What an appropriate day….

to post something on this blog.  I might actually trick some of you into thinking that I actually blog.

First things first, I apologize for my lack of postage recently.  It has been incredibly hectic around the house, which means two things: I have plenty to write about and I have no time to write it.  This information is going to come quick and in a hurry.

AUM=Fail

As most of my educational journey has been posted on this blog, I will treat this subject as if you know what in the world I am talking about.  When I transferred from Amridge U. to AUM, I was told that zero of my credits would transfer due to the fact that Amridge was not a regionally accredited school.  There is one major issue with this: Amridge is an accredited university.  Being that I registered the day before classes started, I didn’t have the time nor energy to argue my point.  My thought was that I would get through one semester and then plead my case to the keepers of admission.  I understand that Amridge is a Bible college and the bulk of my religious credits would not transfer, but I also took core classes that I should be able to put towards my degree program.

Fast forward.

This week I was checking my final grade in my half-term Wellness class (4.0 suckas) and I notice near the bottom of my online transcript there are 40 credit hours posted.  First, I was like whaaa?  Then I was like huuhhh?  I am still very confused.  It doesn’t list which credits transferred.  It doesn’t list when they were transferred.  I have no idea if any of them will apply towards my degree.

There are two primary things that irritate me about this whole issue: ignorance and failure to communicate.  My advisor was adamant about the fact that Amridge was not up to snuff, even though they have the same level of accreditation as AUM.  This shows either a lack of knowledge or a lack of concern for my academic well-being.  It took exactly 12 seconds of research for me to discover that according to SACS, Amridge is a level 5 institution.  I would assume that AUM has more in-depth and easily accessible information about fellow schools of higher education, and it should have been even easier for them to access the same information.  Secondly, if they made a mistake or suddenly magically discovered that everything was kosher with AU, you think they would have called me, sent an e-mail, put up smoke signals, done something to let me know.  There are two classes that I am taking this semester that I have already completed comparable courses at AU.  If this ends up being a waste of time and money, I will blow a gasket.  I have an appointment next Monday and I hope it all gets straightened out. I will keep you posted.

Baby names….

Ugh.  Brit and I are still miles apart on this issue and probably will be until July 25th.  Any suggestions?

New Car

I like it, but it feels fragile.  It seems like I have to crawl over speed bumps and into driveways to avoid the total destruction of the chassis.  Obviously, that wouldn’t happen.  I guess I had gotten used to the Pilot and it’s high clearance and rugged ride.  However, the Mazda meets our needs and that’s all that matters….for now.

Y?

This morning was a prime example of why I feel awkward showering and dressing at the Y.  I do my thing in the shower and I get dressed around the corner so that I don’t look like I am trying to walk around naked.  I get dressed and come around the wall and see this large, hairy man standing stark-raving naked except for his crocs. I kid you not.  I immediately zipped my bag, went downstairs and brushed my teeth in the other restroom.  I don’t get it.

I have a ton more, including my progress as far as weight-loss, but I will have to share that at a later date. Keep it real this week.  We start a new series tonight with Oasis, and then I will be leading a discussion on anger tomorrow morning at Lee High School.  Have a good one.

The Specificity of Pacifism

Hello all!

I hope and trust everyone is having a great week filled with productivity and merriment.  For those of you who know me well, talking theology is probably one of my favorite things to do.  I don’t necessarily enjoy arguing or debating (well, maybe), but I have always enjoyed just sitting down with a group of people, opening the Word, and making my  case for my interpretation of Scripture.  Make no mistake–I do not consider myself a Biblical scholar in any way, shape, or form.  However, I do feel I am knowledgeable and educated enough to have a coherent discussion on most Biblical doctrine.

I had the opportunity to discuss the issue of pacifism with a fellow leader in my church this week, and we had a great discussion.  This gentleman is a dedicated follower of Christ, and I have tremendous respect for him and his family.  The discussion started due to the tragic events last week in Illinois when Rev. Fred Winters was gunned down in his church during a sermon.  We were discussing this at a meeting of church leadership, when the talk turned to the Biblical support for carrying a handgun.  This quickly dove-tailed into a discussion on self-defense.  I argued that self-defense that requires you to take another’s life was not Scripturally supported.

