The last 24 hours have been rather eventful. Andy wandered into the bathroom last night and puked on the floor, you know cause the toilet was right there. But no big deal, I really wasn't too shocked since he had the 5 immunizations the day before. I got him squared away and all was well. After all were in bed I was heading to work out and thought I would check on Andy real fast before doing so. Good timing. He puked right as I went to check on him. No big deal. I had lined the bed with a towel and he actually hit it. Missed the bowl I had for him but the towel saved us.
Once again got him squared away, new towel, he was down and out and we were good to go. I was getting a drink and taking some pills after my workout and suddenly Andy was standing right there. It was one of those close the fridge door moments and surprise. Anyhow, we had a few problems so I got him situated. Once again he missed the bowl and managed to hit two pillows, the towel, the bed spread and the top sheet. I decided it would be easier to bring him in to my bed. I got him all situated. Had a towel down and a bowl right there. I was starting to get myself cleaned up and suddendly the boy puked again. In doing so he managed to pull the towel down and puked all over the bed and a pillow. Sweet.
I had worked out with Amy first and then hit the elliptical so we were fast approaching 2 AM. I bailed on the bed idea, stripped it and had stuff ready for the wash. I made a bed on the floor for Andy with a towel and I parked it on the couch in the living room (he was set up right next to me). We did okay for 4 hours. Then he was begging for chocolate milk or something to drink. I let him have some water but was not doing the milk thing. I figured that was a recipe for disaster. After I got Natty and Jack off to school I finally gave in to the chocolate milk request thinking he had done pretty well for the last 7 hours. Well, that was a mistake. It was no more then 5 minutes after giving him chocolate milk that he puked it up all over the floor. Once again his bowl sat idle right next to him.
To make matters better he had begun blasting out both end simultaneously. He was not very happy and we ultimately just went to the shower. He stayed in for a solid 40 minutes. Didn't want to come out. I kept busy with cleaning the living room floor, getting all the pukey laundry together and ready to go and hitting a little spring cleaning here or there. I guess I can break from all the details of every puke episode. Suffice to say he has puked several more times. Fortunately he started using the bowl. That has helped with the carpets though about 20 minutes ago he sat up, bowl at his side, and proceeded to puke on the carpet once again. I had slacked and did not have a towel down where he was laying so it looks like I will be spot cleaning again real soon.
I am not a fan of puke and don't do so well with it. This time has been completely different for me. My patience has been on the extreme (well, extreme for me when puke is on the menu). I am grateful for that. I joke about the bowl and Andy managing to miss it. In actuality I have felt so bad for my little pal all day (he asked me to call him pal this morning). I took him out of his 3rd shower an hour and a half ago and he immediately squated down on the floor in his towel and puked all over himself. All I could do was love him and comfort him. He has had a rough day. Hopefully tomorrow he will be through but if not we may have a lesson called "If you're gonn spew, spew into this!"
As a fitting end to this post, he just sat up and puked again, completely missing the bowl. Fortunately I have a towel down. Off to clean again...
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Sore For Sure
Amy got home from SLC on Monday night and was feeling pretty motivated. She asked if we were going to start P90x. Oh, sweet. I wasn't quite prepared for that but what the heck, no time like the present. The first night we started with a chest and back workout and then last night we were on a cardio program. I am continuing to run and that is great though I am feeling extremely sore at the moment. Despite all the running I have done for the last 9 months there are quite a few muscles in my body that were apparently not getting exercised. So, this is a good thing, right? Wow.
In doing these workouts I find that I want to be right up to speed with what they are doing and can keep up on some of it. However, there are also quite a few things that I am unable to handle at this point. It is amazing just how much seems to go when you don't use it.
I need to more fully use the gifts that I have been given in this life. I need to use them so that they can increase. I need to use them in a way that strengthens those around me and glorifies him that is the giver of the gift. I can't help but think of the parable of the talents. I don't want to be the one who hides the talent that I have been given.
In my Patriarchal Blessing I am told that I have been given a strong body and that I promised my Heavenly Father that I would share them with others. There was a time, 12 years ago, that I was experiencing loss of feeling in my legs. Often times when I would stand up I would lose feeling. I don't know what it was. Eventually it went away but it was a scary thing there for a few months. There have been times when I have not been very fit and didn't take very good care of myself. I am far from being fit now, I think the fact that I am as sore as I am right now is a testament to that.
Over the last several months I have been trying to better care for the body I have been given. What else is there in my life that I need to take care of? What else have I slacked on or let go? Spiritually am I as strong as I need to be or do I need to work out more there? Certainly there are many things that can stand to be improved. Hopefully I will not be as sore in efforts to strengthen myself spiritually. There are a lot of things that I have learned in various parent meetings that I have attended. I have not been able to implement many of them. The things that I have seen and been taught will be a benefit to my children and yet I have not been able to get my stuff together with all of it. Some things I have been able to do but I know that I am lacking a lot ans so perhaps a little more focus there will help to strengthen our family. Those adjustments could definately result in some pain as we focus on improving ourselves and personal development. Sometimes it is just easier for me to take on all the load myself rather than helping my kids develop some of the skills they will need.
Well, there is work to be done. I have learned that there is always work to be done. Continuing to press forward as best as I possibly can will determine just how sore I will or will not be in the future.
In doing these workouts I find that I want to be right up to speed with what they are doing and can keep up on some of it. However, there are also quite a few things that I am unable to handle at this point. It is amazing just how much seems to go when you don't use it.
I need to more fully use the gifts that I have been given in this life. I need to use them so that they can increase. I need to use them in a way that strengthens those around me and glorifies him that is the giver of the gift. I can't help but think of the parable of the talents. I don't want to be the one who hides the talent that I have been given.
In my Patriarchal Blessing I am told that I have been given a strong body and that I promised my Heavenly Father that I would share them with others. There was a time, 12 years ago, that I was experiencing loss of feeling in my legs. Often times when I would stand up I would lose feeling. I don't know what it was. Eventually it went away but it was a scary thing there for a few months. There have been times when I have not been very fit and didn't take very good care of myself. I am far from being fit now, I think the fact that I am as sore as I am right now is a testament to that.
Over the last several months I have been trying to better care for the body I have been given. What else is there in my life that I need to take care of? What else have I slacked on or let go? Spiritually am I as strong as I need to be or do I need to work out more there? Certainly there are many things that can stand to be improved. Hopefully I will not be as sore in efforts to strengthen myself spiritually. There are a lot of things that I have learned in various parent meetings that I have attended. I have not been able to implement many of them. The things that I have seen and been taught will be a benefit to my children and yet I have not been able to get my stuff together with all of it. Some things I have been able to do but I know that I am lacking a lot ans so perhaps a little more focus there will help to strengthen our family. Those adjustments could definately result in some pain as we focus on improving ourselves and personal development. Sometimes it is just easier for me to take on all the load myself rather than helping my kids develop some of the skills they will need.
Well, there is work to be done. I have learned that there is always work to be done. Continuing to press forward as best as I possibly can will determine just how sore I will or will not be in the future.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
A Shot in the Arm
On the day I registered Andy for school I received a call from the school nurse saying that Jack needed to get his last Hep A shot done. It had been 6 months and it was time. I was then given a list of 5 things Andy had to have done as well before he could be enrolled in school. So I called the local Health Nurse and scheduled the needed immunizations. I decided to tell Jack early this time instead of surprising him with it. That didn't work out so well last time. He was not happy about it when I told him but had warmed up to it and yesterday evening when we talked about it again he was ready. "I only have to get one shot and Andy has to get 5" he said in a tone of relief. All was going well until we picked up Andy from school and I mentioned they were going to put a small needle in their arms. "What? I don't want them to put a needle in my arm." I turned around and looked at him and he was terrified, tears were building up in his eyes. I held his hand and assured him that I would be there with him and would hold his hand. He said he would be brave.
As we walked into the building Andy, who by the way has been completely relaxed about the entire thing, walks up to one of the workers there and says "I'm going to get 5 shots". He didn't even bat an eye and the lady was giving him this look of terror and thought he would be scared. Then she caught on that he wasn't nervous at all and she smiled and was a little more encouraging. I was like, don't ruin what I've got going on here with this one lady. We sat, filled out some paperwork and the boys watched a little Jungle Book on the tv in the lobby. Jack struck up a conversation with a couple that was sitting there. They were probably in their early 20's and Jack just chatted away with them. He had them laughing. I love that he can do that. What a gift to bring a smile to a strangers face and to simply love people. There are times it makes me nervous and we talk about strangers and being careful. That is another story.
We got called back and as we sat down with the nurse Jack was really nervous. The nurse wanted to do him first and he wasn't about to. He made that pretty clear. She objected to my suggestion of Andy going first and thought it would make things harder on Jack. Well, I was the one that had to hold Jack down last time and I didn't really want Andy to see that before he had to get multiple shots. She didn't like my logic but consented. Andy did great on the first and the second shots. He had a little wince at most but did just fine. There were two more to go (they combine two of the vacines so it only took 4 pricks) and she moved to his other arm. Where Andy had been doing great Jack was whimpering and gettting more and more nervous. With the arm switch Jack could see the needle go in and he started to lose it. Andy was still good but these were bigger shots and they hurt a little. He cried some and then the last shot happened and as soon as the bandaid was on and he knew he was done he was fine.
Jack was not fine. He kept saying doctor, doctor, I don't want to have the needle, I'm okay, I don't need to have this. I had to hold him on my lap and wrap my arms around his to keep him still. He was in major tears and the shot was done - I don't think he even realized it so I said "Okay Jack, are you ready for the big shot now?" He was crying and I let him know he was done. Oh, sweet relief. He continued to cry. The nurse offered them both stickers. Andy was happy to take one and Jack cried "I don't want a sticker" and he was out the door. Couldn't get out fast enough.
As we walked through the lobby the workers were all looking at Andy who was completely calm and collected - he was cool. No big deal. They were all amazed. Jack however was still crying and carrying on. When we got outside I told them both how brave they were and how proud I was of them. I carried Jack to the car, still crying he said, "I was so brave". Yes you were big Jack. As scared as he was when I mentioned the needle he actually did very well. I know that this is a scary thing for kids. I don't really know why but it is.
These brave warriors of mine had chosen donuts for their special treat so we headed to Lins. They both picked out sprinkle donuts and chocolate glazed. We grabbed a couple for Natty and then just rounded out the dozen. I think Jack has had three by himself. He is excited to have another for breakfast.
I think Andy was hurting a little tonight. I gave him some pain releiver and he is now in bed. He has one more to go in 6 months and then he should be good. Hopefully he will be as brave and unflinching as he was today.
As we walked into the building Andy, who by the way has been completely relaxed about the entire thing, walks up to one of the workers there and says "I'm going to get 5 shots". He didn't even bat an eye and the lady was giving him this look of terror and thought he would be scared. Then she caught on that he wasn't nervous at all and she smiled and was a little more encouraging. I was like, don't ruin what I've got going on here with this one lady. We sat, filled out some paperwork and the boys watched a little Jungle Book on the tv in the lobby. Jack struck up a conversation with a couple that was sitting there. They were probably in their early 20's and Jack just chatted away with them. He had them laughing. I love that he can do that. What a gift to bring a smile to a strangers face and to simply love people. There are times it makes me nervous and we talk about strangers and being careful. That is another story.
We got called back and as we sat down with the nurse Jack was really nervous. The nurse wanted to do him first and he wasn't about to. He made that pretty clear. She objected to my suggestion of Andy going first and thought it would make things harder on Jack. Well, I was the one that had to hold Jack down last time and I didn't really want Andy to see that before he had to get multiple shots. She didn't like my logic but consented. Andy did great on the first and the second shots. He had a little wince at most but did just fine. There were two more to go (they combine two of the vacines so it only took 4 pricks) and she moved to his other arm. Where Andy had been doing great Jack was whimpering and gettting more and more nervous. With the arm switch Jack could see the needle go in and he started to lose it. Andy was still good but these were bigger shots and they hurt a little. He cried some and then the last shot happened and as soon as the bandaid was on and he knew he was done he was fine.
Jack was not fine. He kept saying doctor, doctor, I don't want to have the needle, I'm okay, I don't need to have this. I had to hold him on my lap and wrap my arms around his to keep him still. He was in major tears and the shot was done - I don't think he even realized it so I said "Okay Jack, are you ready for the big shot now?" He was crying and I let him know he was done. Oh, sweet relief. He continued to cry. The nurse offered them both stickers. Andy was happy to take one and Jack cried "I don't want a sticker" and he was out the door. Couldn't get out fast enough.
As we walked through the lobby the workers were all looking at Andy who was completely calm and collected - he was cool. No big deal. They were all amazed. Jack however was still crying and carrying on. When we got outside I told them both how brave they were and how proud I was of them. I carried Jack to the car, still crying he said, "I was so brave". Yes you were big Jack. As scared as he was when I mentioned the needle he actually did very well. I know that this is a scary thing for kids. I don't really know why but it is.
These brave warriors of mine had chosen donuts for their special treat so we headed to Lins. They both picked out sprinkle donuts and chocolate glazed. We grabbed a couple for Natty and then just rounded out the dozen. I think Jack has had three by himself. He is excited to have another for breakfast.
I think Andy was hurting a little tonight. I gave him some pain releiver and he is now in bed. He has one more to go in 6 months and then he should be good. Hopefully he will be as brave and unflinching as he was today.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Princess Peach
Back in the saddle after two days away and all is well. We have had a great day and everyone is doing good.
Andy has been a good helper today. I am still the worst dad ever for him but that is just life at the moment. Like right now, Natty and Jack are just going to sleep and Andy is playing the piano. I am fixin to ask him to stop and in so doing will be relegated to worst ever status once again. Well, I didn't get the entire worst dad ever rant but I did get an angry Andy moo. He will be passed out and asleep under the piano bench or my chair in the next 10 minutes or so. It is the nightly routine. We are still working on getting him to sleep in his own bed every night. Once he falls asleep I put him in his bed and then around 3 or so he manages to make his way into my bed. Last night he stayed in his bed all night and he had done so for a few nights in a row a week and a half ago. That is a real treat. When he climbs in my bed I end up sleeping on the edge and he is sprawled across the rest of it.
I sat with Jack for a moment when he was turning on Mario Kart tonight. I gave him a few minutes that he could play after talking to his mom and before Family Home Evening. I was on a laundry shift and was making my way back up stairs when I stopped for a bit. Jack got all signed in and then selected his character. Before doing he told me I could leave but I told him I was going to stay. He said I could leave again and at that point I knew something was up. Finally he selected his character, none other than Princess Peach. He was red in the face and we had a good laugh he and I. I asked if that was his girlfriend and he just laughed. It was pretty funny to see him acting all embarrassed like that. He went on to tell me all of the challenges of being Peach in Mario Kart. Apparently her character is hard to control.
Natty is gearing up and excited about soccer in the fall. Amy is planning to coach and has asked if I will coach with her. Coaching an older team as opposed to kindergarten through 2nd graders may be a bit easier. Who knows though? Natty will also be playing summer soccer in Alaska. That will be really good for her. She likes it and I really want her to stick to something. I think she has potential as she isn't too afraid of getting aggressive in there. That is good. At dinner tonight Jack mentioned his desire to play soccer again. I am okay with that if he actually plays this year. I told him it means he has to be at practice and practicing. He also needs to be in the game instead of down by the river picking flowers. He was agreeable to both of these things. Sign ups aren't happening for a little bit still so we will see how he is at that time. I want it to be his idea and his desire. I hope he will do it as I think it is good for him. Not sure what that will mean for me as a coach - I may need to strap on another year in U8. Ouch.
Life is glorious. I am completely wiped out as I am back to little sleep and long days but that is all good. Getting ready to go run but Amy just popped in and asked if we are starting P90x tonight. Uuuuhhhh...
Andy has been a good helper today. I am still the worst dad ever for him but that is just life at the moment. Like right now, Natty and Jack are just going to sleep and Andy is playing the piano. I am fixin to ask him to stop and in so doing will be relegated to worst ever status once again. Well, I didn't get the entire worst dad ever rant but I did get an angry Andy moo. He will be passed out and asleep under the piano bench or my chair in the next 10 minutes or so. It is the nightly routine. We are still working on getting him to sleep in his own bed every night. Once he falls asleep I put him in his bed and then around 3 or so he manages to make his way into my bed. Last night he stayed in his bed all night and he had done so for a few nights in a row a week and a half ago. That is a real treat. When he climbs in my bed I end up sleeping on the edge and he is sprawled across the rest of it.
I sat with Jack for a moment when he was turning on Mario Kart tonight. I gave him a few minutes that he could play after talking to his mom and before Family Home Evening. I was on a laundry shift and was making my way back up stairs when I stopped for a bit. Jack got all signed in and then selected his character. Before doing he told me I could leave but I told him I was going to stay. He said I could leave again and at that point I knew something was up. Finally he selected his character, none other than Princess Peach. He was red in the face and we had a good laugh he and I. I asked if that was his girlfriend and he just laughed. It was pretty funny to see him acting all embarrassed like that. He went on to tell me all of the challenges of being Peach in Mario Kart. Apparently her character is hard to control.
Natty is gearing up and excited about soccer in the fall. Amy is planning to coach and has asked if I will coach with her. Coaching an older team as opposed to kindergarten through 2nd graders may be a bit easier. Who knows though? Natty will also be playing summer soccer in Alaska. That will be really good for her. She likes it and I really want her to stick to something. I think she has potential as she isn't too afraid of getting aggressive in there. That is good. At dinner tonight Jack mentioned his desire to play soccer again. I am okay with that if he actually plays this year. I told him it means he has to be at practice and practicing. He also needs to be in the game instead of down by the river picking flowers. He was agreeable to both of these things. Sign ups aren't happening for a little bit still so we will see how he is at that time. I want it to be his idea and his desire. I hope he will do it as I think it is good for him. Not sure what that will mean for me as a coach - I may need to strap on another year in U8. Ouch.
Life is glorious. I am completely wiped out as I am back to little sleep and long days but that is all good. Getting ready to go run but Amy just popped in and asked if we are starting P90x tonight. Uuuuhhhh...
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Show 4254
We got up this morning and headed over to the Tabernacle for the broadcast of Music and the Spoken Word. It was pointed out that we were a part of history in the making today. This broadcast is the longest running broadcast in the world. It has aired every Sunday morning since the 1920's - I don't remember the exact year but I am thinking 1929. I should just do the math and figure it out but that is okay, a reader that wants that actual year can do it. This morning was show number 4,254. That is pretty darn amazing.


