Sunday, January 31, 2010

"Why do You Have to Do That?...Really?....Because I Said So."

Realizing how my mother used to feel when she answered me with "Because I Said" is a real eyeopener. Kids are relentless with "why, why, why, why?" and you have not the ability to answer them with translated child speak to give them an answer that they will understand. Sometimes you have the ability and the time to explain it as best you can, but many times you simply do not have it---the ability nor the time. So you say, "because I said" and you can hear the emptiness in it (to your child's ears), but you have no other recourse in that moment.
Our little girl is named Shayla and she's 35 mos. old. She's a spitfire and is a cool, sweet kid, but like all she has her moments. We are finding ourselves having to attempt to 'nip in the bud' rather unsightly reactions to her parents' directives that are simply just not going to fly. It's tough having to do that---having to be so diligent in it. It's hard. You don't want to let these little things slip because you know that if you do they could take root in their behavior and That is the thing that scares you. After all, they're only going to get bigger, braver, and more cunning so you'd like them to travel a good track with all that........for themselves and for you. It's one thing when they 'talk back' to you when they're 3, it's another thing entirely when they do it when they're 14 or 15. :) While that train is not coming down the pike just yet, we're laying the track Right Now. Being awake for these defining present moments is my major concern. I would like not to look back and think, "Man, I wish I had realized how important that time was". I hope that I do. It's possible to be asleep even when you think you're awake.
I really hear my mom coming through me in my interactions with my daughter Shayla. I'm getting a real education here and I say that with a smile. In so many ways we are a lot like our parents and I think that parenting really shows the truth of that. It's great and amazing stuff with no detail of interrelational dynamics left out. Brilliant!! :)

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Friday, January 29, 2010

Shayla and I Singing 'Nick Nack Paddy whack'

Daddy Sneaking Up on Shayla (video made by Qik VideoCamera)

Daddy Sneaking Up on Shayla

The attached video was created using Qik VideoCamera application for the iPhone.

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Oops, did I actually Act like I was Tired? My bad. (video made by Qik VideoCamera)

Oops, did I actually Act like I was Tired? My bad.

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Wow, it's COLD here in AUSTIN, TX Today!!!

This is Amazing!! It was pleasant (60s) just two days ago!! They always say in Texas that "If you don't like the weather, then wait 5 minutes...". Touché!!

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Thursday, January 28, 2010

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Blowing Bubbles

Download now or watch on posterous
ShaylaBlowing Bubbles.mov (18925 KB)

  The inevitable "My hands are soapy now, Daddy!! I want to go clean them" is frustrating at times. Why do we have to play in the bubble liquid Every Time we blow bubbles? Don't answer that question. :) ...However, blowing bubbles is fun nonetheless! :)

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Tuesday, January 26, 2010

More Apple Tablet Rumors. Sounds really cool!!'

More Apple Tablet Rumors. Sounds really cool!!'

Woman Uses iPhone Fertility App to Get Pregnant!!

This is a pretty funny article I found on Mashable. This Feminine Fertility App was Dead On!! It made a couple very happy! http://mashable.com/2010/01/25/woman-uses-iphone-app-to-get-pregnant/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mashable+%28Mashable%29

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Woman Uses iPhone Fertility App to Get Pregnant!!

This is a pretty funny article I found on Mashable. This Feminine Fertility App was Dead On!! It made a couple very happy! http://mashable.com/2010/01/25/woman-uses-iphone-app-to-get-pregnant/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mashable+%28Mashable%29

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Shayla Today

A 24 Hr. span of All Major World Air Traffic Condensed into a 2 Minute Video!!

  This is cool!! Check this out. A friend of mine sent me this link. 
    

Posted via email from Cruising the Stratosphere

A 24 Hr. span of All Major World Air Traffic Condensed into a 2 Minute Video!!

  This is cool!! Check this out. A friend of mine sent me this link. 
    

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A 24 Hr time lapse of All major Air Traffic Around the World condensed into a 2 min. video clip. This is Wild! h...

A 24 Hr time lapse of All major Air Traffic Around the World condensed into a 2 min. video clip. This is Wild! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1US_4uf4YE

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Sunday, January 24, 2010

A Random Sunday at Our House

We love company. Normally we don't have as many friends visiting in one day......, but we did today! :) Friends are a Blessing!

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Saturday, January 23, 2010

Starch Monster

Like usual Shayla doesn't want anything other than starch! It's frustrating. Getting this child to eat protien is a real chore sometimes. It makes you wonder if they actually need an overabundance of starch sometimes.

