Rich Quotes of the Day

*"Faith is walking with God. The biggest problem with life is that it's daily. You can never get so healthy that you don't have to continue to eat right.... Spiritually speaking we're much in the same place. It's not what you did, and not what you say you're going to do, it's what you do today."

*"I had a prof one time... He said, 'Class, you will forget almost everything I will teach you in here, so please remember this: that God spoke to Balaam through his ass, and He has been speaking through asses ever since. So, if God should choose to speak through you, you need not think too highly of yourself. And, if on meeting someone, right away you recognize what they are, listen to them anyway'."

* "Never forget what Jesus did for you. Never take lightly what it cost Him. And never assume that if it cost Him His very life, that it won't also cost you yours."

* "This concert won't be very different from concerts I've given in recent years. If you've liked what I've done in the past, you'll like this. If you haven't, you should go to a movie."

* "If I could change one verse in the Bible it would be: "Give me neither poverty or riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise I may have too much and disown you and say 'who is the lord', or i may become poor and steal and so dishonor the name of my God." to "If I'm going to be vain, at least make me good looking. If I can't be good looking, then make me not vain."

Rich Mullins Remembered: Will You Marry Me?

Well, actually it was more, "Will you marry us?"

I guess that needs some explaination.

Shane and I were a few months from our wedding date (1995) and travelled from Mobile to Jackson MS to catch Rich on his Brother's Keeper tour. We were particularly excited because not only was he touring with the entire Ragamuffin Band, but Ashley Cleveland and Carolyn Arends were opening for him.

This concert was the first time Shane ever had the opportunity to see Rich live, I think it was my 3rd or something. We got to the venue, which was 4 hours from home, only to discover Shane's glasses were at home, leaving him only his prescription sunglasses to wear the whole time. Gives another meaning to "through a glass darkly."

The concert was at an older theater, and turns out the big rig carrying the tour equipment sprang a deisel fuel leak, and the Ragamuffins et al got a police and hazmat escort to the venue.

The opening acts were great. Ashley Cleveland was just great as always with her bluesy, soulful stuff. Carolyn Arends was a newcomer on the scene, and I had already fallen in love with her songs "Seize the Day" and "What I Wouldn't Do", so was in heaven during her set. (And I ran into her in the ladies room too...)

But, the highlight of the night was still Rich's set. With Jimmy A on guitar, Mark Robertson on bass, Aaron Smith on drums it was incredible. Rich of course filled in guitar, hammered dulcimer and guitar throughout the show. Jimmy A did a couple of solo songs as well.

After the concert we hung around and chatted with all the artists and bought CDs. ("Vector" from Jimmy A; "This Train" from Mark Robertson) Also there was Bernie Sheahan who wrote for CCM (Contemporary Music Magazine) at the time, and our friend Mickey ended up in the magazine with her photo with Bernie. But back to the title of the post...

While chatting with Rich afterwards, this conversation ensued:

Shane: "Our wedding is set for December, but if you'd do it we'd love to have you officiate right now!"

Rich: "Well, I'm not ordained."

Shane: "That's alright."

Rich: "It woudn't be legal."

Shane: "Okay."

Rich: "You'd be living in sin!"

Needless to say we went the more traditional, legal, and ordained by God route a few months later.

Mitch McVicker's New CD- "Love Will Rise"

Mitch is an excellent singer-songwriter on his own, but is probably best known as the co-writer of the Dove Award Winning song, "My Deliverer" with Rich Mullins, as well as Rich's apprentice of sorts who was in the accident with him almost 10 years ago that took Rich's life. Mitch was injured severely in that accident, and after a very long recovery has gone on to release several cds and tour extensively across 49 states.

I remember the first time I heard Mitch in concert. It was October of 1996, and Rich Mullins was giving an open-air concert in Cathedral Square in Mobile, Alabama. We took our blanket and got a great seat on the lawn. Rich had a new friend touring with him, and Mitch joined him on stage for a number of original songs as well as accompanying Rich. We were really impressed with such a young guy who was just out of college with such musical talent. We chatted with Rich and Mitch for a while after that concert and were anticipating Mitch's album coming out soon.

