On the first day of December I went out and took pictures of Venus, Jupiter, and the Moon. The three of them were the closest they will be for at least five years.
Tonight I went out and took pictures of them again, plus Mercury this time. Except they were in two pairs rather than one [...]

I am back from another trip now. I’ve traveled a lot this year, and all of it by air, which is unusual for me. Trips to Utah in May, July, and December. A trip to Austin in September. And the most recent was a trip to Indiana just now.
Just a few thoughts on this last [...]

It’s no secret that the economy isn’t doing that great this year. So it was with interest that I read a few articles and things on the internet about how going “green” for Christmas and making your own gifts would be a good choice (Christmas comes home, The handmade Christmas, The case for shopping).
The idea [...]

I’m curious just how strange my family is.
It was almost noon before we were all up to open presents at our house today. And this isn’t unusual. And it isn’t something that happens now because we are all grown. We never woke up while it was still dark to open presents. Getting up at 8am [...]

I am truly blessed to have so many good friends and to have such a great family. I cannot count my blessings, there are too many. Yet my greatest blessings are because of Him whose birth we are celebrating.
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. (Luke 2:14)

My mom loves to track Santa on NORAD. Here is the link for any of the rest of you. You can see where he’s been and even some video they’ve caught of him flying around famous spots on the globe.
NORAD Tracks Santa 2008
As of this posting he is in Kirov, Russia. So there is still [...]

Sunday I pulled out some of my Christmas CDs to listen to while I cooked dinner. My favorite is one that you cannot buy in a store and that there are probably less than 500 copies in existence. It was made in 2000. Now that was a Christmas to remember.
For Christmas 2000 I was in [...]

I didn’t specify any gift as a favorite I received as a child in my last post, but I do have a favorite gift. Except it wasn’t a gift I received and I wasn’t a child.
When I was in high school my mom got real sick. She asked me to help her with her Christmas [...]

Kika tagged me for these Christmas questions.
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Bags. They are reusable, and they get through airport security easier. And the corners don’t tear.
2. Real tree or Artificial?
Artificial. And you buy them after Christmas for the future years. And you can put more lights on them because the needles don’t fall off [...]

Why does an iron work? I can understand the steam I think. So maybe a dry iron is similar.
Why do people say you look familiar when you know darn well that they’ve never met you before in their life? I was introduced to someone recently and he said he thought he knew me. I told [...]