Monthly Archives: January 2010

Super Bowl Pro-Life Commerical

28 Thursday Jan 2010

Posted by in Life

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From what I hear in the media, Focus on the Family has paid $2.5 Million for a 30 second commercial that will air during the Super Bowl on February 7th. The ad is supposed to feature Tim Tebow highlighting the story of his mother’s pregnancy back in 1987.

Tim’s parents, Bob and Pam Tebow, moved to the Philippines in 1985 to conduct a Christian missionary outreach. While pregnant with Tim, Pam contracted amoebic dysentery through contaminated drinking water. Her doctor told her that the medications she needed to recover would result in irreversible damage to the child she was carrying. She was advised to have an abortion. They refused the abortion, Tim was born healthy and, as we all know, went on to be a very successful athlete.

NOW (National Organization for Woman) , along with many other pro-abortion organizations, are having major issues with this. NOW is an organization for woman’s rights. On their website, NOW claims: “we believe that all women should be free to make the decision that is right for them”. While on the surface that statement made sound rhetorically pleasing, there are some serious issues with that simple philosophy. But that is a totally different discussion. But I’ll put that aside for now.

Here is what I don’t understand. This ad is shedding light one of the multiple choices during a pregnancy. What issue do they have for giving the woman another choice. What is wrong with suggesting to deliver the baby? It seems as if NOW is for the woman’s choice, as long as she is not influenced to chose life.

Renovation Realities

24 Sunday Jan 2010

Posted by in Life, Renovation Realities

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The DIY Network is probably the best channel on TV. I mean, according to their website, DIY Network is one of the fastest growing networks in the country. They say it’s available now in over 50 million homes.

But why is it so great?  I’ll tell you why, because DIY stands for Do It Yourself. If there is one thing that most American’s have in common, it’s that they would like to improve some aspect of their home. The second part of that is most American’s are on a budget, and the cheapest way to make these improvements is to do the labor yourself.

So, DIY Network is 24 hours of informative TV, showing you how do all kinds of home improvement projects.  You can learn about tiling, landscaping, drywall, or laying bricks…you name it, they’ll do a show about it. My favorite is called Renovation Realities. It’s a simple concept, yet brilliant. Find a family that is doing some type of renovation and film it. Along the way there are always speed bumps, errors, skyrocketing project budgets and tempers flaring.

I’ve always wanted to be on this show, however, they haven’t come to my house yet. This past week Danica and I had our own renovation without the DIY Network. Our plan was to install 650 square feet of laminate hardwood floors. It was an adventure to say the least.


Before

Last Saturday, we ran down to Lumber Liquidators to pick out our new flooring. I have to be so annoying. Danica is a saint for putting up with my behavior. I’m too particular, nervous, slow and get into the details when it’s not needed. In fact, we got some samples and I spent so much time flopping back and forth, that Lumber Liquidators was closed when we went back to pick up the flooring we wanted.

Before

So the next morning after church, we hopped in both cars to go pick up the hardwoods. We had to be quick, because the Cowboys were playing at noon to go to the NFC Championship game (if I would have known how bad they were going to play, I wouldn’t have been worried about missing the kick off).

After watching the game, it was time to start demo. One problem, Danica was sick. The problem wasn’t that she couldn’t help me. It was that she couldn’t get off the couch. I kindly persuaded her to move to the bedroom, so I could continue the demo. Things were going very smooth. The carpet came right up and so did the pad. The tack strip was a breeze. However, I knew that the ease wouldn’t last all night. I started to vacuum the dust that was underneath the carpet from the drywall, but the Shop Vac that I was using started spilling all the dust into the air. Before I knew it, everything in the house had a thin layer of white dust on it. But there was some good news, Danica had started to feel better.

Next, it was time to put down the underlayment. This was used as a padding, but more importantly a moisture barrier to protect the wood from warping.  After that was complete I busted out the laminate wood and started locking it together. The hardest part of this type of flooring, is the beginning. When there are not many pieces down it is still very light. The boards want to move when you are trying to lock them together. It’s hard to keep the small gaps by the wall for expansion. Let’s just say after getting very frustrated and speaking my mind a bit, Danica suggested we make  run to Sonic. Great idea sweetie!

A Sonic run was just what the doctor ordered. I was ready to continue. Danica was a great help and we knocked out half of the living room in about 2 hours. By that time it was 11pm and we both had to be up by 5:30am for work the next morning.

