Christmas Break

It hasn't been that long since we worked and I'm already on my old stay up late and wake up at 10:00am schedule--that has to go quickly.

I'm in a rush to get my page totals read before the end of the year. I've got a hundred pages left in one book and I will have beaten last year's total. Ellice's total is hopelessly out of reach at this point, however, so no dice on the competition. I've got her on the number of books read, but that's not as big as the page total. She's beaten me every year thus far.

Saturday- UK won handily against Tennesse Tech; Legion is transferring out to Illinois. Good riddance I say--if you don't want to play for UK and can't appreciate the program, find something else. Went grocery shopping at Walmart.

Sunday- Church, Andi came over to learn to cook pork loin; good, as usual

Monday-Christmas Eve. We went to the evening service at church, then my grandparents. We got a bunch of clothes that didn't fit and a great gift card. All in all, it was fairly painless, except for the allergies. They acted up terribly.

Tuesday-Christmas Day. Evan joined us for a conference with the Chick parents, then we all went over to my parents for lunch. I got a bunch of books I liked, Ellice got gloves, a set of books and two musicals on DVD she really wanted. Not to mention we got cash, which went to buying more DVDs and miniatures. Most importantly was the family atmosphere. I don't think we were all ever so content as a family as we were this day. We prayed for the Chicks, including James in Baghdad, who is undoubtedly having a difficult Christmas overseas. We settled in and watched VH1 marathons the rest of the time.

Wednesday-Made the trip to Walmart to return gifts and went to sleep at 5:30pm. I think that's a record for us.

Thursday-Went to the Metcalfs for dinner and games. Good times, good times. Got in way too late and slept in the next morning.

The High King by Lloyd Alexander
This is the fifth and final book in the Prydain Chronicles.

Thus ends the tale of Taran, Assistant Pig-Keeper of Hen Wen, the oracular pig. This is the longest book in the series. It is geared toward a younger audience, but holds treasures for lovers of fantasy of any age. While I won't give this one away, I will say that things are wrapped up very well in a neat and exciting package. Warning-this one has several moments that may bring tears to your eyes. Old events and minor characters in the four previous installations are brought to the fore once again, and as to be expected when the final conflict comes, some characters will not survive the entire book. That the characters bring enough emotional impact that we care whether they live and die is a mark of good writing. I think it is the best book in the series, and well worth the read. ***1/2

School is out for a week and a half

This was the last week of work, and the kids were insane, but I suppose that was to be expected. On Wednesday and Thursday we had shortened schedules and watched Santa Clause 1, 2, and 3. The movies actually made the day longer, if you can believe that. Ellice had a few parties this week, including bunco, to which I was not invited and I used those opportunities to sleep and play video games, as I have no more schoolwork for a time.

We have to go back on Jan. 2, but this break is most welcome.

Friday- We sacrificed the whole day Christmas shopping in Lexington. Things are tight this year (as always) and we're struggling but we are making due with what we've been graced with. We were going to get no presents, but we just couldn't do it, it didn't feel right. I blame our indoctrination into the corporate culture in this country.

While shopping, we happened by the sports art gallery place and looked around. Long story short, Cameron Mills was signing pictures with some of the proceeds going toward Cameron Mills Ministries. Since we are doing the baby's room in UK, we thought it would be appropriate. It was really cool to meet him.

After a hard day shopping, (it was Friday before Christmas after all), we rewarded ourselves with a trip to see National Treasure: The Book of Secrets (review to come) in Hamburg. This was the first non-matinee prices we've paid for some time and we were surprised--$8.50 per adult ticket. Wow! It was worth the price though as we had a great time on our date. Interestingly, they included a Goofy cartoon at the beginning of it, and it was the funniest thing I've seen in some time. I laughed so hard I cried.

Saturday-Today, Ellice brought me breakfast in bed--a special treat. We watched a little Return of the Jedi--a great start to the day. We read a little, and now I'm blogging. Later today will be a UK game against Tennessee Tech, where hopefully we'll gain some measure of redemption after our 4-game losing streak. Finally we'll do a little grocery shopping.

National Treasure: The Book of Secrets
We loved the frist one and thrilled at seeing this, the second installment. The Gates family has to redeem their family name as a new historical document has listed a Gates ancestor as a conspirator in the assassination of Lincoln. To clear the name, father and son (and estranged mother) must follow clues to discover another lost treasure. Lots of fun, adventure, and excitement; puzzles, break-ins, traps and scheming bad guys, all with a historical bent. They took the theme of using little known historical events and entangling them with secret society conspiracies and ran with it a second time--it works again! Many people don't like formulas for movies and books, but I argue that formulas work in conjunction with good writing. I think Nick Cage has really found a groove with this series. They could probably make a bunch more and I'll wind up owning all of them. ***1/2

Quick week

Monday-Ellice had a bad headache. Finished my last final by staying up too late--but at least its finished.

Tuesday-Volleyball semifinals-we won. Finals against First Methodist, we lost and I took a hard fall. I beat Auburn with Morehead State on my PS2 game, a real shocker! Maybe we're turning this program around...

Wed- Sore from the fall the night before. Church, then had my presentation in my night class, and then I was done! No more school till the middle of January.

Thurs- Got home from work and was so sore I had trouble sleeping.

Friday- Skipped work and went to the insta-care center to get checked out. No breaks, but officially a bruised rib and bruised pelvis. Get set up with an NSAID and a painkiller. I'm using them sparingly as needed, primarily to make sure I can sleep.

Saturday- Had a great gaming session, even though I almost fell out of my chair and aggravated my rib. UK played better against a modest UAB team, but still lost due to a 3-point exhibition from a guy named Vaden (?!?!)--33 points, a career high for him. We may not make the NCAA here folks, just giving you fair warning. Hopefully, Meeks or Jasper will be back soon to give us some help. Then we went to the Sunday School Christmas party and had a lot of fun, even if my allergies are kicking up.

Sunday- Found out why my allergies are so bad lately; My Nasonex ran out 2 weeks ago, so I've been using an empty bottle. I know, how can I be so brain dead as to do such a thing? Just busyness. In the middle of Sunday School, I may my first pregnancy run to give my wife a fix--what is Ellice craving?---McDonald's Bacon Egg and Cheese Bagel. Andi did not come over today, Ellice had her solo as they performed their CD live at church that evening and we watched the Survivor Finale.

One final note, school is out Thursday and it can't come soon enough...

Survivor: China (TV)
An interesting season, even though Todd the flight attendant took home the big prize. None of the people I rooted for were in the top 3. That's okay, as I really liked the last two winners, so you have to have that lying jerk win once in a while, I suppose. Cool season anyway, as they had a lot of Chinese culture and China themed challenges. Looking forward to next season. **

Not quite as long a blog...

Monday-Ellice was sick and missed school.

Tuesday-Ellice was still sick, even worse this day. She did start to feel better that night and came to watch me play volleyball. We lost against that really good team that never loses. I felt really sore, and Ellice really wished she was able to play. I really appreciate her support in just showing up. It wouldn't be the same without her there. Found out our Freshman guard Alex Legion is leaving UK. That really stinks, we need him.

Wednesday- Legion may be coming back, but we won't know until January. Church, then class.
Ellice went back to work, feeling better, but we're both really dragging at this point.

Thursday-Hoping for a snow day-that didn't come. (sigh). Last meeting of my Thursday night class; Final exam posted online.

Friday-After work, we went to get our free oil change at Kia. Went to the Cici's across the street for dinner, then went straight home for our date night. We had popcorn and sprite and watched the second Fantastic Four movie. We had a blast just relaxing.

Saturday- Ellice went to an academic team meat for most of the day. They came in 3rd out of 4 teams, which is about what the expected, except they had some bad judges. I played games, worked on my Final, and did some light housework. Watched the UK game against #15 Indiana, and they played miserably--blown out. This is going to be a very long season. When Ellice got home, we went grocery shopping at Wal-Mart and got our Christmas pictures made. We also prepped the house for her cookie bake day on Sunday.

Sunday- Church, Andi came over and cooked chicken fried rice for Ellice, me, and her friend Tagin. She's learning quickly and cooks well with direction. Eventually, we should cut her loose and let her decide what to cook. Then Ellice had her annual Cookie bake, while I went to hang out with David. I didn't get as much time with Ellice as I would have liked, but it was still a fun weekend. We did cap the evening off by watching Amazing Race.

No reviews as I've been concentrating on my final. Next blog should include the Survivor Finale.

Lots to catch up on

It's been busy as usual, but I've been keeping notes to catch up my blog.

Okay, Thursday, more than a week (feels like a month ago)-Thanksgiving. Had Joel and Sonya, as well as Evan over. Good holiday, food and games, a good day.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday (last week): trip to Murfreesboro, TN to see grandma (soon to be great grandma) Chick. She was a little tired, I was a little sick, and Ellice was a little pregnant, so other than a foray out into town we stayed in and visited for most of the weekend. It was a nice time to relax. We watched a few movies, talked over a couple of breakfasts and she let me tape the UK football game against Tennessee. It was a lot of fun to watch it on her big TV-even though my kitty cats lost in, get this, 4 Overtimes. Ack!! We now have the dubious distinction of having the longest losing streak against an opponent who plays every year at 23 years. This happened because Navy beat somebody they never beat this year. By the way, we also have the honor of the second spot, our series against Florida who we also haven't beaten in forever. We also went to see Enchanted, but more on that below. Upon our return, we had to go grocery shopping for the week, and after the 4 hour drive, we were wiped. I stayed up and watched the UK basketball game that we had taped. UK won against Texas Southern in a lights out shooting exhibition.

Monday- Work, rest, Ellice was beginning to feel a little better, and so was I. We tried to go walking, but the track was being worked on, so no dice. We did pick up our "100-mile" shirts though.

