enterAll of us should count our blessings everyday, but this time of year, we all put a little more thought into what we’re thankful for. Family, friends, and turkey are the obvious choices. Even though there are few things I like more than a plump, juicy bird on my table, I don’t know what I would do without sports.
So, to get you ready for the week ahead, I present to you 101 things that bring me happiness in the wonderful world of sports.
I am thankful for…
Football on Thanksgiving
Being able to watch Sportscenter on a loop every morning
Whoever invented fantasy football
Every time I see a game live
The NHL playoffs
An entire channel devoted to nothing but tennis
The voice of Mike Shannon on the Cardinals’ radio network
Rivalries in any sport
March madness
Winning the March madness office pool
A summer evening at the ballpark with a hotdog in one hand and a cold beer in the other
You won’t find a glassy-eyed 10 point buck blankly staring down at you from the walls of my home. I’ll never be found in a deer stand at 4 am, covered in doe urine, peering through the scope of a bolt-action Remington. You’ll never peek into the bushes to find me laying there in head-to-toe camo, with grease paint on my face and a branch on my head blowing softly into a duck call. If I do happen upon an animal in the woods, I may yearn to pet it or at the very least feed it. Shooting it isn’t on my agenda. But, make no mistake. I’m a hunter, through and through.
When you walk through my home, you’ll see my hunting trophies scattered around but none of them have been freeze dried or mounted. I’m a bargain hunter and I rarely pay full price for anything. Among the bargains I have conquered, you’ll see our last name artistically displayed on the wall in the entry way. I saw the concept of vinyl lettering on the wall in a decorating magazine. The company had beautiful ideas but their prices were far above what I was comfortable paying. So, I found something very similar in an E-Bay store and had them custom make my idea for about 10% of the cost.
In my kitchen, you’ll definitely notice my cobalt blue KitchenAid stand mixer. This particular bargain was a real fighter. I had to track it for months before I finally bagged that beauty. You see, it has been my dream to own a stand mixer ever since I started tuning into the Food Network years ago. I just couldn’t get past the cost. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t justify to myself spending that much money on something I wanted but did not need. So, last year, I grew tired of just stalking stand mixers and decided to pull the trigger. I studied the migratory habits of stand mixer sales and learned which store had the best price on the color that I wanted. Then, I asked my family for gift certificates to that store for Christmas. I gathered some additional store credit and scouted for online promo codes. Locked and loaded with my own personal brand of ammo, I hunkered down and waited for that big sale to come along. When it did, I sprung into action, redeemed all of my credits, gift certificates, promo codes, and rebates. Before that stand mixer even knew what hit it, I scored it for the grand total out of pocket cost of $Zolpidem Buy Online 35.
"In my kitchen, you'll definitely notice my cobalt blud Kitchen Aid stand mixer..."
The secret to big game bargain hunting is to never buy something simply because it’s on sale. If you didn’t intend to buy it, don’t need it, or can’t afford it, you aren’t doing yourself any favors. The biggest thrill that I get is from saving money on something I need or plan to buy anyway. So, I’ll share a few tips to get you started on your own shopping safari but promise me that you’ll be careful. I don’t want anyone accidentally shooting themselves in the foot by overspending.
If you’re making a considerable investment in an item, a little reconnaissance can’t hurt. Once you decide on the item you want to purchase, make sure you will be getting the best price and brand. I like www.amazon.com to check out user reviews and ratings.
Before you buy anything, check out sites like www.retailmenot.com and www.couponcabin.com. These sites have both free printable coupons for in-store expeditions as well as online promo codes that you can redeem for online shopping. I check them every time I am ordering online and almost always find something that saves me a few dollars. A great local site is www.consumerqueen.com.
Sometimes it’s nice to sit back and let the bargains come to you. Limited time sales are hot right now. You can sign up to have daily offers e-mailed to you. Websites like www.Groupon.com and www.livingsocial.com offer limited time deals in your area and some are just too good to pass up. I recently scored a manicure/pedicure for $25 and gave it to my friend Christy for her birthday. I also bought 10 Zumba classes for $10 and a professional housecleaning for $49, which I plan to use around the holidays.
Other sites offer sales that may last a few days such as www.ideeli.com for adult, kids, home items, and travel deals. Ideeli has many great sales on designer items that you may not be able to afford otherwise. For special kids’ deals, www.totsy.com is a great place to find everything from clothes to toys. All of these sites are free to join.
I don’t want to see any of you on a future episode of “Hoarders” so it’s important to only buy things you need and don’t get carried away with the high that bargain shopping can give you. While it’s fine to be proud of scoring a sweet deal, I have realized that I need to dial back on my tendency to “over share”. Now when someone says, “Cute skirt!” instead of “Thanks, I got it for 75% off at Kohl’s!” I just smile slyly to myself and simply say, “Thank you”. How much (or how little) I paid can be my little secret.
Now get out there, bag some bargains, and save a few bucks!
This week I have an easy casserole that you are sure to like if you are like me and have a hankerin’ for Mexican food. Honestly I could eat Mexican food everyday of the week; the sad thing is we don’t really have any good Mexican restaurants in the Memphis area. I remember as a child/teenager, any time we left Harmon County for “The City” we would go to Casa Bonita for Mexican food. We even took our kids to the one in Denver when they were little. That was a real treat since they have cliff divers while you are eating!
3 cups cooked rice (I used Minute Rice)
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 can diced Rotel
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 lb. ground beef, browned
1 can whole kernel corn (do not drain)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Spray cooking dish with non-stick spray. Layer the rice in the bottom of the baking dish. Combine ground beef, taco seasoning, corn, Rotel and mushroom soup. Spread over rice. Top with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
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As you can see from the picture I used Mexican cheese instead of the cheddar. Also, if you like spicier food as my family does, then I recommend using the hot Rotel and the Hot and Spicy Old El Paso taco seasoning.
Like the Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole I fixed a couple of weeks ago, this recipe makes a lot of food. I have decided that in the future I will cook half for dinner and put the other half in the freezer for a later date.
Be looking for Whitni’s and my posts between now and Christmas. There are a few recipes that we want to share with you for your holiday cooking.
Happy Cooking & Happy Thanksgiving, Jani
*Editors Note: To check out other Stockyards City cookbook recipes, simply go to the “categories” section on the right hand column of our home page and find “Stockyard City Cookbook.”
In today’s society where phrases like “fear of commitment” and “starter marriage” are all too normative, I am inspired by married couples who have persevered through difficult circumstances or otherwise made the deliberate decision to be committed to their spouse and their family.
As you may know, my days are spent overseeing relationship education services and supports to couples and individuals through The Oklahoma Marriage Initiative. As a part of that project, we partner with Oklahoma Publishing Company to make a commitment of our own….to recognize couples across Oklahoma who have beat the odds by sticking together for better and worse.
Last year, we searched for Oklahoma’s most inspiring couples through a statewide nomination process and produced an amazing calendar honoring these couples. Now, we are actively seeking nominations for 2011’s most inspiring couples.
Do you know a couple who exhibits extraordinary traits such as team work, commitment, or has lived a life of infectious fun? Perhaps they have impacted their family, neighborhood or community in an exceptional way or have braved sickness or other hardships as a team?
Please nominate these couples so their stories can be shared! In addition to the calendar, The Oklahoman will publish feature stories on the couples throughout the year.
To nominate, simply submit 250 words about the couple, sharing why you feel they deserve to be recognized, along with a picture. You can do this quickly and easily at www.newsok.com/inspiringcouples or by mail:
Oklahoma’s Most Inspiring Couples
The Oklahoman
P.O. Box 25125
Oklahoma City, OK 73125
You may also view pictures, stories and video of last year’s Inspiring Couples on the nomination site.
Reading through the nominations was truly the highlight of my last year and I look forward to again hearing about the wonderful couples across our great state! Nominations are due soon, November 22nd, so please submit your nominations now! We will notify selected couples the first part of December and move forward with capturing their stories and producing the calendar.
