Blake Thompson daht NetI'm just saying….

Here are a few quick pics from today around The District. But a better update and explanation of our day to follow later tonight.

This is at the Lincoln Memorial. Lots of people up here snapping pics. The Wife is reading some stuff on the wall. This red headed lady is looking the other way while hair tries to escape from her pit.

Me in front of my new friend’s house. I saw him today and he waved very excitedly towards me. I think he wants to be better friends. I’ll show you a pic later.

Outside of the WWII Memorial

Pretty obvious…

From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial looking back over the Reflecting Pool towards the Washington Monument. The Capitol is just behind the Washington Memorial.

We walked a few dozen miles I think looking at lots of stuff, taking lots of pictures. I’ll put some more up later, but we’re about to head out for supper.

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As I sit in my darkened hotel room in the shadow of the US Capitol, I’m watching MSU get embarrassed on a national stage by LSU. I was optimistic about the year. Even after the first half I thought we were “okay”. But I’m crushed right now… but anyhow.

We made it out of Jackson this morning, a layover in ATL, and now we’re in the heart of our nation’s capital. When I told my mom we were coming for a brief vacation here, her response was, “Why?” I guess it is because we thought about the massive amounts of history and heritage here. Plus there are some cool things here as well. Today we had an outside glimpse at a few.

After making it to our hotel we caught our breath and took a quick walk around. We saw many things from afar while afoot: the Capitol, the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial, the Reflecting Pool, and lots of governmental buildings that make you say, “Oh, so that’s where that is”, but you don’t have a big desire to look in there.

We did swing through Union Station. We’ll want to go back and spend a little bit of time in there later. That’s also where we’ll be going to church later. Then we met up with David Russell of National Community Church over at Ebeneezer’s Coffee House. He gave us a quick tour of the offices and then a ride back to the hotel. Super nice guy.

Then we came back to watch SEC Football and The US Open. Now I’m going to read a bit before snoozing. But tomorrow should be a day of walking around in the sun, taking pictures of stuff, and sweating a good bit. Check back later…there should be an update.

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The Pink Eye was a false alarm. Turns out it was some sort of bacterial thing that caused her eyes to be red and also an ear ache. So just an oral antibiotic should clear it all up. So now I can go back to not washing my hands and rubbing my eyes all the time.

But I wanted to share a little “home remedy” I found online for an earache. It seems there are plenty of things that some people say SHOULD work, but who knows if they really will or not. There are actually a few I’d try. But not sure about this one:

Now, this may be repulsive to many, but I learned this from some back country folks, and it does work. I have tried it on more than one occasion. Tinkle in a cup, and using your own urine, and with the help of a fearless friend, pour it while still warm in the offending ear. Leave it in for three or four minutes, and the ear ache will be gone. I know, it sounds icky, but it truly works.

Dec 04, 2005
31 people found this remedy helpful.

Now I’m not sure I have a fearless friend who is willing to pour my warm urine into my hurting ear. BUT…four days later this next reply comes:

I would like to confirm what Barbara says about the “tinkling” to cure an earache. While I was working in a factory years ago, a lady told me the same thing. She also said that it had to be the person’s own tinkle. She said she used this method for her children.

Dec 08, 2005
34 people found this remedy helpful.

Now there is no way I’d be able to convince my 6 year old to pee in a cup, lay down quickly, and let me pour it in her ear!

Would you try it?

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Looks like Pink Eye has invaded our home.

I hope it stays in only one person’s eyes.

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This is the beloved Friday’s Feast

Appetizer
Say there’s a book written about your life. Who would you want to narrate the audio version?
I’m going to go with George Clooney. He seems to have a good cadence and tone.

Soup
Take the letters from your favorite kind of nut and write a sentence. (Example: Perhaps every avenue needs understanding today.)
People I see taking advil could help investigate over-spending.

