Today was a summer saturday at home, which as usual, involved a trip to the swimming pool. Today we made it to the pool 8 minutes after it opened (10:08 AM). I finally understand how long it take to get two kids in their bathing suits, sunscreen, pool toys, snacks, towels, and water gathered up. We managed to get a table with a shade on it, and had the pool pretty much to ourselves for the first 30 minutes. Then other folks showed up, we had fun.
Tonight I grilled some steaks, shrimp, and veggies, and made some whole wheat bread in the bread machine. The bread tasted very, very healthy, so I need a little more practice with it.
17 July 2010
15 July 2010
Travels
Here is a brief recount of my recent travels.
Houma, LA - July 7-9th
I had Cajun food, and stayed at the Fairfield Inn. To be honest it was not what I expected, a little run down, and my room had a de-humidifier. That's right, something that sounded like a diesel engine in my room that removed humidity.
Houston - 1 Night
Abilene, TX - July 10th-11th
Stayed at Alana's had a great time with them as well as Ryan & Amberly. Went to Ryan's church, which I could not remember ever seeing when I lived there. In addition to that, I had the best ribs I have ever had in my life, Doug cooked them for the birthday party.
Houston - 2 Nights (Yippee)
Editorial Note: I drove 300 + miles 3 days in a row.
College Station - July 13-14
Stayed at the Holiday Inn Express. I Went to a place called wings and more, and we were all surprised that they actually made a few things that weren't fried. I also had a great pork chop at lunch.
Beeville - July 15
Holiday Inn Express I know what you are thinking, "Where is Beeville?". Well it is in Bee county. Not much to report, did not have a local guide for dinner last night, so I headed to Chillis, one them about that place is consistency. No matter if you are in the houston airport, Amarillo, Tx, or Lincoln Nebraska, the food tastes about the same.
Houma, LA - July 7-9th
I had Cajun food, and stayed at the Fairfield Inn. To be honest it was not what I expected, a little run down, and my room had a de-humidifier. That's right, something that sounded like a diesel engine in my room that removed humidity.
Houston - 1 Night
Abilene, TX - July 10th-11th
Stayed at Alana's had a great time with them as well as Ryan & Amberly. Went to Ryan's church, which I could not remember ever seeing when I lived there. In addition to that, I had the best ribs I have ever had in my life, Doug cooked them for the birthday party.
Houston - 2 Nights (Yippee)
Editorial Note: I drove 300 + miles 3 days in a row.
College Station - July 13-14
Stayed at the Holiday Inn Express. I Went to a place called wings and more, and we were all surprised that they actually made a few things that weren't fried. I also had a great pork chop at lunch.
Beeville - July 15
Holiday Inn Express I know what you are thinking, "Where is Beeville?". Well it is in Bee county. Not much to report, did not have a local guide for dinner last night, so I headed to Chillis, one them about that place is consistency. No matter if you are in the houston airport, Amarillo, Tx, or Lincoln Nebraska, the food tastes about the same.
10 July 2010
Frog Legs
I made an important discovery this past week in Louisiana. I knew they.ate alligator meat, crawfish, and budan, but I did not realize that they ate frog legs. Keep in mind, that I grew up in a place where a wet year was 23 inches of rain. Our fish were freshwater, and we ate a lot of beef and corn.
The frog legs were deep fried (this fits in with southern belief that if it is good, then it is better fried) were good a little on the chewy side. I am a texture person, some people are hung up with color, but texture is important to me. It could taste really good, but if the texture is off, then it does not do it for me. All that said, the chewy texture eliminated the good taste of the frog legs.
The frog legs were deep fried (this fits in with southern belief that if it is good, then it is better fried) were good a little on the chewy side. I am a texture person, some people are hung up with color, but texture is important to me. It could taste really good, but if the texture is off, then it does not do it for me. All that said, the chewy texture eliminated the good taste of the frog legs.
05 July 2010
Cap at pool
You guessed it, here is "Cool Cap" at the pool. We did some snorkeling in the pool, which Cap thought was great.
Ella at pool
While not the best quality photo, I think the subject makes up for it. I ran off and left the camera at the house. I almost got the photo taken, uploaded to flickr, and blogged on my "Smart phone." I made it all the way to getting it blogged before I was shut down, still it is pretty amazing. (Needless to say, we went swimming this morning.)
July 4th 2010 Family Photo
Here is our family photo on the 4th of July. Later it sounded like my neighborhood was under siege, but it was only the fire works that went into the wee hours of the night. We are truly blessed to live in a country with some many freedoms, like religion, speech, and even to publish stuff on the Internet.
