The Ramblings of Blake

It's been a long time.

2009-10-12T14:22:00.002-06:00

To all my loyal fans. Yes, the two of you. I want to thank you very much. I will give you a special treat today with another Rambling of me.

What would we do without computers? Would the World go into a frenzy? I wonder how many kids even know how to write and mail a letter. I bet most people don't even know how much a stamp cost. Do you? I will not tell you. Why? Because people are lazy. Yes, I am lazy too. You see computers have so much information that it is very easy to obtain whatever answer to a question you ask.

Thus, I will answer my first and second question with one answer. Yes, I think the world would go crazy. I think the economy would crash. We would not have cell phones, television, and many things would be limited, such as, radio, stores, public offices, schools, banks, and much more. See everything these days is run by computers. We are in the technology age and without technology the world would revert to the stone age.

I believe it would center a lot of individuals and show them who and what is most important in each of our lives.

FaceBook - Will it last?

2009-06-11T10:02:00.002-06:00

I do not profess to be an avid blogger or internet guru that twitters. Yet I ask myself a simple question. Is Facebook a ninth wonder of the world or a fly-by-night company that will have its five minutes of fortune and fame and then be snuffed out like a flame? I personally hope it will succeed and live on for many years to come. Unlike the craze of MySpace, Facebook brings a little more substance to the party. It brings famlies, friends of years past, and new acquaintances together.

However, some of the applications (i.e. quizes, causes, posts, etc..) are worthless and for the most part a waste of time. Yet, I feel for some its a way to release the stress of the day. So if you haven't created a Facebook account then I would suggest you check it out and find people you have wondered what has happened in there life and you might just laugh.

Will you give this to my Daddy?

2009-04-16T17:22:00.002-06:00

I read this in an email and I should inform you all ahead of time, have a box of tissue.

As a Company, Southwest Airlines is going to support 'Red Fridays.' Last week I was in Atlanta, Georgia attending a conference. While I was in the airport, returning home, I heard several people behind me beginning to clap and cheer. I immediately turned around and witnessed one of the greatest acts of patriotism I have ever seen.

Moving through the terminal was a group of soldiers in their camos. As they began heading to their gate, everyone (well almost everyone) was abruptly to their feet with their hands waving and cheering. When I saw the soldiers, probably 30-40 of them, being applauded and cheered for, it hit me. I'm not alone. I'm not the only red-blooded American who still loves this country and supports our troops and their families. Of course I immediately stopped and began clapping for these young unsung heroes who are putting their lives on the line everyday for us so we can go to school, work and home without fear or reprisal.

Just when I thought I could not be more proud of my country or of our service men and women, a young girl, not more than 6 or 7 years old, ran up to one of the male soldiers. He kneeled down and said 'hi.' The little girl then asked him if he would give something to her daddy for her. The young soldier, who didn't look any older than maybe 22 himself, said he would try and what did she want to give to her Daddy. Then suddenly the little girl grabbed the neck of this soldier, gave him the biggest hug she could muster and then kissed him on the cheek.

The mother of the little girl, who said her daughter's name was Courtney, told the young soldier that her husband was a Marine and had been in Iraq for 11 months now. As the mom was explaining how much her daughter Courtney missed her father, the young soldier began to tear up.

When this temporarily single mom was done explaining her situation, all of the soldiers huddled together for a brief second. Then one of the other servicemen pulled out a military-looking walkie-talkie. They started playing with the device and talking back and forth on it. After about 10-15 seconds of this, the young soldier walked back over to Courtney, bent down and said this to her, 'I spoke to your daddy and he told me to give this to you.' He then hugged this little girl that he had just met and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He finished by saying 'your daddy told me to tell you that he loves you more than anything and he is coming home very soon.'The mom at this point was crying almost uncontrollably and as the young soldier stood to his feet, he saluted Courtney and her mom.

I was standing no more than 6 feet away from this entire event. As the soldiers began to leave, heading towards their gate, people resumed their applause. As I stood there applauding and looked around, there were very few dry eyes, including my own. That young soldier in one last act of selflessness, turned around and blew a kiss to Courtney with a tear rolling down his cheek. We need to remember everyday all of our soldiers and their families and thank God for them and their sacrifices. At the end of the day, it's good to be an American.

