thoughts from the common man....

Bolder Boulder...T-6 days

Only 6 days till the Bolder Boulder!!!!!

Bands on every corner, a max elevation of 5492 ft, 45000 runners....Its gonna be the bomb!!!

Stubbs, Houses and Humidity

Julie and I visited Texas for the weekend. A friend of ours was getting married in Austin, so it provided a good opportunity for us to move one car back (packed full of stuff), and fly back to Denver. This way we can tow a car behind our moving truck and be able to split the driving.

The wedding was fun, getting to ride up with Brandon and Sarah (some crazy friends of ours), and visiting with other friends that we haven't seen in a while.

While in Austin we saw Julie's mom, sister, and brother, which was nice. We went out to eat at Stubb's BBQ while we were there, and it was the bomb. Prices are reasonable, and the atmosphere was great. With a concert in the background and signed Willie pictures on the wall it is a definite must in Austin. As an aside we tried to eat at Ironworks BBQ, but they are closed on Sunday.

On Sunday we were able to meet with a realtor, Gary Knippa, that we know through his son. The experience went great; serving to help is to find out what is out there, and helping to educate us about the home buying process. We are getting excited about the prospect of owning our first home. I will be stoked to be able to have a yard and a garage, and Julie is excited to have room for a second dog, and having more room to entertain (the social butterfly that she is).

Sunday night we stayed up late talking with our host Matt, and flew back to CO early Monday morning.

The weekend was a lot of fun, a mix of productivity and relaxation. We are certainly going to miss Colorado (the humidity in Austin serving as a constant reminder), but we are excited to move back to an area where saying hello to stranger is the rule, not the exception, and where are friends are closer.

Bolder Boulder Update

I am getting more and more excited about the Bolder Boulder everyday. It is only a couple of weeks away, and Julie and I are getting to be better runners. We still have not run the full 6.2 mile, but I am confident that we will be able to get through it....

Changes to my CSS

So I have been messing with the blog lately, you might notice the style switcher on the side, so you can pick what you want my site to look like, courtesy of Movable Style.

I have also reworked my original template to accommodate the Movable Style stuff.

I also worked very hard to keep the css and html valid according to standards at www.w3.org. You can check the code at validator.w3.org.

Dang cool Cartoons... www.seantiffany.com

I thought that everyone would enjoy seeing some of the talent that we keep up here in CO. A friend of mine that I have met through kinkies is a sucessful cartoonist with a really cool portfolio. He even has his own toothbrush . Buy your Dannon H20 soon, the offer expires 5-25-04.

Check out Sean Tiffany's portfolio @ www.seantiffany.com There is some really exciting things to see. It is awesome to see someone doing something that they truly enjoy for a living.

Guest Author on the WifeSite

So Patrick brought up a funny Julie moment. I had been chewing on it, but couldn't seem to avoid posting a, "had to be there" type of moment. I had him write up the story and post it on Quotes from the Wife, take a peek at the new post over there.

In other Patty related news, he took a call (job in church lingo) to a chruch in Houston (Pilgrim). I remember them from playing Lutheran School basketball in grade school. They weren't ood at basketball, but thats cool, Phats isn't going to coach. We are proud of him here in CO Knouseland, confident that he is going to do a great job telling the kiddos about Jesus.

The 10K Bolder Boulder

Running is hard to get used to, I am really not all that good at it. Julie and I both ran 4 miles on Monday to see where we are at. It went well, not nearly as painful as I thought it would be. It is still a ways away from 6.2 miles, and the hill at Folsom Field. Check out a map of the elevation....

I registered us last night, so let the countdown to wave H begin!!!!

"In a 'Coon's Age."

So the other day I called another Kinkies and spoke with a Coworker that I had not spoken to in forever. I said to her, "Sally (name changed to protect the innocent) I haven't seen you in a 'coon's age!" To this she replied, "How old is a 'coon (sounding a bit peeved)?" So I'm thinkin', "This isn't a Deep South racial slur is it?" and feeling bad. We talked for a bit, but I still not sure if that is why she replied the way she did. I have always thought of in terms of a raccoon's life span, so I looked it up. (Ain't Google Grand!!!).

A few sources....
www.clichesite.com
A discussion on the phrase finder
U of North Dakota on Life Span of a Raccoon

So what of this, it seems the phrase was first recorded in 1843, and not used as a racial term till a decade or two later, so does it make the term racist? I feel as though it could go either way, some would say that the term is neither here nor there, some would say that as a result of the racial tensions and background in our country that we should heir on the side of caution. What about other terms that could have racial implications? It is defiantly something to think about, and I am still not sure what my opinion is on the whole thing.

Go Tornados.....Whoop!!

Well it's official. I'm a tornado. That's right. Go 'nads! I am going to school at Concordia University @ Austin.

I am stoked to be able to go back to school to purse full time ministry. I am pursuing a DCE certification and a Masters in Education. I am pumped to be heading back to Austin, we have missed her.

I called my wife's school when I found out. I told the receptionist (not the usual one, unfortunately) to give Julie a message. It went like this.

Lee- "Tell her that her husband is a Tornado."
Recep- "Tell her he's a what?"
Lee- "A Tornado."
Recep- "Tell her that her husband is a Tornado."
Lee- "That's Right...Thanks. Bye."

She was perplexed.

Corn...When Did I Eat Corn

So Julie made some garlic butter last night for the corn that we grilled. It was SO good that we are eating it for the second night in a row. Oh so good! Email Julies for the recipie.

American Idol, America got some Brains

So I haven't weighed in on AI lately, but let me tell you, I am THRILLED that John Stephens was booted. The show was losing more and more credibility every week that he was on. The dude was aweful, on about 3-4 weeks too long. I am pumped that George Huff is still on!!!! He is not doing his best lately, but he will shine in the upcoming weeks.

I still haven't been able to get a copy of William Hung's CD, oh but I will...