Chickens?

I am considering building this project: Click HERE

Still Working on Garden

I thought I would give an update on the garden. It is certainly coming along. Below are a few pictures of it (them). I spent the last couple of evenings trying to come up with something that would look better for a trellis. The second picture shows what I was originally thinking, but I decided to take it down. We just were not happy with it. Perhaps if I could find some bamboo someplace? If not, I guess I will stick to the original idea of using conduit and wire. I really want something more natural, but maybe next year. Thanks for reading!

Events of the past week and misc. stuff

This past week brought many different feelings with it. Tuesday was the first day back from Spring break, so I was excited to begin my classes again. That day was wonderful. The students appeared interested, and the material we were studying was my most liked subject--astronomy. All that began to subside around Wednesday, and by Friday I was once again scanning the job market for possible openings at other schools, and even thinking about changing careers. What a difference only a few days can make!

I attended the visitation of a friends family member this past week. It was another reminder of the brevity of life.

Saturday I spent all day working outside trying to get my square foot gardens ready for a viewing. In other words, I had to make them look as presentable as possible because friends would be coming over on Sunday and would most likely see them. By the end of the day, I was totally worn out! Saturday night was really fun. We all went to trivia night at the church. Due in part to a slow turnout, our team really had a chance to win. However, we just couldn’t pull it out. Maybe next year!

Sunday’s service was awesome. Several people came forward to dedicate their lives to Christ. The church was full! The music was good, and the preaching was great! Sunday afternoon, Bobby, Faith, Nena, Gary, Fred, and Kitty all came over for lunch. We had a great time with our friends, and everyone seemed to like the gardens.

Things to look forward to:

1. Only 26 more days of school left!
2. I think I still have a personal day I can take.
3. In May I will begin playing bass guitar with one of the praise team’s at church.
4. Also in May, I will begin team teaching the teen Sunday school class

My mind is preoccupied with the following questions...

1. Should we sell the house? This was the original plan.
2. Should I sell the jeep? It still has value, and I’m liking it less and less.
3. Should I seriously consider changing jobs?
4. If we keep the house, should I get chickens? Maybe a rabbit?
5. Should I do anything about my high blood pressure?
6. What is the future of public education?
7. Why do I fight depression so much?
8. What will happen with the economy over the next few years?
9. What is going to happen in Iraq?
10. Why am I singing the “Tootsie Roll” song at this moment (Whatever it is I think I see, becomes a Tootsie Roll to me)

Hiding Easter Eggs

Today Cassidy and Callie spent time at a friend’s house. This gave Amy and I some much needed rest and relaxation. Investing in quality time together as husband and wife is wise. A former pastor of mine spent a lot of time talking about the importance of this, and we have done our best to take that advice. Our marriage goes much smoother when we make time for each other.



Yesterday Cassidy and I colored Easter Eggs. Unfortunately, Easter, the Easter Bunny, and the Easter Egg all have roots in Pegan religion. The story goes something like this. The festival of “Eastre” (the celebration of the goddess of springtime) seemed to come at the same time that the Christians celebrated the resurrection of Christ. The rabbit symbolized this goddess, who was also known as the goddess of offspring (which makes sense to anyone who has ever raised rabbits). Finally, eggs were often traded during this festival, and were probably colored, and maybe even hidden by the Pegan children. When the Good News of Jesus Christ began to spread throughout the different parts of the world, people were still able to enjoy the festival, but now for a different, and far better reason. The spelling was changed along the line to “Easter,” and became synonymous with the Resurrection. To me, the egg symbolizes a new birth, which is what Christ brings to each of us. And the Easter Bunny, well, to be really honest, the only Easter Bunnies I like are the chocolate ones!


This morning I got up really early and hid the eggs we had colored and decorated. Cassidy had a ton of fun running around the yard finding these eggs.









So what else have we done over this break? Not as much as we needed to. I got a lot of gardening work done, and fixed a few things around the house. We spent a lot of time thinking. Amy and I have really been debating whether or not we should put the house up for sale. This was the plan originally, but we need to have peace about it. So far, we are still thinking.

