They Say We Look Alike...

I'm just not seeing it.

A Weekend @ Hume Lake

It's Cold Out Here

From Hume Lake...

At The Bounce-Bounce

Some friend of ours are aerial acrobats. Their daugher turned three last week, so what do they do? They throw an acrobatic party. It was perhaps the most fun we've had in a while.
Here's our horrible attempt to properly capture the event in visual media form. We were too busy having fun.

THE CAUSE

It's been six months or so since we started THE CAUSE, an outreach-based young adult service which focuses on Worship, Community, and Ministry. This project has been nothing but fullfilling for me and those I'm honored to work with. It has become our lifeblood. I wish you ALL could experience it in person.

Here's our new web site: www.TheCauseSanDiego.com

Take a look around and keep us in your prayers.

A Race. A Beauty Queen. A Layup.

I've not been an Amazing Race fan, ever, but for some reason I decided to give it a shot this season. Lacy, the boys and I all went to the Benoit's last night for the season premier, and much to my surprise, Miss California 2005 was a contestant along with Miss New York. Here's why I say "much to my surprise": I taught her how to shoot a layup in a benefit basketball tournament about 6 months ago. I'd never met her up to that point and I have had zero interaction with her since. I almost blogged about it at the time cause it was so wierd/funny, but for some reason didn't. Glad I waited. Root her on for me, she's on Team Beauty Queens (he he he). Her name is Dustin (on the left) and she still can't shoot a layup.

In Stereo: Track of the Week

All I Need Is You

I'm Not Quiting... I Did Buy Pads

quarter life crisis

So... I went skateboarding tonight for the first time since, well, the eighties. Lacy bought me a new board for our anniversary. She's the BEST.
Tonight I hit the streets of suburbia S.D. with my buddy/neighbor, Gabe. We got honked at three times by frustrated motorist, and Gabe wiped out hard once. The thing with skateboards is this: there are no brakes. You either have to jump off before you crash, or pray that the hill you're bombing flattens out. I wasn't willing to wait for the hill to flatten. Gabe was. It was kind of awesome. After cruising the local supermarket parking lot, we walked our boards back uphill home and called it a night.
Anyway, that was my night. It rocked.

A Cell Phone Drowning/ A Cell Phone CPR

Sunday afternoon, we were all sitting in the living room watching 24 when tragedy struck. Lacy looked over and Lukas was playing dunkin donuts with my cell phone and a glass of water. It was awesome. This comes after a year of two cell phone incidents: one being when Lacy dropped my cell into a hot tub, and two, when I dropped the next one on the floor of the Fish and Chips place, cracking the screen. Needless to say, the insurance carrier has said its adieu.
This phone (treo 650) was now uninsured, yet very valuable to my life. I live by this. It's calendar and address book keep me afloat.

IT WAS GONE.

We tried blow drying it. Taking it apart. Shaking the living day lights out of it.

Nothing was going to revive it.

Monday comes. I spent a good part of the day trying to figure out if I could switch carriers and get any good deals on another smart phone, but to no avail. It was cost WAY to much to drop Sprint at this point.

SO... I walked past my wall charger and decided to just PLUG in the phone. As soon as I did, WHAMO, it came on.
It works perfectly. I'm so confused, but at least I can love my son again :)

Here He is blowing on the phone, trying to help.

In The Movies

In the movies, why is it that when someone is about to kill someone else, they always do a long explanation of WHY they are going to kill them? It's not like the person being killed is going to remember the reason. I say keep your mouth shut and shoot. You'll save your time and mine.

Not Much Happening

We just took a week off (sort of). My dad gave us their beach place for the week. It was great.
I just finished caring for our lawn. It had been 3 weeks. A total disaster, but OK now. Only once broken sprinkler pipe. I guess you're not supposed to use an ax in the area of an underground pipe.
I'm heading to L.A. bright and early for a conference tomorrow.
We've been having fun as a family, watching a TON of 24. Catching up.
I'm sure my lovely wife will post pictures of our adventures on Luke and Jack's blog.
OK, Luke just destroyed all the papers in my work bag.
Awesome.
gotta go.

