So it goes...

Last Night was the big Boys Club Pinewood Derby at church. It was quite a spectacle when it got going. It's all automated now including split second timing, software telling personal best times, automated results, the whole smash. Of course there were the technical glitches that go with any first time endeavor like this. The funniest of them though was the first race. With all of the build-up of "the first Boys Club Pinewood Derby in the history of Boys Club", none of the cars in the first race made it to the finish line. It seems that oil is an integral part of pinewood derby racing. Hey, we're all new at this... Once the cars were all lubed up, the races went much better. No more cars failed to finish across the finish line. Oh there were a few fiery crashes, but no lives were lost in all of it. The boys (and boys disguised as men) had a great time and all came away happy. Ben even managed to win a trophy for "2nd place Best Design). So, all that hard work and...

Remember that playoff heartbreak I talked about? I'm livin' it, man! What a drag to get within one game of the big one only to have it all come crashing down on a Favre textbook pick. Oh, where's the joy? My wife was quick to say "it's only a game." That may be true, but it seems like so much more. Oh well, I guess it's better that I get my life back. The other day I went to work and it was nice out around 25 degrees and no wind. I purposely wore my lighter jacket it was so nice. Well then coming home was a whole different story. At some point during the day, the wind picked up and the temp dropped a good 15 degrees. I was so cold that at a couple of points during my walk home, I was running. Running as an attempt to not need amputation of some of my fingers due to frostbite...or so it seemed at the time. It was a wierd kind of panic-oia. Thinking all kinds of morbid thoughts on my two mile trek. Using my ipod backlight as a hand warmer. You know things ar...

It's that heartbreak time of year for many NFL fans. Fortunately I am not one of those heartbroken ones. I cannot believe the Packers who I didn't pick to win more than 7 games this year are one game away from the Super Bowl. I'd put the Vegas odds in the hundreds of thousands at the beginning of the season. Alas, here we are. After a 10 year wait, it's a good feeling, but I'm getting ahead of myself here. Don't want to do that. We had friends over for the Divisional Playoff game last night and had a blast. Great game, great friends, and great food. Fellowship, laughter and joy. We are truly blessed to have good friends like Steve and Jill, Brad and Patty as part of our "Wisconsin Family". Dave and Grace and their 18 mo. old boy Joseph were here too and we got to know them a lot better as well. Good people, all of them. Very comfortable in each others' homes, we are. I think that's a Midwestern speechism, to put the subject at the end of the se...

Why is it that our dog, or any dog for that matter will always want 12" more than the leash they're on at the moment. Toby will strain the leash, even after I switch hands to give him more rope, to try and reach the evidently-unreachable, whatever it is. If it was a 20 dollar bill every time , I'd be more than willing to give him as much leash as he wanted. Usually though, it's poop. Just poop. Sometimes its a bit of discarded food someone had tossed out a car window three weeks ago. Either that or the occasional article of clothing. A few weeks ago there was a massive pair of tighty - whities laying on the terrace that he successfully sought out time after time, walk after walk. All of this raises the question, if we provide plenty of fresh food and water for our dogs every day, why are they ALWAYS looking for more and/or different food? And why, in lieu of new food will their own vomit suffice? I guess dog food must be pretty bad, if garbage is a close runner up. O...

It's been nearly a week and I've been negligent in my writing; something I vowed to do more of in '08. The first resolution down in flames in only 4 days. Walking home from work today there was the most beautiful slate-gray sunset. Usually an orange or red sunset captures your attention, but this one was bluish-grey. Painted by God himself using a pallete of perfection. Traffic was so loud it drowned out my Ipod . I hate when that happens. Trying to tune out the world only to be outdone by it. Grrr ... I saw a figure standing in a doorway as I was walking the dog. It was either; 1. A life sized Santa Clause 2. A hooded Monk 3. The grim reaper Whatever it was/is it creeped me out. It was just standing there. I looked back once, but did not dare catch his/her/its gaze in case it turned out to be a hypnotic thingy. Weird, yes. Paranoid, certainly. I hope it wasn't the reaper. I'm a little busy tomorrow. Gotta run for now. Will write more tomorrow, promise. Blogging o...