Easter Observations 2011

Easter Sunday, a joyous occasion for Christians around the world. This morning, when I was getting the ham ready for the world, the thought struck me that this would be unclean in the Jewish Law. Having ham for lunch was not in their book, and their I was before church, rubbing my hands all over that spiral cut ham.

We went to the 9:30 church service which was a little hard for me to explain to Cap.

Cap, "Are we going to early church?"

Me, "No, we are not going to early church, but we are going earlier than normal."

Cap, "The only time we go to early church is when I am singing."

Me, "That is correct, but we are not going to sunday school this morning just to church."

Cap, "So we are going to Early Church."

At church I saw some interesting things. The guy setting next to me was checking his email on his blackberry, and I do not me just a glance, he was reading it. There was a lady a couple of rows in front of me that had here Super Grande Starbuck coffee cup with her. Last, but certainly not least, was the adult male (age between 24 and 35) that had a beard, was wearing a yellow shirt, and pruple shorts. Well, just like me, at least they all came to church this morning.

Saturday, April 23, Schedule

7:00 - Awoke
7:05 - Put on Sandals
7:10 - Washed fruit for breakfast
7:15 - Let Ella out of her room
7:25 - Began mixing the homemade (from scratch) whole wheat waffle mix
8:00 - Served Breakfast with Amy's help
8:20 - Washing Dishes
8:45 - Getting ready to head to soccer field.
9:15 - Leaving for soccer fields, have water for everyone, 2 cameras, 4 chairs, 2 kids, 1 soccer play
11:45 - Leaving soccer fields
12:00 - Fire up grill upon arrival
12:01 - Put Squash in Oven
12:02 - Burgers on Grill
12:30 - Run out of propane - burgers finished on the skillet
12:55 - leaving with Cap to attend birthday party.
1:15 - Arrive at party
3:00 - leave party, heading home
3:05 - Stop at Randall's to by a couple of things for Amy.
3:25 - Arrive home, Ella is awake, and has not rested much.
4: 25 - cutting up veggies for Shrimp fried rice
5:34 - Serving Shrimp Fired Rice
6:10 - Kids feed, kitchen cleaned, sit down to read book.
7:10 - Help Ella and Cap with Shampoo in their hair.
7:30 - Story time
8:30 - Leave for Store (need propane, dish soap and Tylenol.
9:20 - Arrive at home
9:45 - Help with the dishes
Current Status - sitting on back porch, still wearing my sandals... ...I am tired!

A day in picture 4/18/11

A day in pictures from the BBC News.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-13117243

it begins with a couple of people leaving a music festival in California. The ground is littered with empty water bottles.

it ends with a photo of a what appears to be a cherry tree in blossom sticking out of an overturned car in Japan.

Waffles

Tonight for supper the kids wanted Waffles, so Amy and I made them Waffles. They were pretty good if I say so myself. One of my favorite meals growing up on cold days was waffles, biscuits and gravy, or pancakes and an omelet for dinner on cold snowy nights. Now that I am south of I-10, there is not much snow or many cold nights. It was really Cap's idea to have them, and I probably would have said no, but Ella has a cold.

Ella and I laid down in our bed today and watch Maisy, with english subtitles, and spanish voice. It was nice, afterwards she went and had a nap.

Cap had a soccer game, he has decided that his favorite position is goalie. While he did not say it, I think it is because there is less running up and down the field while playing that position.

German Chocolate Cake

I had a busy weekend in the kitchen, which was fine with me. We only ate out once, on Sunday, after church. I did determine that it takes less time to make Hamburger, Shrimp Fried Rice, and Grilled chicken, than baking a German Chocolate Cake from scratch. Thats right boys and girls, eat your heart out because I can make one from scratch. I also made some cinnamon raise bread this weekend, which was very tasty. The kids are both in bed asleep, which is where I will be heading shortly. McMurry University did name a new mascot, we are know the McMurry War Hawks. If you ask me, I find this more offensive than the Indians, any day of the week and twice on sunday. That is all that I have to report tonight, nothing too deep or thought provoking.

Cap Playing Soccer

Cap Playing Soccer, a photo by Germburner on Flickr.

This weekend was the first game of the season. This year Cap is on the Rockets, and in this picture he is playing Goalie (a word that I don't know how to spell.)

