Ian's First Thankgiving

Miriam and I were able to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal at Cracker Barrel with Ms. Peggy and Melissa. Ian enjoyed all of the attention and good food!

To cheer up all of my friends and family after the LSU loss, be sure to check out the newest uploaded pictures on Flickr!

Stirring It Up

Do you have things that you enjoy doing and haven't done them in years? Me too! I haven't drawn anything in forever and decided to take the plunge and try to learn some Illustrator.

I feel I have a decent grasp of Photoshop but am clueless with Illustrator. I picked up a cheap tablet off Craigslist this week and after a bit of playing around, I was able to put together a quick and dirty picture.

For not having done this in forever, I feel fairly satisfied with the results. I think if I can put some time into this and stir up those old talents, I have an outside chance of holding my own.

So you have an old passion and interest that you have neglected? Stir it up!

New Pictures: Ian and a Bubble Bath

What is it about bath water and bubbles that can make a kid smile and laugh so much? I'm not sure but I'm sure thankful for that. How can seeing a smiling face like Ian's not make your day?

Be sure to take a peek at my pictures on Flickr because there are even more new pics there!

Saturday Night's Main Event

I am getting amped about the upcoming UFC fights on Saturday, November 15, especially the Randy Couture vs Brock Lesnar fight. As always, I will be meeting with a group of guys at The Fox and Hound at Johnston and Ballantyne to watch the fights. If you're planning to go and meet up with us, just let me know so I can make sure we have a big enough table.

Here are my initial thoughts on the main event. I have been a big Couture fan and would love to see him win, but I have my doubts in this fight. Lesnar is bigger, younger and stronger; Couture hasn't fought in over a year. So as much as I'd like to see Couture put a big ole whoopin' on Lesnar because I think Lesnar is a punk, I think he may be too much for Couture to handle for this weekend. I hope I'm wrong.

Bama vs LSU

Here's a refresher to remind everyone how good the game was last year. Here's to another LSU win.

When Florida beat LSU, my cube at work was wallpapered in Florida garbage. I sure hope LSU whoops Saban so my cube will stay crimson free.

Naturalized Citizens

Have you ever experienced something and knew it was something new and unique but couldn't quite put the whole experience into words? I've been chewing on one of those experiences for the past week and will attempt to describe it.

One of my coworkers became a U.S. citizen last week. I rounded up the troops around the office and wanted to be there to support him during his swearing-in ceremony. I had never been to one of these ceremonies and being a citizen is just one of those things you don't think about if you were born in this country. All I could see was teeth when I saw him because he was all smiles. There were 90+ people from 40+ countries proudly waving small U.S. flags who were proudly becoming naturalized citizens that day.

Being able to observe the ceremony gave me a renewed since of pride as an American. It also made me ponder a number of things. I never had to do anything to be a citizen. I just am one by birth.

And now the deeper thoughts. Parallel that ceremony with what happens when you became a citizen of heaven. There are no citizens by birth in heaven. Only naturalized citizens. Us celebrating with my coworker were pale in comparison to the celebration that takes place in heaven when someone becomes a new citizen.

How often do I not celebrate my citizenship enough? How often do I completely take it for granted? How many times have I not been there for someone to help them become a citizen? How often do I neglect my responsibilities as a citizen and not take advantage of the rights I've been given? How often have I not properly represented my country? Far too often and far too many times.