). - sigh-

Ewww...

Stacey got back from the doc...she has strep throat. Ah, more illness fun for the fam.

Finished shooting the video today for church with Brian and Andy. At least that's out of the way.

I'm thinking, "Don't get sick, don't get sick, don't get sick, don't get..."

You get the idea...

KEY PHRASES: J-mo: "Keep your sick family away."

I've got tone...I'm taking the shot...

Finished off the day yesterday playing a little Lock-On: Modern Air Combat on the PC late last night. It's pretty cool, but pretty tough at the same time, because it's a pretty accurate flight simulator. I haven't played those kinds of games in years, so it's a nice change of pace from the whole run and gun shooter. Also been playing some Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. It's good, but different. It's an RPG with a whole different control scheme than I'm used to and turn-based combat...I like it so far, but the verdict's still out. At least it's got a whole new take on the Star Wars universe.

Anyway, the "geek" moment in my blog has passed...

Today has started with a bang. Stacey's sore throat has gotten much worse. She got up early and could barely talk. She felt like her throat was almost completely closed, like she was choking. so she went to the doctor. I haven't heard yet how that's turned out. On the bright side, her Christmas present shipped 3 days early, so it should arrive sometime today. WOOHOO!

Kailyn's been feeling better and better, so she's back into her normal routine (you know - pulling things off shelves, emptying bags/boxes onto the floor, running to the fridge and saying "cheese."). Last night, she started counting with me, which was really cool I play this game where I stand her up on the bed and let her fall forward onto a pillow. She laughs hard when we do that. Anyway, I always count...one...two...three, then drop. Last night she jumped in after "one" and said "two." I was stoked. It's amazing how things like this get me all excited. Weird. As I told Eli on IM last night, I've become a parenthood geek. Supwifdat?

Gotta hook up with Brian and Andy today for some video filming. I hope that goes well. Later on, I've got a scaled-down worship rehearsal tonight And in between all these events, I've got a lot of cleaning to do and shopping left to get done. -Sigh- Not fun when your co-worker (Stacey...LOL) is on the fritz.

At least all the illness and spendage hasn't deterred my spirit. I chalk that up to God, 'cause usually I'm all stressed by this time with as much left to do as I have.

KEY PHRASES: "If only Lakland handled customer service for EVERYONE else's products..." "I had no idea Maverick missiles were so user-friendly."

THOUGHT OF THE DAY: Is there really such a thing as spiritual complacency? Can we really just "quit moving forward" in our faith and get to a point where we're comfortable - that we've done enough...that we're close enough to God...that we're as much like Christ as we can be? Or is that a myth, and the reality is that we're either moving forward (towards God) or back (away from God)? And if so, how do we move forward and grow without just piling "spiritual stuff" in our lives (too often this happens)? Was just thinking about this... Just wanted to throw out something to chew on...

'Tis the seen to be...whatever..."

Wow, it's been busy...many real-life priorities have made blogging nearly impossible. But with this brief break, I thee blog...

Church Sunday went very well...as already reported in other blogs, we rocked to "My Glorious." What a cool song!

Only sad thing is that both Stacey and Kailyn have been sick. Kailyn's had a nasty cough, and Stacey's come down with a pretty bad sore throat. So, I'm just going to keep "thinking positive" and hope that's enough to not get sick.

Still, amidst all the napping, coughing, hacking, etc...we found time to go to the Guad last night for a little "recharging." It was good (as usual). Walked around the mall afterwards. Bought a much-needed new pillow at Sears to replace my current neck and shoulders torture device. Ran into Kim and Wes...haven't seen them in a while 'cause of their schedules, so that was cool. Also saw Big John up at Sears, and as usual, he tried to talk us into plasma TVs. LOL. J-mo looked longingly at several models, but I think he actually has other priorities. Still, one can dream, right?

Today, I got some more much-needed Christmas shopping done. But forked over WAY too much money on Christmas shopping and a new "toy." -sigh- Next year, I'm going to start shopping in June and space it out... I still have a couple of people to shop for this year, but it's winding down.

