The Book Blog Tag Challenge -- Tag, I'm It!
Last tagged: James Landrith
1. Total number of books I have owned.
Hm, for the sake of having something amusing to blog, I will admit I have probably owned less than 20 books in my life. Because I am the Director of ISAA, people do send me books for review, so I do (technically) presently own some books, but I could probably only list about half a dozen.
Do comic books count? I was a huge comics fan for the better part of 20 years, until their quality tanked and prices skyrocketed. I was a big X-Men fan, back in the day. I also scooped up all the "Death of Superman" and "Reign of the Supermen" titles back in 1992-1993.
2. Last book I bought
I'm a big library nut, when I'm in a perusing mood. As I stated above, more people send me books than I actually buy. I think the last time I bought a book was at book fair in elementary school -- and that probably doesn't count since it was my parents' money. I would guess that the last book I bought (if you include comic books) was either an X-Men or Spiderman title.
3. Last book I read
I would have to say Preserver by William Shatner (with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens). Before that, I read the book which preceded that story, Dark Victory by the same writing team. Since this was all library fair, I did not ever find Spectre, which was the first in that three-part series of Star Trek books.
4. Five books that mean a lot to me
a. The Bible (King James Version) - this would have to be the all-time, most important book that means a lot to me. Coming to an understanding of this book, especially the Old Testament, has helped shape my world view and been a source of hope and inspiration to me every day. Let me add that I could not understand the Old Testament to save my life before the Holy Spirit came into me. Now I can truly appreciate the Bible, whereas before I could only theorize and debate about it. Lastly, I prefer the King James Version because I consider it to be the most accurate and least "watered down and fluffy" version that is currently available in English.
b. Bram Stoker's Dracula - An irony, considering my favorite book is the Bible, but I will explain. Dracula was the first book I ever truly LIKED and read all the way through. This happened during my mid-to-late teens, which was also a very dark period of my life. Had I not taken an interest in this book, however, I don't think I would have taken much interest in reading books. This would have made college much less bearable than it already was. Thank you, Mr. Stoker.
c. The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett and Otto Frank - This was probably the first book I had to read for an assignment in school and it made an impact on me. Even though, at the time, I didn't fully understand all the implications, I found it fascinating and extremely picturesque. I found myself sympathetic to a character and her plight.
d. The Name by Franklin Graham. I read this book from cover to cover in less than a week! Simply put, the son of Billy Graham is an accomplished author who weaves his amazing life experiences in with discussing the relevance of the name of Jesus Christ in times past, present and implications for the future. He is particularly gripping in discussing the Columbine Massacre, the 2001 inaugeration and the events of September 11, 2001. Equally incredible, however, is his compassion in addressing the AIDS crisis, the long-building Sudan crisis and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This book is for everyone, not just Christians; it has something relevant for anyone who reads it and I highly recommend it.
e. The Case For Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus by Lee Stoebel. What I like about this book is its merciless persuit of the truth. The perspective is that of an agnostic seeking definitive proof for the existence of Jesus Christ and Christ's claims to be God in the flesh. This is not a Bible-thumping sermon. The author questions highly accredited professors, archaeologists, medical professionals and skeptics, creating a "case" and it is the reader who is left to make the final decision on what the truth is, based on the evidence the author presents. Highly informative, entertaining and to-the-point.
Again, a book for everyone. Two huge "thumbs up" from me!
5. Tag Five People and have them do this on their blogs
Aurura
Letti
Dementia
Paul
Aweys
Best Wishes,
Allen
Monday, May 30, 2005
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Some New IR Headlines Of Interest 
New Biracial Club Promotes Diversity, Provides Community
Group, in its startup phase, aims to unite students with similar past experiences
by Rebecca Hyler, Photo by Lisa Johnson
May 09, 2005
The missions of the new Biracial Student Association are two-fold: To make the campus more aware that the world is becoming increasingly diverse, and to provide biracial students with a sense of community.
