I have 2,094 songs on my iPod. I have a very eclectic playlist ranging from The Priests and The Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo to Garth Brooks, The Beastie Boys, Frank Sinatra and Elvis (what self respecting person would not have some Elvis on their iPod?). So, when at work and I get some uninterrupted time to actually work, I typically put the iPod on shuffle. Several weeks ago, I made the conscious decision to actually just let it shuffle until I actually went through all 2,094 songs. The last song played today and it was a comedy bit by Frank Calliendo. One of the last songs to play was from one of the best albums from the 70's - Supertramp's Breakfast in America. The young lady (22 y/o) that asked me what I was listening to asked who it was. After I told her, she still had no clue who they were. It was not the first time that I just shook my head this week. I will be the first to admit that 22 y/o's can be cute but just knowing that she had no clue reminded me of why I am happy to be married. Love you dear wife!
I recently made lemon cheesecake because it sounded good. I thought it was too lemony. My in-laws told me that they liked it but I think they were just being nice (for the record - if I ask for your honest opinion about my cooking, give it to me. Otherwise, I won't learn). I was talking to a different co-worker about it (she is culinary trained) and she made some suggestions. She also pointed out that 1/2 cup of lemonade concentrate is not the same as 1 can of lemonade concentrate. I don't know if I actually used a full can but that would make sense why it was so lemony. I made the ingredients for Lemon Curd Tartlets and Chocolate Ganache Tarts. I plan on taking it to Block Party tomorrow night (happens every Friday evening now that the weather is below 100). Kellie is making tomato pie - another favorite recipe.
In case you missed it, there is a woman in the south that recently got arrested. Apparently, she had a cardboard box that did not fit in the mini-van so she put it on top of the van. She then secured it with a wire hangar. Just for added security that it won't fly off of the van while she was travelling down the highway, she had her 13 year old girl in the box. It goes beyond belief and I cannot find the words. I guess you can say that I am speechless.
Again in case you missed it (and it is quite possible you did as I almost missed it and I try to stay up on these things) but here is a link about our Senator Kyl in action. I passed it on to some women that I know, including my lovely wife. Her comment was "jerk." I will say that I understand what he is saying but come on, think about what you are saying. One last thought on the subject (see previous post about health care) but here is the issue at its core. Essentially, John Kyl doesn't feel the need to require insurance companies to provide maternity care and before you comment, please read the article in the link and watch the video. No matter what you feel about the health care debate, here is what it comes down to. If it passes, we will be required to carry health insurance. If the insurance companies don't have to pay for maternity benefits (and I assume that this is prenatal care through the delivery), then there will be people and companies that will not offer it. So there will be people that will not have it, typically those that need it (the young and lower economic category). Also, we all know that prevention is the key and everyone does agree on the benefit of prenatal care for a pregnant mother and her unborn child, wouldn't it be cheaper in the long run to have maternity care than not? It boggles the mind. Feel free to let Senator Kyl know how you feel. Our great Senators at work.
I was working with a customer this week. In order to resolve their issue, their computer password was "made public," so to speak (don't worry, the customer changed it immediately after the issue was resolved). Anyway, the password was "JesusLives." About all that came to mind (and I did not speak this) was "Yes. Yes, he does."
So, it was a week of being speechless. I am about halfway through the semester, as the crow flies. I look forward to this semester being over and then starting my last class in January. I will say that I am actually enjoying my Business Law class. My professor has an interesting take on "stuff" and makes it interesting. Of course, I will say that the bar was set pretty low for 100 people classes one evening per week but at least I have not seen anyone show up in pajamas or a see through dress - yet. Note to people that choose not to show up to class - don't e-mail me right before the test asking for the notes. If you choose not to show up to class, then you need to figure it out.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Health Care
It has been a few weeks since I have written. So much has gone but it also seems as nothing has gone on. I am well into my school this year. Lots of stuff to do, of course, getting A's but I am not stressing about it this semester (not that I did previously). I am happy to get a C but I am not working for a C. As always, I will do my absolute best and hope I get an A. So far, so good.
