Weight Loss

It becomes a revelation when you step on the scale at it says 197.5. One week ago that is what my scale said. I am not morbidly overweight but I have a zillion bad habits and I don't think it would take much for to get reach over 200 lbs.

One of my many New Years Resolution was to stop drinking coke and lose 40 lbs. I am on my 3rd week of NOT drinking coke and on my 2nd week of only drinking water. I weighed myself yesterday and found that I had lost 2 lbs. Not significant but it was nice to see. I am not watching what I eat and play racquetball everyday. My goal is to start running 30 mins a day and do a little weight lifting to help my flabby body look a little toned. For those few (if any) who read this blog encourage me. I want to be healthy for my family. :)

Just another Jan 4, 2008

For the past 3 days I have been sitting at the front desk of the old steel company because our secretary is out sick. It can be a bit boring. The desk is way to small for me to actually do the work that I was hired to do so I am stuck until they give me a managable job that can be done from this desk.

When days are like this I do get to catch up on some of my favorite websites. Unfortuatetly I have ran out because I visit the same sites about everyday. My most frequent websites that I visit are:

gizmodo.com (Very good with new technology)

bungie.net (Even though I no longer have a XBL account I still like to see the new things happening because their will be a day when I shall return to XBL)

The Armory (WoW site, again even though I dont have an account it still has some interesting stuff on it)

xbox.com (Keepin up with whats new)

movies.com (Great reviews)

simplyjosh.com (A youth ministry guy who is highly successful and has a lot of cool info on the site)

Of course there are several other sites that I visit but really not enough to keep a day busy. If you have any suggestions with good sites to visit (that are not dirty) comment them below.

Christmas

My family actually had a great Christmas all around. We are currently living with my Parents due to the fact that my wife has to do an internship. This makes Christmas a bit stressful but we managed. We bought a little tree and decorated it in our room. On Christmas morning we woke Malachi with Presents around the tree.

Malachi woke up to a little Tigger for his bed present which "Santa" gives him, He enthusiastically opened up his other gifts which included a spiderman lego plane (bad idea it is already in pieces and all over the house), cars replica of toy story and monster inc (which are shown at the ending credits of Cars), and he got a helicopter that can be flown inside. He loves that helicopter and has really enjoyed playing with it. Plus he got a ton of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse stuff from both sets of parents.

Elizabeth got some pajama pants (Vera Bradley), ilive (generic ihome), idog, some books and some other things from me and got a digital camera from my parents. She was very pleased with Christmas this year.

I got a ton of things from Elizabeth, which included The Simpsons Movie, The Simpsons how to draw the characters book, The Office Season 3, Kentucky Sweatshirt, Kentucky Chair, Malachi got me a Kentucky Basketball which he picked out, and I got Rock Band from my parents. Which is a really awesome game by the way!!!!

We had the extra pleasure of having my sister Saralee and her family with us for Christmas.

For the first time EVER we deep fried a turkey for Christmas. It had to be the best tasting turkey I have ever tasted. It would be hard going back to the same old baked turkey after that delite.

This was a good holiday season all the way around, if you take away the presents that I got, it still was excellent, I had a great time with family. I got along with everyone, there was a lot of laughter. Lots of time to cherish with my nieces, nephew and Malachi. I wouldnt trade that time for anything. I hope and pray that your Christmas was as good as mine.

New Years Resolution

I dont usually do New Year's Resolution but last year was a bad year and things need to change and a new NEW YEAR is a good place to start these changes. Here they are in no particular order:

Excercise More Often
Loose 30 lbs
Stop drinking anything with carbonation for 6 months
Read the Bible
Read more books
Write in a journal
Spend more time with Malachi and Elizabeth
Get out of stupid debt (I mean Credit Cards and things of that nature not home or school debt)

These are the main ones but there are always more. I am starting out 2008 discouraged with where I am at and I hope to end 2008 excited about what is happening and looking at a brighter future. I hope everyone had a Good Christmas and a Good start to the New Year!!!