While the club is only in its startup phase, waiting approval from the Student Government Association, Jennifer Gordon, the co-advisor of the BSA and the director of programs for the Office of Diversity Resources, already has a goal in mind.
"We want members to feel connected--finally," Gordon said. "There's a need for us to feel connected to people like us because we all have a lot to deal with, and we identify with many of the same experiences."
Gordon said she felt an instant connection to Taylor Walker, president of the BSA and a junior sports management major.
Both women are biracial, and they both grew up in racially isolated Long Island neighborhoods.
(Click on headline above to read rest of story)
Other Campuses: Christians, Colleges Deal With Mixing Races, Cultures
(U-WIRE) WACO, Texas - The Old Testament prohibited marriage between Jews and gentiles, but according to the associate professor of religious studies, A. Christian van Gorder, the idea wasn't to prevent marriages between people of different ancestry, but to keep the Jews from worshiping foreign gods.
Van Gorder, who uses the term "intercultural" rather than "interracial," said Christians who are against intercultural marriage aren't dealing with a religious issue, but with an issue "that relates mostly to European-American racism."
He said the Bible doesn't teach the concept of race, but rather warns against inter-religious marriages in passages such as Deuteronomy 7:3, Exodus 12:48-49 and 2 Corinthians 6:14.
(Click on headline above to read rest of story)
New Biracial Club Promotes Diversity, Provides Community
Group, in its startup phase, aims to unite students with similar past experiences
by Rebecca Hyler, Photo by Lisa Johnson
May 09, 2005
The missions of the new Biracial Student Association are two-fold: To make the campus more aware that the world is becoming increasingly diverse, and to provide biracial students with a sense of community.
While the club is only in its startup phase, waiting approval from the Student Government Association, Jennifer Gordon, the co-advisor of the BSA and the director of programs for the Office of Diversity Resources, already has a goal in mind.
"We want members to feel connected--finally," Gordon said. "There's a need for us to feel connected to people like us because we all have a lot to deal with, and we identify with many of the same experiences."
Gordon said she felt an instant connection to Taylor Walker, president of the BSA and a junior sports management major.
Both women are biracial, and they both grew up in racially isolated Long Island neighborhoods.
(Click on headline above to read rest of story)
Other Campuses: Christians, Colleges Deal With Mixing Races, Cultures
(U-WIRE) WACO, Texas - The Old Testament prohibited marriage between Jews and gentiles, but according to the associate professor of religious studies, A. Christian van Gorder, the idea wasn't to prevent marriages between people of different ancestry, but to keep the Jews from worshiping foreign gods.
Van Gorder, who uses the term "intercultural" rather than "interracial," said Christians who are against intercultural marriage aren't dealing with a religious issue, but with an issue "that relates mostly to European-American racism."
He said the Bible doesn't teach the concept of race, but rather warns against inter-religious marriages in passages such as Deuteronomy 7:3, Exodus 12:48-49 and 2 Corinthians 6:14.
(Click on headline above to read rest of story)
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Mother's Day Afterthought
A belated but nevertheless sincere Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers! I've been waiting for an interracial (IR) topic to blog on and this is a good one. I mean, given that discussing current headlines, politics and the state of the world in general has been so depressing and/or discouraging that I had no desire to even attempt to comment on any of it. Thus the lack of blogging for awhile. Trust me, you would not have wanted to know my opinion on any of that.
We had a good Mother's Day weekend. One of the most special elements of my relationship with my wife is the fact that we are parents of biracial children. I am proud of my wife as the mother of our kids. We occasionally walk the line between two cultures with our children. I'm glad that most of the time we -- and our kids -- don't see any kind of daily clash between cultures. We make a point not to deny them access to either -- or any -- culture.
I think a parent's job is not to isolate their kids to only the parents' culture or community. I think that really limits a child's understanding of the world around them, which can follow them into adulthood and the rearing of future generations. I see way too much "cultural self-segregation" in virtually every culture.
