TEASER... Sunday night, join me online on Twitter @davedollar and here on the blog for the Golden Globe Running Diary
TEASER... American Idol starts next week... we skipped last year #BecauseMinaj and #BecauseMariah, but with Harry Connick, Jr, the returning J-Lo and the returning keith urban (and no Randy the Dawg), I'll be back giving you an episode-by-episode recap!
Bookmark this site so you dont miss anything I have to say, cause let's face it, while what I have to say really isn't that important, its mildly entertaining somewhat. And sort of. Maybe? Yeah!
Ok... onto The Movies!!
And due to blogger being stupid, no pictures for you, unfortunately...
My goal for 2013 was to watch 100 films that I had never seen before. Theatrical releases, with very little exception (otherwise I could plant myself in front of Lifetime Movie Channel and watch 6 movies in a row about women empowerment all starring Judith Light or Valerie Harper, sometimes both...)
Now, not all of these movies were released in 2013... in fact, most of them weren't, but I wanted to give you my list of movies for my own archival purposes, but also for that "here's what I thought, in case you wanted to know if it was good or not" purposes...
So over the next few days, I'm going to give you the entire list... later this week, you'll get the best films I watched in 2013, both movies from 2013 and movies released pre-2013... and also, the movies "in the middle", not the best, nor the worst, but some that deserve attention.
But today, let's kick off our 2013 Movie Watching Recap with the ten worst films I watched in 2013:
DISHONORABLE MENTIONS
Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)... This isn't a bad movie, not all. In fact, its quirky, its decent, its amusing here and there... so why is it here? Because this movie got a boat load of attention in late 2011, for the '12 Oscar season, on how great it was, and how great the lead, young Quvenzhane Wallis was, and on and on. This films is decent, but nowhere near worth the hype. I have my theories that most people didn't love it as much as they say they did, they felt compelled to sing its praises for political reasons... you get me. Review here.
Madea's Witness Protection (2012)... Yes. This is as bad as you think it would be. Worse, even. My first Tyler Perry movie, and it might be my last. We can only hope.
And here is THE BOTTOM TEN...
10... Blitz (2011)... Jason Statham in a mess of a film about a tough cop (is there any other kind when its Statham in the role?) chasing a serial killer who targets police officers and it doesn't matter. Hard to understand because of the thick British accents, hard to care because of the loose plot.
9... Red Dawn (2012)... Being a fan of the guilty pleasure that is the original Red Dawn, this one doesn't even come close. Trade the Russians with the North Koreans as your enemies, that's fair enough, but Chris Hemsworth, Isabel Lucas, Josh Hutcherson and Adrianne Palicki are poor imitations of Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson and Jennifer Grey.
8... Spring Breakers (2013)... This movie is terrible. The best thing about it is James Franco, who dives into his role as a sleazeball pimp-type dude named Alien. The only other sorta good thing about is Selena Gomez, who disappears halfway through the film. Oh, and wrestler Jeff Jarrett makes an appearance as a youth pastor.
7... Meatballs Part II (1984)... What a travesty... one of the characters is an alien, and not the character Alien from the above "Spring Breakers". No, an actual alien, with eyes that glow. Which is a dude in a clunky costume. Don't even ask me why I saw this... I was probably holding a sleeping baby with a remote across the room.
6.. Piranha 3DD (2012)... So the fun in the first film, "Piranha 3D" was that it was so random, so ridiculous and such a great bad film (Elisabeth Shue helps) Its like, everything they did to make the first one fun they purposely made sure not to do in this one. The cast--Ving Rhames, Hasselhoff, David Koechner, Chris Lloyd--is totally wasted in this piece of crap. Here's all I could say about it in my online review: Run. Run from this movie. If someone holds a gun to your head, then take the bullet and hope for the best. Just sayin'.
5... Hansel & Gretel: Vampire Hunters (2013)... I enjoy Jeremy Renner, especially in The Avengers and most recently, in American Hustle, and I like Gemma Arterton, former Bond girl. I also am a fan of Famke Janssen, cause she's a looker, and played Jean Grey in the X-Men films. Toss them together in this, and you get a pile of poop. Its awful. Big budgeted, bloated, stupid and awful.
4... The Paperboy (2012)... The most wasted cast of the year... and I dont mean high on weed (though with Matthew McConaughey here, it might be), but rather great talents making a terrible, weird film... John Cusack is horrendous, Zac Efron should hate himself for this, and Nicole Kidman--who's performance is strangely amazing, yet you hate her too in this... Kidman's character, Charlotte, pees on Efron's character Jack. That's all you need.
3... 2012: Ice Age (2011)... On The Deucecast, we challenged each other to watch certain films... and after giving my co-host, Mikey, some great films to experience (like this one! and this one!), he saddled me with this utter piece sadness.
2... Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011)... Ya know, the first "Ghost Rider" wasn't all bad. It was cheesy and silly, but had its moments. But Nic Cage is just off the rails lately, as this one equals the pile of dog snot that is "Drive Angry". Might've been the same movie. For the full review, click here.
1... LOL (2012)... In 2002, right as Britney Spears was doing that "not a girl, not yet a woman, BritBrit released "Crossroads". A young Justin Long and a young Zoe Saldana starred along a popular, still with Timberlake, sweet, quasi-innocent Britney, and the movie was... well, it wasn't good. It had its moments, and I can see this being a guilty pleasure...
...I sort of expected this to movie to be Miley Cyrus' version of "Crossroads". Oh nay. Oh nay nay. A long haired Miley plays "Lola"... Lola... LOL... get it? Eh? Eh! and Demi Moore is her mom... and everything is bad about this movie. The plot is terrible. The acting is terrible. The characters are stupid, and you want everyone to get set on fire by Ghost Rider (which might've made both of these films a little better). Stay away. There is not even a slightly amusing second of this movie. Worst movie I saw all year long.
At least the makers of Piranha 3DD knew they were making a steaming pile of ostrich stool. The people who made LOL actually tried, which makes it worse because they failed so miserably.
So there's the worst of the lot, the worst movies I saw in all of 2013... but we still have 100+ more movies to mention... up next, the "middle movies", the ones that fall somewhere between the best and the worst... and then, the Top Ten Movies Released in 2013, and the Top Ten Movies Released Before 2013.... so keep checking back this week!
(6094 words written... 13,906 words until the goal of 20,000 in January... #500Words #20KinJan)
Wednesday, January 08, 2014
Tuesday, January 07, 2014
making a list, checking it twice
With the dawn of a new year, comes those three words that everyone likes to discuss, but few like to accomplish: "new years resolutions".
Personally, I don't even call it "resolutions", as I've now referred to my list of stuff to accomplish as "my stuff to accomplish this year". So if and when I miss a few things at the end of December 2014, I won't have any guilt of breaking a resolution... it'll just something that didn't get crossed off my list.
And oh, I have a list. And you should too.
When I worked at Starbucks, especially at night, we had lots of tasks to get done in order to get the store closed and properly cleaned, to be ready to go for the next day's business. Dishes, plating pastries, re-plating pastries, pulling pastries and sandwiches to thaw, cleaning the cafe, filling and stocking the drink case and so on and so forth. I worked at Starbucks for almost 11 years, and in that time, I probably closed hundreds of times... and nearly every time, I made a list of stuff to do.
I would pull out my box cutter, slice off a cardboard flap from a box in the back, and use it to write. It was big, it was thick and large enough to not just get tossed with anything else that looked like trash. It was my list, and people knew that when they worked with me, there would be some cardboard with sharpie all over it, with an extensive list of stuff to do.
So why do I suggest a list for your year? For your quarter? Even for your month?
Putting it down on paper means something. When you actually write it, it gives your list that little extra something, that little extra bit of meaning.
So how do you make a list? One that works? Let me give you my suggestions that you may take or leave, for whatever you think its worth...
First... WRITE IT DOWN
And no, I don't mean typing it up online, making it bullet pointed, or using a numbered outline... I mean, grab a notebook, a piece of copy paper, a post it, or, yes, a piece of cardboard, and taking a pencil, and phsycially putting the tip of that writing instrument to your paper of choice, and creating letters, letters that spell words. Make it messy, make it neat... use calligraphy, use bubble letters, use Gaelic print, whatever... but write it down.
Second... MAKE IT SPECIFIC
Don't just write "Clean kitchen". What does that even mean? Clean the sink? Clean the cabinets? Clear out the fridge? Mop the floors?
How about a list that says: "Clean the sink"... "Empty out cabinet"... "Empty out and wipe down fridge"... "Sweep"... what if you have about eight things on your list instead of "clean kitchen"? Why would you do this? Because you want to know when you are done. Crossing off all of your kitchen tasks means you are finished with the kitchen... rather than just wondering when you've done enough to qualify as "kitchen clean".
My Starbucks closing lists would include the people I was working with, and their breaks, so as they had their 10s and their lunches, I could cross it off...
Third... MAKE IT ATTAINABLE
You can make your list of five things, but if two of those things are "cure diabetes" and "split the atom", it may not happen. I'd rather have a list of 48 things that I know, given time, I can do. Also, if your goals include "get closer to God", then how do you define that? Make it attainable... "daily quiet time" or "pray on the way to work after dropping off the kids" or "read a chapter in Mark every week".
Fourth... GIVE YOURSELF SOME SMALL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Sometimes when I finally make my list of tasks for a day, or a week or beyond, I end up putting some things on the list that I may have already done, or things that I am going to quickly knock out. This seems a little silly, I know, but it gives me a sense of making some headway.
And I love crossing things off of a good list... I'd rather look at a list of 50 things with 10 crossed out than a list of 10 things with nothing crossed out... it helps me know I'm getting somewhere...
Fifth... HAVE A TIME FRAME
Some lists, like the ones I made for closing a Starbucks store, were for one night. My Great 48 of 2014 is for the entire year, but even so, I have weekly goals for some things, I have "benchmarks" for other tasks, and even small sub lists of things like "Have lunch with people"... I have a list of people I want to make sure I connect with over the next 50 weeks.
Finally... HAVE FUN WITH YOUR LIST
Don't be all business. Write some stuff down that make your goals fun. On my list for the year? Watch "The Way We Were"... not that that will be fun--on the contrary, I actually dread it, but its one of The Lovely Steph Leann's favorite films, so I have decided to watch it at some point this year. If you have a list of things to do, be it today or this year, put the fun stuff down too. Just because its a to-do doesn't mean you can't enjoy it. One guy I know has a simple goal on his list: "Ask her out". Translation? Winning.
So there it is. You may have an entirely different way of making your lists... or you may not make lists... or you may find my list methods ridiculous. But this is how I do it... and I hope it helps a bit...
(4831 words written... 15,169 to go for January...)
Personally, I don't even call it "resolutions", as I've now referred to my list of stuff to accomplish as "my stuff to accomplish this year". So if and when I miss a few things at the end of December 2014, I won't have any guilt of breaking a resolution... it'll just something that didn't get crossed off my list.
And oh, I have a list. And you should too.
