Stuff

Jadyn is still sick (I may not have mentioned this before but she's been battling a cold for more than two weeks), so she's on another round of medicine. We hope she gets over her cold/ear infection soon.
She's coughing as I type.
Anyway, it's been a good day overall. Kind of dragged through the day with a little bit of a cold too.
Amanda's sick some also.
Looks like we're in for a major change in the weather. We'll see. Highs in the 70s are a little odd for late November, even in the South.
Well, it's time to hit the hay.
Later!

Not sure what to write

And here we are again near the end of the night and I'm trying to figure out what to write. What I can say about the day is hard to put into words sometimes.
But I know that Jadyn went through some rough patches during the day, and so did Mommy.
I'm learning how to understand that what happens at home is sometimes really hard on Amanda and sometimes I'm not sensitive enough to that.
Parenthood is at once one of the most rewarding and challenging parts of life.
In the end I pray we raise a daughter who loves Jesus, knows who she is, is able to navigate the world with grace and wisdom and hopefully raise a family of her own with a loving, wise husband.
'Night!

Early to bed ...

Well, 10:30 is early for us these days, but neither Amanda nor I slept well last night.
(Betcha can't guess whether I went to the gym, huh?)
My eyelids are flittering shut every so often.
Guess there's nothing much to report otherwise except that Jadyn amazes us every day. We're grateful she's in our lives.
Got another early start to the day tomorrow. Later!

Tick tock

Here's another short entry in my feeble, unofficial attempt to participate in NaBloPoMo.
When we can take a nap on a Sunday after church AND get something done, that's pretty amazing.
I've been feeling pretty good lately after getting to the gym twice this week for the first time in five months.
Working out really makes a difference on all sorts of levels.
I'm up pretty late tonight so I don't know how it's going to work but hopefully I can get up and get in gear in the a.m.

Ooops!

Well, since I was late getting started anyway, I don't think it matters that I skipped Friday in blogging. It just slipped my mind.
OK, Michael Richards shouldn't have said what he said and maybe he should have thought twice about getting frustrated with his hecklers in the way he did. But everybody makes mistakes and he should be given a second chance.
They even got Kenny Kramer, the real person his Seinfeld character was based on, to weigh in on the subject, and what he said in an Associated Press story was really funny:
"You know what the good news is?" he asked. "Judith Regan is now on a plane to California, trying to sign Michael Richards to a book deal: 'If I Were a Racist, Here's What I Would Have Said.'"
That's a reference to the OJ Simpson book deal, in case you don't know.

Thanksgiving

We had a good time with some folks from church and just kind of hung out at home later. Jadyn's still getting over her cold.
I think about the family members I've spent Thanksgiving with who are now gone, but I know that I have family who now still love us, care for us and are glad we are here. For that, I am grateful.
I'm grateful we've had another day to at least learn how to live a life of gratitude, and, hopefully, faithfulness.

Life stuff

Just spent a bunch of money we didn't have on my old truck. Hope we can get some return on our investment. But when you need to get to and from work, then to and from other places from work, you kinda have to have a vehicle!
But I am thankful I live in a country where I am relatively free to walk down the street, talk to whom I want, hang out with whom I want and generally live life the way I see fit.
I am thankful I have a wife and daughter who love me - they prove it every day, a job, friends and family who care. I'm glad I'm alive and I'm glad I'm coming to know Jesus Christ over the years.
Well, it's time to work on a few other things before bedtime.
I'm looking forward to Jadyn's second Thanksgiving.
Night!

Wo' out!

Boy it's been a long day.
I forgot what time it started. Now I remember: Just before 6.
It's time to hit the sack.
But before I go: My old reliable truck's clutch went out on me, Jadyn's getting sick again and Amanda wasn't feeling so hot today either. Just had a bumpy day.
We'll get through it by the grace of God.
Good night!

The Roofus Chronicles, Part I

Roofus was a solid black cat my mother found - literally on a roof - just on the edge of downtown Montgomery around April 1992. He'd been basically a stray neighborhood cat who probably lived off the land and the kindness of strangers, like Mom.
We think he was about a year old when she found him.
She kept him for a few weeks and decided to send him home with me, which was, at the time, in a bayside apartment in Daphne, Ala.
Roofus was a pretty determined animal most of the time. One time, in Daphne, he crawled under the sink and may have found his way to the bathroom, which had one of those big tubs with jacuzzi jets.
Yes, I miss that tub.
But I digress.
Roofus would decide on occaision to go outside. Actually, he clawed a spot in the carpet near the front door and I think I caved more often than not just to get the clawing to stop - or at least pause.
He found his way into the hearts - and doors - of several neighbors.
Roofus was a fiesty little guy and there were times I would have to get a blanket and toss it over him temporarily to get him inside.
More Roofus chronicles at another time.