I personally believe the unintended consequence of this is culturally institutionalized racism. It's subtle because it usually doesn't result in name-calling or violence or direct harm. What you do get is an unwillingness to learn other cultures, other communities, other foods, etc. And if people are not careful, this can result in the type of "cultural pride" that results in people avoiding and even looking down on other cultures. To me, that's racism.
To further clarify, I don't think there's anything wrong with being proud of the culture you come from or the accomplishments of people of one's culture or one's ancestors. What I mean by the racism is when one develops aggressive "cultural arrogance" and actively looks down on people of other cultures. I have seen individuals and families of all cultures do this, so it's not just any one culture that engages in these practices.
So, tying this back to Mother's Day, especially mothers of biracial or multiracial children, many of the ones I know or have met, tend to be more open to other cultures -- or at least the culture of their children's father.
I have also seen the sad example of IR couples where only one culture is infused in the children and the other parent's culture is minimized in the upbringing. These are "One Drop Children," using the "One Drop Rule" mentality (one drop of [insert race here] blood in your veins makes you [whatever race]).
We, as parents, have such an incredible responsibility to our children. If at all possible, we owe them two parents, a mother and a father, to help them feel loved and protected and properly nurtured.
Will we make mistakes in raising them? Absolutely, that's a part of being a parent: recognizing and learning from our mistakes and doing our best not to repeat them.
I am not saying anything negative about single parents. I have seen wonderful examples of single parents, female and male, where there was a divorce or a death. In all fairness, I have also seen good single parents who were never married; they just had to do much more to rise to the occasion of single parenthood. Parenting is always more difficult, though not impossible, with the absence of one parent.
Are there examples of bad two-parent families? Definitely! Half of all pregnancies (probably more) are not planned and some should have been planned. Some people just aren't ready to be parents or should not become parents, period.
Understanding all of this, I thank God for my wife, the mother of my children. She loves our children with a pure love, the same love she has for me. We are an IR married couple with biracial children and a truly special family.
Best Wishes,
Allen
A belated but nevertheless sincere Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers! I've been waiting for an interracial (IR) topic to blog on and this is a good one. I mean, given that discussing current headlines, politics and the state of the world in general has been so depressing and/or discouraging that I had no desire to even attempt to comment on any of it. Thus the lack of blogging for awhile. Trust me, you would not have wanted to know my opinion on any of that.
We had a good Mother's Day weekend. One of the most special elements of my relationship with my wife is the fact that we are parents of biracial children. I am proud of my wife as the mother of our kids. We occasionally walk the line between two cultures with our children. I'm glad that most of the time we -- and our kids -- don't see any kind of daily clash between cultures. We make a point not to deny them access to either -- or any -- culture.
I think a parent's job is not to isolate their kids to only the parents' culture or community. I think that really limits a child's understanding of the world around them, which can follow them into adulthood and the rearing of future generations. I see way too much "cultural self-segregation" in virtually every culture.
I personally believe the unintended consequence of this is culturally institutionalized racism. It's subtle because it usually doesn't result in name-calling or violence or direct harm. What you do get is an unwillingness to learn other cultures, other communities, other foods, etc. And if people are not careful, this can result in the type of "cultural pride" that results in people avoiding and even looking down on other cultures. To me, that's racism.
To further clarify, I don't think there's anything wrong with being proud of the culture you come from or the accomplishments of people of one's culture or one's ancestors. What I mean by the racism is when one develops aggressive "cultural arrogance" and actively looks down on people of other cultures. I have seen individuals and families of all cultures do this, so it's not just any one culture that engages in these practices.
So, tying this back to Mother's Day, especially mothers of biracial or multiracial children, many of the ones I know or have met, tend to be more open to other cultures -- or at least the culture of their children's father.
I have also seen the sad example of IR couples where only one culture is infused in the children and the other parent's culture is minimized in the upbringing. These are "One Drop Children," using the "One Drop Rule" mentality (one drop of [insert race here] blood in your veins makes you [whatever race]).
We, as parents, have such an incredible responsibility to our children. If at all possible, we owe them two parents, a mother and a father, to help them feel loved and protected and properly nurtured.