We saw them in July at Cornerstone 1997 where they performed "Canticle of the Plains" which was a play Rich wrote and Mitch starred in with Leigh Nash, Kevin Max and Michael Tate. (Those CDs are hard to come by and Mitch has them for sale as well.) 2 months later Rich and Mitch has just finished Mitch's album and were on the road from Illinois to Kansas when the terrible wreck happened that resulted in Rich's passing and Mitch's injuries. The cd went on to be released a number of months later, and it is still probably our favorite of Mitch's. Rich does some BGVs, plays piano and is basically all over that CD.

We saw Mitch in concert many many times after that, touring with Cobra Joe Curet, Brad Layher and sometimes Erik Hauk. He toured frequently in the Carolinas, and since we were childless at that point we travelled all over the 2 states to see him play. Then we moved to Memphis, which is the black hole for all music that we would like.

So, it has been many moons since we saw Mitch in concert, or heard anything new from him on disc....5 years as a matter of fact. Imagine my surprise on Wednesday the 5th to accidentally discover he would be in Memphis on Friday the 7th for a FREE concert nonetheless! Babysitter confirmed, we were on our way.

The concert was great, and was also the kickoff tour for his new CD called "Love Will Rise". (Clips and more info at his website.) He is touring quite a bit to promote the new disc, so check his website for dates and see if he is headed to your city soon.

(With the upcoming anniversary of Rich's death, expect a week of posts relating to Rich Mullins beginning on the 16th. )

E-Music Download Service

We are real media people here in the Blake household. Music, movies, books, computers- we love it all, especially music. We have a bookshelf crammed completely full of cds and our Ipods are loaded to the max (30 gig and 60 gigs). We have a radio, CD player or IPod dock in every room of the house, except the bathrooms.

Music being a top priority at our house, we love to discover and download new music. However, we HATE ITunes because of their expense, proprietary file format and general not too user-friendly program. Imagine our excitement when Kristen turned us on to E-Music.

E-Music is a downloadable music service that is reasonably priced and subscription based, but can be cancelled at any time. Subscriptions range from $9.99 a month for 30 downloads to $19.99 for 75 downloads a month. The files are regular old MP3s, so they can be burned to disc or played on any type of MP3 player. Also, they save your info on downloads, and if you should need to re-download all your music you do it for free! Best of all- you get a great FREE TRIAL of 50 downloads (email me for the link) which you can cancel immediately if you'd like. (A credit card is required for the free trial, just remember to cancel and you are fine.)

What types of artists will you find at E-Music? No Avril Lavigne or BackStreet Boys there... but you'll be thrilled if you like Independent/Singer songwriters, up and coming alternative artists, americana or alt- country, folk, gospel, kid's music and more. Here is a list of what we have downloaded in the past few months:

• Aaron Sprinkle
• Dan Zanes (for Coleman)
• Jonah Werner
• Over the Rhine
• Chuck Brodsky
• Waterdeep
• Farmer Not So John
• Jeremy Casella
• Ed Cash
• Gillian Welch
• Stavesacre
• Brace Yourself Bridget (Irish Folk-Rock)
• Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians
• John Prine
• Katy Bowser
• Peter Mulvey
• Ray Charles
• Sandra McCracken
• Sarah McGlaughlin
• Sonia Dada
• Sufjan Stephens
• The Electrics

They also have a lot of old Tom Waits, tons of the indie artists we like so well such as Jason Harrod, Mark Williams, Dog Named David, Claire Holley, Jennifer Daniels, Christopher Williams, Brooks Williams, Beki Hemingway, many of the Awakening Records and Paste Music Artists. For 50 free downloads you can't go wrong.

Leave a comment here if you want a free trial- if you go through me we BOTH get the 50 free and I would love some more great music!

Jean Pendziwol's "Dragon" Safety Books for Kids...

Coleman was studying Dragons for "D" week today, and these two books were among the ones we got from the library and read. They were both really cute and dealt with safety issues for kids without being scary. It also opened up a great opportunity to talk about safety rules.

Once Upon a Dragon is a great story about stranger safety. A child and her friend the dragon are playing at the park when they find themselves in the dragon's book of fairy tales. As they move through the chapters of the fairy tale book, they are approached by many classic characters, each of them encouraging the dragon and child to do something unsafe. (Going into the gingerbread house from Hansel and Gretel- never go in a stranger's house!; Taking an apple from the witch in Snow White- never take food from strangers!; Cindarella's carraigeman trying to get them to take a ride to help rescue the 3 little pigs- never take rides from strangers!)The child reminds the dragon the safety rules each time, and they arrive unscathed at the end of the book, where they ask the good witch wearing a blue uniform with a star wand (policelady with star shaped badge) for help. She gets them safely out of the story, and they go home with Mom. There is a cute little poem at the end about safety and a section for parents to read and tips to discuss with kids.

