#1-Little things I miss...bonfires

I've decided to write a series of posts on things that I enjoy, but don't necessarily experience as much as I would like. Most of these things have some sort of memory connected to them, so they may be more memorable to me than to others. I'm just picking from a list and writing them in no particular order, so today's post, bonfires, is not necessarily the #1 thing I miss. I figure that the one I pick will most likely be the one that triggers a memory while reading down the list.

So here goes...

I've heard that there are two things that guys can sit and stare at for hours...just because. Falling water and fire. They both have the same strange quality...they are constantly in motion, never looking the same. Its amazing how quickly people become mesmerized by a fire, no matter the size.

What I miss most about bonfires, however, is sitting down after a warm summer day and relaxing as it moves into a cool summer night, sitting in front of a glowing, crackling fire while holding a campfire fork with a couple mallows lightly browning on the opposite end.

I miss poking the fire with a stick or piece of iron and spraying sparks all over. I miss laughing when a spark lands on someone's clothes or making fun of someone when the rubber soles of their shoes begin to heat up and melt.

I miss crispy and sometimes blackened apple pies, a cold Mountain Dew and sticky fingers and faces from the uncountable number of marshmallows consumed.

I miss the conversations that come up, the memorable stories that are told, and yes, even the smoky smell of pretty much everything when the night is over and the fire has been reduced to flickering embers.

That's what I miss...

Summer Freedom-Part 1 (of hopefully more)

Hello all all of you faithful he-hasn't-posted-since-March blog followers...

I know I haven't posted in literally what seems like forever ago, and honestly I didn't even realize how busy I had become. I would love to update you on everything that has been going on since....let's see...MARCH 23!!! But I won't.

I'm currently at school at 8:45 p.m. waiting for Linds to finish up her volleyball open gym, so I figured I would type a bit now that I have some summer freedom from lesson planning and coaching!

I'm not going to start an attempt at hitting the highlights of the past few months (yes months), so stay tuned for some lengthy posts and hopefully some pictures. I plan on posting either Tuesday or Wednesday, so look for it sometime in the middle of August...

...kidding...

One thing that has been on my mind lately is even though I am SO grateful to God for providing us with a wonderful place to live, great friends to enjoy it with, and jobs to keep us going, I really do miss all of you A LOT.

I miss...
...movie nights
...Friday night pizza
...driveway basketball
...fishing with friends
...Cranium
...watching a Twins game with Twins fans
...bonfires
...Pizza Ranch
...backyard volleyball
...sweating while I work
...peach malts
...cheap (free) entertainment
...fast-pitch softball
...the people I know who aren't within 30 min of me

I have a feeling that list will grow before too long, because just thinking about some of those things brought back some great memories. But you know what's the most amazing thing? I can't even believe having to miss all of that by myself. If I didn't have such a wonderful wife of now 1 year and 1 day, it would make living so far away really hard. Because of her, I can say that where we are living in fact IS a wonderful place and I can't think of anywhere else I would rather be.

So long everybody...

It's been awhile...since I've...blogged upon this site

I was going to say something along the lines of "I can't wait for April and Spring Break to come...but realized I never really said hello to March...since the last post was on Feb 26...wow!)

So hello March....


...alright...


...and now I'm looking forward to April and Spring Break!

There have been a couple of reasons I haven't posted lately, the main reason being we no longer have consistent internet at our house courtesy of our neighbors. They have decided to become very un-courteous and password-protect their WiFi. I would like to think that if I had internet access of my own, I would be very willing to allow people to "borrow" from me. But on the other hand...I would also like to pay credit cards, do some banking, and set up all online-bill pay options. So maybe that wouldn't be such a great idea.

Another reason is that school has become rediculously busy again. I've been helping out with Science Olympiad, a middle school afterschool geek (we prefer that term) program. We finally had our regional competition a week and a half ago and we qualified for state! So on April 25th, we'll be taking on 38 other teams across the state to try and qualify for nationals....(notice there wasn't an exclamation point at the end of that).

I'm kidding...it would be great to spend a weekend in May down in Georgia with 15 geeky 6th, 7th, and 8th graders...

My final reason...and maybe one a little more on a serious note, is because life has been filled with a bit more stress lately after we found out that there was a job opening at Denver Christian teaching Middle School Science and P.E. It's actually at the K-8 school that I didn't teach at, but I know a number of the teachers there and it would have been phenomenal to have the opportunity of working with them. After a crazy amount of prayer, discussion, and conversations with others, we decided that we needed to stay at Timothy and in the western suburbs for more than one year and continue God's work here.

It killed me...literally...to think about having to say no to Denver, because I know I left some of me there after student teaching, so...VACATION!!!! We're (I'm) hoping that we can spend some time there this summer. One way tickets from Midway to Denver are about $50 each, so it all depends on Linds' class and work...and somebody's wedding that we have to go to this summer...and Twins games...and maybe Cubs games...and hopefully heckling at White Sox games.

Anyways, Linds is looking to leave school...and I guess I am too after being here a solid 12 consecutive hours...

So long everybody!

End of February

I realize that it's been awhile since I've posted. I guess you could say there have been a couple reasons for that...

