Mindless Juices

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Now, for those of you who have had the pleasure of eating any one of my wife's semi-famous desserts, you know that I am a VERY lucky man. Yet, despite all the wonderful things she's made me, Funfetti style cakes are still my favorite. In honor of our 9 years of kisses, I suggested a stop off to the grocery to make a Funfetti style cake. To my surprise, my wife said yes, so I went to the store and she made the cake. And we celebrated. Now, I have to talk about this Funfetti style because Funfetti is made by Pillsbury. Pillsbury makes Funfetti icing, which is just white icing with sprinkles. However, my wife, in her geniousness, used the Rainbow Chip icing from Betty Crocker for our Funfetti cakes. Well, Better Crocker came out with Rainbow Chip SuperMoist cake. It's basically Funfetti cake, but made by Betty Crocker. Now, I can't tell the difference between the two cakes. They're both moist and fluffy and sweet and fun. However, Betty Crocker definitely has the best icing. The Rainbow Chip icing accentuates the fluffy, rainbow fun of either cake. If you haven't tried a Funfetti style cake with Rainbow Icing, you're missing out.

So, I was quite bummed about finding out that Sabrina's car has reached the point of the-repair-costs-more-than-the-car-is-worth. On my way into work, I managed to stress myself out about affording a car payment. As I was walking into the building, I decided to stop and trust God. I was still visibly bummed and arrived to a room full of technicians and supervisors working on this project for TWC with me. They asked me what was wrong. I was trying not to bring my personal issues to work, so I didn't tell them immediately. After a while of them trying to make me smile (incredibly annoying), I told them why I was bummed. One of them offered to buy my wife's car, another offered to sell me his daughter's car. This is a great story: One month after buying his daughter a car, she moves out of his house and moves to Greensboro and moves in with her boyfriend who recently got out of jail. Daddy's not too happy, so he's taking back the car that's in his name. When he does, we'll take a look at it and, if we like it, we'll work something out. The deal would be phenomenal. So, hopefully, it will all work out. --Steve

Today, my wife and I are celebrating 9 years of kisses. Yep. We've been a couple for 9 years. Yessir. It started 9 years ago today after a Homecoming dance we kissed and we've been doing it ever since. Really! It's true! I know, it's hard to believe that a girl as wonderful as my wife would have put up with, taken care of me, loved me and not killed me for 9 whole years. She's pretty special, and I know it. Unfortunately, I just tried calling her to tell her that the Jeff Corwin Experience was in Madagascar, my wife's favorite island country. I couldn't get a hold of her, but she loves lemurs. So, that's the moral of the story. After 9 years, I've learned that my wife loves lemurs... and she doesn't mind my kisses.

"Rent" is the Hollywood production of the award-winning Broadway musical. Sabrina and I went to see Rent, the musical, in Roanoke a few years back and we loved it. We bought the soundtrack and sang the songs. It came out in high school and I remember the freaks of the drama freaks going ape over it, but I didn't get it. I mean, I knew Phantom and Les Mis and I was down with those. But, I never heard of Rent and I didn't get it. Boy, did I miss out... Rent, a rock musical, written by the late Jonathan Larson, is one of the most relevant, inspirational and moving plays written this century. It is precisely this that made it take off. It's backstory didn't hurt... The short version is that Jonathan, after spending years writing and trying to get Rent produced, passed away the night of the final dress rehearsal. He saw his work take life and gave an interview for the NY Times after the rehearsal. The next morning, his body was found in his apartment. His body had finally succomb to the disease that was plaguing him. Now, there were a ton of people that were crucial to launching this show, but Jonathan life is written in its pages (it's not a biography, but you get it). It may be the reason its so... good! Now, you have to understand that it's a show about being poor, living with AIDS, being a homosexual and rebelling. Some lyrics: "How can you connect in an age Where strangers, landlords, lovers Your own blood cells betray What binds the fabric together When the raging, shifting winds of change Keep ripping away Draw a line in the sand / And then make a stand Use your camera to spar / Use your guitar When they act tough - you call their bluff We're not gonna pay rent!" Now, you've got to hear it, see it... because I heard it in high school and I didn't get it. I saw it after that in the news, but wasn't listening. It is an experience and should not be missed. The movie comes out on 11/23 with a lot of original cast members playing their original roles. I can't wait to see it. Now, the disclaimer: If you were offended or think you would not enjoy some of the content mentioned in this post, maybe you shouldn't see the movie. However, if you can have an open mind and recognize that there are people living these lives no matter how you feel about their choices or lifestyles, then, you might really enjoy this little entertaining & creative window into their lives.

