an unofficial break from school

My son starts back to school tomorrow. First day back since Hurricane Ike hit. Here are a few of my favorite things about him going back:

1. back into a routine

2. back into a work mentality

3. things are starting to calm down and return to normal

4. get back to some of the things he loves (basketball)

5. hopefully they will not have time to do some of the silly/"fluff" stuff

6. really have to buckle down and work

7. he's done pretty good about studying at home

8. no damage at his campus

9. he is packed and ready

10. the rumor is they won't have to make up these days!

Journey to the Center of the Earth

We finally saw this 3D movie today. Here are a few of my favorite things about it:

1. no bad language (there is one play on words that nearly crosses the line though)

2. fun family adventure

3. the female character was pretty well covered up

4. the 3D was fun

5. no 4D effects (like air shooting out from under seats)

6. great way to spend the afternoon

7. good for the whole family

8. cute male lead character

9. family friendly

10. sparked a discussion of the book

cleaning the church grounds

We have been cleaning at the church building today following last week's hurricane. Here are a few of my favorite things:

1. many workers makes lighter loads

2. good for us to work together

3. good for the teens to help out

4. good way for younger kids to work too

5. the community sees us out there working

6. gets the grounds looking nice

7. good exercise

8. the weather could have been hotter

9. good way for adults to model behavior for the younger crowd

10. it was nice when the "afternoon crew" came in to relieve us!

DriverSide

If you are like me and drive a car with over 200,000 miles on it, you need every available auto information you can get. That is what DriverSide provides. Here are a few of my favorite things:

1. a compilation of nearly every available car or truck resource

2. free access

3. find the best mechanic

4. know exactly what to pay for repairs in your town

5. find parts and accessories specific to your car

6. list your car for sale for free

7. get automatically notified for recalls on your vehicle

8. participate in forums

9. see reviews on 2009 cars

10. meet others who own popular vehicles

staying for the storm

It is always a tough dilemma to decide to stay through a major storm or to evacuate. Living in a zone of voluntary evacuation, we wavered a bit in trying to decide. In the end, we decided to stay, board up and ride it out. I am glad we did. Here are a few of my favorite things about staying:

1. neighbors pitching in to help prepare our homes

2. neighbors helping each other clean up

3. neighborhood cook outs each night following the storm (since we had no electricity, we had to cook all our food before it spoiled)

4. getting to know our neighbors better

5. working together to help our neighborhood and community recover

6. being here to clean up immediately after the storm passed

7. being able to clean out my fridge before it smelled too bad

8. the small gathering of church family following the storm

9. no traffic around town/very quiet!

10. we even slept with our front door wide open immediately following the storm!

Apple Tree Kids

Each school year our congregation prints out the names of all the school aged children in the church. Every child's name is printed on an apple. The apples are laid out for everyone to choose one. Members of the congregation spend the school year praying for and befriending that particular child. Here are a few of my favorite things about "apple tree kids":

1. I know somebody else is also praying for my kids every day

2. make new friends

3. the kids make new friends

4. provides mentors for my kids

5. added moral support

6. brings together two generations

7. keeps us all on our knees, praying together

8. kids feel a part of a bigger family

9. gets folks thinking of others

10. helps make us a stronger church

upcoming activities

As we get into the new school year routine, there are upcoming activities I am looking forward to. Here are a few of my favorite upcoming activities my kids are involved in:

1.piano

2. volleyball

3. more volleyball

4. basketball

5. more basketball

6. theater auditions

7. maybe theater practice

8. drive time

9. reading my son's articles

10. seeing my nephews' projects

catch the latest news

I just came across a new service that may be valuable to many folks. If you are like me, you don't have time to watch the news. Now, Asyncast Corporation, creator of Rocketron, has developed a way to listen to the news you miss. Here are a few of my favorite things about it:



1. hands-free on your mobile phone

2. navigate with voice-command

3. skip the stories you don't want to hear

4. no software to download

5. no tiny text to read

6. works on any phone for those on-the-go

7. limited advertising

8. ads limited to seven seconds

9. free for listeners

10. a truly personalized version of the news

cross training

I like to do different stuff as part of my work out. It keeps it from getting old and keeps my muscles "confused" so they can be better built up. Here are a few of my favorite ways to exercise:

1.cycle

2. swim

3. run/jog

4. walk

5. elliptical machine

6. stair stepper

7. trampoline

8. pilates

9. spinning class (indoor/stationary cycling)

10. weight training