They asked for a show of hands of those who were in attendance for the first time. I did not raise my hand because I have one of those very faint memories of my childhood when the folks dragged us kids out to the broadcast one morning when we lived in Sandy. I was in elementary school at the time. We are talking somewhere around 30 years ago. Wow. I was sitting here pondering the details of that day and thought I couldn't recall anything but actually I do. Today we were sitting in the balcony on the women's side of the choir. When I was a child we sat in the balcony as well on the men's side. We were a couple of rows up and towards the rear portion of the middle section - if that makes any sense. I don't remember much else other than we were supposed to be quiet.
I have this amazing ability to sleep anywhere at just about anytime. When I have to be reverent it becomes somewhat challenging to keep my eyes open. When I have to be reverent and listen to calming music it becomes even more challenging to keep my eyes open. At one point in the broadcast, I am ashamed to say, I woke up to Amy staring at me with her eyes wide open and a sly grin on her face. Look, I had no kids to worry about and the music was quite relaxing. I couldn't help it. So there it is, a history making show and I slept through a good portion of it. What a loser I am.
There are a couple of things that I want to note here. Prior to the broadcast starting we watched Mack Wilberg tuning up the Choir. This was amazing. He had a headset on with a microphone and as the choir sang he would talk to them. He could point out different sections of the choir that needed to give him a little more. He could point out a couple of members that were giving a little too much. When there was something that needed to be practiced again he simply mentioned where counted it and they were right there. The music didn't stop though, it just jumped right back to where he was referring. It was amazing to behold. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir is filled with amazing talent and Mack Wilberg must have the most amazing ears for music that I have ever witnessed. It was very cool.
After the broadcast had concluded the choir stood and sang God Be With You Til We Meet Again. I was awake for this and I was feeling a bit emotional. That song has great meaning in my life. As they sang I thought about our friends at the Lunalilo Home in Hawaii Kai. There were many Sundays that my brothers and I were blessed to go there to administer the Sacrament. These people were always so grateful and always so happy to have us there. At the close of every meeting we would sing this song with them. I have loved it ever since and think about those experiences as I sing it or here it. Hearing this sung today by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir was a special thing and I am grateful for that. It really is a beautiful hymn with a beautiful message.
Our anniversary celebration with the folks was a great time. I thoroughly enjoyed this quick trip to Salt Lake. It was really neat to be there around Temple Square and to enjoy the area. It was great to be with my family who I love so much. Thank you to everyone for a great weekend.
I do have to share my snowball incident. Amy threw a snowball in our direction as we were getting in the car after our "betters win" sacrament meeting. I decided I was going to get her so I grabbed some snow and got a little closer (we were on the other side of the parking lot). In so doing I had this thought go through my head that I shouldn't throw it because I was not going to hit Amy but would likely hit Liana. I shrugged off that impression and went for it. Every time I have an impression like that and shrug it off I regret it. Such was the case today. I threw the snowball and watched as everything went into slow motion and that thing changed course in mid air and nailed Liana right in the ankle. I tried to warn her but it was to late. I am just glad Liana is a good sport and that she has equally as bad aim as me because whatever she threw in retaliation missed. She did milk it a bit with a fake limp for my benefit as I was apologizing. Have I mentioned previously in this post that I am a loser?
It was great to come home and to be with the kids. They had a great time with Shelina and Sandy and I appreciate their coming up very much.
They asked for a show of hands of those who were in attendance for the first time. I did not raise my hand because I have one of those very faint memories of my childhood when the folks dragged us kids out to the broadcast one morning when we lived in Sandy. I was in elementary school at the time. We are talking somewhere around 30 years ago. Wow. I was sitting here pondering the details of that day and thought I couldn't recall anything but actually I do. Today we were sitting in the balcony on the women's side of the choir. When I was a child we sat in the balcony as well on the men's side. We were a couple of rows up and towards the rear portion of the middle section - if that makes any sense. I don't remember much else other than we were supposed to be quiet.
I have this amazing ability to sleep anywhere at just about anytime. When I have to be reverent it becomes somewhat challenging to keep my eyes open. When I have to be reverent and listen to calming music it becomes even more challenging to keep my eyes open. At one point in the broadcast, I am ashamed to say, I woke up to Amy staring at me with her eyes wide open and a sly grin on her face. Look, I had no kids to worry about and the music was quite relaxing. I couldn't help it. So there it is, a history making show and I slept through a good portion of it. What a loser I am.
There are a couple of things that I want to note here. Prior to the broadcast starting we watched Mack Wilberg tuning up the Choir. This was amazing. He had a headset on with a microphone and as the choir sang he would talk to them. He could point out different sections of the choir that needed to give him a little more. He could point out a couple of members that were giving a little too much. When there was something that needed to be practiced again he simply mentioned where counted it and they were right there. The music didn't stop though, it just jumped right back to where he was referring. It was amazing to behold. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir is filled with amazing talent and Mack Wilberg must have the most amazing ears for music that I have ever witnessed. It was very cool.
After the broadcast had concluded the choir stood and sang God Be With You Til We Meet Again. I was awake for this and I was feeling a bit emotional. That song has great meaning in my life. As they sang I thought about our friends at the Lunalilo Home in Hawaii Kai. There were many Sundays that my brothers and I were blessed to go there to administer the Sacrament. These people were always so grateful and always so happy to have us there. At the close of every meeting we would sing this song with them. I have loved it ever since and think about those experiences as I sing it or here it. Hearing this sung today by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir was a special thing and I am grateful for that. It really is a beautiful hymn with a beautiful message.
Our anniversary celebration with the folks was a great time. I thoroughly enjoyed this quick trip to Salt Lake. It was really neat to be there around Temple Square and to enjoy the area. It was great to be with my family who I love so much. Thank you to everyone for a great weekend.
I do have to share my snowball incident. Amy threw a snowball in our direction as we were getting in the car after our "betters win" sacrament meeting. I decided I was going to get her so I grabbed some snow and got a little closer (we were on the other side of the parking lot). In so doing I had this thought go through my head that I shouldn't throw it because I was not going to hit Amy but would likely hit Liana. I shrugged off that impression and went for it. Every time I have an impression like that and shrug it off I regret it. Such was the case today. I threw the snowball and watched as everything went into slow motion and that thing changed course in mid air and nailed Liana right in the ankle. I tried to warn her but it was to late. I am just glad Liana is a good sport and that she has equally as bad aim as me because whatever she threw in retaliation missed. She did milk it a bit with a fake limp for my benefit as I was apologizing. Have I mentioned previously in this post that I am a loser?
It was great to come home and to be with the kids. They had a great time with Shelina and Sandy and I appreciate their coming up very much.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
20 of 26, painful delight
5:45 came a little too early this morning. I was not ready to get out of bed and after a two snooze button performance I rolled out of bed at 5:55. Jim and I were on the ready and Jay, Sara and Tommy rolled up at 6:40 or so. We were on our way to get Dave and then head on to Salt Lake for the folks 40th Anniversary get together for the adults. We had a good drive up. The weather was good. The company was good. I got a bit of a nap on the drive and was excited to see this area of Utah. Haven't been up here for a number of years. I think the last time up was in 2002 for Grandma Vi's funeral. That was quite a while ago. There is a lot that has changed especially downtown around the Temple.
We stopped in for a bite at JB's at the Plaza hotel by Temple square. The buffet was a bit scary looking and I opted for a biscuits and gravy plate. That was delightful. I asked for a little hot sauce and was given some Chipotle flavored Tabasco. We had a good laugh when I mentioned Chipotle and how it tasted a little different. Jim provided the correct pronunciation of Chipotle. I said "Thank you Aunt Kelly" and we all started chuckling. Turns out that the back of the bottle provided the correct pronunciation and Jim was merely helping the rest of us out. Sorry, those of you who don't know the story of Aunt Kelly providing correct pronunciations of everything Spanish will not appreciate this - We, however, enjoyed the moment and had a good chuckle. I don't know that I have any recollection of Aunt Kelly ever saying something like this but we are all familiar with Padre providing his best impersonation which is always funny. No is Chipotle, is Chee-Poht-ley.
With the exception of Pete all the siblings were here. Pete, we missed having you here bro and thought about you. Definitely thought about you in the Celestial room as we filed in through the veil. I remembered one of your great literary pieces of your experience going through for the first time. Funny, I remember very clearly reading that letter whilst in Gelvandale Branch in Port Elizabeth. I laughed, I cried, I wondered what the dog biscuit tasted like. Good times and a powerful testimony of eternal families.
The Temple was great. Loved being there. Loved the live session. It has been a while since I have been to a live session. The architecture in the Salt Lake Temple is amazing. It is a humbling place to be when you see the detail and think about those who served so faithfully in it's construction. I looked up at the granite blocks as we walked up and had such an appreciation for those who built it. I took this picture from the 10th floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building prior to our going to dinner at The Roof restaurant.