Now, let me put this out there before this discussion goes any farther–if someone broke into my house in the middle of the night and tried to harm my family, I would do whatever is necessary to protect them.  My argument, however, is not how must of us would react, but what is Biblical.

I could point to several scriptures, but I don’t want to beat you over the head with it.  The linchpin of my interpretation is 1 Peter 2:21-23.

²¹For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you,  leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. ²² He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. ²³When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.

Look also at Romans 12:17-21

17Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. 18  If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19  Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”  20  No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.”
21  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good .

Obviously I could whip out “turn the other cheek” and “love your neighbor as yourself.”  Most of you who will read this will be familiar with those verses, so there is no need to do a detailed exegetical study on them.  At the end of the day, Jesus left an example.  He could have defended himself.  He could have called down a “legion of angels” as he says.  BUT HE DIDN’T.  Why not?  Because he was setting the example for us that evil and death can not overcome evil and death.  Martin Luther King, Jr. echoed this sentiment when he said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

In my interpretation, these verses are very clear on how we are to respond to those who would do us harm.  We love them.  Plain and simple.  WE LOVE THEM. This is incredibly difficult in theory, much less in practice, but I believe it is a Biblical mandate for followers of Christ.  I tell you all this so I can share a section of an article I found while studying this topic.  This article was written by someone who interprets self-defense as an integral piece of the Christian lifestyle, and even goes as far to say that those who claim that pacifism is a Christian doctrine are “false prophets” and heretics.  The whole article is disturbing, but read these few lines where he is refuting the scriptures that pacifists use to explain their stance.  His words will be in all italics to avoid confusion.

Matt. 5:39
Jesus said:

“…ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee
on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.”

Often enough, such action could be a challenge to a duel.  The action described above probably only entailed 2 smacks with an open hand, and would not necessarily include the threat of immediate lethal, or dangerous, force.  I believe the message is that whatever one does, it should not be just to protect one’s personal pride, nor should it be outside of God’s will.

Matt. 5:40
“And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.

The above is about losing because one is sued.  The implication is that a person is being sued as a righteous judgment, where the one giving the cloak owes the other man the coat.
Matt. 5:44
Jesus said:

“Love your enemies.”

Certainly, if someone is about to kill you or your family, if feasible you should kill them with kindness and love.  Without a firearm, the killing could be more painful for the recipient.

Yes, you read that correctly in the last sentence.  ”If feasible you should kill them with kindness and love.”  WHAT?  Are you kidding me?  Kill, love, and kindness don’t even belong in the same sentence and this buffoon thinks they can go hand in hand.  I don’t get it.  I can truly understand someone making a Scriptural case for self-defense, it is debatable, but for someone to say you can KILL someone in love and kindness is just ludicrous.  Also, you should do it with a firearm because it hurts less?  Come on, dude.

I just wish I could hang out with this author and get an understanding of where he is coming from.  I am interested to hear your thoughts on this issue.

Discuss!

baby news

As most of you have probably ascertained through twitter and FaceBook, we were handed down the verdict on the baby yesterday….and the jury came back BLUE.

I guess you could say at this point that my mood is cautious excitement.  Just to be completely honest, and I hope to not sound like a terrible father, I really didn’t want another Hayden.  Don’t get me wrong, I love that boy with everything I have, and he is truly a blessing.  However, I have been around many families with two young boys, and things can get a little…….chaotic.

Hayden and the One Who is Not Yet Named will only be about two and a half years apart and this scares the poop out of me.  Hayden, by himself, is three handfuls and a half, and the prospect of adding a partner (in crime) to that dynamic is intimidating.  I didn’t realize how much more energy and patience boys require over girls, but suffice to say, it is a lot.  Hayden NEVER stops going.  It is one of the coolest things about him, because there is never a dull moment around the house.  However, on the flip side of that, he wakes up at 6am and doesn’t stop cranking until 8:15pm, which can be exhausting.