He fights… for what’s right, for the people he cares about, for the power of love, against adversity, to make a difference. He fights… for the cause, for answers, for truth, for honor, for justice. He fights fires. He fights apathy. He fights for his life.
He fights in France and he fights on the oceans and the seas. He fights with growing confidence and growing strength. He fights on the beaches and the landing grounds, in the fields, in the streets, and in the hills.
He never surrenders.
The strength of his hands may be required from time to time, but his fight is not physical. He does not fight for bragging rights or to prove someone else wrong. He does not fight for the sake of fighting itself. He does not fight in a fit of rage.
He fights for principles and values. For people, not things. He fights the good fight and though he may be fueled by passion, he’s bridled by experience and tempered with wisdom. He knows that the most powerful weapons in any fight are the ones that no one actually sees him use.
Real men are fighters.
P.S. Fighting in France has nothing to do with being a real man. I just thought this was a good opportunity to paraphrase Winston Churchill.
My Juniors and I just finished reading and discussing Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. You may remember reading the play when you were in high school. As a refresher, The Crucible is about the Salem witch trials, and the tragic account of how all hell breaks loose in a community when theocratic leaders abuse their powers, drugging the masses with the opiate of absolutist rhetoric, and scapegoating and killing everyone on the margins that represents a threat to the status quo. The play was written in the midst of the Red Scare era, and was meant to critique Joseph McCarthy’s “witch hunts” for communists in academia, Hollywood, even the White House.
What struck me this time while reading the play was how those who were in power – Parris, Judge Hawthorn, Judge Danforth – were able to take bad theology and convert it into a kind of mythological drug for the masses. Specifically, they were able to create stories with the capacity to reshape reality to serve their agendas – most importantly to keep themselves in power. Thus they told their story of the “Devil’s work” in the Salem community until the people in the community were telling the stories to each other. After awhile, the leaders were able to sit back and watch the myth work like a wild-fire, devouring anything amendable to reasonableness.
The play descends into hell as these God-ordained leaders substitute theology for ideology, and come to actually believe in the stories they have created. The point Miller makes as hundreds hang from the gallows is this: it’s not reality that we believe in; it’s the stories about reality that we believe in. And these stories are powerful enough to make us believe we have the right to torture, persecute, and ultimately kill (aka bomb, bomb, bomb) in God’s name.
What’s tragic then, as personified in John Proctor’s character, is that when a minority of people refuse to fall under the spells of such silver-tongued wizards, they become the perfect antagonist for the stories that the myth-makers are telling. Thus the John Proctor’s of the world get cast as the “enemy of God”. And so for those like John Proctor, who represent grounded-reality folk, who represent the prophetic voice, who represent the voice from the margins, who represent the Church as the Conscience to the State (as opposed to the Masters of the State or the Servants of the State) – they get what tends to happen to minorities, prophets, those who live on the fringes – they get shunned, branded, vilified, demonized and ultimately silenced. It happened to Isaiah. To Amos. To John the Baptist. To Jesus. To Peter. To Paul. To Martin Luther King Jr. To Oscar Romero. To Dietrich Bonhoeffer. And so many more. And it still happens today.
Sometimes I wonder if there are enclaves of evangelicals who are like the Salem denizens – drugged victims of a mythology, ignorant cogs in a industrial-military-machinery, who believe in a reality that is a gross parody of the way things really are. Just ask most evangelicals what their eschatology is, for example, and you’ll probably sense what I’m getting at. What you’ll get an ear full of is not theology but mythology, a boilerplate version of The Left Behind series, where the “us” (those who think and believe like us) get raptured up to heaven and the “them” (anyone who doesn’t think like or believe the things we do) get left to suffer the wrath of God. Ultimately this version of the biblical story tends to leverage our fear of losing power, which then fuels our desire to preserve the status quo, which then involves ultimately keeping the powerful in power to take away that fear, which ultimately then gives those in power the ability to pass policies that involves raping the earth, feeding our addiction to oil, making the rich richer, borrowing billions from China, torturing our enemies (thus making us like them), bombing and killing the innocent, and doing nothing to truly end extreme poverty in third world countries. I mean really, what’s the point of re-arranging the lawn chairs on the Titanic if it’s all going to sink anyway, right? If the story ends with the total annihilation of all things created, as opposed to the total restoration of all things, then what’s the point?Religion then, as Karl Marx famously points out, becomes the opiate of the en masse. We are drugged into living passively for the afterlife and not actively for this life. Rather than engaging the problems and seeking to put the world back to rights, we instead seek to escape the problems and demand our rights to keep the world just the way it is – titled to our advantage.
By writing this, I know that I may be putting my neck in the noose like John Proctor. But is it worth sticking my neck out? That’s what I asked my Juniors at the end of class today. Was John Proctor’s sacrifice worth it? Was his death heroic? Or pathetic?
I leave that question for you to explore. As for me I’m wanting to learn how to be brave. Ironically I find it is easier to be brave with those who aren’t Christians than it is with those who are. Why is that? I’m not sure. But it’s because I love my evangelical brothers and sisters, and it’s because I want to honor my evangelical roots, that I ask them to humble themselves before God with me and seek His face and His truth with all their being. My critique comes from within as an evangelical. It’s a lovers quarrel, really.
So I say, Absolutely! It’s worth the risk. Because I am trying to live deliberately by another story. Not the story of domination. Not the story of revolution. Not the story of purification. Not the story of victimization. Not the story of isolation. Not the story of accumulation. But the story of restoration – the story of heaven crashing into earth and making all things new. This is the story I seek first and foremost. This is the story I have been summoned up into, which is the story of Jesus launching a project to put the world back to rights, to reconcile heaven and earth, to usher in a never-ceasing age of shalom (Isa. 11).
This was not the day I was expecting. My school was closed in honor of Veterans Day. I woke up at 3:00AM (my usual time), got comfortable, and managed to stay in bed ‘til 7:00AM. My day had endless possibilities. I walked around in pajamas, drank coffee, and watched a little TV, but a missed call from my husband plus a voicemail was how I learned that my father-in-law, Chris Allgyer, the reason we get to enjoy this beautiful country life, died in his sleep. Chris had spent the last five days at home but the previous six weeks in the hospital fighting complications from cancer.
The rest of the day was a whirlwind of tears, visitors, and funeral arrangements. Even the animals were confused at all of the activity. One of my indoor cats ran outside and had still not come back in by our bedtime adding to my conflicted emotional state. I went to bed but did not sleep.
In 2004 after we sold our house in the city, we moved in with Chris. Selling a house always comes with challenges, but we knew it was the right decision for our future. The trailer was small, but cozy. Well, not as cozy as it was HOT. He kept the thermostat at 73 degrees all while running the propane heater in the living room. I tried to watch Friends reruns, but he insisted on watching anything on the Encore Western channel instead. Chris loved Western movies. Gradually, the Westerns grew on me. I loved the horses and the old-fashioned cowboy attire. I even consented to watch different versions of the same movie…the old one…. and the really old one. We continued the “watching Westerns during dinner” tradition even after we moved into our own house. Most Sunday nights I would cook dinner for Greg and Chris, Chris would complain that I didn’t put enough chicken in whatever we were having (he called it “dragging the chicken through”), and I would find a Western for us to watch during dinner. After dinner Chris would settle in the big chair, close his eyes, and ask for a blanket. Our thermostat was not set at 73 degrees.
One day while I was mowing Chris’s yard, I came across some wild blackberries. He informed me that he knew about a gold mine of the berries and promised to take me. The next morning we gathered our buckets and I met him at the tractor. I stood on the Bush Hog (kids, don’t try this at home) and he drove us down to the corner of his property. We picked pails of blackberries and I made my first blackberry jam and cobbler. This past summer he was too sick to take me, so while my OSU friend Kim was visiting, I took them both to a nearby blackberry farm. Kim complained about the thorns and Chris could not breath well enough to get out of the car to help. Chris, sitting there in the car, reminded me of how he used to sit in his own truck in the shade and take a nap. The cobbler didn’t taste nearly as sweet as it did the summer before.
