Its a wonderful day to kick back, remember and celebrate what the 4th of July means. I think far too often we get caught up in all the festivities of events and forget to remember why in the world we are actually celebrating. Maybe you don’t, but I know Andi and I do from time to time.

I think one of the things I’m most thankful for is that we are allowed openly be who want to be in this country. Putting politics and social issues aside, if you truly want to do something in this country, you have the opportunity to do so. Just because there is an opportunity though doesn’t mean that it is going to be easy … I think we miss that from time to time.

Thats my brief thoughts on the 4th. Of course I am most thankful for the men and women who have served and built this country from a military standpoint, and also thankful on a different level for the folks who continually work on making this country what it is.

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Any plans today? We have some friend coming over from my work at about noon or so. I’ve got a pork shoulder marinating right now (has been over night), and hope to get that in the oven and then on the grill sometime this AM. Prolly get started doing some cooking about 10 or so. Might run out later or tomorrow and make a new digital purchase to help stimulate the economy. Justin and I often joke, if it wasn’t for he and I, Japan and those electronics producing nation’s economies might go under, and then can you imagine what the global markets would look like.

We were hoping to get out to the pool later, but we actually have about 6 days of possible rain in our forecast. Haven’t seen that for months … not necessarily a bad thing, it will just put a small kink in the weekend plans. But oh well, worse things can happen.

I prolly need to cut out for now. I need to finish up a few things and get ready to start making the grub. Have a wonderful 4th and a good weekend. We will see you next week.

Until next time …

Thanks for all the nice responses.  Seems like we will keep plugging along here on the ‘heap … which gives me a renewed sense of energy.  I am thinking of making a gallery and blogging change in the future (moving to Apple’s MobileMe) … sometime mid July or so, which I think will be a better platform for us. That is where all of this was kinda going.  I didn’t want to invest in making that sort of change for not, but now that you have confirmed that it wouldn’t be … you can look forward to that migration.

Been a nicely busy week so far.  I’ve hard numerous projects and efforts that I’ve been doing this week and its still not over.  Thursday night has turned into wing night as well, so I’m looking forward to some of that action too.  How has it all been going for you this week?  Andi and I really haven’t done much.  Seriously, outside of work, we’ve done very little. We tried the new Red Robin in Smyrna, we had lunch together at Taco Bell yesterday and we’ve done some light work around the house.  As you can see, it really has been very little.

On a serious note … and I don’t do this very often … we’ve got a friend who has a spot of some kind on his brain (I’m not really going to get into the details), but if you could, just pray for him and his family.

I need to get back at it this morning. I’m looking at 7:42 here locally and its time for some more coffee.

It was good to hear from everyone!

Until next time …

I’m loving being back at work. Its a lot of fun to feel like you are part of a solution instead of just another number in a machine that someone is trying to “tweak”. That’s how I felt previously, like I was just part of a machine.  Not so here.  If you’ve noticed, I never really say who my employers are … for those who know me outside of the web world, you know where I am, but I’m not real liberal about those sorts of things online.

Not much happening around the house these days.  Its a fight against nature to keep the grass alive. Things have been awful dry.  We did some pool action and some grilling action this past weekend. Can’t go wrong with that.  Had some smores last night we the neighbors. Man were those tasty! Other than that, fairly light activity.

I need to jet out, but I just wanted to get back in the groove of posting.  I’m contemplating takinga  break from the blog.  What do you guys think?  I get the vibe sometimes like I’m just writing out into the “void”.  If you read the blog, could you just maybe sign a comment with your name … I don’t even care if you put a body in it. Actually, I don’t care if you don’t wanna use you name, I’d just like to get a feel for how many folks are interested in it.

Hope you have a great start to the week and I’ll see you Wednesday!

Until next time …

It looks like the US Open is going to go into this morning. Hard to believe that 72 holes around that place couldn’t determine a winner … but it didn’t and know they get to play 18 more holes. The USGA is all about tradition, and an 18 hole playoff is definitely that. I am a big fan of the The British Open’s 4 hole playoff. That seems give us the best of both worlds. But there is something special about the 18 hole US Open playoff. In the end, I don’t have an issue with it. I’ll just have to do some DVR’ing.