The folks are amazing people. I am grateful for them. Grateful for their legacy of faith. When I consider my life I am very appreciative of having parents who have been dedicated to the gospel their entire lives. They have taught by example what it means to serve the Lord with all of your heart, might, mind and strength. Like Nephi of old I, we have been born of goodly parents. Thank you mom and dad.

So The Roof was quite impressive. It is a buffet that is a few steps above the local Chuck O Rama, Duffs, Golden Corral or the like. I was doing pretty good until I made a joke to Stephen our waiter about trying all of the desserts. He said it couldn't be done. Not even a single spoonful of each of the desserts was possible. I took that as a challenge. The manager told us there were 19. Stephen clarified and let us know there were actually 26. I was strong for the first 7 or 8 and actually ate the entire serving not just a spoonful. I continued on though I was quite full. I was no longer enjoying it but I was on a mission. By the time I had tackled 14 (not all complete servings, a few were merely spoonfuls) I was done. Amy was sitting next too me and I had eaten enough for her too.


We were geared up to go but had to get a group photo.

After the photo I was feeling motivated and tackled 6 more desserts, just spoonfuls. At that point I was saved by the bell. Had we stayed 30 more minutes I probably would have managed all 26 but we had to vacate the room for the next group coming in. Secretly I was very grateful that the clock had expired. 20 of the 26 was plenty. It was painfully delightful as most of them were quite tastey. There was a raspberry mousse that I thought was very good. Anyway, it has nearly been 3 hours since we finished up and I am still feeling the meal up to the top of my throat. Love that feeling.
We have had great day. I am typing this while many are in the pool here at the hotel. I am wrapping it up now however because an entire army of kids just rolled in and they are flipping into the pool about 5 ft from where I am and the splashes are hitting me and this computer.
Love the fam. Thanks to Sara's sisters for taking Natty, Jack and Andy. I am sure they are having a great time.
We stopped in for a bite at JB's at the Plaza hotel by Temple square. The buffet was a bit scary looking and I opted for a biscuits and gravy plate. That was delightful. I asked for a little hot sauce and was given some Chipotle flavored Tabasco. We had a good laugh when I mentioned Chipotle and how it tasted a little different. Jim provided the correct pronunciation of Chipotle. I said "Thank you Aunt Kelly" and we all started chuckling. Turns out that the back of the bottle provided the correct pronunciation and Jim was merely helping the rest of us out. Sorry, those of you who don't know the story of Aunt Kelly providing correct pronunciations of everything Spanish will not appreciate this - We, however, enjoyed the moment and had a good chuckle. I don't know that I have any recollection of Aunt Kelly ever saying something like this but we are all familiar with Padre providing his best impersonation which is always funny. No is Chipotle, is Chee-Poht-ley.
With the exception of Pete all the siblings were here. Pete, we missed having you here bro and thought about you. Definitely thought about you in the Celestial room as we filed in through the veil. I remembered one of your great literary pieces of your experience going through for the first time. Funny, I remember very clearly reading that letter whilst in Gelvandale Branch in Port Elizabeth. I laughed, I cried, I wondered what the dog biscuit tasted like. Good times and a powerful testimony of eternal families.
The Temple was great. Loved being there. Loved the live session. It has been a while since I have been to a live session. The architecture in the Salt Lake Temple is amazing. It is a humbling place to be when you see the detail and think about those who served so faithfully in it's construction. I looked up at the granite blocks as we walked up and had such an appreciation for those who built it. I took this picture from the 10th floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building prior to our going to dinner at The Roof restaurant.
The folks are amazing people. I am grateful for them. Grateful for their legacy of faith. When I consider my life I am very appreciative of having parents who have been dedicated to the gospel their entire lives. They have taught by example what it means to serve the Lord with all of your heart, might, mind and strength. Like Nephi of old I, we have been born of goodly parents. Thank you mom and dad.
So The Roof was quite impressive. It is a buffet that is a few steps above the local Chuck O Rama, Duffs, Golden Corral or the like. I was doing pretty good until I made a joke to Stephen our waiter about trying all of the desserts. He said it couldn't be done. Not even a single spoonful of each of the desserts was possible. I took that as a challenge. The manager told us there were 19. Stephen clarified and let us know there were actually 26. I was strong for the first 7 or 8 and actually ate the entire serving not just a spoonful. I continued on though I was quite full. I was no longer enjoying it but I was on a mission. By the time I had tackled 14 (not all complete servings, a few were merely spoonfuls) I was done. Amy was sitting next too me and I had eaten enough for her too.
We were geared up to go but had to get a group photo.
After the photo I was feeling motivated and tackled 6 more desserts, just spoonfuls. At that point I was saved by the bell. Had we stayed 30 more minutes I probably would have managed all 26 but we had to vacate the room for the next group coming in. Secretly I was very grateful that the clock had expired. 20 of the 26 was plenty. It was painfully delightful as most of them were quite tastey. There was a raspberry mousse that I thought was very good. Anyway, it has nearly been 3 hours since we finished up and I am still feeling the meal up to the top of my throat. Love that feeling.
We have had great day. I am typing this while many are in the pool here at the hotel. I am wrapping it up now however because an entire army of kids just rolled in and they are flipping into the pool about 5 ft from where I am and the splashes are hitting me and this computer.
Love the fam. Thanks to Sara's sisters for taking Natty, Jack and Andy. I am sure they are having a great time.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Hazel Nuts
Last week I purchased a one pound bag of hazelnuts from Smiths for $10. That was a skosh steep if you ask me but such is the cost when you want to produce your own version of Nutella. I found what appeared to be a good recipe online and today I decided it needed to happen. The hazel nuts are amazing little things. I started out with them in the oven for about 15 minutes. They get good and dark and then you have to try and rub off the skins. Not so easy on some but also very easy on others. The recipe said to get rid of as many of the skins as possible as they provide a bitter taste. Well, not sure if I did this so well as there is a bit of an aftertaste. Otherwise the recipe was easy and it went very well. I was so into it that I made a batch of walnut-tella - just because.
The science fair was today. I ran over to take a look and the place was packed . Wow. Andy and I managed to find Natty and she seemed to be enjoying herself.
I am off to Salt Lake in a few hours for the Folks 40th Anniversary celebration. This is an adult event. Grateful for Sara's sisters coming up to Cedar to watch the kids for this. We will see how it goes and hope for the best. Leaving the kids is not an easy thing for me and I have felt some sadness already. They will be fine and the weekend should be good. Fun things on the schedule. Must sleep now.
The science fair was today. I ran over to take a look and the place was packed . Wow. Andy and I managed to find Natty and she seemed to be enjoying herself.
I am off to Salt Lake in a few hours for the Folks 40th Anniversary celebration. This is an adult event. Grateful for Sara's sisters coming up to Cedar to watch the kids for this. We will see how it goes and hope for the best. Leaving the kids is not an easy thing for me and I have felt some sadness already. They will be fine and the weekend should be good. Fun things on the schedule. Must sleep now.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Worlds Heaviest Matress
And so it begins. Yes the first official clean up day at the new building. There are a few items that stand in need of some attention and quite a few things that we can clearly part with. It was great to get in there and get started.
Padre and I put together a load for the dumps including the box spring and mattress that were out front. I know, it was a difficult decision to have these go as they were such a nice attraction and added so much to the curb appeal of the structure. You here of these things like the biggest ball of twine or the worlds largest thermometer. Well, had we left the mattress where it was we could of boasted the worlds heaviest mattress. I don't know that my back will ever be the same. Not only was this mattress heavier then any other known to man but it was filled with water, loaded with mold, and had weeds growing all around it. The experience was one of those that causes you to not want to swallow for fear that something toxic may get ingested. To make matters even better it started to rip apart when we lifted it. Well, no matter, we folded it like a taco and rolled it a couple of times till we got it up and in the trailer.
After we finished at the dump Padre donated his gloves to the local landfill. He was completely grossed out by the mattress as was I. I didn't part ways with my gloves. These are a special pair from my visit to Pascaguela Mississippi with the Lakeland Stake to help clean up after Katrina. I'm just not ready to let them go.
We picked Andy up from school on the way to the dump and he had a great time. We went to Landfill A and Andy got to throw away his hard boiled egg from school snack. He didn't seem to be enjoying it much so I asked if he would like to toss it out the window and that excited him. He also tossed his little plate out too. Andy had a great time talking to his grandpa. He likes to keep people well informed of life in Super Mario Brothers and usually pulls some small detail from the game into the conversation. Like Star power allowing you to run across spikes. I have no idea if that is true or not but anyway, if there were a game based on Mario trivia Jack and Andy could give people a run. Well, when we dropped Grandpa off at the Little Brick House he said "See you later bud" to Andy. Andy replied "See you later bud". Not what I expected to hear out of his mouth but not exactly surprising either. He is a fun kid.
The science project is done and ready to go. I am most thankful for that. I think I did a little too much on it but oh well. I think Natty is happy with it and is already trying to work me for a ride to school tomorrow. We live 3 houses away, please.
In other news the bedazzler queen herself, Amy, passed her test today. I guess she is now official when it comes to hair. That is very exciting and I am very happy for her. She worked hard on this and did well. I'm thinking I may need to upgrade to mullet extensions and a little hair coloring. What do you think Amy?
Padre and I put together a load for the dumps including the box spring and mattress that were out front. I know, it was a difficult decision to have these go as they were such a nice attraction and added so much to the curb appeal of the structure. You here of these things like the biggest ball of twine or the worlds largest thermometer. Well, had we left the mattress where it was we could of boasted the worlds heaviest mattress. I don't know that my back will ever be the same. Not only was this mattress heavier then any other known to man but it was filled with water, loaded with mold, and had weeds growing all around it. The experience was one of those that causes you to not want to swallow for fear that something toxic may get ingested. To make matters even better it started to rip apart when we lifted it. Well, no matter, we folded it like a taco and rolled it a couple of times till we got it up and in the trailer.
After we finished at the dump Padre donated his gloves to the local landfill. He was completely grossed out by the mattress as was I. I didn't part ways with my gloves. These are a special pair from my visit to Pascaguela Mississippi with the Lakeland Stake to help clean up after Katrina. I'm just not ready to let them go.
We picked Andy up from school on the way to the dump and he had a great time. We went to Landfill A and Andy got to throw away his hard boiled egg from school snack. He didn't seem to be enjoying it much so I asked if he would like to toss it out the window and that excited him. He also tossed his little plate out too. Andy had a great time talking to his grandpa. He likes to keep people well informed of life in Super Mario Brothers and usually pulls some small detail from the game into the conversation. Like Star power allowing you to run across spikes. I have no idea if that is true or not but anyway, if there were a game based on Mario trivia Jack and Andy could give people a run. Well, when we dropped Grandpa off at the Little Brick House he said "See you later bud" to Andy. Andy replied "See you later bud". Not what I expected to hear out of his mouth but not exactly surprising either. He is a fun kid.
The science project is done and ready to go. I am most thankful for that. I think I did a little too much on it but oh well. I think Natty is happy with it and is already trying to work me for a ride to school tomorrow. We live 3 houses away, please.
In other news the bedazzler queen herself, Amy, passed her test today. I guess she is now official when it comes to hair. That is very exciting and I am very happy for her. She worked hard on this and did well. I'm thinking I may need to upgrade to mullet extensions and a little hair coloring. What do you think Amy?
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
A Project for Fun... and Science
Tackled a couple of projects today. Well, continued one project that should be done tomorrow and then took on something that was just for fun.
Amy emerged from the basement and gave me grief for not starting Natty's poster for the science project. Well, no better time then the present to get it started. I was actually working on pictures for it at the time and so paused that and we started on the heading. I know this is supposed to be Natty's project and it is, we are simply helping with a few things. Funny enough the rules for the project state that this is completely legal so long as the student gives credit to those that assisted. We assisted in the title and Amy came up with a way of doing it to make it pop. This being appropriate for the project based on popping popcorn. I reviewed some of the thoughts for the rest of the board with Amy and i think she approves. Natty is pretty gung ho about it and ready to get it done. I helped her with the pics as mentioned and typed out her stats, hypothesis and conclusion for her. That was more for my personal sanity and as I write this I can't help but think of a certain character in a certain book about a wimp that I am reading to the kids right now. This may be bad, very bad. Well, I am pretty much just typing and helping but she has had to do the science research on it. I think it will turn out nice. Everything is ready to print, cut and paste on to the board. Looking forward to getting that completed with Natalie tomorrow after school.
Special thanks to Amy the bedazzler, the queen of all bedazzling. She is off to Salt Lake to take her test tomorrow for her hair stylist license or whatever it is called. She took some time out of her own studying and practicing to help Natty Sue and I appreciate it. Hope she nails the test. I'm going to let her color my hair but only if she can pass this thing.
I was excited to get a message on Facebook from a certain someone today. In the message there was a reference to camels, specifically an offer of 12 camels if she were to stay in a foreign country she was visiting. Though she was only kidding (well, I assume she is kidding but who knows what happens in foreign countries) I was looking to provide a humorous response and decided it needed to involve a comparison to Johnny Lingo. He is after all, the shrewdest trader in all of the Islands. I was able to find out the current market value of a Camel, $973. I then worked up a price on cows in today's market. Jay and Sara just bought a half a cow so I was able to determine the full price of a cow. Dang, I deleted my notes in excel where I calculated everything. I think the cow is $1,694, some 58% more and just now I see an error in my calcs that just blew up my entire presentation that I already sent. Oh well, it isn't 58% more but 42%. Well, it was all in fun anyway. Perhaps I will go back through the entire exercise and revamp all my numbers. I will have to humbly resubmit my report. Actually, the calcs may all be fine - really too bad I deleted that. I won't redo it all now. For the purpose of this post it is sufficient to say that I ran some calcs and though they may be flawed it is okay, it was all about a creative writing project that I hope brings a smile.
The Fontano Department of Animal Trading provided a report that simply stated that 12 camels was not enough for this woman especially when these were compared to the 8 cows that Johnny Lingo paid for Mahana. I am thinking my calcs were correct because I used formulas in excel that were linked to the correct numbers. I simply stated things incorrectly in my report. That is what I think right now but alas, I will go though my message and run the numbers again. Fun.
Herein is the problem once again. I was bottle fed. The only bottle fed of the 8 Fontano children and the only Fontano that stinks at math. My hypothesis - boob fed babies have a much higher success rate in mathematics than bottle fed babies. There surely must be a relation between being boob fed and having confidence in math. I don't think I will ever see that through the entire scientific process but you never know, someday Jack will have a 5th grade science project to do...
Well, it was a fun day. I got keys from Padre for the new building and took the kids over for a peak. They were excited to see it. I will get started on a dump run tomorrow to clear out some of the old crap that just needs to get out of the way. Wow, lots of work to do but looking forward to it. Also ran the kids across the street to the LBH. Andy needed to go to the bathroom. While there Jack picked up a yard stick and said in a raspy voice "I'm a ratty old teacher" then he whacked me with it and started laughing. I started laughing too. The boy cracks me up as do Natty and Andy as well. Grateful for these wonderful kids.
Amy emerged from the basement and gave me grief for not starting Natty's poster for the science project. Well, no better time then the present to get it started. I was actually working on pictures for it at the time and so paused that and we started on the heading. I know this is supposed to be Natty's project and it is, we are simply helping with a few things. Funny enough the rules for the project state that this is completely legal so long as the student gives credit to those that assisted. We assisted in the title and Amy came up with a way of doing it to make it pop. This being appropriate for the project based on popping popcorn. I reviewed some of the thoughts for the rest of the board with Amy and i think she approves. Natty is pretty gung ho about it and ready to get it done. I helped her with the pics as mentioned and typed out her stats, hypothesis and conclusion for her. That was more for my personal sanity and as I write this I can't help but think of a certain character in a certain book about a wimp that I am reading to the kids right now. This may be bad, very bad. Well, I am pretty much just typing and helping but she has had to do the science research on it. I think it will turn out nice. Everything is ready to print, cut and paste on to the board. Looking forward to getting that completed with Natalie tomorrow after school.
Special thanks to Amy the bedazzler, the queen of all bedazzling. She is off to Salt Lake to take her test tomorrow for her hair stylist license or whatever it is called. She took some time out of her own studying and practicing to help Natty Sue and I appreciate it. Hope she nails the test. I'm going to let her color my hair but only if she can pass this thing.
