Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Our planet and the things that happen...

Carrie and I watched The Constant Gardner last night. As I was browsing the Netflix list of movies that you can watch instantly my interest was not drawn to the movie by the title... I thought it was a love story. Carrie picked it out. Having now watched the movie it was a gripping image of the plight of so many people in our world. People that don't have anything. While the story told in the movie may be fiction it is, in my opinion, an accurate representation of 3rd world living and the trials people face. I certainly look within myself and wonder if I am doing anything to effect change and help people. We sponsor a child... let me think... ok... so in an effort to help people that don't have anything my wife and I sponsor a child. For the longest time that seemed like enough. Naturally, "enough" is relative. For me it is not enough to sponsor 1,000 kids because when it is enough that means that I have made up in my mind that I have done my part and I can stop trying or try enough to sustain the kids that I sponsor. There will never be enough for me. By the grace of God I am going to find sustainable ways to provide food, clean water, and a place to live for many people. Each generation there are people that step forward and do something outstanding. I will be one of those people stepping forward in faith asking God to use me and those that partner with me to effect change in our environment and the people that inhabit it. If not me than who? If not now then when? If not you... why not? I can't sit idle and hope that someone takes up the cause of those that have no voice.


Our little girl Alma Patricia.

Sponsor a child. Take up a cause. Effect change in our world.

I choose to fight AIDS and the destruction of our natural environment.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Christmas and Bob Marley.

Carrie and I were invited to a Christmas party this past weekend. It was a good time spending time with old friends and having a chance to meet some new people. I am glad that Christmas parties only happen once a year... a lot of small talk and telling my story over and over again. I prefer to ask people their deepest fears and then make rude comments when I see them later... it is good for throwing them off their game. Below is what Carrie looked like... very nice!I came home from work one day and all Carrie was saying was, "ho, ho, ho"... I am not a ho. She wears this goofy hat and jacket because she thinks they look regal. I think they look elderly. The belt is nice.
This is Carrie working on our Christmas "tree". It is hard to call it a tree when it is really a bunch of wire and plastic... there is nothing tree about it. It does not grow, filter air, or produce fruit. Frankly, to call it a tree is a lie. Carrie did a good job decorated our metal wire / plastic fixture.

I am not feeling very festive lately. I love the Christmas holiday but I am not feeling the gifts and stuff in general. My mom and stepdad did get me a great backpack which I really like. Other than that I don't really want much. In fact, lately it is just the opposite, I have been getting rid of stuff on eBay and Goodwill. When I say that I need something it is almost always and exaggeration. I fell into a trap a long time ago that told me I need more stuff... sometimes I feel like my house is full of stuff that has little or no value and really just ties me down. It would be interesting to put together a list of 10 or 15 things that I NEED and then get rid of everything else. Obvisouly, furniture and things like that would not be included. I am referring to personal effects like a computer, watch, and such.

Rummy.

Friday, November 28, 2008

A jourey of five.

This past weekend 4 friends and I set out on a journey that would take 2.25 days and stretch 24 miles. We left Lynchburg on Friday night at about 6:00 PM and ended up near Roanoke. We started out hiking to Dragon's Tooth and setting up camp at about 10:30PM. It was 15 degrees and super windy. My sleeping bag kept me warm... I didn't want to get out the next morning as it was roughly 24.35 degrees or thereabouts. So, we ended up breaking down camp and moving out at about 11:00 AM... we should have probably moved out a little earlier.

Just about to take off North on the AT to go to McAfee's Knob. Day two took us about 12 miles or so. By the end of the day I was feeling good yet excited to rest and sit around a camp fire. We made our way to the shelter and setup camp. Stoves came out, food packets were ripped open, and we ate a much needed meal. It was really nice to rest my feet and legs. I was in bed by 8:30 PM and asleep by 8:40.

This photo was at the summit of McAfees's Knob was taken early on last day of the journey. It was pretty cold up there. In fact, there was some pools of frozen water. Some really great views. We could see from the top where we headed (Tinker Cliffs). We finished the hike at about 5:30 on Sunday evening and frankly by the end I was happy to have finished. We climbed 3500 feet on Sunday over about 8 miles and then desceneded about the same amount over about 2 miles. Most people are happy to go down... I was not. The descent was obscenely steep and not good on my knees. Had I not had my friend Tim to talk to on the way down I would have been a very angry camper... literally. Chatting with Tim helped to keep my mind off how my body was feeling. Thanks Tim! Once we finished the hike we went to Burger King. I at a loaded burger, junior Whopper, large fries, and two hershey pieces. I did not feel good after I ate.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Sundance, Here I Come!

