Amazon Let Me Compare Kindle Fire To iPad2!

Okay, so I might have tried to post a comment on Amazon requesting that they give me a free Kindle Fire to compare to my wife's iPad2.  I know the two have a lot in common and quite a few people suggested that Apple isn't even comparable, but I think that for the price if it works it is a better overall value.  Of course other people posted that they couldn't even come close and there are always the sarcastic folks who say things like I might as well compare the iPad2 to a fire extinguisher or the Kindle Fire to a toaster.  I say this is America, we have a right to our own opinions, so if you want to try to score a free Kindle by offering to compare it to another product, go for it!  If you want to tell somebody they may as well compare it to an inanimate object, well that's okay too! 

Don't Worry, Be Happy!

Okay, so it's been a while since I've been able to post anything.  To be honest I was a little disappointed when Adsense took away the links to their ads and discontinued my account.  I believe somebody at work was clicking a lot on the ads thinking they were helping me. I do appreciate the thought, but it ended up costing us the tiny revenue it would have created to help out with foster care.  I know God has bigger plans so I'm not really that bummed about it.  He will always provide whatever we need anyway.  Whether or not this generates revenue I think I'll still keep it up, maybe just not posting as often.  It's kind of fun putting my opinion out there for anyone to read if they happen to stumble upon it when googling about current news or just some of the random topics I've blogged about.  If you're interested I thought you should know that I do plan on trying to put music to Stooped Peeple and posting something on Youtube.  Be on the lookout for it!  Until next blog, hope you have a great day, week, month, or if you're really not that into reading,  a great year!

Why be stressed when you know you're blessed?

Today I let stress get the better of me.  I could literally feel my blood pressure rising, my heart rate increasing, my face getting hot, and a surge of anger rising up from deep down.  I try not to let it show, but it always slips out and hurts the wrong people.  Well anybody it hurts would be the wrong person, but I think you know what I mean.  I think we all need ways to relieve the pressure and stress of day to day life.  One of my favorite songs is "Under Pressure" by Queen because there are times in my life I feel like "hey that's me!".  I think probably one of the best ways for me is listening to some of my favorite musicians like Third Day, Casting Crowns, and maybe even a little classic rock.  But if you want a really good way to relieve stress I've found that talking about it with your spouse or a close friend is going to help a lot.  Sometimes that's all you need is just someone to listen.  Most importantly God will always listen anytime we want to talk to Him and that's always going to help!

Why be stressed anyway?  What is worth the rise in blood pressure?  I used to be a very laid back kind of person and not so easily stressed.  I am blessed beyond belief with a wonderful wife, a great roof over our heads, reliable cars, a very good church, and the start of several new friendships, and of course most importantly with eternal salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ!  Why should the things of this world cause stress when heaven awaits when my time on earth is done?  I think if any of us ever get stressed out beyond belief that is something we should all keep in mind. 

Once Upon A Time

Once upon a time he dreamed of being a fireman, then a policeman, then a teacher, then a rockstar, then a lawyer, and then a family man.  None of those dreams were bad, but none of them happened.  It's been said that life is what happens while we're making plans, but I think it's really different.  What it should say is "God is what happens while we're making plans!"  He (okay, he is me) did once dream of being all of those things at one time or another, and who knows maybe rock star is still attainable, but God has had me where He wanted me to be the whole time.  I often think about how often we've moved and how much I have hated being uprooted and having to pack and unpack all of the time, and that was before I joined the army!  Now we've been blessed with a home, have started to grow roots and find friends here as well as a really good church, and seem to be living the American dream.  Soon we will become foster parents and have a full house.  You never know what God has in store for you!  All I can really say about all of this is that sometimes life seems overwhelming, but if you just let go and let God, He will always give you enough strength to get through.  I never thought we would end up where we are now, but God knew, and He knew before I did that I was going to love living in the Pacific Northwest.  Maybe one day we will move again, I really don't know.  I hope it's really time that we settle down and stay but if God has other plans I will keep an open mind and heart.

Bad husband

Don't be like me!  Today I was a bad husband.  My poor wife was in pain and I didn't even ask her how it happened until hours after I got home.  I didn't even ask to look at where she was in pain until she showed me where she was hurting.  I hope she will find it in her heart to forgive me for being such a rude husband.  I was wrong to ignore her pain and not try to do something to help her.  I will be  a better husband in the future so she will know how much I love her!

Finding a job would be great!

Okay, I'm almost out of the army and I admit I'm a little nervous about the job market out there!  I recently went to a job fair on Fort Lewis and was relieved to find I still have enough common sense to outshine other potential job seekers.  Please keep in mind that the idea of this job fair was to help soldiers transitioning from the military to find civilian employment.  They were informed that they should dress as they would for an interview and put their best foot forward, and bring plenty of copies of their resumes.  When I walked in there were about 200 people going from booth to booth checking out opportunities.  Out of those two hundred about half were in uniform, which I can understand, maybe they only could get away for a little bit from their section and that's totally understandable.  Out of the other one hundred maybe about 50 were dressed for an interview, and out of those 50 only about 10 were holding anything that looked like it might hold a resume.  Out of the ones in uniform only a handful of those had resumes as well. Several of them had brought their spouses and children. When I walked into the room with my leather attache, and dressed for success people started coming to me from the booths and asking for my resume.  I think they were just looking for someone who was serious about finding a job.   I am really looking forward to rejoining the civilian workforce and I am feeling more and more confident about the opportunities that are out there.  If the competition is anything like the job fair then I know it won't take long to get employed!

You have got to see "Courageous"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was supposed to go watch this movie on Friday night with my church, but it was a long day yesterday and I thought I would have had trouble staying awake for the whole thing so my wife and I went and caught a matinee showing today.  After seeing this movie I don't think there is any way I could have fallen asleep if I had watched it last night instead!  This movie has got a very good message, a lot of action, and it seems to me that with each movie Sherwood Pictures makes the quality just seems to get better and better!  I think it should show Hollywood that you can make a great movie with a wonderful message and no swearing and people will come and watch!  I promise if you watch this movie you will laugh, cry, and be sitting on the edge of your seat for a good portion of it!  Immediately after this movie was over I informed my wife we were buying the DVD when it comes out!  She replied with "I thought that was a given!"  If I could afford it I would go see it again, buy tickets for anybody else that would go with me to see it, and rent out the entire theatre and just start bringing people in from the streets to see it!  It is that good!  There are parts in this movie that are so moving that when you're not falling off your seat because your laughing so hard or trying to dab the tears from your eyes you will get chills! Above all people I would recommend this movie to fathers everywhere.  It's a great family film, period, but the message is really aimed at fathers and their responsibilities.  I don't want to give anything away so I'll stop writing about this for now, but trust me, if you only go to the theatres once this year, this would be the time to do it!

Bank Of America Charging Debit Card Use Fees! Outrageous!

Okay, I know we're in a recession and everyone is desperate for money, but is Bank of America really serious about charging us an extra $5 a month to use our debit card?  I left Netflix because they raised their prices and now I'm parting ways with B of A.  Why should I have to pay for access to MY money?  They get to hold it and invest it and earn interest on it, but that's not enough anymore, now they want to charge me for the privelage of making my money available for purchases.  I think I need to add another line to my "Stooped Peeple" post from a few weeks ago. "When you don't have any cash and you got to buy it fast, don't used your debit card, cause the cost will hit you hard and if you want to know who to thank, just visit your local bank."  I heard a newscaster say something about this earlier that was so true.  I don't remember which reporter, but it was on Fox News "aren't the banks supposed to be the ones that help us SAVE money?".  It just seems like everything these days is leaning toward making us pay more for things that we already pay too much on.  B of A earns money from holding on to our money.  Yes, if we have a savings account they pay us interest, but it's only a portion of the interest they are receiving from investing it by loaning money to people for houses, starting businesses, and other personal or business loans, as well as whatever investments their board of advisors choose to invest in.  I don't understand how this could be any good for their business.  I would think with all of the choices out there for our banking needs they would strive to be more competitive, not to strive to be the bank that costs it's customers the most money.

Looking forward to Courageous!

Our church is going to see the movie "Courageous" when it premieres this Friday and I am really excited to see it!  I have an idea of what the plot is, it's about four men who work in one of the most dangerous job fields there is chasing down drug dealers and other criminals, but haven't spent the time they need to in order to get connected with their children and they have no idea how to do it.  I've seen the other movies they have put out and have been thoroughly impressed.  My wife and I love "Fireproof" and have watched it several times. We've also watched "Facing the Giants" and "Flywheel".  I'm so glad these type of movies are getting more popular.  I know the whole idea is to get a bunch of Christians to the movies so Hollywood will start making movies more like these, and I hope it works.  All of these movies that I've seen always leave me feeling better about the world we live in, like there is still hope for change.  I love the movies where the main character has a heart change that really starts turning things around in their lives and the lives of those they interact with.  I have a feeling I won't be disappointed with this movie.  Of course I'm a huge Casting Crowns fan also, so it probably helps keep the excitement going since I'm constantly hearing the title song they did for this movie that will be on their new CD "Come To The Well" coming out next month.  I hope anyone that gets an opportunity to make it to the movies this weekend will give "Courageous" a shot and help Hollywood to see which direction it should be heading!

Bruce Titus Re-revisited! They let me down!