Salad
If you could go back in time and spend one week in another decade, which decade would you choose?
Probably the 50′s. Not really sure why, but either 50′s or 60′s. Sorta like Back To The Future all over again.

Main Course
Name a song that brings back memories for you.
Pretty much every song can be placed somewhere or at some time in my life. But let’s say, “Pour Some Sugar On Me” by Def Leppard.

Dessert
Do you prefer to wash your hands in cold water or warm water?
Warm..all the way.

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Heh heh.

A good friend of mine has recently begun blogging. He’d fought the urge and resisted the pull for a while, but he finally took the plunge and I think he’s going to be an interesting read.

Pat Ward is starting a new church in Oxford, MS which is an plant of a church in Tupelo, MS. The Orchard has been in Tupelo for close to 10 years and they’re now starting up The Orchard Oxford.

Oxford is a different place than Tupelo and will have its own characteristics and culture. But it’s a place ripe for a community of faith such as The Orchard Oxford. I’m looking forward to following Pat and his blog and his church. They’ve been meeting semi-regularly for a while but have just kicked off their weekly meetings this month.

I’m sure there are more exciting things to come out of Oxford.

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Yup, the District.  The good old capital of our glorious nation. Just The Wife and I. Might meet up with some friends while we’re there. But neither of us have been to DC, so if you have any advice or tips on who to visit, what to see, and most importantly where to eat…let us know.

I’ve gotten a few tips form friends who have visited DC at one time or another. But gotten some great advice from a cousin who lives in Fairfax, VA, and from David Russell who lives in DC and works w/ National Community Church. So we’re really looking forward to it all. Hoping to get to meet up with David at some point and also attend a service at NCC.

So as we plan out the trip, I’ll fill in some more details. But share if you have a “must see” we should know about.

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After some time away for no real reason at all, I’m back. I took a little time away from blogs: writing my own or reading others. So either I have a lot of catching up to do, or just going to skip a lot I didn’t read….probably the latter.

But things have been booming lately. We hired a new guy onto our Student Ministry Staff at church. He’s doing great and we’re working well together. And because of some of his ideas and my ideas and his “well let’s get it done right now” attitude, we’ve made some pretty big changes to the youth room and all. W/ still more to come.

Two weekends ago we also had our (now) annual Video Scavenger Hunt. We had a great turnout. But the good thing was the turnout the NEXT week. So many kids came back and brought new kids w/ them too. The telling point will be this next month. When the “new” starts to wear off the semester and so does the initial excitement.  But we’re now providing a great hang out time before the night moves upstairs w/ a little snack supper.

And then we’re offering a revamped “game room” of sorts. It’s like a siren call to me when I’m in my office. Down the hall I can hear the Wii and the XBox 360 calling my name. But I’ve pretty much resisted them so far.

But the new semester has been busy and a blur. But good. And looking forward to what’s around the corner.

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I have TWO open spots in a league that drafts TONIGHT (Thursday the 16th).  If you want in, follow the directions below:

You have been invited to join statedog’s Custom League in Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Football.

In order to join the league, follow the link above or go to game front page, click the “Sign Up Now” or “Get Another Team” button and follow the links to “Join a Custom League”. When prompted, enter the League ID# and password below.

League ID#: 248206
Password: gametime

We will send you a confirmation with further details once you have completed the registration process.

–Fantasy Football Commissioner
http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/f1

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I have a bad habit of buying lots of books and not finishing them. So I’m in the middle of four books right now. I’m not going to jump into any others until I finish some of these. But here they are:

1. The Lost Message of Jesus by Steve Chalke
2. Free Prize Inside by Seth Godin
   
3. In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day by Mark Batterson
4. The Starfish And The Spider by Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom

All of these were recommended by someone or another except for the Free Prize book. And Seth Godin has been recommended before. But I had a gift card to Books A Million with me when I got that book…got to the counter and was ready to pay. Turns out the card had a ZERO balance on it.

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