An Honest Explanation

Today was a good day, didn’t do a whole lot. This afternoon and evening I went with a friend over to Fairview Heights to do some shopping. When I got back home, Amy confronted me about something. Apparently, I had a receipt that had been in my pocket and was laid upon my dresser. The receipt had a girl’s name and phone number written on the back. The receipt was from Lone Star, and was dated April 2. In her loving way, Amy said, “I was just a little curious about this receipt.” Honestly, I was at a total loss for words. This looked rather incriminating. I had absolutely no idea where in the world this came from, and how I came to have it in my pocket. The girls name (we’ll call her Jane Doe) looked to have been scribbled on the back rather hurridly. Now, from a husband’s point of view, any guy in this situation would look guilty. Why did I have a piece of paper with a girls name on it and her phone number. It might just as well have said, “Give me a call cutie,” thank God it didn’t! I knew there had to be an honest explanation for this, but I totally could not think of one. I did not want to act guilty, but everything I said just made me look more guilty. I looked at the date, and immediately gave my alibi. “That was a Sunday,…I wasn’t at Lone Star that day, remember we all went out to eat that day at the Pasta House?” Amy quickly replied, “Well, you were at Chilli’s that day, but she could still have given you the number, that has nothing to do with it.” Wow, was she ready. I knew right then and there I was in deep trouble if I could not figure out where this came from. “Perhaps it is someone from the church. Maybe someone gave me their number for something.” As if on cue, Amy quickly grabbed the church directory, “nope, no Jane Doe‘s in the directory.” (Something told me she had already checked out that one) I was now starting to sweat. Here is where it gets really sad. The absolute best I could do was to attempt to convince Amy that I must have opened my door someplace, and thinking I had dropped a receipt out of my car, accidentally picked it up, not noticing that it had a girl’s number on the back. I mean, I really hate to see liter on the ground. How lame is that? I knew the chances of that happening were like getting struck by lightning. Had the situation been reversed, I would have laughed at that pathetic explanation. “That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it” I thought. Then, when my humble wife finally said, “Well, I trust you,” It came to me. Jane Doe is the person who came and looked at the car I had for sell. She had made an offer that I did not accept. She said, “If you change your mind, here’s my number.” I must have placed it in my pocket and forgotten about it. An honest explanation at last. (By the way, Amy had already looked in the phone book and found out where Jane Doe lived, so my she can check this out for herself if she needs to, which she agreed she didn’t since she was at home when Jane came to look at the car, and she saw Jane, and well, enough said).

So I guess the moral of this story goes something like this: “Trust stands alone, but an honest explanation provides a more stable platform for it to stand on.” Or maybe, more simply, “Clean out your pockets before you send your pants to the wash.”

Thanks for reading, and remember, “INTERRESING CATCHY END LINE TO GO HERE IN THE FUTURE!”

Back to the 80's

Okay,
I mentioned that I should reminisce about days gone by. Hmmm, where should I start. Well, let me just jot down a few things that come to mind. To begin with, as I stated before, I am totally a child of the 80’s. It is true, I was born in the 70’s, but I really don’t remember much about those days (except for a few of the songs---DISCO… oh yeah!)

Baseball played an important role in the 80’s (and continued into the mid 90’s). I remember exactly where I was at when Bruce Sutter threw the final pitch in the 1982 Word Series to give the Cardinals the win in the final game (strangely enough, I hardly follow baseball these days). I also played for a variety of different teams, and traveled all over Southern Illinois dreaming of one day making it big. I wanted so bad to be a major league ball player. My dad would catch for me, pitch me balls, and hit fly balls and ground balls to me. Those are memories I will cherish forever! My cousins would invite their friends over, and we would play the game all day. I became a descent player, winning three MVP trophies in junior leagues, and hitting a few home runs in the little leagues. I even threw a no-hitter in high school. I remember playing on all star teams, throwing the final pitch for a championship game, and doing my best to imitate Ozzie Smith and Pete Rose (without the gambling). I always dreamed of one day pitching off the mound at Busch Stadium. Would you believer, that day actually came true. Not as a major leaguer, but in a high school game. Our coach arranged a deal where where got to play one of our games before a Cardinals game. I got to warm up in the bullpen, and start the game off the mound at Busch Stadium! Who says dreams don’t come true?

When I wasn’t playing baseball in the 80’s, I would ride my bike, three-wheeler, fish, and spend hours and hours in the woods behind my house. My cousin would try to break-dance, and get me to listen to a new kind of music called “rap.” I hated it then, and I hate it today. I did develop a liking for country music. Groups like Alabama were my favorite, as well as the Judds and of course Dolly Parton and Kenny Rodgers. When those two would sing, “Islands in the Stream,” I knew life good. Too bad country music went to pot somewhere in the 90’s. When I wasn’t listening to country, I enjoyed Huey Lewis and the News, Cindy Lauper, and yes, Michael Jackson (before he became white).

Movies? I remember Gremlins, and Back to the Future, and of course, Ghost Busters! Man those where good movies. Going to the show was a lot cheaper back then, but it was still expensive. Generally, I stayed home and watched shows like Cheers, Growing Pains (by the way, Curt Cameron is an awesome Christian who has a ministry called Way of the Master), The Dukes of Hazard, and of course, my all time favorite and best television show of all time, MacGuver! Richard Dean Anderson could fix anything, build anything, and do it all under an extreme amount of pressure. Best of all, he never shot anyone.

Cartoons were great too. Scooby Doo was the best, but there were also the Transformers (more than meets the eye) and He-Man. Saturday morning brought The Littles, The Smurfs, and a girly show called Wildfire that I watched.

I didn’t follow politics much back then. I do remember Regan getting shot, hearing him say, “Tear down that wall,” and speak of a “Shining city on the hill.” Everyone I knew seemed to hate him, but looking back he indeed was “not too bad at all.”

I owned a swatch watch (or something like it), a pair of parachute pants, and the ugliest neon shoe laces you could imagine. I had an Intellivision (kinda like an Atari), and a Commodore Vic 20 computer that did virtually nothing…but it was soooo cool!

