Our son's birthday was Friday. He had to work. So we went to his restaurant and had dinner with him before he started his shift. We took a little cake too, although he would probably have preferred that we not bring ANY attention to him. We didn't sing and all we did was have a meal and a slice of cake with him. It was fun!
It's just my opinion but I think we need to have a birthday every day.
If we did, a few things would happen though. Many of us would go broke buying cards and presents! But most of all we'd all weigh a million pounds!
Today we had a small family party. Our daughter and her family couldn't be here so there were only 8 of us. As it turned out, everyone offered to bring things so there was little for us to do other than the prep for a meal-and cook the burgers!
My brother's wife asked if she could bring the cake. She knew she'd have free time this weekend so I asked her to bring a chocolate cake with buttercream icing, which is my son's favorite.
She really went overboard! It was, as I said on Facebook, THE BEST CAKE EVER! (And if anyone asks, I think she should be given the title of the family cake baker!) It's a good thing most of it went home with others because my efforts at losing that Italy weight would be destroyed!!
Birthdays can be a great thing, especially if you're young and the best cake-baker is making your cake!
It's just my opinion though...
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
How to comment
It seems that there's some difficulty in commenting. I don't know why, but it's seems that the only way you can comment is to do it anonymously. So if you comment, put your name in the comment so I know it's you! Thanks!
Why Everyone Needs to go to Italy at least once
This summer we took a vacation. It wasn't just any old vacation though. Did we go to the beach? Did we eat ourselves silly? Did we see absolutely breathtaking views and walk through churches that are over 1000 years old? Did we see Roman ruins? Yep. We did all that and more.
But this vacation was a long time coming. It was the first real vacation we've had in 12 years. Oh, we've been away for a day or three here and there, but not a real GO SOMEWHERE NEW vacation in all those years.
So I saved. And saved some more. Who would've thought it would take so long?
Our daughter and her family are in Spain every year, visiting her in-laws. This year they did that, and then spent some time in Southern France with a bunch of friends, sharing an old Chateau near Andorra. One day last winter she suggested that we meet her and the kids for a vacation since her husband would be headed home, out of vacation days, after the visit to Southern France and a few days in Paris.
We talked, talked some more, mulled it over and decided this was the year to do it. There were logistics pulling this off, financially, but also WHERE to go and what to do. After much discussion, we decided to go to Italy. My daughter has a friend who lives there, and she offered her home to us. So in July we all headed to Venice and then on to a town near Vicenza for the start of our vacation.
It was awesome. We went to the beach, at Lake Garda, saw the Adriatic Sea, town after amazing town where there were sights to behold and shops to wander in and out of.
But the best reason to go to Italy is the food. Now, those of you who know me know that I could honestly ignore food and be completely happy. But wow! Italian food made in Italy. Every meal I ate featured pasta, freshly made with sauce that didn't come out of a jar. Gnocchi. Pizza. Spaghetti. I have never, in my entire life, had pasta to match what we had there.
Being able to see the sights between meals was wonderful though. Churches, Basilicas, the Grand Canal in Venice...breathtaking! If you ever have the chance to visit Northern Italy...don't hesitate. Just go! Of course, it's just my opinion!
And I'll add our days in France another time!!
But this vacation was a long time coming. It was the first real vacation we've had in 12 years. Oh, we've been away for a day or three here and there, but not a real GO SOMEWHERE NEW vacation in all those years.
So I saved. And saved some more. Who would've thought it would take so long?
Our daughter and her family are in Spain every year, visiting her in-laws. This year they did that, and then spent some time in Southern France with a bunch of friends, sharing an old Chateau near Andorra. One day last winter she suggested that we meet her and the kids for a vacation since her husband would be headed home, out of vacation days, after the visit to Southern France and a few days in Paris.
We talked, talked some more, mulled it over and decided this was the year to do it. There were logistics pulling this off, financially, but also WHERE to go and what to do. After much discussion, we decided to go to Italy. My daughter has a friend who lives there, and she offered her home to us. So in July we all headed to Venice and then on to a town near Vicenza for the start of our vacation.
It was awesome. We went to the beach, at Lake Garda, saw the Adriatic Sea, town after amazing town where there were sights to behold and shops to wander in and out of.
But the best reason to go to Italy is the food. Now, those of you who know me know that I could honestly ignore food and be completely happy. But wow! Italian food made in Italy. Every meal I ate featured pasta, freshly made with sauce that didn't come out of a jar. Gnocchi. Pizza. Spaghetti. I have never, in my entire life, had pasta to match what we had there.