The kids are back into the swing of things. Religious Education is on, scouts for both kids (I am working on updating their website), Ryan is playing the cello and Isabelle is very much into her dance. Dance is definitely her thing, at present.
I try not to get political in here. What is it that you are not supposed to talk about in mixed company, sex, money, religion and politics? Okay, staying neutral on all subjects. But, what I will say is that no matter how you feel about the issue on health care, please let your Congressmen know about it. I think most people agree that something needs to be done with it. The biggest expense of hiring someone, outside of actual salary, is health care.
I am not going to say what I feel should be done about it, mostly because it is a complicated issue and I don't know it all. But, we do pay these people in Washington, D.C. lots of money to try to figure it out. I did write all of my Congressmen and tell them that I was tired of the bipartisan fighting on both sides of the aisle. We are all adults and one thing we learn as adults is that you are not going to get all that you want. Try to find a middle ground that you can work towards. Why is that so hard to understand?
Just for the sake of fun (and also because I believe in it), I put in that I felt that Congress should be held accountable to what they do. What I mean by this is, they should have the same health care plan that we have. I also think that they should have the same retirement plan that we have but that is another story.
John McCain wrote me back a lengthy letter and if I get enough response, I will be glad to post the entire letter (or just e-mail me and I will send it to you). I am going to post one paragraph of his lengthy letter (and I was quite impressed with the letter, by the way).
"I was also a strong proponent of an amendment that would have required Members of Congress to participate in the proposed public health plan if one is enacted into law. If the health care reform legislation that is being considered becomes law, it would force millions of people to give up their current forms of health care coverage and participate in the government run program. I believe that Members of Congress cannot expect these individuals to participate in this new public program if they are not willing to enroll themselves and their families in the same program."
Now, I don't know if the present health care plan (and what is the "present health care plan"????) would force millions of people to give up their current forms of health care coverage but at least he is asking for Congress to abide by what they put into place.
You can check WebMD for their position on it or try Fact Check as I think both of them are non-partisan and may give us some truth. We know that both sides are probably not telling the entire truth.
Anyway, I highly encourage you to write your Congressmen and let them know how you feel. It is about time that they started working for us and not just for themselves.
Now, back to work for me.
The kids are back into the swing of things. Religious Education is on, scouts for both kids (I am working on updating their website), Ryan is playing the cello and Isabelle is very much into her dance. Dance is definitely her thing, at present.
I try not to get political in here. What is it that you are not supposed to talk about in mixed company, sex, money, religion and politics? Okay, staying neutral on all subjects. But, what I will say is that no matter how you feel about the issue on health care, please let your Congressmen know about it. I think most people agree that something needs to be done with it. The biggest expense of hiring someone, outside of actual salary, is health care.
I am not going to say what I feel should be done about it, mostly because it is a complicated issue and I don't know it all. But, we do pay these people in Washington, D.C. lots of money to try to figure it out. I did write all of my Congressmen and tell them that I was tired of the bipartisan fighting on both sides of the aisle. We are all adults and one thing we learn as adults is that you are not going to get all that you want. Try to find a middle ground that you can work towards. Why is that so hard to understand?
Just for the sake of fun (and also because I believe in it), I put in that I felt that Congress should be held accountable to what they do. What I mean by this is, they should have the same health care plan that we have. I also think that they should have the same retirement plan that we have but that is another story.
John McCain wrote me back a lengthy letter and if I get enough response, I will be glad to post the entire letter (or just e-mail me and I will send it to you). I am going to post one paragraph of his lengthy letter (and I was quite impressed with the letter, by the way).
"I was also a strong proponent of an amendment that would have required Members of Congress to participate in the proposed public health plan if one is enacted into law. If the health care reform legislation that is being considered becomes law, it would force millions of people to give up their current forms of health care coverage and participate in the government run program. I believe that Members of Congress cannot expect these individuals to participate in this new public program if they are not willing to enroll themselves and their families in the same program."