Will we make mistakes in raising them? Absolutely, that's a part of being a parent: recognizing and learning from our mistakes and doing our best not to repeat them.
I am not saying anything negative about single parents. I have seen wonderful examples of single parents, female and male, where there was a divorce or a death. In all fairness, I have also seen good single parents who were never married; they just had to do much more to rise to the occasion of single parenthood. Parenting is always more difficult, though not impossible, with the absence of one parent.
Are there examples of bad two-parent families? Definitely! Half of all pregnancies (probably more) are not planned and some should have been planned. Some people just aren't ready to be parents or should not become parents, period.
Understanding all of this, I thank God for my wife, the mother of my children. She loves our children with a pure love, the same love she has for me. We are an IR married couple with biracial children and a truly special family.
Best Wishes,
Allen
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Mail Storage Wars: Gmail Vs. Yahoo!
Okay, so I finally decided to get a Gmail account for IR Haven. I had the "irhavenblog" account at Yahoo -- and that already had 250 MB of storage, promising to go up to 1 GB in May -- but Gmail, of course, offers 2 Gigabytes of mail storage.
The ultimate, ultimate question anyone can ask is: who on Earth actually USES two GB of mail storage and HOW would you do it? Would you make special folders just for Spam and actually save every last e-mail?? Would you send messages to yourself, just so you could save copies to self twice? Would you have to write all your friends with Gmail accounts and ask them to send you all their MP3 as ZIP attachments? And after all of that, would you still have more than about 200 MB? I wonder...
No, my deciding factor was more personal. At Yahoo, I can only have "irhavenblog" (long story, don't feel like telling it right now) and at Gmail, I can have "irhaven."
And I like "irhaven." Less is more.
Unlike Gmail...or Yahoo or MSN (but hey, 250 MB beats the old 2 MB limit!) or -?
Best Wishes,
Allen
Okay, so I finally decided to get a Gmail account for IR Haven. I had the "irhavenblog" account at Yahoo -- and that already had 250 MB of storage, promising to go up to 1 GB in May -- but Gmail, of course, offers 2 Gigabytes of mail storage.
The ultimate, ultimate question anyone can ask is: who on Earth actually USES two GB of mail storage and HOW would you do it? Would you make special folders just for Spam and actually save every last e-mail?? Would you send messages to yourself, just so you could save copies to self twice? Would you have to write all your friends with Gmail accounts and ask them to send you all their MP3 as ZIP attachments? And after all of that, would you still have more than about 200 MB? I wonder...
No, my deciding factor was more personal. At Yahoo, I can only have "irhavenblog" (long story, don't feel like telling it right now) and at Gmail, I can have "irhaven."
And I like "irhaven." Less is more.
Unlike Gmail...or Yahoo or MSN (but hey, 250 MB beats the old 2 MB limit!) or -?
Best Wishes,
Allen
Monday, April 18, 2005
More Site Design Changes
I decided to do away with the changing color background. It was a novelty two years ago but I think it was also adding to the load time and causing other glitches. For now, it's just going to be these background colors and if I want to, I'll shake things up again later (with the colors).
Please give me your input on the site design, I appreciate all feedback.
Best Wishes,
Allen
I decided to do away with the changing color background. It was a novelty two years ago but I think it was also adding to the load time and causing other glitches. For now, it's just going to be these background colors and if I want to, I'll shake things up again later (with the colors).
Please give me your input on the site design, I appreciate all feedback.
Best Wishes,
Allen
Sunday, April 17, 2005
Some Site Updates
I've taken out a few things and shrunk down a few site graphics in an attempt to make the blog load faster. I mean, if the Blog Explosion people spend 18 seconds waiting for the page to load, that only gives them 12 seconds to look at the content. It's a no-brainer.
I really tried to do a complete design makeover but well, it just wasn't happening tonight. Maybe I'm just getting a little too ambitious at this stage. I remind myself of the old saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." The page-load time was kinda broke, so I'm trying to fix that, but design itself isn't bad. I don't get complaints that the site is hideous or e-mails with nothing but laughter concerning the look of the site, so that's encouraging...
