Please Research BEFORE Forwarding

It called Snopes, and YOU TOO can find it at www.snopes.com It's the "Urban Legends Reference Pages" and you would do us ALL a favor if you would check out your e-mail story here BEFORE forwarding it to anybody else. If it says "pass it along" "forward it" or some similar thing, chances are somebody is laughing at the ignorance of the person who passed the message along to you. I'm not that nice...when you forward it to me, I don't laugh!

So below is just the latest in the old, rerun urban legend/Internet hoax I've been sent via e-mail. Unlike the kind folks who sent me the info, I've checked it out on Snopes. It ain't so!

FYI, not only can you check out specific stories before passing them on, but you can read {just to expand your mind} about the 25 most common Internet hoaxes at the time so when you get one, you'll know.

Here's the link that exposes the GAS WAR story.

GAS WAR - an idea that WILL work

This was originally sent by a retired Coca Cola executive. It came from one of his engineer buddies who retired from Halliburton. It 's worth your consideration.

Join the resistance!!!! I hear we are going to hit close to $4.00 a gallon by next summer and it might go higher!! Want gasoline prices to come down? We need to take some intelligent, united action. Phillip Hollsworth offered this good idea.

This makes MUCH MORE SENSE than the "don't buy gas on a certain day" campaign that was going around last April or May! The oil companies just laughed at that because they knew we wouldn't continue to "hurt" ourselves by refusing to buy gas. It was more of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them.

BUT, whoever thought of this idea, has come up with a plan that can really work. Please read on and join with us! By now you're probably thinking gasoline priced at about $1.50 is super cheap. Me too! It is currently $2.79 for regular unleaded in my town. Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to think that the cost of a gallon of gas is CHEAP at $1.50 - $1.75, we need to take aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS control the marketplace..... not sellers. With the price of gasoline going up more each day, we consumers need to take action. The only way we are going to see the price of gas come down is if we hit someone in the pocketbook by not purchasing their gas! And, we can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves. How? Since we all rely on our cars, we can't just stop buying gas. But we CAN have an impact on gas prices if we all act together to force a price war.

Here's the idea:

For the rest of this year, DON'T purchase ANY gasoline from the two biggest companies (which now are one), EXXON and MOBIL. If they are not selling any gas, they will be inclined to reduce their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit.

But to have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of Exxon and Mobil gas buyers. It's really simple to do! Now, don't wimp out at this point.... keep reading and I'll explain how simple it is to reach millions of people.

I am sending this note to 30 people. If each of us sends it to at least ten more (30 x 10 =3D 300) ... and those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x 10 =3D 3,000)...and so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth group of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers. If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted! If it goes one level further, you guessed it..... THREE HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE!!!

Again, all you have to do is send this to 10 people. That's all. (If you don't understand how we can reach 300 million and all you have to do is send this to 10 people.... Well, let's face it, you just aren't a mathematician. But I am, so trust me on this one.)

How long would all that take? If each of us sends this e-mail out to ten more people within one day of receipt, all 300 MILLION people could conceivably be contacted within the next 8 days!!!

I'll bet you didn't think you and I had that much potential, did you?

Acting together we can make a difference. If this makes sense to you, please pass this message on.

I suggest that we not buy from EXXON/MOBIL UNTIL THEY LOWER THEIR PRICES TO THE $1.30 RANGE AND KEEP THEM DOWN.

THIS CAN REALLY WORK.

For those of you who are not familiar with researching Internet hoaxes/urban legends, here's just a few of the give-aways in this story.

• The effort to make it sound legitimate...retired Coca Cola executives and his engineering buddy
• The request to "pass it on". Think about it. 5 paragraphs of this thing is devoted to trying to get you to pass it on. This is one of the biggest tip-offs.

If they want you to "pass it on", at least take the time to check it out before you annoy your "friends" with it. Then I'll laugh with you...when you stop the 'cycle of ignorance'.

Now all you need to do is pass this along to 10 people and we can get the word out!

- Rob

Not Such A Good Day for Mowing

It all started a little over two weeks ago. We had company for the week (during the Missions Conference) and I was going to run out and mow my yard real quick so we could do something with our company that day. Short version...the church riding mower died and would not start again. I can mow my front and back yard with the push mower, but there are two additional sections of church land that I mow, and those would take forever to push.

That Monday, I let my fingers do the walking. Did you know that a LOT of lawn mower places want to come to your mower instead of have you take your mower to them? Sounds great, but I figured they were gonna want more money for that, so I called around and found Arlington Lawn Equipment. I took the mower in, talked to the owner and left feeling good about the place I had chosen to have the work done. Ron, the owner, even offered to bring the mower back to the church when the work was done.

To stick with the short version, it took two weeks to get the mower back! Note to self: get mower serviced in February next year!!

I got the mower back on Monday. Since Sunday is our church's big Easter picnic, we need the grounds to look good, so I planned on doing about 4 hours of mowing today. When I went to start the mower, it would not start. I kept trying until I was afraid I was going to run the battery down. I called Ron at Arlington Lawn Equipment and he said he'd come get the mower today, fix it today and return it to me today. Here's how it went:

• 11:00 AM - Finally got out to mow. Mower would not start
• 11:50 AM - Call Ron at Arlington Lawn Care and tell him about problem. Ron says he'll come pick up the mower, service it and bring it back to me today
• 1:10 PM - Still no Ron, so I decide to try starting the mower again....and of course it starts right up. Went to mow and found that belt was loose and fluid was low. This caused the mower to move very slowly and get 'stuck' sometimes, but at least grass was being cut
• 1:45 PM - Dang it! When George and I trimmed down a dead tree, I did not cut the root down deep enough. I found what was left of the stump with a mower blade and bent it beyond repair. Called Ron and told him what was up. He said he'd have to take it back to the shop (again) to fix what was wrong with it.
• 2:00 PM - Do more yard work outside (beginning stages of bad sun burn)
  
• 3:30 PM - Ron picks up mower and says call him at 6:00 PM if he has not called me back before then. Says mower can be finished today and delivered to us.
• 10:15 PM - Mower is finished (yes, that is 10:15 PM...at night!) and Ron personally brings the mower back.

Needless to say, I did not get all the mowing done that I needed to today, so I'll have to finish tomorrow. I'll also have to cover up better while I mow so that my sun burn does not turn into super-bad-it-hurts-so-bad stage.

Although it took 2 weeks to get my mower back, I think I was mostly to blame on that. Who in the world expects to drop off your mower at this time of the year and think you are going to get it back next week? I did NOT like waiting two weeks to get my mower fixed, but Ron worked the church a good deal, he picked up the mower and delivered it back to me. Anyway, the mower problems got fixed and Ron was working WAY after business hours. I will take the mower in earlier next year.

Today was not such a good day for lawn mowing!

My Little Bat Girl

We did six geocaches this Saturday and this was Amanda's favorite treasure. Of course she wore it everywhere we went for the rest of the day. Why is it when kids get to be teenagers and think their parents do so many embarrassing things they never remember things like wearing the bat mask into the grocery store?

