tyler.reitz

Bicycle Project!

2009-04-10T10:51:00.000-07:00

This is how it started. $10! Listed on craigslist for $40. Good deal!

After taking it apart and adding the new parts. New Bars, front break, pedals, cranks, chain, and chain ring.

Once I got the rear wheel on... before the front wheel and new seat.

ALMOST done! Both wheels on, and new seat. Now I need to decide what kind of bars I am going to use. Put the new grips on once they arrive, and get it powder coated!

And this is the bike that I am kinda of modeling it after. Accept instead of black text on the frame I am going to use a teal that matches the color on my seat. And I am going to do drop cars with matching teal bar grips.

NEW BLOG!

2009-01-09T08:37:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! As I mentioned, not too long ago, I decided I was going to take a break from blogging until I figured out WHAT I really cared about, or actually wanted to blog about.

Well, on my way home last night, I thought to myself, what was the one thing I blogged about that people actually cared about? Or that people actually became engaged in? Obviously, my posts concerning Obama. Is my new blog dedicated to Obama discussion? Heck no. Instead, I realized that I really enjoy debate. I enjoy controversial discussions, whether it is over something that matters, or something that really doesn't matter at all.

So my new blog is a discussion blog, based on personal opinions. Ultimately, a debate blog. Not intended to get all mean and nasty or anything, just to discuss relevant issues at hand. Sometime they will be serious, other times they will be light and fun.

I don't know how often I will be posting topics. Hopefully at least once a week. In addition, I will also be taking suggestions on topics to post.

Hope you enjoy it!

http://debatethisandthat.blogspot.com/

NMM (My new favorite song) Lost...

2008-12-15T08:29:00.000-08:00

Those of you who watch the show Lost will probably recognize this song. It is the newest single from "The Fray"... You Found Me.

It's not available for my playlist yet, because the CD doesn't come out until January... So you will have to go listen on Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fs51Fo9fuGM

Lyrically, this is one of the best songs I have ever heard. And I totally love the fact that "Christian bands" like the Fray aren't pegged as being a "Christian Band", giving them the ability to reach SO many more people. The first time I heard this song was when they performed it live during the Fox Music Awards (Or something like that) in front of thousands of people who I guarantee you would gawk and the thought of listening to the stereo typical "Christian Band". And between listening to Air One and 94.9 the River, I have heard it about 10 times on the River, and not once on Air One, but if you listen to the words, how could you not hear the message behind it? The song starts with "I found God"! Can't get anymore clear than that. Though you could argue whether the song is about finding a girl, or finding God, I would argue it is about God finding us when we need him the most.

Anyways, here are the lyrics, and go listen!

I found God
on the corner of First and Amistad
Where the west
was all but won
All along
Smoking his last cigarette
I said, where've you been?
He said, ask anything.

Where were you?
When everything was falling apart.
All my days spent by the telephone.
And all I needed was a call
It never came
To the corner of Firs tand Amistad

Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me
Lying on the floor, surrounded, surrounded
Why'd you have to wait?
Where were you? Where were you?
Just a little late.
You found me, you found me.

But in the end
Everyone ends up alone
Losing hope
The only one who's ever known
Who I am, Who I'm not, Who I want to be
No way to know
How long she will be next to me

I've been calling for years and years
and you've never left me no messages
Never sent me no letters

House. For those who haven't seen...

2008-11-03T11:52:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of the house Nicole and I are moving into on the 15th of this month:)
Starting with the kitchen... Moving into the living room... Then to the garage... And finally, the front.

I Couldn't Resist! NMM (Tuesday)

2008-10-21T07:40:00.000-07:00

Well hello again. That break didn't last long. I know. But I just could not resist sharing this song. It makes me far too happy to keep to myself.

Introducing.... Bon Fold featuring Regina Spektor. I heard this song on the radio one day on the way to work and was like, WOW, that is a awesome song! Sounds like Regina Spektor... but could it really be? And who is that guy? (I don't listen to Ben Folds much, so I didn't recognize his voice... However I now wish I did listen to him a lot)

Not much more to say, accept, this song is awesome. And I LOVE it!

Hope you do too!

Takin a Break

2008-10-13T09:29:00.000-07:00

Hello all. As I am sure you have noticed I haven't blogged in 2 weeks. At first it was because I had nothing to say, than last week when I would have normally posted a NMM post I was sick, so I didn't feel like it. And after thinking the last couple weeks, I decided I need to take a break from blogging for a while.

I think blogging about your life is fine, but it doesn't really do it for me. I guess the people who read my blog I feel like I am in touch with in other ways. I want my blog to have a purpose other than updating people about my life. So until I come across that ONE thing that I feel like I can talk about ALOT, I won't be posting anything.

I will still try and check on all of your blogs to see what is happening in your lives, and you can keep your eyes open for that day that I feel I have something really worth sharing.

Talk to you all soon!

NMM: O.A.R.

2008-09-29T08:03:00.000-07:00

I am very excited about my song this week. I heard it on my way to work about 2 weeks ago on the River, but they didn't say who it was. So I have spent the last two weeks just waiting to hear it again, and hoping the the D.J. would say who it is! Finally, the 3rd time I heard it, they did.

This is a new single from a band called O.A.R. (Of A New Revolution). They are by no means, from my research, a new band. It looks like they have actually been around for a LONG time. However, they recently released a new CD with this single on it called Shattered (Turn the car around) and I LOVE it.

The guys voice, the melody, everything about it screams "Good song!" to me.

Hope you enjoy!

