Twas the night before Christmas...

...and time to wish all my friends a very Merry Christmas!!!  I hope you get everything you want from Santa and that the holidays are good to you.  May you get ample time to spend with loved ones and if you are traveling, I hope you do so safely! I treasure all of you and want you back for more in the New Year!!!

Driving home today, the sun was out and with all of the ice on the trees, I was reminded why Michigan is the "Winter Wonderland"!!  I know the ice has been a bit of a pain lately but it certainly was beautiful.

Merry Christmas to everyone and may the peace of the Lord's coming be with you all year long and bless you with dreams realized!!!!

Christmas Time Is Here!!!!

Call me a sap but I love Christmas.  I love everything about it.  First there's the movies; the classics, the comedies, the tear jerkers and even the cartoon versions.  They are all good and all help to reinforce the Christmas spirit in me.

Then there are the songs of Christmas.  I have a playlist on my MacBook Air that goes on for hours.  At this time of year I come home from work, turn on iTunes and the house is magically filled with Christmas carols for the rest of the evening.  I have found over the years that Christmas carols go best with a nice California Cabernet!

Santa with his laptop

Movies, Christmas carols and Christmas decorations!  My goodness there are so many options when it comes to decorating a house for Christmas.  I have mentioned in a previous blog that I even have a collection of Christmas Geese that decorate our living room.  Unlike the geese out back by the lake, the Christmas Geese are actually pleasant to be around and Maggie doesn't chase them.

Have I mentioned the smells of Christmas?  Baking around this time of year takes on a whole new meaning.  I don't care where you go, people are baking stuff, all kinds of goodies for the holidays.  I am sure that from Thanksgiving through the New Year, I could easily gain 20 pounds.  The food, the drink and the slowing of my metabolism from inactivity all contribute to additional holiday tonnage.  I even threatened to start baking myself this weekend in spite of the fact the I don't eat sugar or most of the other ingredients of holiday baking.  I just love the smell that permeates the house.  It is the next best thing after the smell of bacon for breakfast on a Sunday morning!!!!  I wonder if there is a cookie recipe that includes BACON!!!

Spending time with friends is also a great pastime of the holiday season.  Holiday parties, maybe a quick holiday drink after work or an evening session with friends just reminiscing and pouring down hot toddies, these are part of the holiday festivities.

Of course no Christmas season would be complete without looking back at past holidays spent with family and friends who are no longer with us.  There was my Aunt Clara who thought she was paralyzed because she couldn't get out the car one Christmas holiday until I reached over and unbuckled her seat belt for her!!!  Then there was my Grandmother who had the strangest diet.  She wouldn't eat processed foods and was really into fresh fruits and vegetables.  Nothing for her that was going to poison her body.  Uh oh, that is beginning to sound like me and my food mentor!!!  OMG!!! I have become my Grandmother.  Just shoot me!!!

Well, I think this is just scratching the surface of what Christmas is for me.  It is truly a magical time of the year.  It is a time of renewal and hope and looking forward to the future given that we are celebrating the birth of our Savior!

I hope you enjoy this holiday season and are able to spend it with people who make your life magical.  I know I will.  To them I say thank you and Merry Christmas!!!!!

The Christmas Transformation

Every year on the weekend following Thanksgiving, our home goes through a complete transformation.  Christmas comes to the Fosters.  I can get pretty into the Christmas spirit and I do love a good holiday movie along with the songs of the season.  However, Sue is the one that truly takes everything to the next level.

We spread out in the staging area!!!

There aren't too many spaces in the house the don't have a Christmas ornament, figurine or character filling them.  Our tree, which is artificial for the first time in 24 years, is full of lights and ornaments that we have collected over the past 30 years.  I find it amazing that the tree doesn't crumble under the weight of all the ornaments.  And we still collect more when we travel to new locations.

Christmas Geese

I have a special penchant for Christmas Geese so we have several varieties adorning the living room, tree and patio.  Sue, as many of you know, collects cat/kitten ornaments.  So we do have a few of those hanging on the tree.  Actually we have so many that they also take up most of the curio cabinet as well.