Strawberry Oreo Ice Cream

Tonight after we had the hamburgers, and potatoes that I cooked, we set off in search of desert. An adventure it was not as we knew the destination before we left. Sweet Things Ice Cream, where I had a single scoop of Strawberry Oreo, in a cup. I prefer the cup as it does not make much of a mess. The ice cream was really good, it was a combination of the fruity strawberry sweetness, and the deep chocolate sweetness that comes from the oreo's.

No iPod

I have listened to my iPod going to sleep almost every night since October 28, 2008. This is of course with a few exceptions. This past week started off with a potential disaster in this respect. I left town on a 5 day business trip, and realize as I was leaving town that my iPod was in plugged into the computer on the desk. To go back and get it would have costed about 1 hours driving time, leaving me to have to make a decision. I could go back and get the little boggier, or see what it was like without it. On the plus side, I knew that I had packed the earbuds, so at the least I could put them in my ear to fake it. I chose to risk it, and carried on my travels without the iPod. I hit pay-dirt the first two nights because the hotel had cable music channels. The last three nights, I used my computer and Pandora to play some music.

Aside from the sleep, I use the iPod to listen to music or pod cast when I tire of the audiobook I am listening to. I was forced to use the seek button and listen to the FM radio during these periods.

Winds of Change

There are some songs that are instantly recognizable after only a few bars of music. One of these songs for me is Scorpions Winds of Change. The song was released in 1990, my high school days, and it is the only song I remember Scorpion releasing. The song starts with the music being whistled, and then it goes into a ballad. The song invokes a general memory of high school, no particular event, just the fun times we had in High School

For me there are many songs that invoke some memory. For example, Soul Asylum's Runaway Train, takes me back to a camping trip I took with Terry, Steven, and Cory to Cimarron Canyon, New Mexico. We camped in the Pondersoa camp ground for 6 days, then drove over to Red River and spent one night in a hotel before heading back. The camping trip was the first one that we had taken without any parents. We did not get into any trouble, and we did have a raccoon stalker at the camp site.

Two songs, Hammer Time (MC Hammer) and Vogue (Madonna), and to a lesser extend Barbra Ann, remind me of the first time I went to the state competition for drafting. While not quite as manly as the state football playoffs, it was a lot of fun, almost like a 4 day school paid for vacation. Those two songs were on MTV when we were staying at the "Value Inn" just off of I-35 on the north end of Waco, Texas. It was also the first time I saw a Piggly Wiggly. I managed to go to state 4 straight years, and had a lot of fun. Fortunately my Senior year, we upgraded to a better hotel, in a safer part of town.

Pretty Good Skier

After dinner Ella and I were playing around with the soccer ball in the back yard. I would gently kick it to her, and she would throw it back. Then she change to where she was going to hike it back to me like a football. So I took up the ch allege of kicking it between her legs. Which got me to thinking about snow skiing. (I know that is the same as going from dot #1 to dot #35 on connect the dots.) I managed to get pretty good at it as long as I was close. My memory flashed back to lining up behind a skier in front of me, and sitting down, laying back on my skies, then shooting the moon. This moment of reflect drove me to come to grips with the fact that I was a pretty good skier at one point in my life. It was nothing for us to shoot down the face at Wolf Creek, hit the waterfall area, or take a chute that was no wider than our skies were long. We managed to survive all of it. Of the new inventions in the world, the one I would have enjoyed the most was an iPod. It was really tiresome carrying a couple of tapes, and extra batteries along with everything else we carted on the mountain.

Editor

Tnoght I glanced through several old posts, some from 2006, and some from 2010. After reading those, I decided I needed an Editor to proofread my writing. Any volunteers... ...no, I did not think so.

Square Sink - Round Tile

Sinks, a device or fixture that is in almost every bathroom, and kitchen I have ever been in. I have always associated sinks as a round object. This is despite the fact that most sinks are not a circle, rather they are an oval, or even a square with rounded corners.

Tiles, are yet another item that are found in abundance in bathrooms and kitchens. In my house they are also found in the entry, laundry room, and living room. As a general rule all the tiles that I have seen have been square. Some are big, and some are small.

This evening my "norm" was challenged by a restroom that had a square (straight corners and everything) sink, and round tiles. Which brings up the age old question, "Why do we readily accept the 'norm' and are or can be put mentally off balance by the 'exceptions'?" Our fast acceptance the norm will stifle creativity. On occasion, my kids seem to drift off to a land that they have created in their head. They will sit there and happily play with this or that toy imagining it is part of a family, or a pirate, on a great adventure.