Fires and Smore's

2009-03-02T13:14:00.002-07:00

Well, Friday night my family and some friends decided to go have some fun. Fun you say? Yes, we went hiking in the BLM (Government Lands) which has jagged rocks and boulders we can climb on. However, there is an area in this ravine we were hiking through that is perfect to have a fire in. It is surrounded by boulders all around that blocks the wind. So we decided to make a fire. Cook foil dinners and hotdogs (for the boys) and have a great time. I should tell you that the foil dinners were delicious and hit the spot.

However, you can't make a fire, have a great dinner and not have ooey gooey smore's. So we cooked smore's, got all messy and had a great time.

The Chocolate Chip Cookie

2009-02-27T15:32:00.005-07:00

A chocolate chip cookie. What is better than a hot, soft, and gooey chocolate chip cookie with a tall glass of cold, refreshing milk?

Too some a chocolate chip cookie is just a cookie, but if you look at the cookie you will see small brown chunks inserted in and around the cookie. Life is like this cookie. Sometimes we can see our goals, or trials and can prepare to encounter them. Other times we bite down and even though we don't see the chocolate chunk the trial or success is imminent.

So you are asking yourself, what are you rambling on about this time? Life is short, so the chunks you bite make the best of it and know that eventually a chunk of chocolate may be bitter or it may be sweet but either way the cookie is still very yummy.

A thought for the day.

2009-02-27T08:59:00.002-07:00

It is a beautiful day. The sky is blue, the sun is out and it's not cold or snowing. What could be better than that? Okay, sitting on a white sandy beach with a drink in my hand and not a care in the world. And little kids coming up and peddling their braclets, glasses, clothes, and chicklets.

Sorry, had a moment. Life is good. I have a family that loves me, in good health today, a car to drive, a house to keep me warm or cool, and other accessories that some people don't. I am very blessed.

I think we need to take a look back and thank God for the many blessing we do have, and if the things we desire come to pass then we should give thanks as well. Today is going to be a great day.

All of us or at least 99.8% of us worry about how we will pay for the next bill but try even for five minutes to forget about all the negative vibes in this world and be happy for what you have.

WOW - World of Warcraft

2009-02-05T10:03:00.002-07:00

Yes, I have dove off into the blissful world of fiction and imagination. Where Orcs, Blood Elfs, Tauren (half human half ox) and the like battle humans for the land, treasure, and complete domination. Now for those of you that are not accustomed to the WOW (World of Warcraft) online game, let me explain.
This online multiplayer game is one of the biggest online games currently on the internet. They have millions of players all throughout the world logging on each day to escape reality and just enjoy the experience.
There are two sides one can choose from to play. The Horde or the Alliance. Most peole would think the Horde are the bad guys because they are the Orcs, Tauren, undead, dark elves, and other beastly characters. Where as the Alliance are human, elves, dwarfs, etc.. Once you select your race you then select your class such as Mage, Hunter, Paladin, Priest, Shaman, Rogue, Warrior to name a few. Each class has different abilities that helps your character advance in this crazy world of mystery. The picture above is one of my characters, Artikan a hunter with his pet/companion lion "Michelle" who assists him in his quests. He is currently leveled at 53 which is not bad but on his way to level 80.
If you would like to know more about WOW go to www.worldofwarcraft.com. If you want to start playing this great game, please let me know so I can sign you up because then you get an added bonus.

Wicked coming to SLC

2008-12-12T14:44:00.003-07:00

Yes, as many of you know that Wicked the Broadway phenomia is coming to SLC, Utah this spring and early summer. Today was the first day tickets went on sale. It was maddening trying to get tickets.

I know you are all asking yourselves the question, why was it so MADDENING? Well, we went online to buy the tickets before we actually could and to our surprise we couldn't buy them. So we waited for the clocks to reach 10:00 am and hit the magic link that would take us to our tickets. But to our dismay the internet crashed, and crashed, and crashed again. We continued to re-log onto the site to buy those tickets. Since that wasn't working we started calling on the phone. No answer, crash, no answer, crash again.

I personally gave up after 45 minutes of time I will never get back and started to prepare for clients I had to show a couple homes too. However, Michelle and my mom were persistant. Until they were able to get through 3 hours later just to find out they have SOLD OUT.