Now, I don't know if the present health care plan (and what is the "present health care plan"????) would force millions of people to give up their current forms of health care coverage but at least he is asking for Congress to abide by what they put into place.
You can check WebMD for their position on it or try Fact Check as I think both of them are non-partisan and may give us some truth. We know that both sides are probably not telling the entire truth.
Anyway, I highly encourage you to write your Congressmen and let them know how you feel. It is about time that they started working for us and not just for themselves.
Now, back to work for me.
Monday, September 7, 2009
I am looking forward to Labor Day......2010
As I sit here at the computer, I think about how nice my life is at this present time. Both kids are young enough to be at home (and not in the teenage years, yet), and both my wife and I are at home. You see, Kellie has been working a lot of weekends and so it is a rare treat when we are all home together. You see, I know to cherish this from reading my sister-in-law's blog whose children are all grown, although not all out of the house.
I will frequently comment on my school and I am sure that we can all surmise that this is due to the fact that it such a big thing in my life right now, for good or bad. My comment in regards to this post is that I am looking forward to Labor Day 2010 (that is next year for those of us that can be calendar challenged). My explanation for this is that I can't rest. Knowing that my next class deadline is looming ahead of me, even if I am completely caught up on all of my school work. Technically, I am caught up. I have homework due on Wednesday, Friday and the ever all important Senior Project (which will be completely easy, as long as I can figure out what to do).
Speaking of Senior Project, I wish to thank everyone for whatever support you have given me in this project so far, whether that support be ideas or just emotional support. A lot of you have given me good ideas that I need to research and see if it will work. There is one project that I read that surveyed 20 local churches and their use of online donations and then just tabulate the data and come to some conclusions. Of course, the comment that I love the best is "I so remember my senior project so much that I finally gave up on it and did an internship instead." I vaguely remember down at University of Arizona in the early 90's that we either had to do an internship or a senior project. Here, we have to do both. So, with that, I am very much looking forward to my senior project, whatever the topic happens to be.
Back to school and rest: I don't know why but I cannot rest. It goes so far as I limit my activities while school is in session. I did the rare instance of playing poker and I actually had a shot of whiskey at the game. Now, it isn't like I drink a lot anyways. I would occasionally have a drink, maybe 1 drink every other month or so, rarely would have 2 and never more than that.
Maybe I can't rest due the fact that I place a much higher importance on school than I did when I was younger. You won't find me talking during class to my classmate about things that don't pertain to the topic at hand (I have always hated that). You also won't find me wearing pajamas to class (which I witnessed last Spring). You also will find me completely repulsed when a classmate shows up in class with a see-through dress (which I also witnessed last Spring).
Side note: This led to an interesting question of, should I tell the person or not? Here are the facts: 100 person lecture class, of which about 30 of us showed up on a regular basis. There was no personal interaction between the students, so a true lecture class. I did not speak to her once during this class. I will also throw in that this was one of those that the dress did not appear to be see-through and was only see-through when "stretched" such as when bending over to pick something up or when sitting down. I was almost as appalled to think that nobody told this young woman that her dress was see through, although I did not mention it myself to her. It was also quite evident that this is what she wore to work as she always showed up in nice clothes that one would wear to work as if she was a saleswoman.
Anyway, I look forward to next Labor Day when I won't have the prospect of school looming over my head not allowing me to completely relax.
Off topic note: I ended up watching part of the Ted Kennedy funeral last weekend. Politics aside, I did enjoy the full Catholic funeral with all of the pomp and circumstance that was displayed. Of course, Ted Kennedy was quite a polarizing individual. You either loved or hated him and there were not many that met in the middle on that. He was responsible for the death of a young woman, thrown out of Harvard twice, admitted three times (how does that happen? and what does that say about Harvard? come to your own conclusions on that one). He was a drunk and a womanizer. He also was responsible for the American with Disabilities act. He worked for the opportunity for every American to have health care. He attended Mass daily yet he disagreed with the Church on abortion and never allowed his faith to change his mind on that. It was during his funeral that I found out that he used a bible passage as his guidance for his career in politics. The passage was the one about "I was thirsty and you gave me drink, naked and you clothed me, etc." It was also after his death that we find out that there wasn't a day that went by that he did not think about Mary Jo and her death that he was responsible for. And so although I did not approve of how he behaved at times during his life, I will look forward to reading his memoir. If anything, I am hoping it will give me an insight into this polarizing figure in American history.