No Dragons For Tea follows along the same lines, but is related to Fire Safety. Same basic premise where the dragon accidentally starts the tablecloth on fire during a tea party and the child gets him out of the building safely teaching him important tips along the way (crawl on the floor, don't hide, meet at the tree, don't go back in the house for anything, go to the neighbor's and call the police.) There are again tips and a poem at the end to reinforce what the kids learn. Discussing this Coleman learned that if our Fire Alarm goes off he is to go to the mailbox and wait there for Mommy and Daddy. (It is also a good reminder to let your kids hear what the fire alarm sounds like and not to be afraid.)

I just noticed there is a 3rd book in the series called A Treasure at Sea for Dragon and Me dealing with water safety.

Great books that I will end up adding to our library (if I can find 'em cheap) and certainly worth a read from your local library.

Digital Photography Challenge...

This is a great site for anyone interested in photography as a hobby or just enjoys looking at great photos. Shane (my hubby) occasionally submits a photo to a challenge there. The caliber of the winning photos is always top notch.

Every few days there is a new challenge announced, and entries revolve around that topic. Some past topics have included motivational posters, Beatles song lyrics, wings, urban landscape. You can join the site for a yearly fee and participate in special "Members Only Challenges" but there are plenty of opportunities for people who don't pay to participate. And of course, browsing is always free and encouraged! The community there is also pretty chatty about things photographic and more- so stop by a forum if some topic catches your eye.

Take a peek- you might just get some ideas for yourself!

http://www.dpchallenge.com/

I Did My Chores Board

I found this product in a Parents magazine a number of months ago, and thought to myself, "I can make one of those for just as cheap!" Turns out, I was wrong... mainly because I wanted to use the durable plastic hanging tags instead of making paper ones with my Sizzix Machine. So, I bit the bullet and ordered it from the manufacturer http://ididitproductions.com/about.php.

The premise of the board is to encourage kids to be self sufficient with their chores, even from an early age. I chose "chores" that are really things Coleman should do already, but the idea is to have the kids do them without constant reminders, so it is helpful even for his age. The kit comes with a light foam-core board that you can personalize with your child's name and 5 sets of hooks with corresponding colored plastic tags. The chore labels come on label sheets and you add them to whatever color you want. There are also a number of blank ones for you to create your own ( I made Quiet Time and Get Dressed.) It also includes little green bingo looking chips to reward for each job completed.

You hang the tags on each hook in the order the things should be done, and as the child consults their hook and completes their chore, they put that tag in the "I Did It" box. At the end of the day, each chore completed without constant reminding gets a green chip (I provided the little bag). We have a reward chart to the left with what certain amounts of chips are worth. Each day's chores in our house equals 15 chips. (Sample chores for Coleman: Get Dressed, Clear your plate from the table, wipe your place at the table (3 times a day), sweeper the floor (loves my swiffer), put shoes in closet, brush teeth, pick up toys, do schoolwork, get ready for bed). As he gets older we will add to those.

So far Coleman likes it. He loves to have me count his chips and see what rewards he is has earned. Since he is in a "Hot Wheels" phase, I think he is saving for those. I just remind him in the morning to check his board, and remind him a few other times a day to follow it's directions. It has made it a little easier around here and he feels much more grown up.

Bloons Game

Okay, I know I posted a quiz just a few days ago, but this game is a lot of fun. Another time waster, but great for when you just need a few minutes to sit and be quiet and do nothing productive whatsoever.

Coleman likes to play it as well because he can sometimes accidentally beat the level.

Enjoy! And oh- there's also MORE BLOONS if you should get through the first 50 levels.


http://www.notdoppler.com/bloons.php

Letter of the Week Preschool Curriculum

A lot of people have asked me about where the info for Coleman's schoolwork originated. There is a great website called http://www.letteroftheweek.com/ that has the basic format there, I just modified it a bit and there you go.

They have the basics from birth to older kids- but I really like the "theme of the week" which I did a little of with him last year, and the "letter of the week" which we are using now.

