Every blog has to have a Thanksgiving post.  It’s the law. Ever since we finished the kitchen ceiling (and many other renovations), we’ve been honored to host the Niles Family Thanksgiving Extravaganza at our house (that’s Mark’s family, for those of you playing along at home). Over those years, I have honed a very carefully choreographed project plan for the morning (shocking, I know….).  The turkey goes in at about 8:30 AM, and we hit the table with all food hot at 12:30.      (if anyone wants a copy of the plan, I’d be happy to share it. it’s magical. […]

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62-7 is a pretty awful way to lose. One of the worst losses in the modern NFL. Rough on the guys playing.  Rough on the fans that stayed up until the end to experience the full and amazing glory of losing big. Especially rough at 5 the next morning. But we can learn a lot from the 2011 Colts. Circumstances can take us from high to low in the blink of an eye. Losses happen. Big ones. Even in the pros. When you’re losing, you have the freedom to try a different approach. Every man (or woman, or child) on […]

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I visited New York with my brother recently. Buried with work stress, I told him, “You’re in charge.  I need a break from decisions and timelines; I will just follow you.” We even agreed on a trip theme:  Meander.  We had no real schedule, no commitments.  Eat when we get hungry.  Stop when we are tired.  Watch people. How did that go?  Not so well. For three days, my brother set the pace, soaked in the city, and waited patiently for me to discover I was half a block ahead of him.  For three days, each time the gap between […]

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It’s been said that the fire extinguisher should be the only uni-tasker in your kitchen. I saw a “watermelon knife” on a morning TV segment the other day.  It purportedly removes the seeds from the watermelon as it cuts.  For $25.  The way the knife is designed, there is no other thing this knife could possibly do besides cut watermelon.  Poorly, if i were to guess. This watermelon knife symbolizes consumerism gone awry.  Of the need to buy more and more and more.  To measure your life based on the “stuff” you own. Just turn on an episode of “Mission: […]

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As a dog returns to its vomit….. ….so a fool repeats his folly. I saw this verse on Twitter recently (Prov 26:11 for those who are playing along at home). At first, I laughed. Because, well, vomit is kinda funny. Unless it’s on your frisee rug. Or under the dinner table. Both places where we’ve experienced the special awesomeness of dog vomit in the last month, by the way. Then comes the image of the dog actually coming back to it. We’ve all seen that. The idea that a dog’s mouth is the cleanest place? Not buying that. I’ve seen […]

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