Have you ever thought about how amazing the US Postal Service is? I can put an envelope in a little metal box in front of my house, and within a couple days that envelope can be anywhere in the world. It leaves my house and gets thrown in with hundreds, if not thousands, of other envelopes and somehow they all get sorted out, and make it to the proper destination.

Think about how many times you have sent something out in the mail. Now, think about often that letter, bill, card, etc. has NOT made it to the right person or company. Do you have a story of sending something and it not making it there? It amazes me how consistent they are.

I like to receive mail. I like going to the mailbox and finding those well traveled envelopes in there. I even like getting bills, and paying them. (That could be a blog post in and of its self.) However, recently, I have become torn. Well... not torn, so much. I have just started to shift. As much as I am amazed by the US Postal Service and as much as I like to receive mail, I like waste even less. We are trying our best to reduce the amount of waste our family creates, and that little metal box out front creates more than its share.

In my next post, I'll give you the steps we have taken to reduce our mail.

Labels: green

There's a new NOOMA video. You can see it in its entirety for the next 48 hours at the NOOMA myspace page. Below is just a clip from the video.

My favorite line...

...you may not be proud of it, but you must embrace it because it is yours.

Labels: church

Palmer has recently became a lot more active. I played with iMovie this morning for about half an hour while I should have been getting ready for work. This is what I came up with. It's kind of cheesy, but Grandmas will like it.

Labels: baby

Last Wednesday, October 17, 2007, Kim's Uncle Joe passed away.



Joe, "Dimples", and their three daughters, all of whom are married with kids, live in, or around, Joliet, Illinois. At first we weren't going to make the trip for the funeral, but on second thought, we decided to go. We were a bit hesitant to throw Palmer in the car and take off on a thirteen hour drive because he was in the middle of a bout with a cold, and he has started teething. Not a good combination. At least, not one that you want to trap yourself in the car with.



We decided to make the trip for a few reasons. Uncle Joe and company had made the trip down to North Carolina a few years ago for our wedding. I had never met the guy and Kim had not seen him in a few years, but he felt it was important enough of an event to make the trip. We saw them again just a few months ago in Tallahassee, Florida when we were all in town for Kim's sister's wedding, and what turned out to be Palmer's "birth day".

Palmer's birth also had a lot to do with our decision to go up for the funeral. Several people that would be in town for the funeral had heard about Palmer, but had not gotten to meet him. So, we figured we might try to bring a little joy to the event. Aunt Dimples and Kim's cousins were as happy as they could be to finally get to meet him, even under the circumstances.

Aside from seeing family, this trip was a great opportunity to see friends that we don't get to see that often. We spent the night with the Meisels in Countryside, Illinois on Friday night.



We saw the Bartons for the first time in over three years on Saturday night in Lebanon, OH.



Then, we made a small detour to see the Burys in Marysville, Ohio on Sunday.



It was an excellent, yet jam packed few days. If you are ever going to drive through West Virginia or go to Chicago, I suggest doing it in October. The weather was amazing and the scenery on the drive was incredible.

Labels: travel

...and a decent song.

Labels: activism, entertainment, music

Congratulations to my boy nm2774033, a.k.a. David Paul Meyer, a.k.a. the O.G. from G-Vegas, holla at 'cha boy, lickity-smackity, high rolla, ballaholic, IndexOutOfBoundsException, a.k.a. Davo. He has hit the big time. Okay, maybe that's a bit of a stretch, but he did get his name on IMDB.

You're a rock star in my book. I'm not sure what rock star equates to in the movie biz, but I think you are neat.

Here is a sample of his taste treats, and this was before he went to film school.

Labels: indiscriminate

Do you have a Facebook account? Do you like free music? If yes, and yes, then I have a deal for you.

If you join the Ticketmaster Facebook group (See this blog post.), you get five free songs from the iTunes music store. Better yet, you get to pick your five free songs. Previous Facebook promotions have given you songs that they choose, but not this one. Now, you get to choose.

For all the latest free stuff from the iTunes music store, subscribe to the Free iTunes Songs blog.

Enjoy.

Labels: blogosphere, entertainment, music

I was born in February of the year of our lord nineteen hundred eighty. I am a child of the 80's. However, I have never considered myself an 80's music fan. During the 80's, I was outside. I was busy riding bikes, running through the woods, and playing sports. I was not listening to the radio.

I can't remember what we listened to in the car. The only song I can remember my parents listening to in the 80's is Mountain Music from Alabama.

In the nineties, I listened to just about everything other than 80's music. The names that come to mind are Vanilla Ice1, MC Hammer, Poison, and Garth Brooks.

I listen to my headphones nearly the entire day at work. Usually, I am either listening to one of the many podcasts I download, or to music on shuffle. Today, the shuffle hit a Journey song, and I did something unheard of. I turned off shuffle and listened to an entire album.

Journey's Greatest Hits has just moved way up on my all time list of best albums. Maybe I should check out some more 80's music.

Does anyone have any favorites?

1. back To the Extreme was the first CD I ever owned.

Labels: entertainment, music

This is one cute kid.
He gets it from his mom.

Labels: baby

Our good friends Daniel and Mandy Smith are about to have a baby. Actually, they could have it by the time I finish writing this. They went in to be induced earlier today. Technically, it was yesterday at this point. We spent several hours in the waiting room this evening and night hanging out with friends and family. Our communty is incredible.

It's crazy to me how two families can go through the same thing, i.e. having a baby, and the two experiences can be so different. They went in to be induced and spent about as much time in the waiting room as it took us to show up at the hospital and have our baby.

Mandy seemed to be handling everything very well, and Daniel, though tired was being a trooper. They started giving her medicine to get the ball rolling around 3:30 PM and they called us a few minutes ago, 1:30 AM-ish, to say that they were getting close to popping this little boy out.

Man, I am excited for them, and for us as friends. Parenting is a flippin' roller coaster ride. It may be closer to Space Mountain than a regular roller coaster though because we are definitely in the dark and don't know what turn is coming next. I'm really excited to be able to share that with them. They have been awesome with Palmer, and I look forward to return the favor, or favors, with them.

Maybe together we can figure out how to raise kids in this crazy world. They are going to be great parents. It's going to be cool to have our kids grow up together.

Labels: indiscriminate

My friend Erick will be running his first marathon this November. He's not running for his health or for the accomplishment. Though, those are both excellent reasons to take on the huge task of completing a marathon, Erick's motive is much greater.

Erick will be running in support of and in honor of his daughter. Danielle, his daughter, suffers from juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. So, Erick is running to raise money for the Arthritis Foundation.

Please consider donating to his cause. You can see his message below.

Dear friends,

My eleven year old daughter Danielle suffers from juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA). This disease can be painful and disabling. Due to the research supported by the Arthritis Foundation, medications have been developed that enable Danielle to have a pain-free and active life. With continuing research, we hope to find a cure for JRA. However this takes money. To help raise funds for the Arthritis Foundation, I have joined Joints in Motion, a team of men and women who train for a marathon in honor of an individual who has arthritis. The group raises money that will help fund arthritis research. In support of Danielle, on November 4, I will run the City of Oaks Marathon, and I am asking for donations to help support the Arthritis Foundation.

We have seen firsthand how this research and support has benefited our family.
Please consider making a contribution to the Arthritis Foundation Carolinas Chapter.

http://erickforarthritis.kintera.org/

Thank you for your help.

Sincerely,

Erick, Michelle, Nicole, and Danielle Benson

Labels: activism