Football time

2008-09-25T10:04:00.000-07:00

As as BSU football goes I really haven't gone to very many games. And this year the only one I was planning on paying for was the Hawaii game, cause Kevin was suppose to be here... but he's not anymore. And Nicole's parents bought the whole family tickets to Fresno, which will be super fun.

I didn't notice until like Sunday that the BSU vs. La Tech game is on a Wednesday... and Nicole and I do childcare stuff at the church on Wednesday nights. So I was like, crap, I won't get to watch it! But I talked to lady in charge of it all and she said I could take the night off. So sweet! I get to watch it!

But THAN I got to thinking. I'm probably just going to watch it at home by myself. That's kinda boring. Nicole's not even going to be home. I should see if I could score a free student ticket! So I texted my brother-in-law who is working that night, and sure enough. He is going to grab his student ticket today and give it to me so I can go. Sweet!

Than I realized, I don't really have anyone to go with? haha. So I am going to crash the tailgating bus party (the bus that all the lacrosse guys tailgate on before the game) and roll in with them. They always get right up front, and on T.V. like every game. So watch close, I could be on ESPN next week! :-)

Sorry, I just realized I haven't written anything other than NMM's in a while. About time!

some New Music for you on this fine Monday--Bright Eyes

2008-09-22T11:18:00.001-07:00

It is possible that you have heard of Bright Eyes. They have been around for some time, but only introduced to me a couple years ago when I was in the Philipines.

To some, Bright Eyes is painfully depressing music.
To others, Bright Eyes is a moderately talented musician playing music because he is sad.
However, to me, Bright Eyes is some of the most raw, poetic music I have ever heard. I respect bright eyes because of their simplicity. The synthesizing back up, raw vocals, and melodic, poetic vocals.

The second song is much more "depressing" if you will. The first a bit more upbeat and happy.

I have a feeling you will either appreciate, hate them.

I love listening to them when I just feel like relaxing, or going to sleep.

>>>NMM<<< Long time in coming... Norma Jean

2008-09-15T09:11:00.000-07:00

So this post has been a long time in coming. I know from Shelley's first comment on my first NMM post that you have all been anticipating/dreading the day that I posted something like this. And I wasn't going to, but this time I HAD to. For a couple reasons.

A) There is a chance that maybe, just maybe, at least one of you will like this song

B) I purchased this CD Friday night, and can not believe how good it is. It blows my mind, so I felt the need to share the one song on it that you might not hate.

C) I just love it.

Okay so here is the story of this song/cd/band. Norma Jean, as I have mentioned before is one of my favorite bands. However over the years they have had a change in lead singer. When that happened, I still enjoyed their new CD's, but not nearly as much as the old stuff. They were slowly, I felt, moving away from their roots, which is what I fell in love with them for.

I saw on myspace about a month ago that a new CD was coming out. I was SOOO excited. However, when they posted a few songs from it, before it was released I became very nervous/disappointed. The songs they posted were so different and SO far from their roots that I didn't know if I would be able to handle it. Not to mention we are going to see them in concert next month for the second time, and I was afraid this was going to ruin the show..

Friday night, I bought it. Not allowing my hopes to get set too high. Boy was I wrong.

The song I am sharing with you is actually the song that I heard on myspace that made me really wonder about it. And it is a new favorite song of mine. It is the least screamy/hard core of any song they have ever written. However the music and such might still be out of all of your comfort zone. So I am excited to see what you have to say about it. But the chorus is just so catchy and... GREAT!

Like I sad, if you like this song, you still won't like the rest of the CD. But this song is totally worth sharing. And I hope you like the pic. Haha. They actually look like that in concert... Or at least the lead singer did. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!:-)

Web Site

2008-09-09T15:02:00.000-07:00

I spent a lot of today working on vinylsplus.com. We are in the process of shifting our main focus from wall art and sign boards to vehicle and business vinyl.

In doing so we decided we really needed to change our website to cater more to the business crowd than the crafty crowd. Especially since we already have a Etsy page and Ebay page that do that, and because we are the #2 local sign shop that comes up when you google "sign shop boise", and the #1 when you google "vinyl lettering boise". So we don't want to scare off our higher paying vehicle customers because our website looks like a crafters site, instead of a sign shop.

Take a look at the page, and let me know what you think. There are still some glitches that we need to work out... but other than that it is pretty decent. All advice is appreciated. Thanks!

Not so new NMM: Damien Rice

2008-09-08T09:19:00.000-07:00

I was introduced to Damien Rice by my wife Nicole about 2 years ago. Soon after, I purchased his CD, 9. I immediately fell in love. You have probably heard of him, I am not sure how "underground" he is anymore. But at any rate, it is worth talking about. The raw sound of a personally recorded album really gets to me. I LOVE it. I just love the concept of recordings that actually expose the talents of the musician, not the talents of the recording technician or his abilities master a CD and make it sound better than the artist would actually sound if you were to hear him playing his song in your living room.

The song "accidental babies" it probably my favorite song on the CD. He is not only a great vocalist and guitarist, but also plays the piano phenomenally. Hope you all like it.

You will all be glad to hear...

2008-09-08T08:27:00.001-07:00

That I am HOPEFULLY going back to school in the spring.

As most of you know, I was wanting to go back, but for a graphics design degree. However I found out that it would take me another 4 years to do so. Not something I wanted to do when I have already spent 2 years towards a marketing degree. So I was waiting it out, seeing how our business went before deciding what to do for sure.

