Another primary night

going thru a bit of change lately…new year, new car, new dog, new part-time job, new schedule/routines, no more Scrooge/facial hair, new term for the college students in my house…looking for some fresh, new ideas for blogs, songs, studies

i’m really looking forward to a little getaway this weekend with Brook to plan, dream, re-align, pray, laugh, assess, prioritize. i love that i’m truly married to my best friend!

i’m also well into The Jungle - easy but gruesome, sad read. i see why it’s a classic but wow is it just plain nasty. i think i heard about it in high school, but don’t remember reading it. i think i go with something a bit lighter when i finish this one.

What are you reading? any big changes going on in your world?

NO, NE (but rooting for Broncs), Bal, GB in a nail biter. What say you?

This is for @singer_61482 @Suzanne_CV @KylieRae_ @Addyson_Brook

Pittsburgh at Denver last weekend and the playoff games this weekend are far better than the Super Bowl will be. It’s gonna be a great weekend of football! here are my picks: NO over Niners in a tight one. i’m rooting for Tebow, but think NE will win. i’m thinking it will be tight until the 4th quarter and the Pats experience will overcome, dang it. Baltimore will beat Houston in the most unexciting game of the weekend. and finally, GB will beat Giants in another close one. it’s going to come down to a turnover or special teams play that’s the difference.

I finished Grimm’s Fairy Tales in my journey thru the classics the other night. After reading about evil dwarfs and spells and money or toads coming out of your mouth when you speak, Alice in Wonderland doesn’t seem so bizarre. I’m now reading The Jungle by Sinclair. it’s a long one, but seems to be going pretty quickly so far in spite of the Lithuanian he keeps throwing in.

Having Lyla is going so well. She is definitely growing and becoming more and more a part of the family. she’s getting better at potty training and loves to play and cuddle and just be generally cute. except for the landmines in the backyard, she’s a blast.

Wildcard weekend did not disappoint, although i slept thru most of the Giants/Falcons game. But Broncos/Steelers was one for the ages! Can they beat the Pats?

Got the music recorded for a new song last night. Still working on lyrics and melody but it’s coming together. slow building ballad that goes pretty full on at the end, i’m liking this one. 1 song a week!

Having a new dog has been a very fun experience…as long as you take her out often. She has quickly become a part of the family and seems to really love us all. She’s responding to “No” and isn’t whimpering quite as much when it’s crate time. She’s a playful thing but also loves to just crash at your feet or on your lap if she can swing it.

Still not sure about the GOP candidates…i just hope i have the chance to vote for who i want to vote for when it’s our turn for a primary.

played bass for South yesterday. i’m on for bass all month. i forgot how much i missed it with all the Scrooge/Christmas/Holiday stuff going on. i love to bring the thunder!

that’s about it for now, we’re just trying to get into the swing of things with new class schedules, work schedules, new puppy, a new driver and life in general in a new year.

Flashback Friday: anyone remember the classic rock song Hocus Pocus by Focus? how about The Cleverlys version? Check out their other remakes…

Some words that keep bouncing around for 2012:

Serve with gladness, dig in, relationships, do it, produce

I think it comes down to do something not just talking about it, do it with a humble heart and right attitude and gladness, include other people and produce something lasting and meaningful.

When the girls were younger, our little mantra was to obey all the way, right away and with a happy spirit - TRUTH!

What’s your theme for 2012?

Random thots in no particular order:

I’m taking a Facebook/Twitter/Google+ break for awhile. i just need to prove to myself that i don’t need to be connected electronically for most of the day. i want to connect in real face time, not screen time. i realize the good of those tools but also see how consuming it can be. i’ll be back on, but will just record some thots from time to time on this blog (which feeds into Twitter and Facebook…)

We’re finally getting a dog for Addyson. She’s a real cutie, shepherd/lab mix, 8 weeks old. Ad’s going to name her Lyla. We got her a cage for Christmas and promised the dog for her birthday and went and picked her out yesterday. We’re all really excited!

Listening to some great music today: Phil Wickham’s Response, The Hawk in Paris, Kris Orlowski, The Killers

Speaking of music, one of my goals is to write a new song a week. i’m currently mulling over some lyric ideas in my head. Riffs and tunes seem to come easy lately, it’s lyrics and staying focused on a single thot for a song that are the hard part. hopefully with a song every week, i can concentrate on not trying to say everything that’s in my head and heart in a single song

The Iowa Caucus kicks off the official election season tonight. As a conservative, i’m not real thrilled with the field right now. i’m hoping Rick Perry can swing it back in gear now that Cain is gone and Newt is fading. i like Santorum’s stand on family and such but his history is one of spending. i like Michele Bachmann but don’t think she’s ready to be president. Not a Romney fan. i like his business background, but he’s to car salesman for my liking and his history is bigger gov than i like. Ron Paul has some good econ ideas but everything else is to out there for me.

