Today I finally cashed in many of the gift cards I’ve received over the past few years. Whether they were for Christmas, my birthday, Father’s Day, or whatever they were all cashed in this evening. As I added them to the payment I smiled and thought back to the people who gave them to me.

Usually I’m much more frivolous with my gift cards. I use them up almost immediately on things that are top of mind. A while back I’d shared with Becky how badly I wanted to get a new table saw and she suggested I save up gift cards to help pay for it. She had a pretty great idea so I stuck with it. Whenever I got a gift card (for somewhere besides Amazon, cuz I’m totally spending those immediately 😉) I added it to the box and smiled. Each one that went in got me closer to the table saw.

The big day was today and I placed my order. Thanks to the hoard I’d saved up the overwhelming majority of it was paid for – woo hoo!!! This bad boy is going to find a home in my workshop soon.

Thanks to everyone who’s given me a gift card over the past few years, this post wouldn’t have happened without you!

Thank you to Becky for the great idea of saving them up for one big purpose!

Hey me, thanks for gritting it out and practicing delayed gratification… it was well worth it!

Thanks!!!

My apologies in advance to Uncle Buster. He once recommended that I not swear in my blog and for the most part I’ve been able to honor his request. Sorry Uncle Buster, it needs to happen tonight 😉

After yoga the same scene happens after each practice. Some people get to the cubbies first to get their winter clothes on while other people wait until they’re out of the way. Everyone is always super polite and peaceful. The people in front hustle and do their best to make room for the others. Those waiting totally understand and are very chill. It’s a pretty awesome version of the humanity I wish I could bring to each and every moment of my life regardless of my stress level in that moment.

Tonight was very similar to the normal post-yoga routine. One of the first people changing saw someone waiting behind her and asked if she was in his way. At first he said no to be polite, but then realized it was pretty obvious and he then said yes. Almost immediately after he said “yes” he followed it up with, “it’s totally okay…” in a super polite tone. And then he dropped what I feel is the greatest yoga phrase I’ve ever heard…

“I’m all namaste and shit.”

Totally flat tone, meaning every word of it in a positive and respectful way. It was AWESOME!!!

Amen brother; that’s how I feel after yoga too!!!

I’m still chucking about it as I write this. So why am I thankful for it? Over the past few weeks there’ve been some pretty stressful moments. Over the next few weeks there are bound to be several more. When one of those moments arise I’m totally going to close my eyes for a moment and hear that phrase in my head. You might even see my lips moving in a way that says, “I’m all namaste and shit.” I can guarantee I’ll then smile, take a deep breath, and feel much more at peace and in control of my emotions.

Ahh… I’m totally all namaste and shit. 😊

Thanks!!!

If you were trying to remember some of your favorite thoughts, memories, and mannerisms of a loved one what would come to mind?

While watching the Super Bowl last night there was a commercial that left me looking for the person who was starting to cut onions. The commercial named “Loretta” was one of the most powerful commercials I’ve seen in a long time. You can check it out here if you’d like. If you haven’t seen it yet I’d recommend checking it out prior to reading further.

As the narrator is talking about his love, Loretta, he goes through so many memories. A couple were big milestones, but the majority were all of the little things that make up the big thing. As I watched my head started to put myself into the narrator’s role. If it were me what would be the things I’d want to remember about Becky?

We’ve created so many awesome memories together that for the shortest of seconds I thought I’d be overwhelmed with too many memories. As it turned out there was one specific one that immediately came to mind. Then another, and then another. Three specifically came first and they all had a common trait, her smile. After the flood gates of memories opened after those three I was awash in excellent memories.

The third moment that came to mind was when she saw the Grand Canyon for the first time. I’ll never forget the huge smile and wave of emotion on her face in that moment.

The second memory was when she smiled across the church at me when I fell head over heels for her. That moment lit up my heart.

The first? When we went for a hike on a glacier in the Canadian Rockies I was shooting some video of our time on the ice and happened to catch my favorite mental image of Becky. She’s looking to all the beauty around her with curiosity, passion for nature’s beauty, and pure joy. At one point she looks at her feet for a second and then looks back up and all around her again. That smile and look on her face is one of the biggest reasons I love her so much. Still makes me smile so many years later!

Thank you Google for creating a commercial that hit me right in the feels, reminded me of some of my favorite moments with Becky, and that still has my heart filled with joy so many hours later.

Thanks!!!

Even though we were chilling at home for the Super Bowl instead of off to a party we still had to have some Super Bowl style food. I still remember as a kid whether we went to someone’s house for a party or stayed home as a family we always had some great snacks to celebrate the big game. One of my all time favorites were the taco meatballs Mom used to make. They were fantastic!

For supper tonight I took the lead from a Facebook post from a while back. Nothing like trying new recipes, right? For our dinner I went with Mini Taco Salads and Keto Pizza Pull Apart Bread. The mini taco salads were a cool twist on normal tacos, something we’ll definitely do again. The Pizza Bread? Delicious and definitely the MVP of the meal. Zero leftovers of that bad boy after we finished eating.