Well, over the past couple weeks I have been thinking about it a lot, and decided that I have put too much time... and money... into this marketing degree to just throw it away. Not to mention in the business that we are developing, a marketing degree would come in handy. Not to mention in the future, just HAVING a degree.

So, areas for prayer. It is obviously more cost and time efficient for me to go full time. But I can't really take a cut in pay to start working part time. So prayer that the business would really take off in the next couple months so that I can start working part time without a pay cut would be awesome. Obviously my parents want me to go to school, and they are willing to do that if it works out that way. For now, I need to get in and talk to a advisor, get registered for classes, and just see how it all unfolds!

My NMM post will be up probably this afternoon. I am not going to highlight the band I thought I was last week because again, I would have to send you to myspace to listen to them, and judging by last weeks lack of responses, you all don't like to do that (or you just hated the music and didn't feel like commenting). So I am going to think of something else. Hopefully soon though.

Why is it?

2008-09-04T08:28:00.000-07:00

That it is so easy to make plans for yourself, but never keep them?

I decided it has been a while since I have written a blog really worth reading. I guess there just hasn't been very much excitement in my life lately. So I thought about it today, and decided I will write about something that I have been thinking about lately. So here it goes...

I find it interesting that if we make plans with a friend, or with our wife/husband, but don't fallow through we fell bad. But if we tell ourselves we are going to do something, but never do it, we don't really think anything of it. This may be confusing, so I will try to explain better. I find myself making "promises" to myself, if you want to call them that, but rarely fallowing through. Example, I regularly tell myself, next time I have some time to kill, instead of playing video games, I should play my guitar. Or string my 12 string that I really haven't even played because the strings have been sitting on my desk in the box ever since I got it, like a month ago! But if I were to tell Nicole that I was going to take her our to ice cream tonight, but went home and played video games instead, it just wouldn't fly! With me or her!

I don't really know where this all is coming from, it is just something that bothers me about myself. I spend so much time watching T.V. a week that if I did something worth while, like learning new graphics design techniques in photoshop, or like I said, playing my guitar. Who know, I could even learn how to play the piano again. What I would LOVE to do, have everything I need to do, but just won't take the time to do.

Sorry, feels kinda like a rant! Just a psychological question that I thought some of you MIGHT be able to relate to? That's it for now.

NMM... Tuesday... Local artist #1

2008-09-02T07:54:00.000-07:00

Sorry I missed Monday this week. I really don't get online during the weekend, and yesterday was apart of my weekend. So there ya go. Anyways, this week (and next) I decided to share a couple local artists with you all. Both of whom I personally know.

The first, some of you may remember from playing a song at my graduation, is Anna Sali. I really don't remember much about the song that she played at graduation, partially because I was sitting behind her, so couldn't really hear her, and the second of which being that my mind was more at my lacrosse teams game that I wished I could have been at.. even though my foot was broken and I couldn't play. Sorry tangent. So I don't remember much about the song she played their, the other memories I have of her music is her leading worship at Calvery's "Engage Truth" service on Sunday nights. I actually REALLY didn't like when she lead worship. I felt she had a great voice, but showed off a little too much, making it impossible, especially for a guy, so sing with her. Which IS the point of worship.

Well recently I found out she got signed with a record label, and for some reason my parents bought her CD, but didn't really like it, so they gave it to me. I don't listen to many female artists... but I really like her CD. It's a nice, relaxing CD in the midst of my music library. So when I feel like chilling out in my car, I throw it in.

I couldn't find her on the playlist website, so if you are all brave enough, check out her myspace...

http://www.myspace.com/annasali

It's a little out there, with here face as the background... HUGE... haha, but just check out the music. It's good stuff. And next week, I will be highlighting a friend of mines band. Hope you enjoy,

4 Posts in 2 Days...

2008-08-29T10:05:00.000-07:00

Well, thanks for all the comments and such. But in how God works things out, he has shown me that we should really wait until our lease is up, if not even after, to find a house. Unless someone REALLY wants our apartment, and timing works out perfectly. We are going to wait. And depending on where we are at at that time, and what we find available, we will either move, or continue with our apartment for a bit longer.

I have a tendency to be quite ambitious when something new and exciting presents itself to me. And I looked into this a little too far for where we are at. So thanks again, and I am very excited to see what happens, and don't feel the need to push anything.

Thanks again! And we will see what happens:-)

Welp...

2008-08-29T07:56:00.000-07:00

Well... The first person who was going to look at our apartment was a no show. However we have another person coming over either tonight or tomorrow night... Supposedly... and I reposted our craigslist add today. So we will see what happens.

We drove by the townhouse, and we are going to look at it on Saturday. The cool thing about it is that we pretty much have 2 weeks to decide whether we actually want to do it or not. And upon Kevin's recommendation I am going to ask for proof of their monthly bill when we go look at it... Not sure how I am going to do that without calling him a lier, accept to say that banking on the fact that utilities are only $100 a month is a big deal to us. As I believe I said before, we are totally at the place where if all the pieces fall into place, than awesome, we will rent a house. If not, than maybe in November when our lease is up, and if not in November, we are content either signing another lease at our apartment, or paying a little extra to go month to month until something screams our name.

We also found a really cute house in the North end last night. It is significantly smaller, but a bit cheaper. I don't know that I would say enough cheaper for how much smaller it is... but still. Great location by camels back park, 2 bedrooms and 1 bath. Not to mention the timing for it works out really well for us as well. It isn't available to be moved into until Oct. 1st either, and they will hold it for up to 3 weeks with the deposit.