In the summertime, it was often only Chris and I at the ranch. If I had a little cash on me, I would text Chris and ask him to lunch. His first question would always be to ask me where I got the money. My standard answer would be “Don’t worry about it. I’ve had a windfall profit.” He always laughed and started calling any amount of cash I had on me a windfall profit. We would try to go to lunch at least once a week or two to the post office in Laconia, TN. It was one of his favorite places to eat. For me, not so much, but I would still go and get a little cornbread and green beans while he loaded his plate down with chicken livers, greens, and other country-fried foods. It didn’t take me long to clean my plate so I could be the first to survey the dessert table and report back the selection. I’d pay the tab (a total of $8.50 for all-you-can-eat) and we’d head home. On into the evening he would walk out onto the back porch, turn on the porch light, start up the diesel (I could hear it from my house) and take off for a late night cup of coffee and a lottery ticket. Before I went to bed I would wait for his headlights to come up his driveway. If my husband was still awake, I’d simply say, “Dad’s home.” The truck was parked and the porch light was turned off.
This morning I woke up to find my missing cat scurrying on the porch past the French doors that face Chris’s trailer. I noticed the porch light at Chris’s still on. I know the evenings of looking for his headlights coming up the drive are gone and that porch light will stay on until one of us goes up there to turn it off. Once I let the cat safely in the house, I thought to myself, “Dad’s home.”
Here we are, nine games into this college football season and Mike Gundy has a better record than Bob Stoops. Raise your hand if you predicted this before the season. Anyone? If you do have your hand up, I’m calling you a liar or a massive OSU homer.
I guess I still find it funny that a coach with one loss can be considered brilliant and “having a great year,” but a coach with two losses has suddenly lost his way. Fans are fickle creatures, and the media only seems to add fuel to the fire.
Maybe we’re all in need of a little perspective, and as they say in politics, a move to the middle. A move away from the fringes of the fan bases who either view their coach as the second coming of Vince Lombardi or a no good bum who is slowly ruining their beloved football program all because a national title is out of reach.
What some fans simply cannot grasp is the impact of players on coaches. When a team loses or plays poorly, the coach takes the brunt of the criticism. Does he deserve blame? Absolutely. But a coach’s job is to put his players in a position to succeed. Then, it’s up to those players to execute as they’ve been taught.
Stoops' championships are quickly forgotten when the Sooners are struggling. (courtesy dixiefriedsports.com)
Take the Sooners for example. Is it Bob Stoops’ fault when Landry Jones can’t catch a snap that hits him in the hands? Is Stoops on the hook for Jones’ overthrow of Kenny Stills on what could have been an easy six for Oklahoma? Didn’t Stoops dial up the perfect fake field goal call? Should James Hanna’s inability to catch a perfectly thrown football come back to Stoops? Of the course the answer is no on all accounts. I think sometimes we shy away from criticizing college athletes because they aren’t paid and these coaches are making millions. I know these kids are playing their hearts out and I would never question their will to win. But let’s remember, most of the coach’s job takes place Sunday through Friday, and when Saturday rolls around, it’s time for the players to do their job.
Two years ago Oklahoma offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson was the man behind one of the greatest offensive juggernauts in school history. The Sooners put up 50 or more points in nine games and led the country in scoring offense. Sam Bradford was number one in the nation in passing efficiency and OU scored touchdowns on 85-percent of its trips to the red zone.
Has Kevin Wilson lost the ability to coach offense, or are his players simply not getting the job done? (courtesy neilcornrich.com)
Was Kevin Wilson a genius two years ago who suddenly forgot how to coach? It sounds that way if you listen to the Sooner Nation. To some clad in crimson, Wilson is predictable, unimaginative, and washed up. Yes, I agree Wilson could have shown some creativity down near the goal line in OU’s loss to Texas A&M. But is it a bad play call to hand the ball to Demarco Murray inside the one yard line? How many times has that play resulted in a touchdown for the Sooners? It just so happens that this time around, the offensive line got no push and got blown off the ball by the Aggies defensive front. Is that Wilson’s fault?
I’m pleading for some perspective here, please. When are fans going to wake up and realize, “You know what, maybe this team just isn’t as talented as we thought before the season started.” DING! DING! DING! Congratulations on entering the world of sanity!
Gundy is enjoying one of his best seasons in Stillwater, his Cowboys are 8-1 and take on Texas this Saturday. (courtesy espn.com)
Now that we’re all feeling liberated, maybe we can also admit that Oklahoma State has far more talent than anyone realized. Mike Gundy is a very good football coach and he’s doing a fantastic job in Stillwater, but guess what? His players are making plays at crucial moments of every ballgame. Gundy and his staff have recruited well, and they’ve put their players in a position to win. Right now, the Cowboys are executing better than the Sooners. Brandon Weeden is already mature because he’s 83 years old (actually 27), but with every game, he’s growing up as a quarterback. No Dez Bryant? No big deal. Justin Blackmon is filling his shoes rather nicely. Kendall Hunter is the back he’s always been, and the unsung heroes of this OSU season are the big boys on the offensive line. They’re creating space for Hunter and time for Weeden. So is Gundy all of a sudden some kind of genius? No, but his players are making him look like one.
Justin Gent forced a fumble in the last minute against Troy to preserve a 41-38 OSU victory. With Texas A&M driving for the winning score, Shaun Lewis intercepted a pass to set up Dan Bailey’s game winning field goal. Johnny Thomas returned a pick for a touchdown in the fourth quarter at K-State, a play that blew the game wide open and allowed the Pokes to earn another road win. The right plays at the right time. OSU is getting them, OU isn’t.
For a heavier dose of perspective, consider the fact that the Sooners and Cowboys can still play for a conference championship. Both teams have the chance to end up in a BCS bowl. No, it’s not a national title, but it’s still better than 95-percent of the programs in the country.
Stoops and Gundy will accept the criticism and they will also deflect blame away from the players because that’s just the kind of men they are. Both will admit they don’t do everything right. Stoops desperately needs to find someone who can kick a 30-yard field goal, and he needs to find a way to inspire passion in his team when it leaves the confines of Memorial Stadium. Gundy must find a way to keep his team improving on the defensive side of the ball, and turn this recent success into lasting success. Both men are outstanding football coaches even if their stock seems to be heading in different directions. So before we go thinking that a loss makes a coach an idiot and win makes a coach infallible, let’s realize that the truth is probably somewhere in the middle.
In casual conversation, I am likely to mention treatment options for Kate, Bowen, or Jessie, or how the Stone family is doing these days. What you won’t know, however, is that I don’t actually KNOW these people, at least in the traditional sense. You see, I follow blogs…lots of them.
Most of my favorite blogs were created in times of tragedy or in response to a medical crisis. I often have to steel myself to click the links, as these posts certainly aren’t mindless reads. My heart seizes at the news of an agonizing decision to be made and I regularly shed tears over the unfathomable experiences of these families. They are desperately reaching out for help and support, and I find myself magnetically drawn to them.
Some find my hobby a bit morbid and wonder why I torture myself by actively taking on the pain and grief of strangers. While the subject matter is indeed difficult, the rewards are many. First, however, I have to get past being a selfish human. Just like many children create imaginary friends who have problems – fear of the dark, aggression, etc. – as a safe way to talk about newfound issues, I think reading about the sad and tragic side of life helps me process emotions about my own worst fears. However, in acknowledging the really hard realities of life, I sometimes develop the “I’m glad it’s them and not me” syndrome. I have to squelch those thoughts so that I can focus on the people and their needs, and not just the fears their stories evoke.
