Can You Say Frequent Flyer Miles?

Good. Anne and I are taking off tomorrow morning for our big adventure. We're driving to Indianapolis for Christmas with her family (the Messerlies). Then on Monday we're flying to California to visit my family and eat at In N Out, of course. :) Oh - and how could I forget Christmas day - watching the Lakers battle Yao Ming and the Rockets! Then, the day after Christmas, we'll fly to Florida to hang out and have Christmas with her family (Luginbills). It'll probably go fast (quickly, yes I know) but it'll be a blast! Here we go...

Amazing Photo of the Day

Hay is for horses; Grass is free; Cows eat it; Why don't we?

No, really?!? Why don't we?
I mean - it's good for you and yummy. That is, the grass in Superfood. It's a drink made by Odwalla that has all kinds of vitamins, minerals, grass, and other natural healthy stuff.
A while ago, I was really thirsty for some quality juice, and bought one for a rip-off price of almost $5 at an airport. Never again. But dang, that stuff was really good. And I realized that it was really good for me too. Since then, I've noticed that there are a bunch of different kinds of Odwalla juices at the Indiana University Union for much cheaper. Now, I've tried a few different kinds and read up on which flavors have more of which vitamins and minerals. It's great!

So, I recommend that you try a flavor that tempts your palate. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. It's as good as root beer.

Another example of Odwalla juices

German Word of the Day

der Schnee (dair SHNAY) - the snow

Clementines

Man, I feel sorta ashamed for being such a new-comer to clementines, considering I grew up in Orange County. When I thought of oranges, what came to mind were those baseball - softball sized things that took me about 20 minutes to peel. I think that kept me from really getting into eating oranges. Well, lo and behold, God created clementines too! I think the first time I had them was in Austria, but since have learned to love them here in the US. I think the beautiful thing about them is that they are so easy to peel! And I think somehow it appeals to my desire to have a sense of accomplishment. I mean, it only takes a few seconds to peel off big pieces of peel. Anne and I have been buying those mini-crates of them for a while now. Yum.
I think I also like the potential they have to be hucked/chucked/geworfen.

So the next time you're at your local grocer, pick up some of those little clementine puppies. :)

Hoosiers Win! Hoosiers Win!

The National Champions are everywhere!
ESPN
CBS Sports

Wish I was there

Check out the Who's Your Soccer link on the left (Hoosier Soccer).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

iT's ThE oNlY dAy Of ThE wHoLe YeAr ThAt DeBbIe PaRrIsH cAn'T cElEbRaTe HeR uNbIrThDaY!!!!!

Mint Kisses

Raise your hand if you've tried those new mint Hershey Kisses! Wow, those puppies are good. Mint and chocolate is just one of those perfectamundo combinations. Yum.
This isn't a mint one - but just pretend that it says MINT instead of KISSES. :)

German Word of the Day

der Regen (dair RAYgen - like the president) - the rain

Three Cheers For the Hoosiers!

The men's soccer team is the only really good sports team that Indiana University has this year. Anne and I went to 2 of their games this past week. It's the NCAA playoffs. The second round game was last Wednesday night. We braved the cold and the rain and cheered them on to a 2-1 victory in double overtime over Kentucky. Then, on Sunday, we saw them smack Virginia Commonwealth University silly to the flavor of 5-0!
Next up is UCLA (ranked #1 in the nation) on Saturday in L.A. This is a good matchup for my affections, because it's a win-win situation for me.

A Thanksgiving Poem

(actually it's a funny little song, but I can't sing over the internet)

A Turkey sat on a backyard fence
And sang this sad, sad tune

Thanksgiving is coming
Gobble, gobble GOBBLE gobble
And I know I'll be eaten soon
Gobble gobble, gobble gobble
Gobble gobble gobble
I would like to run away
Gobble gobble, gobble gobble
Gobble gobble gobble
I don't like Thanksgiving day.

German Word of the Day

der Truthahn (dair TROOThahn) - the turkey

German Word of the Day

das Schaedlingsbekaempfungsmittel (dahs SHAYDlings behKEMPFoongs MITtel) - the pesticide
Literally, it means the damaging/harm fighting agent.

Don't you love those big German words???? :)

The Corinth Crew

This is 10 out of the 12 in our Wednesday night Bible study. We're studying 1 Corinthians, having good fellowship, and eating great food. As Kelsey would say, YOU GUYS ROCK!!!!

Supersize Diet

I read this today, and I totally noticed the difference that this article explains when I lived in Austria.

