There are a couple of houses in this area that have recently taken price drops.  Although we lost our realtor up here to a job with better hours and we can't really do anything until our house sells, I decided to drive by the houses anyway just to get a feel for their neighborhoods and location.  While we've mostly been focused on the house we refer to as weird house, one house in particular has caught our attention.  I decided to drive by it yesterday.  I couldn't tell much about it other than it's in town and near the schools, but in a neighborhood off on its own with some rather pricey-looking houses.  Looking at it on the map suggests that it could have a nice view of both the river and some of the mountains across the inlet, but I couldn't tell from the road.

Today, as I got a bit lost looking for the second house (and found myself driving on roads that were as slick as ice-rinks), I realized that I had somehow made my way to the other side of the property the house I looked at yesterday.  I hadn't realized that its property ended at the top of a rather nice sized drop off.  Even from the lower elevation, I was able to see the mountains, so I think the house might actually have a really nice view.

As our own house still hasn't had any movement, I'm hesitant to do anything more than keep that house in mind.  Still, it was nice to feel a little rejuvenated when it comes to looking for a new home. 

In some ways, very little happened over this past month.  After all, we're still in the same, small house waiting for our house in Michigan to sell.  Yet in others, this was a busy month.  Here are some of the highlights (in no particular order):

I practiced for and participated in the new staff performance for this year's Turkey Trot at Skyview Middle School.

Despite not doing crossfit for most of the month due to the above mentioned Turkey Trot practice, I reached my lowest weight since I was a student at Spring Arbor University.

My brother gave me a copy of the newest StarCraft​ II expansion (The Legacy of the Void) which has been delightfully filling much of my spare time.

Janelle​ started work at Fred Meyer.

We had our first Thanksgiving in Soldotna, followed by my first (and surprisingly pleasant) Black Friday experience in Soldotna.

We had plenty of snow accumulate over most of the month, only to watch most of it go away after the past week of rain.

I had my first virtual GNOME as a proof of concept.  We've already scheduled the next one.

It's been a good month.  I hope December only improves upon it.

The Church has begun a new liturgical year by again preparing for the celebration of the arrival of Jesus into our world.  As Christians, we don't just celebrate His arrival in human form, but also His future arrival as the King of the Universe.  For now, humanity is waiting between those two great arrivals.  Like waiting for an important guest, this time can cause some people a great deal of anxiety and others a great deal of joy.  There is a great deal of work to be done before He arrives to reign, but it should be work that fills us with joy. 

I notice this often in my own Christmas preparations.  A great deal of my time and energy is spent worrying about those things that I need to still accomplish.  I stress about getting everything done, getting the right gifts, having the decorations just so, etc.  In all of that bustle, I often lose sight of the joy of the season.  If what I am doing cannot be accomplished with joy, I wonder if it is worthy of Him and His celebration.  I suppose the most important preparation I can make this season is a preparation of my soul in creating a joyful presence that benefits everyone I meet.

As a condition of my employment, I am required to have a yearly physical.  While I expected some discussion about my blood pressure and triglyceride levels (both of which are still issues), I was hit with the bombshell of a diabetes diagnosis.  This wasn't a prediabetes warning, but a straight-up "your glucose levels are off the charts" statement.  That was three months ago.

I have since been on a medication that can turn my bowels to water, but which I've been assured is better than any of the other medicine's side effects.  The goal is to get my levels back to normal without doing any more damage to my kidneys and blood vessels.  With that in mind, this week my doctor added a statin to my daily pill regimen.  

I hate pills.  It's more than the inconvenience and the side effects.  It's more than the dependence on and support of an industry that I feel has become terribly corrupt.  It's the feeling of failure that I now have.  Most likely, for the rest of my life, I will be taking these or other medications every day because I was not responsible enough with my eating habits and overall health.

The move to Soldotna has really improved my health.  Here, soda, chips, and candies are generally out of our price range right now.  Between that fact and my increased level of exercise, my health is better now than it has been in well over a decade.  Add in the fact that I probably wouldn't have gone to the doctor for another couple of years had I not been forced to, and this move may have saved my life (or at least a foot).