Fashion
Yesterday we went to church, then went to the Texas Roadhouse for lunch. While we were there I noticed a couple of the waitresses wearing miss matched socks. I asked Amy if they knew their socks did not match, and she said that they did. Evidently that is a fashion statement, as opposed to a political statement. It reminds my of a children's book that Max Lucado wrote titled, If I Only had a Green Nose, which is a great children's book no matter how old your are. This sock thing is a fad just like the bell bottoms of the 70's and late 90's as they made a resurgence. Clothing fashion is such a strange concept, how things that look good today, my children will laugh at when they are my age.
A few interesting tib bits from the news. A hot dog eating champ was arrested for trying to crash Nathan's hotdog eating contests. (Link) You have got to be kidding me, I mean really, there is much more news worthy stories out there. On a second level, a contest to see who can eat the most hot dogs. This is something you do as kids, with hot dogs, pizza, or Cream Puffs. (I would like to mention that I hold the family record for the most cream puffs eaten at 3. I must clarify that these were the "BIG" ones, not the little ones). Only in America, will we have a contest to see who can eat the most hot dogs. It does not stop there... ...in Amarillo, Texas, there is a steakhouse that will cook you a 72 oz steak for free, if eaten in 1 hour along with the sides, while sitting in front of the entire restaurant.
For all the soccer fans out there, the following link will take you to a video of a couple of announcers, announcing a goal in the world cup. I have always said that it is funner listening to the Spanish announcers while watching, and this is even better.
03 July 2010
Going to Swim WIth Dolphin
Here is the crew getting ready to meet the Dolphins, Cap would not kiss the dolphin, and Ella, gave it "Eskimo Kisses".
Birkenstocks Demise
My sandel's finally fell apart. Natually they decided to do this while on vacation in the Bahamas. They held up for 2 days, until I submerged them in swimming pool water, at which point the two section seperated. It was a true travesty, so I had to pay 16.99 for a pair of 2.00 flip flops at the restort. They are not even comfortable flip flops, part of today's quest, is going to be replacement sandels. That, along with laundry, a trip to the swimming pool, a pasta supper or grilling shrimp on the grill, and mailing two memory sticks of vacation photos to Honey.
25 June 2010
Story Time 6/25/10
Note - I actually wrote this last week, but am just now publishing it.
I started mowing the grass tonight, but took a break for story time. Current we are reading, Thank You Santa". So reading a Christmas book while the kids are playing with the Halloween decorations they found in the draw. It is like the twilight zone.
Thank goodness, we have moved on to a non-holiday book, it is "If you give a cat a cupcake". A good book, not quite as fun to read as "If you give a pig a pancake," but fun none the less. These books kind of remind me of a TV show call connections, which start with some mundane event, and threads its way to great discovery.
I started mowing the grass tonight, but took a break for story time. Current we are reading, Thank You Santa". So reading a Christmas book while the kids are playing with the Halloween decorations they found in the draw. It is like the twilight zone.
Thank goodness, we have moved on to a non-holiday book, it is "If you give a cat a cupcake". A good book, not quite as fun to read as "If you give a pig a pancake," but fun none the less. These books kind of remind me of a TV show call connections, which start with some mundane event, and threads its way to great discovery.
24 June 2010
Reality TV, Really?
So the other day I was spending the night in a small hotel with nothing to really do but watch TV. I happened to stumble across the Golf Channel, I like golf, so I wanted to see what was on. After a few minutes, I decided that reality TV has gone to far. (A thought that I have been harbouring ever since "Survivor" started). So here is the setting, a private resort with a golf course, 10 lady golfers who played in college, and saw a little pro action, and one big house. It is like Survivor crossed with The Real World. As you can image, the challenges were all based on who was the best person on the golf course. I was telling Amy about this and she said, "Isn't that kind of what they do every week on the pga tour."
We live in a world with abundant access to books, I mean we have the printing press, Amazon's Kindle, the Sony reader, a variety of newspapers, magazines, yet, the average American house has 2.24 televisions per house. Americans spend, on average, 4 hours of Television per week. We have become a nation that would rather watch someone else's lives, that we would participate in our own life. That is what I think about reality TV...
We live in a world with abundant access to books, I mean we have the printing press, Amazon's Kindle, the Sony reader, a variety of newspapers, magazines, yet, the average American house has 2.24 televisions per house. Americans spend, on average, 4 hours of Television per week. We have become a nation that would rather watch someone else's lives, that we would participate in our own life. That is what I think about reality TV...