KEY PHRASES: "No, no, no...I LOVE it when Kailyn wakes us up at 1 a.m....it's like the old days when she was 4 months old." "Never ask Jonathan for advice about what to get someone for Christmas, or you'll have to get a second mortgage" (LOL). "Oh my...this is a bit awkward." "Yes, J-mo..buy the fountain humidifier thing." "I'm up to my eyeballs in phlegm." "Wow...it's pretty scary that after all this time I STILL have my credit card number memorized." "Look at it this way...it's a "toy," but it's one of those toys that will also greatly benefit the band."

Fa la la la blah...

It would be really easy to get "down" about things right now. Kaiyln's got a nasty cough (that kept us up until around 2 a.m. last night), I've still got a lot of work to do on drama/music/team organization, Stacey bailed on me to go to a ladies' luncheon (I know, good for her :-)), Christmas is less than 2 weeks away and I still have shopping to do, whine, whine, whine...

But no! I'm going to be positive! See?! I can be in a good mood no matter what! So, I'm just going to throw an exclamation point on the end of everything just to let you know how freakin' positive I really am! I'm happy, dang it! Happy, I tell you!!!

Or, a bit psychotic...okay, snapping out of it... I could've had a week like J-mo's (read his blog for vivid descriptions of how he describes his work week). So, even though I haven't had a "Root"-quality week of perfect joy, I didn't have J-mo's mess to deal with.

The week did wrap up pretty good. Thursday night we did a run-through of the drama for Sunday, the 21st. Still need to film one scene, but it's coming together. I hope that doing something so different (and it being our first time and all) goes well.

Like I mentioned, Kailyn got sick Thursday, though, with a nasty cough. I was marooned at home with her, because Stacey accidentally took the Expedition keys to work with her. Fortunately, I didn't really have to go anywhere. Anyway, Kailyn's been very lethargic and obvioulsy miserable. I really hate it for her...'cause there's really nothing I can do to just "make it go away." She was still sick Friday, and Stacey took her to the doctor yesterday afternoon. Hopefully, this thing will pass through her quickly.

Got a lot of our Christmas shopping done yesterday. That felt good, though I still have a ways to go. The only thing that aggravates me more than spending all the money is trying to figure out what to get people. Shopping = frustration. I guess I shouldn't worry about all that too much.

Volleyball went surprisingly well last night, considering we had only a 5-man team (with no chance for substitutions). We won the first game, but lost the second one. I'm not that discouraged about the loss, 'cause we were tired and we were playing with only five people against an excellent team. WOOHOO!

KEY PHRASES: "It's not you...he just really hates volleyballs." "No, Wendy, I don't think old people have hair like that." "Sure, I can do you a favor...if it doesn't involve leaving the house." "My head hurts so bad, it feel like someone's kicked me in the eyeballs." "Has anyone seen Wes?"

Freshness...

No...this isn't an advertisement for Lysol or feminine hygiene products. Just blog "freshness."

What a busy, productive week. Getting a lot done in all areas: Music, drama, the house, etc. I don't necessarily like "busyness," ("We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing" - Psalms 39:6), but I like being productive and not to chained down by Kailyn, laziness, or feeling overwhelmed ("Hard work means prosperity; only fools idle away their time" - Prov. 12:11). It's so easy to get this confused...it's easy to feel overwhelmed and do nothing, or we add so much that we wind up being counter-productive, leaving a pile of half-finished projects in our wake. I also think that hard work (done right) can be pretty therapeutic...It's great for getting your mind of stupid things, and it's a wonderful feeling to look back on a "finished" project.

Band practice went good tonight. The music is new, different, but everyone seemed to be in a reasonably good mood tonight, which is very good, considering the stress a lot of the band is under in their respective lives. Eli seemed a little stressed (understatement) about the paper she's working on. J-mo has a work snafu. But in the end, it all seemed to come together tonight. My Glorious will rock once we nail down the tempo and the "funkiness" on the guitar. Jordan, Pam, and Eli are singing with us this week...so it seems the vocal team is finally taking off (with "wings" [talent + a little more experience] this time...LOL).

Went to Logan's after band practice...just J-mo, Stacey, Kailyn, and me this time.

