Musical Tuesday - 6/23/09

These long weekends are throwing me off on my Monday's. So here's a little ditty from Andy McKee. Tight Trite Night was written by Don Ross, another finger style player. This is an awesome song with lots of dynamics. Have a great Tuesday!

Musical Monday - 6/15/09

Saturday was my 26th birthday and Heather took me to Carowinds for Sonfest for my bday present. It was amazing. We saw great bands that we hadn't seen before with great worship time. My two favorite bands we saw were Fireflight and Third Day. I have to say that both sound even better live compared to their albums. Third Day was rocking the house in their set. So for this edition of Musical Monday, let's take a listen to 'Revelation' by Third Day. So just sit back, relax, jam, and worship God.



Musical Monday - 6/8/09

This edition of Musical Monday is a classic tune from Boston. 'More Than A Feeling' is such a great song, but what's even more impressive is the video for the song. The hair and stache's are abound in this video. Great guitar work and great cultivating of the white man 'fro with the 70s stache. I love it!

Enjoy 'More Than A Feeling'.


Father's Day Gift Ideas

Father's Day is just around the corner and I haven't really thought about what I'm going to get my dad. I have a few ideas, but nothing has been purchased yet. I searched around the web for ideas for Father's Day gifts and stumbled upon this little video gem. It has some really interesting ideas for gifts and if I were a dad, I know I would love to receive any of the gifts described in this video. :-)

Happy shopping!

June Is Here

June is here and I have to say that I am really excited about that, mainly for three reasons:

1: My birthday is in 12 days! (June 13)
2: Heather is done with school, yay! (June 5)
3: Costa Rica Mission Trip! (June 29)

I guess you can say we are both happy for June to be here. I know Heather has been ready for this school year to be over so we can start our "new lives". Now that she is done with school...and I mean done, done...No more, nada, finito...we can start some of our summer projects and vacations.

Our first main project is to rip a french door size hole in our living room wall to connect our dining room/kitchen to our "isolated" living room. This will definitely change the layout of our house. We're going to do all the work ourselves. My dad, cousin, and myself will be tearing it all down and rebuilding it. It's going to be sweet! There will be before, during, and after pics for this project. If you would like to come by and check out the project (or help), come on by two Fridays from now, June 19. God willing, we will have it completed by Sunday, June 22.

Now for the vacations...our vacation this month isn't really a vacation per say, it's a mission trip to Costa Rica with GCS. I am super excited about it because this is my first mission trip ever and I can't wait for us to go. I'll definitely be taking about a million pictures while we are down there and I'll hopefully have many posts full of pics and fun, interesting stories.

I pray that God will show us what he wants us to do this month to further His kingdom. I know He has his plan for us and I will try to share what happens this month.

God Bless!

Musical Monday - 6/1/09

I hope you all enjoyed our musical journey we took in May, I know I did.

For this week's selection I've chosen another song from Hillsong. "In Your Freedom" is a song off our the "Saviour King" cd. In Your Freedom was written by Marty Sampson, who is an amazing song writer and worship leader. Every time I listen to this song I get chills. I hope that you stay and listen to this amazing and powerful song. Have a great Monday!

In Your Freedom by Hillsong


Musical Tuesday - 5/26/09

As you can plainly see, it is Tuesday and I haven't posted my usual Musical Monday. I wanted to come up with this elaborate excuse/reason I didn't post yesterday like "I observe all national federal holidays and refuse to do anything but relax on those days"...but the truth be told, I forgot.

GASP!!

My first week of four day work weeks really through me off this weekend. First I had this past Friday off (which was awesome!) and then I had Yesterday off because of Memorial Day (and it was my unpaid day off for this week).

Now, on to our great selection for this Musical Tuesday. The Beatles' very first #1 hit single, 'Please Please Me'. This was their first #1 hit in the UK not the USA. The first #1 hit in the USA was, 'I Want To Hold Your Hand'.


Musical Monday - 5/18/09

Today's selection is a tune off of the Beatles album 'Abbey Road'. This song is said to be George Harrison's crowning achievement as a Beatle and I agree, it's a great love song with a smooth beat and sweet vocals. Also, this song was the first Beatles #1 hit that wasn't written by Paul or John. How cool is that?!?

Please enjoy this great love song, 'Something' by the Beatles.