Life in General

Life has been really interesting!!!! My wife started her Masters program last week and is on Stress overload right now. She is also working a job in which there is big stinch of incompentance roaming around. She is way over qualified while her higher ups are way underqualified. December will be a good month to put this period of time WAY WAY behind us and she can move on to her internship.

Malachi will be 3 on Friday. I am happy yet saddened. My little boy is growing up so fast. Of course there are certain aspects of growing up I wish he'd hurry up, one major being is pooping in the potty. I am currently making a minature cornhole set for him. It is really cute and should be completed sometime by the end of the week. All that is left is painting.

I am working still I did leave Panera, at least for a little while. I am ready for a career but trying to stay patient for Elizabeth. Things are picking up for me in Frankfort to really allow my skills to be used a little more. There are days I miss college, mostly for the unresponsibility related to it. The "real world" has hit hard the past 4 years.

Young Adult Camp

Sometime in February I was asked to be the director of our state Young Adult Camp. After a week of thinking about it I came back to say I would like to have a go at it. Of course my predicessor was an awesome director (and good friend) so I know I am already inadequate for the job. The camp is this weekend and I am excited about what is going to happen. I got an excellent speaker and dynamic worship leader (of course they are both related to me so I think they are awesome). The location is not my favorite but I hope to show a great time and to see this thing grow for next year.

I dont know what is in store this weekend. I know I had trouble with both the speaker and worship leader only because they are related so I tried for others first but at the end I decided to go with my heart. I know God will bless this thing, he always has.

Anyone can come that is out of high school and I encourage you to go. It is a lot of fun and great place to meet people or reconnect with old friends. I hope to see you there and I will give a post whenever its done.

Back from PA

Yesterday we got back from the big town of Ellwood. Our job there was to clean out Elizabeth's old room and take it back to Kentucky. She had a ton of stuff and so we boxed it and her brother brought back for us. Our next home will be filled with junk.

Anyway I had to get a storage unit to put all this stuff in.

Our second duty was to help her mother with a yard sale. Her mother put up almost everything for sale. It was huge, of course we got to search through and take what we wanted. I got two canopies, a tent and several other camping equipment. My wife got several things as well.

Our last duty was to load up on the food we liked. I got a ton of New Castle chili, cleaned out Giant Eagle (a grocery store in the north for those who don't know), my wife got her Augustine's Pizza and we got some loafs and puffs from Johnny's. It was great.

It was a nice visit and weird knowing we would not set foot in the house again and possibly not go to PA much after this point. I know it had to be weird for my wife to leave a place she has always known.

Going to PA

Today we (my wife, son and myself) are leaving for PA to see my Mother-in-law. Even though the town of Ellwood City is small and growing smaller instead of getting larger it is still a fun place to visit. I will get to eat at a little place called Johnnys and Red Hots. I will also come home with a TON of New Castle Chili which to date is by far my favorite. We will also come packed with Augustines Pizza.

While there, the Simpsons movie will be released. OF COURSE I want to go so bad I just pee'd myself. It should be good and the from what I hear I will not be disappointed. So I am hoping we can scrape the money to watch it of course I am sacrificing Harry Potter for a couple of more weeks but I will eventually get to that one as well.

Me

Just a pic of me for my blog...sorry nothing interesting here!!!

Cedar Point

I love Cedar Point. I went for the first time ever last weekend. IT WAS AWESOME. They had some great roller coasters but I only road 4 of them. I went with the church I am attending and volunteering at. Built some good relationships and had a ball.

Surprisingly, I liked the water park almost as much as the park itself. They had this huge raft thing and some of the guys decided to meet the weight capacity as best we could. So me and 3 others got in weighing in at over 720 lbs, 80 lbs less than the weight capacity. Lets just say it was a very interesting wet my pants ride. Then we did this slide that looked really slow but after getting on it it was super fast and pretty scary. FUN!!