Thomas Kincaid Church

We have a whole neighborhood of Thomas Kincaid buildings, most of which were gifts from a dear friend.  For years she sent us a floral arrangement at Christmas that centered around one of the Thomas Kincaid collectables.  We are debating this year whether or not to continue the collection.  We will have to put an addition on our mantle if we choose to do so.

Along with the many changes that take place during this transformation, one of critical importance is the addition of an ornament hospital in one section of the kitchen.  Every now and then, an ornament takes the plunge from the tree or the counter onto the floor and ooooops.  It may be an ear, or a leg or a head but whatever it is, the ornament takes a trip to the hospital where it is repaired and sent back to active duty.  As I have been typing this, 2 have been admitted.

So the condo is now a mini North Pole.  From now until the end of the year the house will be full or lights, Christmas music and 24 hour Christmas movies.  Well except for the MSU/OSU Big Ten Championship Game.  We do have our priorities you know!!!!

Many years back I bought Sue one of Santa's sleigh bells from the movie Polar Express.  If you're wondering, to this day, we can both still hear it ring!!!!!

Christmas Boxes

Items waiting to be placed

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

On this Thanksgiving Day, I am thankful for my Loverly, my family, all my friends and the Convergent Team; these are the people who make life magical for me. Thank you!!!! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Ah Magical Fireplace

I've known from the time I could walk that there was something magical about sitting near a fire and becoming immersed in the flickering light.  Time spent in front of a fire is a time of relaxation and a time for reflection.  Ok, so sometimes it is also where we find the makings for Smores.  That just shows the versatility of the magical fire.

I just lit the first fire of the season in our fireplace.  Past years would have shown the cats curled up on the floor in front it and frequently even the dog sharing the coveted spot with them.  We usually dim the lights and enjoy the warmth and the very special view of the burning, crackling logs in the fire.

It's cold outside and the weather certainly warrants having a warm cozy fire in the fireplace.            
This is also the time when many of the channels are showing Christmas movies around the clock. I also have a stack of CDs full of Christmas songs that we could listen to from now until after the New Year.

So I think the evening ahead is fairly well laid out.  A warm cozy fire, a holiday movie that inspires and rekindles our Christmas spirit and a little grog to help ease us into the mood.

Later, after everyone is asleep the fire will  start its gradual decline.  The shadows created by the fire will flicker on the walls.  This is when I will find the time to take advantage of it powers of reflection and examine life and all of it's complexities.  Life takes it's inevitable twists and turns and sometimes we are spot on in our dealings with them; other times not so much.  Pausing to look back on those moments helps to understand life just that little bit better and a fire is the perfect place for such contemplation.

Good night all and may you too find clarity, solace and wisdom in front of your very own fire!

Sadness

I googled sadness to see what the technical definition of the word is.  Of course, Google goes into too many derivations of the word and its meanings to be really helpful.  I was wondering if sadness is considered an acute complication or if it can be a chronic condition.

I gleaned from all the information on Google that sadness is really more of a temporary and situational condition.  If these emotions go further than this it seems that is more indicative of depression than simple sadness.

I did some reading on sadness today and wow what a wealth of information there is on sadness.  I truly believe there are a lot of sad people in this world.  That, in and of itself, is very sad and indicative of our times.

Following is one of the best pieces I found on sadness.  It bears reading a couple of times to really get the full measure if its depth.

“He awoke each morning with the desire to do right, to be a good and meaningful person, to be, as simple as it sounded and as impossible as it actually was, happy. And during the course of each day his heart would descend from his chest into his stomach. By early afternoon he was overcome by the feeling that nothing was right, or nothing was right for him, and by the desire to be alone. By evening he was fulfilled: alone in the magnitude of his grief, alone in his aimless guilt, alone even in his loneliness. I am not sad, he would repeat to himself over and over, I am not sad. As if he might one day convince himself. Or fool himself. Or convince others--the only thing worse than being sad is for others to know that you are sad. I am not sad. I am not sad. Because his life had unlimited potential for happiness, insofar as it was an empty white room. He would fall asleep with his heart at the foot of his bed, like some domesticated animal that was no part of him at all. And each morning he would wake with it again in the cupboard of his rib cage, having become a little heavier, a little weaker, but still pumping. And by the midafternoon he was again overcome with the desire to be somewhere else, someone else, someone else somewhere else. I am not sad.” 
― Jonathan Safran Foer, Everything Is Illuminated

The real question isn't what is sadness, because I believe sadness to be the anomaly rather than the norm.  So, given that everyone at some point in time is prone to bouts of sadness, how do we transform ourselves from a state of sadness into a state of happiness and well being?

