Favorite Ten Books of 2015

Well, hi.

I won't blither on about not writing or blogging or how I miss it and so on and so on... done that already.  You can even read about that here.

The important thing is, here I am!

So, now that the first month of the year is over, I thought before the clock strikes midnight and I turn into a pumpkin... or at least, pumpkiner... I thought it best to get something in.  See that link filled side bar over there ----- >  ?  Well, if you miss a month, then a month doesn't show up because there's nothing there... and I really don't want to not have January 2016 there.

To my point... people who know me know I'm an Audible.com junkie.  I'm so super busy right now the only way I can possibly "read" is by listening to audiobooks... I can listen while I drive, while I work around the house and sometimes as I sit and work on Magic on a Dollar fun Disney travel stuff...

You should read this book.  Okay, I should read this book, and I will
when I can. Its not on audio, so it will take some time.

My goal in 2013 was 25 books, and I did 27.  In 2014, I went up to 35, and knocked out 37.  And last year, I had a goal of 40, and got right to 40... I would have gotten a few more, but I waited the last two weeks of the year to sit down with my dear friend Kinda Wilson's new book "The Echo Factor", but was unable to find the time.  So sitting at 39 books, I panicked and sorta did a cheap move by going through a 90 minute book (I have done podcast episodes longer than that...) called "20,000 Days" by Robert Smith.  It was all about how we need to make the most of every day... and it was okay.  If you really want a book covering that topic, read my favorite book of 2014, "Moment Maker" by Carlos Whittaker.  That will change your life.

Back to the topic at hand.  This year, my goal is 43 books.  I felt 45 was just a little too much, and since I upped my previous goal by 3, I did the same for 2016.  At this writing, I just finished my 5th book of the year.

And don't even ask me about my movie goal... you will literally think I do nothing but listen to audiobooks and watch movies.  Okay, you asked, my goal is 150 new-to-me movies, and I'm currently at 20.  On pace for 240 films.  No way I make that, I promise you, but still.

SIDEBAR shout out to my friends Jessica Jobes and Writer Chris Holmes, who I have found myself with as "BookTriplets"... and shout out to Rick Theule and Megan Hall, also avid readers who's suggestions I take seriously. 

So without further meandering nonsensically, here are my favorite 10 books of 2015:

10) Outliers - Malcom Gladwell... My friend May Bohon recommended this, and its all about how success can be mostly attributed not to personal ambition but to our surroundings and environment.  This might also be the book that coined the idea that to be an expert in something, it takes 10,000 hours of doing it. I did like his theories, but I did feel like he put only a slight emphasis on hard work and ambition. Still, very well written.

9) Go Solo - Kelsey Humphreys... If you are going on a solo venture business wise, you need to read this book.  Lots of practical advice, lots of things to consider and think through.  I met Kelsey at a conference last summer (I actually took the stage to speak after she did!) and really liked what she's doing here.

8) Troublemaker - Leah Remini... That's right, Stacy Karosi from Saved by the Bell wrote a book and its all about her life in the scam known as Scientology.  And how she got out of it, and the aftermath since. It doesn't pull any punches, and really gets juicy when discussing her disdain for Tom Cruise... and her disdain is utter and clear.  She shares various stories of the ridiculous life she led and eventually left, and with her narrating the audiobook, its filled with great sarcasm and snark.

7) Gray Mountain - John Grisham... Breaking the mold of focusing on a single case, this story actually follows a young lawyer and her internship in a small Virginia coal mining town. In his writing, its evident that Grisham doesn't like the coal industry, but he does keep that to a minimum here with a few twists and turns, and this book has something that many of his books do not -- a satisfying ending.

NOTE:  I interchanged the next five books about four times.  What was #2 was #6 and #4 at one time, I swapped #5 and #6 about three times and the only thing that stayed the same was my favorite book of 2015.  So know that I love all of the following books nearly equally and only ranked them because I sorta had to.  

6) Finders Keepers - Stephen King... The second in what will be a trilogy (Mr. Mercedes was first, and End of Watch is coming in June to finish it), about Detective Bill Hodges.  Nothing supernatural, just a great suspense story of a boy who finds a big reward and then suffers its consequences. It's thrilling, edge of your seat tense and it has a fantastic finish.  Excited about the last one in June!

What makes this audiobook so good is that Al
does his own narration -- its like a trusted,
loved old uncle telling stories.

5) You Can't Make This Up - Al Michaels & L. Jon Werthem... My favorite memoir of the year, and its even better because Al narrates it himself.  Starting at the beginning of his career, he tells story after story of the small moments and the big ones too -- covering the 1989 San Fran earthquake and responding to 9/11 -- and he doesn't mind giving you a little guff for those he doesn't care for.  Like Howard Cosell.  Al don't like him no Cosell, trust me on this.  So much fun.

4) Dark Places - Gillian Flynn... The more I read this book, the more it stuck with me. It's the story of Libby Day, a child survivor of a family massacre that her brother is currently serving a life sentence for committing... but a few circumstances and chapters later, that is all drawn into question. Libby's unlikability is buoyed by a likable sidekick and all culminates in a heckuva ending. I enjoyed Gone Girl, but liked this one even more. (I had high hopes for the movie, and it was a letdown all the way around...)