So ya, that is where we are at:-)

Could it be....!?

2008-08-28T14:36:00.000-07:00

The most perfect house IN THE WORLD?!?! Okay, so I keep finding houses that are like 1 or 200$ out of our price range, just because freaking utilities are so dang expensive... Until now! I found this town house that was, once again, a little too much. But I gave the guy a call anyways. It's a "energy star" home, whatever that means right!? Can't save that much can it? Well, apparently, it actually can. Accept for minor surges, they haven't paid more than 100$ a month for sewer, water, trash, electric and gas combined! Sweet!

Not only is it now in our price range, but assuming one of the two people checking out our apartment this week gets approved to rent it, this house become no more than a week or two before we move out. And they said they would hold it for us with the deposit.

So basically, it's a match made in heaven. So now we just have to pray that someone moves into our apartment, and that no one snatches that one before we have to a chance to hold it! Here is a link (or not so much a link, because I don't know how to make it one) to some pictures so you can see how magnificent it is...

(The grass looks like it needs some love... but other than that!:-)

http://myweb.cableone.net/bridgetleo/

Breaking the trend

2008-08-28T09:54:00.000-07:00

So I haven't been too good about blogging. Accept for my short one just before my most recent NMM post, I haven't been putting much up during the week. So today, I am breaking that trend. Who knows how long it will last... but I really should post at least twice a week.

So here's what is going on in my life. Nicole and I's apartment contract is up in November. And we knew that within the next year we would really like to start renting a house. So our original plan was to just go month to month after November until we found something. However I found out that we can either sign another 6 month or 12 month lease. If we go month to month they will start charging us more. Lame! So we have decided that we are going to start looking for a house to rent any time between now and when out lease is up.

The only way we can get out of our contract early is if I find someone to rent out apartment. So I figured what the heck, I'll post a ad on craiglist and see what comes of it. The day I posted it I received two phone calls. So I have two people coming over to check it out this week. If one of them decides they want it, we will have to put in a 30 day notice and than we will be able to move out.

SOOOO we are currently looking at houses, town homes, condos, duplexes whatever. Anything buy a apartment. Something with 2-3 bedrooms so we can be there for a while. We have found quite a few in or close to our budget, but we still have 30 days till we can technically get anything anyways. So I guess you could all pray that we find something that is available at a good time, and the price that we want. And than, we will have more room to have people over to hang out! Yay.

That's it for now!

NMM (already?) The Films

2008-08-25T08:38:00.000-07:00

So I know Kevin knows about these guys, but I thought I'd highlight them anyways, because I don't know many other people who do.

The bassist for this bands family and ours were pretty good friends growing. The bassist, Jake, and Kevin were even in a garage band together in high school (Think about where you would be if he hadn't moved and had started a band with you! haha). Long story short, Jake's family moved to Colorado because of a job offer. Not too long after Jake moved to New York to pursue a career in music. Which wasn't surprising at all because he is probably the most gifted musician I have ever met.

Also not surprisingly, they hit it pretty big. From my understanding they have only been a band for a couple years, and were signed with Warner Bro's shortly before the release of the new Superman movie. I haven't seen it yet, but either in the movie, or during the credits one of their songs is played. At least I am pretty sure it's on the sound track. Either way, talk about a big record label!?

Now for the music. I absolutely LOVE their music. It is to me, a awesome representation of good ol' original (vintage), rock 'n roll! Straight up. This style obviously isn't for everyone, so check em out, let me know what you think! And if you want a good laugh, go check out their myspace page, and look at the pictures of them:-)

Oh babies

2008-08-25T08:32:00.000-07:00

I know the fact that Nicole has baby fever isn't new news to anyone. However, I have to admit, I can't really blame her after watching the twins with her the other night.

Other than Maddox, I haven't really been around, let a lone held many small babies. And Maddox grew up so fast I hardly even remember him ever being that small... Well I guess he never was, considering he was born bigger than these one month olds are. haha. Anyways. I held the little girl most of the night, fed her, burped her..(which didn't really do anything) and even let Nicole talk me into changing her diaper! Which wasn't too bad cause there wasn't anything in it...

So ya, moral of the story, babies aren't as boring as I thought they were. And I am excited for the day that we have one.

New Music Monday: Rooney

2008-08-18T10:13:00.000-07:00

The band I am choosing to share today is called Rooney. I first heard them on a episode of a T.V. show a few years ago when they played a concert in the show. So they aren't really "new" either. But I am not sure many people know of them.

Two years ago a friend of mine gave me their CD so I started listening to them a bit. However I totally forgot about them until I saw them on my IPOD last week. So I listened to them, remembered how much I enjoy them, and decided they were going to be my band this week. So here you go, Rooney.

Big boy hair cut!:-)

2008-08-15T09:08:00.001-07:00

Here you go... I FINALLY got a "big boy" haircut. As Shelley said last time they were in town. I got sick of my hair (as I do every like 2 months) and decided I wanted to go SHORT this time. I considered going even shorter... but this will do for now. My hair grows so darn fast that to keep it at a "average" length I would have to get it cut like every 2 weeks. Annoying! So we will see how long this one lasts! You like?

TOO Funny!

2008-08-14T09:57:00.000-07:00

So apparently these commercials aren't new... but maybe I just haven't watched them all the way through before. However I watched one yesterday, and it made me laugh out loud... both times I saw it... All by myself. So I HAD to share it/them, in case any of you haven't seen them yet.

HAHAHA I LOVE IT!

New Music Monday: Playradioplay!