Good grief. They need a better system of getting tickets then a server that constantly crashes. I mean doesn't the world know by now that it revolves around my family.

Dicken's

2008-12-11T21:36:00.003-07:00

Well another year of Dicken's as come and gone. I am as usual late posting to my blog. So I decided to share my wonderous Dicken's experiance via my wife Michelle and friend Chelsi. View these at eiter Michelle's Blog or Chelsi's Blog.

WOW! It's been a long time

2008-10-27T17:52:00.002-06:00

To all of my devoted reader's of ....... Here is another rambling of Blake. As you can imagine a lot has happened to me over the last two months so I will fill you in on just things that have happened last week. First, my 3 year old son decided to wander off on his own, got picked up by a total stranger who thought he was lost and took him to a security office where the police were watching him. Of course, the rest of the panic driven family went searching through the neighborhood trying to find our precious child. Until we called the police and they gave us the joyful news that they had our son safe and that he would be returned. YEAH!!!!! We definelty thanked God for watching over our little guy.
Our little guy also had a birthday which was fun to see him blow out the candles and turn the magical three. No more terrible two's we have moved into three.
Another fun story this week is that my other son "the mighty dwarf" plays soccer. And yes I coach the little rascals and to our joy and excitement he scored a goal. Yeah. He did awesome. Of course I don't know if he was excited about scoring the goal or knowing that he was going to McDonald's for dinner.
Well, I am now off to a block halloween party where the kids can feel up on sugar and junk and have fun with the other neighbor kids. It is definetly an event you don't want to miss. Until next time and I hope it doesn't take me two months to post.

July

2008-07-30T09:54:00.002-06:00

Wow!! July has flown by and I have been extremely busy. This post may or may not be read by anyone. I guess if I get any comments I will know how many people read it or not.
The first week of July my family and I went camping in Escalante National Forest where we pitched our tent and roughed it. The one down fall is that it rained everyday off and on all day. So when it rained we all gathered under the canopy we rigged over the table and played games with each other.
As soon as we got back into town, Michelle and the boys took off for Salt Lake City to visit a few friends. Michelle had a lot of fun even though her trip was only a couple of days.
And when Michelle pulled into the drive way, I repacked the car for our trip to Lake Powell. We stayed four days at Powell and had a blast skiing, wake boarding, and floating on the water toys. Lake Powell is a very beautiful place and I would highly recommend everyone going at least once or twice in their life time.
When we came back home we were tuckered out. So I had to get back to the grind stone and work. My parents took off up to Idaho for my sister's graduation from college. She know has a bachelors degree and we are very proud of her. So since they were gone I had to stay and manage the business by myself, which wouldn't be so bad but every time I am left alone we get swamped and very busy.
The following week my dad and I went down to Las Vegas for the week to attend a real estate seminar put on by Mike Ferry. Mike is a no nonsense kind of a guy. Either you do it or you don't, so you better do it and if you do then you will make money. Sounds simple enough.
Well, that was last week and this is the final week of July. Michelle and my two oldest boys are traveling to go to Education week in Idaho and the boys will go camping with Granpa Bill. Thus, I have the G man and will be having fun with him and still trying to get some business done during the day.
Next week we will be off to AZ for another family trip. I love being in a business that I can take all this time off and yet still work and make a commission.

Tour de France

2008-07-09T14:55:00.002-06:00

The Tour de France is amazing to watch especially once you figure out the secret and strategies the teams use. it is not just skinny men in tight shorts pedaling a bike up a mountain, it is pure strategy and technique to finish the race.

Camping at Escalante

2008-07-08T21:52:00.002-06:00

Celebrating the Fourth of July a little differently than most by camping in the middle of no where at 9,000 feet. There were no fireworks or sparklers, just family, aspen trees, dirt, a tent, and a good time. Of course you can't go camping without a little rain.
It actually rained off and on all three days. However, it is what you make of the time that counts. So when it rained we just sat underneath the tarp we setup under the table and played cards, talked, and enjoyed each others company. All in all it was a fun three days.