3) Do Over - Jon Acuff... My favorite non-fiction book of the year, and the only book that I've ever (this year or other) re-started as soon as it was finished.  Read it twice in four days.  Jon Acuff writes what he knows, and what he knows is helping other people find who they are supposed to be.  I have had two Do Overs in three years... one in 2013, and one last August, and so this (along with "Go Solo" by Kelsey Humphrey) made for a great help in getting me started on my #LEAP of working from home.  Even if you are a little dissatisfied with your career or where you are in your life, I cannot recommend this book enough.  Tons of encouragement, instructions, guidance, life lessons and plenty of queso jokes.

Lots of language, but lots of fun

2) Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins... When Rachel takes the train, she makes up stories for the people she sees along the journey to work, stories that are better than her own sad, pathetic life.  But one day she sees something wrong, something suspicious, something that doesn't make sense... and this sends her into a spiral and sends this story into a slow burn thrill ride.  I guessed the ending a few chapters before it was over, but that didn't stop me from loving it just as much.  Can't wait for the movie, because I am excited to see what they do with it, and also because I love me some Emily Blunt.

1) The Martian - Andy Weir... Holy stinkin' crap this book was stellar and amazing.  Either you've seen the movie or you've heard of it, but it not, the story is that Mark Watney gets stranded on Mars after a Mars landing trip has an accident. The story follows not only Mark in a first person narrative, but those in his ship and those back on Earth as they try to save him. It's tense, funny, and though you'd think it would be technical, it is actually explained through jokes and in simple terms for us, the silly reader, to get.  This will be a re-read in a few years.

Other books I really enjoyed this year:
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton... The movie followed the book fairly well, but the book has more death and a main character who lives in the movie has their fate left unknown in the book.

Bossypants by Tina Fey... I love Tina Fey.

The Missing Ring by Keith Dunnavant... The story of how the Alabama Crimson Tide was essentially robbed of the national title in 1966 (and this was a legit claim for once).

Deliver us by Kathryn Casey... My favorite true crime writer tells tales and shares stories of the infamous murders and disappearances along The Killing Fields, the stretch along I-45 on the eastern border of Texas.

You Might Be a Zombie and Other Bad News by the Editors of Cracked.com... One of my favorite humor sites culls together some of their funniest (true) articles, with titles like "Five Fight Moves that Only Work In Movies" and "Four Greatest Things Ever Accomplished While High" and my favorite, one that describes dolphins as "sex crazed thrill killers", the chapter called "The Six Cutest Animals That Can Kill You".

And books I re-read this year (that didn't qualify for the Top Ten of 2015, but were obviously great because I took time to re-read them):

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin... Loved it as a kid, and I actually didn't remember a single thing about it.  It was like reading a new book.

Salem's Lot by Stephen King... My favorite King book, and I go through it every few Octobers.

The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans... I love reading this around Christmas time.

Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling... Re-read the entire series every few years.  Usually I go straight through, but in 2016, I may sprinkle them in all year.

And finally... books on tap this year... the aforementioned Kinda Wilson's "The Echo Factor"... Corie Clark's "The Simplicity Project"... Drew Barrymore's "Wildflower"... Amy Poehler's "Yes Please"... Jen Kirkman's "I Can Barely Take Care of Myself"... Ethan Bryan's "Catch & Release"... Justin Fisher's "Conehatta, Cerebral Palsy & the Cross "... a reread of James Stewart's "Disney War"... and more Harry Potter. Oh, and my buddy Clay Shaver has one coming out too...

That's obviously an incomplete list.  With the five I've read, plus those right there, that still puts me 29 short.

hey thanks

It's Thanksgiving time once again! From outta nowhere, the holidays are bearing down on our faces, because for some reason, Christmas is in December this year. Doesn't it feel like 2014 just barely got started? I'm not sure I'm finished with 2013 yet, and all of sudden, I have to deal with 2014 going away forever.

So here's something I've never done and thought it might be fun to do... give thanks. I've given thanks before here and there, but I figured I'd go big or go home... 100 thanks in a single post. Let's go!

First, let's get the big ones out of the way... my Savior, Jesus Christ (1), for whom it's all for. I hope my words encourage in a way that pleases Him. The Lovely Steph Leann (2), the best helpmate I could ever ask for, because she gave us Campbell Isaiah (3), who is a pretty special kid--he turns 3 in a week! What!

My job is secure (4) and that's a big deal. And it's not hard work either (5), which means when I go home, work stays at work (6) which makes for very low stress. And of course, there is my other job, being a Disney Travel Planner, and I am so excited to put more time into doing it! (7). Cause I'm good at it.

Here's a few things/people to be thankful for this year...