I think if I ever have time or unbridled ambition, I'll make the move to Moveable Type, but till then, Blogger is just fine.
Best Wishes,
Allen
I've taken out a few things and shrunk down a few site graphics in an attempt to make the blog load faster. I mean, if the Blog Explosion people spend 18 seconds waiting for the page to load, that only gives them 12 seconds to look at the content. It's a no-brainer.
I really tried to do a complete design makeover but well, it just wasn't happening tonight. Maybe I'm just getting a little too ambitious at this stage. I remind myself of the old saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." The page-load time was kinda broke, so I'm trying to fix that, but design itself isn't bad. I don't get complaints that the site is hideous or e-mails with nothing but laughter concerning the look of the site, so that's encouraging...
I think if I ever have time or unbridled ambition, I'll make the move to Moveable Type, but till then, Blogger is just fine.
Best Wishes,
Allen
Saturday, April 16, 2005
HEADLINES, ANYONE? 
Okay, so no sooner do I audioblog than a few interesting headlines pop up!
Woman's Biracial Nephew Opened Her Eyes To A Hole In The Toy Market
IR Haven has been a supporter of Real Kidz since last year.
Alicia Tries Different Key: Performer To Star In Movie About Biracial Musician
Thurmond's Biracial Daughter Denies She Will Challenge Estate
I was going to put in a Mariah Carey interview but it was just too silly. How many times can you use the word "bling" in an interview? *sighs* I liked her first album...
Best Wishes,
Allen
Okay, so no sooner do I audioblog than a few interesting headlines pop up!
Woman's Biracial Nephew Opened Her Eyes To A Hole In The Toy Market
IR Haven has been a supporter of Real Kidz since last year.
Alicia Tries Different Key: Performer To Star In Movie About Biracial Musician
Thurmond's Biracial Daughter Denies She Will Challenge Estate
I was going to put in a Mariah Carey interview but it was just too silly. How many times can you use the word "bling" in an interview? *sighs* I liked her first album...
Best Wishes,
Allen
Sunday, April 03, 2005
Vacation update # 4
Okay, so here are some pics of some of what we did on our vacation at Cove Haven, a Caesars Pocono Resort in Pennsylvania. Of course, we met a lot of interesting people and went to some interesting places but we didn't take a lot of pictures of people and I wouldn't post those, in the interests of those peoples' privacy. These pictures were from March 19, the day after Angel's and my 10th wedding anniversary.
This is my first time using Picasa2 and Hello in association with Blogger, but I think I finally got the hang of it. You can click on any of the pics below to see larger versions of the pics.
I may give try some narrative of the vacation experience in my next entry. In the meantime, enjoy the pics!
Best Wishes,
Allen
Me taking a shot at indoor archery (no pun)
Okay, so here are some pics of some of what we did on our vacation at Cove Haven, a Caesars Pocono Resort in Pennsylvania. Of course, we met a lot of interesting people and went to some interesting places but we didn't take a lot of pictures of people and I wouldn't post those, in the interests of those peoples' privacy. These pictures were from March 19, the day after Angel's and my 10th wedding anniversary.
This is my first time using Picasa2 and Hello in association with Blogger, but I think I finally got the hang of it. You can click on any of the pics below to see larger versions of the pics.
I may give try some narrative of the vacation experience in my next entry. In the meantime, enjoy the pics!
Best Wishes,
Allen
Me taking a shot at indoor archery (no pun)
Monday, March 28, 2005
Vacation Update # 3
More soon...
Best Wishes,
Allen
 This pic was actually taken on the way from Philadephia back to Houston but I thought it was a nice way to start the photoblogging of the experience. |
 Driving through Philadephia en route to Cove Haven in northern Pennsylvania. |
 Another view of Philadephia |
 The immediate thing you notice when arriving at Cove Haven is the trees and the mountains. Very pretty. |
 We also noticed was this nice little pond near our room...completely frozen over... |
 ...so it really shouldn't have been much of a surprise when the LAKE was frozen over, too! |
More soon...
