OK, OK, so it has been a while...

Got this idea from Helm's Deep... This is a fun little list of things that people do. The bolded ones are the ones that I have done at some point in my lifetime.

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game (and survived the crush afterwards)
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment – who hasn’t?
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason

84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children - still raising!
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

If you would like to participate then cut and paste into your blog and highlight the stuff you have done. Do me a favor and leave a comment so I can read about your "accomplishments."

Now the fun really begins

At 12:01 PM Pacific Daylight Time I emerged from Promissor, Inc. with my temporary real estate salesman's license along with instructions on how to get the real one. All I can say is....

YYYEEEAAAHHH!!!

...and thank you to those who prayed for me today, 'cause that was the only thing that got me through the test

Father and son

Being unemployed does have some advantages. This brief interlude in our lives [and I pray that it is very brief] has afforded me some opportunities with my kids. One of those was yesterday afternoon. I spent part of the afternoon playing catch with Ben and his new baseball glove.

I have to stress that it was more like trying to "guide" the baseball into his open glove more than anything... but it was fun nonetheless. I think Ben enjoyed it. When we came inside Amy asked how we did to which I replied...Well, it was an adventure...

It then dawned on me that at 4 years old I had no idea what a baseball was, let alone how put my hand in a glove and attempt to catch a ball. I can't wait to go buy a bat and see how he handles that...

Stay tuned. Summer is right around the corner

Thursday is coming...

...and my puny little brain is full of real estate law, property valuation, finance, agency relationships, easements and encumbrances, land use controls, yada yada yada... I just hope and pray that this Thursday at 11:00 AM I can retrieve all this gobbledy gook in my brain. Actually, all I need to be able to retrieve is 70% of the stuff and then I can have a job.

Your prayers would be appreciated...

Today is...

My Fannie's birthday. And just in case you are wondering how old my Fannie is...she was born two days after NC State beat Marquette to win their first national championship. And no I am not an NC State fan, but I had to bring some March Madness into the picture.

Happy birthday Fannie from your one and only Biff.

Our new home

Just a glimpse of our new church home...

http://millparkbaptist.org/

There is much that can be said here. Discretion would probably be the better part of valor here. Suffice it to say that this is a far cry from where we came from. And that is for the better. We look forward to the opportunities that await us as we follow the Lord...

And yes that is Tori on the home page... :)

Something to chew on

I got this from Boar's Head Tavern and thought it was worth posting. It certainly hits home from my perspective. Especially as I look back at the road that Amy and I have travelled to get here...

"The source of false religion is the inability to rejoice, or, rather, the refusal of joy, whereas joy is absolutely essential because it is without any doubt the fruit of God's presence. One cannot know that God exists and not rejoice. Only in relation to joy are the fear of God and humility correct, genuine, fruitful. Outside of joy, they become demonic, the deepest distortion of any religious experience. A religion of fear. Religion of pseudo-humility. Religion of guilt: They are all temptations, traps--very strong indeed, not only in the world, but inside the Church . . ." -Fr. Alexander Shememann