Recap Thanksgiving

So has come and gone another Thanksgiving. I can honestly say that I can not remember a year that I have actually been so deeply thankful. My life is good. I am well taken care of.

So it was a smaller crowd this year at the Eekhoff Thanksgiving Extravaganza. We had a huge lunch and it was delicious. Kudos to Grandma E. for a wonderful meal and endless patience in the kitchen with the one known only as "The Boss".

Gabriel had fun as well. He got to play with some of his 2nd cousins. He also went a total of 3 days with a non-stop smile. He literally didn't have a crabby moment the entire time. I think he likes all the attention and loving that he gets while he is at his grandma and grandpas house. Especially when his aunts and uncle are there as well. He is never left alone and he loves it.

I had a great time turning 26 as well. It was painless. I got a DVD player so that Pam and I and guests don't have to sit on top of each other to watch movies off of my computer screen any longer. Pam and I will probably choose to sit on top of each other still, but that is all the better. It saves on the heating bill.

The Cowboys won big and look like they could make a real run for the Super Bowl if they keep it up. Big, "if" but not out of the picture. Besides they will have to beat my Vikings if they want to do anything.

So all in all it was a good week. Relaxing, refreshing, etc... We have a lot to be thankful for.

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Lunch

Okay, so Pam has had the "Taste of the Holidays" put on my google calendar for a while now. Apparently Sam's club has a few days where they get all fancy with their samples and they have a whole ton of them. Pam made sure to instruct me not to plan anything on those days so that we could go to Sam's and eat. So yesterday for lunch we had Sam's.

I have never seen anything like it. Ever. We couldn't even get in the door because their first sampling table was right inside and had a line backed up to nearly outside. All throughout the store there were lines. LONG lines. Everything from chicken wings to cheesecake to salmon to pecan pie was being given away in one bite shots. I even had a shot of naked juice. Anyway, the craziest thing was that I left Sam's stuffed beyond belief.

My advice to everyone today...find someones with a Sam's membership and go have a free meal.

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Guilty Pleasures

Okay, so my wife just did some "confession time" in her blog. She challenged her readers to confess their own guilty pleasures. Here are a few of mine.

1. I drove Emily's car home from Waterloo the other night after meeting with the in-laws for pizza. She was coming to our house and I thought it would be fun for her and Pam to spend some road time together. She informed me that she had no radio tuner, but she DID have a CD player. So I lasted about 1.5 miles before I had to find something other than country. I don't mind country all the time, but for some reason that night it was the last thing I wanted. So I started popping in different Cd's and I came across this song called "High School Never Ends" by Bowling for Soup. It is a punk rock song all about how the whole world still is obsessed with who's the best dressed, and who's having sex, who's got the money, who's got the honey's, who's kinda cute, and who's just a mess. The lyrics are SO hilariously true. They are pretty nasty too. This song is my latest guilty pleasure. I must be getting old because that was the first time I'd heard the song and it is apparently pretty popular. Anyway, I can't get it out of my head.

2. I LOVE Dancing with the stars. I tried so hard to avoid it. I hated thinking about watching that show. I can't help it, I must give in. I LOVE the show. I look forward to seeing it. I don't even like TV so much, but that show is so...I don't know...FUN! Warren Sapp is my flipping hero. We're talking about a guy who is 6'2", 300 pounds, and has 297 NFL career tackles and 97 sacks. He could beat the crap out of either of the other two fairies left on the show, yet he smiles and laughs constantly. http://www.nfl.com/goto?id=09000d5d80099e51

3. I have this new recording software on the computer at the office. When Doug is around there is never time to mess around with it. Since he's on vacation, I've spent some time trying to figure it out. I love it. I still miss Doug though.

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My Wife

My wife rocks

She makes really really really good food.
She looks really really really good.
She smells really really really good.
She is a really really really good mom.
She is really really really smart.
She is really really really awesome.
I love her.
Guess what. Even if she didn't do any of those things, or wasn't any of those things, I would still love her.
She doesn't need to cook for me.
She doesn't have to look so fine.
She could constantly fart and bask in it thus smelling awful.
She could be just a mom, not a really really really good one.
She could be dumb.
She doesn't have to be awesome.
She just does, because she just is. I don't even think she can help it most of the time.
How did I get so lucky? Who am I to deserve such a wonderful person?
She kicks all the other guys wives ass in my book.
She probably then helps their ass to feel better just by looking at them and smiling.
Truly amazing that woman. Truly amazing.
She inspires me to write poetry:

A Poem
Inspired by Pamela Violet Rohde

"She
inspires me
to
write
poetry"

Her middle name is violet. If that isn't sexy, I don't know what is.
I propose a toast. To my wife.

