I LOVE Fall!

This is one of my favorite times of the year, when Fall first shows up, edging it's way in a little more each day. I am excited to enjoy the onset, and to anticipate the fullness.

I love the smells. There is a crispness in the air that seems so clean when you breathe it in, carrying the scent of changing leaves. There are grills covered by sizzling hamburgers and juicy chicken, and the fire pits full of burning wood, accented by melting marshmallows and Hershey's chocolate. There are apple spices, cinnamon potpourri, and pumpkin pie.

I love the feel. There is that same crispness, brushing you in a cool breeze, mixed with the warmth of the fading summer sun. There are the long sleeves of shirts, sweaters and jackets, boots that tie up high above your ankles, and tough denim jeans. Before long there are the thick coats, wool caps, and warm gloves.

I love the sounds. Again, a dry breeze through drying leaves on the trees, and later, those same leaves crunching beneath your feet. Or the swooshes and giggles as children jump and play in raked piles of those same leaves, after they have broken their bonds in the sky and come to rest with us on earth.

I love the sights. What is more beautiful then a forest on fire in brilliant colors? The woods, the hills, the roadsides, the mountains, all bright like a painter's palette, showing off in a final flash of glory before growing muted and dormant for the winter. And I love those same earthy tones mirrored on our tables and our homes in harvest foods and fall decor.

Thomas Wolfe said it well:

"All things on earth point home in old October..."

I make it rain!

Eat it, world! I am now officially a tropical storm. And I could become a hurricane, if the East Coast gives me any lip. Check it out!

MIAMI, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Kyle, the 11th of the Atlantic hurricane season, formed on Thursday from a weather system that pounded Puerto Rico and other northern Caribbean islands for days, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Kyle finally gained tropical storm strength, with sustained winds 45 mph (72 kph), as it moved through the Atlantic Ocean east of the Bahamas, on a path that could take it to a landfall in Maine or Canada's maritime provinces as a minimal Category 1 hurricane.

Here that? A category 1 hurricane. NUMERO UNO! And I'm not the only one excited. Kyles from all over the world are coming together in support of our storm. The original Kyle blogger over there did pose a decent question:

...if a storm shares your name, do you want it to be a behemoth or a weak collection of hot air?

Well, Kyle, if I may answer your question with a question- are you a sissy? This Kyle is rooting for a freaking ginormous titan of a hurricane, something so big, so huge, so nasty and devastating that they have to come up with another category, or a whole new classification; like FEMA-breaker, The 11th Plague, Land Hammer, Rosie O'Donnell, or The Great Flood.

This is the coolest thing ever - keep up with my development live on StormPulse.com.

See what others are saying:

Tropical Storm Kyle is currently aiming for Washington, New York and a few other cities situated on the East Coast. Tropical Storm Kyle has winds of 45 mph, and is expected to rain down on both Carolinas , Boston, New York City, and Long Island.

Let's take a moment to look back over my development from a little depression to the strapping storm I've become.

Here's me as a baby. I looked like a blob.

Here's me in 1996. My, I'm getting bigger!

Here I am now, all grown up and ready to become a hurricane.

This is your official warning. Board up the windows. Buy extra batteries. Check the anchor on your dog's leash. Kyle is about to make landfall.

All other tropical storms must bow before Kyle!

Enjoyable Weekend

We had your average, run-of-the-mill weekend, but I really enjoyed it. It's the little things that make your days special, and I'm glad I'm seeing that more, instead of needing to be constantly entertained or doing something "special" to have fun.

In Baby News, we've had a few developments. Not only has Kaylyn been doing a decent job of sitting up, with minimal support from us, but she has finally learned to roll over! Funny thing is, no one saw it. Her sort of first time was several days ago in her crib, wrapped in her tight "burrito" swaddle. She seemed to have come close before, but her arm was always in the way. This time, the swaddle held it against her side. She was crying and complaining, so I checked in and found her on her belly, straining to see back over shoulder, her little face all scrunched up in frustration and her whole body wiggling like a little worm. It was so freaking cute.

I think it was Friday when the same thing happened, only this time she was unbound and on the living room floor. I heard her crying from the office and found her on her belly. She's not the biggest "tummy time" fan. I asked Jenny if that's how she'd laid her down, and she said no. Here it was, her first true roll over, and we weren't even in the room! She's a brat.

Saturday was Dad's birthday, so we enjoyed a big dinner at Los Cabos, where my parents are serious regulars. I'm not complaining. I'm a HUGE fan of Mexican food, literally and figuratively. Afterwards, we enjoyed ice cream and homemade cake back at their house, and we were all treated to Kaylyn's birthday gift for Papa, a couple of legitimate roll overs with big smiles.

