Fall 2011 Update!

Here's the latest:

1) Jessica started teaching at La Mesa Jr. High this Fall!

2) Crossroads Community Church celebrates its 5th Anniversary on September 11th!

3) Our roommate, Rachel, is going to be moving out in December to spend a year in Europe pursuing full time missions work. Her cat, Mittens, will also be moving out ;)

4) We had a suhweet vacation in Colorado a couple weeks ago with Jess's dad and friends, which was prefaced by a weekend in Vegas with good friends. WIN.

5) The end!

6) Follow us on Facebook (Jessica Blumberg Hoover; Paul Hoover), and Twitter (@paulphoover)

7) Cheers!

Checking In

So I just downloaded an app that lets me update my blog from my phone! I got it mostly for my the purpose of posting to my worship blog for Crossroads, but I thought I'd check in here to see if anybody's still reading this thing.

Hopefully if you're at all interested in the minutiae of my life, you've made the switch to following me on Twitter (@paulphoover) or connecting with me on Facebook.

So...in a nutshell...
We started a third service at Crossroads, Jess and I started leading the young adult group, we've lived in our little house for six months now and love it, I bought a Kirby vacuum cleaner on eBay, I bought a mandolin and a banjo, Jess is teaching middle school at Legacy Christian and jumping horses a couple times a week.

Comments? Questions?

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Blogging is HARD

So if anyone still checks our blog and wonders if we're still alive or doing anything interesting since buying our home, I apologize for not posting!

I've been much more active in the "micro-blogging" world of late. If you're interested enough in what we're up to, I might recommend going over to www.twitter.com, and following me. My username is: paulphoover. On that site I update a couple times a day, and add pictures. The coolest part is that I'm updating in real time, and pictures usually go up right after I take them. Technology is so great.

So yeah, I won't give up on the blog, but if you're sick and tired of seeing the same blog post title, then maybe try something new?

Also, my twitter automatically updates my Facebook profile, so that's another way to get a snapshot of what's up in our lives at the moment!

Thanks!

Homeowners!

This past weekend we officially became homeowners!

We had made an offer on a short-sale property back in February, and after a marathon of waiting and a frantic scramble to the finish line, we closed escrow and moved in this past weekend! Many thanks must go to our Realtor, Tre Foor, who basically got our offer accepted above a slew of competing offers (she was the listing agent as well, and she and the sellers felt really good about Jess and I), and who never gave up throughout an often discouraging bank-approval process. Just as many thanks must go to our Loan Officer, Tyler Kostjuk at Bank of America (and fellow Crossroader) who used his contacts within B of A to put pressure on a short-sale approval department that seemed to lack an understanding of how to do their job in a timely fashion!

So we bought a little "duplex" (shares one wall with a neighbor) of 1,018 sq. ft. in the absolute heart of Valencia. The location of this place is top notch, and close to everything. The neighborhood is quiet, well kept, and just plain nice.  We pay a small HOA fee each month for a pool/jacuzzi, and these awesome "paseos" (designated bike/walking paths that run throughout the community all the way to the mall!).

The previous owners of our house absolutely loved it and put lots of time and money into renovating it. It was basically move-in ready for us, and everything we've done at this point has been personalization as opposed to a "fixer-upper" that we'd have to get stuff working at all to even live there. We have two bed/bath and a den, along with a huge,  fantastically renovated kitchen. The landscaping and irrigation are amazing, and the little yard and side patio make this place really feel like home.

I'll post some pictures of the place later, but wanted to give you the big news!

Stuff Calvinists Like

Stephen Altrogge lists some of the quirks of the Reformed...

http://www.theblazingcenter.com/2010/05/stuff-calvinists-like.html

Confessions of a Hipster

Some of you may not be entirely sure what a hipster is...

That's okay, just watch this video:

Enfield Live at Calvary Bible Church in Burbank

Just wanted to let y'all know that I'm playing with Enfield (Resolved Band) this Saturday night at Calvary Bible Church in Burbank at a coffee shop event from 5:00-9:00pm.

Check out their website for directions and stuff: www.calvarybiblechurch.org

CLICK HERE to check out a bunch of Enfield videos on YouTube if you're not familiar...

