CD and DVD Templates

I am lucky enough to have the ability to print right onto my DVDs or CDs that are printable. It is a nice thing to be able to do. I used to have the label stickers that were a pain to get onto the top of the CD correctly and did not look completely professional, but when HP came out with a Print-on-the-disc printer, I asked for one for my birthday a few years ago, and I have gotten my use out of this thing. I love being able to print right on the disc and it looks so professional when I am done. In addition to that, I have really enjoyed printing CD and DVD inserts but there is always the problem of wanting the exact dimentions to the cases so they are nice and snug. At first, I would just measure the case and guess from there, but I just was searching for a DVD Slimline case insert template and found an awesome one on the Neato Website. Neato is a label software, but these templates are great because they let you use either Word or Photoshop and so I have been template download crazy since I found this site.
If you ever have the need to make your own CD or DVD cases, this is the website to download templates from.
http://www.neato.com/TemplatesCDDVDInserts.aspx

"I will go through my life, Penny-less" (BMW Quote)

It is a very liberating thing to have no money to your name. Going through this fraud problem is quite an experience. I have been running on empty on my gas tank these past few days, pretty much since Friday, and had no money to take from until this morning when my 500 I transfered from Amtrust finally became available. So I headed to the bank to pull out $40 for getting gas. I could not do that because my account was frozen. So I talked with one of the reps and she gave me some things to do to make sure my account was being taken care of. After talking with her, I was able to pull out the $40 for gas, luckily. Then I headed straight to the gas station to get a full tank. Nope. I get there and ask to fill the tank (not thinking that it would be more than $40.) and so luckily when I saw it was going to be more than 40 I stopped it at 40ish. I was not right on the dot and so I had to use my last dollar as well and told the attendant that I had 41 and to stop it there. He went a smidge past 41 and asked if I had 3 cents. I had to search my car for some pennies and found a nickel. So, it is official, I have NO money. hehe
But, I am in good spirits after all that. Hopefully I wont have to pay for anything more. until I am reimbursed the $690 that is due back to me eventually.

The Day and Obama!

So I decided to take my own advice and head outside. I first just went out into my backyard to sit on the deck and read. That was nice, but then decided it would be a perfect time to head to a local park and do some filming of scenery- flowers, trees, ect. So I decided to go to the Riverfront Park downtown Salem.... Bad Idea. EVERYONE was there and there was a long line of cars waiting to get into parking spaces. I found it was WAAAAAY to crowded for me to be comfortable, so once I got out of there, I decided to drive downtown to perhaps find another good place. I found the Capitol and that was very vacant. There were a few couples and family and individuals spread out around the area, but I found it to be an acceptable place. So I did some filming of the buildings around and the scenery. It was a good alternative.

On my way back, I was driving home and encountered a printed paper on the back window of someone's car that read "Pray for Obama; Psalm 109:8.  I thought this must be a great verse to say we need to support our leadership and pray for them that God has put in charge. I was thinking along the lines of 1Tim. 2:1-2:
I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for everyone- for kings, and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.

That was NOT what the Psalm reads:
Psalm 109:8-
May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership.

Now, I may not be the happiest about Obama being in office and some of what he stands for and what he believes, but I believe that we need to be respectful of him in his position. God has placed him as our leader for these years and if we want to see that change in the future, sure we should work to get the candidates that support our beliefs the most. All I am saying is that we should not be Obama bashing Christians, but REALLY pray for Obama- not that his days may be few.

Get Out and Enjoy!

When i moved to Salem, I just KNEW that I would hate the rain. I was used to sunny weather 300 days out of the year. Central Oregon is nice in that way. I was worried that I would be miserable in this rainy climate. There are very few times that I enjoy the rainy weather and growing up in Central Oregon I was blessed.
So, now after living in "The Valley" for almost 7 months, I have found that I was somewhat wrong. Yes, I am still not into the rainy weather, and there were many more rainy days than there have been sunny/warm days these months, but what I have found is when the sun DOES come out, everyone is out enjoying it. The community appreciates the sunny weather so much more because they don't get it as often. Everyone gets out and works on their yards and enjoys the weather.
I have found myself doing the same. When it is sunny, (Like right now) I want to get out there (with my shorts of course) and be in the Glory of God's  beauty of the spring weather and creation of Grass, Plants, and Flowers.

So, if you have the great weather, get out there an enjoy it while its here, even if you get it more than others (CO readers)

No Wii for me!

I found out last night that I am not for strategy. I just do not think that way. I played two games (well one full one and a portion of another) and I did not do well. I played Citidels and Pirates Cove and was not good at either.
Another thing that I did not totally enjoy about either of them is that they were so complicated and LOOOOOOONNNNGGGGG! The first game took about an hour and a half and then the other I left after probably half an hour to an hour and we were nowhere near done.
I am more into games that can last 30 minutes. Or even games that you can just quit at any time (like Apples) that way you can move on to another game.
I was hoping to Wii before I left, but was so tired after those two long games, I had to just go straight home. Oh well, next time.

Some Crazy Outtakes

The Good, the Bad, and the Wedding

I had a bad experience today. I get an email notification this morning that I am out of money. This does not make sense because I checked my account a few days ago and was flush (enough) and had not made any huge purchases lately. So, I go online to the my internet banking and find out that $690 was taken from a fraud. I emailed dad asking him to check on it (cuz I was in class) and so they had to suspend my account and let it go through and then research and all that. And that means that I am left without money in my name. I have $4 in my wallet and tried to take some out today and could not because of this problem. So, hopefully, I will get my new debit card in just a few short days. What a pain.

On a happier note, I was looking through all my friends' stati (not statuses) on Facebook and one of my friends had a notification that she was attending a Concert for Kutless in Bend. I checked this out and find that it is a FREE concert. Now, I am a fairly big Kutless fan, and have seen  them about 3 or 4 times before, but I still would go to a FREE concert in Bend. But, Sadly this was a concert in Bend and I am in Salem..... But wait.... this concert is on April 24th- I will be in town on April 24th because of filming a friend's wedding. AWESOME, so because Jordan and Anthony are having their wedding on the 24th, that means I will be there in Central Oregon, and that means I can attend the concert. It should be awesome. I am excited.