I love movies. Those of you who know me, know this already. My favorite past time is to see a movie. Drama, Comedy, Thriller, Romance, Action, Foreign, Dark Comedy... (any genre except Horror actually). I don't even mind going by myself to the theater (actually for some movies I prefer it). I love Netflix. Great variety of movies, delivered directly to my door! I love to eat popcorn while I watch movies, especially homemade popcorn accompanied by cheese cubes (or with Mike & Ike's as Heika introduced to me awhile ago). Why am I telling you this? To give you an idea how exciting this next exclamation is:
I am going to the 2009 Sundance Film Festival!
Jesse is going to Utah at the end of January for an outdoor retail tradeshow and to ski for a week. He discovered that the Sundance Film Festival was going to be the same week as the tradeshow in approximately the same area. He asked if I'd be interested in going... of course I was! Getting tickets was quite a task though! It took a lot of determination, sweat, and tears (well, actually just determination). First, I had to wait for a certain date until I could register. After I registered, I had to wait a few weeks to see if I would be one of the random picks to be assigned a time-slot. I was one of the lucky chosen and got my time-slot, but I still wasn't guaranteed tickets! Wednesday night at 6pm EST, I logged on, said a prayer, and then proceeded to purchase. What a stressful time as I waited for the page to load to see if my purchase went through.... Here is me after I got my confirmation:
I got a weekend pass which allows me to see any films I want Friday - Sunday, and I also get to go to an award presentation on Saturday night! They haven't announced yet the films that will be at the festival.
I'm so excited about this! I will be sure to post pictures of my adventure and I'll let you know how many famous people I meet. :)

Friday, November 14, 2008

Do you know this Carrie?

Do you recognize Carrie on the left? That was probably around 2003 or so. That is the Carrie I fell madly in love with. That is the Carrie I would do laundry for, wash dishes with, and clean the house without complaining. It dawned on me yesterday while talking to my very good friend Paul that I have lost the desire to serve my wife. I forgot that simply posting a sound on our blog or telling her she looks good is not a enough. It is not enough for me to say I am going to do things to help out. I forget or just didn't care that Carrie works all day and then comes home and does the laundry, cooks dinner, and picks up around the house. I have become a husband that comes home and does nothing. I realized that the way to make my wife madly in love with ME again is by serving her. By cleaning the house, doing the laundry, and washing the dishes. Then when that is done I can post a sound on our blog and tell her she looks nice. Once I have done all these things I may get lucky... but if I don't, I still have a wife who loves me more than anyone else and is passionately desires to be with me. I feel so stupid that I was letting things slip away. So ashamed that I allowed my wife to carry the load. That I was selfish in always doing what I wanted. Never taking her out on a date. Rarely giving her the opportunity to gets dressed up and feel sexy. For the last couple of years I have failed as a husband. I think it is important for everyone to know that I have become that guy. I took Carrie on a date last night to Outback and as we were sitting in the booth I was taken back to when we were dating and all my thoughts centered around Carrie. How she had my complete attention. I waited for the phone to ring and when it was her I acted cool like I just happened to answer on the first ring. My deep love of Carrie is still there I have just allowed myself to get "busy".

Carrie, I am sorry for not treating you like the light of my life. That I have made playful fun of you around other people. I will from this point treat as you should be treated. I love you.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Numbers from World War I.

Today marks the 90th anniversary of World War I. I have not really read a whole lot about this war until today. Wikipedia has a really interesting article about the war. It is incredible how many soldiers gave their life for their respective sides. We should never forget what freedom costs.

Casualties and losses
US & ALLIES
Military dead:

5,525,000
Military wounded: 12,831,500
Military missing: 4,121,000
THEM
Military dead:

4,386,000
Military wounded: 8,388,000
Military missing: 3,629,000

Friday, November 7, 2008

Stange pride.

Carrie and I are constantly looking for ways to consume less and get more out of what we already have. So, I ask Carrie to put my sandwiches for lunch in a reusable container. Whenever possible she does. If we don't have anything other than sandwich bags she put them in one and I bring it home to reuse it. After all, there is nothing wrong with it. Today I open my lunch bag and laugh. My sandwiches are in the bag the salami came it. I was proud of Carries resourcefulness. It shows me that as we begin to alter our way of thinking we can come up with creative ways to reuse things. Good work Carrie.

FYI... this concept does not work with toilet paper.

Question authority.

You’re the only person who decides how you’re going to spend your life, so invest the time to discover your passion. Don’t accept the path laid out before you by others—just figure out what you enjoy doing and do it.

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life”
Steve Jobs

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

And now, The President of the United States

Whether you like him or not, Barack Obama will be our new president. He needs our prayers, not our judgement or criticism. He's got quite a country to lead.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Exclamation points.

I am typically a pretty reserved person. You won't see me too excited or too down. I rarely scream out phrases like, "Thanks!!", "you bethcha!!!", or "freakin' a right essay!!"... however when I type emails I am always using exclamation points. I don't speak with such emotion. In fact, sometimes I feel like this guy:


Swingline stapler

Monday, November 3, 2008

Standard.

This is standard equipment for Cliff.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Cliff Butternut... he said he is the adventure extraordinaire.

So I was hanging out tonight at home with some friends. We were having a good time doing a lot of beat boxing. Out of nowhere this guy shows up on my porch and I'm like, "who are you? can I help you? get off my porch fella." So, he says, "my name is Cliff Butternut and I'm the Adventure Extraordinaire." Then he invited me on an adventure. It was kind of weird but I told him I would think about it. With that, he scaled a tree, jumped to a telephone pole and was gone. I wonder what he meant about an adventure. I kind of feel like I'm in The Matrix and I have to choose the pill. How deep does the rabbit hole go??