When I worked at Starbucks, especially at night, we had lots of tasks to get done in order to get the store closed and properly cleaned, to be ready to go for the next day's business. Dishes, plating pastries, re-plating pastries, pulling pastries and sandwiches to thaw, cleaning the cafe, filling and stocking the drink case and so on and so forth. I worked at Starbucks for almost 11 years, and in that time, I probably closed hundreds of times... and nearly every time, I made a list of stuff to do.
I would pull out my box cutter, slice off a cardboard flap from a box in the back, and use it to write. It was big, it was thick and large enough to not just get tossed with anything else that looked like trash. It was my list, and people knew that when they worked with me, there would be some cardboard with sharpie all over it, with an extensive list of stuff to do.
So why do I suggest a list for your year? For your quarter? Even for your month?
Putting it down on paper means something. When you actually write it, it gives your list that little extra something, that little extra bit of meaning.
So how do you make a list? One that works? Let me give you my suggestions that you may take or leave, for whatever you think its worth...
First... WRITE IT DOWN
And no, I don't mean typing it up online, making it bullet pointed, or using a numbered outline... I mean, grab a notebook, a piece of copy paper, a post it, or, yes, a piece of cardboard, and taking a pencil, and phsycially putting the tip of that writing instrument to your paper of choice, and creating letters, letters that spell words. Make it messy, make it neat... use calligraphy, use bubble letters, use Gaelic print, whatever... but write it down.
Second... MAKE IT SPECIFIC
Don't just write "Clean kitchen". What does that even mean? Clean the sink? Clean the cabinets? Clear out the fridge? Mop the floors?
How about a list that says: "Clean the sink"... "Empty out cabinet"... "Empty out and wipe down fridge"... "Sweep"... what if you have about eight things on your list instead of "clean kitchen"? Why would you do this? Because you want to know when you are done. Crossing off all of your kitchen tasks means you are finished with the kitchen... rather than just wondering when you've done enough to qualify as "kitchen clean".
My Starbucks closing lists would include the people I was working with, and their breaks, so as they had their 10s and their lunches, I could cross it off...
Third... MAKE IT ATTAINABLE
You can make your list of five things, but if two of those things are "cure diabetes" and "split the atom", it may not happen. I'd rather have a list of 48 things that I know, given time, I can do. Also, if your goals include "get closer to God", then how do you define that? Make it attainable... "daily quiet time" or "pray on the way to work after dropping off the kids" or "read a chapter in Mark every week".
Fourth... GIVE YOURSELF SOME SMALL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Sometimes when I finally make my list of tasks for a day, or a week or beyond, I end up putting some things on the list that I may have already done, or things that I am going to quickly knock out. This seems a little silly, I know, but it gives me a sense of making some headway.
And I love crossing things off of a good list... I'd rather look at a list of 50 things with 10 crossed out than a list of 10 things with nothing crossed out... it helps me know I'm getting somewhere...
Fifth... HAVE A TIME FRAME
Some lists, like the ones I made for closing a Starbucks store, were for one night. My Great 48 of 2014 is for the entire year, but even so, I have weekly goals for some things, I have "benchmarks" for other tasks, and even small sub lists of things like "Have lunch with people"... I have a list of people I want to make sure I connect with over the next 50 weeks.
Finally... HAVE FUN WITH YOUR LIST
Don't be all business. Write some stuff down that make your goals fun. On my list for the year? Watch "The Way We Were"... not that that will be fun--on the contrary, I actually dread it, but its one of The Lovely Steph Leann's favorite films, so I have decided to watch it at some point this year. If you have a list of things to do, be it today or this year, put the fun stuff down too. Just because its a to-do doesn't mean you can't enjoy it. One guy I know has a simple goal on his list: "Ask her out". Translation? Winning.
So there it is. You may have an entirely different way of making your lists... or you may not make lists... or you may find my list methods ridiculous. But this is how I do it... and I hope it helps a bit...
(4831 words written... 15,169 to go for January...)
Sunday, January 05, 2014
things we found in the garage
Today was a de-clutter day... today was the day we were going to tackle our home, The Cabana... The Lovely Steph Leann went after the kitchen, and I braved the cold weather and took on the garage....
Our garage is a small, two car garage that doesn't give a lot of room on either sides of our vehicles once we are both in. Likewise, there isn't a lot of room in the front or back of our cars once in, and I always grimace in slight terror when I pull in The Lovely Steph Leann's Honda Accord and park it, as I'm afraid the garage door will land on the trunk, or worse yet, scrape the back end bumper as it goes down to close.
Only happened once, though, I'm proud to say. Let's move on.
We do have some shelving in our garage, though, holding mostly Christmas stuff in big plastic tubs. Once metal shelf we bought from The Happiest Place in the Mall (aka, The Disney Store) as it closed its doors, another we bought from Home Depot, and yet another is a plastic get-up that one of us has had for a dozen years or more--though I don't know who actually brought it into our union. Plus, the garage floor was full of leaves and dirt and grime and paper and grit and all the other things a garage door gets mired with over months of non-sweep.
And as I dug into the boxes and bags and random things piled on the shelves, things stuffed in between the plastic crates of Christmas décor and Rubbermaid tubs filled with limbs from a Christmas Tree we are trying to get ride of, I discovered... well, lots of random... crap. I mean, some of it is good crap. But some of it is just crap.
What kind of crap are we talking about, d$? Well, let me show you... crap like this...
At Starbucks, they urge you to try all the coffees, as a barista. And when you do, you can write it in a little book called a "Coffee Passport". In my 11 years there, I managed to fill out 4 of them... and this one here was the first. They haven't produced either one of these coffees in at least 6 years...
What would a garage in the $ home be without a little Disney? Like, how Mushu, Cogsworth, Heimlich and Dot randomly show up on our shelf? I knew Heimlich was in there somewhere... had no idea about the other guys.
My first cellphone! I went 28 years without needing a phone... and I get married, and *boom*... get a cellphone so The Lovely Steph Leann can call me when needed. Here's the dirty little secret, though... then, and now, she never checks hers... so she can call me and I'll answer... its much harder to call her. As for this phone, when we got these Cingular phones, they looked just alike. So I ended up getting a free name plate to distinguish mine. I'm not even sure who was driving the 31 Cingular NASCAR racecar at the time...
From the category of "Forgot I even ever had this!", here's my first scarf! Well... that's not entirely true. My high school flame, Cindy Howell, who I was friends with in college, knitted me a scarf. It was about 2 and 1/2 feet long, and barely covered my neck with any real purpose. I used it when I could, but it barely qualified. THIS was a real scarf, though... purchased from The Happiest Place in Montgomery Mall in like, 1997 or something... then again, if you remember that mall, there wasn't a lot of happiness anywhere there. You coulda got like, shot or something.
The Lovely Steph Leann and I honeymooned at Disney, with a few days in the park, and a few days on The Disney Wonder, cruising in the Caribbean. And this glass is a result of one of her (few) fruity drinks she had.
(3876 words down, 16,124 to go, on the road to 20K Words in January)
 |
| Piled up, this was my Saturday project |
Only happened once, though, I'm proud to say. Let's move on.
We do have some shelving in our garage, though, holding mostly Christmas stuff in big plastic tubs. Once metal shelf we bought from The Happiest Place in the Mall (aka, The Disney Store) as it closed its doors, another we bought from Home Depot, and yet another is a plastic get-up that one of us has had for a dozen years or more--though I don't know who actually brought it into our union. Plus, the garage floor was full of leaves and dirt and grime and paper and grit and all the other things a garage door gets mired with over months of non-sweep.
And as I dug into the boxes and bags and random things piled on the shelves, things stuffed in between the plastic crates of Christmas décor and Rubbermaid tubs filled with limbs from a Christmas Tree we are trying to get ride of, I discovered... well, lots of random... crap. I mean, some of it is good crap. But some of it is just crap.
What kind of crap are we talking about, d$? Well, let me show you... crap like this...
You know... in case you need Microsoft Office. From 2003. With instructions.
I'd love to explain why there is a rubber chicken in our garage. The truth is, I have no clue. It is a keychain, probably purchased from Spencer's, cause when you are 20, Spencer's is cool.
Yes, this is a die-cast, 30 year old General Lee. I think this was part of a set I got for Christmas in like, 1982 or something, with Boss Hogg's Caddy, Roscoe's police cruiser, Daisy's Jeep and Cooter's tow truck. And somehow, this one survives.
At Starbucks, they urge you to try all the coffees, as a barista. And when you do, you can write it in a little book called a "Coffee Passport". In my 11 years there, I managed to fill out 4 of them... and this one here was the first. They haven't produced either one of these coffees in at least 6 years...
What would a garage in the $ home be without a little Disney? Like, how Mushu, Cogsworth, Heimlich and Dot randomly show up on our shelf? I knew Heimlich was in there somewhere... had no idea about the other guys.
My first cellphone! I went 28 years without needing a phone... and I get married, and *boom*... get a cellphone so The Lovely Steph Leann can call me when needed. Here's the dirty little secret, though... then, and now, she never checks hers... so she can call me and I'll answer... its much harder to call her. As for this phone, when we got these Cingular phones, they looked just alike. So I ended up getting a free name plate to distinguish mine. I'm not even sure who was driving the 31 Cingular NASCAR racecar at the time...
From the category of "Forgot I even ever had this!", here's my first scarf! Well... that's not entirely true. My high school flame, Cindy Howell, who I was friends with in college, knitted me a scarf. It was about 2 and 1/2 feet long, and barely covered my neck with any real purpose. I used it when I could, but it barely qualified. THIS was a real scarf, though... purchased from The Happiest Place in Montgomery Mall in like, 1997 or something... then again, if you remember that mall, there wasn't a lot of happiness anywhere there. You coulda got like, shot or something.
Finally... here's a towel. It has the name "CHAD" on it. Neither one of us know a local Chad. I know a Chad Ward from high school, but he's never been to any of my homes in Birmingham, and we haven't shared a towel since we had sleepovers in 6th grade. We both know The Lovely Steph Leann's cousin Chad, but he lives in Pell City, and has never been to our house. So... we have a towel with the name CHAD on it. Chad, if you are reading this, and you realize you've been missing a towel, and you recognize this as your own, just send me a note soon, and we'll get this back to you. Otherwise, its going to be donated.
Sharpies. Lots and lots of Sharpies. I breed them. And here's a crop I forgot about... and The Lovely Steph Leann hates them all.
One of my Great 48 Tasks was to go through a load of pictures and get them scanned. Well, here they are. Though I'm considering getting a Groupon I just saw that will let some company scan over 500 pics for about $30... with my time as limited as it is, it might be worth it...
The Lovely Steph Leann and I honeymooned at Disney, with a few days in the park, and a few days on The Disney Wonder, cruising in the Caribbean. And this glass is a result of one of her (few) fruity drinks she had.
So there ya go... some random crap I found in my garage. Admit it, you found it slightly entertaining...
(3876 words down, 16,124 to go, on the road to 20K Words in January)
Friday, January 03, 2014
the great 48... part two
So, I posted the first 27 tasks to accomplish this year, 2014... here are the remaining 21 out of The Great 48... things to do this year:
And in no particular order...
(28) Love more. Kinda spelled this out in my "finding my pike place" post earlier.
