Recently in Misc. Category

Okay, so the new year isn't really that new anymore, but here I am now, with my first post and first new layout of 2008 :-) Yes, as you can see, the layout is very, very different from what I normally do. But I recently found an old coke machine and just had to take a picture of it ;-) Oh, that reminds me! I got a nice camera in December, for which I am EXTREMELY grateful. It take pretty good photos and I'm having loads of fun with it! Oh, and of course, you can see all of the photos I've taken with it on Flickr ;-)

Oh, and speaking of Flickr, it seems that my picture of a half-eaten oreo has gotten unexpectedly popular since I posted it on Sunday night. It's already gotten a little over 100 views just in a few days, and normally, it takes months for one of my photos to even get near that. What can I say, I'm flattered to have my first "claim to fame" on Flickr ;-D

Of course, I couldn't forget to mention that the new Stellar Kart album, Expect The Impossible, is less than two months away! It officially releases on February 26th, and it's already available for pre-order (I already took care of that for myself, of course ;-). On top of that, you'll get to hear a new song from the album every Tuesday (starting at 10:00 AM EST, 9:00 AM WST). As for my thoughts on the new album...well, the JFH has song clips available in their Album PReview section, and judging by what I've heard, I think the previous work of Stellar Kart is far better (especially the amazing "pink and black album," We Can't Stand Sitting Down). The only complaint I have about E.T.I. is that it tends to be a little over-produced at times (in other words, it sounds a little more run of the mill and "not Stellar Kart," if you know what I mean), but aside from that, I definitely do like it and plan to enjoy it! So far, my favorite songs are "Innocent," "Shine Like The Stars," and "Letters." Ah, and here's a link to the graphic I made in honor of the up-coming album...

As my mind is a bit empty/drained right now, I plan to be back soon with more important things to talk about :-) TTYL!

Funny: It seems that my niece, Emma got a little confused about how to play Rock, Paper, Scissors. She said, "Let's play Rock, Paper, Scissors. Okay, I'll be the rock, you (Juliet) be the scissors, and you (Jordan) be the paper."

Verse: "...walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh." - Galatians 5:16 (ESV)

Five things...

1: I'm back!
2: I put up my first ever Christmas layout! Hope you all like it!
3: I'll post a real entry very soon!
4: I can't believe it's 11 days 'til Christmas!...which means I'm sorely late for updating.
5: Isaiah 53:3-5 :-)

How are you all doing? It's been about two weeks since my last post, and I felt the need to come back. Let's see...where do I start?

Well, I've updated my Flickr a good bit. I also added a sample of my yet-to-be-completed remix of "The Mission" by the Newsboys to the mixes section here. What else has happened?

Well, as expected, I miss Spencer very much. I have to say, now that I'm the only child left in the house, it's actually been very quiet since she got married. Well, it's not just because I'm the only child in the house but more because Spence was always the one with the outgoing, fun personality. I've always been a lot more quiet and a bit shy, so I always look forward to seeing her so my fun side can "wake up" a bit ;-) Of course, whenever she's not available, I can go visit or call my nieces, in which case I'm bound to get at least one good laugh ;-) Anyway, Spencer is enjoying her married life immensely, for which I'm extremely grateful! To borrow something my dad said, I'm more happy for her than I ever was sad for myself.

I also got to see the musical Annie on stage! That was an extremely enjoyable experience. I've grown up loving the movie (the 80's version), so I was very excited to see the stage version! In my opinion, the most exciting performances were of the songs "I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here," "Easy Street" and "I Don't Need Anything But You." Also, a friend of our's was playing Daddy Warbucks, which added to the excitement! He did an amazing job, too! Anyway, I'm very glad I got to see the play! It reminded me how much I've always loved that musical.

So, I admit I don't have much else to say. But, one thing. I'm thinking of signing off all my future blog entries with one funny thing (picture, quote, etc.), and one verse from the Bible. Does that sound like a good idea to you? I guess I'll start here...