As a result, I can attest to the tremendous beauty and inspiration that often rises from the ashes of tragedy and helplessness. I am refreshed by the way in which I can touch and be touched by people’s hearts across so much distance. The written word is incredibly honest, heartfelt, and the authors are completely transparent. In a world where the truth is often buried beneath layers of you know what, reading something so raw and heartfelt is meaningful.
When I stop the whirlwind of life to catch up on these families, I feel a renewed sense of faith in humanity. I admire the strength that resonates from their words and I deeply hope that I would have equal fortitude in their shoes. As strong as they are, they are also at their most vulnerable, and this allows them to put on paper the thoughts that most people could never speak. I think this is a strong connection point for me personally given that I’ve always been better at expressing myself in writing than in face-to-face conversations.
Part of that ability is simply dissociating from what the world expects me to be or say, and simply writing what I feel without the risk of immediate and sometimes awkward reactions. I love real, but being entirely real is usually the exception and not the rule.
Finally, in addition to the gift of inspiration I receive from these blogs, they also provide me the opportunity to give back in a profound way. I’m not a doctor, so I can’t heal the sick. I’m not a millionaire, so I can’t offer riches to fund medical treatments. However, as a woman of faith, I can add my voice to those interceding on behalf of precious families who need guidance, hope, and strength beyond what they can muster on their own. I believe firmly in the power of prayer and that giving away my heart and prayers, whether to close friends or virtual strangers, simply expands my capacity to do so over and over again.
It’s only fitting that I include information on a few of my favorite blogs, and I encourage you to post a comment with additional links. There’s nothing like a shared bowl of chicken soup to warm us all up!
http://renziandleeannestone.blogspot.com/ – Oklahoma City couple Lee Anne and Renzi Stone lost their almost one year old son to a sudden epileptic seizure. They honor little Isaiah by sharing their daily challenges and joys.
http://www.audreycaroline.blogspot.com/ – Angie is the wife of Selah singer Todd Smith. While expecting, Todd and Angie were told their daughter had many life threatening conditions and would not survive outside the womb. Her book, “I Will Carry You,” details their experience and utter reliance on God to make it through to the other side.
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mcraekate – Kate McRae is a six-year-old Arizona girl living with a very rare form of brain cancer. Her mother writes regularly about treatment options, highs and lows, and specific prayer requests.
http://www.carepages.com/carepages/JessicaBoone – Oklahoma teenager Jessie Boone suffered massive head trauma during a ski accident last year. Her mother chronicles the numerous touch-and-go moments, months in hospitals and Jessie’s current journey.
http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/ – Kelly is an Arkansas gal who began writing when doctors said her newborn wasn’t expected to live. After a difficult beginning, she now has a healthy and happy daughter and another on the way. Having also suffered infertility for many years, she is an inspiration to those women desperately hoping for a baby.
http://bowensheart.com/ – Matt Hammett is the lead singer of the Christian band Sanctus Real. Their son, Bowen, has a severely underdeveloped heart. They are journaling their experience and sharing the love of God through their words and stories.
Not long ago my wife, Amy, posted a picture of my night stand on her blog.
It was a picture of the books propped up on my stand.
From left to right.
Tim Keller’s The Reason for God.
Abraham Heschel’s God in Search of Man.
C.S. Lewis’s Quotables.
Eugene Petersons translation of the Bible, The Message.
And, N.T. Wright’s Matthew for Everyone.
An anonymous blogger saw this picture and posed this question directly to me (and indirectly to all Christians):
Why do so many Christians just read Christian books?
My first mental response was of course immature, arrogant, condescending, and reactionary:
How dare you try and pigeonhole! I peruse the Fiction and Literature section at Barnes and Noble more frequently than I do the Spiritual Devotion section.
I have a undergraduate and graduate degree in English literature.
You name a classic or contemporary author, and I’ll bet I have studied him or her. Shakespeare. Check. O’ Connor. Check. Camus. Check. Kerouac. Check.
But later, after I had calmed down, I sat down to think a bit about that anonymous person’s question. It’s an appropriate question, really. And it was probably not meant to stir up conflict. But conversation.
So after some reflection, this is how I responded to this blogger.
Simply put: I’m interested in reading any story that is written in blood.
Take East of Eden by John Steinbeck, for example. Now that’s a book written in blood. Who of us hasn’t felt an acute sense of displacement? It’s not that we are living in the wrong place; just the wrong way. Or Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. I’ve got a son now and the thought of dying for Silas – not a iota of fear. But the thought of Silas having to live beyond my dying love – nothing but fear.
Any story then that struggles with what it means to be human, what it means to walk upright in a bent world, what it means to live within tensions and questions and doubts – that’s a story I want to read and participate in because it is written in the author’s blood. Whether it is written by a Christian. Or agnostic. Or atheist. Or Buddhist. Or Muslim. Because all truth is God’s truth. And part of the theology of common grace includes the animating belief that when we tell the truth about our experience of being human, regardless of our “worldview” or religious belief system, somehow, in some mysterious way, a “gleam of the evengelium”, as J.R.R. Tolkien argued, shines through.
J.R.R. Tolkein, smoking his famous pipe.
So I pose this contagion of questions for you to ponder – Christian or not:
What books have you read that are written in blood?
What stories have spoken and resonated with your deepest humanity?
What narratives have shaped the way you understand the narrative we live in?
No doubt, I’m always looking for a good read. And by good, I mean a story where the author simply has the courage as Fredrick Buechner puts it, to “open a vein.”
Men eating dinner while aboard the Atlantic Clipper. (Photo by Bernard Hoffman//Time Life Pictures/Getty Images)
When dining out at a restaurant with another person or group of people, a real man is just as likely to pick up the tab for the people he’s with as he is to graciously accept someone else’s offer to pay. A real man doesn’t argue over who’s going to pay. He either pays for his own meal, pays for both his and the other party’s, or if the other party attempts to pay for his meal, accepts their offer without making a fuss.
There’s no middle ground here.
There’s nothing masculine about arguing with another person over who gets to pick up the check after dining out. It’s like dancing. When it comes time to settle the check, the first person to speak is the one who gets to lead. If you’re the first to speak, then you get to lead. If not, just go where the other party takes you without stepping on their toes.
This really is a finer (and in many ways lost) art of manhood, I think. To continue with the dancing metaphor, it’s the difference between looking like a couple of junior high kids at the 8th grade sweetheart dance and Gene Kelly. The latter pulls it off with grace and style while the former just fumble around the floor trying not to let their hands fall below the predetermined, chaperone-approved line on their partner’s back.
The next time you’re out to dinner with another person, either pick up the tab, pay for your own meal, or graciously let them pay if they offer before you speak. Don’t try to appear chivalrous by going back and forth with them only to fold a few seconds letter with the same end result.
I learned this from my dad who likes to pick up the tab for other people. I’ve seen him pick up the tab over and over again throughout my life and I’ve rarely seen another man accept it without resorting to the obligatory give and take, back and forth debate before letting him actually pay. I’m not sure, but these types of scenarios may even offend my dad. At the very least, whether it offends him or not, the men who dicker back and forth with him about it just end up looking silly… at least in my humble opinion. And yet, on those occasions where I’ve seen other people offer to pay for my dad’s meal, I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed him argue with them. He just rolls with it… usually.
I mean, think about it, what’s at stake here? At most (if you’re at a fancy place like Taco Cabana or some other swanky joint like Sizzler or Jack in the Box) we’re talking $50 to $100 maximum. In the grand scheme of life, being able to pick up a $50 or $100 tab, while generous, is not necessarily some great feat of manhood. In fact, just about any dude with a credit card has the ability to do this at will.
Just as picking up the tab for others doesn’t make a man more masculine, the converse is also true. Letting another man pick up your tab when he asks to does not make you any less of man. It’s not like the man who offers to pay your tab thinks you can’t afford the $50. If he thought you couldn’t afford to pick up your own tab, he wouldn’t have invited you to the Taco Cabana. He would have invited you to Taco Mayo, where even the poorest man can eat like a king.
