From Sonny

qszAdx qa  JKNYGB YUK ,KMJHGYTFDXCAZds xzzzsssssssdf vb bvcb                                                                  Ω

hahaha...sonny typed all that.  in translation it means: hey all, have a good day, give me a bone

time wasted

i just got back from raleigh...well at about 9:20...and i left this morning to go.  i left at 6:45 to go to a student teaching seminar that started at 8.  I got there to only find out that i was at the wrong place, but in my defense, app state is terrible at making things clear and easy to understand, and as of now, i still don't know where that meeting is taking place, but i do know im back home.  i spent about 2 and half hours roughly this morning in my car for no reason.  i wasted 2 and half hours!  if i had known that i wouldn't be at the meeting, do you think i would have woken up at 6:30 this morning...heck no!  i sleep better than anybody i know, maybe apart from my dad.  but i have noticed this before, but was reminded of it this morning.  i feel like almost EVERY time i am going somewhere and i am cutting it close with time, then traffic is bad, or i get stuck behind a 18 wheeler, or road construction or something to make you that much more late.  and vice versa...when you are early for something and in no hurry, the roads seem to be deserted and every police officer is on their donut break.  im sure there is a sermon to be preached in that, but i won't be the one to preach it.  

when i walk around knightdale high school now, i am hearing more and more of the little subtle whispers as i walk by big groups of students.  i hear them gasp "hey that guy is a teacher..."  or "i have that guy for a teacher in one of my classes..." im not sure if this is a good or bad thing, but i guess i should be happy that even tho i like 15, im starting to be recognized as a teacher and not another teen.  i met battle watkins, the basketball coach at knightdale, the other day and he got my email address and he asked for my help with FCA at the school.  i am excited about the opportunity to get plugged into a ministry where im teaching.

 think our government needs to think a little more before they start making road signs...some could be considered offensive or misleading.  this is a sign that was in my church parking lot.  i don't think that "slow" is needed to be used to describe the children.  let children be who they are without throwing titles on them..."makes me sick...makes me want to throw up" -rob johnson- haha

there's another sign i saw the other day in a neighborhood in bell meade that read, "no outlet"  and i'm thinking, your telling me these million dollar houses look so nice on the outside and probably on the inside, but there are no outlets in any of them?  no outlets to power their lights, their refrigerator, their tv's and everything else?  i guess growing up you learn things and see how dumb you once were...i used to think houses in belle mead were nice...stupid me

don't let the picture fool you...he's not that innocent.  sonny has found at least 12 pairs of my socks to play with.  not such a bad thing except for the fact that he has 24 chew toys already.  i don't know what it is about my socks but he likes them.  ruined sock count: 3  i think theres a good parallel between sonnys sock fetish and us as humans.  god has given us so much to "play with" and to have to keep us happy, but we always want more and are hardly ever satisfied with what god's provided us.  thats my challenge today...be grateful for EVERYTHING in your life.  don't take anything or anyone for granted.  sit back and see how much you have and i promise you that you'll be blown away with everything god has provided you.  especially your family.  i am reminded everyday how blessed i am to have my family i have.  brothers who love and care for me, mom and dad who take care of me and my needs...an extended family that makes a solid effort to see each other as much as we can...i am blessed

currently listening: chasen

p.s. i could have some pretty big news coming here soon so keep checking back...no im not getting married, no i don't have a gf, no i didn't talk to a girl (nothing with a girl ok!) and im not pregnant...i don't think

feeling loved

there is no better feeling than the feeling of being loved and wanted.  not to sound cheesy or dumb, but sonny has makes my day everyday i come home from school.  i find him either at the door wagging his tail, barking for me to hurry in, or i find him at the fence and his tail is wagging and he takes off running around the house for me to meet him at the back door (he learned that from lexie)  as im writing this blog, sonny is laying on the corner of my bed with his head propped on a pillow and he's watching me type.  i am quickly realizing that a dog is mans best friend after all.

today was my last day of proctoring exams and i am stoked about it.  i have learned early in my teaching career that proctoring exams is extremely boring and very redundant.  i have told at least 200 students these past couple of days that i am indeed a teacher to find them full of shock and amazement that someone 14 years old can be at teacher.  i was able to finish my book "crazy love" and what a powerful book.  francis chan has it going on.  i recommend it to anyone looking for a solid, challenging book.