Exhausted

Been an exhausting day.
Fun for most of it, but still some things left to finish before I turn in for the evening.
Raking leaves was pretty enjoyable for the most part. It helped when I got the blower working.
That's it for now. Will try to blog more tomorrow.

IT'S A GAME SYSTEM, PEOPLE!

The PS3 release caused several episodes of mayhem across the land, including one shooting incident.
If this is supposed to be part of the Christmas shopping season, can this be any further removed from the spirit of the season?
Apparently one set of alleged criminals thought the PS3 crowd was a great robbery target. One guy refused to give them money and he got shot.
This is one of those cases where you have to wonder out loud what this world is coming to. So what if somebody doesn't get one of the 400,000 PS3s on the market. Is it really going to be that big a deal?
Please, let's reason together. This is NOT that big a deal on the grand sceme.
This holiday season, if you think there's something worth standing in line for hours - potentially risking your life - to buy, please think again.

The day and other stuff

I'm trying to loosen up here and splatter my thoughts across the Internet. I'm one of those people who want to be read and seen by the whole world but don't want to make a mess that might take me years to straighten out. You know, like getting dooced or creating other work problems or making a friend mad at me for near perpetuity.
Anyway, please bear with me and keep reading.
We spent some of the day at a friend's child's birthday party. I got the oil changed in Amanda's vehicle. Boy, those oil change places LOVE to upsell you. Of course I didn't go for it.
The girls at the Chinese restaurant smothered Jadyn with attention and love. It was too cute!
After we got settled back in at the house and watched some TIVO'ed stuff. Yes, we love TIVOing stuff. We don't feel chained to the tube and we can actually enjoy certain shows and not be tied to a schedule. We're also trying to limit Jadyn's TV intake and get off our butts and do things like exercise and things on the aging to-do list. TIVO is really worth the money.
Then, we took a HUGE nap and we're still running at this late hour without being too tired. OK, I'll speak for myself on that one. I've been averaging five and a half hours of sleep and it's starting to catch up to me.
Got to catch up with someone I haven't talked to in years, seems more like eras.
Watched the movie "Cars." It's great! It's worth a look-see.
Ordering food off the Internet is totally awesome! Get the door. It's Domino's!
So, I was going to blog about something tonight and I forgot what that was.
I've got a Roofus blog in mind for sometime later this month.
OK, for those of you who talk to me in person, this probably looks like a normal conversation with me. I'm working moving toward that.
Please bear with me.
Oh yes! The blog thought. That's another post. Give me a minute.

Blogging ...

Can be difficult when you know that is this isn't private space but is rather globally distributed at the click of a mouse.
Yet, this is a place to vent, relax and be yourself. Not when you're not entirely sure who you are and whether you wonder if you can or should rely on what you know.
Self-editing can create as many or more problems as not being able to communicate feelings.
But "feelings" are probably not what you stopped by for.
There are a number of things I want to blog about, but am restrained not to do so for now.
Maybe the freedom to write on these subjects will present itself soon.

Iron Bowl
I've been talking to people about how the Alabama-Auburn game in Alabama is more than just a football game. It is, in and of itself, a way of life. This is not just a rivalry between current and former students of a school.
I've watched traffic in Montgomery dwindle to just a handful of people who just happened to be out, or were passing through town, oblivious to the gridiron battle raging somewhere in the state (between Auburn, Tuscaloosa or, at one time Birmingham).
This game's intensity has little to do with its national title implications. These schools could be 3-8 heading into tomorrow, but the game would still mean a great deal.
It has the potiential to be a job-breaker for coaches.
Well, it's almost midnight and we have to be up relatively early in the morning. Later!

A lot on my mind

So far so good on the blogging for days. I know it doesn't count but that's OK.
Hurting a little for my hometown. I've done service work in the apartment complex where a top floor is gone from one of the buildings in Montgomery.
I bought hundreds of gallons of gas at a convenience store across the street from the skating rink which looks like somebody crumpled it by hand. Thank God the loss of life was limited.