KEY PHRASES: "It's not a pickup line..my leg REALLY is asleep." "Stacey, you've had one too many root beers." (after spilling a full glass of root beer all over the table [and J-mo].

Time for a blog update...

...but not now. Maybe when I get a moment to take a break from real priorities...

Really, it's kinda cool to be so busy in a "Look at me, I'm being productive" kind of way...

Peace.

Another weekend gone...

It's been a great weekend. Spent a good portion of Saturday hanging Christmas lights on my house, and in the end it all turned out well. Kailyn is a little bit fascinated (to say the least) with all the lights. She always looks and points at them and says, "Wow..." over and over...

Saturday night, J-mo came over and we had some Papa John's pizza. Then played around with some PC games.

Worship this morning went well...in spite of YET ANOTHER string breakage. Dang it...I hate it when that happens...it messes up the sound and throws off my "groove." It's like I've got some curse that guarantees string will ONLY break either during a performance or while I'm under pressure. The D'addario Curse, maybe. Still, it all worked out and the feedback we got was very good. Good crowd this morning, too...several guests. Met a guy who's very interested in helping us out with some drama stuff, so that's very cool.

After church, made a quick run home to get Kailyn lunch and wrap a birthday present for Noah. I wrapped it up in about 5 minutes in pure "man-style" (that is, it looks like it got kicked around after I wrapped it). Then I raced out to Noah's birthday party at the Skate Castle (?). It was fun...Brian, Eli, Dave, Dana, Eric, Wendy, and all our respective kids were there, along with Amber's sisters and their families. It was fun...the Hulk Hands we gave Noah were the hit of the party. I just hope Amber doesn't kill me for getting him these big hands that are basically (1) noise makers and (2) boxing gloves. Um...hope that doesn't come back to haunt me. D'oh!

Came home, took a much-needed nap. Then J-mo came over (again) and we boiled some crab legs. YUM! And again, we played around with some PC games. WOOT! We got our "geek" on. After he left, though, I e-mailed him a file that HE downloaded onto my computer, only to get a message from his internet provider that the file might have a virus. I think his e-mail server couldn't scan it, so it freaked...my up-to-date virus scanner didn't find a virus.

Now it's 11:45 p.m. Stacey and just got back from taking a brief walk around the street (which, I might mention, is a very random thing for her to do, especially when it's below freezing...supwifdat??).

KEY PHRASES:
Dave (when I'm way up on my ladder): "The worst that could happen is that you could fall."
Dave (during a sermon): "The wise men rode in on cameras." (Cameras????!!...talk about a weird image).
Donny: "Who's been messing with MY soundboard?"

OTHER PHRASES: "Look, I got Christmas 'bling' on my house." "Quick, take a picture! Jordan's actually CLEANING something!" "Holy crap...what's so freakin' loud?"

Food, Decorations, and "I remember being in middle school, too"

The week wrapped up okay...Thursday evening we went to eat with Johnny Bubonic (LOL) at Red Lobster. Since the food I really like there has a tendency to be a little expensive, I downgraded from crab legs and lobster tails to a shrimp sampler feast. MMMM....shrimp kabobs. Stacey had crab alfredo (an inexpensive way to get crab), and Kailyn chowed down on some popcorn shrimp.

J-mo seemed to be doing MUCH better...color had returned to his face and nothing was oozing out of any orafices.

Spent most of Friday working around the house (I'm always working around the house, it seems like). Started getting Christmas decorations up. But it seems the more I work, the bigger the mess gets. -sigh-

Volleyball was fun, but we sucked. We got better in the second game, but still lost. Oh, well...I guess we don't play to win, but it's more fun when you do win (and not because the other team forfeited). Funny...we have 2 girls on the team (Eli and Wendy), and BOTH of them spent a lot of time diving (or falling) on the floor going after the ball. The guys? No floor-induced injuries for us, thank you very much. Wimps, you say? Nah...we're probably just a bunch of half-committed jock wannabes who don't know the meaning of the phrase "sacrifice your body for the team." Or, we're just really out of shape. Or... Okay, excuses, excuses... Really, I think we all played well...this was just an observation. :-)

After reading the Root's blog, I had a flashback this morning of the days when me and my friends used to "oogle" over all the girls...remembering the days when I was probably 98% driven by hormones. Oogling over short skirts, long legs...trying to get a "peek" at unmentionable areas...daring each other to go meet girls...getting so nervous that you couldn't even talk to a pretty girl without saying something stupid...that is, if you actually could talk. Of course, those days were about 17 years ago...when I was 14!!!!!!!! Fortunately, the Root is proving that such behavior is STILL be cool when you're 28.