I gave Bama and Bruce Titus Nissan serious props before for great customer service, but now it's time to reconsider.  Bama still did a great job, he was always pleasant when I talked to him on the phone, but sometimes he didn't follow through with his promises.  We purchased a Nissan Quest minivan a couple of months ago and thought that everything was fine when we left the dealership and we would have our vehicle registration and tags within a couple of weeks just like when we got our Altima not too long ago.  When you buy a new car you can get a temporary vehicle pass to get into military installations like where I work, but you only get 30 days, which is usually plenty of time.  Once you have your registration and new license plates you can get a sticker that allows access until your ID card expires which in my case is a couple of years.  Here's where the problem came in:  We were approaching our 30 day mark and still no new license plates or registration.  I called our friendly car salesman Bama and he assured me he was going to take care of it.  I waited patiently a couple of days before calling to check again.  Bama apologized for forgetting about me and said he would get right on it and I should receive a call within a couple of hours.  A couple of days later I called Bama because I still had not received a call explaining what was going on with our registration.  By the time our 30 days was up I was really frustrated with the whole thing.  We had traded in a vehicle, put a thousand dollars down, and had been driving the new van for over a month without any idea who we were going to send a payment to or where our registration and license plates were.  Soon after this Bama connected me with Scott, who works in the finance department at Nissan.  Scott gave me his cell phone number and said I could call anytime to find out the status of our registration, but at that moment he still had no information.  A few days later he called back and said that it was finally all straightened out and we should have our tags within a week.  I had talked to the people at base and they had given me a couple of extra weeks, so according to Scott's timeframe I would have had almost four or five days to spare.  When I got down to the last day of my two extra weeks I again called Bama, and finally he told me our tags had arrived at the dealership. (They were at the dealership, not already in the  mail like Scott and Bama had been telling me).  I happened to be going that way anyway that day so I was able to pick them up, but it was a very frustrating experience to have to wait until the last possible minute to get what we needed.  When my wife and I arrived at Bruce Titus Nissan in Olympia we asked for Bama since he said he'd grabbed our plates for us.  When he arrived he quickly handed them off and then apologized and said he had to take care of some other customers so he could give them the same great service he gave us.  I understood that, no problem, but Scott from finance came over and seemed really obnoxious asking me and my wife "Hey, what's that? Is that what I think it is?  That's your license plates and registration!  See I told you we'd get them!"  At this point I just wanted to get a printout of my insurance card so I could go to post and get the vehicle registered which I thought would be the least they could do since I had to wait over a month and a half to get my registration and plates, but they acted like it was a problem for me to use a computer.  They had no problem letting me get on when we were buying a car and they needed a copy of my pay slip.  I was very disappointed overall in how this vehicle was handled.  Our experience with the Altima was great, and until we had an issue with getting the registration the experience with the van was great.  I just wish that there was better communication.  If there was a problem with the financing or something else that was keeping me from getting the registration I wish they would have just told me and not let me trade in my old van and drive off with the new one.  I think the customer service level dropped since our last visit. 

Everything Pizza! Just reading this might make you gain weight!

Okay, I like to cook and I like to eat, but most of all I really like to cook and eat any kind of pizza.  I've learned you can make a lot of things with pizza ingredients and it tastes really good.  There are a few items I've noticed that claim to taste like pizza that, while they may taste good, they don't really even come close to tasting like pizza.  I'm thinking of Combos and any kind of potato chip when I say that.  But in case you love pizza as much as I do, here are some ideas for some delicious, scrumptious, make your mouth water just thinking about them ideas!  It may sound gross at first, but if you try it you will become a believer: the pizza omelet!  Just whisk a couple of eggs together in a bowl, add a little milk, some pepper (crushed red pepper if you're a true pizzaholic), and some garlic powder or salt.  Heat up your skillet and either spray it with non stick cooking spray or put some oil in the bottom.  When it's heated up gently pour the eggs into the skillet.  As the omelet starts to cook lay down some pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, sauteed bell peppers, mushrooms, and onions, and a little pizza sauce.  Fold the omelet as you would any normal omelet, and presto chango, there you have it, the wonderfully awesome explosion of pizza flavor for breakfast!  Trust me, you're going to love it!  Another idea I do that's quick and easy for a lunch or dinner is pizza quesadillas!  Just preheat your skillet or I prefer to use a grill pan to get the nice lines on both sides of the tortillas, set one tortilla on the hot surface, put on some shredded mozzarella, or a couple of slices of provolone, some pepperoni or sausage, or ham, some mushrooms, and whatever pizza toppings you would normally like, then some more cheese and another tortilla.  After a couple of minutes flip the quesadilla over to cook the other side.  When finished remove from pan, slice into six and use pizza sauce for dipping!  Here's another great option for pizza lovers!  Johnsonville has started making Italian sausage in burger shapes, so prepare as you would a hamburger, add butter and garlic to your hamburger buns and toast in oven or on grill, use pizza sauce instead of ketchup and either mozzarella or provolone for your cheese and oila! you have the magnifico pizza burger!  Okay, well I could go on and on for days and tell you all of my ideas for pizza ( I have at least as many as Bubba has for shrimp!), but it's late, I'm tired, and now I'm really hungry!  Until next time, I bid you good night!

Where will you be in ten years, ten weeks, ten days, or ten minutes?

You never really know what the future's going to hold, so the answer to this question is really hard to come up with, especially if you want to be accurate.  God tells us in the Bible that we don't know when our time on earth will come to an end.  I don't think that means that you shouldn't try to plan for the future though.  You may not know where you're going to be in ten years, but you can try to take steps to at least bring you closer to a goal.  Joseph stored up grains in Egypt because the Lord told him a drought was going to sweep through the land and he made sure Pharoah had his people store up all of their grains so they would be ready.  I think that's what we're supposed to do while we are here on earth.  I think God wants us to to fill up the silos with the souls of the lost so we can be ready for the future.  I'm not a preacher, I haven't been to seminary, but I do know that the Bible tells us to go out and spread the news of God's salvation for the lost.  I've been thinking a lot about the future lately and I think when in the Bible it talks about the man who stored up his riches and then died it's just trying to convey that if you are blessed you should share the wealth and not try to hoard it for your own future.  Does this mean you can't save up for your kid's college, or a house, or even a car?  Of course not, I think it just means that we should look where our hearts are and not do things out of selfish motives.  I don't mean give all of your money to the government either, I think so much more would be accomplished if we would donate our time and money to specific causes or charities so we know where the money is going.  So when you're planning for what you're hoping your life will be in ten years, just remember that the most important future is the one we will have after we leave this earth!

I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

Okay, so I might have used that title before, but it's true, what else can I say.  If you've been reading my or my wife's blog you know we had a break in a couple of days ago.  Since then the support from our friends and my coworkers (some of whom I consider friends) have been very supportive.  You really do find out who your friends are when a crisis occurs.  We were very fortunate that this break in ended up being more of a wake up call for our home security needs.  The really awesome part beyond the obvious of nobody being hurt is all of the support we've been getting.  Most of our friends have offered us cash if we needed it and have called to check on how we have been doing since it occured.  I know my wife and I both feel violated, after all who wouldn't?  Somebody came into our home uninvited, went through our stuff, and left us feeling like we are more vulnerable than ever.  I am sure we are going to get better, start to feel safer (we put alarms everywhere and added things to keep the windows from sliding open past a certain point) but all the support from our friends is truly the best. My work was even understanding enough to give me the day it happened off so I could handle all the stuff with the police and resecuring our home.  Thank you everybody, it really meant a lot and we really appreciate it. 

Military ends "Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy"

Okay, the end of the world is near!  Some may call me a homophobe, others a religious fanatic, but I know in my heart homosexuality is wrong.  I'm not perfect and very far from it, so I don't judge homosexuals, or at least I try not to.  I don't discriminate against them, at least as far as I'm aware, but there is one thing  that really bothers me about this whole thing besides the Biblical wrongness of it.  Being in the Army we are placed in situations where I may be showering with these people in shower trailers.  I'm not worried about being attacked, but honestly I don't think it's right for someone who is attracted to males to get to shower with males.  I don't think they should shower with females either because I'm sure if that were the case some guys would just say they're gay to get to shower with women.  I think if the army is going to let them be openly gay, then let them have their own showers.  I've tried to talk to people about this and have been told "You don't have to worry, just because they're gay doesn't mean they're attracted to you or want to see you naked."  I don't care what you say, if that's the case then what would be the big deal if I showered with females as long as I wasn't attracted to them?  Call me a prude, old fashioned, a Bible thumper, I don't care, but with this new policy it makes me really happy to know that I don't have long left in this military.  It really makes me wonder how long it will be before they start allowing gay military couples to share barracks or on post housing.  What a shame!

