Thanksgiving Delights

Every Thanksgiving for the last four years I've worn my favorite shirt. It is Christmas green and simply states with holly for quotation marks:

Holiday Magic

Jesica hates it with a passion! But she puts up with it because - well, I don't know why she puts up with it (maybe I should be worried). There are a great deal of things to be thankful for today and there is a certain kind of magic in the air. So, as we sat around the dinner table with her family, I stated a few things I am thankful for. The two items that top my list are: Family and a safe place where my family can reside and do what we want to do when we want to do it...

...within the bounds of the law.

But there are some other very important things and I'd like to thank a fellow student of mine in AP Literature in 12th grade - Charles "Chuck" Kidd - for engraving them in my mind. I have lots of quotations and stories to attribute to Chuck, yet one stands out every Thanksgiving.

We were discussing what we were doing for Thanksgiving. I discussed the Turkey bowl, key lime pie and a movie. He had only three things to discuss, as well, and then an exclamation. I'll forever remember his comment:

"Evan, I only have three things planned for Thanksgiving and school work is not one of them:

Eat,

Sleep,

and Watch Football...

GOD BLESS AMERICA!!"

Chuck, thank you kindly! Need I say more? Oh, Happy Thanksgiving!

Patent Pending

When I was a kid we went to Galveston, TX. It was the only beach I knew (until we made it to FL for a vacation)...and I loved it. They had seashell shops by the seashore (say that three times fast). They had salt water taffy. They had those little shark heads with a handle at one end that made the shark bite two feet away.

Yeah, like that, but it was a red handle and it was really fun to pull hair with...I digress.

The point is, I got one of these in Galveston. I loved it and thought that it was really handy for a kid. But then I got to thinking about how beneficial it was because I was short. I could reach the snacks on top of the fridge without a chair, though they had to be light enough to grab and transport. So, my little genius mind began to turn.

The world needed a better grabby tool.

So, I began my creation. In less than a month, and with help from Dad, I had a nice grabby tool able to lift 10 lbs at a two foot distance away. It was made of wood and strong wire cables. It was perfect. And then it sat for years.

When I was a teenager, I saw the first one in a store.

Now you can purchase them anywhere and you can choose from 20" all the way to 48".

Recently, I've spoken a lot about the hope that someday someone will invent a DRR (not the Disneyland RailRoad or a Disaster Risk Recovery or a Digitally Reconstructed Radiograph, but a Digital Radio Recorder), much like a DVR (Digital Video Recorder or TIVO for those of you who like name brands - I have a Dual-Tuner myself), but for the radio.

Imagine listening to the radio and talking on the phone at the same time, but you're really involved on the phone and something is said on the radio that was really funny or controversial. But you don't know what it is because you were chatting on the phone. With a DRR you could easily rewind the radio and listen to what you missed.

Imagine, then, hearing a song that you just love and you don't have your mp3 player in the car. With a DRR you could listen to your song over and over and over again.

This is my idea don't steal it!

So, I missed out on the grabby tool. I'd like to make a DRR, but don't have the knowledge to do so. Then last week I went to the store and found another missed Opportunity.

No, I didn't invent York Peppermint Patties, but Jesica's mom gave me a recipe that I thought only she and I had yet discovered.

Holiday Brownies

They are fabulous. And I've only told a few people the secret recipe. Consequently, I was devastated when I got the bag home (and horded them in secret) because I saw the recipe for Holiday Brownies on the back of the bag of holiday packaged York Peppermint Patties.

Mofra, I'm sorry, Hershey stole our recipe!

What have I learned?

Well, if you have a dream, make it happen. Yeah, and don't let other people beat you to lots and lots of money!

Core Competencies

This evening during my four hour class I woke up for 2 important concepts: Core Competencies and Distinctive Competencies.

Core Competency - something you are good at.

Distinctive Competency - something only you can do.

So, Mr. Donohoo stated that we are to defend Core Competencies as they may develop into Distinctive Competencies...like something that you've been doing and then patent. Anyway, he stated that his daughter has this great Core Competency that he thinks is so neat! It went like this:

"My daughter has this thing she does with a maraschino cherry. She puts the whole thing in her mouth, stem and all, and then spits out the stem after she has tied it in a knot with her tongue."

We all know people who can do this...everyone in the class knows what it means. I sure do because I can tie a stem with my tongue.