Playing in another scramble today up at the Golf Club of Tennessee. Its a modified scramble, so it should be a lot more fun than a regular scramble. I’m still on my mini break between jobs. My last day was Thursday of last week, and I start my new spot on Wednesday which is something I’m looking forward to, but at the same time, I’m enjoying my time off. Its a nice break. And I think I’m pretty good at taking time off and enjoying the surroundings.

How has the last week been for you? Did you have a good Father’s day? I was out hitting golf balls yesterday and it reminding me the days that seem so long ago when Patrick and I would be out on the range hitting wedges with dad trying to get it close to that flag on that pathetic first green on the hill’s range. Or the first time we looked down the fairway at #1 at Spyglass Hill. That might have been the neatest view of a golf hole I’ve ever seen. So many good memories. Andi and I were talking yesterday about our parents, and I just want to say thanks to all of you for doing 1 thing. Not giving up and always ’staying in the fight’. I think that is the single biggest issue with the American family. Parent’s not showing up and being their for their kids. And dads are such an important part of the household both financially and more important … Biblically. Our pastor talked for quite a while yesterday on Ephesians 6 … if your not familiar with it, check it out, its good stuff, and it really struck a chord with me.

All and all, a great weekend. I hope you had a chance to do the same. I’ve been absent here and there, but let us know how you are doing.

Until next time …

What’s up with all this heat? Its been in the 90s the last couple of days, with this expected to continue for the next 7 or so with no rain. I had the sprinklers running early this morning to make up for the dry temps. The grass will be fine with this little slump, but we’ve got some new plants and flowers that need the moisture. Hopefully this is not the beginning of a long struggle with the weather like it was last year. We had such a great, wet spring, I’d hate for it to be gone so quickly.

Its been a pretty smooth week. I’m actually down to my last 5 days at my current job, and thats always a good time. Just trying to get myself transitioned and all that comes with that. Other than that, its been a breeze. Andi is cruising along as well, which is great too. We actually hit our 4 year anniversary yesterday which is pretty hard to believe. It doesn’t quite seem that long. Its hard to believe that 5 1/2 years ago, I walked in to mom and dad’s living room and fell in love at first site. (For those who don’t know that story, maybe I’ll share it someday) … Its been a great ride though, and I’m just happy that we are very early on in it.

Did our usual wing thing last night with M & J. Ever Thursday at Wild Wings, boneless are $.50. I just love the mango habenero … throw in a cold frosty beverage and maybe some Sonic Blast afterwards, and you’ve got yourself a pretty great evening!

Not a whole lot going on this weekend. I think Andi is going to put a coat of pain on the bonus room walls today to finish that up (prolly won’t get it all done). Tomorrow, I’m going to play some golf and Andi has some kind of jewelry party to go to, so that should be fun too. All and all, just a really lazy type of time.

I’ll leave you with this … last week we had a chance to do the Grand Ole Opry for the first time. I must say, it was a lot of fun. Now we did have backstage passes and got to sit on the stage, and meet some of the artists, so of course that part was fun, but even the music was good. Its hard to believe, but my ear is developing a liking to the “twang” … who would have thought. Oh, and can you guess who these folks are …

Until next time …

I have been a little erratic lately, I apologize for that. I know that even though 99.9% of you guys out there aren’t actively commenting, your still following along our wonderful journey.

I’m watching my fantasy golfers plug along this morning. Nick O’Hern is off to a fast -3 start to his day. I always enjoy seeing that. And with Patrick and my standard $5 bet / week, it makes it just that much sweeter.

Speaking of journeys … now that Andi is settled in her new adventure, I’ve decided to take one of my own too. I am leaving my current job in 2 weeks to pursue a role at a new company.  This new job will give me the ability to contribute on a pretty large scale and should have so much variance in day to day tasks, that it will always keep me engaged.  I know I will miss the folks here, but we are faithfully stepping out and going to do something different.  It will still be in software, but I’ll be doing more of pretty much everything IT related.  So it should be really challenging. Its amazing what comes your way when you are faithful and trust.