Monday night after work went well. I finished out the living room and made my way into the dining room. I was feeling pretty good but little did I know I was about to hit another speed bump: the claw of a hammer. I made my way out to the garage to make a cut on one of the boards and as I made my way back into the house, I stepped on the claw of the hammer. Immediately, pain rushed through my heal and I fell to the ground. The good news was that Danica took good care of me. After some blood, a band aid, a limp and now some much needed shoes I was back to work.

I took Tuesday night off and took Danica out on a date. Then, I finished the dining room on Wednesday night. Thursday night I almost completed the kitchen. I figured for 5% waste in my takeoff, but I was still 3 boards short. Friday night after work I dropped Danica off at the airport and then picked up the material I needed. Then finally, almost a week later, I was done.

After

After

Renovation complete.

Small Church Appreciation

24 Sunday Jan 2010

Posted by in Life

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With Danica out of town, I decided that I would try out a new church in our neighborhood, instead of driving the typical 25 miles to our normal church. My choice was Northview Baptist Church, just about 2 miles from my house. I knew that this was a small church and I welcomed the experience since our normal church is quite large. Northview reminded me a lot of First Baptist Church in Hart, TX. This is my grandparents home church where I have attended many times visiting the panhandle.

From the moment I walked in, I could tell  everyone was very excited to have a visitor. I would estimate there was anywhere from 25 – 30 people in the congregation. The great thing was, at least 20 people introduced themselves and welcomed me. We sang old hymns, listened to prayer requests, shared personal testimonies, listened to the  sermon on Revelation chapter 4 and of course, no baptist service is complete without a benediction.

However, the best part of the service was the end. Apparently, Northveiw was having a members vote immediately after the service. The pastor got up and kindly asked that all non-members to please leave…

Yes, you guessed it. I was the only non-member. As I started to get out of  my seat to leave, the pastor walked down the aisle to make an announcement. He said: “Today we would like to thank our only visitor, a young man named Art…no, Allston, Allston Marble. A very stable name I might add.” He shook my hand and I made my way down the middle row toward the exit as the entire congregation gave me a round of  applause.

I must say that I have never left a church service with as much fanfare as I did today. Thank you Northview Baptist Church. Thank you.

Who’s your person?

20 Wednesday Jan 2010

Posted by in Life

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Everyone has that person. You know, your person. They’re the one you call first when you have great news. Or the person that you know will always believe your side of the story, even when you know you are wrong. My wife (Danica) has a person. Her name is Kelli. Danica and Kelli have been friends since high school and were roommates in college. As you may know, last year after our wedding Danica moved to Texas, 911 miles from Kelli. But please don’t worry, that hasn’t stopped their friendship (in fact, for whatever reason, I think it has strengthened it).

I often think if I had a quarter for every one of their phone conversations, I could retire by age 30. The funny thing is, every time they call each other, I always find myself around. Sometimes, we’ll be in the car (and I have no choice but to listen) but other times I’ll be watching TV and I’ll will be within an earshot, hearing the whole thing. Their conversations usually go something like this:

Danica: Hey!
Kelli: Hey!
Danica: WORD VOMIT…WORD VOMIT…WORD VOMIT
Kelli: WORD VOMIT…WORD VOMIT…WORD VOMIT
Danica: PS, WORD VOMIT…WORD VOMIT…WORD VOMIT
Kelli: PS, WORD VOMIT…WORD VOMIT…WORD VOMIT
Danica: Oh and PS, WORD VOMIT
Kelli: Oh and PS, WORD VOMIT
Danica: Bye!
Kelli: Bye!

Kelli (left) & Danica (right)

During the conversations, I often will make comments to myself aloud. This leads Kelli think I’m making fun of her. 97% of the time I’m not (but don’t forget, there is that 3%). I receive glares and dirty looks from Danica while I make these comments or when I turn up the TV so I can hear what Simon is saying on American Idol.

But in all honestly, I’m thankful that Danica and Kelli are friends. Marriage is great, but without your person, we might all go crazy…especially if you’re married to me.

13 years too long…but couldn’t be sweeter!

11 Monday Jan 2010

Posted by in America's Team

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As I mentioned in my welcoming post, the Dallas Cowboys are my team. One thing that comes along with being a Dallas Cowboys fan is this: Everyone has an opinion about the Dallas Cowboys. Trust me, no one rides the fence on this issue. You either love them or you hate them…there is no gray area. (If you are reading this and don’t have an opinion of the Cowboys, then you probably aren’t an NFL fan in general and your opinion is irrelevant).