Apparently that will require more research because I definitely don't have the answer as of this writing.

Night All!!!!

Total Relaxation

When you think of total relaxation, what comes to mind?  Ok, you could probably ask 100 people and get 100 different answers to that question.  Tonight I found total relaxation with a little music, a glass of wine and a tub full of hot water (well it started out hot).  Ah sweet mystery of life!!!!!

I know, it sounds like heaven; and it really was quite nice.  Remember though that I am 6'1" and 225 pounds.  I displace a lot of water!  Additionally, our bath tub is not an 8 person hot tub.  It more closely resembles my dogs water bowl.  Choices have to be made.  Do I sit fairly upright and only my legs are in the water or do I scooch down in the tub and get my chest in the water.  Of course, if I do that then my legs are high and dry.  I chose to alternate between the two positions not realizing that the wet part of your body that is now out of the water gets cold real fast!!!!  Needless to say, I changed positions quickly.

Then there is the matter of an empty wine glass.  Crap, I knew I should've brought the bottle!  What was I thinking???  Even I can't picture me getting out of the tub and running dripping wet to the kitchen for a refill.  I did the only logical thing, I called the dog.  Is my dog the only dog in America that does not understand the command, "fetch the wine bottle"?

Oh well, I waited out the warm water refilling a couple of times, checked Facebook and sent a couple of emails all without dropping my iPad into the bath water.  Finally I climbed out and toweled off having enjoyed a nice relaxing bath. You should try it.

Entreprenuership

So you want to own your own business?  You can read all the books and take all the classes on starting and owning a business.  You can learn how to work the financials and manage the business and maybe you too will start a business and make it successful.  Truthfully there is only one secret to starting and owning a successful business; hire people who will make the business a success.

Serendipity is the term I use when describing the success of our firm.  Call it dumb luck but it really is about the fact that I got lucky and have been joined by people who are self motivated and require very little management.  That is what makes us what we are today; a successful consulting firm with a high level of integrity and a staff that our clients can rely on to make decisions that are in their best interest.  I couldn't ask for more and I think our clients would say the same about the team on whom they rely.

You can't thank the people who make the business a success often enough or loudly enough.  Sometimes you can't even compensate them appropriately, especially in the face of increasing taxes and  government dictated programs.  However, I can always say thank you for being the best team ever and bringing to our clients the best possible consulting service in the industry!  Thank you Convergent Technology Partners!!!!

Drunk Blogging

I will admit that, on occasion, I have been known to text people after a few single malt scotches.  I will go further and admit that I have even posted to Facebook after a few drams.  Tonight however is a first.  Tonight I am drunk blogging!

What should we talk about in this blog?  Politics??  Oh hell no!  Not only is that a subject that I am far too passionate about to drunk blog on, but my rantings would likely bore the hell out of most of you anyway.

How about work? No, let’s not.  That’s what started me drinking tonight in the first place.

I know, let’s discuss women.  That seems to be a topic for the ages.  Of course, unless I want to sleep on the couch for the next year, I had better watch what I put in writing on that subject!!!

Pets???  No, my dog is sitting in front of me with that “I really love you and wish I could jump up on your lap” look on her face.  That won’t work.

I am scraping the bottom of the barrel here.  The Wolverines and the Spartans both won in embarrassing fashion and the Lions and Tigers lost.

This really sucks! I can’t even drunk blog without censoring myself.  How pathetic is that???

Oh well, check back after a few more sips and see if my censor goes to sleep before I push the post key!!!!!

A Day of Remembrance

9/11 will always be a day of remembrance for all the world due to the atrocities that took place on that day in 2001.  I remember that we had just started our new company barely a week earlier and the whole group was excited and everything seemed full of promise.  Then on that day I was walking past the conference room and everyone was gathered around the television watching the first tower burn when suddenly on live TV the second tower was hit.  Then everyone realized that it wasn't a freak accident, this was an intentional act.  No one could figure out who would do such a horrendous  thing!

Needless to say, many lives were changed that day; maybe all of our lives were changed.