Being able to see the sights between meals was wonderful though. Churches, Basilicas, the Grand Canal in Venice...breathtaking! If you ever have the chance to visit Northern Italy...don't hesitate. Just go! Of course, it's just my opinion!
And I'll add our days in France another time!!
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Yep, it's my opinion...
Someone asked me what you need to do in your life so that you don't have regrets on your deathbed.
I think that we all make mistakes. In fact, I don't know anyone who hasn't done or said something that they seriously regret. Most of us make mistakes every day in some shape or form.
Some people, and I truly believe this, don't care who they hurt by their words or actions. They never say I'm sorry (at least not to me) and act as if they're better than everyone else. Those people will have to think about their mistakes as their lives come to a close. Personally, I think we're all equal in God's eyes.
We have to redeem ourselves. We apologize. We go the extra mile for those we've hurt unintentionally, and we know when that happens. We have to understand that everyone walks in the same shoes we walk in. And even if those we hurt don't accept our sincere apology, we know that God is aware of our contrition and we can move forward.
As our lives go on, we can look back at what we've done, and hopefully, we can honestly say that during those bad times of actions or words, that we've done everything we can to mend the fences that we've broken.
We ask God for forgiveness. In my church, we do it publicly every Sunday. We ask God to forgive us our transgressions. Every day, in my personal life, I pray that if I've hurt anyone, that I can find a way to fix it, or at least say that I'm sorry. I try to be aware of what I say and do, but honestly, sometimes we speak before our brains are engaged. Those are the rough times and sometimes those words are hard to take back. We have to pray that we can make those we've hurt understand that we're sorry, and mean it.
Ask God for forgiveness, and MEAN it when you ask. MEAN it when you say you're sorry. MEAN it when you do something you regret and find a way to make it right. If we do those things, when our lives end we won't have anything to regret.
And it's just my opinion...
I think that we all make mistakes. In fact, I don't know anyone who hasn't done or said something that they seriously regret. Most of us make mistakes every day in some shape or form.
Some people, and I truly believe this, don't care who they hurt by their words or actions. They never say I'm sorry (at least not to me) and act as if they're better than everyone else. Those people will have to think about their mistakes as their lives come to a close. Personally, I think we're all equal in God's eyes.
We have to redeem ourselves. We apologize. We go the extra mile for those we've hurt unintentionally, and we know when that happens. We have to understand that everyone walks in the same shoes we walk in. And even if those we hurt don't accept our sincere apology, we know that God is aware of our contrition and we can move forward.
As our lives go on, we can look back at what we've done, and hopefully, we can honestly say that during those bad times of actions or words, that we've done everything we can to mend the fences that we've broken.
We ask God for forgiveness. In my church, we do it publicly every Sunday. We ask God to forgive us our transgressions. Every day, in my personal life, I pray that if I've hurt anyone, that I can find a way to fix it, or at least say that I'm sorry. I try to be aware of what I say and do, but honestly, sometimes we speak before our brains are engaged. Those are the rough times and sometimes those words are hard to take back. We have to pray that we can make those we've hurt understand that we're sorry, and mean it.
Ask God for forgiveness, and MEAN it when you ask. MEAN it when you say you're sorry. MEAN it when you do something you regret and find a way to make it right. If we do those things, when our lives end we won't have anything to regret.
And it's just my opinion...
I tried writing a blog before but I really felt that it failed. I had no idea who was reading it, or if anyone did, and if they did, few left comments. Maybe my thoughts aren't interesting and that's ok. All I ask is that you leave me a short comment when you read, and if you find it interesting, pass it along to others. I thank you in advance!
I'll start my new blog by asking a few questions. Hopefully, those of you who read it will like it. Would you tell me what you'd like me to write about? Can you give me suggestions as to what YOU might find interesting?
I know that I have a lot of opinions on many things and it's not always what others want to hear. I don't discuss politics at all so please don't ask my thoughts on that!
I'm interested in hearing from YOU. Comments are welcome and appreciated.
So we'll try again and see how this goes!
It's just my opinion but I think EVERYONE needs to go to Italy at least once in their life. Next time I'll tell you why!!
I'll start my new blog by asking a few questions. Hopefully, those of you who read it will like it. Would you tell me what you'd like me to write about? Can you give me suggestions as to what YOU might find interesting?
I know that I have a lot of opinions on many things and it's not always what others want to hear. I don't discuss politics at all so please don't ask my thoughts on that!
I'm interested in hearing from YOU. Comments are welcome and appreciated.
So we'll try again and see how this goes!
It's just my opinion but I think EVERYONE needs to go to Italy at least once in their life. Next time I'll tell you why!!
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