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Rachel drove over the dog this morning. She felt a bump and then she saw Cisco run towards the house. She called me on the phone. I quickly grabbed my special “put a dog out of its misery tool” and ran outside to look for him. My whistling skills improved significantly as I walked all over our property for an hour. I was about to head in a different direction when out of nowhere Cisco jumped in front of me. He seemed fine. His tongue was hanging out and he was out of breath. He didn’t seem to be limping or anything. He had two nicks on his head. He also drank a bunch of water when he got home. I was just happy I got to see him again. He has never been a very bright dog, and I’m sure some brain cells got knocked out of his head today. But I’m still hoping he will think twice about jumping under a tire again.

Here is a graphic I created for my wonderful wife on her birthday! You can download it and use it as a desktop background or print it on a card. Enjoy!

One morning I stared death in the eye. My eyes were barely open at the time. I groggily opened the cabinet to get my pills (all nicely organized in a pill box from Walmart). Then I opened the other cabinet to get a cold cup of water to wash down the Vitamin B-12, Ester-C, Calcium-Magnesium, Biotin, Fish Oil, and Claritin. I think he saw me first through the dark glass. I know we both wanted to scream, but we just shockingly stared at each other for 32 seconds. Apparently cats cannot see through dark glass (our cat didn’t notice the mouse even when I showed her). However, it is scientifically proven that humans CAN see through a dark glass cup. I quickly grabbed a cutting board and put it over the cup. The thought occurred to me that I was experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It’s not every day that you go to get a cup of water and have a mouse sitting in your cup. So I busted out the camera and took a few shots before I sent poor Mizzy off to see his relatives that were trapped weeks ago. Then I did the equivalent of handing him a gun loaded with one bullet and putting him on a deserted island. I stuck him in a sealed bucket with a mouse trap. I know it might be considered cruel, but I didn’t know what to do. I’m not a professional mouse killer.

Yes, this is the day I stared death in the eye. Stuart made me type this blog post from his perspective. I’m about step up on one of those traps that I’ve been avoiding for so long. This is the last day of my poor miserable existence. This is the day I stared death in the eye.

Today is our 3rd Anniversary. As we were chillin’ I started reflecting on how quickly things have moved. I met Rachel at The Wilds of the Rockies. We were brother-sister counselors my 1st and 3rd summer. It wasn’t until the 3rd summer that we really started hanging out (things didn’t materialize the first summer because I had some growing up to do). We went on hikes, ate out, and traded a funny note back and forth all summer. We told everybody that we were “just friends.” We didn’t realize that we were following the Buddy System 2.0. The Buddy System requires that you just stay buddies as long as possible so that there is not “dating” pressure. Well, it worked. Camp ended, I went back to school for the fall semester, and we were engaged over winter break. Then I went back to school for the spring semester, counseled/spoke at summer camp, and we were married on August 6th, 2005.

Now we are three years married, we have one kid (and another on the way), and we still have tons of fun. Maybe we’ve entered The Buddy System 3.0!?!

Happy Anniversary to US!

We hung out with Camp on Wheels this summer. We spent June in Arizona and traveled up to Canada for July. Everything ran smoothly because we had the best Staff of all time! They worked hard, they were responsible (most of the time), and they were goat-loads of fun! I’m praying that some of them end up out West when they graduate. The greatest lesson from the summer came from a camper. He said, “I LOVE the camp activities. But I don’t come to camp for the activities. I come to camp because of the PEOPLE that listen to me.” I’m going to be working on my listening skills this year.

The good folks at MacApper gave me a free license to GarageSale for simply leaving a comment. GarageSale is a beautiful Mac program for selling stuff on Ebay. If you are looking to purchase a branding iron I have one for sale. Thanks to MacApper and to the GarageSale team!

This book was on sale when I needed a couple extra dollars to get free Amazon shipping. It came in yesterday. I sat down with some tea only intending to read a few chapters, but I ended up finishing the entire book. The point of the book is that loosing weight should not be your goal. I was reminded that even skinny people can be unhealthy. A lifetime of health and fitness should be your daily pursuit. Mike Huckabee’s humor and conversational style make the book an easy read. Overall, his story is very inspiring.

Every weekday I take attendance for each of my music classes. The options I have when I take attendance are: “here/not here” or “present/not present.” After several months of this teaching thing I’ve noticed that some students who answer “here” are never really all there. On the other hand, I have students who are sitting in a math class and I know their minds are actually present in my class (I know this because I often have students ditch to come to my class). My newest practice is to take attendance in my own life when I am loosing focus. Am I “in attendance” when I am teaching? Am I “in attendance” when I am reading my Bible? Am I “in attendance” when I am listening? This little life hack has helped me spotlight my current responsibilities and to do well at them. What do you do to focus?

I’m not sure if my health today is a result of taking cold showers. One of the supposed benefits of standing in freezing water is an immune system boost. That was not the case last night and today. I’ve been tending to my schnozzola for 20 hours or more. The drugs are not working, steam is not working, and none of the online home remedies seem to work either. At least I’ve been able to get caught up on finances today. So here is a warning to yesterday’s post—take ice cold showers at your own risk!

In the past month I’ve decided to take cold showers every night. I originally got the idea from a blog that said to put three bags of ice in bath water and jump in. I didn’t have the guts to try this so I opted for the cold shower instead. This painful practice apparently has many benefits. I do it because I run everyday and I hate smelling myself as I go to sleep. I’ve noticed a decrease in my screams each time I take the cold shower. I also feel much warmer when I go to bed. For those of you who enjoy trying new things, this is something you can try out this week! Keep it cool.