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quotes i like 11/5/10

“There is pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society where none intrudes,
By the deep sea and the music in its roar;
I love not man the less, but Nature more.”

-Lord Byron

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october 1-17: happiness is...

10/1 … ordering artists books

10/2 … family gathering and all of carter’s grandparents there to see him play soccer

10/3 … an afternoon with my family

10/4 … traveling to school with my boys

10/5 … carter thinking of others and inspiring others to pick up trash

10/6 … an all day seminar that actually turned out to be great

10/7 … finalizing lots of loose ends for a conference

10/8 … a successful presentation and conference

10/9 … delicious breakfast and more good presentations

10/10 … a lazy afternoon

10/11 … spending the day with ann

10/12 … my birthday!

10/13 … my fun choir

10/14 … a beautiful day, an excuse to get out of the office, and sharing rare books with a class

10/15 … a surprise taking the rest of the day off, the end of a week and returning home to my lovely wife and two wonderful boys

10/16 … crisp morning, soccer game, looking at rocks

10/17 … two beautiful english choral settings

10/18 … my boys laughing in the car on the way to school and a note to my sweetie letting her know i’m thinking about her

See more progress on: find at least one thing each day that makes me happy and record it everyday for a year

10/13/10

reading choosing civility and
the music instinct

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9/20/10-9/30/10 - happiness is...

9/20…my beautiful wife and funny boys

9/21…an engaging colleague and his infectious enthusiasm, playing with carter and max and having dinner all together. ann and i got to go for a walk which was really nice. ran a mile on the treadmill and did weights.

9/22…a cancelled meeting, getting a lot done at work, a good choir rehearsal

9/23…highlight of my day was to come home and be with the boys and with ann. they completely brighten my life. we played in the backyard some until time for bed. after reading to max and putting him to bed, ann and I went for a walk. it was good to be out together as nightfall came, listening to crickets chirp and talking about our days.

9/24…a thought-provoking teleconference, and “friday”!

9/25… a completely lazy and schedule free saturday

9/26… carter went to a friend’s house and max took a nap, so ann and I had some great time to ourselves! among other things, enjoyed working on some art projects with ann, while sharing some coffee. we played outside, went to a playground for a little bit in the afternoon. the first glimpse of fall arrived with cooler weather. we ate dinner on the patio.

9/27… cooler weather and a really productive day

9/28… lunch with carter and an evening walk with ann

9/29… long day, but a good conversation with jay and then with ann after i got home

9/30… thai food, good conversation, soccer game, and some good books

See more progress on: find at least one thing each day that makes me happy and record it everyday for a year

Inspiration

my very most favorite part of the day was thanks to my seven year old, Carter. he’s in second grade and yesterday he told me that during recess, he decided to pick up trash at school and a girl in his class asked him if she could help. I told him I was really proud of him choosing on his own to be so helpful and even more so that his actions inspired other people to get on board. he talked about how too many people don’t take care of the earth and how in picking up trash, he’s helping the planet. today, they enlisted the help of others on this mission during recess and seemed enthusiastic at the results. he was excited too that they found a bag (litter) they could use to hold the trash they were picking up (instead of running to the trashcan each time) and how great it was in the end that when the bag filled up, they could dump it or when recess was over, they could just throw away the whole bag. when we got home from school, carter asked if after dinner and as a family, we could walk around our neighborhood picking up trash. I love how he got the whole family on board doing a good thing. he even got our two year old, Max, excited about helping. I’m truly inspired by his spirit of helping and community and the way he got so many other people excited about joining his effort. I know I’m a little biased, but I think he’s one fantastic kid. 

9/17 -9/20/10 happiness is . . .

9/17 … thinking about how great my kid Carter is
9/18 … working with a bunch of 1st and 2nd grade soccer players
9/19 … an afternoon at artsfest, Max’s excitement about painting and making a crazy hat, Carter’s interest in viewing an artist’s work, and an evening where Ann and I got to have a deep conversation with no little people interrupting and a nice evening out
9/20 …the smile on Max’s face when I woke him up this morning, the excitement on Carter’s face as he scored two goals in tonight’s soccer game.

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9/17/10 - happiness is...

carter’s smile

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quotes i like (bugs)

Teaching a child not to step on a caterpillar is as valuable to the child as it is to the caterpillar. ~ Bradley Millar

Cockroaches really put my ‘all creatures great and small’ creed to the test ~ Astrid Alauda

If you want to live and thrive, let the spider run alive
~ American Quaker Saying

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9/4-9/16/10 happiness is....