Musical Monday - 5/11/09

As we continue our Beatles video series I have a little story behind the song, Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.

One night when I was working at Pascal's here in Greenwood, the other chef, the dishwasher, and myself challenged everyone working that night. The challenge was to listen to one song for the entire night. We started out with Meat Loaf's Paradise by the Dashboard Lights, but that song was waaay too long for this challenge. We wanted to have a song that was short, catchy, and super annoying. Luckily we had a copy of the Beatles' White Album and came across this little gem. That night, we listened to this song for 4 hours. Let's do some math really quick...the song is roughly 3 minutes long...60 minutes in an hour...4 hours total time...that means we listened to this song 80 times. 80 TIMES!?!?! Needless to say I knew the words like the back of my hand.

How many times can you listen to it? Let me know how you do.

Gardening 101 - Growing a Healthy Lifestyle

A few weekends ago Heather and I set out to start a vegetable garden and a herb garden in our back yard. Of course with the country in it's "economic crisis", having a garden saves you money and it also makes you healthier and happier. As many of you know I work at Park Seed and I have access to one of the best selection of plants in Greenwood. Since that is the case, it was a given that I got most of our plants from them. The plants we chose for our vegetable garden were: Tomatoes, Yellow Squash, Zucchini, Bell Pepper, and Cucumber. For the herb garden we chose: Flat leaf parsley, Basil, Mint, Chives, Rosemary, and Oregano.

The easy part was done...we bought the plants. The hard part was in front of us...actually turn a plot of land into a great garden. Luckily, we had the help of my parents and their tiller. At first Heather and I decided on a 5x5 square-foot garden, but once started reading the spacing suggestions on the plants' tags we realized it needed to be much bigger (the squash and zucchini plants are supposed to get to be 6 feet across). So we finally came up with a 10x10 square-foot garden. The tiller made quick work of chewing up the grass and compacted dirt, but of course we had to sift through all the tilled up land to get out as much of the grass as we could so we wouldn't have to weed as much throughout the season. Our next step was to plant the plants and make sure they were settled into their new home for the season.

Now what's a garden without a border? A big dirt pile with a few plants thrown in, right? So of course we had to construct a border for the garden out of 10 ft. 1 in. x 6 in. pieces of wood with 2 in. x 2 in. stakes in the corners and along the middle of each board. Now that's a good looking vegetable garden, if I do say so myself. :-)


Our Vegetable GardenNow it's on to our herb garden. We knew we needed it to be close to the house so we could jump out there and grab whatever we need when we are cooking. So we made a little spot right next to our deck that was perfect. Again we constructed a border out of the lumber and stakes, but this time we didn't till any of the ground up. We made this garden into a raised bed. We set up our 3 ft. x 3 ft. border and filled it with a variety of soils and manure. The mixture contained a dash of potting mix, a pinch of vegetable garden soil, and a handful of Black Cow manure (best stuff on the planet! Who knew that people would pay for cow dung?!?). Anyway, our raised bed has the blackest of black soil mixture and the herbs couldn't be happier. They have exploded since we first planted them and we've already used some parsley and chives.

Our Herb GardenA little disclaimer about the pictures, the herb garden hadn't been filled out with the mint and oregano yet, because Heather's mom gave us those a few days after I took the picture. Along with the missing cucumber in the vegetable garden picture.

The great thing about having your very own garden is that you save money at the grocery store and you know exactly what is in your veggies and herbs. I'm super excited about picking our very first tomato and slicing it up. We might have to make a little home-made pesto from our basil as well.

If you haven't tried growing your own garden, I say go for it! It's really not that hard and if you don't have the space for a large garden, you can try out container gardening. That's how we got started and it's progressed into this. What happens next year should be even bigger and better since we will be more experienced gardeners.

Musical Monday - 5/4/09

Ahhh, May. May is here and it's time to start a little video series. We'll be taking a journey this month into the minds of one of my favorite bands of all time...The Beatles. Of course they are one of everybody's favorite bands, but hey...Paul McCartney and John Lennon are legends.

So today we'll start out with a favorite of mine, 'Eleanor Rigby'. It's a short ditty, but I love to listen to the amazing string work, it is so entrancing.


Musical Monday - 4/27/09

Good morning everyone!

