Quotes of the Week (v2)

“Most people have the will to win, few have the will to prepare to win.”
- Bobby Knight

“The truth is that many people set rules to keep from making decisions.”
- Mike Krzyzewski

“I asked a ref if he could give me a technical foul for thinking bad things about him. He said, of course not. I said, well, I think you stink. And he gave me a technical. You can't trust em.”
- Jim Valvano

“If all I'm remembered for is being a good basketball player, then I've done a bad job with the rest of my life.”
- Isiah Thomas

“Not only is there more to life than basketball, there's a lot more to basketball than basketball.”
- Phil Jackson

“We have a great bunch of outside shooters. Unfortunately, all our games are played indoors.”
- Weldon Drew

“My priorities are family, Lord, profession - And that's not the order it should be, but I think No. 2 understands.”
- John Wooden

“Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best.”
- Tim Duncan

“Fans never fall asleep at our games. They're afraid they might get hit by a pass.”
- George Raveling

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
- Hebrews 11:1

“It’s not what you tell them that’s important. It’s what they hear.”
- Red Auerbach

“God had a plan for me and I'm just fulfilling that plan, ... Just like HIV. I was the one that was supposed to go through that challenge and go through that period because that brought light to HIV and AIDS. They needed somebody and it was me, and I feel really good about what I have accomplished.”
- Magic Johnson

“First master the fundamentals.”
- Larry Bird

“The only mystery in life is why the kamikaze pilots wore helmets.”
- Al McGuire

“The strong take from the weak and the smart take from the strong.”
- Pete Carril

“Consider the rights of others before your own feelings, and the feelings of others before your own rights.”
- John Wooden

What a morning!

My alarm was set to go off at 7:15 this morning. Amazingly, I only hit "snooze" twice before finally getting up. Due to a short commute (down one flight of stairs and through the playroom), I don't have to get up early.

This morning was particularly beautiful. The mountains around us were shrouded in gray mist with a whiteish cloud nestled down in the valley below us. I sat in the living room looking out at the view and listened to the quiet of the house. I was the only person up. It was 7:45. If our kids were in public school, they would have already been at school for 30 minutes. Given the fact that it's a 25 minute drive to the "local" elementary school, we would have had to leave at 6:45, which means we would have ALL been out of be before 6:00.

Instead, I was sipping coffee quietly at 7:45.

Now, school is going on upstairs with well-rested students and a well-rested teacher.

Life is good! Homeschooling isn't always easy, but days like today sure remind us that it's worth it.

Quotes of the Week

My father-in-law sends out an email blast weekly with quotes. Some great, some good, some so-so. I thought I would start sharing them here.


“Absence of proof is not proof of absence.”
- Michael Crichton

“Two monologues do not make a dialogue.”
- Jeff Daly

“Love thy neighbor as yourself, but choose your neighborhood.”
- Louise Beal

“The key is not to prioritize your schedule but to schedule your priorities.”
- Stephen R. Covey

“Until you value yourself, you won't value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it.”
- M. Scott Peck

“A wise man never knows all, only fools know everything.”
- African Proverb

“The real guarantee of freedom is an equilibrium of social forces in conflict, not the triumph of any one force.”
- Max Eastman

“Vietnam was the first war ever fought without any censorship. Without censorship, things can get terribly confused in the public mind.”
- General William Westmoreland

“Do what's right. Do it right. Do it right now.”
- Barry Forbes

“It doesn't matter what temperature the room is; it's always room-temperature.”
- Groucho Marx

“Teamwork is neither 'good' nor 'desirable'. It is a fact. Wherever people work together or play together they do so as a team. Which team to use for what purpose is a crucial, difficult and risky decision that is even harder to unmake. Managements have yet to learn how to make it.”
- Peter F. Drucker


“A classic is something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read.”
- Mark Twain

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?”
- Martin Luther King Jr.

“If your plan is for a year, plant rice.
If your plan is for a decade, plant trees.
If your plan is for a lifetime, educate children.”
- Confucius

“Possession of the ball is the key to winning in football, basketball, and the game of life.”
- J. Laing Burns

“What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?”
- Marianne Williamson

Life Happens, Part 2

Or, more aptly titled "Life's been happening for the last week and here's at least part of what that entailed!".

DW's car: back from the dealer with new brakes and some new cooling system seals buried deep within the engine (and therefore very expensive to replace). However, the AC is still not cold, so it goes back this week for a boost of freon.

My car is "outa here". Last Sunday, while DW's mom kidsat, we went car shopping in town. We'd been researching online and had narrowed down our requirements. Mid-size SUV, decent gas-mileage, all-wheel drive, three rows, low miles, preferably with leather seats. We're not picky. Plus, DW's van has On-Star and she's a big believer in it, so she preferred that we get a GM that was so equipped. Our choices might have been a little limited.

Fortunately, I drive a lot of different cars when I travel on business. While that has mostly exposed me to a lot of cars that I really don't want to own, I have had several pleasant experiences with the Buick Rendezvous.

Back to last Sunday. We headed to the closest Carmax. Great place to test-drive lots of makes and models of cars, plus they buy your car whether you buy their's or not. While the were checking my car out, we looked over the lot and drove a few options. No Rendezvous' on the lot, but we tested some other 3-row SUV's; no takers. After getting their quote for buying my old car (old Lexus' really do hold value!), we headed to the new Buick dealership down the street. They didn't have anything in the used lot, but we test drove a new Rendezvous and really liked it. Not too station-wagony, not too truck-like.

Back home we started checking out EBay and other auto auction sites. We found a 2006 with just over 2k miles on it; totally decked out with options (even a DVD player). It was in Cleveland (OH), but I figured I could always fly up there and drive it home. Let's sleep on it and make an offer tomorrow morning. Guess what was already sold the next morning. Back to the computer. Look around. There are amazingly few 3-row Rendezvous' on the market; even fewer with less than 50k miles (my top threshold).