I mean, there is so much to be thankful for, so many blessings all poured into my own life. Things are looking up (8) more than ever... Campbell is making great strides in his development (9). No, he's not talking yet, but he's in a solid Mother's Day Out program at CASA (10) and in a great therapy program at Mitchell's Place (11). Insurance is covering much of the cost (12), so that's a huge answered prayer for us. He's signing more (13), and he is much more directional than he used to be (14), like when he leads me to the recliner, then pushes me to sit down, just so he can sit in my lap. That's worthy of a thanks (15).
We paid our car off this year (16) so that helps our budget tremendously, and it's one piece that's helping us form our plan for me to go full time with Disney Travel Planning (17). But I'll get into that later.

Got a new phone this fall (18), bumped up to an iPhone 5, which is nice. I love voice texting (19) though autocorrect is a bit of a hassle sometimes.

The San Antonio Spurs won the NBA title (20) for the fifth time, and the Baltimore Orioles made it into the baseball postseason (21). Can't say I have much thanks for the Florida Gators OR the Troy Trojans for the way they have played this year, but both Florida (22) and Troy (23) are looking at new coaches next season, so it's time for a re-start. Overall, though, the college football season has been incredible (24) and anyone who thought this four-team playoff would ruin the regular season is crazy, because it's done nothing but heighten the importance of dozens of games (25) that by now, wouldn't mean much except for bowl positions. And, of course, even though I didn't make the playoffs of The DFC, the football pick'em that I've run for now its 15th season, its still be a great season (26). Congrats to Big Eddy McBroom and Steven Ray for making DeuceBowl XV, set for this weekend.
I can also give thanks for the movies (27) and most notably, The Deucecast Movie Show--we are on a digital network now, Shotglass Digital (28) which is like being picked up for syndication. Pretty exciting... new episode dropped today (Tuesday) and is all about our own movie thanks. We owe a big thanks to the hosts of the TechnoRetro Dads podcast, especially one of the hosts who calls himself Shaz (29), and I am very thankful for my own co-hosts Mikey (30) and Pinky (31) and the rest of the Deucecast team, like Tommy Mac, Shawn and our endless rotating guests (32).

The blog is going strong (33), by the way, for which I'm thankful for. I successfully made it through the entire month of October, blogging every day (and some extra) and made it like, 32 days straight (34)... which, if you've followed this blog long, you'll know I've tried similar challenges and have failed miserably. My friend Corie Clark (35) really pushed me on this, along with a few others, so thanks for that. Corie, by the way, wrote a fabulous book about making life simple, called "The Simplicity Project". Full disclosure, I have't read all of it yet. But I've followed along on the challenges online, and will have it read and impletmented by years end.

If I get on the subject of friends, I could be here forever... but I'll tell ya, there are a few people who have really made me a better version of d$. Remodeling Clay host Clay Shaver (36) is a solid guy, as is Writer Chris Holmes (37) (who has his own book, mind you). A fellow named David Mike (38) is an extremely good encourager in all that I, and others, do, and his story is pretty incredible.

Thanks to Rachel Mayo (39) for being awesome--and extremely photogenic. No kidding, that chick can look great in an Instagram picture. May Bohon (40) likes to check in on me, which I appreciate, and Angie Buchanan (41) has also been pretty gracious to me and the family this year as well. And Amy Campbell (42), master of LinkedIn and owner of a resume company called the Red Checker, has also been pretty great to me this year.

I always have thanks for My Best Mate Wookiee (43)... I have been able to chat again with my friend Nikki (44) and my friend Laura (45)... and funnily enough, doing Disney Travel has helped me reconnect with my long lost friend Rebecca (46). I get a kick out of reading my friend Missi's (47) posts (she's one of my favorite people on social media.  and gorgeous)... I'm thankful for the new friends in our lives, like the Kilgores (48) and the Rileys (49) that we haven't gotten to know... for the returning friends, like the Tucks (50) who returned to our lives... long time friends like DeNick & DeLisa (51) who are always helpful and generous... and the friends who have been here all the time, like the Rays (52), and Hurricane Rhett and Amarilys by Morning (up from San Antone) (53) and all the other families that we love (and love us) at Valleydale Church (an sbc fellowship) (54). 

Also, I've planned trips for three different women that I dated in college (and their families). I wasn't saying "hey thanks" for that, I just thought it was worth a mention.

So thankful for Taylor Swift's new CD "1989" (55) and of course, "Shake It Off" which is my Song of the Year thusfar. Then again, it comes out just ahead of Pitbull's "Fireball" (56), which I blast everytime it comes on. But lest we forget Colbie Caillet's new CD (57), which is marvelous in it's own right. And Garth Brooks is back (58) and better than ever. Thanks Garth. You are the man.

My friend Teri Mo (59) made one of the best comments (60) I've ever had bestowed upon me, saying (paraphrasing), "I think d$ is great at getting his political points across, he's never disrespectful, he tries to stick to facts and I appreciate that." Fabulous comment.

 

We discovered a new place to eat this year, Urban Cookhouse (61), which is awesome. It's up at the Summit, and we frequent it about once per month. And to top it off, we are pretty fond of Steel City Pops popsicles (62), which The Lovely Steph Leann and I have probably had about 300 each so far this year. Addiction is a bad thing, kiddies.

You know what else I'm thankful for? Whataburger Patty Melts (63) without the onions. It's so, so good.

