Category: family

Send help.. I think my marriage is in trouble!

So, I asked again what Amanda wants for Christmas, and she responds:

We’ve been married for almost 22 years, you should know what I want.

Danger, Will Robinson.

I can’t figure out what she is thinking day-to-day, and somehow I am now supposed to remember what she thought (or might have said) sometime this past year. It would have sounded something like this I’m sure: “Oh, that looks nice”.

She asks for more dogs and cats daily, but I have pointed out at every turn that either I or one of her myriad of animals will need to die first before that will happen.

I sought the advice of Amazon, and it wasn’t helpful at all. While I might not know what she DOES want, at least I know what she DOESN’T want when I see it.

I only have 119, 928,851 options to pick from.

Send good vibes, I don’t think Christmas is going to go well for me this year.

Patient log: Day 10 at the Chiropractor

This morning I was reminded of a memory from facebook. I tried to laugh, but it hurt too much, and then I threw my back out in the violent aftermath of an unexpected sneeze. I hope I didn’t wake any of the cats. Maybe I am allergic to cats; I hope not though, I like living at home.

I wonder what sebastian is having for dinner tonight.

The Cat is King

Isn’t That Ironic

~8 hours ago, Amanda posts the attached facebook message.

~3 hours ago, I almost became a darwinian statistic while carrying a kitchen chair down the stairs, and subsequently stepping on a sleeping cat.

There isn’t much I detest more than cats, besides small bugs such as gnats and mosquitoes and biting flies. It’s ironic that one tried to end my life today. Probably even walked away pissed that I dared to step on it too.

Hopefully There is no permanent damage. I am pretty sure that I’ll return to breathing without pain. I will again get to stand erect, and my legs will eventually come out on the other side of numbness.

It is also ironic that I must have gotten extra points for falling down a flight of stairs: in over 2 years of owning this watch, I’ve never reached my stairs goal.

It so happens, that in one more stroke of pure irony, when exported from the security system, the video always makes a comedic pause at the exact moment I step on the cat.

The rest is a little too embarrassing to share, but to add to the ambiance, the following words went through my mind at that exact moment: valar morghulis.

#IsntItIronic

Keto and me

I am Italian by heritage – if you couldn’t figure out by the last name. I love pasta, bread, pizza and the plethora of carb sludge that American’s also love. The Americans, that by some studies, are listed as being almost 75% obese.

I recently bucked 40+ years of indoctrination, and went to a Keto diet. The hesitation stems from a fear of fat. I literally used to ‘blot’ my pizza to get as much of the oils off the top of the pizza as I could. My daily fat intake was usually much less than 20 grams a day. I have no idea what my carb intake was – I never tracked it.

While you can find a ‘study’ to support most anything nowadays, I was still stuck on the government recommended food-pyramid, but the more I researched, the more I began to realize that the significant number of studies that supported a low carb diet, also made sense, chemically.

So three months ago, I went into ketosis, and here I am, 35 pounds lighter, changing nothing but my eating habits. Is it sustainable or will it eventually kill me, I don’t know – but for now, I feel much better, and I know by way of losing 35 pounds I am healthier.

So, all that said, what’s the point: the US government released its updated recommendations, and they are still spreading the (mis)information that carbs should be your largest daily consumption. Why?

Economics.

The cost to produce and consume carbs is much lower than the alternatives. Watch Food Inc, or one of the similar documentaries, then read this opinion article, which is what triggered my post.

https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/419020-government-dietary-guidelines-are-plain-wrong-avoid-carbs-not-fat

The guidelines are very influential. In fact, their pro-carb message is precisely why schools serve kids doughnuts and pop tarts for breakfast. Is this what we want for our children? We must ensure the next guidelines reflect the best thinking in nutritional science.

Will there ever be a crises of conscious, and maybe there should be a documentary out there called “Economics Vs Health”?

Blog entry: first day of vacation

Day#1: The time it takes to get the tent put up and taken down has really hampered the overall tone of the day. Perhaps I’ll get used to the nomad life before it’s time to go back to work.

[note: have no idea where I found the image, so can’t provide attribution].

Boys Adrift – The crises of young men

International Woman’s day has had me thinking a lot about the pandemic of the failure to launch syndrome.

My children range in age and gender, and I can look around and see this story playing out both near and far.

From Dr. Leonard Sax’s book: boys adrift:

Something scary is happening to boys today. From kindergarten to college, American boys are, on average, less resilient and less ambitious than they were a mere twenty years ago. The gender gap in college attendance and graduation rates has widened dramatically. While Emily is working hard at school and getting A’s, her brother Justin is goofing off. He’s more concerned about getting to the next level in his videogame than about finishing his homework. Now, Dr. Leonard Sax delves into the scientific literature and draws on more than twenty years of clinical experience to explain why boys and young men are failing in school and disengaged at home. He shows how social, cultural, and biological factors have created an environment that is literally toxic to boys. He also presents practical solutions, sharing strategies which educators have found effective in re-engaging these boys at school, as well as handy tips for parents about everything from homework, to videogames, to medication.

Here is another, more recent treatment on the topic:

He is Jealous for me..

I was recently asked about my relationship with Jesus. I realized that I openly and always share my knowledge,  but rarely share my personal feelings; those intimate areas deep down in the recesses of my heart and soul. 

My relationships are very personal; like my relationship with my wife: I don’t walk around talking about it, and trying to explain the importance of her to me.  It’s such a personal part of me.  Words cannot adequately describe, it is for me, and her, and not for you: I don’t even try. 

Yet, I do talk about what it is like to be married, to have that special connection, that special someone, that safe place to be emotionally, spiritually and physically unclothed and unashamed.

So, while I can’t adequately describe my personal relationships, I can describe what it is like to have them.

If you have such a relationship, you will recognize this refrain; if you don’t, I hope that someday you will be found and enveloped into the most wonderful, indescribable, uncontainable existence.

God chose me.  Not for any merit, not for what I had to offer, before the foundations of the world; He knew me, called me, justified me, and is in the process of making me into the image of Jesus.

The things I do, say and think separate me from God; Jesus is my defense attorney, my friend, and confidant.  He knows everything about me, and still loves me.  He is patient with me in my failings, and compassionate, He provides for my personal, spiritual and family needs.  

How He loves me.

Just below the surface

​My seven year old son, out of the blue, quivering with tears, just came to ask mom why his parents didn’t want him, and soon after, with the same tears streaming down his face, came to tell me:

“thank you, thank you for adopting me, I’ll always love you, so much”.  

Talk about a tear jerker;  I guess some wounds run deep below the surface even when you don’t see them.