We celebrated this evening with all four of her grandparents at Ginza of Tokyo, and we'll be having a party with the rest of our family tomorrow evening.
Happy birthday, Babe! I love you so much!
Sunday, November 16, 2014
My Girl's 11th Birthday
It's the eve of my daughter's 11th birthday, and I'm excited. She's an awesome little girl, and I love her so much. She's smart, beautiful, funny, a leader, responsible beyond her years, and so caring. I'm so proud of her. I pray that she will know God, and ask Him into her heart. I wish her mother could have lived to see what a wonderful young lady she has become.
We celebrated this evening with all four of her grandparents at Ginza of Tokyo, and we'll be having a party with the rest of our family tomorrow evening.
Happy birthday, Babe! I love you so much!
We celebrated this evening with all four of her grandparents at Ginza of Tokyo, and we'll be having a party with the rest of our family tomorrow evening.
Happy birthday, Babe! I love you so much!
Saturday, November 15, 2014
Public Service Message: Quality Absorbency
Today I feel the need to talk about something that impacts many people in so many ways: cheap paper towels. There aren't too many things worse than a bad paper towel, and I've got some that could be some of the worst ever sold in stores. I know what you're thinking: Surely he's not going to blog about paper towels, right? You betcha, I am. And don't call me Shirley.
Brands such as Brawny, Bounty, and Scott's tend to lead the way with the best of the best, good, greatly absorbent and quality-made paper towels. The problem with them is that they tend to be on the pricey side, and sometimes it's difficult to justify getting the more expensive paper towels when there are so many other brands that are so much cheaper (price-wise). But the quality is so much cheaper to match the cheaper brands, as well, even if you do get lucky every once in a while. For every Viva, there's a store brand that actually works pretty well.
I decided to buy a brand I had never heard of before, called "Fiora", since my local grocery-chain had them advertised for a very good price. Heck, they even had the pick-a-size kind, which tends to be a key feature of the better brands. Now, I tend to go with the less expensive brands, but I really haven't found one that I like. That means I end up trying a different one almost every time I purchase them. And unless you break open a package prior to leaving the store, you really don't know what you have until you get home. It's a risky proposition. But I bought the Fiora paper towels based on a lack of knowing anything about them, and I headed home.
When I arrived at home and opened the package, I was immediately concerned. The towels had that cheap feel to them. Meaning they felt more like paper than towel. Okay, a thin towel just wasn't going to cut it, but since I bought a pack of six rolls, I thought I may as well try them. Faithful Pup Scout, after a long day at home, head left a wet spot on the kitchen floor for me to clean up, and this would be a good test for the Fiora's. And they failed miserably. They are absorbent, but all that means is that they completely disintegrated after taking on moisture. It gets worse. The perforation seems to be just a little too difficult to break the towel all along its edge, and it rips the towel about 7/8 of the way through consistently, leaving that last 1/8 of the towel hanging onto the roll (see the picture above). It is maddeningly frustrating.
My daughter started to notice and complain, as well. She almost never notices things like this, so it had to be bad for her to complain. They are really terrible.
We don't seem to take shortcuts when it comes to toilet paper (thank goodness.... have you ever tried bad toilet paper? If so, you know what I mean...), so I guess we shouldn't take shortcuts with paper towels. It's really standing out for me this week due to my mother-in-law a few weeks ago buying me some great, high-quality Bounty paper towels (since the package had an NFL theme with a Steelers logo on the outside packaging, though nothing on the towels themselves). I was really spoiled, and I guess that's why I'm so disappointed with the Fiora's. Lesson learned. Don't go cheap on paper towels. Get the good stuff.
Have an extra-absorbent evening, everyone!
Brands such as Brawny, Bounty, and Scott's tend to lead the way with the best of the best, good, greatly absorbent and quality-made paper towels. The problem with them is that they tend to be on the pricey side, and sometimes it's difficult to justify getting the more expensive paper towels when there are so many other brands that are so much cheaper (price-wise). But the quality is so much cheaper to match the cheaper brands, as well, even if you do get lucky every once in a while. For every Viva, there's a store brand that actually works pretty well.
I decided to buy a brand I had never heard of before, called "Fiora", since my local grocery-chain had them advertised for a very good price. Heck, they even had the pick-a-size kind, which tends to be a key feature of the better brands. Now, I tend to go with the less expensive brands, but I really haven't found one that I like. That means I end up trying a different one almost every time I purchase them. And unless you break open a package prior to leaving the store, you really don't know what you have until you get home. It's a risky proposition. But I bought the Fiora paper towels based on a lack of knowing anything about them, and I headed home.
When I arrived at home and opened the package, I was immediately concerned. The towels had that cheap feel to them. Meaning they felt more like paper than towel. Okay, a thin towel just wasn't going to cut it, but since I bought a pack of six rolls, I thought I may as well try them. Faithful Pup Scout, after a long day at home, head left a wet spot on the kitchen floor for me to clean up, and this would be a good test for the Fiora's. And they failed miserably. They are absorbent, but all that means is that they completely disintegrated after taking on moisture. It gets worse. The perforation seems to be just a little too difficult to break the towel all along its edge, and it rips the towel about 7/8 of the way through consistently, leaving that last 1/8 of the towel hanging onto the roll (see the picture above). It is maddeningly frustrating.
My daughter started to notice and complain, as well. She almost never notices things like this, so it had to be bad for her to complain. They are really terrible.
We don't seem to take shortcuts when it comes to toilet paper (thank goodness.... have you ever tried bad toilet paper? If so, you know what I mean...), so I guess we shouldn't take shortcuts with paper towels. It's really standing out for me this week due to my mother-in-law a few weeks ago buying me some great, high-quality Bounty paper towels (since the package had an NFL theme with a Steelers logo on the outside packaging, though nothing on the towels themselves). I was really spoiled, and I guess that's why I'm so disappointed with the Fiora's. Lesson learned. Don't go cheap on paper towels. Get the good stuff.
Have an extra-absorbent evening, everyone!
Friday, November 14, 2014
Way Out West
My daughter and I took an incredible trip in 2009 out to Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming. It was Melody's first trip Out West, and we had a blast. I had started to write up a trip diary, but I only documented the first day with any detail. I had forgotten all about it until I came across it this afternoon. Here it is. Enjoy!
Day 1 - 5/14/09: Melody & I were taken to BWI airport by Grammy & Pap Pap (Mom & Dad) for our 7:30a flight to Denver. I promptly lost my cell phone somewhere between the car and the entrance to the terminal, but didn't realize it was missing until after we went through security. Not a very good omen for our trip. Spent most of the 4 hour flight trying to figure out what to do. It was an uneventful trip. After we landed and went to baggage claim, I found out I was being paged. It was a message from Dad - they had my phone. A very nice lady/airport employee graciously allowed me to use her cell phone to call him and he informed me that a Skycap employee found the phone and dialed the last number called, which was Dad's cell phone, and Dad picked up the phone for me. I was greatly relieved, but still didn't know whether we should arrange to have the phone over-nighted to me or whether I should just do without.
Melody and I got our rental car, a 2009 Dodge Nitro. It was a mess. It had about 35000 miles on it and it had not been cleaned. The Dollar Rental Car employees were no help at all. They just told me to document it. We decided to get some lunch, since it was about 11:30 by this time. We had a nice meal at TGIFridays in a suburb of Denver. Then we stopped at a Verizon Wireless store to see if we had any options with my cell phone. I told the guy there that my phone was lost. He proceeded to ridicule me for not purchasing the $6/month insurance on my phone, and that it would cost me over $200 to get a new phone. That certainly was not an option. I figured we would see if Dad could Fedex the phone to me at the next hotel we planned to stay at (in Deadwood, SD). We decided to stop worrying about the phone and get on with our vacation.
We headed west from Denver and stopped in Golden, CO. What a beautiful town! We walked around a little bit, took some pictures, then drove up to Buffalo Bill Cody's grave and museum.
Spectacular drive to the top of Lookout Mountain, and great view from the top. The museum was just like I remembered it when I was here in Oct. '97. Melody was a bit scared of the life-size figures in the museum, so we left about 15 minutes after we arrived.
We hiked up to the grave site, though. We got back in the Nitro and headed back down the mountain. On the way down, Melody saw three foxes, and couldn't stop talking about them for the rest of the day.
We continued on to Boulder, CO. It's a neat college town, with a central mall area (which regularly appeared in the show, MORK & MINDY). We proceeded to 1619 Pine St., which is the location of the house Mork and Mindy lived in during the show. The house has been fixed up a little, but you can still tell it's the same house.
We then continued on a scenic drive up to Estes Park, CO, which is the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. Estes Park is another one of those gorgeous towns in the heart of the Rockies, and, while looking for a place to eat dinner, we encountered several Elk eating on the side of the road.