i forgot to tell you the other night that i attended my first "collide" on sunday night in greenville.  what a great opportunity to worship and sing some incredible songs.  im glad God puts ministries and chances for you to meet and worship with other people and join your hearts in singing praise to him.  sunday nights can be very depressing knowing that you have 5 days if not more of work ahead of you.  collide is a great way of starting the week off right and refreshed.

i miss the beach.  i miss the sand, the water, just the whole feel of being at the coast.  i think when i retire im going to just purchase about 20 square feet of the coast and build me a hut and live on the sand.  i'll just run a big extension chord to the nearest pier to power my microwave for my kettle corn that i will fatten myself on every sunset.  

my dad, mom and i all traveled to smithfield today to the outlets and my dad and i have both purchased the exact same dress shoes, his a size 11, mine a size 12 and tomorrow we will go down in history as the first father/son to wear the same new shoes, to 2 different schools on the same day.  look for us in the paper.

last night i went to wilson's hot stove banquet held at bill ellis convention center.  it was a great night where i ate dinner with my grandma and aunt vicky and were able to see several old friends and famous baseball players past and present.  the two highlights of the night was 1)  my dad presenting coach fox with his national coach of the year award.  so many nice things said about coach fox only to have him turn around and sing my dads praises.  my dad is a witty man.  2)  clay council spoke.  whos clay council?  well last year in the 2008 homerun derby, he was the 74 year old man who threw to josh hamilton.  this man was so geniune and easy to listen to as he remembered his times at yankee stadium and the memories from that night he will never forget.  he told about the chills he got standing in the dug out and the chills after hamiltons first homerun.  i got chills just listening.  i love listening to stories, or hearing a song, or watching something special happen that sends chills all up my back.  i think that's one of my top 5 favorite things.

currently listening: needtobreathe

currently reading: everyone wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die -dc-

currently eating: a twinkie (this is the 1st twinkie i have ever eaten in my entired life...i was a little dissappointed)

chans book was very challenging and so i challenge everyone to give a little more.  the greatest love was shown by the giving of his perfect son to die on the cross for our salvation.  try giving yourself to others around you.  give your time, your money, your talents, yourself.  God will bless you i promise

Don't give up on me yet...

ah ha! i know some of you gave up hope on me and thought i was done sharing my little nuggets of lifes' hidden blessings and interesting facts on a day to day account.  well im like a bad cold that won't go away and i got more to share.  if you did give up on me i can't say i blame you...it's been a solid 4 or 5 days that i have been missing, but you've got to give me a break, im still getting used to this thing called growing up AND i didn't have my computer since friday so those are my excuses...give a little grace please!

what sucks about missing that many days is that so much random and funny things happened or were thought about that i cant tell about them all in this blog without losing your interest or doing them justice.  but i did see a bumper sticker the other day when i was going to my brothers house that read: "guns kill people...rosie odonnell is fat" hahaha i honestly laughed out loud when i read that.  i feel like thats something me and my friends would say just being dumb and then someone turned it into a bumper sticker and made some easy money off of it.  a bumper sticker creator would be a unique job.  if i was a bumper sticker maker, i would probably make one for my car that says: "i make bumper stickers for a living..." 

i drove by the immediate care building the other day on the way home from chick-fil-a and i glanced over there and saw a man who had his leg propped up against a pole and had this small lap top on his leg.  for some dumb reason i honestly thought this guy had gotten his lap top stuck in his leg and was trying to get it taken out.  after about 4 seconds i realized how dumb i was and kept driving.  i can't imagine many other things that i would really not stuck in my leg than a lap top.