I'm still very thankful for Walt Disney World (64) and all the dreams and opportunities it holds. Campbell rode his very first roller coaster there, The Barnstormer (65) and it was truly magical, as he laughed and giggled and squealed the whole time. We went a few weeks back with The Lovely Steph Leann's parents, Big Daddy Ron and Mama Ruthless (66), and had a pretty great time. I'm thankful our room wasn't that expensive and was pretty large in size, and it was comfortable... I had stayed in Art of Animation (67) before, but everyone else was enjoying it for the first time.

The food is always great, as the Epcot Food & Wine Festival was going on, but the best part was the Captain's Grille (68) at the Yacht Club, likely my favorite meal of them all.

I'm thankful for my friend Aimee Sale (69), a fellow travel agent, who has been willing to help answer questions on the fly when needed, as well as my own agency owner, Frances (70), who has been an amazing travel agency lead.

My friend McQ (71) got married (72) this fall! It was a long time coming, I think, for her and her boo Jason, and it's so great to see them so happy... and I was honored they asked me to help announce (73) and I was thankful to be a part of the festivities.

The Republicans won the Senate in a landslide election (74). I'll say that I'm thankful for that, but I'll hold off on any further apprecation until I see what they will do... or won't do. You know what, they make me nervous (-74). I'll say I'm thankful that we live in a country where we can elect our leaders (74).
Survivor (75) is good this season. And The Lovely Steph Leann has got me watching HGTV, and I'm kinda hooked on "Flip or Flop" (76).

I'll always be thankful for my iPod (77) which helps me get through the day. From Adam Carolla (78) to Alison Rosen (79) to Rush Limbaugh (80) to the bevy of Disney World Podcasts (81) I listen to, I'm thankful I have it here.

Audible.com (82) also is owed a thanks. I've been a customer for years, and this year have been able to pick up gems like the memoir of one of my favorite, Judy Greer (83), and listen to Stephen King's "Mr. Mercedes" (84), which is excellent. The Harry Potter audiobooks (85) will always be some of my favorites because of the masterful performance by Jim Dale (sadly, not on Audible--I had to get them from the library).

I'm thankful that my home is less than one and a half miles from my office (86)

I'm thankful that I was able to give up three months of no sodas, called the #NoSoda30 (87). I drink some Coke now, but I've curbed my consumption.

I'm thankful my mama still loves me (88).

I'm thankful for my extended family, both with Randy & Angie, my bro/sis-in-law, and kids (89) and my other bro/sis in law, Tyler & Brynn (90).

I'm thankful that yesterday I spilled a little grease from an Arby's cheese stick on my pants and got juice from some squash on my shirt... and that was the extent of my Monday worries (91)

I'm thankful I can still afford to splurge a little and frequent Kingdom Comics (92)

I'm thankful that I got to spend a weekend at the Alabama Phoenix Festival (93) downtown, a nerd convention that I actually sat on discussion panels for.

I'm thankful for Sharpies (94). They rule.

I'm thankful for the WWE Network (95), allowing me to watch every Pay Per View without the expensive price--and the fact that Sting (96) showed up at Sunday's Survivor Series.

I'm thankful for Doug Benson's Doug Loves Movie podcast (97), perhaps my favorite podcast. Oh and for Serial (98), which is an amazing podcast experience. 

I'm thankful that another year is almost over--not for the time has gone by, but that life is good (99).

And I'm thankful for you (100), for reading this blog as much as you do.  You don't have to, yet you keep coming back, and I appreciate it more than you know.  You fulfill the "writer" part of my "writer/blogger/podcaster/travel specialist" bio.

Finally... if you read this, and you wonder "Where am I?" (like my friend Katie (101), who is likely to text me and say "Where am I?"), then consider this number-- 102 -- that you are in.  Thank you. 

And Happy Thanksgiving.

Update... I completely forgot to mention this, and realized it a day after I posted this column... thank you to the men & women in the armed forces who are protecting us right now... thank you to the police, emergency and fire department workers who are keeping us safe as well... and thank you to those behind the retail counters, either being forced to work because of a crap schedule or because you need the money badly... thanks for doing it.

evolution of a blog

I was online the other day, as I am many times, and read something from author Michael Hyatt, who wrote a book about social media called "Platform".  I've got the audiobook, which is really the only way I read at this point, and have tried to get into it, but realize I need a good day or two to digest it and concentrate on it.

What I actually read was quoted from Hyatt by a friend of mine named Amy Campbell (a little promotion--she's called The Resume Lady, and if you need help with your resume and especially setting up a LinkedIn profile, which I have GOT to finish, get in touch with her.  She's pretty awesome.), and the quote went along the lines of revisiting, rewriting and repurposing older posts that you may have written, with the theory being that back in the day, you didn't have a lot of readers... and now you do. 

I dwelled on that for a bit, and realized that it was a pretty good idea... surely there was some great hidden gems I wrote way back when that would be prime for a re-write, right?  Not necessarily.

I spent a while going through the first two years of the blog, founded in 2005, and discovered what I already knew... I wasn't very good. 

