Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Mikes Smoothies

Mike gave me a recipe for smoothie's that's pretty good so I thought I would throw it up here, no pun intended.

it comes out to 3/4 to a 1 cup of crushed ice
4 apricots -remove the pits
3 to 4 table spoons of sugar depending on how sweet you like it
1/2 to 3/4 cup of milk, you can use water if you want
blend it

here are the modifications I have tried.

replace the sugar with agave, you can use less as well but its up to you
half a peach, half a banana, 2 apricots

1 banana and 2 tablespoons of hot cocoa mix

For guys who don't think of the mushy stuff here it is broken down for you in terms you can understand.

Sunday we had a lesson on having a happy marriage, he gave an analogy that I didn't like but the idea sparked my own thoughts and I figured this is a good place to put them down. It applies best to men or more specifically men who love cars. It's not perfect but it gives a perspective so here it is.

Imagine your relationship as an exotic super car, it could be a Ferrari or Lamborghini, Porsche or anything you are interested in . First off they don't give these things away- you have to earn it, because it has value. So put the effort in, with a car you have to build wealth to purchase it with a marriage you have to build yourself into to something others would value. It's value for value remember you want a super car not a beat up rusty vw beetle. If you are already married did you put yourself in debt, do you owe someone something for what you got of high value?

Once you have obtained your dream car you obviously treat it differently than you would anything everyday, you drive it different you park it different. You don't take it places it shouldn't be, (bad neighborhoods, walmart parking lot) you protect it. If you hear strange sounds you have it checked out- waiting could cost you time and money.

A major fight could cause big problems in a marriage and even end it if its a problem that has been ignored for some time. If the transmission goes out you get it replaced because your super car still has value- so does your marriage, get it fixed. It may need a dent repair or a paint job, it may even need a major overhaul of most of the main components but ask yourself this, who was driving when all this damage was done? In reality the condition of the car is your responsibility. You may decide to not have the transmission fixed, its your choice but now all you can do is keep it in the garage and wash it, let your friends see it when they come over but you will never have real enjoyment until it's back on the road. You may not be able to fix everything that is wrong but there are people who can so get it to a shop if it needs it, it might be a little embarrassing to let people see you have a problem you can't fix but if they are close to you they have already heard the sounds of a problem as you have driven by.

Yelling at your car will get you no where, just make you look like an out of control idiot, same with marriage. To get where you want to go you have to take the appropriate steps, unlock the door, get in, put the keys in the ignition and start it. Put it in gear give it some gas and steer it where it needs to go. A marriage requires the same actions unlocking is trust, starting it is letting her know you care, getting in is getting involved, putting it in gear is making effort, giving it gas and steering is leading by example.

Regular maintenance would be weekly date night, and once a year maybe change the tires, take it some place where it will be treated right and spend some money.

The comparisons can go on and on but the bottom line is it requires attention and effort if you want to keep it as something you enjoy.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Why won't my fish die!

One day we were locking up a vacant home, the girl who grew up in the house married the boy next door and they just happened to be living in his parents basement at the time, she came over to make sure she didn't have any stuff left there. I noticed the fish on the counter, it was I believe October and the power had been off for a while. It seemed to be floating on one side then would flinch and roll over and float on the other side. I asked the girl if she was going to take it home with her. She was quite surprised it was still alive since the family had moved out in November. That's right the fish had been on the counter through the winter and almost a year. Somehow it had survived. I fed it and it seemed like it had forgotten what food was, it just floated next to it, then something in it sparked and it started eating again, after about a half hour it was swimming around like a normal little fish. Well I couldn't just leave it there so when the girl said she wasn't going to take it I asked if I could take it home, Max's fish had just died like the month before.
Well here we are now like two years later and it's still alive! I thought gold fish only lived a year but something must have happened in that toxic waste pit of a tank and mutated this little guy because he seems to be immortal. Maybe he is the Wolverine of gold fish. I need to change his name, Mr. Fishy doesn't really fit a mutant fish how about Logan Scott Monroe

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Cali Trip

Just got back from California, got a tan and a few bruises trying to surf. Heidi got some sort of insect bite on her foot and it doesn't seem to want to go away. We got a lot of beach time and family time. Lots of fun for sure. Only caught one wave surfing but got a ton boogie boarding and you never need much of a wave to skim board. Heidi read some books and tried the boogie boarding, she is pretty good at catching the waves. Kristi and Jer put us up for a couple days and the food was great throughout the entire trip, I haven't gotten on the scales to see the damage yet but once you look past the sunburn on my belly you will see I don't look too fat so hopefully I can just keep heading for my goal weight without out too much set back. Heidi wants to go again so we can hit Disneyland but that will have to be after school starts up again. Can't stand it when its busy.