We stopped and took a bunch of pictures, then continued to Smokin' Dave's BBQ & Tap house. Delicious barbecue and great view out the window of the place.
We got back on the road, but figured we should try to find a pay phone and call Dad. We finally found one that worked and called him collect. He said he would have my cell phone over-nighted to our hotel in Deadwood, SD, where we planned to arrive on 5/16. I thanked him and we continued down the road. I had originally intended to get as far as Cheyenne, WY, for our first leg of the trip, but it was getting late and I was tired. Melody had already fallen asleep. So, when we arrived in Loveland, CO, and looked for a hotel and found a Comfort Inn, where we stayed for the night. Whew!
Thank you, Lord, for this opportunity to take such an incredible vacation! I pray that you will keep us safe, happy, and healthy during the entire trip, and blessings on everyone who makes this possible. Amen.
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Frustration, Pizza, The Seventies, and SNOW?!?
Today was a rather frustrating day. I don't like to write about things like this, because I don't think anyone wants to read about someone elses frustrations. All I'll say is that professional jealousy has no place in the office. Also, drawing the short straw that results in a task that I know nothing about is a terrible feeling. Lastly, despite all of the many ways to communicate with someone, if their battery dies on their smart phone, it doesn't matter whether you text, email, FB, or call that person to try getting in touch with them. They're still unreachable.
Whew.
One of the great things about this blog and sharing my many likes and dislikes is that I get a lot of links about topics near and dear to me. A friend sent this link: http://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/the-best-pizza-in-every-state-in-america . Being a fan of travel and pizza, this is right up my alley! I looked through the list and realized that I've never been to any of these places. Not one. Even the local Maryland favorite, Matthew's, in Baltimore, is one I've never tried, though I have heard of it. And while it must be good, and I'll have to try it, I can't help but wonder how the list was compiled (the article doesn't say, but there are a lot of "we"'s in the write-ups). My friend suggested that my daughter and I should create our own list, and I agree. We've tried quite a few places all over the country, though to get a definitive list, we'd have to try a LOT of pizzas. I'm not sure my body will hold up.
If nothing else, I think I'm going to have to visit a lot of local pizza joints, and perhaps come up with a list of the best pizza in Howard County. Or maybe just Laurel. We'll see. I'll come up with our criteria and see what we come up with. Stay tuned. I may just take up this challenge. (Thanks, Sarah.... I think!)
I mentioned a few weeks ago how much I'm enjoying an old TV show from my childhood: CHiPs! It's about the California Highway Patrol, and focuses on a couple of motorcycle officers in the Los Angeles area. Now that I've watched a couple of seasons worth of shows (it comes on daily at 6 p.m. on ME TV), and the character's personalities have been fleshed out a bit, I can see just how cheesy it was. There were more and more car accidents on the show, too, as things went along, which I'm guessing were used to draw in more viewers (probably a lot of young males) and an increased budget, and there are way too many shots of a shirtless Erik Estrada. The disco music is tiresome, too. But seeing the LA sites in this time capsule from the late 70s is really kind of cool, as are all of the 60s and 70s era cars! That alone makes it worth watching.
Here's an update on my mother-in-law, who was rushed to the hospital by ambulance yesterday evening. She's fine, and resting at home now, but she had to stay overnight at the hospital last night, where they did test after test to try to figure out what might be wrong. All of the tests came back negative, so that's a good thing, but it doesn't explain why she felt so bad.
My daughter and I planned to visit her this evening, but the snow (SNOW?!?!) and wet roads hampered that idea. Damascus is farther north than Laurel, and it's all back roads to get there. Anyway, she's fine. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.
Have a great evening, everyone!
Whew.
***
One of the great things about this blog and sharing my many likes and dislikes is that I get a lot of links about topics near and dear to me. A friend sent this link: http://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/the-best-pizza-in-every-state-in-america . Being a fan of travel and pizza, this is right up my alley! I looked through the list and realized that I've never been to any of these places. Not one. Even the local Maryland favorite, Matthew's, in Baltimore, is one I've never tried, though I have heard of it. And while it must be good, and I'll have to try it, I can't help but wonder how the list was compiled (the article doesn't say, but there are a lot of "we"'s in the write-ups). My friend suggested that my daughter and I should create our own list, and I agree. We've tried quite a few places all over the country, though to get a definitive list, we'd have to try a LOT of pizzas. I'm not sure my body will hold up.
If nothing else, I think I'm going to have to visit a lot of local pizza joints, and perhaps come up with a list of the best pizza in Howard County. Or maybe just Laurel. We'll see. I'll come up with our criteria and see what we come up with. Stay tuned. I may just take up this challenge. (Thanks, Sarah.... I think!)
***
I mentioned a few weeks ago how much I'm enjoying an old TV show from my childhood: CHiPs! It's about the California Highway Patrol, and focuses on a couple of motorcycle officers in the Los Angeles area. Now that I've watched a couple of seasons worth of shows (it comes on daily at 6 p.m. on ME TV), and the character's personalities have been fleshed out a bit, I can see just how cheesy it was. There were more and more car accidents on the show, too, as things went along, which I'm guessing were used to draw in more viewers (probably a lot of young males) and an increased budget, and there are way too many shots of a shirtless Erik Estrada. The disco music is tiresome, too. But seeing the LA sites in this time capsule from the late 70s is really kind of cool, as are all of the 60s and 70s era cars! That alone makes it worth watching.
***
Here's an update on my mother-in-law, who was rushed to the hospital by ambulance yesterday evening. She's fine, and resting at home now, but she had to stay overnight at the hospital last night, where they did test after test to try to figure out what might be wrong. All of the tests came back negative, so that's a good thing, but it doesn't explain why she felt so bad.
My daughter and I planned to visit her this evening, but the snow (SNOW?!?!) and wet roads hampered that idea. Damascus is farther north than Laurel, and it's all back roads to get there. Anyway, she's fine. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.
Have a great evening, everyone!
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Hospital, Pizza, Cold Meals, and a Report Card
Day to day, you never know what may occur. We just received word that my mother-in-law had to be rushed to the hospital this evening via ambulance. She was feeling really sick, just before the church's potluck dinner, and was bad enough that she felt the need to call 911. My father-in-law is with her. We've continued to check in with them by phone and text, and while she said she's feeling a little bit better, it appears they're going to keep her overnight. No word on what is ailing her.
If you're the praying type, your prayers for them are appreciated.
Today is National Pizza Day. I didn't know there was such a thing. To celebrate, I made a homemade pizza. I've changed my recipe a bit from what I've made over the years. I found a very thin flatbread that works wonderfully as a nice thin crust. I don't think it's necessarily designed to be a pizza crust, but it works for me, and with carbs being an issue for me, the fewer, the better. Del Grosso makes a really good pizza sauce, and the one I'm using is the New York Style. It has a moderately sweet tomatoey flavor. I like it. I use a low-fat mozzarella-provolone mix, which gives it a great smoky taste. Then I top it with a mix of turkey pepperoni, mushrooms, sliced grape tomatoes, black olives, and, sometimes, pineapple. After baking it, I sprinkle a moderate amount of crushed red pepper, and the result is a very flavorful, spicy-sweet, very thin-crusted pizza. And I like it! While I still have a place in my heart for the old Chef Boy-ar-dee pizza kits, this is a really good substitute, and certainly a little better for me.
Faithful Pup Scout is stuck in a very frustrating routine pattern. She always goes for a "walk" when we arrive home at 4 p.m. Then, a short three hours later, and almost always while I'm in the middle of eating dinner, she begins her incessant annoying barking telling me she has to go outside right that second, and not a second later. I never get to finish a warm meal. I feel like the mom in the movie THE CHRISTMAS STORY, who never gets to eat a hot meal, because by the time she's gotten her husband and all of the kids their food at dinner, and she finally sits down to eat her first bite, one of the kids needs something else. By the time she's ready to get her first bite of food, it's cold. Well, that's me. All because of this rather selfish little 9-pound white furball. It's a good thing she's not an ugly dog.
My daughter's birthday is next week. I still haven't figured out how we're going to celebrate. Sure, we'll have the standard birthday dinner with the family, along with cake and ice cream, but she really wants to do something fun with her friends. If you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them. Currently on the table is a spa day (manicure/pedicure/facial) with a few friends, or bowling. She deserves something special (especially after an awesome report card - one B, the rest all A's!).
Have a great evening, everyone!
If you're the praying type, your prayers for them are appreciated.