Tuesday- We won our volleyball match in the first round of our tournament. It was close, as we lost one game. We just weren't making good plays, but we eked out a win. UK (Football is over except for the big bowl game, so any further reference is basketball) played an ugly game, barely winning against a week Stony Brook team. Freshman Patterson is our only bright spot this year.

Wednesday- As usual, Wednesdays are chock full. After work we went to Church for dinner, then Ellice went to her Women's study and I went to class.

Thursday- We are exhausted. I hung out with a friend while Ellice went to Bunco.

Friday- Payday. Budgeting day for the rest of the year was difficult. Our jobs aren't paying a whole lot, so we're tightening our belts quite a bit. We've made some hard decisions and there are more to come, but we do feel blessed with a baby on the way. We are trusting our finances to God, as he knows what we need and will provide.

Saturday- Probably the most trying day for me emotionally. After a tense Friday, I was looking forward to some gaming with friends. This didn't turn out so good. There was an incident that left tensions high and to calm things, we had to end early. Ellice has been great through it, but I haven't handled it all that well. While I am in the right in the situation, how to deal with it in the future remains to be seen. I've been praying about it, but I'm having difficulty letting go. Anyway, after that, I planned to watch the UK-North Carolina game. Unfortunately, the video went out while we taped it, and all we had was Dick Vitale talking on a black screen. Now, Dicky V talks about everything under the sun except what is happening on the court, so I had trouble keeping up. It was a rather disappointing day. Ellice tried her best to find an online version of the game, to no avail. She's a real trooper though, and I love her for trying. I did see about 5 minutes of the game, so my viewing streak should still be alive (besides, listening to Dick Vitale blather for an hour or two should count).

Sunday- Church, Ellice's mentee Andi came over to learn to cook--apparently we aren't the only ones who are exhausted. She fell asleep on our couch. I find it a compliment that she could relax enough to actually take a nap in our apartment. So they had some mentor-mentee bonding and I got to play a few video games. The games helped restore me. I guess everyone is different in what rejuvenates them. Ellice later decorated the apartment (she's great at that) I did some homework, laundry, dishes, watched Amazing Race and Stargate Atlantis (from Friday). After this blog, I plan on reading, writing, preparing for work tomorrow, doing some more housework, more homework and collapsing in an exhausted heap.

Enchanted
Liked it a lot. Disney scores on this one. Predictable, but in a good way. The music is staying with me a week later, and that's a sign of an enduring film. Good family fun. (Still, it's no Aladdin). **1/2

White Christmas
I saw this for the first time and it was cool. I'm a big Danny Kaye fan and had never actually watched Bing Crosby. He's not on screen for being photogenic--its obviously for his voice. This isn't the laugh riot I would expect from Kaye, but there's a lot of singing. The moral of the story is typically sweet and while the acting is typically "stagey" for the period, what stands out the most is the spectacular writing. The dialogue is crisp and engaging, as well as cleverly humorous. **1/2

Last Holiday (DVD)
I missed this one when it came out and didn't rush to rent it. The Mrs. told me it was good, but I had no idea how good it was. While the moral is predictable, the delivery is exceptional. I am officially a Latifah fan--even in a comedy such as this, she brings an old school glamour to the screen. This film's theme struck a chord with me, and I'll not soon forget it. A very high recommend. ***

Holiday week and a great book

Sunday- Church, Ellice showed Andi how to cook stir fry, grocery shopping.

Monday- Work and took some much needed chill time with the Mrs. The strain of our schedules is showing a bit.

Tuesday- Work. The kids were absolutely wild today. Fortunately, it's the last day we work until next Monday. Went to Cici's to save time, then went to play volleyball. We won pretty handily, rounding out the season in second place. That means we won T-shirts. That reminds me, we should try to pick up our shirts for walking our hundred miles. Ironic that we haven't been able to walk since hitting that milestone.

Wednesday- It's great not to work or have classes today for a change. We cleaned up in preparation for company coming over for Thanksgiving. Tiffany came over to visit with Ellice while she baked pies, seven all told. I got the opportunity to play 2 games of basketball and 1 of football on my PS2--it was great to relax like that. In the basketball, I'm playing the career mode, where you start at a small-time college and work your way up. I started at Morehead State, and had a 10-win season my first year, and a 20-win season my second. I was offered a 2-year job at Boise State, but I decided to stick it out with my guys another year and hopefully get a better offer next year.

Also went to have dinner with the parents and enjoyed the UK basketball game against Liberty. UK rebounded from their surprising loss to Gardner-Webb with an 80-54 victory. Freshman phenom Patrick Patterson led the way with 23 points and 10 rebounds.

Thursday- Turkey Day. Great food. Joel, Sonya and Evan came over for the festivities. Got a pretty serious headache in the early afternoon though. Took some Excedrin Migraine and I felt better. I think they are called weekend migraines, people get them when they start to slow down after stressful weeks at work. Rounded out the day with some games with the in-laws. Survivor was a repeat, so we skipped it and watched two episodes of Charmed (Ellice had the double play card). For those of you who don't know, we take turns watching our shows. We also have two cards that we play when we feel like it, a Double Play card and a Random Act card. When you play a card, it goes to the other person. It's a system that has saved a lot of arguments over what to watch, we highly recommend it.

Friday- Well, I just had breakfast, and the plan today is to go to Murfreesboro to visit Ellice's grandmother; should be a nice little holiday.

SW: X-Wing: Rogue Squadron by Michael Stackpole
This is the first book in the X-Wing series of books.

This series chronicles the adventures of the Elite fighter squadron in their struggles to finish off the slowly withering Empire after the Emperor's death in Return of the Jedi. The war is by no means finished, what with the Imperial forces still holding Coruscant and many other key worlds as well as thousands of capital ships. The book focuses on the reconstitution of the squadron with elite pilots from all over- Rogue pilots tend to die quickly as they are the ones sent on the deadliest missions. Corran Horn and Wedge Antilles are the main characters in this one, with a lot of other fresh faces. Many of which, die rather suddenly, as would be expected.

I've read a bunch of Star Wars books by this point and I must say, I thought this one was extraordinary. I was surprised at the quality of the book. The book had the feel of World War II fighter pilot stories, with stormtroopers as Nazi's--and it worked really well. The starfighter sequences were fantastic. The villains were innovative, at least enough to standout and be memorable for years to come. I give this one high marks. I hesitate to give it the max, just because I would like to leave room in case one of the rest in the series surprise me again. Ah what the heck, I thrilled at reading this book. ****

Another week in the books

Saturday the last- Groceries and homecoming. We went to Berea for Ellice's big day, and unfortunately fewer showed up than the year before, but we still saw some of Ellice's old buds and she got to sing with the really good choir. We went to a Mexican place in Berea that is very much below our standards here in Richmond--felt quite ill afterward. UK (football) rebounded after their tough loss a couple of weeks ago with a victory over Vanderbilt 27-20.

Sunday-Church, had lunch with Ellice's mentee Andi. We had her cook for us for a change-Spaghetti. We rested after that.

Monday- Dr. Appointment- that would be my asthma guy and allergist. Things are going as expected, keep taking the same drugs, try to stay active, which is getting more difficult to do with our time-consuming schedules.

Tuesday- Ellice's Obi-gyn (sounds like a Jedi to me) apptmt. We saw pictures of the newest Gullett. Congratulations to us, it's a little alien. Two volleyball games; won one, lost one.

Wednesday- After work paid bills, went to church, had a Final. Got my video lesson back--I got an A!

Thursday- Watched Survivor and some other TV shows on DVD. It was good to take bit of a break.

Friday- Got paid, went to Lexington for shoes, minis, dinner at Outback, and Beowulf. First actual date we've had in a while, great fun.

Saturday- Game, groceries, Kentucky got whipped by Georgia (again Football) after blowing a second quarter 10 point lead. Final, 13-24. All that's left next week is Tennessee, and whatever bowl game UK ends up with this year (two in a row, that's incredible for us!)

Beowulf
Are you the one they call Beowulf?
I know it's a CGI cartoon, but hey, so were the last two Star Wars movies, and they rocked. I wasn't overly excited to watch this one; just thought it might prove interesting. It was, and I was pleasantly surprised by it. Very graphic, rather gory, but I thought it was an excellent visualization of the epic. A few dramatic licenses here and there to keep things interesting, but for the most part, it followed the story and old world feel. I recommend this one for those of you who are none too squemish. But I mean really, how would you depict a monster that kills two dozen men without spilling a little blood...and disemboweling a warrior or two...and ripping people in half...you get the picture. The acting is good and translates to CGI well. Don't let my review put you off, it's really a cool flick. ***

Getting into that work grove...

Okay, a quick recap.

Thursday (last week)- Night class that turned into a Professional Development. We went as a group to see Raef something or other talk about his experiences as a teacher. His book is called Teach Like Your Hair is on Fire. The man sacrifices every moment of every day for his kids. While it is laudable that he is so dedicated, it came out that he has health problems from lack of sleep. I think we should take what the man says with a grain of salt. Temper the positives of his style with a healthy bit of balance.

Friday- Went to Carino's after dropping by the Maternity Store in Hamburg. As a treat, Ellice let me go by Collectibles to buy some miniatures. Hey, the system works.

Saturday- D and D (another fun-filled session), cleaned for Ellice's coffee on Sunday, and UK basketball game (football had a bye, thank goodness). UK wins the exhibition over Seattle 82-63.

Sunday- Church. My parents sat somewhere different and I couldn't stand it. After five minutes, I had to move back to our normal seats. I admit it, I have problems. Lunch at Subway with Joel and Sonya. Ellice hosted her coffee, and I slept for 2 hours. Amazingly enough, there were about 20 people in our "cozy" apartment. After that, we went to Walmart for groceries. We manage to pack in a large amount of stuff each day, or so it seems to me.