2008-08-11T11:45:00.000-07:00

As my first NMM post I have decide to highlight a group called "Playradioplay!". I have a few reasons as to why they were chosen this week but the main reason is that as a friend of mine and I have been spending a few hours a week attempting to create electronic/experimental music like this, I am finding out how much talent it really takes.

Most of you will probably recognize the name The Postal Service. They would probably be our main influence. Anyways, a few months ago Nicole and I went a concert at the Big Easy. The headliner was Yellow Card, who I am not super fond of, but the band playing before them is a really good acoustic singer who we both really wanted to see so we went. The band we wanted to see was alright, but the lead singer wasn't at all what we were expecting, so it was a bit of a let down. However the opening band, Playradioplay! from Houston Texas BLEW my mind.

They are a electronic/experimental band consisting of a drummer, a keyboard/work station guy, and the lead singer who also plays the guitar. Their music itself was awesome, the performance was great, but the thing about them that really impresses me is the fact that the lead singer is 18 years old, AND that he writes/creates/arranges ALL of the music. The drummer and the keyboardist play it, but he arranged it all.

As I previously mentioned, this probably has more of a bearing on me because as I am attempting to create music like this, and am realizing how unbelievably difficult it is, but all around, they are fun to listen to. Here is a song of theirs that I like a lot. Hope you enjoy!

Some things take a time or two to HIT you

2008-08-07T15:47:00.000-07:00

Upon Shelley's recommendation I visited a blog today called Revolutionary Media. It is a group of artists out of Oregon who are attempting to make the world a better place by sharing God's love through art/media.

The blog is cool, and they have a great mission statement. However what really hit me was a verse on their page. It is Mathew 25:31-46....

"...When the Son of Man comes in his glory…then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father… For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'”

This is totally one of those scriptures that you hear over and over again throughout your life. However as I read it this time... I REALLY read it, and it gave me the chills. It made me feel extremely guilty for all the times I have driven/walked by a homeless person and not even given it a second thought. I could have bought that person a 99 cent chicken sandwich and it would have not only impacted them immensely, but it would have made God smile. And I have NEVER done that.

Maybe the other reason this verse impacted me this time is because just yesterday Nicole mentioned that she saw a young homeless man the other day, walking with his dog, without any shoes on. And she told me that if I had been with her she would have suggested that I give him mine. Makes perfect sense right? They probably would have fit him, and I have what... like 15-20 pairs of shes? But when she said that, I was thinking, "ya whatever, that would have been "nice"... but my shoes were expensive!".... are you kidding me? That would be the LEAST I could do. Not only do I have tons of shoes, I have a closet full of clothes, many of which I don't wear, I have a car, I have a kitchen full of food, an apartment... the list goes on, and I would be reluctant to give up a pair of shoes?! WOW.

Sorry, totally random blog... but it just REALLY hit me that every time we give something to someone less fortunate than us person we are giving something to God. I NEVER thought of it that way, because like I said, as many times I have heard that verse... I didn't get it. Until now. So thank you Shelley, and Nicole for making me think about this. It was good for me.

My blog:

2008-08-07T10:34:00.000-07:00

I decided I should explain the title of my blog. Today, as you can see, I did some altering to my blog. In doing so, I decided I should explain my title.

"Christ is not a fashion"

This quote may not be self explanatory to all, so here is my interpretation of this quote, and why I chose it as my title.

The quote is drawn from a song by... you guessed it, Norma Jean. My interpretation of the quote, which in its entirety says "Christ is not a fashion, fleeting away", is that as fashion comes and goes, in the words of project runway host Heidi Klum "One day your in, and the next your out", Christ is not.

If you ask people whether or not Christ is relevant, more often than not they will say he was in the Bible times, obviously. But today? No, not really.

This is sad to me, and I could not disagree more. Just because Christ is not here in person does not mean he any less relevant to our society. If anything, he is more relevant. I don't know about you, but for me, if I had had the privilege of meeting Jesus in person, it would have been significantly easier for me to pack my bags and fallow him. Now, more than ever, the world is so full of distractions, and spiritual battles that I believe Christ is more relevant than ever.

For lack of more words, I will leave it at that. That to me, is why Christ is not, and never will be like a fashion. He will never go out of style, and will never be irrelevant.

Oh how I wish I was a poet

2008-08-05T13:19:00.000-07:00

The post is based on two things. The first being that I have been listening to a couple bands quite religiously lately. And the other being my brothers post about new songs.

The first band that I have been listening to a lot is called Norma Jean. I know, sweet name right!? Well the thing about Norma Jean is that they changed lead singers a few years ago, and though I still enjoy them with their new singer, the old one was SO much better. FORTUNATELY he didn't die, instead he joined a band called The Chariot... Which I didn't actually find out until recently! So I have been listening to them as much as possible lately online, seeing as how I don't own their album yet...

Desclaimer: I don't expect any of you to listen to, or like either of these bands. They are Christian "hard core" bands. So unless you were taught to enjoy it like myself, I am sure you won't. But that is not the point of this blog.

Now I could go on and on about why I enjoy this style of music, and about how much it bothers me that people think that just because a band "screams" they can't be "christian" (not that any of you believe that, but some people do)... but I won't, because it is a waste of all our time. The real reason for this post is because the lyrical abilities of these bands absolutely BLOWS my mind. I have a feeling it has something to do with NJ's old singer (Now the Chariots) because NJ's old songs and The Chariots have a lot in common. Not mention they are way better. So to show you how much I wish I could write like this man/these bands I will include the lyrics to a song or two:

The Human Face: Devine (Norma Jean)

It is all done wrong, or so it appears. It is all done right.
Eternal eyes.
I am pressing on, no matter how it looks.
I am pressing on, no matter how it looks.
It is all planned out.