***
Today is National Pizza Day. I didn't know there was such a thing. To celebrate, I made a homemade pizza. I've changed my recipe a bit from what I've made over the years. I found a very thin flatbread that works wonderfully as a nice thin crust. I don't think it's necessarily designed to be a pizza crust, but it works for me, and with carbs being an issue for me, the fewer, the better. Del Grosso makes a really good pizza sauce, and the one I'm using is the New York Style. It has a moderately sweet tomatoey flavor. I like it. I use a low-fat mozzarella-provolone mix, which gives it a great smoky taste. Then I top it with a mix of turkey pepperoni, mushrooms, sliced grape tomatoes, black olives, and, sometimes, pineapple. After baking it, I sprinkle a moderate amount of crushed red pepper, and the result is a very flavorful, spicy-sweet, very thin-crusted pizza. And I like it! While I still have a place in my heart for the old Chef Boy-ar-dee pizza kits, this is a really good substitute, and certainly a little better for me.
***
Faithful Pup Scout is stuck in a very frustrating routine pattern. She always goes for a "walk" when we arrive home at 4 p.m. Then, a short three hours later, and almost always while I'm in the middle of eating dinner, she begins her incessant annoying barking telling me she has to go outside right that second, and not a second later. I never get to finish a warm meal. I feel like the mom in the movie THE CHRISTMAS STORY, who never gets to eat a hot meal, because by the time she's gotten her husband and all of the kids their food at dinner, and she finally sits down to eat her first bite, one of the kids needs something else. By the time she's ready to get her first bite of food, it's cold. Well, that's me. All because of this rather selfish little 9-pound white furball. It's a good thing she's not an ugly dog.
***
My daughter's birthday is next week. I still haven't figured out how we're going to celebrate. Sure, we'll have the standard birthday dinner with the family, along with cake and ice cream, but she really wants to do something fun with her friends. If you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them. Currently on the table is a spa day (manicure/pedicure/facial) with a few friends, or bowling. She deserves something special (especially after an awesome report card - one B, the rest all A's!).
Have a great evening, everyone!
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
This And That
It is such an honor to be able to thank so many of my friends and loved ones for their service in the United States military, including my father, who was in the Army Reserves, my father-in-law, Jim, who served in the National Guard, and my Uncle Jack, who served in the Army during World War 2, and was in the Battle of the Bulge. He is in his 90s, and living in Florida, and doing well despite many aches and pains. Thank you to all of our service men and women. You have my gratitude.
I was very excited over the weekend to do a search on my Tivo and find that my Pittsburgh Steelers were mentioned in the description of an "NFL Football" program on Sunday afternoon. For a few short seconds, I actually thought that meant their game was on versus the Jets. Then I got the bad news. They were mentioned only as part of the description of the Baltimore Ravens game. The description stated that the Ravens were trying to rebound from their loss to the Steelers the previous week. I was really disappointed. I thought CBS was surprising me. Instead, I realized, after looking at the schedule the rest of the season, I'll only get to see two more Steelers games all season, due to the Ravens games generally being on at the same time. That's one of the few negatives of living in this area, though I realize I'm in the minority.
Speaking of my Tivo, one of my Hollywood crushes from back in the day is Meg Ryan, and I have her listed as one of my Wishlist searches. I realized, after looking at a list of her movies, there are only a few where I actually like her character. The rest are her acting completely different than the typical "girl-next-door" type that she is known for. My favorite movies with her are, of course, JOE VERSUS THE VOLCANO, WHEN HARRY MET SALLY, and IQ, to name a few. Many of the rest of her movies she plays women who aren't as likable, in my opinion, particularly her earlier roles. JOE VERSUS... contains the quote that my blog is named for. Joe and Patricia are on a raft out in the middle of the South Pacific, just after the island they were on sinks into the ocean from the eruption of a volcano, and Patricia (Meg Ryan) asks, "I wonder where we'll end up?" Joe (Tom Hanks) responds, "Away from the things of man, my love. Away from the things of man..." It's a great last line for a movie. If you haven't seen it, it's worth watching. I mean it.
I spent most of the day working around the house, and I wore my favorite pants, a pair of black scrubs with a gold Pittsburgh Pirate "P" on them. They are sooooo comfortable! The only issue I have is that the waist isn't elastic, but has a drawstring. The drawstring is absolutely necessary given how loose the pants fit. So that's all well and good except when I need to use the bathroom, and I'm in a hurry, and in the process of untying them, I inevitably get a knot stuck and can't get them off. I have to use my inner Force to calm myself, quickly work the knot loose, and then allow nature to take its course. I have had no accidents, but I have certainly not enjoyed these moments.
Congrats to the two area Major League Baseball managers for their Manager-of-the-Year awards, Matt Williams for the Washington Nationals in the National League, and Buck Showalter for the Baltimore Orioles in the American League. Both were well deserved.
I miss baseball season. There's just 100 days until Pitchers and Catchers report for Spring Training!
Have a great evening, everyone!
***
I was very excited over the weekend to do a search on my Tivo and find that my Pittsburgh Steelers were mentioned in the description of an "NFL Football" program on Sunday afternoon. For a few short seconds, I actually thought that meant their game was on versus the Jets. Then I got the bad news. They were mentioned only as part of the description of the Baltimore Ravens game. The description stated that the Ravens were trying to rebound from their loss to the Steelers the previous week. I was really disappointed. I thought CBS was surprising me. Instead, I realized, after looking at the schedule the rest of the season, I'll only get to see two more Steelers games all season, due to the Ravens games generally being on at the same time. That's one of the few negatives of living in this area, though I realize I'm in the minority.
***
Speaking of my Tivo, one of my Hollywood crushes from back in the day is Meg Ryan, and I have her listed as one of my Wishlist searches. I realized, after looking at a list of her movies, there are only a few where I actually like her character. The rest are her acting completely different than the typical "girl-next-door" type that she is known for. My favorite movies with her are, of course, JOE VERSUS THE VOLCANO, WHEN HARRY MET SALLY, and IQ, to name a few. Many of the rest of her movies she plays women who aren't as likable, in my opinion, particularly her earlier roles. JOE VERSUS... contains the quote that my blog is named for. Joe and Patricia are on a raft out in the middle of the South Pacific, just after the island they were on sinks into the ocean from the eruption of a volcano, and Patricia (Meg Ryan) asks, "I wonder where we'll end up?" Joe (Tom Hanks) responds, "Away from the things of man, my love. Away from the things of man..." It's a great last line for a movie. If you haven't seen it, it's worth watching. I mean it.
***
I spent most of the day working around the house, and I wore my favorite pants, a pair of black scrubs with a gold Pittsburgh Pirate "P" on them. They are sooooo comfortable! The only issue I have is that the waist isn't elastic, but has a drawstring. The drawstring is absolutely necessary given how loose the pants fit. So that's all well and good except when I need to use the bathroom, and I'm in a hurry, and in the process of untying them, I inevitably get a knot stuck and can't get them off. I have to use my inner Force to calm myself, quickly work the knot loose, and then allow nature to take its course. I have had no accidents, but I have certainly not enjoyed these moments.
***
Congrats to the two area Major League Baseball managers for their Manager-of-the-Year awards, Matt Williams for the Washington Nationals in the National League, and Buck Showalter for the Baltimore Orioles in the American League. Both were well deserved.
I miss baseball season. There's just 100 days until Pitchers and Catchers report for Spring Training!
Have a great evening, everyone!
Monday, November 10, 2014
How I Spent My Day Off
"How I Spent My Summer--...er, I mean, My Day Off"
by Eric Freed
Today was a rare day off, and I aimed to spend it somewhere other than on the couch all day. So I got my daughter up and off to school, and then I went right out to breakfast at one of my favorite breakfast joints, Eggspectation. And it was gooooood! The Eggs-iliration has pancakes, potatoes, tomato slices, fruit garnish, and, of course, eggs! Scrambled is the way I like them. I also got a small OJ and coffee. One note about the coffee....it isn't very good. I love a good diner-style coffee, and this isn't it. Everything else is great. They even brought me some sugar-free syrup for my pancakes. My server, Stevie, was very attentive and kept checking on me, which was nice of him since he had a lot of tables and I was the only one with only one customer.
Despite it being my day off, I decided to mix in a few errands along with the fun stuff. So my next stop was at Kohl's, off of Montgomery Road in Ellicott City. I needed to get a few dress shirts for work, and some khakis. I struck out. My meds have caused me to put on more weight than I'd like, and my clothes need to be upgraded. I've been doing it slowly in intervals over the past two years because dress clothes aren't cheap. I was disappointed to find that they had nothing in my size. Everything was just a touch too small. This is pretty typical. While I can find some pants with a 40" waist, and some with a 34" inseam, you can't find any with both. And forget trying to get an 18" neck on a dress shirt. Apparently these aren't standard sizes. Either that, or everyone is that size and they're sold out. Looks like I'm going to have to buy them online.
My next stop was at Ollie's in Jessup. Ollie's is a fun little store with a lot of junk. They have fairly good prices on lots of things, and it's kind of like going to a flea market. I really wasn't looking for anything in particular. I just wanted to look around. You never know what you might find. I didn't find anything I wanted, this time.