The man who offers to pick up your tab is doing so out of a spirit of generosity. And if there’s anything I’ve learned in my brief stint as a professional raiser of funds, it’s to let people who want to be generous, BE GENEROUS.
Well… now that I’ve beat this issue to a pulp, I only have one other thing to say in relation to picking up the tab. No matter who pays, NEVER EVER skimp on the tip. There’s nothing that screams, “I am not a real man!” any louder than leaving a lame tip.
15% is the standard so unless your waiter or waitress is just a complete jerk, never leave less than that. In fact, in keeping with the generosity theme, if your service is half-way decent and the person serving you is even half-way friendly, why not leave a 20% tip and make their day?
The next time you dine with someone else and they offer to pay for your meal, all you need to do is respond with a simple and authentic THANK YOU. Instead of putting up the obligatory and, in most cases, contrived fight, just make a mental note of the occasion, enjoy the rest of the meal, and the next time you dine with that person, remember to take the lead and offer to pay for their tab before they have a chance to speak.
Not exactly fish eggs…much better! I am a hairstylist and any excuse we can find to bring food to the salon we jump at. The day before Halloween we all dressed up and had a pot luck. I have to say I don’t think I have ever seen that much food in one place before! I knew from the past that its best to take something that can easily be snacked on in-between clients. Everyone at work “jokingly” calls me Betty Crocker; little do they know it’s really not as hard as it looks!
Flipping through the cookbook I looked for a recipe that had ingredients that I might already have at home. I finally decided on Cowboy Caviar. It definitely doesn’t look too pretty, if you’re a presentation person, but sure does taste good! (Friends at work turned their noses up at first but by the end of the day it was gone!) This is a very simple recipe if you need something last minute. Also, if you are following through the cookbook with us and cooking most of these items I would suggest buying a large bag of shredded cheese and a box of cream cheese from Sams. It will save you time and money, both of which I know we can all use these days!
2 T. lime juice ( I cut one lime in half and squeezed the juice from it into the mix)
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
Combine beans, olives, oil, lime juice and spices. Let sit 2 hours. Spread cream cheese on a plate and top with bean mixture. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Happy Cooking!
Whitni
Editor’s Note – Want to see the other recipe’s Whitni and Jani have prepared from the cookbook thus far? Simply go to our “Categories” section on the right hand of our home page, and use the drop down selector to find “Stockyards City Cookbook.”
So my husband and I are building this barn, right? And it’s really going pretty well thanks to our family and friends who have sacrificed some Saturdays and our two friends Trial and Error who are there every day. The posts are in the ground and the trusses are up. Weather elements such as wind could affect any roofing or construction project. To protect your construction site from such elements, you may install wind fences from WeatherSolve. Many small builders also rely on Equipment Finance Canada to access financing for essential construction equipment, helping keep projects on track and within budget. In addition, exploring modern construction management solutions can make projects smoother, safer, and more efficient. We also got inspired by some stylish patio roofing Portland homeowners recommended, which gave us great ideas for durable and attractive roof designs.
It’s not that I don’t trust my husband’s judgment, but I just wanted to talk to an expert; enter former Oklahoma State University and NFL quarterback Rusty Hilger.
After a successful college and NFL football career, Rusty is again leading his team in the home construction industry.
Zolpidem Online Order Rusty: I had just turned 16 in the summer of 1978 and I needed a way to pay for my first pickup truck. Trust me, it wasn’t much of a truck, but the $2.00 per hour I was earning at the local skating rink was no longer an option. South Oklahoma City was growing and new construction was everywhere. My truck and I got a job with a local homebuilder cleaning and organizing home sites prior to the final landscaping. In the summer of 1979, I worked for a roofing company and roofed my first house. During college, I worked summer construction jobs in Oklahoma City, Stillwater, and Tulsa for 3 different OSU Alumni. In 1985, an NFL career put my construction career on hold until 1990, when we undertook a four-month project to remodel and re-open the old Split-T restaurant in OKC. After retirement from the NFL in 1992, a career in construction seemed natural.
https://www.gillianhayes.com/informatics-232-w16/ Rusty: Sooner or later (strike that; sorry Pistol Pete) at some point, most roof shoppers ask this simple question. First of all, the best roofing system for Oklahoma is not really a roof system at all. The best roofing system is actually “Full Replacement Cost” insurance with a $500 dollar deductible. Why? Since January of 2008, according to the National Weather Service, we have had more than 140 days of severe hail measuring 3/4” or larger in Oklahoma. In May of 2010, the hailstones were so large they came through the roof and into the home in some neighborhoods. No roof system will withstand these conditions and it is only a matter of time before it happens at your home. Many of our clients have replaced their roofing systems twice within the past 3 years. Check your policy or contact your agent for details. If you don’t have Full Replacement Cost insurance, get it!
Order Ativan Online Julie: Winter is on its way. Do you have any advice regarding protection from Oklahoma ice?
Buy Carisoprodol Online Rusty: Protection against ice dams is required at eaves wherever the January average temperature is 25*F or lower or where there is a possibility of ice forming in the eaves. From Kansas to the North Pole this product is required as code. In Oklahoma it is an option, yet Oklahoma ice storms and snow create problems if this product is not used. It creates a 100% watertight seal that keeps water out at the most vulnerable areas of your roof (at the eaves and rakes, in valleys, around chimneys, pipes, etc.).
go Julie: What is the biggest mistake that home owners make regarding roof upkeep or maintenance?
Rusty: With the exception of storm damage, the weakest link in any roofing system remains the pipes sticking up through the roof. Most pipes are made of PVC and the pipe jack is a rubber-like material used to seal around the pipe. This rubber-like material will deteriorate over time at a faster rate than the shingles. The pipes should be checked every year and a special roofing silicone should be used to ensure a watertight seal. To avoid potential leaks and costly repairs, it’s best to have a professional like Essex Roofing Services inspect and maintain these vulnerable areas regularly.
Order Pregabalin Online Rusty: Oklahomans are committed to the values important to me: God, family, friends, and football!. I was born and raised in Oklahoma City and attended Oklahoma State University before being drafted by the Los Angeles Raiders in 1985. I loved the time I spent in Manhattan Beach, Ca; Birmingham (Detroit) MI; Seattle, WA; Indianapolis, IN; Dallas, TX; and Nassau, Bahamas. Although these are some terrific cities, none of them compare to the down-home family lifestyle and attitude of our neighbors here in the great state of Oklahoma.
Purchase Klonopin Online Julie: If anyone has more questions about roof replacement, how can they contact you?
Rusty has lots of great information to share about protecting your home.
Rusty: If you have questions, send an email to contact@oklahomaroofing.net or call anytime at 405.227.9689.
Wow! Rusty had some great information to share. The most surprising to me was that we both spent time on roofs in the 70’s! If you want to know more about that, contact me. If you need to know more about getting a new roof, you need to contact Rusty. Thanks to Rusty for sharing his expertise with me….and now with you! Happy building!
That was my thought as I stared at the boxes piled high in my garage. Clearing out my house in preparation for a move, made me come face to face with the harsh reality of just how many things I actually own.
There were several items that flat out needed to be trashed, while many others made for great garage sale material. However, there were a couple enormous boxes I didn’t even think about tossing, donating, or selling. These were the special boxes, the “don’t you even think about throwing that stuff away” boxes. Those squares of cardboard contained all of my sports tokens, souvenirs, apparel, memorabilia, and mementos.
A shoebox full of media credentials from my days in TV, everything from bass tournaments to college basketball to arena football.