Now, I've seen my share of hurricane force winds and I PROMISE you, the leaves don't stand a chance. Yet, somehow, this upstart team from "Canadia" manages to squeeze out a win over Carolina last night. Unfortunately, we only caught the end of the game. I was busy working on various things while Sabrina was out, but I went over to Curtis and Rachel's to allow Curtis to take home their babysitter and wait for my wife to arrive safely home via Angela's driving. While at the Mulders, I had nothing to do put sit on the couch and watch the game. The girls and Curtis arrived back home at the same time and we watched the end of the game. The 'Canes played well, but in the last minutes, our boy, Eric Staal accidentally high sticked a Leaf in the face. We played the last minutes of OT shorthanded and it was too much for our defense to hold off. If the penalty had happened later, I think we might have held them off and I'm confident we'll win any game that goes to a shoot-out. So, we loss, which was a bummer way to end the evening.

So, 5 days since last post. I've been quite busy at work. I took over a new area and, although the guys are GREAT, I'm now in the rotation through the special project I was working on. The special project pretty much takes up your day when it's your day in the rotation. So, I've been busy and REALLY appreciating my downtime when I get it. I borrowed Paper Mario from Josh. Nintendo could make 100 games like this one and I'd want to play everyone. It's witty. There's a lot of open tasks to do. The game is simple, but has a decent amount of strategy involved. The better gamer you are, the more complex you can make the game and the easier (and harder) it gets. Josh says it's about 50-60 hours long, which is relatively short. Your Final Fantasy games are usually about 90-110 hours. So, a special thanks to Josh for lending me this game and making me smile and laugh.

I can't believe it's been 4 days since I posted! My apologies to my fans. Josh & Nick, I'm sorry. Meanwhile, I've gone back to my old job, but I'm running a new area. It's only been two days, but I can tell you, I think I've inherited a really great crew. I haven't met everyone, but so far, everything is going quite swimmingly and I haven't felt stressed about techs calling me at all. Of course, I like to think that some of this can be attributed to the management/leadership class that TWC is sending me to once a month. I like to think I'm taking things away from that class and applying them and that has something to do with how well things are going, albeit early on. Also, I like to think newhope plays a part in this, too. (To learn more about newhope, visit Sabrina's blog) Benji's latest series has been on Balance. While I don't feel like I struggle with this, per say, I believe everyone can use some more balance in their lives. I don't think you can have it all together... the universe doesn't really work that way. Conflict & stress lead to better things like resolution and relief. In philosophy, we called these "secondary goods." So, I think I've managed to keep things from getting too far out of balance. Now, I'm trying to focus more on God and let Him help me find the pivot point ("piVOT! piVOT!"). And lastly, and probably most influential, is my small group. As mentioned by my wife, we're studying Ephesians. This book is particularly interesting and the study guide we're using really pushes you to dig deep. Additionally, we have been blessed with a few scholars and educated types who are able to give us background and perspective. There is one theme (among many) that has been working on me as we study. It is one of peace... the Gentiles were granted the same path to Heaven as the Jews and there was obviously some conflict about this. Paul reminded the Ephesians that when they choose the path, they choose one of love and tried to help them understand what that looks like. As I look into my life, I wonder, "Do I live love? And even if I do, do I live it loudly?" Well, I'll start with trying to make sure I live it. So, I've tried to catch myself when I'm tempted to be unnecessarily negative or engage in idle chatter, especially with negative tones. It's not about avoiding negativity, but avoiding allowing myself to become negative and join in the gossip or the backstabbing or anything else of the like that just seems to be a part of this world. For me, it seems to all comes down to being judged. You see, for the past 9 years, I've been pretty content on my salvation. It was all I really needed to think about. Sure, I'd consider other philosophical and/or theological pursuits, but with regards to spiritual matters, all I really needed was to know that I was loved, forgiven and cleansed. But, I've recently been struck with the idea of arriving to heaven and being judged. I'm sure I've heard about it numerous times over the 9 years, but I guess I chose to ignore it or, at least, not dwell on it. So, while my ticket is reserved, will my attire be appropriate? And even though there is no dress code (so one could argue that it doesn't even matter), will I find myself in the rags I deserve or the suit given to me for a job well done? I don't know... I know that before I arrive, I'd like to try to be better than I am right now. I'd like to be the man God made me to be and quit slumming around in my own life. Don't get me wrong, it's a good life and God knows I needed it to get me to this time. I just hope I can walk the path I've chosen or if I can't then, at least, stand true. Hmm... got a little deep there. Guess I needed to flesh those thoughts out some.