Best Wishes,
Allen
Vacation Update # 2
Again, apologies for delays. We also had a nice freak thunderstorm on Friday night. The temperatures had gotten into the 80s during the day and a cold front entered the Austin area at about 35 mph, sparking off an intense atmospheric reaction. I partially pulled our van into the garage because the weatherpeople said hail and damaging winds were "possible." So we lit a couple of candles and got the flashlights ready, in case the power went out. The storm was fast and furious, dropping heavy rain and hail over about 10 minutes. We fared pretty well. No visible damage to our vehicle or our duplex. We had friends whose house had shingles smashed off, a gazebo ripped to shreds and blocks with no leaves left in trees from hail damage. They may have had tennis ball-sized hail, while I think we got hit by golf ball-sized hail.
Saturday started strangely, with our fridge dying a quick death (probably a result of the storm). Kudos to Conn's for having a great price on a new Maytag fridge and kudos to one of my friends for having a truck to haul it home in. We had to do all this before heading out to a 2:00 p.m. Easter musical rehearsal for Sunday's Easter program at our church. It turned out to be an all-afternoon rehearsal but it was well worth it, we needed it. The Lord really blessed the program and the preaching for Easter.
So, now it's a new week. As always, there's tons to do -- but I do want to get some photos online as soon as possible. Look for some in "Vacation Update # 3."
Best Wishes,
Allen
Again, apologies for delays. We also had a nice freak thunderstorm on Friday night. The temperatures had gotten into the 80s during the day and a cold front entered the Austin area at about 35 mph, sparking off an intense atmospheric reaction. I partially pulled our van into the garage because the weatherpeople said hail and damaging winds were "possible." So we lit a couple of candles and got the flashlights ready, in case the power went out. The storm was fast and furious, dropping heavy rain and hail over about 10 minutes. We fared pretty well. No visible damage to our vehicle or our duplex. We had friends whose house had shingles smashed off, a gazebo ripped to shreds and blocks with no leaves left in trees from hail damage. They may have had tennis ball-sized hail, while I think we got hit by golf ball-sized hail.
Saturday started strangely, with our fridge dying a quick death (probably a result of the storm). Kudos to Conn's for having a great price on a new Maytag fridge and kudos to one of my friends for having a truck to haul it home in. We had to do all this before heading out to a 2:00 p.m. Easter musical rehearsal for Sunday's Easter program at our church. It turned out to be an all-afternoon rehearsal but it was well worth it, we needed it. The Lord really blessed the program and the preaching for Easter.
So, now it's a new week. As always, there's tons to do -- but I do want to get some photos online as soon as possible. Look for some in "Vacation Update # 3."
Best Wishes,
Allen
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Vacation Update #1
I managed to get over 7 hours sleep last night, so I feel much better today. I was doing good to get to work yesterday, do my job and drive home safely.
The pictures have been downloaded to our computer and I should have some posted within a day or two. Everything is unpacked (we only took one piece of carry-on luggage each) and I am once again getting used to Central Time and the Austin, Texas atmosphere.
Pennsylvania was much colder but being near a lake (frozen though it was) and in the mountains was an incredible relief to our sinuses and boost to our overall health. I almost couldn't believe how much I started coughing once we got back to Texas (via Houston en route to Austin). With some sleep and basic relaxation, I seem to be readjusting to the climate pretty quickly.
More later...
Best Wishes,
Allen
I managed to get over 7 hours sleep last night, so I feel much better today. I was doing good to get to work yesterday, do my job and drive home safely.
The pictures have been downloaded to our computer and I should have some posted within a day or two. Everything is unpacked (we only took one piece of carry-on luggage each) and I am once again getting used to Central Time and the Austin, Texas atmosphere.
