Does anyone look here anymore?

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.

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.

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.

Fun for the Whole Family

Is it really May 11?

Things have been going well. I really can't believe how good the kids have been lately. Sure, they have there moments, but so do I, but overall they have been doing great. The boys are getting so good at going to the potty, letting us know when they need to go and often times doing it all by themselves. Andres even has his little habit of getting out of bed at night (of course when he should be settling down and I catch him playing) of telling me that he has to go before going to sleep. They are both growing up so quickly, which is only made more evident whenever we look at pictures from a year ago.

Shirley is doing well, too. She went out last night to an Arena Football game with some friends. She was out later than normal, but that was okay. She sounded like she had a great time hanging out with some of our friends and some other kids from the neighborhood/church that went with them. She has been doing better with school and with just being a helpful daughter to us in our day to day lives. She is very excited right now because she only has five days of medicine (for her dormant TB) left! She has been so good about taking her medicine every day for the last nine months...of course it helps that we put it in ice cream, but even so, we are proud of her for sticking to it and getting it done. And she has been volunteering to read to the boys a lot, too, which is always helpful, especially when either Mami or Papi is busy with something (meetings, out with friends, etc.).

The weather has been beautiful lately, too, which has afforded us the chance to get out and go to the farm and the zoo and for walks. We hit the zoo two weeks ago on a Monday (I only worked half a day) and then we were able to walk around the farm last night. It was such a gorgeous night and the boys enjoyed being out and seeing the animals. There were even some performers singing songs and dancing on the stage at the farm; the boys enjoyed watching and performing their own little dances at the same time. It was quite fun and funny.

And, if you saw on Janine's blog, I am running. I ran my first 5K three weeks ago and posted a time of 31:50. I was pleased that, in the shape that I was in, I finished under 35:00. But a strange thing happened while I was running: I hated it. I hated the feeling of not being able to move my legs faster, that 6 year old kids were doing circles around me, that the side of my stomach felt like it was going to rip open...I hated it. And then I hit the chute at the end. There were tons of people cheering us on in a general sense, and then I heard my name being yelled.

"Yeah! Go Scott!"

I turned to see my friend Aaron, having just finished his 25 mile bike ride, cheering me on. I pumped my fist, started drifting right as I was doing so, and bumped into some guy in my wayward running. But I got pumped up and found my second wind in the last 23 yards. And I felt rubbery and weak as I crossed the line.

But I felt good. And then I didn't hate it. I kind of liked it.

So I started running a loop around our neighborhood. My friend Tom GPSed it and found it was 2.8 miles. So a few of us started running it, suffering through the chill of the morning, the heat of the afternoon or the swallowing of the bugs that flit around at night, 2.8 miles and a hill that tries to hurt us all. And it has been good.

My friends Tom, Josh and Josiah have been running, too. And we are competitive, so we keep times and compare. It has been fun. And now I need a new pair of shoes.

We ran yesterday. We ran in the Komen Race For The Cure. 17,000 people signed up. It was crowded, to say the least. There was a sea of people that covered the width of a street and the length of about six blocks. It was amazing to see, pink ribbons, dedications, people of all different backgrounds and stories who came together to support the fight against breast cancer. Janine and the kids did a one mile walk, along with Jill, Becky, Rickie and Erica, all decked out in their Sportsman's Warehouse sponsored neon green t-shirts: it was a lot of fun.

And in three weeks time I went from a 31:50 to a 26:25. And I think I am hooked. I find myself wanting to run even now as I sip my coffee and write. We have already been talking about the next race and about the possibility of a 10K at some point. I feel like a real nerd when I talk about times and training and the next race, but in many ways I am glad to have found something to do, something relatively easy, to stay in shape. It has been good.

I should note, that I think that even worse than the Krust Buster and its functions is the fact that people actually buy the Krust Buster instead of just cutting the crust off themselves. That is an even more hideous aspect of the whole thing.

AND, one of the things that Andres says that I think is hilarious is the question "Daddy, are you a man?"

I answer back, "Yes, Andres, I am a man. Are you?"

"Daddy, I'm a man!"

He's a funny guy. Sometimes you can hear Juancho in the background saying, "No you're not, you're just a boy."

COMING SOON: EQUALITY IN SERVICE