The following is a post that I had begun two weeks ago, but had been unable to finish. Since I really wanted to post, I completed the last few sentences, and viola, (or is it voila?), I have my latest post. Please enjoy, and let me know what you think of my efforts to occasionally expand my literary pursuits into more practical realms… (I was inspired my good friend, Miss Elizabeth!)

Mr. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy.” I read that statement the other day, and pondered it for a moment, (taking an extra second to decipher the antiquated English.) How many of us follow the seemingly very obvious truth of that maxim? After letting this statement settle into my mind, I immediately felt the prick of the Holy Spirit asking me if this was an active principle in my life; though I loath to admit it, my first reaction was to argue.

 “What about yesterday? I held the door for that couple at the restaurant.”

“Did I not speak pleasantly to the cashier at Starbucks, even when he was not being helpful?”

 “When the teenager at the stop sign went out of turn, did I yell, and honk? No.”

The funny thing about arguing with God is he adopts a strange silent attitude at times. All of the reasons why not to listen keep coming to mind, to no avail. It is so much like trying to fill in a bottomless pit, you watch each shovelful fall down the hole, and as it disappears down into the darkness there is this sinking feeling that all this effort will not do any good. Such was my feeling while my arguing began to subside.

“Perhaps there is a lesson I am supposed to learn?” I can almost see God nodding…

Then I remember another occasion, one in which I was not so courteous. There is no need to go into detail, but it involved one of my siblings, and I was in a hurry. This sibling was not an innocent party; but it is with deep regret that I admit that I was harsher than Mr. Emerson would have approved of.

Let us take a moment to jump off on to a divergent, but related, thought. The word courteous comes from the Old English, and was used in reference to a code of conduct to be followed by knights visiting the royal court. In a sense, it was how to treat royalty. Is this how we treat those whom we live with, the same kindness and deference with which we would treat royalty?

It is ever so much easier to be kind to people outside of the family. To be patient with a friend , or even the not always agreeable younger siblings of said friends, takes less effort, and almost comes as an involuntary reaction. Yet, when a family member puts our book away in the wrong place, a likely reaction would put it on the same level as some of Clay Allison’s more notorious crimes. (Mr. Allison was a Texas gunfighter, robber, and outlaw who is said to have killed 15 men during his less than lustrous career.)

This is the lesson that I received from the dual sources of Ralph Waldo Emerson and our Heavenly Father. (Though, I am more inclined to bestow the lion’s share of credit on the latter.)

There, that was not too difficult. Those of you who believe I am not capable of speaking on practical matters have been forthwith disproven.

In case anyone is wondering, it is now February 3, 2008. This means I am released from my vow of abstinence from sugar. Certain parties were encouraging me to continue further in this noble pursuit, and I made it for twelve extra hours, and then decided, through much prayer and contemplation, that utter rejection of sugar is not what I should be doing at the moment. One of the deciding factors was my siblings; I am one of major dessert makers in our house, and during the month of January I could not bring myself to make a single eatable delight. (This is something I love to do. Making cheesecake is soooo much fun.) Every time I tried, it would simply be more depressing than I was able. Due to popular consensus that this situation was unacceptable, I have decided that the optimal compromise is to use self control, and limit my sugar intake, without completely eliminating it. This may take more self-control than total avoidance of sugar, and I look forward to observing the results of Phase 2 of my experiment into greater self discipline.

Mr. Davis’ funeral was yesterday. It was wonderful. Memories were shared, pictures shown, dancing was done, and good food was eaten. Such a day would have made him proud.

I do not wish to end on a depressing note, so I will let you know that one of my next posts will be on “Making a Four Layer Coconut Cake”. One of my resolutions for this year was to learn how to make better cakes, and this was a recipe that looks really good, so a post should be in order. Complete with photos…  

Comments (8) Post A Comment! Permanent Link

There has been another marked absence from my blogging, but as with all such circumstances, it is not without a reason.

This is undoubtedly the hardest post I have ever had to write, and I selfishly wish that it did not have to be written; however, my grief needs an outlet, and my best release has always been to write.

Many of you know the commenters Red, Goose and Mal that are frequently on either mine or my brother’s blogs. These people are some of my dearest friends, actually, they have moved past the sphere of friendship, and into the position reserved for family (family that you actually get along with.) Their father, Mr. Eric Davis, died this week. While writing these words I can barely see that which I am writing, so I will merely let the words flow for a while. The paragraphs will be disjointed, that I am sure, so please forgive the scattered nature of my current writing style.  

Mr. Davis was an amazing man. The first time I remember seeing him was during a visit to their church, which later became our church as well; He was talking to my dad, and the only word that can come remotely close to describing what I saw is vibrant. He had an amazing sense of energy around him, and it spilled over onto all those around him. When he laughed it was a true laugh that held nothing back.

Over the years, since that first impression I had of him, our families were frequently together. Something between the Hector and Davis families “clicked” (to borrow the colloquialism), and we have became inseparable over the years.

The Davis family was frequently up at our house for various activities, including riding dirt bikes. Mr. Davis would go tearing off on our Honda125 with a skill that both terrified and impressed me. I was thoroughly convinced that every time he got on that bike would be the time he was going to crash it; it is a testament to his ability that he never did, and watching him take a jump at full speed will always be a great memory for me.

Every year Mr. Davis organized a camping trip, and invited anyone who wished to go along. Last year was the first time that my hectic schedule allowed me to go with them, and I will be eternally grateful that God permitted me the honor of being on one of Mr. Davis’ famous outings. Either my brother or I, or both, posted on the trip, so detail on that is not necessary; however, I can’t forget how happy he was to be up enjoying God’s wondrous creation. His grin was wider (if that is possible), and his step lighter on these trips; he loved the outdoors, and his floppy Indiana Jones hat. Any camping trip I take throughout my life will always remind me of Eric Davis. Those memories are a treasure, and ones I will guard with the jealousy due their value.

Mr. Davis was the Uncle that I never had. He affectionately called me “Gimpy”, in reference to my motorcycle accident, and subsequent injuries. (He and Mrs. Davis were some of the first to get to the Emergency Room while I was there, and the last to leave.) Whenever Thomas or I drove away from his house we would get the normal farewell, “Rubber side down.”

