We moved. We now live in Pennsylvania. It has been about 11 months since we left SLC, and I can't really say it has taken to me yet. I miss the dry air, the mountains, the elevation and the many friends that we left there.
I don't miss the inversion.
After several months off from running (about 14), I started up again recently. I started with short runs again, approximately 3 miles, and am going to gradually move up until I can consistently hit about 20-25 miles a week. That's what I would like to do, anyway. I miss the 2.8 loop that I used to run outside my house in UT, but I have one here that works pretty good, and since I can leave from my front door and return to my front door, well, that helps tremendously.
I watched a documentary recently called "Spirit of the Marathon". I enjoyed it thoroughly and was inspired by the stories. I am beginning to think that I would like to run one. Just to see how it is. Just to try it. Just to finish. Even today, as I am recovering from a ridiculous 24 hour onset of illness, I desire to run.
We'll see what's up.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Monday, February 16, 2009
Saturday, September 13, 2008
I recieved this comment on the "billboard" post. It represents a different opinion on Krust Buster. I think it only fair to let others read it and decide for themselves the facts of the matter.
Anonymous said...
Actually it is called a Krust Buster - not a crust waster. Waste is something thrown away. There is nothing on the website at Krustbuster.com that encourages people to throw anything away. Actually the website encourages the user of the product to use the crusts for croutons, stuffings and casseroles or spending some quality time with a child feeding the ducks. It even posts a recipe for bread croutons. Brown eyed girl praises you for sharing such interesting "facts." Facts are a childs stomach is much smaller than an adults. To force them to eat the same size sandwich as an adult would be slightly short of child abuse. Fact. 4 out of 10 children don't eat their crusts - regardless of the krustbuster that would make them the target of your critical blog. To Get perspective try reading your blog again and replace Krustbuster with "4 out of 10 children." The Krustbuster was invented to curb the appetite of this waste. The Krustbuster actually makes something useful out of a crust before kids get their mouth and germs on the sandwich. Facts are that the 4 out of 10 kids that don't eat their crusts do it because of a flaw in the sandwich, which flaw is it's greatest strength. Bread is not just something to eat, it becomes a utensil - a sort of plate. ( see Wikepedia reference below. ) For this reason the insides of the bread ie. peanut butter, jam, meats, tuna fish, tomatoes etc. do not usually extend out past the edge of the bread. This leaves the "utensil or plate" naked or without the added taste of the desired insides. Sandwiches are made to be held without the insides touching the hands -unless you dine at Carl's Junior. For this reason and because some adults sometimes expect a child to eat the same size bread they just ate and becasue a child's stomach is so much smaller - the child who is not necessarily wasteful but resourceful says " hey if i am going to fill up on a big sandwich - I am going to fill up on the best parts which to them happens to be the parts insides protected by the crust. Which by the way are the most expensive parts of the sandwich and the most expensive parts to grow and produce.To further stress this point join me at a restaurant with wife. She orders a oriental chicken salad. 3/4 is lettuce the rest are seasonings and chicken. She picks at it and leaves most of the lettuce but totally finishes the chicken and seasonings. She leaves the restaurant stuffed but leaves half of the lettuce. Hmm... could she be the target of your next blog. Applebee billboards might catch your eye next. The Krustbuster tackles this problem head on by creating a child friendly "toy" that encourages children to make their own sandwiches so they will get an early consciousness in food preparation. What better place to start than at a sandwich. My personal experience with the Krustbuster. Watching my 5 year old's face light up when he made his first pocket sandwich- that's priceless. Going to feed the ducks or watching him see his mom use it to make a casserole - priceless again. Voluntarily seeing him put his sandwich in the Krustbuster and using it as a protective device to keep his sandwich fresh and "unsmushed" until school lunch- even more priceless. I wonder how many other kids threw away their sandwich after it had been "smushed" by their apple or drink ? Knowing I am going to be spending less money on zip lock bags that will end up in a landfill. Hmmm... Now that is what I call "saving waste". Don't try to tell the worldwide web what waste is when you don't understand it. Nothing is waste until you throw it away.To brown eyed girl there is nothing "easier or quicker" about the Krustbuster sandwiches. They take more time and planning to prepare and as a child friendly device it encourages interaction between child and adult. It also encourages "eating in" instead of "eating out" and since we are reaching epidemic proportions of overweight children in the U.S., the Krustbuster might be the revolution we need to get kids in the kitchen and out of the restaurant booth. The krustbuster is anything but lazy and unselfish. un humane..hmmmm ?Sorry to blog in on what looks like a very tight family-friend website but seriously- cars that do more harm than good? You driving by the billboard three times a day making a living so you can afford to raise a family. That is more harm than good ?You have no leisure time but you can spend time blogging about a product you have neither researched, used or cared to look at except at 65 miles per hour. Looks like the blinds might be hanging a little heavy over your eyes.Reference:Wikipedia describes the early history of the sandwich in part, "During the Middle Ages, thick slabs of coarse and usually stale bread, called "trenchers", were used as plates. After a meal, the food-soaked trencher was fed to a dog, or to unfortunate beggars, or eaten by the diner. Trenchers were as much the harbingers of open-face sandwiches[3] as they were of disposable dishware."