(29) Learn how to spell certain words that always screw me up... notably, "occasionally" and "itinerary" (these words are only spelled right at this point because I used spellcheck).
Did you hear that Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey are gone from American Idol? Its gone from a decent show back in the day to a guilty pleasure by now, but I think we might (30) take another crack at American Idol this year. Maybe.
(31) Give grace before its asked of me. (32) Ask for grace before its required.
This is a big deal for those who know me personally... but I'd like to (33) take a weekend vacation trip this year somewhere besides Walt Disney World. Yes, I'm d$, and no, no one has taken over my mind. Just something different.
Speaking of Disney... to promote the fact I'm a Disney Travel Planner, I had planned to (34) do a Disney Open House at my home last fall, and was unable to get it together... so this year? I'd like to do at least two. And that goes along with my plan to (35) be certified for Universal Parks as well.
Oh, and of course, (36) plan a lot more magic for a lot more people.
Ah, our home. The Cabana. We love our home, yet like many of you who have children, we've let it get away from us here and there. My fellow blogger and friend Jamie Harper wrote an excellent piece on "simplifying life" and much of it is all about her home. And in fact, I was emailing The Lovely Steph Leann today about (37) our plans for a clean sweep of our house.
Let's just get rid of stuff. Sure, there is stuff we can sell, and yeah, there is stuff we can donate... but some of it? Let's just chunk it. If I don't miss it until I come across it, then I won't miss it when its gone. Get 'er done.
Two main things to focus on, two main goals, with the first being (38) getting some pictures on our wall... secondly, I really want to (39) get to our garage, and a large part of that are the pictures I have in binders on shelves in our garage. Not just any pictures, but pics from my childhood, albums I grabbed from back home after my grandmother--the woman who raised me, that is--passed on. My goal is (40) to scan these pics, then send them to the appropriate family members so that they can do what they will with them... some of these pictures are 30, 40, even 50 years old, so I want to make sure they are preserved with me, and then passed off correctly.
(41) Do something extraordinary. Like what? I have no idea. But something.
(42) Take Campbell to the park on a regular basis. Not now, of course, but soon, when its warmer.
(43) Pay off the car. My car. Red Robin. We were debt free before we signed the purchasing papers in November of 2011, and we'll be debt free again (aside from the house) as soon as we get it paid.
(44) Hand write some letters to people. Not just email, or sign my name to a card, but hand write. Who does that anymore?
(45) Find a few days here and there throughout 2014, and just unplug from everything, especially social media. This dude had a remarkable 25 day fast from media... not sure I could do that... but maybe a few days?
My tenth wedding anniversary is this year, in February. The Lovely Steph Leann, let's (46) do something fun. Doesn't have to be expensive, but lets make it memorable. Whaddaya say?
And hey, (47) the podcast is coming back! We took December off, to retool a bit, step back, reassess and all that... and if you have never heard it, and most of you haven't, its a great chance to jump onboard. We call it The Movie Picture Show, and its three guys who love and watch movies, and we talk about them. Sounds boring? Nah, I think its pretty funny. www.thedeucecast.com for info.
And finally... something I've always wanted to do, but just never have...
(48) I'd like to buy lunch for someone in the military. You know, seeing someone in uniform sitting across a restaurant and tell the server, "I'd like to get theirs, but please don't tell them who. Just tell them someone said thank you."
So there you go. I initially said 38 things... but I found 48 things I wanted to make sure that I got done in 2014. You are welcome to ask me about them and see where I am...
(20K words in January... total of 2,856 words down, 17,144 to go...)
And in no particular order...
(28) Love more. Kinda spelled this out in my "finding my pike place" post earlier.
(29) Learn how to spell certain words that always screw me up... notably, "occasionally" and "itinerary" (these words are only spelled right at this point because I used spellcheck).
Did you hear that Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey are gone from American Idol? Its gone from a decent show back in the day to a guilty pleasure by now, but I think we might (30) take another crack at American Idol this year. Maybe.
(31) Give grace before its asked of me. (32) Ask for grace before its required.
This is a big deal for those who know me personally... but I'd like to (33) take a weekend vacation trip this year somewhere besides Walt Disney World. Yes, I'm d$, and no, no one has taken over my mind. Just something different.
 |
| If the sight of Mickey Waffles doesn't get you excited about your Disney Vacation, then you're dead inside. |
Oh, and of course, (36) plan a lot more magic for a lot more people.
Ah, our home. The Cabana. We love our home, yet like many of you who have children, we've let it get away from us here and there. My fellow blogger and friend Jamie Harper wrote an excellent piece on "simplifying life" and much of it is all about her home. And in fact, I was emailing The Lovely Steph Leann today about (37) our plans for a clean sweep of our house.
Let's just get rid of stuff. Sure, there is stuff we can sell, and yeah, there is stuff we can donate... but some of it? Let's just chunk it. If I don't miss it until I come across it, then I won't miss it when its gone. Get 'er done.
Two main things to focus on, two main goals, with the first being (38) getting some pictures on our wall... secondly, I really want to (39) get to our garage, and a large part of that are the pictures I have in binders on shelves in our garage. Not just any pictures, but pics from my childhood, albums I grabbed from back home after my grandmother--the woman who raised me, that is--passed on. My goal is (40) to scan these pics, then send them to the appropriate family members so that they can do what they will with them... some of these pictures are 30, 40, even 50 years old, so I want to make sure they are preserved with me, and then passed off correctly.
(41) Do something extraordinary. Like what? I have no idea. But something.
(42) Take Campbell to the park on a regular basis. Not now, of course, but soon, when its warmer.
(43) Pay off the car. My car. Red Robin. We were debt free before we signed the purchasing papers in November of 2011, and we'll be debt free again (aside from the house) as soon as we get it paid.
(44) Hand write some letters to people. Not just email, or sign my name to a card, but hand write. Who does that anymore?
(45) Find a few days here and there throughout 2014, and just unplug from everything, especially social media. This dude had a remarkable 25 day fast from media... not sure I could do that... but maybe a few days?
My tenth wedding anniversary is this year, in February. The Lovely Steph Leann, let's (46) do something fun. Doesn't have to be expensive, but lets make it memorable. Whaddaya say?
And hey, (47) the podcast is coming back! We took December off, to retool a bit, step back, reassess and all that... and if you have never heard it, and most of you haven't, its a great chance to jump onboard. We call it The Movie Picture Show, and its three guys who love and watch movies, and we talk about them. Sounds boring? Nah, I think its pretty funny. www.thedeucecast.com for info.
 |
| The Deucecast Studios, home of the Movie Picture Show |
(48) I'd like to buy lunch for someone in the military. You know, seeing someone in uniform sitting across a restaurant and tell the server, "I'd like to get theirs, but please don't tell them who. Just tell them someone said thank you."
So there you go. I initially said 38 things... but I found 48 things I wanted to make sure that I got done in 2014. You are welcome to ask me about them and see where I am...
(20K words in January... total of 2,856 words down, 17,144 to go...)
Thursday, January 02, 2014
the great 48... part one
I recently turned 38 years old. Do your Alabama math correctly... (carry the one... add the four... minus the... uh... and divide by pi... I love pie... coconut pie from Full Moon BBQ is the best... and their cookies are... what? Oh...) and that's 2 years from 40.
So here I am. 38 years old. And there's been a lot that has happened in my 38 years, and yet, a lot more to do. Oh, don't worry, I'm not getting all sentimental in my old age, but I do know
that I'm turning into a Toby Keith song... I ain't as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was...
Anyway, here are 38 things I want to do in the year 2014... because in August, I'll be 39. Yeesh.
Did I say 38? I ended up listing 48 things... because I couldn't condense. And all of these things will be done under the umbrella of being someone who is Purposeful in what I do, Investing in those around me, Kind to those around me and Encouraging to everyone.
And these are in no particular order...
(1) Every time I am at a register, I will say hello to the cashier, and ask them how their day is. Be it a gas station attendant, someone at Wal-Mart, or a big friendly smile at Publix, where shopping is a pleasure. Every time... because cashiers are people too.
When I worked at Parisian Corporate, I made sure I got to know the people who weren't wearing suits and dresses... the janitors, the cashiers at the café, the warehouse workers. I got their names, gave them mine, and always treated them with kindness and respect. As a result, I was treated well, was given special treatment and favor and it was great. At my new job, (2) I'd like to get to know the non-cube dwellers as well. Not for favor or privilege, but because I can.
I really need to (3) lose weight... I know, I know, its so easy to say, and that's what everyone says, but like, 30 pounds. For now, (4) I'll drink at least one bottle of water per day. I am used to drinking at least one, sometimes two or three Cokes per day, or at least an equivalent of a soda like that. One bottle of water may not be a lot... but its a start.
I want to (5) have lunch with people. Where I can sit across a table, share a meal, and ask how they are doing. I'm not going to put a number on it, not like "20 lunches!" but I do want to do it frequently, at least two to three times per month.
I also will (6) talk on the phone a bit more. And this, I can do once per week. Perhaps reach out to, via phone or even something like Facebook Messenger, to someone I haven't talked to in a long, long time. Just to ask one question: "How are you doing?"
We have a tradition here at The Cabana of (7) sending birthday and anniversary cards. We think we'll keep doing that, but I need to be better at it... I sometimes forget and get them out late. I'd rather be early.
The Lovely Steph Leann and I are avid movie watchers... we love watching flicks at home and in the theater, as well as TV watchers. Currently, we are trying to finish (8) Once Upon a Time on DVD, and then we'll move on to the next thing. I want to make sure that (9) nightly, we are spending a little time together. Even if its for one episode, or just a 30 minute block of time for something, but nightly.
Did you know she does Creative Memories scrapbooking? You probably did, and that's sorta a misnomer now, because CM is going through some restructuring, so who knows what it will look like in the coming months.
She is involved, however, it Essential Oils. Don't ask me how they work, they just do. And with this burgeoning business she has going, I am definitely (10) going to support her fully in it, anyway that I can...
(11) Pray more. We are regular church attenders, but its so difficult on Sunday mornings, because--as many of you know--it takes more time to get a toddler ready than just the two of us. So I'm going to make a concerted effort to (12) get our family up on Sundays.
(13) A more consistent quiet time definitely wouldn't hurt, either. Let's make this one a priority.
My goal for 2013 was to see 100 movies for the first time this year. I watched "We're The Millers" last week, my 100th film of the year... currently, I'm at 109, so for 2014? (14) 125 movies. That's the goal.
I also had a goal of 25 books this year... I just finished book number 28 today, Adam Carolla's "Not Taco Bell Material". I want to (15) bump up that goal to 35 next year... I'm in the middle of one now, but I'm not sure if I should finish it by tomorrow and have my 2013 total be 27 books, or finish in on Wednesday, so I'll have book number 1 for 2014. Hmm.
About the books, I need to (16) look at some classics too... books that are on my list for 2014 include "The Great Gatsby"... "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"... "The Wonderful World of Oz"... "Anne of Green Gables"... and a re-reading of "To Kill a Mockingbird".