Pics From The Fourth

My 4th

I'm still not sure how or why it happened, but I just played perhaps the biggest gig of my life. It was a short moment, but truly a great one. Miles Ahead Ministries and The Rock Church put on a 4th of July bash at Coors Amphetheatre called REVOLUTION featuring Kirk Franklin and P.O.D. The Rock Church's House Band was kind enough to ask me to join them for the event. It was great to meet some new friends and reconnect with old ones.
We just got home a few minutes ago. There was roughly 20,000 people there. I have no pictures as of yet, but I'll work on it. We played a short worship set at the end of the message and then went into a rockin version of the National Anthem (yes, I used the words "rockin" and "National Anthem" in the same sentence. Very strange).
Way fun tonight.
Good night America, on your birthday.

Paradise Has Left Town

I don't know where it went, but it's gone. Long gone. Feels like a nasty day in Marion (no offence to those still there, we're currently praying you out of pergetory). Good news is: It ALWAYS cools down at night.

a story about a speedo...

The pictures will assuredly be seen in following posts, but I wasn't about to pose just for the sake of a laugh this time.

Here's the story:

Lacy and I have taken to body-boarding with our friends Nick and Karen. We started this last summer and at first warmth, we hit the waves again this summer. The following is a series of problems and solutions that will tell the real story...

Problem 1: When body-boarding in San Diego, rarely is the water warm enough to tackle without a wet-suit.
Solution 1: Wear a wet-suit.

Problem 2: Wearing a wet-suit requires a strategic on-the-beach change of clothing (a COMPLETE change of clothing)
Solution 2: a BIG towel.

Problem 3: Sometimes the wind catches your towel and Karen and HER MOM see more of you than they should.
Solution 3: A form-fitting Speedo to wear under your boardshorts so when you change, you don't have to sans EVERYTHING, leaving your fate to a towel and the wind.

Problem 4: Purchasing the Speedo without feeling like a guy who wears a Speedo.
Solution 4: Act cool, remain calm, don't spend too much time browsing in THAT department. Most importantly, DO NOT make eye contact or small talk with the cashier, male or female.

Problem 5: In the world of Speedo, a size 34 fits like a size 24, forcing a return trip to the Speedo place and an exchange. Now I not only have to deal with the cashier once, but twice. Once for the initial exchange convo, then again for the transaction.
Solution 5: Same as Solution #4

Problem 6: A multi-person small talk conversation begins at the register:
Cashier Chick: "So... do you swim on a team or for recreation"
Me: totally not into talking about it, "Oh, it's just for under my wet-suit"
Cashier Chick: "That's a good idea"
Me: "Yeah, it works"
LADY IN LINE BEHIND ME: "my son used to wear those under his board shorts just in case they came off"
Me: "huh" (I can't believe this is now a three person convo)
Cashier chick: "So where do you surf?"
Me: "Oh, I just body-board"
WHAT I SOUNDED LIKE: "Oh, I'm just a Speedo-wearing guy who's not cool enough to be a REAL surfer, so I just grab my boogie board and hit the shallow waves with all the tourist, as long as it doesn't get too rough."

Solution 6: NONE.

comming soon

OK, I've got a post about a speedo on it's way...
Just need the pics and the time to write.

Chicken

You know the game that we've all played a thousand times?
The one where you're driving in a parking lot and you swerve to "act" like you're going to hit someone you know.
After the swerve, you swerve back, smile and wave and go on your way.
Meanwhile, said pedestrian acts surprised, then smiles and waves back.

Yeah, I'm over that game.

Memorial Weekend in the Sun

Me and my boys: Red Einstein and Sleepy
A cute foot, a nasty hairy leg (not mine), a hot mom, and the cute foot's face
"Hey Lace, remember when it was just the two of us and we'd come down here alone?"
"Hey Josh, remember when you used to care what you looked like and didn't wear wetsuits all the time?
"Mom, I found Wilson... I mean Franklin..."
I'm the pansey who hurt my hand in WATER.