I didn't know a simple opinion on a simple subject could cause such ill will toward me. I'm sorry for stepping on the shoes of the president of the company.
Anonymous said...
Actually it is called a Krust Buster - not a crust waster. Waste is something thrown away. There is nothing on the website at Krustbuster.com that encourages people to throw anything away. Actually the website encourages the user of the product to use the crusts for croutons, stuffings and casseroles or spending some quality time with a child feeding the ducks. It even posts a recipe for bread croutons. Brown eyed girl praises you for sharing such interesting "facts." Facts are a childs stomach is much smaller than an adults. To force them to eat the same size sandwich as an adult would be slightly short of child abuse. Fact. 4 out of 10 children don't eat their crusts - regardless of the krustbuster that would make them the target of your critical blog. To Get perspective try reading your blog again and replace Krustbuster with "4 out of 10 children." The Krustbuster was invented to curb the appetite of this waste. The Krustbuster actually makes something useful out of a crust before kids get their mouth and germs on the sandwich. Facts are that the 4 out of 10 kids that don't eat their crusts do it because of a flaw in the sandwich, which flaw is it's greatest strength. Bread is not just something to eat, it becomes a utensil - a sort of plate. ( see Wikepedia reference below. ) For this reason the insides of the bread ie. peanut butter, jam, meats, tuna fish, tomatoes etc. do not usually extend out past the edge of the bread. This leaves the "utensil or plate" naked or without the added taste of the desired insides. Sandwiches are made to be held without the insides touching the hands -unless you dine at Carl's Junior. For this reason and because some adults sometimes expect a child to eat the same size bread they just ate and becasue a child's stomach is so much smaller - the child who is not necessarily wasteful but resourceful says " hey if i am going to fill up on a big sandwich - I am going to fill up on the best parts which to them happens to be the parts insides protected by the crust. Which by the way are the most expensive parts of the sandwich and the most expensive parts to grow and produce.To further stress this point join me at a restaurant with wife. She orders a oriental chicken salad. 3/4 is lettuce the rest are seasonings and chicken. She picks at it and leaves most of the lettuce but totally finishes the chicken and seasonings. She leaves the restaurant stuffed but leaves half of the lettuce. Hmm... could she be the target of your next blog. Applebee billboards might catch your eye next. The Krustbuster tackles this problem head on by creating a child friendly "toy" that encourages children to make their own sandwiches so they will get an early consciousness in food preparation. What better place to start than at a sandwich. My personal experience with the Krustbuster. Watching my 5 year old's face light up when he made his first pocket sandwich- that's priceless. Going to feed the ducks or watching him see his mom use it to make a casserole - priceless again. Voluntarily seeing him put his sandwich in the Krustbuster and using it as a protective device to keep his sandwich fresh and "unsmushed" until school lunch- even more priceless. I wonder how many other kids threw away their sandwich after it had been "smushed" by their apple or drink ? Knowing I am going to be spending less money on zip lock bags that will end up in a landfill. Hmmm... Now that is what I call "saving waste". Don't try to tell the worldwide web what waste is when you don't understand it. Nothing is waste until you throw it away.To brown eyed girl there is nothing "easier or quicker" about the Krustbuster sandwiches. They take more time and planning to prepare and as a child friendly device it encourages interaction between child and adult. It also encourages "eating in" instead of "eating out" and since we are reaching epidemic proportions of overweight children in the U.S., the Krustbuster might be the revolution we need to get kids in the kitchen and out of the restaurant booth. The krustbuster is anything but lazy and unselfish. un humane..hmmmm ?Sorry to blog in on what looks like a very tight family-friend website but seriously- cars that do more harm than good? You driving by the billboard three times a day making a living so you can afford to raise a family. That is more harm than good ?You have no leisure time but you can spend time blogging about a product you have neither researched, used or cared to look at except at 65 miles per hour. Looks like the blinds might be hanging a little heavy over your eyes.Reference:Wikipedia describes the early history of the sandwich in part, "During the Middle Ages, thick slabs of coarse and usually stale bread, called "trenchers", were used as plates. After a meal, the food-soaked trencher was fed to a dog, or to unfortunate beggars, or eaten by the diner. Trenchers were as much the harbingers of open-face sandwiches[3] as they were of disposable dishware."