At some point, watch three movies with The Lovely Steph Leann. Not just any three movies, but three movies I've been avoiding... (17) "Gone with the Wind"... (18) "The Way We Were"... and (19) I'll give her the final choice. Do I want to watch these movies? No. But they are important to her, two of her all time favorites, and its time I shared with her these experiences. And jokes kept at a minimum.
And yes, I'm on the final steps of (20) posting my 500 favorite films of all time. I've been going back and forth on this since 2007... I'm not kidding, either. The first list I made, I was struggling because "Enchanted" was a new movie and wasn't sure where to rank it because of its newness... so this has got to finally be posted.
(21) Blog more. I have no end to the appreciation for you, the reader who consistently checks this page. And if I can blog more, there's more for you to read. In fact, I just signed up for (22) Jeff Goins' 500 Words A Day Challenge for January. To which I knew there would be days I couldn't write every single day, so I figured 500 words per day equaled 15,000 words for the month, I'd just do that. Or, up the ante, which I did, to 20,000 words. What am I thinking? Sheesh.
Besides the blog, I have a more specific writing project in mind. I hate to say "write a book" because I've said it before and not gotten very far... perhaps you know all about my idea, but even so, I'm not going to discuss here just yet. I want to (23) get a little further down the line with it before I start talking it up even more.
I'd also like (24) guest post on some blogs. And have some people (25) guest post on mine... are you a writer? Who cares. I want you to write for me.
One more thing about the blog... I'm about 50 posts away from 1000... but I really need to (26) go back and edit, renovate and yes, even delete some old posts. This will be a work in progress for a long, long time. And maybe even (27) add a page to my blog of my favorite posts, some to share with some of you, new Coffee Drinkers...
(so, to keep this post from being too long... not that I'm long winded or anything... click here for the remainder of The Great 48)
(1388 words here, 2022 words so far. 17,978 to go...)
So here I am. 38 years old. And there's been a lot that has happened in my 38 years, and yet, a lot more to do. Oh, don't worry, I'm not getting all sentimental in my old age, but I do know
that I'm turning into a Toby Keith song... I ain't as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was...
Anyway, here are 38 things I want to do in the year 2014... because in August, I'll be 39. Yeesh.
Did I say 38? I ended up listing 48 things... because I couldn't condense. And all of these things will be done under the umbrella of being someone who is Purposeful in what I do, Investing in those around me, Kind to those around me and Encouraging to everyone.
And these are in no particular order...
(1) Every time I am at a register, I will say hello to the cashier, and ask them how their day is. Be it a gas station attendant, someone at Wal-Mart, or a big friendly smile at Publix, where shopping is a pleasure. Every time... because cashiers are people too.
When I worked at Parisian Corporate, I made sure I got to know the people who weren't wearing suits and dresses... the janitors, the cashiers at the café, the warehouse workers. I got their names, gave them mine, and always treated them with kindness and respect. As a result, I was treated well, was given special treatment and favor and it was great. At my new job, (2) I'd like to get to know the non-cube dwellers as well. Not for favor or privilege, but because I can.
I really need to (3) lose weight... I know, I know, its so easy to say, and that's what everyone says, but like, 30 pounds. For now, (4) I'll drink at least one bottle of water per day. I am used to drinking at least one, sometimes two or three Cokes per day, or at least an equivalent of a soda like that. One bottle of water may not be a lot... but its a start.
I want to (5) have lunch with people. Where I can sit across a table, share a meal, and ask how they are doing. I'm not going to put a number on it, not like "20 lunches!" but I do want to do it frequently, at least two to three times per month.
I also will (6) talk on the phone a bit more. And this, I can do once per week. Perhaps reach out to, via phone or even something like Facebook Messenger, to someone I haven't talked to in a long, long time. Just to ask one question: "How are you doing?"
We have a tradition here at The Cabana of (7) sending birthday and anniversary cards. We think we'll keep doing that, but I need to be better at it... I sometimes forget and get them out late. I'd rather be early.
The Lovely Steph Leann and I are avid movie watchers... we love watching flicks at home and in the theater, as well as TV watchers. Currently, we are trying to finish (8) Once Upon a Time on DVD, and then we'll move on to the next thing. I want to make sure that (9) nightly, we are spending a little time together. Even if its for one episode, or just a 30 minute block of time for something, but nightly.
Did you know she does Creative Memories scrapbooking? You probably did, and that's sorta a misnomer now, because CM is going through some restructuring, so who knows what it will look like in the coming months.
 |
| Essential Oils. Looks like voodoo. Feels like Awesome. Works like Incredible |
(11) Pray more. We are regular church attenders, but its so difficult on Sunday mornings, because--as many of you know--it takes more time to get a toddler ready than just the two of us. So I'm going to make a concerted effort to (12) get our family up on Sundays.
(13) A more consistent quiet time definitely wouldn't hurt, either. Let's make this one a priority.
My goal for 2013 was to see 100 movies for the first time this year. I watched "We're The Millers" last week, my 100th film of the year... currently, I'm at 109, so for 2014? (14) 125 movies. That's the goal.
I also had a goal of 25 books this year... I just finished book number 28 today, Adam Carolla's "Not Taco Bell Material". I want to (15) bump up that goal to 35 next year... I'm in the middle of one now, but I'm not sure if I should finish it by tomorrow and have my 2013 total be 27 books, or finish in on Wednesday, so I'll have book number 1 for 2014. Hmm.
 |
| Feel like I should have read this ages ago. No time like the present year to do it. |
At some point, watch three movies with The Lovely Steph Leann. Not just any three movies, but three movies I've been avoiding... (17) "Gone with the Wind"... (18) "The Way We Were"... and (19) I'll give her the final choice. Do I want to watch these movies? No. But they are important to her, two of her all time favorites, and its time I shared with her these experiences. And jokes kept at a minimum.
And yes, I'm on the final steps of (20) posting my 500 favorite films of all time. I've been going back and forth on this since 2007... I'm not kidding, either. The first list I made, I was struggling because "Enchanted" was a new movie and wasn't sure where to rank it because of its newness... so this has got to finally be posted.
(21) Blog more. I have no end to the appreciation for you, the reader who consistently checks this page. And if I can blog more, there's more for you to read. In fact, I just signed up for (22) Jeff Goins' 500 Words A Day Challenge for January. To which I knew there would be days I couldn't write every single day, so I figured 500 words per day equaled 15,000 words for the month, I'd just do that. Or, up the ante, which I did, to 20,000 words. What am I thinking? Sheesh.
Besides the blog, I have a more specific writing project in mind. I hate to say "write a book" because I've said it before and not gotten very far... perhaps you know all about my idea, but even so, I'm not going to discuss here just yet. I want to (23) get a little further down the line with it before I start talking it up even more.
I'd also like (24) guest post on some blogs. And have some people (25) guest post on mine... are you a writer? Who cares. I want you to write for me.
One more thing about the blog... I'm about 50 posts away from 1000... but I really need to (26) go back and edit, renovate and yes, even delete some old posts. This will be a work in progress for a long, long time. And maybe even (27) add a page to my blog of my favorite posts, some to share with some of you, new Coffee Drinkers...
(so, to keep this post from being too long... not that I'm long winded or anything... click here for the remainder of The Great 48)
(1388 words here, 2022 words so far. 17,978 to go...)
Wednesday, January 01, 2014
500 words
500 words per day.
What the heck am I even thinking? Seriously.
500 words per day averages out like this... on a regular Word document, with margins at default settings, its a Times New Roman font, 12pt, single spaced and taking up 3/4s of a page.
That's doable, right? But every day?
I mean, there's no way I can do that.
No way.
Got too much other junk going on.
Where did this come from? There's this dude named Jeff Goins... I only heard of him recently, he's written a few books, most notably one called "The In-Between". "The In-Between" what? I have no idea, I haven't read it. Its on my list for 2014... but anyway, to the point, he's got this website where he challenges people to be better writers. (he also wrote "Wrecked", which you can get for free on your B&N Nook by clicking here)
So, yesterday, on Facebook, I stumbled across this 500 word challenge. Its a challenge to write 500 words per day, and as he puts it:
(do those words count? I mean, I typed them, but I didn't write them write them... hmm)
(do the words that asking if those words count, count?)
I did try this twice before... the first was my Summer of Blogging a few years ago, which was pretty successful... I challenged myself to write 90 times in 90 days over the course of Summer 2011... I think I ended up about 70 or 75 times over 90 days, which is not bad.
I tried something a year or so after, called "The July 31", which I was going to write something every day for the 31 days of that July. That didn't last long.
So, I don't expect I'll get far in writing 500 words per day in January. I certainly won't be posting every day, because those rare occasions that I post something awesome, I don't want it to get lost amongst the regular stuff...
But what if... what if I could write 500 words per day? That's essentially 15,500 words for the whole month... maybe I don't do 500 words per day... but what if a blog post was 1000 words? Or, what if I wrote 500 words per day, taking a few days to do a blog post, then posted it?
Or maybe I just set a one-month goal of 15,500 words... or round up to 16,000... and then just kept track of what I had written and what was left to go?
Let's get real... there's no way I could write 500 words per day. I'll fail miserably... but...
...but...
...if I don't try, I fail already.
Don't you hate those sayings? I mean, you see them all the time, those old adages that are so cliché, that you just frown when you hear, because you think "really? who says that anymore?" but what burns you is that they are actually true... just because they are often said doesn't make them not true.
Okay, okay... fine. We'll do it. I mean, I don't know why I'll try, because I'd have to start today and I couldn't even toss out 500 words if I tried and...
...wait...
(counting... 1.. 2... 3...)
(...56... 57... 58... 59...)
(...203 ... 204... 205... 206.. 207... does anyone else move their pointer finger in the direction of what they are counting as they count, even though its impossible to actually use your finger to count words because of the angle you have to use...?)
(..599...600... 601...)
601? Really? Well... that wasn't that hard... hmm...
500 words per day... what am I thinking? I'm thinking I'm going to write 20,000 words in January, somehow, someway.
(tomorrow... 2014 gets going as I post my Great 48... forty eight things to accomplish in 2014)
(634 words down... 19,366 to go for 20K in January)
What the heck am I even thinking? Seriously.
500 words per day averages out like this... on a regular Word document, with margins at default settings, its a Times New Roman font, 12pt, single spaced and taking up 3/4s of a page.
That's doable, right? But every day?
I mean, there's no way I can do that.
No way.
Got too much other junk going on.
Where did this come from? There's this dude named Jeff Goins... I only heard of him recently, he's written a few books, most notably one called "The In-Between". "The In-Between" what? I have no idea, I haven't read it. Its on my list for 2014... but anyway, to the point, he's got this website where he challenges people to be better writers. (he also wrote "Wrecked", which you can get for free on your B&N Nook by clicking here)
So, yesterday, on Facebook, I stumbled across this 500 word challenge. Its a challenge to write 500 words per day, and as he puts it:
- Write 500 words per day, every day for 31 days during the month of January.
- You can write more if you want, but 500 words 1is the minimum.
(do those words count? I mean, I typed them, but I didn't write them write them... hmm)
(do the words that asking if those words count, count?)