i spent this past weekend at travis's with chris and his girlfriend kristen and her sister jamie in benson.  it was a good time with a good surprise part for chris on saturday night.  saw a lot of familiar faces and made some new friends as well.  i have made a conscience effort to take a geniune and sincere effort of meeting people and gettting to know them personally on a level deeper than a hey and nice to meet you.  I met anna and kayla this weekend from Liberty and they were madisons friends.  they were fun and nice

i realized this morning at the church where travis goes (C3) which is very similar to Hillsongs in Australia, chris and i say it should be called hillsong cleveland but what do we know.  but i realized that i have a bigger crush on brooke fraser than i originally thought.  i need to ask her out on myspace, but travis has already tried that with meredith andrews and it didn't work to well for him.

there is still a lot more i could share but im going to end this post because it's time for me to get some sleep.  i gotta wake up in 6 hours for another day in the school house.  i will try to be a little better this week with my blogs.  

currently listening to: Ryan Calhoun

currently reading: Crazy Love by Francis Chan

God has created each of us individual and beatiful!  remind somebody of that this week.

2 days off

oh i bet you thought i was done?  you thought i had lost my inspiration?  i dont think so! inspiration is all around me.  but i have missed so much, where do i start?

two days ago...before the wintry blast...i spent the day waiting for the wintry blast.  i helped david's mom move some stuff from house to to house and got a free lunch from pizza inn out of it.  well worth it.  pizza inn buffet is so good...especially when your hungry...especially if you have a pepsi with it.  can be a coke if it has to be, but pepsi is the truth.  don't ruin your pizza with water or something garbage like that.

that afternoon i was home alone and got bored so i started doing yard work.  i raked some leaves, cleaned up all of sonny's mess, and moved branches.  sonny decided he would help, and he honestly picked up a branch beside me and walked it back to the pile with me, dropped it, and would go get another one.  im really thinking he's the smartest dog ever...that still bites.

that night i went to monday night trivia at o'cools with jacob, becky, leigh ann, melissa, and aunt vicky.  trivia was a little difficult, but was made even more difficult by the fact that the furnace from hell was right beside us in our corner.  im thinking temperatures reached at least 98 degrees if not higher.  oh and the lady asking questions for trivia was a complete loser.  i mean she looked like the girl version of harry potter with the attitude of the mean lady at church who tells you to hush and shutup in church when you re-position yourself in your seat.  over 95% of the room had been drinking and were all laid back and enjoying themselves, and this lady takes an hour between each round, 4 seconds to go over the answers, and tells everyone to "shutup, i'm not talking over you!"  jacob told her how he felt about her, and i think she liked it...i think they have a crush on each other.

yesterday morning sonny and i woke up to a world full of white!  snow was everywhere and i was even more happy when i got a phone call from melissa (but im going to refer to her as michelle from here on out in my blog)  michelle was on her way over at around 9 oclock and we were ready to face the day.  we walked to bojangles in honor of my dad.  after bojangles we decided to explore in the mystery of the wilson mall.  it was about as dead on the outside as it was on the inside but hey, we had to find out for ourselves.

after that we made it back home and saw the United States get a new president.  The court official dude should have made Obama's oath a little bit easier, or broken it into shorter pieces.  but to be completely honest, i wasn't thrilled about either presidential candidate this past year, but i am really excited to and hopeful for what Obama can do.  as cliche as it sounds, America really does need improvements, and maybe Obama will be the beginning.  as christians, i believe that we shouldn't waste our time being upset about who won and who didn't, but we need to support the leader of our country 100%

after that, sonny, me, michelle, becks, jacob, and leigh ann went sledding out at fike.  sonny loved the snow and the other kids sledding even more.  it was very exciting watching my dog play in the snow and love every minute of it.  good ol' sonny.

i feel like this blog was just a catch up (ketchup) of my life in the last 2 days.  i will try to bring some life insight to it later on today.  i just need my followers to know whats going on in my life.

line breaker...

i went to bojangles this morning before church.  i was running late already and had about 4 minutes to be in the sanctuary to go over the music that i was playing for church that day, but i was really craving a cheese biscuit for bojangles.  i ride into the parking lot and the drive-thru line is crazy long but i look inside and theres no one waiting so i run inside.  i get in line and this little old lady gets there at nearly the same time.  having just simple manners, i let her go ahead of me and she smiles at me and says thank you.  i didn't know this, but apparently she worked for a hospital or something, and she was sent there to order on their behalf.  what i thought was me being nice ended up with me just being dumb.  she had about 14 different orders she placed.  i stood behind her patiently waiting as it took her about 10 minutes to order and another 5 to get her food.  the whole time i was wondering to myself, "why didn't she tell me she had all these people to order for?"  it almost messed up my worship at church, but the Lord is greater and put me in my place.

