The Schwartz's artistic heritage

I've always been into art, ever since I was a kid in class (pictures of Indians were a very recurring theme) up until I started drawing in earnest and contributing to Family pubs, and then until now when I have no time or patience for it. :-) Don't worry though, maybe if I get really inspired on a free day I'll get back to my roots and try to draw something nice, then toss it up here and see what people think.
But no sir, the artistic talent doesn't stop with me in our family, as Dan (eldest) also boasts creative skills, as you can see in the following picture.
This is one of his most famous works ("Best Whale Ever" comes in a close second), which always impressed me with it's graphic yet thought-provoking depiction of God's righteous anger towards the wicked. Be warned, the following picture isn't for the faint-hearted!

Simple love, simple joy

The latest E-spresso really spoke to me. I've come to realize, like it says, that "One of these days, is NONE of these days," and "Every day we're alive is a special occasion." We should treat it as such. Sure, we want to have a long-term vision and a plan, but not at the expense of the moment. Thus, "as much as possible, life should be a pattern of experience to savor, not endure."

Everyone seems to do a fair amount of enduring these days, I think we could afford to savor things a little more.

Jesus said this and I agree:

The only thing that matters is love. The only things you can take with you are the rewards of obedience and sacrifice. The only things that seem important are things done for Me, and things done for others to make them happy, to help them serve Me better.

Can't stop!

It's not that I don't have anything to post, it's mainly that my favorite (and coincidentally, my only) laptop is out of order, pending a complete overhaul, lightning surge, or a miracle to get it working again. Apple is tempting me with their divinely sleek and cunningly adept machines, so it probably won't be too long before I have mine replaced. Sweet!

We finished the feast here this last week--I really enjoyed it.
Tony and I are training for a 10k, so I've been running a lot. I'm not sure if I'm motivated by the prestige and glory or the cash prize, but in any case, it's been really great exercise. I'm all about parallel wars right now.

Fishing in Arkansas!!

Here is us in Arkansas......awesome place!! Its just woods and mountains everywhere.
Went to Wal-Mart picked up a pole and BAMMM we're out them reeling those suckers in!!

I feel it in my fingers--I feel it in my toes..

Christmas is all around us, and so the feeling grows! I hope everyone has a great time tomorrow, on Christmas Day. Every time Christmas comes around, it reminds me why it's still my favorite time of year... Yes, even over summer wedding season. ;)

We went caroling this evening, spreading our joy to the whole world... Okay fine, so it was only to one sector of San Agustin--we'll get around to the rest of the world later. PTL the imminent rush to get out the last remaining Christmas CDs went well.

Then came the spiced wine, and presents--and when I say presents, I mean a LARGE quantity of them--the poor Christmas tree was pretty much swallowed up in all the boxes of every conceivable shape and kind with bows and wrapping paper shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow. I got a vest and chocolates :-)

It's 4:00 A.M. and I'm beginning to think Santa's not gonna show. That's it, I'm going to bed.. There will be pictures of our Christmas adventures put up soon :)

'Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night'

Hockey!

Yes indeed, ladies and gentlemen, at long last after nearly 5 years, I'm back on the court... well at least I was, for a couple hours today. At Contigo, I just find out they still have hockey equipment and play at a place near their house. Needless to say, I dropped everything I was doing and headed out today for some high-sticking, fast-skating and heavy-hitting hockey fun.

Actually, we didn't do any of those things, but we had a blast anyway, with me and Alf facing off against Leyland, Liz and Mauro. I can't remember who came out on top, probably cause I was too happy to be skating and shooting again to worry about what the score was :-).
A great time was had by all, and absolutely no injuries were had by anyone... Sweet!

Happy Birthday to this blog's other half!

Have a good one man! Muchas felicidades, feliz cumpleanos and all that. 19's a good age, I remember back when I was... wait a tick... I AM 19! Totally forgot. But not for much longer though (I'm subtly changing the subject from Richy's birthday to mine! Haha!)

All goofs aside, Richy's pretty much a hardcore hombre and definitley deserves lots of mention on his special day. Wish you a really hot year, with lots of just the right things happening... we'll have a B.O.L reunion this Christmas, until then... sayonara!

Jaco Beach!! SURFING!

Oh we had a lovely time surfing on the beaches of Costa Rica. We stayed there in an AWESOME hotel for 2 days for about 15 dollars a night. SO SWEET!

More Costa Rica!!!

This is a fishing place we went to where they had these trout that were like 2 feet long!! YUMMY!!!

Costa Rica!!! Divertido!!!!

Here are some pictures of this hardcore waterfall park we went to one day. Oh man they had some werid animals there. They also had this really good Coffee liquor that we got plenty of..........hehe!!!