9/4 cute things my 2 year old says
9/5 beautiful music
9/6 a holiday, the zoo, and a deep conversation with ann
9/7 teaching students something that makes them say “cool!”
9/8 see tons of new artists books and watching the amazement on the faces of students in response to them
9/9 a fun choir to make music with
9/10 a clear schedule on a friday
9/11 working together with ann on a shrine we’re building
9/12 laughter at church, the boys playing together in the yard while ann and i work together on our southwestern garden
9/13 picking up the boys from school
9/14 classes that went well and finding a creative technology solution
9/15 handling library materials that stretch back to the 11th century
9/16 spending the day with carter

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quotes i like ( )

“As in the concentration camp and the evening of 9/11, the artists are the ones who might be able to help us with our internal, invisible lives.” -Karl Paulnack, Director, Boston Conservatory

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quotes i like (Vanier)

“We are not called by God to do extraordinary things, but to do ordinary things with extraordinary love. ” – Jean Vanier

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9/3/10 happiness is....

well i opened 43things 2.5 hrs ago to write about an entry and am just now getting to it thanks to a handful of brush fires! uggh…i guess today happiness is having a job! :-) looking forward to everyone coming home from school/work this afternoon and just spending time together as a family and catching a breath! happiness today is also taking lunch to ann and getting to see her in the middle of the day!

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pet peeve #18- people who don't care about technology

i know i should probably learn something from such folks, perhaps appreciate the simplicity, but it drives me crazy. not sure if it drives me more crazy people who just don’t get it and are afraid of it or people who just don’t see the point or care about it!

See more progress on: list 43 pet peeves and then try to forget about them

8/30-9/2 happiness is

8/30 morning light coming in the window, picking up the boys after school

8/31 compliments on a big project, a well-received library instruction session, recovering from a scheduling screw up!

9/1 holding rare library materials (1706 handwritten journal from the court of Louis XIV and medieval music manuscripts dating back as early as the 11th century, and the return of choir from its summer break

9/2 a rare instance of listening to music in the morning and less chaotic day than earlier in the week, and a last minute save for an event this afternoon

See more progress on: find at least one thing each day that makes me happy and record it everyday for a year

8/29 spending time with my boys

it’s just a little thing really, but i love the time we spend together when i’m taking them to school each morning. it’s just a little window, but it’s the start of a new day and always filled with interesting moments! really enjoyed an outing that all of us went on yesterday evening wandering around campus, exploring, carter on his bike, max on his trike (sort of!)

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8/26-8/29 happiness is...

8/26 skipping a meeting and finding out from others who attended it was a good call!
8/27 great visit and lunch with a friend
8/28 lazy morning, my little guy’s excitement and joyful spirit when he wakes up
8/29 wonderful music at church with a host of wonderful musicians, spending time with ann and the boys just having fun

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quotes i like (helen keller)

“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something.” – Helen Keller

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stuff i'm reading 8/25/10

i’m still reading the several books listed earlier, but also read last night a book that i really enjoyed:

New directions in altered books, by Gabe Cyr

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8/20-8/25/10 happiness is...

8/20 that moment when the whole family is back together again at home after a day in different directions

8/21 carter’s excitement about an art project that he came up with and executed on his own, the feeling of pride and joy in his excitement, experimentation, and creativity; also excitement and wonder at an art project that ann and i are planning together; finding wonderful little treasures at a junk store

8/22 noticing little things in music, delightful phrases, unexpected harmonies

8/23 the excitement of the first day of school for everyone, working hard to accomplish a goal at work

8/24 lots of positive feedback on a project at work and feeling successful, lots of positive feedback on my weightloss, being in the same room with my love and just feeling her presence

8/25 beautiful music (Blackberry Winter, the world’s only work for mountain dulcimer and orchestra composed in 1996 by Conni Ellisor), a cloudy morning with a reluctant sun (especially since it’s been up to 106 this week), and a mysterious breeze that suggested Fall really will come one day.

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8/21/10 quotes i like

“learn to pause or nothing worthwhile will catch up to you.”
-Doug King

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Untitled

even though i’ve done this since adding to my goals, i’m leaving it here because i’ll always want to visit santa fe again and again and again. it’s a magical, beautiful place

See more progress on: visit Santa Fe again

8/12-8/19 happiness is...

8/12 lunch with a friend at the place with the most diverse eating crowd in the entire city!

8/13 unexpected lunch with ann and carter (who i don’t normally get to see during the work day)

8/14 an early morning trip to the farmer’s market before any of the rest of the family was even awake!

