10 Delicious Facts About Chocolate

For all you ladies out there (and guys) who are chocolate lovers, visit this great site for some great info and "back-up." Then, when you are done, explore a little. Its got a lot of interesting info! Enjoy! http://www.infobarrel.com/10_Facts_about_Chocolate

Murphy's Law

Have you ever wondered about the origin of "Murphy's Law?" Well, today is Monday. What better day to find out? :-) To learn about Murphy's Law and find lists of subsequent laws for your life or profession, visit the website below. If it doesn't make you smarter than the average bear on this topic, nothing will! Enjoy it and go out there to have a great week in spite of "Murphy's Law." Remember, we have the peace of Christ in us that passes all understanding. Through His power we can endure anything with grace.

http://www.murphys-laws.com/murphy/murphy-true.html

BBN - The Bible Broadcasting Network

If you are looking for a good Christian radio station, look no further. Even if you can't get this one on your own radio tuner, you can listen online. Some of their teaching programs are very Calvinist in doctrine, but their music is superb and their kids programs are sane. I hope you all enjoy it. Visit here:

http://www.bbnradio.org

Sunday - God's Yellow Pages

Here's a great little site I came across this week. I hope it blesses and encourages you. We can never be into God's word too much. http://web2.airmail.net/dpelc/yellow/

Don't forget to honor God's day today!

Ever Wondered...?

If you are like me - having an insatiable curiosity - then this favorite is for you: http://www.howstuffworks.com/

Find out what "urban sprawl" means. Learn why hydrogen peroxide bubbles. Discover the top ten natural building materials. Can you really burn vegetable oil in your car? How does an autofocus camera work? And so much much more. Visit this Saturday and try not to lose track of time! :-) Enjoy!

Save! Save! Save!

All you shop-a-holics or cheap-skates - whichever applies - Here's a way to make your trip a little more profitable. Check out this site for an amazing collection of coupons. Everything from clothing to home improvement. Save! Save! Save!

http://www.retailmenot.com/

Art from Dirt

Why not? God Did it first! :-)

This guy does some amazing things with dirt on a car window. Check it out at http://www.dirtycarart.com/gallery/index.htm

"Running the Numbers"

Here's a neat site. This guy used some skill and some photo-shop to create some really intriguing images. Be sure you zoom in to the max to see what is used to compose each image. Impressive! Visit the interactive Flash Player to see here (and link to the article):
http://www.portfolio.com/interactive-features/2007/12/running-the-numbers?TID=st092007ab

Also you can see more of Chris Jordan's work at his website, here: http://www.chrisjordan.com/
His images tell us distubing things about ourselves.

D I Y!

Here's another cool site for all those handy-men, and "do-it-your-self-ers" out there. Maybe this will even be a resource for some of you missionaries who need a little bit of advice on all things "buildy." (How do you like these great new words I am coming up with here?) ;-) Anyway, enjoy!

http://www.doityourself.com/

Moocher!

Here's a new site for all you bookworms out there! It looks pretty interesting. I haven't tried it yet, but some others of you might be intrigued enough to give it a shot. If you do, let me know how you like it!

http://bookmooch.com/

Online Parallel Bible

Today is Sunday: as one of my military buddies said one time, "Oh that's right, it's God's Day [for you]." Yes, it is God's day...the day we turn our hearts heavenward. At least I hope you do. If not, would you today? He is above all thing, most powerful and holy. We await His return.

In honor of the Lord's Day, the new link I am posting is concerning His precious Word. Here it is: http://onlineparallelbible.com/ I trust it will be a blessing in your studies. Have a blessed day.

New Sites

Hey Everybody!

In the next few days I am going to post some neat websites I have run across that some of you out there might enjoy. I have started using a web tool called "stumble upon (get it here). It finds some interesting sites and gadgets. Here is the first one: http://www.howtomendit.com/ It is an interesting site for all you guys out there who need to figure out how to complete that home repair you have been struggling with.