20 June 2010
Slow Camera
I was taking a picture, well this picture with the Sony camera, which is not quite as fast as the Nikon, but what do you expect for a camera that is 1/4 of the price, and fits into your pocket.
Swinging
Cap is enjoying the swing, at what he calls, "The Little Park". Little or not, it has swings, and is within walking distance.
Fathers 2010
"One father is more than a hundred Schoolmasters." ~George Herbert, Outlandish Proverbs, 1640
So happy Father's day, the day which father's are recognized for being, well themselves for the most part. Ole George was right about fathers and schoolmasters, while I learned a lot of book smart from the teachers, I learned more about they way the world worked, in particular a 1966 mustang, than anyone else. My dad taught me how to use a drill when I was 5, I have a 5 year old and he is not going to be touching that drill for a few more years. I learned how to welded before I could drive a car. The first vehicle I drove down a street was a 5 Ton GMC Winch Truck (or Gin Pole Truck), it had a Detroit diesel engine, and 13 speed roadranger transmission. (I don't think I had started drivers education yet). More important, he taught me about integrity, honor, and respect, treat others the way you would want to be treated. Every year, they would put together a vacation trip to Houston, so I could See a doctor. Once the doctor visit was over, the trip was great, lots of fun.
Here's to dad's, while they may be sitting across the room from the conversation, looking at the paper, they are still listening to every thing. No matter what time you call, or how insurmountable the problem, they always have sound advice, and an extra heavy tow-rope to pull you out. No matter how many questions you ask, they always seem to have an answer.
So happy Father's day, the day which father's are recognized for being, well themselves for the most part. Ole George was right about fathers and schoolmasters, while I learned a lot of book smart from the teachers, I learned more about they way the world worked, in particular a 1966 mustang, than anyone else. My dad taught me how to use a drill when I was 5, I have a 5 year old and he is not going to be touching that drill for a few more years. I learned how to welded before I could drive a car. The first vehicle I drove down a street was a 5 Ton GMC Winch Truck (or Gin Pole Truck), it had a Detroit diesel engine, and 13 speed roadranger transmission. (I don't think I had started drivers education yet). More important, he taught me about integrity, honor, and respect, treat others the way you would want to be treated. Every year, they would put together a vacation trip to Houston, so I could See a doctor. Once the doctor visit was over, the trip was great, lots of fun.
Here's to dad's, while they may be sitting across the room from the conversation, looking at the paper, they are still listening to every thing. No matter what time you call, or how insurmountable the problem, they always have sound advice, and an extra heavy tow-rope to pull you out. No matter how many questions you ask, they always seem to have an answer.
19 June 2010
Saturday Morning 6 AM
I think one of my favorite times is saturday morning around 6:00 am. I get up before the kids, and can have a bit of peace and serenity. It is also a nice time to sit outside. One of the issue I have with the greater Houston area in the summer is the heat. Right now it actually feels kind of cool. In the panhandle it cooled off pretty good once the sun went down, making the back porch an "attractive" place to it. Here it is still 85 degrees, with 60 % humidity, so it is not very cool.
There are a few things I could do, pick-up back yard, go for a walk, fold my laundry, or even take some advil for the headache, as I stayed up to late to be up this early.
I can actually hear a cow mooing in the pasture across the street, which is one reason, my does not feel like it is in the big city. That is until you get on I-10 to drive into work with 500,000 other people.
There are a few things I could do, pick-up back yard, go for a walk, fold my laundry, or even take some advil for the headache, as I stayed up to late to be up this early.
I can actually hear a cow mooing in the pasture across the street, which is one reason, my does not feel like it is in the big city. That is until you get on I-10 to drive into work with 500,000 other people.
15 June 2010
Tonight the president was on television, talking about the oil spill. The spill that has been going since April 20th. One interesting fact that I learned today, was the bp (British Petroleum) has more employees in the good ole USA than any other country, including Britain.
"Mean while back at the ranch," have you ever wondered why cliches are so popular. Sayings like, "bite off more than you can chew," "a rolling stone gathers no moss" are just things people say with out much thought. Is it that we are out of phrases, or just to lazy to think of something to say... ...or perhaps they are just sayings we like to use, because they sound so different than their meaning. Take "what ever tickles your fancy" has nothing to do with someone tickling you (or me) until we laugh. It means, If that is the way you like it, then it is okay with me". This would be the McDonald's slogan, unlike Burger King which has, "Have it your way."