In my early years, life was good being a Cowboys fan. I mean, in the 1990s, Dallas won the most games of any team in the decade, had over half a dozen Hall of Fame players and coaches, won multiple division titles and were in the playoffs almost every year. But the best part without a doubt was the fact that my Cowboys won 3 Super Bowls in 4 years.

Believe me, there were Cowboys haters then too. But when you are winning that much, it’s easy to put the haters in their place quickly. Just ask my second grade PE teacher. Isn’t that right Mr. Rezac?

When the Cowboys started to decline (just like every dynasty does) there was some grace. However, people were quick to point out that the Cowboys were no longer great, but were still respectful of what they had accomplished.

But over that past 6 or 7 years, I have received a fair amount of criticism for the play of my Dallas Cowboys. Some of it I probably deserved, but on the same hand, the things they were saying just weren’t accurate. The statements and comments may have had held some truth, but their reasoning was completely off based. Their reasoning worked as well as Mike Leach locking Adam James inside a shed as punishment for having a concussion. Brilliant!

Some people will read this and think that I’m saying the Cowboys are now back and that Dallas is the best team in the NFL. But seriously, that is not my goal. Until now, I couldn’t actually get anyone to listen because technically they appeared to be right. The fact of the matter is that appearance isn’t always reality. Don’t believe me? It’s kind of like when everyone thought the Earth was flat. You can’t blame them for thinking it. I mean, as you look along the horizon and the Earth would appear to be flat. But it’s simply not true. But until you prove the questions and theories wrong, you’re left with faith and hope. And when they are proven wrong you get to write a blog showing your were right. Just kidding, but seriously…

So where does that leave us? My original intent was to write down all the comments that people have said to me over the past 6 or 7 years and prove how they are false, irrational and in most cases absolutely absurd. But I won’t do that. There is no point. For example:

I was going to talk about how silly it was to say that Tony Romo and Wade Phillips can’t win in December, January or the Playoffs, but mentioning it would be silly.

In regards to Dallas’ chances of beating the Eagles Saturday night, I thought about writing to the insignificance of Dallas not winning a playoff game in 13 years, but it’s not worth the time.

It crossed my mind, to mention how stupid Texans’ fans are for trying to make fun of one of the most successful franchises in the NFL, but I’ll dismiss it.

In fact, was going to talk about how people said that Dallas couldn’t beat Philadelphia because they already beat them twice this year and the third time would be too hard. Or that they said the Cowboys couldn’t win because they have to play them two weeks in row, sorry, but I won’t waste your time with either fallacy.

Why would I talk about the claims that the Eagles didn’t have anything to play for in Week 17, even though a number 2 seed, first round bye and a NFC East title were on the line? I wouldn’t.

It doesn’t matter how many times they were negative about the Cowboys when Dallas was playing great. Who cares about respect?

Who would even think to mention that it’s unfair to give Tony Romo and Wade Phillips overall career records, but not DeMarcus Ware or Jason Witten. No one would listen.

But my favorite comment, that I would never speak of, is that both Cowboys fans and haters alike told me multiple times during the season that Tony Romo isn’t the guy. He needs to be benched, cut or traded. It just wouldn’t do any good to explain why Tony Romo is the guy that will win Dallas a playoff game this year. Even if I did speak of it, what good would come out of it.

So as I conclude, let’s just be thankful, that I humbly took it upon myself to bite my tongue.

But oddly enough, even without venting my Cowboys frustration, I feel so much better.

Welcome

05 Tuesday Jan 2010

Posted by in Life

≈ 2 Comments

Hello. My name is Allston. Some of you may know me, but for the those who don’t, let me introduce myself:

I’m male (with a name like Allston, people often misread it and think it’s Allison, so yes, that comment was necessary). I’m a twenty-something, evangelical Christian. I’m married to the most wonderful woman in the world (she is such a blessing in my life). I live near Houston, TX. My vocation is managing construction projects. The Dallas Cowboys are my team. I have the best family in the history of families and my middle name is Dee. Yes, I know, Dee is traditionally a woman’s name, but it’s a family name…so back off.

I’ve got to be honest, I don’t know why I’m starting this blog. I’m sure few will read it. But I feel like I must. So here goes nothin’…

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