Got a few things going on this weekend. Some lots of fun, some just a little less fun. Nothing stressful or real negative.  Got my typical yard work to do which I am excited about doing.  I always love to fire up those green machines.  I hope to squeeze in 9 holes tonight, then maybe grill up some salmon.  I’m not sure what Andi is going to be up to yet, but I know just being off for 2 days will be good enough for her

I prolly need to split out.  I’ve got a few things to do … now that I’m down to my last 2 weeks, I want to make sure I leave everything in a good spot.

Have a good weekend, and hopefully you get to do some of what you like.

Until next time …

I can’t say that I’ve been personally touched by a war as in someone real close to me has died or is currently serving … my grandfather served in WWII, but having not spent too much time with him growing up, and having never heard one story from him about it, its kind of like out of sight, out of mind. However, I have a great appreciation for those I’ve never met before who are currently serving and fighting and all those who have fought before. It truly is a great service that they are doing and have done. We could be a nation that has no armed forces. Or we could be a nation where service is required like many European nations or some of the communist states in Asia. But we are not. We are a free people who have brave men and women who CHOOSE to serve their country and sometimes pay the ultimate sacrifice for what they believe in and so that we can live the life we are accustomed to.

Makes me think quite a bit actually. The life we are accustomed to. I think thats why we complain so much when things get out of whack a little with our economy or our food supply or health care etc. Maybe thats why we buy a $300,000 house for $700 a month on an interest only loan or an ARM, yet still have a nice SUV to cruise around in. We really have been a society of indulgence. We talked about this quite a bit 3 weeks ago in church. We talked at length yesterday about how Christianity has become about information, and not transformation.

I guess that leaves me with my parting words. I am very thankful for those soldiers. It really makes a man proud of his country and the things that it has achieved in such a short period of history. But don’t forget, God has his hand in all of this. He raises nations up and at this juncture in time, we have a great opportunity be about “transformation” … this world is really looking for that behavior.

You can thank our pastor for getting me going on some thoughts this morning … couple that with Memorial Day and there you go.

We hope everyone has a great day off and does what it is they do to remember and celebrate those that are all too deserving. Get out and BBQ … nothing is more American than that We are either going for some fish or some glazed pork chops.

Oh, and it was nice to see some comments after a few days off. Don’t be shy

Until next time …

And a cherry tree.  Seems we had a not so typical Tuesday evening filled with Irish and Scottish singers.  Andi and I went to KT Tunstall last night at the Ryman.  Paddy Casey opened for her … he’s an Irish singer songwriter.  KT sounds just the same in person as she does on her albums.  She has an incredible voice and is very personable as well. I really do love the Scottish humor and their demeanor.

Tough go this morning in the office. I’m really tired following a night out.  Andi is on day 2 of her new job. She said it went very well yesterday and it seems like both sides are comfortable in the decision to have her come on board. Couldn’t ask for anything more than.  Thanks for all the prayers and thoughts … I know that God had hand in this.

How about the 3 day weekend coming up?  Time for some BBQ. Time for the pool to open this weekend.  Time for some relaxation.  I think its time for us to get started on our painting project too.  I’ve had to go back a couple of times and respackle a couple of the B & D holes … spackle, sand, spackle, sand … but I think they are all just about ready so its time to get going.  It should make for a fairly straightforward project and hopefully not consume the entire weekend. (I would be surprised if it did)  What kinda plans do you have this weekend?  What is something that you do on Memorial Day that you are looking forward to? I sure am hoping it gets real hot this weekend so we could take a dip in the pool. Prolly be pretty chilly, but I don’t know that I care so much.

I keep stretching posts over morning tasks.  Not sure why that is, but this morning I was doing some fantasy golf research and looking at albums on iTunes.  I get distracted easily when I’m not real busy.  Not sure why that is, thats just how it is though.

