No you can't date my daughter!

You've met Maya, haven't you?

Vote Santa Out This Year

Santa (1) vs. Chris Christmas Rodriquez (1) (2) (3) (4)

I don't know about you, but my vote is with Rodriquez.




Windows Media People Click Here And Follow The Appropriate Link. I Will Not Do The Work For You If You Have An Inferior Media Player...

Out of the hive...

So it turns out Amoxicillin and I don't get along too well. It is a trigger for my system to develop something called Erythema Multiforme(EM). If I take it again, the EM can become major - this is called Stevens Johnson Syndrome. From what I have read, it doesn't sound pretty. So I'm asking all of you to refrain from offering me any "-cillin" type medications. Please don't cook with it if you know I'm coming over. Try not to use it as a cleaner on your toilet seat, this will hurt me more than you know.

Thank you for your cooperation.

In other news...

Turns out if you are trying to sell your car in the winter - putting the top up is a good idea.



Props to dear ol' dad for spotting this gem near his house.

Is blogging out?

I recently heard my brother Daniel mention something about blogging being a fad that may be on its way out. It may not be that that blogging isn't something that people have lost interest in, it may just be that there is no possible way to keep up with reading everyone's blogs as they come on line. As you have noticed by my link bar to the right, I can't even keep up with linking all the people that have blogs now. My wife on the other hand seems to be right on top of things - check out her links.

Acoording to recent news reports, blogging remains all the rage. It just seems to make me so tired sometimes...

Hello...

Since we have lived in our house on Forest Hills we have noticed an interesting phenomenon that occurs most nights. (No cheap jokes please) It seems that the sand company down the road uses its pumps all night. This activity - aside from ruining our natural barrier from the elements - shakes the entire neighborhood in a tapping, rhythmic fashion. Often, we will have just fallen asleep when the pumps start up and the rattling begins. Usually, the problem can be solved by securing a closet door that is partially open and causing the noise.

Last night, Angela and I were very fast asleep when the annoyance began. It was loud enough to wake us both at the same time. I mentioned that it sounded like knocking and Angela quickly sat up in bed and said in a very nice, 'you didn't wake me' tone,

"Hello."

It seems she was answering to whomever it was that was knocking on our door.

Its so fun being married to a sleep talker!

Since this is what you like...

enjoy

For some reason I can't stop watching this. It is the same feeling that repeatedly brought me to play Sonic the Hedghog for hours on end.

Out-Of-Whack-Stat

Okay, I'm not saying your focus is in the wrong place here. Maybe it is just because you all have heard the news from us in person... But when I scroll down I see it like this:

One of the biggest stories ever - the news of my child to be: 0 COMMENTS

Guy playing guitar solo in 'Hello-Kitty' bikini top: 13 COMMENTS

So I have decided to make the announcement unique. Forget that you know about the pregnancy. When my Hello Kitty bikini top arrives in the mail I will be requesting Daniel's video production services as I lip-sync a song announcing the birth of our child.

Exciting, isn't it...

I'm excited...

Nervous...

...to be a Dad. But also extremely greatful.

But don't say I didn't tell you about this before. If you all were faithful readers of my blog you would have noticed the cryptic message at the bottom of my post from early September hinting at the idea that we might have a big secret.

Maybe this will teach all of you to have a link to my blog at the top of your lists. There were a few who interpreted my message and we have shared many a good laugh at all of you who failed to pick up on the secret.

"...may you ever be captivated by her love." prov 5.5

I hate women's retreats. They don't occur that often, but when they do I am left for a weekend alone. I am trying to stay positive about them and I have come up with a few things that are good about my wife getting a weekend away:

1. She gets to spend quality time with her mom and sister-in-law. (Although a 'day-camp' format may be better - just a thought ~)

2. I get to go to sporting events - i.e. the Michigan State game today. (Although it would be nice to go with Ang, I'm afraid she wouldn't enjoy it as much as me.)

3. I fell asleep on the couch last night. I love sleeping on the couch - although I prefer that Ang sleeps with me on the couch. Sometimes (because Ang is so very gracious and understands that I think couch sleeping is one of the most comfortable things ever) we pull our couches together and sleep in our living room for a ritual we have deemed 'couch night.'

btw - Couch night is best during the holidays when the Xmas tree lights are left on...

Okay, enough with the positive spin - there isn't much else. I just miss her lots...

You must do as I say...

Please click here...I promise it is worth it!