For all the great graphics and such, I just use a printshop program or search google images for whatever I am looking for. I just print them out on 5x8 index cards and the full sheet is just regular printer paper. I made the board out of a sheet of foam-core and used vinyl page protectors sealed with my foodsaver machine. Was pretty easy and durable too.

Coleman LOVES his schoolwork. To see what we have done so far you can go to our online school photo scrapbook at http://picasaweb.google.com/jennifer.s.blake/HomePreschoolLessons . A lot of people have been a little worried that we are pushing him too hard too early, but trust me- he asks to do his work. Some days he begs to learn more if we are learning something he is really interested in. We are far from "hothousing" him to be sure, especially since he does not go to preschool or Mom's day out anywhere. (If you are not familiar with the term "hothousing" in relation to child-rearing, check out this article http://giftedkids.about.com/od/glossary/g/hothouse.htm)

Since we plan to homeschool our child(ren), this is great practice for both of us in keeping a schedule, paying attention and how to gather resources (for me.) 5 days a week we study a topic relating to the letter of the week. We read 3 or 4 books on the subject, do a craft, activity or game, practice some basic handwriting, discuss our Bible story and verse. That's it! It takes about 30 minutes (unless it is an involved activity like baking) and we are done. We also take a field trip or two relating to our words for the week.

I love it too, the field trips are especially fun for both of us as are the activities. I can really see the difference in his attention span since we started, and we are reinforcing that learning is fun.

Paperback Book Swap/ Swap a CD

I love to read. A LOT. However, I am cheap in a lot of respects, and would much rather pick up books for a few pennies at yard sales or use my library card. Many of the books I have wanted to read in the last few years are not available at the local library, and I refuse to pay big money for them unless they are a classic or something I want to keep a long time. That is why I love PBS.

The way it works is simple... just type in the ISBNs of books you want to get rid of. Make a wish list of books you'd like, or order them off the site if they are already available. When a book is requested from you, you simply click a couple of places, a page prints out for you to wrap up the book, you take it to the post office and pay the shipping. When the book is received, you get a credit good toward another book for yourself. It's that easy.

There is a sister site called Swap a CD.com that is a similar format but with CDs. The credits can move back and forth between the two sites, so if you are getting rid of a lot of books you can get CDs and vice versa.

So far I have had only good experiences with both sites. You get automated email reminders and it is a great way to get your hands on some things you want for CHEAP.

And that is my middle name.

http://www.paperbackswap.com/

http://www.swapacd.com/

The Impossible Quiz

Be Forewarned: This is a HUGE time-waster. Don't even attempt it if you want to be productive throughout the next few days.

That being said, it is also a lot of fun! I just discovered they have come out with a second one as well, which I have not attempted yet. I think I got as far as 80 something on the first one.

http://www.notdoppler.com/theimpossiblequiz.php

(I can't remember if there is anything off-color in this thing since it has been a long while since I played it. Play at your own risk if that may be a problem.)

Enjoy! And don't blame me for the block of time that just disappears.

One of us is into cupcakes....

We made mini cupcakes this afternoon. When I left the room at 5:00 there were only a couple eaten. When I came back in the kitchen at 8:00 this is what I saw.

Lucky for him he is so darn cute.

Team Hoyt

A friend sent me the link to this video on YouTube a number of months ago. What a wonderful story of sacrifice and love. If Dick loves his son this much, how much deeper is OUR Father's love for us?

For the full story on this incredible pair, go to their website at http://www.teamhoyt.com/

The video below is from the Today show. The second half features the video shown above.

With Love, just about anything is possible.

Dan Heller's Photography

I want to be this guy when I grow up.

Way back in the 90's when we were shopping for a new lens for our Pentax SLR film camera (remember those... film cameras?), I did an internet search for the particular lens we were looking at purchasing, and this guy's website came up. I took a look around and decided that he was the best stinkin' photographer I had seen outside of my art appreciation classes.

I discovered that he used the lens that we were considering, and I sent him an email asking how he felt about it. Turns out, he really liked it and responded with a good email about its pros and cons. Not only talented, but also seems like a very nice guy. Taking photos is his job, so I trusted his judgement and we bought the lens. And what a job, travelling the world (often on someone else's dime) taking photos and enjoying cultures totally different from your own.

Check out his site: http://www.danheller.com


If I ever come across a boatload of money, I intend to buy a number of his prints to hang in our house, that is, until mine look as good as his.

