The Way I See It #292

Have you ever noticed the quotes printed on the Starbucks cups? The one from my most recent cup of coffee was actually pretty good. And it was from Leeza Gibbons, go figure. Anyway, thought I'd share it ...

"The way we get to live forever is through memories stored in the hearts and souls of those whose lives we touch. That's our soul print. It's our comfort, our emotional nourishment at the end of the day and the end of a life. How wonderful that they are called up at will and savored randomly. It seems to me we should spend our lives in a conscious state of creating these meaningful moments that live on. Memories matter."

Obama in the Valley

Last week, President Obama paid a visit to Arizona. It just happened to be on the day that I head in to the office, so we were able to see the motorcade from our 5th floor window. And, since the building is also located directly south of the airport, we could see Air Force One taking off. It was pretty cool! Below are some pictures!

Life Lesson

For some reason, all of these quotes and such just seem to keep popping up. Or perhaps I'm just more aware of them. So, I'm going to share them as I see them. Bear with me. Be inspired! Have a great week!

Quote for the day

Do not spoil what you have
by desiring what you have not;
but remember that
what you now have
was once among the things
you only hoped for.

~ Epicurus (Greek philosopher, BC 341-270)

Out of the mouth of ... Cam

Just sharing some recent comments/conversations from Cameron. Some of the things kids say are incredible. He just cracks me up!

The other night at bedtime, Hayden jumped up on Cam's bed and was attempting to get comfortable. He walked up to Cam's pillow and starts to lay down right next to his head when Cam intervened: "Uh, I'm sorry, Hayden, but that is NOT an option."

*****

We were driving to Cam's skate lesson and one of the on-ramps to the freeway had a pretty sharp curve to it. Bryan turned to Cam in the backseat and said, "Hold on to your Gatorade so it doesn't tip out of the cup holder." A few minutes later, another curve came up and he told Cam to hang on to his drink. Cam's response? "Dad! Come on! I'd rather not make a career out of this!"

*****

In Kohl's: "I will NEVER do that. So don't expect me to." I turn around and see him pointing at the "fake" picture that comes with a picture frame. It was of two kids laying on their stomachs, with their hands under their chins.

So I asked him, "You will NEVER do what?"

"Lay down in that crap. Especially for a picture."

"Cam, it's a wheat field."

"I don't care. Do you know what kind of stuff lives in fields?"

Mental note: scratch wheat field off of my list for possible family picture locations.

*****

Last night before bedtime, Cameron turns to me and says, "Dad missed out on a LOT tonight." (He fell asleep on the couch for a while after dinner).

"Like what?" I asked.

"You know, lots: "Chuck", a new iCarly, a new True Jackson, Yard Crashers, we had ice-cream, AND we played Mario Kart."

"You're right, he sure did."

"Yeah, HIS loss."

:)

****

Bryan to me after walking in the door from picking up Cam from school today: "Uh, honey .... did you forget something today?" Probably. Chances are pretty damn good. But let me think: Let's see ... dropped Cam off at school, I know he had his backpack, didn't pack him a lunch because hot lunch was corn dogs, he had his water bottle, a check for replacing his library book (apparently it just "disappeared out of his desk") ... think I got everything there, I came straight home, and I know the car is in the garage, so I didn't leave it anywhere, been working all day ... "Nope, can't think of anything ... why?"

"Did you know Cam got out of school early today?"

Shit. "Uh - yep. I did, actually."

Rewind a half hour earlier. Cameron to Bryan today at school when he went to pick him up:

"WHERE have you been?"

"What do you mean? It's barely 3:00 - I'm actually early ..."

"Noooo, you're not .... we were out at 2:00 today."

"Oh. Well does your mom know?"

"Yes."