Understatement.

Lay your hands on your mouth.
Negativity.
I don't want to hear it.
Your cursed tongue.
It is all planned out.
Understatement.
This is greater than you (this is greater than you).
This is greater than me.

Flawless.

Increase time and it's all falling into place.
I don't care about surroundings.
I don't care about the way it looks.
I don't care about wicked words.
I don't care about desire.
I don't care because it is a waste of my time.
It is all planned out.

Understatement.

Don't sell out.
It all comes to these words, a battle field inside my mind.
Shall I take her or leave her.
I will set my sites north.
Increase time and it's all fall

I will not curse my tongue.
I will not feed it doubt.
I will not be cursed by doubt or a concubine wife.

To me this a awesome picture of our life as Christians. Stating how must die to ourselves to truely walk in all that God has for us. Not allowing what people will think of us to hinder us.

The Tumpet (The Chariot)

The chariot! The chariot! Its wheels roll in fire,
As the lord cometh down in the pomp of his ire!
Lo! self moving it drives on its pathway of clouds.
And the heavens with the burden of godhead are bowed.
O mercy! O mercy! Look down from above,
Great creator, on us, thy sad children, with love.
When beneath, to their darkness, the wicked are driven,
May our justified souls find a welcome in heaven

Um WOW! Tell me those are great lyrics!

To end this story, I saw Norma Jean in concert sometime last year. And as much as people smash the integrity of "screaming" bands that claim to be Christian, I have only a few times... make that never, been to a concert more powerful than that one... (And yes I am talking "POWER" as in the spirit realm)... Not only are they proclaiming truth, but the music is powerful, and it brings a crowd to listen who wouldn't be caught dead in a church (most of the time). Not to mention every single Christian hardcore band I have ever seen in concert proclaims Christ at some point during their set. It usually sounds something like this...

"We are (fill in the blank) and we love God with all of our hearts. We want you to know that Jesus loves you for who you are."

I don't know about you, but I know that I, personally, would have a HARD time doing that! I love God, and I love sharing that, but saying it in front of hundred of kids whose only persepective of Christians is they are judgemental would be scary! But I guess that is what it means to be a true witness.

So anyways. Not really sure that this post had a point, accept to say, I REALLY wish I could write poetry (songs) like them. The end. Thanks for reading:-)

A WEIRD Desire

2008-07-31T08:11:00.000-07:00

Ever since reading my good friend Chad Estes's blog about running.../swimming/biking the Ironman Triathlon I have had this WEIRD desire to do it. But I pushed it aside saying, ya right, that's crazy talk. That is until I recently started riding my road bike, and realized how much I LOVE getting in shape... Once I start doing it that is.

The race consists of a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike ride, and 13.1 mile, half marathon. Now I know what you are probably thinking... "Tyler HATES running"! And yes, that is true. However, I have already run a half marathon, so that part doesn't REALLY scare me. And recently I have been riding my road bike... not for anywhere CLOSE to 56 miles, but enough to know that I COULD do it. As far as swimming goes... that is definitely the part that I would need the most training in. I do not consider myself to be a strong swimmer by any means, and 1.2 miles in the water is a LONG way. Not to mention lucky peak is freaking freezing!

Anyways, the moral of the story it. If it turns out that I could squeeze training for this race into my life. And that the costs involved aren't out of reach. I just MIGHT do it. I have NEVER felt this way about a race. Everytime I think about it something inside me gets crazy excited! Some sort of a nervous excited... but excited! It's the same feeling I would get every morning I woke up when I had a Lacrosse game that day.

There is just something to be said about accomplishing something that you feel is completely insane and out of your reach. And for me, this is it. When I ran Robbie Creek, I hated it. I didn't care that I was accomplishing the "toughest half marathon in the North West". I just didn't care. And since I didn't, there was no sense of accomplishment in doing it. In completing this, I feel there would be.

Just thought I would share this crazy desire with you all so you can all tell me how CRAZY I am... and pray that if I am suppose to do this, God will provide the time... and money for me to do it. Thank!

10 Miles and Sweaty!

2008-07-26T10:41:00.000-07:00

Wooo Hooo, Nicole and I just got back from our first of many LONG bike rides on our new road bikes. We took the green best from our apartment up to Barber park, and came back down Boise Ave. Approximately a 10 mile ride or so. It was great fun! With lots of sweat!

We both found sweet old bikes last night (probably from the 70's) and with a couple new tubes, and handle bar wrap, they are running like new! Someday I will put up a picture of mine. It is silver with bright blue handlebar wrap. And it's REALLy fast;-) Yay, fun ways of getting in shape are the best!

My new obsession

2008-07-24T12:44:00.000-07:00

I have recently developed a unhealthy obsession with Bianchi road bikes. I guess you could say it was sparked when Nicole and I went to the bike race event in downtown Boise last weekend. I have seen Bianchi around a few times, a couple guys I use to work with owned them, and love the classic, simple, yet fun look of them.

The only problem is that new, they start at $500. However I did find a used one for pretty inexpensive. Here is a picture of it:

So I am thinking that if I could find someone to buy my cruiser, I might be able to get. So spread the word! And find me someone in need of a cruiser:-)

I want to feel good about my vote

2008-07-22T08:32:00.000-07:00

So all of this presidential discussion was fantastic, and I appreciated all of your views and opinions.