So, this weekend, I finally got around to a chore I've been secretly dreading. You see, the only real issue we've ever had with our floor plan is that they have carpet down the first hallway of our home. Now, this would normally be nice, but the door to the garage opens to this hallway. So, after only one year, there was some obvious wear to the area in front of that door. Also, the carpet extends into the closets... One closet where shoes go. So, there were a few spots in there, too. And, lastly, the carpet extends into a "closet" where we have our cats' litter box. If you own cats, you find out that they miss sometimes. It's not often, but when it's carpet, all it takes is once. And, no matter what you do, they're kicking some of the litter out of the box. The point of this grossness isn't to make my wife mad at me for posting our literal dirt publicly. It's simply why carpet in this hallway doesn't work and especially doesn't work for us. The hallway should have been non-carpet from the start... Vinyl, hardwood, something other than carpet. So, I spent a decent chunk of Saturday pulling up the carpet. Now, I expected the tack strips to be glued to the concrete slab on which our house is built. Instead, I was surprised to find, they were nailed. I asked neighbor Steve and he tells me how they drive it in with a gun... literally, with gunpowder... "How does that not crack the concrete?" Something about it pulverising and dull points... I kinda stopped listening, I really only care if I get to shoot one. Anyway, I had to go to The Home Depot to purchase a "crow" bar. Except, they don't call them crowbars anymore. Now, they're everything else with the word "bar" after it. Super bar, Extreme bar, Special Bar... you get the idea. I picked one out and it worked very well. I was quite pleased. Although, it's skinny and flat all throughout (rather than just ath the ends). So, the middle isn't so much a round bar. It's not exactly ideal for use as a weapon for when Sabrina asks me to get check out "the noise." ...You know, the one that ends up being a serial killer in the movies... I was looking forward to having that type of crowbar, the kind that Tony Soprano would own. Still, the point was to get carpet up. I did. Now, we've already picked out some vinyl to go down and we'll be scheduling that soon. Still, if you're wondering why we're not inviting anyone over in the next few weeks, it's because I was too lazy to pull up the carpet earlier when it would have been easier to schedule.

Hockey is back and since my wife is getting into it, so am I. Like all sports, I'll watch it if I'm in the mood or if others want to watch it. I know enough about almost all of them to be entertained while watching. So, last night, the hockey season started. EVERY team played somewhere last night. I thought that was pretty cool. The 'Canes lost to the Lightning. Now, I used to be a Lightning fan, so I'm not too upset about this. I only became a 'Canes fan because I live in NC and, well, a lot of the Hurricanes live around here and have TW Cable. Still, if any other team is going to win, I would want it to be the Lightning. The 'Canes played a great second period. The Lightning scored a fluke goal in the second period that, I believe, really hurt the 'Canes' morale. They lost a lot of steam in the third period. Still, the 'Canes outskated the Lightning and with a little more teamwork and more time, they might be a contender. It's only one game, so we'll see how it plays out. The Lightning definitely played like a Stanley cup winning team. I may have to keep my eye on them, too. Cam Ward replaced Martin Gerber as goalie in the third period. Ward will start for the 'Canes first home game of the season. Ward played an excellent third against the Lightning and I think he's going to shut down the Pittsburgh Penguins.

I heard this rumor about TWC. Interestingly enough, it didn't come from anyone inside TWC. So, don't put too much into it. The rumor was that the phone companies are going to raise their DSL speeds real soon and TWC would be raising theirs again, too. Now, I haven't heard anything of the sort at work, but it occured that this COULD happen SOME day and that got me excited. Because I love getting free upgrades to my cable service... who doesn't? So, it made me happy.

So, while at Nick & Kelli's, we watch the new G.I. Joe cartoon on Saturday morning. Now, I'm not sure how I feel about these re-makes. For example, those all annoying Power Rangers were a total rip off of Voltron. I had watched a few of the new Transformers, but I wasn't impressed. Still, a new G.I. Joe was a pretty interesting proposition. G.I. Joe was all about propaganda. Specifically, USA propaganda. But, it was good stuff. Joe's enemy wasn't communist or terrorists or anything, they were just bad guys... they were COBRA... well, I guess it would have been anti-serpent propaganda... Anyway, the idea was simple... the US was giving evil the beat down all over the world. Now, as you grow older, you realize that the idea of beating evil down isn't bad, but the lines between good and evil are really difficult to find in the real world. Still, COBRA is clearly evil and the Joe's need to stop them. So, I may give the new Joe a try. Joe is now a U.N. sanctioned agency... Which takes away from the whole US pride thing. Still, the Joe's were cool. And Scarlett is still hot... I've had a things for red-heads lately... dunno why...