All in all, I think it will work out better in the long run for several different reasons.  Go go gadget bullet points!

• He and Hayden can share a room.  I really want Channing to have some privacy as the oldest, and if it had been a girl, she would have had to share her room.  She will be 7 right after the birth of TOWINYN, and that is just too old to be sharing a room with an infant.
• TOWINYN and Hayden should get along much better.  One of the scariest propositions of having a third child is that you also create a middle child. We all know how that can work out sometimes.  Had the baby been a girl, I think this really would have escalated that whole situation and Hayden would have felt really left out.  He is still finding his place, and having a little brother will give him a reference point.  A “constant”, if you will.
• Ben Nevala is trying to take over the world, and the forces of good must field warriors to offset the coming armageddon.  Baby boys=warriors.

Thanks for reading and caring about what goes on in our lives.  Peace.

Guilty Pleasures

Thank you Mr. Mielke.  I had not posted in a few days and began to get the “itch” to put something down, but, alas, I really had nothing to write about.  However, Nick was kind enough to inspire me via posting on his guilty pleasures.  As I have several of them, it shouldn’t be too easy to put them out there.  Go, go, gadget bullet-points!!

• Movie News: I incessantly check the trades websites to see who got cast for what, what’s coming out, and so forth.  I love pondering celluloids and make-believes, and so I enjoy my daily excursions to Ain’t It Cool News and JoBlo.com.  I know it is a complete waste of time and I will never be able to use much of the information I glean from these websites without looking like a total dork, but yet I continue to visit them.
• Horrible movies: Case in point….The Fifth Element.  I can not divert my eyes away when it is on.  It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve seen it on TNT, I feel compelled to watch the whole thing whenever it comes on, which is a lot.  I know how bad it is, but I can’t look away. Additional example….The Underworld movies.  One of my guilty pleasures is vampire movies (laugh all you want, I know how sad it is), and so a film, no matter how flawed, that pits vampires against flippin’ werewolves is a must-see in my book.  Horrible dialogue….check.  Ridiculous plot…..check.  Campy acting that would make Adam West proud….check.  Joe watching it…..double check.
• Hand motions and/or skits set to Christian songs:  I assume I will really get it for this one, but I can’t help it, I love those things.  I have watched the LifeHouse “Everything” skit on YouTube about a million and a half times and I almost cry every time.  I said almost, get off my back.
• Fonts: I really like finding cool fonts on teh intranets.  Enough said.
• American Idol/Extreme Makeover: Home Edition : I just really like both of these shows.  While I may not have the exhaustive list that Nick does (I spend too much time being an elitist to watch that much TV), I do watch AI religiously.  AI was a show that Brit and I watched all the time when we first got married, so I guess it holds a small sentimental value to me.

I hope I have sufficiently embarassed myself for the sake of your reading entertainment.  Have a good one.

No Mas

Last week was so nice.  I was able to focus on school, the kids, and of course, my lovely bride with little to no distractions.  These are all things that I thoroughly enjoy as well as spending time with my Oasis peeps.  Other than Brittany working a million and a half hours, last week was pretty perfect.  This week, however, reality is crashing down around me as I prepare to reenter the pits of Sheoul….the Buckle.

Most of you who know me know that I am a fairly positive person.  Alas, I have gotten so discouraged with my current work situation that I am ready and willing to jump on anything else that comes along.  I enjoy the people I work with and enjoy most of the people who actually shop the store.  My discontent stems from many of the things that have been mentioned in this here blog many times before.