KEY PHRASES: "Smoking or non-smoking?" "Neither...we'd like to be in the 'quarantine' section...and could you bring us lots of those little wet-naps?"

"Look, that girl's wearing a thong!" I dare you to go talk to her." "Um...I can't do that..." "Wimp!" "Well, maybe you could you go ask her for me if she'd like to go out with me. Tell her I own my own business."

DISCLAIMER: This is only humor...so laugh!

'Tis the season to be...blah?

After reading about the rain-induced, single life "blah" depicted in Eli's blog, I found myself starting to feel "blah" myself. -sigh- She makes a good point that the holidays are generally catered to us married folks and other "duo-types." However, she got me thinking. So I started to try to think of aspects of the holiday that cater to singles instead. Here are a few important ways that I think prove that Christmas is all about single people:

1. Egg nog - properly spiked, can make anyone forget they're single.
2. Mistletoe - though commonly viewed as a "couples only" thing, it can be a handy tool for single people to "connect" with other single people. Hehe...well, it never worked for me, but all you single people out there might have better luck.
3. A Charlie Brown Christmas - Charlie Brown is the loneliest single toon in the world. And this Christmas special won an Emmy.
4. The Grinch (cartoon version) - The Grinch is the J-mo of the toon world...single, and happy about it.
5. Christmas is generally catered to kids, and - in a civilized world - they're all single.
6. Home Alone - need I say more about the relevance of this Christmas movie? It's "Home ALONE"...emphasis on "alone." But what a good movie...
7. Disastrous holiday movies - movies that depict the dark side of family around the holidays (i.e., "Christmas Vacation"). Watch this, and married people want to be single again...LOL.
8. Lethal Weapon - one of my favorite Christmas movies. Mel Gibson is single in it. (yes, it took place around Christmas time - so does that qualify it as a "Christmas movie?" I think so).
9. Jesus was single - I'm not being blasphemous; just stating the obvious...and it's his birth we're celebrating here.
10. Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer - the ultimate "single" christmas icon... a reindeer that was "not allowed to play any reindeer games." -sigh- Poor reindeer...well he had his "foggy Christmas eve," and proved he could do what it took all by himself.

So, all you single people out there...don't despair. Christmas is for you, and maybe one day, you'll have your own "foggy Christmas eve" and...um...I mean...there's a point in there somewhere...

Man, am I stupid for coming up with all this...or just really bored...or too sleepy???

Heck, it's a toss up...

Woooooooooo.... (I thought that Kyle phrase was an appropriate ending...)

On being a slacker...

Wow...it's Thursday, and my blog hasn't been updated since Monday. Sheesh. So why hasn't anyone ragged me about it?

This week's been pretty busy. I've been writing a drama for the Dec. 21 Christmas program at church. It's been a unique challenge to weave together a lot of dramatic and musical elements so the whole thing is "coherent." But I was able to (FINALLY) get the script e-mailed out to people last night. I hope we can pull this off...if so, it should be pretty funny and moving at the same time.

Monday night, we hooked up with Eli (and kid) and Dave/Dana for a little jalapeno action at the Guad. J-mo has apparently come down with the Captain Tripps Superflu virus (random "The Stand," by Stephen King reference), so he had to miss the weekly ritualistic consumption of hardcore mexican food and margaritas.

Tuesday? Spent most of the day taking care of a lot of the furniture we brought back from Atlanta. At first, it looked a little ratty, but once we tackled it with some Orange Pledge, it looks brand new and very nice again. We also swapped out some of the faded drawer knobs and replaced them with shiny new ones for 97 cents from Lowe's. Apparently, when this stuff was new it was very expensive bedroom furniture (Thomasville, or something), so I consider myself very blessed to have it.