Monday- Work, KFC, walk. Yes, you see a pattern. With our adjusted schedules and Ellice's pregnancy we are worn out and eating out a lot.

Tuesday- Chalk up another Volleyball win. Everyone played well, and most importantly, played well together. Ellice was on fire, putting the ball exactly where Aaron and I needed it every time, and she nailed all her serves. The three of us in a row is a good lineup. UK starts the 2k classic, an early season tournament with a victory over Central Arkansas 67-40.

Wednesday- Work, Church dinner, class. UK loses in one of the biggest upsets in college b-ball history to Gardner-Webb out of North Carolina. As a friend told me, thank goodness the football team is good this year. An inauspicious start to Billy G's coaching career here. Hey, it happens, let's just hope it doesn't happen too often. I get the impression though that Billy is too good a coach to let this sort of thing get out of hand, and will turn this embarassment into a positive by getting the players' full attention in practice. I stick with the Kittie Cats through the good and the bad though, so I watched every second of the debauchle. Gardner-Webb played phenomenal and deserved the win. G-W 84, UK 68. (Yes, and it shouldn't have been that close.)

Thursday- Work, Wendy's, Special Education Class. This night was difficult. We went over a bunch of serious health impairments in children and with Ellice pregnant, I daresay this wasn't the best time for me to be going through all this stuff, but hey, what are you going to do?

Friday- Work, Cracker Barrel. I think we ate out every day this week and that is just sad. We need help. Ellice's mentee Andi had a dance show at EKU. Let's just say it was interesting. There were 14 dance pieces with a 10 minute intermission. It should suffice for me to point out that I'm not so much into the modern stuff. The Capoiera was the best(Brazilian martial art). Others of note were a more traditional celtic piece, a takeoff on the Thriller video, and a chair dance set in high school detention, but other than that, it was mostly a bunch of new age running around and jumping with arms flailing. I like the ones that are choreographed together, not just a jumble of people doing their own thing. Anyway, I did appreciate a fair portion of it, and I'm by no means a dance person; I'm more into music.

The Courts of Chaos by Roger Zelazny
This is book 5 of 10 in the Chronicles of Amber series.
Thus ends the last of Prince Corwin's portion of the Amber Chronicles. High action for the most part in the beginning and end. Meanders in the middle though, with some philosophical mumbo jumbo which I think is supposed to serve as a contemplation on the meaning of life, but it comes across as forced and artificial. Basically, the world, or worlds in this particular case, is spiralling to an ignominious end and Corwin is trying to stop it. There is a satisfying conclusion to the Corwin cycle, and as the next five books feature his son Merlin as the protagonist, I will miss the character. **1/2

Taran Wanderer by Lloyd Alexander
This is book 4 of the 5-part Prydain Chronicles.
Taran decides he's gotta find out who he is--namely his family. His initial driving force is so that he will feel worthy to ask Eilonwy's hand in marriage. To find out the truth about himself, Dollben sends him on a quest to look in the Mirror of Llunet. The rest of the book Taran, well, wanders, as the title suggests. His quest changes over time to not find out about his past, but as one might imagine, to find out about himself as a man. Taran matures into his role as an adventurer and a protector, finds faults within himself and basically grows up. This book is almost a series of about eight short stories in a row: I could almost see it as a serial or comic book. The only downside is that while there is a connected theme, it is tenuous at times, and there is a sense of disconnectedness from one story to the next. By the end, there is a tendency to forget (as the character does) what the quest was about in the first place. The climax is good and the resolution works on many levels. I look forward to the finale of the series. **1/2

Whew.

We're still on a nonstop ride. Hopefully, things will start to settle down.

Friday- Ellice went to do a recording at church, so I was on my own. I did some homework and once that was finished, I went to an EKU volleyball game. They play completely different than we do. Of course, the level of play is obviously much higher, but aside from that, the scoring changes too. It was fun (Eastern lost) and informative. Maybe I can take something away from the experience to our V-ball team.

Saturday- Ellice was worn out from days of recording. She went somewhere or other in the morning, either a coffee, a meeting, or more recording, I can't remember. These last two weeks have been a blur, so pardon me. But on the way home, she called and said that she got two tickets to the UK football game against Mississippi State. So, naturally we went. We were cold and tired but had fun anyway. UK played the worst they have all season and got slammed 31-14. I think they were beat up from playing #1 LSU and #10 Florida the previous two weeks. After the game, we went to a Halloween party. It was fun too, but we are wearing ourselves out doing stuff. I had a moderate reaction to the cat, which is a vast improvement. Yea for medicine.

Sunday- Nursery at church (a little practice you know). Evan came over for lunch.

Monday- First day on the job. The schedule is hectic, my roll is confused and I'm learning the personalities of the teachers, administration and students. The job has good hours and I'm in control of my breaks.

Tuesday- More getting use to the job. Shop for clothes, gas, then groceries. We didn't get settled in till late. The two of us are getting exhausted. I recommend we get most of this stuff done on the weekends.

Wednesday- We had Brittany and David over for dinner; due to Halloween, they didn't have the church dinner. My class was cancelled too. Good times, good times. I've been steadily catching up on homework, fitting it in where I can, and I'm closing in on finishing my assignments for the semester, but it is time-consuming.

The UK basketball team opened its season and the Billy Gillispie era last night in an exhibition match against Pikeville College. It's a tune up, and I tell you what, they might not win every game, but it will be fun basketball. Instead of playing passively on defense, these guys are in your face the whole game, and I like it. Good things to come. UK wins, 99-64. Jodie Meeks hit 7 3's and got a career high 34 points. It's just Pikeville, but it does look promising.

No reviews again. I need to get reading.

So much to talk about, so little time

Okay, quick rundown.

Thursday I did my videotaped lesson, twice to make sure I got a good one, and went to my night class.

This past weekend we went to the Festival of Marriage. Fortunately, we had paid for the weekend way back in May, when we had extra funds. Even now we feel that investing in our marriage is very important in terms of time and money. I'm dedicating myself to preserving that philosophy over the next 20 years with the introduction of children to the mix. We hear so many people say how much will change, we won't get to do anything; they make it sound like a nightmare that you don't wake up from. Okay, so I recognize there will be changes, but come on. People wouldn't keep having them if it was that bad. We heard the same type of whining and complaining about marriage, and we find it a blessing in our lives. Yes there will be struggles, battles, sleep deprivation, and expenses, but I gladly do all of these things for UK games, why not for a child?

But I digress...

Where was I? Festival of Marriage. It was a good retreat, not great. The keynote speakers this year said the exact same things as last year in all 3 sessions. Even their "We weren't going to do this, but here it is..." spiel. Then why is it queued up on the monitor if you weren't going to do it? Anyway... the point is this time around the people seemed more phony. Now don't get me wrong, there was still some good relationship building stuff there, and we had a good time, but the presentations didn't have the same impact they did before. 2 of the 3 seminars we went to were good and gave us food for thought and promoted discussion. I'll remember this year's retreat by the amount of 'swing time' we had, talking and taking in the mountain scenery while sitting on an old wooden swing. That was nice.

Got back home Sunday and watched the epic battle between UK and Florida. So close. The cats lost 45-37. It would have been 38, but time elapsed and they didn't allow Kentucky to kick the extra point, as it wouldn't have made any difference. But fortunately, there is a five-way tie in the SEC East for 1st place. Whoever finishes 1st in the SEC East will play the SEC West winner in the SEC title game.

Monday was uneventful. Mostly rest for me. Ellice of course worked. I had a bit of a nervous breakdown over our finances, but felt better once I prayed, realizing that God has provided for us all allong. He knows we need money.

Tuesday- subbed. Was asked if I wanted to do an interview Wednesday for a teacher assistant position. Had two volleyball games. We won the first match after losing the first game (the matches are the best of three games). It was a good comeback. Then we played First Methodist, who I call a semi-pro team. They are so good, it's scary. Well, Aaron, Judith and Ellice and I upped our game tremendously. Roger played solid and Jordan fairly well. We gave them a good game, taking it to them every step of the way. I had 3 or 4 blocks as did Aaron. We were all over the place. I played as hard as I ever have. Ellice nailed all her serves and made a great number of plays. We actually had the edge at a few points along the way, but when 2 or 3 of us rotated out leaving us to rely on our less strong players on the front line, we were doomed. We have a few people that don't quite now how to hit the ball yet-it's their first year. Understandable as it is a church league, so I'm not making an issue of it. It still hurts though to play so hard and lose.

Wednesday- Taught my videotaped lesson as an encore to another 5th grade class- I was requested. Good experience and good for the ego. I ran some errands afterward, went to my interview and got the Job on the spot! I start Monday and I'm a little nervous, but not very. I'll be helping students with special needs with their Math skills. Church then class. I am so very sore from the grueling volleyball matches.

Thursday- Subbing again today. More sore than yesterday.

Not much in the way of reviews this week, as I didn't finish any books or watch any movies. Till next time.

The Big News This Week...

Kentucky Wins! Kentucky beats #1 ranked LSU in triple overtime thriller. Ranked 7th in the BCS (which helps determine where they play in the post season) and is actually in the title hunt this year.

Oh, and there was another big newsworthy event this week...

Billy Gillispie began his tenure as Kentucky's Basketball coach with Big Blue Madness Friday night...

Okay, so my wife is giving me that look...

We (and by we I mean Ellice) are pregnant. I don't know how it happened...okay, so we were trying and I kind of have some idea. Big excitement and good things to hope for. Busy, busy week as you can imagine (hence the lateness of this post).