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Shayla and I at Maria's Tacos

Taking her out to eat is certainly an adventure. Hopefully I'll get some good shots here. I'll try. :)

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Thursday, January 21, 2010

The Politics of Children

Now I understand about a child's use of politics. These little beings don't understand much in the way of political science and yet.....They Do. Indeed,....they Do!!
I have become sharply aware of this truth through the behaviors of my 35 mo. old daughter, Shayla. She is the sweetest thing and yet so smart that it becomes painfully poignant when other relatives are around. I think way back to when I was a kid and remember the relief that I felt when my Grandma or my Uncle or Aunt would give me some liberty or allowance that I was not normally granted---a fresh air of freedom in the arms of my relatives! I remember that, even to this day. One of my daughter's bibs says something to the effect of, "What Happens at Grandma's House, Stays at Grandma's House"!! That's the Spirit!! Hehe!
This is the benediction of children and the frustration of parents, but it's perfect how it is. I have to keep reminding myself of that as I reassert my authority and place in the mind of my child after the relatives go back home. "Yes, I am Still your Father and Yes, You still Do have to Do what I ask of You."
They are little bears for a little while once you folks leave: resisting authority, talking back. They would throw a Protest March if they knew how!!
God Bless the Relatives! They help me to get better at my Job. :) "Hey Shayla, give me that Rudder", I remark as the door closes. :)

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Wednesday, January 20, 2010

My 3 Year Olds First Bold Foray into The Contents of Daddy's Room

My (almost) 3 year old daughter Shayla, on occassion, sleeps with me in my room on those mornings when she gets up before I am able to function. She goes back to sleep most of the time. This morning was an exception.
As far as three year olds go, I imagine that she is a very amenable and adaptable one. I'm not sure how right or wrong I am on this one, but I think she exists on the side of the spectrum that is of the very sweet and co-operative (most of the time) kind.
She had never done this before or as thoroughly, but today she got up the nerve (I guess that's how to put it.) to go through my things and investigate the contents of the things on the side of the room that were closest to where she was on the bed. In times before she has just picked up a thing or two and checked it out, but today she forraged ahead with the apparent energy of a true explorer. She opened things that were closed and rearranged the contents on my shelves on that side of my bed. Yes, I remained sleeping while the first 95% of this happened. I'm sure all in all it didn't take too long. I awoke to find her having emptied the contents of several items while also replacing some containers with other contents that she deemed more appropriate. It was a mess. How nice of her not to wake me up in the process. Thanks for not disturbing my beauty sleep Shayla. :) I sleep like a rock most of the time, differently though when she's in there too, but nonetheless, soundly. Luckily, there's nothing of any real danger to a 3 year old in my room.
The long and the short of it is just that she's forcing me to clean up a little bit in there. That can't be bad. She did break one thing, but it can be repaired. Sent off to be repaired, that is. Other than that, no harm done. We talked about it. I think she's getting the point that she needs to ask before touching other people's things whether it be mommy's or daddy's or anyone else's: Property rights. Our discussion was essentially about property rights. I think she got some of it. I hope so, anyway.

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Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Having Compassion On Your Parents