Next was Home Depot. I needed some filters for my heat pump, and I'm in the market for a new snow shovel. I'm one of those guys who believes in the Farmer's Almanac, which says we're going to get a LOT of snow this Winter. I want to be prepared. I was very disappointed to see that, even though they have a whole section of the store filled with Christmas decorations, and even though, last I checked, Christmas is celebrated in December, which is a Winter month, there were no snow shovels in the store. So much for being prepared....
Next stop: Daedalus Books! This is probably my favorite store in the Greater Columbia Metropolitan Area. I could literally spend hours in this place, just browsing. This isn't the kind of book store that you go to find a specific book. The books here find you. They have a fantastic history section, and I love the travel section. They have a huge selection of cook books. There are DVDs, and CDs, and a huge kid's section. And you can walk out with 10 books and not spend more than $50. It's great!
After an entire morning of running around, I debated whether I should just head home for lunch, or grab a sandwich somewhere and then catch a movie. It was almost 1 p.m., and the debate ended when I realized that my daughter would be getting out of school around the time the movie would be ending. So I compromised. I got a sandwich to take home.
I let Siri on my iPhone give me a list of sandwich shops in the area, and I decided it would be a place I had never tried before. The top of the list was Bon Fresco Sandwich Bakery, just off of Oakland Mills Road, behind the Ledo's Restaurant. I almost missed it, given how hidden it seemed, kind of hiding in plain sight. Wow, what a gem! All I can say is that it's an unassuming little place with a big appetite of flavorful sandwiches. I got the Turkey Picante Sandwich (roast turkey, hot pepper cheese, roasted peppers and veggies, with poblano pepper hot sauce, on ciabatta bread). I got it to go, and headed home.
Faithful Pup Scout was sooooo excited to see me. She wasn't very happy when I left this morning. We sat down on the couch and I ate a very delicious sandwich. Soon, though, it was time to go get my daughter. While I was disappointed that this meant my day off was essentially over, I was very excited to see her.
And that's how I spent my day off. Have a great evening, everyone!
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Weekend in Review
It was a wildly crazy couple of days, so much so that we actually didn't even turn on the TV for two days! In our house, I'm sad to say, that's pretty noteworthy. All right, I guess I should mention that "wildly crazy" may not be quite as wild or crazy as others might think. So what have we been up to?
Thursday was Melody's big field trip with her classmates to Mount Vernon, George and Martha Washington's home in Virginia. After picking Melody up from school, she couldn't stop talking about all of the things she saw. She said it was really beautiful, especially the view from the house. She really enjoyed the trip. One statistic that adds some perspective, and something she and I talked about, was the fact that George Washington was in his 40s when Ludwig van Beethoven was born, meaning that many classics of music history were written during the early days of the United States.
Friday, following work and school, Melody and I decided to go to the Bengie's Drive-in. We are reaching the end of the season, with the much cooler weather, though the Bengies wants you to know that their season goes from early Spring well into late Fall. The big movie of the night was BIG HERO SIX, the latest Disney computer-animated movie. I know about Big Hero Six from their Marvel comic book series back in the 90s, which I bought new. This movie is really nothing like the comic book, but that's not a bad thing. The movie was very enjoyable, and Melody had a great time. The movie runs the gamut of hilarity to heartbreak, and we laughed at the understated vocal patterns of the robot Baymax, who steals the movie. Baymax is a "health assistant" robot, and "he" only wants to help everyone he comes across. He's a huge marshmallow/snowman shaped robot made out of vinyl balloons, and he squeaks across the screen as he walks and moves and finds himself forced into tight spaces that the main character, Hiro, leads him into.
The gist of the story, not to give too much away (**SPOILER ALERT**), is that Hiro, a young robotics prodigy who finished school at the age of 13, finds himself bored to the point that he does things that would get him in trouble. His older brother, who attends a special science college, talks Hiro into joining him at the school, where he meets his brother's friends and all of the cool things that they get to work on. Hiro decides he wants to join them. His brother, who has already created Baymax, inspires Hiro to get his life together and he comes up with a great robot invention that the head of the school thinks is pretty good, a microrobot that, when joined by thousands of other microrobots, can do just about anything. However, the microrobots are stolen and Hiro's brother is killed in an explosion. The rest of the movie is about Hiro's attempts to find out how his brother was killed, and he's joined by the gang from the school who don super-hero costumes using their inventions, along with Baymax in a suit of armor, to figure it out. (**END SPOILER ALERT**)
The movie is a lot of fun, the animation is great, the characters are nicely developed, and Baymax is going to be a big star. The kids are going to love it. And you might like it, too.
After getting home very late from the drive-in, we were up really early to go into downtown DC for the American Heart Association-sponsored DC Heartwalk! The DC Heartwalk was my opportunity to assist in the effort to build healthier lives free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke by raising money through fundraising and then participating in the 3-mile walk around the National Mall. There were over 8000 people participating in the walk, and they were full of energy. It was kids- and dog-friendly, and both were there in abundance.
This is the second walk I've participated in, the first with the AHA. Previously, I did the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer about 7 years ago, and is detailed HERE. This walk was a heck of lot easier. The Breast Cancer walk was a 39.3 mile walk over two days, and it about killed me. I had decided that I didn't need to do any training in advance of the walk, and my body was in no way ready for that kind of workout. After the first day, I literally couldn't move my legs anymore. I don't think my body had ever been that exhausted before or since. The walk yesterday was vastly different. Three miles isn't a lot, and while my body is a heck of a lot less fit than it was even seven years ago, I at least was able to still walk after it was over.
And it's for a great cause. My wife died from a heart attack resulting from complications from mitral valve prolapse and an enlarged heart. Personally, I have high blood pressure and hypertension, as well as type 2 diabetes. This is a cause I want to support. I'm so thankful for all who supported me through donations and prayers. It isn't too late to donate, and if you feel like supporting the American Heart Association, I would be honored if you would. You may use the link HERE. Thank you!
After the walk, we met my parents in College Park for lunch at the original Ledo Restaurant. It was nice to visit with them. My parents are aging so gracefully, and it's hard to believe that they're both in their late 60s. We had a good time talking about the past week, and our upcoming plans for the Holidays. Upon leaving, we walked past a meter-maid on the sidewalk just outside of the parking garage they parked in, Dad told me he wasn't sure how the meters in the parking garage worked, and he actually didn't pay the meter after parking, which is what he should've done. I told him he likely got a ticket. College Park is ruthless with parking enforcement. To our surprise, there was no ticket! I couldn't believe it, and we're now convinced that there must've been time on the meter for their space when they parked and they didn't know it. Anyway, it was a nice gift.
Melody and I drove home, and we had just enough time to clean up, grab a couple of showers, and then head right back out to church. Pastor Mark, the senior pastor of Grace Community Church, presented a message on aging, which I thought was ironic given my thoughts about my parents earlier. It was a great message, and if you're interested in hearing it, please check out the Grace website at www.gcconline.org later this week to see it there.
After church, we stopped to get a few groceries, then my daughter asked if we could stop and get some Munchkin donut holes at Dunkin' Donuts. She specifically wanted chocolate ones. So we stopped at three different Dunkin' Donuts before we found some. The first had no chocolate ones, the second was closed (at 7:30 p.m. on a Saturday???), and the third barely had any. We left with 10 in a cup for $1.99. At least we satisfied her craving.
We finally arrived home at 8 and we had a late light dinner. We watched a little TV for the first time in several days. I began writing a blog post and I fell asleep two paragraphs in. And that's why there was no post last night. Sorry.
Anyway, the time change has had a dramatic impact on me, as I noted a few days ago. Early to bed and early to rise, as they say.
Enjoy your Sunday!
Thursday was Melody's big field trip with her classmates to Mount Vernon, George and Martha Washington's home in Virginia. After picking Melody up from school, she couldn't stop talking about all of the things she saw. She said it was really beautiful, especially the view from the house. She really enjoyed the trip. One statistic that adds some perspective, and something she and I talked about, was the fact that George Washington was in his 40s when Ludwig van Beethoven was born, meaning that many classics of music history were written during the early days of the United States.
***
Friday, following work and school, Melody and I decided to go to the Bengie's Drive-in. We are reaching the end of the season, with the much cooler weather, though the Bengies wants you to know that their season goes from early Spring well into late Fall. The big movie of the night was BIG HERO SIX, the latest Disney computer-animated movie. I know about Big Hero Six from their Marvel comic book series back in the 90s, which I bought new. This movie is really nothing like the comic book, but that's not a bad thing. The movie was very enjoyable, and Melody had a great time. The movie runs the gamut of hilarity to heartbreak, and we laughed at the understated vocal patterns of the robot Baymax, who steals the movie. Baymax is a "health assistant" robot, and "he" only wants to help everyone he comes across. He's a huge marshmallow/snowman shaped robot made out of vinyl balloons, and he squeaks across the screen as he walks and moves and finds himself forced into tight spaces that the main character, Hiro, leads him into.