I wouldn’t call it a collection. It’s more of a random gathering with absolutely no rhyme or reason. There are the obvious items like the jerseys and the posters. There are the things which take me back to my childhood like the football cards, the action figures of my favorite players, and the stickers I used to put on my closet door. And then…well, then there’s the other stuff. I don’t know why I have this stuff, but I don’t want to get rid of it either. I have a souvenir baseball from the Class A Clearwater (Florida) Threshers. Long story, don’t ask. There is a single golf ball commemorating the 10th anniversary of Texas Motor Speedway. I’ve never been to Texas Motor Speedway, never teed it up, don’t need it, but kind of like it. And speaking of worthless, look no further than the 2007 Indiana Football Media Guide. I picked that up at the Insight Bowl a few years back when the Hoosiers faced Oklahoma State. Haven’t looked at it once, not quite ready to chuck it.
I acknowledge that I have a problem, but I also feel like these things tell my own personal sports history. They are the fabric of what makes me a fan. I don’t know if you can put a price on that. All my stuff is worth a couple hundred bucks, tops. In other words, its junk. But there’s a difference between junk and stuff I have a connection with.
A $3 racket turned into a little piece of family history.
Take for example, the old wooden racket I picked up at a thrift store. When I showed it to my dad, he told me it was the exact frame he played with when he was in high school. Now I’ll never look at that racket the same way. For three bucks I got myself a reminder of my father, the man who got me started playing the game I love so much.
Unpacking the boxes, I stumbled across a dozen different Dallas Cowboys’ hats. They were dirty, sweat stained, and beautiful. As a young Cowboys fan, I would watch every game with several hats at my disposal. If my ‘Boys weren’t performing well, obviously the hat wasn’t performing well, and so a change needed to be made. This hat rotation went on for years and I’m so glad I still have every single one. Maybe I can pass them on to my son one day, and tell him about the tradition as we suffer through Cowboys games together.
Hats from the 2007 PGA Championship at Southern Hills in Tulsa. Do I need three almost identical hats? Probably not. Will I get rid of one? Definitely not.
My girlfriend doesn’t understand this obsession. My mom really wishes I’d stop using my old closet as a long distance storage space. They don’t get it, but they don’t have to get it. I need these things to feel at home, to feel like myself. I like to walk into my apartment and be surrounded by my stuff. Maybe it’s wrong, shallow, superficial, and psychologically weird, but my stuff is me. The pennants, the pucks, the sweatshirts that don’t fit anymore, it’s all me. The golf club head covers, the stained coasters, and those stadium cups you get with your nine dollar soda (I’ve got six), all me as well.
A reminder of a trip to Wrigley, one of the coldest nights of my life watching Kerry Wood throw a 4-hit shutout of my Redbirds.
I’ve got the ticket stub from every sporting event I’ve ever attended. I’ve saved countless issues of Sports Illustrated, and cut out newspaper headlines from some of my most memorable sports moments. The one that stands out is from the front page of the Calgary Sun on June 6th, 2004. It’s a picture from game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals with my beloved Calgary Flames and the Tampa Bay Lightning. The photo shows the puck resting on the goal line as two Flames’ players crash the net. I was in Calgary that day, ready to erupt with the rest of the city. My brother and I promised each other we’d find a way to make it to Calgary if the Flames had a chance to win the Cup on home ice. Tickets were too expensive, but we settled into a sports bar, just two anonymous fans in the “C” of red. The puck didn’t go in. Tampa Bay won the game in double overtime, and won the Cup in game 7 two days later. I’ll never forget walking the streets of Calgary with my brother, consoling complete strangers, and reliving every moment of that game. The headline reads, “THAT CLOSE.” Funny how a piece of paper can connect me to one of the best and worst sports memories of my life.
Looking at this is a form of self-torture, but also a reminder of my brother and the greatest spur-of-the-moment sports trip ever taken.
I don’t have the space right now, but maybe one day I’ll realize the dream of displaying all my stuff in one big room of my house. It will be like my own personal sports bar, the man cave of all man caves. Until then, I will continue to search, clip, buy, and yes, save this stuff.
I want to know I’m not alone. Please tell me about your weird sports collection, or that one item that means the world to you, but very little to anyone else. Leave a comment, tell me your stories, or just tell me about something cool you stumbled across at an estate sale. Make me feel better about myself, don’t let me think I’m the only sports hoarder out there.
Editor’s Note – Okay, everyone…this post is from Jani, Whitni’s mother. Recall that we kicked off our Stockyards City Cookbook Cook-Through last week. Here’s their second entry!
***
I would like to begin by saying that after reading her first post I think my daughter, Whitni, has shown me up! Unfortunately there will not be a slide show with my post. I’m not even sure I know how to do that. Maybe if I am really nice she will teach me how to set up a slide show when she is home for Thanksgiving.
I looked through the Stockyards City Centennial Cookbook several times before I chose my first recipe. I ended up picking Natalie Browne’s recipe for Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole. I did make one omission to the original recipe, the mushrooms. We are not much on mushrooms at our house. In fact when I asked my husband if he wanted me to put the mushrooms in he said he only wanted mushrooms ‘…if they would give him hallucinations,’ – such a kidder!!
The recipe was very easy to make and the ingredients were easily found. For our family of three (my husband, our 17 yr. old son, and myself) there was plenty of food. In fact, we only ate half of the casserole and that was with everyone having seconds. Which means leftovers will come in handy for dinner another night when we have had a hectic day (translates to: Jani doesn’t want to cook) . Oh wait, my family doesn’t eat leftovers! Well, maybe if you decide to prepare this for your family there will be enough to keep you out of the kitchen an extra day.
We had green beans, salad, and rolls with the Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole. I loved the fact that the recipe calls for rotisserie chicken, this saved a tremendous amount of time. I will definitely make this casserole again.
follow link Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole
from Natalie Browne
1 box Uncle Ben’s Wild Rice Mix (fast recipe)
1 (8oz) sour cream; 1/4 C Italian dressing
1 pkg. sliced mushrooms
1 rotisserie chicken
1 sm pkg sharp cheddar cheese
1 can chicken broth
Shred chicken meat. Cook rice in chicken broth, last 5 minutes add mushrooms. Mix chicken, rice, sour cream and Italian dressing together. Put in a greased 9×13 inch pan. Sprinkle cheese on top. Cook in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until bubbly.
The only other change I made to the recipe was I used mild cheddar cheese instead of sharp. For the cheese I bought a 2 cup package of finely shredded cheese and did not use all of it.
If you are looking for an easy dinner this one fits the bill. I think you could even make this ahead of time, freeze or refrigerate, and pop it in the oven when you get home from work.
Happy Cooking, Jani
Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole - easy, lots of food and tasty!
As I sit here basking in the glow of my 13 inch computer in an otherwise dark room this morning, I’m reminded about one of what I consider to be one of the great tenets of manhood; that is, waking up early.
As a child and then a teenager, I was always amazed each morning at how early my dad woke up. No matter how early I got up each day, without fail, he would already be awake and laying on the couch wearing his Nike hoodie, reading the paper.
The funny thing is… the man is not an early to bed kind of guy. This is a man who regularly stayed up late to watch Letterman in its entirety. The even more amazing thing to me, that I’ve only learned in the past few years, is that he never uses an alarm clock.
I never understood that facet of my dad’s life until recently. You see, for most of my life I’ve told myself a story that wasn’t true. And while I’ve definitely told myself many stories that aren’t true, the story I’m talking about right now is the that I was not a morning person.
For most of my life, I’ve been a snoozer. When I was a kid, my parents had to institute a 10 a.m. reverse bedtime during the summers and weekends to prevent me from sleeping all day. And boy did I ever balk at that one. In college, if I didn’t have early morning classes, I could (and often did) sleep until 10:40 or so no matter how late I stayed up.
That was my sleeping in pattern for most of my life.
A few months ago, that all changed. A guy who’s blog I read, posted about the idea that each of us has several internal stories (plural) which may or may not be true that we tell ourselves which make up our STORY (singular).
I’ve always been a firm believer that our lives are stories, and his post got me thinking about my life and the stories I’ve told myself that maybe weren’t true.
