Mother's Day

It's been a rainy Mother's Day here in Chicagoland. It started raining - hard - in the middle of the night and didn't stop until we were leaving for Church. I'm glad it rained as hard as it did as it worked as my alarm clock. I got out of Dayton, mercifully, on an earlier flight Saturday night, but was quite tired by the time I got home. So I got up this morning and made cinnamon muffins and scrambled eggs for Shari. Parker had gotten up too and helped me.

We woke up the girls and took breakfast into Shari. It was a low-wattage affair but was a nice way to start the day. Shari laughed at her cards from Parker and me and that was the reaction we had hoped for. Mission accomplished. Then it was the usual rush to get ready for Church. Church was fine - the usual carnations passed out to all the women in the congregation. We've got to up the budget on honoring the women of the ward, I'm just saying.

Came home and the rush to make Mother's Day Dinner was on. I'd decided to do a fairly easy chicken parmesean and bowtie pasta. At the last minute, I decided to top each chicken breast with prosciutto. Again, Parker helped and he made cheese rolls. Things appeared to be going well and it all looked good until Shari cut into her chicken and of course, it hadn't cooked through all the way. I was really embarrassed that I had underestimated the cook time. So that kind of ruined dinner in my opinion.

Neither of us has had a chance to talk to our mom's yet, but I'll be glad to do that. I still don't quite understand how I've managed to be blessed with an amazing mother and a wife who has been the best mother to our children. It's more evidence of a merciful Father in Heaven, if you ask me.

Democrats...meet your new ball and chain!

Well, Democrats, meet your new ball and chain. Her name is Shrillary and like any good implement of irritation and dare I say, nagging torture, like the good ol' ball and chain, she's going to drag the Democratic party and the nation as a whole along for as long as she can...or until the Party or nation gnaws off its collective leg to be rid of the beast we know as Shrillary.

Is Shrillary completely unable to do the obvious math (well, there was that pesky struggle with math around Whitewater)? She will not get the Democratic nomination as it stands today or in June when the longest primary season EVER finally wheezes to a stop. And yet, this pandering politician who claims to be sticking around for the good of the party and the nation will stop at nothing to see her party fractured - thus guaranteeing the Angriest Man in the US Senate four years in the White House. Why can't Shrillary see that if she somehow engineers a super delegate win for herself (then again, she did cover up how many scandals in her husband's administration, not to mention the Vince Foster "suicide," that she could hatch a win)that the Democratic Party will split and heinously enraged Obama-ites will vote McCain in simply out of rage. McCain will be a lock. But it appears that she doesn't see that...oh Shrillary, Denial ain't just a river in Egypt...face it sister, you're done. Now let it go...

I'm off to Ohio tomorrow evening for two days of meetings where I'll be speaking at a couple of different things. I'll get home very late Saturday night but still home for Mother's Day on Sunday. Sarah and Courtney are going to insure that we are all good to go for Sunday - thank you, ladies. I am a lucky man to have daughters like the two that I've been blessed with.

Another calling

So as Sacrament Meeting wrapped up today, Shari and I got the tap (c'mon people, you know the tap I'm talking about) on the collective shoulder from the 1st Counselor in the Bishopbric, followed by the "Hey, can I see you two during Sunday School?" question. Yep, it could only mean a calling to serve. Since both of us are already in different callings, we figured one of us was getting released - but it was not to be. (NOTE - for those non-Mormon readers of the "den," our ministry is a lay ministry and so it's the members that fill the roles in the Church.)

Instead, we both have an additional calling, or assignment because it was explained that this one was not a calling (tomato/tomahtow), now. Our ward is going to be putting the entire adult population of the ward through the Marriage and Family Relations class and they've asked Shari and I to be one of the team teachers. I burst out laughing. What else could I do? Shari and I have a really good marriage and a great friendship, but anyone who knows us knows that Shari deserves all manner of accolades for putting up with me. Our one good friend Linda (and Linda, if you are reading this - when is the book coming out? Deseret Book needs another timely best-seller from a SIG-sister in the gospel-) routinely describes Shari as the most charitable woman on the earth - based solely on the fact that she married me. So as I see it this is going to be one of those times when I just sit back, keep my mouth shut and let Shari teach. The ward will be better off that way. Somehow I don't think that they are quite ready for my opinions on what makes a good family. I mean I'll still try and convince anyone that the Simpsons are one righteous family:

Tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo and we are having friends over for said celebration. Looking forward to that - we are going to cook it all up ourselves. I mean it's not like I can just run down to the Taco Shop on 79 South to load up. Man, we miss the Taco Shop.

Behold the Cup Cake!

Is there any better comfort food than a cupcake? And not some crappy, sealed in plastic, mass-produced variety...no I speak of a homemade cupcake, made in love, or in the case of the photo above, in an act of penance. And it's even better when said cupcake is in fact a giant cupcake.

A little background...as I was driving home yesterday, I called Shari as I do to check in (I've done that our entire married life - thanks, Dad, for that habit - I took it from you.) As we wrapped up, she said that Courtney needed to talk to me. It was then that Courtney revealed that she had inadvertently deleted a picture from my cell phone. Sadly it was the only picture that I had of me and an actress called Joanna Lumley in full "Patsy" mode from a party earlier this year in London. Courtney was in full repentance mode (I had to pretend I was more upset than I actually was to be honest). So I told her she had to make me something good to make up for the heinous deletion. So she got to work on the giant cupcake and when Shari and I got home from Ward Temple Night last night, there was the beloved and comforting cupcake. It was AWESOME!

In the spirit of full disclosure, I should point out that the picture was with a wax image of "Patsy." Well, the sun is shining and it's earlier here in Chicagoland so it's time to go hit the Forest Preserve and run, then mow the lawn (first time in about six months) and then figure out the rest of the day.