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CD

Sunday was fun. I love Sundays because by noon I've put in eight hours and I can usually relax and hang with the fam. Anyway, Sunday we went to a CD release party at Calvary. Marcy Each released "Gravel Road". It has a strong blue grass feel to it and of course the vocals are beautiful. It was fun. I saw a lot of people I haven't seen for a long time too. It got me thinking, though...

Lately I've been writing a lot more songs. I have a wife with an amazing voice. I have some worship team people that would probably be up for recording. I should make a CD.

I don't really care about ME making a CD or about MY songs being recorded. I just write these songs and they have no where to go. I write a song and it sits in the office and collects dust and is never sung to anyone. I don't think they are great songs, but still, I write them and nothing happens. So, I figure, either I make a CD or I quit writing songs and start using my time for something better. Let's take a vote. The following are the lyrics to four songs I'd like to record. I've more, but this will give you an idea.

Here I Am
By Joel Rohde

Here I am in need of your grace
Broken before you, draw me near
This I pray

Here I am use me Lord
I surrender all, make me less
Make You more

And I will live to worship you
I will go to the ends of the earth
Whatever you want, tell me now
Here I am, Lord make me Yours

I Love You
By Joel Rohde

You chase the night away
By lighting each new day
Your light revealing who we really are
You see the wrongs we’ve made
And love us anyway
Your grace is more abundant than the stars

And as we stand and sing these songs
Of worship in this place
May the Spirit of our God
Provide us words of praise

‘Cause You are Holy, mighty to save
You’re the Great I Am, The Ancient of Days
And I will worship You forever
It’s all I can do
Jesus, my Savior.
I love You.

In you all shadows flee
Including those in me
You know the deepest secrets of my heart
You have brought to light
The things I’ve tried to hide
You daily grant to me a brand new start

Meet me here, once again
Breathe new life, enter in

Kinkade vs. Rembrandt
By Joel Rohde

Well it’s raining outside and overcast
My shoes are wet and I have to ask
Without the rain would I be
Thankful for the sun?
I’m shivering because it’s cold
My hands are numb needing hands to hold
If it were always warm
Would I appreciate the warmth?

And maybe in my selfishness
I find it hard to see
The truth of that which God desires for me

I have made a fantasy into my own reality
Like Kinkade my world is
Always blooming bright
I know now, we can’t ignore
The shadows of our life no more
Like Rembrandt we need the darkness to see
God’s reality

Took my son to a great parade
Parked about a block away
We thought we’d put him down
And let him walk on his own
He stopped to pick a dandelion
So we picked him up and he started crying
He didn’t understand our plans
Were so much better than his own

And maybe in his selfishness
He found it hard to see
The plans of his father were much more exciting

How He Loves (Not by me, but I would love to cover it because it is the most beautiful song I've ever heard hands down.)
John Mark McMillan

He is jealous for me
Love's like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

Oh, how he loves us so,
Oh, how he loves us,
How he loves us so.

Yea he loves us,
Oh how he loves us,
Oh how he loves us,
Oh how he loves.

So we are his portion and he is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in his eyes,
If grace is an ocean we're all sinking.
So heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest.
I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way...

He loves us,
Oh how he loves us,
Oh how he loves us,
Oh how he loves.
He loves us,
Oh how he loves us,
Oh how he loves us,
Oh how he loves.

I've done some research and to record a CD it will cost around $400 dollars for an 8 hour block of studio time, $1026 dollars to publish 1000 CDs complete with jewel cases, full color inserts and tray panels, UPS bar code, and shrink wrapping. I would need $60 for a copyright. I've no idea how I would go on the mastering of the project. It looks like having a professionally mastered CD would cost between $800 and $1000. So anyway, the whole thing would be less than $3000. I have no idea where I would come up with that, but if you look at it this way, if I sell 300 CDs at $10 a piece I've paid the project off. I don't know if I could do that or not. Let me know your thoughts people.