The Hungry Ninja

Down the street from my house is a charming little restaurant called "The Hungry Ninja." It's a Chinese food place of sorts, and it's got that certain "hole-in-the-wall" appeal that so many find intriguing.

The food is pretty good and it's also fairly affordable. What really makes this place something special though, is the decor.

They feature quarter machines filled with all kinds of goodies, most notably those Simpson's Mini-Bobble-Heads. But they also have some choice prints hanging delicately on their walls:

#1: Perception.

One of those ever popular motivational posters that reminds us "what you see is not always what you get."

#2 Imagination

This beautiful sunset photo reminds us that "imagination."

And #3...
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>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> CON-AIR!

Reminding us that Nicholas Cage's hair is some sort of extra-terrestrial life form, and that the film was nominated for an Academy Award for "Best Song;" A LeAnn Rimes tune called "How Do I Live?" performed by Trisha Yearwood; totally appropriate for an action/thriller flick...

Well done Hungry Ninja...well done.

Some Great Old School Hockey Moments...

Wayne Gretzky was not known for being a tough guy in the NHL, but in this old clip he goes for it with an LA Kings player, and he probably realized during the course of this altercation that he should steer clear of fights and just score goals...


Here, Mario Lemieux scores FIVE goals in one game, but the crazy part is he scores every possible TYPE of goal as he does it: Even strength; Short-handed; Power-Play; Penalty shot; and Empty net. Wow...


On YouTube, this video is simply titled "World's Best Penalty Shot." I couldn't title it any better...


In this clip, Mark Messier of the New York Rangers catches the Dallas Stars' Mike Modano in the head with his shoulder and Modano goes out like a light. He's out cold for a significant amount of time, but as if that's not bad enough, watch what happens at 1:20!!

Pet High Chair

It's products like these that make me think I could start my own business. The pet market is a quickly expanding entrepreneurial playground, and coming up with "affordable" pet luxuries/necessities seems to be the way to go...

The Pet High Chair
"Satisfying a mutual desire for companionship, this high chair permits your dog or cat to accompany you at the dinner table."

"By providing an alternative to sitting on your lap, running disruptively underfoot, or outright banishment, the chair assuages a pet (and its owner's) frustration, and promotes more refined behavior."
Only $49.95 CLICK HERE if you're interested

Old Spice Commercials...

A medley of some of the new "odor-blocking body wash" commercials...

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Speaking With Conviction

This post is not about sharing one's faith, but it IS about speaking in such a way as to communicate the confidence you have in what you are saying!

Frog Fail

Sounds Like the Christian Life Sometimes...

"The test of a first rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. One should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make them otherwise."

-F. Scott Fitzgerald

Resurrection Songs

We're just a few weeks away from celebrating the resurrection of Christ from the dead, and I wanted to let you all know that I've just finished a 4-song project called "Resurrection Songs" that is available NOW as a free download!

This project was an encouragement from a friend and mentor from my previous church to fill a need for more resurrection-themed worship songs. There are plenty of worship tunes that mention the resurrection, to be sure, but few focus on it as a central theme to expound upon. So that's what I tried to do with this EP.

Go over to www.lifeatcrossroads.org and click on the album cover in the right hand column to go to the download page. Again, the download is free, but we are asking that you consider making a small donation to Crossroads' Missions Fund, that will help defray costs for our upcoming missions trip to India this summer. More instructions are found on the download page.

Let me know what you think!

New Year's Resolution: Blog Less...Apparently

I don't even really have anything to say, except that we're heading away for the weekend tomorrow to Las Vegas. Cool huh?

Actually, it will be cool; it's supposed to be in the high 50s the whole weekend with a chance of rain! Ah well, that's what you get when you vacation in February. We're going with Jeff and Karina Culbertson (Jess' coworker) and staying at the Trump Tower (oooooooh!) which is a non-gambling hotel (weird).

I've only been to Vegas a handful of times. The first time was for my Bachelor Party in May 2006. I drove over with Josh Wataru and Conor Smith, and I read them The DaVinci Code most of the way. It was fun. Real fun. We saw Mission Impossible III while we were there.

This post exists solely for the purpose of taking up space, and so that two guys I know that follow my blog on their iPhone can get all excited for the little "1" that's gonna show up. Then they'll read this and be like "what the heck; what a waste." HA.