Malachi's first day at Ginza II

A new japanese steak house opened in Frankfort called Ginza II and my parents took us there to eat. It was really fun to see some of Malachi's expressions of the big fire and learning how to use chops sticks. Great fun!!!

Our new pond (updated)

We completed the pond several weeks ago but I believe it turned out well...

of course now it has lily pads, fountain, and fish + a neighboring frog. Looks good

Where have I been

Its been a while since I've posted but that is the story of my life. I am at work today enjoying an empty office. WHOO HOO!!! and getting ready to go to Cedar Point. I have never been before and just printed off the map and ready to explore it. When I get back I will update my month of absence including an update on the pond, my son at Ginza II and a fire that started on the back porch on 4th of July. Should be fun!!!

Counting Bolt Holes

On the right is a detail drawing (off the internet) of a beam with a plate on it. The holes in that beam are there to put bolts (field bolts) into them. On a job, that HGS has, I was asked to go through some drawings a count how many holes are in the beams, plates, and angle. This didn't seem to be to bad except there were like 200 pages of beams and when all was said and done about 15,000 holes for field bolts. My eyes went completely crossed.

ON ANOTHER NOTE:

Today is kind of a lazy day. I am currently trying to draw up plans to build a rock wall (w/ a small pond in the center) for my Dad's house. Then this weekend I will take my time building said wall & pond. I am excited because it gives me something to do but nervous because this is a new venture. I went to my brother in laws last weekend and saw his pond (below). He has done a great job putting his together, so I asked him a TON of questions about it. He lent me a couple of books to help me out. Hopefully I can build a good wall and an ok pond. Should be interesting!!!

My last day and New Job

May 25, 2007 will be a day I will never forget. It was the last day I will set in AMS as a teacher. God bless teachers, they are amazing people but as for me I could not be one. Definitely not my calling!!! I tried it, suffered through it a year and now moving on WHOO HOO!!!

Today I started my new job at HGS. It's a steel company in Lexington. I believe more possibilities will open up and make way for a more finacially stable position, or at least until a church calls me up.

I am enjoying my nights off again and trying this whole blog thing again.

School Days

Its been a while since I have been on my blog and as usual whenever you are gone for quite sometime on a blog lots of new things are happening. Of course I am going to wait on that post for now. Today is about days off school. I can't believe I have been out for almost a week. This is what it has looked like:
Thursday - School Closed
Friday - School Closed
Monday - School Closed
Tuesday - School...well school let out early because of a "snow Storm"
Wednesday - Got up at 5:00 went to www.lex18.com to see if school was closed and it was not :( but then got up to get ready thought I should check one more time and quess what.......school closed :).
Unless there is another snow storm creaping in we should have school Thursday and Friday although I wouldn't mind if there wasn't.

Another note: It is cold I mean COLD VERY VERY COLD. One morning it was like -20 wind chill thank goodness school was out. Shoo!!!

My Silly Little Brother

"They will mock and laugh at the great turtle...with dissappointment the turtle will believe the lies passed on from the great owl and his father...behind his back they will constantly have good times and laughter but in front of the great turtle they will pretend to like him...the joketh is on himth...or something...for one day the Great Battle will be upon them. The Great War in adirolf is coming soon, the house will change pace, the great owl and all his wrestling glory will not be able to take on the darkness that will come upon him during this time."
The Wisdom of the Turtle 5:32, The Great Turtle Conspiracy 7:44, Your Mom is not an Owl 8:1

The story of my life...this is how my family REALLY thinks of me...
Samuel decided to put this on his facebook profile. To quote a very memorable line for me,"We need something that is funny at first but gets less funny everytime you say it" -The Simpsons
I see this and sometimes I feel that way. Not really from my family but from the world. I want to be accepted but for some reason I never feel accepted (Natural Pessimist). Although I think that Samuel should keep this picture posted...because it is funny...

