The Color Purple

Shug: More than anything God love admiration.
Celie: You saying God is vain?
Shug: No, not vain, just wanting to share a good thing. I think it pisses God off when you walk by the color purple in a field and don't notice it.
Celie: You saying it just wanna be loved like it say in the bible?
Shug: Yeah, Celie. Everything wanna be loved.

The dialog above is from my all time favorite movie "The Color Purple" and this is one of my favorite scene's. I turn to this movie whenever I am depressed or down. It always makes me feel better. And as you can guess, I have seen it many times.

People ask me, "How can such a depressing movie make you feel better?"

I get so caught up with the story that I forget about my own problems and sadness. When the story ends on such an uplifting note, I too am lifted out of my funk.

Why haven't I watched it yet? I dunno. I don't think I will need to this time.

Every morning when I leave for work I walk like a zombie from my back door to my car. Never noticing much along the way. On Friday I noticed something I had not noticed before.

I remember several months ago Georgie and I planted some seeds to see if we could grow some flowers. I do not have a green thumb at all so this springing up is pretty much a miracle to me.

This little glimpse of the color purple spoke volumes to me. I felt like it was God's way of saying, "I love you and you have plenty be thankful for."

He is right.

God, forgive me.
I see it now.

Ready to Climb a Mountain

Last night I was scrolling through some of my more recent posts and I realized that I have not even typed the word Diabetes in a long time.

What gives? Is it because things have been going so well?

No, my BG’s have been terrible lately. I have been both high and low but not a lot of places in between.

Is it because I have been too busy?

That is probably part of it. With all that has been going on, vacation and the gig, I have had a lot more exciting stuff to tell you all about. (in fact if you want another Feed the Five song, you may want to visit here next Tuesday).

When I get honest and real with myself I know the real reason is because I am sick of it. I am sick of hearing myself complain/whine/bitch about this disease. Sure I know I am allowed but I am tired of it.

It is one of those valleys I guess. We all have our ups and downs and I am experiencing a down right now, at least about the D. It just feels good to write about other stuff. Stuff that attempts to pull me out of this valley. Stuff that brings me great joy. Not trouble, stress, and worry. I hate Diabetes. I do not want to give it much exposure right now. Too often it takes the spot light and upstages me.

That is it!

Diabetes upstages me and I hate that.

Can you relate? I am sure you can and I would really like to hear your thoughts. I need to feel like I am not alone.

The valleys are lousy.

You Tube Tuesday #17

Last Sunday the band I am in had our very first performance. This is a clip of a song called “Past the Falls” that is not an original but it is the one that I am singing on so I thought I would share it with you. Unfortunately, video cameras do not pick up music well but I think it is good enough to get an idea. We are Christian group and our band name is Feed the Five.

I hope you like it.

I Met an OC Member!!!!

Last Sunday April 15th, I met a member of the OC.

I called around 3:30 in the afternoon and we planned to meet at a Starbucks in Oceanside. It was a 90 minute drive and in Los Angeles, 90 minutes can equal about 5 miles on a freeway BUT since I was heading south it was smooth sailing all the way.

The directions I was given were easy to follow. I pulled into the parking lot and saw her. It is strange to meet someone you only have seen pictures of and now they are sitting at a table right in front of you. It was surreal.

If you have not figured it out, I met the OC’s very own Allison Blass (pronounced like Blossom – FYI).

We went to dinner at Mimi’s Cafe and talked about the CWD conference she was in town for. We also discussed several other topics including, my fear of clowns, ice water, why LA sucks, The Glycemic Index, the OC New Me Challenge, meeting OC members, planning a giant OC party in 2009, and a possible trip to Minnesota. I am sure the poor waitress at Mimi’s has quite a story to tell. Don’t worry, I tipped her well I think. I let Allison figure it out! LOL

Then we drove. We drove around Oceanside looking for something to do. Allison said, “We should go to the beach!” I mention how there must be a beach near by or this is the dumbest name for a city ever!

We drove west and found the Ocean. When we got out of the car I explained to her how much I love the beach except for the sand, the people, and the sea creatures. She laughed and took a picture of me refusing to step foot on the sand. I am assuming she will post that picture since she said after she clicked it, “I am going to post about how are you are scared of the beach!”

Here is the picture I took with my camera of the two of us. All and all it was a lot of fun. I laughed a lot and Allison did too although I am not sure if it was with or at me.

Probably both!


I can’t wait to meet more of the OC in the future. It was a very cool experience. As long as none of you show up dressed as a clown of course.

The Last of the Vacation Pictures

Thursday night we left New Mexico and headed to Flagstaff Arizona to spend the night. On the way there it started snowing. A LOT. It was pretty crazy and the kids and I were freaking out. I was thankful that my brother in law was driving since Los Angeles doesn't get much snow.

Friday morning we awoke to a beautiful blue sky filled with puffy white clouds. There was snow melting all over rooftops, cars, and trees . The reflection of the sun made everything sparkle. It was a very pretty sight.