I will frequently comment on my school and I am sure that we can all surmise that this is due to the fact that it such a big thing in my life right now, for good or bad. My comment in regards to this post is that I am looking forward to Labor Day 2010 (that is next year for those of us that can be calendar challenged). My explanation for this is that I can't rest. Knowing that my next class deadline is looming ahead of me, even if I am completely caught up on all of my school work. Technically, I am caught up. I have homework due on Wednesday, Friday and the ever all important Senior Project (which will be completely easy, as long as I can figure out what to do).
Speaking of Senior Project, I wish to thank everyone for whatever support you have given me in this project so far, whether that support be ideas or just emotional support. A lot of you have given me good ideas that I need to research and see if it will work. There is one project that I read that surveyed 20 local churches and their use of online donations and then just tabulate the data and come to some conclusions. Of course, the comment that I love the best is "I so remember my senior project so much that I finally gave up on it and did an internship instead." I vaguely remember down at University of Arizona in the early 90's that we either had to do an internship or a senior project. Here, we have to do both. So, with that, I am very much looking forward to my senior project, whatever the topic happens to be.
Back to school and rest: I don't know why but I cannot rest. It goes so far as I limit my activities while school is in session. I did the rare instance of playing poker and I actually had a shot of whiskey at the game. Now, it isn't like I drink a lot anyways. I would occasionally have a drink, maybe 1 drink every other month or so, rarely would have 2 and never more than that.
Maybe I can't rest due the fact that I place a much higher importance on school than I did when I was younger. You won't find me talking during class to my classmate about things that don't pertain to the topic at hand (I have always hated that). You also won't find me wearing pajamas to class (which I witnessed last Spring). You also will find me completely repulsed when a classmate shows up in class with a see-through dress (which I also witnessed last Spring).
Side note: This led to an interesting question of, should I tell the person or not? Here are the facts: 100 person lecture class, of which about 30 of us showed up on a regular basis. There was no personal interaction between the students, so a true lecture class. I did not speak to her once during this class. I will also throw in that this was one of those that the dress did not appear to be see-through and was only see-through when "stretched" such as when bending over to pick something up or when sitting down. I was almost as appalled to think that nobody told this young woman that her dress was see through, although I did not mention it myself to her. It was also quite evident that this is what she wore to work as she always showed up in nice clothes that one would wear to work as if she was a saleswoman.
Anyway, I look forward to next Labor Day when I won't have the prospect of school looming over my head not allowing me to completely relax.
Off topic note: I ended up watching part of the Ted Kennedy funeral last weekend. Politics aside, I did enjoy the full Catholic funeral with all of the pomp and circumstance that was displayed. Of course, Ted Kennedy was quite a polarizing individual. You either loved or hated him and there were not many that met in the middle on that. He was responsible for the death of a young woman, thrown out of Harvard twice, admitted three times (how does that happen? and what does that say about Harvard? come to your own conclusions on that one). He was a drunk and a womanizer. He also was responsible for the American with Disabilities act. He worked for the opportunity for every American to have health care. He attended Mass daily yet he disagreed with the Church on abortion and never allowed his faith to change his mind on that. It was during his funeral that I found out that he used a bible passage as his guidance for his career in politics. The passage was the one about "I was thirsty and you gave me drink, naked and you clothed me, etc." It was also after his death that we find out that there wasn't a day that went by that he did not think about Mary Jo and her death that he was responsible for. And so although I did not approve of how he behaved at times during his life, I will look forward to reading his memoir. If anything, I am hoping it will give me an insight into this polarizing figure in American history.