Am I Dating?, Good Intentions, and PKs

I went to a friend's church this morning. Heather was involved in the worship team and was up there for a while. She did a great job of helping to lead worship, through song.
When there was the inevitable greeting time, I got up and met some people around me. One of the ladies sitting behind me asked how I was here and if I was related to anyone. I said that I was visiting my friend Heather and the first thing that came out of her mouth- You're dating Heather? No, I am visiting Heather, I don't want to start any rumors.
Its funny how those things happen. I said nothing about dating, but this lady was very anxious to think that we were dating. I have quite a few people at my former church that were that way too. They were on the "lookout" for me to find me a wife. Even my own mother was on the Prowl for me. She had found someone at the church that she thought was perfect for me. Now, I can grant you that a mother has some sort of right to be able to do that a bit, but there are many people who are not asked to search for you, and they just do it. They want to matchmake. Now, they may think this is a nice thing to do, but for those single people out there might not feel the same. It can be a bit of an inconvenience. It can be a bit embarrassing.  My sister got it the most from our old church- one lady was hounding her about trying to find her a guy so much to the point that she was on the verge of making a guy up for a boyfriend just to calm the lady down.
When we got out of church, I told Heather about this experience, and she had already known this was going to happen. She felt bad but, hey, it happens to all of us.
Afterwards, we went out to Ruby Tuesdays. That was fun too. We got to talking about some of those things that us PK's (Pastor's Kids) deal with and some of the feelings that happen along with it. We talked about old times and caught up on current events. It was a good time of catching up with an old friend.
Next time, she gets to come over to Salem and join me at my church and then we will get to go to Olive Garden for lunch.

I Remember "The Farm"

I remember the three hour drives each trip. How impatient I was to get to to the Tree Farm. After hours of waiting in the car, we were finally getting close. I could see it. It was an indicator because of the narrow road. It was an indicator because of all the tall trees hanging around the sides. It was an indicator because we came into the tiny familiar town. "Don't blink or you'll miss it", my parents commented every time we were on approach.

And there it was. I took it literally, and tried my hardest to keep my eyes open. The first thing I see is the church, that old white building, that was a sign saying that we had entered Colton. Next is the Post Office and directly across the street is the Colton Cafe- the place that we would always go for morning breakfasts on lazy days. I can still see the small place, with the light blue boothes along the sides and a few tables in the middle of the cafe. I can smell the morning coffee and the smell of scrambled eggs and various other breakfast items.

As we drive past, I notice the one other landmark of the tiny village- the Market that has groceries and various other items. Then, we take our right-turn onto Hult Road. This road, although only a few miles away from the grand destination, seemed like it went on forever. By this time, the whole family is tired of driving and ready to get out of the car. As my siblings and I look for the landmarks, the interesting houses along the way viewable from the road, the big hill that used to be full of huge trees, and now empty from clear-cutting (most likely now, there are some trees there once again), and of course, the point in the road where you come out of the curves and the forrest into a straight road with tree farms all along the road, we are finally there. We can see the final destination- Grandma and Grandpa's house.

We have to really look back away from the road to see the old farmhouse. As we turn onto the clay-red-dirt driveway, we are so excited that we can't contain it anymore. We are finally there.

As always, Grandma and Grandpa have been looking out the window and when they see us driving down the path (and they hear the dogs barking, proclaiming that someone has arrived) they get up to meet us in the yard.

I can still see the old farmhouse inside and out. I remember the huge window in the front room that gives a vast expansive picture of "The Farm". The wood stove that the shoes go by. The hat rack next to that, of which is filled with caps from everywhere. The stairs leading up to the door entrance to the two extra rooms. The kitchen that has a table at the end of it and a small 13" TV on top of the refrigerator. The patio that is off of the kitchen that has all sorts of cool things inside. I still remember the gates between the patio and the front yard and the backyard. (the gate to the backyard is actually a regular door). This was the place that the dogs were kept when no one was home and it was nice outside.

I remember the two upstairs rooms. The one on the left that had the bright blue walls. The bookshelves that had many different things on them. The room to the right had quite a slanted ceiling so a tall person would have to be careful when they stood up from the bed. And then there was the best part of the upstairs- the middle attic space that was just begging us to explore. Of course, except for getting a few games that were stored up there, this space was off limits for us, but it sure was asking us to explore it.

I remember spending the night in this house. Of course, I had the couch in the living room because mom and dad had the upstairs left room and my twin sisters had the upstairs right. So, it was just me and the coo coo clock and the grandfather clock, both of which would chime/coo on the hour every hour waking me to remind me that I was at my grandparents house.

You like the cook styles I am wearing??

Alas, we do not go to "The Farm" anymore. Grandparents moved to a place closer to town, but I still have fond memories of that homestead and will not forget the trips to Camp Kirkman, with Swimming, Strawberry Picking, and playing on the farm.

Vacuums SUCK

So, I decided after a million years, I needed to do some vacuuming in my room. I was all alone at home so I would not bother anyone. I set out in search of a vacuum. I looked all throughout the house and could only find a vacuum in the Garage. Not a good sign. If you have a vacuum, you do not store it in the garage unless you think it is broken right? Well, anyways, I figure I will get it up to the room and try it out. Sure enough, I start it up and it stinks. It smells like burned rubber or melted plastic. Anyways, I turn it off (and unplug it like I should) and open it up underneath to find, that indeed I do need a replacement belt. I get the belt off and find the part number. It is a Hoover 035 belt. I call a vacuum shop in Downtown Salem and they have the part. I get it and get home and install it. Simple enough, problem solved right? Nope. I get it on and still smell it and it is making bad sounds again. Bummer. I get it back apart and see what the problem is... the belt seems like it is not the right one. I take a look at the actual vacuum to find it is a Dirt Devil. Geez, what a dope. So I call back the place and ask if some Hoover Products can replace Dirt Devil belts. He says alot of belts work in the place of other ones. I ask specifically if this hoover belt I just bought is supposed to work on this Specific Dirt Devil Vacuum. He comes back and says that NO, they are very different belts.
I am just about to go and get yet another replacement belt and find that my homeowner is back. So, I ask if he has a vacuum. He did. So, this vacuum that was in the garage will work perfectly fine  once it has a Dirt Devil Belt, but there is a newer model of vacuum, so it saves me another trip downtown to get another replacement.

April Fools Day

Well, I have never been one for fooling people on April Fools. I have never been into it. I guess part of it stems from the problem that I am not good at fooling people. Whenever I try to trick people, it just goes terribly wrong. I try to make these elaborate inventions of my imagination work, and they don't. I am not good at lying (which I guess is a good thing) but when trying to trick someone, it just does not help when you are telling them something false and you are smiling and trying not to crack up. Does this happen to anyone else? Or perhaps it is just me.