A Bit of Humor

I'm sure this one came off the Internet somewhere (I think I've even seen it before), but I was reading "Healthy Home News" put out by the First Class Cleaning and found this again. Hey, don't laugh...last time I read their newsletter I won two free movie tickets. Anyway.

10 Things We Can Learn From Movies, Part 2 (I missed part 1 last month)

1. Any person waking from a nightmare will sit bolt upright and pant
2. One man shooting at 20 men has a better chance of killing them all than 20 men firing at one
3. Creepy music coming from a graveyard should always be closely investigated
4. During an emotional confrontation, instead of facing the person you are speaking to, it is customary to stand behind them and talk to their back
5. When you turn out the light to go to bed, everything in your room will still be clearly visible, just slightly bluish
6. When they are alone, all foreigners prefer to speak English to each other
7. Having a job of any kind will make all father forget their son's eighth birthday
8. Many musical instruments can be played without moving fingers
9. All bombs are fitted with electronic timing devices with large red readouts so you know exactly when they're going to go off
10. A detective can only solve a case once he has been suspended from duty

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This next one was forwarded to me from my friend Stan.

Tough Love Vs. Spanking

Most of America's populace thinks it very improper to spank children, so I have tried other methods to control our kids when they have one of "those moments".

One that I found very effective is for me to just take the child for a car ride and talk. They usually calm down and stop misbehaving after our little car ride together.

I've included the photo below of one of my sessions, with my son, in case you would like to use the technique.

It's very effective!

Now That's What I Call AMERICAN Customer Support

First it was a Netgear router at the office, and then my Dell laptop and now Magellan /Navteq software. When you call to order a product, you get are routed to an American who speaks English as their primary language, but once you put out the money...whammo, no more American customer service. It's called outsourcing, and I don't like it.

I am not (try not to be) prejudiced against people from India. I'll be the first to admit I cannot come close to speaking Kannada, Hindi, Gujarati or any of the other host of languages spoken in India (click on map to the right to enlarge) as well as tech support Indians speak English, but when I'm trying to get help, it frustrates me to have to ask someone to repeat what they said three times so that I can understand them. It's not the tech support person's fault...they are offering assistance in their second language, and it's their job. That's fine...what I don't like is companies like Netgear, Dell and Magellan using people who speak English as a second language to offer me help. And with Netgear and Magellan, I spent 75% of my time trying to explain what the problem was and how I knew what the problem was. They kept reading from a script instead of listening to what I was saying. "Try this. Try that. Now do this. Do steps 1-3 again." And I keep saying, "I did that and this is what happened. So I did this. And then I did that. Here is why I think this is the problem." And they repeat the script they just read. And 45 minutes later, they diagnose the problem (exactly as I had when I first called) as if they had arrived at the conclusion by themselves.

Again, I realize these people are doing their jobs as required of them by their bosses and I understand English is a second language. But I also understand that these companies KNOW that this irritates customers like myself and that is why EVERY sales department (at least the three I mentioned above) is based in the United States. When they want to sell you something, they do not want to make you repeat your question or ask to have the answer repeated. But once you put out the bucks...all subsequent phone calls are sent to India (literally).

Today, I called Magellan because the software that came bundled with my GPS was not compatible with my GPS unit. The first time I called tech support (routed to India), I did not know what the problem was, and although I gave them enough information to figure this out, I had to go through the script. "Blah blah blah blah blah. Now, uninstall the software, reinstall it, do the exact same thing you have tried the past five times and call us back if it does not magically work the sixth time." What else can you do? So I did what they said, and for some strange reason the sixth time turned out exactly like the previous five times...it did not work! So I worked on it myself and did some Googling. Lo and behold, the software I was given was not compatible with my GPS...the files the software exported could not be read on my unit.

For some dumb reason, I thought finding this out was a good thing...I would have something to help the script-reading tech support people in India. WRONG! I even read from the front of the CD case that said the software was only compatible with a different line of GPS units made by Magellan, but that was not in the script. Finally I was told to get the serial number of my GPS unit and perhaps the correct software could be sent. Oops..no, the serial number did not match up with their database. Nevermind that it matched up with the Magellan web page database when I registered it...they were working with a different database. "I will look into this and call you tomorrow" I was told. "Try to find the original receipt" even though I told them it was a gift.

So I got the receipt and waited for a phone call today. This is going to surprise you, but I did NOT get a call today. So I called...and was promptly routed back to India. Again, we went back to script reading. Everything he said, I said "Here is my case #. We did this on the phone already." Finally this last script-reader came to the conclusion that I had the wrong software and gave me another number to call where I could 'upgrade' my software to the correct version. I asked if I was going to have to purchase the software that was originally supposed to ship with my GPS unit, and he said something about getting a rebate.

Well, I was not too happy, but I called sales. I don't know why I was surprised since it was the sales department (the first people you talk to if you are considering purchasing a product), but the lady I spoke to was American speaking American English. I took less than two minutes to explain my problem (the same one I had been explaining to Indian script-readers for two hours the past three days). When she asked for my phone number and address my heart sank because I thought she was trying to check warranty information, and I was afraid that the friend who had given me the GPS may have registered it under his name. 20 seconds after taking my info, she said, "OK, I'll get that out to you." I had to clarify, "You are going to send me the correct software for my unit...at no cost? Wow, you just made my day. I've spent two hours over the last three days talking to technical support trying to explain to them that I have the wrong software, and just like that you have solved my problem." Her comment? "I'm sorry you were given the wrong software and had to take all of that time. I'm sending it UPS and you should have it within the next 7 days."

Now that's what I call AMERICAN customer support!

- Rob

Jesus Walked on Ice?

I couldn't help but laugh when I read this story Jesus May Have Walked On Ice? I've seen desperate people grabbing at straws, but this guy takes the prize. Have a good chuckle and check out the article. And for goodness' sake, somebody tell Peter so he doesn't feel so bad!

- Rob

Turtle Mansion

So here is a picture of Grumpy O'Mally's home. He's got a 9'x15' ranch
complete with leaf pile, logs, pool (dark blue thing on the left)
and a table (picutred below)

We went out and caught him some worms tonight, but all he wanted
to eat was the lettuce. (Those 'things' on the stone are the
worms...not poop!)

Part of the Family

Today was an eventful day. After crying for 30 minutes last night, it seemed Amanda was ready to take Grumpy O'Mally the turtle back to his home today. That was before she cried all the way to school, too. When Amanda was born, somebody told me that little girls could wrap their daddy around their little finger...and I guess it's a little true. What Daddy can hear his little girl cry about the turtle who has become "like part of our family" and then make her say goodbye?

So this morning, I had to go to Home Depot to get some caulk for the church. I thought I'd take a 'few minutes' while I was there and pick up the needed supplies to build the 'herpatarium' in our back yard. A couple 4x8 sheets of some weather proof stuff and a couple cinder blocks. First "event" for the day...took much longer than expected to find suitable materials. Second "event"...I decided I would NOT spend $50 for a silly turtle cage and thought I could get away with $30. After a second trip to Home Depot tonight, the total ended up being $48.00!

