The Walker's Visit

These past few days spent with my sister's family have been great. They are such amazing company. You got my crazy sister, Kerri, always keeping things in order with every one's best interests in mind. She's a lot of fun, I love her dearly. Then you got Allen, the chilled out guy with a great sense of humor. He believes in the mellow ways of life, which I really appreciate. The addition of the two boys has added a great deal of amusement. They are both complete joys to be around. The quiet, Kaiden has a loving demeanor and has a a lot of wisdom before those beautiful blue eyes. He's currently obsessed with bugs and I gave him a bug catcher belt with a magnifier, that he loves. I got really lucky, I had no idea he was so into bugs. Then outgoing Blake will get you laughing for hours with his funny sayings and crazy antics. He is definitely Kerri's double. I can't wait to see what he comes up with next. I hope I get to be around for as many funny moments as I possibly can.

I love you all very much, you are always welcome in our home. Can't wait till next time.

Deadlines, The Ultimate Motivator

I work so much better when I'm under a deadline. My focus is keener, I'm faster and more efficient, and, in many cases, I think I'm more creative. I need the hard end a deadline provides to spur me into action. Take the two weeks leading up to Kate's family's arrival, for example. Kate and I got more done in that short period of time than we'd gotten done in the previous six months. Knowing that we had to be finished to a certain point by a certain date, we buckled down and made it happen, and in the process ended up feeling so much better about ourselves and our house.

At work I operate under deadlines all the time. Often I'm creating 30 second commercial spots from scratch in two to three days. The project I'm working on now, a half-hour, multi-chapter training package, has a long deadline of two and a half weeks from now. But given the size of the project, I know that the time will pass quickly, so I find myself highly focused, but relaxed, everyday. The work days evaporate when I'm under deadline, which is great. There's nothing I hate more than slow work weeks, when the days crawl past. Being under deadline makes my job more exciting, and makes the time fly by.

If only I could work out a way to be under deadline with everything I need to do in my life. I know I'd procrastinate far less and I'd be much more efficient. Maybe if I hired goons to threaten me with physical harm if I don't accomplish "A" by a certain time. Or set automated emails of embarrassing stories to be sent to friends and family if not deactivated by a certain point by a password I can only access by completing specific tasks. Even if any of that wasn't ridiculous, I'd procrastinate setting it up, so it wouldn't likely help me. I'll just have to be content with the deadlines I do have naturally, and work to be as efficient when I'm not under the gun.

Okay, I have to finish this. I have an 8:00 deadline looming...I need to get ready for work. See. Deadlines work.

The Child's Mind

I am so fascinated by the minds of children. The way they continue to develop and grow everyday by what stimulates them is amazing. New words and worlds come alive all the time. We need to try to keep them around positive and beautiful things throughout their first years of life. The world just gets harder and harder the more you grow up. I am so blessed to have grownup in a stable environment. My nephews are also in a great stable atmosphere with a wonderfully loving mother and father. Blake is talking up a storm. He repeats all the words you give him the best of his ability. Kaiden is shy and is not picking up the language as fast as Blake, but I know he's smart as a whip and will soon be talking in full complete sentences before no time. I love them dearly and have loved this visit with them. All kids develop differently, and the process is so interesting. I can't wait to see what my nephews start doing next. I will miss them all terribly when they leave to go home tomorrow.

Houseguests

Kerri and Allen's visit has been really great. It's nice having other people around the house to spend time with. Last night, on a whim, Allen and I went out and got two dozen crabs from a place literally right around the corner from us (we can walk there, which is excellent for us and dangerous for our wallets.) Plus Kerri got a Mojito recipe from the waitress at Miss Shirley's when we'd been there the day before for brunch. She whipped up a batch, we set up a table in the backyard, sipped our beverages and had a feast while the kids ran around in the neighbor's scrubby yard looking for worms and bugs. The weather was perfect, the company was top choice...it was a great evening.