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Ring Tones

Okay, so the only problem I ever had with my Palm Centro phone was that its stock ringtones suck and they didn't allow me to use mp3 files. That has all changed. I downloaded software called MiniTones to my phone which allows you to pull songs off of your computer, edit them, and use them as ringtones. So the following is a list of the ringtones I have for the people who are dear to me and who call me. If relevant, I've included the section of the song that I've used.

General Ringtone: The Mario Brothers Theme Song (of course, this is the ringtone I've been using for years and was heartbroken to find that I could not on my Centro)

Ringtone for callers not on my contacts list: O'Fortuna by Carl Orff (This song is often used as an underlay for intense movie sequences)

Pamela Rohde: "Final Frontier" (A.K.A. the "Mad About You" Theme song)

My Mother: "The Mom Song" by Go Fish. Lyrics are as follows:
If you have a stroller
But you're still a rock and roller
You're a mom
If you're tired of doing dishes
And you know who Elmo's fish is
You're a mom
If you have a lot of fun
But your work is never done
You're a mom

You're the boss, the driver
The ultimate survivor
A doctor, a cooker
Your man thinks you're a looker
If you work all day
But you never get paid
You're a mom

If you need a sick day
But instead you're gonna play
You're a mom
If your first occupation
Sounds like a sweet vacation
You're a mom
If your living room floor
Looks like a toy store
You're a mom

If you mean the whole world
To a little boy or girl
You're a mom
The Bible that you hold
Can shape these little souls
You're a mom
If you have the most important job in the world
You're a mom

You're the boss, the driver
The ultimate survivor
A doctor, a cooker
Your man thinks you're a looker
If you work all day
But you never get paid
You're a mom

My Dad: "Super Hero" also by Go Fish (No lyrics needed, its all said in the title)

My Bro Jake: The NFL Sunday on FOX theme

My Bro Jaron: The Marine Corps Hymn

My Bro Jase: The Iowa State Fight Song

My Mother-in-law: "I am Your Mother Too" by Keb' Mo. The chorus of the song is as follows (warning: It is hilarious and may cause belly aching laughing):
Though you came from the womb of another, I will care for you
Life is your sister and Love is your brother
And I am your mother too
I am your mother too.

My S-I-L Ashley: "Brown Eyed Girl" She thinks the song is about her so we try to appease her conscience.

My S-I-L Emily: "College Kids" by Relient K. Lyrics used in ringtone as follows:
Someone please save us, us college kids!
What my parents told me is what I did
They said go to school and be a college kid
But in the end I question why I did.

My B-I-L Bret (he doesn't call me, but if he does for some reason): "Barbie Girl" by AQUA. It's a long story.

My Boss Doug: The Doug Funny Theme Song

That concludes this blog. :)

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Straight to the Truth

Thanks to my sister-in-law I was pointed to a transcript of a White House briefing that took place two days ago. I want to first describe my experience while reading it, and second share with you my favorite part of the briefing.

As I read the briefing I was reminded of "The West Wing" and the briefings that took place with C.J. Craig. Thanks to that show I really feel like I could be in that room while the questions were being asked and answered. I loved it.

The following is my favorite part of the briefing. I have a big beef with the ultra liberal media in this country. Here is a question that isn't news and isn't relative to much other than it could have possibly lead to a slip up that would put our president in yet another negative light. I am interested in reading more of these beginning January 21st to find out if the same types of stupid questions are being asked of our new socialist president. Anyway, here is the question and answer. I'll follow with a few more thoughts.

Q You haven't heard any reflections from him of any different tone or character recently, as he's looking at election day where it appears as though -- again, if you look at the polls, it appears as though a lot of people -- record numbers of people may be going to the poll, you may have a landslide in the works, you may have a -- all predicated on running away from the President. He has -- you haven't heard any sadness, reaction, any kind of disappointment in his voice?