Now, to be fair, you should understand who I was writing for... myself and a few select friends.  My posts were personal... not in the sense that I was sharing intimate secrets, but more of, you had to sometimes have an inside track to me to understand what I was saying.  I toss around names like "Jaci" and "Kourtney" and "Matt" and "Mikey" with no context or last names, just assuming that people who are around me will read it and understand what I'm saying... and for the most part, they did.

And I wrote American Idol.  I mean, alot of American Idol.  Like, sometimes a post per episode, or per week on Idol, covering all the songs, all the performances, all the Idols, the eliminations and everything. 

I wrote about mission trips that I went on--which, to be fair, that's why this blog was started, and though its called Clouds in My Coffee, the first few titles included The New York Adventures and The Adventures of Dave and Dave's Sojourn before finally settling on Clouds sometimes probably in 2007 or so.

The web address is Cloudsinmycoffee.com, but you will also find it at BroadwayDave.blogspot.com... with the "Broadway Dave" being the New York centered name I came up with as I created this blog, mostly just to report back to the church and its members our day to day workings on the mission field in Brooklyn and The Bronx.  And I kept going after the trip was over. 

Like anyone doing something they've never done before, then doing that one thing over and over and over 900+ times, I think I've gotten better at it, though I will admit there are a few posts written back in 2008, 2009 or so that I read now and think "That's actually really good..."

Will I delete anything?  A few.  There are a few posts that I just don't like at all, or maybe circumstances in life have changed so much that there is no need for a certain post--or maybe no one should read that post anymore.  I doubt that any of you will go back through and scour for any "dirt" because you will find very little controversial, but there's stuff I like... and stuff I don't.

I intended on actually recapping American Idol this year, after taking last year off (because the season was so bad), but The Lovely Steph Leann and I got behind seven weeks--we had to binge watch all the audition and Hollywood episodes, and the first three weeks of the "finals" to catch up... and lo, and behold, we haven't watched last week's episode or elimination.  Don't tell me who got kicked off.

Over the years, I've done some fun things, had a "random bracket" that is the epitome of personalization, really just done to give happy shout outs to people around me that I like... I did a Summer of Blogging in 2011, where I set a goal for myself to blog 100 times over the course of the summer, which I did something like 75... I tried to do a "July 31", blogging every day in July of 2012, and that was a miserable failure, but I did try... I've posted short stories... I've posted songs and videos... I've been political (I just read a 2006 post on gas prices--I was fired up, I tell ya)... and many times, something pulled from The Word. 

All to keep you, the reader, entertained. 

Over the last year, likely due to my involvement with the START Movement, founded by Jon Acuff, now called "Dreamers & Builders" (why the change?  its a long story), my readership has increased exponentially, and I've found myself with something that I only suspected I had a few years ago--an audience.

My page views increase daily by 100 or so (THANK YOU FOR THAT), so someone is reading, or at least visiting the page, so my challenge is to give you something you'd want to read.

So I have two big things I'm working on now...

First.. the blog will change locations.  I've got a book called "Everything But the Posts" written by my friend Becca Ludlum, and its pretty fantastic for anyone who has ever wanted to start, or improve, their blog.  Blogger sucks a chicken turd, so my goal is to move it over to Wordpress and self-host.  I'm not sure I understand the part from "so my goal is" to "self-host", but I'm figuring it out.  (Becca's book is a good source, as is Corie Clark, a blogger and how-to social guru)

Secondly... there is a thing going around called #100HappyDays, where people are posting daily pictures of happy things... I'm going to do that here, on the blog.  I'm calling it Summer of Happy, and from Tuesday, May 26th to the day before Labor Day, I want to do a daily quick post on something that does make me happy.  Either a pic, or a movie review or just something to make me--and you--smile. 


My Taylor notebook of notes that I'll never, ever, ever get together. Oh,
and some of my random topic ideas that I scribbled over the last few days.

At some point, possibly summer, I'll hit 1000 posts, which excites me, because I know a lot of people who start blogs, and know a very small percentage of them post with any regularity, or even at all after a few posts.  Its not easy, even if what you are saying is total crap, its not easy to carve out the time to blog regularly.

I had a word goal in January, February and March of 20K, 15K and 20K words, respectively... I made it in January, but missed in February and March--granted, much of my blog time was taken up by doing my #Hustle (my passion, fyi), and that is Disney Planning, so I don't feel bad about failing.
I don't have a posted word goal for April, I just know what I want to do. I bought a Taylor Swift spiral bound notebook from Big Lots for $1 recently, and it sits at my desk... when I have a thought of a blog topic, I write it down... actually, when I have a thought of anything substantial, or even inconsequential, I write it down. Its full of random notes and jots and so on. 

Do you have an idea book?  Something to carry around, a small notepad or a notebook at your desk, or even Post-its you can use?  You should get one.  Some of the best ideas are only in your imagination for a few seconds, and if you don't get them written down, they go somewhere else to be utitlized. 

So, that's where I am.  And where we'll go. 