The value* of having a place of your own can be measured by how much you can share it with other people. I think that's what makes a house a home. Having company and houseguests adds a layer of warmth and memories to a house that wouldn't otherwise exist. Stated more esoterically, reality is based on each person's perception of it. The more your home exists in the minds and memories of other people the stronger a claim on existence your home has. It's stake in the realm of human experience gets larger each time it's shared with other people, and that, in a weird way, validates its existence.

That's probably all mumbo jumbo. But one thing's certain. We had a great time with Kate's whole family this weekend, and we hope to see Kate's parents, Kerri, Allen and the kids again sooner rather than later.


*Emotional value...it would be great if Kerri, Allen and Kate's parent's time here added to our resale value, but unless it's Brad and Angelina that visits you, or a magical leprachaun, I think that's unlikely.

How I would like my world

I love when people open their eyes to the many possibilities in life, when they decide not to be trapped in a box, where all they know is what is directly around them. Why wouldn't someone want to experience all life has to offer them?! It's those people that step out of their familiar shells that invent, discover, create, and experiment with all that the world throws at them. Continuously traveling, studying, and experiencing, is what I live for. Knowledge is so sacred. I believe there are plenty of things not yet discovered, I want to be around to see what the future has to offer, and I want to grow and learn through all new discoveries. Open your mind, accept the differences in human kind, learn and grow from those differences. We cannot live in a one-dimensional existence forever. We're all meant to live our own path, we should be able to live that life in the happiest way we know how and try to fulfill as many dreams as you can, as ourselves.

Bagels and Cream Cheese

I'm going for the low hanging fruit while Kate's family's in town. I don't have a lot of time to devote to entry writing. So today I'm focusing on the breakfast food that brings more people together. A staple at any good brunch or morning get-together, the bagel. More specifically the bagel and its constant companion, cream cheese.

This breakfast pairing has been a favorite of mine ever since Sunday School when I'd sneak up to where the Coffee Klatch adults had their meetings and sold bagels and donuts and other breakfast foods and, when I had the cash, bought and egg bagel with cream cheese. It didn't happen frequently enough. I guess ten year-olds don't often have cash lying around. I think I must have made it a point to collect the $1.50 or whatever it was the Klatch charged whenever I could. It was the only thing that made Sunday School bearable. Other than that it was an eternal bore.

I think bagels are great because they're simple and, like sandwiches, can be eaten without a plate if necessary. They make good on the go breakfast food because of that (or lunch, or dinner). Plus the disparate textures and temperatures between the hot, crispy bagel and the chilled but melting cream cheese presses a primal food trigger in mammalian brains. Lox and onions are great additions, but aren't necessary. The cream cheese, however is a must have. Bagels with butter? Silly. With jelly? There'd better be peanut butter joining the party soon.

Like yesterday's entry, bagels and cream cheese are another natural pairing inextricable from each other. Praise be to the dairy and grains food groups.

Kickin' it on your porch

Porches are fantastic. They let you be surrounded by nature in the comfort of your own home. We now have two functional porches, one in the front of the house and one that comes off the second floor. On the front porch we have a rocking chair, a vintage looking red table and green side-table. I have two hanging flowers and a sun shaped light catcher. We also managed to lock our bikes on the side railing. It's a little tight, but not bad, you can still walk around fine.

We are still in the process of fixing up our upstairs balcony porch. We've put three matching outdoor rugs down and instead of puncturing the new roof with glue or staples to keep them down, we instead put five heavy flower pots down on each corner. We also have a small steel table and two matching chairs to help. It's so nice up there. I can't wait to buy the flowers to go in all the pots, it's going to be beautiful.

My sister and Allen have enjoyed sitting out on the porches, the front one more since it's really not stopped raining until today.

We've really created a couple nice new environments for us to read, enjoy each others company, or to just be close to nature.

Peanut Butter and Jelly

Not since George Washington Carver used peanuts to build the world's first wireless communications network and end World War II has the peanut been in a more powerful position. PB&J is a synergy of epic proportions, a case where the whole is truly much larger the sum of its parts.