To the cabin...

Ah yes...

This is the second Fall in a row that we will be taking a trip to the cabin.



I can't wait to get there and enjoy the peace and quiet...

Pull my finger...

So it turns out my little lady of a niece has discovered one of the best elementary school jokes of all time.

Emma chased me around my front yard today until I promised to pull her finger. She did vow to not really pass gas when I gave in. But the noise she made with her mouth sounded pretty authentic.

Ahh, third grade. Life is getting more complex, but you can still captivate a room with a fart.

Dancing ain't my game...

So tonight's the night...

I'm worried! What if I'm awful?

I suddenly find myself concerned with what to wear. My leg warmers don't fit anymore... What shoes should I go with?

"My tennis shoes would be comfortable, but my nicer shoes sure would allow me to glide across the floor better."

Ang will be good at this - she is the graceful one. I am worried that I will look like a big ape - no, I think Father Bill described 'me' as a gorilla at the wedding - as I trod along the floor.

I can at least be sure of the fact that whatever it may look like I am doing, I will still be good at dancing with my wife. It turns out there really is no such thing as a bad dancer.

just when you think you've learned everything...

I have been pounding the books for almost a year and a half now... i am so ready to be done. I'm afraid I've grown a bit carefree this last class just longing for the end. It will be here in two weeks and 1 day. Only 12 more hours of sitting in a classroom that smells of old carpet and has flashing florescent lights to illuminate the way.

I feel like I haven't taken a deep breath for the entire time, even before I started school I was constantly making our house livable... you know - electricity, a toilet, etc.

Just when I was thinking I'd get a break, we decided to embark on a siding and roofing project next month... anybody handy with a hammer? I will be taking volunteers. You may sign up by posting a comment.

Millions of Fat Cells Waiting For Their Moment...

I was so ready to accomplish so many things tonight when I got home... I did get several of them done right away, but then the energy faded away.

Ang came home, and with her was Sunflower food (for which we are ever thankful!). Upon dishing up our food we made our way in front of the TV. (Stop judging...) As we flipped through the stations we stumbled upon a professor explaining that for energy to be used, it must first be stored... Ah, all the potential energy lessons I had in school came rushing back.

As I looked down at the selections that I had made from the variety of food items available, I noticed that I had chose about 90% carbs. This potential energy is going to be with me for a long time.

I think I might go to bed now and dream about the power of potential.

Pictures from the last six months of my life...

...okay, not every picture. But these pictures made me *feel* positive emotion when I looked at them today. I thought I would share...

Oh Yeah - By the way... Ang and I are having a baby in early May.

I should've known by the outfits...

***

...but they failed to immediately tip me off. I must be losing it. It seems like I was a part of this unique culture not too long ago. Only those of us who lived it can truly know why the outfits and lack of social skills are truly necessary. I will reveal the truth now:

The outfits and overly hyper behavior would make us easily identifiable to each other when... Parents and children were captured and taken into custody for homeschooling. This detention could only happen if the children somehow were spotted playing in the outdoors before the 4 PM mark. (No matter that we never showed up to the local elementary school. No worries there. Just, whatever you do, don't get spotted in your yard before four!)

***

As Ang and I wandered about the grounds of Maranatha waiting for Bill as he dialogued (thank you Dave Livermore) with an admirer, we met up with Gloria. All around us were kids running about like they were hopped up on something. I asked Gloria if it was homeschool week. Ang answered for her by pointing to a family that was standing nearby. It was all I needed.

As we approached the snack shop it became very apparent that this was no ordinary night at Maranatha. There were groups of children in the lawn polishing up some moves for an upcoming performance. As we neared the building the lights went out and a spot went on and one of the little ones screamed, "The talent show is starting!"

While we waited in line for our ice cream, we took in the talent show. It seems things have changed since I was in the ranks of home school "look-what-I-can-do" crap-that-really-isn't-that-impressive-to anyone-but-your-parents. Back in the day we would have pulled out a choreographed 'dance' to the latest dc talk single or possibly a Petra classic. But these new home scoolers are really trying to pull on the parent's heartstrings to win their contests. The entries that were really in the running featured sign language to music. I think it came down to the costumes worn while performing - I'm pretty sure the purple sequin jumpsuit girl took the grand prize.

The jumpsuit was a risky move. Had the secret agents swept in and taken them all away she would have never been identifiable as one of the pack.

yard work today...

