Annie’s Last Day of First Grade

On the last day of school, we go to UDF for doughnuts and chocolate milk.

Annie by her desk on her last day of school

Annie has had Mrs. Harris for her 2 years of public school. She was a godsend to our family and we will miss her terribly!!

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8 days gone, 20 miles traversed

One of my resolutions this year (birth year) is to run 1000 miles.  So far, after 8 days, I’ve traversed 20 miles.  “Traversed”, that’s an important word.  I should have clarified this in my resolution, but in resolving to “run” 1000 miles, I do not force every step to be a run.  My goal is basically to travel 1000 miles during time periods that I’ve set aside for “running.”  So far, most of my steps this year have been in a run, but they are not exclusive.

I’m on target, and as my Half Marathon training continues, my miles/per/week will increase.  I’m also hoping the coming spring weather will make running a bit more pleasant.  I’m not concerned about the immediate, as much as continuing this habit over the next 12 months.  Keep me accountable :-).

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New Year Resolutions

It is a sobering thought to think that today I begin the year of life in which it is speculated that Jesus gave his life. Today, I am 33. In reflecting on the life of Christ, I am reminded of how far I have to go. May this year be another year of growth: another year of growing closer to the path that God lays out in His Word for His followers.

Today, I start a new tradition of setting my New Year Resolutions. Sure, many use the opportunity to do this as a new calendar year begins; but I think it is more personal and apropos to do so as I begin a new year of life.

Before I get to the details, one would immediately notice that these goals are mostly physical. That does not mean that I don’t have spiritual goals; however, my spiritual goals aren’t changing today. Furthermore, I want all of these goals to fit the SMART philosophy of goal-setting: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. I believe my goals will fit these criteria.

1. Sleep less – bring my avg sleep to 7hrs/night or less.
   
2. Run 1000 miles – (preferably in my Vibrams, or barefoot; preferably outside), roughly 2.75mi daily avg.
   
3. Read 10000 pages – roughly 27.5p daily (I do not include devotional Scripture reading here)
   
4. Complete the 100 pushups challenge.
   
5. Complete the 200 sit-ups challenge.
   
6. Complete the 200 squats challenge.
   
7. (Optional) Complete the 25 pull-ups challenge (this is assuming the timely nature of the challenge being posted).
   
8. Write 100 blog posts.
   

I’ll begin completing #8 by elaborating on each of these at some point in the (hopeful) near future.

Finally, I am now accountable, having put my goals in print and having set a timeline (i.e. February 22, 2011).

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Are there enough words?

You'll need to be my "friend" to see my Facebook status today, but I thought I'd provide a little back story. I have a slight addiction, I'm a bibliophile. I love books. I've written before about my love for Half-Priced Books. Yesterday, we had the opportunity to visit McKay Used Books in Knoxville. While there, my mom came across Reading the OED: One Man, One Year, 21730 pages.

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Not So Fast

Matthew 6:16-18
¹⁶ And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ¹⁷ But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Fasting is an often neglected discipline by today's believers, in spite of the fact that Jesus assumed his hearers would fast ("when you fast").  I've personally found great personal reward through fasting and try to make it at least an annual discipline in my life.  The start of a new calendar year is an ideal time to begin a fast.  There are several books written about fasting and it benefits; I simply want to give some personal experience insight.

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Daddy is smarter than Mommy

This morning as we were discussing Annie's school work, Rachel (aka Mommy) said, "You need to have Daddy help you with this homework. Daddy is smarter than Mommy." Now, I believe that Rachel was simply trying to "pass the buck." It is true that I should be helping Annie with her homework more often. However, I replied, "Do you know why Mommy says that Daddy is smarter? [Annie does not know...] Because, Daddy married Mommy, and, well...Mommy married Daddy." So, if that isn't proof enough, I don't know what is.

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Google Voice / Blackberry Storm / GVDialer

Point 1: I used to have a severe case of Smartphone Envy, that was until I became the proud owner of a Blackberry Storm. The iPhone wasn't an option, because I'm pretty sold on Verizon [VZW] (mainly due to In-network calling, because the majority of my family uses VZW. Not to mention, they have great coverage). When I upgraded to the Storm, I also ported our home number from a VOIP line to VZW's Add-a-line, because I was not ready to surrender the number, and it is less than $10/mo. to keep the number active (I also got a 2nd Storm with a BOGO deal).

Point 2: I've been a GrandCentral user for a couple of years (prior to the Google Acquisition). GC is now Google Voice [GV]. I had not made use of many of their features, but we want to eventually replace our home number with the GV number. Now, the additional phone has been set to forward to our GV number, which then rings both of our mobile phones. In addition, this lets us put some filters on the numbers to limit spam, and the voicemail transcription has been pretty cool.

Point 3: VZW has added a new Friends & Family option that permits me to add 10 numbers for unlimited calling to our current Family Share Plan. At this point, our GV number is one of those numbers. I can now call my GV number (initially for voicemail purposes) without concern of minutes used.

Point 4: The loophole is that GV permits me to make an additional call from within the GV menu. The call would appear for all VZW's intents and purposes, as a call to my GV number, and therefore free of charge. This requires a little bit of extra effort, but if I know it will be a long call, it could be worth it.

Point 5: GVDialer takes all the work out of it for me. After installing GVDialer, when I select a contact from my address book or punch in a number to dial, I am given an option to call via GVDialer. It is one-touch dialing from there, the app does the rest to connect my call. I've only made a few calls using the app, but I am pleased thusfar.

This has the potential to totally revolutionize my voice communications. I'm stoked.

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