**Update** There's a new bar coming to town...

Today we finally decided on how to construct the legs/shelves. Quite different from the original design, but that's okay. The tiles have not been secured, we just layed them out in the pattern we wanted. Also, we will have a till border/edge going all the way around. Here are the pics:

Xbox Live is jive...

Halo 3 is pretty fun, but Aaron, Chris, Jennifer, and myself beat the game in 2 days. Aaron and I jumped in some multiplayer matchmaking on xbox live, and for the most part, had our butts whipped.


I'm proud to say, though, I am a "Private Grade 1"


There were some 2 million players online Friday night (Dec 21st, 2007)

Fo Wheelin....

Don't believe in Santa, you better...

I especially like the part where he is denying the MySpace requests (on his Apple MacBook Pro).

Here's another great Christmas Video featuring Snoop Dogg as Santa and a preacher and a '76 impala instead of a sleigh...hmmm:

Seize the Bay you say?... what the hey...

Alright, so the new Primerica trip has been announced. Going to the bay in Sunny San Francisco. I've got from now till May 31, 2008 to get as many points as I can. There are lots of different categories that I can qualify for. I get points for doing business and recruiting new team members. Also, if I recruit 1 this month I'll get a cool lapel pin; and if I recruit 10 this month, I get the cool lapel pin PLUS an even cooler polo shirt AND me and my team will get QUADRUPLE recruit credit towards the trip. Please, help me find 10 recruits!!! If you know ANYONE who needs some extra income and is looking to be successful, send them my way. I'll get them on their way to financial freedom!! See you at the Bay.

The fire pit awakens...

So, we finally got some fire wood and got a fire going in our fire pit. (I got the word "fire" in that sentence 3x's.) So, I know you don't want to read, you just want to see pics... Yeah for pictures (taken w/ Jennifer's new camera, too):

**Update** There's a new bar coming to town...

Just a few "before" pics of the bar location:




Legs for the new bar:


2" mosaic tiles for the new bar:


6" tile for the new bar:

Elfyourself...

Go to elfyourself.com and have some fun...

Here's a christmas greeting from the Julian's:

click here

There's a new bar coming to town...

...at the Julian house. We've decided to use part of our Christmas monies to build a bar/table for our kitchen/dining room. It will have a tiled top w/ mission style legs and some contemporary metal & glass shelves. I'll post pictures as the construction begins.

Here is my first sketch of the base/legs:

Ah, how useful...

Gross...

Hope You're Never This Bored...

And don't miss the bus!!!

If you're gonna catch the bus, you better be quick about it...

Beware the Cinnamon Cloud...

Apparently this girl did not heed the warning of "Beware the Cinnamon Cloud". My friend Aaron and I are full aware of the ever-dangerous cinnamon cloud.

I finally quit BCBS...

Well, my last day at BCBS will be Oct. 12. Then it's off to Primerica full-time!! I absolutely love what I'll be doing w/ Primerica. We help families get out of debt, save for retirement, and become financially independant. So many families are struggling month to month and don't know what to do. They have no hope to ever get out of debt or retire. By giving them a plan, we are providing those families w/ hope and security and freedom. It's a true ministry.

Since I will be doing this full-time, I plan to open another office in the Abilene area by July 1, 2008 (my 28th b-day)... happy b-day to me! :) So I am looking for people who could maybe use some extra $$ each month, or would just enjoy doing what I do and get the same satisfaction from helping families in need. I am so excited to also be able to do this w/ my wife, Jennifer. We will own our own business thru Primerica. We will be able to enjoy not having a boss, setting our own schedule, and living our lives the way God intended. Now that's freedom!! I would love to share those same opportunities w/ others as well.

I want every to know what I am doing and I would appreciate having support from my family and friends in the following ways:
(1) Prayer
(2) Let me know if you know of anyone (including yourself) who needs help financially.
(3) Let me know if you know of anyone (including yourself) who could use some extra income each month or who would enjoy helping families.

If you would like any info on Primerica, you can visit my website at www.primerica.com/djulian or email me at djulian@primerica.com or call me 325-669-6549.

We have weekly meetings at our office in Abilene every Thursday night at 7:00pm. Our office is downtown in the ASB (American State Bank) building on Cypress Street (next block down from Paramount Theatre). We're on the 3rd floor. I hope to see you there some Thursday. Come check it out. Primerica is AWESOME!!!

Real Warthog! and I aint talkin' 'bout no pig...

