How to pick the right guy for your Daughter.

This post is for all the Dads out there that are active participants in their Daughter's life.  The title may seem a little misleading but after you read this you will see the total truth of it.  So, in a free nation, how can you decide who is going to be the right guy to be with your Daughter?  Well, it's a little give and take, but you're not really picking the guy, you are influencing your daughter to make a better choice for herself.  That may seem a little vague so I'll explain it a little further.

My life experience has been that women that have an active male figure in their life, whether good or bad use that person when seeking out a partner.  If she has a good relationship with her father/male figure then more than likely she will base her decision of partner against him.  If that partner measures up or has similar properties, then there is a greater chance that she will pursue that partner.  This isn't ALWAYS the case, and I want to make it clear this isn't an *end-all* guide to make your Daughter marry Prince Charming.  

Here's a little food for thought.  Let's say that you are a pretty good Dad. You eat together, play at the park a few times a year, and watch TV together.  You probably have a good bond with your Daughter.  Now, drop the idea of having a "man-card" and try to find out something that truly interests her.  Mine like cooking and crafts.  If you can swallow your man-pride long enough to learn a few crafts that you can sit with her and talk about while doing them, you just increased your bond even further.  She will more than likely see that the guy who was already Superman in her eyes, drop his shield and go the extra step to be involved with her.  I have taken on many different crafting styles and will involve my girls when I can.  And if they say something out in public I don't cower down because it's something "girly".  I can stand by her and take pride in the fact that she's proud of what I've done.  If they ever ask why I do things that other men can't or won't do, I plan on telling them this: "Men can Bar-B-Que, work on cars, fix things around the house, mow the yard and work in the garden.  REAL men can do anything.".  Anytime I can do something that will make my girls want to tell the world, I know I am doing my job and making them proud, and that gives me the greatest feeling in the world.

Learning how to sew, crochet, or even cook so you can pass that along to your own girls isn't cashing in your *Man-Card*.  Your just ensuring that the guy who wants her later has an *Upgraded Man-Card* that compares to yours.  And that Sir, is how you pick the right guy for your Daughter.Don't tell her who to pick, set the bar so high that only the right ones can meet her expectations.

What to take away from this:

Don't be ashamed to learn something new.  Moms aren't the only ones who can teach their girls.  Teaching should be a dual-parent responsibility.  This won't apply to everyone, but it should apply to the majority, take it for what it's worth.

And as always be sure to do something for someone other than yourself.  Pay It Forward.

Taking a Break...Kind of

I have been trying to write on here as much as possible in my spare time.  Here recently I haven't been writing very much.  It's not because I have lost interest.  I still remember my first post on here and my incentive that drove me to do so.  I have taken interest in writing elsewhere though.

I have always had the dream of publishing my own work.  I had researched some options for doing that several months back.  I could try to contact a publisher in person, edit my book countless times, spend up to a year in the process, and still risk the publisher not using my story.  But the money could possibly be better. Like most people, I felt a more reasonable time frame would be towards my liking.  I found a few reputable publishing companies online.  Here's where the differences weigh in and you have to decide what you are really looking for.  Do you want to make a real book, or an e-book?  Do you use their free ISBN number and have them as your publisher, pay a small fee and get a little more freedom as to where you can sell your book, or do you buy your own ISBN numbers and have total freedom of it, but pay more up front?  Do you want your book available in brick-and-mortar stores, online only, in schools and libraries, or all?  I always thought that people just wrote a story, sent it in to a publisher and if it was good enough, turned into a book and sold.  Boy was I wrong.

After weighing in as many options as I could, I found a company that seemed to suit my *wants* a little better than some of the others.  With the acceptance of e-books today being used on smartphones, tablets, and e-readers, I wanted to primarily use an e-book format.  And for others that prefer to have a tangible item, I wanted the option to have printed books as well.  I also don't have the extra money to purchase an ISBN much less a block of ISBN numbers, so having the option of getting one for free in exchange to a few minor restrictions, works well in my favor.  The restrictions really are minor.  The one's I have found are: You can only sell through this publisher, but in turn, the cover almost everywhere you would sell to start with.  If you use any of there images for your cover design, you can't redistribute it outside of their distribution lines, you would have to design a new cover on your own, and republish the book as a new edition with a new ISBN.  Neither of those, or any other restrictions, were deal-breakers for me.