Blessed By A Break In

Our house was broken into in the early morning hours today.  I'm a very early riser for work so I actually almost walked in on it while it was going on.  We have a two story home so I believe that the crook or crooks took off when my alarm went off and they heard me coming.  I didn't realize at first that we had a break in, it took my brain a while to realize it.  I started getting ready for work, walked downstairs to let the dogs out, and I heard a horn honk like when someone uses the lock button on their key and didn't think anything of it at the time, I thought maybe one of the neighbors just got home, then I went back upstairs to say goodbye to my wife, and as I walked back down the stairs I noticed our living room window was open really wide.  I walked over to it and was able to put my hand outside and immediately the hairs on the back of my neck went up.  I thought, where's our screen?  I then proceeded to thoroughly check every room, closet, cabinet, and the garage until I was sure nobody was in our house still.  I walked into the backyard and checked for anyone there, and then I went back in to see what was missing.  I noticed our firesafe box was lying open on the floor and after a little searching I realized my wife's purse was gone.  I locked all the windows, double checked the doors, and then went back upstairs hoping my wife had her purse in the bedroom.  She was shocked to see me back already and then I said to her "Honey, I don't want to scare you, but do you know where your purse is?".  Thus I discovered her purse was missing which had our van key in it.  Remember the honking horn?  That was our van, not the neighbor.  Fortunately God was really looking out for us because our car was in the driveway, but our van was in the garage, which they had not gotten into yet.  Had I of been a few minutes later waking up we probably would have been missing at least one if not both of our cars.  But God was really looking out for us because I had done something unusual the night before and kept the car keys in the bedroom.  The next several hours were filled with filing a police report, waiting for forensics to show up, cancelling all of our credit and debit cards before they could use them, and buying alarms for all the doors and windows.  I don't want to dog on the police or anything, it was still dark when they showed up, and they took all of ten minutes to tell us they would file a report but nothing would probably come of it and took a brief look in the backyard to see whatever they could see.  After they left I relocked all the doors and then went out front and started looking around and God had blessed us majorly once again!  I found my wife's purse outside on one side of our house tucked in between the electric meter and cable box.  Of course the money was gone, but everything else including the van key was there!  Praise God is all I can say to that!  I was so worried that we would have to forever keep an eye out for someone trying to steal the van.  Anyway, this is probably the longest blog I've written and I'm not sure where to end it or how other than to thank God that nobody got hurt, my wife's alright, I'm alright, our losses were minimal, and our dogs are fired!  We still love them, but they suck at guarding, I'm going to buy a Lab or Great Dane or something now.

Star Wars on Blu-Ray

Okay, I admit it freely, I'm a Star Wars nerd.  Am I a "scruffy faced nerfherder"?  Well, I hope not, but if anyone called me that I guess that would be a compliment, but I don't think I look anything like Harrison Ford.  When I was in gradeschool we had to come up with our own fingerpuppets and create a skit.  My best friend and I of course chose to do C3PO and R2D2 having an arguement about who was smarter.  I think I won because nobody understood my friends beeps and bloops while C3PO actually got to use real words.  I used to have the entire baseball card collection from Return of the Jedi.  I attended a special showing that had Darth Vader available to talk to after the movie and I asked him where he parked his Tie Fighter!  A Jawa told me that it was on the roof but I didn't see it when I left, so I'm pretty sure he was just lying trying to get me to buy a droid or something.  I just added a list of some of my favorite things to scroll down the side of this blog and of course the newly released Star Wars on Blu Ray is included.  If anyone is interested you can click on these things and order them from Amazon. 

Home Groups

Starting or attending a home group through your church is a wonderful thing to do.  It helps build relationships within the church, makes you feel more a part of something, and provides a good environment for believers to come together and really do some great things for Christ.  We started a home group a few months ago and it's a very nerve racking experience at first.  I am not saying that to discourage anybody, because that part doesn't really last that long and it really depends on the kind of person you are.  My wife and I are admittedly introverts, but we really felt this was something God was putting on our hearts to do.  Our group started out fairly small, we had two couples to start with, went up to three and then down to one. Now it's been a little over half a year and we have nine members total.  So basically we just kicked off our second home group this week.  The first meeting has always been about everybody getting a chance to get to know everyone else so we had a dinner get together with some question and answer time.  This is really hard for an introvert to do because everything in me wants to just be one of the people answering questions, not the person asking and trying to start conversations.  I really think that it's going to get easier as time goes on and we become more comfortable with everyone, after all the one couple that stayed through the entire time last home group we have really started to form a connection with.  That's actually too clinical a term, let's change that to friendship, yeah that's better.  And that's really a big part of what it's all about right?  I know we are supposed to go out and make the world into believers, but I know that's going to be a lot easier when we have fellow believers that we know and trust at our side encouraging us and standing beside us as we work together on the Great Commission.  I think that even Paul couldn't have done all he did without his friends.

How Do We Ask The Right Questions?

This idea just came to me and it seems so obvious, but so many people, including myself, don't always ask the right questions when we meet new people.  I recently asked a guy what he does for a living only to find out he was currently unemployed.  Then, continuing to stick my foot even further in my mouth I asked if he had any kids.  The answer was no and they had been trying for a while.  I can definitely relate to that one.  My wife and I have been trying to have children for 14 years.  While it used to be a sore subject I think we've gotten used to the question and try to answer gracefully, but it leads me back to my question, how do we know what to ask if we're trying to forge new friendships without possibly offending anyone?  One book my wife is reading suggests that we ask if they would just mind telling us a little about themselves instead of asking for specifics.  While I like that approach I tend to be very forgetful and will probably not remember to think to ask that.  Once you find out about a situation someone is going through, how do you show concern without touching a sore spot?  I know a few people who are currently unemployed and I want them to know I'm praying for them but it just seems rude to ask "Have you found a job yet?"  Maybe a better way is simply to say I hope the job search is going well, and I've been praying for you.  I think the world would be a much better place if we all just put a little thought in before we spoke.  I know that I've done this to many people and I am truly sorry for anybody I've unintentionally hurt through these type of questions.  I think most people wouldn't tell you that it bothered them, but I still think it's worth trying to be more consderate. 

Remembering 9/11

Most of us remember where we were and what we were doing when we found out about an airplane crashing into the World Trade Center.  I was working a temp to hire accounting job in Daytona Beach, Florida.  A coworker had his radio on and was talking to a friend of his on the phone.  His friend told him a plane had just crashed into the tower and he immediately passed the information on to me.  I remember the song that was playing on the radio, it was Nickelback's "How You Remind Me".  He hung up and we both tried to figure out how such a crazy accident could happen?  Then a few minutes later he got another call from the same friend informing him that another plane had crashed into the second tower.  All theories we had of student pilots went out the window, we knew there was a lot more to it.  The next few weeks were a news filled haze with images that will never leave any of our minds.  There's no need to replay the footage even though of course they will, those pictures, stories, struggles, sacrifices, and the way this country came together will be permanently burned into the minds of those of us who lived through that time in our country's history. A lot of people turned to God, which of course in my view was the best answer to all of the pain caused by these terrorists.  For the first time in a long time politics were laid aside, we still had Democrats and Republicans of course, but they were all unified in the decision following that day to pursue these terrorists until they were brought to justice "Dead or Alive!" 

It took a few weeks to seep in to my brain what I really wanted to do.  I didn't feel right sitting behind a desk pounding computer keys.  I was feeling more and more like there was something more I could be doing.  Balancing books for a timeshare company was not doing anything for me, I felt like I should be doing something to help our country.  I'm not saying I wanted to go to war, but I did feel it was time to serve my country and actually do something about that feeling inside, I think it's called patriotism.  I wanted to join the Armed Services, so I tried the Air Force first.  I weighed 270 pounds at the time.  I'm 6 foot 6 inches tall, but that was way too fat according to their standards.  They told me I should try the army so that's where I headed next and have stayed for the past ten years.  I got down to 212 in basic, and was stationed in Germany after completing AIT.  In a foreign country with my wife, just four short months go by and we're informed that my unit will deploy to Kuwait within a few months.  On the day we went to the airport to fly into Kuwait we were put on standby due to the "Shock and Awe" campaign.  We were held in Rhein Mein for a day and then flew to a base in Italy  where again we were held over a couple of days.  One jet flying out after another set off the skies at night with a loud roar and bright flames from the turbo thrusters.  These guys were loaded for bear with missiles anywhere they could fit them!  It was an amazing sight to see.  I know there's a lot of banter about how the different branches of the military treat each other poorly or there's some sense of one branch thinking they are better than another, but I can tell you firsthand that when times are tough and we are at war, I don't care if the guy that's fighting with me is a soldier, marine, airmen, or whatever else you want to call him, as long as he's an American! 

I didn't plan on going to war, but I did want to do something to serve my country.  9/11 stirred new found patriotism in our nation, a common bond between all of us forged that we knew we were going to get through this, and come back better than ever.  It's been ten years since that life changing moment.  I don't regret joining the Army.  I know it's been a huge sacrifice for my wife, but I know she doesn't regret it for a minute either.  She married me when I was still going to college to become an accountant.  That used to be my dream and who knows, it might be what I go back to after I get out of the military.  I thank her so much for the sacrifices she made by allowing me to pursue a career serving my country.  I know it's been said so much it's bound to sound cliche, but it is so true: the toughest job in the military is that of the military spouse.  Just try to listen to Lonestar's version of "I'm Already There" with the messages from home and you'll see what I mean.  Honey, if you read this, I just want you to know that I love you so much and I really appreciate all of the sacrifices you've made over the last ten years!

The Med Board Is A Long, Long, Long, Long, Long, Long, Long, Process!

