Trick or Treat?

On Sunday a friend asked me if I allowed my kids to go trick or treating. Their family does not celebrate Halloween at all. They say to start them young. If you never let them celebrate to begin with, they'll never miss it. After all, we are Christians and we should not glorify a holiday that clearly has satanic overtones.

In a way I agree with them and wished that my boys were as mature as their kids, willing to refrain from such tempting secular traditions and peer pressure. But Dustin attends a public school where Halloween is a big deal – complete with parade – so it would be unnecessarily cruel to not let him participate with his friends (plus since we both work, we would need Mr. Al Young to take him home). On the other hand, Colby's preschool is run by one of the biggest Christian churches in the bay area and they celebrate also. They may not call it Halloween, but kids are dressed up and I'm sure he'll come home with candy. Their only requirement is that the costumes should be of biblical or positive characters. Colby is dressed as Superman this year (we'll see if he gets sent home early).

So are we bad parents? Are we tempting our children down a path of darkness disguised with fun and candy? Are we blessing an activity that reflects poorly on our judgement? Honestly we've had this debate when deciding whether or not to pass out candy.

I think it's much more than just Halloween. We need to have faith in our children. We need to trust that they will make the right decisions in life and to discern right from wrong. To be selective of what friends to have and to know what is acceptable and non-acceptable in the eyes of God. But of course to do that we must constantly fill them with biblical teachings, honesty and love. Fortunately for us, our boys really love church and cherish the friendships they've developed. And Colby especially loves to pray and sing everyday. Unfortunately, this won't last forever. As they get older, they will be exposed to much more of what's evil in this world and neither I or Chrissy will be there to monitor them. So for now we can only steer them in the right direction and hold them accountable for their actions. This will train them toward a more independent life which we pray will carry on to adulthood.

So back to Halloween. I've been searching the web and 90% of them say Christians should not be celebrating it at all. They suggest offering "alternative" celebrations such as Harvest Festival but I know of none around here. Also these people warned more about embracing parties focused on wickedness, rather than just little kids dressing up to get candy. As you know on the web, views and beliefs run the full spectrum, but for a more contemporary viewpoint for our own situation, I'll end with a quote from Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family:

Whereas it can be argued that Christmas is a Christian holiday with Christian origins that has suffered the effects of growing secularism, Halloween can be traced to distinctly pagan sources. It is reasonable, then, that many believers would find some aspects of its celebration disturbing. I agree with them in that regard. The traditional emphasis upon the occult, witches, devils, death, and evil sends messages to our kids that godly parents can only regard with alarm. There is clearly no place in the Christian community for this “darker side” of Halloween.

Even here, however, there is a place for some harmless fun. Kids love to dress up and pretend. If the Halloween experience is focused on fantasy rather than the occult, I see no harm in it. Make costumes for your children that represent fun characters, such as Mickey Mouse or an elderly grandmother, and then let them go door-to-door asking for treats. This side of Halloween can be thoroughly enjoyable for the little ones.

Let me add, again, that I’ve given you my personal opinion. I realize that the topic is controversial among committed Christians, and I’m sensitive to the reasons for their misgivings. My final word to parents on the subject would be “Stay true to your own convictions.”

Fastest Vista Notebook Ever

According to PC World. And just in time for the holidays!

Free Taco today

At Taco Bell today only between 2 and 5 pm. A bit inconvenient for hard working folks like myself. But great for you moms after school and before soccer practice.

Freaky Friday

This will freak you out. Click on this link. She smiles when you hold your mouse over her nose. Yeah I know, I AM bored. Have a nice weekend.

Can't Stop the Music

I've owned an iPod for three years now and my iTunes is filled with over 3,000 songs. It's really nice to have your entire music library with you at all times. Because of my long commute (and sleepy job), I'm listening to music over 10 hours a day... Monday through Friday... Three years straight. Truth be told, I think I'm getting a little tired of the same 3,000 songs over and over again...


Recently my coworker introduced me to Pandora.com. Pandora is an internet radio where you create your own radio stations based on your personal tastes in music. The music is commercial-free and uninterrupted. You can create as many stations as you like. And it's all free!

Set up requires an account and minimal effort. You start by entering your favorite artist or song to create a new station. For me it's Michael Jackson (haha, not really, but why not?). First it will play one of his songs, then other artists that share the same "r & b influences, danceable grooves, vocal harmony." For the MJ station, the next few songs came from Hall & Oates, Prince, Whitney, Janet, DeBarge and others.

As the songs are playing, you give it a thumbs up or thumbs down to further fine tune your playlist. You don't necessarily have to vote, but voting will help weed out the lousy songs. You can also just skip the song but you cannot go back and replay a song.

