Ultramarathoners

You think you're intense? Check out these guys. I can barely run two miles without having to stop, but Sam Thompson ran the whole Appalachian trail over 99 days (2,175 miles). I guess that's what it takes to get a North Face sponsorship!

A call to hope

I’ve always loved benedictions. My pastor in the church where I grew up was exceptionally good at benedictions, and they were usually my favorite part of the service (and not because they marked the end!) I looked up “benediction” and found out it comes from the Latin “bene” (meaning “well”) and “dicere” (meaning “to speak”). Rev. Joseph E. Lowery gave the benediction at the presidential inauguration on Tuesday, and I found it an excellent call to faith and unity. His words remind us that while America may have come a long way, this is a process that is far from over. Just yesterday I read about a documentary about the de-segregating of a high school prom in Mississippi. When I read the first line of the article, I automatically thought this event occurred around 50 years ago. I was shocked when I read on and discovered it happened LAST YEAR. Worldviews don’t change just because of the passage of a law, and Lowery’s words are just as timely today as they were when he worked with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The full text of Lowery’s benediction can be found here. Picture courtesy of The Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Come visit us!

Hey everyone! Southwest Airlines is having a great sale right now on flights to and from Seattle, so now would be an EXCELLENT time to buy tickets and visit the Emerald City! See here for the Southwest sale. You have to book by tomorrow, January 22, and the flights must occur between February 3 and May 31. Come on, you know you want a vacation...

The rest is history

We are taking part in history. I hope I can look back in 50 years and recall with clarity the importance of today. Live blogging on the inauguration at The New York Times.

(Photo courtesy of The New York Times)

Bored?

Is your Web surfing limited to a few familiar sites? Sign up at www.stumbleupon.com and you'll never have to be bored online again! You can check boxes for subjects that strike your fancy (e.g. art or computers), install the Stumble toolbar, hit the Stumble! button and see where it takes you. You'll be entertained for hours. At least I am. But that doesn't take much.

I swear they didn't pay me to write this.

City sledding

A baking sheet and an oven. These are two items that go together, right? This is not the case for our smaller-than-normal oven. Alas, our baking sheet does not fit inside (our cookies are destined to bake inside loaf pans or baking dishes for now). We have found a more suitable use for our baking sheet: sledding.


Check out the wonder that is sailing down a street on a baking sheet. There was quite a sledding crowd on the street next to ours and I saw another baking sheet in use. We also saw cardboard boxes, real sleds, a snowboard, and a laundry basket.

We thought about walking over to Gas Works to sled, but that would've been a long hike and our hill seemed a good alternative. The downside to sledding down city streets are the cars, and I already got an e-mail from a co-worker informing us that his daughter and her friend were hit by a car while sledding down a nearby street (his daughter escaped unharmed but her friend was less fortunate and will need surgery). So be careful people and watch for headlights. This isn't Frogger, this is real life.

Holidays in Seattle

We've done some decorating at the place to get it ready for Christmas! It looks pretty festive thanks to our old school big-bulb lights.

Good job Mark!

All done...

The biggest snowstorm to hit Seattle in 12 years has been fun to play in! Sometimes we wish we had a dog to romp with us through the snow. I don't think Frederick would make it. Also, a note to Seattle businesses: if you are going to put de-icer down in front of your establishment, could you please have the courtesy to at least shovel it off? It's much harder to trudge through slushy snow than it is to slide on top of packed snow. Geez.

Also, a note to our neighbor: why in the world are you shoveling off your roof? Don't you want the added insulation? Also, what would compel you to shovel off not just your walking area on the roof, but the whole rest of your roof as well? What the heck.