Now if I could only get you people to comment more often... no pressure.  =)



no soda thirty

If you stroll through my house, affectionately known as The Cabana, take a walk up the steps and into the master bedroom, the look deep in the far right corners of the closet that is there, you can find a pullover.  For about six months, it was a fashion statement to have a shirt/hoodie/pullover known as a "rugby", or maybe a "Navajo" or even a "tater sack shirt", because it was made with a similar feel to it as a croker, or potato, sack.  I have one in there somewhere, given to me my freshman fall at Troy State in 1993 by my friend Miranda Bryant.  I kept it, not as a sentiment of a long lost friendship--on the contrary, we are friends on Facebook and chat from time to time--but more of a reminder. 

A reminder of the "skinny days".  Those days when I weighed less that I do now, much, much less.  I've always been someone who can maintain weight, but not necessarily lose it.  And for the better part of 10, almost 11, years, I maintained a weight of about 15 pounds heavier than I should be, not really losing any, but rarely gaining much either.  This was because of my job at Starbucks, where I did a lot of walking.  I mean, a LOT of walking, back and forth behind the counter.  Using a pedometer on my phone, I figured out that I was getting anywhere from 4 to 6 miles per day in walking.  Just around the store and behind the counter.

The amount of soda I believe I've consumed since November.  Oh, I
meant "daily"

In November, as many of you know, I got an office job at another company, so I stopped walking 4 or 5 or 6 miles per day--not just walking, but quick movement, pivoting, sometimes running short distances... but with the office job?   Suddenly, I actually had time to eat breakfast, very little of which was healthy, and suddenly, I'm afforded the time to drink water all day.  Of course, I am not drinking water, my beverage of choice is a 20 ounce Coke.  Or two.  Or three.

So, I've gained weight.  Way more than I should have gained... I would like to say 15 pounds, but its quite possible it might be 20.  If you'll keep it a secret, since you are my friends and its just us, I'll tell you I'm topping 210 pounds right now... and for my height, 5'7, that's not good. 

The Lovely Steph Leann told me that I wear it well.  Perhaps its my clothes, perhaps its how I wear my shirts or even my walk, but I'd like to think you can't really tell I'm about 30 pounds more than I need to me, maybe even 40.   Seriously. I'm a chunk.  I'm heavier than I've ever been, and worse yet, I get winded like, so, so easily.  And the accountability all falls on my shoulders.

One of the many good things about my new job is even though it gives me plenty of time to munch and drink high fructose corn syrup laden beverages, it also gives me time to listen to my iPod, especially to podcasts and audiobooks. 

So, I'm sitting there at my desk, drinking an ice cold Coca-Cola, and I flip over to a blogsite written by a friend of mine, a dude named Rick Theule... he wrote about "loose pants", essentially how he gave up the very thing that I was enjoying at that every moment.  And as a result, over time he found his pants fitting a little bit better.   It was a great piece that I enjoyed as I drank.

After lunch, I'm then drinking a smooth cup of Mello Yello, and as an added bonus, eating a bag of Bugles, even putting a few of them on my fingers cause I'm stupid.   This time, I'm listening to another friend of mine do his own podcast, called "Remodeling Clay", a dude named Clay Shaver who has an incredible story of losing hundred of pounds over several years.  He was over 400 pounds, and he's down to just over 200 now.  Unbelievable.  (I would encourage you to check out his podcast... its a great motivating 40 minutes about YOU being the best YOU that YOU can be.  And I mean that in all sincerity, no sarcasm.  He's a good dude.)

Anyway, Clay begins to talk about soda... and giving soda up.  I sighed.

To add to the mix, I thought about guy named Royce Emerson, who I worked with at a radio station over a decade ago and haven't seen him since 2001... over the time I knew him, Royce lost lots of weight, and he simply said to me one day, "I gave up Coke and Diet Coke.  That helped me lose 10 pounds right there."

An article in the morning about giving up soda (while I drank a Coke) and a podcast in the afternoon about giving up soda (while I drank a Mello Yello) and a flashback to a guy who lost weight just by NOT drinking soda... it really had me considering what to do, and what I was doing to my own health.

Back in the late 90s... or maybe it was 2006... or perhaps 1995, or it might be 2001, I don't remember when, I just remember it happened... I stopped drinking all carbonated drinks for over a year.  I think it must be like cocaine or heroin though, because after 13 months of not having any Coke products, I remember having one for a meal and it was like those lame Coke drinking polar bears were welcoming me back into the embrace of diabetes and the arms of obesity.

And now, right now as I write this, its 1252am, its almost an hour into April 1st... and for the next 30 days, I'm giving up carbonated beverages of all kinds.  Not just Coke and Cherry Coke and the like, but ALL carbonated beverages.  Not even a sparkling water of any kind, which is good, cause I'm not a fan of most, so I got that going for me.  I made this declaration on Facebook last week, to start April 1st, so now I kinda feel obligated, lest I become like someone who declares Facebook fast and then show up 19 hours later online as if nothing had been said.

The fun part is, I do love ginger ale... its non-decaffeinated, and isn't really that bad for you... and we have a case now, by virtue of me headed to Wal-Mart at 540am to get The Lovely Steph Leann something to drink due to her feeling like crap over the last 24 hours (food poisoning?  virus?  we dunno...).  So it sits there, and I won't enjoy it. 