The gist of the story, not to give too much away (**SPOILER ALERT**), is that Hiro, a young robotics prodigy who finished school at the age of 13, finds himself bored to the point that he does things that would get him in trouble. His older brother, who attends a special science college, talks Hiro into joining him at the school, where he meets his brother's friends and all of the cool things that they get to work on. Hiro decides he wants to join them. His brother, who has already created Baymax, inspires Hiro to get his life together and he comes up with a great robot invention that the head of the school thinks is pretty good, a microrobot that, when joined by thousands of other microrobots, can do just about anything. However, the microrobots are stolen and Hiro's brother is killed in an explosion. The rest of the movie is about Hiro's attempts to find out how his brother was killed, and he's joined by the gang from the school who don super-hero costumes using their inventions, along with Baymax in a suit of armor, to figure it out. (**END SPOILER ALERT**)
The movie is a lot of fun, the animation is great, the characters are nicely developed, and Baymax is going to be a big star. The kids are going to love it. And you might like it, too.
***
After getting home very late from the drive-in, we were up really early to go into downtown DC for the American Heart Association-sponsored DC Heartwalk! The DC Heartwalk was my opportunity to assist in the effort to build healthier lives free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke by raising money through fundraising and then participating in the 3-mile walk around the National Mall. There were over 8000 people participating in the walk, and they were full of energy. It was kids- and dog-friendly, and both were there in abundance.
This is the second walk I've participated in, the first with the AHA. Previously, I did the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer about 7 years ago, and is detailed HERE. This walk was a heck of lot easier. The Breast Cancer walk was a 39.3 mile walk over two days, and it about killed me. I had decided that I didn't need to do any training in advance of the walk, and my body was in no way ready for that kind of workout. After the first day, I literally couldn't move my legs anymore. I don't think my body had ever been that exhausted before or since. The walk yesterday was vastly different. Three miles isn't a lot, and while my body is a heck of a lot less fit than it was even seven years ago, I at least was able to still walk after it was over.
And it's for a great cause. My wife died from a heart attack resulting from complications from mitral valve prolapse and an enlarged heart. Personally, I have high blood pressure and hypertension, as well as type 2 diabetes. This is a cause I want to support. I'm so thankful for all who supported me through donations and prayers. It isn't too late to donate, and if you feel like supporting the American Heart Association, I would be honored if you would. You may use the link HERE. Thank you!
***
After the walk, we met my parents in College Park for lunch at the original Ledo Restaurant. It was nice to visit with them. My parents are aging so gracefully, and it's hard to believe that they're both in their late 60s. We had a good time talking about the past week, and our upcoming plans for the Holidays. Upon leaving, we walked past a meter-maid on the sidewalk just outside of the parking garage they parked in, Dad told me he wasn't sure how the meters in the parking garage worked, and he actually didn't pay the meter after parking, which is what he should've done. I told him he likely got a ticket. College Park is ruthless with parking enforcement. To our surprise, there was no ticket! I couldn't believe it, and we're now convinced that there must've been time on the meter for their space when they parked and they didn't know it. Anyway, it was a nice gift.
Melody and I drove home, and we had just enough time to clean up, grab a couple of showers, and then head right back out to church. Pastor Mark, the senior pastor of Grace Community Church, presented a message on aging, which I thought was ironic given my thoughts about my parents earlier. It was a great message, and if you're interested in hearing it, please check out the Grace website at www.gcconline.org later this week to see it there.
After church, we stopped to get a few groceries, then my daughter asked if we could stop and get some Munchkin donut holes at Dunkin' Donuts. She specifically wanted chocolate ones. So we stopped at three different Dunkin' Donuts before we found some. The first had no chocolate ones, the second was closed (at 7:30 p.m. on a Saturday???), and the third barely had any. We left with 10 in a cup for $1.99. At least we satisfied her craving.
We finally arrived home at 8 and we had a late light dinner. We watched a little TV for the first time in several days. I began writing a blog post and I fell asleep two paragraphs in. And that's why there was no post last night. Sorry.
Anyway, the time change has had a dramatic impact on me, as I noted a few days ago. Early to bed and early to rise, as they say.
Enjoy your Sunday!
Friday, November 7, 2014
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Alaska Road Trip...Down the Road
You only live once, so my daughter and I are planning a really big road trip, one of those once-in-a-lifetime trips that get my blood pumping just thinking about it. I made a deal with Melody that I would take her to all 50 US states before she graduates from high school, and, so far, she has been to 34. We still need a few in the Southwest (Utah, New Mexico, and Texas), the Northwest (Washington, Oregon, and Idaho), the Plains (North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, and Kansas), and the deep South (Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama), plus the two biggies, Alaska and Hawaii. And since we can't drive to Hawaii, we're going to figure out something else in order to get there. But we are planning to take the ultimate road trip to Alaska!
The trip won't be anytime soon. We're thinking that the Summer of 2016 will be our target, with a lengthy three weeks of time off for the trip. While it's still in the early planning stages, I'm starting to plan the route. Since we still need to cross off North Dakota, we'll likely take the northern route out of Chicago and travel across Minnesota and North Dakota and into Montana, with a stop at Glacier National Park. I'd like to hit Calgary, Alberta, Banff National Park, and then travel north to the Alaska Highway and up into America's Last Frontier. After a week in Alaska, I'd like to come back down to Washington and Oregon before heading east across Idaho and eventually across Iowa. We'll knock out a lot of states on this trip.
I can't help but feel excited, even if we're still a year and a half away from actually taking the trip. It will be the biggest trip I've ever taken, by far, and I've been on a few big ones. I started taking Melody on road trips when she was two, with a fun trip to Florida and Universal Studios. A few years later, we went to Disney, and then we took our first trip Out West (Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming, and a few miles into Montana just to cross it off the list). It was an awesome trip, and we saw some amazing sites, including the Crazy Horse Memorial, Mt. Rushmore, buffalo in Custer State Park, Deadwood, the Badlands, Wall Drug Store, Devil's Tower, Wind Cave, Chimney Rock, and Rocky Mountain National Park, to name a few of our favorites. Melody's latest favorite trip was way out west, to Southern California (and Las Vegas).
So we're ready for another big trip. Since this one is going to be SO big, and it's going to be a long time until we go, we'll have to fill up the gap with a bunch of little trips. We're going to the Smokies, to New York City (again), maybe to Pittsburgh, another trip to Chicago, Ocean City, and Busch Gardens! So take a trip, folks! It does a body good.
I'm going to bed. Have a great evening, everyone!<><
The trip won't be anytime soon. We're thinking that the Summer of 2016 will be our target, with a lengthy three weeks of time off for the trip. While it's still in the early planning stages, I'm starting to plan the route. Since we still need to cross off North Dakota, we'll likely take the northern route out of Chicago and travel across Minnesota and North Dakota and into Montana, with a stop at Glacier National Park. I'd like to hit Calgary, Alberta, Banff National Park, and then travel north to the Alaska Highway and up into America's Last Frontier. After a week in Alaska, I'd like to come back down to Washington and Oregon before heading east across Idaho and eventually across Iowa. We'll knock out a lot of states on this trip.
I can't help but feel excited, even if we're still a year and a half away from actually taking the trip. It will be the biggest trip I've ever taken, by far, and I've been on a few big ones. I started taking Melody on road trips when she was two, with a fun trip to Florida and Universal Studios. A few years later, we went to Disney, and then we took our first trip Out West (Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming, and a few miles into Montana just to cross it off the list). It was an awesome trip, and we saw some amazing sites, including the Crazy Horse Memorial, Mt. Rushmore, buffalo in Custer State Park, Deadwood, the Badlands, Wall Drug Store, Devil's Tower, Wind Cave, Chimney Rock, and Rocky Mountain National Park, to name a few of our favorites. Melody's latest favorite trip was way out west, to Southern California (and Las Vegas).
So we're ready for another big trip. Since this one is going to be SO big, and it's going to be a long time until we go, we'll have to fill up the gap with a bunch of little trips. We're going to the Smokies, to New York City (again), maybe to Pittsburgh, another trip to Chicago, Ocean City, and Busch Gardens! So take a trip, folks! It does a body good.
I'm going to bed. Have a great evening, everyone!<><
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Uncivil Discourse
In this age of politics, it has occurred to me, and the evidence is everywhere, that civil discourse has been replaced by out and out anger and hatred. It's actually rather shocking, and pits neighbor against neighbor, friend against friend, and even family against family, all because we have different opinions about things. A quick glance through one's Facebook feed may even run the gamut of one political extreme to the other, with name calling and insults and jokes and hatred for one side or the other.