8/15 exciting new possibilities, a babysitter, and a relaxing, laughter-filled evening with my sweetie

8/16 good news at my weigh-in (still losing weight!)

8/17 watching my seven year old be independent, able to entertain himself, and be a great helper during a luncheon at the library, and noticing that he is confident, flexible, and helpful

8/18 time spent with my two year old, even though he’s home sick :-(

8/19 a text message from my sweetie that makes me smile, meeting carter’s second grade teacher and thinking about the new chapter ahead for him

See more progress on: find at least one thing each day that makes me happy and record it everyday for a year

quotes i like

from a recent sermon:

“How would I describe myself? We define ourselves by what we do and our relationships. As we get older, both of these slip away.”

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quotes i like

from Thomas Troeger’s hymn Too Splendid for Speech:

Too splendid for speech but ripe for a song:
the wonders of God to whom we belong!
What tune can we sing? What rich chords can we play
to honor the potter who formed us from clay?

We’ll catch the soft sounds that sift through the breeze,
We’ll hum with the whales that hum in the seas.
The waters that tickle the earth into Spring
will teach us the lilting new life we could sing.

The earth is God’d flute, God’s cello and chime,
the Wind draws the notes. The seasons keep time.
At dusk and at night, from the sunrise past noon,
God’s playing and singing a ravishing tune.

The swell of earth’s praise will build to a blast
of trumpets and drums when God comes at last
to hear if our live,s like the heavens above
are filled with the music of justice and love.

Alert to your notes that dance in the heart,
we promise, O God, that we’ll sing our part
and pray that the song which your song shall inspire
will lead every nation to join in your choir.

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quotes i like

snippets i particularly like from the hymns of Terry York:

“help us then rejoice in challenge…help us see Divine potential in each challenge.” (from God Our Father, You Have Led Us)

”...worthy of all the glad songs we can sing” (from Worthy of Worship)

“give us love with no exceptions…through us let your peace prevail” (from God Who Made Us, Christ Who Calls Us)

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quotes i like

from Alan Raines, director of choirs at Baylor during a recent seminar:

“The choir won’t be engaged if we aren’t.”

“If you don’t know the score, you can’t teach it.”

“Diction is about the sound of EVERY part of every word.”

“Teach first, conduct second.”

“Equip your choir with the skills to succeed.”

“Every rehearsal we must teach how to read.”

“The key to success is the piece you select. Don’t set the choir up for failure.”

“The only limitation on the choir is you.”

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quotes i like

other Marva Dawn quotes from a recent conference:

“Worshipping collectively is for the unity of the people and the encouragement of the body.”

“No other religion [speaking of Christianity] in the world focuses on grace.”

“The point of worship is NOT evangelism.”

“As church musicians, we must be clear in our role. The role of church music is to help us think about God and God’s nature. It is not about taste, it is not about us.”

“There is a difference is giving directions and being the way.”

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quotes i like

from a lecture by Marva Dawn, speaking of worship:

“It’s not just an activity, it’s a way of life.”

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quotes i like

another quote from my two year old, when he realized we were getting dressed to go swimming:

“i need my baby soup!”

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quotes i like

from my two year old, Max. an “adaptation” of something Woody from the movie Toy Story says:

“hoohah, cowboy!” :-)

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quotes i like

“Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you would rather have talked.”

collected from an NYPL tweet from the book “How to Live: A Search for Wisdom from Old People (While They Are Still on This Earth)” by Henry Alford

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quotes i like

“drinking coffee is a great way to build community.” (from a LutheranWorldRelief tweet)

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8/10/2010 reading

still reading “in search of stones” and also reading “square foot gardening”

See more progress on: read some each day

8/10/2010 spending time with the boys

yesterday ann took carter (our seven year old) to six flags and they were gone all day and went right to bed when they got home, so i didn’t really get to spend any time with carter, but i like that ann spent the whole day with him and they had a good time. the time i spent with our little guy (2 years old) was a lot of fun. he wanted to read so many books and is intrigued and concerned about the seedier characters in stories, particularly ones in stories from the bible for some reason- namely joseph’s “not nice brothers” (who stole his nice coat, threw him in a hole, and then sold him to the gypsies!) and then the “bad king” from whom Moses’ mother was trying to protect him. He’s also very intrigued by the story of Joshua (and the falling of the city of Jericho). he wants to read that story over and over (and over and over!) and loves the song about it. he was dancing his heart out last night to that song (see video in the “happiness” post).