I didn't know a simple opinion on a simple subject could cause such ill will toward me. I'm sorry for stepping on the shoes of the president of the company.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
trip after trip
After a nice, albeit short, break in PA this past weekend, I returned for a couple days of work and am now getting ready to go to Mexico. I am excited about the trip and was up late last night finishing the "little things" packing. However, I was jerked out of bed at 4:45 this morning by something wrong in my stomach. I don't feel right quite yet, even though I spent the majority of an hour in the bathroom (too much information, scott, come on). Anyhow, we are leaving in about 2 hours, so I ask for your prayers for our group for safety and good work and a shared spirit of service. Also that my stomach would start to feel better very soon. Ugh. I don't feel good at all right now. I am not sure if a 10 hour van ride is the right prescription for what I have either...
Anyhow, I will write more at another time. Just know that I had a great time in PA visiting family and spending time with Janine and the kids (who have been there for a while). I miss them terribly when we are apart and highly anticipate their return in 9 days.
Off to Mexico I go.
Anyhow, I will write more at another time. Just know that I had a great time in PA visiting family and spending time with Janine and the kids (who have been there for a while). I miss them terribly when we are apart and highly anticipate their return in 9 days.
Off to Mexico I go.
Friday, June 13, 2008
quick report
My mind has been in a million different places.
First thing:
Shirley finished school last week. I can't even begin to say how proud I am of her for the hard work that she has put in since beginning school here last year. She has improved dramatically in so many areas and continues to work hard to improve. She is such a smart girl who loves to read, even taking time to read to her brothers quite often. Now she is getting into summer mode, enjoying being at home with Mami and the boys, spending time with them. Mami continues to work with her in math, though, but she has been good about working without much complaint.
Shirley also lost her first tooth here in the U.S. the other day. She was so proud of losing it, showing us immediately after it fell out as she brushed her teeth for bed. She got a nice visit from the tooth fairy for her first one with us; I thought about pulling out some of my own for the generosity shown by the tooth fairy. Anyhow, she will most likely lose another one in the next couple weeks; the dentist said it would be a summer for her losing teeth. She's going to be rich.
She also had her 10th birthday earlier this week. After a full day of fun with Mami and some time with Tio Pepe', we ended up going out for dinner at a steak house (her choice) with some friends. It was a good time for everyone, visiting and celebrating her birthday. Her summer has been quite adventurous so far, and will continue to be so as Janine and the kids prepare for a trip back to PA for a while.
The boys have been doing great. The biggest thing about them is how much they have grown lately. It seems that both Juan and Andres have sprouted about three more inches just in recent weeks. I am not sure that it is necessarily true, but it certainly seems to be so. It has been fun to see them growing in so many ways and developing new skills all the time. They have fun wrestling each other and playing as much as possible. Every time I wake them on Saturday I ask what they want to do that day. Inevitably, Juan answers, "Play." That's all he wants to do. Play. I always tell them that it sounds like a good idea. I can't believe that they will be going to pre-school in the fall. They are growing so quickly.
For me, work continues. It hasn't been an overly busy summer so far, but it has been busy enough. With the economy slacking somewhat, I am very happy to have had steady work and to have had strong support from our boss in making sure that we are able to stay busy. I know that survey is not my ultimate goal, and that I have been less than thrilled about it before, but I am grateful for it now, for the chance to provide for our family on a regular basis.
I continue to get ready for the Mexico trip, which is now just four weeks away. I am anticipating a wonderful trip, full of hard work and good times. Our friends Josh and Becky have been diligently working hard to prepare our team and have been doing a fantastic job getting us all ready. Tomorrow we will work as a team in doing some things around our condo complex; I will like being close to home to work, as I am sure that Janine and the kids will join us in the fun on what looks to be the hottest day of the year so far.
But that will follow the running of another 5K. My 4th race and 3rd 5K of the year. This comes one week after running a 10K down Emigration Canyon. I can't really explain what has happened, why I have started running...and really why I have enjoyed running. But I do. It has become a time for me to get good exercise in a relatively short time (usually I run for about 25 minutes, 50 on Saturdays) and to clear my mind of much of the nonsense that compiles throughout the week. It is refreshing for me, and has been good for my stress level. In the seven weeks that I have been running I have dropped 15 pounds, too, which is an added bonus. I am grateful to have the support of a few friends who have been running the races with me, challenging me in the training, and just overall having fun with me in doing all of this. Plus there is the friendly competition that we have with each other, which helps push us to our limits (and sometimes past our limits) for sure. It has been fun.