             There nothing (in my current opinion) that inspires a stronger sense of compassion for your parents and all they did---blood, sweat, tears, and sacrifices for you-- than raising a child of your own. If one has ever harbored any sense of blame (which I have not!) toward one's parents,  this experience would single handedly wipe that pretty much clean,...If you let it. :)
              Mom, I Thank You So Much for what you did for me!! I am humbled by the thought of all that you went through. It brings tears to my eyes to think of those hardships, some I remember, but many I do not (blocking it out?) although we both went 'through' them. Thank you for going the distance, so that I can be here today, knowing you and smiling into your eyes, loving you. It means the world to me and the choices you made were perfect and fine. Sure, many were challenging, but that's Life Itself, isn't it? You are and were always a Good Mom---Know that. My mom was a single parent. She's a Super Mom alright! She had to make sacrifices X2! Folks, that's hard stuff. I can tell you that and I was just the kid. Imagine how it was for her. Some of you know, having done it yourself. God Bless you.
             I have to preface what I have to say next with telling you that my mom has always said that I was a good kid. She has never went back on that although I have asked the question "Was I?", many times since her answer has always been the same, "You were a great kid (period!)!" No disclaimer has ever been added. When I got into my teens that 'great kid' shine had it's days of tarnish for sure as I distinctly remember her telling me, "When you grow up, I pity the person who's going to live with you Sean because you are hard to live with"! I must tell you that right around that time I was also taking some psych courses in high school and that I was Really excited about it and loving the study. We were studying all kinds mental pathologies and so, of course I'd come home and want to practice my diagnostic abilities on my mom. She was not too keen on that, even though I was just trying to 'help' her. I'd say, "Well today, it looks like your experiencing a little bit of this ______ disorder and judging by the way you're sounding right now, it might also be a little of ______." Needless to say, it was not very well received. What a surprise! Lol! In those days, when I was between 16-18 yrs. old, there weren't many conversations between us that Did go well. Fortunately we got through that and got closer again.
             I think life has a funny way of re-teaching you things via your kids that you might have somehow missed on the first run-through yourself. It's funny how it works, I think, but very thorough. Life doesn't 'miss' anything.
              Mom, I'm not sure if these words were ever quoted by you or not, but they could've well have been. (I know Bill Cosby said them at least once.) I'm sure that they have been by many parents to their kids, but here they are echoing in mind, "I hope that when you grow up you have kids that are Just like you." I smile when I think of this because it's just parents wanting you to see the flip side of the coin. It's hard and they want you to see what it is like to be on the other side of the equation--to be in Their Shoes...for once.  ......"Hi Mom!  (Waving and Smiling from the 'other side') I'd have to say you got your wish. Shayla is just like me. Yep, 'fraid so. Maybe that means I can know a little of what to expect? Hmmm, maybe a little. But I was a good kid, right? (laughing)" By the way, I do have a great child, but saying that she can be stubborn would be putting it mildly on some days.
             Being a parent is a hard job and parents do the best they can with what they 'have' (in some cases they don't 'have' much in the way of those internal and/or external resources). Maybe their judgment is poor at times or their self-discipline weak at times, but they still deserve compassion, forgiveness, and respect for the enormity of the job itself.
         Thank You Mom, I Love You.



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Having Compassion On Your Parents

There nothing (in my current opinion) that inspires a stronger sense of compassion for your parents and all they did-

Posted via email from daddyville's posterous

I think iPhone rumor speculation is fun. Whether it'll b calld 'iPhone 3G HD' or 'iPhone 4G', who cares. hre's an...

I think iPhone rumor speculation is fun. Whether it'll b calld 'iPhone 3G HD' or 'iPhone 4G', who cares. hre's another guess at specs: http://is.gd/6BRZY

Posted via web from Twitter Twaddle

Monday, January 18, 2010

Shayla's Bigwheel Success

We have been waiting for this day. Although she has successfully ridden her Bigwheel before, today she was actually turning the wheel in order to steer--not on all accounts, but on most. Hooray for you Shayla. There was a little of the back and forth peddaling, but mostly we were groovin' on down the sidewalk.
It makes me harken back to the days when I was learning to pedal with greater and greater success. I didn't know that I had those memories,...but there they were. :)

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@butchjax She says luckily there's still enuf pain to kp her attntv 2 it.---not 2 ovrdo it. :) She's REALLY tired...

@butchjax She says luckily there's still enuf pain to kp her attntv 2 it.---not 2 ovrdo it. :) She's REALLY tired of spit baths!! Wants a shwr! They say she can use cellophane & wrp her midsection, but she hasn't done tht yet. Trying to wait the 10 days, but may do the cellophane ltr 2day.

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@butchjax thanks. Christina is doing pretty well so far. Healing up on schedule. Trying to keep her frm doing mor...

@butchjax thanks. Christina is doing pretty well so far. Healing up on schedule. Trying to keep her frm doing more than she shld. That's a challnge at times. Shayla not getting it entirely, of course. Still wants to use Mommy as human jngle gym. Daddy comes in and swoops her up. Knows mommy's back hurts, but forgets frm time 2 time as well as not 'groking' the whl situ. Totally normal. Things look gd 4 Christina tho. Thx 4 the loving thghts. :)

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Good post today@jerrydaniels. He made reference to this material--http://futurity.org/top-stories/im-so-fantastic...

Good post today@jerrydaniels. He made reference to this material--http://futurity.org/top-stories/im-so-fantastic-if-i-ignore-my-frontal-lobes/-- in a post abt frontal lobe activty or lack thereof and the associated error in human judgment. Good one. I could read these all day long. Very Interesting.