Lately, I have felt like I have lost my creativity, or at least not had much to write about. I was listening to a podcast about The Onion, driving back from Beeville the other day. One statement was made about their desire not to get stuck in the repetitive creativity loop. A cycle that has the same set of jokes, or headlines. The last several post I have made, seemed to be stuck in this "creativity loop". A much deeper question: Am I creative at all? I think I have some degree of creativity, I am no Monet, Picasso, or Shake sphere. The is mainly because I cannot really paint, nor write sonnets in old English.

Dr. Pepper on Fat Tuesday

As the season of Lent is upon us, it is time to reflect upon our lives. This year I will be giving up Dr. Pepper, so I celebrated today with the equivalent of the old "Big Gulp.". Which in todays over the counter soft drink standard is more like a medium.

Obama Foodorama

I read an article once upon a time in Newsweek about a "Weblog" or blog for short. I found the entire concept interesting, and that is probably one of the reasons I started keeping a blog. We have many different outlets for getting information delivered to other people, the blog, a tweet (I do not do this), facebook, a newspaper (which still exists today), and the favorite Television.

A television news show can take an 8 hour intellectually stimulating debate and boil it down, like a distillery, into two 30 second sound bites. Neither of which, is much like the overall tone of the debate or argument. These news bits seem to feed the American Public, as opposed to going out and reading information on your own. We allow others to help us formulate our opinions. If you do not believe that, look at all of the news shows, in which the reports give their commentary, or thoughts on a situation.

So I was reading the news last night, looking for information on the proposal to cut public radio funding. I came across a blog about the presidents food, and dinning experiences. Which is interesting on several fronts. First, the fact that people are interested in what the president is eating, or his latest dinning experience. While his may be a little more extravagant, a Bourbon marinated pork chop cooked in my kitchen, is similar to a Bourbon marinated pork chop cooked in the presidents kitchen. Well there is one small difference, my pork chop, did not have to go through security. I am thinking about starting J's food blog, how is this for a title.

The Big J and His Food
A Look at the Cooking and Eating Habits of an Aspiring Home Chief

The Presidents blog is put together, by a paid staffer, with more abundant resources and time to complete the assignment. Big J's has limited time resources, and will not be as "professional" in its appearance.

See the Obama Food Blog
v

Fritos

I am currently having a bit of a crisis. I cannot find the Sony Reader, which I have managed to misplace. It is a great little device, that I need to find, so that I can finish the book that I was reading. The other crisis, is that I do not have any chips to eat. (Perhaps the term crisis is a bit strong.) It is still an issue, as I like to eat my chips and hot sauce about this time in the evening, and since it is a Friday, one of my 7 favorite days of the week, I was going to have a tasty beverage with my chips. They complement each other.

Lent is coming up and I have not decided quite what I will be giving up. I think this year I might fall back on the Dr. Pepper, as I have gotten in the habit of drinking more of them that I used to. This has help the Levis Strauss company, as I have expanded my wardrobe, not just in number, but in size. Besides Dr. Pepper, I might give up the stinky chips aka Chile Cheese Frito's. I have not decided.

My air conditioner is running, it is 9:48 pm, in the first week of march and it is running. The heat is coming and will be here before I know it.

Fog

Driving through the fog is always fun. I did it for about 1 1/4 hour this morning. Driving though the fog, is like driving through an new universe. Much like the first time you drive some where in the dark, but with the fog, it could be the 345 time, and still, it is like a new universe. The fog shrouds the world around the car as we are driving. There is a difference between walking in the fog and driving in the fog. Most fog is not super dense, and difficult to walk in. When one takes the same density fog, and you are now going 60 mph, it seems much denser.

Living life is sometimes, like driving in the fog. One can never be quite sure the direction they are going. As the fog shrouds the surroundings, so does the hectic life we lead. Busy doing this, that, or the other, and we miss our turn. So busy that we do not see the beauty in the people around us, or we are to concerned with our own destination, that we miss a yield sign at life. When we do those things, we allow the beautiful things of life, pass before us. Life is Beautiful, if you ever take time to stop and gaze at the beauty. You will also miss the miracles of life, and by miracle, I do not mean the 1980 USA Hockey team, or the fact that the Red Soxs have actually won a few world series;s. The miracle of life, is that God can take us, create us, and love us, for who we are. He does not love us for what we have done, what we are going to do, or what we plan on doing. He just LOvES us!

