There are words in my 10 year old son’s vocabulary that I just don’t think were in my vocabulary at the same age. Tonight as we prayed, Matthew said, “Sometimes I can’t fall asleep because I’m ‘stressed’ and my mind is racing.” One of the fears he has is about dying. As a child, I do remember being fearful of my parents dying. I’d have nightmares where they died and I’d wake up crying only to have my mother tell me I “just added years to their lives.” I guess I was ‘stressed’ out, especially after that, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to keep having death dreams so my parents could live forever or not, I just didn’t know the word for all of that anxiety I was feeling. Most of the time my nightmares were blamed on chocolate or eating too close to bedtime but not on “stress.” Continue Reading »

My second guest blogger is Ms. Christine Summerell, a runner who claims I inspired her with my short-lived marathon career. She’s a stay-at-home mom and a longtime friend, who plans to a run marathon on every continent! Please enjoy her essay which not only tells the tale of her completing a half marathon but gets into the mind of a “runner.”

I promised myself I wouldn’t cry, so I whimpered.

I was actually sitting down, on the ground, during the Buffalo Run half marathon. Runners are so kind. “Need help?” one older woman asked as she passed. I hung my head and shook it. “You OK?” the next guy asked. “Yes,” I mustered.

I had to keep going. Even walking slowly was better than sitting. “Let’s go!” someone encouraged me from behind. I stood up and the overwhelming task presented itself once more. I still had five more miles to go… Continue Reading »

My sister-in-law, Linda Latta, who prefers country music, said, “That’s a lot of music coming from three guys, they’re really good.” She was talking about the band Hoochie Coo, who we saw in Ventura on Friday night. I was pleasantly surprised to hear her say exactly what I was thinking. I, on the other hand, don’t prefer country music even though I do own “No Fences” by Garth Brooks, a direct influence from this very sister-in-law. I prefer rock and roll that makes you want to sing and dance and that’s exactly what the Hoochie Coo delivered. Their set included songs from Stone Temple Pilots, Matchbox Twenty, Guns ‘n Roses, Stray Cats and Sublime. They even surprised me with some disco favorites like “Play That Funky Music,” and “Jungle Boogie.” The band includes Chris Houchin, lead singer and guitarist, Francesco Dicosmo, lead singer and bassist from Evanescence and Thin Lizzy and Diego Meraviglia or “Grom,” drummer. All three are talented performers and yes, they do make A LOT of music! Continue Reading »

You just have to love the internet! I “Googled” “father in all languages,” and stumbled upon this site.

Not only can you learn how to say father in 130 languages, the site also lists the Top 50 movies about dads.

I hope all you Dads had a great and relaxing day, Happy Father’s Day!

Almost 10 inches lost in two boot camps, amazing! I’m so grateful to my boot camp instructor, Raymond and trainer, Mike who’ve been essential tools in my loss. They’ve encouraged me to dig deep and to have confidence in my abilities. In turn, I also have confidence in their abilities to take over the business and to run it with the most professional and caring customer service any client could ask for. Check out their new website, Infinity Sport & Fitness. New boot camps start next week, June 16th. They even added a lunchtime boot camp for those crazy enough to give up their lunchtime to work out! I’m thrilled about that since, I enjoy doing just that. Hmm, “thrilled,” maybe I’m exaggerating but look at who’s pushing me!

Mike C. -Boot Camp Instructor & Personal Trainer

All writers need a digital voice recorder!! I used to have a micro cassette recorder years ago. I’d tape college lectures and writing ideas that never made it to paper, unfortunately. When I’d rewind to listen to the messages, sometimes the ideas weren’t as brilliant as I originally thought they were.  And if they were I could hardly understand the garbled words. Thank God for technology, even though I’ll never set foot into Fry’s Electronics again, I’m grateful there’s technology that can clearly record my thoughts and ideas. Since I got it last week, I’ve already written out what I recorded and feel freer having it. It is a great tool that’s helping me stick to my vow to kick the “notes on napkins” syndrome. What a perfect gift for a writer. I purchased an Olympus from Amazon.com and I couldn’t be happier. As a writer, I think there are a few essential tools that are necessary for the job, a good pen, lots of paper and a digital voice recorder. If you haven’t invested in one, I highly recommend it, not just for writers but for anyone who comes up with “brilliant” ideas. Even if they’re only brilliant for a short amount of time. Hey, you can always hit delete.

The fourth season of “So You Think You Can Dance” has started and Matthew and I are as excited as I guess some fans get about “American Idol.” Last summer was our first season watching the show that inspired Matthew to give up baseball and start dancing. (read my writings) Just hearing the bumper music, “So You Think You Can Dance, Dance, Dance…” inspires him to imitate what he sees on television. On every commercial break, he watches his reflection in the French doors as he spins around free styling. This past weekend, as his former baseball team was wrapping up their season, I was buying him jazz shoes. If he wasn’t up to bat or playing a base, he was bored yet he still enjoys the game as a spectator. He’s thrilled that I have tickets for the Dodgers’ game in a couple of weeks. And if it weren’t for Dodger dogs and peanuts, I’d be bored too! Continue Reading »