The update on my health so far:
I went to the doctor and got some things checked out. I was told that my blood pressure was ok that day, but I need to reduce my sodium intake because I have pre-hypertension. The blood work indicated that my cholesterol is high so I need to reduce that as well. Also she scheduled me for a stress test on this upcoming Tuesday to make sure the chest pains aren't something to worry about.
So I have started exercising and changing my diet to drop some of this 215 lbs I weigh right now (whew!). Hurrah for all this! I do need to get in better shape though if I want to kite surf next summer! :-)
Well that's all for now. Have a great Saturday!

Chris Up A Tree - Busy Week Ahead

Here's a photo of Chris up a tree for the first time a few weeks ago. He was intrigued.

We had a busy week this week. I'm pretty exhausted. We've been prepping for an inspection at work all week. I began some real estate continuing education. I have ongoing upgrade training at work. I worked at Saint Leo on Friday. I showed houses Friday afternoon. I had an accounting exam this weekend. I had Guard duty this weekend. And, I had a physical today. Gonna have to see a doctor near future. One of the things we discussed during the physical was my 160/104 blood pressure. I will definitely be getting that checked out. I've started going to the gym 3 to 4 times a week (in addition to everything else going on) trying to shave off some of the weight I've gained in the past couple of years. This week will be another busy one. I have another exam and a paper to get done. Also working some other real estate stuff. Well, guess I'll get off here for the moment. I'll blog when I can. Fun Have!

An Update...Finally! - Pics from Labor Day

Well,

We did survive the storm...no problems. We had some pretty strong gusty wind and rain, but we never even lost power...thankfully. I am very behind on my postings so I am going to try catching up a little.

Below you will see some pictures of our trip to WV over Labor Day weekend. We decided to make a flying trip up and back. We drove up on Friday and stayed the night with Jay and Hannah in their little house. On the way up we met Jenn's sister, Belinda, and her husband at Tamarack and visited with them for about 30 minutes. Then we surprised my Mom and Dad (after nearly 6 years of trying) by sneaking in without them expecting us. The kids enjoyed their place in the country.
They also thoroughly enjoyed playing with their cousins (Ben's kids & Carrie's kids). Julia and Christopher got to ride Uncle Jay's motorcycle. I even gave it a shot...but I am not very good. I almost dumped it once and barely dodged a tree on another turn. The kids loved it though.

Me giving it a shot.

Julia, Britney, Tori

Then that evening we sat outside playing music and fellowshipping. It was very enjoyable. I really enjoyed the time with my Dad. I have been missing him a lot this year. I soak up the time with him all I can, like I'm a sponge.

Sunday we spent the day with Jenn's folks, going to church and fellowshipping with them. Sunday night my folks came over unexpectedly to Jay's and we got to visit them a little more. Monday we drove back to VA and we brought Jessica, my sister, back with us. She is helping out around the house and being of great assistance to both me and Jenn.

That's all for the moment. I'll type again tomorrow hopefully. Y'all take care!

Tropical Storm Update

See that swirl of weather over the east coast of the U.S.? That's us. But, so far so good. We seem to be weathering the storm all right. Of course that is because the worst of it for our section came through early this morning while we were sleeping. As of 0300 this morning we still were seeing zero action. Between 0600 & 0800 we had driving rain and wind. Since then we've only had wind...already shaking the early fall leaves out of the trees and even the squirrels are having a hard time of it. It comes and goes in gusts. From what I can see on the radar maps online, we may get a little more rain this afternoon. The wind will probably continue for a few more hours at least from the swirl of the storm. However, we are grateful because we have not lost power from the storm yet and so far are doing well. Looks like this is just going to be a "grazing shot" for Hampton Roads! I'll give a final update later. Take care!

Hey All!

Dear All,

Sorry I haven't posted recently! I have been crazy busy this week trying to catch up after the holiday. We made a flying trip to WV last weekend to visit the folks and I got behind on everything so I am still buried under piles of paperwork and homework and trying to get Julia into school and trying to get all my homework done. Oh. We are also going to get smacked by a tropical storm tonight so I am trying to prep for that as well. So I will try and update again very soon with some pictures etc. Have a good'n!

- Rick