I did try this twice before... the first was my Summer of Blogging a few years ago, which was pretty successful... I challenged myself to write 90 times in 90 days over the course of Summer 2011... I think I ended up about 70 or 75 times over 90 days, which is not bad.
I tried something a year or so after, called "The July 31", which I was going to write something every day for the 31 days of that July. That didn't last long.
So, I don't expect I'll get far in writing 500 words per day in January. I certainly won't be posting every day, because those rare occasions that I post something awesome, I don't want it to get lost amongst the regular stuff...
But what if... what if I could write 500 words per day? That's essentially 15,500 words for the whole month... maybe I don't do 500 words per day... but what if a blog post was 1000 words? Or, what if I wrote 500 words per day, taking a few days to do a blog post, then posted it?
Or maybe I just set a one-month goal of 15,500 words... or round up to 16,000... and then just kept track of what I had written and what was left to go?
Let's get real... there's no way I could write 500 words per day. I'll fail miserably... but...
...but...
...if I don't try, I fail already.
Don't you hate those sayings? I mean, you see them all the time, those old adages that are so cliché, that you just frown when you hear, because you think "really? who says that anymore?" but what burns you is that they are actually true... just because they are often said doesn't make them not true.
Okay, okay... fine. We'll do it. I mean, I don't know why I'll try, because I'd have to start today and I couldn't even toss out 500 words if I tried and...
...wait...
(counting... 1.. 2... 3...)
(...56... 57... 58... 59...)
(...203 ... 204... 205... 206.. 207... does anyone else move their pointer finger in the direction of what they are counting as they count, even though its impossible to actually use your finger to count words because of the angle you have to use...?)
(..599...600... 601...)
601? Really? Well... that wasn't that hard... hmm...
500 words per day... what am I thinking? I'm thinking I'm going to write 20,000 words in January, somehow, someway.
(tomorrow... 2014 gets going as I post my Great 48... forty eight things to accomplish in 2014)
(634 words down... 19,366 to go for 20K in January)
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
13 things not in 2013
I, like many people here in 'Merica, have made a list of resolutions... or, if you will, things I want to accomplish in 2014. But I hope to take a look back at 2013, to remember the year, and some of these things I managed...
Coming later this week, my list of 38 things I want to do in 2014... on Monday, Clouds presents its first Movie Monday, with a list of my Top Ten Films of 2013, plus a quick list of all the movies I saw this year for the first time (and the worst films too!)
Next week, a list of books read in 2013, as we close out the year...
however comma
I'd be remiss if I didn't own up to the things that I didn't do this past year.
And honestly, I am okay with... even proud of... this list of 13 things I did NOT do in 2013:
In 2013, the year of our Lord...
**I did NOT adopt the word "Cray" or "Cray Cray" into my daily vernacular. And cheers to The Huffington Post for keeping it real about what people my age should be saying... I know, right?
**I did NOT read a single page, nor learn a single thing about the "50 Shades of Grey" series.
**I did NOT see a single minute of any real housewife in any city on any reality show of any kind
**I did NOT see a single second of anything to do with Miley Cyrus when it comes to a wrecking ball
**I did NOT hear a single note of the aforementioned "Wrecking Ball" song, nor have I actually heard any Miley music since "Party in the USA". In fact, to me, she doesn't exist after "Party in the USA".
**I did NOT grasp any understanding of the word "twerk", what it means to "twerk", how to "twerk", or anything else associated with "twerking" of any kind.
**I did NOT hear any Nicki Minaj song. As a matter of fact, this is a two year streak now. I don't know anything she sings, and wouldn't recognize her voice at all.
**I did NOT hear anything by Justin Beiber. Similarly to Miley's "Party in the USA" cutoff for me, the only Beiber song I know anything about is "Boyfriend", and that's only because its so utterly ridiculous.
**I did NOT learn what a Harlem Shake is, nor have I ever heard it sung.
**I did NOT see a single frame of any show featuring the words "Duck" and "Dynasty". No offense to any of those guys, I just haven't seen the show, ever, and have no desire to watch it. Ever.
Coming later this week, my list of 38 things I want to do in 2014... on Monday, Clouds presents its first Movie Monday, with a list of my Top Ten Films of 2013, plus a quick list of all the movies I saw this year for the first time (and the worst films too!)
Next week, a list of books read in 2013, as we close out the year...
however comma
I'd be remiss if I didn't own up to the things that I didn't do this past year.
And honestly, I am okay with... even proud of... this list of 13 things I did NOT do in 2013:
In 2013, the year of our Lord...
**I did NOT adopt the word "Cray" or "Cray Cray" into my daily vernacular. And cheers to The Huffington Post for keeping it real about what people my age should be saying... I know, right?
**I did NOT read a single page, nor learn a single thing about the "50 Shades of Grey" series.
**I did NOT see a single minute of any real housewife in any city on any reality show of any kind
 |
| I think how good Miley Cyrus can be is directly proportional to the length of her hair. Here? Awesome. Short cut? Not so much. Also, beware, unless you Google "Miley Party in the USA" specifically, you'll get lots of her 2013 images. Ew. |
**I did NOT hear a single note of the aforementioned "Wrecking Ball" song, nor have I actually heard any Miley music since "Party in the USA". In fact, to me, she doesn't exist after "Party in the USA".
**I did NOT grasp any understanding of the word "twerk", what it means to "twerk", how to "twerk", or anything else associated with "twerking" of any kind.
**I did NOT hear any Nicki Minaj song. As a matter of fact, this is a two year streak now. I don't know anything she sings, and wouldn't recognize her voice at all.
**I did NOT hear anything by Justin Beiber. Similarly to Miley's "Party in the USA" cutoff for me, the only Beiber song I know anything about is "Boyfriend", and that's only because its so utterly ridiculous.
**I did NOT learn what a Harlem Shake is, nor have I ever heard it sung.
**I did NOT see a single frame of any show featuring the words "Duck" and "Dynasty". No offense to any of those guys, I just haven't seen the show, ever, and have no desire to watch it. Ever.
**I did NOT find out what the fox says. Apparently that was a song. Thankfully, I never heard it.
**I did NOT gain the ability to distinguish any of the Kardashians from one another. I think there is a Khloe and a Kourtney and a Kim? Maybe? Who knows? Better yet, who cares...
**I did NOT get a Pinterest, SnapChat, Kik or whatever else is out there. Right now, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook are enough. Perhaps I'll pick up Pinterest in the future, as I am promoting a Disney site, but for now, I'm full up on Social Media.
By the way, parents, make sure you check out this article about SnapChat, and how dangerous it is for teenagers--especially teen girls. I'd eventually like to have a daughter, but I tell ya, this world is not kind to young women...
There are probably a few more things I didn't do this year, but that's my main list... of course, there are things I DID do in this vein, notably, fall in love with "Blurred Lines". Can't say I'm proud of that, but there it is.
Check out the site tomorrow, Friday morning at the latest, and you'll get my (already written) list of things I want to do in 2014, which I call my Great 38...
Monday, December 16, 2013
finding my pike place
So here's the post I've been gearing up to write for the last three months...
In September, I attended the STARTConference, starring Jon Acuff and a few hundred of my closest friends... and something Acuff said resonated with me--"Own your word". He said simply, find a few words, and own them. Make them your life. Words like "Inspire". "Ambition". "Passionate". "Goals"... you get the drift. So, of course, what words would I own? I wasn't sure. Perhaps its something many people just passed over, but it stuck with me.
If I can back up a minute, at the beginning of the conference, we were all given an obligatory lanyard with a place for our name (d$), our twitter name (@davedollar) and a blank space that said "I Want To:_______"
What to write in here? This is a big deal... I looked around at other lanyards worn and saw words like "Sing" and "Write my novel" and "Publish my book" and "Help people be debt free" and "Minister to children" and even "Be a hot model", which was awesome, because the girl wearing it had a goal of a healthier lifestyle. My tag remained blank.
What do I write?
"Write"? Yes. I want to write. I love to write. I'm a writer. But what about...
"Plan Magical Vacations"? Certainly. I at a Disney Travel Planner, so that has to factor into it. I want to help people have incredibly memorable vacations to Disney parks, to Universal and so on. But, then there is...
"Blog"? I do that too. Its writing, but its a special sort of writing. I want to continue blogging, perhaps monetize my site one day. Soon? Hopefully very soon.
But what do I write?
Then Jon Acuff said, "Own your words". And I began to think about those words that I wanted to define me, to define who I am as a man, who I am as a person, who I am as husband, a father, a Christ Follower, a friend, a servant, a leader.. even an adversary, if that's how someone sees me.
What do I want you to think about me? Perhaps I haven't been doing a very good job of it, no matter what, but what words do I eventually want YOU to say, when asked about me, "Oh d$? He's this And this. And certainly this. And definitely this."
And after a morning of thought, after a day or reflection, tossing the idea around in my head, I figured out what I wanted to strive for. What I hope to be. Who I wanted to become.
I took off my lanyard, laid the tag on a table and wrote four letters, in Sharpie, all capitalized.
I smiled, putting the cap back on the Sharpie (for capless Sharpies are reasons for broken hearts and dreams) and then putting the lanyard around my neck. P I K E. Spells "PIKE"... and in a way, it was ironic, because at the time, I was working at Starbucks. (besides, when I wrote down Super, Unique, Manly, Awesome, Terrific, Righteous and Awesomer, it just didnt work as well, even though it spelled "SUMATRA")
When I explained to a few people what P I K E meant, I told them I was "Finding my PIKE Place". And its true.
Now, the question you'll have is simply, what does P I K E even mean? That's why I'm writing to you today... to share with you what words I will now spend my life pursuing and owning, and in my writing, in my Disney planning, in relationships of all kinds, and most importantly, in my Walk with Christ and my pursuit of holiness, this is what I will wrap around. I truly believe the words are God breathed to my own heart, and here they are...
I want to be PURPOSEFUL. I want to have purpose in whatever I do. Now, let's be real... we know God cares about all of our actions, but I'm not sure we have to have a laying on of hands prayer time to decide between the new Kings Hawaiian Sandwich and the Beef n Cheddar combo while you are standing at the counter at Arby's. Some things I think He puts you in charge of. But overall... the people I spend time with. The contacts I make. The tasks I allow myself to be engaged in. With purpose. Not to things half-heartedly... if that's my feeling, I just wont do them at all, because whoever is asking a task of me deserves my whole effort. I want to be PURPOSEFUL in my life.
I want to be INVESTING. I have a billion acquaintances from all parts of my life--my childhood hometown of Samson... my college alma mater of Troy State... various jobs I've worked... various seminars and conferences and retreats I've attended... the huge presence of Facebook and Twitter and Instagram and Pinterest (oh Pinterest... do I have to? I don't wanna... do I gotta...?) have made it easy to keep in touch with people that you haven't spoken to, at least in real life, in 30 years. I'm not bragging when I say I know thousands and thousands of people... but more than likely, so do you.
I can't get to know everyone... just not possible. But I can learn about people. I can ask questions. I can find out how people are doing, what they are hoping for, what they are praying for. I want to invest in people.
I want to be KIND. What can I say? We know what Kind means. Don't we? It means being a little nicer, being a little more free with a smile, being a little more willing to provide grace to people all throughout the day... I want to be kind.