Okay, so the title may sound bad, but I guess it's not really that long.  When I started my Med Board with the initial briefing in March we were informed that it has been taking about 10 months to get to the finish line.  I just got read my narrative summary yesterday and will hopefully be signing the finalized copy of it soon.  When I went in to have it read to me the doctor's words were "The clock is now ticking!".  My initial thought was "doesn't Tricare cover this?".  He went on to explain that according to Congress there is as of the sixth of September 90 days to complete everything. I should get my declaration of fit or unfit for duty within 30 days, my disability percentage rating within 30 days after that, and orders within 30 days of that.  He told me now is the time to consider how much leave I have left and what all I need to get accomplished before I get medically retired out of the army.  (It will be a medical retirement because I know I will get over 50% and you only need to get over 30%.)  If you take into consideration how long the process has taken for other people it's really not too bad of a timeframe.  According to the doctor I spoke with yesterday even though I went to the briefing back in March, my Med Board process didn't officially begin until May.  That's when the commander's notification was sent out and my Medical Records were submitted to the VA to determine which civilian doctors I would need to visit to verify my claims.  As for the form my Commander needs to submit, well supposedly they sent it to him in May and haven't received it back yet.  I've talked with others going through this process and they suggested I fill out the paperwork and just submit it for his signature.  I understand, our unit has been very busy preparing for an upcoming deployment.  So I filled it out and will give it to him tomorrow, hoping for the best.  But regardless of what my commander does, the "clock is ticking."  I am ready to become a civilian again.  I love my country, I proudly served next to numerous brave people, and will carry these memories with me for the rest of my life when I'm out.

What is love? No I'm not talking about the song by Haddaway!

What is love really?  I just saw a guy on the Bachelor Pad telling a girl that he loved her, and wouldn't it be worth it to pursue that?  I just have to wonder if he's really only thinking of romantic love.  There's a lot more to real love than a feeling.  I've learned a thing or two about the true meaning of love!  Love is not a noun, it's a verb, an action.  Love is not just about physical attraction.  Sure that's a part of it, and it's definitely the part everybody seems to focus on the most.  But the truth is love is the actions you take to show your commitment to the relationship.  It's about living up to your vows when you are married, and making your spouse more important than yourself.  If both people in the relationship do this then everyone gets their emotional needs met and you will have a very happy and fulfilling relationship.  Love is about sticking around even when you don't want to.  It's about swallowing your pride and saying you're wrong when you get in a fight.  Love as a physical attraction won't last forever.  We get older, we lose our sex appeal, get wrinkles, get forgetful (what was I talking about), and if we are fortunate enough to be in a relationship that has real love in it, our partner will still be around to help us get through all of that!  Love is going to a chick flick with your wife when you really wanted to watch Die Hard 2011 since it was going to have Bruce Willis, Jet Li, and Jackie Chan. (Not a real movie as far as I know, but wouldn't that be great!)  Love is eating fish when you'd rather have pizza.  Well, I think you get the point.  Love is about simply being selfless and making your spouse feel loved!

Stupid Commercials

Okay, I had no idea what I was going to blog about tonight until it hit me right in the face!  I was watching television with my wife and a commercial came on where a bunch of people were sitting around a table at a restaurant, the waitress comes up and asks "Okay, who had the yummy cereal, and who has the one that's good for your heart?"  And then of course you have all the people saying whose is whose and their all the SAME cereal!  But that's not the stupid part!  I have trouble believing any large group of at least semi-intelligent people would go to a restaurant to eat cereal!  I mean, I like Honey Nut Cheerios, but I could probably buy a whole gallon of milk and a great big box for what you might pay at a restaurant.  Who thought that was clever?  And what about the one with the guy and his fiance/girlfriend, and her dad?  The phone starts vibrating and a picture of a spider pops up and the dad grabs his shoe and repeatedly hits the phone until it stops vibrating and then after a few seconds gives it another swat.  What's up with that?  First of all who uses a spider as a background photo, and why didn't he say something  right away like "hey stop, that's my phone!"  And then there's the dumb one with the guys who do stupid things with smart phones.  I usually like the Geico commercials, but this one just really annoys me,  I hope it goes out of circulation soon. Okay, I know there's a ton more, so if you like feel free to comment and add some of your own!

Why I cancelled Netflix

I cancelled my Netflix account yesterday.  I used to think it was a great deal.  We were paying ten bucks a month for unlimited streaming content and one dvd out at a time through the mail.  They were pretty fast on getting dvd's out too.  Usually we would mail it out and within three or four days our next movie would be here.  Now they are jacking up their price in hopes that people will strictly go to streaming video and forget altogether about dvd's.  I know that things change as time goes on.  We moved from eight track cassettes to records, from records to cassette tapes, and from cassettes to cd's, and from cd's to mp3s, mpeg, or whatever else there is for streaming music.  I know movies fell along the same path, we went from reel to reel to video cassettes to those big discs that looked like records to dvd's, and now streaming video.  I think it's really great the technological advances our society has made over a relatively short time.  I think it won't be long before my idea for cars will come into play where there are basically a bunch of tiny windmills inside the body of the car that rotate from wind resistance built while driving that store energy to continually run the car.  You would only require a little gas and some battery power to get the car started, but it would then power itself as long as it was moving.  Anyway I digress, the point is that technology moves on, but I don't think that Netflix should jack up the prices of their movies just because they don't want to pay for shipping dvd's anymore.  They don't even offer all of their movies on streaming anyway, so what's going to happen if there's a movie you want to see and they don't have it available?  I'm switching to Hulu or Blockbuster or something, I don't want to pay extra just to keep what I have and those services also offer streaming with more choices!

Man Throws Son Overboard!

I don't know how many of you watch the news, but occasionally if you do you will see some people that clearly  do not deserve to have children because they simply don't know what to do with them.  I don't want to sound judgemental, but how can a dad come on television and say a boat load of people lied about him slapping his ten year old son several times and then throwing him overboard?  I've seen the interview myself and the first thing the guy did when he started speaking was touch his nose!  Isn't that what Bill Clinton did when he said "I did not have sex with that woman!" when asked about his relationship with Monica Lewinski?  I have got to admit, he's either pretty brave or pretty dumb (see my post about "stooped peeple" from a few days back), my guess is the latter.  For those of you who don't know the full story it starts out with a bunch of people calling 911 after they see a man throw his child overboard after slapping him because he was crying.  They think the kid was crying because the man was arguing with his fiance.  The man insisted on the interview that he was not drunk and he was horseplaying with his child.  According to him he had discussed jumping in with his son, but his son couldn't get over the rail so he threw him in and then jumped in right after him.  According to the phone calls to 911 he threw his son in and once he saw people calling 911 decided he should jump in after him, but by then it was too late, the son had been picked up by another boat.  I have a hard time believing this guy on any of this.  I believe he made a stupid mistake and I would have had much more respect for him if he would just own up to it.  Taking a line from Bill O'Reilly, I would say this guy is a real pinhead!

A Little Help From My Friends...

Maybe you remember the old Beatles song, or if you're like me you're more likely to remember the version sung by Joe Cocker and used in the opening scenes of The Wonder Years, a television series from an era where all that mattered was what your siblings were up to, who your love of a lifetime was since gradeschool, and how much your parents didn't seem to understand you but turned out to understand you better than you understood yourself.  I know I've already done a blog about flashbacks, so that's not what this is.  What it is really about is knowing about your true friends.  I don't really keep in contact that much with the people I grew up with, but I blame that on moving around constantly while growing up.  There are a few people out there I've reconnected with through Facebook, but I can't say the relationship is the same as it was way back when.  I remember a line from a Bon Jovi song, "if I got that call in the middle of the night I'd be right by your side...", to me that's what friendship is all about.  You have to be willing to be there for the other person no matter what happens.  I know in my life right now I have a few people I can really count on, and one great big God I can always count on.  Of course one of the people is my lovely wife, who is also my best friend and fits everything I always imagined a best friend and wife could be!  I am so blessed to have her in my life.  Besides her I can count on one hand the people I know I can really count on like in the song.  Some people say that's a shame, but I feel blessed to have that many!  It takes me a while to form lasting friendships and I can honestly say that I would be there for any of them if they ever needed me.

A Day At The Beach!

Today my lovely wife and I took a short road trip to the wonderful not so far away land that is generally known to everyone here as Ocean Shores.  It's nothing like the beaches of Florida, the water is cold, usually it's cloudy (but today it was sunny and probably around 70 degrees), and not many people are laying around on towels soaking up rays and applying sunscreen.  No, when we go it's not for any of those reasons anyway.  We go solely for the beauty of the water, the sound of crashing waves, catching glimpses of wildlife such as harbor seals, pelicans, deer (not in the ocean of course, but on the way there), and occasionally a dolphin or two, and to take short walks on the beach sometimes recovering sand dollars and seashells, and our most favorite thing in the world to do when we go: we sit on the rocks at the jetty sometimes enjoying a picnic lunch, and having an intimate conversation.  We did that today and it felt great!  We almost always have a feeling of peace and renewal of strength when we come back from Ocean Shores, so we usually try to make the trip at least once or twice a month.  It's about a two to two and a half hour drive each way, but oh so worth it.  Often we will bring a Bible with us, or a Bible study or devotional, and sing hymns as we sit together on the jetty watching, listening, and just enjoying God's creation all around us.  It feels like a chance to reconnect with God, each other, and forget about everything else for a while.  I think everyone needs a place like that. 

When it comes to sharing your faith, leave it to God to show you the way!

