Visit from Sara and Wilmington, DE - Thanksgiving

I feel so fortunate my niece Sara has family in Houston because over the years I've gotten to see and spend more time with she and her family than I would otherwise normally get to.  Unfortunately her Grandma Betty passed away and that was the reason for her visit last week.  She died on my birthday so I feel I'll always have this additional connection of joy and loss with Sa (as her Mom has called her).

Then Thanksgiving was upon us and two of the people I've been missing and wanting to see, Tyler and Gabby, were standing in the Philadelphia airport waiting to take me to their home for the holiday.  Let me tell you, being a person that travels a great deal, having someone standing inside at the airport to meet you is priceless!

I love these two very much and am Thankful to have them in my life. 

They made every minute of my time with them interesting, warm, comfortable and full of love.  We had a delicious meal we prepared together, and one of their neighbors who lives alone and suffered a fire in her home a year ago, came over and joined us one evening.  She certainly gave testament to their generous spirit and friendship.

We talked, walked, shopped, watched movies, ate some more, and then went to Longwood Gardens the next day.

The gardens and decorations were beautiful and I loved experiencing the colder weather and seeing a bit of snow.  You couldn't help but feel the holiday spirit. 

 

Last day of my visit we went to get a Christmas tree which Ty & Gabby decided to pick out and have cut fresh which was super fun.

Raising and decorating the tree was a joint effort, and we may have started a tradition of Pizza delivery and Decorating.  Can't you just hear the fire crackling and carols playing in the background?

Happy Thanksgiving.  I look forward to seeing you again soon.

 

Hollywood, FL, Birthday, and I remember when

This week the National Association of Independent Life Brokerage Agencies (NAILBA) held their annual meeting in Hollywood, FL.  It's NAILBA's 33rd meeting and my 22nd time attending.  I remember the first time I went in 1993.  I'd been hearing about this meeting from some of my

 colleagues and was so excited to go.  That year it was held in Chicago (which I had never been to previously), however it was the following year, 1994, that Jake and I went to Chicago to tour the town and see a Bears game.  That is the most memorable visit to that city for me.  It happened to be a Monday night game so it was being televised nationally, and it was also Halloween night.  We had a blast going to Nike Town, Uno's pizza, the top of the Sears Tower; we rode the El, then went to Soldier Field, in spite of the downpour of rain, wind and cool temperatures, and saw Dick Butkus and Gayle Sayers inducted in to the Bears Hall of Fame at half time.  Best trip to Chicago ever.

Back to present day, this NAILBA meeting gave me the chance to see many long time industry friends, including some of the SAGE members:

and of course spend several days in meetings, doing booth duty, and then drinking and eating.  It was a nice view from my room at the Diplomat Hotel in Hallendale Beach. 

I heard that I missed a serenade of Happy Birthday during the Charitable Foundation auction from the attendees.  Thank You to all.  That was super sweet.

Then the best thing of the entire week happened, I had mentioned to Joanne (soon to be co-Mother-in-Law) that I was in town and if she were free I'd love to get together for dinner.  Well turns out she was free and she brought Micaela along.  Then they treated me to a fabulous birthday dinner!  Thank you both for a great end to a long week and making my birthday special.


Final note about the week:  I used UBER car service for the first time on this trip.  I give it a 5 star rating.  So much cheaper than a taxi and friendly, professional people with clean cars. 

And then finally back home where the house maintenance project continues, the outside has been almost completely refinished and now has new coats of sealant and paint.  Much more to go on the inside but glad it's getting in shape.

Newport Beach, CA

Back to California this week literally in and out (not the burger place) the same day.  The only way to make that work with a 4 hour meeting in between is up way early and to bed late.  Back to back nights of 4 hours of sleep, but these meetings are an important part of job, and it was a productive meeting with a good customer I've known for close to 30 years.

While back in Houston I was able to catch Michael Cunningham, another gifted author who was in town as part of the Inprint Series that's held at the Cullen Theater downtown.  He was talking about his new book Snow Queen which sounds very interesting and am looking forward to reading. 