I was excited to get a message on Facebook from a certain someone today. In the message there was a reference to camels, specifically an offer of 12 camels if she were to stay in a foreign country she was visiting. Though she was only kidding (well, I assume she is kidding but who knows what happens in foreign countries) I was looking to provide a humorous response and decided it needed to involve a comparison to Johnny Lingo. He is after all, the shrewdest trader in all of the Islands. I was able to find out the current market value of a Camel, $973. I then worked up a price on cows in today's market. Jay and Sara just bought a half a cow so I was able to determine the full price of a cow. Dang, I deleted my notes in excel where I calculated everything. I think the cow is $1,694, some 58% more and just now I see an error in my calcs that just blew up my entire presentation that I already sent. Oh well, it isn't 58% more but 42%. Well, it was all in fun anyway. Perhaps I will go back through the entire exercise and revamp all my numbers. I will have to humbly resubmit my report. Actually, the calcs may all be fine - really too bad I deleted that. I won't redo it all now. For the purpose of this post it is sufficient to say that I ran some calcs and though they may be flawed it is okay, it was all about a creative writing project that I hope brings a smile.
The Fontano Department of Animal Trading provided a report that simply stated that 12 camels was not enough for this woman especially when these were compared to the 8 cows that Johnny Lingo paid for Mahana. I am thinking my calcs were correct because I used formulas in excel that were linked to the correct numbers. I simply stated things incorrectly in my report. That is what I think right now but alas, I will go though my message and run the numbers again. Fun.
Herein is the problem once again. I was bottle fed. The only bottle fed of the 8 Fontano children and the only Fontano that stinks at math. My hypothesis - boob fed babies have a much higher success rate in mathematics than bottle fed babies. There surely must be a relation between being boob fed and having confidence in math. I don't think I will ever see that through the entire scientific process but you never know, someday Jack will have a 5th grade science project to do...
Well, it was a fun day. I got keys from Padre for the new building and took the kids over for a peak. They were excited to see it. I will get started on a dump run tomorrow to clear out some of the old crap that just needs to get out of the way. Wow, lots of work to do but looking forward to it. Also ran the kids across the street to the LBH. Andy needed to go to the bathroom. While there Jack picked up a yard stick and said in a raspy voice "I'm a ratty old teacher" then he whacked me with it and started laughing. I started laughing too. The boy cracks me up as do Natty and Andy as well. Grateful for these wonderful kids.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Dad Coins
We have been reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid together as a family. Actually, I have been reading it to Jack and Andy but Natty likes to listen in as well - she has read all of them previously but really enjoys them so if she finds herself without something else to do she usually comes and joins in the fun that is the Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
The first book was rather enjoyable and we have moved on to the second installment, Rodrick Rules. It has also been fun. Last night we began reading about Mom Bucks and we continued on those tonight. I couldn't help but think of the highly coveted Fontano Funds that we had growing up. Those were certainly fun though I don't know that my stash ever amounted to much. In our reading tonight the Mom Bucks appear to have come to the end of their short life. I cannot recall what the shelf life was of the Fontano Funds but it has been a number of years since they have even been mentioned. Pretty funny.
Tonight I was reminded that Jack is a little sponge and picks up on things very well. At one point during our scripture reading he stopped me and asked "Do you know how they have mom bucks? I think we should have Dad Coins and you can give me dad coins every time I do things". He is pretty excited about it and suddenly everything qualifies for him to earn dad coins. Yes, everything. He told me if he came to me and asked me to clip his toenails he could earn Dad Coins. Pretty awesome stuff. We have some work to do to get the Dad Coin program operational. Fun times.
Natty had her first zit/pimple on her nose. She got it on Monday and it needed a couple of days to fester. When I looked at is this afternoon it was ready. I told her how to pop that little thing but she couldn't handle it so I stepped in. All was going well until it popped and sent a bird "zit" turd onto my shirt. We had a good laugh about it. I am not a big fan of popping someone else's pimples but she wasn't getting it done and I had to stand in. Perhaps Dad Coins can be earned when you learn how to pop your own pimples... just sayin.
The first book was rather enjoyable and we have moved on to the second installment, Rodrick Rules. It has also been fun. Last night we began reading about Mom Bucks and we continued on those tonight. I couldn't help but think of the highly coveted Fontano Funds that we had growing up. Those were certainly fun though I don't know that my stash ever amounted to much. In our reading tonight the Mom Bucks appear to have come to the end of their short life. I cannot recall what the shelf life was of the Fontano Funds but it has been a number of years since they have even been mentioned. Pretty funny.
Tonight I was reminded that Jack is a little sponge and picks up on things very well. At one point during our scripture reading he stopped me and asked "Do you know how they have mom bucks? I think we should have Dad Coins and you can give me dad coins every time I do things". He is pretty excited about it and suddenly everything qualifies for him to earn dad coins. Yes, everything. He told me if he came to me and asked me to clip his toenails he could earn Dad Coins. Pretty awesome stuff. We have some work to do to get the Dad Coin program operational. Fun times.
Natty had her first zit/pimple on her nose. She got it on Monday and it needed a couple of days to fester. When I looked at is this afternoon it was ready. I told her how to pop that little thing but she couldn't handle it so I stepped in. All was going well until it popped and sent a bird "zit" turd onto my shirt. We had a good laugh about it. I am not a big fan of popping someone else's pimples but she wasn't getting it done and I had to stand in. Perhaps Dad Coins can be earned when you learn how to pop your own pimples... just sayin.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Work to Do
We will begin with a quick update on the weather. It has been an interesting day. We had the snow falling this morning and it was thick and heavy. I thought for sure we were going to have some shoveling to do. Not so, didn't stick on the roads or walks. That is cool. In fact most of it had dissapeared by the afternoon. We did have little snow flurries throughout the day but not much sticking down in the valley. Not sure about upper elevations but down here it turned out to be rather mild. It did snow heavier again tonight but alas the outcome remained consistent with the morning snow fall and other fluries of the day.
Spent some time sitting and chatting with Padre today about the new building and the new business plan. At the Little Brick House we have wanted to make our own fudge and in order to do so have to have a qualified kitchen. The stuff we were buying from someone else was really not that good and was really expensive. Right across the street from us is the old bakery here in town that has been sitting vacant for a couple of years. The building is for sale and the folks started looking at it and came up with a new business idea. The current old house is really tight and getting a qualified kitchen there is going to take months. The place across the street has the kitchen and it is quite a bit bigger. The new goal is to have a signature sandwich shop as a draw to bring in customers as well as the antiques and other items for sale. There will be booth space available for lease, our current standard consignments and we will be putting in a workshop and painting area. This will free up a little space in my small garage and will give me a place to work.
I am excited about getting the place put together. There will be a lot to do including walls to be built, walls to knock down, old equipment to sell, painting, to do, interior decorating and other stuff. I for one will be talking to the Coke people about a machine and will be requesting that we have some minute maid light raspberry passion on tap. Either that or I need to get the same diet lemonade that Chik-Fil-A has. That is some good stuff. Look, the sugar free beverage selections are important to me. I like to have a little flavor in my beverage but don't do the sugar. When Diet Coke is the only option it leaves one wanting. Anywho, things are fixin to get a little crazy and I am looking forward to it.
It is important to note that for starters we will be selling 50lb bags of cherry chips. These are only the finest cherry chips that have been well preserved and aged to perfection. Also we have a deep frying donut machine that still has oil in it. Sure it is a couple years old but I'm sure if we throw a little heat on it will be good to go. There will be no extra charge for the oil.
More details on this venture to follow. I think it will be fun. I do have to say that we have a great concept coming together on the food side with special names for sandwiches. The pulled pork sandwich for instance will be the Jack Burton. When somebody orders a Jack Burton we will respond back with Jack Burton quotes from Big Trouble in Little China. Something like this:
Customer: I'd like a Jack Burton
Us: Who? Jack Burton, me.
or
Us: You know what old Jack Burton would say at a time like this? Who? Jack Burton, me. Yeah, old Jack always says, ah what the he...
or
Us: Is this gonna get ugly, cause I thought what we were here, ratial differences notwithstanding, was just a couple of friends, you know, both of us Californians...
or
Us: Henry Swansons my name and excitements my game.
or
Us: I really wish you would stop rubbing your body up against mine, it's really hard to concentrate when you do that.
or
Us: I took something, I can see things no one else can see. Why are you dressed like that?
or
Us: I'm a rich man now. I could sell my truck, give up the open road...
or
Us: It's like I told my last wife I said; Honey, I never drive faster then I can see and besides that, it's all in the reflexes.
or
Us: This is Jack Burton of the Pork Chop Express and I'm talking to anyone whose listenin out there on a dark and stormy night when the winds blowing the rains comin down and she's thick as lead. When some 6 foot tall wide eyed maniac taps the back of your favorite head up against the bar room wall and asks you if you've paid your dues, you just look that big sucker right back in the eye and tell him what old Jack Burton would say at a time like that; Have you paid your dues Jack?... Yes sir the check is in the mail.
Okay, that is a small sampling - obviously the Pulled Pork sandwich is the Jack Burton because Jack drives the Pork Chop Express and because he happens to be one of my all time favorite movie characters. The idea is to make it unique, fun and very good food. We will see, there is still much to come up with. I am looking at how I can tie in Neil Diamond so I can sing to people when they order something. The obvious there is The Jazz Singer movie which I need to get and watch. I think his name is Jess Robins (after he shortens Jessie Robinovich so he can be a little more hip) but I am not 100% certain on that nor do we have a solid go to sandwich for him. There is work to do my friends, work to do.
Spent some time sitting and chatting with Padre today about the new building and the new business plan. At the Little Brick House we have wanted to make our own fudge and in order to do so have to have a qualified kitchen. The stuff we were buying from someone else was really not that good and was really expensive. Right across the street from us is the old bakery here in town that has been sitting vacant for a couple of years. The building is for sale and the folks started looking at it and came up with a new business idea. The current old house is really tight and getting a qualified kitchen there is going to take months. The place across the street has the kitchen and it is quite a bit bigger. The new goal is to have a signature sandwich shop as a draw to bring in customers as well as the antiques and other items for sale. There will be booth space available for lease, our current standard consignments and we will be putting in a workshop and painting area. This will free up a little space in my small garage and will give me a place to work.
I am excited about getting the place put together. There will be a lot to do including walls to be built, walls to knock down, old equipment to sell, painting, to do, interior decorating and other stuff. I for one will be talking to the Coke people about a machine and will be requesting that we have some minute maid light raspberry passion on tap. Either that or I need to get the same diet lemonade that Chik-Fil-A has. That is some good stuff. Look, the sugar free beverage selections are important to me. I like to have a little flavor in my beverage but don't do the sugar. When Diet Coke is the only option it leaves one wanting. Anywho, things are fixin to get a little crazy and I am looking forward to it.
It is important to note that for starters we will be selling 50lb bags of cherry chips. These are only the finest cherry chips that have been well preserved and aged to perfection. Also we have a deep frying donut machine that still has oil in it. Sure it is a couple years old but I'm sure if we throw a little heat on it will be good to go. There will be no extra charge for the oil.
More details on this venture to follow. I think it will be fun. I do have to say that we have a great concept coming together on the food side with special names for sandwiches. The pulled pork sandwich for instance will be the Jack Burton. When somebody orders a Jack Burton we will respond back with Jack Burton quotes from Big Trouble in Little China. Something like this:
Customer: I'd like a Jack Burton
Us: Who? Jack Burton, me.
or
Us: You know what old Jack Burton would say at a time like this? Who? Jack Burton, me. Yeah, old Jack always says, ah what the he...
or
Us: Is this gonna get ugly, cause I thought what we were here, ratial differences notwithstanding, was just a couple of friends, you know, both of us Californians...
or
Us: Henry Swansons my name and excitements my game.
or
Us: I really wish you would stop rubbing your body up against mine, it's really hard to concentrate when you do that.
or
Us: I took something, I can see things no one else can see. Why are you dressed like that?
or
Us: I'm a rich man now. I could sell my truck, give up the open road...
or
Us: It's like I told my last wife I said; Honey, I never drive faster then I can see and besides that, it's all in the reflexes.
or
Us: This is Jack Burton of the Pork Chop Express and I'm talking to anyone whose listenin out there on a dark and stormy night when the winds blowing the rains comin down and she's thick as lead. When some 6 foot tall wide eyed maniac taps the back of your favorite head up against the bar room wall and asks you if you've paid your dues, you just look that big sucker right back in the eye and tell him what old Jack Burton would say at a time like that; Have you paid your dues Jack?... Yes sir the check is in the mail.
Okay, that is a small sampling - obviously the Pulled Pork sandwich is the Jack Burton because Jack drives the Pork Chop Express and because he happens to be one of my all time favorite movie characters. The idea is to make it unique, fun and very good food. We will see, there is still much to come up with. I am looking at how I can tie in Neil Diamond so I can sing to people when they order something. The obvious there is The Jazz Singer movie which I need to get and watch. I think his name is Jess Robins (after he shortens Jessie Robinovich so he can be a little more hip) but I am not 100% certain on that nor do we have a solid go to sandwich for him. There is work to do my friends, work to do.
Phantom Jack
Quick little post this Monday morning - it is snowing by the way. I don't know how we go from beautiful, sunny, 60 degree weather a week ago to windy, cold snow today but we do. Looks like I will be shoveling here in an hour or so - that is cool, I love to shovel snow.
As Natty and Jack were about ready to head out the door Natty hummed out a few notes of a song and said what was that from? I had absolutely no clue, it sounded vaguely familiar but there was no way I was going to place it. Without a moments hesitation Jack says "The Phantom of the Opera". Natty was stunned as was I. "How did you know that?" she asked. Jack let out a sly chuckle and said "I saw the movie". Sure enough he was right, I knew it as soon as he said it. Here's the thing, this was not the main song or music of the night or anything like that. This was simply a few notes from one of the obscure little pieces that is in there almost like a few bars of music transitioning from one song to the next or something odd like that. I will have to research my Phantom of the Opera to tell you exactly where it is in the movie or opera. Anyway, it was just one of those odd things that Jack knows and I wanted to write this down. Perhaps a more detailed weather report on my main post for this Monday.
As Natty and Jack were about ready to head out the door Natty hummed out a few notes of a song and said what was that from? I had absolutely no clue, it sounded vaguely familiar but there was no way I was going to place it. Without a moments hesitation Jack says "The Phantom of the Opera". Natty was stunned as was I. "How did you know that?" she asked. Jack let out a sly chuckle and said "I saw the movie". Sure enough he was right, I knew it as soon as he said it. Here's the thing, this was not the main song or music of the night or anything like that. This was simply a few notes from one of the obscure little pieces that is in there almost like a few bars of music transitioning from one song to the next or something odd like that. I will have to research my Phantom of the Opera to tell you exactly where it is in the movie or opera. Anyway, it was just one of those odd things that Jack knows and I wanted to write this down. Perhaps a more detailed weather report on my main post for this Monday.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
The Big Four Oh!
Tonight I will simply say that I am grateful for my parents. They are wonderful people. I have learned much from them as they have lived lives of dedicated service to the Lord. Being born into a home of goodly parents has been a great blessing to me and I am grateful for the example that my parents set for me. For as long as I can remember they have served in the Church. The foundation of our home growing up was faith in Christ. Having that foundation of faith has provided for tremendous strength through the challenges and trials of life. Thank you mom and dad. The big four oh is representative of their 40th Wedding Anniversary today. That is pretty amazing, pretty awesome.
Life has never been free of trials or challenges for my folks. They have however pressed forward with faith no matter what the trial. That has been a great example to me and a road map of how I should live my life. I try to follow that example when life gets difficult and challenges seem overwhelming. Trusting in the Lord. It isn't always the easiest thing to do but it is always right. I hope that as I press forward I can do so with faith and a greater determination to serve the Lord.
In other news it was Stake Conference this weekend and the meetings were great. The theme was Ether 12:27:
And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.
The messages offered some excellent counsel and direction. One Sister said that she never has a delay in answer to a prayer that includes petitioning the Lord for knowledge of her weaknesses. I think there are many of us that can relate to that. I can. I find myself overwhelmed sometimes by my weaknesses and I see that I am so far from where I need to be.
I made home teaching visits to the Fawsons and the Smiths today. These are both great families that I love. I read the message from President Uchtdorf and then I prayed to know what I should share and read it again. This was an excellent article. So simple and yet so profound as it deals directly with how we approach anything. Our perspective is either going to be positive or negative - the glass is half full or it is half empty. In the Ensign they actually show a picture of a glass with a statement regarding half full or half empty. I was impressed that this would be a great object lesson for the Fawson children. I was also impressed that there was an additional lesson there. We look at ourselves and sometimes we can beat ourselves up for the portion of our cups that remain half empty. It can be easy to become discouraged. That isn't what the Lord wants. Isn't Ether 12:27 interesting in what it says - my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them. I had the glass of water half full and as we discussed this point of the Savior I opened the bottle of water and filled the glass. The message was simply this, with the Savior we are made whole and our cups are full. In fact, with the Savior our cups will run over - Don't worry, I stopped short of pouring water all over the Fawsons living room.