I have been plotting out a few stories in my head for some time now.  I also feel that it is time to try and follow that dream now.  With a little bit of hope and luck, maybe it will be something that works for me.  I may make a few dollars in the long run, but for me it would be about seeing my work in print with my name on it.  It's not a major accomplishment.  Anyone can write something and get it printed.  But to me, it would satisfy a goal I've had since I was a child.  To me, it would mean something.

If anyone is interested in checking out the service I decided on, you can use the link below. There is no cost to join or use the service unless you want professional services. The whole service is free except for buying proofs of your hardcopy to evaluate. If you don't want a hardcopy, you can use this service to publish to Kindle I believe. Good Luck!

This software can also help you format and upload digital books (eBooks) directly to Kindle.
A great way to make a few extra bucks while expressing your creative side.




I'm not forgetting or dropping my writing on here, but it will be neglected for a little while.  I will try to write on here in my spare time or when I need a break.

Until then...

Remember to do something good for others that are less fortunate.  Pay It Forward.

Love For Your Pets - The Kitty Pillow

I feel that most of my posts have been food oriented, so I want to change up a little.  Well, if you consider going back to what I started out doing as changing.

I snapped this photo a few nights ago, and thought it was cute, but it also held something a little stronger.  I don't usually break down photos like this, but I felt like this was was *talking to me*.

If you look at my Daughter, she is no doubt comfortably asleep.  The blue thing you see in the bottom left side of the photo is her *Bunny* that she normally falls asleep with.  On this night she replaced the *Bunny* with the Kitty-Cat.  She claimed this cat as soon as it came into our home, and has loved it and played with it since.  We named the cat, but we always refer to it as "Her Cat".  We see how she interacts with this Kitty-Cat every day.  Everyone here knows how much she loves that cat.  And I think that it is reflected in this picture how much she loves it.  She fell asleep with it instead of her favorite stuffed animal.  For a child her age, that must be love.

Now on the other hand, and what caught my eye was the cat doesn't seem to mind her holding on to him.  He's not asleep, but I think that's from where I was moving around to catch the picture.  But he's not trying to get away from her.  I think it I had been a little more quiet when getting the picture, I may have caught them both asleep.  He's just laying there, seemingly enjoying his affections.  If you were to see the way he acts towards her when they are playing during the day, this picture would explain it all.  My Daughter will pick him up, carry him like a baby, and then play with him.  And he goes along with it.  It almost seems like he understands her affection towards him and reciprocates it back the best he can.

To most people that may read this article, they will see a picture of a girl snuggled up with a Kitty-Cat followed by the ramblings of a madman.  When I see this picture, I see the epitome of love.  People may have many pets during a lifetime.  They may be cats, dogs, birds, fish, or whatever animal suits you as a person.  But it's those special pets you have during that lifetime that make the biggest impact.  Sometimes you come across that one pet that seems like it was meant for you to meet.  Once that bond has been made, that pet is forever a part of your life.  That bond.  That love. That's what is seen in the photo above.

If you are ever capable of having that type of love for an animal, just think if you could love a person the same, if not more.  Try to have that kind of love for your fellow humans and see how much better we could live.  And that my friends, seems like a good note to end on.

Try to practice the love you just read about above.  The best way to start is by doing something nice for someone else.  Pay It Forward.

Beef Stroganoff Made Easy

Beef Stroganoff may not be on the top of your family meal list, but I think it makes a great meal that should in turn be made at least every other week.  Most families that I have noticed will make the boxed dinner version, but if you were to ask them how to make it, they wouldn't know quite what goes in it.  I going to give you a very simple recipe that can be made in less than 45 minutes and tastes amazing.  Are you ready?

