Week Rundown (10/23/2011-10/29/2011)

Sunday

I had ran the van for church this morning, and services were great. The afternoon was pretty rest-full, which was nice. After the evening services, we enjoyed some baseball on tv!


Monday

It was back to the schedule... daycare, school, college, and work!

After work, Lydia went to an exercise class with some of the ladies at church. She took the kids with her. I went to the college to volunteer my voice for a choir directing class. John, our church's song director, is taking the class, and had asked me to come along if I ever got the chance. It was a very neat experience.

We watched the World Series Game when we got home!


Tuesday

After work, we were treated to a dinner at Rib Crib. Yum!

Malachi had gotten a huge splinter at daycare, so when got home, we played 'doctor' to get it out! It was below the thumb joint and his hand had swollen. He cried, but we were able to remove it.

I left Lydia with the kids to attend quartet practice. Christmas songs were what we practiced! Joy to the world! haha!

Lydia worked on homework, and the kids got to bed a pretty decent time!


Wednesday

There was a mystery smell in the air this morning. The news reports that no one knows what it was. It smelled like garbage!

I had a dentist appointment after work. I wasn't looking forward to it, but it didn't take long. I had a hole in my top, far right tooth. They had to numb me twice! In fact, my whole right side of my face was numb afterwards.

Church services were great, and no one was rushed since the World Series game was postponed! lol!


Thursday

We spent the evening watching the World Series game... What a night!!!!!!!! Go Cards!

Friday

We were tired for most of the day, but seeing that game last night was worth it! We again watched the game this evening! Lydia and I glued to the tv! Yay Cardinals!


Saturday

I knew that today was gonna be eventful, and I was right! We got up, ate a quick, light breakfast, and headed off to church. We participated in 'Harvest Festival'. We dressed up in biblical costumes along with others in our church. I was the Matthew the tax collector. Lydia was Lydia the seller of purple. Mysia was Naaman's servant girl. And Malachi was the prophet Malachi.

The kids played games, and took part in several activities. I helped with some face-painting, and even got a mustache! I helped set up the pie-eating contest, in which Sam won! I also took part in the chopstick jellybean race... I came in second place, to Sam! Go figure! ;)

After the church activity, we headed to the mall to take surveys of the shoppers there. It was an assignment that Lydia had for one of her college classes. The kids played in the play area.

When we got home, Lydia pulled out her homework. The kids and I ate and watched tv before they went to bed.


~Matt

The Confusion of "Dr. Pepper 10"

As many friends and family know, Dr. Pepper is my favorite soda. In fact, for most of them, it's their favorite too.

A couple of weeks ago, my brother Sam gave me a bottle of Dr. Pepper 10. When I took the first gulp, I wondered what had happened to my beverage. Was it out-dated and flat? The answer was simple... a new product. And it was nasty! Why would they try and change perfection?

Anyway.. the "DP-10" is marketed toward men. Well, I'm not happy. It's disgusting! It tastes like the acid left in your mouth after vomiting. Gross!

Besides the fact that they're trying to change a perfect drink, their numbers don't add up! Notice the image. I stumbled across the following blog that addresses the confusion: http://www.graspingforobjectivity.com/2011/10/dr-pepper-ten.html

Perhaps there should be a facebook fan page to "Keep the DR the Same!" lol!

~Matt

Southern Gospel - Design Mistakes...

I’ve debated on posting this, but I wonder if I’m the first to notice or say anything... so here I go!

As many know, I love Southern Gospel music. The music, the message, the ministry... it’s just awesome! I also love quartets. So if there is anything going on in the genre, I’m trying to be caught up in the news. I follow many of the blogs and try to read anything that gets posted on the websites. Sure, I miss a few things, but that’s what can happen sometimes. Working at a SG radio station also helps staying on top of it all as well.

Of course, my profession is graphic design. I deal with it all the time, even at home. I tend to notice designs, especially those that are meant to grab attention. I want to learn to imitate on how things are presented, so that I may better myself in my line of work. I’ll often look at a design that I’ve come across and try and determine how it was accomplished and think on how I might have done the same thing.

Sometimes I’ll notice mistakes and flaws. I’ll laugh, and hope I’ll never do the same thing. You know... learn from others’ mistakes. However, I’ve had my fair share of mistakes! I’ve mistakenly inverted phone numbers, times, or left something important off of a design. Hey, it happens! I’m not perfect!

Anyway, to get to the point, my favorite quartet, GOLD CITY, recent released the news about their newest recording. It’s something I’ve been looking forward to. With the announcement came a picture of the album. There’s no typo... but there is some digital manipulation going on. A mistake my eye caught off the bat. I’m trying to hurt my favorite group, and I hope that this won’t appear on the final product, but I thought I’d point it out here on my blog.

