Eric Nordhoff - The Eternal Optimist

What's In Your Wallet?

Last night I finally did it.  I took out everything that wasn't necessary from my wallet and only kept the most important stuff.  What I took out was over an inch in height when I stacked it all together!  WOW, no more back pain...and no more Seinfeld, George Costanza jokes!  What's in your wallet?

Two Great Faiths In One Candy Bar

Christ follower vs. Christian

Butternut Blog

What kind of people would give away a puppy - especially one as a cute and cuddly as a puggle?  Apparently the Nordhoff family, whoever they are, would.  A friend of mine forwarded this blog from a poor puggle named Butternut.  This puppy started a blog in hopes that his "Papa Eric" would find him.  How sad?  If any of my readers know "Papa Eric" or the Nordhoffs who apparently live in a place called "Nordhaven", please contact Butternut.  

Our prayers go out to you, Butternut.  From the looks of it, you may not want to find "Papa Eric".  He sounds like a very bad person to give you away like that.

Church Announcements

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The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.
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The sermon this morning: 'Jesus Walks on the Water.' The sermon tonight:
'Searching for Jesus.'
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Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those
things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.
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The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a
conflict.
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Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community. Smile at
someone who is hard to love. Say 'Hell' to someone who doesn't care much
about you.
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Don't let worry kill you off - let the Church help.
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Miss Charlene Mason sang 'I Will Not Pass This Way Again,' giving obvious
pleasure to the congregation.
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For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery
downstairs.
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Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help
they can get.
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The Rector will preach his farewell message, after which the choir will
sing: 'Break Forth Into Joy.'
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Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24th in the
church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.
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At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be 'What Is Hell?' Come early and listen to our choir practice.
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Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several
new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.
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Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
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Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person
you want remembered.
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The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment and
gracious hostility.
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Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM - Prayer and medication to follow.
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The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may
be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.
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This evening at 7 PM there will be a hymn singing in the park across from
the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.
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Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM. All ladies are
invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B.S. is done.
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The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would
lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.
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Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use the
back door.
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The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Church
basement Friday at 7 PM. The congregation is invited to attend this
tragedy.
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Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use the large double doors at the side entrance.
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The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new tithing campaign slogan
last Sunday : 'I Upped My Pledge - Up Yours.

The Correct Pronunciation of Syrup

The great debate around our house these days is the correct pronunciation of the word "syrup".  Krissy comes from Michigan where they pronounce it "sir-rup".  I come from New Jersey, where we pronounce it "see-rup". Kaden takes his mommy's side.  Alex takes his daddy's side.  We tried to end the argument by calling a famous pancake place here in Nashville, The Pancake Pantry.  Unfortunately, they haven't seen the light yet and pronounce it "sir-rup".  That was a few months ago.  I sort of conceded, but also with the understanding that here in the south, they probably pronounce it that way because it's easier and less proper.  

Just recently, we watched Dan In Real Life again, one of my favorite movies, and they all pronounced it "see-rup".  Well, that just stirred up the old argument again.  This morning, over "see-rup" and oatmeal, I decided to look it up on Google.  Someone posted that it could be pronounced both ways on Wikipedia.  There was actually another forum where it was discussed at length, but no clear cut conclusion was drawn.  

I just went onto a blog site that seems to be much about pancakes and asked them if they could give me a definitive answer.  If they respond, I'll let you know. 2009 must be the year when we put this issue to rest.

If not, I'm afraid we may never be able to 'pronounce' a winner on this one.  Then, I will continue to say "see-rup" along with Alex.  Krissy will continue to say "sir-rup" with Kaden and we'll just have to live with it.  

Please send back any comments that may enlighten me on this issue.

Milk Day?!

Alex looked at the calendar and said out loud, "Milk Day?!".  We checked what he was reading and it said "MLK Day"!

I'm looking forward to celebrating Milk Day with Alex on the 19th.  Do you prefer Skim MLK or Whole MLK?

Nordhoff, the Red Nosed Reindeer

Our friends, Katie and Hector called Krissy today laughing. 

Their son, Malachi, is insisting that instead of "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer," it's supposed to be "Nordhoff the Red Nosed Reindeer."  Katie told him that the reindeer's name is Rudolph, and our last name is Nordhoff, and he said, "Well, then, what's a Nordhoff?"  

Even after all this, he came home yesterday from school saying they made 'Nordhoff's' in class, and today they heard him happily singing from his room, "Nordhoff, the Red Nosed Reindeer!"

I never knew we were so famous:)

Ever Have One Of Those Awkward Silent Moments??

Have you ever had an awkward pause in a conversation where you could have sworn you heard crickets chirping? Now you can ACTUALLY hear crickets chirping. Check this out. TheCRICKETtoy™ is for any awkward pause.

Right now, some awkward situation is probably running through your mind. And if your family is anything like mine, the upcoming holidays should provide countless opportunities for this little green guy to interject a chirp or two. (great stocking stuffer!)

theCRICKETtoy™ was created by Jeff Anderson, a songwriter/producer in Nashville with a goofy sense of humor. He has several awkward videos posted here  and you can buy your own cricket on his website.  Matter of fact, it would make the ideal stocking stuffer for the teen in your life. Everyone knows they are full of awkward moments…

Like I said, check it out:
(yes, a PT Cruiser wrapped like a HUGE Green Cricket!)

Watch His 'Not the Greatest Singer' Video

P.S. I told him I would help him get the word out, so please copy and paste this entry in your blog and ask your readers to buy a toy and put this entry in their blog. I want to see just how many blogs we can get this fun, toy (Great Stocking Stuffer-only $5) on! I think we've got the next “pet rock” and it's fun to be a part of creating a cultural phenomenon!

Face Transformer

Have you ever wondered what you will look like when you're old? What about if you were a girl? Well, I discovered a funny site, thanks to my friend, Lucas Parry that does exactly that. It's simple - just upload a photo of yourself and you can create all kinds of ugly pictures of yourself.

I did some today of me and Alex. Really weird. Check them out.

Here is the link to the website you can do the same thing...

http://morph.cs.st-andrews.ac.uk//Transformer/

Have fun!