Welcome 2009

One of Ben and I's goals for 2009 is to simplify our life. Our first step is going through all the the old papers we have and shredding anything we don't need. Today I found a gem in the midst of all of this junk.

Back when I got my wisdom teeth out I woke up from the anesthesia and started talking. To stop me from busting my stitches, my mom handed me some paper to write on instead. I am so glad she did, because here is some of what I wrote:

My mind doesn't work. I see indians!! - only when I shut my eyes.

Can I go play in the creek?

I should do more drugs.

Every time I close my eyes the Indians come back.

Codine?

Did I get a sticker?

Just a minute ago you were walking around giving soup to people. Peasants - they were starving. That is a stupid pie to wake up to.... Mirror - I was battling indians in my sleep and you were feeding the wounded. I woke up. Maybe. That nurse kept getting in the way when you were feeding people. I don't know why people would take drugs - this is freaking & something I never want to do again - getting knocked out I mean.

Bag?!

What a great start to 2009!

New Blog

So I liked that you were all thinking in the post about what I should name my new blog, but I ignored all of your comments. Here's why, when it came down to it, I still enjoyed writing on this blog. I enjoy writing about random things and I want to continue that. I also want to write about things that may make a difference in the world... so as of today, Jan 1, 2009, I am launching a new blog, "Our Old Shoes". This blog will focus on how we can walk together to help people. It will look at how as Christians we should be walking with those who struggle and how we need to realize that we need people to walk with us through our struggles. This blog will look at why, how and where we can get involved to make a difference.

This is very different from the reason I write Old, Comfy Shoes. I will continue to write here, but you can also find me at Our Old Shoes.

Hope you have a great start to 2009!

Tips for keeping your money

I used to follow the financial meltdown of the global economy pretty regularly, but then I realized that there was just too many banks failing and too much of my tax dollars were going to people I wouldn't hire, so I just gave up. But I can see how in all this uncertainty it can be hard to pick a bank. Will it still be open tomorrow? Does this bank still give out suckers? Do their checks look cool? All of these are important questions. It's hard to pick a good, solid bank, but one bank near my house is making it a little easier than the others. It is standing above the rest and helping you make up your mind. It's their sign that reads,

"New Home Lone Rates"

that boldly proclaims that you should take your money elsewhere. Preferably to a bank that can spell. And maybe count.

Hopefully this Christmas season you placed your money in a better bank. Have a wonderful Christmas! Enjoy the time we have to celebrate the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ.

Snow Day

The rain, ice and snow came and it's shutting down everything around here. I haven't gone into work because I am a chicken and would rather not get hit by a crazy driver. I must say that the best part of winter storms is the news coverage around here. They go crazy. They interview people buying snow shovels, the provide live coverage of the "snow falling! From the SKY! And landing on the ground!" and they tell just exactly the road conditions - treacherous. Which could mean slightly damp or it's a death trap. They use the word pretty liberally around here.

While we were watching the news this morning to see if I should venture out there were two reports that I really enjoyed. In the first report the reporter directed the camera to her feet where she showed us that the snow "covered her shoes". This is breaking news people. The snow covered her shoes. The second report covered the main road in town and was showing how slippery it was. To demonstrate the bad conditions, the reporter WALKED ON TO THE ROAD in front of oncoming traffic and slid around on the ice. Because nothing speeds up the morning commute or boosts T.V. ratings like a live video of a reporter being struck by a car. Thankfully that didn't happen, but I am hoping that from now on that reporter is regulated to the news desk. Where it's dry and there are no cars to leap in front of.

If it's snowing near you, stay dry and enjoy some hot chocolate.

What's in a name?

I need your help. Old, Comfy Shoes may have run its course. I used to love writing funny stories about what goes on in my life. Now I feel like I have run out of material and I am keeping this blog going just out of obligation. It's hard to come up with stories when 11 hours of my day are taken up working or driving to and from work. Since I can't blog about work it really puts a crimp in my style. Also, I've become nicer and can't make fun of people on my blog which removes about 90% of my content.

What I want to write about is how we could do something about the crap that goes on in this world. I want to write about why we should do things about the problems we see, why as a Christian it's important to do something about the environment, poverty and racism. These are things that I enjoy discussing and want to write about. I want to get people's feedback on different books and make people aware of opportunities they have to get involved. I want the time I spend writing to mean something.

There is just one thing holding me back: I can't come up with a name for this new blog. There's no point in registering a new site if I don't know what to call it. Do any of you have any ideas? Could you send them my way? Leave them in the comments if you don't mind. I'm sure someone out there has a brilliant idea that they don't mind me stealing.

We are good friends...

Yesterday was one of those days. Everything went wrong. I came home to find out that our credit card number may have been stolen and new cards would take 1-2 weeks to arrive. Awesome timing since I was planning on doing the Christmas shopping tomorrow. Awesome. Our internet was down and someone couldn't come out until Tuesday to fix it. I put sour milk into the eggs I was making and the flour I was going to use had worms in it. It was not a good evening.

But now it's Friday and after 4 days our internet is FINALLY fixed. It is a much better day!

Last weekend our friend Scott got married. Congratulations Scott and Olivia.

We gave them a set of unique trivets.

And Ben got to do the worm at the reception. I think that this makes it a good wedding.

We also pranked their house, which apparently is not done here in Kentucky. When I describe how we booby trap the house or rearrange all of the furniture while the couple is on their honeymoon, I get told I am mean and not a good friend. I don't think that they understand; that's just how we treat our friends in Ohio, we take all the labels off of their cans and fork their yard to show our love. Fortunately Scott lives in Ohio and he's participated in plenty of pranks. He had it coming.

We re-did the bed

the shower,

the pictures,
and the basement.
We also left them a welcome home note.

In all actuality this is pretty tame. They should be happy that Matt didn't release all those pregnant hamsters in their house. That would be a real surprise!

Happy Veteran's Day

To all the men and women who served in our military - thank you!

Here are some pictures from our veteran's day parade:





And of course no parade would be complete without a guy with a cat in his coat: