Where did my time off go?!?

SERIOUSLY!!!

My beautiful wife asked me this evening what time I will need to be leaving to meet the bus tomorrow...

What?!? What day is this? Crap!! I have to leave again already?!? Didn't I just get here?!?

This, my friends, is the toughest part of my life to grapple with...the disappearance of time off.
It always seems that just when I feel like things have calmed down, when all the dust has settled for a day, my time off is over and I have to pack my suitcase once again and board the bus for a destination which always seems to escape me until I actually arrive there.

Don't get me wrong...I LOVE my job. I always have. There is nothing that I would ever want to be doing as much as playing drums and making music...save one thing...spending time with my family at home.


Now...in spite of feeling as if my few days at home have just sped by in the proverbial blink of an eye, I am happy to report that I did get one big thing accomplished this week. It took me almost an entire day to do it by myself, however I did get it done. I replaced the garage door opener where Holly parks.
The old one was at least ten years old...in fact, it looked as if it were a lot older. To tell the truth, it may have been the best and most innovative thing in the realm of garage door openers...when it was new! Let's put it this way...there were absolutely NO plastic parts on this thing except for the thingy that covered the light bulb. But, it had served its usefulness and had finally begun to have some of its parts wear out.
Tried, I did, to find the right replacement part as so to not have to remove the entire thing...but, as it turns out 1) the replacement part cannot be purchased alone; and 2) if I had been able to find just the one part I needed to make the repair, I would have had to dismantle the entire thing anyway. Taking it all into consideration, I opted to get a brand new garage door opener and install it myself.
I must admit, it was easier than I had expected, and I was able to do it all by myself...but i sincerely believe I would have had an easier go of it had I gotten some help. I probably would have been able to get it completed in less than six hours too. (I am of the belief that you always measure twice...at least. I like to take my time and do it right...and only once.)

One more thing scratched off the "honey-do" list, though...and for that, I am thankful to have been able to spend some of my off time taking care of things at home.

Trials and Tribulations

Trials and tribulations...we all have 'em from time to time...sometimes literally.
I know that I certainly do.

But, as the old sayings go, "When life hands you lemons...make lemonade", and "What doesn't kill us only serves to make us stronger."

Sometimes finding that silver lining to the cloud hanging over our heads is quite difficult, but it's always possible, regardless of the fact that it's easier said than done.

My silver lining these days is that there will be finality to certain things, and that these certain events and their particular timing are all part of a larger cosmic plan. Everything happens for a reason.

More than that, I have come to believe that the timing in which everything happens is for a reason.

All I can do is have faith...

...faith that God will provide for me, and guide me.
...faith that there are lessons to be learned and that somehow I will become a better person because of it all.
...faith that everything will work out exactly as it is supposed to.


...and faith that can find that damn lemonade recipe.

Mmmmm...yummy

Ok...since the term "Debbie Cakes" is in the name of my blog, I figured it might be time to write about them.

I can't speak for the rest of the world, but here in the South there is a thing known as Little Debbie. Little Debbie is a family owned bakery that creates snack cakes. Over 75 varieties of them to be more precise. You can find them in grocery stores, convenience stores, gas stations, truck stops, drug stores...basically anywhere you can find a King Size package of Peanut M&Ms, you'll more than likely find Little Debbie cakes somewhere close by.

Now...having said that, I have a theory about the more successful varieties. The ones that seem to be the most popular -at least in my mind- employ what I like to call the "Peel-Apart Component".
Most every variety from Little Debbie has it...and anyone who has enjoyed the scrumptrulesence of a Little Debbie cake has more than likely taken advantage of it.

For example:
Nutty Bars...You can separate the layers of wafers exposing the delicious peanut butter filling inside. If you are a seasoned Little Debbie pro, you can peel them apart leaving all of the peanut butter intact.
Fudge Rounds...You can rotate the top and bottom layers of this inviting treat and break it apart like a really soft Oreo cookie. If you are really good you can achieve perfect separation with the exact same amount of chocolate filling on each side.
Swiss Cake Rolls...You can peel off the chocolate shell on the outside and then unroll the cake to expose the creamy filling.
I could go on, but there I think you get the idea.

Now that I'm really thinking about it all...there are a lot of candies, cookies, and cakes that are generally more fun to eat because you can peel them apart, break 'em open, or one-at-a-time them. Maybe that's what makes 'em so fun to eat...and so quick to wreck my diet. Maybe carrots and celery would be much more appealing if they had a "Peel-Apart Component"...probably not.