I do not cry for him, as a good friend of mine pointed out, he is up there with God, and could be talking with Moses right now! I am sad for myself, my “Davis” sisters and brothers, and my friends. We will miss him. I hope he is enjoying himself while he waits for the rest of us, and picks out a good area for the first of many camping trips we will have in eternity.

I love you Uncle Eric…

Comments (18) Post A Comment! Permanent Link

As I am feeling particularly sugar starved this evening, I thought blogging would be a better activity than staring at the cookies in the pantry. My dilemma is that all I can think about is how hungry I am...

This will not be a proper post, as there is no direct train of thought (not that there is usually). Still, this will be short, and then later this week I will post about one of two potential topics that are bouncing around in my overly cluttered brain.

First, the History of The United States II (1865 to the present) CLEP test has been vanquished by none other than myself! Normally I would follow with a picture of myself on a white charger, slaying a dragon; but my horse is camera shy, and the dragon is out of town for the week. You will simply have to imagine me, on a white horse, slaying the beast... Take your time... Have the mental picture? (No laughing!)

This triumph means that I now have 115 units!!!!!!!! Only six more to go until I am a Bachelor!!! Wait, I am a Bachelor right now... I will be a Bachelor of the Arts! I am simply tempted to buy a painting or two, and then tell everyone that I am a Bachelor with the Arts.

Only 9, no 10, wait... (Sorry, just a second, "Thirty days, has September, April, June....) Ok, only 11 more days until I am free of my vow. At the moment I am chewing on a piece of what appears to be gum, and is supposed to take away sugar cravings. It began with a very pleasant minty flavor, and then degraded into the taste of wax, and now as pretty close to the same flavor as lint. What do you mean "You have never tried lint?" Well, that is what is tastes like, and there is only one way you can argue with me...

Lint seems to be the last flavor. Perhaps the goal is to make a person lose their entire appetite from the flavor, not just their sugar craving. Side affects may include nausea, dizziness, sudden growth spurts, ingrown toenails, and the inability to whistle Dixie underwater... But I've got full range of motion...

Pray forgive my sudden descent into gibberish, it is way too late. Off to bed I go!

Later!

Comments (21) Post A Comment! Permanent Link

This week i have been studying for my United States History CLEP exam. Between that and work I had very little time to come up with a blogging topic. Good thing I have the other half of my tag in reserve!

In case anyone was wondering, I am surviving without sugar, barely. I at an entire cup of raisins today, just because they were sweet!

Without further ado, a tag:

16. Are you tall or short? I am 6’2 ¼”, that should give you enough information to draw your own conclusions.

17. Are jeans the best thing since sliced bread? I was thinking, what did they say before there was sliced bread? Did they say, “Hey George, you got to try this, it is the best thing since baked bread!”? I pity the people that came before that, it is really hard to make a PB&J on unbaked bread. Perhaps they merely scooped up the PB&J with the unbaked bread and ate it that way. School lunches must have been a mess…

18. If someone pointed a gun at you would you be scared? Certainly not! I would perform a double-half-hitch-barrel-roll super-size-back-kick and have them on the ground begging for mercy while I incapacitate them with a deadly pony pinch! Citizen’s Arrest, “You have the right to remain silent…stop laughing…anything you say…I told you to stop laughing!... can be used against you…”

19. Red or Yellow? Red, or yellow, yellow or red, red, red, read, reading, my book, soldiers, Revolutionary War, George Washington, quarters, pieces of eight, pieces of pie, pecans, trees, wood, furniture, I would really like a wardrobe, Narnia, Lucy was so cute, Mr. Tumnus, faun, fawn, deer, Bambi’s mother (start crying), the meadow, Dunfee’s house, rope swings, I wonder if I could find a tree for a rope swing?, zip line, wire, fencing, “Don’t Fence Me In”, Cole Porter, jazz, trumpets, flags, Star Spangled Banner (stand up and sing), American Government, judicial branch, judges, lawyers, prisoners, interrogation …I’m sorry, did you ask me a question?

20. Who's your best friend? I only have one best friend. He knows who he is, but he is such the shy unassuming introvert (he ranked himself 5 on the below scale, but he is more like a 2) that he would be thoroughly embarrassed if I mentioned him as my best friend. Perhaps he would even blush, and I do not wish to cause him any social pain, and will not say that his name is Thomas. I refuse, even under threat of torture to tell you that he calls himself Thomas Hector, even if you threaten my very life I could not reveal the fact of his full name is Thomas James Hector. You can’t make me!!!!!!!!!!!

21. Are they the best friend anyone has ever had? Who? What best friend? I don’t know no “best friend”. EEEEKKKK not the bamboo slivers!!!!!!

22. On a range of 1-10, 1 being the most introvert and 10 being the most extrovert, where would you rank? Somewhere around 12.96342…

23. Have you ever cried in public? What is your definition of public? I am going with a worst case scenario, and say, I have never cried in the middle of Times Square during rush hour…

24. Have you ever been seriously injured? (Laughing hysterically!) Me? What would make you think such an idea. Do I look like someone who would get seriously injured? What? That long scar on my hand, that is nothing…

25. Do you like hiking? I love it. A high point of my year is the hiking/backpacking trip that Mr. Davis organizes. This year we went to Yosemite, and hiked to the top of a really, really, really tall mountain. On our entire trip across the United States, I never saw an area with mountains like this. You haven’t lived until you feel the terror of sitting on a mountain like this:

26. Do you think that it's hard for people to get to know you? Of course not! Who would say such an audacious thing? I’ll show them! Let such a fiend show their face and they will get a piece of my mind! Hard to get to know? Indeed!

27. If there were two of you, would you get along with yourself? Most emphatically NO! I can barely handle taking care of one of me, can you imagine the trouble I would have in trying to look after two!!!!!!  That would be twice the laundry! (Faints)

28. Are there any people that live far away that you'd like to see? Our good friends, the Patterson family, lives in Connecticut, and I would really like to see them soon! (This was not influenced by the fact that Joy Patterson gave me this tag, nor the suitcase full of unmarked twenties she sent me in the mail…)  

29. What is the coolest holiday? Well, one of the most interesting holidays that I know about is celebrated in China. It is called the Hánshíjié, or in English, the “Cold Food Festival”. You laugh, but it is truly a festival they celebrate. According to the legend of its starting, the King of China had a falling out with one of his most faithful followers (a man who had reportedly cut flesh from his own thigh to feed his starving King during a particularly lean period), the follower, Jin, escaped into the hills with his mother, and the King looked everywhere for him. (Sound like another story you know?) Instead of leaving Jin alone, the king had a very bad idea, “Lets set fire to the mountains he is hiding in, and burn him out”. Not one of the King’s brighter moments. Well, poor Jin died in the fire, along with his mother, and the King was so upset that he ordered that no fires were to be set for the three days out of the year that his own fire burnt out of control and killed poor ol’ crispy Jin. No fire, no warm food. I doubt his subjects were pleased with this law, couldn’t the king simply punished himself? Why make the whole country eat cold Tater Tots?

