Life Goes On

Christmas has come and gone and it turned out to be a pretty good one for us this year. We spent lots of time with family and friends, ate good food, and got good presents. We got lots of good things from lots of people and we really appreciate every gift. I won't name any names but a special shout out to those of you who instead of traditional gifts for us bought things (bees, cow, chickens) from Heifer International for us to go to people in need over seas to help them improve their lives.

In other news, I have started working on building a little storage room inside the shop. We needed some extra storage space so we decided to make a place there. While tearing down the styrofoam stuff off the ceiling that the previous owner had put up, we found some wasp nest. There were always tons of red wasps in there last summer and now I know where their home was. These are the biggest wasp nests I think I have ever seen.



Something interesting has happened since Margo's wreck. We have received approximately six letters so far in the mail from lawyers wanting to help us get the money we deserve. I think this is terrible and feel sorry for anyone who actually buys in to that crap and believes that these lawyers are really just concerned about helping others.

Happy Birthday Jesus

We just wanted to wish everyone who reads our blog a Merry Christmas.
Here is the picture that was on our Christmas card this year in case any of you did not get one. We always try to do something funny/creative.


I also thought I would share a Christmas carol with all of you. This is the funniest rendition of O holy night that I have ever heard. Click here to listen to it. Listen to whole thing because it gets funnier as it goes on.

Randomness

I don't have anything spectacular to talk about just a few minor things.

On the way home the other day, Margo got ran into. An old guy pulled out not seeing her and hit the back passenger side of the CRV. This was Margo's first wreck and the first for the CRV. It did not hurt Margo but the CRV is going to need some work. We are just waiting on the guy's insurance company to get their stuff done so we can get it fixed.



I went back to the doctor for my final follow-up today. He released me and cleared me to go back to my usual routine. So, when I got home I cut some wood for the first time in a month and a half. Speaking of wood, I have more wood for sale now if you know anyone who needs any.

Now, for a random current event. Today they (I am not sure who they are) released the top 10 quotes of 2007. I think number 2 is my favorite. Here is a list:

10. "I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history."
Former President Jimmy Carter, referring to the Bush administration in an interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newspaper

9. "I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man."
Sen. Joseph Biden, referring to rival Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama

8. "(I have) a wide stance when going to the bathroom."
Idaho Republican Sen. Larry Craig, explaining why his foot touched the foot of an undercover police officer in an airport men's room

7. "I'm not going to get into a name-calling match with somebody who has a 9 percent approval rating."
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, referring to Republican Vice President Dick Cheney

6. "There's only three things he (Republican presidential candidate and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani) mentions in a sentence: a noun and a verb and 9/11."
Sen. Joseph Biden, speaking during a debate for Democratic presidential candidates

5. "I don't recall."
Former U.S. Attorney Alberto Gonzales' repeated response to questions from members of Congress about the firing of U.S. attorneys

4. "That's some nappy-headed hos there."
Radio personality Don Imus, referring to the Rutgers University women's basketball team

3. "In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country."
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, during a speaking engagement at Columbia University in New York

2. "I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don't have maps and I believe that our education like such as in South Africa and Iraq and everywhere like such as and I believe that they should our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S. or should help South Africa and should help Iraq and the Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future for us."
Lauren Upton, the South Carolina contestant in the Miss Teen America contest, when asked why one-fifth of Americans cannot find the U.S on a map

1. "Don't tase me, bro."
Andrew Meyer, a senior at the University of Florida, after being hauled away by campus police during a speech made by Sen. John Kerry

Weekend Trip

This weekend, Margo and I took a little trip to the amazing town of Mena. For those of you who don't know, I grew up in Mena. I think it is a great little town and I like to go back and visit. I wouldn't mind living there again someday but Margo is not so keen on the idea. One of the main reasons we love to go visit is to see some good friends of ours, Steve and Kathy. They are the parents to our good friends Annie and Molly who I have talked about before on this blog. They are the ones who are doing missions work along with their husbands. Their family has been one of the greatest influences on me personally and a big influence on us as a couple. Going and staying with them is one of our favorite things to do because their house is so fun, relaxing, and loving. Walt, Annie, Dylan, and Molly are all moving overseas in January so this was our last time to hang out with all of them, along with Steve and Kathy. As an added bonus, their cousin Tim and his wife Candice came down from NWA as well to hang out. It was such a fun weekend of hanging out, playing games, watching movies, etc. One of the many things we did while there was spend some quality time in the hot tub. It was very fun and crazy because it was like 30 degrees outside while we were in it. Here is a pic of Dylan, me, and Tim posing for a picture in our swim gear. Just to clarify a few things about the pic, no Dylan is not in his underwear, he wears a speedo for a swimsuit, I am not that skinny, I am sucking in my belly, and Tim is not nerdy like he is dressed.