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8/10 and 8/11/2010 happiness is...

watching our two year old dance like it’s the best part of living (http://qik.com/video/10533667)

a day trip tradition that ann and our 7 year old take together each year

seeing all the members of my family in the morning

an encouraging word from a colleague this morning on the way into work about my weight loss

discovering new books i want to read

and this quote:
“Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you would rather have talked.” (from the book How to Live: A Search for Wisdom from Old People (While They Are Still On This Earth).

See more progress on: find at least one thing each day that makes me happy and record it everyday for a year

8/8/10 spending time with my boys

after technically achieving this goal at the grocery store and it not going well and thinking “i never want to go grocery shopping with them again!” (ages 7 and 2), i realized i wanted to change the experience and clear my negative, short-tempered cloud. before max the little one went to bed, i just soaked up the adorableness, liveliness, wonder that he always exudes (even when he’s into everything an being a handful). and it makes me smile and makes me know love.

after max went to bed, ann and i played a game with carter and it felt really good to spend time with him with him having to share the spotlight with little brother or without plans getting derailed because of little brother. i loved the moments filled with laughter and fun. he’s a really good kid. they both are. i want to focus on that and what they bring to life and the time we share together and not get sidetracked by the little petty disturbances. thanks to ann for helping me see this…even if she didn’t realize she was doing that last night. she’s a wonderful teacher, friend, co-parent, and partner.

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8/9/10 happiness is...

a calendar date that makes a nifty pattern

weighing in this morning and finding out that i lost 3 pounds since last week for a total of 30 lbs since starting my program.

a realization:
while at work today i thought about why someone i work with hadn’t noticed something i thought they should and realizing, “oh, that’s because they only notice things that irritate them.” and then it hit me…what a terrible way to be remembered or way to operate in life. the happiness moment is thinking about how i want to make sure that’s not how i operate. will i choose to notice the positive things? will i make that part of who i am and how i relate? the whole moment felt really lightning rod-ish and that makes me happy to have a revelation about how/who i CAN be and choosing good.

See more progress on: find at least one thing each day that makes me happy and record it everyday for a year

8/9/10 happiness is...

a calendar date that makes a nifty pattern

weighing in this morning and finding out that i lost 3 pounds since last week for a total of 30 lbs since starting my program.

See more progress on: find at least one thing each day that makes me happy and record it everyday for a year

guilty pleasures #9: quiet sunday afternoons

with a cup of coffee and a book while the family sleeps

See more progress on: List 43 Guilty Pleasures

8/8/10 stuff i'm currently reading

M. Scott Peck’s “In Search of Stones” (really good)

Jonathan Bender’s “Lego: A Love Story” (not so impressed)

Books about building ponds and streams and patios and walkways

next on the horizon…

Square Foot Gardening
Super Freakonomics

See more progress on: read some each day

8/8/10 Stuff i recently finished reading

Ayelet Waldman’s “Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace”

Kate Braestrup’s “Marriage and Other Acts of Charity: A Memoir”

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happiness is... 7/21-8/8/2010

21. an energizing and recharging conference
22. dinner with friends we haven’t seen in a while
23. putting a msg on google cal with an sms msg reminder to send my sweetie a surprise msg!
24. working on a big backyard project
25. working together on our southwest garden
26. feeling a sense of accomplishment on the project
27. my wonderful wife and boys
28. time spent working on our relationship
29. looking forward to our trip to the beach!
30. all of us together (as we drive to the beach) and seeing family
31. building a sand castle with carter
1. spending time with my amazing and beautiful wife
2. an early morning on the beach looking for shells and finding a hermit crab. also finally getting back to our home after a late night drive.
3. lunch with a friend to talk about new possibilities
4. surviving too many meetings at work! :-)
5. a new staff member starting and lunch with the whole gang
6. another great lunch with another great friend who brings fresh and wise perspective
7. morning with the family with no real plans. a trip to the water garden place to think about the next backyard project, reflecting (much later!) on not being short-tempered, sonic drinks on a super hot day!, having an upstairs A/C unit when the downstairs one failed!
8. a quiet sunday afternoon, some of the fam sleeping, a chance to reflect and enjoy the quiet…and did i mention having a working upstairs A/C unit? ;-)

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7/19/10

mowed the grass (more work than it’s worth!) :-)
jogged for 10 minutes and weights

See more progress on: exercise every day this week

7/20/10 happiness is...

no surprises at my dental checkup!
completing some tasks (even if they’re small ones)
change of pace in the day with a conference that’s on campus

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7/19/10 happiness is

sitting outside in the quiet this morning drinking coffee taking in the sounds and sights of the world awakening.

