Ohio

We are moving to Ohio!

There I said it. That is why I haven't been blogging much. We thought we were moving. We were pretty sure we were moving. Buuuuutt... just in case I didn't want to say anything. I also couldn't think of much else so if I couldn't talk about moving I couldn't think of what else to say. Now it is official. I am packing. So I have plenty to say.

This is going to be very different from what we are used to. I am going to have a full time job. I haven't done that since the kids were born. Now this one still has a fair amount of flexibility as far as where I work from so that is good but it has very little flexibilty as far as when things get done so that will be different.

We are renting out our house here and then we are renting a house there so that will be a big change for us. I am excited about the house we are renting though (I can bring my chickens) and the location is good.

We have to go look at schools. They have something called open enrollment so if you don't want your kids to go to the school in your town you just take them to a different one. It is weird to get to choose which school your kids attend. Personally I think I am going with the one with bus service :)

The biggest thing for us will be finding a church. We have a few lined up to visit and I am very excited about going and seeing what they are like.

Over the next couple of weeks I am sure I will be very very busy but it is exciting.

Shell

Blogging about a Blog

Okay so today all I am blogging about is a blog. I haven't forgotten about my random topic series but our weekend trip to Ohio threw me off. I will get back to that later today. But for now I want to share a blog I found with everyone.

100 Days of Real Food

Now she is pretty hardcore and I really doubt most of us could have the self dicipline she had to make it through the whole 100 days but regardless there are some great tips, stories, and tons of information about what the food we eat is doing to our bodies.

I am pretty sure that with everything we have going on right this minute now is not the time for me to be trying a new way of eating but it was still very very interesting to read and I am going to try the Pumpkin Spice hot Chocolate recipe.

So anyway here is a blog I have been reading and thought others might want to check it out.

Shell

30 Days of Random Topics: Five things you would bring to a deserted island.

Day 4 of 30 Days of Random Topics: Five things you would bring to a deserted island.



So if I were going to be stranded on a deserted island what would I want with me? Well here is my list:

1. Matches
2. A Deck of Cards
3. My Bible
4. Sunscreen
5. My toothbrush

What about you?

Shell

30 Days of Random Topics: Music

Day 3 of 30 Days of Random Topics: Make a list of music you like that isn't mainstream.

Okay anyone who knows me or reads this blog knows I LOVE music.  This one is a little different because it isn't just a list of mainstream music but the stuff that is a little bit more unusual. So here is my list:

I don't know if this counts as mainstream or not since it has been on a commercial but I LOVE Sean Hayes' music so here is the first one on my list:

Powerful Stuff

One of my favorite all time bands is the Asylum Street Spankers. They had their farewell tour this year which makes me so so sad. So here is one of my favorite Spankers songs:

T'Aint Nobody's Business

One of my new favorites is Jon Schmidt. They guy has talent out the wazoo.

Michael Meets Mozart

Now it is true that in some circle I guess Lyle Lovett is kinda mainstream but not around here really. I love him and his music. Here is one of my all time favorites:

If I had a Boat

On the same note if it was mainstream at one time but isn't anymore does it still qualify? One of my favorite all time songs and one that is on all my playlists is by Eddy Rabbit:

I Love a Rainy Night

Most of the music I listen to is considered contemporary Christian so it isn't mainstream to most but it is to most of my friends so I haven't included any Sanctus Real, Toby Mac, Switchfoot, Chris Tomlin, ect. but this one isn't what I would consider mainstream for Christian music and I love it:

Weary

Here is the last one for today. I love Ray LaMontagne.

Beg, Steal or Borrow



Shell

30 Days of Random Topics: Conspiracies

Day 2 of 30 Days of Random Blog Topics: Talk about a Conspiracy.

Man could this topic be any better for me? Well maybe if it was about the Space Time Continuum, cults, or serial killers but otherwise conspiracies are about as good as it gets.

Now it doesn't say talk about conspiracy theories in general like black helicopters, FEMA, reeducation camps, assassination plots, and Area 51. It says to talk about A conspiracy so I have to pick one. So I will talk about my most favorite conspiracy theory EVER.

Up until a few years ago if I said Illuminati most people would have no idea what I was talking about. The move "The Davinci Code" came out a few years ago and now people think they know what the Illuminati are about. I personally have never seen the movie but I keep meaning to just so I can see what it says about the Illuminati.

My interest in the Illuminati started in the early 90's. A friend of mine gave me to book "The Illuminati Trilogy" and I was hooked.

Basically the book is a satirical science fiction book that covers the gambit of conspiracy theories and ties them all together by blaming them all on the Illuminati.

That got me interested in them and so I did a little research. What I found was very interesting and also very involved. But here for your reading pleasure is a short version.

The Illuminate are a secret society that was originally started in the 1700's. It was comprised of the riches, most powerful, and brightest individuals of the time. Together they have conspired to  control all the world governments  since that time.

They most recently have been tied to an American Secret society located in Northern California called the Bohemian Club.   They meet on a 2700 acre camp that is heavily guarded. Some of the most powerful people in the world meet there together every summer for "rest and recreation".

