Who will YOU vote for?

Election day is right around the corner, so the question is, "Who will you vote for?" Obama and McCain both have strong and passionate ideas of what they want to do with the country. As you can see above, they also seem to have very similar fashion sense.

Fun with iChat

I know what you're thinking...TWO blog posts in TWO days!!! What has the world come to??? Well, this is a short one just to extol just one of the many virtues of being a Mac owner: iChat. Rebecca and I had a blast using this Mac program to have a video chat with our friends Justin and Holly who live in Boston. Just in case you're wondering...that's not how Justin really looks.

Freedom of Religion on the Cereal Aisle

You know those moments in life when you think, "Man, I wish I had my camera!" Well, thanks to the magic of cell phone cameras, many of those moments no longer escape us. Case in point: Rebecca and I noticed the scene above several months ago at our neighborhood Lowes Foods. Both of us had that "Man, I wish I had my camera" moment, but sadly our outdated cell phones had crappy cameras that didn't encourage such paparazzi tendencies. Several weeks later, armed with an updated camera phone, I was able to capture this image of humor.

On the left you have cereal "as described in the Holy Scriptures." I wonder if eating this cereal takes the place of your morning devotional?

On the right you have cereal that promises "inner harmony." I'm glad to see that zen monks are now in the cereal business!

You gotta love our great nation where freedom of religion is evident everywhere...even on the cereal aisle at the grocery store!

So You Think You Can...Ummm...Dance?

Wow, it's been 4 months and change since our last blog post. I only have one word for a plausible excuse: Facebook. That website will suck you in worse than heroin. For those of you still checking in on Coop du Jour (all three of you), we promise we will get better at posting more frequently from here onward.

So I think Rebecca and I would agree that we probably watch too much TV. Well, I think we would both agree that I (Brad) watch too much TV. Bec doesn't really have any shows that she watches religiously...with one exception: So You Think You Can Dance. I don't really see the appeal myself, but I have noticed that every other female member of her family is just as serious about it, so maybe the Y chromosome makes me immune or something.

As I observe the intensity of her viewing each episode, I wonder...is this how I look when I watch Lost? Yeah, I have to admit, it probably is. I should criticize, though..she definitely puts up with me watching my fair share of shows she doesn't care for (i.e. seven seasons of Smallville, anyone?)

That's all for now...we'll try to get some real pictures up in the next post. Until then, farewell...

Google Yourself

We've all either done it or wanted to do it at least once. I myself have done it a few times, but I never really paid attention to the results...until now. I'm up way past my bedtime and really should be getting some sleep, but times like these are perfect for a stream-of-consciousness blog entry. Alas, I digress...

The latest time when I googled myself, I found out that I have apparently done some very interesting things, for instance:

1. I'm a famous Hollywood actor who starred in Wedding Crashers and Alias.

2. I own a contemporary art gallery.

3. I'm a reknowned motivational speaker.

4. Did I mention that I'm an accomplished web designer?

5. I'm a published author.

6. I'm a student pastor who apparently owns a piece of the Internet.

7. I won a gold medal for swimming freestyle in the Olympics.

8. Oh yeah...almost forgot, I sing tenor!

If you haven't ever done it...try it sometime. You may be surprised at what you find!

Game Days and Fair Nights

There are two things that signal the arrival of fall to me...football (and football weather), and the State Fair. Football weather is those days where the air is so crisp it snaps,the sky is a deep azure blue with nary a cloud in sight, the trees are smoldering with the blaze of red, orange and gold leaves, and you don't feel like you can breathe deeply enough to take it all in. It takes me back to Saturday afternoons in Kenan Stadium, cheering on the Heels, which they need a bit of this year. But hey, they're young, they're learning, and there's always the Carolina fan's standard fallback of "waiting till basketball season."

Too bad I can't say the same for the rest of my boys--I didn't even watch the Panthers game this afternoon, which was probably a good thing, and I'm currently watching the Eagles continue their season's demise at the hands of the Cowboys. The Cowboys! At least there's the SuperCooper Bowl to look forward to...

On the other hand, the State Fair is always highly anticipated, and somehow doesn't disappoint. We had the chance to go twice this year, stocking up on fried food, vertigo-inducing rides, the sights and smells of various farm animals, and our fireworks fix for the year (right Melissa?), as well as taking in a concert by Mercy Me and Aaron Shust. We had a rather adventurous year...we sampled some of the deep-fried novelties--I recommend the deep-fried oreos over the chocolate chip cookies, but we didn't try the deep-fried PB&J, twinkie or moonpie (I think it helps if you like the food in it's original form first)--we saw a sheep fight in one of the barns, the boys saw a people fight in line for the Gravitron, and we almost got taken out by a dozen cops descending on a pickpocketer. Good thing we were at the fair, since I don't know who was policing the rest of Raleigh that night...

Good Times

We're still getting settled in the new house, so we'll post pictures soon. I think it must be some law of nature that as soon as you move in to a new house, you have something every weekend. We are enjoying it, though, and we have plenty of weekends ahead of us for those "around the house" projects. Our biggest problem right now is just deciding where to start!


In the meantime, we celebrated our niece's first birthday a few weeks ago with a good old Southern-style pig pickin'. It was fun to have family over, and let the niece and nephew break in the playset we inherited with the house (much to our mothers' delight, you can imagine). We also got to enjoy the patio for the first time, thanks to a brief tease of deliciously cool weather. Here are a few pics from the festivities...

The next weekend we celebrated the wedding of one of my best friends, whom I have known since second grade and have had the privilege of growing a great deal with over the past two decades. We had a two-day pseudo slumber party, catching up with old friends and making new ones, at a wonderful B&B in Fuquay. If you ever find yourself in Fuquay, NC, check out the Chateau Belle Vie on Hwy 401--beautiful accomodations, fantastic food (and coffee :o), and the owner is wonderful. Here are the ladies at the bridal brunch:

It was also a great chance to catch up with some of the friends I've grown up with since elementary school and haven't seen in years--and now there are kids in tow. Guess that officially makes us the "adults"...maybe...some of us, anyway.

Anyhow, the wedding was fantastic, the weather cooperated, and the setup looked like a photo shoot for Martha Stewart Weddings. Thank you Stancil family for everything, and congratulations Missy and Rod!