Waddah (Water)

I'll get back to my New Year's resolutions tomorrow. For now, here's a little video that shows why Harper likes Pap best.

We're having fun here in sunny Florida. Today, Harper had lunch with a real Samoan princess. This evening, we are headed to St. Augustine to see their Christmas lights display.

The Year Of Self Discipline

It's that time again. Time for self reflection and self evaluation. I love making New Year's resolutions. But before I tell you about this year's resolutions, I'll update you on how I did on last year's.

My first resolution last year was to read at least 2 books. Crazy ambitious, I know. And guess what? I accomplished this one! Go me.

Next, I resolved to watch less TV. I didn't do so well on this one. I still watch way too much TV.

Next, I resolved to dress more professionally at work. Again, not so much. I just can't justify dressing up for the kind of work I do. It's just not part of the culture. I will say that whenever I have to teach a class or give a seminar, I do make an effort to dress up (but I always did this, so I can't really count it as an improvement). Oh well. Maybe some day.

Finally, I resolved to be more physically fit. I kind of made progress in this area. I did in fact join a gym, I just haven't gone very often.

Now onto my resolutions for this year. I am proclaiming 2010 as my Year of Self Discipline. I know, I know, sounds like a lot of fun. But, you know what? Self discipline is exactly what I need. I think I'm getting about 40% out of my life right now. This is probably because I'm only putting about 40% effort into most areas of my life - some areas are getting more (like Harper is probably getting around 95%), but some are getting even less (don't make me mention these ones). So...in order to rectify this situation and ultimately enjoy my life more, I am making several resolutions that all revolve around me being more self disciplined in one way or another. I'm writing these down for you to read for a reason. I need to be held accountable for these things. I give you, all of you, permission to check up on me.

Ok, here's my first one: I resolve to spend quiet time with God first thing every morning. I wake up a good hour before my alarm goes off in the morning. And guess what I've been doing with that hour. I lay in bed and worry about and dwell on things. Little things, big things - it doesn't matter. I worry and dwell about lots of things which is absolutely the biggest waste of time in the world. I know better. So, instead of beginning my days like this, I resolve to get up and spend time with the Lord. I don't have an agenda for this time. Some days I'll probably read, some days I'll probably just pray, some days I might sing a song. But, I do intend to keep a journal of my mornings. I feel like God has been trying to talk to me for a long time and I just don't make time to listen to what He is saying. Quieting my own voice is hard for me. But, as an act of worship, I resolve to be more disciplined in this area.

I have other resolutions too. I'm going to break them up into several posts. So stay tuned. As I go along, please let me know if you are resolving some of the same things or if you have had success in a particular area. I think I'm going to need all of the help and encouragement I can get this year.

Anyone Need A Dog Walker?

Harper and I are in Florida visiting my mom and dad. We've only been here a couple days, but we're already having a great time. Some highlights include Harper sleeping the entire flight, Harper eating her first anchovy and liking it, and Harper taking my parents' dog for a walk.

T-ball

Harper got a T-ball set from Santa. She pretty much loves it!

Merry Christmas

Help!

So...Harper likes to hit buttons on my lap top while I'm on the computer. It really has never been a big problem, just more of an annoyance. That is, until tonight! Whatever combination of buttons she hit converted all of the text of my blogger homepage into arabic. To prove it, here's a screen shot.

I'm seriously not kidding and I have NO idea how to change it back! Help!

Science Christmas Cookies

If you are still looking for some last minute Christmas cookie ideas, might I suggest these Gel Electrophoresis Cookies! Thanks to my friend Steve for bringing them to my attention. You can read all about them at this website. These cookies are made to look like DNA gels. You can watch an animation that tells you all about gel electrophoresis here. But basically, gel electrophoresis allows you to sort and identify pieces of DNA based on their size. It's an everyday lab technique and it's also commonly seen on TV shows like CSI (you know, when they are trying to match a DNA sample to a suspect).

Here's what a real gel looks like.

The cookies are pretty close!