P is for Pizza

When the moon hits your eye like a big-a pizza pie, That's Amore! 

I love PIZZA!  Deep Dish, Thin Crust, Pan, Stuffed crust, frozen!  I just love pizza. 

My love affair with pizza began when I was a little kid.   We would always look forward to Saturday night because Saturday night was pizza night!  Most of the time, it was just Totino's Frozen Pizza.  Once in a while, we would have Pizza Hut or Breadeaux Pizza.  I remember if we didn't have pizza on Saturday, I was disappointed. 

Of course on the Totino's pizza, we would have always add more cheese to it.  You have to add cheese! I always got Pepperoni or Combination.  Rick always got hamburger.  Mom got either cheese or canadian bacon.  Dad would usually get either hamburger or sausage.  Larry I think just ate anything.  :)  I remember that after I was done eating my pizza I would always go to see if anyone couldn't finish theres and volunteer to help them out.   I just loved pizza.

Once, I went to college the Saturday night pizza thing went away, because it would turn into Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night pizza.  I was introduced to other pizza places like Dominoes, Papa Minskys, UNO's, and many many more.

When I think of the best Pizza places.  Two come to mind.  One is a chain and one is local in Liberty Missouri.  The chain pizza is Papa Johns!  It has the freshest ingredients, the best crust.  They always deliver their pizza with a garlic dipping sauce.  It is the best.  The local place is called "The Dish"  They have the best Deep Dish pizza out there!  I am sorry Chicago, you have nothing on the "The Dish"  Yum!   My favorite pizza to get is actually from Pizza Hut.  It is the Stuffed Crust Pizza.  There is cheesy goodness in every bite!

I have to admit if I could go back to Saturday Night Pizza Night, I would.  I just remember as a kid, this was something we always looked forward too.  Some people say, you need to break your traditions and do things outside the box.  I think some traditions is what makes a family.  Saturday night Pizza night is definitately a tradition I miss.

O is for Outstanding



Levi and I at the zoo in Omaha

 You might of saw in my last post that I said I was really happy to spend an afternoon with Levi. 

As I said in my post, I really wasn't looking forward to going to my inlaws house.  I was tired and I just wanted to stay home.  Misty put the guilt trip on me and I went.  I was in my paint clothes because that is what I was supposed to do.   I thought they were crazy to have a paint brush in my hands.  Usually gallons of paint or paint splatter end up everywhere, but I was there to help paint. 

Little did I know is my mother in law knew of my shortcomings and put me on Levi patrol.  She asked me if I could help Levi clean his room while Misty and her painted.  So first of all I went into Levi's room and I think my jaw went to the floor.  I was like, where do you even start in here?  So I decided to do my method of cleaning.  You start in one corner and move to the other corner, and if you weren't sure what something was, you threw it in the closet. :)  He had so many toys, and instead of cleaning, he of course wanted to show me his toys.  That boy sure has a lot of toys.  After we got to a certain point where you could actually see most of the floor, I said that is good ending point for today.  There is still a lot to do in there. 

After that Levi, had to show me this rocket game he was playing on the computer.  It was real fun watching him play.  I think he had more fun hitting planes and crashing than actually trying to win the game. 

After dinner, I decided to get on the trampoline with Levi.  I haven't jumped on the trampoline for ages.  Levi was tickled I got in there.  I started jumping on the trampoline, causing Levi to fly in the air.  He even stood off to the side of the trampoline when I tried to do my own thing.  I was trying to to do the classic jump, land on my butt and back on my feet.  I came so close but couldn't quite accomplish it. 

That might have been the most time I had ever spent with Levi where it was me and him.  We had so much fun and I we had really good bonding time, and at the end of the day he gave me a big hug.  That truly made this day Outstanding!

N is for Next

Do you ever sit around and think about what is next in my life?  I know I do.   I am really good at saying all the nexts I want in life but rarely put it in motion.  Do you ever feel that way?

Misty and I have talked about getting laminate throughout the house.  We have talked about making our master bathroom bigger.  We have talked about doing landscaping.  I always say that is the next thing on my list.  That is just in the house.

How about life?  What is next in life?  What is next in my family life?  What is next in my relationship with God?  Getting healthy is the next thing I am going to do.  Next, I am going to get more involved with charities.  What is next in your career?  I have to admit I haven't been focusing on the nexts. 

I always make excuses.  I don't have enough time.  I don't have the money.  I am too tired.  I need to rest.  My body hurts.  I have said them all. 