So why am I thankful for Super Bowl inspired foods today? They’re delicious of course, but they also pack more than great taste. It’s one of those crazy family traditions that always reminds me of back when I was a kid. They are also something we share as a family – both the food and the time together eating it. I’m always up for that!

Back to watch the suspenseful end of the game with Dominic!

Thanks!!!

I am so thankful for the time I have with my boys. Being here to spend time with them as they grow up is awesome and I do my best to appreciate every moment of it.

Dominic had a Scout event yesterday and through most of the evening. We had fun watching Gavin play basketball and were able to get our grocery shopping done before dropping him off to hang out with a friend.

From the point I dropped him off until later in the evening we had a pretty cool sneak peak into what the future most likely holds for us in about six and a half years. Becky and I headed off to church. We hit the grocery store to get everything we needed for one of the most nutritious meals ever… cheese, sausage, and crackers. We snuggled on the couch, relaxed, and fired up a movie. It was totally chill and just about perfect.

I’ll continue to enjoy each moment we have with the boys while they live with us. For Dominic that’s about three and a half years, Gavin has another six nod a half. It’s crazy to think that so much of our time together as a family has flown by already! Nights like this remind me that once we get to the next stage of our family life we’ll have some chill and relaxing times in front of us. I’m looking forward to them while also appreciating today.

Thanks!!!

Where does your head go in a difficult situation? How do your personal values weigh in? When your values “get in the way” of a simple solution how do you stick with them? The last time you were in a difficult situation how did your relationship with others grow?

Due to several reasons I really can’t get into the specific who’s and what’s of the situation that brought today’s blog post on. Regardless, I think I can get my point across very clearly without that.

Over the past couple of days I’ve been working with someone on a very tough situation. It is a time when there is an initial simple answer, but when we dig deeper there are so many levels to work through. To complicate things further there’s a delicate balance of finding the right “right answer” as there are several ways to proceed.

As we have worked through the process I’ve heard one of our core values come out of my mouth on several occasions; do right. There are a couple of very simple answers, but they are not examples of doing right.

After reviewing the decision making process in my head I realized just how thankful I am for the way stressful situations offer an opportunity to show our true values. It’s easy to say what I would like to live to. It’s easy to live values when they are not put to the test. The only time when we really have an opportunity to see if we truly live to our values is in challenging times. The more challenging the better. After seeing how we respond to these difficult situations we have the opportunity to pause and review our actions. Did we do what the ideal version of ourselves would have done? Most often for me I find a gap between my actions and the actions I should have had. I think on those, ponder them, and determine ways to respond differently the next time they are tested. These trials by fire are how I can continue to improve myself in action as opposed to just thought.

The other very interesting part of this situation is that I’m working closely with someone I’ve only met once in person. Outside of that we’ve had some phone conversations and email exchanges, but nothing too crazy or in depth. Interestingly enough we come from a very closely connected network and it’s funny that we hadn’t actually met many years beforehand. There are so many similarities and shared relationships that it’s almost like we’re related!

Throughout our work on this we’re both in positions in which we have to trust each other. We’ve quickly found that our values are aligned and we’re working very well together. Working through the solution to this has significantly strengthened our relationship and I would be surprised if it doesn’t continue to grow and develop from here. Without this challenge we would never have started down the path of building a stronger friendship and trust. In moments of stress if we truly live our values as I wrote above we’ve quickly found that our values are in alignment.

Of course we’d all prefer that the challenge never presented itself, but it did and all we can do is move forward and make the most of it. Instead of costing on the negative, I’m choosing to focus on the ways we can find positives from this. Life happens, we have to move forward. The Big Dude Upstairs sometimes throws us some crazy curveballs that we can complain about, deny, or run from. What if we always embraced them and looked for the positive? What if we always lived that wonderful quote from The Book of Joy, “What can I learn from this?”

Special thanks to my friend Kris today also! She gave me an awesome compliment that I am very thankful for. There’ve been a couple of times when I’ve wanted to get frustrated, but I kept hearing her quote in my head and I truly wanted to live into it and earn it. Thanks Kris!!!

Thanks!!!

I’m thinking back through the past several days much of my blogging has been more deeply focused. Even today there were a handful of directions I was going to go, but one thing really jumped to the front of the line by the end of the night.

Becky and I have occasionally remembered great movies from way back in the day and once in a while we remember to dig them up to watch them with the boys. On Sunday we fired up Austin Powers and they really enjoyed it. Tonight we unexpectedly had an extra hour and a half of everyone at home so we fired up the second Austin Lowers movie.

After being gone last night it felt wonderful to set the rest of the world to the side, all pull up some room on our couch (one day I’m pretty sure I should be thankful for our sectional and love seat) and just laugh. The times when we were all laughing were by far and away the highlights of my day. Time with my family, sharing time and laughter, pretty much perfect.

Thanks!!!

What are those moments that you can look back to and say they truly changed your life? How long was it before you realized that the moment had passed?