From what I've experienced so far, the library is quite deep and chances are you'll discover a lot of new music you actually like. There's also an impressive amount of contemporary Christian and worship content available too. Just create a station like Avalon or Jaci and you'll start seeing lots of familiar names from your Christian bookstore. And unlike on-air radio, you'll know right away the song, artist, and album. In the song icon there's even a menu link to iTunes and Amazon for immediate purchase.

So try it today. It's a great way to discover new music when you're at a loss to what to listen next – even when you have 3,000 songs.

Free Candy

LEGO Cakes

So the kids are at school and you're all alone. You stare at your exercise machine knowing you SHOULD be on it, but you'd rather just lay on the couch. Then you think to yourself, "what's the point of exercising if you don't stuff yourself with junk food first? Where's the balance in my life?!"

As the holidays quickly approach, you'll be attending all kinds of gatherings. Wouldn't it be cool show up at the party with this awesome cake? All the kids will love it! Real simple but very clever. Give it a try. And of course, I'm always available for a taste test ;)

Ingredients:
1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® cake mix (any flavor)
Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box
Tray or cardboard, 15x12 inches, covered
2 containers (1 lb each) Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy vanilla frosting
Red, yellow and blue paste food colors
12 large marshmallows, cut in half crosswise

The complete recipe is found on Betty Crocker.com.

5% cash back

So did you all get your free Play-Doh yesterday? I got mine.

Today I found this great credit card offer for the Citibank CashReturns Card. It offers 5% cash back for ALL your purchases for the first three months. After that it reverts back to 1%. Normally I'm not too attracted to credit card deals but this one is worth getting.

5% is a great deal! All you have to do is consider the upcoming Christmas shopping season. You know you'll be spending a lot more on gifts, decorations and food. And with the price of gas going up, you'll be spending more at the pump too. And need I mention property tax is looming December 10? (Update: You CAN charge your property taxes, and although there is a 2.5% surcharge, you'll still come out ahead.) Either way, wouldn't it be nice to get something back for free? Wouldn't be nice to know you're getting around 16 cents off a gallon of gas? Yep, free money. And the cash back is real cash, not some lousy point system to redeem for gift cards. You'll automatically receive a check whenever you exceed $50.

If you charge $5000, you'll get $250 back – that's enough for a Wii! And after the 3 months are over, just cancel the card and have your spouse do the same for another 3 months of 5%. Cha-ching!

Free Playdoh or Crayons

One Year Old

Today is Justine's first birthday. It's amazing how one year just flies by so quickly. People always ask me if raising a girl is any different than raising a boy. Well at this point, not really (except for diaper time). At this age, they all act the same. And she's on track to walk next month (like the boys) and also stay around the 25 percentile (like the boys).

In some ways she's easier, but that can be because my mom is now around to help. In other ways it's harder because now I have two other troublemakers to deal with – plus homework. So life gets both easier and harder at the same time. You just have to learn to adapt, pick your battles, and be prepared for anything (if that's even possible).

Another question I often get is "are you guys done?" Well as much as I would love to have a 4th child, it is rather unlikely because Chrissy says no. Perhaps if we were both younger... and nicer... and if our boys were better behaved... Again, unlikely.

The above picture was taken last week. Colby is missing because all of a sudden, he no longers knows how to smile. I can't begin to tell you how many pictures he's ruined because of his weird facial expressions. I've spent many hours in Photoshop trying to fix his face, posture, etc. Strange kid. So now the easiest thing to do is just exclude him from family photos. It's ok. That's the benefit of having three kids, you can get rid of one and still look like a complete family.

I recently found this helpful link: Improve Your Photos in 60 Seconds. It lists quite a few basic and useful ideas on getting the best content and composition in your pics. Unfortunately, no tips on getting your over-active children to properly pose for a group picture :(

And if you need more memory for your camera, here's a great deal on a 2gb SD card for only $14.95 and free delivery. Remember, a 2gb card will get you 16 minutes of high-res video. Also during the checkout process, you will also be offered a free magazine subscription or a $10 rebate. Get it while it lasts.

I am not alone

Ha! And you thought I was the only one! Well according to this revealing article, there's quite a few of you out there (of course I'm only talking about the sleeping part of the survey). In a follow up to my previous blog where I talked about how napping will prevent heart disease, I would just like to re-emphasize how popular this pastime really is. Below is my favorite quote from the article:

Across all professions surveyed, 45 percent admitted to having fallen asleep on the job. And nearly two-thirds of government workers -- 64 percent -- admitted to falling asleep on the job.

And as for the other 36 percent, well they're probably lying.

As for the kissing part, I have no comment :) Honestly I don't know why this was included in the survey because it's not even remotely related – unless of course you're dreaming of kissing someone... But I can safely say that there is no one here I would want to kiss. And based on today's finding about how 20 out of 33 lipsticks contain lead, I think we all should be rather careful kissing anyone. Eww.