The other day, I was complaining because I didn't want to go to my mother and father inlaws  house.  I was tired and I just wanted to stay home.  I am so glad I went because I had a great time with my little brother Levi that day.  If I woud have stayed home, I probably would have laid around and watched TV.  It wouldn't have been nearly as rewarding. 

I have decided that I going to try not to use these excuses anymore.  If it involves money, find out how much it is going to cost and make a plan to save for it.  If it involves getting healthier, make a plan of how your are going to improve it.  I am not naive and think I am going to be able to change over night, but I am going to really try.  You aren't going to get to your next next unless you are willing to stand up to the plate and do something about it. 

M is for Mom

I knew I wanted to write about my mom and my mother in law for the letter M.  It is hard to come up with words to describe people that have totally shaped your life.  These poems sum up what I think of my mother and mother in law. 

 

Mom, you're a wonderful mother,
So gentle, yet so strong.
The many ways you show you care
Always make me feel I belong.

You're patient when I'm foolish;
You give guidance when I ask;
It seems you can do most anything;
You're the master of every task.

You're a dependable source of comfort;
You're my cushion when I fall.
You help in times of trouble;
You support me whenever I call.

I love you more than you know;
You have my total respect.
If I had my choice of mothers,
You'd be the one I'd select!

When you gave birth to your first child
I wonder what you thought
As tears flowed down in joy that day
For the treasure God had wrought

As you looked into your baby's eyes
And held her tiny hand
Did you know how thankful I would be
For the girl you made a woman

No girl grows into such a woman
Without a mother's care
Teaching her and loving her
And always being there

And now I look into the eyes
Of the daughter you raised to be
A woman who stands above the crowd
And it's your eyes that I see

Those beautiful brown eyes of strength and hope
And of character so rare
The eyes of love and faithfulness
And wisdom that you shared

I want to take this moment
And thank you for the one
That you have shared and let me love
Your work of art, your daughter

L is for Love

On April 28th, 2011, Misty and I will be celebrating our 4 year anniversary.   I gave you the story of our engagement night.  Now I am going to give you the story of how I fell in love with Misty.

Misty lived in Odessa, Missouri.  I lived in Gladstone, Missouri.  How in the world are these two people met to be together going to meet.  After giving up on the traditional way to meet girls, I decided to go online and got an account on Yahoo Personals.  I tried to get clever and created a Top 10 list of things that I look for in a girl. Next thing I know, this beautiful brown eyed girl Misty wrote me and said she thought my ad was original and she really liked it.  We exchanged a ton of emails.  This was happening during the spring of 2006.  Then all of a sudden, like an idiot, I stopped writing for a few weeks.  My friend Jerry was getting married and I was his best man, so I was busy planning stuff for that, but after the wedding, I started writing again.  Misty said she was getting ready to delete me off her contacts. 

So after a lot more emails, I really wanted to meet this girl who I could tell was amazing in her emails.  You could see the kindness, the sense of humor.

The problem was Odessa and Gladstone are quite a distance apart. However, Misty recently had a got a promotion and was working as a Store Manager at Dress Barn in Zona Rosa.  I was really nervous to meet her but finally we had set a date to eat at Tomfooleries.  I was so nervous.  I didn't want to screw this up.  So we met at Tomfooleries.  She came out the door and greeted me, and I was like "Wow, She is beautiful!"  Of course that made me more nervous.  So we sat down, and were having Idol Chit Chat.   Actually we were talking about American Idol.  We both were huge Taylor Hicks fans.  I think during dinner I actually spit my food out.  I probably was messy.  I was thinking this is going really great.  Not!  After dinner we went Miniature Golfing and then went to play pool.  I had a great time with Misty, only to learn later on Misty didn't feel the same connection.  I pretty much begged her to go on 2nd date with me, which she agreed too.  We went to see a movie.  There was a little more chemistry there, but still she wasn't feeling it.  She decided to give me one more chance.  We met for dinner at Granite City.  I could tell Misty had a hard day at work.  I just was comforting her.  After dinner, we went to Barnes and Noble to hang out.  We got some of those "What If"  and that is where Misty finally realized there was something there.  She realized in my answers that I was worth pursueing. We had a quick kiss at the end of the date.   I could tell there was a big shift that night.  We officially became boyfriend and girlfiriend that night. 