At lunch, I took the car by the Saturn dealership. I had my car inspected in February and it passed. I just got my new registration sticker and put it on Saturday. When I did that, I noticed that my inspection sticker had expired which was odd since I just had it inspected last month. I called Saturn and they told me to bring the car in and they would fix the problem. Well, "event" 3 was a good one for Saturn...they had not made the mistake, I did. You see, last year the state of Texas made their INSPECTION stickers look like a Texas flag. This year, they made the REGISTRATION sticker look like a Texas flag. So, when I put my new Texas flag REGISTRATION sticker on this past Saturday, I peeled off the other Texas flag sticker to put the new one on. You get the picture now...I peeled off the wrong sticker so I now have one expired registration sticker and one current registration sticker with no inspection sticker. The only solution? Pay $40 to have the car inspected again! Didn't have the money to do that today (since Home Depot now had my $40), so we're hoping not to have any problems until we can get the car inspected again.

After work, I started on the turtle house. Maybe I should call it a mansion...or at least a ranch or something like that (more on that tomorrow). Brooke set the VCR for 24, and we were looking forward to watching it at 9PM. "Event" 4...the VCR has no clock on it, so we did not remember it had not been adjusted for Daylight Savings Time. I'm not sure what show come on Fox 4 after 24, but whatever it is, that is what we recorded tonight!

So today I did not get my ToDo list finished, I spent $48 I did not plan on spending, I found out I've got to come up with another $40 and I did not watch 24. But, I did make my daughter very happy and Grumpy O'Mally is now part of the family.

- Rob

Leave The Animals Alone

Yesterday while geocaching, we found a snake (see previous post). At the Hurt house, were are NOT snake people. Today, we met a much more pleasant reptile...a turtle. Although it is much less startling to happen upon a turtle than a snake, I think I used better judgment when I saw the snake. I saw the snake yesterday and left it alone. I saw the turtle today and asked Amanda (now GeoPunkin...her geocaching username) if she would like to take the turtle home. I thought "How hard can it be to keep a turtle as a pet?"

We got him home, gave him a bath a set some lettuce in front of him. While he was chowing down on the lettuce, Amanda decided we needed to name him...Grumpy O'Mally is what she came up with. This name arose from the fact that the first (and only) sound we heard him make was a hissing sound when we first picked him up.

After Grumpy finished eating and explored every inch of my office floor, Amanda and I looked up turtles on the Internet to see how to care for him and what to feed him. OK, the diet thing would not be such a problem, but finding someplace to keep him was another story. It seems, to stay healthy, turtles really need to live outside. I was going to use some chicken wire and section off a corner of our yard from him. But I guess if a turtle sees chicken wire or a chain link fence, he wants to get to the other side and will hurt himself or drive himself crazy trying to get out, so you have to buy something like vinal siding to put in front of the fence to make it appear solid. And then they have to have both direct sunlight and shade. And a water bowl thing. And leaves. And rocks and wood. The short version...about $50 to make a cage for a pet that you just look at.

So the reason I say I showed more wisdom in my response to the snake is because Amanda now "loves Grumpy O'Mally and it is like he is part of our family." The thought of taking him back to his home caused her to cry for 30 minutes! After a good cry and discussing what was best for "our newest family member", we decided we would take him back to his home and set him free tomorrow after school.

Lesson learned: poisonous or not...leave the animals alone!

- Rob

It's Not In There

This is no Googled picture...this is the real thing. Amanda and I were out geocaching today and we were looking for a multi-cache. A multi-cache consists of two or more "parts", thus the name. In this case, the first cache was a "micro", a very small container that contained the coordinates to the cache that has the log you sign and the goodies you trade for (Amanda's favorite part).

So I saw a knot in this tree and thought to myself, "Hmmm...I suppose you could hide a micro cache in there." So I stepped up to the tree and poked my face right up next to the knot to look in. Look who was looking back out at me! I try to carry stuff I might need while geocaching, but undershorts was not something I had thrown into the backpack. Fortunately I did not really need a change of shorts, but it was scary nonetheless.

So now I said to myself, "Hmmmm...it's not in there". Eventually we found the micro, got the coordinates to the second leg of the cache and let our "friend" be.

- Rob

My Mafia Name

Uncle Rob 'the Butcher'...that is my new Mafia name. I made a trade with a friend and that's how I became Uncle Rob 'the Butcher' today. My friend Stan and I swapped GPS units (his was nicer than mine), and part of the trade included my saving him some money by cutting his dogs' hair today. I reminded him that our dog Sully's nickname is "chemo dog" because that is what Brooke calls him after I get done giving him a hair cut.

So today, I butchered Mitizi (a Benji dog I think...shaped like a large loaf of bread) and Sam (a real sweet heart). Neither dog liked "Uncle Rob" very much after I gave them their "new look". Mitizi has this "eye thing" going on where part of her eye squishes out next to the eyeball. It's not all that cute, but it sure looks pitiful when she looks at you as if to say, "I never knew you were going to THIS to me. You are a very mean man". This was the first time Mitzi did not make a bee line for the corner behind the coffee table and hide there the whole time. That lasted only until I began my "work". After that, she would not even come out when I called her. In fact, I had to leave the room before she would come when her Daddy called her!

And then there is happy-go-lucky Sam. He was happy-go-lucky until I began my work on him. We took a break part way through. When we were ready to begin Act II, I literally had to drag him back to the clippers. Fortunately, as his Momma says, give him a little attention and all is forgiven. Before they left, Sam liked me again.

- Rob
a.k.a. Uncle Rob 'the Butcher'

Date Night With the Love of My Life

Yesterday was March 31st, but it was Valentine's Day for me and my sweetheart. Brooke wanted tickets to see Phantom of the Opera for Valentine's Day, so that is what I got her. The show was last night.

Our date started right after Amanda got out of school. No, Amanda did not go on our Valentine's date. We took her to my parents where she spent the night, came back to Arlington, got dressed up and headed out. We went to Spaghetti Warehouse for dinner and then drove to Dallas to see the Phantom.

Brooke has been VERY excited about this and I have been supportive but not exactly looking forward to it. I enjoyed the musical much more than I anticipated, but the best part was spending time with Brooke. We don't get to have date nights often enough. We've had a very busy week with the missions conference and having company, so this was a perfect way to end the week...just the two of us relaxing together.

Phantom of the Opera was good and I enjoyed seeing how excited Brooke was about it, but the best part was a much needed date night. Brookie, I love you and you are truly the love of my life.

- Rob

Can You Draft Around the Learning Curve?

Race car drivers know all about drafting. The idea is to get so close behind a car that the air travels over their car and then over your car without creating resistance in front of your car. I just found out this year that drafting also helps the car in front (click on the picture for a larger version and you can read the explanation).

So I thought about drafting as I was experiencing the "learning curve" at work these past two weeks. At the Vine, the administrative pastor is in charge of maintenance. That means when a toilet starts leaking, I can either pay big bucks to get it fixed (not a very popular option with the finance people), find somebody in the church to help me (after hours or on the weekend) or I can figure out how to do it myself. It would appear that taking out a toilet and putting in a new one is not that hard. I didn't have anybody to "draft" on this one, and it didn't go quickly, but it's in and it's working, we didn't have to pay somebody else to do it and I didn't have to go in after hours to get help. That works for me.