Band practice went well Wed. night. We added Eli to the vocal mix and re-added Stacey as well. I think a strong vocal presence is one of the main things we need in order to take the Sunday worship program to the next level. And, with the addition of new talent, it might just be happening. Afterwards, Stacey, Eli, and our noisemakers went to Applebee's. Good service, too, even without our Root Applebee's seating chart.

Today, we're catching up on some overdue Christmas decorating. WOOHOO!

On another note, check out Heavy E's blog...he's got some really cool thoughts about spiritual hunger going lately.

KEY PHRASES: "Stacey, since I'm not married, I'm going to beg a friend's wife for a favor." (um...not as bad as it sounds). "Don't make me have to walk off this stage again." "Look...there's the man truck again." "Yeah, I can write a 10 page script in 2 days."

Blogging proper...

Chad has touched on a point that's becoming increasingly important in our discussion lately. Mainly, there is no published blogging etiquette...nor does it appear that such etiquette will be taught at a course at the local community college any time soon.

So, maybe some of us ought to come up with some rules. Eli, being an English major, could show us proper form and word usage. J-mo could teach us proper blog update habits. I could teach people how to recover once you have your foot in your mouth all the way to the knee. (I can also teach how to blog and eat at the same time). Heavy E could teach us about freedom of speech. Wes could also teach us on the proper time to face reality and shut down your blog. Pastor man could teach us on the ethics of blogging. The Root could show us how to manage multiple blogs. Finally, my buddy Chad can be our legal advisor...and warn us if we become guilty of things like "blog update harrassment" or "blog closure harrassment."

By the way, Chad, I like this heading:

"Hey Kevin, I had your updated blog right here, but some days past, and I posted a new blog, so now this is the blog before my most recent blog...and it is right here!!!"

I think that one pretty much sums up what I'm looking for. But could you condense the title some? If the title's too long, I won't read the rest of it. Then I won't know what excitement is happening in the B'ham area, and might actually have to pick up a phone or shoot you an e-mail. Er...um...and that takes more energy. Or give us a countdown timer until the next update...like "2 days until update" or something, so I can make Internet Explorer start with Windows, so it just jumps to your blog before I check e-mail or read the news.

Or, now that you're a lawyer, get a secretary (LOL) and sneak a blog-update assignment into a list of "to do" assignments. I'm sure if supervisers can do things like, "Kevin, can you take 2 hours away from your normal tasks and take my karaoke machine to the electronics store to get repaired," then I'm sure that you can get away with this.

Um...you were just razzin' me in your blog, right? Chad? Chad? Hello? Uh oh.

By the way, I'm sorry I'm the only one who reads your blog. I'd tell the people up here to read it, but they don't know you.

Does your wife even read your blog? Mine doesn't read mine... -sigh-

Wooooo

Back to real life and real priorities...

Some random thoughts and observations...

In the news:, Boeing let another employee "pursue other options" this morning by ousting CEO Condit. Kyle, you're not alone...LOL. Maybe his "ethical violation" was too much web usage, too. And down to only one blog...is this the end of "multi-Kyle?"

Also, where can I score some of your medicine?

I'm with E on thinking the groove Sunday morning was nice for a change...it's great to keep things "fresh." I hate being in a rut.

Chad, if you're going to headline a blog that says "Kevin, I got your updated blog right here," then make sure it is, in fact, an updated blog. ;-) Cha-ching!

Amber and one of her kids are sick again. I can't believe how often they get sick. Anyone want to chip in on some Vitamin C and some more Lysol for her? Seriously, that's got to be tough...

Never leave a 15-month old alone with a screwdriver.

Watched Bruce Almighty this past weekend. Usually movies about God scare me (since they can be more like "God made in our own image," but this one was actually pretty good. It's a good movie to watch, laugh, and at the same time make you think (I know, some of you shudder at the thought).

KEY PHRASES: "I've got a lot of studying to do...pretty much all day." "Then I'll quit IM'ing you so you can study." "I'm not studying, I'm downloading music." "What does she need more, a lesson in time management or a bottle of Benadryl, some earplugs, and a roll of duct tape?"