30. Isn't this just the coolest quiz you have ever done? No. (Can you not appreciate my brutal honesty?) Actually, it wasn’t all that bad. I’m just being endearingly contrary…

Time for bed. Or more correctly, time to go get into bed, and read until I am to tired to keep my eyes open. Today, that should be about three minutes!

Later!

Comments (19) Post A Comment! Permanent Link

This is to announce that I have given up sugar for the entire month of January. It was a promise made in a moment of insanity, but I will not break my word. All I have left is my word...

This lack of sugar is leaving me rather emotionally unstable, resulting in strange occurrences. One of which involved me lying on the couch mumbling over and over all the things that I can't eat. "Ice cream, glazed donuts, chocolate chip cookies, apple cake, apricot pie, raspberry jelly, maple bars, fudge..." That went on for quite a while.

In order to distract myself, I have decided to write an "Ode to Sugar". Enjoy!

The Ode to Sugar

I sing your praises, oh sugar so sweet,
You are my favorite thing to eat!
Be it candy, or baked good, you are quite tasty,
You add allure to a fruit filled pasty.
The proper name is the strange sounding sucrose,
You hold a place none else can depose.
In  granular, cane, even powdered, or brown,
You're a national icon, with a high renown.
They say will cause cavities, or just make me fat,
I'll never believe a lie such as that!
When I am sad you do comfort, in a cookie or cake,
It is hard to be downcast whenever I bake.
Nothing can beat a fresh chocolate brownie for taste,
Once four pieces I had, and oh my heart raced.
Where would we be without sugar so fine?
Would M&Ms still cause ruckus, or See's candy a line?
Without your good features, Milk Duds would be...duds,
And warm apple pie 'bout as tasty as spuds.
Milk chocolate 'd be awful, and toffee taste fake,
How many Hershey Kisses would anyone take?
Please never do leave us, oh never depart,
T'would hurt like a candy cane right through the heart!
And so for your key word I do stay on the alert,
"Cause I am content when someone says "dessert".


I do believe I will now go sit in a corner and cry for a while. Come get me when February is here...

Later!

You can make me feel better by leaving me lots of comments. It would be even better if all those comments had your favorite dessert included somewhere therein. If I can't have sugar, at least I can hear about everyones favorites, and dream about them!!!!!

Comments (29) Post A Comment! Permanent Link

Ho, ho, ho, Merry….December 30^th. 

Note to Self [NTS] (In a British accent [I usually make notes to myself in a British accent]): Well, old boy, that doesn’t have the same ring to it at all.

Talking to Self [TTS]: Forgive me, but that is the best greeting I can come up with at the moment. Now be quiet, I’m trying to tell the wonderful people who take time out of their busy day to read our blog, what we did for Christmas.

NTS: My dear chap, you are going to have to hurry, I hear that thector87 is planning on doing the same this very evening.

TTS: That is what I am trying to do, if you would stop your infernal interruptions and sit down!

NTS: Jolly well for you to say, I am sitting down, because you are!

TTS: Oh. Then just be silent and listen.

NTS: Righto!

Sorry about that, I am working on my “self” discipline at the moment; speaking for myself, he is a rather undisciplined person, and requires constant watching. You will have to pardon any interruptions that may surface due to my new disciplinary role. It is tough being a parent! (For the record, I was tricked into taking care of myself. I thought that I was promising to engage in “elf discipline”. “What trouble can miniature people get into anyway?”, was my first thought. It goes to show that you should make sure of what you are promising to do before you sign a legally binding contract!)

As I was beginning, we had a very nice Christmas, sort of. This statement is not a critique of Christmas, but is rather due to the fact that our Christmas was celebrated a day early, on the 24^th. My dad, as a firefighter, has to work Christmas every once and a while, and instead of celebrating without him, it seemed more reasonable to simply move the entire celebration. It is the heart that Christ cares about, not the day, right?

NTS: My good man, are you going to tell them my brilliant idea?

TTS: I was not planning on it, no.

NTS: How is that for American ungratefulness? Genius is never recognized.  Humph.

TTS: Now, stop sulking, I will tell them if it means that much to you…

What myself wants me to mention is the fact that he thought we should celebrate Christmas the week after the normal day. This reasoning was due to the fact that we could get a tree really cheaply, (His suggestion was to drive alleys until we found one.), and the gifts, decorations, wrapping paper, etc. would all be one sale. Sigh. What I am going to do with him?!?!?!

I remember the days when we children used to be trundled off to bed early, and then woke really early to run and get our parents up. Now that I am older, I have been drafted into the help-wrap-the-last-present-and-get-everything-underneath-the-tree crew, so much for going to bed early! My younger siblings got me up much earlier than I desired (I can tell, you are surprised.)

NTS: I managed to stay in my bunk until about 0630hrs!

TTS: Lazy bum. Ignore him, he just wants attention.

My grandparents came up and spent the night, so they had already been woken up, and we all went and sat in the great-room (Where our tree was). Dad read the Christmas passage from Luke; I never get tired of hearing that story, even though I have heard it for the last twenty-some years!

Speaking of my dad, here he is just being himself:

  We commenced in opening presents; that took a while. It is not that we get tons of presents; it is just that there are a lot of us!!! 11+2 people take a long time to open presents, especially when the Hector method involves watching each person open their present individually! Still, it is fun to watch the faces on the kids faces when the open the gifts, so I like this way of doing things:

 
NTS: In my humble opinion it would be much more enjoyable for everyone to rip open their presents as fast as they can. Who cares what anyone else gets.

TTS: That is it! No dessert for you this entire week!

NTS: Don’t get your knickers in a twist. I was only sayi…

TTS: NOT ANOTHER WORD!