After talking to my brother last night he encouraged me to research Ron Paul. Ron Paul caught my attention months ago when I saw signs going up all over town. "The Ron Paul Revolution" and what not. However I never got around to looking him up, and before I knew it he was "out of the running". However I found out last night that you have the ability to write in your vote even if someone isn't on the ballad. I probably should have known that, but like I said, I hate politics, so I usually block out all political discussion.

As Kevin has received crap, I am sure I will too, but my vote, which you may consider "wasted" on Ron Paul is a vote that I believe in. As I stated before, all of this debate between McCain and Obama has really bothered me. I felt like no matter who I voted for, I wasn't really voting for what I believed in. Which didn't leave me at peace. In researching Paul I am going to write him in, and I am going to feel good about it. Because I feel good about what he represents.

He has never voted to raise taxes.
He has never voted for an unbalanced budget.
He has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.
He has never voted to raise congressional pay.
He has never taken a government-paid junket.
He has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.

He voted against the Patriot Act.
He voted against regulating the Internet.
He voted against the Iraq war.

So thanks again for all of your in put. I appreciated every comment. Now that I don't have to vote for "the lesser of two evils" I am MUCH more content.

Obama for president?

2008-07-17T13:06:00.001-07:00

I for one absolutely HATE politics. I hate how it turns calm nice people into very opinionated, annoying people. And I hate the fact that no matter how much you think you know about someone based on their books, speeches and debates, you really have NO IDEA what is going on in that persons head.

This year, given the current state of our country. That being the fact that the majority of our country HATES our president. I have felt the need to, for the first time, ask the opinions of pretty much everyone in my life on the presidential election. At first, it really didn't effect me. It gave me some stuff to think about, but it didn't really faze me. However, as I have dug deeper into the two sides, Obama vs. McCain, I have found myself unbelievably confused, and actually getting stressed out about who should actually be the president!

What is making this so hard is that there are a lot of people in my life who's opinions and insights I respect a great deal. The first being those of my family. My parents, grandparents, sister/brother and in laws. The other being my fellow class mates and leaders from the year I spent at the college of missions at the Vineyard.

The first persons views I heard on the issue was that of my brother-in-law who is a avid Obama supporter. My one and only question at the time to him was "how can someone claim to be a Christian yet be pro-choice?". I disagreed with his explanation but didn't fully disagree with everything he saw in Obama.

The second opinion I heard was that of my family and Meg's. They pointed out more issues about Obama that I hadn't thought about, and that pushed him even further down on my respect-o-meter.

Third, I spent a good amount of time picking my grandmother-in-laws brain about what she thought of him. She is a Bible teacher and I knew she would have a strong opinion about him. She is no only apposed to him, but she has many logical explanations as to why he should be president, including the fact that a good friend of hers who was recently in Israel was asked by numerous Israeli people, "why do Americans not know that he Muslim?" Crazy!? Ya, I know. So why do they believe that? Is he? I don't think anyone will ever know until he elected (assuming he does).

Finally I went to my ex-teacher and classmates. I noticed a few weeks ago that Chad had a Obama sign in his front yard. So I thought to myself, I wonder what he sees/believes in or about Obama. So I asked him. He is for Obama for nearly all the same reasons my brother-in-law is. He read his book, and saw him speak and believes that he is truly a Christian, and that he possesses the character needed to be the president. Beyond that, the majority of my classmates see the same things in him.

All said and done, I have SO many different opinions shooting around in my head that I honestly don't even want to vote anymore. Everything from him being Muslim, to him being a devout Christian man. How can we really know!? If I were to vote, my first instinct would be to vote for McCain just to keep Obama out of office. But has Obama already won? Or is it still a race? I do believe our country needs change. I don't believe having a president that our country hates is a good thing for us as a people. But on the other hand, do we need the kind of "change" that Obama is actually going to bring?

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." -- Barack Obama

The real reason for this post, other than the vent, is to get your opinion. What do you think?

(If you made it through that whole thing, thank you!)

Yippee! New car

2008-07-15T20:53:00.000-07:00

So I finally got a new car... Finally? What am I saying, it has been 2 days. Haha. Anyways, I am very happy with it. It is a 2004 Saturn Vue 4 cylinder front wheel drive SUV. It's pretty, silver , a stick shift, and is in very good condition. On top of that, while I was looking at it today I noticed that it has been set up to be pulled behind a motorhome, which means that a good number of the 69K miles on it may not have actually been driving miles. Which is even more comforting. Ultimately, it is just a car in a SUV body. It should get 28-30MPG around town. So about the same as Nicole's car. Can't wait to show you all and give you a ride in it:-)

Cars are evil

2008-07-14T15:42:00.000-07:00

My Jetta of around 3.5 years finally crapped out on my for the last time. On top of the $350 clutch, and the $1500 dollar transmission, my car began overheating EVERY summer. And EVERY summer I got it fixed. Sometimes it was a mere $150 dollar fix. And yes, that is about the CHEAPEST fix you can get on a VW. Other summers it was $350-400. Before this summer I told my self that after easily doubling the amount I paid for the car in the last 3/4 years that if ANYTHING went wrong this summer I was done, and I was getting rid of it. It began slightly overheating in the beginning of the summer, but since it did it every summer I just made sure I wasn't stopped at a light for long enough for it to get too hot. However the lack of A/C wasn't easy to cope with.