I want to be ENCOURAGING. Without patting myself on the back too much, I have always felt like "encouraging" is something that I'm pretty good at. I think I've gotten even better at it in the last several months, at least to many. And I'd like to continue to be encouraging to people, be it a kind word, a helping hand or just a surprising act of whatever.
So there you go. Put them altogether, and its a life worth living, a life that hopefully will have meaning and a life made for positively impacting those around me with the love of Christ.
Four words to live by. Sure, you can also use "Holiness" and "Godliness" and "God-Chaser"... but I think He'd rather me be Purposeful, Investing, Kind and Encouraging with my whole heart and life than to hide behind some church words that I use as a crutch and excuse.
So now... your words? Have you chosen yours?
(by the way, dont think it has eclipsed me that this is all heartfelt and meaningful, instead of being full of jokes and clever pop culture references. Don't worry. I have a plan to get back to that. I'll be purposeful while investing in my kind of encouraging humor.)
In September, I attended the STARTConference, starring Jon Acuff and a few hundred of my closest friends... and something Acuff said resonated with me--"Own your word". He said simply, find a few words, and own them. Make them your life. Words like "Inspire". "Ambition". "Passionate". "Goals"... you get the drift. So, of course, what words would I own? I wasn't sure. Perhaps its something many people just passed over, but it stuck with me.
If I can back up a minute, at the beginning of the conference, we were all given an obligatory lanyard with a place for our name (d$), our twitter name (@davedollar) and a blank space that said "I Want To:_______"
What do I write?
"Write"? Yes. I want to write. I love to write. I'm a writer. But what about...
"Plan Magical Vacations"? Certainly. I at a Disney Travel Planner, so that has to factor into it. I want to help people have incredibly memorable vacations to Disney parks, to Universal and so on. But, then there is...
"Blog"? I do that too. Its writing, but its a special sort of writing. I want to continue blogging, perhaps monetize my site one day. Soon? Hopefully very soon.
But what do I write?
Then Jon Acuff said, "Own your words". And I began to think about those words that I wanted to define me, to define who I am as a man, who I am as a person, who I am as husband, a father, a Christ Follower, a friend, a servant, a leader.. even an adversary, if that's how someone sees me.
What do I want you to think about me? Perhaps I haven't been doing a very good job of it, no matter what, but what words do I eventually want YOU to say, when asked about me, "Oh d$? He's this And this. And certainly this. And definitely this."
And after a morning of thought, after a day or reflection, tossing the idea around in my head, I figured out what I wanted to strive for. What I hope to be. Who I wanted to become.
I took off my lanyard, laid the tag on a table and wrote four letters, in Sharpie, all capitalized.
P I K E
I smiled, putting the cap back on the Sharpie (for capless Sharpies are reasons for broken hearts and dreams) and then putting the lanyard around my neck. P I K E. Spells "PIKE"... and in a way, it was ironic, because at the time, I was working at Starbucks. (besides, when I wrote down Super, Unique, Manly, Awesome, Terrific, Righteous and Awesomer, it just didnt work as well, even though it spelled "SUMATRA")
When I explained to a few people what P I K E meant, I told them I was "Finding my PIKE Place". And its true.
Now, the question you'll have is simply, what does P I K E even mean? That's why I'm writing to you today... to share with you what words I will now spend my life pursuing and owning, and in my writing, in my Disney planning, in relationships of all kinds, and most importantly, in my Walk with Christ and my pursuit of holiness, this is what I will wrap around. I truly believe the words are God breathed to my own heart, and here they are...
I want to be PURPOSEFUL. I want to have purpose in whatever I do. Now, let's be real... we know God cares about all of our actions, but I'm not sure we have to have a laying on of hands prayer time to decide between the new Kings Hawaiian Sandwich and the Beef n Cheddar combo while you are standing at the counter at Arby's. Some things I think He puts you in charge of. But overall... the people I spend time with. The contacts I make. The tasks I allow myself to be engaged in. With purpose. Not to things half-heartedly... if that's my feeling, I just wont do them at all, because whoever is asking a task of me deserves my whole effort. I want to be PURPOSEFUL in my life.
I want to be INVESTING. I have a billion acquaintances from all parts of my life--my childhood hometown of Samson... my college alma mater of Troy State... various jobs I've worked... various seminars and conferences and retreats I've attended... the huge presence of Facebook and Twitter and Instagram and Pinterest (oh Pinterest... do I have to? I don't wanna... do I gotta...?) have made it easy to keep in touch with people that you haven't spoken to, at least in real life, in 30 years. I'm not bragging when I say I know thousands and thousands of people... but more than likely, so do you.
I can't get to know everyone... just not possible. But I can learn about people. I can ask questions. I can find out how people are doing, what they are hoping for, what they are praying for. I want to invest in people.
I want to be KIND. What can I say? We know what Kind means. Don't we? It means being a little nicer, being a little more free with a smile, being a little more willing to provide grace to people all throughout the day... I want to be kind.
I want to be ENCOURAGING. Without patting myself on the back too much, I have always felt like "encouraging" is something that I'm pretty good at. I think I've gotten even better at it in the last several months, at least to many. And I'd like to continue to be encouraging to people, be it a kind word, a helping hand or just a surprising act of whatever.
So there you go. Put them altogether, and its a life worth living, a life that hopefully will have meaning and a life made for positively impacting those around me with the love of Christ.
Four words to live by. Sure, you can also use "Holiness" and "Godliness" and "God-Chaser"... but I think He'd rather me be Purposeful, Investing, Kind and Encouraging with my whole heart and life than to hide behind some church words that I use as a crutch and excuse.
So now... your words? Have you chosen yours?
(by the way, dont think it has eclipsed me that this is all heartfelt and meaningful, instead of being full of jokes and clever pop culture references. Don't worry. I have a plan to get back to that. I'll be purposeful while investing in my kind of encouraging humor.)
Wednesday, December 04, 2013
to campbell, on your 2nd birthday
(this is the second letter to Campbell Isaiah, with the first written last year, on his first birthday)
Dear Monkey Butt,
Yep. I don't call you that all the time, but for now, its a funny name for a funny kid. And you are definitely a funny kid.
A few days ago, you had your 2nd birthday. We didn't have much fanfare, other than coming back from Walt Disney World--your second trip to Orlando, already added to your other trip to Disneyland. Do you realize you've had more Disney before 2 years old than many kids have in their life? You are a lucky kid.
And we are lucky parents, lucky to have you. God chose your Mommy and me to raise you, and I'd like to think we are doing okay.
Let me tell you a little about this year, thusfar... This was the year that the new Superman movie came out, "Man of Steel". I'm sure you've seen it by now--or maybe you haven't, because its kind of forgettable. Probably my favorite movies of 2013 include "Monsters University", which in our household you've no doubt seen a dozen times by the time you read this... "Iron Man 3", which I thought was a great flick, even though its had its haters... "Gravity", this space epic with Sandra Bullock... and, of course, "Fast & Furious 6", which is one of my three favorite films so far this year. You and I have already watched "Fast Five", though I'm pretty sure you don't remember a thing about it...
Music? Justin Timberlake had a great year with a new CD, though he hasn't released anything mindblowing, just good. Is he still awesome in 2022, when you are reading this? Hope so. "Royals" by Lorde was a big deal, as was Katy Perry's "Roar". Also, probably my favorite song of the year? "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke. You know that show that Mommy sometimes watches, "Growing Pains"? (no, The Lovely Steph Leann doesn't now, but I'm counting on it coming on at some point and her watching it). Yeah, the dad is Alan Thicke. Robin is his son. Maybe you should just steer clear of this song. And anything to do with Miley Cyrus, or at least, anything after "Party in the USA".
One of my favorite books this year is "Dr.Sleep" by Stephen King. Though you aren't allowed to read anything Stephen King until you are at least 16, so if this isnt' 2027 when you are reading this, skip this part.
Another fella named Jon Acuff wrote this book called "START", and created this online community on Facebook which your dad became a part of... met lots of awesome people who are probably represented on our bookshelves right now.
Is your mom still crazy about putting oils on you? Essential oils? That started in 2013 as well.
Okay, there is the yearly rundown... this was a big year for our family too, Campbell. In August, you were diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum... or as we liked to say, "You gots the aw-tism"
Honestly, I had no idea what that meant either, until that week you were diagnosed. We kind of knew it was coming, but your Pops and GG and Aunt Becky took it kinda hard. Your Granny Jan really had no idea what to make of it, and in a few weeks from this posting, we'll go to see her for Christmas, and we can tell her all we know.
What does that mean? Well, look at yourself now. I don't know when you are reading this, but I have 100% confidence that you are strong. You are handsome. You are kind. You are friendly. You are talented. You are funny. You are smart, much smarter than me (maybe as smart as your mom, though that's tough, cause she's pretty smart...). Your one of God's creations, crafted by His hands and given to us for your care. And the night you were officially diagnosed, you let us know it would all be okay.
This year has been difficult at times... but you learned to walk, and it was precious. Watching you surf the room from chair to chair, to the couch and then back to a chair, sometimes making it, sometimes splatting on your bum, was awesome. But you figured it out. I loved watching you pick up a puzzle, or a ring toy, or something that had to be learned, and watching you figure it out. You would work on it 'til you got it right. You haven't spoken a word yet (some in the family think you have said "eat", and you do make a "eat" sound when it comes to food, but given that you haven't said anything else, I think "eat" might be a stretch...)
You have, however, made lots of ma-ma-ma-ma-ma and ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba and "raspberry" sounds, and they are quite cute and hilarious. You also have this habit of going really high pitched in a loud shout when we are eating dinner in a restaurant. I think you know what you are doing, you evil genius, you.
I look forward to the day, soon, when we can laugh together. When we can play games together, when we can go to the zoo and you will point out animals and say words that almost make sense... I know your Mommy wants you to call her "Mommy" so bad she can't stand it... but I know you'll get here. Heck, you reading this now probably seems silly, because at this point, you've been talking for as long as anyone remembers. If my predictions are right, you probably won't shut up.
Just tonight, a few hours before I wrote this, your Mom said to me, "This has been quite a year for our family, hasn't it?" And I agree. Its been a roller coaster of emotion, of love, of tears, of disagreements and growing closer as a family.
I know this note has been all over the map, but there is so much to tell you... I just want you to know that we don't say "we have an autistic son"... we have "a son who deals with autism". Because you are not defined by Autism, and you never will be. You will be defined by your character, by how you treat people around you, how you respect the girls in your life, how you deal with conflict, how you love others, and how you follow Christ. Autism just happens to be something you will continue to climb over. Never forget that, Campbell, never forget that.
Anyway, happy 2nd birthday, Monkey Butt. Your mom and dad love you so, so much... but don't forget, as much as we all love you, God loves you more than all of us combined, times a bajillionty. And if you aren't following Him yet, come talk to me and we can discuss it.
I end this letter now, will close my laptop and go crawl in bed, and if I'm lucky, you'll gravitate towards me, wrap your arms around my arm and continue sleeping. Love you, kid.
