I exist and I organize.

Hello , everybody (maybe nobody?)! I am officially posting my first blog. First off, let me share with you that I can't believe I am actually doing this. My wife Kim loves to read other blogs and she blogs herself. Me? I never check out any blog unless my wife posts or unless she points out a blog to me. But I do want to work on my writing skills, and Kim suggested that blogging would be a great way to work on them. So anybody that reads this, please comment not only on what I say, but also on if I communicate my thoughts clearly and completely.

I decided to start this up on January 1 with the lofty goal of putting in daily entries. I know, I know, many of you are probably snickering right now. We will see how I do in keeping up with this goal.

So how did I celebrate my first day of 2008? I spent the day performing one of my wife's favorite passions: organizing. Once in a great decade, I catch this disease often because I cannot find something I want to find. It strikes me with irony how we in this country have this "problem" of having so much stuff that needs to be organized. I have tried to remember to thank God for blessing us with so many material possessions. Kim and I enjoy watching HGTV many evenings (that's Home and Garden Television Network for all of you people not in the know) and many designers and realtors stress that clutter is the #1 thing that people notice when they enter a house. Before I was married, I was a pack rat and had plenty of clutter. Now, I have mostly caught Kim's desire to have our earthly possessions in their place. Having the house picked up helps to make our house feel warm and comfortable to me. It is a constant battle, and having a five-year old and a three-year old make the battle more interesting. But even they have somewhat bought into some of these habits.

At the same time, Kim and I do not want to put this passion over time that we spend together. Warm and comfortable does not mean sterile. We have realized that we do live here and it is alright if we have not attended to every speck of dust in the house. Today, our family did take time to watch the University of Michigan Wolverines beat the Florida Gators in the Capitol One Bowl. Our friend Paul invited us to watch the great victory with a bunch of friends. The balance of the day made it a great day. I do love hanging out with my family.

Well, I did it! I posted my first blog. Hope you enjoyed it, and I will talk to you later.