During my deployment last year to Iraq we were instructed that we could not try to share our faith on purpose with anyone due to the strictness of the Muslim religion.  A part of service tonight reminded me of this because our pastor (using the latest advances in technology) had people text barriers we face in telling others about Jesus and displayed them on the overhead monitors during service.  One that popped up a few times were from high schoolers saying they are told they're not allowed to discuss their faith at school.  A member of the congregation got up at the end of service and assured them this was not true.  He said under our first amendment rights students have every right to share their faith, the only thing the school can do is stop teachers from sharing theirs and teachers who are believers love it when their kids in their classes force them to answer questions about faith because once the door is opened they pretty much have to respond.

Our first amendment wouldn't help me in Iraq because we were in their country, so I'm not trying to say I felt my rights were violated at all.  But a very cool thing came about because of that.  I realized that our chaplain in Iraq would leave religious materials out all the time at the recreation center we had on our FOB.  That's not proselityzing because you're not forcing anything on anybody, it's their choice to pick it up or not.  The FOB I was on didn't have much in the way of music or movies people could buy so any that came in the mail addressed to any soldier or the MWR (morale, welfare, and recreation) were immediately swooped up by American soldiers, Ugandan soldiers, Iraqi Army, and local national truck drivers. God gave me inspiration at that moment and I immediately started emailing every Christian band I could think of asking if they could send any music or dvd's to give out.  I got moved around from FOB to FOB for a while after that, but eventually I made it back to that one and found I had a package waiting for me that was being used as a doorstop.  Upon opening it it turned out to be stuffed with cd's, dvd's, and buttons proclaiming Jesus is Lord, I Heart God, and keychains from Casting Crowns. Inside was a signed card from the whole band wishing me well, along with autographed cd's and dvd's.  I was in shock, our God is so great! I had pretty much given up when I got moved around and thought that my emails never probably even made it to anyone who could do anything.  I think the point of this story is that even when somebody tries to tell you that you can't share your faith, don't believe them, God will show you the way!

Stooped Peeple

Okay I know the title is mispelled, but it's supposed to represent the people this original, soon to hopefully be released on youtube, sung by me in a hopefully funny voice, song that will highlight the behaviors of certain people we all run into on any given day.  It's not meant to be offensive or crude, just trying to make light of situations that cause some of us stress.

Stooped Peeple!

This is a little song I wrote
Maybe about the guy pulling his boat
Driving ten miles an hour down a two lane road
When the speed limit is forty five

Or maybe the gal who cut you off
What in the world was she thinking of
Writing a note on the steering wheel
When the light has already changed and she needs to drive

Or it could be the guy in the WalMart self checkout lane
With two carts full of groceries and parts for an airplane
I could find another line, but I'd rather complain
I thought self checkout was like the fast lane

But that's another story all together
Slow people in the fast lane are like bad weather
You think that it won't stick around too long
But you usually end up being wrong

Or what about the ones who jump in front of line
"just to ask one question, I hope you don't mind"
I've been waiting here since the beginning of time
So what are you, out of your mind?

Oh you just can't beat them
Stooped Peeple
You're always gonna meet them
Stooped Peeple
And when your patience is gone
You're always going to find one
Ohhhhhh, Stooped Peeple

You'll always find one riding a wave
In the middle of a hurricane
Some people you just can't save
They just don't know how to behave

This song could go on forever
Stooped Peeple aren't that clever
They would never comprehend
If you just sang it once again

Oh you just can't beat them
Stooped Peeple
You're always gonna meet them
Stooped Peeple
And when your patience is gone
You're always going to find one
Ohhhhhh, Stooped Peeple

Okay, maybe it will make it to youtube, maybe it won't, and if it's sung by me I won't be showing my face.  Maybe Jeff Foxworthy, or Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall or somebody along that genre would love to take it from here for me.  Let's start  one of those things where people are all talking about that one guy who wrote that crazy song and made it big on youtube, oh yeah it's called going viral, sorry I had a stooped moment!

Hurricanes, Earthquakes, the mad dog of the mideast, and Blood Red Lakes

Recently we've had a lot of things happening relatively close together.  Another madman regime is seemingly brought to it's knees, a giant hurricane is barreling toward the east coast of the United States, earthquakes have occured in the same area, and not too long ago I saw a story on Yahoo about a lake in Texas that had turned "blood" red.  There's always a lot of talk about it being the end times when stuff like this happens, but the Bible I read says we will not know the day the end comes, that is only for God to know.  Ghadafi is gone and I think that's great, but I'm not so sure they should be celebrating until it's clear that he's caught and will return no more.  I think a lot of people in Iraq  were skeptical until we caught Saddam and brought him to trial.  The hurricane that is coming to our east coast is being hyped on the news as the worst storm ever that the east coast has had to face because the area it's headed for hasn't seen a hurricane like that for quite some time.  I remember living in Florida for a few years and everytime a hurricane was coming it was huge news, the media would play it up like it was the end of the world and by the time it actually hit, if it did hit, it did little to no damage.  I'm not saying that is the case with this one, but I do think the media loves to stir up a frenzy when it comes to danger.  I would have thought the earthquakes would have been taken more seriously, one of my friends from high school joked on facebook "I'm sorry everybody, I left my phone on vibrate."  He and I were in high school in Seaside California when a 7.1 earthquake hit San Francisco, so I know he really knows it's no joke, but it seems like a lot of people in that area didn't really worry too much about it.  A lady I saw on the news was being asked by a reporter what she thought when the earthquake hit and her response was "really, we had an earthquake?  I was just shopping in Macy's and I didn't notice."  And as for that lake that turned "blood" red, well it actually turned out it was mud red.  It was either due to the color of the clay underneath the lake, or some chemical all the dead fish put off.  (The fish died due to the heat wave and lack of water in the lake.)  So is it the end times?  I don't think so, but in all honesty, I can't really answer that, only God can.

Do You Care What I Think About You?

It's been brought to my attention that I'm what's known as a people pleaser.  I am happy when I'm able to make others around me happy.  But where does it ever end once you go down that road?  Who gets priority when the things people want clash with one another?  I've discovered it's not about really pleasing people, although that can fit in once in a while.  What it's really about is pleasing God, and yes that does involve pleasing people sometimes, but not always.  Sometimes people may question why we do what we do.  I'm sure people questioned Noah when he was building a huge boat in the middle of the desert that hadn't seen a drop of rain in quite some time.  I'm sure Joshua's people thought him to be a little out there when he told them all they had to do was walk around Jericho for seven days and the walls would crumble down so they could enter their promised land!  I don't know if anything I will do or have done will ever compare to those things, but I know God has a purpose for everything He has us do.  We started the process of foster care a few months ago and I believe we've gotten some of the same looks from people like I imagine Noah and Joshua got.  I know some people get it and others don't, but the One that really matters most of all definitely understands especially since He's the one who put it on our hearts!

Children at Church

Our pastor had a great message today!  He was preaching about a passage that appears in all four of the gospels where Jesus is instructing us to be as children when we go to God.  I thought he (the pastor) made a good point when he pointed out that so often we dismiss children from church to either go to the nursery or children's church, when in all actuality we should keep them with us in service if possible.  What better way for them to learn than to hear the same lesson as we do and ask questions about it?  Sure they should wait until after service to ask us and not interrupt the pastor, but wouldn't that be great?  For one thing, we would have to pay a lot closer attention to what is being said.  How can we answer questions if we weren't giving it a hundred percent of our attention in the first place?  Also it may help us to learn the Word even more because if we don't know the answer we would have to try to find out as well so we could give them a good answer! 

The pastor also mentioned how quick we are to say "if that was my kid..." given different situations.  For example a baby starts to cry during service, we might whisper to our spouse "if that were our kid we'd just go to the cry room!" instead of thinking about how we might minister to that mom or dad in that situation.   In reality you never know where the parents are coming from.   Maybe they just returned from the cancer ward with one of their parents in a terrible situation, or maybe they just lost their job.  Maybe they didn't teach their kids respect, but you never know.  The point is that it is all of our jobs to look after children.  We need to be praying for them that they will grow up knowing all about God, so that one day they can lead others to Him as well.  We need to make it our responsibility to ensure they know about Him.

There are so many directions you can take with this one simple message.  God wants us to come to Him as children.  Just like we know what our kids need or want, we still like to hear them ask for it.  God wants the same thing, that's what prayer is.  Another thing we heard today during the sermon is that on average children laugh 400 times per day.  Do you know how we adults compare?  Only about 15 laughs per day.  It's been said that laughter is the best medicine, maybe that's why adults seem to get sicker more often, we haven't been taking our medicine. 

Bull Riding in a Bear Market

Okay, I don't really know much about the stock market, and I know even less about bull riding, but I do know this: if you don't know what you're doing in either one and you try to do it without any kind of training or schooling, you are going to get hurt!  I know they both have their ups and downs, I know that in both cases the greatest risks can either result in the greatest losses or the greatest rewards!  I also know this:  every bull rider I've seen has fallen off at one time or another, but they always get back up and live to ride again!  No matter what the doomsayers out there are trying to tell you, our stock market will recover.  We may have lost our AAA rating, but so what?  I'm probably about as far away from a triple A credit rating as I can be and I managed to buy a house and get financed on two fairly new vehicles. I may never ride a bull or even invest in the stock market, but if I do either I know that God will be there with me because I will seek Him first when I go looking for answers. 