Finally, last Saturday, on a 90+ degree day, it overheated to point that my antifreeze blew a hole in one of my radiator hoses. Ah replacing a radiator hose can't be THAT bad can it? Well first off, yes it can, it was a $75 dollar hose. Beyond that, I realized the real problem wasn't the hose. The hose breaking was a reaction to a much larger problem. In doing some research I found that what my car really needed was a entirely new radiator and fan set up. To a tune of about $600... Just for the parts. Doing your instillation on VW's is nearly impossible, so add labor on there... no thanks! To finish my story quickly, I posted it on craigslist on a whim on Sunday afternoon. No pictures, sold completely as is. Ceiling falling down, holes in the exhaust, everything. no more than 30min later I received a cash offer I couldn't say no to. Sure it wasn't much. But fixing a car every summer becomes much more of a hassle than a small monthly car payment.

End of story, my little red car is gone. And by tomorrow, I could be posting a blog with pictures of a pretty new little car on it:-) Can't wait to show you all.

Long time no talky!... Work and Life

2008-07-07T15:41:00.000-07:00

I realized I haven't blogged in a while. You could say it is because my life is boring.. But that isn't entirely true. I do a lot of stuff. For example, I have spent hours and hours playing Xbox recently. I mean that's exciting right? Definitely worth blogging about!.... Not! But then there is work, which I do on a regular basis. However I blogged about that a few times, and it really hasn't changed much lately. So that has been out of the picture. Other than that, Nicole and I have been spending time with some of our friends, which is always fun!

Last Saturday we went to the drive in movie theater in Parma and saw Prince Caspian. Which, even though my sister told me they added some stuff to it to make it more exciting than what was actually in the book, I really enjoyed it!

The following night we spent at my old friend Drew's house with him and his wife Julie. Julie made homemade ice cream, and we played Wii for a while. It was great fun. Not to mention the fact that I haven't actually hung out with Drew since like freshman year of high school.

That same day my friends Nate and Brandon came home from California where Nate has been for the past 2 years, and Brandon had been for a few months. So we have been hanging out with them on and off a bit, including watching the fireworks on the 4th with them on the bench above Ann Morrison park.

So that's a small recap as to why I really havn't been blogging lately. As for work, we have a wonderful new possibility of a branch off company doing some advertising stuff. It is a great possibility, so lots of prayer would be appreciated that it would work out!

Thanks for checking in! Talk to you all soon.

"Modern Art"

2008-06-24T13:33:00.001-07:00

Here are some more "modern" artsy sort of things I have created for our Etsy store.

My lovely wife and my favorite nephew ever

2008-06-19T20:39:00.000-07:00

Nicole and her new hat that my sister made for her. She REALLY likes it. And it's really cute on here:-)
I told her she looks like toad from Mario in this one:-) hehe
And apparently toad likes to wink at people:-/

And this is my nephew! The cutest kid IN THE WORLD! Nicole and her nanny kids went swimming today, so she took some pictures. And here they are.

Wall art in our apartment

2008-06-19T20:31:00.000-07:00

This the cherry blossom wall art we put up on the blank wall in our bathroom.

I added the branch a bird to the saying we already had in our bedroom.

And the saying we have in our living room over our bedroom doorway.

Todays Creations

2008-06-17T14:42:00.000-07:00

Laptop design #2. This one is a bit more original. I hope you don't like this one more, Shelley, cause yours is going out in the mail today!:-)

Cherry blossom wall art.

Flying birds.

And lastly, a bird on a branch wall art. Great for the corner of a room.

My job part 2

2008-06-12T13:57:00.001-07:00

Here a few examples of what I have created:-)

This is a vinyl graphic I re-created for my sister-in-laws laptop computer:Here is a examples of the pre-made signboards we make:And this is a example of what you call "wall art". The tree is going to be installed in my moms store, and will be 6ft tall.
This is a "welcome" wall art I created:
And here a few floral home decor designs. Tell me if I am wrong, but I think the flower pot would look great applied to the wall right about a flat surface (table or counter) to look like it is sitting there.And this floral design looks great on a upper wall, almost like a border to the room. Or above a TV as my parents are going to do.
And last but not least, our first two vehicle jobs!So there you go. You now have a idea of what I get paid to do. Thank you Shelley for the idea of creating a lap top vinyl design. Everyone else, feel free to drop me new ideas at any time! Thank you!

My new job

2008-06-10T17:09:00.000-07:00

So as most of you... most likely all you know, because if you are reading this you are probably in my family... I have a new job. My dad and I just started a Vinyl lettering/marketing company.

I am really enjoying it, especially the creative aspect of it. I get to do the majority of the layout and design work for the vinyl work that we do. It gives me a good chance to work on developing my graphics design skills which is what I am the most interested in.

So all in all, it has been really great. In the past month we have gone from creating wall art and tiles for my moms store and our online stores to pretty much having this entire week booked with large vehicle jobs. Which you will be able to see in the near future on our website (which is under construction) www.vinylsplus.com. That's all for now!

My..... I mean Nicole's new car....

2008-06-03T21:06:00.000-07:00

We are very excited to have gotten out of the pit of the gas guzzling Xterra. And our new car is very pretty.... as you can see:-)

Tyler's 1st Blog!

2008-06-03T11:11:00.000-07:00

Well hello friends!

This is my first blog. I really don't have anything to write about, I just figured my page would be REALLY lame if I didn't have anything written at all. So here it is. I will get photo's and fun stuff posted soon, but now, this is it. I hope you have a wonderful day.
-Tyler