The rest of the day was spent talking, and eating, and playing, and eating, trying out new games, and eating, cleaning up, and then eating more. I gained about fifteen pounds that day. (Of course, the extra weight was all gone by the next morning. I can’t manage to hold onto a pound!)

We went to my dad’s firehouse the next day (The real Christmas Day.) Care to guess what we did there? You guessed it, we ate!  

NTS: Blimey guvn’r, you say you did not keep any of those fifteen pounds that you gained; but if I look at your waistline, it looks a bit rounder than I remember it being in early December.

TTS: (Stunned silence)

NTS: Steady on, old chap, I understand how it is; you take one cookie, and Bob’s your Uncle, you’ve had two dozen in a day. It don’t take very long!

TTS: I can’t believe you said that!!!! That is the final straw, to bed, NOW!

I’m sorry everyone, I really have to get this young man to bed.  It is past his bedtime, and I must be a responsible parent now, even if it was a mistake. One last item, I got a new digital video camera for Christmas, and I will be posting a few videos soon! I have wanted one for such a very long time. Now I can start making movies with my siblings. Be on the look out for the results!

NTS: Cheerio!

Comments (14) Post A Comment! Permanent Link

This tag has been on the books, like, foreva'. (Said with an LA accent and a blond flick of the wrist.) Thought it would be good to finally finish it. I'll take the time to post about Christmas a little later. Because this is so long, I will post half now, and keep the other half in reserve.

1. What's the silliest thing you have done in the past year? There are multiple forms for silly, we could mean silly in the context of amusing, or as in foolishness. The most foolish thing I have done this year was hitting the front brakes to hard and the rear brakes to lightly. The most amusing occurrence I can’t remember (though Thomas may have a better and more complete memory than myself). Anyone who knows me well want to comment?

2. Make up a sentence of words that start with your initials: Before Friday happened, beside Frank’s house, Billy found himself buying five horses. Being finally happy, Billy forgot he bought fine hay by finding handsome beaus for her-folk. Business for him began failing, his budget foundered, humoring buying foul hay bereft from health. Because Frank’s horses balked from having bad fodder, health began failing, halting being fat, hastily became frail, harmed by finding heaven. Be forever hearing: “Buying fine hay, begats fair horses, buying foul hay, brings forth horror”

3. What is the coolest thing that's happened to you in the past week? The “coolest” thing to happen to me was when I went outside without a coat, and it was below freezing. It took quite a while to warm up again.

4. What is your favorite kind of Ice Cream? Bryer’s All Natural Vanilla, it has those little black specks in it. I don’t know what they are, but they taste good!

5. Sum up your personality in six words:  Exuberant, verbose, endearingly contrary, brilliant (Or so I’m told), distractible, and very modest… (Not to mention, unable to limit myself with rules like “six words”.)

6. Do you like to dress formal or casual? That depends, at the time that I am answering this question, I am wearing a pair of plaid shorts, and a non-color coordinated sweater. However, I love dressing up in my 1920s era tuxedo. Let’s just say that I am a person of extremes.

7. It's a lovely warm and sunny day in May, what would you spend it doing if you could do anything you wanted? Sit in a hammock underneath a shady tree with a good book. Just swinging…swinging…swinging…

8. Favorite State (Of the USA)? CALIFORNIA!!!!!! There is no better place to live. Where else can you sit outside and enjoy the weather in the middle of December? If I had to pick another State, it would be either Texas, or rural North/Central New York.

9. Have you ever been out of the country? I had lunch in Nogales once. It was strange to eat in a place where the waiter assured you that the water was bottled, not from the sink. If the water from the sink was that bad, what do they wash the dishes in????

10. Do you like to dance? Most emphatically, YES! Dancing is one of my favorite activities. Ballroom is what I think is the most enjoyable. But as you know, I like ballet, line dancing, and have even been known to perform a spot ‘o the Irish dancing in my youth.

11. Who is your favorite person to dance with? Right now my mom is the only person who will dance with me. My sisters find it embarrassing; I am hoping that changes when they get a little older. Someday in the future, I am planning that my wife will be my favorite person to dance with; however, that is a few years in the future. Every once and a while Nic will dance with me, but that is not quite the same, as we both try and lead….

12. Who could you not be paid to dance with? Now you are appealing to my avarice, and that is not fair. There are very few people I would not dance with, if the price were right. Still, it would break the United States Treasury if I had to dance with, Master P, Wayne Newton, or Mark Cuban. Some of you may know why…

13. Have you ever cried during a movie? Of course, today in fact. I get very emotional during movies, and the smallest semblance of a tear-jerking moment will send me over the edge. For example, when we first saw “Finding Nemo”, I started bawling when the mom died. People make fun of me for that, but I couldn’t help thinking of how I would feel in Marlin’s place. My wife, who I adore, and I move into our new house and immediately she is brutally murdered, along with all but one of our children. It would be awful! Can you help not feeling bad for him? On the flip side, when someone is happy, I love to exalt with them! I’ve been told that is manic-depressive. They're paying me a compliment, right?

14. Have you ever cried while reading a book? Many, many, many, many, many, many times. You may credit me with keeping the Kleenex Corporation in business. You laugh? Alright, I’ll ask all of you a pointed question, who of you have read “Little Women”, and not cried at least once? When Beth died? Come on, admit it!!!!!

15. Do you wear sunglasses? One of these days I expect to try and take them off, only to find that they have become a permanent part of my physiology. What can you expect, this is California; we get lots of sun, and wear sunglasses even in the winter. They are atop my head as I type, and it is dark out!

I will leave you with an amusing excerpt of an actual trail that I found amusing:

Lawer1: When he went, had you gone and had she, if she wanted to and were
able, for the time being excluding all the restraints on her not to go,
gone also, would he have brought you, meaning you and she, with him to
the station?

Lawer2: Objection. That question should be taken out and shot.

I still can't figure out what that lawyer is trying to ask!!!!!

*An amendment to the above. Since writing about the “coolest” thing I have done, I went and bedded down our neighbors animals for the night, as the neighbors are out of town. This time I was wearing my coat, and a hat, and gloves; I still froze. I keep hitting the wrong keys while typing, and whenever I wiggle my nose if feels like it is moving really slow. (Have you ever tried that? Go out in the cold for a while, and then wiggle your nose, it feels quite strange.) Right now I need to warm up. A cup of warm peppermint tea would be just the trick…

Comments (14) Post A Comment! Permanent Link

I’m back!!!!!