Monday, August 31, 2009
It's a wonder
I have a neighbor that would rather poke a sharp stick in her eye than go to the bank to have something notarized. Now I don't feel that way about much but I am starting to understand. You see, this afternoon I went to the post office.
I have long felt that one way for the post office to save money is to stop Saturday delivery. In this day and age, the only thing that actually comes in the mail is junk mail and bills. Just think of the benefits. Less people to staff, less vehicles on the road, it is a win/win situation. But my point about all of this is that I am really starting to dislike the post office. I got there at 5 minutes before they closed with 12 people in front of me. So what happened in that time that I was standing there? 2 of the 3 people working the front counter left. Somehow, I don't think that would work out too well at my place of employment. Where is the customer service?
I needed to send a book back to an individual that tried to sell me a 4th edition poor excuse of a textbook as a 5th edition in excellent condition. I am sending it back to her after she refunded my money. Anyway, the envelope that I picked (cheaper than the box) was $15 to ship but the box was $10 to ship. What sense is that? I would have been better off going to FedEx or UPS, which I probably will do next time.
All of that leads me to this, when will the airlines finally realize that the reason people aren't flying is not just because of the economy but because they treat their customers like crap? Personally, I have not stepped foot on a plane in over 2 years. It isn't because I don't want to go anywhere because I could probably name off at least a dozen places without thinking about it that I would like to go to tomorrow. But I won't. And I won't because I refuse to pay that money to be treated poorly.
While I am on the subject, lately (say, the last 6 months or so), I get the impression that I am paying more but getting less at fast food joints. The biscuits used to be bigger at Churches. The fries at McDonald's used to have more in them. Guess what, I notice and my doctor wants me to quit that stuff anyway. So, with that in mind, I am eating out less.
It isn't that I am wanting any special treatment. Just treat me like you value my business.
I have a choice and I choose to vote with my wallet. You won't hear much from me unless I get exceptionally poor service. But if I get poor service, just know that you won't hear from me.
I have long felt that one way for the post office to save money is to stop Saturday delivery. In this day and age, the only thing that actually comes in the mail is junk mail and bills. Just think of the benefits. Less people to staff, less vehicles on the road, it is a win/win situation. But my point about all of this is that I am really starting to dislike the post office. I got there at 5 minutes before they closed with 12 people in front of me. So what happened in that time that I was standing there? 2 of the 3 people working the front counter left. Somehow, I don't think that would work out too well at my place of employment. Where is the customer service?
I needed to send a book back to an individual that tried to sell me a 4th edition poor excuse of a textbook as a 5th edition in excellent condition. I am sending it back to her after she refunded my money. Anyway, the envelope that I picked (cheaper than the box) was $15 to ship but the box was $10 to ship. What sense is that? I would have been better off going to FedEx or UPS, which I probably will do next time.
All of that leads me to this, when will the airlines finally realize that the reason people aren't flying is not just because of the economy but because they treat their customers like crap? Personally, I have not stepped foot on a plane in over 2 years. It isn't because I don't want to go anywhere because I could probably name off at least a dozen places without thinking about it that I would like to go to tomorrow. But I won't. And I won't because I refuse to pay that money to be treated poorly.
While I am on the subject, lately (say, the last 6 months or so), I get the impression that I am paying more but getting less at fast food joints. The biscuits used to be bigger at Churches. The fries at McDonald's used to have more in them. Guess what, I notice and my doctor wants me to quit that stuff anyway. So, with that in mind, I am eating out less.
It isn't that I am wanting any special treatment. Just treat me like you value my business.