The message was not only geared to how we see ourselves but how we look at others. Every one of us is a son or daughter of God and we each posess the same potential to become like him. Each of us has weakenesses and we each fall short of perfection. The Savior, if we come unto him, will make each of us whole. As we look at those around us and ourselves it will be much easier to focus on the good if we can remember that principle.
I also had a thought come to my mind of a quote that I have included in a previous post. This was something that Grandpa Al wrote many years ago. I don't know if he authored this but he did write it and it is something that has meant a lot to me over the last 15 years. "Don't look at the flaws as you go through life and even if you find em, tis wise and kind to be somewhat blind and look at the virtues behind them". I shared that with both the Fawsons and the Smiths and Roy Smith made a comment about how that act by Grandpa of writing that down, whether he authored it or not, has had an impact on my life and how neat that is. It was a cool thing. Then we knelt and had a prayer and I got a cramp in my right hamstring when we did so. They had no idea but I was sure nervous that I wouldn't beable to stand when the prayer was over. That was a first for me. It was all good though, no problems.
I will close with this final story of the day, no there are two. Jack managed to make the close of Stake Conference a major mess for me. After the closing prayer Jay suddenly appeared at our seats and said that a brother asked him in the hall if he was me and that there was a little boy in the bathroom that needed some help. That is the last thing I ever want to hear in a public place. Mmmm, not sure how it happened but Jack said a poop just slipped through his undies. Great. It only got better from there. Without getting too graphic we'll just say that 3 times I thought I had him cleaned up and three times I found that I was wrong. I finally gave up and after getting him mostly clean and still clothed I had him follow me right out to the car. He had a nice shower with his undies and pants when he got home. Lovely.
Okay the final story was actually the first part of my day. I was asked to give the opening prayer in Priesthood Leadership Meeting. With this assignment I was determined to be on time and so I headed to the Stake Center 10 minutes before the start of the meeting. The building is right around the corner so I had plenty of time. What was my surprise when it was a ghost town over there. Then I thought I must have the time wrong. I texted Jay and also made a call to President Fawson but didn't get through. I went back home to check my Stake Calendar to see if the time was in there. I passed by President Fawsons home and his car was still in the drive as was Jay's when I drove by his street. This was with about 2 minutes to spare before the start time I had thought. There was nothing in the calendar relative to times of meetings. At 7:45 I headed back to the Stake Center thinking surely people would be there now and as I drove by Jay's street his car was gone as was President Fawsons. I thought all was well and then I got to the Stake Center and it remained a ghost town. Now I was curious as to where they would be and sent texts out again asking if by chance the meeting was at a different location. Not sure why that would be, this is Stake Conference and surely it would be at the Stake Center. At 5 minutes to the hour I got a text back from President Fawson that simply said 200 South and about 250 West. I drove to that location. It was the building Rachel and I attended 13 years ago when we lived in Cedar and it was packed. President texted me again saying they had made room on the bench for me. I texted back and said thanks but I will just sit in the foyer. I was way too embarassed to walk into a meeting 30 minutes late that I was supposed to give the opening prayer for. I was going to go and apologize to the Stake President after the meeting but they were having another meeting with the Bishops. I will give him a call. President Fawson apologized to me that he didn't make me aware of the location. I'm sure it is a detail I just missed. Anyway President Fawson took care of the prayer for me. Sweet. At least I will know for next time right?
Life has never been free of trials or challenges for my folks. They have however pressed forward with faith no matter what the trial. That has been a great example to me and a road map of how I should live my life. I try to follow that example when life gets difficult and challenges seem overwhelming. Trusting in the Lord. It isn't always the easiest thing to do but it is always right. I hope that as I press forward I can do so with faith and a greater determination to serve the Lord.
In other news it was Stake Conference this weekend and the meetings were great. The theme was Ether 12:27:
And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.
The messages offered some excellent counsel and direction. One Sister said that she never has a delay in answer to a prayer that includes petitioning the Lord for knowledge of her weaknesses. I think there are many of us that can relate to that. I can. I find myself overwhelmed sometimes by my weaknesses and I see that I am so far from where I need to be.
I made home teaching visits to the Fawsons and the Smiths today. These are both great families that I love. I read the message from President Uchtdorf and then I prayed to know what I should share and read it again. This was an excellent article. So simple and yet so profound as it deals directly with how we approach anything. Our perspective is either going to be positive or negative - the glass is half full or it is half empty. In the Ensign they actually show a picture of a glass with a statement regarding half full or half empty. I was impressed that this would be a great object lesson for the Fawson children. I was also impressed that there was an additional lesson there. We look at ourselves and sometimes we can beat ourselves up for the portion of our cups that remain half empty. It can be easy to become discouraged. That isn't what the Lord wants. Isn't Ether 12:27 interesting in what it says - my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them. I had the glass of water half full and as we discussed this point of the Savior I opened the bottle of water and filled the glass. The message was simply this, with the Savior we are made whole and our cups are full. In fact, with the Savior our cups will run over - Don't worry, I stopped short of pouring water all over the Fawsons living room.
The message was not only geared to how we see ourselves but how we look at others. Every one of us is a son or daughter of God and we each posess the same potential to become like him. Each of us has weakenesses and we each fall short of perfection. The Savior, if we come unto him, will make each of us whole. As we look at those around us and ourselves it will be much easier to focus on the good if we can remember that principle.
I also had a thought come to my mind of a quote that I have included in a previous post. This was something that Grandpa Al wrote many years ago. I don't know if he authored this but he did write it and it is something that has meant a lot to me over the last 15 years. "Don't look at the flaws as you go through life and even if you find em, tis wise and kind to be somewhat blind and look at the virtues behind them". I shared that with both the Fawsons and the Smiths and Roy Smith made a comment about how that act by Grandpa of writing that down, whether he authored it or not, has had an impact on my life and how neat that is. It was a cool thing. Then we knelt and had a prayer and I got a cramp in my right hamstring when we did so. They had no idea but I was sure nervous that I wouldn't beable to stand when the prayer was over. That was a first for me. It was all good though, no problems.
I will close with this final story of the day, no there are two. Jack managed to make the close of Stake Conference a major mess for me. After the closing prayer Jay suddenly appeared at our seats and said that a brother asked him in the hall if he was me and that there was a little boy in the bathroom that needed some help. That is the last thing I ever want to hear in a public place. Mmmm, not sure how it happened but Jack said a poop just slipped through his undies. Great. It only got better from there. Without getting too graphic we'll just say that 3 times I thought I had him cleaned up and three times I found that I was wrong. I finally gave up and after getting him mostly clean and still clothed I had him follow me right out to the car. He had a nice shower with his undies and pants when he got home. Lovely.
Okay the final story was actually the first part of my day. I was asked to give the opening prayer in Priesthood Leadership Meeting. With this assignment I was determined to be on time and so I headed to the Stake Center 10 minutes before the start of the meeting. The building is right around the corner so I had plenty of time. What was my surprise when it was a ghost town over there. Then I thought I must have the time wrong. I texted Jay and also made a call to President Fawson but didn't get through. I went back home to check my Stake Calendar to see if the time was in there. I passed by President Fawsons home and his car was still in the drive as was Jay's when I drove by his street. This was with about 2 minutes to spare before the start time I had thought. There was nothing in the calendar relative to times of meetings. At 7:45 I headed back to the Stake Center thinking surely people would be there now and as I drove by Jay's street his car was gone as was President Fawsons. I thought all was well and then I got to the Stake Center and it remained a ghost town. Now I was curious as to where they would be and sent texts out again asking if by chance the meeting was at a different location. Not sure why that would be, this is Stake Conference and surely it would be at the Stake Center. At 5 minutes to the hour I got a text back from President Fawson that simply said 200 South and about 250 West. I drove to that location. It was the building Rachel and I attended 13 years ago when we lived in Cedar and it was packed. President texted me again saying they had made room on the bench for me. I texted back and said thanks but I will just sit in the foyer. I was way too embarassed to walk into a meeting 30 minutes late that I was supposed to give the opening prayer for. I was going to go and apologize to the Stake President after the meeting but they were having another meeting with the Bishops. I will give him a call. President Fawson apologized to me that he didn't make me aware of the location. I'm sure it is a detail I just missed. Anyway President Fawson took care of the prayer for me. Sweet. At least I will know for next time right?
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Seven Balloons
The Elder's Quorum had the assignment to move 170 chairs from our building to the Stake Center today for Stake conference. I prepared the truck and trailer for the assignment yesterday evening and Jack decided he wanted to help. I woke him up and together we headed over to the Church. There was a blue balloon in the Cultural Hall that still had helium but was weak enough that it was floating 5 to 10 feet above the ground. There was a ribbon/string on the kite and that made it easily accessible. Jack spotted it immediately and it kept him busy. As we were driving over to the Stake Center I was chatting with Jack and looked back at him. He was sitting with this big smile on his face and holding the balloon. It was great to see this expression of pure joy over something as simple as a balloon.
I assume the joyful countenance was because of the balloon but it just occurred to me that perhaps the expression was a direct result of my introducing Jack to my Terrance Trent Darby cd. He loved it. We listened to it again tonight and he laughed hysterically at the beginning of Dance Little Sister. "Get up out of your Rocking chair Grandma! or rather would you care to dance grandmother"...
All was right with the world until Jack lost the balloon to a strong wind and a weak grip. He ran after it for a while but the wind blew it pretty high. He came back disappointed. When we were done with the chair project and heading for home we talked about the lost balloon and then made it quite clear that he wants 7 balloons for his birthday. Well, I have something to work from.
Grateful for Natty watching Andy this morning and then this evening as well,thanks much. You are a tremendous help.
Other fun parts of the day include our Elders Quorum party at Red Cliffs. We had a good turn out and a lot of fun. I have to close as I am asleep at the keyboard. Not much getting done very fast.
I assume the joyful countenance was because of the balloon but it just occurred to me that perhaps the expression was a direct result of my introducing Jack to my Terrance Trent Darby cd. He loved it. We listened to it again tonight and he laughed hysterically at the beginning of Dance Little Sister. "Get up out of your Rocking chair Grandma! or rather would you care to dance grandmother"...
All was right with the world until Jack lost the balloon to a strong wind and a weak grip. He ran after it for a while but the wind blew it pretty high. He came back disappointed. When we were done with the chair project and heading for home we talked about the lost balloon and then made it quite clear that he wants 7 balloons for his birthday. Well, I have something to work from.
Grateful for Natty watching Andy this morning and then this evening as well,thanks much. You are a tremendous help.
Other fun parts of the day include our Elders Quorum party at Red Cliffs. We had a good turn out and a lot of fun. I have to close as I am asleep at the keyboard. Not much getting done very fast.
Friday, March 18, 2011
No Pressure
I walked into the Little Brick House yesterday and went to say hi to mom and found my neighbor in the store with her little boy Joseph. She said hi and then said she knew this girl that I should go out with. Sweet. That is perhaps the most uncomfortable conversation that I find myself involved with. Well maybe not the most uncomfortable but it ranks up there. There are a lot of women out there. I know that there are a lot of good women out there and I guess I should be flattered when someone is excited to introduce me to a friend that they would like me to go out with. I am however, way out of my comfort zone when it comes to this type of thing. That said, I don't necessarily find myself tremendously excited with the idea of meeting a complete stranger. Then there is this awkward feeling that it is suppose to be something spectacular because someone feels like we would just be so good together.
I am sure for some this is not a big deal and going out on a date or meeting someone new is a cake walk. Not so for me. I am quite possibly the most shy of my siblings. Just am. The dating situation is also quite a bit different. It isn't just going out for me. I have a few things that I am quite concerned about. Their names are Natty, Jack and Andy. I am a packaged deal and so I just feel a need to have a certain level of comfort with someone before I really want to go out or do anything. I know that this requires that I meet them to begin with and so my comfort zone is going to have to expand but this is simply going to take time.
After my neighbor left yesterday mom told me that I need to get married before the summer. This will enable me to have two months alone with my new spouse allowing us to adjust to each other while the kids are with their mom in Alaska. Um, thanks mom. My reply was something along the lines of "not going to happen". Basically I would have to meet someone, get engaged and then married within the next two and a half months. Great idea mom. Hey, don't put any pressure on me or anything.
I am told in my Patriarchal Blessing to date the girl of my choice. I have been pretty good about that. Ma says she wants me to be happy. Well, I am happy mom. Yes there are times when I am lonely and would enjoy having that type of relationship in my life again but I am not ready to rush something.
I am grateful for family and friends that are thinking of me. My neighbor Marla came over and talked to me again as I was working on a few pieces of furniture out in the garage. She said she had talked to her friend after she saw me yesterday and she is game. Oh great. I told Marla that this stuff isn't easy for me. She has no quit and pressed forward with Facebook as a possible way for me to meet this girl. As of now I am a Facebook friend with a girl I have never met and have no idea what to do next.
So we will see who next approaches with some fantastic girl for me to meet. For those who have suggested someone, thank you. Really I am flattered but I am also quite reserved and quite shy. Mom, thank you for your concern and for your hopes for me. Someday I will get married again but you should not hold your breath for a pre-summer event because that is not happening. Great plan though. As for now, I will press forward at my own pace.
I am sure for some this is not a big deal and going out on a date or meeting someone new is a cake walk. Not so for me. I am quite possibly the most shy of my siblings. Just am. The dating situation is also quite a bit different. It isn't just going out for me. I have a few things that I am quite concerned about. Their names are Natty, Jack and Andy. I am a packaged deal and so I just feel a need to have a certain level of comfort with someone before I really want to go out or do anything. I know that this requires that I meet them to begin with and so my comfort zone is going to have to expand but this is simply going to take time.
After my neighbor left yesterday mom told me that I need to get married before the summer. This will enable me to have two months alone with my new spouse allowing us to adjust to each other while the kids are with their mom in Alaska. Um, thanks mom. My reply was something along the lines of "not going to happen". Basically I would have to meet someone, get engaged and then married within the next two and a half months. Great idea mom. Hey, don't put any pressure on me or anything.
I am told in my Patriarchal Blessing to date the girl of my choice. I have been pretty good about that. Ma says she wants me to be happy. Well, I am happy mom. Yes there are times when I am lonely and would enjoy having that type of relationship in my life again but I am not ready to rush something.
I am grateful for family and friends that are thinking of me. My neighbor Marla came over and talked to me again as I was working on a few pieces of furniture out in the garage. She said she had talked to her friend after she saw me yesterday and she is game. Oh great. I told Marla that this stuff isn't easy for me. She has no quit and pressed forward with Facebook as a possible way for me to meet this girl. As of now I am a Facebook friend with a girl I have never met and have no idea what to do next.
So we will see who next approaches with some fantastic girl for me to meet. For those who have suggested someone, thank you. Really I am flattered but I am also quite reserved and quite shy. Mom, thank you for your concern and for your hopes for me. Someday I will get married again but you should not hold your breath for a pre-summer event because that is not happening. Great plan though. As for now, I will press forward at my own pace.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Going Green - for one day anyway
I saw a story on yahoo about a family that has basically gone to a zero waste lifestyle. Impressive but not me. I like paper towels, I don't own a compost maker, I run my air conditioner with the doors open (sometimes when the kids don't quite get them shut anyway). I don't mind the convenience of a plastic bag at my local Wal-Mart Supercenter and used to love paper bags when grocery shopping - do they even have those anymore? I currently drive a Ford F150 that isn't the greatest on fuel economy. I am sure that I will have to one day invest in carbon offsets in order to make my environmentally unfriendly habits acceptable to society. Dang it.
Well, being St. Patrick's day I figured it was a good day to start moving in the much more environmentally responsible and friendly direction of going green. I figured we needed to start early so I got up and plugged in my electric griddle. I like to let it warm up for a solid 15 minutes before I cook anything on it. You know cook off any of whatever I cooked on it last (only kidding people, relax). Because it is St. Patrick's Day there is a special breakfast on order - yes green clover pancakes coming right up.