I’ve ‘circled’ the mistakes. To see the original, go to Gold City’s website or facebook page!

~Matt

Week Rundown (10/16/2011-10/22/2011)

Sunday

Steppin' Out Quartet had been asked to sing at Central Baptist Church for their anniversary Sunday services. We met at the church at 9am to set up our sound equipment and do a sound check. We sang for both the Sunday School and morning services. It went very well, and the folks seemed to enjoy having us there. We were even treated to a 'picnic' lunch afterwards.

Lydia and the kids attended our church, and I met them at home in the afternoon. Lydia prepared supper (a German dish) for the activity after church this evening. The theme was missions, and everyone was asked to bring a dish from around the world. There was some great food!


Monday

It was back to the schedule... daycare, school, college, and work! The evening was nice and restful. Nothing that really demanded our attention. Mysia worked on homework and Malachi played well. After the kids went to bed, Lydia worked on her homework as well.


Tuesday

Today was 'put a cap on drugs' (wear an interesting hat) for Mysia's school. She took part, and wore a great cap for the occasion.

This evening was a bit interesting. A few minutes before getting off work, daycare called Lydia to report that Malachi was feeling sick. Sure enough, when he arrived at home, he threw up on the kitchen floor. But after that... he was fine! We ate, but had him eat lightly. He was laying on the floor near the couch watching tv as I left for quartet practice.

The quartet started our arrangements for Christmas. We're hoping that we'll be able to sing in quite a few nursing homes and churches this season. What a wonderful time of the year!

By the time I came home, Lydia was into her homework!


Wednesday

I stayed home today, using a personal day since Malachi was 'sick'. Technically, he was fine. He just had to be symptom free for 24 hours before he could return to daycare. He and I spent the day coloring, playing army men, and cleaning his room.

After nap-time, we headed out for our dentist appointment. He was excited to go, like usual. We both had ours at the same time. Mine went well, but his did not. They used 'mint' flavored paste when cleaning his teeth, and he didn't like it. Both of my children think that anything mint flavored tastes 'hot', so they don't care for it. Anyway, after that, he would let them clean his teeth!!!

As we left the office, Lydia and Mysia showed up for their appointments. Both of theirs went well, and they met us at home shortly afterwards. We ate a quick supper, Lydia and Mysia headed to church.


Thursday

For school today, Mysia got to wear her clothes inside-out... boy, she loved this idea.

We had planned to have discipleship, but it fell through. So it was family time for the evening. The kids colored while we made supper. It's nice to get a change just have some time together.


Friday

Mysia got to wear pajamas to school today. The day went by quickly. My Grandparents, Dave & Gladys Paasch, came into town and I had them stop by the radio station to give them a tour and show them my office. It was neat having them visit.

After work and school, we met at home and then headed over to my folks' house for supper. It turned out to be a mini Paasch family reunion for us... BJ and his family had came to town for a visit as well. We stayed and visited until 11pm. For us guys, our conversations were centered around technology, of course! Especially our smart phones! ;) There is nothing new about that. We also played a few games on our phones, using the technology to play against each other! What fun!

Our kids spent the night for a 'cousin sleep-over' under the watch of Aunt Abigail!


Saturday

It was great to wake up and not have the kids bugging us! Lol! Lydia and I had a nice breakfast together and then got on top of some house cleaning. My dad and grandparents dropped the kids off at the house before lunch.

For lunch, our friends Ike & Holly came over. We visited, ate a great lunch, and then played some Mario Kart Wii. It's always fun to have friends over!

The kids took naps while we went over schedules and the dinner menu for the week. We then headed out to get Mysia's haircut. She now has it shoulder-length, and looks very cute!

We met my folks and grandparents at the food-court in the mall. After eating, we let the the kids have fun in the play area. Ben and his family showed up and we got to visit with them some more. There were a few things we wanted to shop for, so we said our good-byes and walked the mall. We had found that if you want children's snow-boots, the mall is the place to go. Unfortunately, they're a bit higher priced than what we like... but the kids need them!

Back at home, we got the kids ready for bed and I did a quick grocery run. We had heard that the World Series game was being played by one of the local stations... but couldn't find it! Lydia did a channel scan, and we got four more channels! One of them hosting the game! Yippee!




~Matt

Week Rundown (09/25/2011-10/01/2011)

Sunday

I woke up, got to church and did the church van route before meeting Lydia at Sunday School.

For the afternoon, we rested. The kids were already in their beds when I arrived from doing the van route. I ate quick lunch.

We had a teacher's meeting after evenings services, so my parents asked to take the kids out for ice cream. We didn't turn down their offer! After the meeting, which went well without us having to keep our kids quiet, we picked up Mysia and Malachi at my folks. Both were full of energy... to much sugar perhaps???