And then there was the "tile issue" in the foyer of the church. A number of years ago, we had a drinking fountain put in. We had a guy in the church who built his own homes come put it in for us. He ran the water lines, installed the fountain and tiled the floor and wall behind the fountain. For the past two years we've been having problems because the cooling capacity of the fountain was not enough for the number of people we have wanting cold water on a Texas-hot Sunday morning. And then the thing must have started leaking because the wood floor tiles started warping and busted the tile. I found a man in the church who has the ability to fix the problem, but he is only available on Saturdays. Well, this Wednesday, George and I got rained out on our outdoor project (another whole story), so I thought "Eh, I bet we can take up that tile, fix the wood below it and re-tile that little area before noon (George helps me 9am to noon on Wednesdays)." SOMEBODY PLEASE TELL ME WHAT I WAS THINKING! First of all, talk about a learning curve...I have never laid tile (I have never even taken up tile). George is a much handier man than I, so I thought I would "draft" him on this one. First "issue"...George had never laid tile before, either.

I still did not feel this was a big issue. I asked George to go to the hardware store and get what we would need. I figured he would ask somebody there about tiling and could figure it out (again, he's handier than I am). He was also going to price tile "just in case" since we somehow thought we could reuse the same tile. Once he was there, I called him and told him to purchase the tile since the old tiles (the ones that were still glued down and had not come up with the warped floor) broke when I pulled them up. And then I saw all the glue/cement on the back and figured out that you don't reuse tile anyway (it's the learning curve thing). That was "issue" two.

"Issue" three came up as I was removing the floor tile next to the tiled wall. I touched (that's right...I TOUCHED it, I did not HIT it) a tile on the back wall and three tiles came crashing down. Oops. Not only is that more tile, but that means learning how to put tile on a wall. In a rare move of handy man thinking, I realized we could put panel up where the tile was and not lose anything. It's not like the water fountain was squirting water onto the wall.

So George got back and we finished tearing up the tile. Of course, as with any handy man project of any size I begin, I had to go back to the hardware store now. We needed some more trim wood and the panel to put up where the tile was. George and I headed to Lowe's and then we met Stan for lunch. I forgot to mention that Stan, also tiling-illiterate, was helping us all this time.

After lunch, Pastor Shaun helped us lay out the tile and told us we were "good" across the area we needed to tile, but we were going to have to cut some half tiles to cover the length of the area. And since we were back from the hardware store already, we also found out they make some sort of little plastic spacers to help keep the tile straight? Oh well. We used an extra half piece of tile as a spacer. Short version...Shaun, who was the only tile-literate person in the bunch, had to leave. We got 3/5 of the tile laid and then saw we had a HUGE gap at the side. We had to re-space the tiles and we could not use a piece of tile to help us space it evenly...we had to eyeball it. This, "issues" 3 and 4, no guides for laying the tile and cheap tile which was not exactly the same size!

Anyway, George took charge of cutting and laying the tile while Stan helped. I sized and cut the trim and paneling. "Issue" 5...it was 4:30 PM (not noon) when we got done. If you think it has taken a long time to read all of this...you should have been living it! Anyway, on Thursday I learned how to grout tile. All in all, I don't think it looks to bad. The grout covered up a few "issues". Maybe one day George and I will redo the trim work since it doesn't look all that great. And one day soon, we'll have a new drinking fountain to put on my new tile. Fortunately we were able to throw the old one away since the leak could not be fixed. Although I now know how to tile, I'm not in a hurry to redo that area again anytime soon.

So, I'm continuing to learn how to be a handier man...as I ponder, 'Can you craft around the learning curve?'

- Rob

Too Big For My Britches or Too Good To Be True

Have I mentioned that it rained, A LOT, last weekend? Oh yes, I told you about the whole flooding thing. Well, with all that rain, it was bound to happen...my weeds grew and so I had to mow today. I do not like mowing. Fortunately it is not a skilled labor job (at least not at the level I do it), so I can do it without too much trouble, but I really do not enjoy it. If the weather is 'nice enough' to mow the yard, I figure it is nice enough to read a book on the back porch, take the dogs for a walk, take Amanda to the park, go geocahing or some other such enjoyable activity. But I digress.

So it was time to mow today. Since I push mow the back and ride the rest (I mow our yard and two pieces of church property in exchange for using the church's lawn mowing equipment), I always do the back yard first. The push mower has not been started all year, so when I pulled the rope over and over again in an attempt to get the motor to start, the most noticeable thing that happened was my arm got tired. Pastor David reminded us this week that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results, so I decided I needed to take something apart to fix the problem. Now mind you, I know nothing about mowers, it's just that it seemed like somebody who would know about mowers would take the thing apart at a time like this, so I thought I'd give it a try. I think I found where a spring was not working properly, so I moved what I think was the choke and pulled the rope again. Whatever I did, the mower started this time.

The good news is, I did not have to wrestle with pride after fixing the mower ever-so-expertly...I didn't wrestle one bit, I just blowed up like a big 'ol puffer fish being so proud of myself. Somethin' was wrong with the mower and I took it apart and fixed it. I mowed the back yard with no trouble at all.

After that, it was time to start on the front yard. Now the riding lawn mower had already been taken apart and tinkered with and been used a couple times this year, although no mowing had been done yet. I got the mower about half way from the shed to my front yard when it just up and quit...kaput. I tried restarting it and got it to backfire several times, but that was about it. Since I was still a little puffed up with pride at my earlier feats, I took a thing or two apart, put it back together and expected the mower to start for me (after all, it must have been a good karma day for lawn mower fixin', right?). Well, it's a good thing I don't believe in karma, 'cause I didn't have any. No matter what I did, I got nothing better than a backfire. Obviously the mower is going to need someone with more experience (and better mower karma).

Since you have not had much to do with our church's riding lawn mower, you probably don't know that when it stops, for some reason, it stays in gear. This means there is no neutral, so it is near impossible to push. So here I was with the mower half way to the front yard and it would not budge. I don't know how much it weighs, but I'm guessing roughly triple what I could easily pick up and carry back to the shed. But what I lacked in muscles, I made up for in ingenuity. I brought the car around, tied the mower to it and drug the silly thing back to the shed. From there, I had to lift up the back end (yes, completely off the ground) and push it (front tires still on the ground) up the ramp into the shed.

By this time, my back was hurting and I was sweating like one of those overweight people (yes, it's a joke...I am one). I don't know if I just got too big for my britches today or if it was just too good to be true my fixin' the mowers and all, but now I have to figure out how to get the mower into the trailer and take it someplace to get serviced. I gotta tell ya, the story was a WHOLE lot more fun to tell that it was to live through today. But some things are just like that I guess. Anyway, I'll let you know how the rest turns out.

- Rob

It's Not "That" Picture

I have a friend, who shall remain nameless. He said, "Hey! It's been days! Come on! Post something... but not the picture of me asleep." So instead of posting that picture, I'll just post this picture of my friend Brad as he "listens to music with his eyes closed" in the office!

Life

Life is a succession of lessons
which must be lived to be understood.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson.