While there wasn't as much that I was interested in getting from this year's Black Friday specials and I don't really have the money to get anything if there was, I still headed out to Fred Meyer's (not to be confused with Meijer although the stores are similar) early this morning.  There were only a couple of things on my list: socks for Trevor​ and me, and a Gameboy 3DS for Connor.  Connor has been saving up since his seventh birthday (thus over a year), passing up opportunities for other toys and games.  While he was still a bit short, the price at Fred Meyer (which included a gift card as well) was the lowest that we have yet seen.  Janelle​ and I considered the money we added in for the purchase (as well as a game) to be Connor's Christmas present.

Anyway, I didn't get up for the store opening, and wasn't sure what sort of sights I was going to see once I got there.  Rather than the cramped and crazed shopping nightmare with lines lasting hours, I was able to walk in the store, find what I needed, purchase it, and leave within about ten minutes.  Both the shoppers and the workers all seemed happy and friendly.  I don't know if that's the norm, but it was the smoothest Black Friday experience I've had yet (granted, my list was much shorter than previous years).  

I'd like to say that this meant the rest of my day was carefree, but our living space and lack of funds are putting a real strain on us.  Between that, our missing our family, and Janelle's concerns about starting her job tomorrow, our stress levels have been on the rise.  It didn't help that the weather is in rain mode, making the roads slick and sightseeing not as possible.  I really wish that I had some wonderful solution that made these troubles disappear, but I have to settle for knowing that these times will pass and will make us more appreciative of what we will have in the future.

Rowen woke us up early as though it were a normal school day, begging to have breakfast. I unsuccessfully tried to stay in bed, but finally gave in as I needed to get ready to sing at the 10am mass anyway. Janelle and the boys stayed home, while I sang acapella with the rest of the choir. While that let her get ready for our Thanksgiving meals, it did mean that she and the boys missed out on seeing Elizabeth Applebee Larson and her youngest daughters.

Immediately after mass, I headed back home, switched vehicles and took the family to Our Lady of Angels church in Kenai for their Thanksgiving buffet. Janelle brought her amazing sweat potato casserole. It was an amazing spread with plenty of great food. We met several nice people, but did not stay for bingo, as we still wanted to have our traditional family meal today as well.

Due to the past few warm days and a night of heavy rain, much of the snow has disappeared. While the ice and slush are gone from the main roads, several of the side roads, including the roads that we take home, were quite slick. We didn't have any problems driving, but Janelle is concerned about later in the week as the temperatures begin to drop again.

At home, we made (and received) a number of phone calls from family, including a Skype call with our daughters, Alex and Katrina, that lasted over an hour. Meanwhile we worked at getting the main meal together, finally eating at around eight.
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It has been a great day which was alone worth our thanks. I hope everyone else had a wonderful Thanksgiving too.

Our weeks of practice were well spent.  Today's Turkey Trot performance was a blast to be in and nearly as entertaining to watch.  Although this video is missing my opening speech, and only people who attend (or attended) middle school in Soldotna would know the staff, this is still a pretty fun piece.  

Some credits: Desiree Ott (whose idea this whole thing was) starts as our principal, Mr. Truesdell; next is Troy Poage (who insisted on wearing a wig and dress) who comes in as our counselor, Ms. Natalie; third is Maryjane Hadaway as our art teacher (and the person filming this video), Mrs. Eggleston; fourth is Hannah Gutchenritter (our main organizer) as our social studies and Spanish teacher (also Trevor​'s confirmation instructor), Mrs. Pothast; fifth is Dennis Diviney as our long-time social studies teacher, Mr. Moore; sixth is Krystalynn Scott (our dance mixer and choreographer) as our main custodian (and martial arts fan), Mr. Alex; and last is me as our vice principal (and rodeo lover),  Mrs. Dufloth.

I hope you enjoy.  Janelle​ sure did.

Link to YouTube video

I stayed late at work trying to catch up on grading and also to practice for the Turkey Trot this Wednesday.  The performance is coming together pretty well.  We've been practicing every lunch period and every day after school for the past couple of weeks.  We even met this weekend to get some practice in the gymnasium where our actual performance will take place.  I plan on posting a YouTube link once we have one.