I came across an email from about ten years ago, from my mother to two of my aunts, after a particularly bad disagreement that resulted from the fact that my aunts are staunch Republicans, and my father is a life-long Democrat. My aunts, both older than my dad, were bullying my father for his "un-Christianlike" position as a member of the Democratic Party, and that he was going to Hell for not liking George W. Bush's politics. My dad is a smart man, and he understands the fact that there needs to be checks and balances in order for democracy to work, and it is also fact that the Democratic Party is more supportive of Federal Government employees, of which my father was one, now retired, and his son (me). He is also a Christian, as are many Democrats. However, his sisters, despite having been Democrats themselves until the past 20 years or so (like their parents), have accused my father many times of being un-Christian because he doesn't belong to the Republican Party. And they argue with him, and badmouth him, and tell him how dumb he is, and it truly upsets him to the point that he bites back, and then they get angry with him and tell him he's going to Hell. This is true. It really happened.
Anyway, my mother got frustrated over seeing how much this hurt my father, who loves his sisters and can't understand why they would allow politics to get in the way of the love of family, and the fact is my father is a Christian, and he prays for our nation and for our government leaders daily. He cares. My mother, without my father's knowledge, wrote a very common sense response to my aunts letting them know how ridiculous they were being, and how hurtful their messages were. She tried to sensibly explain that they were being un-Christian with their hateful language. My mother grew up with a father who believed that everyone had to share his beliefs, so she knew what it was like. She was not going to put up with their insults and hurtfulness, and she defended my father's views, which she shared, as well.
The email didn't have the desired effect. And while they are all civil and loving to one another in person, they continue to battle in Internetland. I think there's a lesson to be learned here, however. One is that there is no call to insult someone for their opinion. You don't have to hate someone just because they have a different point of view. That's what our country is all about, and what makes the United States of America unique. Everyone is allowed to have an opinion. Sure, you can disagree, but if you're going to argue, keep it civil. And by all means, don't brag when you're candidate beats another. You can be happy for your candidate, but you don't have to badmouth the other side. And be gracious in defeat. If your side didn't win, don't spew hate that the world is going to end. We're all Americans.
Maybe this is all just me being naive. MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON is one of my favorite movies, after all. Maybe it is too hard for us all to get along. Politics are one of those subjects that people will never agree on, like religion, and as I said at the top, we can't seem to have civil discourse anymore. Everyone has an opinion, and it seems to be on the extremes. There is no middle ground. You're either on one side or the other. It's all black and white. I think that's sad.
As we move forward following a very hard-fought election season, think about the other side. You may be happy or sad, but pray for our leaders regardless of your politics. The men and women who were voted into the positions of leadership need our support, and we need to hope and pray that our country is united. It's a lesson for the rest of the world to see that democracy can succeed and flourish. Maybe that's naive. But that's my hope.
Have a great evening, everyone!<><
I came across an email from about ten years ago, from my mother to two of my aunts, after a particularly bad disagreement that resulted from the fact that my aunts are staunch Republicans, and my father is a life-long Democrat. My aunts, both older than my dad, were bullying my father for his "un-Christianlike" position as a member of the Democratic Party, and that he was going to Hell for not liking George W. Bush's politics. My dad is a smart man, and he understands the fact that there needs to be checks and balances in order for democracy to work, and it is also fact that the Democratic Party is more supportive of Federal Government employees, of which my father was one, now retired, and his son (me). He is also a Christian, as are many Democrats. However, his sisters, despite having been Democrats themselves until the past 20 years or so (like their parents), have accused my father many times of being un-Christian because he doesn't belong to the Republican Party. And they argue with him, and badmouth him, and tell him how dumb he is, and it truly upsets him to the point that he bites back, and then they get angry with him and tell him he's going to Hell. This is true. It really happened.
Anyway, my mother got frustrated over seeing how much this hurt my father, who loves his sisters and can't understand why they would allow politics to get in the way of the love of family, and the fact is my father is a Christian, and he prays for our nation and for our government leaders daily. He cares. My mother, without my father's knowledge, wrote a very common sense response to my aunts letting them know how ridiculous they were being, and how hurtful their messages were. She tried to sensibly explain that they were being un-Christian with their hateful language. My mother grew up with a father who believed that everyone had to share his beliefs, so she knew what it was like. She was not going to put up with their insults and hurtfulness, and she defended my father's views, which she shared, as well.
The email didn't have the desired effect. And while they are all civil and loving to one another in person, they continue to battle in Internetland. I think there's a lesson to be learned here, however. One is that there is no call to insult someone for their opinion. You don't have to hate someone just because they have a different point of view. That's what our country is all about, and what makes the United States of America unique. Everyone is allowed to have an opinion. Sure, you can disagree, but if you're going to argue, keep it civil. And by all means, don't brag when you're candidate beats another. You can be happy for your candidate, but you don't have to badmouth the other side. And be gracious in defeat. If your side didn't win, don't spew hate that the world is going to end. We're all Americans.
Maybe this is all just me being naive. MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON is one of my favorite movies, after all. Maybe it is too hard for us all to get along. Politics are one of those subjects that people will never agree on, like religion, and as I said at the top, we can't seem to have civil discourse anymore. Everyone has an opinion, and it seems to be on the extremes. There is no middle ground. You're either on one side or the other. It's all black and white. I think that's sad.
As we move forward following a very hard-fought election season, think about the other side. You may be happy or sad, but pray for our leaders regardless of your politics. The men and women who were voted into the positions of leadership need our support, and we need to hope and pray that our country is united. It's a lesson for the rest of the world to see that democracy can succeed and flourish. Maybe that's naive. But that's my hope.
Have a great evening, everyone!<><
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
One Fish, Two Fish, Bad Fish, Blech!
Did you vote? I did!
Melody is home! It's so tough when the schools are closed and I know I can't be home with my daughter. I have to ship her out to either my parents or my in-laws, and while that's not a bad thing, I hate that we're not together. Fortunately, she always has a good time. I'm glad my in-laws always treat her stays with them as something special. They took a little overnight trip to Gettysburg, and they even did some clothes shopping, something Melody hates to do with me. She sang with the praise team at their church on Sunday, which is really cool (she's getting more and more comfortable with performing in front of an audience). I got a little bit of alone time, too, which is probably important, even if I never actually do anything. Interestingly, next week I'm off on Monday and Tuesday, while she's at school. What am I going to do? Clean the house.
In an effort to improve my health, I began doing more exercise and I am committed to eating a more healthy diet. Earlier this week, I bought a few groceries, including some fresh cooked fish (rainbow trout) in the seafood section of the store. I actually like seafood quite a bit, though I tend to like shrimp and shellfish more than fish. So I prepared my trout with some seasoning and a bunch of veggies. I ate it up, though I didn't care for the fish like I thought I would. I've recently bought catfish and tilapia from the same store, and I enjoyed those fish much more than the trout. Anyway, by the time I was ready to go to sleep, I began to feel queasy. The feeling increased, and I began to sweat and get nauseous, until, finally.... yeah, that's right. I had a very rocky night, barely sleeping and feeling quite bad. By morning, I still felt bad. It wasn't until much later today that I began to feel hungry again. I'm still taking it slow.
I don't know if it was just bad fish, or my reaction to something else, but I think I might take a little break from the seafood. This fish bites back.
I decided a few weeks ago to join with the American Heart Association for one of their Heartwalks, which my daughter and I will do on November 8. I don't like asking for donations, as this is very personal to me and I intend to donate all of what I pledged. All I am asking for are your prayers as we do the walk. And, if you would like to donate to this wonderful cause, here is a link you may use: http://heartwalk.kintera.org/dc/eric66f
Thank you in advance for your support! My wife, Teresa, died from a heart attack at the age of 31, 5 months after giving birth to our daughter, Melody. She had a condition called mitral valve prolapse, and her death was related to this condition and an enlarged heart. We are walking in her memory.
With that, have a great evening, folks!<><
***
Melody is home! It's so tough when the schools are closed and I know I can't be home with my daughter. I have to ship her out to either my parents or my in-laws, and while that's not a bad thing, I hate that we're not together. Fortunately, she always has a good time. I'm glad my in-laws always treat her stays with them as something special. They took a little overnight trip to Gettysburg, and they even did some clothes shopping, something Melody hates to do with me. She sang with the praise team at their church on Sunday, which is really cool (she's getting more and more comfortable with performing in front of an audience). I got a little bit of alone time, too, which is probably important, even if I never actually do anything. Interestingly, next week I'm off on Monday and Tuesday, while she's at school. What am I going to do? Clean the house.