I call it my No Soda for 30 Days Challenge... or #NoSoda30, to hashtag it unnecessarily.

So, how about you?  Willing to give up some beverage?  Willing to see how you feel on May 1st by not tossing back Mountain Dew or Coke or Pepsi or whatever your beverage of choice might be?

Oh, about that shirt I mentioned.  My goal?  To wear it again.  Even if I don't wear it long, even if I never leave the house with it on... my goal is to put it on and be comfortable in it.  I'll even take a picture and post it, because I am that vain.

Or maybe I'll put it into my daily rotation of outerwear when it gets cool again.  It is a cool shirt.  If I ever have lunch with Miranda Bryant, then I've got to be able to wear it. 

big dreams i want to dream

(this is what happens when i freestyle my dream thought process)


i want to dream.

is that okay? to dream?

i want to be someone who dreams. who dreams, then follows those dreams, attack those dreams, make those dreams into something tangible and then sit back and look at my dreams that are now realities.

i want to dream.

sometimes i want to be like anne hathaway channeling her best fantine and sing "i dreamed a dream of days gone by", only without the sadness of the past, and much more positivity in the future. 

i want to dream.

would it be cliché to say "i had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee, clouds in my coffee"? maybe you'd think i was just so vain.

i want to dream.

what happens when i dream?

i see myself doing what i love when i dream. i see a future called walt disney world, a place full of dreams and magic and celebration. i see myself planning that magic for families to take what might be a once in a lifetime trip. i see me helping those families make it magical, make it awesome... make it Magical Awesome.

i want to dream.

you say "but d$, you do this anyway..." and i respond "sure... but not full time." i see a dream of days spent chasing disney full time. not working anywhere but where i am. my location is my office, be it in front of a laptop or out meeting a family to discuss whether the dining plan is right for them, or if they should consider two rooms at pop century or one family suite at art of animation.

i want to dream.

a full time disney travel planner. i give myself two years to make this a reality. to be in a position that we are secure, we are sound, we are ready to make the leap of faith if that is truly where He is leading up. 

i want to dream.

i see two websites. this one, clouds in my coffee, coming on nine years and one thousand posts, continually being updated. the writing better and better, the words richer and deeper, the content funnier, smarter, and somewhere people want to go to read, to be entertained..

to be encouraged. to be encouraged for themselves to dream.

i want to dream.

the other site is a disney site. a multi purpose disney site, that people can visit for news. for updates. for disney travel ideas and for fun. for movies for music. for disney magic. for magic. for awesome. for Magical Awesome.

i want to dream.


i dream that in a few short weeks, this site will be located in a better place, more streamlined, less cluttered.

i dream that in a few short weeks, my disney site's foundation will be laid. perhaps a year away from a full dream site, for now just a start. that's how we finish. we start first. 

i want to dream.

apropos of nothing, i also dream of how good pre-crack whitney houston was. is. it's who I'm listening to as i type, and when she belts out "i have nothing" it warms my cockles.
cockles is a funny word.

i want to dream.

i dreamt of writing a humorous book on autism. do i still dream that? i'm not sure. but what if i found other ways to support campbell and the community we live in? what if we did monologues? what if i wrote a play? what if we acted out? what if we danced? what if we started something from the ground up to give to families who deal with autism? what if?

i dream of being debt free again, including the house this time. what would we do with all of our extra money? bigger house, i'm sure. or a vacation club home. at disney. of course. 

i dream of finally seeing every movie on afi's top 100 films of all time, and i dream of listing my favorite 500 films of all time on this site. 

i dream of being asked to be on podcasts that i know people host, even if only to share my knowledge of film, music and the comings and goings of paul rudd and amy adams, whom i'm in love with.

i dream of being important. of leaving a legacy. 

i dream of knowing how to do something so well, being so good at something, that when that topic is brought up, my name is mentioned as "no one does it as well as d$".

in an email he sent on monday, writer jon acuff dared us to dream big. he dared us to dream of things that would take years to fulfill. that would not be nearly started, much less finished, in a months time. in two months. in six months.

i want to dream.


its late. are my ramblings of dreams a result of being up so late? maybe. maybe not. 

will you help me dream? will you dream with me? what are your own dreams?

i have a facebook site. its called disney on a dollar. its magical. its awesome. its Magical Awesome. will you "like" it? and will you interact?

i dreamed of a "magical movie madness" activity, where you could vote on your favorite disney movies every day in a "bracket", with movies going head to head--you just comment on which one you like better. i started that today. 

do you want to help? visit my facebook page and like. share. vote. that will help me. and you can win stuff too. starting next week, people who vote get entered to win disney swag. so really, you are only helping yourself by being awesome. help me be awesome and be awesome yourself.

so to recap... i dream...