You Always Hurt The Ones You Love

God showed me today that I can be very insensitive and I frequently speak without thinking about how my words may be conceived by those around me when I took the time to think about how my words sounded.  I recently had surgery on my right wrist for carpal tunnel syndrome, so my doctor's orders were to rest and recover.  I've been doing my best to stick to that, but there are times I just want to help out and kind of forget that I'm not supposed to be not doing too much.  I then admitted to some friends that I've overdone it a few times since my surgery, but I didn't think about how that might make my lovely wife look.  It came across as if she were making me do too much, but really it's my insistence that I take on everything I normally would just to prove I still can and I'm not an invalid.  I really am blessed with a very wonderful, loving, caring, thoughtful wife, who insists I rest and not do too much.  My stubborness usually gets in the way of this and ends up making things worse.  I think it's about time I really listened to her and to my doctor because I'm starting to realize why I've been told to rest and recover.  It really hurts!  My wrist needs time to heal and get better and I need to show my wife how much I really appreciate her and how well she takes care of me!  Who else would be so awesome as to let me get Pizza Hut for dinner the night of my surgery, and then Godfather's pizza buffet the next day for lunch?  Thank you honey for being so wonderful and really taking care of me!  I'm sorry I've been a horrible patient!

This is dedicated to the one I love!

I just thought I might write another blog about how wonderful my beautiful wife is.  She is such a sweet person, who always puts others ahead of herself.  She inspires me to be a better husband and a better person! We've been married for 14 years and she still takes such good care of me.  She is the rock of our relationship making sure that we stay close and keep our relationship as fresh and new as when we started dating.  I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful woman as my wife and just thought that I could share that with everyone! She makes sure I match when I wear clothes other than an Army uniform, she keeps me on time for all of my appointments, and encourages me when I'm having a rough day.  I don't know what I would ever do without her. 

Great customer service from Bama at Bruce Titus Nissan in Olympia

We decided it was time to get another vehicle and we foolishly went somewhere other than where we bought our Altima a few months ago.  We thought we could stay close to home since there's a saying here "cars cost less in Puyallup!"  We looked at a few dealerships and decided to try for a minivan at Larson Chrysler Dodge and Jeep.  We talked to Charlie and Paul and they seemed like great guys who wanted to get us a great car.  We were going to trade in our 2003 Chrysler Voyager with a little over 118,000 miles on it for another used minivan with preferably less than 50,000 miles.  We were aiming to stay under $400 for a monthly payment with $1,000 down and our trade (which we still owed about $5,500 for).  Charlie said he loved dealing with military folks and making them the best deals and he would get us in a car and we would always want to buy our cars from him in the future.  We found a minivan we liked and the deal he offered us was $2,500 down, with payments of $470 a month.  That didn't work for us so he said he would keep working the deal and call us the next day.  The next day I called him shortly after 1pm and left a message.  He called back and said they couldn't help us with a used vehicle but could get us in a new vehicle with our thousand down and $470 a month.  We went to the dealership, test drove the new minivan, loved it, came back and waited to find out about financing.  All of a sudden we became Charlie's last priority.  Other people came in and he told them they would only want to buy cars from him.  We waited about an hour, still got no response from Charlie, or even Paul.  When we tracked him down he said he would call us when he had an answer and we could just go home, so we did.  I called a couple of hours later and told Charlie we would never buy a car from him.  While we were waiting for an answer from Charlie we decided it might be a good idea to call the guy we bought our Altima from a few months ago, good old Bama from Bruce Titus Nissan in Olympia.  Bama is of course a nickname short for Alabama because that's where he's from.  Crimson Tide is plastered all over his desk at the dealership along with a neon sign of his nickname.  He said he remembered us and would love to help us find a van or three row seated vehicle that would be perfect for us, so we made an appointment to see him a couple of days later.  Just as before, when we showed up we were greeted with a very friendly hello and were immediately shown some of the vehicles that he found for us on the lot.  We tried a Dodge Journey first.  Not bad, but not quite what we were looking for.  Then we moved on to a Chrysler Town and Country, but it had a lot of miles for the year it was made.  We then mentioned that we really loved our Altima and wondered if he might have a Quest available or another Japanese made car since they seem to last longer.  After some research on his computer he asked if we wanted to take a ride to Tacoma with him because their lot had a Nissan Quest with around 46,000 miles on it.  It was the beginning of rush hour and Olympia to Tacoma is a pretty good distance, but we were willing to take the trip.  We made it in under an hour, saw the van and knew it was exactly what we had been looking for.  We got to drive it all the way back to Olympia, a very smooth ride and so many cool features in it too.  There's a drop down dvd player for the rear passengers, air conditioning and heating controls for the rear seats, drop down rear seats that fold into the floor, airbags in all three rows of seats and a lot of other cool stuff as well.  When we got back to Olympia Bama really wanted to get the minivan detailed since it hadn't been cleaned yet so he offered us a loaner vehicle until we could make it back.  The next day we picked up our new van (Bama came in on his day off to make sure we were satisfied with the detailing).  I can't go on enough about the difference between the two dealerships.  Olympia may be a little far, but if I'm ever in the market for another car I will only buy from Bama, he works really hard for his customers and will take his time with you.  He seriously would let you test drive every car on the lot if you wanted to.  Oh yeah, another customer came in asking for Bama while he was helping us and he asked another salesman to help the customer since he was helping us, way better than Charlie!  So if you're in the market for a new or used car, I suggest you see our friend Bama (his real name is Kevin Pederson, but if you ask for Bama everybody knows who you mean), and mention we sent you his way, I'm sure he'll cut you a great deal!

Applebee's: There's No Place Like The Neighborhood!

I took my wife out to dinner a couple of nights ago to our local Applebee's.  We've eaten there many times and have up until this visit had wonderful service and outstanding food quality.  Usually there's a manager walking around asking everybody if everything is tasting okay or if there's anything he or she (there's been a couple) can do to improve our dining experience.  This time was different though.  It was very busy, but our server Jaime did an excellent job checking up on all of his customers, keeping drinks filled, and making sure everything was okay.  My wife ordered the riblet/chicken platter and I ordered a bacon cheeseburger.  When our food arrived it looked AWESOME!  My wife started eating and enjoying her meal as I turned my burger over to remove the toothpick and discard all the healthy stuff (you know, the tomatoes and lettuce) and douse the burger with some ketchup.  This is where the problem started.  I noticed there was mold all over the bottom portion of my bun.  So the next time Jaime came by I asked to see a manager.  I told him he was a great server it was nothing about him (I didn't expect him to pick up my burger and look underneath), I just wanted to inform the manager so she could let the kitchen staff know to check their stock and get me a burger without mold.  She came back within a minute with another burger, informed me she stole somebody else's burger and they could just wait a few more minutes, and told me it was just overly hot in the storeroom where they keep the buns.  I said it's not a problem, I just didn't want anybody getting sick and thought they might like to know so they could check their inventory or at least have the people in the kitchen keeping an eye out.  I work in food service and I don't like people who just holler and complain and expect you to make their world a better place by letting them vent their frustrations on you.  So even though she seemed to dismiss it as a farce, I just let it go.  Jaime brought us our check and it really confused me.  I was expecting to pay for mine and my wife's meal, no problem, because they fixed the mistake.  But as I looked over the receipt it showed my burger being charged and then taken off, but when I added up the total of what that should have been it didn't add up.  Even though the receipt made it look like my burger was free I was still being charged for it.  Again I asked Jaime if I could speak to the manager (who I found out through my wife asking the hostess that her name is Desiree.)  When she arrived she said it was a mistake and they would take care of it, they really weren't trying to charge me for the burger, but they had already run my debit card, but not to worry they could still pull it back and refund my card.  I said okay, thank you.  Then they brought me a new bill to pay but didn't bring proof that the other had been reversed.  I couldn't believe it, so again I asked Jaime if Desiree would mind bringing us a copy of the cancellation.  Like I said, I hate being one of those people in a restaurant so I never once got mad, demanded anything for free, or created a scene.  Finally they brought a copy showing me a duplicate bill of the first one, not a cancellation!  So again I asked Desiree to please show me something so I know I'm not getting charged twice for our meal.  Eventually she finally brought out a copy of something resembling what I wanted and we were able to leave the restaurant.  I really like Applebee's,  the whole thing was just very frustrating.  The service has always been great, this is the first time the food has been messed up, but I can't bring myself to stop thinking that she didn't even tell anyone in the back, she just grabbed me another burger.  I hope nobody else got moldy bread and didn't notice it, if I hadn't of turned mine over first (which I usually don't) I would have eaten it.  Ewww!

To The One I Love With All My Heart

To the one I love with all my heart
You've been beside me from the start
As life goes on and years go by
Our love grows stronger I can't deny

You are the only one for me
The one who's love I can't live without
You bring a sweet peace to my soul
And your love conquers any doubt

We were meant to be together
From the day we met to the end of time
We were meant to love each other
As we work our way through this life

This blog is dedicated to the woman who is always there for me when I need her, I know I can always count on her to get me through anything.  Sweetie, you are amazing and I am truly blessed to be your husband!  Thank you for being you and for always taking such great care of me!