Poor leadership (even though I personally like both of the managers)

Constant turnover (no matter how good of a job I do, there is always this feeling that I could be the next to go)

Having to be a pushy salesperson (if I try not to be pushy about Jesus, the most important person/thing in the world, I sure as heck am not going to be pushy about jeans)

Erratic schedule (it is so hard to plan life without knowing when or what time I will be working week to week.  Trust me, it is as random as it comes)

I know you guys are probably tired of hearing me bellow and moan about my job situation, especially when new figures are showing the highest unemployment rates in years.  I should be more thankful that I even have a job, but it is hard to get excited or thankful for something you don’t want.

—

School continues to go splendidly.  I am really enjoying most of my classes.  The only class that I have any issues with is Music Appreciation.  We have had two meetings so far and I have almost nodded off both times.  Yesterday was so bad, I had to get up to go throw water in my face to wake up.  The professor is a very nice guy, but his voice is extremely monotone and the room is dimmed way too low.  These factors combined, along with the fact that this class directly follows my lunch break, makes for a deadly sleep aid.  Red Bull is your friend.

—

New website stuff for Eastdale is moving along rather quickly.  With a little luck, it could be up and running by the end of the month.  This is  really aggressive target, but they are saying it can be done.

I talked to Josh last week about purchasing CS4 to aid in updating our printed materials and signage and it is looking like a go.  I have been using a “borrowed” copy of CS for the last two years and it is simply ancient.  I love to do graphics work but I feel very limited by the tools currently at my disposal.

—

I don’t know if this new baby thing is already bothering Channing or we simply haven’t been spending enough time with her, but her behavior as of late has been terrible.  She is developing a very serious attitude problem.  She has talked back more in the last two months than she has the entire six years of her life.  I don’t know what the deal is, but we need to figure it out in a hurry.  If she keeps it up, I will be pulling a Major Payne and performing an “attitudinal adjustment.”

—

That’s it for me.  Time to go to work.  Blech.

Productive I Am

Considering this was the first Saturday I have had off from the Buckle in the last several weeks, I was really looking forward to sleeping in a little late this morning. As usual, any plans of actually resting were kaputzed rather quickly. Normally I have to literally pull Hayden out of bed to get him ready, but for some unknown reason (aka God’s sense of humor), he was up and raring to go at 6:30 this morning. Brit had to go in for a little while (surprise, surprise) so the kids and I hung out, ate some breakfast, and watched a few cartoons.

We hung out for a little while and then about 8am the productivity bug bit me and I took on the task of cleaning out our den. For those of you who have been over lately, you know this area had become a catch-all for every useless thing in the house. If it didn’t have a permanent home, it was tossed in the den never to be seen again. It adds to the overall sadness that the den used to be a functioning living space until the dog totally ruined it. When we first moved in, we set it up as a office/extra tv viewing area where the kids could hang out and watch cartoons when we wanted to watch something different on the big tv. It worked well for a while.

The room is an addition that was built around the mid-80s and instead of normal carpet they installed that indoor/outdoor putting green carpet. No, it was not green, sadly. We already hated the floor and then Logan the dog, in the process of trying to house train, absolutely ruined it. We pulled it up and since then it has not been a usable space due to the concrete underneath. So, it became a junk room.

I resolved this morning to at least make it less of an eyesore. I cleaned up our computer desk and reorganized our filing systems. I prepared all of our miscellaneous photos to be sorted, redid our bookcase, and threw away a ton of random things that we haven’t used in months. I felt useful for the first time in a long time. I would post before and after pics, but quite frankly it would be too embarassing to post on “teh intrawebs.”

—

Brit got off in time for lunch and came home to make her world famous club sammiches. They really are delicious. It is truly one of my favorite foods.

I am really starting to get concerned over the amount of hours she is currently working. Today pushed her to right at 55 for the week and she has to go in for a few hours tomorrow morning. It is frustrating because I actually like her and enjoy her company, but more importantly I don’t know how much longer she can keep this pace up. She is already exhausted because of the pregnancy and working this amount of hours can’t be healthy. We are going to have one stressed out fetus if this continues.

—

On baby news, Brit has an appointment Monday so hopefully we will get a positive report. The name debate continues on. Parker has really started to grow on me, but Brit has been a little slower to come around. She was also very hesitant on Channing the first time I mentioned it, so maybe with a little charming I can break her down.