graham and sydney came to church and to grandmas today.  two of the cutest kids that have ever lived.  graham did a magic trick where he turned a dollar into 2 dollars.  i tried to get him to do it with a 20 dollar bill, he just gave me back 20 dollars.

today was a "nasty" day as some people like to call it.  i have somehow learned how to enjoy days like this because they make sunny days that much better.  

sonny woke me up again this morning at 7 oclock...jumping on my face...ready to use the bathroom and play...somehow that really hasn't gotten old to me.  he is still the greatest christmas present ive ever gotten.

parents are going skiing with the youth group this week.  please keep them in your prayers.

God is love.

line breaker!

i went to bojangles this morning before church.  i was running late already and had about 4 minutes to be in the sanctuary to go over the music that i was playing for church that day, but i was really craving a cheese biscuit for bojangles.  i ride into the parking lot and the drive-thru line is crazy long but i look inside and theres no one waiting so i run inside.  i get in line and this little old lady gets there at nearly the same time.  having just simple manners, i let her go ahead of me and she smiles at me and says thank you.  i didn't know this, but apparently she worked for a hospital or something, and she was sent there to order on their behalf.  what i thought was me being nice ended up with me just being dumb.  she had about 14 different orders she placed.  i stood behind her patiently waiting as it took her about 10 minutes to order and another 5 to get her food.  the whole time i was wondering to myself, "why didn't she tell me she had all these people to order for?"  it almost messed up my worship at church, but the Lord is greater and put me in my place.

graham and sydney came to church and to grandmas today.  two of the cutest kids that have ever lived.  graham did a magic trick where he turned a dollar into 2 dollars.  i tried to get him to do it with a 20 dollar bill, he just gave me back 20 dollars.

today was a "nasty" day as some people like to call it.  i have somehow learned how to enjoy

sleeping in

i was more ready for this saturday morning than i have been for any saturday morning in a long time...i was ready to sleep in past 6:15.  i was aiming for 1 or 2 this afternoon and had taken the proper steps to make it happen...all the right steps but one.  i built a wall of blankets around my bed to keep the sun out, turned off my cell phone, drank a cup of water about an hour before i went to sleep so i could use the bathroom one last time right before i fell asleep so i wouldn't have to wake up to do it in the morning.  i was so ready.  7:01 and theres a big fuzzball biting my hair and jumping on my face and ready to play.  i forgot that just because i was ready to sleep in didn't mean that Sonny was ready to do the same.  i took him outside and crawled back in my bed.  i made it to 9:30...it was a good try.

speaking of crawling back in bed.  i am convinced that there is no better feeling than that of waking up about 30 minutes or an hour before you have to be awake and able to go back to sleep.  throughout my glorious academic career i would occasionally wake up about an hour before i needed to be, take a shower, get ready, and then go back to sleep.  weird i know, but it was very enjoyable.  sometimes though i wouldn't wake back up for my class...it's ok im a semester away from graduating

one of the things i missed the least when i was away from home at college was the saturday morning cleaning .  this morning, i kid you not, no more than 2 minutes after being awake, i found myself with a broom in one hand a dust pan in the other.  oh the joys of living back at home.  my mom says that if you let dust build up too much then it turns into sand...guess that's how God made the beach.

scrabble update...I won tonight!  updated scores:  Clay 5     Susan 6      Me 4

...tell someone you appreciate them tomorrow.  God is love.

chicken bacon and ranch

sonny watches sports center with me at night...im a proud dad

have you ever wanted something...kind of forgot about it, and then remembered it and really wanted it all over again.  i have felt that way about domino's chicken bacon ranch sub ever since i saw a commercial about them late this summer.  went to school, forgot about it, and then saw the commercial in the beginning of december and the craving was back.  talked about getting one everyday in december, and today i have done what i said and got one...it was well worth the wait!  if you think about it, it takes 3 of the best things in the world, chicken, bacon, and ranch (i think thats where they get the name) and puts it all together.  if you havent had one yet, i recommend it!

