Happy Mother’s Day
I know a lot of us could easily insert our own name, title or profession into the statement "A ________'s work is never done". But of all the titles this could apply to, none are more appropriate than that of mother.
A mother is constantly working, even when she isn't awake. Mother's seem to always have their children, their families and their homes on their minds and can often be seen drifting off into space sometimes when their minds start to tackle all of the things on a mother's to-do list at the drop of a hat at any time of any day.
Mothers make sure the home functions properly, that the kids are healthy and tended to, that dad is taken care of, that homework is done, that dishes are clean, that dinner is made... the list can go on forever. Mothers also are the level head in sometimes turbulent families and can usually be seen moderating, with sensitivity and gentleness, the more complex issues of the family dynamic. They are the glue of a family and work tirelessly to keep things together and in order.
Mothers are often the budget managers of the home in addition to being the general manage of the home. And many mothers take on this role even though they are working full time to provide for their homes. In a world of dirty, thankless, tiring jobs, I'd say that being a mother ranks up there toward the top.
And because of that, I want to take a few seconds this morning to say thank you to all mothers everywhere, especially for the mother of our home, my wife Sandi. As often as you go overlooked, as often as your day ends without a thank you, as often as you are defied and as often as your patience is tested it is my wish that you are also reminded form time to time that without you the world would not work properly. Homes would fall apart. Families would struggle.
Mothers are the very core of a family, and because of you mom, yes, I'm talking to you, all families are made better each day. Thank you so very much for putting in the effort every day to be the best at your job that you can be and for making sure that life is livable for the rest of us.
Happy Resurrection Sunday 2010
He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
Matthew 28:6
Today is an international holiday for people of the Christian faith. It is the day that we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Today is meaningful for so many reasons, but the most significant reason is that it gives the Christian the basis for our belief that, as part of our salvation, God the Father can literally allow us to die to our former disbelieving selves and be reborn into a new creation, one who can believe in the heart and declare with the mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, that He died for our sins and was reborn as we must necessarily be.
For years I have taught my kids that today is not about rabbits, eggs, candy or baskets. While the holiday that most of us know as Easter has been historically wrapped up in all of these things - much like Christmas has become about gift giving and wrapping paper and trees and lights - I think it is important to know that for Christians, today is about one thing: the rebirth of our Lord after death and entombment.
Yes, the colorful aspects of today are fun. By all means, enjoy that time. Get your kids Easter baskets. Color some eggs together. Get fatted up on chocolate bunnies and Peeps. But if are a Christian, I would encourage you today to consider the sacrifice made on Calvary for you and I, and the subsequent victory ensured us by the happenings of today all those years ago.
He endured punishment of the worst kind so we wouldn't have to. He died in the flesh so we could die to the flesh. And He rose so that we might, in Him, have victory even over death. Because of today, we have an open door to God the Father and eternity in heaven.
If you are a Christian, today is a big day for you and you should celebrate it as such. If you are not a Christian, enjoy the bunnies and eggs and the family time. Either way, enjoy your day today. Because regardless of your spiritual beliefs, if what the Bible says is really true - which I believe it is - Christ didn't just die for me. He died for all of us. And He rose for all of us, too.
Happy 14th Birthday Sarah!
It seems like every week I am blogging about one of my kids' birthdays. Today happens to be Sarah's birthday, my oldest daughter. She is 14 years old today and I have to say, I cannot seem to keep up with my daughter's ever advancing age. It is really amazing to watch your kids grow up. Over the past few years I have watched Sarah grow from my little baby girl to my little girl to my big girl to my young woman of a daughter.
Today she is wearing makeup, dressing herself quite fashionably, writing profusely, singing wonderfully and playing the piano amazingly. She is smart, witty, funny and to be honest, pure awesomeness backed by an adorable smile. And I've had the pleasure of watching all of that develop.
To my dear daughter, I just want to say that I am so very proud of the young woman you have become. Not a day goes by that you don't amaze me in some capacity. I am so honored and proud to be called your dad.
And for those of you that may not know, she is also a blogger. She's been publishing her blog, Sarah Said, for some time now. If you get the chance, stop by her blog and have a read. It is just one of the many ways that she will knock your socks off.
Insanity: Day 2 – Plyometric Cardio Circuit
About suffering they were never wrong,
The Old Masters;W. H. Auden
Musee des Beaux Arts
Suffering is probably the best way to describe my experience on Day 2 of the Insanity program. Plain, simple, painful suffering. Yesterday was a rough day for me. Getting my big body moving after how many years of no significant activity put me in a place of anguish and pain. This morning, after 24 hours of letting that anguish and pain fester, it has evolved into morbid suffering.
I've been sore before. And this morning was really not the worst I've been sore, before. But it certainly was more sore than I have been in a long time and, guessing by my desire to not touch the DVD player, it is a good thing that I am working myself out like this.
So up I was, at 5:15 this morning, to get my Insanity on. I popped in the DVD and let it play. But there wasn't much playing.
