Books Read 2011

Here's a list of books I read in 2011:

1. Kayaks Down the Nile – John Goddard (January 10, 2011)
2. Handle with Care – Jodi Picoult (January 15, 2011)
3. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest – Stieg Larsson (January 23, 2011)
4. The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins (February 2, 2011)
5. Catching Fire – Suzanne Collins (February 10, 2011)
6. Mockingjay – Suzanne Collins (February 14, 2011)
7. The Confession – John Grisham (February 26, 2011)
8. Decision Points – George W. Bush (March 7, 2011)
9. It's Not About the Bike – Lance Armstrong (March 10, 2011)
10. Home to Holly Springs – Jan Karon (March 17, 2011)
11. The Expediter – David Hagberg (March 24, 2011)
12. Kitchen Confidential – Anthony Bourdain (April 14, 2011)
13. Enduring Love – Ian McEwan (May 4, 2011)
14. Two Wars – Nate Self (May 14, 2011)
15. It Happens Every Spring – Catherine Palmer and Gary Chapman (May 29, 2011)
16. No Mercy – John Gilstrap (June 11, 2011)
17. Op-Center – Tom Clancy (June 22, 2011)
18. The Priest's Graveyard – Ted Dekker (July 6, 2011)
19. Mormonism, Mama, and Me – Thelma Greer (July 27, 2011)
20. The Second Chair – John Lescroart (August 4, 2011)
21. Courageous – Randy Alcorn, Alex Kendrick, and Stephen Kendrick (September 18, 2011)
22. A Man in Full – Tom Wolfe (October 25, 2011)
23. By the Rivers of Babylon – Nelson DeMille (October 28, 2011)
24. Burn – Ted Dekker and Erin Healy (November 13, 2011)
25. Edge of Apocalypse – Tim LaHaye and Craig Parshall (November 24, 2011)
26. My Nuclear Family – Christopher J. Brownfield (December 5, 2011)
27. Bankable Business Plans – Edward Rogoff (December 13, 2011)
28. Kiss – Ted Dekker and Erin Healy (December 21, 2011)
29. The Brotherhood – Jerry B. Jenkins (December 30, 2011)

Books Read 2010

Here's the list of books that I read in 2010.

1. Perfect Match – Jodi Picoult (January, 10 2010)
2. Julie & Julia – Julie Powell (January, 17 2010)
3. Green – Ted Dekker (March 21, 2010)
4. Born to Run – Christopher McDougall (May 8, 2010)
5. Honeymoon with My Brother – Franz Wisner (May 25, 2010)
6. Plain Truth – Jodi Picoult (June 1, 2010)
7. Eat, Pray, Love – Elizabeth Gilbert (June 26, 2010)
8. The Jungle – Upton Sinclair (July 12, 2010)
9. Cold Fire – Dean Koontz (July 15, 2010)
10. BoneMan's Daughters – Ted Dekker (September 9, 2010)
11. The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath (September 21, 2010)
12. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind – William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer (October 3, 2010)
13. A Calculated Risk – Katherine Neville (October 6, 2010)
14. The Bride Collector – Ted Dekker (October 11, 2010)
15. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Mark Haddon (October 24, 2010)
16. Immanuel's Veins – Ted Dekker (October 31, 2010)
17. Open – Andre Agassi (November 10, 2010)
18. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Stieg Larsson (December 5, 2010)
19. The Girl Who Played with Fire – Stieg Larsson (December 22, 2010)

101 Things: Round 2

It's time for a new list of goals and dreams. Some of these should be fairly easy, some of them will be extremely challenging, and some will depend a lot on available time and money. Some of the items are just for fun, and some are very serious life goals. Some items are unfinished ones from my first 101 things project, and some are completely new. I'm not going to live my life solely to accomplish everything on this list, but I am going to use it to remind myself of some of the things I'd like to accomplish over the next three years.

And now, here's the list, which will be updated as I go.