Top 10 Ways to Sleep Smarter
I think there are many reasons why I'm always tired. One is because Justine is still not sleeping through the night and I'm in charge of the middle-of-the-night feedings. Second is because my cube is so quiet and tucked away so no one knows I'm here. And third because I eat a big lunch everyday (hey with both my wife and mom cooking, we always have plenty of leftovers).

Here is an article I found that lists 10 ways to sleep smarter. I've listed a few below that applies to me.

10. Reduce Screen Time Before Bed
Stop checking your email or watching TV just before bedtime and you'll sleep better. A recent study shows that people who consume electronic media (read: stare at a backlit screen) just before bedtime report lower-quality sleep even when they get as much sleep as non-pre-bedtime screenheads.

8. Eat to Enhance Sleep
Some foods are more conducive to a better night's sleep than others. You already knew about warm milk, chamomile tea and turkey, but Yahoo Food lists others, like bananas, potatoes, oatmeal and whole-wheat bread. You find yourself fighting off afternoon droopy eyelids at the office? Here are some pointers on eating a less nap-inducing lunch.

7. Master the Power Nap
Slowly but surely, the benefits of the classic, 20-minute power nap are getting more recognition, with big companies installing sleep pods at the office and more software applications like Pzizz helping to set the right power nap aural scene. Here's how to get the perfect nap from the author of Take a Nap! Change Your Life, and more on how and why power naps work.

Well today being Friday and raining, I'm sure I'll be passing out just about any time now. So have a nice weekend and nighty night.

Jim, you lucky dawg!

I don't know too many wives that would not only throw an extravagant 40th birthday bash for their husband, but also be the star performer of the event! To borrow a line from INXS, let me say to Jeanie, "Your moves are so raw, I've got to let you know!"

Also let it be known that all this planning happened within 3 weeks from their wedding! Jeanie, you're amazing! And having known all of Jim's former-wannabe-Mrs. Lau's, I can honestly say that none of them can compare to you! Jim, you need to pray to God every day thanking Him for your wife. You will find none better.

It was an 80's-themed party, fully decorated with silver and black balloons and movie posters from that era. The movie Beat Street was showing on the big screen and there was even a fully functional Atari 2600 for the kids to play. Among the 100 guests, people were dressed like Run DMC and other 80's fashion. We ate Hawaiian BBQ and listened to the Fixx, Bowie and Dexy's Midnight Runners, among others. The highlight of the evening was the dance performance. The back up dancers are Jeanie's brother Alan (dressed like Wham) and her ex-boyfriend Mark. Hey, how come Jim wasn't allowed to invite any ex's?? Oh yeah, room capacity! D'oh!

Anyway, for those of you who missed it, the awesome video is below. (This time I used Blogger to host video because the quality is better. But I also posted this video on YouTube.)



Click below for the rest of the photos.

Jim's 40th Birthday

Free Night of Theatre

My sister-in-law just called me to tell about Free Night of Theatre at theatrebayarea.org. Here's what it says:

• Theatres all around Northern California are offering up thousands of tickets for FREE!
• Free Night of Theater events will take place on or around October 18, 2007.
• Reservations for Free Night of Theater will begin on Tuesday, October 2. Join us in Union Square at 10am for the chance to reserve tickets before they go live online at 6pm.
• Reservations will be taken until midnight, Tuesday, October 16.

Here's the list of the Free Showings. The theatres listed are all over the bay area and even Sacramento! The colored square will indicate if all the tickets are "Gone." If not, click on the "More Info" button and you can reserve 2 tickets. At the time of this writing there were quite a few family shows available such as James and the Giant Peach in the San Jose area.

All in all quite a huge list to pick from. Great idea for a cheap date. So hurry and get them while they last! Now if we can only find a sitter...

Free Nintendo Wii Remote Jacket

From the website:

Nintendo is now including the Wii Remote Jacket for the Wii Remotes in all new hardware being shipped. For Wii owners who purchased their systems prior to this addition, we are offering to send free Wii Remote Jackets for their existing Wii Remotes. If you would like to request a Wii Remote Jacket, please start by completing the information form below.

There'll probably be a ton of orders in the days to come, so get yours now. Be sure to order 4 even if you don't have 4 (for future purchases).

Jamba Juice Coupon

Here's the link to the actual page. Thanks Wenna.

Kids are getting smarter these days

This was taken from the Missouri School of Journalism. Click on it for a larger view. I almost kinda feel sorry for that lonely windoze user in the front row. Nah, not really.

From the school's site:

Q. What brand or model should I buy?
A. The faculty has designated Apple Computer as its preferred provider for two primary reasons: (1) Apple's OS X operating system is based on Unix, which makes these computers far less susceptible to viruses than other computers. Viruses are a serious problem on university campuses. (2) Apple iBook and PowerBook computers come bundled with iLife, a suite of applications ideal for learning the basics of photo editing, and audio and video editing. We'll use those programs in several classes.

So yes, this photo is real. The only thing odd are the two students in front without computers. Maybe they wandered into the wrong class...