The Nap Part Was Good

Brooke is always good about unpacking right after we get back from being out of town. Me? It usually takes me a day or two. I knew after church today I was going to need to clean up my office because all of my trip stuff was spread out all over the place in my office, but it started to rain. If you read my A Few of My Favorite Things post, you know my favorite thing to do on a rainy day is take a nap, so the clean up had to wait.

While napping, I got a call saying that the Altar for tonight (prayer/praise service) was cancelled because more severe thunderstorms were moving in...and by the way, the sanctuary is flooding, too! Now, by flooding, I merely mean that the carpet is soaked (from the back door half was up to the platform on the one side of the sanctuary), not that stuff is beginning to float or anything like that. And this did not really come as a surprise because this happens when we get a lot of rain in a short period of time. Until we get some landscaping work done, this means the carpet has to be wet vac'd and the ditch outside has to be cleared out and dug a little deeper/wider (the ditch is a stop gap to reduce the flow of water into the sanctuary).

Since we were going to be getting more rain, I knew I had to get over there and get started. While I dug out our "overflow ditch", another guy started vacuuming up water in the sanctuary. I had dug out the ditch when it began to rain again, so I went inside to help with the vacuuming. It was raining hard, so I opened the back door to see how the overflow ditch was holding up. The ditch was holding up great, but water was gushing in the back door. The gutters were full of junk so the water was pouring off the roof onto the concrete right in front of the back door...and under the door into the sanctuary. I grabbed a ladder and ran out into the rain to clear the drain. A good friend came out with me (also getting soaked) to help. I got the drain cleared by the time the really hard rain stopped and the problem seemed to be fixed. We dug out and drained (as best we could) the ditch one more time in hopes of keeping the rest of the rain out for the night.

So tomorrow, I'll do some more wet vacuuming, maybe some more ditch digging and maybe call the carpet cleaning people. I haven't been that wet out in the rain in a while. Amanda probably would have thought it was fun. Anyway, thanks Steve and Brad for your help today. At least the nap part was good!

- Rob

Mild, But a Panic Nonetheless

While we've been in Alabama visiting Brooke's family, her Mom and Dad decided to upgrade to DSL Internet (YEA!). Not being particularly "computer inclined", they asked me to set it up while we're home, so I called the phone company on Saturday, got the order rolling and waited to receive the modem and setup disc. The stuff from the phone company came on Tuesday, so I've got them online, download virus and spyware protection for them and have updated Windows online. Oh, did I mention they are running Windows 98 with just 64 megs or RAM? So, I've downloaded a more efficient disk defragmenter, run msconfig and shut down any programs that do not need to run at startup and downloaded/updated/scanned everything I could to try and keep the computer from running so slow and locking up. Now that they have DSL, content is downloaded to their computer faster than the computer can process it!

So the panic came just a little bit ago. I've got some old computer memory laying around back home, so I thought I'd check what kind of memory this computer uses and maybe I could mail them some additional memory and let my sister-in-law's husband install it for them. I got the computer open, pulled out the RAM, checked it and put it back in the computer. Those of you who are a little quicker than the average person may already have guessed what happened when I rebooted the computer...NOTHING.

So here I am, having spent numerous hours installing DSL, getting the most out of their computer, etc and now it goes down...13 hours before we plan to leave. Of course I panicked! I shut the computer back down, unplugged it and opened it up. Fortunately I just had not snapped the memory into place properly. Once that was fixed we were back in business. I'm just glad it was that simple. It was mild, but a panic nonetheless.

- Rob

A Day in the Life ...On Vacation

Don't want to start the day too strenuously.
Amanda watched TV and Mommy read.

Amanda and Dady headed to Hartselle for park play and geocaching.
Hartselle is the town where Brooke grew up.

This is a park where we played and geocached.

Amanda Kay preparing for a treasure swap.

"Daddy, can we play?"

It's a little hard to tell from this perspective...this is one of those
plastic tunnels they have on playground equipment.
This is Amanda Kay from the outside.

Amanda Kay on the inside of the tunnel thing.

Yes, it's my "official" geocaching outfit.

22 caches found, 2 hidden

Geocaching in Alabama

The first day we went out, we took cousins David and Hannah with us.
Hannah was the first (in our group) to find one of the caches that day.

The family that geocaches together...gets stuck together if there are thorns.
Fortunately, woods in Alabama don't seem to have near as many thorns/briars as Texas.

This was Brooke's first geocaching adventure with us.

This time, David did everything from program the GPS, lead the way
through the woods and discover the cache.

Obedience

This came from my devotion time this morning in the Student's Life Application Bible. Made me think about how obedient I am to God.

Deuteronomy 8:1 tells us to obey Gods' commands. We do this by obeying God with:

• OUR HEART - By loving him more than any relationship, activity, achievement, or possession
• OUR WILL - By committing ourselves completely to him
• OUR MIND - By seeking to know him and his Word, so his principles and values form the foundation of all we think and do
• OUR BODY - By recognizing that our strengths,talents, and sexuality are given to us by God to be used for pleasure and fulfillment according to his rules, not ours
• OUR FINANCES - By deciding that all of the resources we have ultimately come from God, and that we are to be managers of them and not owners
• OUR FUTURE - By deciding to make service to God and people the main purpose of our life's work

"And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? He requires you to fear him, to live according to his will, to love and worship him with all your heart and soul, and to obey the Lord's commands and laws that I am giving you today for your own good." (Deut. 10:12-13, NLT)

-Rob

From Trauma to Victory

Our "day" started at 7:00am on Friday. For the first time since she has started school, Amanda was up before the alarm clock went off. She knew her friend Rosanne was having a birthday party Friday night and then we would be heading to Alabama. Amanda went to the party, Brooke and I took the doggies to Duncanville (my parents are keeping them for us), we picked up Amanda and then I slept for an hour and a half while Brooke and Amanda watch a movie.

At Midnight, it was time to hit the road. Amanda and Brooke slept while I rotated listening to Nimitz Class (book on CD) by Patrick Robinson and loud music (on the Dell DJ) to keep me awake. I made it until 5:15am at which time I pulled over to a roadside park for a half hour nap. About 30 minutes later we were in Vicksburg, Mississippi which is the half way point of the trip. We gassed up, Brooke took over the driving and I got another hour or so of sleep.

We arrived in Decatur just in time for lunch. Brooke and Amanda went with Mom and cousin Hannah to see MaMa Gin (Brooke's grandmother) while Dad, my nephew David and I played some Texas Hold 'Em (Alabama style). David and I also did some prep work on the Internet for tomorrow when David, Hannah, Amanda and I will do some geocaching.

But the real "excitement" began after dinner...Amanda had a loose tooth. If you have followed this blog, you know that the last loose tooth was quite an "experience" and Amanda (aka "Drama Queen") wanted to make sure this one was no different. And it was no different. 40 minutes and several screams after the ordeal began, Brooke sat her down and yanked the tooth out! As soon as the tears were dry, Amanda was parading around showing everybody what a great thing "she" did...from trauma to victory in a matter of moments.

So Spring Break 2006 has began. Who knows what excitement tomorrow holds.