Pennsylvania was much colder but being near a lake (frozen though it was) and in the mountains was an incredible relief to our sinuses and boost to our overall health. I almost couldn't believe how much I started coughing once we got back to Texas (via Houston en route to Austin). With some sleep and basic relaxation, I seem to be readjusting to the climate pretty quickly.
More later...
Best Wishes,
Allen
Monday, March 21, 2005
We're Baaaack!
Wow, what an adventure! I'm not really conscious enough to properly relay the experience but I will be blogging on the whole trip and posting some very cool photos Angel and I took over the long weekend.
I can tell you we went to the Cove Haven Caesar's Pocono Resort in northern Pennsylvania and that we left in the early morning hours of Thursday, March 17th (St. Patrick's Day) and returned last night, Sunday March 20th at around 11:30 p.m. I got to bed around 12:45 a.m. and awoke at 5:45 a.m. today, so I'm in a near-zombified state.
More soon...
Best Wishes,
Allen
Wow, what an adventure! I'm not really conscious enough to properly relay the experience but I will be blogging on the whole trip and posting some very cool photos Angel and I took over the long weekend.
I can tell you we went to the Cove Haven Caesar's Pocono Resort in northern Pennsylvania and that we left in the early morning hours of Thursday, March 17th (St. Patrick's Day) and returned last night, Sunday March 20th at around 11:30 p.m. I got to bed around 12:45 a.m. and awoke at 5:45 a.m. today, so I'm in a near-zombified state.
More soon...
Best Wishes,
Allen
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Before I Go A-Vacationing...
It's been a busy and hectic lead up until now but all is in place for my wife's and my little trip to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary! All the little arrangements and big arrangements and plenty of stuff inbetween. Nevertheless, I do apologize for not blogging more regularly.
Anyway, Lord willing, I will thoroughly blog (with photos) next week, after we get back.
Best Wishes,
Allen
It's been a busy and hectic lead up until now but all is in place for my wife's and my little trip to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary! All the little arrangements and big arrangements and plenty of stuff inbetween. Nevertheless, I do apologize for not blogging more regularly.
Anyway, Lord willing, I will thoroughly blog (with photos) next week, after we get back.
Best Wishes,
Allen
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Catching Up (Again)
I'd rather not force my blogging, so I've been a bit silent lately. My family and I are fine. Actually, my wife and I are looking forward to Spring Break with our kids. Also, Angel's and my 10th wedding anniversary is coming up. We are celebrating it by going (Lord willing) on a long-overdue VACATION! Yep, we have made arrangements for our boys and we are going solo out of state for a four day weekend!!!! (Woohoo!)
We've made all the reservations, bought the tickets, reserved the rental car and we are majorly revved up.
We haven't had any kind of vacation in nearly two years (you may gasp with impunity now). Yes, TWO YEARS.
I'll blog about (some of) the vacation after we get back. And I may post a couple of pictures, since we do plan on taking our digital camera. Needless to say, on St. Patrick's Day weekend, I will not be blogging. By the way, we deliberately married on March 18, the day after St. Patrick's Day.
Did I mention that Angel proposed to me? It's true -- and I held her to it (to this day)!
Best Wishes,
Allen
I'd rather not force my blogging, so I've been a bit silent lately. My family and I are fine. Actually, my wife and I are looking forward to Spring Break with our kids. Also, Angel's and my 10th wedding anniversary is coming up. We are celebrating it by going (Lord willing) on a long-overdue VACATION! Yep, we have made arrangements for our boys and we are going solo out of state for a four day weekend!!!! (Woohoo!)
We've made all the reservations, bought the tickets, reserved the rental car and we are majorly revved up.
We haven't had any kind of vacation in nearly two years (you may gasp with impunity now). Yes, TWO YEARS.
I'll blog about (some of) the vacation after we get back. And I may post a couple of pictures, since we do plan on taking our digital camera. Needless to say, on St. Patrick's Day weekend, I will not be blogging. By the way, we deliberately married on March 18, the day after St. Patrick's Day.
Did I mention that Angel proposed to me? It's true -- and I held her to it (to this day)!
Best Wishes,
Allen
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