And rewind a few days ago to a conversation between Bryan and I regarding Cam's cell phone. We got him one last year (a pre-paid phone) to keep in his backpack during skate camp. We felt more comfortable knowing he had a phone and could get a hold of us if he needed, since he was there for 6 hours a day. Charged it up for him so he could take it to the 4 hour open skate session on Monday, and thought about putting it in his school bag, you know ... just in case. But decided against it. Well apparently we weren't the only ones who forgot today (does it count that I knew about it this morning?) ... Bryan said there were about 35 kids or so there. Great. And they don't start calling parents until about 4:00 or so. Great. Think we might be sticking that phone in there ... just in case mom's having one of those days where everything SEEMS to be going too well ...

Happy Birthday Mom!

"As a child, you walked before me,

To lead by example.

As a teenager, you walked behind me,

Looking out for my back
And being there when I needed you.

As an adult, you walk beside me,

So that, as two friends,
We can enjoy life together."

~Author Unknown

Thank you for always being there.
Happy Birthday Mom!
We hope you have a wonderful day!

Love,

Us

Happy Valentine's Day!

Cameron came home yesterday from school with all the "fixins" from his Valentine party. The decorated white lunch sack with oodles of hearts glued to it. 30+ perforated valentines, (Sports theme was the popular choice for boys, Hanna Montana and Barbie for the girls) with his name and the giver's name neatly written on the outside, folded over and attached with the accompanying heart sticker. Some of the more treasured came with candy or a pencil. More candy than pencils. A lot of candy. Their activity for the party? Valentines for their parents. Love it. Here was Cam's below. It looks like they were attempting Haiku. (The 5-7-5 is neatly written in the left column, and it says haiku at the bottom). Nonetheless, the valentine poem was beautiful. And of course I cried. No surprises there.

And just in case you're having a hard time reading the poem, it says:

Parents are so special.
They make me learn and laugh.
I am grateful for my parents.

This morning Bryan got home from work early and had grocery bags ready to make us breakfast. Such a nice treat for a Saturday since he usually doesn't get home until after noon. It was fabulous. Cameron gave us each a valentine he had made. Yay! I was lucky enough to be one of the recipients of his 2009 handmade Valentines mentioned in Wednesday's post. So beautiful. He had also engaged in a couple of projects with Grandma 'Nise and presented those to me this morning as well. A bowl that he had painted and a necklace that he and grandma made. Normally Bryan and I don't exchange gifts. I consider Valentine's day just another day, and yes, somewhat of a Hallmark Holiday. I love you's are said everyday. Numerous times. It's that simple. He is my valentine everyday. Okay, enough of the cheesiness. Cards, sometimes little notes left around the house in various spots or notes on the mirror written in lipstick exist on Valentine's day. And maybe a can of Redi-Whip every now and then. Too much information? Probably. Anyway, he surprised me this year with a watch, he figured it was either Valentine's Day or our Anniversary next month. My watch had seen better days, so sooner was better than later. It's beautiful. We've got a family dinner all planned out - steaks, sauteed mushrooms, asparagus, and garlic shrimp. I've got a fantastic bottle of wine ready to be savored, and there is plenty of firewood for a nice fire this evening. Not sure any restaurant could beat that, eh?

Happy Valentine's Day to all. Hugs and kisses from all of us!

Spring Teaser

The dog was barking at the front door the other day, big surprise, but I hadn't heard the doorbell or a knock. Then I saw the fluorescent green leaflet sticking through the door. It was a flyer for landscaping and I only know this because of the pictures of the lawn mower and the trees - the entire flyer was in Spanish. Irritating, considering we have a No Soliciting sign on the porch. Apparently this doesn't count? Anyway, the dog goes crazy, it scares the crap out of me because I'm working, and ... she won't stop until she knows the coast is clear. Okay, she's a good guard dog. At any rate, I check out the window, open the front door and grab the flyer that is stuck in the door, and of course it is pouring and because of the wind, I'm getting wet standing under my front porch. I happen to look over at my potted gardenia, and lo and behold ... the dang thing bloomed. Who woulda thunk it? After all my griping about the cold weather and frost! (See Wednesday's post in case you missed that one.) Apparently it wasn't enough to slow this puppy down! Yay. And I could smell it! Double Yay. Can't wait for the rest of them to bloom also! I hate the yards during the "winter". Everything is cut down, all brown, and no color. (No ... it's not always like that, smart alecks. We may be in Arizona, but it's not like our house is stuck in the middle of the Sahara.) Now if only the sun would just come out a bit, and warm things up a bit, we'll be back in business. Anyway, this was a nice little ray of sunshine on an otherwise highly irritating moment!

