A good quote I read today

"You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence. You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves."

-- Abraham Lincoln.

In Remembrance of John Wooden

William Shakespeare once wrote the following, which I think sums up John Wooden perfectly:

     His life was gentle; and the elements
     So mixed in him, that Nature might stand up,
     And say to all the world, THIS WAS A MAN!

About 8-10 years ago, when I was waiting tables at Marie Callender's in Northridge, Mr. Wooden was one of the regular customers. He would come in and eat at least every other week, sometimes every week, on (IIRC) Monday evenings. Usually sat in the same booth up front.

One of my favorite stories of that time happened right before Father's Day. We struck up a conversation and he asked about my dad -- I told him how my dad was a coach as well, mainly in soccer, but also baseball and basketball. He finished his dinner, and came back an hour later with a brand new basketball autographed and addressed to my dad. Mr. Wooden did that on his own for no reason other than he's a really nice and generous man.

One of the funnier things about it was that he also handed me the receipt for the ball. He had bought it across the street at the sporting goods store (when it was still Sportsmart), and told me (tongue-in-cheek) that if I didn't like it, I could return the ball. LOL. Yeah right.

iPhone Photo Collection

I figured it's time to streamline my iPhone, so I am moving all of my photos to my PC. And it gave me an idea to put some of the more interesting ones on this blog. Maybe this will be a huge disappointment, but at least it's a desperately needed blog update.

Supermarkets in Colorado sell Broncos-themed cereal.  Seriously.

Casa Bonita - words cannot explain the awesomeness of this restaurant.

Dana joking around on Halloween

Inside Co. Springs' Airplane Restaurant

The corner of our home office.

Go-Kart racing on my birthday.

My first time in below-zero weather.

Dana and I had the chance to meet Sarah Palin and her family during her book-signing tour at our local Borders bookstore.

Dana with my dad at Tito's (Culver City), and with my mom at Carney's (Studio City).

This past weekend we saw the theatrical version of Mary Poppins at the Denver Performing Arts Center.  It's one of Dana's favorite movies, and the play didn't disappoint.

Introduction to Giant Schnauzers

A few weeks ago, I was hired to update, upgrade, and maintain the website for the Giant Schnauzer Club of America. For those of you who don't know what a giant schnauzer is, neither did I.  I've learned it's a dog breed - think of a schnauzer, and then triple it's size.

Friday I went to the Rocky Mountain Cluster Dog Show at the National Western Stock Show Complex in Denver.  Prior to this, the only knowledge I had about dog shows was from watching Best in Show and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog's annual visits to the Westminster Dog Show.

When I arrived at the show, I met Bill, the membership chairman for the Giant Schnauzer Club of America, who graciously gave me a tour of the dog show.  Around mid-day, I saw the judging of the giant schnauzers, which people in-the-know refer to as "giants".  I was really impressed with them -- each of the dogs seemed very playful, yet when it came time for judging they were all business.

Here are some photos and possibly a video from the day if I can get it to work.

Agility Competition

Poodles being groomed.  BEFORE

AFTER

I just thought this was funny.

 

Juniors' Competition.  Basically kids showing their dogs to judges.  My favorite part of the show.

Another photo from the Juniors' Competition.

Golden retrievers

A mastiff getting familiar with an uncomfortable bulldog.

More of the Same

Been kinda slow here the past month.  And sometimes that is the best news possible.  It allows us to get better situated in our home, get some overdue tasks out of the way.

I don't have much to write, but I really want to keep this blog up, so here's what popped into my head as I was writing this:

• I gotta do my taxes, but for the first time ever, I think I'm gonna have a professional do them.  I think with the move, buying a home, and various jobs that it could get overwhelming and a hiing someone else is a good idea.
• I'm so thankful for my wife, for endless reasons.  She just brought me some sliced pears to munch on.  Awesome.
• I just finished Assassin's Creed 2.  Awesome game. Thanks to Newell and Karen for a fun Christmas gift.
• Despite all the rain that L.A. had the past week, none of that made it's way to the Springs.  We had clear skies the whole time.
• Dana's family is coming over for Superbowl.  I like the Colts and Saints, so I'm impartial.  I do think the Saints will win though, because they have a better defense.
• I'm enjoying studying Daniel at church.  Learning a lot about true faith in God.
• My folks *might* be visiting us in mid-March during Dana's Spring Break.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
• I'm working on my own on a website now for company that sells personalized Christian greeting cards.  Visitors to the site can actually sign their name using their mouse and the company will print the card with the signature and handle the postage as well.  I think it's a handy idea, but it's a lot of work.  Shopping Carts are not the easiest thing to create.
• The florescent light fixture in our kitchen is broken.  I'm no electrician, but I tried fix it.  Worked great for about a week, and now it's broken again.  I think it has a bad ballast. 
• Another reason why I love my wife:  For my birthday back in December, Dana signed me up for Center Ice, which is a TV package where I get to see every NHL hockey game live on TV.   It's necessary to see my L.A. Kings play since Fox Sports West blacks out out-of-market games.  I LOVE being able to watch the games... can't stress it enough.  I get to see not only the L.A. feed, but also the opponents' broadcast teams as well.  Funny thing is that sometimes the Kings don't broadcast the game locally in L.A., so my friends and family back home can;t watch the game while I can.  Go figure.  Anyway, Kings have won 6 of their last 7 games, with the only loss in a close one to the first place Sharks. I can't wait to see some playoff hockey this year.
• Speaking of hockey, Dana's Teacher's Assistant, Colleen, invited us to an Air Force hockey game with her and her husband.  That was a lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to seeing more games there.Some photos I took at the game:

 

 AF beat UConn 2-1.

 

The adjacent indoor practice track facility.  Check out the motivational words on the wall.  Let there be no doubt who the Air Force's biggest rival is.

Christmas Plans

Dana finished her fall teaching semester yesterday, so we are packing up now, getting ready to visit family for Christmas.  

First, we're going to Denver today to see Dana's family and celebrate Christmas with them.  Her Aunt Cheryl and Uncle Jerry are visiting from Minneapolis, so it will be a crowded house... which I assure you from Christmases past makes the holiday so much better.

Monday we fly out of DIA to LAX.  We're spending 8 days in L.A. with my side of the family (12/21-12/29).  Dana is really excited to see everyone, considering she wasn't able to join me on the business trip on October.  In fact, she's been counting down the days, which I think is really sweet of her.  

Dana and I opened our stockings to each other yesterday, since we could probably use some of the gifts to pack up for our trip.  She gave me the Blu-Ray version of Taken.  I haven't seen that movie yet, but I've been wanting to.  It always seems to be delayed on Netflix.  I also got some awesome gel pens and stuff for my office.

We just finished mailing our Christmas cards.  I tried to mail them out to everyone who gave me their address.  If you didn't get one, here is a digital copy:

It says "Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Stay warm this Christmas!  Aaron and Dana DeVandry"

The photo was taken during the first snowfall of the season, which essentially is the first snow we've experienced at our new home.  If you look closely, you can see snow falling.  In hindsight, I'm glad I wore a big dark jacket to contrast against the snowflakes, or else people would be wondering why we're standing outside in front of a white fence with nothing going on.

What do Princess Leia and a gorilla have in common?

Nothing, except they are what Dana and I chose to dress up as on Halloween.

 

 

While we may have had an inch or two of snow in the Springs on Halloween, Denver got dumped on.  At least two feet of snow.  Haha!