- Rob

This is Why I Blog

I was harrassing a blogging family I know because they have not had a new post in while (Brad, Dawn and Laura). So I get up this morning, and Dawn has posted to her blog:

(Titled "Because Rob Bullied Me" with a :-D next to it)
This is for my friend Rob who said I should include boring stuff about my life in my blog and not just wait around for something profound...so this is for you my friend...yep, it is one of things a friend passed on email. (you can read the whole thing here).

So, since I was called out by name, I had to come back with a response. I tried to be a little humorous, but I really just put into writing why I blog. When I got done, I thought, goodness, that sounded more like a blog posting than a comment. So here is what I said:

Since this is some of the same type "boring" stuff I put on my blog, I hope your other friends don't think this is boring either. Now I know stuff about you that I did not know before. To me, that's not boring, that's getting to know your friends better.

Different people blog for different reasons. My blog is just about my life...sometimes boring, sometimes sharing more about me, maybe even something profound every once-in-a-while (maybe?). I write for me ('cause I like to write) and for my friends/family who would care about the 'boring,' everyday stuff that happens in my life (or who would likely laugh at the same stuff I laugh at).

I've got pastor friends who write pastoral blogs or who are making an effort to change culture through what they write, friends who only write about out of the ordinary, 'interesting' things in their lives and friends who only write when they learn something from an experience they had. All of these are fine...I was merely observing that people like me who write 'boring' things about everyday life have more to blog about.

By golly, look at me. I should have put all of this on MY blog! :+)

Thank you for sharing 'boring' stuff that lets me get to know you better.

So for those of you who wonder, this is why I blog.

- Rob

Scam Warning

Like you, I hate it when people forward bogus warnings -- but this one is important. And you might want to forward this to those you care about.

If someone comes to your front door saying they are conducting a survey on deer ticks and asks you to take your clothes off and dance around with your arms up, DO NOT DO IT...IT IS A SCAM! They only want to see you naked.

I wish I'd gotten this yesterday. I feel so stupid now.

Cherokee Proverb

"When you were born,
you cried and the world rejoiced.
Live your life so that when you die,
the world cries and you rejoice."

- Cherokee Proverb

Daddy/Daughter Day

Amanda and I went geocaching today...a beautiful day.
By the way...we were three for three today, baby!
(we found 3 out of 3 caches we hunted)

This cache was Amanda's first find. I read the clue
and she went right to the correct tree. The cache is
hidden under the wood pile.

No, there is no turtle inside. Yes, I let my
daughter pick up a dead turtle.

A Few of My Favorite Things - Part I

• When I am by myself: READ WHILE LISTENING TO SMOOTH JAZZ
• When I am with a group of my guy friends: PLAY TEXAS HOLD 'EM INTO THE WEE HOURS OF THE MORNING
• Daddy/Daughter time: GEOCACHING and PLAY WRESTLING
• Hanging out with my Pastor: BEATING HIM AT RACQUETBALL (WHEN I CAN)
• When I am on a date with my wife: EAT AT CHILI'S THEN CATCH A MOVIE
• When I am with my family at home: GRILL HAMBURGERS ON THE ELECTRIC GRILL IN THE LIVING ROOM WHILE WATCHING A MOVIE
• On sunny spring day when I am by myself: SIT ON THE BACK PORCH READING A BOOK AND DRINKING SOME SORT OF CAFENE FREE, CALORIE FREE, ASPERTAME FREE BEVERAGE
• On a rainy day: LISTEN TO IT RAIN AND TAKE A NAP
• Late night when I am by myself: WATCH A VIOLENT WAR MOVIE
• Surfing the Internet: BLOG AND READ TECH NEWS
• Shopping (i.e. looking at stuff I would buy if money were not an issue): FRY'S ELECTRONICS
• Non-people part of my job: ADDING TO AND UPDATING THE CHURCH WEB SITE
• People part of my job: HELPING PEOPLE DISCOVER AND USE THEIR TALENTS, GIFTS AND ABILITIES TO SERVE OTHERS; SPEND TIME WITH OUR LIFE GROUP LEADERS
• With my parents: REMEMBERING THE GOOD TIMES GROWING UP AND PLAYING CARD GAMES
• When I need to feel loved: WALK IN MY FRONT DOOR, SIT ON THE COUCH AND LET MY DOGS GO SPAZ BECAUSE THEY ARE EXCITED TO SEE ME
• When my college roommate comes to visit: PLAY PING PONG; EAT KRISPY KREME DONUTS AND TALK ABOUT HOW FAT WE BOTH ARE
• Books of the Bible: PROVERBS, JAMES, 1 JOHN

Hide It And They Will Come

Amanda and I got out this week and hid our first cache for others to find: Treasure Island. Today was the first day it was listed on the www.geocaching.com web site and three people found it already. Hide it and they will come.

- Rob

Stats from www.geocaching.com today: There are 24,1074 active caches in 221 countries. In the last 7 days, there have been 148,500 new logs written by 24,892 account holders.

Silly Sully

I guess at the exact moment I snapped this picture Sully decided to lick his chops, but I took the picture to show how silly he is. It was not cold enough to have the heater turned on, but Amanda had it on anyway. And what does Sully do when the heater is on? He lays in front of it...even when it makes him pant like he was when I took this picture!
- Rob

I Had to Laugh Out Loud

OK, I'll admit I was curious. When I read the headline "No Flush: Let the Yellow Mellow" I had to click it and check it out. The article talks about how waterless urinals are going to save the planet. Well, maybe not save the planet, but the environmentalists think the idea is great. On the other hand, plumbers say it is a terrible idea. Well, you can read it and form your own opinion, but the reason I enjoyed reading the article so much was a comment left by one of the readers. The part of the comment you could read said, "We've had waterless urinals at my house for..." and then when you click on it read the rest of the quote, you find "We've had waterless urinals at my house for years. Only we call them "bushes". I had to laugh out loud.


- Rob

Be Like Jesus

Amanda loves hating the devil (that's OK, right?), so we just had to
get this shirt for her when we saw it.

Man's Best Friend

This was forwarded to me twice, so you've probably seen it, but it is cute enough to post here.

Perfect Ending to a Great Day

Today, our church had singer and song writer Jeff Ferguson minister. It was a good service this morning and again at our Altar (prayer/worship) serice this evening.

The past couple weekends, it has been mostly rainy and cold. We got a LOT of rain this week, but it was sunny and warm today so Amanda and I had to do squeeze a little geocaching in today. (By the way, I found this little six minute video on geocahing if you don't know much about it and are interested. OK, I just watched the video again. It is a little cheezy, but it does a good job of showing what is involved). Amanda likes playing UNO, so she was excited to find this in the cache. We found this cache and a virtual cache (a landmark like this footbridge). We were not able to find one cache and we found another place to hide a second cache of our own. (We have the first cache in place but need to make a few changes before listing it with www.geocaching.com for others to hunt).

So after our fun in the sun (and thorns), we got cleaned up and headed to the Altar. After church tonight it was time for bed. After Amanda and I prayed, she looked at me and said, "Daddy, I love you so much it almost makes me cry." Wow...a perfect ending to a great day.