The election
As I try to approach politics from a standpoint of fairness, I want to limit what I say about the results of this month's general election. But I will say that I believe that anything that smells like a withdrawal or a curtailing of our actions in Iraq will look to some in the Middle East as if we are weakening.
I'm concerned they'll see this as an opportune time to attack again. Do I wish for it? Absolutely not!
Revamp the strategy? Yes. Involve a greater number of troops? More than likely. Start a noticeable pullback within the next several months?
Not a good idea.
Sure, it sounds like re-packaging of some bad policy decisions, but I think there's some merit in the notion that the fight in Iraq is the front line in the War on Terror.
Do we want it in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Manchester, Tenn. or Bakersfield, Calif., just to name some towns in America at random? I think not.
I pray that our leaders understand that a misstep now in the War on Terror could have grave consequences for our nation and that any change in course they make is with due diligence.

Almost forgot

Need to get up relatively early in the morning, but I thought I would go ahead and get the blog in quick.
Ran out to the Post Office tonight and they did not have stamps that I could buy with under $4. This is also the post office that does not collect mail after 4 p.m. (I think that is right) on Saturday. Guess I have still got to get adjusted to living in a small town.
For some reason blogger will not let me do contractions tonight. Oh well. I can live.
Life is not all bad.
That is certainly the case here, where we did not get any severe weather that we are aware of.
But back in my hometown of Montgomery, an apartment complex and a skating rink, which also included a day care center, were severely damaged. Some of the children in the center were trapped but only a few were injured. I do not think any were hurt seriously.
Gotta hit the sack. Later!

Up way too late

Gotta get to bed soon while the gettin's good. We've got some severe weather rolling through here and I'd better get as much sleep as I can get.
Lighting flashes outside the window tell me I've had the computer on way too long. No sense in risking it.
Today was overall a good day. Jadyn really looks like she grows some everyday. She's really an amazing little girl and we really are fortunate to have her.
Well, better go. Good night!

Rent

My wife and I saw the "rock opera" (the term which best describes it) Rent Sunday night in Birmingham, Ala.
While I have reservations about one particular song, I find the whole thing a carefully-crafted masterpiece from a man whose potential seemed limitless. We've learned to find out that Johnathan Larson died of an apparent aortic anurysm the day of "Rent's" final rehearsal. Wow - what this man could have accomplished.
But he's left behind an amazing work portrayed by people who understand and love his words and music.
For the uninitiated, "Rent" is a story which revolves around a handful of friends in New York City sometime in the late 1980s, when the nation was coming to terms with the AIDS epidemic.
Several of the main characters are HIV-positive. Ironic we saw the musical in the city where some of the most advanced AIDS research may be still taking place.
The theme "Rent" comes from the double meaning of paying an indebtedness, i.e., rent, and the concept of something being torn, or 'rent.' The friends go through quite a lot of tearing.
"No day but today."
It's a pretty plain message for any one.

More stuff

Well, it looks like my blogging into the rest of the month won't count since I didn't start on the 1st. Oh well, at least people may see my stuff and I'll get in the hang of updating it more.
Maybe.
Going to bed after at nearly 1 a.m. and waking up at 7 is kind of like having a hangover without - in this case - doing anything one normally does to GET a hangover.
We must up and at 'em here shortly. So I'll try to give this blog a little more substance a little later in the week. But I will try to give the readers - however few there may be - something every day until we hit December.
So enjoy!

This is what I'm talking about

Joining the crowd

OK, I'm going to join the crowd, since my blog tends toward the unwritten.
The crowd I'm speaking of is the one blogging every day in November.
First off, I'll start with an appropriate salute to our fighting men - and women here on Veterans' Day. As an AP story circulating today aptly points out, the enemy doesn't particularly care who's standing around when they launch an attack.
It sounds trite, but it's true: Their sacrifices keep us a largely free nation who can, for the most part, make its own decisions about its course.
Americans in combat today deserve our full support, regardless of our feelings about the conflicts they find themselves in or the politicians who sent them. We should always welcome home our military men and women with open arms and full hearts.
I do pray that our nation's defense contractors will continue to find ways to shield them from harm as they do their duties with better, stronger protective gear and clothing, explosive detection devices and other helping tools.
May God bless all our veterans - past and present - and remember those who've paid the ultimate price with their lives.

Been thinking

This week, Amanda went in to get a kidney stone broken up. While the procedure was routine and she's doing well aside from some pain, it got me thinking about my life. As a teen, I had a hard time fitting in and I thought about the people who tried to reach through and/or had an impact whether they were trying or not.
I've also thought about people I wish I could find again and stay in touch with.
But I am grateful for those who are sticking with us today in spite of our flaws and foibles and love us anyway. I also pray we can do this for others.
More later.