adam.riggins

Ever since I was born, I have visited a small town in south Georgia called Blackshear. Blackshear is where my dad’s side of the family is from, and his mother, my grandmother, still lives there in the same house she always had. Every year at Christmas time, I drive down, and the family gets together at that house for a few days to just be together. A lot of times, it means doing absolutely nothing, but doing it together.

Before I go on, let me explain the city itself. This is a small town where the houses are sometimes a mile apart. Once upon a time, the house was on a farm, and the field across the road from the house was a field of crops. It has not changed since my dad lived there, harvesting the crops with his brothers. But make sure you get a good mental image here. A house with a big yard, a large field across the street, and a pond at the other end of the field.

As a child, I would also go down there during the summer, in addition to Thanksgiving and Christmas, with my dad. Along with my cousins, we would camp by the river, go fishing, play football, shoot BB guns, jump on the trampoline, have bonfires at night, and other stuff that you do when you are free from the worries of the city.

I am 27 now, and not that much has changed. I still hang out with my dad, cousins, aunts, uncles, and grand mother. Sure, I will occasionally drive to town to find a coffee shop with WiFi, and there are more kids now, but other than that, it is the same Blackshear I have always come to. It’s home.

So that leads me to my recent ponderings. Do other people have a place like that? Not a carbon copy, but a place that is home no matter what. A place where you have a lifetime of memories. A place to get away from the crap that life can throw at you. A place where time almost seems to stop when you are there. Do you have a place like this?

I was driving around a few weeks ago, and as I would pass by houses, these questions came to mind. Is that house I just passed seen by someone as their Blackshear? Will those kids jumping on the trampoline be coming to that same house in 20 years and smile at the remembrance of that activity?

I really hope so. I think everyone needs a Blackshear.

Looking at the house:

Looking towards the pond:

If you’re like me and not into children’s movies of any kind, then good news — there is a whole library of R-rated Christmas classics that you can put on during the Christmas celebration this year and not have to worry about being subjected to the Dora the Explorer Christmas Special or whatnot.

Keep in mind, I do not recommend seeing all of these, as some contain scenes you might want to do without. And also, I did not type this article, but being that 1/2 of the Die Hard movies are on the list, I could not resist.

read more | digg story

In case you play guitar, here is a website with a bunch of great tabs for Christmas songs. From the website:

It’s never too early to prepare for Christmas song sing-a-longs. The following pages will help you find Christmas song guitar chords, Christmas song guitar tabs, and Christmas carol lyrics for your favorite holiday songs.

Enjoy!

Hello everyone… Sorry there have been no posts in the last couple of days. I am currently in Blackshear, GA (look it up on Google Maps). It is a very small town in South GA, and i had to drive about 20 minutes just to get to the coffee shop I am at right now just to get internet. Anyways, here are some pictures of what has been going on.

This is Sugar Bear, one of my mom’s cat’s. She (Sugar Bear, not my mom) likes to drink out of the sink for some odd reason Personally, I think it is really cute.

This is my lovely grandmother and me sitting on the couch posing for a picture (obviously). Grandma and Grandpa hosted my mom’s side of the family for Christmas lunch.

Meet Bozo. Bozo is part bobcat, so his tail is just a little nub. Bozo runs things down in Blackshear. He is the king of the house.

This was right after I woke up this morning. I did not sleep very well last night ( I was in a tent camping with my dad and uncle), and so waking up to dad snoring was so much fun.

I hope you liked these pictures. If you are interested, I have more posted on my Flickr page. i will be adding more as I take then and can find internet.

More pictures!

technorati tags:christmas, camping, tipi, cats, dogs, gifts, grandparents, holidays

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Bad news for anyone who likes to eat (that would be me). The Houston Chronicle reports:

“To burn off the calories in one gingerbread cookie, you will have to swim 18 minutes. The martini and party mix will take 47 minutes on the bike.And the fruitcake? Take an 84-minute walk….

A half-pound of prime rib will cost you 230 minutes of yoga. A Starbucks Caramel Macchiato is 38 minutes on the bike — add 81 minutes if you grab a piece of coffee cake. You’ll have to walk 173 minutes to burn off a Whopper from Burger King…”

Are you kidding me? This might be the worst news since it came out that Alf was getting cancelled. It is going to take me a loooong time to recover from my Christmas feasting (which is actually more than my day-to-day feasting). I hope this can encourage you and me to watch what we eat this Christmas season.

Just one cookie means 18 minutes of exercise | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

technorati tags:christmas, food, cookies, eating, holidays, health

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This will get you in the mood for giving at Christmas. This guy bought a PS3 for $1700, and is selling it for $1 on eBay, just to be generous. He said that he is doing because that is what the season is about. Here is the video of it…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzGo-MvinIA]

From The Sun:

A PRIMARY school sacked a woman teacher for telling heartbroken nine-year-olds there is no Father Christmas.