Today (Sunday) was nice and laid back, though I was pretty pumped during the Bengals' game. If they'd played like that in weeks 1 and 2, they'd be 2 -1. I hope they learned some things today. Sundays would be more fun if they'd win. Before the game we shared lunch with the Hartleys and Josh Tysinger, which was good because I miss connecting with the folks in the small groups we branched off of. They're good people.

Another work week is right around the corner. Lucky for me I don't usually work on Mondays, which is why I can blog at 1:30 in the morning without a care.

Cincinnati Pioneer Days

Hurricane Ike ushered in what might become a new Dincler family tradition - The Blackout. On Sunday we saw 60+ mph winds, which left a lot of damage all over Cincinnati to homes, vehicles, businesses, and worst, the electric. As I type this, hundreds of thousands of people around the city remain without electricity.

Jenny and I lost our power on Sunday at around 4 pm. At first, it was annoying. I mean, how can a guy survive without access to his Yahoo! Fantasy Football Stat Tracker? I had no clue how any of my guys were doing, and I was in such high hopes of pulling out wins in both the leagues I'm in. Too bad I'm relying on a couple of Bengals players to help me out with that.

After about an hour, I resigned to the fact that we would be without power for a while. I think it happened when Jenny started lighting candles all over the house. I love candlelight. I love the candle ambiance - the warm, soft light flickering against a wall or ceiling, filling this part of a room, and then another. The flames seem alive, and dancing. It is so soothing, and also reminds me of soft Christmas lights. That's never a bad thing.

We both took to reading. Jenny had just finished The Shack, by William P. Young, for her monthly book club, and she could not stop recommending that I read it. So, she started Blue Like Jazz, by Donald Miller, and I started The Shack. It was incredible! I'm not going to go into detail right now; I'll be starting another blog, and I'll kick it off with my thoughts on the book. Suffice it to say for now, it is one of the best books I have ever read, and should be a must-read for ever follower of Jesus.

I was so enjoying the whole atmosphere, the slow down, that I told Jenny we should make something like this a regular thing in our family. We could call it a "Blackout Day." For the duration of the day, there would be no use of electricity, specifically - no TV, no DVDs, no video games, no computers or Internet, no iPods, etc. You know, the things we use to entertain and sometimes numb ourselves. It would be a fast from the Matrix, in a way, a day of outside fun, exploration, reading, journaling, discussion, quiet, calm, and candlelight. I like it.

I would have finished the book Sunday night by the warm glow of candlelight, but my eyelids proved too heavy, and I was forced to wrap up the experience Monday morning. That was a rough night. It was too quiet. I had no bed-side fan to wrap me in white noise, buffering my ears from every little sound coming through the open windows. I must have woke up over half a dozen times, to either my own snoring, a noise from outside, or Brach, our Yorkie, being triggered into a barking fit by the same.

Monday continued our adventure as Pioneers, roughing it without the modern luxuries of electricity, warm water, or fresh food. Ultimately, we were forced to make camp at my parents' stead, who had recovered their power sometime that day. My grandma joined us, and we all had a good time checking email and Fantasy Football stats (I was 1-1 in Week 2)! We all enjoyed some lasagna for dinner, and watched some Monday Night Football. Jenny and I retired to my old room, and did our best to fit into the double bed, along with Brach, and towards the morning, Kaylyn as well.

To make the whole experience more authentic, I suppose, Jenny woke me up at 3 am to inform me that she had let Brach out to pee, and he had run after what he thought was a skunk. She was right. My witching-hour screams through gritted teeth brought him back to the front door, reeking of burnt rubber. We immediately took him o the basement utility tub, dousing him with soap, shampoo, and cold V-8 (serves him right). After a quick Google search (so good, but so liberal), we threw together a concoction of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and Dawn dish soap. It did the trick. After two scrubbings, it got rid of most of the smell. We finished it off with some Downy fabric softener. You can still smell skunk on him today, albeit faint compared to the original dose. It's not enough to warrant an immediate bath again, but it's enough that I plan on heading back over to Mom and Dad's to finish the job.

As evidenced by this very blog post, we are back in the Matrix, fully plugged in and powered on. But I do look forward to future Pioneer Days.

First Blog/Journal/Post/Whatever!

As prolific a journaler and writer I've been in the past, I'm surprised and confused that I've never started a blog before now.

As I type, I'm wondering what goes into the "first post." What obligatory comments are included?

"Well, I just want to keep everyone updated on life."

"I want to explore my thoughts and put them out there for the world."

"I'm hoping to connect with someone like me, so I can have some hope in the world."

That's all silly. As much as I hope someone gets some enjoyment, connection, enlightenment, entertainment, whatever, from anything I put on here, I am doing this for me. It's always been therapeutic and very healthy for me to capture thoughts, to record the processes as I work through various things in my life. But, seeing as how I've gotten so much from others, I guess I do hope it helps someone else.

Really, all I want to do is keep anyone interested updated on my life, explore my thoughts and share them, and connect with others. :)

Ok, we've got that one out of the way.