Anyhow, I have been absent for a while, but it is not for a lack of things to say or with any intention to not fill readers in on what has been going on. I have just lost track of time, really, getting caught up in the busyness of reality, specifically summers. There is actually a ton of things going on in my mind, but I will have to find the time and words to share them. For now, just play by play news.
The news of Tim Russert has touched me in an odd way. I stayed up late with him and Tom Brokaw on election night in 2000, sitting in an apartment in Glennallen, AK, awaiting news of a winner, only to go to bed without a new president-elect. I was 24, just beginning to care about a lot of thing in the socio-political spectrum, and found someone who I believed I could listen to, who could speak to the people and be entertaining at the same time. I have enjoyed Tim Russert in the 8 years since. I will miss him.
Go Celtics.
First thing:
Shirley finished school last week. I can't even begin to say how proud I am of her for the hard work that she has put in since beginning school here last year. She has improved dramatically in so many areas and continues to work hard to improve. She is such a smart girl who loves to read, even taking time to read to her brothers quite often. Now she is getting into summer mode, enjoying being at home with Mami and the boys, spending time with them. Mami continues to work with her in math, though, but she has been good about working without much complaint.
Shirley also lost her first tooth here in the U.S. the other day. She was so proud of losing it, showing us immediately after it fell out as she brushed her teeth for bed. She got a nice visit from the tooth fairy for her first one with us; I thought about pulling out some of my own for the generosity shown by the tooth fairy. Anyhow, she will most likely lose another one in the next couple weeks; the dentist said it would be a summer for her losing teeth. She's going to be rich.
She also had her 10th birthday earlier this week. After a full day of fun with Mami and some time with Tio Pepe', we ended up going out for dinner at a steak house (her choice) with some friends. It was a good time for everyone, visiting and celebrating her birthday. Her summer has been quite adventurous so far, and will continue to be so as Janine and the kids prepare for a trip back to PA for a while.
The boys have been doing great. The biggest thing about them is how much they have grown lately. It seems that both Juan and Andres have sprouted about three more inches just in recent weeks. I am not sure that it is necessarily true, but it certainly seems to be so. It has been fun to see them growing in so many ways and developing new skills all the time. They have fun wrestling each other and playing as much as possible. Every time I wake them on Saturday I ask what they want to do that day. Inevitably, Juan answers, "Play." That's all he wants to do. Play. I always tell them that it sounds like a good idea. I can't believe that they will be going to pre-school in the fall. They are growing so quickly.
For me, work continues. It hasn't been an overly busy summer so far, but it has been busy enough. With the economy slacking somewhat, I am very happy to have had steady work and to have had strong support from our boss in making sure that we are able to stay busy. I know that survey is not my ultimate goal, and that I have been less than thrilled about it before, but I am grateful for it now, for the chance to provide for our family on a regular basis.
I continue to get ready for the Mexico trip, which is now just four weeks away. I am anticipating a wonderful trip, full of hard work and good times. Our friends Josh and Becky have been diligently working hard to prepare our team and have been doing a fantastic job getting us all ready. Tomorrow we will work as a team in doing some things around our condo complex; I will like being close to home to work, as I am sure that Janine and the kids will join us in the fun on what looks to be the hottest day of the year so far.
But that will follow the running of another 5K. My 4th race and 3rd 5K of the year. This comes one week after running a 10K down Emigration Canyon. I can't really explain what has happened, why I have started running...and really why I have enjoyed running. But I do. It has become a time for me to get good exercise in a relatively short time (usually I run for about 25 minutes, 50 on Saturdays) and to clear my mind of much of the nonsense that compiles throughout the week. It is refreshing for me, and has been good for my stress level. In the seven weeks that I have been running I have dropped 15 pounds, too, which is an added bonus. I am grateful to have the support of a few friends who have been running the races with me, challenging me in the training, and just overall having fun with me in doing all of this. Plus there is the friendly competition that we have with each other, which helps push us to our limits (and sometimes past our limits) for sure. It has been fun.
Anyhow, I have been absent for a while, but it is not for a lack of things to say or with any intention to not fill readers in on what has been going on. I have just lost track of time, really, getting caught up in the busyness of reality, specifically summers. There is actually a ton of things going on in my mind, but I will have to find the time and words to share them. For now, just play by play news.
The news of Tim Russert has touched me in an odd way. I stayed up late with him and Tom Brokaw on election night in 2000, sitting in an apartment in Glennallen, AK, awaiting news of a winner, only to go to bed without a new president-elect. I was 24, just beginning to care about a lot of thing in the socio-political spectrum, and found someone who I believed I could listen to, who could speak to the people and be entertaining at the same time. I have enjoyed Tim Russert in the 8 years since. I will miss him.
Go Celtics.
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