How about them Bengals!

Alright - so I'm not a Bengals fan per se. But they are another large cat! And they beat the Ravens - so that will keep the trash talkers a little more quiet this weekend. Most of the guys in my National Guard unit are Ravens fans so... Last night a local University opened up their Holiday banquet to the public. I was able to feed my whole family for $22.00 (and no tip!) and the food was fantastic. Everyone got what they wanted, as much as they wanted. It was funny to see the looks on the students faces. This weekend a longtime friend is hosting a "white elephant" party. I need to say that I have never really enjoyed these parties. I seem to have the worst experiences. One time I got a leg brace! You know, the kind that they give for when you do something bad to your ankle. Another time I got a music CD that was pretty interesting - well, it at least had the Peter Gun theme song, but at the end of the gift exchange part the host of that party comes up to me and says, I lent that CD to 'Bob' and he never returned it. Would you mind?" Of course I gave it over. The rest of the time I team up with the wife to try and ensure that she gets something that she is interested in - that usually means I end up with the almost used up scented candle, or box of 8 track tapes. Just once I would like to tell people... look, take $5 or $10 and get something new. Our trend started when most of families were just starting out and didn't really have the money to do that - but 10+ years on I'm pretty sure we could each afford $5 a person. My wife asked me if I could drive all the way back from my NG unit Saturday night - but to be honest... it's not something I really want to do. Mostly because I will have to turn back around and drive all the way back Sunday morning. May the Lord bless each and everyone of you this weekend. Updates: None Verse for today: Proverbs 1 : 1-7, ESV The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel: To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity; to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth— Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.