I have a choice and I choose to vote with my wallet. You won't hear much from me unless I get exceptionally poor service. But if I get poor service, just know that you won't hear from me.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Programming Note
I just wanted to put this out there for all readers. Isabelle's dance troupe has been invited to perform at Disneyland/California Adventure on Saturday, November 21st. I don't know all of the specifics and won't know for another several weeks, including on whether we will be going or not. We would like to go and I suspect that we are probably 70% sure that we will be going. It is also my understanding that Disneyland does their Christmas decorations (including snow) starting on November 16th so this gives you a good excuse to go. The performance will be a 30 minute performance and my wife told me that there are several of Ryan's classmates in this class (sounds like a big group but this is a class where "no parents are allowed").
Anyway, if you are interested in joining us, please send my wife or I an e-mail and we will put you on our notification list.
Yesterday was Ryan's birthday and we may be rained out for the waterpark today which is a bummer as we have such a good time when we go.
Anyway, if you are interested in joining us, please send my wife or I an e-mail and we will put you on our notification list.
Yesterday was Ryan's birthday and we may be rained out for the waterpark today which is a bummer as we have such a good time when we go.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Words of Wisdom
I just wanted to follow up to my last post. My brother sent me the following regarding my mother:
1) She told me the reason she helped people was she hoped that if one of her kids where somewhere and needed help she hoped that someone would help them.
and
2) She also told me that just because someone else had different religous belief it didn't mean that hers was right and theirs was wrong, i guess that could go for a lot of different kinds of beliefs
So, thank you to my brother for filling in those words of wisdom from my mother.
Personally, what I find important is to treat others as you want to be treated, you know, the Golden Rule (and not "he who has the gold makes the rules").
And so with that in mind, I am going to enjoy my last weekend of freedom for a while. You see, school starts up next Monday. And more importantly, Ryan finally hits double digits on Friday (that would be 10).
1) She told me the reason she helped people was she hoped that if one of her kids where somewhere and needed help she hoped that someone would help them.
and
2) She also told me that just because someone else had different religous belief it didn't mean that hers was right and theirs was wrong, i guess that could go for a lot of different kinds of beliefs
So, thank you to my brother for filling in those words of wisdom from my mother.
Personally, what I find important is to treat others as you want to be treated, you know, the Golden Rule (and not "he who has the gold makes the rules").
And so with that in mind, I am going to enjoy my last weekend of freedom for a while. You see, school starts up next Monday. And more importantly, Ryan finally hits double digits on Friday (that would be 10).
Sunday, August 16, 2009
How Time Flies
As I sit here pondering where the summer has gone, my mind starts to wander. I have had about a month off of school and I start back again in about a week from now. I have only 4 classes left, 3 of which I am taking this semester. I am not going to gripe/whine about these next 4 months of hard work as I know that I am almost done with this endeavor. And so, as I sit here, I ponder the past two years and think, where did it all go? I took a lot of classes and enjoyed most of them but for the most part, just went along thinking about finishing this class to move on to my next one, a step in this journey, so to speak.
And as I think about this, I can't help but think about all else that is in my life. I have a wonderful wife and two wonderful kids. My son turns ten in about a week. Where did that come from? He can't possibly be ten. And while he will be ten, he just started 4th grade. I remember my 4th grade well. It was the year that my mother married my step-father and we moved to the east side of town and suddenly, a family of 15 (including mom and "dad" and let's not forget the "border Stan - may he continue to rest in peace" we had at the time) (editor's note: my mother was always bringing someone home to live with us that needed someplace to go. I never did discuss it with my mom but accepted it as life and as I look back on it, I am sure that she was acting as an angel on earth. I learned a lot from my mother and sadly, it wasn't until she passed that I truly figured it out.) My son can't possibly be ten since that was just a few short years ago. As with most parents, I remember the day clearly and it feels like it was just yesterday.
I also am left to ponder that the anniversary of my wife and I's first kiss (I know that I didn't word that right, but there you go). How many years ago was that? Okay, married in '97, so 15 years? That can't possibly be right. That also seems like it was just yesterday. And yes, for some reason, I remember the date of my first kiss with my wife. What does that say about me?