Here are some pictures from the road on our way to the Grand Canyon.

And here are pictures of the kids in the car. It was a wacky ride for sure!

And here we are at the Grand Canyon. The last picture here I took with my little digital camera. It is now my background on my computer.

After the Grand Canyon, we drove down to Kingman (just outside of Laughlin, Nevada) to meet my wife at my cousin's house. She drove up with a friend Friday morning. We spent the night with my cousin and his family then left Saturday morning for home. We of course stopped off in Laughlin for a little gambling but I did not do so well.

Oh well, all and all I think I made out like a bandit. I had a relaxing and fun filled week with my kids which is priceless. It was perfect.

Tomorrow I will tell you about the big meeting that happened on Sunday. Very cool and I have a picture too!

SWEETNESS.

More pics from vacation

Here are some more pictures from our vacation that I wanted to share.

We got to Albuquerque on Monday afternoon and pretty much hung out at my sisters house the rest of that day. On Tuesday morning we went to Santa Fe and walked around. It was windy but beautiful.

On Wednesday we went to a few Indian Reservation (Pueblos) and saw Petroglyphs, Soda Dam, and actually got to go down into a real Kiva! It was pretty cool.

Thursday morning we went to Old Town Albuquerque and enjoyed New Mexican food one last time before we left. I am a HUGE fan of Sopaipillas!

Thursday night we went to Arizona for more vacationy goodness. But I will show you pictures of that tomorrow.

You Tube Tuesday #16 - SUPERSIZED!!!

This is a Supersized You Tube Tuesday! Since I have been gone on vacation I thought I would post a little with the video this week.

We had a great time in New Mexico. We took a train to Albuquerque and honestly, it was very relaxing. I thought it was going to be torture but it was not at all! It was nice to be able to walk around and stretch. It was a fun adventure just getting there. The kids really liked it too.

When we got to Albuquerque it was raining a bit. My sister and her husband picked us up about 10 minutes after we got there. Here is a picture of the kids at the train station.

I promise I will post more pictures and stuff about our week because we saw a lot of cool stuff but now I want to show you the video I tried to post last week but could not.

My son George and my youngest Niece Samantha decided to entertain us before they went off to bed. It was the first night of our vacation and was a good indicator on how the rest of the week would be. You can hear me laughing through most of this and laughing is pretty much all I did on this vacation.

What a great time!

Enjoy.

You Tube Tuesday #15

I took video and could not get it uploaded so here is one to tide you over til i get home.

Vacation! Woo Hoo!

That is right my friends. I am out of here although I am planning on posting at least on You Tube Tuesday but that is probably it.

Going to NM to visit my sister. Should be fun.

I hope you all had a great Easter!

-George

A Little Q & A

Here are some questions from my good friend Vivian.

1. What are three ways blogging has affected your life?
   
   First and foremost it has made me realize that I was not alone with diabetes and because of that I am motivated to make diabetes a priority in my life. Second, it has allowed me to meet some truly amazing people that have become my friends. And lastly, it works as therapy for me by giving me a place to share all my ups and downs. I will never stop blogging because of these three things.

2. What is something you feel you could not live without but take for granted?
   
   Hands down, my wife. We have been together for so long that I forget to show her how important she is. I could not live without her. She is my other/better/favorite half!

3. Name two things you love about yourself and then name two things you would like to be able to add to that list.
   
   It is not easy to look at yourself and name things you love so I will try my best. I would say my sense of humor. I tend to make people laugh and love to laugh so I guess that is one. The other would be the gift I have for making people feel comfortable. I have always been a sounding board for friends and strangers. Almost like a bartender but without any booze (that I am sharing). I love to make friends so that “comfort” thing or whatever it is I am very thankful for.

   I would love to love my physical self. I think I am fat and ugly and I really hate to look at myself. I wish I could really love what I look like. The other would be a love for my intelligence. I honestly feel like a moron. I do not act like one and I bet this will come as a shock to those of you who know me irl but I feel very undereducated and stupid. I wish I could love my brain I guess! LOL that sounds funny.

4. Name the characteristics you think make a person worthy of being remembered for generations.
   
   Integrity. Honesty. Selflessness. Loving. Someone who always does the right thing. Even if no giant event occurs in their life. Someone with those characteristics are the kind of people kids should study in school.

5. If you and your family went into the federal witness protection program tomorrow, and you could choose your new life (career, where you live, etc.) what would your new life look like?
   
   I would want to live in a small town in Minnesota and work on the set of a Prairie Home Companion. Maybe play drums or something. But definitely some place away from the busy life in southern California.
   
   Alright, Let me know if you wanna play too by leaving a comment with your email address or email me at thebadguy@gmail.com and I will get back at ya! Be prepared for some wacky questions.
   
   Thanks again Viv!!!

You Tube Tuesday #14

I love to bowl although I am pretty lousy at it. Check out this trick shot.