The only downside is that I've had to postpone Crossfit workouts until next week.  The program has been great for me.  Between the exercise and the fact that I've virtually cut soda and chips from my diet, I'm now at my lowest weight since college.  I still have a way to go before I feel that I'm "in shape," but I'm in better condition than I was throughout my thirties and most of my twenties.  I'm actually looking forward to starting up the exercise again next week (especially after this week's upcoming meals).  Hopefully, I'll be down (rather than up) a waist size by Christmas.

The final day in the Catholic Church's liturgical year gets quite a sendoff.  While much of the hype will be next week's beginning of Advent and the leadup to Christmas, today brings the Biblical journey full cycle, focusing on Jesus and His role as king now and forever.

Jesus is not like other kings or rulers who use control and coercion to keep themselves in power.  Instead He came to us in the most humble of forms, demonstrated for us that the greatest way that a person can lead is through service, and then gave us the greatest sacrifice any leader can make.  He came not to conquer, but to free us.  He came not to judge, but to teach.  He taught us not to condemn, but to love, even our most hated enemies.  So often, we are told that the world doesn't work that way, but He shows us that it should.

Would that more of our leaders followed His example ...

It has been a while since we've had our last "Guys Night Of Monster Evisceration.  Actually, due to my move, I missed the last one.  Today, several of my friends braved the intense winter weather in Michigan to join together and play our first game in months.  Through the miracle of modern technology, I was able to see and speak with them almost as though I was in the room.  And while I did not get to join them in the wonderful food or physically share a space with them, it still felt amazing to be in their company (albeit virtually) once again.

I look forward to future visits when I will be able to join them physically, but for now it was heartening to play, joke, tease, and share with them in this way.  I look forward to the next one.

Somehow, my snow sweaters worked.  Instead of two days of rain and ice rain, we only got about a total of two hours of that "wintry mix" and otherwise saw only snow instead.  My sweaters' "power" was positively remarked upon by at least three people at the school, with one jokingly telling me that I wasn't allowed to take off my sweater until the threat of rain was completely gone.  There's rain in the forecast for next week too, but it try not to abuse this kind of gift.

Not only did the storm in Michigan hold off long enough for my eldest daughter, Alex​, to make it safely to lower Michigan for her Thanksgiving break, but Katrina​ also received the pleasant surprise of her boyfriend (who is also going to school across "the bridge") making it down as well (he had told her otherwise so he could surprise her).  Not seeing them this holiday season is a bit rough, but hopefully they still have a good time.

We lost our realtor up here to a job with better hours.  He gave us a call this evening to let us know the news and to wish us the best in our future house hunting.  This certainly came as a surprise, but I hope his new job goes well.  I'm going to miss having him as a realtor as we seemed to get along pretty well; not only did he have a good sense for what we would like and dislike in a house, he shared a number of interests with me that made our conversations pretty enjoyable (if more infrequent this past month).

After a week of subzero temperatures, today was supposed to bring above freezing highs (that's over a thirty degree difference) and rain most of the day.  As I am a fan of snow, I decided to wear my snowflake adorned sweater (often mistaken for a Christmas sweater despite its complete lack of Christmas colors or decoration).  Amazingly, it paid off.  We didn't see a drop of rain today.  Instead, we received another few inches of the fluffy white flakes.

This was particularly fortunate (and noticeable) during the candlelight vigil for homelessness awareness that Trevor​ and I attended at a local park.  Had it been raining, we would have been soaked to the bone.  Instead we were covered with snow by the end of the hour-long event.  Throughout the service, my candle hissed as fat snowflakes hit the open flame; meanwhile, I had to keep brushing the snow off of my nose.  It certainly made me realize how terrible it must be to be homeless (our homeless population often ends up living in tents) in this area in the winter.

Tomorrow's forecast has now switched from a day full of rain to just a few hours of rain, with snow following.  I plan on wearing my other snow sweater to again show my support of my favorite form of precipitation.