Susan Enan's Music

The great thing about the recent trend in TV away from sitcoms to more drama based shows has been the improvement in the music featured. A lot of shows have always used good music, even music that is not commonly heard on the radio, but in the last couple of years they have really stepped it up.

Some of my favorite shows (despite their morbid subject matter) are especially good about choosing great artists, both well known and some totally unknown folks. "Crossing Jordan" is always good for some Patty Griffin or Leonard Cohen; "Smallville" prides itself for picking up and coming artists that especially appeal to the younger crowd. "Cold Case" even chooses great songs to play on its show- including an episode featuring music only from U2.

Last fall, one of my new favorites on Fox, "Bones" played a song that I had never heard before and HAD to have. HAD, with CAPITAL LETTERS. It was THAT great! Of course, they did not show any info in the credits, nor did their website. I remembered a couple of lines from the song, and Googled it- and to my luck it brought me to a website of a friend of the artist, who just randomly mentioned it in a post!

The artist is Susan Enan (http://www.susanenan.com). She actually was selling CDs a while back on Paste Music's site, but they have been sold out for a long time. She has a new CD in the works that should be released soon. You can check her out, and the song "Bring on the Wonder", at her myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/susanenan . The song "Monoplain" is also great. If you like Natalie Merchant or Sarah Mclachlan, you will need to hear Susan.

Long live Indie Music!

Golf Clubs for Wee Ones...

When Coleman was born, Shane's dad (a.k.a. Pop) immediately picked out a set of golf clubs for him. When he was 14 months old he got him a little plastic set, and they quickly became a favorite toy at our house. Pop took great pleasure in instructing his little pupil, even at an early age. Coleman got pretty good at hitting the ball, even as a tiny tike.

This summer, Pop decided it was time to trade the plastic ones in for the REAL DEAL. We decided he would give them to Coleman in Florida since we would be going down for the week of the 4th of July. When Pop started looking around for the clubs down there, they were all really expensive (the cheapest set was over $100). Shane found them online at http://www.golfsmith.com/ps/products/LXJR105 (Coleman's are dark green, not pink) and a friend gave him a coupon code for 40% off the set.

Golf clubs with discount: $42
Practice balls, tees, play balls: $15
Black washcloth turned golf towel: $2.00
Look on a kid's face when they get their own grown up clubs?: Priceless

Coleman has since played putt-putt with them, gone to the driving range, played real golf about 3 times and has hit with them out in the yard a bunch. Pop still enjoys trying to instruct our little guy in the basics of the game. Do we think we are raising the next Tiger Woods? No. But, we have just found another great way to spend time together as a family.

Ed Litton's Blog...

Ed Litton is the pastor of First Baptist North Mobile (http://www.northmobile.org), in Saraland Alabama. We were members here from 1994-1999 and hated to leave there for Raleigh, NC. My brother-in-law and his family are still members there, as well as some other family members. It is a HUGE church, very conservative in message and strong in scripture. Despite searching very hard, we have never been able to find another church quite like it.

Pastor Ed is very well educated in the Word of God and very well rounded in other ways as well. (As a matter of fact, he originally intended to become a stand-up comic before feeling the pull toward ministry.) He is very interested in history, current events and a host of other things. His beloved wife, Tammy, was killed in a tragic car accident last month, and as a result I began reading his blog to keep abreast of how their family is doing during this difficult time. I also began reading some of his old posts, and was floored at how effective a communicator he is, even in writing.

So, if you are interested in somewhat random posts, as well as how to cope with an enormous loss in a very positive scriptural way, see what Pastor Ed has been saying. (The most recent posts are relating to the loss of Tammy, previous ones are somewhat random.)

http://www.elitton.blogspot.com/

What is this all about?

Well, I finally bit the bullet and created a blog. Mainly I did it because I was tired of forwarding a bunch of junk to people who may or may not be interested in things that I am. I also decided to do it because there are TONS and TONS of things that we really love or are into these days that some of you may be as well.

So, this blog may very well end up being about what I had for lunch, what i am listening to, the coolest new toys for adults or kids or just some random humor or WOW website I've run across. It may also be terribly boring and put you to sleep. In that case, check it freqently to cure insomnia because I am not sure how frequently I will post, but really intend to do it daily or so.

So, check back if you are interested in a little peek into our (admittedly consumerist, sometimes shallow) life. You might find something that interests you or makes you laugh!