...of planning disney vacations full time
...of moving my current site to a better host
...of creating a disney website as a foundation of something bigger soon
...that you will like my disney facebook page and participate in our movie madness
...that i can make an impact in the autism community

and other stuff.

maybe it will work. maybe it will fail. but its my little dream to start with. to build. to establish. to brand. 

but i want to dream. i dare to dream. i want to harness these dreams and make them real. make them something. maybe they will work, maybe they won't work, but the dreams that are guaranteed to be unfulfilled are those dreams that are never chased at all. 

did i just say that? profound.

let's dream.

And use some capitalization for once. Awesome. 


(5486 words written for #20KWords in March... 14,514 to go...)

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.

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.)

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... 

• "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." 

 

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.

 

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?

no warm fuzzies allowed

Well... I guess its time to 'fess up.  We're STARTing. 

Let me explain... one of my favorite columnists is Jon Acuff, author of both the blog page and book entitled "Stuff Christians Like", and also the author of a fantastic little book called "Quitter".  Its all about bridging that gap between doing what you have to do--your job--and doing what you love.  It doesn't tell you to quit your job, he tells you to find your passion, and do what it takes to do that. 

His next book is called "START", with a long subtitle of "Punch Fear in the Face / Escape Average / Do Work That Matters".  I know what you are going to say... another Christ Follower with a tried and true method of making you feel all fuzzy and warm, pumping you up, making you raise your head to the Heavens and say, "Yes Lord!  I am made for more than this!  I'll become what you want me to be!!" which is all well and good, until you have to go work the next day.   Or school.  Or re-join the real world in some other fashion

Warm Fuzzies are dangerous.  They make you feel so alive, so loved, so comforted... and yes, you are.  By God, you are loved and comforted.  By your friends, your family, your kids, maybe your spouse, maybe just your besties, but you are loved.   But they give you a false sense of love, of security, and they are the first things to abandon you when times get an inkling of being sorta kinda tough. 

Be it reading a book about STARTing, punching fear all up in its grillz and becoming awesome, or having a throwdown hoedown praise and worship session like no other... warm fuzzies like to take hold.  And when its over, where are the Warm Fuzzies that were all up on you like white on rice on a paper plate on a polar bears back on an Alaskan hillside in a January snowstorm? 

Gone.

But... what if its not a warm fuzzy?  What if you could avoid the warm fuzzy, and truly find what you want to do, maybe He wants you do?  Find that passion?

My passion, when it boils down to it, is writing.  I love writing.  I love blogging.  Yes, I love Disney, and I love planning trips and so on, that is a passion... but truly, doing what I am doing at this very second, expressing my thoughts to you via Algore's interwebs... that is what I can do.  This is what God has given me the talent to do.

And so I do not want to neglect that.  Hence, pouring hours this week into this website... it was in danger of becoming obsolete.  Or forgotten.  Or just left, with the intentions of continuing, and probably just left in a pile of old blogs that make you do math to figure out when the last post actually was...

I joined a START group on Facebook, and it was there that I was spurred to continue.  Thousands of people posting, from all walks of life, all about their own fears... their own forgotten passions... their desires to be more than what they were... their wanting to find how to glorify Him the most out of what we do... and I was so encouraged by it.

Next week, out of the 2500+ people who signed up, we will be divided up into groups of 24... over 100 groups across the country (world?) and given a 24 day challenge.  Who knows what it will be... but I'm excited about it.  I'm excited to be pressed.  I'm excited.

Time to drop the pretense, time to shake off the cobwebs, time to do what He gave me the talent to do.

I'm a writer.

I will write.

Final thought.  Here's one of my favorite songs of all time, ever.  Caedmon's Call off of their self-titled album, its a song that I've discussed here before, but always seem to find my way back to... "Close of Autumn".  The last line pierces me every time--its about how we aren't baby Christians anymore, and we shouldn't be hanging out in the shallow end of the God Pool.  Its time to swim.  Yes, my fear was that You'd leave me here.  A long time back, my feet... they could actually touch the bottom.

When I'm cold and alone, all I want is my freedom, a sudden gust of gravity... I stop wailing and kicking just to let this water cover me, cover me.  Only if I rest my arms, rest my mind, You'll overcome me, swell up around me.  With my fighting so vain, and my vanity so fought, I'm rolling over...

And in just the same way, this stream becomes swollen, swollen with cold up over the ground.  When my heart draws close, to the close of autumn, Your love abounds.

All this time I've been thinking, wondering, how would it be to breathe in deep?  Guess I need to be careful when I ask for a drink, just might get what I ask for.  And I know just what You say to me, that's why I don't ask You, what would I ask You?  I'm like a bull-headed boy these days, crying "my toy's gone!"  You're shiny and new.

Cause in just the same way, this stream becomes swollen, swollen with cold up over the ground.  When my heart draws close, to the close of autumn, Your love abounds.

Guess I'll drop my anger here, before I float away, and the chains around me.  And awful lot of talking, I don't leave You much to say. 

You didn't ever leave me.

Any my greatest fear, was that You'd leave me here.

A long time back my feet...

...could touch the bottom.

Thank you for reading with me.  Hopefully, you'll join me in the deep end.  Some say I might be going off the deep end.  And peruse the blogroll, you might find a few random blogs you didn't know before...