Another major problem with April Fools is that I am made a fool easily. I consider it my nature to trust people and then I just get totally fooled. People try to fool me and I trust whatever they say (except for the occasional way-out-there-ideas and comments) There have been a few April Firsts that I don't get either. Ya know, once I had a friend show up with a cast on. Was this supposed to be some sort of wonderful evil-laugh prank? I just don't get it. I would think that sort of prank would be just annoying to the person pulling the preverbal casted-arm, because you would just get lots of people come to you and say "Oh, No, What did you do?"  Or "What Happened". Wouldn't that get EXTREMELY ANNOYING? I think it would for me.
Then there's those that place on their Facebook status changes such as Relationships and whatnot or even just bogus postings. I don't get it. Then you just get people asking questions and might even get those who are so concerned that they go and call you up for the scoop. What do you say then?  "APRIL FOOLS"

WOW, thats stupid. I guess you will just have to put my down for someone who is not going to be doing April Fools Joke/Pranks/Status Changes/Whatever.
I also do not laugh so hard when they are pulled on me. Congratulations, you GOT me, not that hard. You don't even need a special day to pull that on me.

Posting Becky in the Water

Can it Be Mo's?

So who has gone to the Central Oregon Coast and felt they NEEDED to go to Mo's because it's an establishment. I have always felt that way. My family whenever at the Coast head to a Mo's and wait in line (because it is usually at the busy time that we are at the coast- Spring Break) and we get our Clam Chowder from Mo's. Sure, its good, and legend (wait for it) dairy, but here's the thing- Is it still the best clam chowder??
I am certain now that it is not. I remember a time when Mo's was very creamy chowder. Of course it has all fresh ingredients, and still tastes good, but there seems to be something missing. I have found that I enjoy the chowder at McGraths more than I do at Mo's.
What's more, we were in Lincoln City today for lunchtime and we had already been to Mo's last night for dinner, so for lunch we went to the McMenamins. Mom and I both had chowder there and THAT chowder was AMAZING! The thickness of the chowder was great, very creamy, and their ingredients were great. I could taste alot of spices. Mom said something very interesting- She said that it seems like Mo's is just going off of reputation now, and not so much off of the need to make a good product. (I'm Paraphrasing) Anyways, I would recommend trying out new Chowder places even if you still like Mo's. There's lots of good chowder places out there, and they don't have to be Mo's.

Spring Break w/ a meeting.

Spring Break is always nice right? Who wouldn't want time off at the end of March for a vaca with the fam. I was able to get my final papers and projects done early enough to have a very extended vacation- 20 days. WOW.

We will be heading to Newport (The Coast- very original for Spring Break right??) for a few days. That will be a great time of ocean-viewing.

I organized a meeting with friends from CO last night and it turned out very good. We watched the Princess and the Frog. What a great movie. It has been such a long time since a 2-D Old School Animation by hand, and I missed it. Don't get me wrong, the fancy, "looks-real-almost" computer animated films are great, but The Princess and the Frog is priceless.

We also played two lively games of Imaginiff. If you have tried this game out, you should. Its really fun, people just start cracking up and can't stop when this game is played. And to think that I did not even know anything about this game when I picked it up.

Early times

So, as always, I come in late to my College group because of my Research and Writing class. It starts at 4:30 and goes to 7:15 and is in Monmouth and our college group starts at 7ish in Salem, so I always race (not literally) back to church to get there in time for the worship. Anyways, I make it in time for the last few songs of worship, then we sit down for the sermon/talk and Matt starts going about his topic in Romans and then all of a sudden looking at me stops dead in his tracks....

"Dude, those are awesome chops, man..." He is referring to my facial hair. It was pretty funny. He spend about a minute talking about them.

I do happen to be able to create some good facial hair that some people are jealous of. I guess thats what happens when you need to shave by the summer of your 8th grade year.

Im not Following the Example!

What kind of people did Jesus like to be around?
Were they the ones who loved him and listened to his every word?
Were they the ones who were in the church all the time?
The ones who read the scriptures?
The ones who obeyed him?


The answer, at least what I have read, is the ones who needed him the most. Jesus did not like to be around the Pharisees, they were people who made themselves look good in view of the others around them; made themselves look religious. Jesus went about near the tax collectors and the sinners. Jesus knew that it did not help to teach and preach to "The Choir" but rather go into the places that no one else went and talk with those that no one else would. He associated with the Scum of the earth in his day. He led by example.

Do I follow His example? I have to be honest and say NO, I don't.

Most of the time, I bypass this idea, by making excuses to myself that I am very involved in my church. "No, in a way I am placing myself around those who need God by teaching in Sunday School and Youth Group (Previously), and I am up on stage a bunch helping to lead others to God through Worship to him..." But, I think that that logic is a cop out.
If I am truly honest with myself, I have to look at my involvement at church (Which isn't a bad thing) and my UN-involvement in other aspects of life (which IS a bad thing) and say that something there needs to change. I can no longer just say that MY MINISTRY is IN the church..., I need to work on my ministry OUTSIDE of church.

I have very few non-christian friends. Partly that is because it takes me a long while to make friends, especially outside of church.  But, I cannot just justify that and say its alright. I need to make a conscious effort to work on my involvement outside of the church.


I think that this will help me in my pursuit of God. May you and I constantly be in a pursuit of The Author and Perfecter of Our Faith.

Date of Birth and the Theory of Evolution

Today is the Day of my Birth, Twenty-Six years ago.
When I think of all the things that I have been blessed with, a family that loves and cares about me, good friends, health (for the most part), the opportunity to get an education and do what I like, a relationship with the Lord God... I am just amazed.

I think about too, what I have seen in my lifetime so far. Now I have not lived ALL that long, but I lived long enough to see the beginning of the internet era. When I was born, the internet was not created yet. We had to wait for Al Gore to help us out.... Just Kidding. But in actuality, the internet has changed so much.
Take a look at some of the snap shots that I took of some key internet pages when they first came out...

Google.com on December 2, 1998

How did I know that Google was going to be the biggest phenomenon on the internet?

Im just that good.

MySpace.com on October 3, 2003

I don't know why I felt in 2003 that MySpace needed a print screen, but I did.

Facebook.com on August 6, 2005

Again, I just felt in 2005 that Facebook would be great someday.