Today I'm feeling like a rock star so we'll be listening to one of my recent favorite rock/punk bands, Emery. They are originally from Rock Hill, South Carolina and I love to hear about local bands making it big. Anyway, Emery is now stationed in Seattle, WA and they are on Tooth & Nail records. Tooth & Nail records is a great Christian Rock label and there are a few other great bands on that label that I love. But that is another Monday...

Without further a due, I present "The Party Song" by Emery.


TMNT Turns 25

I can't believe it's been 25 years...


One of my favorite cartoons, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, turned 25 today and I think we need to celebrate!

If you want to know more about the turtles then just follow me over to RetroJunk.com. They have tons of info about the turtles and great videos...maybe even a few episodes of the original series.

Musical Monday - 4/20/09

Another Monday, another great song.

Today's selection is a great little ditty. The classic theme song from The Jefferson's played mainly on the iPhone. I'm particularly impressed with these guys and it's pushing me toward buying the Leaf Trombone app of the Ocarina app.

Have a great start to the week!

How to Have A Great Time With Friends

How do you have a great time with friends?

Well, if you have friends like I do, then it's really not that hard to figure out. Food, games, great conversations, and a love for Christ. That's really all you need, and that's what we had tonight. Since Heather went to see her sister down in Charleston, SC today, I had a great opportunity to spend the evening with Steve Doll and his family. Of course I had spent time with all of them before, but never had a chance to really sit down and get to talk with them over dinner. What really helps people connect...great food! We had grilled chicken, corn on the cob cooked on the grill (best thing on the menu in my opinion), green beans with almonds, pineapple, cantaloupe, and strawberries with cream. I must say that Steve's wife, Melissa, is an excellent cook.

So if you really want to have a great time with friends, cook up some good grub, start a few great conversations and you'll have an unbelievable good time with your friends.

Remember...

Good Food + Good Conversations = Great Time With Friends

Musical Monday - 4/13/09

Yesterday was Easter Sunday and we had a wonderful service at our church. I had the chance to spend the whole day with my loving wife and both my parents and her mother and step father. Having a wife that loves to spend every minute of everyday with you is wonderful and makes me want to do more to make her happy.

Since I'm being all sentimental, I thought I'd let you listen to a great love song written by the band Bright Eyes. Eli Harrell introduced me to this band a few months ago and I can't go a week without listening to this song because it has a great little acoustic beat and the words are so powerful.

Have a great Monday!

Bright Eyes - First Day Of My Life

Dog-Sitting Made Easy

Maggie and Oscar - The Best DachshundsThis past weekend we had a chance to dog-sit for our good friends, Walt and Kimberly. They have a standard size dachshund named Oscar. Our lovely mini dachshund's name is Maggie and she thinks Oscar is her "boyfriend".

It's so funny to see them interact together. Maggie is a young hyperactive 10 lb dog that wants to play, play, play all the time while Oscar is an older 20 lb easy-going dog who is content in just laying around and staring into space. Maggie wants to fight with Oscar and run around the house like a crazy maniac, but
Oscar is always reluctant to join in. He'll just sit there and let Maggie run around him barking her head off and nipping at his legs. Eventually he'll give in and take off running; when that happens I imagine Maggie screaming "YES, FINALLY!" in her head.
After awhile they both are dead tired from the 30 minutes of strenuous activity and they both crash. That's the best part of dog-sitting, when they both collapse in their respective corners and sleep. This is how they normally end up.

Maggie pressed as close as she can get to me...
while Oscar curls up (with a good book) in his blanket...

Maggie Doing What She Does Best
Oscar Curled Up In His Blanket

Once the sitting is over, both mope around their respective house looking around for the other one. They both sleep for around 2-3 days and catch back up on energy. It's so great for the both of them. I wish I could experience what it is like to be a dog for a day. Being able to lay around all day, run around the yard, playing with balls and bones, getting treats for doing "tricks" or just being cute.

It would be great to be a dog....actually...that sounds eerily close to a few Saturdays/Sundays that I've had. :-)

Musical Monday - 4/6/09

I have been jamming to a song this past week like I never thought I could. It is Hillsong's "With Everything". When I first listened to it, I wasn't that drawn to it. It is the last song on their new live cd, 'This Is Our God'. You may have to listen to it more than once to really get the message behind the song, but it is an amazing song.



If you love this song, then please check out the playlist of the 'This Is Our God' DVD that I put together the other day.

Enjoy!