Why should those two flavors complement each other so perfectly? And how is it that humanity had the good fortune to stumble upon the combination? Like other great pairings; peanut butter and chocolate, macaroni and cheese, mustard and honey, their discovery was unavoidable. Like two elementary particles entangled across the far reaches of space, their mutual attraction is an immutable constant. If we didn't deliver peanut butter into the loving arms of its gelatinous soul mate, someone else, somewhere else would have. And, barring help from other sentient species, PB&J themselves would eventually develop consciousness and find each other, creating a Utopian society based on flavor and texture.

When two compounds with such complementary properties exist, they possess a gravity, slowly pulling each other toward destiny. I'm just glad that peanut butter and jelly chose our reality and our planet to actualize their flavor potential. Our small corner of the universe would be a far poorer place without it.

A Beautiful Couple in Love

Kaitlyn and Joe married yesterday and everything was perfect except that mothernature decided to rain all day and night. They had their ceremony and reception at the beautiful Gramercy Mansion. It was a grand old house that was turned into a bed and breakfast. They had a lovely female perform the vows. The words that were expressed during the ceremony were just amazing. It brought tears to my eyes just witnessing. I hope my wedding is just as beautiful. The dresses were all simply divine. All the bridesmaids were asked to wear any red dress and it was cool how they all expressed such individuallity. Seeing so much of all dad's family back together again was so touching. I'm really glad everyone came up for this event. I want to wish Kaitlyn and Joe a beautiful life together in love. I'll make sure to post some photos of this week once the house clears out.

Keeping Your Options Open

Never close off your mind to opportunity. That's something I try to do even though it often scares me. There's opportunity swirling around you all the time, like money in a cash-grab machine. If you don't reach out and pluck it, you'll never know what you're missing. And here's the beautiful thing. You don't have to feel bad or worthless or lazy or cowardly or any of that other crap if you don't seize the moment. With all that cash whizzing around your face, you'll have plenty of other opportunities. Just snatch the next one. But don't shut off the machine and send it back to the party rental company you got it from...to poorly continue the analogy.

Lately I've been designing websites for Home Improvement contractors in upstate New York and then setting them up with Pay-Per-Click online ad campaigns. It's an opportunity brought to me by my old business partner Robert, who moved his family up there a year ago or so and now sells building supplies. Robert and I used to work together at Renegade. Sometime prior to that he used to hang siding for a living and had always thought about opening up a small side outfit. He came to me because he needed someone to design fliers and advertising mailers. We decided a partnership was the best fit for the situation, and, even though it made me nervous to embark down a path I'd never even known existed, I reached out and grabbed the cash. If I hadn't Robert and I would never would have gotten to be friends and I'd never have been presented with my current opportunity.

I guess what I'm saying is this. Opportunity is everywhere. You'd don't have to dig around for it. It will come to you. You just have to say, "yes" when it does. Unless there's a strongly compelling reason to turn the opportunity away, take it. Sort out the particulars later.

New Perspectives

Exploring different rooms in your home can be so interesting. Jason and I are sleeping in our guest room this week so Kerri, Allen, and Kaiden can have our larger room. We put one of the new ceiling fans in here and we set up the 2nd floor patio that is right off this room. It's also on the quiet side of the house, so no more being woken up by helicopters or ambulances from the hospital down the street. It almost feels like we're on vacation, too. Venturing out and exploring different perspectives of your home or neighborhood can be such a trip. I really recommend it. It was especially cute when my nephews came in to wake me up.

Everyone Arriving Safely

Kate's family is here, after some minor hiccups. Kerri and Allen's flight was delayed a bit, and then forced to sit on the tarmac for about 25 minutes due to lightening. Kate's parents drove up from Myrtle Beach uneventfully. I'm sure plenty of other family has come into town for Kate's cousins wedding and I hope and suspect that their travels have all been successful as well.

I know that, statistically, none of this is unexpected. Most people get where they're going most of the time without event. But that doesn't mean you can't be thankful that this time wasn't any different than every other time, and that outcomes were favorable. And be thankful to live in a country where you ride the positive end of the statistical curve more often than the other end.

Looking forward to a great visit with the fam, and a fun time at the wedding reception tonight. Here's to wishing all positive things for Joe and Kaitlyn!