Pure Sweetness

Is there anything more wonderful than
handmade Valentines?

You know it's cold in Arizona when ...

Bryan has to wear his down ski parka to BBQ in.

Seriously folks. It's cold here.

What up with that?

Even more seriously,

yeee-eesssss ... we own coats,

and yeee-eesssss we wear them

because it still gets cold.

Granted, I literally have to DUST them off,

but we do own them.

And wear them.

It’s been FREEZING in the morning!

No, we don't have the luxury of snow days,

no, Cameron will probably never experience

the "waking up for school at the butt-ass crack of dawn

to listen to the list of schools closed for the day
being announced on the radio."

But he does own a coat.

Because it does get cold.

Temperatures the past few mornings here have been in the 30s

and there has been frost.

Our fountain was frozen.

AND ... the temps aren’t expected to warm up much either ...

the highs range from 57-62.

Brrrrrr.

That's cold.

For us.

No, we're not running to the mailbox

eagerly waiting for

"Thinking About You In Your Cold Climate"

or

"Hoping Things Warm Up Soon"

cards,

(Does Hallmark make such a thing? Surely they do...)
especially from those of you experiencing

true winter conditions.

But we live in Arizona.

If we wanted cold weather like this,

we'd move.

Why do you think we have Snowbirds?

These temps are WELL below our normal for this time of year,

which should be in the low 70's.

And did I mention the rain?

It's been raining. A lot.

And hard.

A couple of days of it is nice.

Makes me feel like I'm back in Oregon.

But not more than two.

Because I'm not back in Oregon.

So just to recap:

It's cold. Really cold.

Now ... a little sympathy?

Tuesday Funny: Wrong Email Address

Received this as an email ... it's a good one!

A New Jersey couple decided to go to Florida to thaw out during a particularly icy winter. They planned to stay at the same hotel where they spent their honeymoon 20 years earlier. Because of hectic schedules, it was difficult to coordinate their travel schedules. So, the husband left New Jersey and flew to Florida on Thursday, with his wife flying down the following day. The husband checked into the hotel. There was a computer in his room, so he decided to send an email to his wife. However, he accidentally left out one letter in her email address, and without realizing his error, sent the email.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Houston , a widow had just returned home from her husband's funeral. He was a minister who was called home to glory following a heart attack. The widow decided to check her email expecting messages from relatives and friends. After reading the first message, she screamed and fainted. The widow's son rushed into the room, found his mother on the floor, and saw the computer screen which read:

To: My Loving Wife

Subject: I've Arrived

Date: October 16, 2007

I know you're surprised to hear from me.

They have computers here now and you are allowed to send emails to your loved ones.

I've just arrived and have been checked in.

I've seen that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow.

Looking forward to seeing you then!!!!

Hope your journey is as uneventful as mine was.

P.S. Sure is freaking hot down here!!!!

THE SPOILED UNDER-30 CROWD!

If you are 30 or older you will think this is hilarious!!!!

When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were. When they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning uphill ... barefoot ... BOTH ways ... Yadda, yadda, yadda.

And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on kids about how hard I had it was and how easy they've got it!

But now that I'm over the ripe old age of thirty, (okay, OKAY! thirty-four), I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia!

And I hate to say it but you kids today don't know how good you've got it! I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have The Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalogue. (Not sure even I would remember how to do this one!)


