A few notable items found buried in the pile of papers in the picture above: my time sheet, voicemail directions, Dr. Pepper (a desperate attempt to sooth my cravings for a Coke, which we are out of here at the moment), and a few burnt CDs, which by the way will have to be looked at before determining if they are any good due to my lack of effort to write on them!

And yes, this bad habit gets worse, much worse…my desk at home

Origin: English
Coat of Arms: Silver with six red allerions, and a red escutcheon in the center.
Crest: A double headed red allerian.
Motto: Nec temere nec timide
Motto Translated: Neither rashly nor timidly.
Source: surnamehistories.com

The name Holden was first used by England’s ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. It comes from when the family lived in the county of Lancashire, where they held the estate of Holden in the parish of Haslingden.

First found in Lancashire where they were seated from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Holden or a variant[...]: John Holden settled in Virginia in 1637; Edward Holden settled in Jamaica in 1685; Joane Holden settled in Virginia in 1652; Justinian Holden settled in New England in 1634. Source houseofnames.com

The site Public Profiler allows you to search your surname, and it’ll give you statistics like the Top Countries, Regions, Cities, Forenames, along with a very brief Root of the name.

The statistics for my last name are as follows:

Something I think is pretty neat is that in Australia there is an automaker by the name of Holden. It’s a subsidiary of General Motors, which I think is way cool because I am a big fan of GM.

For fun, I’ll include the origins and meanings behind the rest of my name. From what I’ve been told, I’m not named after any past relatives, but because my parents liked the names.

Matthew - Origin: Hebrew, Meaning: Gift of God
Shane - Origin: Hebrew, Meaning: God is gracious
Source: babynamesworld.parentsconnect.com

I’ve included the sources that I’ve used for anyone that would like to look up their names

Alot of people think the debates are boring to watch, but in all honesty, I think we should have more of them. More of the ones that give the public a chance to ask unique questions. They give us a chance to hear their stances on issues and compare them 1-on-1, and allow themselves to be put on the spot on issues unexpectedly.

No matter which side you are pulling for, tonight could be the deal breaker. Either way, it’ll be interesting come November 4th.

The Durst Organization says it plans to update the sign next year by adding two digits. That will make it capable of tracking debt up to a quadrillion dollars.

Now that is surely some positive thinking, setting the clock up for showing a potential a quadrillion dollars worth of debt?!

The clock was originally created to give the public an idea of where the nation stands, but apparently that is not a large enough issue anymore.

It’s pretty obvious to me from the current debt level, that rather than talking about spending increases for certain programs, what needs to be talked about is spending reductions.

Since we knew that we had quite a bit of ground to cover, and really a short time to get it all in, we took a helicopter tour of Sedona.  They advertise it as the best way to see what it offers, and it is truly an amazing experience.  I had never been in one before, so it was a first time deal for me, and I LOVED it.  So much fun!

A special thanks to Muse for suggesting Sedona!  It is a beautiful town and I can’t wait to come back sometime and spend more time checking out the rest that it has to offer.

I’ve still got some back posts that I’ll be making as soon as I get time of the other parks and stops that we’ve made.