Advent

We're halfway through Advent and I realize that I'm blowing it again. Advent should be a time of prayer and preparation for the celebration of Christmas. I had great plans at the start of Advent: Daily Prayer, Writing Christmas Cards, Putting up the lights, and cleaning the house. I prayed two days, wrote no cards, hung no lights, and moved some boxes out. Not a very good record against my plans.

So what have I been doing? I got caught up in the commercialization of this time of year. I've been buying presents ... for me. Today is the third Sunday of Advent and the Priest is wearing rose vestments to remind us to be joyful today before we launch in to the home stretch of preparing for the start of Christmas. I'm not looking at today very joyfully. I'm thinking that I need to get started (or finished) preparing or I won't really be ready to start celebrating for real Christmas Eve.

God Bless everyone and have a Blessed Advent!

The annual making of

The annual making of the Christmas Fudge is about to begin. Mmm, mmm!

is wondering why the

is wondering why they're called "belly buttons". Shouldn't they be called "belly holes" oer perhaps "belly dents" for most people?

I got a new phone, a

I got a new phone, a Motorola Droid, and now my Google address book has a use. There were over 1450 contacts in there. I've pared it down to 1385 so far. I would love to update your contact info if you would send it to me privately.

And I'm thinking abo

And I'm thinking about making some salsa, right after a nap. _yawn_ Rainy days make me sleepy.

Yummy rice! Ann show

Yummy rice! Ann showed me where my rice cooker was (telling me where it was failed) and I just cooked some rice. Awesome!

Here's an easy way t

Here's an easy way to say thank you to our military troops. Now mash the link and say thank you with me: http://www.letssaythanks.com/

I just got my first

I just got my first fail whale on Twitter! Cool!

I just put in for my

I just put in for my California Lifetime Fishing License. I'll never have to buy another California Fishing License again! Woo Hoo!

RT @CurtJester (aka

RT @CurtJester (aka Jeff Miller) If you code, you will find this pretty funny http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20091201

I have 07 Google Wav

I have 07 Google Wave invites and 1 Google Voice (there are currently no new numbers in the 949 area code) invite if anyone wants them.

A while back Ann and

A while back Ann and I heard a wonderful presentation that explained that "men are like waffles" and "women are like spaghetti". It was a wonderful presentation! And so true. We got a storage bin to hold boxes so we get room to finish unpacking. I'm in the square of moving boxes out. Ann wants to noodle through each box before it goes.

Happy New Year!

Today is the first day of Advent, a season of preparation for Christmas, and the start of a new liturgical year.

RT @CurtJester I'm a

RT @CurtJester I'm a pencil in God's hand. Only problem is most of the time I need sharpening and I use the eraser for my sins way too often

Atlantis has landed.

I'm clad the crew made it to Terra Firma safely. http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/11/27/atlantis.return/index.html

My mobile phone stat

My mobile phone status update didn't go through. :-( But, it was amazing! We saw the International Space Station and Space Shuttle go by from Main Street in Disneyland this evening at 5:11 / 5:12.

Thanksgiving

Today is a National Day of Thanksgiving here in the United States. It's original intent was to be a day of offering thanks for all that we have been blessed with. It has a rich history in families coming together to try to put aside their quarrels and share a mea together. A feast for the celebration. Lately, it seems to be "pregame show" for that start of Christmas shopping complete with Black Friday ads. Even I have fallen into this spirit of crass consumerism at times.

I am thankful for the humor that I find in my life, even the humor that pokes fun at today's celebration of Thanksgiving. "The goal of the day is to be more stuffed than the turkey." "Eat until the button on your pants pops." "Don't forget to loosen your belt before you start eating." "Beware of the turkey toxins (tryptophan) that lead to the annual Thanksgiving nap." "The best part of the meal are the leftovers."

I am thankful for the gift of my family, my wife of over 24 years and my son even when he's being a knucklehead. They are a priceless gift that I can not repay. I did not understand what it meant to be a husband or a father but Ann and George have taught me the meanings of those words.

I am thankful for the family that brought me in to the world, my mother and father. As I reflect back over the years I realize how much they have sacrificed for me. I am even thankful for my little sister. Even though there were times she annoyed me she let me be the "big brother" that taught me so much.

I am thankful for all of the blessings that the Lord has given me: life, shelter, employment, transportation, food, clothing, warmth, and more. There are too many to list. I am also thankful for the crosses that the Lord has asked me to bear.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I thank You Lord for the abundance beyond what I deserve that You have given me. I know that I could never thank You enough for all that You have given me if I tried. I also know that I don't try to thank You enough. Please Bless us all and rain Your Grace upon us. Guide us back to Jesus, Your Son, so that in Heaven we may celebrate the ultimate Thanksgiving in Your presence. Amen.

Awesome! Ann and I s

Awesome! Ann and I saw the ISS and Space Shuttle. They were there for about 20 seconds before they blinked out in the earth's shadow. Very cool!

Possible International Space Starion & Space Shuttle Sightings

We have an opportunity to see the ISS and Space Shuttle flying through space over the next few days, You can get the details from NASA as to when you might be able to see them here: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/ . If you see them let me know!

RT @iPadre Global Wa

RT @iPadre Global Warming - truth revealed: http://ping.fm/U8gZy