We could all sing, “I’d like to buy the world a coke” with the commercial. And we could all sing “We are the World.” I remember a lot of money went somewhere for something, but mostly I remember the song being played and played and played on the radio. Most people got sick of it, but I never did.

Well, that is enough for today. If you read all this, then you must be really bored.

1st Day of Spring Break

Today was the first day of Spring Break. So, what does a teacher do on Spring Break? Well, here is a short summary of my day.

I woke up early and had coffee as usual. I generally read right after that, but I saved that until the afternoon. I fixed bacon and eggs on the new grill, and then ate outside. After that, Cassidy and I went to Lowe’s to pick out flowers and plants for the garden. When we got back, we planted them, and it was time for lunch. We all ate lunch, and then I went about building another flower bed while Amy and the children went to the grocery store (Kroger, since we are trying to stay away from the “W”). This evening I cooked hamburgers on the grill, and then did a little more yard work.

Hmmm, not to exciting huh? Well, I’ve found yard work is therapy for me. I feel wonderful, and I still have 4 days left! A friend called, and was so happy she had the day off tomorrow. She said, “What could be better than that?” Shamelessly, I said, “Having the whole week off?” Oh well, I should get to rub it in from time to time, I put up with enough at school to at least have that. After all, professionals in other fields with my experience and requiring my level of education are making enough that that they spend their vacations in Hawaii and Europe. Okay, enough of my pity party.

As some of you know, I am denying myself refined sugar. As a result, I need more calories, so I find myself really stretching to keep from craving stuff all the time. I have eaten more fruit in recent days than I have in months. Honestly, I couldn’t remember the last time I had eaten an orange. I did remember that I used to find them incredibly sour. Now, I have eaten probably five of them in the last few days, and they are wonderful! Very sweet too. I have also found some excellent sugar free cookies. That technology has come a long way! Years ago, I remember going to my grandmas house and eating sugar free stuff. She was a diabetic, so she kept an ample supply of sugar free things, and mostly they were terrible. But I’m sure with my steady diet back then of cupcakes, twinkies, dingdongs, and zingers, anything sugar free would have been less than desirable. Man, now I’m thinking about cupcakes, twinkies, dingdongs, and zingers. Better change the subject.

Here are some pictures from the garden. It is far from finished, but it is progressing!






What else? Back to the sugar free thing, I’m going to try to make the tapioca pudding that Bobby suggested. I now have all the stuff to make it. Yeah!

Hmmm, if I can find the time to reminisce the next few days, I think I might do that. I’m sure you will really find that boring, but it has to be done. I have spent way to long repressing my childhood, well, parts of it anyways. Its good to relive the good times now and again. Growing up in the 80’s was totally Gnarly dude, …psych!

Stressed Out?

I went to the nurse's office at school today and had them check my blood pressure. Once again I was told I had high blood pressure. I keep thinking that one of these days I will have it checked and the nurse or doctor will say, "Looks good." Then, I will never have to have it checked again. Just kidding.

Does stress cause high blood pressure? I work in a stressful environment. I just finished taking two stress tests and they both said things like, "High susceptibility to stress-related illness," and "Take care of it now before a serious illness erupts or an affliction becomes worse," and "Get help!" But I've always been a nervous, yet driven person. Hmmm, how is one to change? Do I even want to change? I'm only at "Stage 1 Hypertension." I don't want to take medicin, and there are so many variables that I just don't feel like I can change. Hmmm, lots to think about.

Posting Comments

Some of you have e-mailed me about the comments not working right. I have added word verification to the comments because of a nasty spam I got. I hope no one read it before I was able to delete it. Anyway, to add comments, you can simply choose "other" or "anonymous," and type in the word verification as it appears. Of course, you can always sign your name if you like. If your comment doesn't appear the first time, try to type in the second word verification (you don't have to repeat your comment for this to work). Thanks...we would LOVE to hear from you. :)

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A Better Weekend

This weekend has been good. Friday night we hung out at home. Saturday I began the “Square Foot Garden,” and Saturday night we had an AWESOME time at the church Supper Club. Sunday we went to church, and then out with friends to Chillie’s. The wait was way too long, but the fellowship was more than worth it. This afternoon, we had a rather large thunderstorm come through. As is often the case, after the storm passed, the sky looked amazing! Below are some pictures with a short description.

After putting down some cardboard, I finally put the soil into the box. We had hoped to get the box planted this weekend, but we ran out of time. There seems to be a little competition developing with this, so I hope to get it planted just as soon as possible.


Both of these pictures were taken after the storm had passed. It seems like these might be “mamamus” clouds, but I’m not quite sure. Anyway, they were really neat, and looked much better in real life!



After the Great Flood of the Bible, God made a covenant with man that he would never again destroy the world with water. As a sign of this covenant, the Bible says that God “put his bow in the sky.” Here is a picture of God's bow, Amy, and Callie! In the background you can see the sun hitting the trees just at the bottom of the rainbow. Hmmm, perhaps a pot of gold??

I couldn’t help but try to take a picture of myself with these clouds in the background. The color is pretty close to the actual color since the sun was going down. These clouds appeared in the east. Generally a redish colored sky is seen in the west at dusk, but here it was seen on both horizons.