Well folks, it's been a busy few weeks.

First, there was the whole Christmas thing, which was enjoyable and relatively busy.  The loot was satisfactory, but more importantly the food was delicious.  And there were people here and there, but the main point is that we had some majorly good grub.  Sadly, the season of egg nog is now past, and we must wait many moons before it comes again.
  Short summary: had Christmas with my folks, we opened presents and had good times together.  Next year, because of the new in-law factor (two brothers being married), we're thinking of having the present part of Christmas on New Year's Day.  If that works, it should make everyone's life easier.  Check back in eleven months or so and I'll update y'all.

My next hurdle was our Sr High ministry's annual Youth Banquet.  This is a formal, sit-down dinner for the 500-600 students and parents in our church.  As a member of the Admin Team, there were numerous tasks to be done to prepare for the evening.  This year was, by popular and insider assessment, our best Banquet ever.  We had the perfect amount of food, swish decorations, on schedule setup/teardown, flawless leadership, beautiful weather, sufficient volunteers, etc.  In every category it was excellent.  The only downside is that it seems impossible to improve next year's, which probably means that we'll have some sort of minor disaster.  Ah well ... tomorrow's troubles will take care of themselves.

In other news, work has been increasingly busy.  For us, as curriculum providers, winter is typically a slow season in terms of sales.  But we seek to use the time wisely by working on larger projects that would be impossible in the rush of spring and summer.  These projects have been keeping me busy from the time I arrive at my warehouse until I am able to tear myself away.  These projects range from long-term planning to building projects to training new staff to mastering new technology to reorganizing work spaces.  Throughout all this, God has been richly blessing our efforts.

Among other things:
  1) I got to keep my warehouse space - which we had considered giving up, and having me move my operations into a different space.  This means that I don't have to a) move and b) make do with far less space.
  2) We finally stopped using a CD reproducer out in CA and instead have gotten our own technology.  This gives me much greater control and flexibility to produce what's needed when it is needed.  That has enabled us to launch ..
  3) Go To Egypt is the centerpiece of our new marketing strategy.  It is a three week sample tour of the curriculum we sell, along with the supplemental products we offer.  For folks whose internet connection is slow or non-existant we offer a free CD version.  Without 2) I'd be hurting to provide these discs in a timely and cost-effective method
  4) After several weeks of effort, I have nearly completed a clean/quiet room for the comfort and convenience of several employees.  One girl, who has been my right hand for the last year and a half, is unfortunately allergic to my dog.  Now she'll have a place free of his fur, and the ladies who answer our phones will have a quiet place to work (away from the distinctive screech of tape guns).

In short, my days are full of good works to be done, which is a satisfying place to be.  The briefest mention of teaching must suffice, but it's going well.

This brings me to nights and weekends :)  

  I've been hanging most often with my good buddy Jason and his family.  They're great - they feed me and let me play with their little girls.  Once the kiddos are in bed, we get to watch TV (which I don't have at my house) shows like Prison Break and 24 or play video games.  Football, now sadly ended, has been a big part of this tradition.  Usually, I'd go over for Sunday afternoon/evening games, where we would cheer for (or mourn with) the Broncos (J's team) and Patriots (my team).  This Sat we're thinking of helping out a mutual friend with a fox problem - soon I'll be posting on the competing merits of a .22 rifle w/scope vs 12 gauge shotgun w/buckshot.  Basically, we're twins separated by birth.  Did I mention that I get fed?  Cause as a single guy, this is a big deal :)
  Otherwise, I hang out with some weirdo who keeps losing his car.  It's a pity thing, really.
  If he's not available, I trade dinners with a friend from college and her husband.  I'm his lifeline to pasta (spaghetti being the mainstay of the single male) and they feed me really good shrimp.  I nearly stomped them in Trivial Pursuit the other day, but the game was called on account of early bedtimes.
  Then, as the owner of a recently acquired (and previously mentioned) shotgun, I have made it a point to go find a wise mentor to teach me the ways of the firearm.  This dude has an impressive collection (shotgun, .45 handgun, semi-auto mini-14, and .308 sniper rifle), as well as all the Babylon 5 and SG-1 seasons.  Naturally, none of this has any impact on my motive for befriending him.  I admit to being slightly influenced by the fact that he has Gears of War ;)
  Then there are these people claiming to be my family, who keep throwing Sunday afternoon lunch parties, which I gate-crash.  They're a sentimental bunch, but I'm able to look past that to get to the roast beef...

Other activities include: 
    Weekly, on Tuesdays, I have the privilege of leading a small group of singles from our church
  Lost on Wed nights (finally! after a loooong break through Dec and Jan)
  Serving once a month on Admin and also at childcare for the married couples meeting

Somehow, in the midst of all this, I've not had a whole lot of time to update this blog thingy.  I need to apologize for this, to a limited degree, because I've been judging other people harshly because they haven't updated their blogs regularly or frequently.  Now that I've fulfilled my obligation to the blogosphere, I can go back to judging them with a clean conscience :)

It is now about five seconds until midnight, so I'm going to sign off for the time being.  One reason for resurrecting my inner blogger is that Monsieur le Nut* a.k.a. Big Nut (rumored to be a Canadian, hence the dual spelling of his name, to reflect both official languages of that fair and chilly land) is back in business with a nifty new site.  He has promised to resume the mental fencing we enjoyed in the fall.  So, I'm sharpening the old fingertips back up for further battle of the minds.

Thor

*it should be noted, since I sometimes forget it, that Regular Nut (mother of the Nut family, not to be confused with NutLittle, who is the daughter) also posts on this site.  Care should be taken when commenting to consider the source.

PS. After six weeks and more of disgustingly warm temperature (literally 60s and 70s) we're finally experiencing something approaching decently cold.  No real snow yet, however.  But hope still lives in the heart of Thor - every day is a new beginning, with the potential for a massive blizzard lurking in the morning newscast.

PPS. Those of you who are experiencing real winter and are envious of our warmth, the feeling is mutual.  Except I want your snow and cold.  Please feel free to ship any excess via our UPS account - contact me privately for address and delivery details ;)