I am just kidding, I did not take those screenshots on the date, but this morning. 

It really has been interesting seeing the changes in the web from the original boring pages to more exciting things using flash and java and whatnot. Back then, there was not much on the web, but wow has that changed. Now I can find pages dedicated to television shows, Dogs, equipment, flashlights, any product you want to sell, even pages on poop (if you really want to find it I bet you could, I haven't looked and dont really intend to)

I used to get online to do a bit or research, but NOW I am on constantly, looking for things, buying things, communicating with others, searching out answers to anything, finding out how to do something in particular, writing my Blog. It is pretty amazing what can be done via the web now.

I am just in awe of wondering what the world wide web will look like 10 years down the road with Web 3.0

Whistle While I Work!

What a hectic week. It is week 8 of my Winter term here in the Valley and things are starting to come down to the wire. I took a chunk of the week off last week to see my family and that was a great time. I got a chance to be home and see Mom and Dad and Kelli. I also got a chance to see Kristin and Arianna as well. They were in town so Kristin could play with the orchestra and so that was one of the major reasons for coming home.
I got many chances to babysit my niece with my father while the girls were off at orchestra practice and concerts. It was a great time. Anyways, because I was stupid and did not bring all the items I needed for the week I cut it a little short on some HW that I had to do when I got back in town, but I made it in time. Then this week just hit like a bombshell- I go to my class monday night and find out that we are starting presentations next week and we are on the docket for presenting next week. So that made me need to get all my reading done and create my presentation portion, then I have weekly stuff to do as well as work on some of the big items coming up- my Design Portfolio (of which I have no idea where to get bad examples) and creation of my Final Family of Designs, my Big Lit. Review, A design project for Theory, as well as my Examination of Current practices paper due this weekend. I also have a smattering of other papers and projects due. WOW
And then I remember that this weekend i am also attending a Worship Conference over here in Salem area. I HAVE A LOT TO DO THIS WEEKEND. Luckily I got much of what I needed done, done. I still have a big paper though.
So, that is why I have not been on my Blog in a week or more.
But, hey, next term will be great.

Confusion at A+W- What a Pain!

I recently decided to sign up for various fan clubs and things such as that. Many times fan clubs of restaurants give away free stuff for your birthday or just coupons every so often, so if it's free, why not right??
Well, one of those clubs I Joined was for A+W. I thought itd be smart, and I was right. If you sign up for the A+W club you get a free small Float of Freeze. Well I was planning to get my free treat today (because it expires tomorrow) and so i headed out to A+W to use my coupon for a free freeze. I got there and it took a while to get to order, not many people there, she was just doing other things. Then when I was able to order I decided to order a Double Cheeseburger combo but see if they could just substitute the drink for the freeze and discount the price. This cashier did NOT get what I was saying and so she was confused and then she added it into the computer- the combo was 5.60 and then she added the freeze and it was like 6.50. I tried to explain what I wanted again, then she went to ask a manager about it, and that took a long time. Then she finally gets it but I have a feeling that she does not because she is saying that she will give me a float and the meal. I got fed up with her and so I just took it and it cost the same price as the meal, no big whoop, then when I go to get my order guess what is there, I just have the Burger and the Fries. The float has been sitting there, for a while...
so for me FREE dessert, I had to get a combo at the regular price, and they took away the regular drink that comes with the combo, and gave me my "Free" small dessert.
I guess what I should have said it I would like a Double Cheeseburger Combo
and then when she rang that up show the coupon and ask for a Freeze. Maybe that would have helped her not get confused.

This Blog is a place I can let of steam- its for all those A+W workers out there that read my blog. hehe.
To give them credit, I really do like A+W- the one in my hometown of Redmond is very good. But the one here in Salem is not very good. I would not recommend it to anyone in the Salem area.

New CD and the inevitable Wait

I am very excited for the TobyMac Album that releases today. I just have to wait for the cd to arrive to me. Usually I like to buy the MP3 version online, and that way I can get it at 12:01am if I really want to, but since this album has a few versions, I decided I would rather buy the Extended edition and that has a DVD part to it and so I figured it would be better to have it in hard copy. So Now, I just have to wait for UPS. I know it is out for Delivery, but it could be as late as 4 or 5pm, but in the past, my packages arriving here are in the morning.
As I was searching for different songs on this album, I came across a really dorky CD. If you like TobyMac and you do NOT like Saxaphone Elevator Music, you should check out this CD so you can laugh at how rediculous it really is.
If you LIKE Sax and TMac then you might actually like this CD.

http://www.amazon.com/Tobymac-Tribute/dp/B000VGTH16/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1265733063&sr=1-15

Walking alone in the DARK!

I decided to take a nice walk last night. I did not have anything to do and had not been out of the house for a few days (and even I, the perpetual hermit, need to get out every once in a while). So, I got my iPod from the car, plugged in the phones and started on my walk. I was smart enough to bring a small flashlight too, seeing as it was 6pm at night and dark. So I just started heading off, in no particular direction for no particular reason. It was fun. I am not an adventure person, so I rarely do something so out of place as walking around in the dark in a place that I know somewhat but in some parts have never been through. It was a good thing for me to do.
So, there I was, walking alone in the dark, and someone comes up behind me and makes me give them my wallet. I pleaded with them to let me keep it but they wanted it, even though it didn't have much in it...



Actually, that never happened, but the thought did go through my mind once or twice. I blame it on my Grandmother on my dad's side. His natural mom was very worried about everything. Well, anyways, I walked down a place that i knew somewhat, and then I got to one of the major streets and decided to keep going. I went out prepared for rain because this is Salem, (but not in Prepared for Rain in a way you would think- I just knew that I would get wet and did not have a jacket or anything. It was raining even when I first got out there. Anyways, I was glad that it was not doing more than just sprinkling a bit.
Well, back to my story- So on this main street I got to, I decided to walk down the road (even though I had not driven it before) and I figured I would come to one of my other main streets shortly and then that would start taking me back towards my house.  Well, I kept walking,... and walking,.... and walking. I was expecting it to be a bit shorter than it actually was. I kept on walking down the road expecting to come to that other road that I needed to see to start heading back towards my house.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, I came to the street I needed to see. I turned and felt better cuz I knew where I was at that point. By the time I got back to my house, I had walked 3 miles. I was expecting that I would walk say a mile or a mile and a half, but I got it my car and checked the mileage,and sure enough, it was 3 miles.
To be honest, 3 miles might not seem like much to you, but for me to walk 3 miles up and down hills around my house, In the Dark, this was a good feat for me. And it was fun.
I would not expect a Kelli event to be all that fun, but it was.