MS. PERINO: The President is -- recognizes what this election has been about. I also think that that might be your characterization of it. I don't think that there are Republicans out there who think that the President hasn't done a good job when it comes to keeping this country safe, replenishing our military so that they can have the resources they need to do the job. The President has asked them to do tough jobs. He made a decision to go to Iraq; he still believes that that was the right decision. And the next President will inherit a fragile, but a democracy in the heart of the Middle East because of that decision.

We have learned from mistakes. We have -- we had tremendous coordination this time around when we had two major hurricanes hit our country, that we we're able to coordinate -- also one of those having hit Louisiana.

So a lot of things have improved. And this President was tested by a lot of different issues and I think he's taken those issues head on, and we can be proud of how we've addressed them. Everybody would like to be popular. You can all remember that back in high school, everyone really wanted to be popular. Some of us just weren't. But that doesn't mean that you don't have principles and values that you stay true to. And that's what this President has done, and it's what he's taught a lot of us, including me.

Okay, it's me again. I dislike having to rely on NBC, CBS, and TIME magazine for my national news. Other outlets that I sometimes get are just as bad. I've talked to a rare conservative who has written for some Chicago news outlets about the liberal bias. Her response was "Yes there is a definite bias within the media, but no they would never admit to it because it so permeates their world that they think they believe what everyone believes and therefore are being completely two sided to every issue."

When I was in high school I wasn't the most popular kid. It amazes me what happens in the long run of high school politics (much like the ones we've witnessed the past few years and are witnessing currently). Those few popular kids who were popular because they were decent people are doing fine. Those few popular kids who were popular because they were willing to do anything to be so are considered losers and drunks now. Those of us who weren't popular because we stuck to our moral integrity no matter what (right or wrong) are the ones who are truly experiencing life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I believe that someday we as a nation will look back on this current presidency and wish we had given it the respect it deserved.

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How can we be so blind?

We think that we've come so far. We think that we have finally been able to look beyond race. I seriously for a moment thought that this election actually wasn't about race. However, if you were watching NBC tonight when they announced Obama the winner, they would not stop talking about the "victory over racism." We have been blinded by color? We are no further than we were 50 years ago. Tonight, the United States of America provides the world with a leader that will kill babies, impoverish the lower middle class, and work hard to turn the democracy that so many men gave their lives for into a socialist nation with himself the sole person capable of deciding who deserves to pursue happiness, life, and liberty. Patriots died to give us freedom and the right, yes the right, to rip ourselves apart by putting ignorance and conceit in the most powerful position in the world. We have slapped the dead in the face. I realized tonight that it is because he is black and our "victory over racism" trumps our love of country and freedom.

WE ELECTED A MAN WHO ISN'T EVEN A CITIZEN OF THE US! WE ELECTED A MAN WHO HAS YET TO PROVE HIMSELF ELIGIBLE TO SIT AS OUR LEADER! WE IGNORED THE CONSTITUTION OF THE GREATEST NATION IN THE WORLD BECAUSE OF RACE! WE ARE THE MOST RACIST NATION IN THE WORLD! I THOUGHT WE WERE BETTER THAN THAT. HOW CAN WE BE SO BLIND?

Thank God for his sovereignty. America will fall, but eternity will remain. America has turned to worshipping false gods, we dine on the blood of the innocent, we scoff at the poor by throwing fits when the government allows us to be punished by our own selfishness. America will fall because it has turned its back on the very God who made it great. America will fall, but my God will remain. He is the alpha and the omega. Those who turn to him and beg his forgiveness; those who repent from their selfish ways and surrender their lives in humility, for justice and mercy will enter into eternity with their God and maker. Do not forget the message of righteousness and justice as a witness to the one true God. Now is the time for repentance. America will fall, but God, our Father in heaven, who was and is and is to come, will remain.

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Election Night

A poem, by Joel Rohde

Tonight is the election
Bob Dole has an erection
We're waiting for ballot collection
McCain would give us protection

I could not vote for Obama
He kills babys and toasts Osama
He resembles a mexican llama
He is fake and creates shameless drama

But no matter what happens in voting
No matter who will end up gloating
No matter who to the white house is floating
My God is doing the toting

No worries in this humble abode
Our God carrys all of the load
Even though Obama's a toad
God's bigger and is paving the road

This poem is really dumb
My mind is going numb
A sore is growing on my thumb
Have I mentioned Obama's a bum?

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