Updates coming soon

Hey all of you out there I've been of the blog for about well 4 or five months time to get back into the swing of things so I'll update as soon as humanly possible with pictures and all of that great information.

X-mas please come early

Christmas used to be one of my favorite holidays, however in the last two year it seems that it has just gotten worse. The last Christmas that I experienced wasn't a good one and it looks like this one is shaping up to be a pretty sucky one as well.

Christmas is supposed to be a time of cheer and happiness. Yeah right, I'd like to mark this holiday down as a vile and disgusting holiday. I know you all will say bah humbug Morgan, but honestly that's how I feel as of late in regards to my former favorite holiday.

A year ago almost to the date I was released from work at the good old green machine. I spent the following days including Christmas worrying about if I would have a job. In the mean time we went to New Hampshire. I spent 3 weeks in the winter wonderland that is New England during the holidays. While I did enjoy myself at the time the pressure and unease that I felt about not being employed for all intensive purposes, Really sucked ass. This Christmas has been no better.

The Holiday season from hell has continued into this year. I have stuff going on that isn't great and instead of being out of a job I have one but I feel as though I can't do anything right and the people that I work with treat me like i'm stupid to boot. I can't do my job well, because the other teller thinks she knows everything. When I try to explain or fix problems it becomes this whole big to do all because she doesn't understand but won't take the time to take a step back and let other people explain so that things can get fixed. Oh well what is new?

So the lesson I guess the universe is teaching me at this time is patience and just to take a step back myself. Should I be able to succeed at this lesson I should be pretty well off come New Year.

In the mean time X-mas needs to be here tomorrow so that everything can just be finished.

Soup and Satisfaction: Walking the Road to Weight Loss

Well I think everyone in the Denver can agree with me when I say it is officially Fall and with snow possibly around the corner it has begun to put my thinking on the track of soup and its satisfaction qualities. Margret Snodgrass says that the reason everyone loves soup is because it fills you up and sticks to you ribs. In Colorado we eat soup so often we've almost forgotten that is actually soup we're eating. That soup we've forgotten is Chili. It fills you up and leaves you full for hours. But what I think is more important is that when fall hits we start looking for that kind of satisfaction from the soup we call our lives.

Fall hits and boy howdy I know I start looking for that satisfaction. Right now I would say that I've found some of that satisfaction, but not all of it. As fall sets in I know weight loss is going to get harder for me because lets face it I turn into a bear and start getting ready to hibernate. I wish I had worked harder and lost more weight so that I had a "less" sizable place to lose from. I am satisfied with the fact that in 9 weeks I have lost 18.4 lbs. that's a lot. It also means that I've 7 percent of my total body weight since I started. I have a lot of work to do and that also means getting a gym membership so I don't get sedentary during the winter.

So as for the soup of my life things seem to be going well. A new job and the start to a new body has been great. Now if I can just keep it going my soup will thicken and be incredibly tasty.

Here's a recipe for you all to enjoy for the cold day's ahead.
Clean out the Refrigerator stew!
1 lb of lean stew meat
2 cans of beef broth.
1 quart of water
1 cup of hot salsa (I usually have this in my refrigerator)
5 cups of any kind of vegetables you have leftover.
1 pinch of salt
Pepper to taste
1 clove of minced garlic
Optional Add barley or a whole grain pasta for variety

Brown your stew meat. Combine all other ingredients in big pot. Add meat. Simmer for one hour on medium heat. Eat and enjoy.

Walking the Road to weight loss: Small steps and giant leaps

July 20, 1969 was an amazing day in history. Niel Armstrong and Buzz Aldrain walked on the moon. Quoting those famous astronauts from the surface of the Moon. "This is one small step for man... One giant.. Leap for mankind." Well that quote completely exemplifies how I've been feeling about my weight loss as of late. Up until last Thursday I had been backsliding or sitting stagnant and not losing very much. then I started making small steps to get back on track. I lost .8 lbs and then another 1.0 lbs after two weeks. I have to admit I felt as those early space explorers must have before Apollo 11 reached the moon. I felt as though any significant weight loss was out of reach and that the process for life change was just that several small trips into space, with the moon just out of reach.

It took a good weeks worth of loss to remind me that the moon isn't really all that far away. This week I lost 5.8 lbs and that was the thruster boost I needed to get back on track. My initial goal is 28.0 lbs. For our current day astronauts that's like getting to the international space station with the Moon as a goal in mind! If I keep track I might just make it to the moon, if not farther.

Eulogy to a Cat

Snaggletoothed drooler,
constant conversationalist,
unconditional lover,
Caddy the Cat.

Black as night with a single snow white whisker,
hunter of green beans,
Bald headed baby,
Caddy the Cat.

The boy beaten by women,
world's worst mouser,
Chance Chickadee catcher,
Caddy the Cat.

Death out of selfishness,
Scared and alone,
Sterile vets office,
The end of Caddy the Cat.

Women, Moms and Family in Politics.

I've been noticing that every stinking article in the news lately about anything relating to the Presidential Campaigns has nothing to do with the issues, but is actually an insult to women everywhere. Now what I need everyone to know is that I've never proclaimed myself as a Feminist or even a major supporter of the Republican Party, but this blog has everything to do with these two subjects. It should be also pointed out that yes for all of 4 years I was a registered Republican but that was when I lived in Oregon and I needed to support a party that was a lot more moderate than the Ultra-Liberal Democrats of the Portland/Eugene Oregon metropolises. In places that are guaranteed blue states during every presidential election the Republican party has been forced to become much more moderate in their views so that's why I ,as a moderate person in regards to the political scheme of things, registered as a Republican. Now on to the real issues that need to be talked about.