SCUM!

Noone has an advantage towards God:
-We lack desire to follow God
-Our character is warped
-Our language stinks
-Our behavior is destructive


"There is no one righteous, No, Not ONE" Rom 3:10

Even when the Rain Falls...

This image is one I created with Wordle- a text clouding website- www.wordle.net

Need to Breathe- Washed By the Water

Daddy was a preacher 

She was his wife 
Just tryin to make the world a little better 
You know, shine a light 
People started talking 
Just to hear their own voice 
Those people tried to accuse my father 
Said he made the wrong choice 
Though it might be painful 
You know that time will always tell 
Those people have long since gone 
My father never failed 
Chorus 
Even when the rain falls 
Even when the flood starts rising 
Even when the storm comes 
I am washed by the water 
Repeat Chorus 
Even when the Earth crumbles under my feet 
Even when the ones I love turn around and crucify me 
I won’t never ever let you down 
I won’t fall 
I won’t fall 
I won’t fall as long as you’re around me 
Chorus 
Even when the rain falls 
Even when the flood starts rising 
Even when the storm comes 
I am washed by the water 




This song is a powerful for me and my family. My Daddy is a preacher, and we had something like that happen at a previous church when I was younger and that was a very tough time for all of us. Accusations that were not substantiated by people were what brought my father down from his position at the church and it was a quick-deep pain for the whole family. It was the church that I grew up in. The only church family that I knew, the church where all of my friends were. This was incredible tough for us.




And so you can see why this song is just amazing at portraying the feelings of my family about that situation. The great thing is to know that Even though the Rain Falls and the floods are rising, I know that MY God is always there, and no one can take that away from me.


Thank You Lord God, that you are always there and have a perfect plan, even if it can hurt sometimes. I know that You will always be there to catch me and save me!

Nostalgia for Fun

Well, I have to say, I had some fun this morning.

I got on my Online Class stuff and came to one of my couses that was talking about education games and their prevailence.

It game some links to games from the 80's and so I proceeded to this site talked about all the great games that I grew up on.

Most of the games, I knew and had played, or at least seen.

The number one educational game- The Oregon Trail Game.

On this site- I was very delighted to see that they had links to web versions of the games and so of course I had to go and play the Oregon Trail game for nostalgia.

It was great, and I almost made it all the way, but alas:

So, if you want to go try your luck at the Online Version of the Oregon Trail game, go to virtualapple.org then click on the O section and you will find it under there.

They also had Number Munchers too, and many others.

The Design I just completed for SWITCH MS at New Hope (and mostly just for a class I had to do)

Remember a Day!

Don't worry, I did not take the time to transcribe all this, I just copied and pasted from another website, but I wanted to display the amazing rhetoric of Martin Luther King JR. on his day of Remembrance. May we all be forward thinkers like him.

Excerpt of the I Have a Dream Speech:

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."²

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:

My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.

Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,

From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

                Free at last! Free at last!

                Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!




^{Do I have a Dream? Do YOU? Let's keep these dreams that MLK had in mind as we talk with others around us.}

I Felt BAD!

So, the problem with having one class at the start of the week and the rest of the week being cooped up in my room, is that I loose track of the days. I went the whole day today thinking it was Tuesday, and all because of my day yesterday.
I should explain more. I have one class on Mondays. That is the day that I go into Monmouth, to WOU. Every monday, I am on my way to that class. THEN, yesterday, Tuesday (I know that NOW), I traveled AGAIN to WOU to do some Research for my class. That got me in the mindset that it was Tuesday today. I went the whole day thinking it was Tuesday.

Now, you might think that because I only have one class, it wouldn't really matter if I thought a Wednesday was a Tuesday right>?? WRONG. I have Worship practice on Wednesday nights, and now I have joined the choir, which is directly after.

So, there I am in my room at around 5:15 just hanging out, not doing much and I get a text from my Worship Pastor asking if I was on my way??? This puzzled me. Now, in just a daze, you might get a whirl of info coming at you saying, "ITS NOT TUESDAY, ITS WEDNESDAY" but that shows how much of a mindset I was in that it was Tuesday, I did not get that whirlwind of info. I of course, CALLED Nate back (because everyone knows that I am not a texter) and said Nate, I thought we were having practice on Wednesday. And he said, Yeah. Now, at least you would think by now, that I would have gotten the clue right?? NO, I still had NO clue that it was Wednesday.

So, finally, Nate set me straight and I learned that it was WEDNESDAY, not tuesday, and I rushed out and arrived at practice late. I HATE BEING LATE. I pride myself on being on time, and usually I give myself TOO much time and arrive at things incredibly early. But better early than late is my mantra.

Needless to say, I will not be doing that again anytime soon. I am going to be meticulously looking at my days to make sure I am on track!

Redbox and Redface

I was a bit impatient tonight. I went to RedBox after my Veritas group to get a free movie. Of course, a couple were there and searching through movies. Now, as a courtesty, if you do not know what you are going to get at the Redbox, you might take a look online to see what they have and have a few choices lined out so when you get there, it is in and out, but NO, These two took their sweet time and looked at each movie that was in the redbox and opened alot of them the see if they wanted them. Now, I was not there the whole time that they were picking out their movies (Thank Goodness) but there were 7 pages of movie titles, and they got all the way to the end. That was alot of waiting, and I try to be patient myself, but there comes a point... So, finally they make their one choice and are waiting for the Redbox to stick its DVD out like a huge red tongue, and the girl has the audacity to say "Hurry up Machine!"..
I was shocked. Had she really just said that?? Because she had to wait 10 seconds for a machine to spit out a dvd, she felt she needed to say Hurry Up Machine?? Well, needless to say, I wanted to say something to her, but decided not too.

And who knows, maybe she was saying it for my sake, and wanting to get the movie and get out of the way for me to start my choosing, but at least if you are going to take a long time in the redbox selections, you can at least acknowledge the person who is waiting in the line behind you, and maybe say, sorry it took us so long.

Well, I have said my peace and counted to 10 (O Brother, Where Art Thou, in case you were wondering)

And just FYI- I got Terminator Salvation. We shall see how good it is.