Tuesday-(10/9/07) Substituted, Volleyball- we lost.
Wednesday- Ate at church, class, choir for Ellice, walked
Thursday-Subbed, Cici's, class, Ellice had Bible study
Friday- Found out we were pregnant, told a whole lot of people, Outback to celebrate, I went to Big Blue Madness with Sunday School fellas
Saturday-Ellice had choir, we gamed with the guys, went to wedding and skipped the reception cause they had the UK-LSU game on TV (I have to watch the whole thing and hate to ruin it by knowing the outcome ahead of time)-My wife is wonderfully supportive about this by the way. Watched the game into the wee hours of the morning
Sunday-Church, Church picnic, more announcements about expecting

Monday- I subbed for half the day, observed at Ellice's school, helped with her academic team, and Tiffany took us out to Cracker Barrel-Fried Pork Chops, mmmm. Thanks again Tiff.
Tuesday- More Observations, Volleyball- We win handily
Wednesday- More Observations, Church, Class, Ellice choir, walked
Thursday- Video taped a Social Studies lesson I had prepared at Ellice's school. The kids loved the game I made up about the Barter System. I think the lesson went well, and I should get a decent grade. Observed the rest of the day, went to class.

Friday- We're getting ready to leave for the Festival of Marriage in North Carolina. The retreat should help the two of us recover from the last two weeks. Let's hope no one tells me what happens in the UK-Florida game this Saturday-- Shhhh! I'm taping it...

This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti
Ellice recommended this read and I'm very glad she did. Loved this book. This is my first foray into the Christian Fiction genre and I have to tell you it was a good one. Angels and devils fight it out sword to flaming sword on the astral plane, while protecting and manipulating (respectively) humans in subtle ways. The plot twists in the story were unexpected. Themes of fall and redemption are of course present, and the characters are realistic. The insidious nature of demonic influence is well represented in a believable and potentially scary way.

Warning, this is not a book for the young. There are adult themes in this book, including accusations of rape, demonic possession, and violence (including a brutal beating of a woman). The dark side of the book is well represented and is a frightening contrast to the angelic Host. And this is not a story that is just about new age angels; the angels depicted are very Biblical, calling on New Testament truths and always acknowledging that they are servants of Christ.
A very enjoyable read. ***1/2

Jungle Book (DVD)
I watched this Disney movie for the first time this week. I liked it. Among the cartoon Disney movies I'd put this one close to the top (Aladdin of course being #1). Sher Kahn was a nefarious villain; I think that element is essential in a good flick. He had a lot of build up, and when he crept on screen for the first time, I thought the characterization lived up to the billing. As far as the supporting cast goes, the interplay between Bagura and Baloo was very cool. In fact, I liked all the supporting characters; very well done. The movie was pretty short though. The fact that I wanted more says how much I liked this movie. No wonder this is a classic. ***

It had to happen...

Well, Kentucky dropped one. South Carolina took advantage of four wildcat turnovers to hand our football team its first loss of the season. (Sigh). UK now hosts #1 LSU Saturday night at 7pm. It will either be the biggest upset in UK football history, or another loss. Here's to hoping for a close game.

Brief review of the week, a full week off from work for Ellice, Second Anniversary on Monday, hosted a few friends from Sunday School to dinner on Friday, went to Ren Fest on Saturday, helped put together the Chili lunch for the college kiddies on Sunday. All in all a fairly business but productive weekend.

Didn't get much writing done this week due to a heavy run of classwork. Hopefully, I'll get to do a little more this time around.

The Seeker: The Dark is Rising
Yes it is predictable. But there's a reason for these formulaic stories--the formula works. I'm just a sucker for the manchild-learns-his-destiny-is-to-save-the-world tale. Will is the 7th son of a 7th son, and there is a great burden on his shoulders, to battle the Dark, which is in case you didn't guess, rising. In a season of dull movie choices, I recommend this one. I don't want to give much away, but if you like the genre, you'll like the flick. ***

Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (book) by R. A. Salvatore
One of my favorite fantasy authors delivers in this treatment of the film. His writing embodies the character drama that encompasses the film, and his ability to bring the action to life shines in this one. Included in the book are deleted scenes omitted from the theatrical release of the film. Salvatore's writing fits well with Star Wars novels, even if he departs at times from what is seen on screen. His deviations work, though they are glaring to a Star Wars afficionado like myself. The only real glaring problem is that the ending seemed a bit abbreviated, like he was working against a deadline, but he may have been emulating the frenetic pace of the end of the movie. We'll give my man Salvatore the benefit of the doubt here. ***

No. 8?!?!

Kentucky Football is ranked 8th this week after a topsy-turvy weekend that saw five of the top 10 teams in the country (including Florida) lose. Not 8th in the SEC; 8th in the country! Mind boggling.

Something big happens today--its like one of those yearly things. Something of significance. An anniversary of some type. Something important. I just can't remember. I'll just ask my wife; I'm sure she'll let me know what it is.

The week in review--ate out too much, subbed, class, midterm, papers, walked, volleyball practice. Had Andi (Ellice's mentee) and her new boyfriend over for tacos. Went to Movie Tavern with David and Brittany to see the new Disney movie. Mom took us to Cracker Barrel for our Anniversary (Evan too).

Prayer concerns-- David and Brittany, Erin, James, Brian and Amey
Praise-Ellice's job

The Game Plan
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's new movie is a family friendly cute Disney flick. He's an aging pro quarterback on top of the world who is just starting to realize that his all-consuming passion for the pro sports lifestyle is missing something. And then fate delivers a turn when an 8-year-old surprise shows up on his doorstep. While featuring your typically campy Disney kid humor, this surprisingly funny film is worth the watch. The Rock has a good screen presence and doesn't seem to take himself overly serious. He sings a little in this one too. **1/2

Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (book) by J. R. R. Tolkien
This is the third and final installment in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

I must admit, I had never read these books until now. I am a big fantasy fan, but I tried to read Tolkien back in middle school and failed. He's just overly wordy and a little boring for my taste. But now that I'm a little older and have a greater command of vocabulary (not to mention more patience), I thought I would tackle the prequel (the Hobbit) and the trilogy. This installment is probably on par with the Fellowship of the Ring. I liked it but as all of Tolkien it really drags. The style harkens to classic works of the 19th century, featuring verbose, bulky writing with way too much attention to detail. There is poetry to the language which is enjoyable-but only in small doses. What lacks is flow. But when you overcome that, the story is really good. The epic tale probably peaked with the Hobbit, which I liked more than the trilogy. I'm giving this one an extra half star as Tolkien's popularity inspired generations of fantasy authors (and an awesome film trilogy). ***

Busy Week, but Good

Prayer concerns: James in Bagdad, Sonya, Erin, Dave and Brittany, Jennifer's family, Brian and Amey.
Praise for health and finances holding up, John and Melissa house, Ellice's job

Things were shaping up to be pretty busy this past weekend, so Monday and Tuesday we pretty much took it easy, and just walked both nights at the YMCA. We are about 75 miles into the 100-mile club, and we are looking forward to our T-shirts, which we will wear with pride.

Tuesday we also had a writing group meeting. Which is a little funny, cause the meetings have dropped down to just me and Ellice due to busy schedules. Perhaps a few of the readers of this blog would be interested in a virtual writing group that got together once per week, 2 weeks, or month in a chat room to discuss our writing? We could submit a chapter per week/2 weeks/month by e-mail and have a blogpage for our responses. Just a thought.

Wednesday night was packed with church and class. We've started going to the Wednesday night dinner at church. I'm a bit rushed to get to class by 6pm, but we've found the dinners to be a fun bit of fellowship. The food's not bad either. Ellice then goes to a women's Bible study followed by choir. I pick Ellice up then we go walk for 2 miles.

Thursday is basically me going to class and Ellice hosting her married women's Bible study. Then we go walk. I messed up taping the Survivor premier, but fortunately they play them as webcasts, and we watched it Sunday before church. More on Survivor later.

Friday I finally got a call to sub so I worked through the day and we had Dave and Brittany over for games. Brittany won at Risk and was so happy, it was worth getting beaten. Sadly Ellice was the first to bear the brunt of her attacks, and had to watch for some time. Taped Flash Gordon.

Saturday I worked feverishly with Ellice's help on preparing for the game. I am notorious for my copious piles of loose yellow paper with notes scrawled everywhere. Ellice has been trying to get me more organized and it is starting to pay off. She's convinced me that I should go digital with everything, not only to speed play and preparation, but also to reduce clutter around the house. So we played, had a fantastic session and there was much rejoicing. Taped the UK-Arkansas game and watched it in bed while Ellice tried to get some sleep through periodic shouts and exclamations of alarm. UK, having cracked into the top 25 for the first time in 23 years now had to step up and win an SEC (Southeastern conference) game on the road against a tough Arkansas team with the best pair of Running Backs in the country. UK floundered early, and it looked like it was going to be a blowout, but they fought back twice and found victory. The announcers were stunned and said that UK actually is legit this year and is a factor in the SEC race. Next week should be easy, but then we play #2 LSU and #3 Florida. If we can grab one of those games, lookout!

Sunday--I really dragged yesterday, owing in no small part to staying up till 2am watching the UK game. Watched Survivor. After church we gave my dad the tape of the UK game, ate some Rally burgers, and went to our first Volleyball practice. We should have a decent team this year, but I don't know if we can win it all. We'll see.

In other news, Wheel of Time author Robert Jordan died, and I find myself conflicted. Is it horribly selfish of me to wonder what will happen to the 12th and final book he was working on in the series, A Memory of Light? I feel bad for him; I did when I first learned of his rare blood illness. If I had to pick a handful of influencing authors, Jordan would be one of them. I think that my wishing he had completed the last book is more of an homage to the man; a respect and appreciation for his writing talent and a feeling of loss that we won't have it around any longer.