IA prediction: Romney, Santorum, Perry slightly ahead of Paul, Gingrich, Bachmann and the rest of them

NFL playoffs are also upon us. Holy Moly, i have no idea who will be in the Super Bowl. I would’ve said the Packers, but the Saints are playing amazing right now and the Niners are something else this year. In the AFC, the Pats are always good but vulnerable, the Steelers and Ravens are good and average…it just depends on the week. i like Tebow, but don’t think they’ll go very far. CRAZY SEASON!

I’m picking NO, Cin, Pit and Giants this weekend

My favorite Thanksgiving song. Happy Thanksgiving!!

It’s coming…Scrooge…Scrooooge…SCROOOOOOGE!!!!

Summer is finishing, school will be back in session, Wave Conference was a huge event, earthquakes and hurricanes out of the way and now we start the Scrooge process.

Last year, a ragtag band of ruffians and thespians started gathering and practicing and building and blocking and in the end created something very amazing. i don’t think any of us thought we would fill the auditorium to overflowing and have the response to Christ that we did. we knew we had something good but God took that and made it something incredible.

i remember waiting backstage before the show started and getting word it was filling up and then there was the delay as more and more people came in. finally, we hit the stage and it was overwhelming to see that many people and feel the support. The most amazing thing was the altar call and to hear Pastor Steve just keep saying “more hands being raised”, “more hands.”

i’ve set it in my heart this year to pray for an overflowing house during the performances, but not for our egos, but for God to move and lives to change. There are some people who will only come to a church when a “non-church” event is happening…little do they know, they are still coming to God’s house and He’s waiting for them.

This year’s show will be amazing! we have some new cast & crew & some other new surprises in store. But it’s not about us, it’s all about Jesus.

Are you ready?

I’m taking a bit of a break from the classics to read a few other books. I’ve been working on From Good to Great by Jim Collins for a bit. It’s good but a bit businessy for me so I’m trying to pull out as much as I can.

There are some great business principles but I’m in the process of getting my brain to think in that way. It does break the main points down at the end of each chapter which is nice.

Next on the radar will be Stuff Christians Like by blogger/tweeter Jon Acuff. I’m really looking forward to this one but scared it will go by way too quick.

Soon Scrooge rehearsals will start & I’ll be immersed in all things Christmas Carol. Last year, I got the audio book & it was brilliant to have someone read it to you with the accent & different voices.

What are you reading?

We’ve been car shopping to find a great, reliable vehicle for Ky. Should be a fun and quick experience, right? How hard can it be to find a used Corolla or Civic or something like that for a great price? Uh…very!

At first i thought it was the economy - times are a bit tough, people are holding on to their rides for a bit or trading down for a more economical ride. Yeah, that’s part of it. The other part is something i thought about a while back and now seeing the fruits - Cash for Clunkers! Grrrrrrrrrrr.

Yep, that wonderful program where you could trade in your “old” car and pick up a new or newer car for a great deal. Trouble is, they took the “old” cars and trashed them which created a shortage in decent used cars. Add to this the economy and people holding on to their rides and it’s tough to find a good used car.

Did they really have to trash the cars traded in? That just seems silly when cars are being made much more reliable now. It’s not far-fetched for some cars to go 175-200,000 miles or more.

Sooo, i think we found a nice little Corolla that we’re pretty sure about after a couple of weeks of heavy Craigslist/Autotrader/Cars.com usage and playing taxi service in a one car family.

Can we do a Cash for Clunkers for some politicians that don’t think things through?

Well, i’m back at P90X…gotta do something to keep this temple humming along. It’s so crazy what age does to a body. I do have a couple of partners - Ky is doing it with me and Brook is waking up early and walking while we turn our garage into a gym. It makes a huge difference having others getting up early with you. I’m sure we’ll take turns playing drill sgt to get the others up.

I post updates as we go along…not sure about pics…but we’ll be getting up every morning at 5 to knock out an hour of Tony Horton and get lean.

In my quest to conquer the classics, i have consumed yet another one. I finished Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens a couple of nights ago and have a bit of time to think it over.

It was a harder read than i thought it would be. It takes me a couple of chapters to get into the groove of each book, especially those written in a different century and this one took a while to get that groove. It’s also much darker than i thought it would be. When i think of Oliver Twist, i think of the Artful Dodger, Fagin, Oliver, Please Sir may i have some more…you know, the musical. But the book had lots of deceit and seediness and death and revenge.

Dickens is excellent at capturing a character or situation with a well-turned sentence. He also used a lot of words for some situations. I’ve got some more Dickens on my list, so we’ll see how those go.

Next up: i’ve kinda started The Art of War by Sun Tzu. It’s pretty interesting so far. I’m thinking something much lighter when i’m done with that.

What are you reading?