i got a new car...

well, not really.
ali, a friend of mine, graduated high school early and just moved to England to hang with the rest of her family, who have been living over the pond for several months now.
so mish and i are car-sitting for the next 4 months until ali returns to walk the stage.

we've been a one car family for a little while now and its been really nice.
we spend less on gas.
insurance is lower.
and we have to plan our days around each others schedule.
and when its not rainy or bitter cold i've been riding to work on my bike.
but since this winter has been a bit more rainy and colder than other years it will be nice to have the extra car.

so when i'm not on the bike i'll be cruising in style in tori, the ford taurus.

what did ya jump ship? what's with the life vest, kid...






i have these vague memories of my grandpa with his pant legs rolled up with the surf splashing around his ankles.
he's been casting out past the sea foam for the better part of the evening and hasn't had a bite yet.
a white bucket of raw shrimp sits patiently in his shadow.
the sun is going down now dipping behind the unobtrusive horizon of the gulf of mexico.
hitting the water and spraying light everywhere.
kind of looks like an egg hitting a flat skillet in slow motion.
maybe i'm just hungry for dinner and i'm seeing things funny.

christmas' on the panhandle of Florida can get cold.
i'm not used to being on a beach in a hoodie.
but my Grandpa is out in the surf with a beanie on and a big puffy vest.
as content as can be.

my grandpa has since passed that puffy vest on to me.
(i think he got a better one)
but i love it and i'm wearing it today.
and i'd like to think i could be just as content in it as he was.
just as peaceful as he was fishing on that cold winter day at the beach.

currently listening to:

it always snows on wednesday
by the hayes family rumor




today i'm thinking...

- that i'm married to the most amazing woman in the world.
i'm humbled by her faith.
i'm inspired by her creativity
and i'm drawn to her honesty and grace.
- that if the resurrected life of Christ never really happened then i'm getting paid to tell others
about the greatest hoax in history.
- that one of the most beautifully painful realities of marriage is that every sin, from the subtlest to the deepest, will surface. but it's in that reality that we can begin to be made more
like Christ.
- that i've really been into reading lately.
- that our country is in desperate need of some good leaders.
- that some days i wish i had a megaphone and the right words to say that we've messed this all
up. big time.
- that i want to give more.

happy snow day...

it really doesn't take much to shut down the schools here in the greater DFW area when it comes to an "arctic blast". just a light white dusting will do the trick. i had heard rumors of a possible visit from said white dust but i wasn't going to get my hopes up. and yet, as i awoke this morning to prepare for work i peeked through the blinds and to what did my wondering eyes did appear, but a light snow fall which brought me great cheer.

as is the policy at our church that if the school district is closed for whatever reason so are the church activities for that day. so i'm off for the day.

happy snow day everyone. i'm going to stay inside as much as possible. brew some coffee and finish the book i've been reading.

lick it, technology...

so i'm sticking it to the man and i'm reactivating my old phone i had in college.
turned in my current phone for a much needed credit and i'm going old school.
it's kind of exciting really.
simplifying things.
to a certain extent.
i don't receive text messages so you'll just have to call.
i'll have to us a lighter again a concerts because the display screen on my phone is not that bright.
no more camera phone.
no more cool ring tones.
not even an alarm clock.
it does have a speaker phone and voice dial.
wow.
but i've never used them before.

it's been about two years or so since i've used this phone and it was crazy going back and looking at all the old numbers.
old friends from my days at tech.
some as far back as freshman year.
i wanted to call a few just to see if the number still worked but i wouldn't really know what to say beyond "hey, i was just scrolling through so old numbers and was calling to see if this was still your number. ok, bye."
awkward, really.
there are a few i still think i'll try to call.
guys like kc green or justie b.
just to say hey.
some numbers i've held onto as an "in case i end up in your state and need a place to sleep."
but i haven't talked to some of those people in a long time so i'm not really sure if they still live in that state.
wouldn't that be weird.

so i've purged some numbers.
again, it feels good to simplify things.
and remember, i don't get text messages anymore so you'll just have to call.
or write a letter.

one of my new year resolutions is to blog more.
so i'm five days in and this is my first post.
not so great of a start.
however, one of my other goals this year is to read one biography/memoir type book each month.
i have been faithful to this goal so far by starting a book nathan let me borrow about a pow named ernest gordan.
i'm only a few chapters in but it's pretty good so far.
the book is titled "to end all wars."
you may be more familiar with the movie "bridge over the river kwai" which is based off this book.