Posted via web from Twitter Twaddle

@DarrellRhoades U look lk U lk cool quotes. hre's a cool insp. daily quote site u might lk. ..Don't know if u've ...

@DarrellRhoades U look lk U lk cool quotes. hre's a cool insp. daily quote site u might lk. ..Don't know if u've seen it?.. http://www.thotspot.ca/

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It is the tuff times that show’s our strengths and that is what we are made of ;-) (via @DarrellRhoades)So True! ...

It is the tuff times that show’s our strengths and that is what we are made of ;-) (via @DarrellRhoades)So True! Thanks man, I needed to hear tht!

Posted via web from Twitter Twaddle

TOP VOTED QUOTE: He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool...

TOP VOTED QUOTE: He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever. ~Chinese Proverb (via @DarrellRhoades)Good One!

Posted via web from Twitter Twaddle

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Keep it up, Champion. 12-yr-old succeeds where govt failed, stops child marriages http://tinyurl.com/yzhezhp /via...

Keep it up, Champion. 12-yr-old succeeds where govt failed, stops child marriages http://tinyurl.com/yzhezhp /via @Reema226 (via @sushobhan) Wow, this is a cool story!!

Posted via web from Twitter Twaddle

Want to spice up your daily cuisine? Try adding some of this to your rice b4 adding your veggies and/or meat. It's a curry concentrate that's out of this world Good!! This is the spicy variety. 'Patak's' also has a medium or mild. Yuuummm!!

Want to spice up your daily cuisine? Try adding some of this to your rice b4 adding your veggies and/or meat. It's a curry concentrate that's out of this world Good!! This is the spicy variety. 'Patak's' also has a medium or mild. Yuuummm!!

Posted via web from Twitter Twaddle

Saturday, January 16, 2010

I'm Eager 2 see what this means for the nxt gen iPhone. :) RT @tweetmeme Nexus One Crushes the iPhone 3GS in Read...

I'm Eager 2 see what this means for the nxt gen iPhone. :) RT @tweetmeme Nexus One Crushes the iPhone 3GS in Read... http://post.ly/J365 Also, a rdr poll ies excitemnt lvl; it says nothing of prodct perfmnce ovr the lng haul. :)

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I'm Eager 2 see what this means for the nxt gen iPhone. :) RT @tweetmeme Nexus One Crushes the iPhone 3GS in Read...

I'm Eager 2 see what this means for the nxt gen iPhone. :) RT @tweetmeme Nexus One Crushes the iPhone 3GS in Reader Vote http://bit.ly/6wwfRf Competition is Great fir the Consumer!!

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@hboon found ths guy that created a free prog. that enables/disables auto-bkup of iPhone in iTunes 4 PC or Mac. G...

@hboon found ths guy that created a free prog. that enables/disables auto-bkup of iPhone in iTunes 4 PC or Mac. Gd lttl prog. http://is.gd/6oJI9

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@butchjax christina's doing the same after her back surgery. Can't lift ovr 5lbs. plus No Stooping for any reason...

@butchjax christina's doing the same after her back surgery. Can't lift ovr 5lbs. plus No Stooping for any reason. :) Health to both of them!

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My Lovely Daughter Today

I just can't resist throwing these cute pictures out there. She was just painting, hence the colorful marks on her cheek.

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Friday, January 15, 2010

Cooking McCann's Irish Oatmeal with Shayla

This stuff is so good on a cold, wet day. We're cookng it up nice by adding a lot of diced dried fruits to the mixture. She loves to help with anything going on the kitchen and it's so much fun to show her how the process of making food works. Who knows, maybe she'll cook for me one day. :)

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Thursday, January 14, 2010

The Cornucopia of Grandma Joan

Thanks so much Joan for your Generosity to our family. We appreciate so much all the good that you do for us. Thanks ever so much for stocking our fridge. We love you. Thanks for being there for us.
Shayla's Grandma Joan is a Godsend to our family. Thank you Joan.

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Shayla and Grandma Joan

Disable auto-backup of iPhone in iTunes (Windows) | Mark Wagner - Yet Another Blog

iPhoneI got tired of waiting for my iPhone to auto-backup when I quickly wanted to sync a few songs or videos before going to bed.  A quick Google search brought up a bunch of results for Mac, but not much for Windows.  After some searching, I found the solution to disable the auto-backup.  I wrote a little program that will enable or disable the auto-backup feature in iTunes when you plug in your iPhone.

