Music

So, I've been working on a little pet project lately to find some decent music for Emma to listen to. We're starting to realize the inevitable ... she's moving slowly into tween-hood. She'll be 9 next month! So, we'd like to kind of steer her toward some things (music in this case) that are positive, rather than more passively allowing her to float where ever her peers are going. She seems to be into that teeny-bopper kind of stuff ... Miranda Cosgrove (Carly of iCarly fame who has an album out), Miley Cyrus, etc. Since that path only seems to lead to Katy Perry and Lady Gaga, I'd rather be a little pro-active. So that lead me to search a bit on the web for some good tween-ish music. I found the iShine website which looks pretty interesting. I'll embed some you-tube videos of a couple of the bands there for your perusal ...

The Rubyz ...

Mission Six ...

So, we'll see where this leads. She has a CD player in her room, so we'll probably buy her a couple of CDs and see if she likes them.

So all this music thinking made me think about what I like to listen to. Here's my top 5 albums (not bands) of all time, just because ...

Back in Black - AC/DC - The best rock album ever. Even if you're not into them, I bet if you listen to music at all, you'd probably recognize almost every song on the album.
Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd - Just good and interesting music here. Nice guitar riffs.
Slippery When Wet - Bon Jovi - I'm guessing lot's of people make fun of me on this one, but it's packed full of fun, good rock. This one was the album of my childhood. I remember hanging out (or, I guess, it was "playing" back then) with Laura in the basement of our house in Iowa listening to Casey Kasem's top 40 countdown. I think Livin' on a Prayer was on that thing for at least a year!
Silence is Madness - Bride - Maybe the album of my high school experience. I had a tape of this and I remember listening to it over and over. I also distinctly having a conversation with my Mom regarding whether it was music or not. She just thought it was loud noise. I remember singing (or humming) a few melodies of songs to her as proof that yes, it was music.

I'm having a hard time identifying another album. Some candidates ... Red Light, Blue Light by Harry Connick, Jr., Amy Grant's Christmas Album, Beat the System by Petra, To Hell With the Devil by Stryper, Fallen by Evanescence, A Person and a Heart by Jon Troast. There are many candidates. Now that I'm not buying whole albums much at all, there are fewer candidates to consider. I think in the end, I have to go with Stryper ... I spent a lot of time listening to them.

To Hell With the Devil - Stryper - These rockers are a blast in concert (I've seen them more than anyone else). It's a tough pick, actually, in selecting this album over their "new" album, Reborn. It's pretty darn good too, but I have to pick the classic.

So there you have it, my unsolicited top 5 albums of all time (for me), and some notes on where we're heading with Emma.

Another Deep Thought ...

Two deep thoughts in one day, I think my head is going to explode!

So before Christmas, I was contemplating the fact that even though I'm working out consistently, at least three times, usually four, per week, I'm still gaining some extra pudginess around the middle. So I mentioned to Cyndie that we need to make a few changes when we got back from Christmas vacation.

We're back ... I guess I need to do something.

I think the problem is that I eat too much. For the most part, we eat pretty healthy food. Not much in the processed food category. We don't eat out (especially fast food) much. We eat a decent amount of vegies and fruits. But man, when the food is good at dinner, it is easy to take a second helping (and sometimes a third)! I also have been having "after the kids go to bed snacks" quite a bit too. Now, I'm not a workout nut, or someone with a crazy body image, but I do want to be healthy.

I think I need to take some steps in the food department to start some better habits. So here's the plan. I'm going to eat healthier, and in much smaller portions (I've heard that taking smaller bites and chewing longer helps this ... also using a smaller plate). I'm going to cut out eating anything after 8 pm. I'm going to continue the 4 times a week work outs. We'll call this Neal's Healthy Living Challenge.

Now I need a goal. I don't really care about my weight, and we don't even have a scale in the house. But how to measure success? And really, this should just be the start of the process, not a destination. Hummm. Are there any suggestions from the peanut gallery?

And more importantly, does anyone out there in the ether want to join me in this effort?

Nice Evening, and a thought?!

So here we are, back in the swing of things. The kids did the school thing and came through unscathed. I went in to work and made it back in tact. Cyndie survived a day of running errands and trying to get some work done. I'm not sure that any of us was 100% successful, but we all made it and felt at least somewhat accomplished!

We had a fun little get together with our friends Erica and Nils and Laura and Gow after the kids went to bed last night. Erica and Nils left their kids with Nils' parents and Laura and Gow put Sally and Daisy down at our house, and we had an adult meal and just hung out. It was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, it was a last hurrah as Erica and Nils are on home assignment ... they're missionaries in Mexico ... and are going to spend the next half year or so with Erica's family in Minnesota. Total bummer!

Which leads to my deep question of the day ... why does is always seem that people are moving away right when we are getting to know them? I have to qualify that by saying the Cyndie and I are certainly guilty of initiating that ourselves (see move from OC to WI). Man, we are a transient society. I guess it is both the blessing and the curse of having so many travel options available to us, making the world a smaller place. Not only that, but with the way communication has changed, we're just more aware of what is going on in the world ... leading me to take a job in WI, or Nils and Erica to have a heart for the Mexican people, or our friends Mark and Monique to sense an opportunity to start a church in the Dallas area. Frustrating!

Vacation - Days 3 & 4

Deep thought for the day ... what's up with Christmas presents anyway?

Our kids got all kinds of fun toys (which, admittedly, they have spent quite a bit of time playing with). However, as I'm sitting here watching football and browsing the web, Emma and Tim are playing with 20 year old cars and trucks that Papa Lee has had for as long as I remember. They are perfectly happy, and are playing together great!

We had a fun trip to church this morning. Saw some long time family friends in Sunday School (Underwoods, Sam McCreery). It's quite nice outside, so we made another trip down to 7-11 for slushies and coffee. Timmy drove his remote control truck all away around the neighborhood during our subsequent walk.

Tonight we'll likely see Gene and Brandon again for dinner (along with Papa Lee and Grandma Kim). Good stuff!