So maybe they turned out a bit rough but the kids liked them - especially Jack.


Don't worry, I turned off the griddle a couple hours later. You really ought to try heating your house with these - I figure it is kind of like buying an electric car. You know, cut down on fuel consumption and save a few trees all at the same time. Love, love, love my electric griddle.
Dinner, well, I tried to find some spinach noodles but can you believe that Wal-Mart doesn't have any? I couldn't believe it myself. I also couldn't believe that they didn't have any Hazelnuts. I walked all over that store looking for some nuts. I almost stopped to ask someone where I could find some nuts and then I started to laugh, that is just a bad question all together. You can't do that to yourself when you are a guy. I will go elsewhere for my nuts - hazelnuts people. Come on! I settled on Pizza and decided I would forgo the green dinner. I did however pick up the Green Berry Punch for the kids to partake of with their meal. Sticking with the green theme. Happy to note that this comes in a big plastic jug and owing to the fact that there is no curbside recycle service here in Cedar City I will be donating this container to the local land fill. Just doing my part. I am actually quite shocked that there is not a curbside recycle service. I guess it just goes to show how small of a town Cedar actually is. On a serious note I think I saw something in the paper about some recycle bins that you can drive to. These happen to be on the other side of town and with the aforementioned F150 I would probably be in the negative if I drove over there to recycle this plastic bottle so I will simply invest in more carbon offsets. Dang it.

Well, I couldn't leave my only green efforts at pancakes and a beverage so I broke out the little baker that could in me and kicked it up a notch with a beautiful St. Patrick's day cake. Don't worry, I cranked up the oven and let it run for a couple hours while my trusty assistant and I worked out this cake. You know my assistant, that's right, Andy.

We did the take and bake pizza so when the cake came out the pizza went in. It was really only on for an hour. It too is all electric however so really, I'm good. It's like the Prius of ovens. No, that's not right. It's like the Chevy Volt of ovens, unless of course they have an all electric Prius then it is the Prius of ovens. That just sounds better. Negative, I believe Tesla has an all electric sports car - It's like the Tesla of ovens. Mmmm, that just might be what we are looking for. The Griddle can be the Prius. No, that's not right. It's like the Chevy Volt of griddles, unless of course they have an all electric Prius then it is the Prius of griddles. Wow, it's like deja vu.
Okay so the good news is that unlike Natty's birthday cake this cake stayed together. That was a relief because I think I blew through like 3 cans of frosting on Natalie's cake just trying to glue it all back together. Owing to the fact that there is no curbside recycling service in Cedar... okay, sorry, you get the point. Here is the finished product. The cake itself was also green. It was lemon flavored though and the frosting was cream cheese frosting. I actually splurged and had a piece or two(should not have done lemon cake, hits my weak spot). Dang it, I had three okay. I am getting on the elliptical in a minute and will go an extra couple of miles (sticking with the green theme I'll be watching the second half of the Incredible Hulk, nice huh). We had a few of the cousins over to sing the Happy St. Patrick's Day to You song and to enjoy some cake. Mack, Jayson and Jaykob were a great help at reducing the amount of that temptress of a baked good. Thank you for your service.