Go Fish -

When I arrived at the Castle (chateau, manor, abode, or whatever you chose to call you home) A,C,E, AKA ace, were sitting down to play go fish. I joined them, and using my super powers learned while playing 42, and paying attention to who was asking for what I pulled down 8 pairs. I was pretty excited by this, last time I played, I manged to squeak out 5 pairs. I am thinking, "I bet them!!!". (This is an illustration of my competitive streak, playing my wife, and kids who are in K and Pre School.) So we count up the number of pairs, and I am tied with C, who also has 8. My bubble was burst, I though, we could squeeze in one more game. In the second game it was a 4 way tie, because everyone got 6 pairs.

In the end, I have decided that I might not be the mastermind of Go Fish. The blackberry has taught me I am not the mastermind of "Texas hold'em". I went all in on a Q high straight, the guy sitting next to me had an A high straight. Down the drain when my play money. As night falls here I realize that I will have to practice more with the cards, and the poker. There is nothing like family fun night with Go Fish, Trouble, or even Chutes and Ladders.

Descisions

Decisions are made all the time. Today, I made many decisions, most were small, with little impact, like waking up on time. (Always a good decision in my book.) I made decisions about what I was going to where, items at work were decided upon, and action taken.

Now if i was three, one of the biggest decisions of the day would be, what Pajama's I was going to select for sleeping in. Next to that decision, a three year old would be selecting which stories their parents would read, while they played, and appeared to pay marginal attention to. To be three again, it sounds pretty inviting, until you realize, you don't get to decide much after all. Wake up when you are woken up, and go to sleep when your parents tell you.

I was informed at work that last night were the Oscar's. This information was passed to me, down the hall and through my door, in the form of a conversation down the hall. Had those two individuals not been talking about it, the entire event might have gone without me noticing. I am sure there were great movies made this past year, I for one, have chosen reading, and writing as a more creative way to spend my time.

When you read a book, you engage your mind. When you engage your mind, you think. When you think, you gain wisdom. When you watch a movie, you munch on popcorn. When you munch on popcorn, you drink a soft drink. When you drink a soft drink, you have to go to the bathroom.

Do you choose WISDOM, or the bathroom?

Legos

Legos are awesome I want to get that out of the way first. Legos are a toy that can be played with if you are 3 or 33, I should know, I still play with them. Legos were designed in Europe in the 1940's and have been a favorite of builders with small hands for many years. Cap, Ella, and I have built everything from a space ship, to a boat. All it takes are a few blocks, an idea and a little imagination. Our favorite things to build are planes, cars, and space ships.

I though that I would have more to say about legos, but I do not.

Day of Meetings

Todays Schedule
7;30 to 8:00 - Meeting to review alerts.
8:00 to 9:30 - Staff Meeting
9:00 - 11:00 - Conference Call
11:00 - 11:30 - Presentation to procurement.
1:00 - 2:00 - Incident Review

And how did you spend your day?

Who is Cee Low Green

Last night I wanted to see what the music scene was like, by watching the Grammy's. Normally I tend to avoid award shows, because most of it is just pomp. I managed to watch 10 minutes of the show. Keith Urban, Norah Jones, and some other guy, sang "Jollie". Then they gave the award for best song of the year. Of the seven nominees, I had heard only one of the songs. It was at that point I realized (a) watching was a waste of my time (b) I rarely listen to pop music (unless you count Beethoven), (c) I am out of touch with today's music. So, who is Cee Low Green, and what kind of name is that?

Perhaps I should do some reading on the Oscar nominees, to increase my pop knowledge. However, I think I will just read a book instead, and engage my mind! Any activity more American's should do.

The Confrontation

Today as Cap and I were leaving church, I heard the high school kid cry out B.S. (The entire words), several times; six to be exact. He was upset because he did not call "shot gun" first.

For whatever reason, I decided that I should talk to the boys, and I gave them a little lecture about language. I hope they will think more when they are talking but I doubt it.

When I was in the 6th grade we were playing Romans and Christians outside of the church at youth. One of the older kids, was running around the corner when he slipped. I heard a loud F@#*! Come out of his mouth. I always felt let down by that. I never will forget the experience, it was the first curse word I ever heard at the church. Unfortunately, it was not the last.