It requires .NET 3.5 SP1.  If you aren’t sure if you have it, the program will let you know when you try to open it.

Download QuickDisable

This program was designed and tested on Vista, though it will work fine on XP.  You may have to define the locate of iTunesPrefs.xml if the program can’t find it.

If you want to disable the auto-backup feature in iTunes manually, follow these steps:

  1. Locate iTunesPrefs.xml by going to Start->Run and typing %appdata%\Apple Computer\iTunes and hit OK.
  2. Backup iTunesPrefs.xml
  3. Open iTunesPrefs.xml and search for <key>User Preferences</key>
  4. Under the next <dict> add the following:
    • <key>DeviceBackupsDisabled</key>
      <data>
      dHJ1ZQ==
      </data>
  5. Save your changes and restart iTunes.  Auto-backup is now disabled.

NOTE: Be sure that you enable auto-backup every so often to get a fresh backup.  It would be a sad thing to be in a position where you have to restore your iPhone but your using a backup that is a few months old.

QuickDisable does not have any type of warranty or guarantee, you are using QuickDisable at your own risk.  I hold absolutely no responsibility for any damages it may cause.

This really seems to work!

Posted via web from Cruising the Stratosphere

Shayla Eating Red Apple Wrapped in Red Snuggie

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

My Glorious Little Girl

A Calm Child of 35 Months?

My child is calm this morning so I can't help but think back to figure out what went into this glorious outcome.
Her diet and getting her to eat the things that are Actually good for her as opposed to the processed, sugar coated and filled snacks (non-foods) that she is so drawn is definitely the major factor in her energy and state of mood. That much is very clear. You get a totally different kind of kid if you just give her whatever she wants for breakfast as opposed to the healthful options. If she has free reign she will eat a kind of granola bar that is more akin to desert than anything else. She will drink (goat's) milk and eat these 'desert' snacks to her heart's content, if she is allowed, thus never really being hungry for 'real' food.
This morning all she has had thus far is an orange and a tangerine. The orange was cut into bite-size pieces and the tangerine she ate as is, that being small enough for her. That is, of course sugar, but it's in nature's form with nothing at all added. That has something to do with it, I'm sure. Even juice out of a store bought container is inferior to the fiber and unprocessed sugar of whole fruit. This will no doubt help with her bowels also. (Sorry, folks. I know that many of you are tired of hearing about bowels and poop and movements, etceteree, etceteraa, but as a father of a 3 year old these things just come with the territory...period. :) )
One of the main challenges with these little people is that they can be So Picky about even the textures, smells and the colors of the foods they consume that it can be very difficult to get good stuff 'down the gullet' without a domestic 'war' taking place, which doesn't do any good for anyone. Their fancy for certain foodstuffs can change several times in One Day even. "What? You liked bananas a few hours ago and now you've sworn them off", I say? "Un huh", she says. "Why", I say?
"I don't know. I just don't like them anymore; they're yucky".
Another thing that Christina and I are learning from this process is not to show exaggerated excitement when she is eating well because this can throw a wrench in to the works and cause everything to come to a screeching halt because, let's face it kids will use any leverage they've got. I know I would! "(Whispering) Don't look now, but she's actually eating ____and____. Good deal. Let's not show our approval or it might mess with the Quantum flow. Don't show any emotional charge or interest whatsoever" , we warn ourselves. It's funny (except on days that it isn't :) ), but the act of eating really turns out to be a game of leverage play, except for when they're about to 'starve' which makes them succomb to the law of the land, which is rare because they try hard as hell not to get to that point, which by the way is a game unto itself.
The upshot is that we try our darndest to do the best we can, but boy what a difference it makes in her behavior when we succeed at our close monitoring strategy and get good food down her without the processed white sugar for even a day. She's a different kid. It makes you seriously consider the legitimacy of some of those 'white sugar' conspiracy theories. :)

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Thursday, January 7, 2010

A Personality that Lives Up to The Family Name

The joy and pleasure I get from watching my 35 mo. old daughter develop and change into a little person with a full repetoir of personality traits, opinions and ideas is hard to describe. It's a kind of joy that one doesn't usually experience in connection with stubbornness or strong willful desire, but I smile as I know that these are signposts of developing personality and self concept. These are probably things that only a dad or a mom would really internally applaude.
Daily, of course, I hold the unexpireable option to be frustrated by these same things, and I take myself up on it, sometimes hourly. For now, I smile internally even if on occasion I frown on the outside. :) ...Row, row, row yer boat gently down the stream....Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily life is but a dream......