- Rob

True Ministry

I like the bumper sticker that says, "Three best things about being a teacher…June, July, August" but it misses the point of teaching. Empty classrooms may be more manageable, but you can't teach in them. So too ministry, apart from people, is not true ministry.

- Taken from an encouraging article at ChristianityToday.com for pastors titled Stuck in the "Before" Picture

A Fun, Full Night

After work, I came home and Brooke had spaghetti cooking for dinner. We ate soon after and then Amanda and I did homework while Brooke finished up her Bible study for tonight. Amanda did a good job getting all of her homework done tonight, so we needed to go out and do something fun. While Brooke headed over to church for Bible study, Amanda and I grabbed the GPS, the flashlight and a couple bucks. We took the money and ran in Walgreens to grab a couple items to trade out in a cache and then headed out to a local park to do our first night time geocache. We found the first cache we tried and Amanda traded a stuffed unicorn for this little plastic suitcase full of hair scrunchies and stuff. We found the area where the second cache we were looking for had to be hidden, but we didn't find it. The cache was right near someone's back yard. When they came outside we wandered off rather than stay and shine our flashlight near the border of their property, so we'll have to try and find the second cache some other time. We came home, Amanda got a bath and went to bed. It was fun, full night.

- Rob

So I Brought It Home

I've got the geocaching bug now, so today I decided to start looking for a place to hide my own cache (for others to come find). I found a good potential spot, but I've got to explore a little more. The way I got in will not be navagatable in six weeks because of all the thorns, briars, etc, but I think I've got a great spot to work with. I've checked and there don't appear to be any other caches close. While I was out, I found this skull. I'm not sure if it is a fox, coyote or a dog, but it looked pretty cool so I brought it home.

- Rob

Mmmm Mmmm Good

Grilled shrimp...that's what we had for Valentine's Day. We ate at home because our big "Valentine's Date" will be at the end of March when I take Brooke to see Phantom of the Opera. But Brooke wanted Tuesday evening to be special, so she bought some shrimp, I seasoned it with some Caribbean Jerk seasoning and mmmm mmmmm good!

- Rob

Photo Blog: GeoCaching With My Friend Randy

For the uninitiated, here is the short version of how geocaching works. A person goes to www.geocaching.com, types in their zip code (or the zip code where they want to go geocaching) and find the GPS coordinates where a cache is hidden. Using the provided map, you drive to where the cache is, park your car and use your GPS unit to get to the coordinates. Once you reach the coordinates, you are close to where the cache is found (close because most GPS handheld units are accurate anywhere from 3 to 30 feet). A typical cache is some sort of container which contains a log book for people to sign who find the cache and maybe some trinkets. You bring a trinket and trade for one in the container if you want. The cache Randy and I hunted today was a multi-leg cache. On a multi-leg cache, you find the first cache, and all it contains is the coordinates to the second cache which has the log book, etc.

Randy ran through some bushes and came out
with these bugs all over him!
Actually, they were burrs, but they look like
some sort of bug, don't they!

Today's cache was a multi-leg. Here's the first cache I found

The first part of the cache was on one side of the river.
The second part was on the other side...
we had a choice.

The cache logs said something about a "dangerous part"

Guess we found out what "dangerous" meant

Whew! We made it across

Randy found the second part of the cache

Randy signing the log for both of us

Keeping it Fun

When Amanda and I do homework this week, we are supposed to spend a good deal of our time learning how to count change. Her teacher says it is one of the most difficult things first graders have to learn. Amanda and I would tend to agree with her teacher...learning how to count change is tough stuff!

I was trying to think of ways to help Amanda understand (since both of us were getting frustrated last night), so I came up with the idea for "Daddy's Candy Store". Amanda is a candy fiend, so I thought I'd run to the store, pick up some candy, put price tags on it, give Amanda some change and let her shop. When I ran to Walgreens tonight, I picked up a stuffed Nemo along with the candy, so Amanda thought it should be "Daddy's Fun Store" since we had more than just candy.

Well, the idea was a good one and Amanda enjoyed shopping, but I'm not sure how much it helped here learn to count change. Amanda purchased about three things and then we got stuck not being able to figure out how to make the correct change for the rest. I was getting frustrated, so we got one more item purchased for the correct price and shut the store down for the evening. To end on an "up" note (instead of ending with Daddy being frustrated), we said the reason for shutting down the store was to make sure there was more stuff to buy tomorrow.

So at this point, Nemo has a new home, Amanda has a new stuffed animal to sleep with and Daddy is going to have to work on a better way of explaining how to count money while making sure the store stays "fun"!

- Rob

Not Much Blogging Going On (But Thanks for the Comments)

So here I am, sitting down for the evening ready to read my friends' blogs and blog myself. Let's see: Forward Motion: Changing Lives (my friend Steve)...no, his last post was Sunday. Ramblings of a Christian Insomniac Musician (my friend Brad)...no, his last post was January 27. Downloads From Heaven (Brad's Wife)...no, she last posted on Sunday. Let's check Laura's, Brad's daughter, blog ( Laura's World)...no, she last posted on Monday. Man, she had me going with this story she was writing, but now the story is done and she's left me hanging since Monday. Although I'm not holding my breath, I head over to check out my friend Jason's blog, Sincere Randomness. It appears he posted a day after Brad, but that was January 28th. Well, Pastor has just started blogging and he has been pretty regular, so I'll head over to Pastoral Ponderings...no, like Laura, he has not posted since Monday.

Although my friends have no new posts since Monday or earlier, quite a few have visited my blog and read my post from this past Monday. Monday was not a great day for me, but it was GREAT and a real comfort to have friends comment and encourage me. Some of you posted a comment and others just commented in person, but I really appreciate your encouragement. My friend Jason told me I would sweat less if I lost weight (I complained all summer about sweating "like a fat guy") and my friend Steve told me it might help, when I want something more or better to eat, to think about all the people in the world who would be ever so thankful to eat whatever "healthy alternative" I have in front of me. Thanks Jason, Steve, Brooke and others who took the time to encourage me, help me laugh and pray for me. It's pretty cool that God puts us in a family like he does so we are surrounded by people who love and care about us.

Well, the weekend is here (weekend is Friday, Saturday for me since I'm off on Friday). I was hoping Amanda and I could go geocaching this weekend, but true to Texas, the weather is doing a flip from all week and it is supposed to be cold here. [If my friend Craig (college roommate) went online enough to read my blog, I would admit to him that "cold" is a relative term. He lives on Lake Huron in Michigan and has over two feet of snow right now!] Anyway, since we won't be geocaching, I think I'll be heading to the store to buy some candy and gum tomorrow. Amanda is learning (trying to learn) about money and how to count out change. Her teacher says it is one of the hardest things they have to learn in 1st grade, and Amanda is struggling right now. But if Amanda can "buy" gum and candy and Mommy and Daddy's store by learning how to count out the correct change, I think she will go back to school on Monday with a MUCH better understanding of counting out money. We'll give it a try and let you know how it comes out.

Brooke is watching Dancing with the Stars which I recorded for her earlier, and I hope she will be awake enough to watch last night's LOST after that, but I'm not going to hold my breath. Guess I'll go check on how's she doing and sign off for now.

