Giving thanks

One of the nice things I've seen in the last several weeks is that people on Facebook have spent time talking about things they are thankful for. So many things, so little time. But it doesn't stop us from sharing a few of those things.

One thing I'm thankful for (and I could go on, of course) is the new family I've married into. Ann and I drove off from Tuscaloosa last Tuesday afternoon about 4 and drove as far as Bainbridge, Georgia. Wednesday morning, we drove the rest of the way to Tampa, where her cousin Ellen and husband George and two munchkins live. Another cousin lives in Ft. Myers and came up for the occasion. Ann's mom flew in from KC, as did Ann's uncle. So the clan was all there. I'd never been to Florida, so I was eager to check it all out. The only down side is that it was a short trip. Got to Tampa Wed early afternoon and ran back to Tuscaloosa Friday.

It was a good chance to bond with these people, since there wasn't much time at the wedding. And we had a great time. Lost my shirt to an 8-year old nephew in hold-em poker. I swear, the kid kept drawing flushes and straights against my pair of fours. We sat and talked, I talked some, listened a lot. I like listening to people tell stories, so I could've sat there all night. We ate a terrific Thanksgiving feast, courtesy of Ellen and many extra hands. And we saw some of the Sunshine State. Walked along Tampa with family and two border terriers (Fred and Ginger).They live close to Raymond James Stadium, so they know whenever the Buccaneers score, cuz they can hear those cannons boom. Lots of weird and different stuff down there. But it was a great time. And I can't wait to go back.

Ann, her mother and I drove back up Friday, listening to the Alabama-Auburn game. A and I obviosuly had a vested interest and it was our first Iron Bowl, and Mumsie loves a good ball game. So we drove through the Florida panhandle and southern Alabama listening to Uncle Eli get Bama a win. I really like listening to him call a football game. I swear nobody spoke in that car for maybe an hour, hour and a half-- we were that into the game. I think we were driving through Montgomery when the Tide scored in the last minute to win.

The reason we hauled buns back is because I had UAB women's basketball duties. I do the public address. It's harder than it looks, but it's kinda fun, and it's *definitely* outside the box.

So I'm thankful for safe travels, new family, old family, new friends, old friends, great times, new opportunities, and so much more.

Weekend recap

Monday morning means the start of a new week, and the end of the old one. So it's a good place to take a quick look back and also look forward.

Friday night, I just laid low. I spent football Fridays helping the local TV station with their high school football coverage, but that ended a few weeks ago. So I watched Project Runway with my wife. Actually, she watched, and I watched KSU basketball on the computer. Our Cats lost to Ole Miss, who's supposed to be pretty good in the SEC West.

Anyhow, on to Saturday. My assignment, through the UAB Media Relations Office, was to handle the public address at Bartow Arena for the women's basketball team, as Miami, Fla. visited. So I drove from Tuscaloosa into Birmingham for the game. But the other guy was already there. With every other job covered, I came back home.

I knocked out a few things around the house, then sat down for the UTEP football game, at Rice. I love my Miners more than any other team on the planet. I guess you could call me a long-suffering fan. Well, the suffering continued with six lost fumbles and a 30-29 loss, moving their record to 3-8. This kind of thing has happened a lot this season, and we've stunk it up for decades, so we're used to it. Yet we keep coming back. Go figure.

Sunday was church, and some pretty awesome church music. Wife Ann was under the weather, so it was a solo voyage. Going to church together is a great joy of our lives, so it wasn't the same without her. But normally, I'd just punt it and stay home and drink coffee. I also went back to church at 3:30 for Dave Ramsey's Financial Planning University. Very useful info. Hopefully I'll have some money to manage at some point. Got home, watched more football and more Cats hoops.

There's a Thanksgiving trip to Tampa starting tomorrow afternoon, so today will see preparations for that, like straightening the house a little, because Ann's mother is staying with us this coming weekend. I've never set foot in Florida before, so I'm looking forward to seeing just how much Florida there is.

New Guy!

A good friend of mine recently offered me a chance to write/post on his blog, so as to maintain and sharpen my writing skills. I posted, once, but it kinda felt out of place, so that's why I'm here.

This is my first attempt at blogging... I'd thought about it before, but wondered whether I'd stay with it for more than 20 minutes before losing interest. I still may, but I decided (thanks to Dr. Emmet Brown) 'what the hell.'

I don't want to share everything all at once, but here are the basics: I live in Tuscaloosa, Alabama with my wife Ann, who is my best friend on the planet. We were married in June and moved to the Deep South the first of August. She works at UA, and I'm knocking on a lot of doors, shaking a lot of hands and meeting a lot of people as I try to find a job. I've got a lot of things going on, and those, too, will come out over time.

So thanks for stopping by, and welcome aboard.