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Off to Pumpkin Patch Kids' Resale shop. We cleaned out 5 kitchen size trash bags full of clothes (too small) and ...

Off to Pumpkin Patch Kids' Resale shop. We cleaned out 5 kitchen size trash bags full of clothes (too small) and blankets. Looking at the room it's hard to tell that we've done that. Amazing. :) She's a blessed kiddo.

Posted via web from Twitter Twaddle

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

I just accidentally commented 2 Christina that Olive Garden is the Burger King of Italian food just as the waitre...

I just accidentally commented 2 Christina that Olive Garden is the Burger King of Italian food just as the waitress was walking up. :) True though.

Posted via web from Twitter Twaddle

@jerrydaniels Thanks for sharing Jerry!! That is One Cool Good Samaritan Story! They could make that into a movie...

@jerrydaniels Thanks for sharing Jerry!! That is One Cool Good Samaritan Story! They could make that into a movie! :) http://twitter.com/jerrydaniels/status/7446168008

Posted via web from Twitter Twaddle

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

'Cold Day' photos

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Egypttrip 10/10 for sights, 3/10 for organized part of trip, 1/10 for food on cruise, -10/10 for graciousness, 10...

#Egypttrip 10/10 for sights, 3/10 for organized part of trip, 1/10 for food on cruise, -10/10 for graciousness, 100/10 for friends. (via @sushobhan)Good Priorities, Sir. I like this.

Posted via web from Twitter Twaddle

Shayla's Still Getting the Hang of It...

I thought this was a really cute pic of Shayla trying to dress herself last night. Her mother took this and sent me a copy and I couldn't resist sharing it. This is how she attempts to get her head through the neckline of her shirts and dresses. She's totally consistent about it, I'll give her that! Each and Every time we have to rewind it a bit here and place the opening at her crown and show her how you have to pull it evenly down from there. She still chooses the hard road, but it sure looks cute, and what the heck if it stretches out the neck a bit. It makes the next step that much easier. :) Getting dressed: a journey in process and balance. :)

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Saturday, January 2, 2010

Obsequious Patience

As I get older, Life requires a certain kind of patience that is lost on the young. A kind of patience that realizes that all the burgeoning energy of youth will not thwart or crack the lessons to be learned in it's pages--been there, done that. This kind of patience gives way to the awareness that it is good to save one's energy and drive for the areas that are open for 'in roads' to be put within. A rock wall is still hard and still hurts just as much as it did two centuries ago.
It is age, pain, and experience that teaches these lessons and there is probably no other way to learn them than through many false starts. For some of us that wisdom is tough to come by and for others the outcome may be intuited before the chicanery is fully in swing. As for the reasons why either may be true, it may be posited that there is no way for us to see all the facets of this puzzle. The karma and intricate inter weavings of the learning---the whys and wherefores are likely seldom known to the full extent, even of the one who may repeatedly test to see that fire is still hot or that iron is still cold and hard or that when you push and force 'your way' there is usually something that pushes back whether right then or delayed for a time.
The Tao de Ching states that, "water being the softest thing in the world overcomes the hardest thing in the world". Perhaps virtues like patience and love have the same effect within the universe of human emotion. It is also said, "stand still and that which you need will come to you". It is maybe by patience and centeredness...stillness...that many needs are met. Perhaps it is not through 'the chase' that true, deep human needs and desires are always fulfilled, but maybe sometimes rather by standing still in the center of your soul perhaps you can catch the voice of God in the Silence that we all share in the Center where we are in Truth, all Conjoined.
The mind would tell us that in Patience and Silence there is no motion. The mind would have us believe that it is in the external world that our 'answers' to our dillemas are found. The mind would have us believe that we need to go out and 'do something' and that that is where our solutions lie, but do they?
The external world begs of the resources of the internal or inner world to come forth. They are clues to one another: mirrors which inspire and help the other to grow and develop if we are watching--paying attention to what is happening. If we miss it it will happen again and again, perhaps with different faces and in different places. Getting to the bottom of the learning of our own Spirit- tailored exercise in the school of wisdom can be frustrating to say the least, but with much patience and longsuffering combined with the diligent looking into the stillness of the ocean within we may find that the answers are really closer to us than Breath itself, and than in looking outside we have just merely looked beyond them where they have been the whole time---with us and in us.

Posted via email from Cruising the Stratosphere