Life without the Boss

2008-06-20T21:44:00.002-06:00

Life. How we go on day by day and so on not realizing the impact we have on all the people in our lives. This week I have had the opportunity as I will call it to watch my three sons as Michelle ventured up to girls camp for four days. I must say that three boys know how to make a mess before the mess even knows it is being made. So much for a clean house.

At first I thought this would be easy, but I was way wrong. Now I should preface by stating I am also working from home instead of at the office. And it seems that I have had so many little fires that needed to take care of that it was at times impossible to give my boys the attention they needed. In fact, I have been informed that I have had negative attitude. I don't mean too but life without the Boss (aka Michelle) has put me into a funk that I can't get out of.

I can't wait for my princess to come home and break this evil curse I have been dealing with all week. I love her and my boys very much and don't know what I would do without them.

I Tried the Tri at the Utah Summer Games

2008-06-15T09:43:00.010-06:00

It's 5:15 in the morning and I wake up to the alarm. I ask myself, "What did I get myself into?" I must be crazy but I have trained hard so let's do it.

The weather could not have been better, bright blue skies and not too hot. Of course it was 6:30 am when we got there. Here is a picture of me before the race.

Well, they started the swim and it was like a bunch of piranha swimming crazy. You probably don't know but I am a pretty decent swimmer but wanted to keep my cool and go out at a comfortable pace.
The first hundred or so feet I could feel the excitement and almost started to freak out, but just as quickly told myself to calm down and swim. I guess I figured it would be better to finish than to drown, so I swam. In fact, I swam better than I thought because Michelle, my mom and dad said I was like the 10th or so swimmer out of the water.

I then transitioned to the bike and could feel my legs were a little rubbery but plowed ahead. Now the thing about this course is that most of it going out to the turn around is uphill and at mile marker 4 you hit a mega hill and then on the way back you have to climb it again on the opposite side, but not as bad. Icouldn't believe how many people were either screaming up the hill at mock speed or walking the hill. However, coming down that thing was a kick. I was probably cruising at around 35-40 mph. Well then I finish the bike and shift to the run.

Now after swimming 750 M (half a mile), 14 mile bike ride, the leg muscles are a little drained. At least for me they were shot but I wasn't going to stop running. So I ran my pace and yes people passed me but I didn't care. I still finished in style and can honestly say I gave my all. Here is a picture of me coming into the finish line.

I will post my times when I get them. thought you all would like to know. Plus, I am still alive.

Honoring Our Dad's

2008-06-15T09:12:00.003-06:00

Today is the day we honor our fathers. I always thought it was funny that we had special days to honor mom and dad, because everyday should honor them. Don't get me wrong as a father I love the pampering and presents on this special day. In fact, one of my presents this year was a computerized watch that monitors my heart rate, calories burned, split times, and a whole bunch of things I still don't have a clue about.

Well, to end this rambling. Everyone call your dad and tell him Hi even if your relationship is not great. I have a great relationship with my dad and he is very special to me. I am very lucky to be able to work with my dad and to exercise with him whenever. Happy Father's Day to all.

man fights bear!!!!!!!

2008-06-09T19:50:00.001-06:00

About Me

2008-06-08T16:08:00.000-06:00

As you can see my name is Blake and this blog is all about me and my family.

The first thing I want to talk about is my family because they are the most important part of my life. I have a beautiful wife that keeps me in line and who I adore more than anything else in this life. I also have three sons who keep me on my toes and bring joy to my life.

And as for me this is quite simple. I love to laugh, sing, write (of which I am writing a novel), play any sport, watch movies, cook, eat, play on the computer, and do absolutely nothing at all. I also have a Master's degree in Business Management. However, I am currently working as a real estate agent making dreams come true by helping people buy and sell homes. Now there is a little about me but to learn more just read my blog and you will understand the Ramblings of Blake.

The first of many to come

2008-06-05T07:32:00.000-06:00

Life is too short to miss out, so I decided to blog. Actually, if you want to know the truth I was jealous of my wife Michelle's blog (michellesboys.blogspot.com) and decided to make some new friends and have some fun. In a world of doom and gloom we all need a place where we can go to relax, have fun, talk about mindless things, topics to agree and disagree, and probably most important to laugh so hard that it hurts.

So let the adventure begin and I hope you enjoy reading the many posts that soon to come.