Of course, a lot has happened in the past 15 years. Marriage, children, numerous jobs and work experiences, the death of my mother and subsequent destruction of the entire family as a family unit. I still look back at the family getting together as a family and actually miss it when everyone was together. But, as we all know, time waits for no one and there are constantly changes.
As we get older, we are constantly reminded of our own mortality. We blink and the people that we knew are no longer there. So and so has cancer, or passed away or divorced or whatever else happens to people as time goes on. It makes me appreciate all that I have, coming full circle back to a loving wife, kids, and relatively good health (or so my doctor tells me).
And so I would like to leave you all with this much discussed thought but rarely considered: live life for today as you never know what will happen tomorrow. I promise to do my best to be the best father I can be to my kids, best husband for my wife, and a generally good person. I also must constantly remind myself to stop living for tomorrow and just enjoy today. I hope you try to do the same.
I know that was supposed to be my last comment but I have one more that I want to tell everyone. I made mousse for the first time this weekend. Not just any mousse, but White Chocolate Grand Marnier Mousse. It was a mixed response to be blunt, but everyone did like it. Some of us thought it was too much alcohol. Someone said that yes, it had a lot of alcohol but he likes it that way. Someone else, who is the first to complain about too much alcohol, loved it. So, I don't know. I will probably make it again but probably only for special requests (i.e. I probably will not make it for myself). Next on the list is a Lemon Cheesecake with Raspberry Coulis. When do raspberries go out of season?
And as I think about this, I can't help but think about all else that is in my life. I have a wonderful wife and two wonderful kids. My son turns ten in about a week. Where did that come from? He can't possibly be ten. And while he will be ten, he just started 4th grade. I remember my 4th grade well. It was the year that my mother married my step-father and we moved to the east side of town and suddenly, a family of 15 (including mom and "dad" and let's not forget the "border Stan - may he continue to rest in peace" we had at the time) (editor's note: my mother was always bringing someone home to live with us that needed someplace to go. I never did discuss it with my mom but accepted it as life and as I look back on it, I am sure that she was acting as an angel on earth. I learned a lot from my mother and sadly, it wasn't until she passed that I truly figured it out.) My son can't possibly be ten since that was just a few short years ago. As with most parents, I remember the day clearly and it feels like it was just yesterday.
I also am left to ponder that the anniversary of my wife and I's first kiss (I know that I didn't word that right, but there you go). How many years ago was that? Okay, married in '97, so 15 years? That can't possibly be right. That also seems like it was just yesterday. And yes, for some reason, I remember the date of my first kiss with my wife. What does that say about me?
Of course, a lot has happened in the past 15 years. Marriage, children, numerous jobs and work experiences, the death of my mother and subsequent destruction of the entire family as a family unit. I still look back at the family getting together as a family and actually miss it when everyone was together. But, as we all know, time waits for no one and there are constantly changes.
As we get older, we are constantly reminded of our own mortality. We blink and the people that we knew are no longer there. So and so has cancer, or passed away or divorced or whatever else happens to people as time goes on. It makes me appreciate all that I have, coming full circle back to a loving wife, kids, and relatively good health (or so my doctor tells me).
And so I would like to leave you all with this much discussed thought but rarely considered: live life for today as you never know what will happen tomorrow. I promise to do my best to be the best father I can be to my kids, best husband for my wife, and a generally good person. I also must constantly remind myself to stop living for tomorrow and just enjoy today. I hope you try to do the same.
I know that was supposed to be my last comment but I have one more that I want to tell everyone. I made mousse for the first time this weekend. Not just any mousse, but White Chocolate Grand Marnier Mousse. It was a mixed response to be blunt, but everyone did like it. Some of us thought it was too much alcohol. Someone said that yes, it had a lot of alcohol but he likes it that way. Someone else, who is the first to complain about too much alcohol, loved it. So, I don't know. I will probably make it again but probably only for special requests (i.e. I probably will not make it for myself). Next on the list is a Lemon Cheesecake with Raspberry Coulis. When do raspberries go out of season?
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