First, I must dispense with the obligatory excuses for my long absence. School was my main focus during the beginning of December, as I wanted to get the last classes of the year finished in good order, and bring my GPA up a touch more. It was so wonderful being homeschooled and not having to worry about such things as GPAs. In fact, I didn’t even know what a GPA was until my final year in high school. (incidentally, it took my entire four years of high school to figure out which year went with the entire “Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior” classification.  I have to concentrate to remember it, even now.) After I was finished with my enormous paper, which turned out to be 19 pages long, writing had simply lost its appeal, and I wallowed in a bout of writing lethargy.

Happily, this feeling has passed, and I now feel the flood of long pent words expressing their desire to be free! However, this will not be a night where they are allowed their full liberty, and if they expressed a desire that I “Give them liberty, or give them death!” they would most certainly receive the latter.

The hour is late, and the day has drawn long, and a warm coverlet calls my name. Now that I think of it, my bed is quite cold at the moment. Still it will be warm after I lie in it shivering for the first ten minutes, and the potential of a warm cot allures me. I am tired!

Before I leave, I wanted to share some pictures. This evening we ate at our neighbor’s house. They have been two and a half long years in the construction of their house, and just moved in this week. Our family has been active in helping them on various parts of construction during this time, (Thomas likes to walk through the house and point at a wall and proudly state, “I framed that wall.” He is always making me laugh!), and this was a thank you dinner for our help.

It was a very good meal, and we were bursting at the seams by the end. Then our hostess pulled out a cake. It would have been very rude to refuse, so we had cake. This highly tasty cake had one slight problem, perhaps problem is not the right word and eccentricity would be more to the point. There were very pretty decorations on the top of said cake, quite colorful. Looking at them was nice; however, eating them had some unexpected results (Look at the teeth.):

Laura, in keeping with her name had a red rose, and you saw the results. I ate a leaf, and behold the consequences:

(I look like I am falling asleep, but that is me trying with all my might not to laugh while they were taking the picture. Thomas tried to take it, but he was laughing so hard that he had to hand the camera to Mom!) It has been nearly six hours, and my tongue has still not returned to its normal color. I am beginning to worry…

Comments (8) Post A Comment! Permanent Link

I have been planning this great post, and then life went from crazy, to crazier.

One of my best friend's dad was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday evening. He is in the Intensive Care Unit, and is doing really badly. He has episodes where he suddenly cannot breathe, and it is not asthma, so they don't quite know what is wrong. Parts of our family have been down at their house, trying to make ourselves useful in whatever small ways we can. (I just got home after a three day absence.)

Please pray for him. His name is Eric Davis, and he is one of the greatest guys the world has ever known. I know, we always say that about people who are in distress; but this time it is true! Pray that he gets better, and is able to return to his family very soon.

I'm off to get some much needed, as I have been horribly deprived lately,  sleep!

Later!

P.S. Beware of sleeping with a Goose, he will always steal the covers!

Comments (17) Post A Comment! Permanent Link

I have a post in the works, but a friend needs people to answer some questions for a paper she is writing. Since she was so good about helping with my survey, it is only right that I return the favor. (She is a very nice person, so I would be quite willing to help her regardless of any other facts.)  Head over to Miss Elizabeth's blog and see if you can assist her! The questions are at the bottom of the post.

www.homeschoolblogger.com/walkinginhissteps/432566/

Later,

BFH

Comments (4) Post A Comment! Permanent Link

After looking at few of the comments I have received, and then rereading my post, it pains me to realize that I fell into a trap common to the college environment, collegiate speech! This is taking a subject that could be really simple, but using big words to make it seem really impressive. It is a recognized technique in term papers (professors give more points for "The association of  Factor1 and Factor2 often results in a recognized causal relationship" then "Action1 usually causes Result2", or in an example "If you take your brother's book, then you will probably get hit with a pillow".) I have fallen into this trap with some of my nearest and dearest friends, and I am here to beg your forgiveness.

I will now attempt to say the exact same thing that the last post did, but put it in an understandable manner.

First, let me say, a lower time means that it took less time to complete the questions. Normally a good thing.

If people do something that they know how to do pretty well, like simple addition, it shouldn't take them very long, and they should be able to do it in about the same amount time, even if they take 15 times. This is what Test1 was looking at.

Should they for some reason be upset, doesn't it seem reasonable that it would take longer on the problems than if they were feeling fine? When you are upset, do you have a hard time concentrating? Test2 was showing words that are negative, trying to see if this would make them take longer on the test.

If it takes longer when they are upset, then would it take less time if they are feeling happy? Test3 was checking if positive words would make a person happier, and if they would then do better on the test.

I will now try and explain mean, median and mode. Let's start by making up a list of numbers; this is the number of kids in some families I know: 3, 7, 1, 9, 5, 3, 4, 2, and 6. Whenever you have a list like this, it makes more sense if you put them in order: 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9.

The mean is simply the average of all the numbers, so we add all the kids up, and divide by the number of families: 1+2+3+3+4+5+6+7+9=40 kids divided by 9 families=4.4 kids is the average number of kids in the families.

Median is even simpler, do you see how similar this word is to "medium"? Medium is the middle size at most restaurants, you have small, medium and large fries. It is the same with our list, we just have to find the middle "size".  All you have to do is look at the list of numbers we put in order, and find the one in the middle.
1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9. See the one in the middle?

Mode is just the number that is most seen in the list. It is pretty easy to remember if you learn a little trick. Just look at first two letters of the word "mode": M and O. This is the same as "M(ost) O(ften)", so just remember this: Mode=Most Often. If we go back to our list we see: 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9. There are more threes than anything else, so it is the mode. If there is a tie between how many numbers we see, or only one of each, there can't be a mode.

Now we can apply this info to the amount of time people took on the tests. The mean, or average, is the easiest to use, so that is what I will focus on.

I added all the scores for each of the tests, and found the average. e.g. Scores of 20+25+41+29+27=142 are then divided by the number of people (five in this example), 142 divided by 5=28.4. 28.4 seconds is the average amount of time it took people to take the test in this example.

Then a person can look at their score, and see if they are above or below the average score. (For your scores, that is done in the tables in the last post under the "Mean" section.)