There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter, with a pen. Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox and it would take like a week to get there. (I'm happy to report, I still make Cameron do this ... )


There were no MP3' s or Napsters. You wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the damn record store and shoplift it yourself. Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ would usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up! (Gotta love those mix tapes - perfect for road trips and camping!)

We didn't have fancy crap like Call Waiting. If you were on the phone and somebody else called they got a busy signal, that's it. And we didn't have fancy Caller ID either. When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your mom, your boss, your Bookie, your drug dealer, a collections agent, you just didn't know. You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister! (What about those times the phone was accidentally left off the hook? Oh, the HORROR!)


We didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics. We had the Atari 2600. With games like 'Space Invaders' and 'asteroids'. Your guy was a little square. You actually had to use your Imagination. And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died. Just like LIFE. (We actually had Intellevision, and it was AWESOME! Pitfall was the best ... remember taking a picture of the screen with your high score, and sending it in for a t-shirt? Still waiting for it. So is Bryan.)

You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on.You were screwed when it came to channel surfing. You had to get off your ass and walk over to the TV to change the channel and there was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you Hear what I'm saying!?! We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little rat-"bad word here"s! (Ahh ... what about the After-school specials? :) And might I add, portable DVD players? Whatever. Even though we have them. They are a godsend. How did our parents, or us, for that matter, manage?)

And we didn't have microwaves, if we wanted to heat something up we had to use the stove ... Imagine that!

That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled. You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1980!

Regards,

The over 30 Crowd

What's Heaven?

On the outside, my little boy may appear to be tough and often nonchalant, but on the inside, he has the biggest heart and the capability of extending the most genuine sympathy or empathy towards others. This is the most obvious when someone is hurting. Tears flow, and his concern for the other person is huge. My Uncle John's mom, Gene, passed away a couple of days ago. While we haven't actually seen her in years, we kept up a close correspondence via emails, notes, letters, cards, and of course pictures of Cameron. She was more than just a close family friend, she was family to us. Cameron held a special place with her. She loved keeping up on his activities and never seemed to forget a birthday or special occasion. I had given Cameron periodic updates of her condition the last few months or so, suggesting he send a letter or picture or a nice handmade get well card. He did so with enthusiasm knowing that it "would make her smile and feel better." After hearing that she passed, I waited until later in the evening to talk to him about it. He was concerned, sad, but understood that she was no longer hurting, that the angels had taken her to heaven. The following morning, Bryan takes him to school and the floodgates opened. "Why did she have to die? Why does God have to take her away from all of us? Uncle John must be so sad that his mom is gone." After retrieving a late pass to take him to class, Bryan thought he was under control, but to no avail. He took him home, and thought maybe in an hour or two he would be okay. Needless to say, he spent the day at home with daddy. He was grieving for Gene's loss, and going about his normal daily activities was not the right method for him. Wednesdays are my day to go "into the office" and so I spoke with Cam a few times during the day. We chatted, and emphasized that while we might be sad and hurting because she's gone, SHE isn't hurting anymore. I had purchased a few books the year that my Grandpa and Bryan's Grandpa died. Their deaths were similar in situation, and were only 6 months apart. Tough for a 6 year old to handle. The "What's Heaven?" book, by Maria Shriver, was fantastic, and I highly recommend it. We read it last night, and it seemed to put Cameron (and I) at peace with what was happening.