Lifted Lambos...

Not sure what to think of this. A Lamborghini SUV. Hmmm. Pretty ugly. Why? These kind of endeavors make me know that our economy and natural resources must not be in too much duress.

Selling My Truck...

Radio Controlled Race Cars Really Can...

This looks like a lot of fun...

A Cordial Accordian Accompaniment...

Mac or PC...

Our stay at Ramada Limited North Austin...

here is the letter I sent to Ramada... no reply as of yet...

To Ramada:
This hotel was absolutely unacceptible. When we arrived, the exterior condition of the hotel looked terrible. It looked as if it were under renovation, but I couldn't tell what part was supposed to be new/old... it all looked old, unsafe, and very uninviting. Upon entering the hotel, there was very loud music. Apparently, a local church was using one of the large rooms and having a service. No one in the hotel would have been able to relax due to the volume of this event. Then I made my way to the front desk. The attendant (Francis) could not find our reservation. After doing some research, she found the reservation thru hotels.com, but stated that no one moved it in to their local computer system. With very little explanation of what to expect or how the situation would be resolved, she went ahead and gave us a room key and proceeded to show me approximately where my room was on the hotel map. At this point, I had not been told what my room # was. When I asked, she said she couldn't tell me b/c it was a security violation. At the very least, she should have informed me of where I could *find* my room # so I would know which room I was looking for on the map. At this point, we drove around the hotel (seeing even more of the disgusting exterior). The "landmark" (green awning) that was supposed to be over our entry door was non-existent (proving the hotel staff is not knowledgeable). Also, there was a handicap ramp that would allow access up to the sidewalk; however, the ramp did not continue up to the door. Anyone who is handicap would have to go up 2-3 steps at this point. The entry door looked very unsecure; although it did require a key-card to enter. I would also like to point out that we had 2 keys; neither of which we new the function. After struggling w/ luggage and the keys, we made it inside only to be greeted once again by the loud music and a terrible smell. The hallways smelled like B.O. that someone tried to cover up w/ bad perfume/cleaner. Then we went to our room. The room was very small and did not have the amenities listed on the website (I realize this is the fault of the website, but it was all part of the inconvenience). The room had the same terrible smell as the hallway and the walls were not clean. I was very hesitant to set my belongings anywhere for fear of the room not being clean; and I also did not want to lay on the bed for the same reason. What really pushed the whole situation over the edge and was the worst of all was the bathroom. After turning on the light switch (which was upside down), we immediately noticed there was MOLD all over the bathroom walls. This is UNSAFE to be exposed to and I will NEVER subject my family to this type of environment. Especially when I am paying $70 for one night's stay. At this point we immediately went back to the front desk and demanded our money back. The attendant (same lady: Francis) didn't remember who we were and asked if we had checked in (reminder: we had just checked in no more than 10 minutes prior!!). At this, she went back to the computer where she had found our online reservation and proceeded to tell us that there was no payment information and that the room had not been paid for. This was NOT true, as we had been charged by the website soon after making the online reservation. I asked the attendant if she could provide me w/ a written statement showing we did not have to pay for the room based on her not showing any payment made. At this point she simply walked away w/out saying anything. She made a phone call to someone, then came back to the front desk. She pointed to the computer monitor where she had found the reservation, and proceeded to have me verify the information on the screen. Since it was to far away for me to see, she read the information aloud (name, address, etc). For a company that is SO concerned about privacy that they won't even tell their guests what room they are staying in, this TOTALLY violated all HIPAA regulations and is, again, absolutely UNACCEPTABLE!) The attendant also obviously had little (to no) experience w/ this system information. The address was not our home address. As it turns out (after a detailed explanation) it was the address of the processing center for the website; which is totally irrelevant and was a waste of our time to try and explain all the specifics of how the information was obtained. It only frustrated me even more. At this point, we were told we would just have to take up the matter of reimbursement w/ the website. Just FYI, I have already followed up w/ hotels.com and am waiting for a reply. However, I feel hotels.com should not be liable for this situation. I only contacted them so they can consider removing your location from their website; or at the very least, post a negative rating so others won't have to experience the same thing. Your hotel was unsafe and disgusting; and the staff was very unknowledgeable and unprofessional. No one should be subjected to this type of environment. Please contact me by any means necessary. I want to know what will be done to rectify this situation. If I do not have a reply w/in the week, I will escalate this further.
Thank You.
Daniel Julian

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