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7/18/10 happiness is

brainstorming and creating plans for our backyard with ann

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7/17/10 happiness is...

watching my two boys (7 and 2) playing together right now and laughing together chasing each other around the house, though the noise might drive everyone crazy!

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7/17/10 spending time with my boys

one of my favorite moments with my little guy is when i come home from work. he always says, “Hi! DAD!” like it’s the most surprising, wonderful thing to encounter me coming in the door. he’ll run right up and give a hug as if he hasn’t seen you in months.

last night my seven year old wanted me to build legos with him. i really wanted to read, and did for a while, but he kept pestering me about it and i was feeling guilty. once i went to build with him, he came alive and we had fun. even though i wanted to read more than i wanted to build legos (even though i like that too), i saw that he just wanted to spend time together and that makes me smile. while i don’t want to cease to exist as my own person and just become an entertainment robot for my kids, i do want to cherish the time we can spend together and appreciate the time they want to spend with me.

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716/10 on reading

not sure how purists would feel about this, but i’m going to count listening to audiobooks in my goal of reading some each day. just started listening to michael pollan’s book second nature: a gardener’s education. i LOVE it. he’s such a great writer and i find myself smiling so often after delightful images he’s creating or delicious turns of phrases. so far i’m only listening in little chunks to and from work, but i keep finding myself thinking, “i should buy the book format of this so i can go back through and highlight all these wonderful things i love about this book and revisit them (easier than in the audiobook version).” that might just be my obsessive book hoarding psyche speaking though.

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7/16/10 being intentional

one of the ways i want to be more intentional is to record my thoughts more regularly about the things that are important to me and goals that i have, being more aware of what i’m doing and how i’m doing. rereading older entries on my goals and “things i’m doing,” i realize there are rich memories that would otherwise be forgotten to cherish, to revisit, by which to be inspired and by which to be revitalized.

See more progress on: be more intentional with my time

7/16/10 my boys

during the school year, my time with the boys in the morning is usually frantic and fast paced trying to get everyone out the door and fed, etc. even though i work in the summer, i like the subtle shift in the little bit of time we have together in the mornings since they and ann (who teaches school) don’t have to race out the door (and since my “racing” is a little slower than other times a year!). this morning i enjoyed actually sitting down at the table with ann and our little one eating breakfast and listening to max talk and be cheerful (though when ann vetoed his post breakfast plan of hitting a soccer ball around the house with a badminton racket, he was not so cheerful!). in the little bit of time when we were all together and before i left for work, i smiled about carter, our seven year old and how he did several chores without being asked, how he helped his little brother and how i watched him sitting outside at our new patio table, just soaking in the world around him. i have two wonderful boys and an amazing wife. i’m one to avoid overused phrases that get batted around with little meaning or understanding, like the phrase, “i’m so blessed,” but i’m letting that phrase sit in my head and repeat itself until i’ve explored every angle, corner, meaning, that could be in there, because in some deep and rich way, i truly believe that i am.

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Untitled

started listening to david allen’s audiobook version of Getting Things Done. seems like lots of great ideas for getting organized and reducing the stress that comes from trying to keep up with everything you’re doing in your head or in a variety of systems that aren’t integrated.

See more progress on: learn about GTD and apply it to my life

7/16/10 happiness is...

eating breakfast with my family
watching my youngest son’s excitement at each new day
watching my oldest son sitting outside quietly taking in the world and admiring a new piece of art he created
my first image in the morning being my beautiful wife
realizing i’m making good progress on my weight loss goal

See more progress on: find at least one thing each day that makes me happy and record it everyday for a year

exercise every day this week...

wow…i haven’t written anything about this goal in TWO YEARS! it hasn’t been that long without, but it’s been pretty barren. recent vacation that included white water rafting and climbing two fourteeners has inspired me to get back on the wagon. so far this week has been good, but need to keep it up.

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achieving inbox zero

not sure why, but it’s easy for me to achieve inbox “ten or less” but for some reason just can’t finish the job! ????

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7/15/10 being more intentional

as in leaving work right now to be with my beautiful wife and two great boys!

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7/15/10 spending time with my boys

recent moments that make me smile…
sitting in the dark on our patio with our seven year old (and his beautiful mom) looking at the stars and just talking about all kinds of things like how whales can hear really low pitches and dogs can hear really high pitches that we can’t.

eating breakfast with my little one while the rest of the family is asleep

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7/15/10 happiness is...

sitting down to write to my beloved about the things i love about her

See more progress on: find at least one thing each day that makes me happy and record it everyday for a year