Not that I have a degree in psychology or anything, but I felt there was more to Cam being upset than Gene's death. We found out a couple of weeks ago that his teacher from FCA (he had her for both 1st and 2nd grade) was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 Inflammatory Breast Cancer, a rare and aggressive form of cancer. (About 1/3 of newly diagnosed inflammatory breast cancers are stage IV.) This was sudden, obviously for everyone, and it hit us all pretty hard, as she was a huge part of our lives while he was attending. Still is, really. They were all family at the school. They treated us all like family, and helped us through some difficult times as well. Knowing that she had cancer, and one that was so advanced, caused even more heartache for Cam. It's hard enough as an adult to experience death and going through the motions of grieving ... I can't imagine how it is for a child. I think it has all swirled into one great sadness for him. My first experience with a death (that I truly recall) was a great-grandparent, and I was already in high school. It's a bit different for an 8 year old. It's a lot to grasp. I just wanted to express deep sympathy for Gene's passing, and for the Keene family. I'm grateful they were all there in November to spend time with her, for her to be with her grand kids, and meet her great-grandson. I'm glad Uncle John was by her side offering her comfort, and I pray that everyone has a safe trip to Alabama. We are thinking of you all.

Happy Birthday Theresa!

Enjoy the day, the year, and all the moments that fill them in between! Here's wishing you a wonderful year full of happiness and success. May every little part of your birthday have some happy in it!

Love Always, Us

Cardinals vs. Steelers: Super Bowl XXLIII

Well it shouldn't take a genius

to figure out who we're rootin' for down here.

Go Cards!

The … Arizona … Cardinals … are … in … the … Super … Bowl.

Wow. Those 8 words have NEVER been said together before now. In fact, we thought it was incredible when they made it to the playoffs - first time in 61 years. Talk about a drought. Not going to pretend that we were one of those "believers" ... and we "just knew they'd make it" but now that they are here, of course we'll cheer them on. Found these facts posted that I thought were interesting:

• Arguably the worst professional sports franchise in this country's history is going to be a participant in its biggest sporting event.
• The oldest continuously run pro football franchise in the country will have a chance to win its first championship in 61 seasons, and its third championship in 110 years.
• An organization so cheap it once charged players the Federal Express cost of mailing their contracts is playing in the richest sporting event in the country.
• A team so poorly run it once gave players only one pair of socks per season is playing in the most popular sporting event in the country.
• They once lost 29 games in a row.
• They once lost the keys to their workout facility during Joe Montana's free-agent visit, and he never came back.
• They once threw a game-winning touchdown pass on the final play of the final game of the 2003 season … and the victory cost them the No.1 overall draft pick.
• They once had to use a silent snap count because the stadium was filled with the angry roar of an opposing crowd … during one of their home games.
• In the past 24 years, they have had a winning record twice.
• In one memorable moment late in one game several years ago, safety Lorenzo Lynch broke his facemask and ran to the sidelines for some tape, only to discover that the tape had already been loaded on to the bus.

NOBODY thought they'd make it here! But I have to say, we're pretty darn excited. The family favorite? Fitzgerald. Love to watch him play. So now that the BBQ pork for the sandwiches is simmering, the beans are cookin', the football pool is all set to go, TV'S are on - all of them, and of course, the beer cooler is full ... we're ready to go! Bring on the Super Bowl!

Now to reminisce a bit ... THIS is how we used to celebrate Superbowl. Okay, so maybe us kids. Us meaning Theresa and I, and the Bales' kids. Before I saw the date on the football Nick is holding, I knew I was in 4th grade. Those were my "fourth grade" glasses. Nice. Anyway, 24 years ago we were cheering on the Raiders. Ironically, they also played in Tampa. This picture was taken Super Bowl, January 22, 1984. I had no inkling what football was about, and I'm pretty certain I never watched any of the games at the time. We went there to play. And sneak baskets of pretzels or popcorn downstairs hoping no one would notice one less snack on the table. And watch anxiously as our parents dug in their pockets (or simply reached over to their poker change if it was still on the table) so we could write our names in the squares of the football pool. Now in case you can't read the signs (yes, cardboard and sticks, maybe even a ruler or two? high class!) they say, "Raiders Are The Best!", "We Want The Raiders To Win!", "LA is #1", "We Love LA Raiders". Ah ... the good ol' days. And yes, we all admit it - we were pretty much dorks.