*all pictures courtesy of nick benoit, who's camera is muchos grander than mine.

The Week Accoring to Lacy

The pics of the week are now featured with full comentary at garlowboys.blogspot.com (lukasgarlow.blogspot.com no longer exists)

Jackson Blake Garlow

Born 3am.May18.2006
Weight: 6.5lbs
Length: 19.25in

Josh Garlow Podcast Series 1

The world of podcasting is upon us and it's not pretty. I have yet to hear or see one that's not completely awkward.

That is until now. I'm proud to introduce to the world...
"The Josh Garlow Video Podcast Series"
This is the best in content, uses the most advanced of technologies, and the farthest reaching in an effort to change lives.

Enjoy

The Zoo and a Game

We've been trying to spend some family time together. I'm not great at it. I love it when I get the chance, but getting the chance is often the problem. Yesterday, Lacy and I were sat and tried to decide what we would do with the day (my day off). We could have worked on the yard or finished up some painting around the house, but we didn't. We decided that the best thing we could do with our day was to take Luke to the Zoo. So we went down for a couple of hours of uninterupted, cell phone free family time. It was well worth our efforts. Luke loves it. Lacy and I are intrigued by so many things there, and for family, nothing's better.


Tonight, we hit the Padres game. All was well until luke decided to throw his sippy cup over the balcony (we were in front row of the upper deck). Fortunately, no one was hurt and we weren't ejected from the game. A couple of innings later, we peeked over the wall and saw a kid holding Luke's cup in his glove as if he had caught a foul... cup? Hilarious!

When I Grow Up...

If you had told me 4 years ago that I would be where I am today, I would have laughed at you and said "That's impossible." The world as I knew it didn't allow for such a scenario to exist. That being said, if you had explained to me what this place ACTUALLY looks like, I would have said that's even more impossible.

I used to think that the further you get in life, the easier it is. I thought that experience was the cure-all for everything. I thought that once you were established, you could go by your own rules and everyone else would have to follow or bug off.

To some degree I was right. I can do more, say more, and decide more than ever before. My vote is more valuable.

Here's where I was wrong: No matter how far you go, you can only go there with the help of other people. PEOPLE MATTER. it makes no difference how good I am or how much I know (which isn't very good, and not very much) if I don't take into consideration other people. People I work with, people I serve, and people I live with.

Here's the cool thing. On this journey, I've really learned to love people. It's been easy to care about feelings because I care about the person who has the feelings. I'm not sure what's come over me. For those who know me well know that I'm not a loving person by nature. Correction: I WASN"T a loving person by nature. I am becoming one.

"When I grow up" used to have a different ending.
I'm not the first baseman for the Oakland A's.
I'm not a business man.
I'm not without chest hair.

I am a becoming a loving person who cares about people.
This is not easy.
It takes more energy.
It makes my job harder.
Being a jerk used to be so easy :)

Go love somebody.

The CAUSE

Tonight we opened THE CAUSE.
If you've been around me at all in the last month or so, you know that my heart is burning for this work. You know that my days and nights have been consumed with one mission: to reach people through THE CAUSE. Tonight, my adrenaline finally let down. I walked off the stage after the worship set and came close to tears. Part of it was me forgetting how draining it is to lead worship, but the other part of it was the satisfaction that God was being honored with our efforts. We had no idea if anyone would even come and the anxiety that comes with those thoughts can be haunting. Our fears were calmed when the crowd arrived. We had a variety of technical features that were untested in a live application, but they all ran smoothly.
It is a pleasure serving with the men and women I call friends first, coworkers second.
Now, on to next Saturday night when we do it all again and maybe I'll get a non-work related post in here somewhere. (possibly about our new house?)
(Oh, did I mention the band? Yeah... I'll have to talk about them later. These guys are amazing.)

Easter 2006

We went outside for Easter this year.
Here are some pics of the band, the production, and the venue (In the "round").
We all had a blast.