Project Dates

Project Progress

The List

Books

001. Read the entire Bible

002. Read How to Read a Book

003. Read 10 books listed in the appendix of How to Read a Book [0/10]

004. Read 10 books listed in 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die [3/10]

The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath (September 21, 2010)
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Mark Haddon (October 24, 2010)
Enduring Love – Ian McEwan (May 4, 2011)

005. Read 10 business books [1/10]

Bankable Business Plans – Edward Rogoff (December 13, 2011)

006. Read 5 books listed on the Programmer Competency Matrix [0/5]

007. Read 10 Christian non-fiction books [2/10]

Mormonism, Mama, and Me – Thelma Greer (July 27, 2011)
How to Stay Christian in College – J. Budziszewski (January 10, 2012)

008. Read 30 other books [30/30]

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind – William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer (October 3, 2010)
A Calculated Risk – Katherine Neville (October 6, 2010)
The Bride Collector – Ted Dekker (October 11, 2010)
Immanuel's Veins – Ted Dekker (October 31, 2010)
Open – Andre Agassi (November 10, 2010)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Stieg Larsson (December 5, 2010)
The Girl Who Played with Fire – Stieg Larsson (December 22, 2010)
Kayaks Down the Nile – John Goddard (January 10, 2011)
Handle with Care – Jodi Picoult (January 15, 2011)
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest – Stieg Larsson (January 23, 2011)
The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins (February 2, 2011)
Catching Fire – Suzanne Collins (February 10, 2011)
Mockingjay – Suzanne Collins (February 14, 2011)
The Confession – John Grisham (February 26, 2011)
Decision Points – George W. Bush (March 7, 2011)
It's Not About the Bike – Lance Armstrong (March 10, 2011)
Home to Holly Springs – Jan Karon (March 17, 2011)
The Expediter – David Hagberg (March 24, 2011)
Kitchen Confidential – Anthony Bourdain (April 14, 2011)
Two Wars – Nate Self (May 14, 2011)
It Happens Every Spring – Catherine Palmer and Gary Chapman (May 29, 2011)
No Mercy – John Gilstrap (June 11, 2011)
Op-Center – Tom Clancy (June 22, 2011)
The Priest's Graveyard – Ted Dekker (July 6, 2011)
The Second Chair – John Lescroart (August 4, 2011)
Courageous – Randy Alcorn, Alex Kendrick, and Stephen Kendrick (September 18, 2011)
A Man in Full – Tom Wolfe (October 25, 2011)
By the Rivers of Babylon – Nelson DeMille (October 28, 2011)
Burn – Ted Dekker and Erin Healy (November 13, 2011)
Edge of Apocalypse – Tim LaHaye and Craig Parshall (November 24, 2011)

Culture

009. Attend a symphony concert

010. Attend a play [May 7-8, 2011 – Crystal and I saw The Imaginary Invalid and Julius Caesar]

011. Attend a concert [October 9, 2011 – I saw the David Crowder Band in San Francisco with Ariana and my nephew Gary]

012. Watch 10 movies listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die [7/10]

On the Waterfront – Jan 21, 2011
Stagecoach – Jan 27, 2011
Blackmail – Feb 3, 2011
The Jazz Singer – Mar 11, 2011
Duck Soup – Oct 12, 2011
High Noon – Jan 10, 2012
Breakfast at Tiffany's – Jan 13, 2012