***
In an effort to improve my health, I began doing more exercise and I am committed to eating a more healthy diet. Earlier this week, I bought a few groceries, including some fresh cooked fish (rainbow trout) in the seafood section of the store. I actually like seafood quite a bit, though I tend to like shrimp and shellfish more than fish. So I prepared my trout with some seasoning and a bunch of veggies. I ate it up, though I didn't care for the fish like I thought I would. I've recently bought catfish and tilapia from the same store, and I enjoyed those fish much more than the trout. Anyway, by the time I was ready to go to sleep, I began to feel queasy. The feeling increased, and I began to sweat and get nauseous, until, finally.... yeah, that's right. I had a very rocky night, barely sleeping and feeling quite bad. By morning, I still felt bad. It wasn't until much later today that I began to feel hungry again. I'm still taking it slow.
I don't know if it was just bad fish, or my reaction to something else, but I think I might take a little break from the seafood. This fish bites back.
***
I decided a few weeks ago to join with the American Heart Association for one of their Heartwalks, which my daughter and I will do on November 8. I don't like asking for donations, as this is very personal to me and I intend to donate all of what I pledged. All I am asking for are your prayers as we do the walk. And, if you would like to donate to this wonderful cause, here is a link you may use: http://heartwalk.kintera.org/dc/eric66f
Thank you in advance for your support! My wife, Teresa, died from a heart attack at the age of 31, 5 months after giving birth to our daughter, Melody. She had a condition called mitral valve prolapse, and her death was related to this condition and an enlarged heart. We are walking in her memory.
With that, have a great evening, folks!<><
Monday, November 3, 2014
Gotta Love Standard Time!
I LOVE Standard Time. How can you not love an extra hour of sleep? And, yeah, I know we're not really getting an extra hour. It only feels that way. But after 23 years of waking up at 5 a.m. to start my work day, I savor that extra hour of sleep that seems to be magically added to our day when Daylight Savings Time ends.
I get why The Powers That Be decided we needed to have Daylight Savings Time. Many people love having the extra daylight in the evening to get things done, to take that romantic walk around the city or neighborhood with a loved one without the fear of getting mugged, or work on your tan deep into the afternoon and still have time to go out to eat before it gets dark. But because you're out so late into the evening, you don't want to have to go to bed early, and you get less sleep when that stupid alarm goes off in the morning. That's why Daylight Savings Time is so awful.
Standard Time even sounds more official. It's "STANDARD". It's not special. It's not unusual. It's STANDARD. It's the way it's supposed to be. You get up, you work, you eat dinner, it gets dark, you watch TV, you walk the dog, and then you go to bed and get a full, normal, long night of sleep. And when the alarm goes off the next morning, you awake refreshed because you didn't dilly-dally around the house the night before, like you might do during Daylight Savings. How can that not be preferable to Daylight Savings?
The only negatives are getting really tired in the evening, eating later, and getting really tired in the evening, and eating later. In fact, I fell asleep three times as I typed that last sentence because I'm getting really tired.
Of course, I also stayed up really late to watch a football game last night that ended up getting me so worked up that, after it was over, I was on the wrong side of midnight when I finally fell asleep. I'll fix that tonight, though my body was telling me at about 4:30 this afternoon that I should get to sleep immediately. Even my night owl daughter told me today that she was exhausted all day long.
I know, it may sound like Standard Time is a major inconvenience, but, really, that not it. There's an adjustment period, so it's not going to be better all at once. Just think about the fact that, soon, when it gets dark at 5 p.m., you can go to bed. After a late dinner, of course.
So, with all that said, why the heck does (Sorry, I fell asleep again.) So I'm going to bed now. If you have any other questions about why Standard Time is so much better than Daylight Savings, just send them my way. I'm not sure if I really know. I just know that I'm tired.
Going to bed. Hope you have a great evening, everyone! <><
I get why The Powers That Be decided we needed to have Daylight Savings Time. Many people love having the extra daylight in the evening to get things done, to take that romantic walk around the city or neighborhood with a loved one without the fear of getting mugged, or work on your tan deep into the afternoon and still have time to go out to eat before it gets dark. But because you're out so late into the evening, you don't want to have to go to bed early, and you get less sleep when that stupid alarm goes off in the morning. That's why Daylight Savings Time is so awful.
Standard Time even sounds more official. It's "STANDARD". It's not special. It's not unusual. It's STANDARD. It's the way it's supposed to be. You get up, you work, you eat dinner, it gets dark, you watch TV, you walk the dog, and then you go to bed and get a full, normal, long night of sleep. And when the alarm goes off the next morning, you awake refreshed because you didn't dilly-dally around the house the night before, like you might do during Daylight Savings. How can that not be preferable to Daylight Savings?
The only negatives are getting really tired in the evening, eating later, and getting really tired in the evening, and eating later. In fact, I fell asleep three times as I typed that last sentence because I'm getting really tired.
Of course, I also stayed up really late to watch a football game last night that ended up getting me so worked up that, after it was over, I was on the wrong side of midnight when I finally fell asleep. I'll fix that tonight, though my body was telling me at about 4:30 this afternoon that I should get to sleep immediately. Even my night owl daughter told me today that she was exhausted all day long.
I know, it may sound like Standard Time is a major inconvenience, but, really, that not it. There's an adjustment period, so it's not going to be better all at once. Just think about the fact that, soon, when it gets dark at 5 p.m., you can go to bed. After a late dinner, of course.
So, with all that said, why the heck does (Sorry, I fell asleep again.) So I'm going to bed now. If you have any other questions about why Standard Time is so much better than Daylight Savings, just send them my way. I'm not sure if I really know. I just know that I'm tired.
Going to bed. Hope you have a great evening, everyone! <><
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Short Takes
I love the videos Kerri Sparling, a type 1 diabetes advocate that I follow, posts on her website/blog. She has a wonderful sense of humor about her that reminds me so much of my wife's, and I'm glad she is willing to share so much about herself. Her site is also very informative about living with type 1 diabetes. I've found that I have a lot influences on my writing, and I read a LOT of different blogs, many of them linked to my own blog, because I think, if you're going to write, you have to read, too, and her blog is one that I read everyday. Anyway, I just caught her Halloween post, and it really amused me, so I'm sharing the link to it HERE. Check it out!
If you're following me on Facebook (HERE), you may have already read the following, but I wanted to reproduce it here.
Faithful Pup Scout was sleeping soundly (with snoring) by my side on the couch, and I needed to use the bathroom, so I casually hopped up off the couch and went upstairs. Within minutes, Scout began barking. It slowly increased in volume and frequency until it became extremely annoying.
You see, at 12 years, Scout has been aging very gracefully, as much as dogs can do, and she no longer will hop off of the couch, or any furniture higher than 2 feet high. Her eyesight is suspect, and her hearing is not very good. A walk is now one rotation around the front yard. She is very content to just sit around and nap, as long as there's someone sitting with her. As soon as she's alone, she gets paranoid, and begins "calling" for someone to come and get her.
So my shouts to Scout from the bathroom to quiet down, that I would be there soon, were not heard from my partially deaf pup, and her barks soon took on the air of panic. I quickly washed up and rushed back downstairs. She was standing on the edge of the ottoman next to the couch, anxious and attempting to try to convince herself to jump, but her body not wanting to follow through. I called her name, and as soon as she saw me, her demeanor changed. She looked relieved, her ears went back, her tail wagged, and as I approached the couch and sat down, she practically jumped into my lap and arms, licking my hands and expressing excitement to see me. It was, to me, the ultimate expression of the love a dog has towards her "people". I kid about Scout being this little girly dog, who my wife wanted much more than me, but she is completely MY dog. And that's why dogs are a man's best friend.
I'm watching out the window of my living room sipping on my coffee as the wind blows, the leaves fly around, and there's a chill in the air... I love this! Fall is awesome!
Following church last night, my daughter and I ordered a couple of pizzas from little Ledo's Station House in Fulton, MD, our favorite place to get Ledo Pizza outside of the original. We were headed over to my in-laws place where my daughter would be staying for the next several days. I got a large with extra cheese, and a 2nd large with mushrooms, green peppers, and pepperoni. Unfortunately, the young lady taking my order was having trouble deciphering what I was saying, and kept wrongly repeating my order. She kept substituting onions instead of mushrooms. I had to repeat the order four times. She finally repeated exactly what I said after the fourth time, and I figured we were good to go. After a wonderful message from our Pastor, Mark Norman (check out Grace Community Church!), which was about family and focused on orphans (for Maryland Orphan Sunday, Luke 18:15-17), and walking through all of the exhibits throughout the lobby, we headed over to Station House to get our pizzas.