Frightful Events at the Shilo Inn

Many of my thousands upon thousands of Blog Readers may not know this, but I used to be a Houseman at certain respectable hotel in Bend. For those of you that do not know (or call it something else) a houseman is a job that in the day goes around and takes the dirty towels and dishes and linens from hotel rooms and collects them for the laundry and all that. (Pretty much helping the housekeepers out so they don't have to carry all that junk back, they just focus on the new stuff and cleaning.) But that was not my job, for the most part. My job was the night houseman. I was the one who restocked the maids closets. I was the guy who took all of the washed linens that were hopefully, but not usually, folded and put them in a convenient location so the housekeepers would not have to lug all the new linens from the laundry room to their floor, they were already there, thanks to me. I was also the guy that tested the pool chemicals, and I was the guy that had the nifty walkie talkies (of which always seemed to be out of battery, BTW) and got calls from the Front Desk asking for me to take things to guests' rooms. I took all sorts of things, pillows, new linens, new towels if forgotten, extra creamer, fixed tvs (which weren't broken, people just didn't read the directions), fixed AC, all that stuff.
Anyways, so here is my story. So, I get a call asking if I would show a lady some vacant rooms so she can see which kind she might like for her friend that is going to be staying there. So, I get some room numbers, and I have the all-powerful key that works on pretty much any door, so I take her to a few rooms and I am walking her around and we come to one of the "Vacant" rooms and I open it and start to go in, and I notice that I am hearing things, and see some movement in the bed under the sheets and there are things on the floor. I start backing out quickly because, You guessed it, it was NOT Vacant. But hey, I am being quiet so maybe they won't hear me. Then the lady blurts out, is it not empty, and I say no, it is being used, and a guy yells from the room, Yeah, it is!
I was pretty upset I had to be in that situation, and what was worse was they were there doing the nasty business. Luckily, I was not far enough in to see anything but under sheets, but it was still VERY VERY embarrassing. I called the room number in again, and they got me another room to check, bit need-less to say, that couple that was intruded upon got their room free for the night.

Another "great" moment (Sarcastic BTW) of being a houseman, I was doing my duties, getting thing from the Laundry room to the Housekeepers closets one day, and I trudge past a room that has the windows open and guess who is standing in the middle of the room flipping through channels- a naked person. Now, I don't know why this person was flipping through the tv channels naked, and I don't know why this person thought it was a good idea to have the windows open all the way, especially since their room window was right in front of a major walkway, but they were. Something that I would rather not have seen.

So here is your tips from the former houseman-
#1- if you are planning to do the dirty deed in a hotel room, even if it is a door that locks right away and you have to have a key to open it, still take the extra precautions to double lock and deadbolt the door. You never know what hotel worker might be asked to open the door for someone because of a mistake at the front desk.
#2- even if you have a room that has a window that is more secluded, still take the extra time to close the window blinds if you are going to be prancing around in the nude, whether it is flipping through tv channels or just a quick exit of the bathroom to get your clothes after a shower. Just keep it in mind.

Those are the two lessons for the night. Who knows how these frightful events popped into my head currently, but it is never too late to warn friends, right?
PS- if you are any of those people I mentioned, that would be quite a coincidence that you read my blog. And I am sorry to the first couple, (the second person, it was your own fault)

My first design for my Design Class at WOU

Flashbacks and Friends

I had a crazy flashback this morning. I was at church, of course, and I was waiting for College Sunday School class to start and a girl walks in who looks very familiar to me. She reminded me of someone I knew in LaGrande at Eastern. So, I keep looking at her, and she at me trying to see if it really is Josey, this girl that I knew from EOU, and I found out that she was. She remembered me, and so we got to talking a bit and one of the other girls from WOU was talking about how funny it was that we knew each other.
Then Josey says to Jessica that she recognizes her too. Turns out, that I knew Jessica before I came to Salem as well, because I was a part of Campus Crusade at EOU (so was Josey, thats pretty much how we knew eachother, and church) and we had a leadership meeting thing in Bend one year, and I guess Jessica was a part of that too because many CC branches got together and did the leadership stuff as one.
Anyways, I am going to have to take a look at the Campus Crusade picture that was taken again (if I can find it on my computer) and see if I can recognize Jessica and anyone else too.

True Story.

Happy 20-10

Happy New Year to One and All!


And of course, I need to change my Blog colors again, Now it is time for Valentine's Colors!!

100th on Christmas and Traditions.

It is just perfect that my 100th post is on Christmas. What a great time to be alive right? Who would have known that over 2000 years ago, a Baby was born that would change the world as we know it.
As our family tradition, we always read the christmas story (from the bible) before we open presents. We get up leisurly, open stockings, although this year, and from years on I believe, they will be just decorations, then we have a wonderful breakfast.
A funny story about the breakfast tradition at our home. We used to have a Sweedish Tea Ring every year. Then a few years back mom found out that my sister and I did not like the tea ring but just thought it tradition and we should not break tradition. Mom decided to find something new for christmas Breakfast and she came up with Sticky Buns. They are really wonderful.
Anyways, back to more memories... after breakfast we read the christmas story and then open presents. When we were younger, this seemed to take FORRRRRREEEEEEVVVVVEEEERRRRR. But as we have grown, we have learned to be patient and really cherish  those times. I love getting together and reading the christmas story as a family. It is a tradition that I will hopefully take to my future family as well.

Here is wishing you well on this Wonderful Christmas Morning that is full of mystery and wonder, and beauty, that God himself would come down to Us sinners and live among us.

Judy Moody, AKA Tim, was in a mood, not a good mood, a Bad Mood.

It's amazing how one sentence to someone else can change attitudes isn't it?? I just discovered this first-hand this afternoon.
I was having a great day. My parents are home and it has been fun seeing them and spending time with them. I went to Costco and a smattering of other places with dad this morning and that was great. Nothing was really happening, and we were just spending a nice afternoon with the family. Then my sister comes into town and drops some things off that she borrowed from the house and I ask her if she will put these things away, rather than leave them on the floor waiting for someone else (most likely mom) will have to do something with. Right away she SNAPS at me and yells that she is tired and she will get to it later.
This really upset me and knew that I had to get away from her. It threw my whole day off and I have been in a bad mood ever since.  I have cooped myself up in my room to get some space, but has not seemed to help.
Now, I know the old saying that your attitude is yours to do what you want with. We can choose to change it or we can choose to be in a bad mood, but I just can't seem to get out of this funk.
I just feel that I have had my Kelli fill for the month. And the bad (good) part is that the Christmas togetherness has just begun. I still have Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and whatever else we plan to do as a family. I am going to do my best to get out of this bad mood, but it is tough when I have to be around my sister right now.