i have been student teaching for a week now, and apparently that's not long enough to make my face look older.  today i proctored and relieved teachers after exams.  each class (6 total) all looked at me in wonder and confusion when i showed up, and were even more shocked when they realized i was a teacher.  mr. johnson, that's still weird as crap, but the students are starting to call me that.  

once i have woken up (at 6:15) its very exciting to see that i have a whole day in front of me.  the same ole joe who used to think 2 in the afternoon was early, is now seeing that 2 in the afternoon is just an hour before the bell rings.  student teaching has allowed me to eat breakfast with my dad 4 out of 5 mornings a week and i love it!  it's like a movie or something where a father and his son do everything together, i love my family.

speaking of family, susan, clay and i have been battling at night on the scrabble board.  right now the stats are as follows: Clay-4    Susan-3    Me-2...(2 points for a win, and 1 for second)  mom has gotten three 2nd places haha...i won last night so im on a winning streak of sorts.

me and david and amanda are going to see a scary movie tonight...and it's in 3d.  i promise you if i pee my pants, i won't tell you about it on here but david might.  p.s. being the 3rd wheel is awesome!

it was a beautiful morning, with a beautiful cool air around me.  God was definitely working early this morning.  Sfhsv dv  vn das (that was from sonny. really he typed it) i think it means hey and God bless!

too much time to think...

oh you can believe that it's about time i started doing this blogging thing.  i have too many random thoughts and ideas throughout the day not to share them.  and yes, im personally not capitalizing any of my sentences or words because i don't won't to be held responsible later on when i forget to do it.  this is a strictly a lowercase blog.

im going to try to stay commited to this thing for as long as i can. it might be harder than i know though...my fingers are almost frozen right now.

today i was driving home from work (i guess you can call it work, im working but im not getting paid but that's ok, i'll be a rich teacher in only a matter of months)  so im cruising down 64 letting urshers smooth voice relax me and all that and im just zoned in to the solid line on my right and the dashed one on my left.  next thing i know, i look up ahead and my heart drops.  (you're probably thinking i saw a cop and he turned his blue lights on and was about to come after me...close)  no i saw this little old forrest green '02 taurus.  keep in mind that i drive like a grandma anyway, speed limit is 70, im getting it at a deathly fast 72.  i slam on breaks and i am freaking out.  i get up behind the car and the whole time im thinking that this car is my grandma, and i am scared to death to pass her.  granted, she was going a blistering 65 and i immediately found myself doing about 64.  i start thinking and trying to figure the whole thing out.  i know she is going 5 under the limit, but i know if i pass her she will probably start crying, and then bring it up sunday afternoon at family lunch and i could be awarded 'worst grandchild award'  i honestly stayed behind her for about 10 minutes and then decided that i would pass her going 67, and hopes that she wouldn't see me...i pass her and it's not my grandma aferall.  why did i fear passing my grandmother more than i fear passing a police officer?  my grandma is a towering 4' 10" if not shorter, soft spoken, and the sweetest lady ever, yet i was still afraid to pass her slow driving self.  can't really explain it, but it happens

speaking of ursher, i was listening to his music on that drive home and i thought of a student in one of my classes who kind of reminds me of usher or what i think he would have been like in high school.  i wonder if he had that 6-pack when he was in jr. high?  maybe...  i wonder if he was as honest back then as he was with his 'confessions' cd?  don't know why usher is on the mind, but he is, no homo

anyone that i have talked to lately knows the joys i have been having student teaching...more like just studenting.  3 straight days i was mistaken for a student by assistant principal, teachers, and other students.  latest story was yesterday when i and other teachers and administrators were invited to come judge 5 different groups desserts/businesses for their home ec class.  i volunteer my time for some free food and hurry downstairs to assist.   i walk in the room and feel a tap on my shoulder and look to see a student and he asks me really curiously, "yo dude, how did you get out of class to come do this???"  i just laughed and said i knew the teacher really well.  

my life is awesome and i am blessed.  i will try to bring some more randomness tomorrow...God is love