Not much blogging going on, but thanks again for your comments and encouragement this week!

- Rob

Today Was a Bit Discouraging

Today started out ok. I went in to work 15 minutes early so we could get done counting offering in time for me to get to my doctor's appointment. It was time for my annual heart checkup. The doctor said everything seems fine, but he is concerned about my weight gain. I knew I had gained weight over the holidays, but I weigh more now than I have at any time in my life. I know what I've got to do (lose the weight), but the thought is very depressing.

Only one time in my life have I been successful in losing weight. It was right after I went into the hospital with my blood pressure and pulse rate sky high. I thought I was having a heart attack. I realized then that I could very well end up dying early and leaving my family without a dad and husband, and that scared me enough to change my diet and lose the weight. That lasted for a while, but I eventually gained it back until I got to where I am today. I will lose the weight again, and I hope to be able to keep it off. But that is what is so discouraging...I know what it is going to take.

I think I saw it on an episode of Friends. Somebody saw a guy they hadn't seen since high school, and they hardly recognized him because he had lost so much weight since then. They asked the guy how he did it, and he joked, "I'm pretty much just miserable all the time." I can relate because that is how I feel when I'm dieting. I lose weight by following a low-fat diet. It seems to me a cruel irony that the better a food tastes, the worse it is for you, but I find this to be true. I do not like most vegetables (except corn and potatoes which are not the most healthy members of the veggie family), the only fish I don't mind is EXTREMELY expensive and the food I like is what I should not eat. Fast food is out. And why bother going out to eat if you have to order salad and a chicken breast every time? It's not that I mind salads (minus all the stuff that is good for you) or chicken breasts, it's just that these are not as good as what I really want to order from the menu. It's ok for about two weeks, but after that, it just seems I have to make myself "pretty much miserable all the time" in order to lose/keep off the weight. I will do what I have to do for my family's sake, but I feel like I'm sentencing myself to misery to do it.

And then I got back to the office and started in earnest on a project that is overwhelming me right now. I'm got too many projects going, and it is stressing me out. I plan out my week and say, "OK, from this time to this time I am going to do nothing but work on this project." And so what happens at that particular time? The copier has problems requiring my immediate attention, the office network goes down, a toilet gets plugged up or some other thing happens that requires I skip what I going to do and give attention to the immediate need. And then there are the projects that I would really like to start (some things that are in my heart to do), but where's the time to do it?

I love my job and love what I do at my job. The projects I need to complete are challenging and fulfilling, and even the pressing things that demand my immediate attention are not things I hate to do (except for the plugged up toilets). Everybody I work with has so much stuff to do they also wonder how it is going to get done, so I'm not a special case. And then I've got friends who are facing issues in their personal lives I could not imagine having to deal with. I know my "problems" are petty and these "difficulties" will soon pass. I am thankful for God's blessings, my family, my job and my health...I just guess today was a bit discouraging.

- Rob

A Very Proud Daddy Moment

Not only did my daughter desire to follow the Lord in water baptism, but I got to baptize her. How cool is that! Amanda decided it would be pretty intimidating to say something in front of the whole church from the baptistry, but if you ask her, she will tell you she wanted to be baptized because she wants everyone to know she has asked Jesus into her heart. Yup, Mommy and Daddy are pretty proud!

A New Hobby

It was a perfect day to start our new hobby - geocaching. If you're not familiar with geocaching, here's the basic idea. A person owns a GPS unit. They got to an area (in the woods, at a park, in a field, etc) and hide some sort of container. The container has log book inside and then whatever else they want to put (coins, deck of cards, McDonald's kids' toys, etc). This container is called a "cache". The cache owner uses the GPS to get a reading of where the cache is. He/she then goes to www.geocaching.com, registers themselves and records where the cache is hidden. Other people may then go to the web site, search by zip code and find caches hidden in the area they want to search. Each listing has a map to the general location, the GPS coordinates and usually some sort of description and possibly a few clues. (There are different kinds of caches and levels of difficulty, but I'll let you read about that at www.geocaching.com if you are interested). The searcher uses his/her GPS unit to get close to the coordinates, and then the challenge is finding the cache hiding in a tree, partially buried under a log, etc. Once the cache is found, the searcher signs the log book and then may swap something he/she brought for one of the "treasure pieces" (that is how Amanda sees it) in the cache.

So it was in the 70's today and a perfect day for Amanda and I to give it a try. We started with easy, beginner caches at a park right down the street from us (Cliff Nelson 1). It was a "micro" cache...it was a film container strapped to a tree (see picture). We signed the log and Amanda traded the plastic ring she had on her finger for the colored stone inside.

The second cache (Cliff Nelson 2) was a little more challenging for us, but we found it. Here Amanda traded a rubber ball for a pink hair scrunchy.

Next, we were off looking for the Unwanted Toys cache which was report to be a large one. Amanda was particularly excited about this one. I didn't know where to park, so it ended up being a long way away from the cache. We followed the signal down a long street only to find out we hit a dead end at a fence and could not get any closer without going through somebody's property. So we turned around, followed a different road and finally got there. Amanda's trade this time was a pink ball for a green "Mike" toy (from Monster's Inc.).

The last cache we searched for was called Tyler's Ear Plugs. I did not notice this a "micro" cache until we got home, so we were looking for the wrong thing. Besides that, the place was FULL of briars and thorns. Being newbies, we gave up and came home. 3 out of 4 for our first day made us happy.

So Amanda and I have a new hobby together and we are looking forward to next weekend so we can try it again.

- Rob

All In Day

It has been a busy day. Things started out great when we checked our bank account balance and saw that our tax return had been deposited...thank you Jesus! We've been waiting for this money. Today we bought new tires for the car, got some repair work done on the car, got the car inspected and refilled our prescriptions fulfilling our deductible for the year. We've still got a few more bills to pay and I still need to purchase those Phantom of the Opera tickets for Brooke's Valentines' Day, but we certainly got a lot of necessary things taken care of today.

On the "not-so-necessary-but-still-very-nice" side of things, I was also able to get my Magellan Explorist 200 GPS out of lay-away today. I'm hoping that Amanda and I can go geocaching tomorrow (or treasure hunting as Amanda sees it).

Tonight was guys Friday night poker at my house. Games have not gone well for me when we play here. Tonight, I was second one out on the first game, first one out on the second game...and then my luck changed and I won the last game. Luck certainly was on my side as I won a few hands on the river, but I also a little proud of myself. When there were just three of us left, all I had left in chips was $1, 040 (just enough to cover the big blind) and from there I went on to win. Fold, All In...Fold, All In...all the way to the end!

So now it's late (or actually very early in the morning) and I'm finding a couple things to do to let my mind wind down so I can go to sleep. It's been a good "All In" day.

- Rob

Password, Please

We entered an elevator with another couple from our hotel. Our 5-year-old son, Eric, asked the couple for the password to get off. They guessed, "Watermellon?"

Eric replied, "No, it's Jesus. That's the password for heaven, too."

- Submitted by Laura Mullins of Mequon, WI to Focus on the Family Magazine