Station House is just under a mile from the church. I went in and paid, and was told the second pizza was on its way out of the oven. As I stood waiting, the young lady cutting the pizza and placing them in the boxes asked me if I or my family liked onions. I said I could take them or leave them. She said they mistakenly made a large pizza with ONIONS, green peppers, and pepperoni that they were going to just throw out, but I could have it, no charge, if I wanted it. I chuckled, knowing that the young lady I gave my order to over the phone didn't get it quite right, but I was glad they caught it, even if they had to make one wrong pizza. I told her that, if they didn't have anyone else more in need, I'd take it. She confirmed it was going to be trashed if I didn't take it, so we got three pizzas for the price of two. While that combination of toppings isn't my favorite, I knew we could make it work. So I'm going to freeze it, and the pizza will find a good home with my parents.
I found myself watching much of the Broncos-Patriots game, mostly hoping that it would snow. Football in the snow is awesome! I always root for Peyton Manning over Tom Brady. Manning is a little more likable, I guess. That said, it's Brady who I pray for the most. I remember seeing an interview Brady did on 60 MINUTES back in 2005. In it, he said the following: "Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there's something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, 'Hey man, this is what is.' I reached my goal, my dream, my life. Me, I think, 'God, it's got to be more than this.' I mean this isn't, this can't be what it's all cracked up to be."
I think that's sad. I know what he's missing. And, maybe, in the time since he gave this interview, he's found it. I don't know. I just pray he's found that only Jesus can fill that wanting.
All right, it's almost time for Steelers-Ravens II. Have a great evening, everyone!<><
***
If you're following me on Facebook (HERE), you may have already read the following, but I wanted to reproduce it here.
Faithful Pup Scout was sleeping soundly (with snoring) by my side on the couch, and I needed to use the bathroom, so I casually hopped up off the couch and went upstairs. Within minutes, Scout began barking. It slowly increased in volume and frequency until it became extremely annoying.
You see, at 12 years, Scout has been aging very gracefully, as much as dogs can do, and she no longer will hop off of the couch, or any furniture higher than 2 feet high. Her eyesight is suspect, and her hearing is not very good. A walk is now one rotation around the front yard. She is very content to just sit around and nap, as long as there's someone sitting with her. As soon as she's alone, she gets paranoid, and begins "calling" for someone to come and get her.
So my shouts to Scout from the bathroom to quiet down, that I would be there soon, were not heard from my partially deaf pup, and her barks soon took on the air of panic. I quickly washed up and rushed back downstairs. She was standing on the edge of the ottoman next to the couch, anxious and attempting to try to convince herself to jump, but her body not wanting to follow through. I called her name, and as soon as she saw me, her demeanor changed. She looked relieved, her ears went back, her tail wagged, and as I approached the couch and sat down, she practically jumped into my lap and arms, licking my hands and expressing excitement to see me. It was, to me, the ultimate expression of the love a dog has towards her "people". I kid about Scout being this little girly dog, who my wife wanted much more than me, but she is completely MY dog. And that's why dogs are a man's best friend.
***
***
Following church last night, my daughter and I ordered a couple of pizzas from little Ledo's Station House in Fulton, MD, our favorite place to get Ledo Pizza outside of the original. We were headed over to my in-laws place where my daughter would be staying for the next several days. I got a large with extra cheese, and a 2nd large with mushrooms, green peppers, and pepperoni. Unfortunately, the young lady taking my order was having trouble deciphering what I was saying, and kept wrongly repeating my order. She kept substituting onions instead of mushrooms. I had to repeat the order four times. She finally repeated exactly what I said after the fourth time, and I figured we were good to go. After a wonderful message from our Pastor, Mark Norman (check out Grace Community Church!), which was about family and focused on orphans (for Maryland Orphan Sunday, Luke 18:15-17), and walking through all of the exhibits throughout the lobby, we headed over to Station House to get our pizzas.
Station House is just under a mile from the church. I went in and paid, and was told the second pizza was on its way out of the oven. As I stood waiting, the young lady cutting the pizza and placing them in the boxes asked me if I or my family liked onions. I said I could take them or leave them. She said they mistakenly made a large pizza with ONIONS, green peppers, and pepperoni that they were going to just throw out, but I could have it, no charge, if I wanted it. I chuckled, knowing that the young lady I gave my order to over the phone didn't get it quite right, but I was glad they caught it, even if they had to make one wrong pizza. I told her that, if they didn't have anyone else more in need, I'd take it. She confirmed it was going to be trashed if I didn't take it, so we got three pizzas for the price of two. While that combination of toppings isn't my favorite, I knew we could make it work. So I'm going to freeze it, and the pizza will find a good home with my parents.
***
I found myself watching much of the Broncos-Patriots game, mostly hoping that it would snow. Football in the snow is awesome! I always root for Peyton Manning over Tom Brady. Manning is a little more likable, I guess. That said, it's Brady who I pray for the most. I remember seeing an interview Brady did on 60 MINUTES back in 2005. In it, he said the following: "Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there's something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, 'Hey man, this is what is.' I reached my goal, my dream, my life. Me, I think, 'God, it's got to be more than this.' I mean this isn't, this can't be what it's all cracked up to be."
I think that's sad. I know what he's missing. And, maybe, in the time since he gave this interview, he's found it. I don't know. I just pray he's found that only Jesus can fill that wanting.
All right, it's almost time for Steelers-Ravens II. Have a great evening, everyone!<><
Seven Things I'm Thinking
Seven Things I'm Thinking...
- I'm really proud of my wonderful daughter. She's growing up way to fast! She's also developing into such a great leader at her school. Hearing her confidence as she explained her responsibilities with regard to doing the morning announcements all month, including leading the Pledge of Allegiance (with "under God" included in the recitation) brought a tear to my eye. She is so smart, and really reminds me of her mom. I'm thanking God for His presence in this little girl's life, and for keeping us in His grip!
- We sent Faithful Pup Scout over to my parent's place this week, mostly to give Scout a little vacation from us, but also to give us a break. Scout doesn't know how well she has it being with my parents, but she spends the whole time moping while there. Normally, she would have to stay in our kitchen most of the day while I'm at work, and Melody is at school. She returned home yesterday, and, today, as we prepared to go out, Scout had a fit and wouldn't let us place her into the kitchen. We finally caught her, and my tempting her with a couple of slices of pepperoni, her favorite, was enough to keep her content.
- I spent a long time trying to find an appropriate Halloween costume for my daughter, who is 10. Apparently, the companies making the costumes aimed at teen girls (and even younger), as well as adults, figure that these young kids need to wear risque, sexy, age-inappropriate costumes. Are you kidding me??? EVERY costume is inappropriate! I can't figure out why any parent would allow their children to wear such things. My daughter ended up wearing a homemade costume that was, in my mind, very original, age-appropriate, and not demeaning to women or girls. I guess I must be in the minority, since I just went through my Facebook feed and saw picture after picture of young girls wearing these inappropriate costumes. I don't get it.
- One of the pastors of my church, Grace Community, delivered an incredibly difficult message last weekend. Pastor Mitchel writes a blog (LINKED HERE) where he reflects on the message, and he shares a story about what resulted from it, in addition to providing a link to the video of his message at the church's website. Mitchel's words, which come directly from the Holy Spirit, reflect my beliefs in the way I can't find words to say. If you are a Christ-follower, it is so worth your time to watch this video. I'm not looking to debate or argue with anyone. This is God's truth.
- I did not watch the Maryland-Penn State football game today. I was out running errands most of the day with my daughter, and I missed the game. However, a friend texted a message after the game ended letting me know the Terps won. I was really happy, since this was a big game for the Terps, one of the biggest wins of their first season in the Big Ten Conference. Later, though, I found out about the beginning of the game, when Maryland's team captains, at the coin toss, decided not to shake hands with the Penn State captains. Regardless of what may have driven this decision by the Maryland captains, there is absolutely no way they can justify showing such poor sportsmanship. It was embarrassing to Maryland's fans, students, alumni, and the University itself. I hope some kind of official statement is shared with everyone, something a little stronger than Maryland Coach Edsall's post-game comments, which only serve to cover himself and give the media something to chew on. As an alumnus, I am disgusted by this behavior.
- Howard County schools are closed on Monday and Tuesday (Election Day), and since I am not off from work, I have to send my little girl to her grandparent's house for the next several days. I'm glad she looks forward to doing this, and her grandparents never complain, but it does nothing but create difficulty for us both. Being a single parent is never easy, and it's completely unfair to a child with only one parent. Normal life is anything but normal.
- Deer season is in full force. I've had quite a few close calls over the last several weeks, with deer darting into the road in front of me, deer nibbling on the pumpkin on my front porch, and finding herds of deer running in the field behind my neighborhood. While driving home along Rt. 650 in Montgomery County near Damascus, a deer slipped off a small hill adjacent to the road directly in front of me. I hit the brakes, and fortunately it was able to right itself and jump away, but it was close. Be careful out there!
Have a great evening, everyone! Don't forget to set your clocks back an hour for the return to Standard Time!
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