Ingredients:

• Ribeye Steak (preferred, but other beef can be substituted)
• 1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
• approx. 1/2 box of Beef Broth
• All Purpose Flour
• Olive Oil
• Butter
• approx. 1 cup of Sour Cream
• Minced Onion flakes, or fresh onion to taste
• Fresh Mushrooms (diced) to taste (can substitute canned mushrooms, but drain first)
• Salt + Pepper to taste
• 1 Bad of Egg Noodles

Directions:

• Cut your Ribeye into small strips or chunks.
• Thinly coat a sauce pan with the olive oil and about 2-3 tablespoons of butter. Your stove should go on MED - MED-HI.
• Brown the meat in the sauce pan.
• Add your onions and mushrooms to the pan and allow them to cook for about 10 minutes.  Both of these items are to taste.  I used about 2 tablespoons of minced onion flakes and about 1 cup of fresh mushrooms, diced.
• Now add about 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour.  This should cause the oil and the butter to thicken up. Continue Stirring.
• Add in the cream of mushroom soup.  Continue stirring  The contents of the pan should be thoroughly mixed together, but the stirring is to help keep the mixture from sticking to the pan.
• Add in the beef broth.  This should thin the mixture out.  If you want it a little thinner add more broth.
• Once it has a texture you are happy with, turn it down to warm/low, and cook your bag of egg noodles.
• Right before you add your beef mixture to the strained noodles, add the sour cream to the beef mixture.  The amount of sour cream can also be adjusted according to preference.  I find that it adds a sharp creaminess to the meal.
• After the sour cream, mix the beef mixture and the noodles together. Salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!

I have tried this a few times.  I have tried different meats.  Ground beef works very well, but I still prefer the small pieces of ribeye.  The ribeye tends to add more flavor from its drippings in the mix, and also has a tenderness to the meat.  I have also substituted the beef broth for the small packs of Knorr Beef Stock (here's a link if you don't know what I'm referring to: Knorr Beef Stock)  If you use these, you will have to play around with your liquids. I ended up using about 1 1/2 cups of water, but I also think the taste is worth the hassle.  I would have used it in the recipe above, but I decided to make the one above as simple as possible while still tasting great and just added my 2 cents after the fact.  Also if you find that you're not getting enough onion flavor while your cooking, but you don't want to add more onion flakes or cut more onions.  I used the amount of minced onion flakes stated in the recipe, but later added onion powder.  I like strong full flavors in my food, while others don't, which is fine.  For other that do, that's why I'm adding this at the end.  

If you have any other twists on this recipe that you would like to share, or maybe another way of doing it altogether.  Please, share it with everyone else by adding a comment below.  I'm always on the lookout for new ideas and techniques.

As always remember to do something nice for someone other than yourself.  Pay It Forward.

Guitar Lessons: G, C, D - Chords to Live By

This is a short starter video I did to share with anyone that wanted to learn how to play the guitar.  These are very basic chords that are used in many popular songs.  It's even enough to make your own song if you wanted to.  If you're learning how to play, I'm going to make the assumption that you are learning how to read Tablature (a.k.a. - tabs).  I'll "tab out" the chords below so that you can see them along with the video, or study them afterwards.  If you haven't learned how to read tabs yet, there are many great resources out there to read or watch how to read them.  YouTube would be a good starting point, and reading tabs with greatly further your playing.  So here are those chords:

                           G            C              D

e ---------|---3----|---------|---2-----|-#1-|  <---Smallest String - #1

B ---------|---3----|----1----|---3-----|-#2-|

D ---------|--------|---------|---2-----|-#3-|  The numbers represent the frets to hold down.

G ---------|--------|----2----|---------|-#4-|  The "#" numbers are the string numbers.
A ---------|---2----|----3----|---x-----|-#5-|


E ---------|---3----|----x----|---x-----|-#6-|  <---Biggest String - #6

Now for the video part:

I know personally that learning to play can get frustrating at times.  Be prepared for that.  There will be times that you want to give up, sell your guitar and anything that goes along with it, that is, if you haven't broken it yet (Don't break it!).  I have been playing for many years.  I'm not a guitar master, or anywhere close to being one.  I can play most songs that I set my mind to, and play them well.  Even in different keys or tunings.  I still get caught up on some of the easier songs and get frustrated.  If you get mad, put your guitar down and forget about it.  It's nearly impossible to learn something while your mad.  Go watch a show, catch a snack, ANYTHING but think about playing.  No matter how fast you learn, you won't become a rockstar over night.  This is something that will take time and desire.  With that in mind, take this little bit of information and run with it.  

If any other guitar players have anything to add, please do so in the comments below.  If anyone uses this information and wishes to show me what they learned, please go to YouTube and post a video response.  My YouTube channel can be reached using the tab at the top of this page.  If you just want to tell me, and everyone else, what you learned, leave a comment on here, my YouTube page, or both.

Remember to do something good for someone else, Pay It Forward.