Parents were furious when tearful youngsters went home saying they had also been taught elves and fairies did not exist either.

The supply teacher, in her 30s, had her contract terminated after complaints to the head. Mum Amanda Piovesana, 30, said her daughter was shocked to be told: “You are old enough to know there is no Santa or fairies. If you ask your parents they will also say there is no such thing.”

Amanda said: “It’s taken away the magic.” The mum of another pupil at Boldmere Junior School in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, said: “Everyone is disgusted.” Head Diane Thomas-Wood confirmed: “We have followed up the matter with the agency.”
—-

So now for discussion… should we tell our kids that there is a Santa, knowing that there really isn’t, and they will find out anyways? Or, so we just not even ever teach them of Santa? Comment below…

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12-10-06_1040.jpg, originally uploaded by adamriggins.

Every year, my friends coordinate and take part in a program called Faith, Hope, and Love. My friend Coats used to work and an abused-teens center in LaGrange. At this center there are about 7 teenage boys whose parents have basically abandoned them, and so they live at this home. This also means that at Christmas time, there is no one to get them any presents. Well, that is where we come in.

We have the kids make a “Christmas Wish List”, with about $250 worth of things they really want on there. Then, we find people to sponsor them by either just donating money, or actually going out to buy the gifts.

Once that is all done, we set a date to drive down to LaGrange and physically deliver the presents and cook a massive feast for the kids. That is such an awesome thing because we get to have dinner with them, and then actually see their expressions when they open the presents. They are so grateful, even for the smallest things, and it does a great job of putting things in perspective for me.

So, that being said, my Sunday School class sponsored one of the kids. So today (actually, yesterday from when I am typing this), we went shopping for the kid. In the picture, we are at Old Navy getting some polo shirts that were on his list. We also scoured the Gwinnett area looking for Nike Air Force One shoes. We found them, and then scratched out heads at how these shoes could be $80, but whatever. They are not for us.

Merry Christmas!

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Riggins & Audra, originally uploaded by adamriggins.

Saturday night, we had a company Christmas party at the house of one of the employees. As you can see from the picture, my friend Audra came with me (I mean, who wants to go alone to a party, right?). Anyways, Jerry, who was the host, gave us the tour of his house. His wife had spent a month and a half decorating the house, and you could seriously tell by how beautiful it was.

A quick note about Jerry- he is an amazing guy. He sent an email out to the entire company a few months back listing the remaining holidays for 2006. Next to December 25, he did not put Christmas. Instead, he put “Christ’s birthday”. That is so awesome! Anyways, back to the party…

The food was amazing. Jerry’s wife is Italian, and she loves to cook. Well, she seriously went all out. She prepared enough food for 50 people, and it was all fresh and hand-made. I had mostly sweets (I could not resist), to the point where I felt a little sick.

It was a great night with great company, and it really got me in the Christmas mood.

from TUAW:

iPod? or Fruitcake? Let the facts speak for themselves.

10 Reasons why iPods beat Fruitcakes as Holiday Gifts

1. You can’t play your music on a fruitcake.
2. Inserting earbuds into your fruitcake? Makes them all sticky and gooey.
3. iPods come in many colors and flavors. Fruitcakes are…brown.
4. You can’t play video games on a fruitcake. (Or a Zune.)
5. Fruitcakes do not support smart playlists.
6. You can’t really accessorize a fruitcake. Belkin doesn’t offer a “fruitcake” section in its online store.
7. You can’t watch the latest episode of Battlestar on a fruitcake.
8. Fruitcakes don’t fit into your pocket.
9. Fruitcakes are unsuitable items to bring along with you to your workouts.
10. iPods? No crumbs.

10 Reasons why Fruitcakes beat iPods as Holiday Gifts

1. iPod price $249. Fruitcake price $21.99.
2. Fruitcakes need no frivolous accessories. They’re usable exactly as produced.
3. You’re less likely to waste your spending money at iTunes with a fruitcake.
4. Walk around wearing an iPod and everyone yawns. Walk around wearing a fruitcake and you’re a trendsetter.
5. iPod: 2.5-inch color display. Fruitcake: 10-inch multifaceted-crystalized-fruit display.
6. You can’t use an iPod as a football. Or a door stop.
7. Fruitcakes have no batteries to replace.
8. iPod: 7,500 songs. Fruitcake: the song in your heart, and the antacids in your medicine cabinet.
9. You can’t call your enemy “nutty as an iPod”. Well, you can. But nobody’s going to understand you.
10. In all likelihood, your fruitcake will still be usable three years from now.