--Dad
Dear Monkey Butt,
Yep. I don't call you that all the time, but for now, its a funny name for a funny kid. And you are definitely a funny kid.
A few days ago, you had your 2nd birthday. We didn't have much fanfare, other than coming back from Walt Disney World--your second trip to Orlando, already added to your other trip to Disneyland. Do you realize you've had more Disney before 2 years old than many kids have in their life? You are a lucky kid.
And we are lucky parents, lucky to have you. God chose your Mommy and me to raise you, and I'd like to think we are doing okay.
Let me tell you a little about this year, thusfar... This was the year that the new Superman movie came out, "Man of Steel". I'm sure you've seen it by now--or maybe you haven't, because its kind of forgettable. Probably my favorite movies of 2013 include "Monsters University", which in our household you've no doubt seen a dozen times by the time you read this... "Iron Man 3", which I thought was a great flick, even though its had its haters... "Gravity", this space epic with Sandra Bullock... and, of course, "Fast & Furious 6", which is one of my three favorite films so far this year. You and I have already watched "Fast Five", though I'm pretty sure you don't remember a thing about it...
Music? Justin Timberlake had a great year with a new CD, though he hasn't released anything mindblowing, just good. Is he still awesome in 2022, when you are reading this? Hope so. "Royals" by Lorde was a big deal, as was Katy Perry's "Roar". Also, probably my favorite song of the year? "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke. You know that show that Mommy sometimes watches, "Growing Pains"? (no, The Lovely Steph Leann doesn't now, but I'm counting on it coming on at some point and her watching it). Yeah, the dad is Alan Thicke. Robin is his son. Maybe you should just steer clear of this song. And anything to do with Miley Cyrus, or at least, anything after "Party in the USA".
One of my favorite books this year is "Dr.Sleep" by Stephen King. Though you aren't allowed to read anything Stephen King until you are at least 16, so if this isnt' 2027 when you are reading this, skip this part.
 |
| Taken in October of this year, in your long hair days. You love this park, as do I. |
Is your mom still crazy about putting oils on you? Essential oils? That started in 2013 as well.
Okay, there is the yearly rundown... this was a big year for our family too, Campbell. In August, you were diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum... or as we liked to say, "You gots the aw-tism"
Honestly, I had no idea what that meant either, until that week you were diagnosed. We kind of knew it was coming, but your Pops and GG and Aunt Becky took it kinda hard. Your Granny Jan really had no idea what to make of it, and in a few weeks from this posting, we'll go to see her for Christmas, and we can tell her all we know.
What does that mean? Well, look at yourself now. I don't know when you are reading this, but I have 100% confidence that you are strong. You are handsome. You are kind. You are friendly. You are talented. You are funny. You are smart, much smarter than me (maybe as smart as your mom, though that's tough, cause she's pretty smart...). Your one of God's creations, crafted by His hands and given to us for your care. And the night you were officially diagnosed, you let us know it would all be okay.
This year has been difficult at times... but you learned to walk, and it was precious. Watching you surf the room from chair to chair, to the couch and then back to a chair, sometimes making it, sometimes splatting on your bum, was awesome. But you figured it out. I loved watching you pick up a puzzle, or a ring toy, or something that had to be learned, and watching you figure it out. You would work on it 'til you got it right. You haven't spoken a word yet (some in the family think you have said "eat", and you do make a "eat" sound when it comes to food, but given that you haven't said anything else, I think "eat" might be a stretch...)
You have, however, made lots of ma-ma-ma-ma-ma and ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba and "raspberry" sounds, and they are quite cute and hilarious. You also have this habit of going really high pitched in a loud shout when we are eating dinner in a restaurant. I think you know what you are doing, you evil genius, you.
I look forward to the day, soon, when we can laugh together. When we can play games together, when we can go to the zoo and you will point out animals and say words that almost make sense... I know your Mommy wants you to call her "Mommy" so bad she can't stand it... but I know you'll get here. Heck, you reading this now probably seems silly, because at this point, you've been talking for as long as anyone remembers. If my predictions are right, you probably won't shut up.
Just tonight, a few hours before I wrote this, your Mom said to me, "This has been quite a year for our family, hasn't it?" And I agree. Its been a roller coaster of emotion, of love, of tears, of disagreements and growing closer as a family.
I know this note has been all over the map, but there is so much to tell you... I just want you to know that we don't say "we have an autistic son"... we have "a son who deals with autism". Because you are not defined by Autism, and you never will be. You will be defined by your character, by how you treat people around you, how you respect the girls in your life, how you deal with conflict, how you love others, and how you follow Christ. Autism just happens to be something you will continue to climb over. Never forget that, Campbell, never forget that.
Anyway, happy 2nd birthday, Monkey Butt. Your mom and dad love you so, so much... but don't forget, as much as we all love you, God loves you more than all of us combined, times a bajillionty. And if you aren't following Him yet, come talk to me and we can discuss it.
I end this letter now, will close my laptop and go crawl in bed, and if I'm lucky, you'll gravitate towards me, wrap your arms around my arm and continue sleeping. Love you, kid.
--Dad
Monday, December 02, 2013
when soon is not soon enough
Just like you, I have goals and dreams.
And just like you, I have excuses.
Some are great excuses. I have a 2 year old. He keeps me busy. I have a household to maintain, a The Lovely Steph Leann to take care of, a new job to continue training and learning in, and so much travel going on.
So I plan to start blogging regularly, soon.
And I plan to start my book about autism and Campbell, soon.
And soon, I'm going to start outlining my "blog fiction" project that I want to maybe kick off mid-2014.
And when this Disney thing gets going, its going to be awesome, right? Soon, I'm going to have my Disney Open House, where people can come, find out more information, and learn how I can help them with their own Magic...
Then, I'm going to watch this long list of movies I have to watch. And spend more time with Campbell. And breeze through the 2nd season of Once Upon a Time with The Lovely Steph Leann.
Soon, I mean. I'll start that soon.
But I have to ask myself, when exactly is soon? Its not now, apparently. I haven't blogged since November 5th, even though I have five or six posts practically ready to post.
It probably isn't soon now, because I've only mentally laid out my idea for my book, but nothing on paper. And as far as "blog fiction" goes, I haven't written a single thing down... in fact, most people don't even know what that is.
And it must not be soon yet, as I don't have plans for a Disney Open House. I mean, I plan to have one, but I don't have plans to have one. Big difference.
So when does soon get here?
The answer. Never.
Excuses are like kudzu. You let one take root, and they are everywhere.
"Let's get through October, because its a busy month..." October comes and goes. Yes, it was busy, but now we are past it... yet, "Got a Disney vacation coming up, let's get past that..." Just got back from 8 days at Disney. "Its almost Christmas time. Its going to be busier than October. Lets wait til January..."
Soon.
Soon sucks.
How about now? Now doesn't suck. Now is frightening. Now takes soon and throws Soon away. Soon keeps telling you that when you have time for your dreams, your dreams will come true. Now tells you the truth--You'll never have time for your dreams, unless you make it. Soon won't make time for your dreams. Now will.
Its Now.
Soon is no longer an excuse. I actually think I'm out of excuses for what I want to do, what I feel led to do.
What's your excuse?
And just like you, I have excuses.
Some are great excuses. I have a 2 year old. He keeps me busy. I have a household to maintain, a The Lovely Steph Leann to take care of, a new job to continue training and learning in, and so much travel going on.
So I plan to start blogging regularly, soon.
And I plan to start my book about autism and Campbell, soon.
And soon, I'm going to start outlining my "blog fiction" project that I want to maybe kick off mid-2014.
And when this Disney thing gets going, its going to be awesome, right? Soon, I'm going to have my Disney Open House, where people can come, find out more information, and learn how I can help them with their own Magic...
Then, I'm going to watch this long list of movies I have to watch. And spend more time with Campbell. And breeze through the 2nd season of Once Upon a Time with The Lovely Steph Leann.
Soon, I mean. I'll start that soon.
But I have to ask myself, when exactly is soon? Its not now, apparently. I haven't blogged since November 5th, even though I have five or six posts practically ready to post.
It probably isn't soon now, because I've only mentally laid out my idea for my book, but nothing on paper. And as far as "blog fiction" goes, I haven't written a single thing down... in fact, most people don't even know what that is.
And it must not be soon yet, as I don't have plans for a Disney Open House. I mean, I plan to have one, but I don't have plans to have one. Big difference.
So when does soon get here?
The answer. Never.
Excuses are like kudzu. You let one take root, and they are everywhere.
"Let's get through October, because its a busy month..." October comes and goes. Yes, it was busy, but now we are past it... yet, "Got a Disney vacation coming up, let's get past that..." Just got back from 8 days at Disney. "Its almost Christmas time. Its going to be busier than October. Lets wait til January..."
Soon.
Soon sucks.
How about now? Now doesn't suck. Now is frightening. Now takes soon and throws Soon away. Soon keeps telling you that when you have time for your dreams, your dreams will come true. Now tells you the truth--You'll never have time for your dreams, unless you make it. Soon won't make time for your dreams. Now will.
Its Now.
Soon is no longer an excuse. I actually think I'm out of excuses for what I want to do, what I feel led to do.
What's your excuse?
Tuesday, November 05, 2013
dinnertime fussies
My kid loves to eat. I mean, loooooves to eat. Beets. Apples. Parsnips. Carrots. Peas. Squash. Plums. Blue/Rasp/Black/Strawberries. Peaches. Mangoes. Pears. Zucchini. Sweet Potatoes. You name it, he'll eat it.
Except for broccoli, which is really funny to watch him not only bat it away as you approach his mouth with your fork, but also to watch him physically take it off the fork, look at it for a second, then just reach over the edge of the highchair tray and drop it on the floor.
As if to say, "Get this junk out mah face."
Campbell Isaiah started out on baby formula, store bought, first with Emfamil, then with Gerber Baby, which the latter worked better for us. The former gave him bad gas and bad, bad spit... the day that I literally went through 10, count them, 10 t-shirts for me and 6, count them, 6 onesies for him is burned into my mind as a day that will live in infamy. Emfamy. There was one point when he spit up all over me and my shirt, so I changed, then changed him, and I actually took two steps towards the door with him in my arms when he spit up again. It was rough that day... I texted The Lovely Steph Leann out of sheer frustration and panic with "I can't do this!" and "Just one. Never doing this again. He's an only child."
Looking back, I probably didn't mean it. But ten shirts with various amounts of baby vomit on it? Come on now...
We started making our own formula several months into this parenthood thing, this time using Goat's Milk... we made lots and lots AND LOTS of goats milk, each pitcher with scoops of baby supplements and vitamins and such.
And eventually, we moved into real food.. we had already decided that we would go natural and organic. We knew over time that there might be a slight delay with our kid--and we were right--so we wanted to make sure he was as healthy as possible...
So, several nights per week, I pull out my trusty peeler and work on the aforementioned fruits and vegetables... I'll actually be doing some apples tonight.
Campbell is a kid of routine. He likes routine, he likes familiar. For instance, he typically knows what to do when we lay him down to change his diaper. He might cry some, maybe move a little, but mostly he lays there... and when you go to put his pants back on him, most of the time he will lift both legs to make it easy.