Even if you are below average, that doesn't mean you aren't smart, it just means that you normally take more time on average when compared to others. (Just because you are below the average height doesn't mean you are "sub-average", it just means you don't hit your head on low door frames [I've had several concussions from doing that!].)

What I wanted to see is if the average score of the test with the negative words took the longest, then the test with no words should be in the middle, and finally if the positive words test took the least time. This would agree with my belief.

The average times, highest to lowest were:

Test2: 31.84 seconds (negative words)
Test1: 29.22 seconds (no words)
Test3: 28.20 seconds (positive words)

I was very happy, because this is what I was hoping would happen. Happier people take less time, upset people take the most time, and just fine are in the middle.

I won't go into the details of the adoption aspect of the test, if you want to take this simpler explanation and try to go back and puzzle through my last post, or email me and have me send my final paper, that is fine. I will just try and explain the whole idea in one sentence: I wanted to see if adopted people are even more sensitive to negative or positive words, and would have even higher and lower average times. Like I said, I would be more than happy to send you my entire paper, which has an even more detailed explanation, if you would like.

Is this better? Let me know if you have more questions, and I will try and reply to your comments.

Later!

Comments (13) Post A Comment! Permanent Link

Hi Everybody!

As promised, I am posting the results of the survey from my last post. 178 different people took the tests; that is an amazing amount for such a shortly run survey. My professor was very pleased, and gave me an extremely high score on the paper associated with the findings. She even said that if it were expanded and fleshed out a little more, this would make a great dissertation. (I don't even want to think about that right now!!!!) Thank you again to everyone who took the test!

Everybody who gave me their email should have gotten their own scores on the test. Look at the tables below to see how your score matches up to the average.

Remember, Test1 was the control group, and saw no words; Test2 saw a list of negative words, and Test3 saw a list of positive words.

Test 1 All Respondents	Seconds
Mean:	29.22
Median:	27.50
Mode:	25.00

Figure 1.1 Results of All Respondents for Test 1

Figure 1.2 Results of Non-Adopted Scores for Test 1

Figure1.3 Results of Non-adopted Scores for Test 1

Figure 2.1 Results of All Respondents for Test 2

Figure 2.3 Results of Non-adopted Scores for Test 2

Figure 2.3 Results of Non-adopted Scores for Test 2

Figure 3.1 Results of Non-adopted Scores for Test 3

Figure 3.2 Results of Non-Adopted Scores for Test 3

Figure 3.3 Results of Non-adopted Scores for Test 3

Comments (17) Post A Comment! Permanent Link

As I promised, here is the survey I envisioned, designed, created, and what much of my final grade is hinging on. I need a lot of people to take it for there to be enough data. Please  participate, and if you can, get everyone in your house to participate, and your neighbors, and your friends, and maybe even your casual acquaintances. It should only take about 5 minutes. You can spare that long to help out a poor college student, right?

The survey just has you read twelve normal words, and then do ten basic addition problems, what could be simpler than that?

This is the interesting part. There are three tests, and you get to pick one of them. You can make it totally random and roll a die, or assign numbers on slips of paper and pull it out of a hat, or you can just pick one. This is entirely your choice:

Door #1:
www.geostrategies.com/c/basiccognitiveabilities_test1.htm

Door #2:
www.geostrategies.com/c/basiccognitiveabilities_test2.htm

Door #3:
www.geostrategies.com/c/basiccognitiveabilities_test3.htm

Thank you for your assistance. I will be posting some results after November 20th, if you would like to come back and see what I made of your answers.

Later!

Comments (27) Post A Comment! Permanent Link

I realize it has been a little while since I posted last, but not really that long. I am scrambling to get my schoolwork done, in a attempt to graduate in December!!!! This has left very little time for me to devote to my blog. (As well as a dearth of brain cells!)

As is frequent when you haven't heard from someone in a while, then they show up suddenly, I need some help! One of my papers requires a bit of participation from others, and you guys are a great source of assistance.

I have two lists, one of positive words, and another of negative. I need you to pick out the fifteen words you think are the most descriptive of their category and list them in a comment. Meaning, the best of the positive, and the worst of the negative.

Positive:

Admirable
Amazing
Beautiful
Best
Cool
Delightful
Easy
Enjoy
Excellent
Fantastic
Finest
Genius
Great
Happy
Interesting
Joy
Nice
Perfect
Power
Precious
Prefer
Reward
Rich
Right
Safety
Satisfaction
Sensational
Smashing
Smile
Special
Spectacular
Stunning
Success
Superb
Terrific
Ultimate
Unbeatable
Unsurpassed
Valuable
Victory

Negative:

Absurd

Accident

Afraid

Alone

Angry

Annoying

Awful

Bad

Broken

Can't

Cold

Confused

Dark

Dead

Death

Depressing

Destroy

Dopy

Fall

Hate

Hurt

Jealousy

Lose

Lost

Mad

Mean

Nervous

Never

Pain

Poor

Powerless

Rip

Sad

Scared

Scream

Selfish

Sick

Sorrow

Steal

Terrible

Comments (14) Post A Comment! Permanent Link

There is nothing that comes close to the wonderful feeling of freedom experienced after a long period of confinement. I have an extremely minute (that is minute, as in exceptionally small, not as in a time period of sixty seconds, there are multiple words assigned to that spelling) understanding of the exultation that Paul and Silas must have felt after exiting the prison. I know my cast was no where near the same level of confinement that they experienced, still it is along those same lines, and the analogy can be made.

They cut off the cast with one of those vibrating saws, and then took X-rays. I did not quite understand the depth to which the pins went into my hand, I could try and describe it, but a picture will do the job more effectively:

 Yes, they were quite solidly placed. The strangest thought is that they used a drill to make the hole that deep into my bone, and then pushed the pin into place. I’m glad I was out during that part!

After the X-rays were thoroughly examined, my good doctor announced that I was healed enough that the pins could be removed, and that was very good news. I had a big grin in my face, right up to the point that he got out a pair of these:

My hand is now doing much better, in spite of its rather delicate appearance. Bench pressing two-hundred pounds is not an activity on the schedule any time soon; not that I had that particular ability before, but it is certainly out of the question for now. Maybe I can work up to it slowly, starting with lighter weights, and then moving on to gradually heavier items. That is a brilliant idea! (What could I expect, considering the source.) Now, where can I find some paper clips?....