• About a week and a half ago, our neighbors decided to secure their internet, and I'm still Dutch enough (or smart enough) to try and get by without giving in to Comcast and fork over $50/month for internet access.
• There hasn't been a ton of writable material. Ever since I can remember I always feel that the time of Feb-early Mar has been super slow. The snow is disappearing and its not quite warm enough to spend a ton of time outside yet...what's there to do?
• It's pretty much been raining here all day today...I got a text from Wes this morning saying it was snowing and blowing there. Looked it up and saw 4-6 inches forecasted with 30 mph snow. Doesn't seem like Spring Training weather to me!
• Speaking of Spring Training...Twins are 2-0 right now with wins over Boston and Cincy. I know...its only preseason and it doesn't matter....but its better than being 0-2. With Boof going under the knife this month and supposedly missing the whole season, I'm going to make a bold prediction...R.A. Dickey will be in the Twins bullpen on Opening Day. Not Juan Cruz, not Chad Cordero.
• Other Spring Training note...Doug Mientkiewicz signed with the Dodgers this morning. Somehow he keeps picking up jobs year after year...
• Speaking of baseball, I'm helping out at Timothy with the JV team this year. I agreed (for some reason) to help out for little/no pay. I guess that also means I don't have to be there everyday. But I'll guarantee that next week when pitchers and catchers report at 6:30 a.m....I'll be there.

On a totally random note...I just wanted to say how much I appriciate all of you. It's been a little difficult living here at times...away from family and friends...and sometimes I wonder why God led us here. I still don't know, but I know that soon enough he will reveal Himself through our lives here.

So long everybody...

Culver's

You know its gotta be good when I post 2 times in one day...and believe me, it is. This has been my latest ice cream obsession...Culver's Concrete Mixer with Cookie Dough and Nerds. Yes....Nerds. The story is...we keep getting Culver's coupons in the mail...buy 1 get one free butterburgers...free fries and drink with the purchase of a butterburger...and the main one "buy 1 get 1 free concrete mixer. Well...we went the first time and I didn't know that I got 2 choices of toppings...so I asked for cookie dough. Linds (knowing how dutch I am and that if I could get more for my money, i would do it) let me know that I could get a 2nd topping for free if I wanted. Well you could imagine that the first thing that would cross my mind would be..."What goes well with cookie dough?"

But it wasn't.

So instead of saying something like M&M's, Oreos, Chocolate syrup, or anything like that, I choose the next most flavorful thing that appeals to my tastebuds...Nerds. Now I can't imagine this, but maybe some of you don't know what Nerds are...or haven't had them in awhile. So...what you need to do is next time you're at the store, just pick up a box. Don't think of it as a waste, or splurging money. Think of it as a wakeup call for your tastebuds...and be prepared for an explosion of flavor.

For those of you wanting a taste, I can't give that to you, but what I do have I give... (this particular coupon gave us a buy 1 get 1 free two-scoop sundae, so its not all mixed in really well)

It's been awhile

It's been awhile since I've posted, but if I can recall, there hasn't been a ton going on lately.

• We made a trip to Iowa the weekend of the 6th-8th. Linds' reason was for Tori's baby shower...I really just wanted to go ice fishing one more time before the weather warmed up. I will admit, it was a little eerie walking in 3+ inches of water on top of the ice. Then sitting out there in 50 degree weather listening to the ice pop all around you... But it was nice to sit out there with no shack or heater. We went for about 7 hours, and didn't catch much of anything until the last 1 1/2. But when we did start catching them...boy did they keep coming! We ended up keeping about 25 bluegill, but easy caught 2 or 3 times that much that we threw back. I would post a picture...but since Linds already posted it on her blog, I'll just tell you to click your way over there to see it.
• We made it up to the low 60's for one day this past week, which, I will admit, was pretty nice. As much as I love the ice and snow, I forgot how gratifying shorts and a T-shirt were.
• This week we have President's Day off, so its a short 4-day week. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to spend the free day. I have this sinking feeling that I'll spend it sitting around getting some school stuff done. Its tough...because I know Bass Pro Shops is a short 15 min away, and with all the thawing that's been going on...a new fishing pole has been added to the wish list.
• Finally, I want to wish everyone a happy official start to Spring Training 2009 for the Twins!!! I will admit that before church this morning, we (I) watched on the Twins website as the minutes counted down to zero. Now there's a new countdown...

10 days, 2 hours, and 14 minutes until the first Spring Training game!!!!

So long everybody...

Free Breakfast

I'm not sure how many of you paid attention to, or noticed, or even watched for that matter...but Denny's had a commercial that aired during the Super Bowl on Sunday that offered a free breakfast to America on Tuesday the 3rd. So naturally, being the true Dutchman that I am...took them up on their offer.

Now this is a little embarrassing, but I actually woke up a number of times during the night afraid that I somehow overslept and missed my all-important breakfast date with my wife. (Who didn't have to work that day, yet still woke up with me.) But when the alarm went off at 5:30, I could almost smell the hot plate of pancakes, eggs, sausage, and bacon sitting in front of me...dripping with syrup...chased down by a hot cup of coffee. Wow...was that a fantasy...

Reality set in at about 6:01 when we drove up to a packed parking lot.

We parked across the street in the Target parking lot and walked over in the frigid cold. I believe it was somewhere close to zero on the thermometer, and I was beginning to wonder if a free breakfast was really worth standing in the cold for. Well, we walked up and didn't see a line that supported the number of cars in the parking lot. We walked in the door and saw only a couple people in line. We put our name on the list and it wasn't long before we were enjoying our warm, free Grand Slam breakfast courtesy of Denny's.

The day just kept getting better in that it was high school preview day for the 8th graders, so we went with them to tour the high school, meet teachers, and look at extra-curricular activity options. Why is this a good thing? It means a little more relaxed day in that we didn't have any morning classes, I got a free pizza dinner, a free T-shirt, and....it was jeans day. Boo-Yah!!!

So long everybody...