Survivor: China (TV)
Love Survivor, but in this the season premier, there was an incident that raised some questions. The beginning of the first episode had the cast perform a ceremony in an ancient Buddhist temple. Now host Jeff Probst said that this ceremony was not worship. However, there were many prominent idols in the room and the thrust of the ceremony was burning incense to them, getting down on your knees and bowing to the largest Buddha with your head to the floor. I think this is more a sign of respect in their culture, as in my karate classes, we had to do the same bows to the teacher, who returned them in kind. One of the cast, a Christian radio talk show host, was sweating heavily and crying at the display, and could not finish the ceremony. When confronted by Probst, she said she couldn't bow down before an idol. I'm torn myself over what I would do. Even if the ceremony wasn't technically worship to them, it definitely was worship-like. Where's the line between respecting a culture and following your own beliefs? A good question. In this season, I like her and the gravedigger, a big soft-spoken black man. I hope they do well. This week, a Virginia chicken farmer was voted off--bad move guys, that guy was a common-sense driven workhorse and I'm certain he'll be missed. I think the accent hurt him. **1/2

Bluuuue....Whiiiiiiite....Bluuuue.....Whiiiiite

We are settling into a groove; classes, walking every day, Ellice is working, I'm not getting any calls to sub, you know, the usual. At least I am getting good stuff done during the days I'm at home. I'm keeping ahead on my classwork, and keeping the house up. That's me, the house husband.

The big thing that happened this weekend by far was the UK victory over Louisville. (For those of you who didn't get the title of this blog, it harkens to the crowd cheering at UK games.)

We went to my parents' to watch the game and we had a blast. For a little background, UK has lost to Louisville for the past four seasons. Louisville was ranked No. 9 in the country, and Kentucky hadn't beaten a ranked team since 1977. This game came down to the wire, and was won on 57 yard touchdown pass with :28 left on the clock. My dad was sick as a dog, but when WR Johnson caught that pass and sprinted for the endzone, he shot out of his chair like he was healthy as a horse. Now UK has been in this position many times against good teams, letting victory slip away--and almost did it again. Louisville, which has one of the best quarterbacks in college football in Brahm, threw a long pass that was batted around and caught by a Louisville player at the 10 yard line and it looked like he might score, but he was dragged down by a gang of UK players who would not be denied this day. The gun sounded, and UK had pulled off the upset!

UK has subsequently been ranked No. 21 in the country, which I can't remember the last time we were in the top 25. I just looked it up, 1984. This week we play at Arkansas, another ranked team who just got beat in the last minute by Alabama, so they will be plenty sore and eager for a win. We'll need some luck there.

The Hand of Oberon (book) by Roger Zelazny
This is book four in the Chronicles of Amber series.

This episode of Prince Corwin of Amber's struggles against the Courts of Chaos and the political machinations of his siblings was wholly surprising. I mean, the twists and turns of this one turned everything upside down. While there was one major twist that I did see coming, the rest left me reeling. In fact, the way that he turned everything on its head was almost as if the author changed his mind on where the story was going, and wrote to correct it. In any event, the book was entertaining, a little better than its immediate predecessor. **1/2

Mars and Venus in the Bedroom (book) by John Gray
This is a practical guide to improving the sex lives of couples through John Gray's 'Mars and Venus' approach using communication and trust as cornerstones of a relationship. While I typically would have appreciated a more outwardly christian view of sex, the techniques presented herein are very useful. Now don't get me wrong there's nothing bad going on in that department (ahem) but if you aren't striving to improve your relationship, it is stagnating. This book is a recommend not only for couples, but also for singles, as it gives people a better understanding of the opposite sex. If you liked Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, you'll like this one as well. **1/2

Murder Masquerade, Prayer and Star Wars

Let's see, other than class, and a day of subbing, what happened?

Umm... we gamed Saturday, and then went to a friend's masquerade party. That was fun as I was a participant in the mayhem. In fact, I committed the murder, heh heh.

Since my breathing is better, we've resumed our daily walk schedule, and I'm losing the few lbs. I gained while infirmed, so that's good. Also...Volleyball! Our next season begins Monday, and other than a scheduling snafu with Ellice, we're really looking forward to it.

My brother-in-law James was deployed this week to the Middle East, so please pray for a safe tour of duty.

Now, as promised, the suggested Star Wars reads for Melissa.

If you do not care much for the prequel movies, then I wouldn't recommend the Clone Wars series of novels. I love them but they are in the spirit of Episode II, Attack of the Clones, so maybe not your cup of tea.

If you liked Episode III, then I would recommend the books Labyrinth of Evil (prequel to the film), Ep. III, then Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader (sequel).

During the Rebellion Era (original 3 movies), I'd recommend Shadows of the Empire which happens a few months before Return of the Jedi.

As far as post movie novels, Truce at Bakura takes place immediately after Return of the Jedi and is a must read start-off point. The Courtship of Princess Leia is also a high recommend. Then comes probably the best of the Star Wars trilogies, the so-called 'Thrawn Trilogy' (Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising and The Last Command). These books are the prototype for all the SW novels since. Following that, probably the New Rebellion (great stand alone book), the Black Fleet Crisis and the Corellian trilogy. I would term those books the 'essential' Star Wars--up to where I've read. There are many others, but you get the overall story arc with just those.

Of course, I have not mentioned any New Jedi Order books as I'm not quite there yet. But I'm working on it.

Who Wants to Be a Superhero? (TV)
This week wrapped up season 2. I wanted Hyperstrike to win; he's the super athletic acrobat (who reminds me of James, my brother-in-law), but alas, it was the Defuser. It was hardly fair, I mean, the Defuser was a cop in real life, so he already was a hero. Another entertaining season. I'm glad they had attack dogs again; that was the best part of last year's show. There was a great visual of the Defuser standing up with a massive attack dog hanging off of each arm and frankly, I think that was what won it for him. **1/2

Star Trek: Probe (book) by Margaret Wander Bonanno
This novel takes place shortly after ST IV: The Voyage Home and features the same alien probe that tried to boil the Earth's oceans because we killed off all the whales.

As far as Trek books go, this one started off slow, but once you get past the exposition it's pretty good. There is a definite feel of the original series here. There isn't a whole lot of action, but the story is pretty cool. The descriptions are very good and I could visualize practically the whole book. The sonic hologram scene was very well done. My biggest problem with the novel is the Romulan names; the phonics and similar look of the names made it difficult to tell who was who. Hiran and Kital for example. There is a also an ensign Kittay on the Enterprise. I actually had to keep notes on who was who. The author needs to realize that names need to be very distinctive, especially when you introduce a whole bunch of them all at once. **1/2

This is the week that was...

Still on the tail end of the breathing problem. Almost finished with my antibiotic and I'm doing better. I'm up to walking again and with school starting back, we're trying to establish some healthful routines.

Insurance kicks in November so we are faced with some challenges till then. But we are blessed that there is an end date in sight and we won't have to make decisions like bills or medicine which would be really scary.

Ellice seems to love her new job that God has provided and we are both happy for that. She gets finished early enough that we get to see each other a good bit of the day.

All I have right now are my classes, as I'm not getting very many calls to sub as yet. The courseload is a bit daunting: the biggest thing is going to be getting field observation hours in. I went to one school and they had no idea what I was talking about and looked at me like I was an alien; this school is right next to campus, so you'd think they'd have some idea what's going on. I know that at least 20 people do this every year, and they've never heard of it??

Anyway, on with the reviews:

Balls of Fury
This is a humorous take on Enter the Dragon, Bloodsport, and a little of TV's Kung Fu thrown in, with ping pong (or as the Chinese call it, 'ping pong') replacing martial arts. Christopher Walken delivers his standard stilted form of acting as the heavy, looking as if he's never entirely comfortable in his own skin and it works to great effect. Randy, the ex-olympic washout, is a true awkward underdog who is just trying to get it right for once. George Lopez plays a movie crazy FBI guy and is probably the highlight of the film. On the downside, the jokes are predictable, and a little juvenile. Bottom line though is that I was entertained. I'd watch it again. **

Connie and Carla (DVD)
Yet another cross dressing comedy. This stuff peaked during Tootsie, or maybe even further back with Some Like it Hot. Actually this movie is more inline with Victor, Victoria, what with it being women, dressing as men, dressing as women. I didn't like that movie either. It just gets old. Gender confusion comedies just don't do it for me; they rank barely higher than racial confusion films. Aside from the plot, the dialogue was mildly humorous. I'm sorry though, drag queens just aren't that funny. *1/2

Star Wars: Showdown at Centerpoint (book) by Roger Macbride Allen
This is the third and final book in the Corellian trilogy set 14 years after Return of the Jedi.

Good story, lively action, and a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. There is a lot of character development here for Han and Leia's kids, as well as for a few of the adults. That the author can create situations for these characters about which so much is known from film and novels and to have them grow as much as they did is impressive. In this series, we learn a lot about the Corellia system (Han's home system of planets) much of which is as surprising to Han as it is to the reader.

As far as Star Wars books go, this one is good. There are better, but those are spectacular. ***

Little Pilgrim's Progress (book) by Helen Taylor
This is young readers interpretation of the John Bunyan classic Pilgrim's Progress.

This book very cleverly introduces some pretty heavy and adult concepts including some rather difficult theology. It was a good substitute for the original, as I just can't muster the patience to go through many of the hard to read classics. This book is broken down into two to three page chapters that are ideal for bedtime reading for young ones (and adults). The book is broken down into two sections, one detailing the adventures of little Christian and the second part regarding Christiana and company. I like the first part better as there was more action. The second part got a little busy, as Christiana acquired a huge group of people along the way. The downside of the book is that it evokes some powerful emotion at times, and if you aren't for it, it can be a bit of a tear-jerker.