Here is us hanging out in the hot tub.


I also wanted to show you a pic of one of my projects last week. Steve restores and collects old gasoline pumps. So, I patterned a bird feeder after one and built it for him for Christmas.

This is the pump I patterned my feeder after.


Here is the finished product. It turned out pretty good I thought.


Another side note about the trip.... We went to church this morning with everyone and when we walked in I saw a very nice lady who used to be a secretary at the Middle School in Mena. She gave me a hug and then asked how my hand was doing. I was puzzled by this because the only time I see her and talk to her is when I go to their church down in Mena. I asked her how she knew I had surgery a few weeks ago. Well, I was surprised out that she reads my blog, I had no idea. It just goes to show that you never know who is going to read what you write online and I better be careful about what I say. I think it would be very interesting to find out who all is reading my blog.

Hair and Hand

I have been growing my hair out for a little while. When my hair gets longer it gets a little wavy/curly. It gets really curly if it is really humid or if it gets rained on or re-wet. Last night I was out working while it was lightly raining and after I came back in the house and it dried it was really curly. I had a little fro going so I thought I would take a pic.



Here is an updated picture of my hand. It has been a little over a month since I had surgery and a few weeks since I had my stitches removed.

Out With the Old Bag

No I don't mean Margo, she is still a new bag. As you all know I am a big fan of sustainability, environmental friendly, supporting local business, etc. I am also a fan of Wal-Mart which may seem a little contradictory so let me explain, for us Wal-Mart is local (home office in Bentonville) and they have started doing a lot to be more sustainable and environmentally responsible. It is a big deal because as the biggest company in the world they will have a far reaching effect on all the businesses that support them, supply them, had have merchandise in the stores. For more info on what Wal-Mart is doing click here. That is not what this blog is about but I figured I should clarify the possible contradiction. What I really wanted to tell you about was a new thing Wal-Mart is doing to help cut waste. They have developed re-usable grocery bags. The normal plastic bags are a huge contributor to landfills and a big time non-sustainable waste product. Wal-Mart has started stocking these re-usable bags (they are now in NWA) and they only cost $1 each but can be re-used over and over. They are made of recycled material and can be recycled themselves if they ever wear out. They also hold over twice as much as a regular plastic bag so you don't need nearly as many (we bought 4 and they held all our groceries that usually take around 10 plastic bags). They get the MSA (Margo Seal of Approval) because she really liked them after using them. A couple reasons she liked them was because they are square shaped so they sit in the back of the car better and don't roll and move all around while you are driving and they are easier to carry. They don't have to be used just for getting groceries, they have tons of uses like carrying clothes to change into if you are going swimming, carrying your kids supplies if you are going to a play date, taking your lunch to work, or lots of other things. That is cheap for a tote bag- $1. I hope that all of you will consider getting and using these re-usable bags when you go to Wal-Mart, you could even take them to other grocery stores besides Wal-Mart if you prefer, I am sure they won't mind.

Look how fashionable they are. They even make wearing christmas themed flannel pajama bottoms look good.

Anyone Need a Hat?

While Margo was gone the other night (she was at a livestock conference in Missouri), the dogs woke me up barking at about 5:30am. This happens semi often because there are lots of varmints and things that come around that the dogs bark at and chase off. Usually it is a feral cat that is trying to steal some cat food or is trying to sleep in the barn. Most of the time I just ignore the dogs and they eventually run off whatever it is and quit barking. Well, this particular time they just kept barking and barking and would not stop and I could not go back to sleep. So I decided to get up and go tell them to shut-up. When I got up, I realized the dogs were over by the chicken coop and not down by the barn like I expected. This concerned me because some of our local varmints like to eat chickens. So, I grabbed the closest gun (4-10) and slipped on my flip-flops and ran out the door. As soon as I stepped outside (in the 30 degree air with only shorts and flip flops on) I smelled a very distinctive smell (I'm sure you can guess). So, I ran over to the chicken coop and shined my light inside but did not see any striped beast. I then started searching the woods around the chicken coop and I spotted it. It had it's tail up ready to defend itself (it had already got the dogs really good) But before it could, I shot it. Dead. I think skunks are pretty cool animals over all, especially their fur markings. But since they will kill chickens if they get hungry enough, (I am sure this one was just eating the chicken feed) I had to do it. Here is a pic of my early morning wake-up call.