Journal

Wonderwife and I are grateful to have spent time with her visiting family here for a change. She and her mother prepared excellent meals including Thankgiving day turkey/ham. The girls got to shop and discuss sister’s wedding plans next year while the guys and I played a round of golf, hiked and visited Ona’s Music Room to see Taylor Hick’s former band, The Memphis Blues Orchestra. Pics are on Flickr..you can click on them to them on the sidebar to the right.

By way of recovery this week, I am watching Band of Brothers DVD set that I got for an early birthday present. I can’t believe I have never seen this before. A fantastic series from HBO, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielburg about our Airborne troops in World War II. Rent or buy…just watch it.

Also, without shame here is a link to my Amazon.com wish list. Enjoy because you know I will!

As Alabama’s largest state park, Oak Mountain provides 9,940 acres of pine-studded ridges and lush green hardwood bottoms. The park offers vacation cottages, golf, pro shop with snack bar, camping, picnicks, swimming, boating, fishing, 52 miles of hiking, mountain bike trails, backpacking, a demonstration farm and horseback riding facilities. With the largest area and variety of outdoor recreational pursuits, Oak Mountain provides excitement for every member of the family.

Oak Mountain recently held the Southeast championship of the Xterra triathalons of swimming, mountain biking and trail running.

but I won’t be posting for the next 2 days with family being in town for a rare visit. Normal posting will resume shortly. In the meantime, leave a comment about your Thanksgiving plans with family!

December 7th — November 8th, 2006 Chris’ 34th Birthday!— at Birmingham, US

A knock-down, drink some more, knocked down fiesta. Join us!

I don’t know how it started, but mom would entertain us kids with a turkey bath. Not just any rinsing of turkey salmonella would do, though. There was song, there was dance and a lot of laughter as the turkey gyrated lewdly.

Here I am carrying on the tradition while preparing a cajun-style turkey breast for the 2 of us  What sort of wacky traditions do you have as holiday memories?

A day of hiking and exploration partnered with a fun scavenger hunt for the 75 best features of the park. A list of features at the park will be given to each guest to find, with a park ranger offering guidance throughout the hike. This list will be available as a wilderness guide throughout the year.

Now playing at the Techno Mojo website is a week long series on Fitness 2.0 and my progressing weight loss. So far for the week I have lost 5 pounds. Not bad, but I can do better. Sick or not.

… and nobody cares. That was the mantra from dad the one time of the year is was actually sick. How ironic is it to get a flu shot on Monday and then actually staying at home because of flu-like symptoms? At least I got out and voted in miserable weather under miserable personal feelings.

On the good news front, I found out that mom & her husband, Tom are visiting us while hiking in the Smoky mountains and Gatlinburg.  Wonderwife  makes the best salmon anywhere and brought home some pumpkin pie for the sicko.

When was the last time you voted for someone and not against them? I have said it before and it bears repeating that if you are a candidate running for public office, don’t slander your opponent. Instead, tell us your record, tell us your case history in specifics. In the past I have been a straight ticket kind of guy but no longer. If you are the candidate is spreading venom, hate and mistrust, well, you have just lost my vote. Try again in 4 years with a better attitude.

In closing, people, get off your buttocks and vote!

Personal Mojo has been online for about 2 months now and has already seen some  significant increases in traffic with total visitors of 2,600. 1,300 people a month per avg, wow! The best day ever was 390 visitors. First of all, thank you for stopping by! The two biggest draws were the M&M Dark movie trivia which was a fantastic game and the article of the OU Sooners getting ducked over at Oregon.

Other visitors have clicked through from my other websites in the Mojo franchise, like the world famous Techno Mojo, a tech and social software website for everyday computer users. Photo Mojo is a daily photoblog and Go Mojo highlights travel and the great outdoors. Again, thanks for reading, folks!

There are many things I would like to see happen here and maybe you can help. I am an extrovert and a social creature by nature. This past year has been fun as my experiences in Birmingham and the surrounding southeast has increased. I enjoyed Barcamp so much that I have decided to help create PhotoCamp. I have joined a local civic group called Catalyst who want to see Birmingham thrive & grow just like I do. TechMixers, photo shoots, and IPSA are major influences in my life right now as well. Personal Mojo won’t just be a website dedicated to me and my life but will include local references and news as well.

I’ll highlight and mash-up a lot of my interests together here as I write about my Christian walk and how it has become a crawl. Wonderwife’s cooking and my maturity has increased my desire to experiment with new recipes and restaurants. Mental & physical fitness is on the menu as well as I do some research, I’ll share some of my insights.

A lot of my interests overlap, which is convenient and you’ll see them here and the other websites. Photography while hiking (Photo Mojo/Go Mojo), technology & hiking (Techno Mojo/Go Mojo etc etc.

Just like the byline on the header up there says, Something/Anything/Everything/Nothing, will be written here. So thank you for letting me share myself, it is humbling to know that people are interested in my life and have shared theirs with me.

What are your interests and passions? How are you sharing it with others?