Wrapping it up

I took the week off of work to get some things done around the house and to have some family time, and a couple of very predictable things happened:

- One or more kids got sick
- I didn't get half of the things I wanted accomplished
- The week was over far too quickly

In spite of it all, I think we had a very good week. We had several frustrating moments stuck in the house with sick/crazy kids. I don't think I'll remember those, though. I'm pretty sure I'm going to remember the good yard time we had.

One of the main things I wanted in our new house when we moved was a useable yard. Our previous yard was tiny, not very kid friendly, and completely unlike what I had growing up. As much as I got frustrated with it, I felt even worse for the kids. While our new yard isn't the biggest, it is definitely much more comfortable and kid friendly - and this week we took advantage of it.

This week was about the water hose, bare feet, and chasing the kids around with bucket-fulls of water flying. There was the night sitting in the grass with Ally and Ben watching the stars come out and seeing who can spot the next one first. Seeing them sitting still and laughing in the grass - a bigger step than you might realize for Ally in particular - felt good. There was the bat darting in and out of the yard that Ben was always a second too late to look up and see - and Ally flinched every time we mentioned it. It was fun - it was exactly what I was missing at the old house.

It felt like home. (I think the bat sealed the deal.) It was a good week. I can't believe Monday is almost here.

-Jeff

Got my finger on the pulse

That's right. People just know that when you need to find out what the likes, dislikes, wants, and needs of our culture are - you come to me. That's why I was invited to take part in a focus group for Fazoli's to evaluate some possible new menu items. Not really. I just happened to be in a Fazoli's and filled out a survey. But either way, I got paid to eat some food and tell them what I thought about it. Not a bad gig.

So at the test kitchen, I heard one of the employees (a 'food engineer') talking to another person about his background. Seems that he started as a pharmacy major and then made the apparently easy transition to food science. This was because, as he explained, the fields are very similar.

Now I'm not completely naive. I know that we eat a ton of stuff that is mass produced and is full of who knows what kind of chemicals, preservatives, etc. We are talking about manufacturing here, not home-cooking. But hearing the ex-pharmacy student turned food engineer talk for some reason really made that sink in for a moment. Of course, I completely forgot all about that as soon as the food started showing up. I mean, I did have a job to do after all.

(By the way, if you need paid evaluations of any of the following:
new golf courses
all-inclusive vacation resorts
Oreos

... then I'm your man!)

-Jeff

Does the fire marshall know about this cake?

A couple of weeks ago . . . it happened. I turned 30. I woke up, same as any other day, but I'm pretty sure out there in the distance somewhere . . . . I could just make out the sound of my sister laughing. (Completely ignoring the fact, mind you, that she's knocking on the door of that same milestone herself . . .) Oh yeah, she's been waiting for this day for a long time.

Actually, the day came and went with a whimper. The whimper was mine - as I was fighting some kind of cold that day and as usual I was a lousy patient. All in all, though, it really wasn't a big deal and I didn't expect it to be. But it wasn't all that long ago that the thought of turning 30 was the pure definition of 'becoming old.' Pretty funny, really.

I remember several things about turning 20. Within a little more than a week of turning 20 I also got married. I distinctly remember still feeling like a kid when faced with the suddenly all-too-real responsibilities of being a new husband and 'official grown up.' It took a little bit, but Kel was definitely ready to start having kids before I was. I clearly remember thinking to myself: "I'm still a kid, I can't be having a kid . . ." I was 24 when Ally was born. I remember the fear when we first came home with her from the hospital and it really sank in that we were on our own with our new baby - and there weren't nurses coming in to help every couple of hours. I definitely felt like a kid.

I had a lot of growing up to do. I still do. The twenties kind of felt like adulthood with training wheels. Yes, you have responsibilities and you learn a lot, but you are kind of expected to still mess some things up because you're young. I'm not so sure the same applies to the 30's. I have a fear that I should have learned more than I did . . . You know, like how it's cute when the 3 month old baby finds his hands and starts sucking his thumb. But when you're that kid sucking your thumb in the 3rd grade it's not so cute anymore. I think I might be that kid.

I guess we'll find out. For now, I'm just going to enjoy my twenty-something wife for another month or so. Then we'll both be 'old.' Just ask my sister.

-Jeff

So I've been thinking

about starting a blog . . . oh, wait. I already did. I just don't post there anymore . . . Well, that's got to change. There have been a ton of things happening lately. I don't say that in order to say that I've been too busy, but more because there's a lot of stuff that I'd like to write about.

More to come, I hope.

-Jeff