The exercise started pretty much right away, and opened with the warm up I described yesterday. Except this time, the warm up calisthenics were done not once, but three times through, each time getting faster and faster. That meant opening up this morning with about 10 minutes of extremely fast paced warm ups, and lots of sweating, before ever getting to the actual workout.
Which invariably leads me to admit that I don't recall much of this DVD at all. After the warm up I spent most of the next 30 minutes on my face or jogging in place. I managed to do some of the exercises in the program this morning, but the truth is I was dead after the warm up and didn't really get to too much of that actual plyometrics this morning. Which really is to say that not only did I not complete the program this morning, I ended up worse off than I was yesterday, in a much worse state of soreness and anguish.
I hope I can adjust to this quickly or I may find myself repeating the entire program after I get through it this time. Which might not be a bad idea, seeing as I should probably already be in that good of shape to even be considering doing this one.
Insanity, the workout
Oh. My. God. What have I done?
I have been toying with the notion of buying the Insanity Workout from Beachbody and trying it out for some time now. My wife has actually accepted the idea and said she would get on board with me when I chose to do it.
Well, last week I chose to do it. I found a smoking deal on it on eBay, bought and received it this past week. I looked through the material and I have got to say, this scares the hell out of me.
The warnings are all over the place. I'm not sure if this is hyper-vigilance on the part of the Beachbody legal staff or if it is legit, but after a few lines of the material it becomes blatantly clear that the Insanity developers see this as an extreme workout that could possibly kill you if you are not in enough shape to actually perform the exercises. I think I fall very comfortably into that class.
Still, the very nature of the workout is attractive to me. I love cardio based, high intensity workouts that leave you exhausted, sweating and begging for more. I like to push myself physically beyond the limits I've set for myself. I like that I can do everything in the program without the need for anything other than a floor.
Of course, after I start the program I'll probably be whining like a little girl, but that is for a different post. 
On a side note, sort of, I had a look at the day 1 exercise last night. The "Fit Test", the baseline you use to measure your progress throughout the program, is freaking insane (no pun intended). Hell, the warm up before the fit test looks hard. I was feeling tired, scared and overwhelmed before I even saw what was in store for me on the first day. That has to be a good sign, right?
Getting back on target... over the next 60 days I will be tracking my exercise routine and progress with this program. I am hoping that I can stay on target with the exercises and eating program as they are outlined. And I hoping I will see some awesome results not only in my body but in how in shape I am from the inside.
We'll see. I plan on taking you all with me. 
Incentive driven motivation
Yesterday, while doing some yard work I went into the back yard to handle some massive overgrowth in our lawn. Completely disgusted with our yard, and utterly frustrated with the growth of the grass that my push mower just could not cut, I decided that the yard would just have to wait a little while so I could focus on the front of my house.
My 12 year old daughter, Rebekah, had other plans. Always the entrepreneur, she actually offered to cut the grass for a mere $10. To which I promptly replied "thanks, but no thanks". I was of the opinion that the grass was maybe a $3 job since I had already cut some of it and the lawn is not that spread out.
So Rebekah sweetened the deal a little bit, offering to not only cut the grass but straighten up the patio. After much back and forth over price and what the work would cover for that price, we agreed on the following:
- Cut the grass
- Clean up all dog poop
- Clean up all trash
- Straighten up all patio furniture and toys
- Clean up the tan bark areas
- Sweep the patio and sidewalks
- Do it all within three hours (from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM)
And the cost? $15, as agreed upon by the two of us, which to Rebekah was a bargain and to me was a steal.
So while I was out in the front yard working up a sweat she was out in the backyard earning her money. And you know what? For her, I discovered, money is an excellent incentive.
She managed to accomplish everything on the list of things to do (with the exception of cutting the grass completely, but this was no fault of hers). And she did it in two hours, not three. I was so impressed by her work ethic, her focus and her quality of work that I actually paid her $20 for doing such a fine job.
Looking back on this, I know there is a lesson in this. I could have asked the kids, all of the kids - you know, the ones that made that mess? - to clean the yard they helped dishevel. And I would have saved myself $20 in the process. But Rebekah, who has no problem working for her earnings approached me with a proposition of services rendered in exchange for payment. And ultimately it was that payment that drive her to accomplish such an impressive amount of quality in her work.
So if I take anything away from this, outside a clean yard of course, it will be that with the proper incentive, almost anyone can accomplish almost anything.
Where the heck have I been?
If it's any indication as to my whereabouts and free time, this post was originally started on January 22, 2010. Crap.