Monday

Since it was Columbus Day, Lydia didn't have college classes. She put in a full day at work instead. For me, it was a busy Monday. The highlight was for me to do the on-air shift at lunch-time.

After work I picked up Mysia and headed home. We waited a few minutes for Lydia and Malachi to show up, and we piled into the van. We headed over to Hong Kong Inn to celebrate my brother Sam's 21st birthday.  After eating a hearty meal of cashew chicken and rice, we then went over to my parents' house to continue the celebration with cake and ice cream. The kids played outside for half an hour until it started to sprinkle.

Once back home, we put the kids to bed, Lydia started on the laundry and I made a quick grocery list. I then did a quick run to walmart to pick up those food items to last us for the rest of the week.


Tuesday

Lydia had another day without classes. She dealt with some of the financial issues and things before going into work this afternoon.

I had quartet practice, and we ran over our plan for this following Sunday.


Wednesday

I took an early lunch, picked up Malachi, and took him to the doctor for a wellness visit. I'm sure glad I brought my ipod... we waited in the waiting room for an hour! Malachi watched movies. The visit with doctor went well.

We had good services at church. Missions was the theme for the month, and we worked with the kids.


Thursday

The day went by quickly. Lydia took Mysia to her doctor's appointment. Discipleship was canceled, so we invited our friends Doug and Mary over for dinner. We talked and watched a few videos. We also played some Wii.


Friday

Malachi got to go on a field-trip with his daycare to the pumpkin patch. He was so happy to be able to bring one home.

For supper we had biscuits and gravy and spent a relaxing evening at home.


Saturday

We got to sleep in! One of my favorite things about Saturday! After we got up, we moved around some furniture, did chores.

While going through the kids' papers from school and daycare, they decided to get into mischief! I had put our wooden rocking chair on our bed while doing some reorganizing, and the kids decided to swing off the blades on our ceiling fan! We heard a crash... Mysia broke the fan blade. They're weight was just too much...!

After naps, we went to park. Lydia and I worked on the menu while the kids wore off some energy. Then it was off to Walmart for some serious shopping. Perhaps not the best idea with two kids, but we managed!

Back home we ate Ramen noodles for late supper and got showers before bed..

~Matt

Thursday Thoughts: "Honesty... and Trusting" (10/23/11)

Perhaps it's the way I was raised, or the fact that I live in a dream world...

Whatever the case, I like to trust people. I always have. It's been a hard lesson to learn that I can't. People like to manipulate, control, and deceive. It's like a game. I don't like it.

Growing up, I could never understand why someone would want to be dishonest to me. What was the benefit? They want me to be honest, and I was. But I would often be treated with lies, half-truths, and meanness. Why? Well, to others it's fun, or so it seems.

I once asked a 'friend' why... he said it's because I'm too gullible. Boy... that made me angry. And angry with myself. Obviously, I needed to less trusting.

I would like to say that I matured from being that innocent with trusting people.. But to be HONEST... not really. I just have learned to watch my back. I like having friends I can really trust. That's why Lydia is the perfect wife for me! She's my best-est friend!!!! ;)

You can ask her though... what's my life motto? "Always do right" It's not only a good idea, but it is what we as Christians are committed to do. Yes, I fail. But it is something I strive for. Others may not like it, but hey, if you want someone you can trust and will be honest... who will you go to? A friend that deceives or one who you can trust?

Just a thought!


~Matt

Tidbit Tuesday: The Bottom Of The Hour

 

I've grown up listening to KWFC radio ever since I can remember, and there hasn't been much change in how the programming is run. For example, the news is at the beginning of every hour, and the weather at :30.

 

The DJ would always announce that the weather was going to be coming up at "the bottom of the hour". This would continually confused me... I'd be looking at my clock in the car... what's further than bottom?  Shouldn't the bottom of the hour be toward the end? Not the middle?

 

Well, if you look at an analog clock, 'thirty minutes' is at the bottom, thus the phrase. Oh! Perhaps I'm just a bit slow. However, now that everything is digital, I'm thinking this could be done away with. But that's my opinion..

 

So, next time you hear it, you won't have to wonder! There's your tidbit for today!

 

~Matt

Week Rundown (10/02/2011-10/08/2011)

Sunday

Woke up a bit cold... the temps were a bit chilly! I did the church vans.

Today was the start of Missions Month at church. We had Bro. Deal, veteran missionary to Africa, preach during the services. He brought a great presentation on what he's been through in over 50 years of ministry! Wow....!

For the afternoon, we stayed at the church for Moses' 18th birthday party. We ate pizza, played ping-pong, and ate cake! The kids didn't take a nap, so they ended up falling asleep during the evening services.

When we got home, we gave the kids a sandwich and we all got ready for bed.