9/11 is also the birthday of a dear friend of mine. Marty was my business partner and friend.  He was always a bit bothered by the fact that 9/11 represented not only his birthday but also one of the darkest days in America's history.  Marty passed in 2011 but he is still in our hearts.

Today we acknowledge his birthday as one of the brighter moments occurring on 9/11.  Happy Birthday Marty!

Maggie and Me

Maggie and I have been fending for ourselves this weekend as Loverly abandoned us in favor of a girls very long weekend in Harbor Springs.  Work days Maggie gets a little bored at home but we had help from a good friend who got her out and about a couple of times a day.

We have tried to make up for it today by spending the day on our great adventure. We started at the bark park - which Maggie absolutely loves - then we went grocery shopping and to the barber shop for a hair cut for me. The barbers have all grown to love Maggie's visits though all to infrequent. Aside from the fact that I am a paying customer, I think they would rather see her then me!

We then came home for a well deserved nap.  Around 4:00, Maggie suggested we take a stroll down to the beach.  I complained loudly but eventually conceded and we walked to the beach and spent time staring at things in the water that I obviously could not see.  Maggie, however, was enthralled by what I can only imagine was her own reflection!

Now it is dinner time and we have opened the veranda for dining.  The table is set for 1 1/2 and I have prepped and will begin cooking a sumptuous meal for us.  Well, for me and Maggie will be looking for the leftovers. She is such a delusional young dog!

Well, it is that time and the kitchen calls.  Not to mention, my stomach is growling. I think we forgot lunch during our great adventure!! So not like me.

Tomorrow Maggie will join me at my office.  I am still struggling with how to make her time there more productive but it seems all she ever wants to do is people watch from my office window on the 5th floor.  I shouldn't say this but I spend a lot of time at that window myself.  It really is a good spot from which to people watch and sometimes for reflection on life's events.

BFN

Woodpecker

Alright, I hear some of my friends snickering already. And to the Fearless One, it has nothing to do with that.  This is about the red headed beast that has decided that our chimney top is akin to a tree but sounds like a series of small explosions when he begins his morning routine.

Exactly what is it about the metal cap on our chimney that attracts a Woodpecker? I mean seriously, it doesn't even come close to resembling a tree trunk. Is this the domain of a mentally defective bird or is there really something about the metal cap that birds find appealing? Maybe it is the sound. Or maybe it is the fact that it drives the inhabitants of the domicile crazy. It is possible that birds could be that vindictive? Even it that were true, I have done nothing to attract the ire of this particular bird.

Well there was the time last year when I saw him working a dead tree in our wetlands and I called him Woody. Surely he would not take such offense that he would launch an assault on our peaceful mornings. Well, whatever the reason, I hope he finds a real tree and moves along soon. I have enough trouble sleeping in and don't need his help waking in the mornings.

A Near Tragedy

Like any other day, I came home and walked through the kitchen to put my briefcase at the table where I frequently write.  As I passed through the kitchen I spoke briefly with the Butternut Squash who most of you know, an found it to be somewhat despondent. I was not totally surprised by this.  It has had some issues lately with it's identity and purpose in life; things we all struggle with at times.

So I changed my clothes and set out to have a wine on the veranda while I let dinner cook.  I was somewhat preoccupied in my online activities when I noticed Butternut Squash sauntering towards the balcony of the veranda.  I didn't think too much about it.  This wouldn't be the first time it joined me on the veranda to get some fresh air.

It turns out this was different.  This time my despondent little buddy had ill will on his  mind.  I caught him just in the nick of time as he leaped onto the top rail of the balcony and was preparing to leap over the edge down to the ground 15 feet below!

We talked for awhile and it became apparent that he needed some professional counseling.  So, I have decided to return him to Kroger where he can get the necessary help and maybe be sent to a home where he can be rehabilitated and maybe even find and satisfy his true purpose in life.

Obviously he is not finding that here and I don't have the skills to aid him in his life's journey.

I will return him tomorrow and wish him god speed in his recovery!!!