I recommend this book if religious fiction with powerful allegory appeals to you. I also recommend this as a bedtime reading for children who are starting to ask religious questions. **1/2

Start of Classes

Not much to tell this week. Classes at EKU started, and I have some work to do including 40 hours of clinical observation. Applied for a couple of Paraeducator positions, but no word as yet.

Played DND this weekend and it was one of our better sessions. Then we went to play games at Brittany and David's. We were introduced to a couple of interesting games including Draw! and some railroad building game. Both were fun. Unfortunately that Saturday night I fell ill and haven't recovered since. Missed church the following morning and everything has been a bit of a blur since. Ellice contacted our Dr. and got some antibiotics, so hopefully that will knock it out.

No reviews this week.

A long time ago in a village far, far away...

Since I don't quite have a day-by-day summary, a general one will have to do.

Steady progress on the Great Fantasy Epic. After two rewrites (in this revised draft), I have the first big fight scene more or less complete. Ellice has been a great help. The story is moving forward even if the page count isn't...

I took a shot at a paraeducator position. The job seemed right up my alley, but unfortunately, I didn't get an interview. Also tried for Barnes and Noble, but they won't even look at your application if you say you won't work Sundays. Oh well. No sub calls yet.

Took Evan to get his license and then carshopping a couple of times. Yesterday he decided on a Nissan Sentra. It is a standard, so more driving instruction is in the works. It had been 11 years since I had driven one, so getting it out of the dealer lot was a bit of an adventure, but gradually it came back to me (even if it wasn't very smooth).

The Saturday DND game was not scheduled for this week, and given how rough Friday was, four of us whipped up a Star Wars game. This was our first go with the new 'Saga Edition' and we had a blast. Definitely a welcome diversion. The group all played 7-13 year olds, and we plan on having adventures as they grow up. The setting is 8 years before Episode 1. (I know few people who read this will care a whit, but it is very fun and important to me.)

On the subject of DND, they just announced 4th edition. For those of you who don't know, 3rd edition came out in 2000 and 3.5edition came out in 2003. Wizards (the publisher) has been putting out new books with new rules every month and many gamers buy everything. What the new edition means is that all that money spent went to waste. I take a perverse pleasure in the fact that I have only the 3.5 player book (it had some good fixes in it) and did not go hog wild buying everything in sight the last 4 years. Aside from the money, the system gets unwieldy with too many rules and options. Most players don't realize how difficult allowing all these extra books can be. I have about 30 3rd edition books and a gazillion Dragon magazines with options in it. I'm pretty familiar with all that, and don't need to spend my days learning the rules from another 50 that came out in the interim. I'm fairly smart but that is just too much.

Anyway, 4th edition is on its way and gamers are livid. Unlike Star Wars, DND is not very backwards compatible. SW has pretty smooth conversion guides to update stuff. DND is way too complicated to convert and the systems are just so different. Also, compare: DND has 3 core books at $40 bucks each, Star Wars has 1 core book.

I've had a feeling that 4th ed. was coming for about a year now. What makes people really mad is that the company has been saying that 4th is a long way off, but in their latest press release they said they've had this in the works since they released 3.5. You can't really blame the company, they are in this for the money and the more money they make, the better the hobby is doing. It's a real double-edged sword.

Rush Hour 3
In the Summer of the Three-quels, this one gives us exactly what we expect. High action without belaboring the point. I contrast the chases from Bourne to this film and this one gets it right. The duo is funny as usual. The fight scenes are varied and we see stunts we haven't seen before. In most movies, Chris Tucker drifts into his annoying tone too much and you find yourself saying, "Okay that's enough," but he does so less here than previous incarnations, and this is welcome. I like the French cab driver Georges. The plot takes a backseat to the comedy and the action but if you pay attention, it is rather good. Overall, a good installment to the series with a couple of nice twists. ***

The Castle of Llyr (book) by Lloyd Alexander
This is the third installment in the five-part Prydain series, best known for The Black Cauldron, which is book 2.

This one is good, but not as good as the Black Cauldron (***). Prince Rhun is just flat out unlikable. He starts out that way, then later you feel sorry for him, but I still didn't like him. Taran has grown some and has great respect from his companions. We see the return of Achren, and she just isn't as powerful as you might expect. We learn a lot more about Eilonwy and her mysterious bauble. The climax is pretty good, and the story keeps me interested enough to keep going in the series. **1/2

Star Wars: A New Hope (Episode IV) (DVD)
Awesome. ****

Dog Days of Summer

I was very busy yesterday and hence, the lateness of this blog. The week in review....

HOT, HOT, HOT
Someone mentioned in class a few weeks ago about global warming and how short our winters have been. I guffawed. It is always hot in summer. Always has been. Always will be. I pointed out that this year it snowed for Thanksgiving and Easter this year. How is that a short winter? People laughed, but I don't know if they get my point. People are very short-sighted when it comes to political issues like global warming, just popping off stuff without really thinking about it. The summers are not getting hotter; last year we cracked 90 only once that I can remember. (There I go popping off, but hey, it is my blog). In fact it was one of the mildest in recent memory. The two years before that we had water advisories and drought. And on the winters, this year had a bunch of snow days, yet the one before that was relatively mild. Anyway, I'll get off my high horse now (geez it's a long way down).

Preseason NFL--- and I find that I really don't care much any more. I'm really looking forward to UK football, but the pros have left me with a feeling of...um...so what.

Last week, I had a nervous breakdown, owing to the lack of insurance, however, my wife gave me great encouragement and I really feel the blessings God has granted us with. He's taken care of us in the past, and there is no reason to believe that he won't in the future. It may not take the form we would like, but we must have faith that things will turn out as they should.

Saw a few still shots of Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, for the upcoming Marvel Comics movie Iron Man and I am really excited. In my opinion, the more superhero movies the better. I really can't wait till they show a Captain America movie. The old ones were fun but very low budget and I would be very interested in a modern retelling.

Yesterday I took Evan (Ellice's youngest brother) to take his driving test and he passed. It was close but he did it. Now the quest for finding a reliable used car begins...

I am instituting some new stuff to my weekly reviews. I will also be reviewing DVDs that we watched that week (DVD), books I've read that week (book), any shows that stand out (TV) and the usual films.

Flash Gordon (TV)
I've been anticipating this since I saw the commercial a few months ago on scifi channel. Or maybe it was an article on yahoo, or IMDB or something. I've been playing the "Flash" theme song recorded by Queen some 27 years ago over and over in my head in anticipation. The hour and a half premier was Friday night. Now coming in as a replacement for Stargate SG-1 is no small task so there will be a ton of pressure on the fledgeling show, but I think it may have a chance. Now when you see it, try not to think of the 1980s movie with 80s hair, bright colors and iconic Max Von Sydow as Ming (which I loved by the way). This rendition harkens to the old 1930s serial days, the 50s TV series and the comic. And most importantly it is fun. I'll be eager to see if this show lives up to its potential as the actors still need time to grow into their roles. As for the pilot, it was a nice adventure with a ton of potential, and bears watching. **1/2

Stardust
To borrow a phrase from other reviews, "Simply magical." This charming adventure feels like a Grim's fairy tale come to life. This movie on a deeper level is about thresholds. When you breach the Wall between England and Stormhold, you are not only bridging the gap between the ordinary world and a magical one, but also the boundary between mediocrity and significance, adolescence and adulthood and all of those wonderful metaphors. But most of all, the film is a joy to watch. The performances as you would expect from such a cast are magnificent and the plot is a graceful arc. The graphics are, as usual these days, extraordinary. From the previews you get the feeling that the 'Star' (Claire Danes) is a flat character, but she most definitely is not: this is a welcome surprise. I might go watch this one again in theaters. ****

Daredevil (DVD)
I've heard some bad things about this movie, from movie critics and friends, but I love it. I've seen it maybe four times or more. I was excited to hear they may make a sequel, but I was sad to see that those rumors were four years old, and Ben Affleck refuses to reprise the role, saying it was a source of humiliation. Go figure, I thought the movie was great. The soundtrack was killer, the visuals were extremely appropriate; I got a real feel of Hell's Kitchen. Unfortunately, no plans are in the works for a sequel. ***1/2

Chronicles of Amber: The Sign of the Unicorn (Book) by Roger Zelazny
This review is book 3 in the middle of a series. This series chronicles the tales of the fantastical Court of Amber.

One of Corwin's brothers is dead, and he wants to find out what happened, without the blame falling on himself. I found the book interesting but heavy, heavy on exposition. It was all storytelling, first from Random, then Corwin. A brief rescue of Brand and...you guessed it...another story. It did however, fill in a lot of the holes left in the first two books, namely, the number of siblings and their birth order. **1/2

The week in review

Sick most of the week. Went to King's Island on Saturday. Tons of fun. Felt better while we were there but have since gotten more sick. Coughing less, so that's a good thing. Also saw a few movies this week and finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Simpsons, the Movie
Basically a marginally more adult-oriented hour-and-a-half Simpsons episode. It was worth it, however, and I felt that it more than earned my movie dollar. **1/2

The Bourne Ultimatum
Good action, but suffers greatly in a few areas. One, shaky handcam. I don't know why directors like this technique, but it makes me want to hurl; I just keep thinking of that old bad batch of Levi's commercials--and I hated it then too. The second thing is, the film is thin on plot, as it overlaps with the second film. They tried making up for it with two extended chase scenes that take way too long, so long in fact they outlast the intensity built into the scenes, and you are left wondering when they will end. They could have combined Bourne Supremacy and this movie with little effort. **

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Without giving anything away, this final installment delivers in every way. We wrap up loose ends, so who all lives and dies, get a grand buildup to the exciting finale we have anticipated oh these many years. And it all pays off, bigtime. One of the most outstanding books I've ever read. This book has it all. I could hear a new Hans Zimmer track playing in the background during the most poignant scene of the book, when Harry has all the answers and knows what must be done and decides to face his destiny. It doesn't get any better than this book. ****

VBS week

I have learned more kids songs in a week than at any time in my life. And I can sign them now too. Well, VBS was a hit, but it wore me out. I'm glad I did it, but I'll be more so when I get over this cold that one of the kiddies gave me. My little troop that I led around for five days grew from five to eventually eight. Fortunately, I was blessed with a group of well-behaved 3rd graders who were eager to please--other crew leaders were not quite so fortunate.