Time after Time

At times like these, I like to look back, as many do, and see what has happened. Coming upon the end of a decade and the start of a new one, I want to take the time to see what has happened in the previous decade.

What has happened to myself, my family, and around me? 

What has happened in our country? 

What can I praise God for? 

What hasn't gone just right? 

What technologies have been created?

It's also a time to look forward to the new decade. 

What would I like to see happen to myself, my family, and around me? 

What could happen in our country? 

What WILL I praise God for?

As the decade of the 00's come to a close, I urge you to take a look at your life and see what happened in it, good or bad, and examine why those things have happened. Take a look at what might have changed that, and look forward to the new decade and be the change that needs to happen. Make it Happen. Its all up to us to see our future change. Keep God number One up in your life.

Nice Conclusion to a Fall Term

It was an amazing term for me obviously. Maybe it was because I did not have much else to do! Maybe it was because they wer courses that were not so new to me (at least two of them)! Maybe it was because most were in an area that enjoyed! Maybe I am just good!
Well, I am reffering to my Grades for this fall term in my Masters Program at WOU.
I was able to score 3 A's and a B+. That is quite an accomplishment for me. I am very proud of myself.
My first class that I took was  Web 2.0- this was a class that was only online and it discussed and had us try out different applications that are on the Internet. Web 2.0 is considered the Read/Write Web. It covers things like Blogs, Wikis, RSS, and other applications that are offered on the internet.
My next class that I took was my Internet for Educators class. This class covered some things that I have known before just from being in contact with the internet in my daily walk. I certainly learned some new things though and had a great time putting my digital portfolio together.
My last fully online class was my Communications Theory class. This was not quite as fun for me. There was a lot of reading involved and different theories. I also did not get as much feedback from the professor as I would have liked. We had no grades until the final paper that we did. We had a midterm and given a partial grade and some feedback there, but not put on our grades. So for a lot of the class, I did not know where I was in the class, grade-wise.
The last class I took was on only on-site class. It was Philosophy of Education. This class was only once a week and was an extended period so I was in class, sitting in a desk from 4:30- 7:15 pm each monday. Long time for me to be sitting still and listening to the professor Philosophize- which is to say I wonder why....
This class was a bit boring at first, but I got used to it, and by the end, we were having good conversations.

Well, again, this was a good term for me, and I am glad it is over as well. I look forward to my new classes starting on the 4th:

Research and Writing- my On-Site class- again on Mondays from 4:30-7:15pm
Emerging Technology- Online
Mobile Technology in Education- Online/On-Site- working with iPod Touches and such
Theories of Teaching and Learning- Online-
Designing Information- Online-

God has blessed me with my current situation and I look forward to what He has for me in the future.

Complicated Christmas

So, christmas this year has been complicated. So, I decided to get my mother a christmas present- Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I was pretty proud of myself. I got a great product- the DVD/BluRay combo. I even got a great price-from Amazon. I made sure and told my family (sans my mother) that I was planning on getting this and that they should stay away from my idea.

Well, then my mom gets excited that Harry Potter is coming out on Dec. 7th and decides she wants to get it on the day  it comes out. I hint that I want to get it also but want to wait until christmas in case I get it. She knew what I was talking about, but just could not wait. She got the same movie for herself and talked about it at dinner one night. I mentioned to her that I had gotten her that and what was I supposed to do for her christmas present now??

She just figured that I could still give it to her because I wanted it myself and so she would just give me the opened-used one and I would give her the brand new unopened one.
I was pretty upset by this. I was not going to do that. I had decided that I would just find something else for her.

SO, I started looking for another present idea.  I also opened the one I got for her and downloaded the digital copy of the movie so I could put it on my iTunes. Then, I found out that mom decided to wait until christmas and to give me the unopened Harry Potter. So, now, because I already opened the present, I bought a second copy from amazon and will find a way to return the one given. Is there another way?
Complicated, I know.

The Wonders of the Internet

It's amazing what can be found on the internet right? Have you found that to be true. I find myself looking and looking for things more and more on the one resource of the billion-page internet. I never used to buy items on the internet, but this christmas season, I bought all but one present over the internet- the prices are just amazing. I never used to download cd albums over the internet, and now it is pretty much all I do when i want to get a new album (legally of course- iTunes) because the same album that is at the store for 15.99 is 9.99 or less online. I never ever thought about finding recipes over the internet, and now when I want to make something, I just hop online and take a gander at the many recipe sites. The great thing is that you can search for just one recipe and print it out. You can read all about the recipe and read reviews of it and what people think might make it better and what not. When I wanted to make Gingerbread before, I just got in the kitchen and pulled out one of a few options of cookbooks and found the recipe I wanted and made the stuff, now, I figure I can find a great recipe online, so I jump on there and find just the recipe I want and print, and voa-lah (how do you spell that, I dunno) I have a great recipe that makes better Gingerbread than I have ever made.

Tim's 25 Days of Christmas

Hey, here is Tim's 25 Days of Christmas Movies if anyone is interested in following along or ragging on me because I still watch lots of kiddy movies. Either way, here it is.
(And Yes, I know that there are not 25 days here, it is just to go off of the ABC Family's one)

Elf Yourself- its fun

The Blind Side

Last night, I had the opportunity to watch The Blind Side in theatres. Right when I saw the trailers for this movie I knew it would be good. It was one of the best movies I have seen in a while. It is based on a true story about Michael Oher- a Pro football player. This student has been passed around and has had a hard life being in an all-white christian school. A person who does not live in a house and has one change of clothes in a plastic bag. He is then greeted by a young man named SJ (Sean Jr.) and then his mother finds "Big Mike" (Which he does not like being called that) just walking by himself in the cold and she takes him home to stay at their house on the couch. It turns into a few days and eventually they give him his own room. He was so surprised to have his own bed.  A year passes and he gets his grades up and starts playing football for the school. This gets the attention of the recruiters who come to offer Mike a scholarship to their college. He has many decisions.
I don't want to give it all away because I want you to go out and watch this amazing story. It will be worth your price of a movie ticket, I promise you.
This movie choked me up quite a bit and made me realize how much I have compared to those who do not. It is a great movie for reminding us of what is important.

