theory proven truth?

steve has this theory. it goes something like this:

when i travel to AZ, the weather at home always gets crappy.

well, since it started turning winter like in cincinnati (about mid-october), i've been to AZ 7 times. only once can i remember the weather in cincinnati being fairly decent.

the most recent trip to AZ is the most telling though. i left on monday at 2:30...it started precipitating about 4:30. the next 2 days brought several inches of snow and ice.

it's tough skipping the cold, snow and ice, but somebody has to enjoy the 65 and sun!

epic conquest

it was a night like any other, and a morning no one saw coming.



we spent new years with some friends, some of who wanted to take over the world. i politely declined (ok, here's the real deal. i last played risk 7 years ago with steve, his roommate and my roommate. it ended with me losing horribly and throwing a temper tantrum. i vowed never to play the game again).





steve is an expert strategist, along with chris and a couple of the other guys, and they adhere strictly to the rules of the game.




a few rounds in, the red team, lead by ryan, was dwindled to 3 armies total, one in each country in vodka-land. ryan decided it was time to mingle, and he let me start rolling the dice for him. i can handle dice rolling for others. there isn't much attachment to that activity.



and this is where the photos stop. before i know it, ryan had given me the reigns and was nowhere to be found. i unexpectedly discovered myself leading the red army against a guy who plays the game so much that he has an e-trophy for the winner. steve would later tell me he didn't think i was a threat, so he let me hang out for a while.


four hours and many military moves later, sometime around 2:30am, chris waved the white flag. i had won a game of risk against 2 people who could literally work for military intelligence, and be successful at it. now, i do owe some credit to steve, james, nathan, and dan. they provided some guidance during my global domination.


i think i'm going to retire my title, although, i may have to defend it at some point.

new years resolution

i've never really liked resolutions, especially at new years. they always get broken, and let's be honest, they are typically for things that will never be achievable anyway. last year was the first time i really made resolutions, and i actually kept them, so i decided to make them again this year, in the same spirit of last year.

1. i'm going to stop accepting things at face value. i'm going to ask the question "why?" a whole lot more. i've always been the person to just accept an answer for what it is, whether or not it is correct or even the truth. in essence, 2009 will be dubbed the year of searching.

2. i'm going to read the entire bible this year. i've never done that before. sure, i know all the key verses, but i have no clue what happens in leviticus. i'm also starting to realize that if i am to be a light in a dark place, it might be good to actually know what the bible says. it's hard to say "well, the bible says..." if i'm not really sure what it says.

3. i'm going to adopt 2 children from russia. come hell or high water, i will meet my boys in 2009!

4. i'm going to become an advocate for adoption. i'm all for people wanting to have a child that is of their own flesh a blood, but there are also children who want parents. not to sound like a cheesy song, but children are the future, and if we show them that a life of neglect, mistrust and abandonment is all there is to look forward to, i can't say that their or our future is going to be much to desire. i could go on about this one, but i'll save that for another post.

5. i'm going to support the charities i strongly believe, and not just by sending a check or wearing a pink ribbon. i am a huge supporter of the ronald mcdonald house and susan g. komen for the cure. both of these charities, or reasons for these charities have impacted my life in a huge way, and i want to give back. i'm going to volunteer my time and energy to these groups, and hope that is some small way i might be able to impact the lives of others.

6. i'm going to be healthier. i'm not just going to lose weight (of which i lost a grand total of 12 pounds over the last year), but i'm going to exercise, and eat healthy foods, in healthy portions. it's not just enough to lose a few pounds and call it a day. being healthy is a lifestyle, a paradigm shift from the typically. weight loss is what happens when you are ill and can't keep anything down for a week. eventually you gain it back when you return to normal.

that's the list. it should keep me busy for a while, and hopefully these will continue into 2010.

i'm going crazy, bonkers, nutso! i can't take it any more!

i lost my voice...well, technically, my vocal chords are still my my throat, but the ability to produce sound is gone. some may say that is a blessing (and you know who you are), but me, i'm going bazerk.

i love to sing. i love to make up my own words to popular songs. i love to roll down the windows, turn up the radio, and sing as loud as i can.

i got nothing. i sing in the worship band at my church. i made it through saturday night alright, and about 2 minutes after the set, gone. no voice. sunday morning didn't happen, and phone calls have been an adventure. i tried to order food through a drive through today, and i almost pulled forward to the window to order.

i've taken all the medications to stop coughing, decongest, relieve the pain, and loosen the phlegm, but i haven't found the medication to make my voice come back. any suggestions?

say what?!?!

i know, it's been a busy blogging week, but i have to get this one out there.

occasionally, i will listen to christian radio stations. recently, i was listening, and heard a song by a popular christian recording artist (who used to be a part of dc talk), which featured a couple other well known recording artists. i own the album that features the song in question, so was very familiar with the words. about halfway through the song, the word "pimp" is used, not in a derogatory way. it's used to make the point that it does not matter is you are a pimp or a hoe, you are still loved by your Creator.

anyway, the christian radio station bleeped the word "pimp" in the christian song! say what?!?!?! now we are censoring christian radio?!?! i understand that the songs are supposed to be positive and kid friendly, but really? i never thought i would see the day when christian radio needed to be censored.

random religious ramblings

3 random thoughts (not necessarily religious, but wanted to roll with the "r" theme) from the weekend...

• i was surfing last week and found an interesting response to the political events of the last week...from The Message version...

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is the way our Savior God wants us to live.

please note it does not say that we have to agree with our government or leaders, or that we even have to like them, but it does say we should pray for them. i've heard many express their dislikes about the ideal and plans of some recently elected officials. i respect those opinions, however, instead of gripping and complaining about how much we dislike a political leader, why don't we try following the above passage.

• my church has a home. for the past 3ish years, we've been renting a movie theater on the west side of cincinnati, and most recently started having a saturday night service at another location. many hours were spent setting up, tearing down, and transporting equipment all over the west side. yesterday we officially held our last sunday morning service in the theater. it was a bit nostalgic...thinking about how we won't have to get up at 6am anymore, or set everything up and tear everything down every week, or that we won't have sticky candy, gummy candies, or rats under our feet anymore! i got to participate in the last service...it was great...quite an honor actually, to think about where our church body has come, and where it is headed. truly a God moment.

• i invited an atheist to church this weekend. he came, really he did. no gripping, no kicking and screaming. he even seemed to have fun (i could be totally wrong). i invited him to come back. we'll see what happens.

new toy

i got a new toy last weekend...and of course, i had to break it in. enjoy.

brynn...the camera loves her, too bad she doesn't love it.

trey has eyes that just make you melt.

trenton as a pumpkin for halloween.

artsy stairwell picture.

beer brewing

yep, the hops boiled over and ended on the ground.