"Mean while back at the ranch," have you ever wondered why cliches are so popular. Sayings like, "bite off more than you can chew," "a rolling stone gathers no moss" are just things people say with out much thought. Is it that we are out of phrases, or just to lazy to think of something to say... ...or perhaps they are just sayings we like to use, because they sound so different than their meaning. Take "what ever tickles your fancy" has nothing to do with someone tickling you (or me) until we laugh. It means, If that is the way you like it, then it is okay with me". This would be the McDonald's slogan, unlike Burger King which has, "Have it your way."
14 June 2010
Do Not Come In My Room
Well today was the kids first day back in Katy, which was an interesting lesson in kids. Ella I think has been missing sleeping in the same room as big brother. Cap on the other hand spent some time in his room with the door closed. In fact, he needed a pencil and paper to make a do not enter sign for his door. Which is funny on two different levels. First, instead of "Do Not Enter" the sign said, "Do Not Come in My Room." Secondly, mom and dad will always knock first, but come into the room, leaving Ella, who does not read, to absorb the new sign on Cap's door, which is still hanging on his door. Amy informed me that while closing the door is easy, the is fun in making a sign. I wonder if that will work at the office?
Other than that it was a pretty ordinary day, we picked up Mazie (Ella and I), Cap elected to watch the Charlie Brown Christmas show instead of coming with us. Charlie Brown may be 6 months out of season, but Mr. C sure like to watch them. Of course, on the TiVo, we still have a show titled, "Prep and Landing," (it is an adorable cartoon) about two elves that "Prep" the house before Santa arrives, and assist with the "Landing" of the sleigh. In 6 more months it will be back in style, just like Disco Music...
Other than that it was a pretty ordinary day, we picked up Mazie (Ella and I), Cap elected to watch the Charlie Brown Christmas show instead of coming with us. Charlie Brown may be 6 months out of season, but Mr. C sure like to watch them. Of course, on the TiVo, we still have a show titled, "Prep and Landing," (it is an adorable cartoon) about two elves that "Prep" the house before Santa arrives, and assist with the "Landing" of the sleigh. In 6 more months it will be back in style, just like Disco Music...
05 June 2010
Hello World... ...are you still there?
I have been working on hanging a few pictures in the house, that is in my spare time, to make it more homey. So I had the bright idea to see if I had taken any good picture lately with my camera, i.e. "artsy" photo's. (I have taken plenty of the family, well really those have even fallen short.) After looking through several folders, I realized that I had not taken any pictures that were not related to family events, and of family members. Not that this is a bad thing, I like taking pictures of the family. The exception would be the ole house hunting trip. Amy has the good camera with her, so I am left with a small Sony camera, and the old film camera. I may have to run to wal-mart to see if they have any real B&W film, although I doubt it.
I have been so busy lately, and somewhat disjointed the past year, that I have forgotten about the enjoyment, and value in writing, along with photography. Next year I am going to set a one photo per day rule, which will be placed on flickr.... but that is in about 6 months.
I have been so busy lately, and somewhat disjointed the past year, that I have forgotten about the enjoyment, and value in writing, along with photography. Next year I am going to set a one photo per day rule, which will be placed on flickr.... but that is in about 6 months.
25 May 2009
Across Valdez Bay
A picture standing at the Valdez Civic Center, looking across the bay at the snow covered mountain.
17 May 2009
The Big Trip
In the morning, I get to take a big trip. I get to leave the house around 350AM, and will fly from Amarillo, to Denver, to Seattle, to anchorage to Valdez. It will be a good trip, although I am not looking forward to spending a hole day and then some traveling.
Today was church day, so I went. It was an okay service. I got to thinking that I do not remember anywhere in the bible where it says, "worship must consist of 3 Hymns, 1 offering/offertory, a 20 minute sermon, and prayer time.". Don't take me wrong, it is not that I am opposed to this, however, I do not know what Impact it has on the congregation. We call it the worship service, aside from the hymns, there is not much crowd participation.
Today was church day, so I went. It was an okay service. I got to thinking that I do not remember anywhere in the bible where it says, "worship must consist of 3 Hymns, 1 offering/offertory, a 20 minute sermon, and prayer time.". Don't take me wrong, it is not that I am opposed to this, however, I do not know what Impact it has on the congregation. We call it the worship service, aside from the hymns, there is not much crowd participation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)