My tradition

Today I started listening to Christmas music.

The Races, Part II

Another work outing, another set of photos. We sat closer to the action this time, and the photos turned out much better.

Adam, the Hunter

I shot an eight-point buck on the way to work this morning.

Our exciting week

This past week we survived area flooding, had a reorganization at work, were blessed with many baby shower gifts, and went to Miller Park in Milwaukee to witness the Chicago Cubs' Carlos Zambrano pitch a no-hitter against the Houston Astros. It was the Cubs' first no-hitter since Milt Pappas missed a perfect game by one strike in 1972.

I wonder what makes it crunch

[Editor's note: This is a real, undoctored box of cereal]

minutia

Yesterday and today I have corresponded with a friend to whom I haven't talked in several years. We weren't on bad terms, just geographically very far apart.

In my email, I confessed to him that Facebook and other similar websites (blogs?) are "the crack-cocaine of a self-important generation, and I'm an addict."

The same day, I had lunch with a friend who works nearby, who I had not seen in several months.

In both cases, we were able to catch up over the course of a few paragraphs or a few minutes of conversation, leading me to believe that my earlier statement was correct: personal websites allow everyday people like me to turn the smallest things into a big deal and broadcast the self-important details of our lives to the world. The reality is that over the last several years, I probably have 3-4 good paragraphs of important information, including my marriage, the approaching birth of our son, working for a good company, and being involved in a great church.

I can't decide if it's a blessing or a curse that God allows us to enjoy the trivial things so much. At the very least, reflecting on all of this gives me pause to collect my thoughts and resolve to spend my time focusing on the important things.

Hey, Mickey, you're so fine...

This is an actual, four-foot-tall wood carving that sits in my in-laws' neighbor's front yard.

I love small towns.