Cliff Butternut, Adventure Extraordinaire

Monday, October 27, 2008

Epic Hike - Only I wasn't there??!?!

My dad and his girlfriend Sherry went out to California a few weeks ago and they sent me these photos. This hike started at 2:30AM and concluded at 7PM that night! That is what I call epic!!!

I really like the above photo.


Spy Rock.

So I was getting ready to post some photos of Spy Rock off of Route 56 and I see that Carrie has beat me to it. Now not only has she hijacked the look of this site but she is also beating me to the punch. I will still post.

We went up to Spy Rock on Saturday which was a really rainy day early on but turned out to be a nice day. Up on top of the mountain it was really windy and pretty cold. There was some sun but not really enough to keep you warm. The hike is 1.3 miles. Roughly .8 of it is an access road with the final .5 on the Appalachian Trail or the AT. It was an easy hike. This spot gets a lot of traffic in the Summer and Spring... however, there were only 2 other people up there while we were there. It was a great 360 degree view as you can see from the hijackers video which I shot and the hijacker used. If you get a chance you should check this out.

Carrie is always able to make friends with the locals.

Spy Rock


We went hiking this weekend with my family up to Spy Rock in Nelson County. I have to say this is the most breath taking view I've seen. My mom almost missed it, but we convinced her it was worth the treacherous climb up the crack of the rock. Way to go Mom!



Jesse and I at the top.


It's even more beautiful in person!

A 360* view from the top

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Blog hijacking.

Carrie hijacked the look of this blog. She has taken over.

Cliff Butternut, Adventure Extraordinaire

Monday, October 20, 2008

Jump Rope

I'm going to start jumping rope today. Yesterday, I bought my rope for $9.99 at Dick's Sporting Good's. Jesse has already been jumping for the past couple weeks. He's got it down pretty good. He can already jump for 20 minutes. (He's amazing and I love him). I hope I won't get discouraged quickly because I know it's something that takes time and perserverence....

Wish me luck!

Friday, October 17, 2008

Ouch


I was lying on the couch after work, relaxing after a long day. Sweet little Madi was lying next to me. It was raining outside, we were cozy and warm. It was nice. Then Jesse came home from work and everything changed.
As he opened the door, Madi jumped up to greet him. In her excitement, she used my face as her jumping post. You can see the results below. Ouch.


Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Dinner... left overs compiled.

Last night Carrie and I had a hodge podge of left overs. They were in the refrigerator and we got to have them all at once. It was certainly a motley looking dinner. Carrie was visibly angry... see photos below.
Spaghetti, corn & peas, salad, and ovaltine.




Dinner was good.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Hiking/Camping at St. Mary's Wilderness

This past Saturday and Sunday Branden, Josh, and I went camping and hiking at St. Mary's Wilderness. None of us really knew how difficult the hike would be. I would estimate that over two days we hiked 16 or 17 miles. It was a great time and the weather was perfect. I did get a little cold at night as my sleeping bags loft is not what it used to be. Overall, this was an excellent trip. I look forward to doing it again.

Yours truly. That is a waterfall behind me.

Water running about 3 feet under the rock wall. It must have been running for a very long time.

Branden telling his famous ghost stories...

The Priest wilderness where I went hiking and camping a couple months back with my dad, uncle and two cousins.

Crawfish for dinner. We searched for these in the stream that ran about 10 feet from our campsite. I will be honest and say Josh caught all but about 3 of them. He is a hunter!

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Amazing.


This picture was taken at our church picnic. I saw this picture and thought I am the luckiest man alive. She is absolutely beautiful! I see photos of Carrie sometimes and they take my breath away. That is not our baby. :)

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Pickles!

It worked! We have pickles!

Extremely sour pickles!

I think I put a little too much vinegar. Next time I try it, I'll half it with water.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Pickles?


I'm attempting to make dill pickles from our last few cucumbers. I went the refrigerator route because it is much easier. I just added all the spices, cucumbers, and white vinegar to a jar. Stuck it in the fridge. Now we wait. We will know in 6 days whether or not it worked.

Green Eggs and Ham

This past Sunday afternoon I surprised Jesse with Green Eggs and Ham for lunch.


His reaction:

He was surprised.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Went hiking with part of our small group.

Last night we took off from Lynchburg at about 6:30 to go camping at McCafe Knob off of 311 in far away. We camped out and hiked to the top this morning. It was a great time and the view was amazing! We saw a black bear just down the trail from us. It is the first time I have seen a bear in Virginia. I look forward to another trip with the small group. The weather is perfect for hiking and camping now.Carrie is so good at making really cute faces!




That is one crazy cliff. Even sitting on the edge was crazy!
They thought it would be fun to have a knife fight.
A group shot minus Joe and Jess and boy. Sorry you couldn't come.