My mom and I recently had a very interesting conversation along these lines. Personally, I’m more of a believer in free will than in a predestined fate. That said, it really seems like sometimes The Big Dude Upstairs keeps putting the same cup in front of us until we finally give in an decide to drink from it instead of setting it aside.

When I review my life I can almost see a perfect decision tree of major life choices and events that have led to today. In looking back like that I can also start to connect the dots in other directions and start to see other possible realities. The further back I look the more different my life may have played out.

But would it really have been that different? Would it be as different as a 90 degree turn or would it be more similar to today than I would think?

This is where I have fun thinking about the possibilities and seeing the differences between the concepts of free will and fate. In free will I’d assume that each decision I make is totally of my own volition and there’s no preset destination. A believer of fate would say that it was meant to be and therefore it is. Both have their benefits and their drawbacks. Free will implies freedom, fate could be seen as a prison. Fate is a warming thought that everything will work out well, free will represents chaos.

The reason I’m thankful for connecting the dots backwards is due to the thought exercise itself more so than any possible answer. In thinking about all the little twists and turns, the bumps and the bruises, the good, the bad, and the ugly that have gotten me to here today I can’t help but smile. With the benefit of time and looking back I can see how many of the worst hurts helped to build to today. Many of the joyful moments have come and gone, faded and re-fired. Regardless – each has led me to today.

I am who I am today because of the life I’ve lived and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. It’s far from perfect and far from imperfect, it is my life. I am me thanks to each of those moments. When I spend time thinking about how I got to here by connecting the dots backwards I am reminded to be thankful for each moment that has made me who I am.

Thanks!!!

While on the treadmill this morning I fell back on an old standby favorite of mine. I put in my headphones and watched the 2018 Ironman World Championship. To see people pushing themselves to the brink as they swim 2.4 miles, hike 112 miles, and then run a marathon is a wonderful source of motivation. Watching them crush the previous record and do all that in less than 8 hours is mind blowing.

Hearing the stories of some of the other competitors? That’s where the truly powerful stuff comes from. The 85 year old man who completed the entire event. The brother who pulled and pushed his quadriplegic brother the entire way (& vice versa). Those stories are powerful.

Then there are the stories that hit a little too close to home. The stories that add more reality than I’d like to the powerful motivation. An older brother who was completing this race to complete the dream of his little brother who died tragically. His story and the way he tells it hits too close to the heart. A husband and wife who find she has brain cancer but are able to tackle it and have two boys… only to have it come back… and find that their one year old son also has it… and then the mother passes away… and then the son passes away months later. He completes the race as she wanted him to do and walks off after the finish line with his son. Talk about emotion first thing in the morning.

All of these moments and a few others throughout the day today reminded me to focus on what’s truly important and to be 100% present where I need to be. Each moment that passes by is one less moment we each have on Earth and one less that we have with our loved ones. This motivates me as I’m reminded to be so very grateful for all the blessings in my life and to appreciate each wonderful moment I have.

The stories from above of the brother and the husband also remind me that it is up to each of us to find a way to continue to live through hardships, no matter how great. No matter what is thrown our way we can find the inner strength to live on. There’s also a beautiful peace of mind in knowing that should something unexpected happen to me my loved ones will find the same inner strength and live on. My faith also strengthens those beliefs and brings me great inner peace as I know we will all see each other again one day regardless of when each of days on Earth are complete.

Whew!!! That ended up going way deeper than I was thinking it would. I could add another gratitude in here for being thankful for blogging each day. It really helps me work some stuff out.

On a much more positive and lighthearted note, I’m also thankful for a moment we shared with the boys tonight. The middle and high school bands got together for a concert tonight. For the first time ever we got to see both boys on stage for the first time! Kinda… We could necessarily see them both at the same time as we had to crane our necks one way to see Dominic and then another to see Gavin. Anyways, they were both on stage and playing together. It was so cool seeing them both doing something they enjoy so much! Seeing each of them do their thing is awesome, but seeing them do something together is about as awesome as it gets!

Thanks!!!

Not too long ago I wrote about being thankful for my changing perspective on why I appreciate giving advice. Tonight it was a similar thought process as I saw both of the boys living into some of their strengths. There was a sense of pride that was intermingled with a sense of learning.

Dominic has been doing a ton of homework lately. After he was done tonight I asked if he was going to have that much all week. His response was, “no, tonight I finished my project that’s due on Friday.” From that I was reminded of two great things, hard work and being proactive. In my head I immediately took it to heart and applied it to situations I currently have and how I can perform at my best.

Gavin was in a bummer of a mood after basketball practice. I let him be in the dumps for a while and then reminded him that he has a choice to make. Be happy or be in the dumps. Which one would it be? He flipped the switch and went to a great mood immediately (until we, the mean parents we are, made him go to bed). Watching Gavin flip the script and choose to be happy, wholeheartedly, was awesome. I started thinking about times over the past couple of days when I should have been that decisive in choosing my attitude. He reminded me that i have the power to choose at any time.

Funny how I’m learning from my boys! It seems like it should be the other way around, but in reality I should be learning from everyone I interact with so why would they be excluded?

Thanks!!!