Musical Monday

If you happen to have a case of the monday's like this guy then I hope this will cheer you up.

Andy Mckee is one of my favorite guitarist. He's a brilliant stylist and can play a guitar like nobody's business. His ability and knowledge of musical theory amazes me. Give him a listen and have a great week.


Do we need tickets??

To the Gun Show!
Actually, to the gun auction. There was a gun auction in Hodges yesterday and we had a blast! Allen, his son Jordan, Walt, and myself were on a mission. A mission of great magnitude...have fun, try to find some great deals on a few guns, and people watch.

I don't own a gun, but I'm in the market for a handgun. Preferably a small to medium sized gun since I'm not that large of a person. Anyway, more on that in another post. I'll try to share my little knowledge of guns and my list of guns that I will be selecting from.

This was my first gun auction and I was definitely blown away by all the people and artillery that filled the metal building. After registering I milled around the multitude of guns and a few caught my eye - a Walther PPK/S, a Kimber Custom 1911, and a Kimber Ultra Carry II. Of course my budget for the day didn't allow me to purchase my first gun, but I'll keep my eye out for something soon. Allen did purchase a revolver for his wife, Denine, as a home defense method. Which was a very awesome buy.

Hopefully this weekend some guys from church will have a chance to go out to the range and shoot a few different guns. I'm stoked since I've never actually shot a gun...unless you count a BB gun or paintball gun...I don't. I'll definitely keep you posted on if we get to the range and I'll let you know how it goes.

Nathan Angelo Concert

Heather (my wife), Matt, Sarah, and I went to an awesome concert tonight at Lander. Nathan Angelo performed a free concert and it was an intimate setting that was laid back and care free. I hadn't seen him perform live before so I was syked to finally get to see him. If you haven't heard of Nathan Angelo, you have to check him out. It's great jazz style music. He's an amazing pianist and his drummer was very impressive. I must commend his drummer for playing a 3 piece set...sounded great.

I have to tell you that all I had on me tonight was my iPhone, so I couldn't really get great
pictures. But that really wasn't what I was there for. :)

Selection Sunday - 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball

Finally the day has come that many of us have been waiting for...

Selection Sunday!

This is a great day for many as it signals the coming of March Madness. Every year I get pumped because I love filling out a bracket and seeing how well I can match up against others. Facebook has a bracket challenge and CBS Sports also has one. Personally I like to have an office pool and get some people I know battling it out. Tomorrow we'll be checking out the brackets and picking our own.

My favorite match up is Louisville vs. Morehead St. Of course Morehead St. has to play Alabama St. before they can actually get into the tourney, but hopefully they can handle the Wednesday game. My dad is an Alumnus of Morehead St. and he's really excited to see them play in the big dance.

Go Eagles!


Will Starve For Food

Whew! It's been a crazy 2 weeks. So crazy that I haven't had a chance to post. The bulk of my time outside of work has been devoted to our youth group. We have been prepping for our 30 Hour Famine that we are participating in on March 6th and 7th. I am so excited about it because we get to starve our bodies for Christ. We have been raising money for children in Africa. $1 will feed 1 child for 1 day. How amazing is that? I know plenty of people (myself included) that will go out to eat once and the bill will total to $20 to $30. What if we could send all the change we have left over in a week to Africa? Do you think it could make a difference? I know it could.

If you feel like you want to give a donation, please feel free to email me and I will work with you to help others. Or if you want to get more information about the 30 Hour Famine ministry, please don't hesitate to ask.

Welcome!

I would like to formally and informally welcome you to my blog. I've had this blog registered for weeks now, but I haven't been able to come up with something to write about for my first few posts. I hate starting something without some sort of plan. So now I have some ideas and somewhat of a schedule in my head. This beast is off and running now!

Now I'm going to give you a glimpse into what you will get from me in the next few posts...

1. One of my good friends, Paul Crutcher, talked to me and Hyatt last night about a project he had in one of his classes at Lander. He described it as "a walk through his musical life" and I found that to be a great topic for every musician to think about.

2. I love youth ministry and having the chance to affect young people's lives. I want to write out my last message I gave them because I felt that it should be read by more. I am definitely going to do a lot of posts from my messages, along with experiences I have with the youth.

Anyway...that's all for now. Keep an eye out for my next few posts. I'm really excited about them and I hope you can stick around to see how this blog grows.