Five things... revisited.

My last post was so surface... Here's the inward version of the five things:

1) The most refreshing place for me to be is outside.
2) Self-centeredness sometimes consumes me.
3) I can't stand false conversation (e.g., "How are you?" with an automatic response of, "I'm fine!")
4) The most scary thing to me is the thought of losing those I love.
5) The closest I've ever felt to God was during a time of grief.

Five things...

Five things you may not know about me:

1) I am an NCAA Division I letterman and set a record at UK.
2) I performed with a Grammy-Nominated band.
3) Shaq once palmed my head and said, "Hey little man."
4) I speak German and dabble in several other languages.
5) The farthest from home I've ever been is ten-and-a-half time zones away.

More Christmas stuff that you may or may not care to read...

OK. For those of you out there who are keeping a play-by-play on my Christmas decorating saga, this post is for you. It was like 65 degrees yesterday so I no longer had the excuse that I hadn't decorated my house because it was so cold outside. I pulled out the colored lights, tested them before getting up on the roof (which was a lesson learned long ago - make note of it if you haven't already learned it), and started putting hundred of little plastic clips on either side of each bulb to hold them fast to the roof's edge. (Another lesson learned, you can't string more than two of these sets of lights together without blowing fuses like crazy - got that one down, too?). Anyway, I'm pretty much terrrrrrified of heights, so when putting up lights I scoot around on the roof, clinging to anything I can. And if there's nothing to cling to, I'm pretty much laying down and scooting. Well, I've managed to wear the same pair of jeans each year - and they've made it three years now. To quote Andy Griffith, "He looks like his underwear's made of sand-paper..." The last two years I've had to wear an old pair of blue-jean shorts under my jeans due to the holes in the rump-area that enlarge with every scoot on my bum across the rough shingles. (It's reminiscent of the time when, at six-years-old, I crawled around on the top of the leaning tower of Pisa, too terrified to stand.) As I was over one particularly precarious edge yesterday, I recall seriously thinking that I might know exactly what the afterlife would be like within a matter of moments. But, don't fear - I lived. No fuses blown, no falls, and I only dropped the container of clips off the roof one time.

If anyone's thinking they know exactly what I need for Christmas, you need to know that I have plenty of other jeans in my closet to take over for this pair after they are retired. I think they'll make it another year.

Mr. C

I had the girls last night whilst my good wife was at a Christmas party. We had tons of fun. I got to play Mr. C for like two hours. That's Mr. Claus for those of you who aren't savvy. They pretended to have gone to bed on Christmas Eve and I "came down the chimney". While I was putting gifts under the tree they woke up and caught me, so we had to have dinner together (Hamburger Noodle dish... mmmmm) and then I had to answer lots of questions about the North Pole. After I got worn out trying to tell them everything, we watched The Polar Express and I told them about everything that I couldn't think of on my own. So, if anyone has any questions, I'm fully brushed up on the lore.

See you guys.

Mr. C

If Blogging were a paying job...

If blogging were a paying job I'd be fired. My apologies to faithful readers who have checked back over the weeks. Things are good 'round here. It's gotten quite cold, which is usual for Decemeber, I guess. I had a chance to put up Christmas decorations in 70 degree weather last week, but didn't take it. Now, I don't know if our house will be adding to the glow of the neighborhood or not - at least through incandescent lighting. There's always my shiny head, though, right? Our Christmas tree is up and lit, however. THe only catch there is that we own a pre-lit tree that doesn't light any longer. Last year half of it lit and I spent hours trying to get the rest to come alive. I ended up wrapping lights around it and giving up. This year NONE of the lights would come on, so my father-in-law brought an electrical device that was supposed to figure out the problem... we ended up winding lights around it again. The popcorn garland was fun. Lots of ornaments at the bottom of the tree since the kids are still small. Our cat has been sitting right next to the tree staring transfixed into a light or eating random popcorn strands. Maybe he's looking at his reflection in one of those reflective balls? Either way, he's a weirdo. That's all for now. Merry Christmas!