…well, there’s not anything I’m dying to turn back time for, other than an extra hour of sleep. Though I know that won’t really happen because my daughter doesn’t understand the concept of day light savings time. She really doesn’t understand the idea of a clock or sleeping in. So when her internal clock says “I don’t care what time it is, I need to pee pee and eat some breakfast” she starts letting us know she’s ready to get up. “Come in here, Daddy!” over and over and over.

But I am thankful for the extra hour I might get. Because even though I was fighting sleep, I remembered I needed to make some changes to my fantasy football teams before I went to sleep…and now I’m up, listening to it pour down rain outside and my dog pant with nervous fear from the pouring rain. She’s strange like that.

MSU lost again today. After going up 17-0 I begin to feel confident. Yeah, crazy me. I thought we might actually put together a good game and have a shot at saving some face the end of the season. Then the light went off and we remembered we’re supposed to suck and we let Kentucky score 6 straight touchdowns to lose the game. But guess what? We’ll have a new coach next year!

Went and looked at lawnmowers today at Lowe’s. We decided to give ours one more shot with a new spark plug and a clean air filter. But I think that’s like putting a new antenna on a radio you run over with your car and hoping it will work again. But it’s maybe worth the effort. Not really mowing season right now anyway.

Still have early service tomorrow morning, then a really busy afternoon. So I’m going to go crawl back in bed and try to remember how tired I was earlier. Laters.

When we moved into the house we now live in, one of my wife’s favorite things about it was the yard. The house had a huge side yard (actually it is an extra lot) that looked pretty nice. Mostly flat with grass except for the very back and side parts where there was a moss growing there under some trees. But apparently she really likes mowing and I thougth it would be a great place for her to mow our entire yard.

So we got a mower. We had to borrow one the first time or two when spring got here. But we went to Lowe’s and bought a good push mower (not self propelled) so my wife could mow the yard. I’d be glad to mow. But she enjoys it. So I would never want to take that enjoyment away from her.

So she mowed all last summer. Sometimes longways, sometimes short ways, sometimes diagonal, sometimes in squares. It usually all looked the same a day or two after the job was done. Then she mowed this summer too. It’s been a good mower except for the one wheel that I had to tighten all the time. Just the one…strange. But a few weeks ago she came inside and asked if I would help her crank the mower. She was mowing, but it quit on her and she couldn’t get it cranked again.

I went out there and couldn’t get it going. She said it had plenty of gas. Then I thought, “Uh-oh”. “Have you checked the oil?” Nope. Neither of us had. Since we’d gotten it. Two summers ago.

We ran that puppy dry, and it died because of it. It’s now dead.

Well, Jackie Sherrill has turned in his resignation. He’ll quit the ranks of college football after this season. He made his announcement Friday night, on the eve of the Auburn football game. I halfway wondered if it was to try and motivate the team. You know, we won two games in a row (the only 2 this year) and were going against a tough, but (what I thought at the time was a) beatable opponent. Well, let’s just say it didn’t work.

Auburn’s coached by a man who probably hates Sherrill more than anyone else in the SEC, even David Cutcliffe. Carnell Williams, AU’s RB, scored 6 touchdowns on us. Holy cow! The only good thing about the game was that I was able to say, “Well, it will a little different next year at least…” knowing that Sherrill was leaving.

I’m not a Jackie hater. He’s taken MSU to great heights. He’s raised expectations. He’s done more for us than any other coach. But it’s time for a change. But who will that be? Will it be a black guy? The SEC sure seems to want a black guy to be a head coach now.

1. Name five things in your refrigerator.
Milk, chocolate syrup, jello, mustard, corned beef

2. Name five things in your freezer.
Pizza, ice, chicken breasts, ice cream, chocolate chips

3. Name five things under your kitchen sink.
Lysol, Armor All, Febreez, sponge, pipes

4. Name five things around your computer.
Wallet, Printer, Pens, Cereal Bowl, lamp

5. Name five things in your medicine cabinet.
toothpaste, Advil, floss, tooth brush, Old Spice High Endurance Anti Perspirant

It’s all about babies and peeing on trees…

Here’s a cool little story.

Last night after putting my daughter to bed I got to thinking about her…a lot. She has got to be one of the coolest people in the world. At the same time, she can be frustrating at times. But usually those are the times that I’m being selfish of my own time and I allow that to affect my attitudes. But seriously, she’s the coolest.

When we found out we were pregnant, you start thinking about “Do we want a boy or a girl?” I guess I thought that as a guy I’m supposed to want a boy. You know, so we could do all the guy stuff together…that’s what expectant dads are supposed to think, rigth? But it really became, “What ever pops out I know I’ll enjoy.” It wasn’t just cliche either.

When we went to the Dr. for them to squeeze the liquid nitrogen gel on to my wife’s belly (she said that’s what if felt like…below freezing) to rub the little sonogram dealio on her, we figured it would be a really sweet, touching moment. But the lady doing it was like, “There’s the head. There’s the heart beating…see? There’s a arm/leg/etc.” Then she said, “You want to know the sex?” My wife and I looked at each other like it was a Hallmark moment, grinned, then nodded to each other (as if we just decided then and there…) and said, “Yes…” With the warmth of a flagpole on a frosty January morning, she said, “Girl.” then flipped the machine off and left. They said she was batting about .998 on her predictions, so we knew we were getting a girl.