I must say that the Appointment of Sarah Palin to the position of the Vice-Presidential candidate position for the Republican Party is a risky move, but one that should be congratulated and well supported for the fact that it shows that the Republicans are just a bunch of old farty white men and can be a bit progressive. Now I'm not telling you to vote Republican just because Palin is female, because lets face it she is no Hillary Clinton, but she is a woman and that says a great deal about what is happening on the political stage of the United States of America.

The issue of Sarah Palin's gender in the American media has become the much talked about subject on every news channel. The sad thing is that most of these mainstream media channels aren't talking about how much experience Palin has or what her voting record on any issues are. They are talking about her record as a mom and how will a woman do if she's the next in line should something happen to John McCain if he is elected and should die she'd be our president. Now the question is what does being a mom who is married have to do with being the Vice President? The answer is it doesn't! She has already proven that she can be an elected official manage being a mom and get all the support of her husband to help raise their children.

If Sarah Palin were a man this would not be a question we as a nation would be asking. It is a question we shouldn't be asking at all. If we as liberal people expect that all people are created equal, then instead of the age old mantra of equal pay for equal work, what we should be saying is equal respect for equal work. Just because she is a mom does not mean that she will do the job worse or better than any man or father. Also I feel that America should be ashamed for bringing this to light when democrats who believe that any family in any situation is valuable and Republicans are usually the one touting the Family Values platform. I feel that we're seeing a complete reversal in the Family Values stand off and a democrats showing their double standard. We should be proud of her for taking the step and look at other amazing women who are career women and parents like the CEO's of Pepsi and WalMart.

So before you ask that question again maybe we should talk about the real issues. Experience in legislature and power has nothing to do with parenting skills. Sarah comes from a small town in a sparsely populated state with the largest land mass and greatest amount of natural resources than that of the lower 48 combined. How will this experience help to make her stand out from a man who has 40 plus years of experience in the senate for a state that has a comprable population in size? We might also ask that how will the experience of being the governor of such a large state be comparable to governing a country almost the same size in land area? Lastly we might also ask is what kind of focus will she have on an economy that is driven by the demand for foreign oil when her state makes tax refunds of up to 1000 dollars yearly to its residents becuase of oil futures and drilling in her home territory and what are her plans to help alleviate all our pocket books?

All that I ask you to do is think about it and put her personal life aside. Yes she is a woman. Yes she is a mother of 5 children. Ask yourself what kind of leader will she be instead.

Media Day Celebration DNCC: The Politico

It seems like we had been training for this day for well, well Like FOREVER! It was almost a month ago that Sidney, Linda and I travelled down to the Wells Fargo theater to learn about how to converse with people through empathic listening, giving each other the Obama bump and well everything about customer service that the Dale Carnegie Corporation had to teach us.

The Day of the DNC Media Celebration arrived with angry dark clouds and a bit of thunder. Once again Sidney, Linda, Robert (Sidney's Son in Law), Mike, and I traveled down to Elitches for the big event. Parking it should be noted was horrendous and well we were told to park at the Aquarium and shuttle services would be provided over to the Event site at Elitches itself. To avoid a whole bunch of unnecessary confusion I drove Sidney's car downtown dropped everyone off at the front gate and then went to park. After a brief shuttle ride I was back at the front gate where I registered with everyone for the event to get into the park and let it be known that we were here. It is true what they say, Democrats maybe disorganized, but they sure know how to throw an amazing party. The registration process was no exception.

After passing through security, attending a quick meeting and receiving our assignments we marched off to our assigned area and waited for the fun to begin. The time that separated the beginning of our actual events in the Arena, the area where I was stationed, was enough for the group of volunteers I was with to get some lunch and socialize. We grabbed our "boxed lunches". Sidney and I had a bet going to see what they would be She said roast beef sandwiches, potato chips and a cookie. I was right with ham sandwich. There was no cookie however. The boxed lunches had a sandwich and chips in it Honestly when you've got volunteers to feed you really gotta take care of them. It should also be noted that since the taxpayers of Denver we all expected just a little bit more.

Once the festivities started the fun really began to happen. I was stationed as a bartender in the arena with one of the coolest women I've ever met in my entire life. That woman who was short in stature had enough energy and attitude for a person who was eight feet tall and eight hundred pounds! She was a grandma and had been for 53 years. Her husband is the current Chairman of the Board for Fitzsimons Credit Union. Jackie and I had a great time IDing and handing out beers to anyone who was of age and had a golden Coors 21 means 21 bracelet.

The festivities within the arena. Included the singing of the national anthem by the group called Family. Family is a theater performance group for people with disabilities based in Denver. They sang so beautifully. The singing was then followed up by the blessing of the convention by Local Native American tribes. Dancing and drumming in a well choreographed dance. Actually it was spectacular. The colors on the dress were amazing bright yellow, neon orange and little tin bells that tinkled like sleigh bells at Christmas. The dancing was followed by speeches from Senator Ken Salazar, Governor Bill Ritter and Mayor John Hickenlooper. Hickenlooper introduced the last act of the night which was an hour and a half long concert by Denver Local Band the Flobots.

The Flobots are in a league of their own in regards to the sounds they pump out. It is as if Classical music and Rap Hip Hop all got thrown in a pot and boiled down to just their pure essence and then bottled up in one. The one woman in the group plays electric violin and sings while the men play guitar, bass and rap with such passion that you are completely blown away. By the end of the evening Jackie and I went to find her husband and then I left her with him to go find the rest of the car pool.

The night ended with Fireworks.

The Evening was a complete success and I can safely say that I would volunteer for events like that again and again.