Taken from Outside Magazine (Dec 2003):
Paul Rozin, a University of Pennsylvania psychology professor who specializes in why people choose the foods they eat, recently took a big step toward explaining why only 7.4 percent of the French are obese - despite a diet rich in cheeses, pastries, and other high-fat foods - while 22.3 percent of Americans are un-healthily rotund. His research comparing portion sizes served up in Philadelphia and Paris revealed that the French eat smaller portions than supersize-obsessed Americans. Here's a sampling of what he found:
Regular Fries at McDonald's         72% larger in U.S.
A Pizza Hut Pizza                       32% larger in U.S.
Average Chocolate Bar                41% larger in U.S.
Average Coca-Cola                      52% larger in U.S.
Average Hot Dog                         63% larger in U.S.
Average Serving of Ice Cream       24% larger in U.S.

German Word of the Day

das Gift (dahs gift) - the poison

Speaking of rubber bands, I am currently under attack from my coworker, Jesse. We shoot rubber bands back and forth from our cubicles - in silent stealth mode. Don't worry - we get our work done, too. :)

German Word of the Day

das Gummiband (dahs goomybahnd) - the rubber band

Timing

Hopefully, you know a little bit about our trip to North Carolina last weekend. It was great.
It just so happens that tomorrow night at our Bible study, we're studying 1 Corinthians 9. We already asked another guy in our group, Josh, to lead that night. And now, with the possibility that we'll need to raise support in the near future to go to Austria, it seems like much more than coincidence. If you don't know what I mean, take a look at 1 Cor. 9. Some things stand out to me like "Don't muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain," sowing spiritual seed and reaping a material harvest, those who preach the gospel should earn their living by the gospel, and running the race of faith to get a lasting crown. There is so much in that chapter.
The timing of all this seems like God's work. Anne and I aren't promoting ourselves, but God seems to be bringing up the topic of support for those doing ministry.

Snow in L.A.???

Yep, it's true. I wasn't there to experience it, but there was a ton of hail that fell on L.A. on Wednesday night the 12th. I read that some places had a foot of the unflavored icee from heaven. Woah.

2.67 Hat Tricks

Yes, that's 8 goals. My niece, Emilee, scored 8 goals in her soccer game over the weekend. I wish I'd been there to seen it. No, she doesn't play for UCLA or Virginia or something, it's her 4-6 year old team. But, I mean, c'mon! 8 goals!?!? Did she dominate as her tiny little 4 year old self, or was the score some ridiculous 27-19? That sounds more like a football score (American football, of course). I feel bad for that goalie - if she cares even a little bit about her performance, she's probably depressed. Already, at age 5, the poor keeper is wallowing in her misery, looking for Spongebob and Dora the Explorer fruit snacks to medicate her pain.
Ahhh, the joys of youth soccer...

LG







The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Praise him.







10.30.03

Donkey Kong

What's the deal with Donkey Kong? He isn't a donkey! He's something more like a gorilla.

Punkins!!!!!

We carved pumpkins last night! Anne carved the beast-pumpkin, weighing in at 40 pounds.


This stuff doesn't taste nearly as good as pumpkin pie.

Adventures in Babysitting

I could have told you that being a parent is a 24/7 job, but now I know it's true. Despite a wet bed and some blatant lying, we enjoyed the weekend. But it sure is tiring!

Are you ready???

It's time to go where the Frank couple has never been. This is a journey that will surpass all other journeys. None has fathomed, nay, none has dreamed of the implications this undertaking could spawn. Brace yourself for the shock.............................we're babysitting!!
Yep - from Friday night to Sunday afternoon, we'll be taking care of a 4 year old girl and a 3rd grade boy. And don't forget the dog that lives in the basement!
Fearlessly, Chris and Anne voyage into the future where no Frank couple has gone (well, not literally). Bid us well.

Tip Your Waitstaff

So far, nobody knows about this except Anne and Keshar. Sometime soon, I want to make this Blog site cooler and have some fun little things on it - if that's even possible. I can just see some great potential for using this if we're living overseas - having updates, pictures, random tidbits about life in Austria or wherever we might be. I could really get into this website creating thing. So Anne, Keshar, and whoever may be reading this as a part of historical past - BOOM!!!

HEY!!! Welcome to Crispy News! I just got an email from a friend that has a Blogger website like this. So I thought I'd check it out. And look at this - I have my own now! It's easy!

So, I went to a Waterdeep concert last night. I was expecting the whole acoustic-hippie-rhythmic music thing. But I was surprised and impressed with their talent - they're really skillful in playing their instruments, singing, and creative musical things. They had everything from electronic background tracks, to a harmonica, to humming the same intricate melody as the guitar solo, to a whistling solo. And they were an interesting mix of rock and blues and folk - and more rock than I figured. So that was fun, and I bought a cd of theirs called "whole 'nother deal" also.
OK - stay tuned for more fun here.