Dumb and Crazy Warnings

Okay, let's face it, people do dumb things.  You know they do dumb things by some of the warning labels we see on products these days.  I stumbled across a few good ones and thought I would share them with you.  On Arm and Hammer Cat Litter it actually says "safe to use around pets", well I would hope so!  On a box of sleeping pills "warning, may cause drowsiness".  On a television remote control "Not dishwasher safe", oh man, I wanted to clean up what I was watching!  On a superman costume "wearing this does not enable you to fly", I wonder who found that out the hard way?  I know that there are many more crazy ones out there.  I've thought of some of my own based on where I work and what people have done, because you know that's the reason those crazy warnings are on there, somebody has actually done it!  I work in a dining facility for the army so here's some of mine: "Ensure you pour liquid eggs out of bag before placing on grill".  "Do not cut plastic off of milk bib until pincher is in place".  "Do not thaw bag of hamburger buns in oven".  "Take hot dogs out of plastic before placing in steamer".  "Find a hotel for your mother to stay in before you fly her to the states and make her share your barracks room."  And most importantly: "Please wash hands before leaving restroom!" 

Thank God for Sunny Days!

It's been two days in a row that we've had some very nice, sunny, summer weather!  Okay, so I've been stuck inside at work, but I'm not going to be choosy, I will take what I can get and be grateful for it!  It's still summer time so as long as I'm off work before 7 or 8 pm I'll still get to enjoy some good old fashioned sun time!  Time to take of the grill cover, dust off the outside chairs, dig out the citronella candles, find the bug spray and enjoy some good old fashioned vitamin D.  Okay, I didn't really do all of that and I probably never would just to enjoy some nice warm sunshine.  I'm really grateful that we live in a part of the country that has the best weather right now!  Everyone else is in the middle of a heat wave and we get to sleep at night with the temperature outside in the 50's, and at the most during the day the lower 80's.  People think of Washington and they think it rains all of the time.  I think that's really a misconception.  It can be cloudy for days on end and we do see a lot of rain, but it doesn't really seem to bother anyone here.  Most people don't even use umbrellas, but they do have a strange name for them and a festival once a year using the strange name.  Have you ever heard of a bumpershoot?  Apparantly that is what they call an umbrella here.  Maybe that's why nobody carries one, they don't want to have to hear people say "Hey look!  That guys got a bumpershoot!". 

Krazy in Killeen

I could hardly believe it when I heard the news!  Another soldier attempted to wreak havoc and destroy more lives.  Thankfully a very suspicious gun store owner called the police when he left the store after purchasing gun powder.  I heard this soldier was AWOL from his original duty station and had purchased a uniform similar to those on post in Fort Hood.  Even worse there was an interview with this soldier on CNN or some other news channel a couple of years ago where he told the interviewer that he wanted to get out of the army so he wouldn't have to deploy because according to his beliefs he couldn't kill or harm anyone intentionally.  Needless to say they didn't let him out, so he decided to go AWOL.  I would say enough explosive ingredients to make two bombs and child pornography found on his computer would show that his beliefs have become skewed since that day.  I am so glad they caught this guy before he could do any damage.  People in that area are still recovering from the last guy who went crazy and killed a lot of good people.  Being a soldier I would like to say the safest place in the world should be on a military post, there's always plenty of security and a lot of lifelong friendships.  I pray that God opens the eyes of everyone so we can be as aware as the gun store worker and report any suspicious behavior as well.

Renaming bridges and parks for departed rock stars

I live in Washington state, Aberdeen is just a short drive from my home, maybe a little over an hour.  I can hear the Nirvana song playing in my head everytime I drive through Aberdeen on my way to Ocean Shores when I see their welcome sign proclaiming "Come As You Are" just before reaching the stop light in front of the Wal Mart.  It's been on the news lately that they are trying to rename a bridge and a park after Kurt Cobain, the lead singer of Nirvana who died of a self sustained gunshot wound presumably while he was on heroin.  To me, it just doesn't make sense.  I would be thinking of how he died every time I went over that bridge or passed by the park.  Who would want to be reminded of such a thing?  Maybe they think they're honoring his memory, but to me it would be better to honor someone who did something heroic, or selfless, like maybe that little girl I was talking about yesterday.  Why does our society like to glamorize the deaths, drug abuse, and sometimes outrageous actions of rock stars?  What is this teaching our kids? Amy Winehouse has been all over the news the last few days, her music has sold like never before and her popularity has soared all because she passed away under suspicious circumstances and just happened to be the same age as Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Janis Joplin, and Jimi Hendrix when they died.  I think its time to celebrate the real heroes, like the missionaries dying to get out God's message of salvation, or the people working everyday to provide for those with no health care, food, or water.  Maybe we could name a few bridges and parks after them.

Local girl's unfortunate death brings life to African villagers

Not far from where I live a tragedy occured a few days ago.  A little 9 year old girl named Rachel Beckwith died in a 13 car pileup.  Not long ago she had a birthday and instead of asking for gifts for herself, she requested people donate to help her raise $300 to give clean water to African villagers.  She fell shy of her goal by about $80, but since her untimely demise the church she attended reopened the web site that she had set up to accept donations and now has donations over $390,000.  Okay, that number is no longer right, I just checked the website that's accepting donations for this charity in her honor and it's almost up to a half of a million dollars!  If anyone is reading this and is interested in helping this cause or just to honor the memory of a very selfless little girl here is the website: http://mycharitywater.org/p/campaign?campaign_id=16396.  It looks as if they will be accepting donations for another 25 days.  My guess is that the generosity of Americans will push this to over a million dollars!  It saddens me to see that it takes tragedy to bring out the best in people sometimes, but at the same time it also shows me America still has a heart!

Debt Ceiling, Military and Social Security Threatened, and an email from the President

Okay, is anyone else out there getting fed up with our government?  I love our country, I love our freedoms, but I'm sick of it's politics!  It was only a couple of months ago we were worried about some of the same things. Then it was threats of military, social security, an unemployment not getting paid until a budget was agreed upon.  Now it's the same threats over a debt ceiling not being agreed upon!  Back during the first scare I sent an email to the White House asking our President why we (the military) should have to worry about not getting paid when we were still doing our job.  I think I may have even asked if our politicians couldn't agree on a budget then shouldn't it be them whose paycheck would be in danger?  Well, here it is a couple of months later and I just received an email back.  It was actually kind of funny.  It started out saying "Dear Friend, as Michelle and I have travelled across our great country..." and was of course supposedly signed by Barack Obama.  But the really funny part is none of my questions were truly answered.  The email went on to say all of the wonderful things President Obama has done for our military including raising our pay (which I think I recall hearing our "pay raise" was actually the smallest one we've received in years, not even keeping with inflation), expanding programs for taking care of our veterans, and improving housing and hospital care for soldiers.  Not once were any of my concerns about the possibility of not getting paid ever addressed!  It just makes me wonder if that's what's going on in all of these meetings they've been having to discuss our debt ceiling.  They start out asking the right questions, but by the time they've answered all there is to show for it is how well they can start to campaign for their next election.

Judge not....

I know we've all heard that we shouldn't judge others, it is in the Bible after all, but I also know that doesn't keep us from doing it.  Hey being Christians doesn't mean we're perfect right?  My wife and I are currently going through PRIDE classes so we can be licensed for foster care.  Both yesterday and today we were in a class given by Tacoma's Youth For Christ to receive the first half of our PRIDE training.  One of the things they focused on today was that we shouldn't be so quick to judge.  You never know what a child is going through.  The next time you hear a kid screaming in the grocery store you can't really assume that their mom is beating them!  It could be they saw something in the store that reminded them of a traumatic event that just set them off.  We can't assume all birth parents are bad for their kids.  The whole goal of the foster care is to get the children back together with their parents if at all possible.  It's kind of funny that we went to church tonight and got kind of the same message.  Our pastor talked about the pharisee and tax collector who were both praying and the pharisee says to God "I do everything right, not like this tax collector, I fast twice a week, I tithe" and he just goes on and on.  The tax collector just humbly keeps his head down, beats his chest and asks for forgiveness for his sins.  In their times people would judge the tax collector as the bad guy and the pharisee as the good guy, but in reality it was the other way around.  The tax collector knew he had sinned and confessed while the pharisee tried to earn his way through works.  It just goes to show that judging has gone on since the dawn of time, well at least since after the fall of man.  So maybe we should all really think about it and not be so quick to judge when we see something going on.  Our eyes don't always know the whole story.

I just don't get it! NFL strikes, NBA strikes, MLB strikes

Okay, I googled it and the average salary for an NFL player is about $770,000 a year!  The average NBA player starts in the millions, and as far as the MLB, well I'm almost over their strike from a few years back so I won't go there.  I know they have a tough job that can involve serious bodily injury that could end their career, but guess what?  So do I!!!!!!!!!!!  Mine could even result in (Lord, please not anytime soon) death!  I would love to trade salaries, benefits, and yes even jobs if I could with one of these guys for just one year! Let them play soldier, go camping, fire a weapon, get up at all hours of the day and night, go train in the mountains and desert, and go to Iraq or Afghanistan for a year while I maybe lift a few weights, toss a ball around for a couple of hours a day, bulk up on big steak dinners, and then soak in a giant hot tub just before turning in on my California King Tempurpedic adjustable mattress in my 15 room mansion overlooking the most gorgeous view in my neighborhood.  My whole house would be paid for, both our cars and all of our bills would be paid off and we'd still have a ton of money in the bank!  I don't see what they're complaining about!  I wasn't even counting the money they make from doing ads, interviews, and motivational speeches!  To me it's just crazy how anybody that earns at minimum close to three quarters of a million dollars a year could go on strike because they feel they are not getting paid enough. With a little investing they could easily retire in just a few years and live very comfortably.  Don't they watch the commercials?  They should invest in gold, it's never been worth zero!  Okay that was really unrelated but back to topic.  Does anyone else feel this is just dumb, or is it just me? 