Then, I found one only 75 miles away! Almost everything we wanted. No AWD, but we'll survive. We made an offer, they countered, and by Mon night we had a deal. Yeah!!! We headed back to Carmax on Tuesday to sell the Lexus. What a seamless process. If you ever need to sell a car, check out Carmax. Then, we picked up the new one on Wednesday. I'm so pleased. Great car, great price. Mostly, great that the whole process is done! Even if we do own an Oldsmobile and a Buick. What happened to the Porsche I was supposed to have about now?

Tomorrow, maybe we can get back to "normal".

Oh yeah, my parents and my two aunts (visiting from Illinois) are coming to dinner. Never mind.

But, I did get to play golf this afternoon. I love where we live!!! And I love our lives, even when they don't go according to our plan.

Life Happens!

While we always knew this was the case, this week has been a tremendous example of "life happening" despite our best efforts to keep our home (and home-school) on a tight leash.

Background: Sunday was DW's birthday. Coincidentally, I had a business trip to San Francisco last week that was an ideal "go along" trip. With a LOT of assistance from my mother-in-law, DW was able to join me on the trip to celebrate her birthday and (most importantly) give her some time away from our blessed children. As the old adage states, absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder. En route to the airport I couldn't drive fast enough to get her away from home and hearth. But, by Friday she was missing all three and ready to get home. (Good thing, too, since we were headed there regardless!!)

So, we start the week with a "vacation" under our belts and ready to take on the world. Of course, that means that BOTH cars will start making bizarre sounds and both air-conditioners will die. Hmmm. What to do. First, my car. We dropped it off last night at our trusty mechanic with a written list of aches and pains with instructions to "call first". My car is ancient (14 years old / 195k miles) but has served me well for a long time. I've sensed for some time that its end was near, but that didn't make this trip any easier. The call came today that, in fact, repairs will far exceed the worth and the long-term viability of the car. Ouch. That means shopping for a new (or "new to me") car is now in our future. Meanwhile, DW's van (our primary family vehicle) is at 90k miles and due for some routine maintenance plus a check of the AC and brakes. We've lived in the mountains for almost a year now; the brakes are due for an upgrade whether I like it or not. It's time to bleed money!

Cost aside, this whole episode has also cost time. Driving "into town" to drop off my car last night ended up lasting until 11:00 pm. Then, DW had the priviledge of taking the van in to a local dealer for a check-up while I facilitated school (I dare not suggest that I "taught"). Since the dealer was too busy to see us today, I get to take the van back tomorrow while DW actually teaches tomorrow. Eventually we'll head back into the city to pick up my heap and figure out what to do with it.

Ah, life!! It does move on regardless of what we put on our "to do" list!!

Michael C Carlos Museum - Emory University

With a 1st Grader and a 5-Ker (?) enrolled in our homeschool, we're spending a lot of time studying ancient history. (Go, Classical Model!!) The kids have especially loved learning about Ancient Egypt.

A few weeks ago we took a family field trip into Atlanta and visited the Michael Carlos Museum at Emory University. Outstanding! Actual mummies in actual coffins with actual heirogliphics. Plus lots of other cool stuff. I highly recommend it to Georgia homeschoolers who aren't afraid of Atlanta traffic. You can buy a family membership for $75 per year that includes free headsets (for the audio tour) and a 10% discount in the bookstore. BTW, the bookstore is well-stocked with books for all ages focusing on the same areas of expertise as the museum.

Humorous anecdote: the five of us walked into the museum in the mid-afternoon and approached the docent at the front desk. The first words out of her mouth were "so, are you a homeschool family?". DW and I laughed later and wondered if we really had grown flashing signs on our foreheads announcing the fact. Has anyone else experienced this?

My first official post. . .

When we started homeschooling last fall, I discovered the world of blogging. With the exception of "The Corner" from National Review Online and Dave Barry's blog, I had never bothered looking for or reading them. Suddenly, I had a reason!

Now, after 6+ months of reading, I've taken the plunge to start my own. But what to say!!!???

Perhaps a brief bio. We moved to the mountains of North Georgia last spring. The move was greatly desired and, in fact, totally self-motivated. I am a "virtual employee" for my company and travel extensively. Therefore, as long as I can get to an airport they don't really care where I live. (a nice perk, I must say) This fact dawned on my wife and me about 2 years ago and we started dreaming about where we REALLY wanted to live. At first, we planned on moving to North Carolina. In fact, we made multiple house-hunting trips and thought we had found the perfect house. However, our house in Birmingham didn't sell as quickly as we were convinced it would, so that didn't work. THANK THE LORD! If it had, we would be in a home that was too small, too expensive, and nowhere near where we are now (and where we are certain He wanted us to be).

After taking last winter off (no "for sale" sign, no weekly open houses, etc), we tried again. By now, we had also realized where we wanted / needed to be. Or rather, we realized a new criteria that we hadn't thought of before: "close to family". For my wife, having a husband who travels and three kids at home was difficult enough. Doing this with no family support-system near was even harder.

Now we're settled in a wonderful community 3 miles from her parents and less than 1 hour from mine. (Compared to 3 hours before, that's practically local!).

In the midst of all of this planning, we had a second revelation. We decided, or perhaps we realized that we needed to, homeschool. Wow! Are were we crazy? Some family members certainly thought so (and more than a few still do). But, after much prayer and consideration, we decided that it was the right thing to do.

Well, that's enough droning on for my first time. Maybe next I'll describe how the first 6 months have gone (as well as how the haven't gone).

Blessings. . .