Foolishly, though, I was the only one that was brave enough to blurt out and shame the Profs daughter:

"That means she's a good kisser!"

Apparently, now that he knows my name and will never forget me, he is going home to have a conversation with his daughter.

At least I got a laugh from the class...

Cream in Laguna

The definition of laguna: a bay, inlet, or other narrow or shallow body of water. The definition of Laguna Beach? Fun in the Sun (near the shallow body of water). Today you can see the effects of the sun on me after our wonderful time on Memorial Day. I've been called red, rosy, stupid, and white boy. And asked by each of those accusers if I knew what sun screen was.
Is it really necessary to remind me of my lack of color? When I hold my arm up to my wife's and her little sister we find that the coloration goes from cream to caramel to chocolate.

The only problem today is that I am now more of a strawberry cream - and I'm hungry!

What I learned at Dinner...

This evening Jesica and I shared a little home made goodness and a very intriguing conversation. Though, most of our conversations are intriguing, I learned three things that I probably should have known. In fact, the term uncultured came up. Did you know this stuff?

1. The mom should not "throw" a bridal shower for the daughter.
2. The mom should not "throw" a baby shower for the daughter.
3. Honey never goes bad and some honey has honey as the third ingredient.

So, go now and live your life a smarter, wiser person.

Birthday and See's

Krista Beyeler has her birthday on April 11th!!! Yea, Krista!

So, I love Scotchmallows! There really isn't a better confection at See's Candy (in fact, I would rate them right next to Cadbury Eggs and just before Bordeaux candies also found at See's). If you haven't tried one, go tomorrow (or today) and get one. You won't regret it.

Last night, I opened up my little Easter box and found that there was only one Scotchmallow. Being a gentleman and wonderful husband I left it there thinking that Jesica would appreciate the thought.

Later in the evening I grabbed the box and informed her that there was one and only one Scotchmallow - and I left it for her. So I took the lid off to hand her the box and found that it had already disappeared...

Thank you kindly...

Yard Sale and Tacos

On Mulberry St., in downtown Riverside, there is a family that has a yard sale every weekend. I, loving yard sales, drive down the street between 1st and Spruce, just to see what they have to offer each Saturday. This week's offerings included 3 computer monitors and 5 printers. They stunningly weren't there last week. Yet, the most amazing viewing was the sign advertizing the sale, posted on a box.

It read:

Yard Sale and Tacos.

Don't those two go together? So, I though about other funny signs that I've seen in Riverside and found this one on the computer that had been taken in 2005. This is located on Jurupa Ave. though I can imagine finding it on University...

When I was in 6th grade I had to give a report on Ireland. I actually chose to do this country because there was a girl in my ward that had just returned from her mission there. She was kind enough to allow me to take her scrapbook. This was handy because I just covered some of her strange pictures and goofy comments with some that made sense for a 6th grade report. I think that this shows that it isn't always what you know that matters.

Anyway, since it is St. Patrick's Day I thought that I would share some conviviality that has helped me enjoy March 17th every year I've been alive.

Green Shamrock Pancakes - I love to add food coloring to different culinary items. There is nothing better than the creation of a pancake shaped like a Shamrock! Ooh, and some green milk really helps those go down.

Darby O'Gill and the Little People - I once heard that if a movie has either monkeys or little people it's a good movie. I would just like to add that Sean Connery singing makes a movie great, too! By the way, thanks to Sean Connery's singing, I have wooed many young maidens.

Green Clothing - A nice green shirt always brightens the day. I know that pink is the new black and that lime green is the new pink, but a clover-colored shirt shows that you don't only have to have beer to celebrate St. Patty.

Corn Beef and Cabbage - This is surely an acquired taste and I find that there are a lot of seasoned adults that crave this stuff. There must be a reason you can't find it in a microwavable meal. The problem is that I kind of like it, so my wife must be right about my age...

Easter Candy - I don't know if you've noticed but there isn't a whole lot of St. Patrick's Day candy. Eating clovers from the Oklahoma ground is actually great, but they are a little sour, so with the help of an over-eager confection industry I have already been thankful for that rabbit that lays those beautiful Cadbury Eggs. It was a happy day when CVS/Pharmacy stocked their shelves with those eggs of goodness.

So, next year involve these 5 items in your St. Patrick's Day celebration and you'll be wishing you were leaning backwards with your feet in the air kissing the Blarney Stone so you can be more persuasive throughout the year!!