Last night, I watched Flight of the Phoenix on Cinemax On Demand. The movie is OK, but I'm glad I didn't pay for it. It was fine if you've got nothing better to do, but do NOT choose to watch this movie over anything else. You will be sorely disappointed. Luckily, I was waiting on laundry to finish and not sure what to do with the couple of hours before I expected my wife to call me. She never called, so I ended up playing Super Mario Sunshine that I borrowed from Angela & J.J. I am enjoying Sunshine, but it's starting to get hard. Also, I'm not sure how to beat the game. I'm pretty sure the answer is "save the princess," but then, it seems, that you only have to beat one area of the game. After some reading, I know that you don't save the princess by collecting all the shines because there are a number of secret and extra shines. Moreover, I found out that the reward for collecting all the shines is weak. So, I'm not even sure if I'm going to bother. It's fun to collect the ones I can, but I think I'm quickly arriving at, "Let me save the princess and beat this game already!" We'll see how it goes.

So, we left for Lynchburg on Friday afternoon. It's a pretty easy road trip. Though, poor planning left me hungry in the middle and I needed to stop for cupcakes. We arrived at Nick and Kelli's. We met Charlie who is incredibly lovable and a very good dog. Then, we headed to TGI Friday's for dinner. I got a Cinnabon Cheescake to go, but still wasn't hungry enough to eat it when we got home. Also, there was Kelli's cake which had a much higher priority on the dessert listing and I was pleased to finally taste some of her beautiful cake. It was as tasty as it was well-crafted. If you've seen the pictures... well, that's some good cake. We called it a night. Tomorrow was a big day. On Saturday, we slept in. Kelli made awesome Belgium waffles and we headed to LU for the Homecoming football game. LU football is pretty bad. There were high hopes for the relatively new 5 year old coach. This season would be the first with nothing but his recruits and trained atheletes. LU lost to VMI. We left after the band played at half-time. We headed over to Five Guys. After a scrumptious burger, we headed back home to chill until the main event... the Vroom concert. First, the Cinnabon Cheesecake is VERY good. I ate it before we headed out for dinner. Nick's friend Rob drove down from Maryland (I believe). He was a very nice guy and it a good time meeting him and hanging out. Then, we all met Tim and Annie at dinner at Applebee's. OK, so upon insection of the Applebee's dessert menu, we learn that they have brought back to Apple Chimi Cheesecake. It is, by far, our most favorite dessert. We come to learn that the Lynchburg Applebee's never stopped serving it. None of the Applebee's that we've been to in the Triangle still serve this delectable delight. It was very upsetting to realize that the Lynchburg Applebee's is now the better than all of the Triangle's Applebee's combined. We split our dinner to leave room for a Chimi. It was wonderful. Then, it was off to the Vroom concert. The opening band was all right, but Vroom definitely rocked. They haven't played together in 2 and 1/2 years. They were pretty tight with only a few forgotten lines and riffs. They sounded great and it's a wonder they didn't get picked up and made into stars. Obviously, but sadly, God has a plan the men of that band that does not involve Vroom. At the concert, we ran into some friends that we hadn't seen in a while. Some of these people, I have really only been around for a few hours at best. Still, they were around for some of my best moments (like getting engaged) and were instantly a part of my life, even if it's in a relatively small way, they're still important. It was good to see them and know that they are doing well. After the concert, we met half the band and other friends at TGI Friday's. It was supposed to be quite the party, but half the people didn't show up. Still, it was a good time. Also, the waiter gave us nicknames. He instantly assigned Sabrina the name of "redhead." I was extremely thrilled about that. It may have been the best moment of the weekend. We drank a little and called it a late night. We headed home for our last night in Lynchburg and came home today. All in all, it was a very fun trip. We spent too much money on food, but it's hard not to indulge while on vacation. Thanks to Nick and Kelli, it felt like a vacation. They are really wonderful hosts and, as usual, it was incredibly relaxing and fun to hang with them... especially for an extended period.