Until next time …

We’ve got small group tonight at our house, and the grill master must make a return to the charcoal.  I am doing 12 pork chop fillets with my twist on Weber’s sweet and sassy BBQ sauce.  Luckily I’ll have about an hour and a half to complete all this, which should be plenty of time.  I haven’t cooked this much food since sometime around last Christmas when M & D and M & J ate over.  It will be a lot of fun though doing that work and then having small group at the ponderosa.

I hope everyone had a good weekend. We didn’t do too much … did some yard work, bushes trimming, Andi learned to use the blower … that was cool.  She also did some laundry and house work.  I sanded some spackle we applied last week to cover holes in the walls that the dogs created when they were real young.  We are prepping for a big painting job this week. We are changing the bonus room color to Cavern Moss.  Think of it as a mossy green with some yellow tint to it.  Should be real soothing. I really like soft green colors …

We did do some patio action on Saturday night.  I picked up the Bobby Flay grilling book (I like his stuff), and the first recipe we tried was Balsamic rosemary butter on fillet mignon.   Mighty tasty stuff. I’ll post it on Open Chef later this week.

I would like to keep going this morning, but 3 paragraphs have spanned 45 minutes up til this point and I have some things to get done.

Have a good Monday and enjoy Raw tonight if you partake.

Until next time …

Three straight days of rainy and cloudy weather. Hmmmm. I do think tomorrow its supposed to turn around only to be a little overcast again Sunday. I need to take a picture of the yard though so you can see what thick and green blue grass looks like in suburbia. Its unbelievably thick right now. I guess those folks over at Scott’s now what they are doing, because the weeds are dying and the grass is thriving.

Happy belated birthday to Momma J.C. I hope yesterday was a good day for you. Andi and I do wish sometimes that we could be closer to family, but the good news is that communication is so easy these days, and with blogs and texting and emails … it makes the space even that much smaller. We are really hoping to be down there sometime later this summer, so hopefully we can make that happen.

My fantasy golf team took a nice hit yesterday when Ben Crane decided that his back hurt and he WD’d 5 minutes before his tee time. I really wish he would have known Wednesday so I could have least plugged in a replacement. Looks like I might be three legged against Patrick this weekend if all 4 of his guys make the cut. I’m trying to turn it back around after I got walloped last weekend.

Today is Andi’s last day at Gordian. I know how much she has enjoyed working with the folks over there, but it is truly time to go. I also know how excited she is to be moving on and starting something new next week. The church is going to be a great place for her to be. She will surely be in her element and we know things will go well.

Sorry if these blurbs/stories are choppy. My style this morning is more of a dump of whats in my brain vs a nice well crafted tapestry of events.

Had a small issue out on the run this morning w/ B & D. We got about 1 1/2 miles in and a 50 lbs mix came charging across the road at the pack. We held our ground for a minute then she chased Bunker around me 3 times and he broke free of his leash. It looked like it might get a little ugly for a minute. Both his and her spines went up (Divot is still on leash at this point), then they started sniffing butts and began frolicking. That Bunker. Needless to say, they really are doing so much better. I don’t know if I mentioned it, but Wednesday, when we went to Petsmart, we loaded them up in the car outside of the garage with no leashes. They also answered the door the other day with me when the pizza boy came. No leashes or gates either. Its all such a process, and they sure will be ready for more training this summer, and maybe even some agility school. Who knows.

I guess I should wrap this one up … well maybe not, what all is going on this weekend? I’ve got some grass cutting and we need to do some grilling. We are looking forward to enjoying our deck and furniture. I might look for a new wallet at the store, and maybe go play with a new camera that I am eying. It is time for an upgrade

Oh I did forget to mention, I broadened my culinary horizons yesterday. I had lunch with a guy that wanted sushi and since I’ve gotten older, I would say I am no longer picky, I said sure. I have had California rolls before, but I let him order and we ended up with California rolls, some fried fish stuff w/ cream cheese, raw spicy tuna and some eel rolls. Highly interesting. Sushi is like the Japanese buffalo wing to me. (I still prefer wings though!)

OK, I will finally end this rambling. But on a good note. We have the photos from the Disney photographers up. Take a look and we hope you enjoy! Disney Character Photos
Until next time …