The End of an Era

It's a bittersweet landing for the returning astronauts who made history today.  It's good that everthing went off without a hitch.  They had a great launch, a successful mission, and a perfect landing, but unfortunately it was the last time NASA would be doing this.  I remember one of my first dates with my wife we drove to Cocoa Beach in Florida to have a picnic lunch in hopes of seeing the shuttle nearby.  I remember one morning driving to college in Daytona and being able to see the big orange flames coming out from behind the shuttle as it roared toward the ozone layer.  There were times in grade school we would gather around a small television set to witness a launch and discuss it in the classroom.  Even the movies loved our space program and made heroes out of our astronauts, which I firmly believe they are.  Who else would be willing to subject themselves to such high speeds, dehydrated food diets, cramped quarters for extended amounts of time, and risk death all in the hope of finding new information about outer space, other planets, or pictures of earth from very far away?  Houston, we have a problem!  I don't want it to end!  Maybe some new invention is on the way that will allow us to explore space cheaply in the very near future and we won't have to wait too long for the next adventure.

And The Times, They Are A Changin'

I remember back when you could turn on the television and not have to worry about anything offensive for the family until after 9 or 10 at night.  And even then it was nothing like what you can see during prime time these days.  I don't remember seeing a lot of sexual overtones, crude humor, racism (unless it was put in to make a point of how wrong it was), cursing, drug use (again unless it was to show it as being something NOT to do), and violence.  What happened?!!!  Where are the good old days of shows like Full House, 21 Jumpstreet, Perfect Strangers (will any of us ever forget Balki Bartokimus?), The Brady Bunch, Gilligan's Island, The Fall Guy, Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman, Good Times, Sanford and Son, All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Amen, Highway to Heaven, Touched By an Angel, and Scarecrow and Mrs. King?  Okay my list could go on forever, but my question is still there.  Why aren't these kind of shows popular anymore?  Is it because "the decline of western civilization", are our tastes changing this much so we crave this kind of junk now?  Or is it because this is all Hollywood is offering us right now?  It's almost like the age old question of the chicken and the egg and which came first.  I would like to think as a country our values haven't changed that much over the years.  I know I sound like a bitter old man and I know there are shows out there that still reflect good values, I'm just saddened by the great change of ratio between these shows and the not so good values shows.  Our televisions are overrun by bad examples like Two and A Half Men, Desperate Housewives, Family Guy, The Simpsons, American Dad, That Seventies Show, and a ton more.  I wouldn't deny anybody being able to watch what they want, but is this really what we want our children watching?  I hope that in the future Hollywood might actually consider going back to the old style of family entertainment.

What About The Children?

I've seen some horrible stories in the news lately that have been very disturbing.  There are people out there that just don't know what to do with their children.  I don't know if it's just because they're confused, selfish, scared, or any or all of the above.  I do know they have other options.  Just within this week I've heard three different news stories with mothers giving up their babies and unfortunately I do not mean to adoption.  One story was about a woman who tried to sell her baby at a Taco Bell for $500.  Fortunately the woman she tried to sell the baby to call the authorities and they showed up and arrested the mother.  Another woman went to the hospital, delivered her baby when nobody else was in the room, and then proceeded to throw her baby in the trash.  Fortunately the baby was found in time to save.  The last story I heard did not have any kind of happy ending unfortunately.  There was another woman who went to the hospital claiming she had some sort of ailment.  The doctors discovered she had recently given birth and by the time the police got to her residence the baby was already dead.  I just don't understand it!  To me a child is one of the greatest gifts God will ever give you and to just throw it away, sell it, or leave it to die makes no sense to me.  There are so many options for these women.  They could have put their babies by a hospital, fire station, or police station with no consequences.  They could have placed their babies up for adoption to loving families that would be so glad to raise them and give them a chance at life here on earth.  It's just so heartbreaking to me that anybody could do that. 

Thoughts on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette

I've been watching The Bachelorette these past couple of months with my wife, and I've also watched previous Bachelors and Bachelorettes as well. Now that the confession is out of the way I thought I would share what I think about it:  I don't know how anybody could be comfortable in either position!  I can't imagine having 20 or 30 or however many different people it is vying for my attention all the time, "stealing me away" for a minute, or talking psychotically like we are already married before we even go on a date.  On the other end of that, I would hate to be one of those 20 or 30 or whatever number and be competing for the attention of that one person.  (Unless of course that one person was my wife, because I would be willing to go through that to have her in my life!) Then seeing everyone else kiss, hug, snuggle, share secret smiles, whispers, and hugs would drive me crazy!  I don't know how they do it, but it seems they always seem to have plenty of volunteers to fill the roles.  Sometimes they recycle a bachelor or bachelorette to give them another shot at love.  I don't know for sure what the success rate is for these relationships, but I think it's got to be hard going from dating in paradise, living in a mansion, getting driven around in limousines, and flown around in helicopters to going back to the normal day to day part of life.  It's like leaving Disneyland and walking right into a mugging!  

What's Up With The Remakes?

I've noticed a lot of remakes out there lately.  The Smurfs are in a new movie, Scooby Doo has been in the box office more than he's been on television, and Charlie's Angels are coming back to tv.  It seems that Hollywood is always trying to bring something back.  Sometimes it turns out pretty good, I can't say I was disappointed by the A-Team, but most of these remakes just end up being kind of cheesy, look at the old gimmick type of stuff or they change so much stuff that it's nothing like the original.  Is Hollywood running out of new ideas?  Will the next movie to hit the big screen be a remake of  "Alf", or what about "Who's The Boss?", or even "The Fall Guy"?  I could see potential in all of those, but I am holding out a lot of hope for the new Muppets movie coming out pretty soon.  It sounds like they're going back to their roots!  At least with the Muppets it will be a new story line using the good old characters we already know with a few new ones added in. 

What next? Our government is actually considering this crazy stuff some professor came up with!

I was listening to the news the other day and was shocked to hear that our government is considering taking kids into custody if they are severely obese.  I have some major problems with this!  What's going to be next?  What if they decide next that your kid's failing algebra and whoops!, it looks like little Max needs to go live with some other people who are better at math! I don't know what you think, but I know what I think, and I think this is a crock!  We should be trying to save families, not tear them apart.  Maybe they can't afford healthy choices when it comes to food.  A lot of food that's bad for us is so much cheaper than what's good for us!  You don't see a produce section in the dollar store do you?  If they really wanted to do something it should be that they try to educate people about nutritional choices, or come up with a food stamp system that allows and tracks healthy choices while also allowing  people to monitor their own progress.  I don't think government needs to mess with this.

It's summertime! You know what that means?

Hey it's summer in the Pacific Northwest and you know what that means... yup you guessed it, it means longer waits for the ferries, more traffic no matter what time of day you drive somewhere, and everywhere you look there are more construction sites than there are apps available for your iphone!  You can hardly turn a corner without seeing the orange cones, giant cranes and ditch diggers, and two people who look like they're having the time of their lives holding the STOP and SLOW signs at opposite ends of the construction area holding walkie talkies and looking SO thrilled to be directing traffic for everyone!  What's up with those walkie talkies anyway?  Most of the sites I've seen they can clearly see one another, and are usually close enough they could just give a holler "Hey Joe, you can let your side go now, the blue car's the last one!"  Which is even crazier because Joe can plainly see that for himself anyway!  And just when you think it's safe, the project is over, I can get back to going the way I'm used to, another one pops up causing you to change routes again!  I wonder if those guys holding the signs ever get tempted to mess with people every once in a while?  Can you see it?  You're coming up on the guy holding the slow sign and right as your about to get to the point of no return he quickly twirls the sign in front of you to STOP! Or to make it even more fun he just messes with you and turns it sideways so all you see is a thin line and have the anticipation of "On no! What if he turns it now?"  I usually feel so bad for those guys because it seems like one of the most thankless jobs, so I want to take this time to personally thank all of the sign holders anywhere, but especially those working the construction sites!  This ones for you, sign holders, you do your job with a bored, resigned look on your face, you use your walkie talkies fearlessly while gazing at drivers who are talking on their cell phones while driving, you fearlessly stand there for hours switching faithfully between SLOW and STOP to keep the traffic moving, and you do it all not for glory, nor for fame, nor for the recognition of your peers, no sign holders, you do this for a  much more noble reason, you do it for a paycheck!  In all sincerity guys, thank you, you really do a wonderful job!

Washington state

I live in a beautiful state that is filled with wonderful things to do, places to go, and things to see!  I live in Washington, the state, not D.C.  Here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest we enjoy lush green vegetation year round.  We save a lot on our water bill because we hardly ever have to water the lawn!  We're always just a couple of hours or less drive away from the wonderful rocky coastline and beaches, as well as the majestic mountain landscapes that are beautiful to look at or visit year round.  There are numerous quaint mountain towns that all have their own unique character.  You can drive down the coast and see the rugged rocky coasts of Oregon, or drive up the coast and take a visit to Canada!  There are tons of fresh fish markets, and if you love seafood it is available in abundance here!  Pirates invade the coastline once a year with old fashioned pirate ships, there's a little mountain town that tries it's best to replicate Germany, and plenty of hunting, fishing, and camping.  There are tons of trails to walk and explore!  If you get bored in Washington you're just not trying hard enough!