013. Attend a Second Saturday Art Walk in Sacramento

Food

014. Attend Taste of Chico

015. Eat at the Spice Creek Cafe

016. Eat at a restaurant in Chico that I've never been to before [September 14, 2010 - Petra Mediterranean]

017. Eat food from a culture that I've never tried before

018. Cook beef bourguignon (Julia Child's recipe)

019. Learn to cook Thai curry

Faith

020. Go on a short term mission trip

021. Write in a journal (paper or digital) every day for 30 days

022. Participate in Love Chico [Oct 26, 2010]

Health and Fitness

023. Train for and complete a triathlon

024. Complete a 5k

025. Complete a 10k

026. Complete a century bike ride (100 miles)

027. Weigh less than 200 pounds (starting weight: 276 pounds)

028. Break my addiction to caffeine

029. Go 1 month without eating ice cream

Travel

030. Visit New Zealand

031. Visit at least one country in Europe

032. Visit a national park that I haven't yet visited

033. Visit a state or province that I haven't yet visited

034. Visit Santa Cruz

Outdoor Activities

035. Go on a backpacking trip with Dad

036. Go backpacking in the Lassen area (the national park or one of the nearby wilderness areas)

037. Go snowshoeing

038. Go horseback riding

039. Camp at Juniper Lake

040. Go bicycle camping

041. Climb Lassen Peak

042. Hike a trail in Castle Crags state park

043. Hike to Bumpass Hell in Lassen National Park

Family

044. Take a 2 night or longer backpacking trip with Ariana

045. Go on a car camping trip with Emily

046. Take the kids to Lake Shasta Caverns

047. Visit Mexicali with Ariana

048. Put together an iTunes playlist of cheesy love songs for Crystal [January 10, 2011]

049. Go on a vacation with Crystal [May 5-8, 2011 – Anniversary trip to Ashland, OR]

050. As a family, watch a professional sports event (NFL, MLB, etc) in person

051. Design a book of family photos from the last few years

052. Go on a bike ride as a family

Personal

053. Have a logo for this site professionally designed

054. Redesign this site

055. Write a will

056. Copy all of the (good) music from our CDs to our iTunes library [Jan 7, 2011]

057. Take a martial arts class and advance at least one belt

058. Finish unpacking and organizing our house

059. Donate blood 3 times [0/3]

060. Complete 5 drawings [0/5]

061. Transfer all of our digital 8 videos to the computer

062. Get a professional massage

Purchases/Finance

063. Get a passport [November 20, 2010]

064. Purchase a Kindle or other e-reader [April 30, 2011 - Crystal purchased this for me as an anniversary gift]

065. Purchase the rest of the pieces for our entertainment center (receiver, speakers, computer, hard drives)

066. Purchase everything needed for our entire family to go on bike rides together

067. Purchase renter's insurance [January 31, 2011]

068. Purchase a bike rack for our car

069. Purchase a headstone for the grave of the twins

070. Build or purchase a touring bike

071. Purchase at least one canvas of our family to hang in the living room [December 8, 2010]

072. Purchase 2 books for my photo book collection [2/2]

On This Earth: Photographs from East Africa (Nick Brandt) – January 10, 2011
Chased by the Light: A 90-Day Journey (Jim Brandenburg) – January 27, 2012

073. Design and purchase our wedding album

074. Buy a new tripod

075. Build a $1000 emergency fund

Photo Business

076. Take a winter photography trip to Yosemite

077. Photograph waterfalls in North Carolina in the spring

078. Have a new logo designed for Divine Reflections Photography

079. Redesign the Divine Reflections website

080. Photograph Mossbrae Falls

081. Complete a 26 things project

082. Catch up on copyright registrations

083. Complete the setup of our image backup system

084. Complete my Bidwell Park photo project

085. Design a book with the photos from the Bidwell Park project

086. Organize and keyword all digital business photos

087. Design a companion book to Crystal's 365 day photo project

Coatesoft/Programming

088. Have a logo designed for Coatesoft

089. Design the Coatesoft website

090. Release a beta version of Blahaha

091. Have a logo designed for Blahaha

092. Come up with a better name for Photo Business Plus [December 14, 2010 - Office Mogul]

093. Have a logo designed for Office Mogul

094. Release a beta version of Office Mogul

095. Learn C

096. Learn Javascript

097. Private

098. Private

099. Private

100. Private

Life

101. Build our businesses large enough that I can drop to half time at my day job.

A Year with Frog and Toad (101 Things #41)

Emily at A Year with Frog and Toad
(Please excuse the bad iPhone photo)

CSU, Chico has a program that allows local elementary school students to attend top-notch performances during the school year. Today, Emily got to see the musical A Year with Frog and Toad, and I got to go with her. We both enjoyed ourselves. She was captivated for pretty much the whole time, and I liked the music. (Don't laugh; the cast was talented!) Besides, it was great Daddy-daughter bonding time.

Books Read 2009

I was able to read more books this year than I have since I was a child. Here's the list of titles I read over the last 12 months:

1. Nothing Lasts Forever – Sidney Sheldon (February 4, 2009)
2. The Prince of Beverly Hills – Stuart Woods (February 11, 2009)
3. Blood Work – Michael Connelly (February 18, 2009)
4. Eyes of a Child – Richard North Patterson (February 27, 2009)
5. Trunk Music – Michael Connelly (March 5, 2009)
6. The Black Echo – Michael Connelly (March 12, 2009)
7. The Concrete Blonde – Michael Connelly (March 18, 2009)
8. Sinner – Ted Dekker (March 22, 2009)
9. Lost Light – Michael Connelly (March 23, 2009)
10. The Last Coyote – Michael Connelly (March 27, 2009)
11. Degree of Guilt – Richard North Patterson (March 29, 2009)
12. Saving Faith – David Baldacci (April 6, 2009)
13. Safely Home – Randy Alcorn (April 13, 2009)
14. Hour Game – David Baldacci (April 20, 2009)
15. Pleading Guilty – Scott Turow (April 24, 2009)
16. The Murder Book – Jonathan Kellerman (May 11, 2009)
17. Fatal Terrain – Dale Brown (May 28, 2009)
18. Mr. Murder – Dean Koontz (June 17, 2009)
19. Ramona and Her Father – Beverly Cleary (July 2, 2009)
20. The Lasko Tangent – Richard North Patterson (July 8, 2009)
21. Dark Rivers of the Heart – Dean Koontz (July 15, 2009)
22. The Charm School – Nelson DeMille (July 17, 2009)
23. Critical Mass – David Hagberg (July 30, 2009)
24. Whispers – Dean Koontz (August 13, 2009)
25. My Sister's Keeper – Jodi Picoult (September 1, 2009)
26. The Regime – Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins (September 3, 2009)
27. Kingdom Come – Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins (September 3, 2009)
28. Angels Flight – Michael Connelly (September 10, 2009)
29. The Fourth Procedure – Stanley Pottinger (September 11, 2009)
30. Twilight – Stephenie Meyer (September 14, 2009)
31. Adam – Ted Dekker (September 20, 2009)
32. The Rapture – Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins (September 22, 2009)
33. Silenced – Jerry Jenkins (September 27, 2009)
34. Shadowed – Jerry Jenkins (October 1, 2009)
35. Red Summer – Bill Carter (October 8, 2009)
36. New Moon – Stephenie Meyer (October 10, 2009)
37. Utopia – Thomas More and Paul Turner, translator (October 13, 2009)
38. Eclipse – Stephenie Meyer (October 21, 2009)
39. Life of Pi – Yann Martel (November 2, 2009)
40. Breaking Dawn – Stephenie Meyer (November 8, 2009)
41. Vanishing Acts – Jodi Picoult (November 27, 2009)
42. No Limits – Michael Phelps and Alan Abrahamson (December 10, 2009)
43. Nineteen Minutes – Jodi Picoult (December, 18 2009)
44. Change of Heart – Jodi Picoult (December, 23 2009)

Photo Stream Automated (101 Things #45)

I've checked another goal off my 101 Things list: the photo stream in the left sidebar is now automated. It pulls family photos from our photography business site as they are added. I hope you enjoy this new site feature!

Chili Recipe

My Chili

Crystal posted a picture of a pot of my chili over on the Très Bébé blog, and several people have asked about the recipe. So, here it is. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 lb lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
salt and ground black pepper, to taste
2qt bottle of tomato juice, preferably low sodium
1 can chopped mild green chiles
2 14oz cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 14oz cans small white beans or pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 14oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 14oz can chopped tomatoes
1 tsp cumin
¼ c chili powder (adjust to taste)
½ tsp ground red pepper (adjust to taste)
salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Brown the ground beef with the onion and garlic. Season with salt and ground black pepper to taste.
2. Add all the other ingredients and stir well.
3. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for as long as you can stand to wait.
4. Serve with toppings as desired. We like shredded cheese and sour cream. And corn bread on the side.

Notes

• You could also do this with dried beans instead of canned. It would probably be even better, but we use cans because I don't typically have the time to soak and pre-cook beans.
• This recipe is a modified version of the chili that I ate at home growing up. So, my Mom gets quite a bit of credit for this.

Herb Gardening (101 Things #34)

Thyme, Oregano, and Petunias

I kill plants.

It's not malicious, mind you. I just tend to get really busy and forget to water them. Or I'll get busy and forget to bring them in from the cold. Or I'll get busy and let the weeds totally choke them out. Or, worst of all, I'll actually keep them alive and then get too busy to harvest the crop at the end of the season.

Click here to read more...

Our 8th Wedding Anniversary

Crystal and I have been married for 8 years. It's hard to believe, isn't it. We've been through a lot of ups and downs over the past few years, but we're still together, and we love each other more now than we ever have.

Rather than spend a lot of money on gifts this year, we both invested time and thought into what we did for one another.

Click here to read more...