I had a parent meeting to attend for Andy's school and the kids went to see Darby O'Gill and the Little People with their cousins. Apparently there is a "scary freaky horse" in that movie that I cannot remember but Jack knew it well. He asked me to "say a blessing" for him "to not dream about that scary freaky horse from the movie". I held his hand and said a prayer for him. He is out like a green light right now and I am sure he will be fine.
We had a fun day and enjoyed our venture in going green. Sorry to those who thought they were reading a serious piece about the environment and my personal efforts there. If it makes you feel any better I thought I put on a green sweater today and it turns out that a number of people thought it was more of a brown. I got a surprise pinch in Wal-Mart from some strange shopper that thankfully turned out to be Dani, Amy hit me (not sure when that became the tradition), and Natty pinched me a few times as well. See, it's kind of like carbon offsets, I write something that offends the environmentalists but it is okay because I got beat on all day. They simply cancel each other out. Dang it.
Well, being St. Patrick's day I figured it was a good day to start moving in the much more environmentally responsible and friendly direction of going green. I figured we needed to start early so I got up and plugged in my electric griddle. I like to let it warm up for a solid 15 minutes before I cook anything on it. You know cook off any of whatever I cooked on it last (only kidding people, relax). Because it is St. Patrick's Day there is a special breakfast on order - yes green clover pancakes coming right up.
So maybe they turned out a bit rough but the kids liked them - especially Jack.
Don't worry, I turned off the griddle a couple hours later. You really ought to try heating your house with these - I figure it is kind of like buying an electric car. You know, cut down on fuel consumption and save a few trees all at the same time. Love, love, love my electric griddle.
Dinner, well, I tried to find some spinach noodles but can you believe that Wal-Mart doesn't have any? I couldn't believe it myself. I also couldn't believe that they didn't have any Hazelnuts. I walked all over that store looking for some nuts. I almost stopped to ask someone where I could find some nuts and then I started to laugh, that is just a bad question all together. You can't do that to yourself when you are a guy. I will go elsewhere for my nuts - hazelnuts people. Come on! I settled on Pizza and decided I would forgo the green dinner. I did however pick up the Green Berry Punch for the kids to partake of with their meal. Sticking with the green theme. Happy to note that this comes in a big plastic jug and owing to the fact that there is no curbside recycle service here in Cedar City I will be donating this container to the local land fill. Just doing my part. I am actually quite shocked that there is not a curbside recycle service. I guess it just goes to show how small of a town Cedar actually is. On a serious note I think I saw something in the paper about some recycle bins that you can drive to. These happen to be on the other side of town and with the aforementioned F150 I would probably be in the negative if I drove over there to recycle this plastic bottle so I will simply invest in more carbon offsets. Dang it.
Well, I couldn't leave my only green efforts at pancakes and a beverage so I broke out the little baker that could in me and kicked it up a notch with a beautiful St. Patrick's day cake. Don't worry, I cranked up the oven and let it run for a couple hours while my trusty assistant and I worked out this cake. You know my assistant, that's right, Andy.
We did the take and bake pizza so when the cake came out the pizza went in. It was really only on for an hour. It too is all electric however so really, I'm good. It's like the Prius of ovens. No, that's not right. It's like the Chevy Volt of ovens, unless of course they have an all electric Prius then it is the Prius of ovens. That just sounds better. Negative, I believe Tesla has an all electric sports car - It's like the Tesla of ovens. Mmmm, that just might be what we are looking for. The Griddle can be the Prius. No, that's not right. It's like the Chevy Volt of griddles, unless of course they have an all electric Prius then it is the Prius of griddles. Wow, it's like deja vu.
Okay so the good news is that unlike Natty's birthday cake this cake stayed together. That was a relief because I think I blew through like 3 cans of frosting on Natalie's cake just trying to glue it all back together. Owing to the fact that there is no curbside recycling service in Cedar... okay, sorry, you get the point. Here is the finished product. The cake itself was also green. It was lemon flavored though and the frosting was cream cheese frosting. I actually splurged and had a piece or two(should not have done lemon cake, hits my weak spot). Dang it, I had three okay. I am getting on the elliptical in a minute and will go an extra couple of miles (sticking with the green theme I'll be watching the second half of the Incredible Hulk, nice huh). We had a few of the cousins over to sing the Happy St. Patrick's Day to You song and to enjoy some cake. Mack, Jayson and Jaykob were a great help at reducing the amount of that temptress of a baked good. Thank you for your service.
I had a parent meeting to attend for Andy's school and the kids went to see Darby O'Gill and the Little People with their cousins. Apparently there is a "scary freaky horse" in that movie that I cannot remember but Jack knew it well. He asked me to "say a blessing" for him "to not dream about that scary freaky horse from the movie". I held his hand and said a prayer for him. He is out like a green light right now and I am sure he will be fine.
We had a fun day and enjoyed our venture in going green. Sorry to those who thought they were reading a serious piece about the environment and my personal efforts there. If it makes you feel any better I thought I put on a green sweater today and it turns out that a number of people thought it was more of a brown. I got a surprise pinch in Wal-Mart from some strange shopper that thankfully turned out to be Dani, Amy hit me (not sure when that became the tradition), and Natty pinched me a few times as well. See, it's kind of like carbon offsets, I write something that offends the environmentalists but it is okay because I got beat on all day. They simply cancel each other out. Dang it.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
A Special Petition
There are some amazing things that happen in life. One of them is when your 6 year old who has flat refused to pray for as long as I can remember just knocks out a prayer. That happened just before the school year started when he invited Joseph from across the street to the primary water party activity. We all walked over to give Joseph the invitation and then that night Jack told me he hoped Joseph would come. I said he should pray to Heavenly Father about it. "Okay" he said and then he offered a prayer - the first prayer I had heard in a few years and the first unassisted prayer. It had all of the proper elements of a prayer. To me this was a miracle and I will freely admit that I wept a bit as I thanked my Heavenly Father for that moment.
I thought perhaps I would go my entire life inviting Jack to offer a prayer only to get rejected time and time again. Now I rarely get rejected and if I do I invite a second time and Jack responds. He does very well. I know this is probably a simple thing and why would I think of it as a miracle or even make this big of a deal out of it in a blog post? Well, everything that we have experienced with Jack lends itself to that conclusion. When I consider the progress that he has made in the last year it is nothing short of miraculous. This is the boy that refused to go to primary, wouldn't sing, wouldn't sit in Sacrament meeting, hated drawing and writing and whose main source of food was chocolate milk. The exact opposite is the case today - obviously I didn't mention prayer in that list assuming it was understood. I am grateful for all who have played a part in this development and in this miracle.
This morning I invited Jack to offer the family prayer prior to he and Natty departing for school. He did so. Here is the basic content of that prayer:
Heavenly Father, We thank thee for this day. Please bless me and Natalie to have a good day at school today. We are thankful that tomorrow is St. Patricks day and that we can wear green. In the name of Jesus Christ amen.
We had a little laugh and I stood and watched as Natty rode off to school and Jack followed on his scooter. There are times when you worry as a parent and then there are times when you feel assurance that things are going to be fine. Over the last 4 years there were a number of times when I worried about Jack. Funny enough there were a number of times when I enjoyed that peaceful confirmation that he was going to be fine. This morning was another one of those as I stood and enjoyed that moment. Very grateful for those times.
Andy and I had a big day today. We went in to Kindergarten registration today at South Elementary school. He was excited to be there. He actually did very well and had fun talking to the teachers and taking the tests that were there. The hearing test was excellent as was the vision. He had a hard time with some of the letters and some counting but I actually think he was just being a little bashful. There was a long line waiting to meet the teachers. He had the chance to play with some of the other kids that were registering and he got on very well with them socially. I am quite hopeful that he will do just fine. I am still debating but am definitely leaning towards Kindergarten at this point. I thought he would be able to get back in to SUU but his teacher suggested yesterday that he may not be able to because his birthday is before the cut off for kindergarten. She is looking into it. We'll see but have to say I thought today went well and was positive. Perhaps a special petition is in order there as well.
I thought perhaps I would go my entire life inviting Jack to offer a prayer only to get rejected time and time again. Now I rarely get rejected and if I do I invite a second time and Jack responds. He does very well. I know this is probably a simple thing and why would I think of it as a miracle or even make this big of a deal out of it in a blog post? Well, everything that we have experienced with Jack lends itself to that conclusion. When I consider the progress that he has made in the last year it is nothing short of miraculous. This is the boy that refused to go to primary, wouldn't sing, wouldn't sit in Sacrament meeting, hated drawing and writing and whose main source of food was chocolate milk. The exact opposite is the case today - obviously I didn't mention prayer in that list assuming it was understood. I am grateful for all who have played a part in this development and in this miracle.
This morning I invited Jack to offer the family prayer prior to he and Natty departing for school. He did so. Here is the basic content of that prayer:
Heavenly Father, We thank thee for this day. Please bless me and Natalie to have a good day at school today. We are thankful that tomorrow is St. Patricks day and that we can wear green. In the name of Jesus Christ amen.
We had a little laugh and I stood and watched as Natty rode off to school and Jack followed on his scooter. There are times when you worry as a parent and then there are times when you feel assurance that things are going to be fine. Over the last 4 years there were a number of times when I worried about Jack. Funny enough there were a number of times when I enjoyed that peaceful confirmation that he was going to be fine. This morning was another one of those as I stood and enjoyed that moment. Very grateful for those times.
Andy and I had a big day today. We went in to Kindergarten registration today at South Elementary school. He was excited to be there. He actually did very well and had fun talking to the teachers and taking the tests that were there. The hearing test was excellent as was the vision. He had a hard time with some of the letters and some counting but I actually think he was just being a little bashful. There was a long line waiting to meet the teachers. He had the chance to play with some of the other kids that were registering and he got on very well with them socially. I am quite hopeful that he will do just fine. I am still debating but am definitely leaning towards Kindergarten at this point. I thought he would be able to get back in to SUU but his teacher suggested yesterday that he may not be able to because his birthday is before the cut off for kindergarten. She is looking into it. We'll see but have to say I thought today went well and was positive. Perhaps a special petition is in order there as well.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Feelin' the Green Thing
You may recall that I served peas to the kids for dinner last week. I got their second exposure to peas in last night. Both Natty and Jack rolled their eyes - I can understand Natty but Jack? Come on pal. Anyway, I had also baked some rolls which they all quite liked and wanted more of. I never let a strong desire for a roll go to waste so eating peas became the requirement. I heard the complaints and Natty negotiated a couple of things but ultimately the peas were once again eaten. Some happened to be eaten a little different then others. Jack didn't like the texture of the pea skin so he suck the green mushy part out of each pea and discarded the skin. Yeah, I got a picture of it. Had to.

Andy is a pretty good eater. I think it has a lot to do with his Head Start program at SUU. He gets to try a lot of things there and doesn't give me too much grief. Anyhow, he got done with his peas in a hurry yesterday and was outside playing. While I was cleaning I noticed him playing on the rope swings. Here is a pic I liked when he got a little caught up. It was fun to watch him out running around.

As mentioned Natty Sue was working all kinds of negotiations on those peas. She did end up eating them - mainly because you cannot mess with The Pork Chop Express. Both of these pics are Andy's handy work again. There were only 79 pics after I let him play with the camera last night. What a nut.


Only a few more meals that include peas and they should be solid pea eaters. Maybe I need a good casserole with peas mixed in. Mmmm, that would be delicious I am sure. Wait, cream of tuna on toast with peas on top. Wow, that was perhaps the worst all time meal growing up. Thanks mom. Always loved it when the folks would go out to eat cause you knew it was either Mac and Cheese with hot dogs or a the aforementioned cream of tuna on toast. Quite fortunate that it was Mac and Cheese on most of those occasions. Maybe I will skip the casserole thing.
The kids received a St. Patricks Day gift box from their mom today. It came with several green items and to my utter displeasure included a nasty substance known as Colored Bubbles. Each of the kids got one and though it is washable it makes one heck (hell, for those of you in South Africa) of a mess. Washable is rather prominent on the bottle but what it doesn't say is that your child might remain a slight shade of green and that the carpet will require a spot removing solution to get it out... you know, important stuff. Hope it doesn't do anything internally because Jack was getting into it just a little.

Both the boys were all about their bubble blowing and body painting. They were simply having a ball. Andy was the master at catching them, Jack was great at blowing them. I think it might have had to do with the fact that he practically swallowed the bubble wand. Delicious I am sure.


Natty blew a few bubbles and then found a bike ride to be a little bit of a cleaner activity.