We are going to try desperately to get the den converted into a playroom by July and then the baby will most likely share rooms with Hayden. We go back and forth about where to put him/her and neither solution is truly a good one. The best solution would be to have the baby stay with us for the first few months, but there simply isn’t room to add a crib. Our master bedroom is tiny and is crowded as it is. We really shouldn’t have bought such big bedroom furniture, but we went a little crazy, what can I say. Hopefully my mom will hit the lottery or we will find an abandoned suitcase filled with millions of unmarked bills. Then we could just buy a bigger house. I am sure one of those will happen….

—

I haven’t written about politics lately. It’s not that I haven’t had the desire to, or that I haven’t been following the transition, I just have been so busy with other “real life” things that I haven’t had the opportunity to formulate many coherent opinions. I have several friends who are actually attending the inauguration and I couldn’t hate them more for it. Should be a good time.

I know the whole selection of Rick Warren is way old news, but I haven’t had a chance to write about it, so if you don’t want to hear my take, scroll down to the next paragraph. Obama’s selection of Warren to do the invocation at the Inauguration supported my theory that Barack wasn’t going to govern as “left” as most people thought he would. Barack, in my opinion, will be a very centrist president. I felt from the beginning that he would lean more to the left on issues that are important to me (i.e. middle class tax relief, ending stupid wars, fixing American healthcare) and would be more centrist on issues that are either hot-button or issues where I disagree with the Democratic stance (abortion and such).

The fact that people are mad at him for doing what he said he was going to do is ridiculous. He ran his campaign on the promise of bringing people together. No red states, no blue states, just one country. He said over and over again it is okay if we don’t agree on everything, it doesn’t mean one of us is evil or doesn’t love the country. So for the far left to get mad when he selects a pastor who disagrees with him on some controversial issues is simply hypocritcal. Do you want a President who reaches across the aisle and across ideologies or do you want a President that simply pushes his own party’s agenda through and ignores the other half of the country? No thanks, that is what we had for the last 8 years. Enough is enough. It is okay to disagree and still work together and even, dare I say it, be friends. I hope both sides of this issues will see the merit in what Rick and Barack are trying to do.

Blagojevich is an idiot. I try to be life-giving and be positive whenever possible, but that buffoon makes me want to forget my oath of non-violence and rabbit punch him in the teeth. I am so utterly sick of corrupt politicians and the mess they try to put over on the people. His press conference the other day was the most nausea-inducing 15 minutes of my life. If anyone believed anything he said, I have a piece of gum that was chewed by the Chupacabra that I will sell you. Anybody?

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The next few weeks should be really fun. On the 21st, we have the shindig at the Lucas house, which is something we are actually counting down to on the family calendar. LOST ftw!!

Then on the 23rd and 24thwe have a two-day conference in Birmingham. This will be our first over-night trip with the Oasis peeps and I am really looking forward to it. We have a small group going, but the ones who are going are all awesome. It will be a great time to get away and focus on strengthening our friendships and our relationship with God.

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Well, we are about to head to Home Depot and run some other house type errands. Thanks for reading. Have a great weekend.

Peace.

Joe.

Words!

Long day.  I never really stopped going.  It seemed like we went from one thing to another.

Got up this morning, took the kids to school, and then it was off to a meeting about the design and content for our new church website.  I am really excited about this project.  Our current website just isn’t very effective and more importantly it’s not very pretty.

Like most smaller churches, a web site hasn’t really been a priority, but I think we have realized how important a top-notch website can be to attract new families.  It should be a fun project.  The good folks we are working with at Productive IT have done an excellent job so far of putting our vision into graphic form.

After the meeting, I had church office time until I picked Channing up from school and then took her to her first piano lesson.  Hayden and I hung out at Starbucks while she tickled the ivories and after that it was on to the Kent home for the game.  We left a little early in order to get the chitlins ready for tomorrow.