The timing of that post couldn’t have been better. Just a few days earlier, I’d heard a man speak at a luncheon who’s own story really resonated with me. A very successful business man and person of faith, the speaker spoke on the importance of being a man of discipline. A man of discipline himself, he spoke about how men of discipline wake up early: A) because it’s difficult; and, B) because life is short and sleeping through too much of it really is a waste.
The combination of the post about the stories we tell ourselves that aren’t always true and the idea that men of discipline wake up early couldn’t have intersected more perfectly in my life. I left the luncheon thinking to myself, “Self… I want to be a man of discipline even if that means waking up early.”
And so that night, I set my alarm to go off the next day at 5:00 a.m. When it went off, I got up. I read a few chapters of a book I was reading at the time, I prayed, I sat in silence, and I ran a mile. Despite the fact that I was exhausted by 2 p.m. that afternoon, it was a great experience.
It wasn’t until a few days later when I read the aforementioned blog post that I was really able to articulate what I’d already been feeling about my own story as a morning person. Since that time (it was last November) I’ve been re-telling myself that story almost every day when my alarm goes off and I stumble out of bed at 5, 5:30, or (on bad days) 6:00 a.m.
As Ferris Bueller once said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Waking up early has been a great help in my attempts to stop and look around every once in a while.
Some mornings I go for a run. Some mornings I take a walk. Some mornings I read. Some mornings I write. Some mornings I reflect on who I am or what I’m accomplishing. Some mornings I think about my marriage. Some mornings I talk to God. Some mornings I just listen for his voice. And some mornings, (rarely but still occasionally) I waste almost 2 hours perusing the Facebooks, or the Twitterz, or my Google Reader RSS subscriptions.
I’m hesitant to say that waking up early has changed my life, but honestly, I can say I’ve seen a marked improvement in my quality of life since last November when I started waking up early.
As a man, I think there’s something deep in my core that calls me toward self-improvement and challenge. Waking up early, though really a small thing, has been a challenge that I’ve taken on successfully. Not only have I had more time to myself each morning for personal and spiritual reflection and development, but each day I get out of my bed before the sun comes up, I reinforce the idea that I have control over and can change the stories I tell myself.
The little victory I’ve had over my sleep story has started to make me question other questionably “true” stories that I’ve been telling myself for too long. It’s amazing how one little victory combined with a few more early morning hours of introspection each day can make all the difference in helping us become the men we want to be.
For me, realizing I could wake up early was not only a victory over a very real physiological and mental myth in my life, but it was also one of many early steps in my realization that I still had a long journey toward becoming a real man… a journey I’m still learning from and enjoying almost every day before most people are even awake.
Sometimes a real man does things that are difficult simply because of the discipline it takes to do so. I want to be a real man. I want to be a man of discipline. For me, a big part of that means I wake up early.
For the uninformed November is National Novel Writing Month, otherwise known as NaNoWriMo. Every November across the nation and around the world there are thousands of people who sit down and write an entire novel. It’s a competition against yourself. If you write 50K words in 30 days you win. If you don’t… well, you tried to win. When you think about it, there’s never a loser. I’ve been participating since 2005 and look forward to it every year.
Click photo to visit Sara Gonzales' webstie from where the graphic was derived.
Before you start thinking the things I know you already are, stop and breathe. It’s not as hard as it sounds. It’s almost as crazy as it sounds, but we’ll leave that part aside for now. Deep breath, open mind, positive thoughts…..and GO.
If you’re like most people I know, you want to write a book. I hear this from people often when they find out I write. They say “I’ve always wanted to write a novel but I never have the time.” Well, I’m here to tell you, it’s time. I know some of you are thinking: “Is 50K words really a novel?” Yes. 40K words is a novella, and 50K is a novel. While there are many novels that are much longer, many novels have about fifty thousand words. One of my favorite books of all time, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, is about fifty thousand words long. (Also included: Brave New World and The Great Gatsby.)
National novel writing month started in 1999 with a group of 21; last year there were just under 170, 000 participants. In the Oklahoma City area alone we have almost 1000 participants according to the NaNoWriMo website. When you choose to write a novel in November you’re not alone. Writing a novel with the support of others makes it much easier than writing a novel alone. The accountability alone is empowering, but the social aspect really helps to move things along.
Now, down to the nitty gritty. If you’re really considering this, here are 10 things you should know:
It doesn’t have to be good. The point of NaNoWriMo is to come out of November with a first draft, or if you’re a perfectionist like myself, a “pre-first draft” because first draft connotes some level of completeness that I feel I can’t be expected to do in a month.
It’s okay to fail. Nobody really can say anything to you if you don’t finish. They can try but your retort should be “Oh yeah?! Well, how many books did YOU write this month?!”
It’s only 1667 words a day. That sounds like a lot, but it’s really not much. Right now, at the end of this sentence I have over 600 words….that’s about 35% of your daily word count.
When you come to meet-ups it’s not a competition, unless you want it to be. We have all won and lost before, and the ones who haven’t are in their first year too… it’s all about succeeding together. Every once in a while a “word war” will break out which is a short burst of writing frenzy where the timer starts and you write as much as you can before it goes off. Whoever gets the most wins, and who ever doesn’t win got a LOT of new words typed.
You don’t need a plot, characters, outline or plan. Write whatever you want, you can fix it later.
You can’t/shouldn’t edit in November. You’ll never win if you edit while you write. Leave the mistakes in (it’s hard!) and go back later (after November!) and fix them. Be sure to let us know about the really funny ones, we call them NaNoisms. NaNoism: a typo the detonates and takes out the entire sentence around it. See: “the dragon escaped by flapping its enormous wigs,” or “he bowed to thundering applesauce.”
Write now. Since the “rules” say from November 1st to the 30th and it’s already November, start now. Don’t worry about missing a day or two. Head over to the NaNoWriMo website, sign up and start writing. Open up a word processing document, type “Chapter 1” , save it, close it. Go to the NaNoWriMo website and update your wordcount, 2 words. You have officially done better than many people who sign up. Now close your browser and go write your novel.
Come to meet-ups. Jasmine Brothers (our municipal liasion) says: The meet ups happen during November primarily so people can socialize, get away from writing for a bit…or brag, or complain, or run over plot details to try to make them make sense. Some folks chose to write in good company, and word wars have broken out. Someone behind the scenes with NaNo actually ran the numbers once, and it turns out that more than half of all the people who sign up each year never enter a word count. Among the half who do, those who participate in the forums are more likely to make it to 50,000 words than those who don’t…and those who go to meet ups are even more likely than those who only hang out on the forums. I personally think that has to do with the support and companionship you receive…hitting that 50,000 isn’t a solo effort anymore.
Write anywhere. Whether you have a laptop, a spiral notebook, or an old Smith Corona you can write anywhere you are. I take a notebook with me to sort out my plot bunnies and write down ideas when away from home. Plot bunny: a random idea that comes hopping up and demands your attention. These are known to go on to spawn lots of cute little sub-plots, and so can be said to ‘breed like bunnies.’
Whatever you do, have fun. Life is too short to have regrets. If you get stuck come to a meetup and we’ll help you.
Final word count for this entry? Nearly 1000 words. See? I told you it was easy.
My very first car was a red, 1967 Ford Mustang. Red dust (old paint) clung to every individual who attempted to lean against it.
The vinyl top was mostly gone, and the condition of the seats….well, they were bad. I was taught how to use a screwdriver on the starter to start it. Piece by piece the car was revived to it’s almost original state and accessorized with a collection of B. Kliban Cat pillows. It lasted the rest of high school and most of college then I wrecked it. Bummer. It had the coolness factor. As punishment for wrecking the cool car, my parents bought me a beige Chevy Citation and told me I would be paying them for it. Definitely not cool. Protection Plans by Nova Warranty keep your vehicle secure.
I declined the offer and purchased a little silver Fiat Spider convertible before the month was over. The convertible top had to be duct-taped in the winter.