Monday

Back to school and work. After such a long weekend, it the day wasn't so bad! I stayed busy at work. Lydia had a lot to do when she came home for the evening. When I got home, we worked on supper and had the kids clean up their rooms. We tried a new dish, which meant that supper was a little late. Lydia started into her homework while I got the kids to bed before heading to do the grocery run. (I didn't do it over the weekend)


Tuesday

Lydia attended a 'college fair' after 5. So after work, I picked up the kids and headed over to Grandma Taylor's for a visit. The kids played while we talked and then we went over to my parents' house for a bit as well. By 7pm... Mysia was already falling asleep, so we headed home.


Wednesday

Today I got to do the air-shift from 3-6pm. It was fun, and I feel more comfortable behind the board. I'm still learning, and a bit nervous... but I'm enjoying myself. I found out that I'll be on the air some more next week!

Lydia picked up the kids, ran home and made sandwiches, then came and picked me up from work. We rushed to church and made it on time.


Thursday

This afternoon I had a doctors appointment. It was a yearly check-up. I spent over an hour in the waiting room, and then over thirty minutes in the patient room before seeing the doctor! Ugh! The doctor told me to try and walk more and be more active.

Discipleship was cancelled for tonight, so we put in a movie while we ate supper. The kids then pressured us to let them watch a cartoon before showers and bed.


Friday

It was an interesting day at work... definitely the end of the work-week! We lost network and internet for the last part of the day. It's amazing how much we depend on those things!

Lydia went business communication conference around 1pm and it didn't get over until after 6. She enjoyed it, and even got a good supper as well!


After work I picked up the kids and came home. I took them for a walk around the neighborhood before making ramen noodle soup for supper. We watched a few episodes of the Andy Griffith Show before Lydia came home.


Saturday

We slept in a bit, and then started house-work. There was plenty to do... like always! ;)

I took the kids for a walk before naps, but it wasn't much of a walk for them. Mysia rode her scooter and Malachi his bike. It made our 'walk' a little longer, but it was a good family excursion!

This evening, I took Lydia to the KWFC appreciation day at the Stained Glass Theatre in Ozark. It was work-related, but still fantastic. We got to enjoy a mini-concert by the LeFevre Quartet and then the production. It was awesome!


~Matt

Week Rundown (09/25/2011-10/01/2011)

Sunday

This morning was Men's prayer breakfast at church. I was running a bit late, but I made it.

During the afternoon, Lydia made an home-made apple pies for Teacher's Appreciation Dinner after evening services.


Monday

After getting off work, we met at Rib Crib for supper. The kids were hyper, but did well. The food was great!

We came home, and Mysia worked on her homework. While Lydia was doing the laundry, she found a huge spider. I caught it and put it in an empty pickle jar. Needless to say, it was the highlight of the evening.


Tuesday

Malachi got to go on a field trip with his daycare to Jumping Joey's today. As the name suggests, it's a place that allows kids to play and jump around. A perfect place for our little monkey! Now if you think that he came home wore out... you're wrong! Nothing zaps his energy. In fact, he was hyped up!

Work was interesting for me. I got to be in the 'hot seat' at the stations' studio. It's fun, but nerve-wrecking at the same time! I'm getting more comfortable, but it's gonna take a little more time.



Wednesday

Today was pretty normal. Wednesday evening services at church went well.


Thursday

This evening we had Discipleship with the Banks. They brought us some burgers and we had a great meeting. The kids watched a movie after eating supper.


Friday

After work, Mysia and I picked up Abigail. She was our sitter for the evening while I took Lydia to the Showboat Branson Belle. It was a good date night, and we really enjoyed the time together. The food was great, walking out on the deck was awesome, and the show was entertaining.


Saturday

We slept in a bit. The kids played together nicely after the woke up. Lydia got ready and took the kids to the Pregnancy Care Center's "Walk For Life" that was held downtown. Her and the kids watched Lycia do the 5K Run, and then they participated in the walk. Unfortunately, it wore her out.

While they were gone, I got ready for our quartet's singing at Jordan Creek Nursing. They had invited us to sing at their outdoor Octoberfest. I got there with enough time to visit with the people and start setting up.

Lydia got home with the kids. Her heart was racing a bit, so she took a nap along with kids. When she woke up, it was still high, which gave her concern.

The singing went well. We even had friends show up to hear us sing! They said they want us back.

When I arrived back home, Lydia was still not doing good. She called the on-call doctor, but he never called back. We then dropped the kids off with Me-Maw, and ran to urgent care. We spent over 4 hours there as they determined that she had gotten dehydrated and had a fever (along with chills). They gave her fluids through an IV during our time of waiting. They sent her home saying she needs to drink more. During the whole thing, Lydia got a migraine!

Back at home, Lydia went to bed and I got the kids ready for bed as well. I made me a late supper, and then went to bed as well. What a long day!


~Matt