—

I slept really well last night.  It was the first time in several weeks that I have actually had a long, good sleep.  I was reading the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and I think it exhausted my brain to the point where I was able to doze off.

—

Florida just won the National Championship…meh.  I really could care less.  It could have gone either way and it wouldn’t have affected me in the least.  Many people, and probably many of you, support the SEC when their team is not in the hunt.  I am not this way.  I am not a conference kind of guy.  It will be interesting though if Utah jumps up to #2, like many expect they will, Alabama would have only lost to the top two teams in the country, which is pretty cool.  It stinks that we lost those games, but it could be worse, we could be Auburn….zing!!

—

I had a great first day at AUM.  The only issue was a very minor one as my US History class had moved rooms.  Overall, I really like my professors, although the instructor for Music Appreciation is still suspect.

—

Bedtime.  Tomorrow should be a challenging day as it will be filled with housework and common house hubby type things.  In the words of Weekend Update…have a great day and a pleasant tomorrow.

You know how I know, because it’s Tuesday…

Today has been a good day.  In actuality, this week has been a really good one.  I was very fretful going into Monday because this week had the potential to blow up in my face.  I had my first advising appointment Monday morning at AUM and I was really worried about what news or information I would or would not receive.  So far so good.  I was really late registering and applying for financial aid which was stupid on my part, but everything has worked out splendidly.  Thank God.  Not only did my financial aid come through, but I was able to schedule my classes in the most effective way possible.   I got all of my classes in on two days and even better, the two days I wanted.  Even better than that…no math classes this semester.

—

Sleeping continues to be an issue.  This has got to be rectified soon.  I can’t go much longer on 3-4 hours a night.

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At this present time I am hanging out in Starbucks drinking my usual Soy Latte, blogging, and listening to This American Life. My yuppiness startles me.

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Channing started back to school today and I am hoping that this return to her typical routine will help all of the Martin clan get back on schedule.  We have struggled to get back into pre-Christmas form.  Why is it so hard to maintain normalcy?

—

We started a new study this past week on the  church and how the body of Christ is so much more than a building and programs.  I hope during this month our students will gain an intimate understanding of what the church is truly meant to be.  We get so hung up in programs and events that we miss the reason we gather together in the first place.

—

Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much. 1 Corinthians 8:2 NLT

We looked at this verse last week and it has stayed with me since.  Pride is an area I struggle with (among many others), and I have adopted this verse as a call to humility.

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The new Kings of Leon album, Only by the Night, is super fantastic.  Go buy it now.  “Be Somebody” is my favorite song in years.

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LOST in 15 days!!!  I absolutely can not wait.  It is going to be a huge challenge to top last season, but I have high hopes for what should be the season that brings it all together.  FTW!!

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Random thought: Why do text books cost so much?  I mean, seriously.  Four hundred dollars for books you will read (or not read) for four months?  This is ludicrous.

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That’s all I have for this lovely Tuesday.  I hope you all have a great day.

Peace.

Neos Ergo

i have not been able to sleep lately. this is about the third night in a row that i have been unable to turn my brain off when i need to. i really want to sleep. i really do. i was at luke’s house way too late last night and was a walking zombie at work today. i need the rest.

my lack of sleep can probably be attributed to a couple of things:

1) i’ve been staying up later

2) we’ve been behind on house work for the last few weeks and i can’t stand to go to sleep in a dirty house

3) God has me thinking about a lot of things.

my brain is going a hundred miles an hour at all times right now. there is just so much going on. i start classes at aum next week, tons of great stuff going on at eastdale, new baby on the way, and a new ministry that is really starting to pick up steam.

most of you don’t know this, but i have been meeting with a group of guys over the last several weeks about the possibility of launching a new faith community in the tri-county area. get this straight…..this is not a church in terms of what most people consider a “church”. i have no plans of leaving eastdale. this is a community of believers. our mission is to create a network of small missional communities or house churches. these house churches would function as a weekly “church” service as there would be teaching, prayer, and worship. there is no building involved. no dress code. no denomination. simply christians living in community with one another and living out the gospel. we would bring all of these smaller groups together once a month to have a giant celebration and share a meal together.

