Little People...

The new season of Little People Big World starts this coming Monday, March 3 @ 7pm (central) on TLC.

Yes, I love the show. Matt Roloff (the dad) is a stud. How a 4 foot tall crippled guy can accomplish all he has amazes me.

If you haven't seen it...you should (you can catch up on other seasons by watching episodes on www.tlc.com). If you think you're too cool to watch it...you're not.

Diet Dr. Pepper

Has to be the greatest drink invented in my life time. I've come to love it even more in 2008 b/c I've had a goal of drinking 80 ounces of water a day which means I drink less Diet DP, which only means that when I do get my hands on one??? Oh my goodness...(creepy, I know.)

Anyway, I get on kicks where I'm all about Diet Pepsi too, but my mainstay is Diet DP. ("There's nothing diet about it" you know.)

So here's the deal...There are indeed different Diet Dr. Peppers. You can't just assume that the Diet DP you get at one location is the same as it is at another place.


My Top 5:


5. Whataburger Diet DP - You gotta love the thick styrofoam cups but that's about it. Sometimes its too syrupy, sometimes too carbonated but never "just right". Another reason WB is at the bottom of this list...I often get Diet DP from the self-serve fountain thingy only to sit down and realize that they've actually hooked up regular DP to the Diet. If you're a hardcore Diet drinker, you know that is NOT a pleasant experience. So why did it even make #5? Because its WHATABURGER and i'll gladly sacrifice the perfect Diet DP once in a while for the perfect WB, mustard, pickles, onions only (no cheese).


4. Sonic's Diet DP just isn't sweet enough...if by some chance the president of Sonic is reading my blog (which i'm sure he/she is), you guys need to cut back on the carbonation and add some syrup. Sonic does score some points though because they have the greatest ice on the planet.


3. McDonalds Diet DP - now if you know me well...this could come as somewhat of a shock, because I have for years, been anti Mickey D's. I don't like there food (still) and I've always hated the fact that when they serve you a drink there, they give you a 1977 wax paper cup with like 4 ice cubes. Can you say unacceptable? But...that all changed over the past couple of years when two things happened: McDonalds FINALLY switched to styrofoam (welcome to the 21st century) and many locations now have self-serve drink stations like WB and other fine establishments.


2. Diet DP (and Caffiene Free Diet DP) that you buy in the store (cans - i'm anti 2 liter - don't ask me why), is awesome if you keep it cold in the fridge then poor it over ice. But if you keep it room temperature then poor it over ice...NOT good. Drinking straight out of the can is not an option either. Makes my eyes water.

That leads us too....


1. Chick-Fil-A Diet Dr. Pepper - matched by no other...Chick-fil-a is hands down the greatest blend of syrup, aspertame and carbonation ever created. I cannot remember ever being disappointed with one Diet DP from the "Christian Chicken", which I guess makes it the "Christian Diet DP", which really doesn't matter b/c I'd still drink it no matter what. It has it all...Thick styrofoam, perfect ice level and perfect Diet DP. Life is good. So......just about ever morning around 8am, you can find me at 2301 E. Southlake Blvd., Southlake, TX getting my morning fix of the greatest beverage on the planet.


Have a great Wednesday.

uh....no.

It has come to my attention that today's last picture (Baby Luke) may have led some to believe that we have had a new addition to our family. Uh...no. That would be Luke FERGUSON (Matt and Jen?).

The Farris family "store" went out of business about 6-7 years ago. Thank you Lord.

However...we love playing with Luke and a multitude of other babies then sending them home with their parents.

Glad we've cleared that up.

A few pictures...

Right before her first ever soccer game

Ally and her best bud Victoria

Kayleigh starts high school in 5 months...sigh.

Baby Fergie (aka - Luke)

One of the greatest causes of disappointment and depression...

Taking ourselves too seriously.

Its great to take life, family and our job seriously...but one of the greatest abilities we could ever develop is learning to laugh at ourselves. I'm thinking its a life-long lesson b/c I still revert back to "protection" mode sometimes (often). But I'm convinced that taking myself too seriously is what leads to alot of my stress.

Next time you get embarrased or do something to humiliate yourself...embrace it and laugh. Life will weigh less.

Have a great Wednesday.

P.S. - Remember the pink "No complaints" bracelet? Thought i'd give you an update...I've now been wearing mine for 5+ months and my record is 11 days without switching. The goal is 21. I shall not give up! (though i'm becoming convinced one of my spiritual gifts is criticizing other people) For more info read the October 30, 2007 post.

Choose your words carefully...

Do you have one of those "thorns" in your life that you feel no matter how hard you try...you can never get rid of? One of mine seems to be shooting off my mouth without thinking about how my words will affect other people. Whether its my wife or kids or the fast-food worker or the police officer who pulled me over a few weeks ago...once the words come out I never get them back. The damage is done.

The fix is simple...THINK BEFORE I SPEAK. Stop long enough to collect my thoughts and calm down for a second. For whatever reason (self-centeredness mostly), sometimes I just blurt out what's on my heart in the heat of the moment and when I do...the hurt I cause others can never be "taken back".

I know...we're all human and from time to time say things we wish we hadn't said. I'm not trying to be Ghandi...just something I've been more aware of lately.

Next time you're about to stab someone with your words. Stop and think.

Have a great day.

Slow down...

I almost had a serious wreck yesterday because i was in too big a hurry. You know, one of those close calls that leaves your heart pounding for a few minutes. For what? Chick-fil-a Diet Dr. Pepper. (I know, some of you agree that's something worth hurrying for.)

But, it made me (once again) stop and think..."Why am i always in such a big hurry?" So i resolved (once again) to slow down and enjoy life wherever i am. Whether its in traffic or the grocery store line...slow down.

Have you ever noticed that old people are never in a hurry? I wonder what they know that we don't?

Save your comments...

I know...its been like 57 weeks since i left something here. Like most good habits in life...blogging takes effort. I resolve to put forth effort at being more consistent with this little writing thing.

Now that confession time is over...

2008 is well underway. I'm still plugging away at school. My days consist of things like Geology, US History and American Literature to name a few. It looks like we are facing 1 of 2 scenarios as far as when i will finish my degree.
#1 is that i have 4 semesters remaining, which is actually 3 since i'll take all the mini-terms that i possibly can including summer. #2 is that UNT will give me "Life Experience Credit" which is basically free hours for old people who've come back to school to begin a second career. You tell them what you've done with your life for the past 20 years and they say, "we'll give you this many hours." Or, they could say "we don't do that." So, that's where we are with school.

Life in general is blessed as usual. I know that when i resigned from my job in September and told people i was going to mow grass and go to school full-time, there were probably thoughts of, "those poor folks will be on food stamps soon." (which by the way, there is NOTHING wrong with food stamps :)). But, we haven't missed a beat. God continues to provide and other than "tightening our belts" a little, life is pretty much the same. Mowing season starts here in Texas in about 1 month and we're hoping to be overwhelmed with customers. We'll see.

In closing...if you're a reader (which you should be), i just finished a book that's short, easy to read and pretty challenging. Its called, "In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day" by Mark Batterson. Go pick it up.

Have a great weekend.