Other than that we did a lot of swimming and I finished up my summer class. I completed all my assignments in good time so I expect an A in the class. Ellice read Harry Potter 7 in a day, but I have only managed to read the first 220 pages. I will finish in due time, but my wife is dying to talk to me about it. We lost our DVD player this week; I think it was strained by overuse. So we sucked it up, financially, and got a new one. We didn't go HD or anything, so it wasn't monumentally expensive.

We also tried out for Hello Dolly! at the Rose Barn theatre. Ellice sang beautifully and I acted well. My singing on the other hand was not quite where it needs to be, and they asked me back to sing again Sunday. Oh and by Sunday I was congested and could barely talk much less sing. We also gamed Saturday, followed by a trip to the new Movie Tavern in Lexington. It's where you eat your meal while watching the movie. Good times, good times.

Hairspray
As far as musicals go, one of the best I've ever seen. Unlike most modern musicals, I actually felt for the characters and their plight and was rooting for the good guys. The jokes about the way people in the 60s lived (like pregnant women drinking and smoking) were good and the ending was very satisfying. The music was catchy (I had never seen Hairspray before, so the whole thing was new to me.) Travolta was very funny as Mrs. Turnblat. I did a little research and found out that that role has always been played by a man on stage and screen (including Bob Hoskins.) ***

No Reservations
Nicely acted, nicely done. This film is romantic, cute, and somewhat tragic. It tugs at your heartstrings almost on cue however, and suffers from a distinct predictability. Throughout the movie I couldn't help but think what this movie needed was a French rat that can cook to liven it up a bit. **

Homework and VBS

That seems to be all I'm doing at present as the summer session winds down. I think I'll scrape an A out of the class. Along with that, this past weekend we had our birthday party in the park, went to the Highland Renaissance fair in Eminence, Ky, and ran a booth at the pop-a-shot for our Vacation Bible School. I also volunteered to help herd kiddies all week for VBS every night this week. I lucked out and got a good group of 3rd graders. One thing; its very loud when they get all the kids together in the sanctuary, but I'll manage.

Unfortunately, there is no review this week. Maybe next week we can review Hairspray and possibly one of the other movies coming out Friday.

Classes and plays, Potter and Birthdays

The week in review...

Lots of class. And homework. Got some good reading in this week though, that was fun. I'm looking forward to writing group meeting sometime this week; due to scheduling conflicts, we didn't get together this time around.

Wednesday we went to see Harry Potter in Hamburg after my class. We got there a little before 4pm to get good seats. Sat through the 20 and the previews and were about 30 minutes into the movie when the movie cut off. Unfortunately the projector was smoking and the film was broken or messed up or something, so they cancelled the show. We got readmit tickets, but the next showing that was not sold out was 8pm. So we grumbled a bit, but decided to stick it out till then. I took Ellice to Don Pablos for her birthday dinner, and we got a picture of her in a sombrero. That was fun. We also stopped by the comic store and got Ellice some X-men comics (her favorite). And I may have gotten a little something for myself (ahem). We finally got in to see the movie, which I will review later, and got home about 11:30pm.

Friday we had a cookout with our Sunday School class and Saturday was full and fun, with gaming and a play at the Rose Barn Theatre--Romeo and Juliet. Sunday was church followed by a potluck and business meeting--we skipped those because 1) Potlucks are never good for us and 2) We aren't in a position to take on any more stresses right now and what the meeting would arouse in the both of us. Instead we had lunch with Ellice's mentee Andi (who was Juliet in the play Saturday night), went swimming at EKU and had Evan over for a Spaghetti dinner. Umm...I loves me some spaghetti. To cap off the week, Ellice and I played Spades online.

All and all, a busy but fruitful week.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Great, great, great. I can't wait to see the next installment and I'm really jazzed about the final book coming out this weekend. Order of the Phoenix followed the book as well as could be expected. They left out a few minor things, but I was impressed by how much they squeezed into it. The visuals were great. The characters were as expected. New characters Tonks and LeStrange looked EXACTLY like I had imagined. The climactic scene really does a good job of approximating the vision in the book. The changes (what few there were) were artistic and well done. ****

Romeo and Juliet (Rose Barn Theatre Group)

A resident cat that typically wanders through the crowd of families in lawn chairs and blankets decided that it was his time to shine. During the famous balcony scene, the cat took center stage, stretching in the spotlight. You have to love community theatre.
This one took place in the 60's but had modified dialogue from the original play. The leads were very good. Standouts were Juliet, Romeo, and Mercutio. The best actor of the day was Friar Laurence, and I'm told he is typically a great Shakespearean actor. The stage fights were cool. A good effort overall. **

Another year older...

Well, I did it. I turned 35. Have I moved on to a new demographic?

We had a family reunion this past weekend in Gatlinburg. It was cool; almost everyone from my mom's family was there. It was funny getting seating for "Baker, party of 38." On Saturday, my birthday, we had cake and went to Corky's. I enjoyed my meal, but frankly, I like our Corky's in Lexington much better. After we parted ways with the rest of the Baker clan on Sunday, my wife tried to kill me.

We decided to save money and not see any of the attractions (not to mention work off some calories from the weekend meals) and go hiking. Ellice picked a trail, Rainbow Trail, that was 2.7 miles long. We had hiked up natural bridge which was 1.5 miles, so we thought what the heck. Well this one was rock covered and root tangled and entirely uphill the whole way. An hour and 50 minutes later, we reach the falls. It was cool, about 75 feet tall, but I was drenched in sweat, and a little of the moment was lost. The return trip was a little easier, an hour and 10 minutes. After the hike, I wasn't feeling too good. I wasn't just worn out and physically tired, but I was shaky and kind of out of it. We dumped a bunch of water in me, some KFC, (we hadn't expected the hike to take so long and missed lunch) and eventually a milkshake. It was then that we saw a bank sign that said it was 101 degrees. So Ellice drove home, while I tried to recover. Ellice fared better than I did in the heat--probably her tropical upbringing. She was pretty sore though. But we did it.

Okay, so hiking was technically my idea, but she did pick the trail...

Anyway, on to the movie:

Transformers

Now I wasn't the biggest Transformers fan in the world, but I enjoyed them. The craze caught on while I was in middle school (I think) and I actually owned one (Thunderstriker, the blue decepticon airplane, not in the film.) I remember liking the cartoon movie and figured that was the end of the craze. I admit was not as excited as Ellice and several of my friends when I heard they were making a live action film. But now that I've seen it, I really liked it. Lotsa action, and I confess that I got goosebumps when we finally met Optimus Prime. I was worried, especially early on that the Transformers would be invulnerable and could only fight each other, but they weren't monolithic undefeatable foes. The plot was passable, at least what we expect. The visuals were stunning. I may be getting old, but I had trouble sometimes keeping up with the action, which sometimes went a little too fast for me to tell the different Transformers apart in the heat of battle. The spec ops team rocked, and we legitimately like the Autobots. One word of warning: this is not a kids' movie. There are adult themes; this is targetted at the adults who grew up watching Transformers. If you insist on bringing children, this is a movie for parental guidance. One last thing, Starscream rules. ***1/2 (Ellice gave it ****)

Summer School

This week school started back for the second summer session. I only have one class, so it shouldn't be too bad. But there are the first day jitters and in a four week class, everything has to be done almost immediately. So, I've got my work cut out for me this month. I'll barely have time to blog about....

Live Free or Die Hard
We are big fans of the Die Hard movies, and I have come to expect a certain level of excitement, action, adventure, and general machismo. I was not dissapointed. McClane doesn't jump into this one on purpose either; once again, he's in the wrong place, at the wrong time. They even raised the bar on some of the stunts. Way cool. ***1/2

Rattatouille
I was thinking, okay, another Disney movie for Ellice. We just saw Die Hard 4 and I can watch a family movie with her, no prob. It will be mildly entertaining, and I might chuckle a couple of times. Far from it. This movie was vastly enjoyable, and downright hillarious at parts. The visuals of this Pixar movie are absolutely stunning; the motion sequences are incredible. This one is suitable for kids, but there is a lot of material that only adults will get. Only problem with this one is in the back of your mind you are thinking, it's still a rat in the kitchen. We'll get this one as well. ***

Longest Days of the Year

It struck me the other day, June 20th to be exact, that it was after 9pm and still light outside. I thought, hmm, it must be near the solstice. The solstice this year I believe was June 21st (but I could be wrong, I know its around there). Ellice just looked it up while I'm blogging and most of the time, including this year, it falls on the 21st. It struck me that we usually don't notice such changes that are so subtle until they are right upon us, and they are half over. Why this is important, I have no idea.

Since my last post, we have played two games in our softball tournament (won 1, lost 1, dble elimination), went to a picnic in Winchester, and of course....Movies!!!

Nancy Drew

A very charming, campy movie. I was a fan of the Hardy Boys books when I was little, (what preteen wasn't a fan of at least one or the other), and read a few Nancy Drews. So some fairly high expectations going in, but they pulled it off. I got what I expected from this movie, and perhaps was a little surprised. This one won't win any awards and probably won't be one I remember two years from now but entertaining; a welcome refresher in the middle of Blockbuster summer. **1/2

Evan Almighty

I expected another Bruce Almighty, and while I modestly enjoyed the first, this incarnation is far and away the better of the two. It was cleaner than the first and dare I say reverent? I know that some from the Church are concerned about this one and its treatment of God. While I won't get into the plot of the movie (spoilers are no fun), let's say that there is little if anything heretical about this movie. In fact, there is some provocative theology mixed in here. While its not quite Sunday School, this is a very positive movie and I recommend it for everyone. ***

Okay, I lied. We haven't seen Surf's Up yet, but we did see...

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

This one was, well, fantastic. Very cool. As is often the case with sequels, we didn't have to spend too much time on the origins for the uninitiated, which sometimes gives rise to a lack of plotting. But the plot of this one delivered. The first movie necessarily focused on the characterization of Ben Grim (The Thing) and how he dealt, or more appropriately didn't deal with his metamorphosis. In the sequel, everyone else gets some development while Ben has settled more or less into his role. We see Reed trying to carve out time and energy for his renewed relationship with Sue, Sue trying to get married despite disaster interrupting every attempt, and Johnny basically trying to overcome being a hot-headed screwup, and all of them dealing with celebrity. I love where Sue is watching E! and they are bashing her fashion sense.

The Surfer (voiced by Lawrence Fishburne) is visually very slick looking. The character is stuffy and reserved, which means they nailed the Surfer; it was amazing how they could get so much range out of a smooth cgi face. Finally, Julian McMahon returns as Victor von Doom, a great reprise of his villainous role. We'll buy this one the day it hits the shelf. ****

The last weeks have been a bit frenzied, but loads of fun. Between a trip to Tennessee, the Beach and camping this past weekend, I haven't had the time to do the other things I had hoped for, but this week I'm starting to get into the swing of things. The next trip we have planned is an open date to go the Ky Highland Ren Festival in Eminence, Ky, and a trip to Gatlinburg. We may got to Kentucky Kingdom once this year, but that is still just a possibility at this point. But definitely nothing this weekend besides movies, reading and writing.

Since the movie reviews seem to be a good point of conversation, we'll keep them going as a regular installment. It also keeps me blogging more, so that's a plus. (Out of 4 stars)

Ocean's 13- I was pleasantly surprised by it. The second (12th?) was a bit of a disappointment, but this one actually had a 'raison d'etre.' ('reason to be' for the French impaired :) ) The plot was better, they got through the complicated exposition as quickly as possible, and get on with the characterizations which drive this movie. The clever twists and 'ah-ah' moments that we anticipate with the Ocean movies deliver this time around. The addition of Garcia's character to Ocean's crew worked. Basically, as an audience we know that the point of these movies is for Clooney, Pitt and Damon (and friends) to goof off together for a couple of hours. Their chemistry is very good; they play off each other well. I can picture that they came up to Al Pacino and asked 'Wanna do the next Ocean movie? It'll be fun.' And he said, 'Yeah, cool.' **1/2

In the next installment, Surf's Up.

So much has happened the last few weeks, where to begin. Perhaps I should take this as an object lesson and blog more regularly. Here is the one paragraph summary:

School's out, helping highly stressed wife relax, got A's in my classes, started church softball league, went to Ellice's grandmother's in Tennessee with brother-in-law Evan in tow, went to Myrtle Beach in a week-long paradise-like vacation and I am going camping this weekend. Oh, and the Saga Edition of Star Wars Role-playing game came out, which I've really been looking forward to.

Okay two paragraphs. Movies we've seen and quick thoughts (Ratings out of 4 stars):
Next- Liked it a lot, Nick Cage on a good screen day. ***

Spiderman 3- Loved it, Don't know why so many people say it was "too long" or had too many bad guys. Hunh? Actually, I heard one person say there was too much action. Too much action?!?! ****

Shrek 3- Lotsa fun, probably not as good as the first, on par with the second. More of what we expect. Funny. ***

Pirates of the Caribbean 3- A little confusing at parts about who is backstabbing who, but very enjoyable. Better than the second film. Good acting, action, cinematography, etc. etc., very good movie. My wife says this is the best Orlando Bloom has looked. I can't speak to that, but Kiera Knightly did look great, so kudos to the makeup and costume people. Nice to Jack Sparrow's dad (Keith Richards). Very fun, a must own. Definitely will be a Pirates 4, so be on the lookout. ****

Knocked Up- Why in the world did we watch this movie? Horrible film. Truly awful. I have no idea why this got the reviews it did. Nothing like 40yr old virgin. All drug humor, and lame drug humor at that. The language was obnoxious and foul, and I'm not particularly sensitive to the f-word either. It was just bad. Only one character grew or changed at all. And they all needed to. I feel like less of a human being for watching this film. *

I saw a sports report on the playoffs and I'm gettingthat old feeling, but no, we have decided that NBA isway too much of a time commitment. My wife is not keeping me from watching it but I gave it up voluntarily for time issues. I'd rather be with her anyway, and I don't think that '30 games in 40 nights' is appeals to her very much. Besides, she gives me March Madness, and that's fine by me.

What got me interested again was that my old favorite team, the Houston Rockets, is doing well, but then again there's nobody I care about on that team any more. The days of Olajuwon, Drexler, Barkley, Bird, Jordanand Johnson, Stockton and Malone are done. (Sigh)

Those were some personalities. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but the NBA had its hay day, and that seems to have passed. But there's a part of me that thinks that if I watched it, I'd get into it again. But they just change teams so much. For example: Olajuwon, Bird, Magic Johnson, Stockton and Malone--one team throughout their entire careers. Jordan two, but really, we know he was a Chicago Bull first. Drexler-2 teams. I just can't connect with a player when they keep moving around.

I suppose every generation reflects on their own sports heroes as the best; you hear of all those old Yankees from the 50s and 60s, or players from all over baseball that just were larger than life. Maybe every sport has its own pinnacle.

Time to look forward to football season I suppose.

It has been quite a while. Since spring break its been just a lot of work, and a lot of play. Ellice and I are as good as ever. Its that time of year, and everything is coming down to the wire. Projects due, papers, proposals, etc.

Short blog, but it will have to do for now. The wife is calling.

Well, things are moving along swimmingly; midterms, papers, bibliographies, etc. We are learning to deal with stress, but I think we are getting better at it. We are looking to God for guidance not only in the big things, but in the minutia as well. We are praying more and seeking that peace that goes beyond all understanding. What's even better is that we are praying together frequently. The couple that prays together, stays together, so they say.

The primary novel has undergone a bit of plot reconstruction, and I feel its a little more compelling. Time being short as it is, not much actual writing has occurred however. We do what we can.

I'm keeping my head above water in my classes. I have the desire to get ahead, but not the time. I seem to have just enough to do what needs to be done, plus just a little extra, which is nice, so I won't grouse too much.

It seems that everyone we know is going through some sort of great difficulty at the moment. Perhaps its the time of year or something but it seems that everything is spiralling chaos, if that makes any sense. Well, God is the calm center of the storm and I'll cling to him as much as I can, pray for his mercy and grace, and hope that I can lend support to family and friends where I may.

Have a good week everyone.

Wow, it's not even February yet and I'm blogging. Go figure.

This full workload at Eastern is a bit of a bear. I can handle it to be sure, but it's balancing the load with working parttime and keepin' the Mrs. happy that's a challenge.

The new washer and dryer are almost whisper quiet, which is very nice and Ellice seems very happy about it. I slacked off this week on my household duties, but that's mostly because of working a lot last week, and you all heard about the Experiencing God weekend. ZZZZZZZZ.

Honestly, I was expecting a revival of some sort, not a pedantic lecture. An hour 1/2 long academic exercise on a topic that I feel pretty comfortable with already doesn't get me fired up. The point seemed to be that you have to shake up your whole life and establish a constant relationship with God by doing this 12 week Bible study. I just feel I'm a tad beyond that point. Not that its not a good thing; perhaps it was the presentation of it that soured me to the weekend, I dunno. Probably had to do with it being so late on Friday night, after a week's worth of classes, working all day Friday, chaperoning the dance, then racing to Richmond, but I was falling asleep in the pews.

Don't get me wrong, we love our church, its just that lately we've felt rather pressured about joining/doing etc. There was one Sunday recently where Ellice and I got to the church before the 8:00am service, I did a monologue, Ellice sang, we stayed through the service, went to Sunday School, went to the 11:00am service, I monologued, Ellice sang, we went home to eat. My part of the day was done, but Ellice went back to the church for a church baby shower, then came home for dinner, then went back to church for a women's Bible Study. And she is feeling pressured to do more, on top of choir, Bunco (women's fellowship), teaching Sunday school this month, and the usual list. I feel we're good on involvement.

Anyway, God has provided generously for us, including a church body that appreciates what we have to offer and actually wants us around, and I want to express my thanks for that. For years I didn't feel connnected and didn't think I belonged. I have been thankfully proven wrong, and I now feel I'm part of a church family. And much like families you love them warts and all!

Until next post...When will it be? Stay tuned....

Hello again.
It's been some time I know, lots going on, yada, yada.
Grandmother is improving steadily by all reports. I'm going back to school fulltime starting today. The new car is great; we absolutely love it. We got to visit Grandma Chick in Tennessee, a very nice visit at that. We watched a UK game, played scrabble, shopped a bit and watched Superman Returns, not to mention a run to Cracker Barrell.

Yesterday, we went to a friend's birthday party at Applebee's. It was interesting. Everyone was about 9 years younger than me and the age difference really showed. Many of them, (not the birthday friend) were drinking telling bawdy jokes and carrying on and the realization dawned; I really am in a completely different stage of life than they are. I'm well out of the post undergrad, few years out of high shool stage. Then Ellice and I got to thinking about my circle of friends and they are past that stage too. All of them have children (or at least one on the way) and I guess priorities have shifted. Anyway, the blog is called reflections so I'm reflecting.

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to class I go...