Continuing Saga of the Butternut Squash

Hello, I am a butternut squash.  I know, you are thinking what a privileged life I lead.  You are so wrong!!!  Let me just say that I am 2 weeks old and living a totally unfulfilled life.  I came to this home with the anticipation of becoming the quintessential mealtime vegetable for this family.  Have I been able to fulfill that goal? No!  I say again, No!!!  I sit on the counter and no longer believe that I have any possibility of becoming the butternut squash of which dreams are made!!!!!!

I don't mean to linger on my whoas, I just want to put the word out to other butternut squash that life isn't always fair and that sometimes you have to adjust your expectations to meet the challenges of the real world.

Mind you, I am living  with a kind and just couple that would love to help me fulfill my dreams but they are incapable of helping me achieve my full potential.  They need the skilled hands of a premiere chef to aid in the proper form of butternut squash preparation.  I cry out to that certain someone who could help them help me fulfill my dreams.  Please come to our aid!!!!

As always, your most sincere butternut squash.

The Perfect Moment

It is my belief that throughout a person's lifetime they experience a number of what I will call "Perfect Moments".  There are actually two types of Perfect Moments.  The first is simply one of those life experiences that you want to last a lifetime.  Did you ever wake up from a dream and immediately want to fall back asleep and go back into the dream?  It's kind of like that.  I'll give you an example.  One of the first evenings I spent with my wife was before we were even dating.  We stopped after work at a local pub in Royal Oak and ordered Bloody Marys.  I think we sat in that bar and sipped Bloody Marys for what seemed hours.  All we did was talk.  It was a very innocent evening of conversation, laughter and sharing experiences.  I remember being so terribly disappointed when the evening ended.  It was one of those Perfect Moments when I wished I could have just stopped time and enjoyed the experience forever.  I have experienced many of these over the past 30 years.

The other Perfect Moment is a bit more complex and requires thought, action and frequently a bit of bravery on the part of the participant. This is a moment in time when all of the planets align, circumstances fall appropriately into place and an opportunity presents itself with astounding clarity.  Now all you have to do is choose to act.  If you are a guy, think about the first time you felt like you wanted to kiss that special girl and you even felt like she was hoping you would.  Did you act on that Perfect Moment?  Or maybe it was that time when it seemed like you could cut the sexual tension in the air with a knife. You felt it, she felt it and the location and circumstances were perfect.  Did you act on that Perfect Moment?

Of course it is not always about the activities between a man and a woman; those are just the most intensely charged moments.  I have personally had Perfect Moments in sporting activities.  I am playing well and I know I can make this shot.  It is a high risk/reward play but everything inside me says, "Go for it".  Did I choose to take the shot or layup and play it safe?

I can say with certainty that I went for it in sports far more often then I did when it meant putting my emotions and feelings at risk!  However, it is those moments when you put it all on the line that makes life worth living.  It is in those Perfect Moments that we feel most alive.  Not just in the outcome but also in the process of making the decision and acting on it.

I think those that truly enjoy life are expert at recognizing when those moments exist and when presented with those opportunities, as the song says, "I hope you dance"!!!!

Thankful

Frequently in life, adversity is defeated by prayer and positive thoughts. This was one of those weeks. I am giving thanks tonight for what I originally thought was going to be a replay of the loss of a close friend. As it turns out, all is well and the medical community is providing my friend with the tools to ensure that this doesn't develop into a major health issue.

God bless the dedicated health care professionals that strive to serve us all in our quest for continued good health. Praise The Lord whose hand guides these individuals!

I offer a prayer to all of those suffering through health issues, may they be comforted in the knowledge that they are never alone. God walks with them!

25th Wedding Anniversary Vacation

On our 25th wedding anniversary, Snuzy and I traveled to Hawaii!!!  We have already spent a week in Oahu and have posted a few pictures on Facebook and now we are in Maui and getting started on seeing this beautiful island.  Here are just a couple of pictures of a view from the beach and the lobby of the Grand Wailea.  I think "Wow" describes this place pretty well.

This picture was taken from a walkway along the ocean right in front of the beach houses next to our hotel.

This is the lobby bar of the Grand Wailea taken from the registration area.

Just wondering.....

I have been reading about the IRS profiling, or harassing or whatever you want to call that mess.  And of course there is infiltrating the private phone data for the AP reporters and I am wondering where the ACLU is in all of this.  Am I wrong in thinking that if these were liberal groups, the ACLU would have filed suits already against the perpetrators?  So where are they?