In Transition

I decided that I am going to move over to WordPress, there hasn't been much interaction here due to me spending time creating my WP masterpiece....HA! I plan to be more active once I complete the new blog whenever that is. Maybe over the upcoming Holiday. We'll see.

Smarty Pig deals crushing blow to the self esteem

So today I entered into a contest through Smarty Pig an online banking/savings company via Twitter with the complete and total mindset that I wouldn't win anything as is common for me because I really never win anything. So they announce the winners and wouldn't you guess...I didn't win but I will tell you what I did do. I was in the top 20 losers for this competition. Now it is great and all that Smarty Pig puts on these contest but when I saw my name in this list I thought "Wow, I was that close to winning $100. Thanks Smarty Pig for making me aware of how close I was to greatness but managed to fall just a few names short thus placing me in the same group as the rest of the losers." Oh, and I was the second to last biggest loser of the "Close but not close enough" group by coming in 19th place there, YA for me!

Good thing Thanksgiving is coming up because I am not sure if I could recover from this crushing blow.

I am not done with you Smarty Pig, next time I will make sure I am the number 1 loser.

Hello Blog...It's me Tyler.

I apologize for neglecting you. I make promises on here of spending my time with you and neglect to follow through.

I will work harder to give you the attention you deserve.

yours truly.

Me the Music Critic.

So I have had this want to take all of the new cd's I purchase or acquire through various sources and write reviews, not necessarily because I care what people think about my opinions but just to have a reference to look to an see how I was feeling about a cd on my official first time full listen. I can then go back and compare the then to the now and see if my stubborn "elitist" opinions in regards to music can be swayed by giving an album or artist a chance rather than writing them off from the get go. I have been trying to transition myself into a more eclectic, well rounded listener (it is sometimes a little difficult because, again I am stubborn). Still I will pursue my conquest and see what comes out of the challenge.

I am working my way through a couple cd's right now that I am excited about. So far so good.

Below are what I am currently immersing myself in. The previously mentioned reviews will follow once I can provide a valid opinion of each.


Trenches - The Tide Will Swallow Us Whole


Fear Before - Fear Before


Iron and Wine - The Shepard's Dog


Inhale/Exhale - The Lost, The Sick, The Sacred

Engagement Duck.

Pictures of the Duck that crashed the engagement moment and stole my thunder.

Seriously this duck came out of nowhere and was picking at our stuff and posing for pictures. We affectionately named her Meredith the Mallard. I think we will invite her to the wedding.

Holy Shamoly!

Sooooo, big news. Carrie and I are officially engaged, hard to believe I know, I am a lot to handle. I feel so blessed and fortunate to be able to call Carrie my fiance. Pretty amazing...I take that back, TOTALLY AMAZING!

Needless to say I am a lot less stressed out now. Questions like "will she say yes", "is the ring nice enough", "will I say the right things and not make a fool of myself" no longer run through my head. Now I just get to question the rest of our life with together; "will I be a good husband", "can I provide", etc. Still, I am confident we will be so happy and our friendship and love for each other will grow and grow.

It is so weird to think that the pretty girl I sat next to in church 2 years ago, would turn out to be my future wife.

pictures from the big moment and the new bling...








here is the link to the rest of the pictures from the trip:

Colorado Pictures

Rocky Mountain Hey-Oh

So Carrie and I have made the long trek out to Colorado for a much needed vacation. After 18 hours plus driving we made it. Sadly the trip was pretty uneventful besides sleeping in a rest stop last night and watching storms roll into Colorado over the mountains. Now we are at the hotel (which funny enough is the same hotel I stayed in like eight years ago on a church trip)relaxing and cleaning the film off of our bodies before we head out to explore Colorado Springs and have a bite to eat and some much needed beverages..

We have a big week ahead of us with hiking, camping and general exploring.

Tomorrow we plan to get up nice and early and head out to Garden of the Gods to check out some scenenary and then to Pikes Peak for an all day hike.

Where we are at today and where we are heading tomorrow.



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