I wish I could tell you where I have been and what I have been up to this year. The truth is, I can't remember. It has been a whirlwind year so far, wrought with long hours at work, long hours working at home, cleaning the house, riding Bart, more cleaning the house, more long hours at work and all sorts of other goodies along the way. I can honestly barely remember the ball dropping to ring in the new year let alone what I have done since then. But the few things that stand out the most are:
- My car is getting fixed
After more than a year of trying to raise the money to buy my replacement engine and have it installed I have finally been able to get it done. Almost. My car is in the shop as I write this and the motor should be in within the next couple of days. This will be such an enormous stress relief for me because I am going to now be saving literally three extra hours a day on commuting. I so can't wait. - My career path is currently under review
For some strange reason I decided that I'd post my resume on Dice.com a couple of weeks ago. Holy crap, was that every a crazy thing. Within an hour I had two calls and by the end of the day I had eight calls and five emails. I guess the valley is in need of PHP developers. Whatever. All I can say is that it is nice to know that in this crazy economy my skill set can still provide for my family. - My weight is still an issue for me
I have been trying hard to get my weight back under control for the last couple of months. I had lost about 35 pounds toward the end of last year then allowed myself to fall victim to the Christmas holiday. That was so stupid of me. I have put back on about ten pounds since then, but the worse thing is that I don't feel as healthy as I did just a few months ago. I'm battling this every day, and I feel like I'm losing the battle. But still, onward I fight.
I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting about a boat load of things to mention for this year so far. I hope at some point I can slow down and remember enough of them to post about them. If not, just know that if I vanish again it isn't because I have forgotten about my blog or have died or something heinous like that. It is probably because I am either at work or sleeping.
Mmmm, sleep.
And that’s a wrap
I am forever blown away by the talents of my children. As we prepare to bid adieu to 2009, I'd like to share with you all something my daughter Sarah wrote. For the record, she is 13.
On the day of New Year’s Eve
The world is sitting, waiting
For the day we all believe
Has cause for celebrating.Staying up till late at night
Watching on TV
Down pole to drop a ball of light
And then we scream, “Yippee!”Another year is o’er and done
And we are satisfied
Recalling days of mirth and fun
And fear, and hope, and pride.Another year has started up
A new age will begin
We drink from a newer cup
And cast the old to the wind.
May you find the cause to celebrate the ending of 2009 and the start of 2010. Happy new year from me and the rest of the Gonzalez family.
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas from the entire Gonzalez family. As the end of 2009 approaches I hope you can look back and find the blessings in your life this past year. I also pray that you will be able to consider 2010 and what the new year holds for you.
I will be announcing shortly some changes to this web site and some of the projects that I have been working on recently. It will be sort of a refreshing of my online identity or, in more practical terms, a Christmas gift of a fresh outlook for me.
But that is for another post, at another time on a different day. Today, I am going to celebrate Christmas with my family. And I hope you do the same thing with yours.
Happy Thanksgiving
It's hard to believe that we are almost done with the first decade of our century. Even more strange to me is that we are within a month or so of 2009 coming to an end as a year. If I didn't know better I'd say someone pushed the fast forward button on life toward the beginning of February and left it there until yesterday. And as I take a moment to look back on the year, and especially the day we are celebrating today, I can't help but begin to think about some of the things I am thankful for.
Being thankful is not something that is reserved for one day a year in my house. In fact, it is something that I have tried to instill in my family through nightly "thankfuls" and through regular giving of thanks. It is a lifestyle that I think everyone should live lest we become bitter, cynical and "victimized" by circumstance. So for me and my house it is rather easy to recognize those things that I can be thankful for.
For example, I woke up early this morning and got out of bed to make a pot of coffee for my wife and I, and took a moment for myself to read my email, write a little in my blog and warm my legs with a little red fleece blanket. I was watching my dog sleep for a little while until my daughter Adriannah woke up, joined me in the living room, greeted me with a hug and kiss and began to watch TV.
In just the first few minutes of the day today I am thankful for:
- A beautiful, smart, funny, warm, loving wife
- An awesome tribe of beautiful, smart, talented children
- Having a home for my family
- Everyone in my family having a bed to sleep in
- Running water
- Coffee
- Cups to drink our coffee from
- Having a working computer
- The internet
- Warm blankets
- Wonderful, smart, loving, caring, beautiful children that love me
- Hugs and kisses
- A great dog
- A TV
- Electicity
Now of course these are more of the tangible variety of thankfuls. Still, these are all things I am thankful for just within the first few minutes of my day. There are so many other things to be thankful that extend beyond the tangible, like:
- Not having to go to work today
- Sharing today with family and friends
- Having the freedom and liberty that comes from living in the United States of America
- Being protected both at home and abroad by the most awesome of protectors ever, the US military
- Worshiping how I want, when I want and with whom I want
- The freedom and ability to have an opinion, and voice that opinion
The abundance of thankfuls in my life always seem to extend beyond the limits of one day a year. And while I am thankful for today and what it represents, I would offer this challenge to you: For the next 365 days, until next Thanksgiving day, see if you can find one thing every day to be thankful for and share that thankfulness with someone.
If you are anything like me, no matter how heavy life gets on you, you will always have something to be thankful for. May God bless you abundantly this day and all the days of your life.
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