It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

"I'm happy as Christmas." - Ed Roland (Lead Singer, Collective Soul, lifted from Better Now, off the Collective Soul CD 'Youth')

Even though the weather outside is more like the middle of March and College Basketball's March Madness time than the middle of December and College Football Bowl Game time; and even though we had snow for the World Series and green grass for Christmas, I still cannot get enough of the Christmas Season.

I really like the month long build up to the Christmas celebration. It is my favorite time of the year. I do like the hustle and bustle it creates. I actually enjoy walking through a mall and people watching and taking in the decorations and energy that happens during Christmas. The lights, the decorations, the music, the anticipation, the joy, even the chill in the air and the snow. I'll take it all. I do not want to do without any of it.

The music is what makes the whole season. It brings Christmas to life for me. The carols of Christmas can transport me to the first Christmas, back to Bethlehem, envisioning what is being sung through the radio to me. Songs about Roasting Chestnuts, Winter Wonderlands, and Sleigh Rides can make me feel the chill and warmth at the same time. I guess because the songs offer some of the best memories I have growing up and have remained the same, the memories can transcend generations and age. The songs and carols I sang as a wide-eyed, 8-year old bubbling over with excitement and barely staying still in church, just wanting to get home and open presents are the same carols and songs I sing now, 20 years later as an adult and husband with a child just a few short weeks from starting to take in the same memories and sing the same songs I have. Every year, those musical creations add more memories and deepen my enjoyment of this time of year.

Christmas time truly is the most wonderful time of the year.

Why is it so easy?

Why is it so easy to.....

• To pick on America's wealth with its Free Market Society, Capitalism, and Democracy rather than everyone else for it's Monarchy's, Parliaments, Dictatorships, and power corrupt "governments." The American government is corrupt (money more than power), and yes, there are very few people who have all the money and wealth. But the government was setup to allow freedom and keep the government from overlording over us. Is that our fault? Why does noone focus on the fact that America is the biggest country who gives the most money to charity, non-profit organizations, and churches? As for the wealthy elite, does the name Bill Gates or Warren Buffet mean anything? 2 of the wealthiest people ever, by far. Also 2 of the biggest donators of their money ever. Everytime another country is hit with a catastrophic event, who does the WHOLE world turn to?
• Pick on the Bible? Has any other book done so much for mankind? Why does all the focus have to be on its interpretation and what its true meaning means? Why can't it just be read and we do the do's and don't do the do nots? Why does everyone quote other people and song lyrics and poems from everyone else when the Bible has many of the same quotes and statements? We'll read a book by some author and live it and try to apply it. Never reading it to question him/her or to find the next big argument, but to establish some signposts to life. And when we do come across some thought that seems contradictory we'll try and see the author's point of view and look at ways to agree with it? Not the Bible. Find something we think or believe to be contradictory and we spend very little time trying to defend it or figure it out. Why is that so easy?
• Give into societal norms? A man is suppose to act and feel and do and say this. A woman is suppose to act and feel and do and say this too. Supposedly our hormones control everything about us and if we feel it then do it. Hereditary determines us and the way and what we are born to is us and that is how we are to live life and behave. We praise the underdog story and love the rags to riches story and make a big deal out of the fact that someone wouldn't let someone or something else determine their life. So why is it so easy to fall back on the crutch of society when it comes to ourselves?
• Have a conversation and dialogue with everyone about everything but never have a summation? When does the conversation end? Is it really a conversation if you give your point, I give my counterpoint, you give your counter-counterpoint, I give my counter-counter-counterpoint and on it goes? What was that all about? I am just going to go through all of life conversing with everyone, telling everyone why I believe what I do and you can speak up if you want, but you really aren't going to convince me otherwise, but we'll have a gentleman's agreement that it is just dialogue and we'll feel good because we "stated our case."
• Bitch like I just did about me and everyone else and then defend it as "There is a reason this blog is called My Perception ." So deal with it....

Sometimes it is just too easy.

Better than You Tube?

Shhhh.....

Do not let big brother find it

Ramblings From the Journal - 2

Remember the "Religious Margins", they exist too.

Jesus saved you to love you, not just use you

Ramblings From the Journal - 1

What more can there be? What more is there?

Jesus is it - Beginning, the End, the Way

He is the Rock, the Word, and the King

He is Resurrected, He is Alive, and He will step foot back on this earth

He is Majestic, Omnipotent, and knows the depths of my heart

He is Lord, King, and Master

He is Peace, Justice, and Righteousness

His name, thoughts, presence, and work demand and command authority and conviction

It's Official, it is all over

For the first time in the many years I have played fantasy football, my team has failed to make the playoffs.

I still cannot believe it.

My squad at the end of this week looked like this:

qb - Marc Bulger
wr - Torry Holt
wr - Marvin Harrison
rb - Brian Westbrook
rb - Ronnie Brown
flex - Chester Taylor
te - Jeremy Shockey
k - John Casay
DST - Baltimore Ravens

I know what you are thinking and.....

Exactly, how does a team that good not make the playoffs and currently sit at 3-8 (I am in a 5 game losing streak).

Here is how, by having 1300 points scored against you. I ran into buzz saws all year. The guy who had Tomlinson was in my division and LT scored 8 tds against me in the 2 games I played him.