There are many rituals and bizarre practices that go on there. Seems like the perfect set up for a secret organization like the Illuminati to me.



This is a photo of the owl statue where one of their most bizarre and documented rituals takes place.

Anyway I love the idea behind these "One World Nation" secret society groups. The idea that there is one group behind all the conspiracies is so cool!

Shell

30 Days of Random Topics: The Ocean

Last year at this time I did a series called 30 days of Thankfulness. I wanted to do something like that again this year but I couldn't decide what I wanted my 30 days to be about. I have so much on my mind right now that I am having a hard time blogging. When you have 80 thoughts it can be hard to narrow it down and write about one thing. Anyway I came across this site that generates daily blog topics for you. Every time you go to the site it gives you 8 topics to choose from. So I am going to do 30 days of random topic generation LOL. Lets see how it goes. Here is a link to the Topics page if anyone is interested.

So here the topic for Day 1: Write about the first time you saw the ocean.

That one is easy for me. I grew up in West Texas. West Texas is not only are very far from the nearest ocean it is very far from ... well any kind of water.  We were near a river (stream) and there is a lake near by (pond) but that is about it. When you grow up in a place like that the ocean isn't something you can quite grasp. I mean sure you see it on movies and read about it in books and you understand what it is. But it is kind of like trying to explain the color blue to a blind person. No matter how well you get it intellectually you don't really understand what it is like until you experience it.

So anyway when I joined the Navy I moved to San Diego, Ca. Once I got there I was hanging out with a couple of the guys and I mentioned that I had never seen the ocean. (I loved the guys I went to Sonar School with by the way) So the very first day we were authorized to leave the base they loaded me up in a taxi (first time I had ever been in one of those too) and we headed to the beach.

WOW! What else is there to say? If you have never seen the ocean you can't imagine how huge it is. How vast. How endless. How beautiful. I fell in love with the Pacific Ocean that day. I spent endless hours on the beach watching it. I love the Tide Pools in San Diego. I love the cliffs in San Diego. I admit the Atlantic Ocean, while just as endless, doesn't do it for me.  So anyway here are some pictures of the ocean the way I remember it.

Ocean Beach is the first place I went. It is the one beach in San Diego I would have loved to live near. It is known as the "hippie" beach in San Diego. It isn't as touristy and it is where a lot of the native San Diegans (is that a word?) live.

Ocean Beach in San Diego at Sunset

Ocean Beach Pier



My favorite place to go in San Diego was Sunset Cliffs. That is where we went and hung out with Jennifer and Paul when they flew in for our wedding. There are a lot of surfers there and it was so much fun to go sit up on the cliffs and watch them.

There was a nude beach in San Diego called Blacks Beach but it was "off limits" for those of us at the ASW base so I wouldn't know anything about it ;)

Here was one of my favorites:

Dog Beach in San Diego

But of all the things to do at the ocean front the #1 thing I miss and hate that my kids haven't experienced are the tide pools. High tide comes in and fills all these amazing little pools on the rocky shore line. Then when the tide goes out you can walk around and see all kinds of cool stuff. The pools are full of all kinds of neat ocean  life. Each time the tide comes in it washes out the old and brings in new so everyday it is something different.

Tide Pools



Shell

Goodbye Babcha

Dan's grandmother passed away yesterday. She was 101 years old. This picture above is one I took of her and Timothy when he was about 18 months old. I have other pictures that were taken of her but this is the way she looked when I met her a couple years before this so this is the way she looks always in my mind.

She was something else.  I must say the one thing I enjoyed the most about her is you always knew where you stood with her. She told you exactly what she thought. I always figured when you got to be 88 (the age she was when I met her) you had earned the right.

Goodbye Babcha.

2 Timothy 4:7-8
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

Shell

Planned Spontaneity

A book I read recently said certain personality types don't "transition well" and I thought that fit me pretty good. See I love the idea of something new. Once I get something new, I love trying something new. What I don't like is that in between place. That place where you know things are going to be different but for now they are the same.

I don't want to say I worry because worry isn't really the right word for it. I am not sure how to explain it. I have said a million times how much I love a plan. Well in this place of transition there are too many unknowns to make a plan. With out a plan I feel like I am drifting and that makes me feel anxious.

I told a friend the other day that "Planned Spontaneity" is my motto!  If the plan is to not have a plan then I am okay with that LOL.

Timothy says I need to "go with the flow". I told him I am fine with that as long as I know where the "flow" is headed.

I am pretty sure that this is all my friend Heather's fault. When we were doing out last bible study Heather suggested we pick a verse a week to commit to memory. The first week I chose:

Philippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Well to quote Morgan Freeman from Evan Almighty

"Sounds like an opportunity.
Let me ask you something.
If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience?
Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient?
If they pray for courage, does God give them courage,
or does he give them opportunities to be courageous?"

So if someone say ... was working not being anxious about things and on trusting God would God give them smooth sailing or something to be anxious about. See Heather. All your fault LOL.

I know everyone is wondering what we are going to do. Believe me I am too. I will let you know as soon as we know. For right now all I can say is I love Gloucester. Ohio is beautiful. We have no plan. Yet.

Shell