Funny: Here's something Juliet (my niece) said when she was praying recently: "Lord Jesus, please help God to give me good sleep."

Verse: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." - Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV)

Here's a funny conversation about my sister's soon-to-come wedding that took place last night between me and my young niece, Emma...

Me: Emma, you're going to be a good flower girl!
Emma: Thanks...you're going to be a good groom. I mean, uh...
Me: ...I'm not going to be the groom, I'm going to be the maid of honor...
Emma: Oh, okay...well, I hope you'll be the great, cool graid of honor.

I can understand how the all those titles can get confusing when you're learning about them...my nieces never fail to make me laugh!

I've gone far too long without updating. Way too long. Since I last updated this site, I've added four and a half pages of new photos to my Flickr, and I hope to add more after I see BarlowGirl and TobyMac on Saturday! I plan to write a concert review and all, so expect that to come around Sunday, or more likely Monday. So anyway...where do I start?

Yesterday, Spencer and I had a wonderful "sister date" (I'd like to do these kinds of things as often as I can before she gets married). We first stepped into a lovely little store called The Christmas Attic, which, as you probably guessed, is full of beautiful Christmas decorations and Christmas-related things year-round. The colors were all so beautiful, so as you can imagine, I couldn't resist taking out my camera. So, afterwards, we made our way to a gorgeous French cafe called La Madeline...I don't know if you've been there or not, but if you ever see one around, I highly recommend it! It's extremely beautiful inside...I think anyone who's been there would agree that it makes you feel as though you're actually in France. They have beautiful dried herbs hanging from the ceiling in some places, lovely pictures on the walls, etc. I might also add that a LOT of what's in the restaurant is made of wood, which gives it the look of an old French kitchen. So anyway, moving on to the food (which was also lovely)...first, my sister and I shared a spinach pochette, which was a nice, buttery croissant-like pastry filled with nice spinach. For my lunch, I had a Shrimp Crêpe Florentine, which smelled amazing and looked beautiful...it tasted wonderful as well. However, the buttery sauce and shrimp flavor was so rich that I was only able to eat half of it, so I put the second half in a box. For dessert, we shared a strawberry napoleon, which was beautiful, rich and very sweet. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at La Madeline and I hope to go again sometime! Thank you, Spencer, for the wonderful time :-) To see the pictures I took at The Christmas Attic and at La Madeline, please click HERE.

Well, I can't think of much else to say, but I just thought, do you remember when I recently made an entry on the word "Sozo"? In a "dictionary-style," I'll refresh your memory a bit on what the word means:

"To exit a life of danger / destruction and enter a life of safety and wholeness."

Obviously, that word is extra meaningful to those of us who are Christians. My point is, there's a song by Stellar Kart that I've listened to many times, but it wasn't until recently that I realized it seems to define the word "Sozo" perfectly. Hope you enjoy it :-)

See you on Monday (probably)!

Titus 2:11-13: "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ."

Obviously, the Stellar Kart layout was probably on for too long, although I honestly hated to get rid of it ;-) Normally, I'd change a layout after about one month, but the SK layout really stuck with me for some reason. Funny that I'd just happen to do something with it on July 25th, as one year ago today, their album We Can't Stand Sitting Down was released. I've got more to say about that, so click HERE if you wanna read.
So anyway, I do miss the old layout, but I really like the new one, and I hope you do to! Just incase you were wondering about the text on the header that says "I'm away on holiday," I'll clear your confusion and inform you that I am NOT on hiatus from the site ;-) Anyway, as you can see, it features Britt Nicole, an excellent new Christian artist with excellent music. Her genre is kind of a pop/dance, something CCM has been lacking for a long time and I'm glad to see it back! I like her stuff a lot...she writes good lyrics, she has a fun sound, and most importantly, she's in love with Jesus! Check out her song "Holiday"...it's perfect for Summer! Her music is quite fun and excellent, and her debut album Say It is on sale for $5.99 at iTunes, so if you like what you here, give it a buy :-)

Well, I don't have a ton to say right now, but I'll be back tomorrow with a little note :-)