Specialized Colorado License Plates

This is the Respect Life license plate that is available here in Colorado. It actually is a commemorative plate for the tragedy at Columbine High School on 4/20/1999. Surprisingly to me, this plate was approved by the legislature here even with the inherent 'Pro-Life' message. I see this plate more than any of the other specialized Colorado License Plates (over 100) that are available. This is the one that I will probably get (a one-time $25 fee), as I need to get rid of our California tags soon. I remember a few years ago, California tried to get a respect life plate passed. It was billed as a pro-adoption message. It failed miserably. The pro-abortion advocates really got involved with the defeat.



There is also a Knights of Columbus plate that you could get. I may join the Knights just so that I can get this plate.

Mass at the Mall

I have never seen or heard of anything quite like this before. There is a 'store' at Citadel Mall here called the Catholic Center at the Citadel. They celebrate eleven Masses per week here. At the mall! You can also receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation there whenever the mall is open. What a great concept. Not only is it a convenient way for Catholics to receive Sacraments during the busy work week, but it is also an effective way to evangelize to others.

"Forgive me Father, for I have sinned...I just purchased a $4000 flat panel television here at the mall without letting my wife know about it first..." (for example, not me talking, really)

February Poker Winnings

As per the updated resolution that I made last month, I have withdrawn $200 of my goal of $200 from my poker bankroll this month, plus an additional $200. YTD=+800. '06-YTD=+$1,200. '05-YTD=+$100. I am going to continue to have the lower goal of $200 per month (as opposed to $500) until there are easier ways to deposit and withdraw money from the different poker sites. My next withdrawal of $200 from my winnings is due by March 31, 2007. Please continue to wish me luck and keep me accountable.

Prayers For Bupa

My 95 year old grandfather is in the hospital due to an extremely low hemoglobin count. See my sister's blog for details: Family of Aloha II. Also, prayers for my parents who are humbly and compassionately taking care of his well being.

Another Road Bump

We were initially supposed to close the sale of our home on February 9. Still not closed yet. There may be a little light at the end of the tunnel as escrow has finally received the loan documents from the buyers' lenders yesterday. They were told that they would have them 2-3 days earlier. So according to the timetable given by escrow, we should finally close on Monday or Tuesday of next week and receive our funds on Wednesday. No guarantees.

We are currently scheduled to close on the purchase of our house on Wednesday, so we may have to ask for a day or two extension. Depending on how fast things can get done from here on out.

Customer Service?

Lisa has giving me permission to get a pool table for the basement of our house. I was checking out prices of pool tables on Overstock.com. (Before reading on, please know that I like this site, and will continue to shop here in the future.) They actually had a nice selection of tables and they were reasonably priced. I was a little bit confused about the dimensions of the pool table. All it said was 4' H x 8' L. I assumed that this meant the playing area of the table and not the actual dimensions. I wanted to be sure about this, because I would hate to receive it and it turned out to be the total table dimensions (which would be too small).

So I fired off an email to their customer service. I received a response fairly quickly that the representative didn't know the answer to my question, so they would be forwarding my message to a 'specialized representative'. Cool, I will be happy to wait for the correct response rather than a guess.

A little later, I received another email saying that they did not know the answer to my question, so they have forwarded my request to the actual warehouse where the pool tables are stored. I should expect a response in 1-2 days. Great, perhaps I will get an actual measurement. Wow, what great service!

Then I received a message from customer service saying, "Thanks for your interest in shopping with us. I am sorry for the confusion regarding what the dimensions are for the Solid Hardwood Pool Table with Free Installation. I personally know how frustrating this type of thing can be. After researching this information, I have found that the dimensions are 8 inch by 4 inches. I hope this information is useful to you."

OK, that is one small table! Even if they did mean 8 feet by 4 feet, it did not address my question. I give up, you win. I probably need to actually see and touch a pool table before purchasing. I'll look elsewhere. Thanks.

House Update

We were supposed to close the sale of our home in California on February 9th. We still have not closed. The buyers had to find another lender because their first lender (allegedly) had $12,000 in undisclosed fees. They walked out at the signing of the loan documents. They have another lender who plans on funding escrow tomorrow. So according to our realtor, we should receive our funds on Friday. Hopefully this happens without another roadbump.

We are scheduled to close the purchase of our house here in beautiful Colorado Springs on February 28th.

The Hike

On the spur of the moment, we decided to take a hike today. Lisa was home for Presidents Day. It was a very nice day, temperature in the 50s. We found a few trails to choose from in the Cheyenne Mountains. There was a map at the beginning of the trail that showed where the different trails lead. The trail that we decided to take was one that went around this fresh water lake. It didn't look too long. So we decided not to carry any water. Too much trouble.

After about an hour and a half of casually walking and enjoying the scenery, we realized that the trail that we chose would not take us back to where we started. A little panic hit as we knew that we might have go to back the way we came. Another hour and a half without water or toilets. There was no chance of us getting stranded, there were other hikers and homes around. Using my internal global positioning, I decided that we should just continue forward. After another half an hour, we found our car. The water never tasted better. Lesson learned. Next time, we will be better prepared. Hopefully Alex and Marisa are not permanently scarred by this hiking experience (they said that they aren't).

While I was in the 'panic mode', I was thinking that when we are most lost, have faith and God will lead you. That is what kept me grounded and calm. This is a message that does not necessarily have to do with hiking.

Here are some pictures of The Hike.

Ever Wonder...

Why the sun lightens our hair, but darkens our skin?

Why women can't put on mascara with their mouth closed? !

Why don't you ever see the headline "Psychic Wins Lottery"?

Why is "abbreviated" such a long word?

Why is it that doctors call what they do "practice"?

Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor, and dishwashing liquid made with real lemons?

Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker?

Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour?

Why isn't there mouse-flavored cat food?

Why didn't Noah swat those two mosquitoes?

Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections? !

You know that indestructible black box that is used on airplanes? Why don't they make the whole plane out of that stuff?!

Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?

Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together?

If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?

If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the terminal?

(unknown author)

Lock Bumping

I received the following YouTube clip from our realtor. It shows how easy it is to open a deadbolt lock. Good information to know and take action against this happening to you.

More Hypocrisy

A blog post by Terri Schiavo's brother Bobby Schindler once again shows the hypocrisy of the mainstream media. On the post titled: If Only My Sister Were A Convicted Murderer, Schindler writes, "I don’t believe in the deliberate killing of any human being. But if the press is so worried about cruel and unusual punishment of convicted murderers by lethal injection, perhaps they would consider it better to starve and dehydrate them to death. Because as the press constantly reminded us, death by dehydration and starvation of innocent disabled people who have committed no crime is a “peaceful and painless” way to die."

Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation