permission to e-punch me

are you prepared?

are you ready?

(and no, this is not a fire and brimstone sermon)

after a ridiculous hiatus from blogger world, i am finally returning! i do not really know what happened to my blog. one day i just blinked and suddenly i had not written in a very long time. to all my avid readers (he says with sarcasm), i do apologize.

below i have constructed a list that will hopefully bring others up to speed on my life:

1. my legs hate me - after completing my first full marathon, i have gained a generous amount of respect for those who have run races of the same distance. it was a grueling process that included much sweat coupled with frequent spasms of pain; however, i stand on the other side a better man. it is hard to believe that lori and i actually made it the whole way, but we did! i am thankful for the opportunity that we had to train together. she has been an awesome running partner.

now that the pain is starting to subside and my stride is becoming less awkward, it is time for me to make amends with my legs and promise to never hurt them again (that is, until the next marathon...shhhh. they do not need to know that part just yet).

2. one piece of pie is never enough - it is safe to say that i am a huge fan of entertainment. i love music, movies, theater, musicals, etc. you name it, and i probably like it. while i am not a tv surfer, i definitely have my shows that i watch on a regular basis. one of those shows is "pushing daisies". hands down, it is the most creative shows on television. it would take too long for me to describe all the details of the show in this blog, so i will spare you the lengthy synopsis. in short, it has some of the most colorful characters and creative dialogue. from ned and chuck to olive and emerson, i have found a group of fictional friends that are a "must dvr" experience every wednesday night. unfortunately, the network has not picked up the show for a full season. i am very sad that it only had the opportunity to make twenty-two episodes. farewell my dear friend. you will be missed.

3. apple pie in liquid form - i have always been a big fan of apple cider. i love it very much. i thought that i had tried all of the different varieties that exist...then came the caramel apple spice. thank you starbucks for making my life a little bit more joyful. this beverage is amazing! it literally tastes as if i am drinking a homemade apple pie. things will never be quite the same now.

*by the way, i just realized that i talked about pie in #2 and #3. i am not obsessed with pie, i promise. it is merely a coincidence. the first mention was due to the main character of "pushing daisies" being a pie maker, and the latter was simply a description to connect the reader with the taste of the drink.

4. light in a dark place - last week i read the road by cormac mccarthy. lori and i randomly saw it in borders one day, and i decided that it looked like an interesting read. i must say that i found it to be quite enjoyable. with each page i found myself seeking answers to a myriad of questions; however, by the end i realized that answering the questions was not the intent of the author. it is a book about love and familial bond. set in a time where hope is a distant thought of the past, the road tells the story of a father and son who must find a way to survive thriving off of the love that they share for one another. i would definitely recommend it.


5. 365 - although this should have been mentioned as #1 (sorry lori), lori and i just celebrated our one year anniversary. the actual celebration began back in november with a fabulous coldplay concert! it was absolutely amazing! then, to finish things off, we ran our marathon. people might see this as a weird way of celebrating this occasion, but we had a blast! To lori, i just want to say thanks for an amazing year. i look forward to many more!

6. dear mr. brees... - to say that football season has been disappointing would be a laughable understatement. i have been in mourning for quite some time now (slightly less mourning now that florida beat bama..yay!). both of my teams have struggled this fall.

first there were the auburn tigers. we definitely finished 5-7 (tear). don't get me wrong, i am still proud to be an auburn tiger, but this season was just so sad. not only that, but now we do not have a coach. what will the future hold?

then there were the new orleans saints. this season was supposed to be their season. they were supposed to win their division. oops. currently, we are proudly (or not so proudly) seated in the last spot of the nfc south. were it not for a quarterback by the name of drew brees, i would not have much to cheer for. he has had an amazing season and could possibly break the record for passing yards. i just want to say "thank you" to drew for giving me something to smile about. keep it up, buddy!

7. ican with ical - i have been a mac person for about 3 years. it is one of those situations where you could not pay me to go back to a pc. i guess mac just works better with my brain. i am definitely a right-brained person, a trait that can often get me into trouble. i tend to go through patches of disorganization. that is where ical has come to my rescue. i have begun to use it religiously, and it has helped me to stay up to date so much better. i know this is probably a boring fact to you as you read it, but it has been a huge improvement in my life. thanks amelia earhart (the name of my computer)!

8. it's my rule and i'll enforce it if i want to - people these days have no respect for thanksgiving. why? beats me. for some reason everyone (overgeneralizing) decided that they would just skip over it and start getting ready for christmas. in my opinion, those people should just have christmas taken away from them. if you cannot wait until the appropriate time, then you should not be able to experience it at all.

for example: what if i woke up and decided i was so excited about dinner that i just went ahead and cooked it? ignoring the fact that it was only 8:00 am, i would begin to fix a nice 5 course meal. it would look really tasty and smell really good, but guess what?! it would also be a little old and stale by the time dinner time rolled around.

silly example? yes. am i kidding about #8? absolutely not.

9. yes! i can finally hear! - i am sure that you are familiar with the song "do you hear what i hear?". i have heard that song so many times in my life, but it was not until last week that i actually paid attention to the words. i have always associated the song with the movie gremlins. for anyone who has seen that movie, it is playing when the mom is walking through the house trying to find the gremlins who have recently hatched. anyways, i finally listened to the words. it is obviously about the birth of baby Jesus, but the format is interesting. it is like a chain of messages that are shared between the wind, a lamb, a shepherd boy, a king, and the people. wow! i am behind.

10. happy holidays!

i guess that is about all i have time for now. i hope to get back into a regular schedule of writing on my blog. if not, i give you permission to e-punch me.