Another team in my division had Peyton Manning and Peyton threw 7 TDs against me in the 2 games. The week I played the team with Larry Johnson, he had 4 tds. I also lost 2 other games (that did not involve LT, LJ, or Peyton) where I scored over 130 points.

Just one of those fluke seasons where nothing went my way. I guess that is what I get for having everything go my way last year and winning the whole thing (thanks to LJ, Carson Palmer, Chicago's DST, and Steve Smith). I'll just try and play spoiler to a couple other teams I have left play.

As I said, this is the first time my team did not qualify for the playoffs, now what?

My turn to rant and complain about "stupidty"

I posted this after the summer.

Basically noting the fact that after summer ended and the kids were back in school and the RVs were packed away for the winter and parents were picking up their family summer pictures to share the memories, gas prices were down to just over $2/gallon.

Now, prices are back up. And right in step, all the loonies are out of closet saying it ties in with the election and that the Republicans have raised the prices on everybody.

Right.......

It has nothing to do with Thanksgiving weekend being the biggest travel weekend of the year.

It isn't simple economics, you know,......supply and demand.

Cannot be that.

No, there are these old dudes who affiliate themselves with the Republican Party that control all of the gas and oil in the US. They set the whole standard of price and are pissed off they lost, so screw all of you!!!.

Right......

Gas prices have never gone up close to a major holiday/travel weekend and then come back down after it.

Nope, never happen......







Idiots!

Updates Galore Updates

First, the nursery:

The first picture here was taken the day after getting the crib and dresser/changing table.

Now after the shower.... we have some more organizing to do!!!!



Now onto the kitchen.....

The picture below is the corner above the sink and shows the results of ripping out some of the old "sofit" that was above the cabinets. The cabinets are the original ones with the house and are very structurally sound and solid all the way through. But the sofit above was pretty heavy duty and that structure was what was holding the cabinets up. So I had some reinforcing to do first before ripping it all out.

Here is what that use to look like with the built in softit above the cabinets. As well as the old color of the cabinets and the new color.
This is looking above the cabinets and into the corner shows the work (which is alot) that needs to be done to fill all the holes, clean the area, sand it and then build some custom cabinets for more storage above.
Here is a good look at the new granite countertop as well the backsplash (the ugly green color...which is actually old dried glue) that needs some tile work done.

Still hard at work with a lot of stuff going on. The last couple week's have been extremely busy working around birthing classes on Tuesday nights (7pm - 9:15pm) Life group as well on Wednesday's (7pm to 8:30pm) and a couple baby showers taking up our weekends. So I have been working on this whenever I find time including 6 in the morning while getting ready for work.

Michele and I looking forward to next week with the Thanksgiving holiday and getting away for 4 days up north to good ole Wolverine and some family time and an awesome homemade Thanksgiving dinner!!!!

We leave Wednesday night after work (Life Group is cancelled for next week) and return late Sunday. Definitely looking forward to it.

Mark 2:17

This is the stuff I think up in my mind and then never translate onto paper.

Sometimes, Jesus has to speak himself to remind us of why he did what he did.

The Showdown at Levi's House

Updates Galore

October has proved to be a very busy month for Michele and I. We have had a lot going on. This post is to update on all those things and why my posts here have been few and far.

1) Obviously, the Tigers postseason run took up a lot of time. Went to every home playoff game and watched all the away games. Yes even game 5 of the World Series right up to the end and watched the celebration as well. Every Friday ad Saturday night (but the last one) in October was a Tiger game and we would go early to them as well and tailgate or do dinner downtown.

2) It is wine season and as such, there is somewhere in the proximity of 115-125 gallons of wine in my basement right now. A couple 50 gallon oak barrels filled and some 5 gallon glass containers filled with some leftover wine from the press. Some pictures below. On Saturday mornings (before Tiger games) my uncle and I as well as my brother a couple days and a couple friends were hard at work producing some vintage 06. The grapes were absolutely awesome this year and already tastes great.

3) The kitchen is in complete remodel mode right now as well. We have a new granite countertop being installed on Tuesday, November 7. We are also painting our cabinets and installing new doors. The kitchen is a real mess right now and looks horrible. We have no sink and after tomorrow night, no counter until the new one is installed. More pictures below.

4) I wrote earlier about the "baby's nursery" and jumping on that bandwagon (here is part 1 and here is part 2) and getting the room ready for the baby. Well, we got some furnitue in there and finished up all the painting and updates to that room too. Unfortunately, no pictures, yet. I'll get them up soon.

5) Tomorrow (Saturday) is the baby shower and Tuesday morning (before the new countertops go in) is the ultrasound where we will hopefully be able to find out the sex of the baby. Tuesday night is the first of our "pregnancy classes" at the hospital. Whew!!!

There has just been a lot going on and a lot more to go. Before we know it it will be Thanksgiving and then the Holidays. Followed up by New year. In January is our wedding anniversary and my birthday, plus all the last minute details with the trying to get ready for baby. Come the middle of February, everything changes.

So, I am still here, just very busy and I see myself spending more time surfing other blogs and reading what you guys have to say and commenting as well. Hopefully I find sometime once or twice a week to post something here.