there is a group of three (although that group seems to be expanding soon) that all have similar visions of what the body of Christ is supposed to look, feel, and act like. we see the body as a family that is brought together to serve others and grow in Christ. i serve in an established traditional church and i love it. there are great people with great hearts. God still works through that model. however, i truly believe that God is beginning a movement to reach the next generation. this movement will be a transition back to the foundational model of the early church, which is a focus on organic worship, intimate relationships, and serving others.

i am so excited about what is beginning to take shape and I know that God has big things planned for this ministry. now that i have written that down, maybe i can sleep…..

what’s in a name?

as most of you hopefully know, we will have our third child on, around, or about july 27th of next year.  as this baby was a little unexpected, we are just now beginning the obligatory name debate.  as usual per the last two children, we are not even close to being on the same page.  probably not even the same book.  in fact,  i don’t even think we are in the same bookstore right now.  i, being the free spirit that i am, tend to gravitate towards more unique or exotic names and brit….does not.

brit is very conservative with names and doesn’t get too far outside the box.  in fact, she has a whole list of rules that must be strictly adhered to for consideration.  here are some of brit’s rules with baby-naming.  write these down, they may come in handy one day…

1. no initials. this rules out names like JP, JT, LT, and my personal favorite TI.

2. the child shall not be called by his middle name. if you name your child thomas parker, you sure as heck better not call him parker.

3. brittany can not have seen, heard of, or known anyone with the same name who is unsavory or has questionable character. seriously.  there have been several times i would name off a potential moniker, and i would get the response, “but i knew a charlotte in third grade and she put glue in my hair.”

4. no nicknames. we had the discussion of naming a son after our grandfathers.  Ivo Thomas or Thomas Ivo.  The issue is that I don’t want to call my son either one of those names.  I posited that we could name him Ivo Thomas and then call them Bear or Blaze.  Maybe even Rock or Titanium…

5. no nerd names. example: i think naming a son Jedidiah and then calling him Jedi would be flipping awesome.  brittany does not.  it’s not like i want to name him skywalker or something.  hm, skywalker…..

so, you can probably understand my frustration with this whole process. with her many, many rules we did manage to pick out a few that meet our criteria. some are unisexual so they will be listed in both categories.

girls

charlotte, parker, reilly, isabella, chloe

boys

parker, thomas, ivo, lane, riley, tyler

i think there are a few more that we discussed, but i can’t remember them right off the top of my head.  sound off in the comments with your ideas or suggestions.

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i am super excited about the Lost season premiere party at casa de lucas.  we always thoroughly enjoy hanging out with that gang and adding lost to the mix just makes it that much better.

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the holiday season at the buckle has been rough.  we have lost employees at an alarming rate and business has been booming, which is good for the paycheck but not my stress level.  adding to the stress is ashley (store manager) pushing me to become a team leader at the beginning of the month.  she is in a bad spot right now with management in the store and i know she likes and trusts me and i am one of her only options and  as exciting as the prospect of making more money is, it would require me to open my availability up to the point of working almost every saturday and at least two nights a week.  this is just not doable.

the worse part is without the move up, i just don’t think i can afford to stay there.  the pay has been decent over the last few weeks, but obviously that’s due to the holidays and come mid-january i will be back to barely making more than minimum wage.  i love the discount, but when you have no money to buy clothes, the discount doesn’t hold much weight.  buckle has been a good temporary solution when i had no other income, but it has always been that, a temporary solution.  my goal is to get on with Max or another bank part-time to earn some money while i finish school.  max is really flexible with school schedules and would give me a set pay rate so that i know what i am bringing home.

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that’s it for me.  no big plans for new years.  we’re just going to hang out at church with the youth watching movies and playing games until 2009 gets here.

happy new year.

peace.