Comments (16) Post A Comment! Permanent Link

From time immemorial children have loved dolls. According to a little research I did, they have been found in the tombs of Egyptian children, and are thought to be the oldest toys on record. I happen to think the oft forgotten and undervalued “stick” should hold this title, on the basis that a toy is dictionarily (I made this word up.) defined as “an object for children to play with,” but who am I to debate the great historians of our age. They have been made through the ages of a myriad of materials, including bone, leather, resin (sounds sticky!), and the ever popular plastic.

My sisters are no exception to a doll’s enamoring aspects, and they of course have multiple examples of these small individuals. (Even Thomas and I had a few dolls when we were younger, though they were more likely to assist in our adventures of storming castles and avoiding lakes of lava, or to be rescued from a variety of perils, than being pampered and put to bed with a fresh diaper.) My sisters especially like the American Doll series, and that was the center of a recent trip to Los Angeles.

On Thursday, after dance class, we headed for the Reynolds house. (Hence, the reference to mom2two in my last post.) Mrs. Reynolds and Kelsey were the ones who planned this event, and planned on riding with us. We watched “Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?”, and ate snicker doodles, and then talked ‘til midnight. At about that point the fact that we were getting up at 5:30am dawned on us, and we went to bed.

On the next day we went and picked up Jessica bright and early (of the familyof12 blog), who you may remember from our trip last year, as she was hitching a ride with us to visit our other hitch-hiker from last year. (Known to the blogging world as Katalina.)

In case you haven’t noticed by this point, I was the only male going on this trip. This was not distressing, as my ballet classes have uniquely conditioned me to this situation! The 300 mile trip down Interstate-5 was uneventful. We talked, played the ABC game, and listened to the younger girl’s Mad Lib creations (always amusing for the first 200 miles). Some of us looked like a train wreck, I’m in a cast, mom hurt her back and was hobbling around leaning on my good arm, and Kelsey was on crutches from a twisted ankle. We were quite the sight.

We stopped for an early lunch at 10:30am. (Hey, we ate breakfast at 6am!) Care to guess where we went?

This was my first time at this restaurant, and I am pleased to say that In-N-Out has a new faithful customer. How can you beat a restaurant where they open the door for you, there are Bible verses on the paper products, and a Double-Double is only $2.85!

Our next stop was Riverside, and the California Baptist University, where Katalina is attending. We were very glad to see her:

After this emotional reunion (sorry couldn’t resist!), the girls got to go up to her dorm room. Boys aren’t allowed up there, so I stayed in the lobby with Sara and Bex, where we played Rock, Paper, Scissors, read, and then I fell asleep. (I don’t handle early hours very well!)

Leaving Jessica to stay with Kat at the dorm, we left for our hotel, which we found, and then went to get dinner. It was 4:30pm.

We ate at Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant, which predated the theme park. (Mrs. Knott served the restaurant’s opening dinner, in 1934, on her wedding china.) After that we walked around the shops, and took pictures in front of the Giant Snoopys:

Our main purpose came the following day, and I have been deliberately leaving you hanging on why we would venture into Scary Southern California. A relative of the Reynolds family (I’m still a little sketchy on the actual relation.) was one of the characters in the play at the American Girl Plaza/Store/Theatre/Café. Our purpose was to go and see the play, and at the same time go to the store. For those of you who have never been to this place, it is amazing!

Each doll has its own area dedicated to its various accessories, and gives a little bit of history about the timeframe the doll is based in. I wandered around with the girls, and watching them look at all the dresses was a lot of fun. Only surrounding a wedding have I seen girls this excited.

While I drove back to the college to pick up Jessica, dodging speeding BMWs the entire way, the girls had their tea at the Café:
 

We picked them up after the performance, and headed our way North; stopping at a Red Robin to eat. We had a great time at this meal, but sadly, no pictures. Oh well, I’ll leave you with a shot of my “girls”:

It was lots of fun, and I am very glad they allowed me to tag along!

(Thank you Mrs. Reynolds for letting me use some of your photos!) 

Later!

Comments (16) Post A Comment! Permanent Link

I am currently sitting at our good friends house, namely a fellow blogger mom2two, listening to my mom and some family friends reminisce about popular culture of the sixties. Things like plastic cows at Mr. Steak, stores closing at 10pm, and the movie “The Gnome-Mobile” (For some reason I am thinking of multiple Travelocity gnomes glued to the outside of a car!) It makes me wonder how they ever survived this rather bizarre period of history. Their conversation reminds me of reading through old Trivial Pursuit cards. While I am listening I decided that it would be a good time to take care of a tag. 

This tag was submitted Ruach back in June.  (Hey, I said I would get to it at some point!)

1.      

Favorite Car? Why oh why do they have to start with this question? I never have understood cars, and probably never will. Nic loves to ask me this exact question, and I always say that I want one that gets good gas mileage, and doesn’t break down. (Maybe I should add doesn’t crash?) Nic hates it when I say this, and claims it is not a real answer. Oh well, it is on the blog, and that is permanent.  

2. Ford or Chevy? Hmmmmm…… Well…………. This is very similar to the above.

3. Favorite color? You know, if I pick brown, it is a mix of all colors. Right now I am in a very inclusive mood, so brown it is.

4. Black or White? Black or white what? It makes a difference. Black coffee? White chocolate?

5. Favorite Restaurant? It would be shorter to list the restaurants I don’t like! Let’s see, those would be Togo’s, McDonalds and Denny’s.  I’m very open when it comes to food.

6. Ruby Tuesday or Chilies? Is Ruby Tuesday open on other days of the week? Do they change the name on other days of the week? Like Ruby Monday, Ruby Thursday, and so on? Still, I’ve never been there, so I think I’ll have to pick Chilies. (Matthew R. is sitting next to me, and says he has been there once. He reports that it was fine. I’ll take his word on that.)

7. Favorite animal? Is this in the, I like it as a pet, or want to eat it sense of the question? Pet would be monkey, eat would be…..just about anything that doesn’t eat me first.

8. Cats or Dogs? Cats in the evening, when you want to sit and read while having something warm and soft on your lap. Dogs for the daytime, to play with.

9. Your Hero? This is on a lot of tags. Last time I said Benman, but he had a rather embarrassing incident involving a ten foot tall powdered sugar doughnut, and is on temporary forced vacation. My new hero is Algebra Al. (I’ll write about him in a later post, maybe.)