I had grand plans of gathering up the pine needles from the large tree in our back yard. After I had cleared the ground I was going to plant some grass seed in hopes that it would fill in the dead patches of lawn that were previously covered. Unfortunately, it is raining.



Bored?

Yep, so am I.

Late Chicago Update

...So most of you have probably read Ang's post on our chicago trip. We had a great time and always seem to enjoy the city and each other. Our hotel was beautiful, the city was perfect, IKEA was bigger than I thought it would be, but I think I miss the burrito the most.




The one bad part about living in Michigan is the lack of Chipotle.

Lack of motivation...

Coast Guard Festival fireworks are tonight...


In High School I would have been "So There." But all I can think about right now is going to bed early.

I think 'it' has happened. I've become an old man prematurely.

Most of you know that I'm an old soul. I like old leather shoes that require polish, buying furniture that will last, carrying a 'hanky.' I even have recently traveled back in time with my shaving habits. Gone is the shaving cream and introduced is the bar of Colgate and brush. (If you haven't tried this you must.)

Many of these habits I've brought into my life voluntarily, but other old soul practices and feelings have just always been with me:

"Stay away from the edge..."

"Have I told you that ___________(Insert name of dead relative) used to say..."

"We are just running to the store - why can't I wear this? Nobody cares what I look like."