After that, Misty and I met almost everyday after her work.  We had great talks and great smooching sessions. ;)  I was falling hard pretty early, but I wanted to make sure it was the right time before I would say it. 

Actually, Misty was the first to tell me she loved me.  We were at my mom's house.  This was the first time she had met my mom. We stayed the night at my mom's house in separate beds.   In the morning, Misty came over and cuddled beside and told me she loved me.  I was the happiest man alive!  I so loved her so much.

It wasn't too much after that, that we went to Odessa and we had the house to ourself because her family went camping.  I don't know why but I felt the urge at 3:00 in the morning that I needed to tell her I loved her.  She was half asleep, but I had done it.  I find it funny that both of us told the other they loved them at their parent's house. 

It wasn't much long after that we moved in together.  It wasn't much long after that we became engaged.  It wasn't long after that we became husband and wife.  From emails to marriage was a little over a year.

I am the luckiest man in the world!  I am married to this beautiful brown eyed girl, that has a huge heart, is hilarious, is a great big sister.  I am so glad that she is head over heels in love with me as well.

K is for KISS

You wanted the BEST You Got the BEST!  The Hottest Band in the WORLD!  KISS!!!!  Not the way you thought I was going to go with that was it. 

I have seen KISS in concert 6 times.  There is not a better live band out there.  No One puts on a better show than KISS.  I grew up with KISS playing in the house.  My brother Larry would have it blaring in his room.  "I WANT TO ROCK N'ROLL ALL NIGHT AND PARTY EVERY DAY"  I thought my mom was going to strangle him.   My brother Rick is a huge KISS fan.  I think he has almost every CD of KISS.  I liked KISS but I wasn't as big of a fan.  I liked bands like Huey Lewis & The News, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Aerosmith, Meat Loaf, and Van Halen.

I have seen great bands in concert.  Def Leppard knew how to put on a show.  They had a stage in the round.  The stage would rotate around so everyone got a good view of the band.  Aerosmith was awesome as well.  Steven Tyler is probably the best front man out there.  When he did "Dream On"  I was going crazy pumping my fist.  Van Haggar I mean Van Halen was great.  I would probably say they were the most crazy. I seen a Meat Loaf a couple of times.  What I love about Meat Loaf is each song Meat Loaf had a story to it.

None of those can hold a finger up to KISS.  They don't put on a concert.  They put on a spectacle.  First there is there characters with "The Demon", "Star Child",  "Cat", and "Space Ace"   That gives you the story like Meat Loaf.  Then there is the Crazy!  That would be Gene Simmons, especially when he does God of Thunder and he raised up to the rafters, and he has those devil eyes and fake blood starts coming out of his mouth.  I know it sounds gross, but it really a spectacle.  As far as the front man, Paul Stanley is the best talker.  He preaches the gospel of Rock N'Roll.   And then there is the stage show.  No one has more pyrotechnics.  No one has better effects.  During one song Gene and the lead guitar player are lifted up about 50 feet in the air on a rising stage.  At the end of a concert, there is so much confetti shot in the crowd, you can barely see the stage.

I have done many a KISS songs in Karaoke from Detroit Rock City, Deuce, Strutter, Beth, and of course Rock N'Roll All Night.  I actually performed "Rock N'Roll All Night" at Harrah's Lucky Break here locally.  Unfortunately, it isn't letting me download it here, but I had such a blast paying tribute to best live band in history.

J is for Jesus

Well Easter is just around the corner so I found it only prudent to talk about my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

You know in my posts about Ghosts I said there are certain things that I believe in because I have faith in them.  My faith says that Jesus Christ was born for us and died for us is my strongest faith.  Easter reminds us of what Jesus went through so that we can have a home in heaven some day.   I would suggest watching Passion of the Christ this Easter season to renew your passion for Jesus.  It really gives a graphic depiction of what Jesus had to go through before and during crucifixion.

The thought that one man could endure that much torture.  Getting whipped over and over and over again until he almost had not skin left,  being forced to wear a thorn crown.  Then he had the burden of carrying his own cross to his crucifixion, while being mocked and teased by the onlookers.  Even his disciple Peter denounced him 3 times.  Then to have stakes pounded in his hands, and left there hanging to die.  Yet Jesus was saying "Please forgive them Father, they know not what they do." 

Even though he was being tortured and teased, he was very compassionate for those same people, and gave his life so that they could have a home in Heaven some day.  Would you have that much compassion? 

This is the reason for the season.  Remember what Jesus did for all of you!