So I'm celebrating my 13th anniversary at American General Life Insurance Company this week.  Yes it's gone by fast in some ways, but I think of all the people that have come and gone in this period of time, and the struggles.  I've been lucky to be able to stick it out.  That's my office up there on the 35th floor of the 43 story tower.  The American General campus is on Allen Parkway which runs alongside of Buffalo Bayou which is a 124 acre park made up of beautiful scenery and downtown skyline views, as well as one of the city's iconic fountains.  It also has one of the best skate parks in the nation, and an extreme rarity for Houston, sloping terrain with a biking and jogging trail. In the "concrete jungle" it contributes beauty to one of the nicest auto routes in town.

I'm looking forward to biking this path again myself one of these days.

Fall

The autumnal equinox that officially began on September 22nd seems to really take hold once Daylight Savings Time ends and the days shorten, fugitive hora (time flies), and cooler temperatures begin.  The smell of wood burning fireplaces, trick-or-treat, raking leaves, pumpkins, sweaters, hot chocolate (with Bailey's), ahh it's a festive time of year.  My psyche seems to change along with it and I'm beginning to feel a more holiday mood, or one of potential promise (and I'm a total sucker for those Hallmark Hall of Fame goofy, corny Christmas movies that start playing this time of year).  I snapped these shots while at Lake Tahoe in October 2007, they are some of my most favorite fall pictures.





My beautiful daughter-in-law Gabrielle has reached her 30th birthday and much celebrating and best wishes to her.  Look at that smile and what a wonderful age.  I'm looking forward to seeing both she and Tyler later this month.

Another voting season has come and gone - hope your voice was heard and collectively we've elected officials that will work together. . .

Happy 5th Anniversary to Jake and Gina, they'll start with a new one after their wedding next year, so excited for them, can't wait.

And I got to attend a U of H football game this week, first college game I've attended in many years, so it was exciting.  It was their Homecoming game against Tulane at John O'Quinn Field - TDECU - named after the largest credit union in Houston, and which replaced Robinson Stadium, which you Houston fans may recall, was torn down December 2012.  Unfortunately final score:  Tulane31, Houston 24 but still great fun.
So the word(s) for today, vino veritas, in cervesio felicitas (in wine there is truth, in beer there is happiness).   Go Coogs!

Texas Book Festival and more

Sue decided to extend her stay in Houston and turn it into a mini vacation, and since I was feeling remarkably well, we took the opportunity to head to Austin, TX for the Texas Book Festival held in and around the state Capital.  I've attended every year for the past 10 years so was glad to be able to make it this year too.  Lots of fun as always and got to hear some authors speak and attend book signings (and of course acquire more signed first editions to add to my library).  Gem not surprisingly was captured by one of the photographers while at the festival and had this picture posted on their site.

 

And then here Gem and I are with Norman Lear who at age 92 is on tour promoting his book, "Even This I get to Experience".  A saying he has (and even named one of his production companies after) is T.A.T. which stands for "Tuchus Affen Tisch", Yiddish for "Putting one's butt on the line".  I have an appreciation for that concept, the idea of personal responsibility and ownership.  A colleague recently recommended a book called QBQ, The Question Behind the Question, which is all about practicing personal accountability at work and in life, and now required reading in some work environments.

 

And speaking of work,  when Monday rolled around it was back to work for me, albeit from home, and Sue was able to hang out and catch up on some much needed reading and relaxing.  We enjoyed watching movies and TV shows together like "The Jane Austen Book Club" and "Death at Pemberly", reviewing our ancestry tree, shopping, and checking out various parks while walking Gem.  All in all a good recovery week and I heard from the doctor that "All's clear and no future treatment is needed".  As my digestion recovered we even took the opportunity to do some cooking including getting Doug's help to make the Shoofly Pie box mix I purchased while with Tyler and Gabby at Easter.  We also walked up the street to a favorite sandwich shops, "Maine-ly Sandwiches" and picked up dinner one night.  I did however skip on one of my favorites, the homemade whoopee pies, primarily due to a "wedding accountability group" I joined :)

 

Thanks for being here Sue and helping to make the recovery so much easier.