At school, he knows its time for lunch after outside playtime, and he always follows the line perfectly to the class door... he knows its time to eat.
Similarly, here at The Cabana, when his meal is ready, be it a couple of eggs and a 1/2 avocado for breakfast, or an orange, some pineapple, some peas and beets (with almond butter) for lunch, when you say, "Ready to eat?" he heads for the kitchen.
Not only does he head for the kitchen, he goes straight for the high chair, and starts pawing at the belt buckle. He will look around, and if he can reach far enough on the kitchen table, he will snatch whatever he can get his hands on, be it a vitamin pill or a bowl full of kiwi, and try to eat it. Because dinner.
T (we steam it, then freeze it, then thaw and warm upon serving), and take them to the table, along with a juice bottle--prune is his favorite, though he does like cherry juice, grape juice and pear juice too.
hen a routine of things happens... we put him in the seat and buckle him in, putting the tray in front of him, snapped into the high chair itself. We will get the bowls of the food we have just warmed up minutes before
There's a fork we grab, and then we wet a napkin to wipe his face every few bites. He can be messy sometimes, and by sometimes, I mean all the time.
We aren't perfect, and we forget stuff. And there's nothing more fearful than forgetting something big, like his prune juice. Cause he ain't patient, and he ain't caring that you have had a long day... he wants to eat.
For the record, there is not a single time, not one single meal, not one single second that we have just forgotten something and then just not cared. Not once have we just blown him off, despite his crying, to say, "Whatevs, kid. You'll live."
He knows we won't leave. He knows we have food there, its in small bowls on the table, he knows that he will have that food in just a minute... but no, he wants to cry, and fuss, and smack the tray until he gets what he wants.
Its the same with God, ain't it?
Name a time He has forgotten you, or forsaken you, or just left you behind, saying "Whatevs, kid. You'll live."
Never.
We get involved in our own little routines, our own way of doing things, and when it doesn't go according to plan, when it doesn't happen EXACTLY like we thing it should, be it we should keep getting bites of almond butter and butternut squash, we pitch our little fits... smack the tray, cry, fuss, tell God that "this isn't how it is supposed to be!" and "where are you, God!" and "why are you doing this to me!?!" with the mindset that His silence is obviously Him walking away, to possibly never return.
When in fact, maybe He did take a step away. But He is always there. He never goes far, if at all. He might just be grabbing a Holy Napkin to wipe the junk off our face. He might be grabbing some Communion Juice to allow us, after a brief time of nothing, to drink of His Spirit...
Either way, God loves you and I both. And He would never leave us. Just like I would never leave Campbell alone and hungry.... I love him too, too much. And God loves us too, too much.
"Never confuse His silence for His inactivity" is a lesson I learned a long time ago... and some if it was the hard way... how about you? Is He being quiet? And how are you handling it?
Except for broccoli, which is really funny to watch him not only bat it away as you approach his mouth with your fork, but also to watch him physically take it off the fork, look at it for a second, then just reach over the edge of the highchair tray and drop it on the floor.
As if to say, "Get this junk out mah face."
Campbell Isaiah started out on baby formula, store bought, first with Emfamil, then with Gerber Baby, which the latter worked better for us. The former gave him bad gas and bad, bad spit... the day that I literally went through 10, count them, 10 t-shirts for me and 6, count them, 6 onesies for him is burned into my mind as a day that will live in infamy. Emfamy. There was one point when he spit up all over me and my shirt, so I changed, then changed him, and I actually took two steps towards the door with him in my arms when he spit up again. It was rough that day... I texted The Lovely Steph Leann out of sheer frustration and panic with "I can't do this!" and "Just one. Never doing this again. He's an only child."
Looking back, I probably didn't mean it. But ten shirts with various amounts of baby vomit on it? Come on now...
We started making our own formula several months into this parenthood thing, this time using Goat's Milk... we made lots and lots AND LOTS of goats milk, each pitcher with scoops of baby supplements and vitamins and such.
And eventually, we moved into real food.. we had already decided that we would go natural and organic. We knew over time that there might be a slight delay with our kid--and we were right--so we wanted to make sure he was as healthy as possible...
So, several nights per week, I pull out my trusty peeler and work on the aforementioned fruits and vegetables... I'll actually be doing some apples tonight.
Campbell is a kid of routine. He likes routine, he likes familiar. For instance, he typically knows what to do when we lay him down to change his diaper. He might cry some, maybe move a little, but mostly he lays there... and when you go to put his pants back on him, most of the time he will lift both legs to make it easy.
At school, he knows its time for lunch after outside playtime, and he always follows the line perfectly to the class door... he knows its time to eat.
Similarly, here at The Cabana, when his meal is ready, be it a couple of eggs and a 1/2 avocado for breakfast, or an orange, some pineapple, some peas and beets (with almond butter) for lunch, when you say, "Ready to eat?" he heads for the kitchen.
Not only does he head for the kitchen, he goes straight for the high chair, and starts pawing at the belt buckle. He will look around, and if he can reach far enough on the kitchen table, he will snatch whatever he can get his hands on, be it a vitamin pill or a bowl full of kiwi, and try to eat it. Because dinner.
T (we steam it, then freeze it, then thaw and warm upon serving), and take them to the table, along with a juice bottle--prune is his favorite, though he does like cherry juice, grape juice and pear juice too.
 |
| part of what our freezer has looking like for 10d |
There's a fork we grab, and then we wet a napkin to wipe his face every few bites. He can be messy sometimes, and by sometimes, I mean all the time.
We aren't perfect, and we forget stuff. And there's nothing more fearful than forgetting something big, like his prune juice. Cause he ain't patient, and he ain't caring that you have had a long day... he wants to eat.
For the record, there is not a single time, not one single meal, not one single second that we have just forgotten something and then just not cared. Not once have we just blown him off, despite his crying, to say, "Whatevs, kid. You'll live."
He knows we won't leave. He knows we have food there, its in small bowls on the table, he knows that he will have that food in just a minute... but no, he wants to cry, and fuss, and smack the tray until he gets what he wants.
Its the same with God, ain't it?
Name a time He has forgotten you, or forsaken you, or just left you behind, saying "Whatevs, kid. You'll live."
Never.
We get involved in our own little routines, our own way of doing things, and when it doesn't go according to plan, when it doesn't happen EXACTLY like we thing it should, be it we should keep getting bites of almond butter and butternut squash, we pitch our little fits... smack the tray, cry, fuss, tell God that "this isn't how it is supposed to be!" and "where are you, God!" and "why are you doing this to me!?!" with the mindset that His silence is obviously Him walking away, to possibly never return.
When in fact, maybe He did take a step away. But He is always there. He never goes far, if at all. He might just be grabbing a Holy Napkin to wipe the junk off our face. He might be grabbing some Communion Juice to allow us, after a brief time of nothing, to drink of His Spirit...
Either way, God loves you and I both. And He would never leave us. Just like I would never leave Campbell alone and hungry.... I love him too, too much. And God loves us too, too much.
"Never confuse His silence for His inactivity" is a lesson I learned a long time ago... and some if it was the hard way... how about you? Is He being quiet? And how are you handling it?
Thursday, October 31, 2013
pimpslaps and popsicles... a study in fear
Does anyone else compare? As in, do you compare your talents to someone else's? Your Walk to someone else's? Your abilities at work, your grades at school, your waistline to someone thinner, your muscles to someone's bigger, your tummy to someone's six pack? I do.
I posted this on Facebook this morning, and its one of those things I'm glad I wrote because I feel like people understand it... they get it... they know what I mean.
I compare myself to everyone. When I log onto the Facebook and get all Facebooky, I scroll and read the posts by other people involved in the Experiment Formerly Known as START (its my online community of choice) and I read all sorts of successes, milestones and even funny comments I wish I had made.
I don't know about you, but I don't like being used. I would imagine you don't either... so you need to know that Fear uses you. That's right, Fear takes your talents, abilities and awesomeness and tosses them in my face...
Fear begins to then tell me things like...
Have you felt like this? Especially recently? Fear is a jerk. Fear will tell you things, use other people's voices to lie to you and make you feel like anything you do won't be enough. You aren't enough. You'll never be enough.
I posted this on Facebook this morning, and its one of those things I'm glad I wrote because I feel like people understand it... they get it... they know what I mean.
I compare myself to everyone. When I log onto the Facebook and get all Facebooky, I scroll and read the posts by other people involved in the Experiment Formerly Known as START (its my online community of choice) and I read all sorts of successes, milestones and even funny comments I wish I had made.
I don't know about you, but I don't like being used. I would imagine you don't either... so you need to know that Fear uses you. That's right, Fear takes your talents, abilities and awesomeness and tosses them in my face...
Fear begins to then tell me things like...
- "You'll never be as good as ______"
- "You will never be as talented as ______"
- "Look how much they love _______, you'll never get that kind of adoration"
- "_______ is real with their life and fears and struggles. You come off as fake. Just don't say anything."
- "Its OKAY to compare yourself. You don't match up with ______. Just keep it realz, yo."
- "You typed this into Facebook earlier. You put this on your blog too, and people will think you are just full of yourself. So play it SAFE, and let it go."
Fear likes to tell people that "You can't..." Personally, Fear doesn't tell me that "I can't..." Fear actually tells me the worst thing of all:
"Oh, sure, you could... but why would you. No one cares, and you don't matter."
And that's when you have to come to your senses. You can. And you should. You are enough. Your awesome. I may not even know you, dear Coffee Drinker, but you are awesome... I mean, you are reading this, right? Right!
Here's the thing about Fear... Fear has never led me in the right direction.
It's made me be safe when I needed to step.
It's led me to be quiet when I needed to speak up.
 |
| Keep talking, Fear. I have a Buttermilk Popsicle waiting for me... |
It's led me to try and rely on ME when I should be relying on HIM (HIM as in God, not Fear)....
Fear is that crazy old drunk Uncle at a party who says he is looking out for you, but every piece of advice that comes out its mouth will lead you to destruction (and possibly a court date)... Fear is the bad friend who was never a good friend but you still end up wanting to listen to, even though he's bad news. Fear is only as strong as you make it...
FEAR ONLY HAS THE CREDIBILITY YOU GIVE IT.
(hmmm... that's pretty good... I need to write that down... give me a minute... *grabs pencil and post-it*... fear... only has the... cred... ibil... aty... *scratches out 'aty'*... ity... you give... it...)
Here's what I like to say... and when I say, "Here's what I like to say", I mean I'll start saying this now because I think its good...
I'll simply look at Fear, and say, "Fear, you can suck it. I'm going to say something encouraging and funny. If it works, great, if not, that's okay too. Then, I'm going to eat a popsicle. Cause I want to"
Then I pimp slaps Fear, walk away, leaving Fear holding its reddened cheek as I mutter "...Jack wagon..." under my breath, taking a nibble off of my Steel City Pop.
So thank you for allowing me to chime in, pimp slap Fear and eat a popsicle.
What about you? Have you faced Fear, pimpslapped it and called it a less than civil name? What is your treat of choice after a good Fear pimpslapping?
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