10. Country or City? Country all the way. While owning a $15 million penthouse in NYC! (For visiting. You can all come visit me there sometime!)

11. Favorite football team? This is harder than the car question. I used to go to my grandparents house, and they would watch football. I spent the whole time trying to figure out the rules. Why are they kicking the ball through those yellow poles? When do they know to give the ball to the other team? I was so confused by the end that I didn’t like football, and haven’t changed my mine since. So, no favorite football team.  I apologize to all possible football fans that may be reading, and want to see me hung on the nearest……..goalpost.

12. What is your middle name? This is a long kept secret, but I will give you a BIG hint. It is the same as a famous talking mule. Beyond that, my lips are sealed.

13. Favorite dessert? Is this even a viable question? Who is expected to peg down this kind of an answer?!?! There are very few non-favorite desserts of mine floating around. At the moment, I think tiramisu would really taste good…  

14. Favorite Movie? Pride and Prejudice A&E. No doubt, no question, no contest.

15. Favorite Drink? H₂O. God made it first, so it must be the best.

16. Mr. Pibb or Dr. Pepper? I really want one of those red Dr. Pepper shirts they had at Target, but they didn’t have them when I went there the other day. I was so sad! Still, I have never had either drink. Been to busy drinking water.

17. Favorite band? This entirely depends on my mood swings, which as my family knows cam be sudden and violent, (ask Thomas). While working outside, I like Country music, and the band would be Rascal Flatts. Inside, jazz, and I like Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. On the way to Church, I am partial to a good Newsong…song. For the frequent sappy moments of my life, the Carpenter’s are really good. “Why do birds suddenly appear, every time you are near?…”

18. Mercy Me or Newsboys? Newsboys, but only because I can remember which songs they sing. They have that G’day mate kind of twang.

19. What kind of guitar do you have? Ahhhhhh! I have never owned a guitar. Does that make me a sub-class citizen of some kind?

20. Chocolate or Vanilla? Oh delight, ‘tis wondrous taste, the coco and ‘nilla both doth make. To choose the best an impossible task, and pity to them this question ask. When faced with a choice in the dessert line, I get them both, and happily dine.

One down, who knows how many more to go!

Later.

Comments (14) Post A Comment! Permanent Link

Greetings and salutations to anyone who may read this post. It is my distinct pleasure that you have taken time out of your busy circumstances to read this humble bit of news written by myself.

I am currently mending. Thank you for asking.

For those of you who are interested, here is a picture of my former mode of transportation. (Disclaimer: This is a picture depicting the carnage bestowed on an innocent motorized vehicle, those with weak stomachs in regards to such sad circumstances should abstain from looking.)

Yes, I think that it would be safe to say this motorcycle will never again see the open road.

Looking at the picture returns me to the actual event, and I will make a couple of comments on that subject.

I did honestly think that I was going to die. When such a thought goes through your head it is really quite a strange experience. Not one that I care to repeat for another seventy years or so...

First, my life did not flash before my eyes. I am not sure what the reasoning behind that omission happens to be, but I was fine with it. Second, there is a strange phenomena that causes time to advance very slowly, and very quickly at the same time. I had time to dwell on several different subjects, and make a few decisions that I didn't believe I would have time to carry out, but such is the mind of someone bouncing down the road at a rapidly decreasing velocity that began over 50 MPH.

My favorite memory of the incident was the rapidly alternating view of sky and road. Small things did not escape my notice during this bout of circular sight. The blueness of the sky was particularly beautiful during that moment. Though I remember thinking that I would really like to stop before the novelty wore off.

James 4:13-14 comes to mind. For those of you who don't have the entire Bible memorized, I will quote it. (Please do not feel bad if you do not know this from memory, I had to look it up also.) "Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." It is truly a very gentle puff of wind that can make us vanish, take my word for it.

Later!

BFH

P.S. After reading over this post, I have realized that it ends on a rather ominous note. I hate such endings, and will leave you with the thought that we are able to put our trust in God, for he protects us, even when we are in danger! Psalm 63:6-7 "Because You have been my help, Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me." That is good news indeed!

Comments (31) Post A Comment! Permanent Link

Ahem... testing, testing, 1....2....3.... Is this thing on? Sqqqqqqqeeeeeeeaaaaaakkkkkkk.......... Ouch!!

Thomas here, in for Ben, reporting live from California...

Sorry... it's 3:30 in the morning here and I have had way too much coffee!!

No... really ladies and germs (ba-dum-ching!), this is Thomas writing for Ben explaining why he won't be able to post for awhile...

About 6pm yesterday (Wednesday), Ben was in a motorcycle accident on his way home from a dance class down in the valley. He was going around a curve when he noticed something in the road, so he jammed on the breaks which sent him in to a high-speed wobble. He was regaining control of the bike when he hit one of the reflectors in the middle of the road which made the bike topple the rest of the way. From what he remembers, he and the bike were playing leap-frog, bouncing down the road for a couple of hundred feet. He was able to escape the bike's crushing blows, and he came to a stop halfway on the road and half off. His main concern at that point was the truck that was coming straight for him at high speeds. The truck managed to avoid him (thank the Lord!!), but then out of the corner of his eye he saw that the bike was totally engulfed in flames. His proximity to the Yamaha FZR1000 was far enough away  that further injury from the rapid oxidization of the various parts of the motorcycle would not harm him (i.e. The bike was literally toast... very burnt toast, and he wasn't anywhere near it).

The ambulance got there and took him to the nearby hospital where he waited for the next 7 hours to get cleaned up and x-rayed. God was definitely with him due to the fact that he walked away with somewhat minor cuts and abrasions to his legs and arms, and two fractured bones in the left hand.

During his confinement in the hospital, he had 9 visitors including relatives and friends from church.

Ben will still be reading comments, but because of his hand injury, he can't type quite as fast, so posting will be a little bit harder!

During this time I will act as his secretary and I will also keep you posted on his recovery...

I only wish he had been wearing a helmet camera, 'cause that would've been one great video!!

Hasta la later.

-Thomas

Comments (22) Post A Comment! Permanent Link

Lots of people are going to come here expecting a post. I need to post about my biking trip with my dad that I got back from on Tuesday, but I am leaving for a backpacking trip in Yosemite in about 20 minutes! Lots of pictures when I get back, and the rules for the contest...

I hope everyone is having a good week!

Later.

Comments (6) Post A Comment! Permanent Link