Wireless and Work

I was happy to be back from Thanksgiving. It was a great time in Bremerton Washington visiting the home of my Sister, Bro in Law, and Niece. The rest of the fam joined in as well. I got a chance to make my Cinnamon Apple Crumble Pie and a Pumpkin and some great Crescent Rolls for the day. I had a great time on the vacation, but was happy to be back in Salem in my room upstairs all by myself. Being with people for that extended period of time really takes it out of me. It is nice to be in my own bed, in my own room, in my own town, with my very own computer. I had to leave Toby (my Mac) at the apple store to get repaired because my Wireless was inconsistent. I also had them take a look at the display which was also coming apart a bit and they fixed it all. Brand new display, and a working wireless card. And what did it cost me?? Well I had to take it in there twice for them to take it seriously, but monitarily, Nothing. It was still under the 1 year warenty so that was nice to get a brand new display and a card that works all the time (at least so far, knock on wood).
This week has been a work-on-schoolwork-week. I have finals coming up. One is a presentation, which I completed yesterday and expect an A, and the rest are papers or projects. No tests, its nice not to have testing for finals. I would much rather write a paper or do a project. One paper I have though is my Communication Tech Paper and it is supposed to be 10 pages, so I have to get to work on that. That is alot of what I am doing today. Trying to get it ALL done (meaning all my projects and work) done by this saturday so I don't have anything left and can leave for home for Christmas Break on Tuesday. That would/will be nice.

Church Anniversary

I have had the pleasure of participating in some great events this weekend, and its not even over yet.
My Church, First Baptist of Salem, is Celebrating 150 Years of being "A Faithful Witness". On December 29, 1859 eight people joined together on the corner of Marion and Liberty streets and started the First Baptist Church. One Hundred Fifty Years Later, we are still alive and kickin' at the same place.

We celebrate this weekend the birthday of FBC Salem with many great events, some of which have already happened. On Friday night there was a service that had the opening of the Time Capsule that was created and placed in 1952. I had the opportunity on Thursday to help with some video creation for that Friday night service. I was at the church at around 1:15pm to help with the video capture of getting to the Time Capsule which was on the corner of the church building. I was stupidly expecting the job to be about an hour or less. NO WAY! This job was a multihour job. We were there from 1ish to about 7ish just doing the video taping. Then I came back on Friday morning to do the editing for the time capsule to shrink the Over-4-Hours-of-footage down to 4 Minutes. It took some doing. I had some use of speeding up the footage, and not using other parts, ect, but thats not the story.
On Friday night, they had a service with a History of the Church and surrounding area, some songs of the past, and of course, the Time Capsule opening. In the capsule was a bible, the church constitution, a letter from the pastor, the Statesmen newspaper from that year (1952), a list of the Church Directory, and a few other items.
Then, Today, there were many things going on. There were exibits in many rooms, Old Fashioned Craft making, a Butter Churning demo, Flax Spinning, a Barbershop Quartet, and Dance team, and lots of talks from members of the church from way back. There was one gentleman that is still at the church who was in the church in 1925. WOW. That is amazing.
Tomorrow, there will be a celebration service with the Churches first Youth Pastor. Throughout the weekend, they are ringing the Church Bell that used to be atop the steeple. Now it is in an enclosure. that can be moved around. The original bell. Amazing huh!?

I would hope to be a part of an Anniversary Celebration from my previous church. I don't know if anything is planned yet, but I did some digging, and the 100th Celebration for First Baptist Church of Redmond (now named Redmond Community Church) is coming up fairly soon. (1912). This was the church that I grew up in and I have some great memories of that church, as a boy.

Oh, BTW, if you would like to take a look at some pictures from this event today that I took, you can head on over to my Picasa site.
http://picasaweb.google.com/timothykirkman/SalemFBC150thAnny?feat=directlink

Could it be...?

It has been a long time since I was looking So forward to Thanksgiving. Usually, I am happy for Thanksgiving, and enjoy that wonderful food and the opportunity to see family and whatnot- but I am usually in Christmas mode by that time and so Thanksgiving not that big of a deal for me. But this year that is mostly different. I say MOSTLY because I do not relent the status of being in Christmas mode, I am, but I am very much looking forward to Thanksgiving in a little bit more than a week.

Could some of it be that I am away from all family this year? That I have not seen them since MidOctober? Could it be that I just wanna get away from everything? Could it be because of the fact that I have never been to my Sister and Bro in Laws place in Bremerton and want to see it? Could it be the fact that I miss seeing the way my Niece is growing? Could it be that my whole family will be together for a few days? Could it be that I have been looking into Black Friday ads early? Could it be that I want to have a good Thanks dinner? Could it be that I am looking forward to those Amazing Dinner Rolls? the Pumpkin Pie? the Turkey? the Green Bean Casserole? The Homemade Apple Crumble Pie? Could it be that I get to go a few days early to spend with my sister and Bro in Law? (and stay a few days late) Could it be that I am also heading up to the Apple Store on the way up to get my Mac Fixed? (hopefully!) Could it be that I am hoping to stop by my Grandparents' house on the way up there also?
It certainly is ALL of those things. I am looking forward to all those things, but mostly the chance to catch up with family.

New Facade for the Blog

New Facade for the Blog. Gotta get rid of those Halloween/Harvest Colors and input the Christmas Colors.

It's nice to be wanted!

It is nice to be wanted. I had been yearning to be on the worship team at my new church ever since I got there in September. I took a few weeks to make sure that this was the Church I wanted to plant at for my year here in Salem area, but after that I contacted Pastor Nate, the worship pastor, to see what steps I needed to take to be involved in the Worship at FBC Salem. I got together with him and sang (auditioned) and shortly after he got me involved. I started off just singing in a service, but then was asked a while later if I would want to play bass guitar. I was okay with this but really wanted to sing. I figured it would only be a week of Bass and then get back to singing. Well, it seems that he has liked me playing bass because I have an open invitation until I leave for home for Christmas Break. This week I get to Sing AND play Bass. That will be fun. It takes some work to be able to play and play bass at the same time, kinda difficult. I find that I play less difficult bass lines so I can focus on the singing part. I don't know how the Bass Player/Singer of Skillet does it ALL THE TIME.

But, like I said, it is nice to know that I am wanted in the worship ministry. When he offered the playing bass from now until I leave for break, I said "Did you loose all your Bass players?" He said No, but I like your spirit and you play well. Nice compliment.

I am looking forward to playing Bass again.