Catching Up

Well, I know I'm as much to blame as anyone, but I really miss the good old days of frequent blogging. Facebook doesn't cut it for me and Twitter makes it too had to be either clever or sincere in 140 characters or less. Therefore, I'm recommitting myself to this blog. Here's what's been going on for me over the past few months:

We sold our house and moved out in August. After only a couple of months of trying FSBO we were about to give up and get an agent when, Lo and Behold we got a contract. We're currently living with my parents and hope to start building on our lot, at Summer Lake, soon.

Cub Scouts has started back. Grant is a Webelos II and I'm back as a Webelos Den Leader. Grant and Jennifer got to go Scuba Diving with the Boy Scouts at the Lexington Country Club pool, a couple of weekends ago. We also went on a Pack mountain biking trip at Harbison State Park for IMBA's "Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day" last weekend. It's going to be a great year for scouting.

The kids and Jennifer are Home Schooling again. It's a little tougher to do without a home. All three are taking Tennis classes on Fridays.

Blythe is taking a Hip Hop class with her new friend, Harper.

Of course, we're still hyperactive in church, with Praise Band, children's ministries, concert committee, Upward Basketball , and Upward Cheer leading. We're also now leading a Wednesday night Small Group discussing the Nooma videos, by Rob Bell. We also had Steve Fee and band in concert last month and it ROCKED!

My work has been crazy busy, with new business proposals, security audits, a HUGE project underway, and other insanity. We're starting to get serious about using Social Networking as a communications media, which is really exciting.

Last week I was in Baltimore for work and ate approximately 20 pounds of crab in 3 days.

Last night we went to see "Walking with Dinosaurs" at Colonial Life Arena. It was excellent and the dinos were very realistic.

So life is good. Still busy, but I'm really blessed. I'm hoping to reconnect with some old blogger pals (and some non-bloggers) and spend more time with my family.

A Busy Bee!

Admittedly, I've been slack in my blogging lately. I've been reading everyone elses' posts, and y'all ain't necessarily rocking the blogs either.

Here's some of the stuff I've been up to:

Last weekend I went mountain biking at the Tsali Recreational Area near Bryson City, NC, with my buddy Alan and some of his work homies. (Here's Alan's recap.) It was very cold, but we had a fun rustic cabin and really enjoyed ourselves. The AMC channel was showing the Godfather trilogy so we watched the Godfather the first night and Part II the second night. None of us had ever actually seen either once in it's entirety so we felt like this was an accomplishment or right of passage. Good times.

Work has been very busy. After over a year of searching and interviewing I finally hired a new Web Development Manager. Additionally, I got an excellent contractor to finally agree to convert to Full-Time. So things at work are looking up. We're aggressively pitching a new web project to the government and that's looking very promising. Also, we're awaiting the results of several contract awards that would make life very busy but also very secure for the next few years.

I did not have to play in the praise band this weekend, since it was Youth Sunday. Instead I spent my Saturday in the woods on the very back of my lot cutting down trees and such in an effort to fend off encroaching Kudzu. I learned why you should always wear jeans while using a chain saw. No injuries, but I do have some new cut-off shorts now.

I finished a book I was reading, but I'll save the details for another blog post.

Today, after church, I took the family to see Bolt in Disney 3D. It was excellent. I am still amazed at how good 3D has gotten. That technology is so much better than the old red and blue stuff. Good story and excellent voices too. There is some excellent glass reflection rendering that I have never seen (or been impressed by) in animations before. Very impressive. I recommend you see it in 3D while you can.

Well, that about sums it up for now. The holidays will be busy... and sad for many of us. I'll try to post more frequently.

The Rides of Spring.

With Spring almost here and Daylights Savings Time in effect, I was able to recommence my mountain biking routine. I've only ridden about half a dozen times since Thanksgiving and the pounds have been piling on. Had a nice 10ish miles of trails this morning. Below is my relatively clean bike and the filthy rear tire of my riding companion, Neal. Neal took the lead on our "sprint" back to the parking area. Along the way, we passed a couple walking their dog. Neal's tire picked up what he called "the still smoking cigar that dog must've dropped on the trail."

Above: Dog Doo and pinestraw make for a stinky finish to your ride.

Mountain Biking at Tsali

During the Jones Family Reunion last weekend, my brother-in-law, Amos, and I were able to squeeze in some world-class mountain biking at the Tsali Recreational Area on the South side of Lake Fontana and Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

George (right) and Amos at Tsali

George on Tsali climb

Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day

Saturday was National Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day, so I did. Here are a couple of pictures of Grant riding the practice course before we took to the trails for 5.5 miles of single track.

Around the cones...

...and over the logs. Righteous, Dude!

Mountain Bike Upgrade Time

I've been riding my mountain bike alot over the past week. 12 mile this morning, 9 miles each yesterday and Tuesday, and about 24 miles last weekend. Hence, I've decided I need to upgrade my almost-10-year-old bike. Unfortunately, I currently don't have the disposable income necessary to do so, so I was browsing the American Express Rewards website to see if I could cash in some rewards points towards one. I didn't like their selection of bikes, so I thought I'd shop for accessories instead...helmets, shoes, hydration packs, bells, etc. That's when I saw the helmet pictured below (the one at the top of the list.) Man, if I wore that thing out riding, I would definitely be turning some heads...and apparently toasting mine at the same time.

Saturday Morning Bike Ride

Well, I've stayed up way to late, but I decided to "blog a new post" anyway (Thanks for straightening me out on the lingo, Rick.) I really should be in bed, since I have my 7AM Saturday bike ride in the morning. Most people, even here in Columbia, are unaware that we have an awesome trail system right in our backyards. Harbison State Park has over 2000 acres with more that 16 miles of trails. Although there are some good beginner trails, many of them are technically challenging. If you're in Columbia and looking for a fun place to go to bike, hike, trail run, or launch your canoe, check it out.

Click here for Directions via Google Maps.

Saturday Morning Update: My ride was gruesome. Perhaps I need a hobby that's more appropriate for a guy my age. Is watching TV a hobby?