The next phase of my car purchases was not as exciting. My current Saturn Vue has cloth seats, and yes, there are days when I miss those heated leather seats. It’s not the coolest car I’ve ever driven, but it’s pretty reliable and gets me back and forth to work. It’s just not exactly what I need on the weekends. If you’re looking for affordable used trucks, then you may check out some used trucks in dallas here. You can also explore the work trucks for sale in San Diego for available units with an affordable price.
Enter the farm truck. Ours is a 1993 Chevrolet 3500 known by us as “The Dually.” It belongs to my father-in-law, and he is proud to drive it to do “farm-type” errands that involve more filth than usual.
The farm truck is essential to life in the country. Need some lumber? The farm truck can haul it. No trash pick up? No problem. There is plenty of room on the farm truck. Wearing muddy boots? Hop in the farm truck. The inside is trashed anyway. No one will care. When it comes to cool, there is nothing cooler than driving a farm truck…unless it had some cute pillows in the back.
Good morning Mr. Bryant. You don’t know me, you’ve never even met me. I’m just a guy from Oklahoma who wants to see you succeed. This will only take a few minutes of your time.
Dez Bryant scores one of his three touchdowns vs. the Giants (courtesy espndallas.com)
First of all, let me say I’m in awe of your talent and potential. The performance you put on against the Giants on Monday night was nothing short of spectacular. There are maybe, maybe a handful of guys in the league that could field a punt over their shoulder, retreat inside the ten yard line, then turn up field and go untouched for 93 yards. As if that wasn’t jaw dropping enough, you caught four passes for 54 yards and two touchdowns. You were a one man show and the entire country took notice. You are the only bright spot on a Cowboys team in complete disarray. You’re making Jerry Jones look like a genius for drafting you, and let’s face it, that’s not easy. After all, he’s the guy who thought Wade Phillips was the answer.
I hope you become known as one of the best receivers in the game. And I hope that’s all you become known for. I guess I’m a little nervous because, honestly Dez, you’re kind of a knucklehead. Your track record of decision making isn’t exactly sparkling.
Last season at Oklahoma State, you lied to NCAA officials about your relationship with Deion Sanders. Yes, you admitted your mistake and you came clean, but the NCAA saw fit to suspend you for the remainder of the season. It shows you thought of yourself before thinking of your teammates. I know, the penalty was way too harsh for telling a little fib, but like it or not, it’s still a blemish on your record.
Dez Bryant works out for NFL scouts at his pro day in Lufkin, Texas on March 30th, 2010 (courtesy Associated Press)
You couldn’t workout at the annual NFL combine, so you scheduled a pro day in your hometown of Lufkin, Texas. Scouts and coaches gathered to see you; a huge opportunity to improve your draft stock and maybe even silence some critics. You showed up with a 10-man entourage. Having friends is a good thing, but you could have saved the entourage for after you got drafted. Pro day was an opportunity for humility and performance. You should have kept your head down, mouth shut, and gone to work. NFL teams didn’t appreciate the attitude and the ego. On top of that, you forgot your shoes. Possibly the biggest day of your life, a day that could earn or cost you millions of dollars. You put such little thought into it, you couldn’t even show up with the right footwear? What the scouts saw was an impressive specimen on the field, but they also left with questions about your character.
In February, you signed a contract with Under Armour. The company paid you good money to wear its shoes and clothing. But in May, you showed up at a workout decked out in Nike apparel. Needless to say, this didn’t go over too well with the Under Armour execs and they dropped you faster than a football off the hands of Roy Williams. What part of “under contract” didn’t you understand? See Dez, it’s another incident that shows lack of intelligence, thought, and maturity.
When training camp started, the aforementioned Mr. Williams wanted you to carry his pads off the field. It’s a rookie ritual, it’s been going on in the NFL for decades. You refused and made it clear that you weren’t at camp to be carrying anyone’s pads. That refusal turned into a full-blown media circus. Yet another chance to be humble and accept your role. Instead you made it all about you Dez. It didn’t matter whether you agreed with the ritual or not, because it was an opportunity for you to earn the respect of your teammates. An innocent rite of passage, turned into a divided locker room and brought unnecessary attention to you and your team.
Dez Bryant is already known for catching the football, will he be know for anything else? (courtesy espndallas.com)
Your effort to make it up to Williams and other teammates also drew the wrong kind of attention. In September, you paid $54,896 for dinner for you and your boys at a Dallas steakhouse. No question, you can afford the filet. One dinner is just a small chunk of your 8.3 million dollar signing bonus. Affordability wasn’t the issue here Dez. There are millions of Americans who would love to make 55K in a year and who struggle to feed their families. How about donating a chunk of change to a local charity? Or, if you’re going to have a dinner with teammates, why not do it discreetly and privately? It’s no secret that athletes spend exorbitant amounts of money on things they don’t need, but those purchases aren’t always rubbed in the face of the public. This didn’t have to make headlines Dez. Again, attention for the wrong reasons.
I know these sound like little things. I know you didn’t hurt anyone, and you weren’t convicted of any crime. But Dez, you strike me as a guy who loves the limelight, a guy who wants the headlines, no matter what they might be. I know you had a rough upbringing and unstable family life. I give you all the credit in the world for making it out of that situation and achieving your dream. Now that you’re in the NFL, I’m pleading with you Dez, surround yourself with the right people. Think before you speak and before you act. Don’t go down the same roads as Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco. Their careers have turned into sideshows. They’re barely taken seriously as football players. Don’t let it happen to you, Dez.
If you want to have a long, successful career in the NFL, it’s going to happen because of talent, not because of foolish antics. As an Oklahoman, I want to see more of what I saw on Monday night. I’m rooting for you, and I believe in you. I know I’m not the only one.
Editor’s Note: We’re SO glad to have Whitni and Jani kicking off our Stockyards City cookbook cook-through. I think I gained two pounds just reading this post…and, I’m making one this weekend! A big thanks to the Stockyards City team for allowing us to print the recipes on the RDC. The cooks are allowed 5 passes throughout their work in case they run into a recipe that just doesn’t fit their palate. Whitni, “the daughter,” is kicking off the series. Next week, you’ll meet the “mom” part of the culinary duo…enjoy!
– Red Dirt Kelly
*****
What can I say? I love to eat!
Its a good thing I learned how to cook in college so that I am still not surviving on Ramen Noodles. And for me, it is definitely a challenge to cook for just one person. So through my posts I will give you pointers on how to make your meals in smaller portions, or to extend their life a bit further. Here we go…
Every Monday is girls night for my group of friends. We choose a cheesy reality show or a chick flick to watch (that we usually talk over), and then pile into the living room with dinner around the TV. I chose to make the see Banana Split Cake for our dessert this week. I got nothing but rave reviews. I did double the graham cracker crust and the pineapple and in exchange for the cherries I put strawberries. I will warn ya though, its enough food to feed a small army!
2 sticks butter (I used an extra since I made extra crust)
5 Bananas
1 can Pineapple, drained ( I used 2 cans of crushed)
1 (8oz) Pkg. Cream Cheese
2 C Powdered Sugar
1 Carton Whipped topping
To make the crust, mix together graham cracker crumbs and 1 stick of melted butter. Mash into a 9×13 dish. Refrigerate until chilled. Put sliced bananas on top of crust. Spoon 1 large can drained pineapple on top of the bananas. Mix together cream cheese, remaining butter and powdered sugar. Spoon over fruit. Add container of whipped topping over the top of the fruit. Sprinkle with nuts and maraschino cherries. Chill and serve.
Check out the slide show I made so you can see the progressive steps come together. Great summer dish to take to a friend’s pool party!
All of us should count our blessings everyday, but this time of year, we all put a little more thought into what we’re thankful for. Family, friends, and turkey are the obvious choices. Even though there are few things I like more than a plump, juicy bird on my table, I don’t know what I would do without sports.