Corporal Punishment

I usually hate to jump on any bandwagon but as I have been teaching in the Public School System I can see the benefits of corporal punishment. It is definitely something that SOME kids need. I have had a tough experience with some smart mouth kids and its really hard to handle them. If you send them out of the classroom you gave them what you want, but you did get them out of your classroom. If you write them up they get C.A.B. (Classroom for Alternative behavior) or suspension. Some of these kids you know don't have any reinforcement at home. They are allowed to talk to adults anyway they please and basically do what they want.

I have one student in particular that I believe needs to visit a jail and not just visit but get treated roughly. Give him/her an experience that he/she will never forget. It's hard for me because that person has the kind of attitude that makes you want to beat the living snot out of them. Obviously, I have to restrain myself but its a challenge and at the end I loose out. My patience is running low but I try really hard with this particular student. On Monday, this student had on a t-shirt so I tried to acknowedge it by asking what was on it. He/she covers it up really quickly acting as though he/she had something unappropiate on the t-shirt. Unannounced to the student, I had already seen the t-shirt and was mearly trying to build a relationship...one that failed.

Today, in class, I was trying to give the students a break by playing hangman. As I was busy with another student, this particular student went around to all the groups telling them what letters to put down in order for the letters to make a bad or "naughty" word. Of course I caught on very quickly.

To say the least, teaching has been an experience, one that has taught me alot about students and about myself. I look forward to the end of the year so I can be done with that job. Less than 18 weeks in I am exhausted and tired and its really hard not to bring my work home with me.

Missing Full Time Youth Ministry

I saw this today and it is a promotion for "The Core"seminar for Youth specialties. I read his t-shirt and remember working with hurting teens. I can remember the phone calls from youth and parents, the times I took them to a restraunt for them to talk, the talks at my house, the deep conversations after youth group, the interesting facts in my car from point A to B, so many memories... My experience is that most teens are hurting and unfortunately we want to dismiss their hurt for adolescence. I am currently serving somewhere where I am part time. I miss full time work everyday, to invest in youth and truly work with them individually. I don't get paid enough to live close to the church I serve and every trip to the city is more money I don't have. Youth deserve someone there for them. Someone who can invest in their lives, care for them and their hurts, to be a listening ear, to play xbox with, basketball with, get creamed in Ultimate Frisbee. I miss the relationships that were built. My heart is missing something huge, but I don't know when I will return to full time ministry.

WOW!!!! My Tenth Post

For most ten is not any kind of milstone. I have read other blogs that have way over 1,000 post. But for me ten is good for now and worth celebrating. Up to now my blogs have been a little down because my life has been a little down. I waited for my tenth blog to be a positive one hoping to start a collection of positive notes to share with the world. But unfortuanitly I am not that lucky...

Update on Cars
On Tuesday, we were suppose to have our fully functioning 2001 Isuzu Rodeo back from the shop but instead I got a call saying that the new engine was a dud. As time went on and talking to other people involved with the engine I found out that the company would replace the engine but not replace all labor that was put into the engine, leaving me with more money to invest in a non working car. Fortuately, I recieved the part from a local store (which is Nationwide) and they don't want a dent in their name and have offered to help with the financial obligation in fixing the car.

On Thursday, I went to pick up my Audi 100 from the shop and on the way to pick up my son the alternator belt broke and I got stuck in the Wal-mart parking lot. My Dad was able to replace the belt so that was good. It is hard to be ignorant about cars, if I had a better knowledge base I could do much more less expensively. Anyway, I get into the car this morning and had a frozen drive to the daycare and work. You guessed it...the heat does not work. I knew it didn't but didn't realize how bad it was. I could see my breath all the way to Lawrenceburg. I will submit my Audi again to the mechanic gods to be fixed with a sacrifice of a monitary measure.

It's Friday, Thank God...not the mechanical gods but the God. I have a little scuffle at 3:30 in which I will beat Mike Sanchez with a dead muscrat. He will feel pain undescribable that thoughts of Tony's mom will bring comfort to him. Muhhahahahahaha