So I'll leave you with a video of my band Petty Crux playing a tune called "Hello" at the Dakota Music Lounge last month. We have another show there on Saturday, March 6th, which will be my final show with them as I need to protect more time for work and family. If you're around, I'd love for you to come down! More details soon.

Happy Holidays 2009!

And for those who have wondered with baited breath what has been keeping us occupied these past few weeks...

Christmas Eve at our house

The tradition continues (3 years now) for Jess and I to spend long hours cleaning and cooking (although she did better with not stressing out as much this year!) so we can pack our little place with 16 people for Christmas Eve dinner. Presents, games, and songs filled out the evening.

The Christmas Half & Half, with my aunt Eileen, and my buddy Charles in the background.

My cousins Reuben, Gabriel, and Isaac

My Jess and my mom in the kitchen working the ham, whilst Maggie the Christmas Pump waits for a morsel to fall.

Christmas Day

We go down to my parents' house to eat, open more gifts, and sit around.

Me and Jess. She still likes me after 3.5 years.

My mom, Donny, Gabby, and Maggie the Christmas Pump (now with Sparkly-Red-Christmas-Bow!)

(My dad had to work on Christmas day, so he wasn't around until later, but he was there. He was also at Christmas Eve, but apparently I didn't think whatever he was doing all night was that interesting.)

Post-Christmas in Mammoth

What is turning into another end-of-year tradition for us is heading up to Mammoth Mountain for a few days. Good friends, good snowboarding, and I saw snow fall for the first time in my life.

Nick, Tim, Jess, Me, and Charles

Getting ready to sit down to Tim's dinner: Coque Au Vin

Frozen water falls from the sky. It's magical.

So that's what we've been up to recently. How are you?

Half Life in Engrish?

I've never even played this game, but my friend showed me this video...

Great Cover: Pomplamoose covering MJ's "Beat It"

Hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving!

Any of you do the crazy Black Friday thing? We went to the mall in the afternoon after we saw Wes Anderson's new movie, "The Fantastic Mr. Fox," based on the book by Roald Dahl (James and the Giant Peach; Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; etc.), and it wasn't all that crazy.

I am determined to do all my Christmas shopping via the internet, and I'll try to do as much of it as I can on "Cyber Monday," the internet's equivalent to Black Friday. Most websites offer free shipping, along with special discounts. No traffic, no scrambling for parking, no long lines and pulsing masses of people. Isn't my Christmas cheer astounding?

Anyhoo, I wanted to post this video from that group Pomplamoose (I posted their cover of Beyonce's "Single Ladies") because it's fascinating to watch, and it's pretty dang catchy. Thanks to my friend Tim Costine for alerting me to this video.

3.5 Year Anniversary!

In three days, Jess and I will have been married for three and a half years! It has been non-stop action and adventure; similar to Die Hard. I'm not sure why I thought to post something about a half-anniversary, except that a friend of mine from church forwarded me an email with a bunch of kids' responses to various questions about marriage.

HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHO TO MARRY? You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming. -- Alan, age 10 No person really decides before they grow up who they're going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with... -- Kristen, age 10 WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO GET MARRIED? Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then. -- Camille, age 10 HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED? You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids. -- Derrick, age 8 WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MOM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON? Both don't want any more kids. -- Lori, age 8 WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE? Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough... -- Lynnette, age 8 (isn't she a treasure?) On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date. -- Martin, age 10 (isn't he ready for the world of dating?) WHAT WOULD YOU DO ON A FIRST DATE THAT WAS TURNING SOUR? I'd run home and play dead. The next day I would call all the newspapers and make sure they wrote about me in all the dead columns. -- Craig, age 9 WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE? When they're rich. -- Pam, age 7 The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn't want to mess with that. -- Curt, age 7 The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, then you should marry them and have kids with them... It's the right thing to do. -- Howard, age 8 IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED? It's better for girls to be single but not for boys.. Boys need someone to clean up after them. -- Anita, age 9 (bless you child) HOW WOULD THE WORLD BE DIFFERENT IF PEOPLE DIDN'T GET MARRIED? There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there? -- Kelvin, age 8 (I like this kid) And the #1 Favorite is .... HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK? Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a truck. -- Ricky, age 10