I guess the important thing is that the kids had fun and that they did. I find plenty of joy in doing what I seem to do best lately... cleaning. Look I have proof - Andy caught me on film. He's got my back.
Andy is a pretty good eater. I think it has a lot to do with his Head Start program at SUU. He gets to try a lot of things there and doesn't give me too much grief. Anyhow, he got done with his peas in a hurry yesterday and was outside playing. While I was cleaning I noticed him playing on the rope swings. Here is a pic I liked when he got a little caught up. It was fun to watch him out running around.
As mentioned Natty Sue was working all kinds of negotiations on those peas. She did end up eating them - mainly because you cannot mess with The Pork Chop Express. Both of these pics are Andy's handy work again. There were only 79 pics after I let him play with the camera last night. What a nut.
Only a few more meals that include peas and they should be solid pea eaters. Maybe I need a good casserole with peas mixed in. Mmmm, that would be delicious I am sure. Wait, cream of tuna on toast with peas on top. Wow, that was perhaps the worst all time meal growing up. Thanks mom. Always loved it when the folks would go out to eat cause you knew it was either Mac and Cheese with hot dogs or a the aforementioned cream of tuna on toast. Quite fortunate that it was Mac and Cheese on most of those occasions. Maybe I will skip the casserole thing.
The kids received a St. Patricks Day gift box from their mom today. It came with several green items and to my utter displeasure included a nasty substance known as Colored Bubbles. Each of the kids got one and though it is washable it makes one heck (hell, for those of you in South Africa) of a mess. Washable is rather prominent on the bottle but what it doesn't say is that your child might remain a slight shade of green and that the carpet will require a spot removing solution to get it out... you know, important stuff. Hope it doesn't do anything internally because Jack was getting into it just a little.
Both the boys were all about their bubble blowing and body painting. They were simply having a ball. Andy was the master at catching them, Jack was great at blowing them. I think it might have had to do with the fact that he practically swallowed the bubble wand. Delicious I am sure.
Natty blew a few bubbles and then found a bike ride to be a little bit of a cleaner activity.
I guess the important thing is that the kids had fun and that they did. I find plenty of joy in doing what I seem to do best lately... cleaning. Look I have proof - Andy caught me on film. He's got my back.
Monday, March 14, 2011
An Odd Day - ?
When I woke up this morning I was thinking about something that I needed to buy. It was an item that we purchased or had decided to purchase on an annual basis a few years ago. The annual basis happened to be on or about our anniversary. Then it struck me that it was the middle of March and I had to think what the day was. Well, turns out today is the 14th and this is my first "ex" anniversary. I have no idea what you call it. It would have been 14 years today that Rachel and I were married.
I had popped on to Facebook and saw that my good friends in Florida, John and Kathy Schatz were celebrating their 19th wedding anniversary today and thought about them and how much I love and appreciate them. I always thought it was cool that we had the same anniversary. I guess in life you meet people that end up being a special part of your life. John and Kathy are those kind of people to me. They loved us from day one in the Highlands Ward in Lakeland Florida and became our family there. I will ever be grateful for that association and miss their family very much.
Well, after that this morning I just carried on with my day, a little painting, a little sanding, a little housework, dropped Andy off at school and then headed into the LBH to work on the online store some. Got some help from pops on a few things and then was able to start uploading some items. I had to pick Andy up, got some rolls started for dinner, went back to sanding and painting, prepped the rest of dinner, served it, cleaned up and then we were off to the park. I didn't give the actual day another thought until we were hanging out at Jay and Sara's after a spectacular kick ball activity for Family Home Evening. Sara asked me how I was doing today. Perfectly okay really.
Look, I am sitting here and I have to say that I certainly feel a sense of loss and there is definitely a void in my life. How could their not be? That didn't just happen today though. There was a process of time over which this took place. I am saddened by it for sure. I have had some very difficult days and times along the way and life has not necessarily been easy. I have not been left comfortless however and feel that I have been cared for and watched over. I feel my Saviors love.
A little less than a year ago President Sweeney stopped in one day at the Lakeland Ward. I don't know if he came to find me specifically that day but he did. He invited me to come in and visit with him for a while. We spoke, we wept, he knew my heart. He gave me a blessing at that time and part of that included a promise that the Savior would be there to fill the void as I remain faithful. I have felt that. I will be leaning on that promise heavily in a few months when my kids go to visit their mom for two months. That is not going to be an easy thing for me. It is nice sometimes to think of all the little things I won't have to do but the thought of not having Natty, Jack and Andy around me is a painful one. These are my best friends. Perhaps things can slow down a bit and June can wait for a while.
The day, well, I am not sure that it was all that odd. No, pretty normal actually.
I had popped on to Facebook and saw that my good friends in Florida, John and Kathy Schatz were celebrating their 19th wedding anniversary today and thought about them and how much I love and appreciate them. I always thought it was cool that we had the same anniversary. I guess in life you meet people that end up being a special part of your life. John and Kathy are those kind of people to me. They loved us from day one in the Highlands Ward in Lakeland Florida and became our family there. I will ever be grateful for that association and miss their family very much.
Well, after that this morning I just carried on with my day, a little painting, a little sanding, a little housework, dropped Andy off at school and then headed into the LBH to work on the online store some. Got some help from pops on a few things and then was able to start uploading some items. I had to pick Andy up, got some rolls started for dinner, went back to sanding and painting, prepped the rest of dinner, served it, cleaned up and then we were off to the park. I didn't give the actual day another thought until we were hanging out at Jay and Sara's after a spectacular kick ball activity for Family Home Evening. Sara asked me how I was doing today. Perfectly okay really.
Look, I am sitting here and I have to say that I certainly feel a sense of loss and there is definitely a void in my life. How could their not be? That didn't just happen today though. There was a process of time over which this took place. I am saddened by it for sure. I have had some very difficult days and times along the way and life has not necessarily been easy. I have not been left comfortless however and feel that I have been cared for and watched over. I feel my Saviors love.
A little less than a year ago President Sweeney stopped in one day at the Lakeland Ward. I don't know if he came to find me specifically that day but he did. He invited me to come in and visit with him for a while. We spoke, we wept, he knew my heart. He gave me a blessing at that time and part of that included a promise that the Savior would be there to fill the void as I remain faithful. I have felt that. I will be leaning on that promise heavily in a few months when my kids go to visit their mom for two months. That is not going to be an easy thing for me. It is nice sometimes to think of all the little things I won't have to do but the thought of not having Natty, Jack and Andy around me is a painful one. These are my best friends. Perhaps things can slow down a bit and June can wait for a while.
The day, well, I am not sure that it was all that odd. No, pretty normal actually.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Hey Pal
"You got a game going somewhere Pal? Well, you're not gonna bowl any strikes sittin around here are ya? Beat it." Sorry, I couldn't help myself. I had to throw out that Uncle Buck reference. "Gotta brand new Bronco, red". It's the Pal thing.
I just posted a comment on facebook about a family prayer experience that I found fun. As we were kneeling down for prayer last night I invited Jack to kneel down next to me as follows, "Come kneel by me Pal". He did and while so doing Andy said "Can I be your pal too?" I replied "Sure" as he came up and knelt on the other side of me. Natty Sue was offering the prayer and in the middle of it Jack says to me "Hi Pal". I know this is probably not very funny to anyone but me, I started to laugh in the prayer - what an irreverent father I am, I know. Anyhow, Natty was probably wondering what was going on but she managed to continue on with the prayer just fine. She is my pal too. It is always nice to have prayer with your pals. My fb comment was a little condensed but basically the same. It was a moment I found joy in as a father gathered with his children and I wanted to record it. I am grateful for these wonderful kids. As much work as it is being a parent there are moments of joy that pull you through. I am grateful for those moments.
Yesterday I wanted to make my own version of nutella. I love that stuff but have a problem with it. For those that don't know Nutella, it is a chocolate flavored Hazelnut spread and it is delicious. The problem is that the number one ingredient in this hazelnut spread is not hazelnuts. No, it is sugar and a lot of it. In 2 tablespoons of Nutella there are 22 grams of sugar. I need a sugar free substitute which there is not and thus my desire to make my own. I ran into one problem yesterday, no hazelnuts. I decided that I would try with almonds for my first go round and then pick up some hazelnuts later. I was using my standard oster mixer and came up with a concauction that was rather disgusting actually. It was nothing like butter at all. If Peanut Butter were sold as extra crunchy with very little creamy I would have it but, no.
I mentioned it to pops last night and he suggested that the Vitamix I have would do it no problem (for clarification, I have the vitamix but no lid so it has been sitting on a shelf in the pantry. I have never actually used it so it was not on the top of my mind). He was right. This afternoon I knocked out a batch of almond butter that I sweetened with splenda, added cocoa, added more splenda (don't forget sugar is the number one ingredient in Nutella) and we were just about there. Oh, helpful hint for nut butters; 1 tablespoon of oil for every cup of nuts. The splenda wasn't quite hitting it so I decided to add just a hair of honey as a sweetener. That was a good choice. The bad choice was I saw the vanilla when I got the honey out and thought a dab of that would be good. Ultimately had I left it there it probably would have. I had a little Natty Sue telling me I needed to add cinnamon to the mixture. I didn't think it was a great idea but I sprinkled a dab. Ummm, mistake. Have you ever had Mexican vanilla? Yeah, did that to my beautiful almond butter. What a shame. Oh, I have kept it, Natty loves it. She wants more.
It may be time to bring out the hazlenuts and lose the cinnamon. Mmmm, sounds delicious, eh pal?
I just posted a comment on facebook about a family prayer experience that I found fun. As we were kneeling down for prayer last night I invited Jack to kneel down next to me as follows, "Come kneel by me Pal". He did and while so doing Andy said "Can I be your pal too?" I replied "Sure" as he came up and knelt on the other side of me. Natty Sue was offering the prayer and in the middle of it Jack says to me "Hi Pal". I know this is probably not very funny to anyone but me, I started to laugh in the prayer - what an irreverent father I am, I know. Anyhow, Natty was probably wondering what was going on but she managed to continue on with the prayer just fine. She is my pal too. It is always nice to have prayer with your pals. My fb comment was a little condensed but basically the same. It was a moment I found joy in as a father gathered with his children and I wanted to record it. I am grateful for these wonderful kids. As much work as it is being a parent there are moments of joy that pull you through. I am grateful for those moments.
Yesterday I wanted to make my own version of nutella. I love that stuff but have a problem with it. For those that don't know Nutella, it is a chocolate flavored Hazelnut spread and it is delicious. The problem is that the number one ingredient in this hazelnut spread is not hazelnuts. No, it is sugar and a lot of it. In 2 tablespoons of Nutella there are 22 grams of sugar. I need a sugar free substitute which there is not and thus my desire to make my own. I ran into one problem yesterday, no hazelnuts. I decided that I would try with almonds for my first go round and then pick up some hazelnuts later. I was using my standard oster mixer and came up with a concauction that was rather disgusting actually. It was nothing like butter at all. If Peanut Butter were sold as extra crunchy with very little creamy I would have it but, no.
I mentioned it to pops last night and he suggested that the Vitamix I have would do it no problem (for clarification, I have the vitamix but no lid so it has been sitting on a shelf in the pantry. I have never actually used it so it was not on the top of my mind). He was right. This afternoon I knocked out a batch of almond butter that I sweetened with splenda, added cocoa, added more splenda (don't forget sugar is the number one ingredient in Nutella) and we were just about there. Oh, helpful hint for nut butters; 1 tablespoon of oil for every cup of nuts. The splenda wasn't quite hitting it so I decided to add just a hair of honey as a sweetener. That was a good choice. The bad choice was I saw the vanilla when I got the honey out and thought a dab of that would be good. Ultimately had I left it there it probably would have. I had a little Natty Sue telling me I needed to add cinnamon to the mixture. I didn't think it was a great idea but I sprinkled a dab. Ummm, mistake. Have you ever had Mexican vanilla? Yeah, did that to my beautiful almond butter. What a shame. Oh, I have kept it, Natty loves it. She wants more.
It may be time to bring out the hazlenuts and lose the cinnamon. Mmmm, sounds delicious, eh pal?
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Discovering Andy

This is my little 4 year old Anderson James Fontano. We like to call him Andy. He sometimes refers to himself as Andyboytano or Andy Walter Fontano. Jack's middle name is Walter and so Andy believes that should be his as well. Andy way, I have titled the post Discovering Andy for two reasons. First, we went to Discovery Park today and enjoyed some beautiful weather and a nice day there. Second, Andy didn't much care for everything going on at the park as far as him running around and playing. No, Andy wanted to take pictures. He comandeered the camera and got to work.
I had managed to take a few shots prior to him taking over but then it was all his show. He was pretty funny about it and would come to me all excited about different pictures. One in particular he came and said "I took a picture of that old man over there". He was being so sneeky about it and I had to chuckle because the old man he referenced was teenage boy, probably around 14 or 15 years old. Too funny. Anyway, he would not give up the camera and I knew there was going to be some interesting shots later. When I downloaded the pictures there were 113 total. Of those I think I took about a dozen. So we'll say I took 13 and Andy knocked out 100.
I previously posted some of Andy's work at Thanksgiving. I think he is getting better. Not only does he take the pictures but he tells me what to do with them after I download them. You will notice that not too many of these are in color. With the program I view them with you can edit them to be different tones. Andy will not allow me to leave the pictures in color. He want's everything saved in a tone. I am posting all pictures in tones with the exception of two. I think Andy does a pretty good job for a four year old. Discovering Andy and his love for picture taking and editing is a lot of fun.
The first picture was taken by me along with this next picture of Andy. He has several face shots that he took of himself and perhaps I will add one of those. I happened to really like picture above and think he did a pretty good job picking out the effect on it. He did pretty good on that for this next picture as well.
There were a few pictures of the log posts and other parts of the playground. There is a great one that I am not posting that was of Jack and myself at the monkey bars. Right in the middle of the picture is a large log post. I am on one side and Jacks legs are on the other side. Our tops are cut off as well. Ahhh, great picture of that log post. Too bad these other two characters were in the way. There were several pictures of these stumpy logs. I like the way Andy captured his feet in with this one.
Natty and Jack were out running around and having a great time. At one point they were having a little race. Andy happened to catch the start on camera. I think he did a great job capturing the moment.
At one point I looked over at Andy and caught him as he simply put the camera above his head and snapped a shot. He said "I got the sky". Then he turned the camera over and snapped a shot. He said "I got my hair". Here, in order are those shots. Notice that in the sky picture his no look shot happened to catch a jet way up there passing by. I thought that was pretty cool. He had no idea what the picture of his hair was when he saw it. I knew, I was looking for it. He did get a chuckle out of it when he knew what it was.
These next two pics I liked also. The first, not sure if he was going for this look originally or if it just happened to be a lucky shot. Here he got our shadows sitting together. It was one of those surprise shots when I downloaded them. The other pic is also of me. I think Andy took a great pic here of an unsuspecting father. There were a number of pics of me but usually I look like a real dork because I start hunching down low so he can fit me in. Anyway, not knowing he was snapping the shot helped me appear normal. Good work Andyboy. Well done.
The next two pictures are of Jack and Natty. I took these but again, Jack chose the colors or lack thereof. Jack was all over this jeep for a while. In this picture he is manning the guns on top of the jeep and steering with his foot. What a talent. Natty is walking the plank or getting ready to anyway. We all seemed to have fun today and that was wonderful.
Okay, here is one of those pics he took of himself. He really wanted to look like a smurf - loved it.
It is neat watching your children discover their talents.
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