"I'll take Nursing Homes for $500 Alex."

~~~~~~

I think I'll find the motivation to go... just after this little nap.

a midnight concert in my house

Greg and Dave are here at this very moment.



Angela and I are being treated to a concert - Dave on Piano and Greg on Cello. We wandered around Grand Haven, ate dinner at the Rosebud, and stopped by Starbucks on the way home. Now we find ourselves here, listening to this wonderful noise...

If you look close you can see how into this Greg is...

i posted

...because I was told I was going on blogger probation. You know, that place where people write you off because you haven't contributed anything to the cyber world in at least 5 days.

You gotta keep up with these things.

So now I ask you: How many days does it take before my readership is back to 5? Is anyone out there? This is not a ploy to get you to comment... just a genuine question.

Okay, maybe it is a ploy... Maybe there really isn't anyone else out there in addition to anti-onion katie, ang, and "thank heaven for Colorado Jason. " Jason may be the one person that reads this blog who doesn't feel some sort of obligation.

Well it has been a fun ride and now i must...

*end.*


-Not really... but it was pretty dramatic don't you think. Kind of like when the backburner went off the air, eh? (But even that didn't really go away. After all that drama in the end, we can still find a recent post. So, is that blog over? Or does it keep calling to the writer to return?)

4 hours...

...of straight math problems. I just returned from my finance class and I need to be engulfed by something that doesn't make any logical sense.

As much as I like order and fixed principles I can bank on, I deeply feel the need for something that is less certain. I would once like to ask if we could figure problems assuming that 3 = 8 or 9 = 21. I feel like that would be a way to make math artistic - or at least get it to put on a hemp necklace. Wouldn't this approach to math always insure that this art would remain in motion?

mixed nuts

home again...

After a relaxing vacation two weeks ago, I faced a week of busy preparation and then travel. I flew to Burlington, Vermont last Wednesday and then drove to Montreal for meetings Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. I was held up at the border for a while because I didn't have enough information with me explaining my work relationship with our corporate offices. Apparently, they thought I was trying to drive into Canada to work without a permit. Oh well - thirty minutes later and a fax from my company in the hands of the customs agent, I was on my way.

It is strange to me how immediate the feeling of being in a different country washes over a person. Well, at least this person. It is one thing to visit Canada in Sault Saint Marie, it is quite another to drive into Quebec. Everything is immediately in French. My mind starts working on overtime,

"Did I want to take that highway 'Nord' or 'Sud?'"

"Am I following all of the traffic laws here?"



Most of all there is an uneasy feeling of the unfamiliar. A feeling of being in an Eastern Bloc country in the Nineteen Sixties. This feeling mostly comes about because of the road signs that lack words of any kinds. There are just the symbols for 'arret' and 'rendement.' When you are approaching the U.S. border there is only I sign showing an officer at a table indicating that a checkpoint is approaching.

I like being home... I like being back with 'mon amour.' Her signs are easier to read, and are more comforting.

Translate the French

free

I'm listening to Jack Johnson right now and thinking about how much I love Summer. Ang is laying on the couch across from me conquering her next book for the Summer. Sometimes I am slightly jealous of her extended break during these months. I envy the freedom to be able to vacate employment during the prime months of the year. She seems so free...

Over the next week I will get a glimpse of this freedom. I have taken the rest of the week (after the 4th) off. You can be guaranteed I will enjoy being free.

when I am weak...

Last Sunday I was typing a paper when I was suddenly hit with the most remarkable pain in my left shoulder and back. My laptop typing had apparently thrown the worst possible kink into my back. The pain persisted into Monday and Tuesday... by Wednesday I was ready to just quit everything and sit (for the rest of my life) in the one position that didn't cause my pain. I couldn't even breath in without buckling over in pain. I think I might be a wuss. The events that followed confirmed that...

Ang knew the pain that I was feeling so she scheduled a massage for me. After the massage therapist had worked out the knots in my shoulder she left me to get my things together. When she came back into the room she brought with her some 'medical' advice/instructions for me.

"I noticed that your pecs are pretty weak and your back is overcompensating for them," she noted quite professionally.

Yeah... I didn't have much to say at that point.

"So I want you to do some push-ups..."

"Like 200 every day?" I ask.

"Like 10 wall push-ups," she added without cracking a smile. I think she was serious.

***

Those wall push-ups are tough. But I'm up to fifteen a day just three days in.

Chained remnants...

So I had the chance to go back to a place I spent much time in as a child - the church building of my youth. My cousin Jessica had her open house in the hall o' fellowship. The punch and pasta salad was flowing... and I briefly got bored. Upon catching the eye of my wife, we walked hand in hand towards "The Sanctuary." (Aside: I realize now, that to most people this term brings about imagery of futuristic human sacrifice.) When we entered the "Narthex" (Aside: I realize now, that no one really knows what the crap a "narthex" is...) I was shocked at what I saw. No, it wasn't the awful ceiling tiles that have been dropping white junk from the ceiling for years - I expected that. What shocked me was that all the doors to enter the worship center, the chapel, the temple, the place where we symbolically meet with God were chained and padlocked shut.

I know we meet with God wherever we are ever since the veil was torn... but this symbolic imagery of being locked from the presence of God made me kind of sad. I remember that as a child I would be so excited to enter those very doors. When I was first reading I attended this church; I can remember practicing on the brass letters that adorned each side of the middle door.

"Enter into his gates with thanksgiving in your heart... and into his courts with praise."

Those letters had been torn off... but if you looked hard enough, you could still read the words through the paint job that was meant to cover all remnants...

Strange, But True

Christ Rocks My Socks- Really.

Obsessed

Ryan
Originally uploaded by AngandRyan.

I have been lost in school, work, and every other mundane thing I have to do in life. My thoughts and time has been spent going from one thing to the next the past few weeks (or is it months? I've stopped counting). But alas, the Summer season is just blooming. Soon every last ounce of sun-filled time will be filled with something... just something else to be obsessed with.

Just when I think all of my friends have married, and that my bank account is safe... another Summer rolls along. I think we are even getting invited to third party weddings. You know, "A friend of a friend is getting married that you met once a few years ago..." Congrats! You're invited!

***Don't even get me started on high school graduations***

With all this time consuming activity that seems to clog my life, it is always helpful to to focus on the right obsession. (See June 2nd entry)

Forced Addition

This past week my wife has become some kind of 'outoffreakincontrol' blogger. She learned how to do all kinds of crazy things with her piece of the digital world. Apparently, she even learned how to create a link to other people's blogs. Unfortunately, my blog is linked on her page.

I know I shouldn't - but I suddenly feel this great sense of obligation to "keep up" with my blog. To write nonsense for my unseen audience. Maybe it is because of all the traffic I know that I will now get on my blog that I feel this sense to spout something. I would hate for all our family and friends to read Angela's blog with great interest and then click on my button. I can almost hear the "out-loud" comments that I would get.

"Well, her blog was nice."

"I guess we know who the intelligent one is."

"Nothing interesting here - he must be a business major."

I promise that I will make this blog so super-cool that all of you reading will link to Ang's blog from mine - not the other way around. I will learn to use pictures. I will discover hyperlinks. I may even change fonts. Who knows - maybe I'll post more than one entry in a single month!

hopeful...

for the second. i believe that is what I said. although, it has been a few months. but hope is like that, isn't it?

angela is standing over my shoulder right now, correcting my every word. i just told her she crushes my creativity... her emotional response only seemed to further damper my excitment for blog writing. i'll write later.