I remember when I first made a public announcement about our pregnancy. It was at a church board meeting. I gave my normal monthly report. Then asked for prayer for my wife. I could see the looks of interest creep onto the faces that watched me. I told them that we’d gone to the doctor that week because she’d been feeling week and sick for a little while. And that the doctors found something. [Concern clouded some faces] They found a growth within her… I paused. [Intake of breath and some open mouths] Then I begin to grin, “But the doctor said that everything should be fine in about 6 months the baby is due!” Heh heh. That was awesome. I really had everyone going for a second.

But back to my daughter…she surprises me everyday with something new in her personality, in her intelligence, in her creativity, or just in her goofiness (she must get that from her mother!) She’s amazing. And I hope I realize more and more everyday that she is a precious gift from God that He has given to me to grow/lead/shape her for His purposes. And oh, how I need His help.

This story might make you reconsider what that really means.

Well, I go crawl into bed as soon as I’m done with this entry.

I started the morning moving and really haven’t slowed much. I got up and got ready for the game in Starkville. Today was FCA day at MSU‘s homecoming game. We were coming off of our big *snicker-snicker* win over Vandy last week and were going to be facing Memphis and our DC from last year, Joe Lee Dunn. But after I got the van to the church parking lot to wait on they guys to get there, my ignition key broke in half. It’s been partially bent with a crack in it for a while. So I knew it was a long time coming. So I just ran inside to get another set (that I’ve never used (remember that tid-bit, it’s important)).

We get to campus, park behind the Wesley Foundation and walk to the building for the FCA meeting. Supposed to start at 10:30. Well, it finally starts at 11:00 and we sing a bit, two football players give their testimonies. It was pretty cool. Players spoke very well and confidently. Then a few more songs, then the main speaker. He didn’t say much except try to echo what the players said, then had a 30 minute long invitation. I’m not kidding. “Go on, Go now! Come on. Right here, right now.” Over and over and over…. “Just one more. Just one more. Come on. Just one more” over and over and over. We slipped out as soon as we could with out drawing too much attention because it was running late and we were supposed to meet a friend and my wife and daughter at the Union.

We meet up, fight the crowd for some Chik-Fil-A, then go to the game. After a shakey start, a offensive showcase, then a scarey 2nd half, the Bulldogs come away with another win. That’s two in a row now. Look out SEC, here we come *sincker-snicker*. But it was fun. We sat up where the birds fly. But I had my binocs, so it was all good. I actually like sitting up there now and then. But down low is probably better overall. But we were on the top row of the entire stadium.

Get back to the van, and turns out that the new set of keys I got don’t work. Well, the ignition key does, but the door key doesn’t. So we talk the police, the HP, and they get a towing service after us. But in the mean time (read: 45 minutes of waiting) we begged a coat hanger off of some strangers, and tried forever to pop a lock our selves.

Finally Pat and Matt got in. You would have thought they won the lottery. “We did it! We’re in! We got in! We did it!” It was funny. My daughter got caught up in the celebration as well. “The van is open! The van is open!” But a traffic riddled ride home…then to a birthday party…then to some taped comedy/drama we’d recorded last night…then to bed…then back up on the computer…now, going to bed again.

G’night.

Introducing The Saturday Scruples. Just supposed to answer w/ at least a Yes/No, but can expand upon if needed.

At the local grocer, you see an elderly woman shoplift bacon. Do you tell the grocer?
No. Probably not. Wal-Mart’s not hurting over a package of bacon. Maybe I ask the cashier to scan my bacon twice to make up for it.

Your century old church is an architectural treasure but the congregation is declining. Developers offer $20 million and a sanctuary in the office tower they want to build. Do you accept?
Definately. I’m not married to a particular “style” of architecture. If the congregation is declining, maybe an update would be a little more popular. $20 Mill…wow.

A co-worker needs to leave early and asks you to punch her time card when you leave. Do you do it?
No. Not really even tempting. The guilt trip she might try to push on me might make me hesitate to tell her no, but I woudn’t do it.

Guess who’s back? Back again…
Yeppers, the Friday Five has been absent for a while…no real reason. But it’s here.

1. Do you watch sports? If so, which ones?
Yes. College football, basketball, and baseball. NFL and NBA. Lumberjack competitions and Strong Man competitions on ESPN sometimes (but not really, just if I happen across them, they’re entertaining). But college basketball is the king.

2. What/who are your favorite sports teams and/or favorite athletes?
Well, obviously any Mississippi State team. I don’t really have a favorite pro sport team that stand out. I used to be a Mets fan back in the 80’s when Gooden, Strawberry, HoJo, Dykstra and all those guys were there. We got a cable channel from NYC way down here and their games were on all the time. But I don’t really like MLB at all now. Used to be a Sonics fan when Shawn Kemp was there with Payton, Eddie Johnson, Derick McKey, Nate McMillan, Detlef Schremph, Ricky Pierce and Dana Baros. The funny thing about that is that I became a fan of them because I always played with them on an old Nintendo game. But the only person left is Nate, and he’s the coach now.

3. Are there any sports you hate?
Is NASCAR considered a sport?

4. Have you ever been to a sports event?
Lots, but not enough. Never been to an NBA game. And there are many of college basketball arenas I’d like to visit. College football stadiums as well.

5. Do/did you play any sports (in school or other)? How long did you play?
Nope, unless you consider church league basketball. I always looked athletic, but lacked the coordination to be decent.