I've Moved ... Well, My BLOG Has Moved!

Several months ago, I decided to follow my oldest Son's recommendation to learn how to design web pages on Wordpress.  So, I took the plunge and launched my new BLOG.  This will be my last post on Blogger.com.  From now on, you can find me HERE.  And for those of you that don't realize that I've provided two hyperlinks to it already, the web address is:  http://www.bobboles.me

Proud Father & Pa Pa

I look back into my past sometimes and wonder what things might be like if I had done a few things differently. Lord knows, there are MANY things I SHOULD have done differently.

Now that I'm a Grandfather, I can't help but pay close attention to how my Grandchildren are being raised. And naturally, by doing so, I tend to compare what I see with the way I acted as a parent. I see major differences. I'm very pleased.

Because of these differences, I often beat myself up for not being as good as a parent as I could have been. Then, I see a comment that my oldest Son posted on another person's blog. WOW. I guess there was SOME things I did right!

Danny's comment is posted below. I'm VERY PROUD of him, and my adorable Daughter-In-Law, and the way they are raising my three adorable Grandchildren.

I only wish I had done a better job, but I guess I could have done worse. I also wish I had played a more direct role in my youngest Son's first twenty-some-odd years, but as it turns out, he's OK too.

DANNY, BRADLEY, AMANDA, DREW, CHARLIE & LINDSAY LEIGH: I am very proud of you all, and love each of you more than you will ever know.

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Dan W. Boles (@danwboles on twitter) says:

I grew up an Air Force brat turned Corporate brat of a single Father (and sometimes a step-mom). To say that I grew up in a strict home is, well, an understatement, but I have to say it ultimately paid off and in more ways than one.

I’ve noticed that so far I’m the only Dad to comment (I think), which is fascinating to me. I hope perhaps my experience, testimony, and perspective will be of value to both Moms and Dads alike.

The first thing I remember about the strictness was that I always hated being raised as a “little soldier.” It has lead to some personality conflicts with authority figures now as an adult (and especially in college) but ultimately provided me with a deep appreciation for routine and understanding how/why boundaries are put in place.

The second thing I would add is it created in me a rebellious and audacious desire to “prove myself” when I went to college. This lead to many mistakes, poor judgment calls and decisions that I would take back in a heartbeat if I could, but I also mastered the art of learning from them. I didn’t spend much time on the mistakes; I learned from them, vowed not to repeat them, and moved on with life. Looking back, I can see the wisdom of growing up in a strict home where decision-making (vis-a-vis responsibility) was an integral piece of how I was raised. That wisdom (and my Father cutting the cord and allowing me to fail) allowed me the freedom to make decisions on my own, make mistakes (and there were many!) and process them and learn from them. As I grew into adulthood, beyond college and into marriage and child-bearing/rearing, this gave me the ultimate confidence in my ability to make decisions and take care of myself and my family.

The last thing I would add is simply that even though it sucked growing up in a strict home, and my father was definitely NOT concerned about being my friend, he accomplished two very important things; he prepared me for adulthood by the time I was 18 (not 30) and he earned (demanded really) my respect.

If I accomplish that with my three kids, I will consider my job well done. Anything else is unacceptable.

Blessed be,
Dan

Dads who change diapers change the world.

Welcome Spring 2010!

Got to spend the 1st day of Spring with "Da Boyz" today. We started at Adams Park, Baseball Complex in Kennesaw with Drew's T-Ball Game, then went to Touch-A-Truck in downtown Kennesaw by the Depot. Then lunch with the girls (Amanda & Lindsay Leigh) and back to the playground at Walton Ridenour. It was a beautiful day!

Here's a couple of videos from today:

Introducing Lindsay Leigh Boles!

Lindsay Leigh Boles

March 12, 2010

4:55 am EST

6 lbs., 8 oz.

It's Friday morning. I don't work on Fridays. I (usually) sleep late. The phone rings at 5:27 am. I reach over and grab the Droid. It's #1 Son, Danny. I struggle to remove my CPAP mask before the call rolls to voicemail. "Hello!" I said. "We have a baby!" he responds. "Boy or Girl?" "I don't know anything else yet. They threw me out of the OR. I'll let you know when I find out more."

I quickly leap out of bed and started thinking about how to get to the hospital. Being without transportation, I pulled up the CCT route schedules to see when the 1st available bus would be coming by the neighborhood. I already knew which buses I needed to catch to get me to Kennestone. Route 45's first inbound run leaves the mall at 7:40 am and would be coming up Cobb Parkway at Barrett around 8:13 am. That's nearly 3 hours! Can I possibly wait that long?

I decide to get moving, maybe I'll just call a cab. I shave (something I very RARELY do on a day off), jump in the shower, & get dressed.

It's now 6:20 am and I've not heard anything new. I call Danny's phone and go straight to voicemail. I immediately redial. Voicemail. I wait 10 minutes & redial. Voicemail again. What's going on? I must try to be patient.

6:35 am, Danny calls. "It was a little scary, but Amanda and the baby are both OK. I'm waiting to see them now." "Boy or Girl" I demand. "We told Drew that he would get the privilege of telling everyone." "Where is Drew?" "The boys are still at home, asleep, with Grandma." "Well I guess I need to call Grandma and tell her to wake 'em up!" "You could do that."

I finally realize that I was just going to have to wait. Patience is NOT one of my strong points. Danny sucked all of that out of me during his teen years.

I spend the next hour on Twitter and Facebook, looking for updates from Danny, and telling the world that we have a new baby ... that it's a ... foot? Yep, knowing that it would frustrate me even MORE, Danny posts a Blog article with a photo of the baby's foot. Thanks, Son!

I get a text message from Bradley (my youngest): Is it a boy or a girl? I call him and explain how his older Brother is torturing me.

The time for the bus finally draws near and I head for the bus stop. I get there at least 20 minutes ahead of time. I pace. I check for another phone call. I check Twitter and Facebook for updates. Are the boys on their way yet?

8:15 am. The bus arrives. I tell the bus driver where I'm going and why. I don't even sit down. Just a few miles down Cobb Parkway, I must hop off the 45 and catch the 40. I RUN from one stop to the other (a good quarter mile or more), looking back to see if the 40 was coming. I get to the stop just in time to take a few labored deep breaths. It was right on time. I board the 40 and tell this bus driver the same story. I don't sit down. I wanted to be there, knowing I would still probably have to wait.

I arrive at Kennestone and begin to re-familiarize myself with the maze of hallways and buildings, attempting to get to the Women's Center. After walking down 2 or 3 different hallways that were getting me nowhere, I ask for help.

8:40 am. I make my way up to the main level (I was on the lower level) and down the "Avenues" to the Purple Tower. I call Danny to let him know I'm there. Unfortunately, the boys are STILL at home, but at least they're up and having Breakfast. Oh ... I haven't eaten yet. I've been up for over 3 hours, I STILL don't know if it's a boy or a girl, and my stomach reminds me that it's empty. I go get a Chic-fil-A biscuit and chocolate milk. I call my Sister to tell her the news.

9:15 am. STILL waiting. At least they've moved Amanda and the baby to a room. I decide to go visit a good friend who was admitted on Wednesday night after having a mini stroke. I walk the "Avenues" again, he's in the Green Tower. I meet his Mom for the 1st time. We discuss how we need to change our diets and exercise more often (like all this walking doesn't count?). We discuss how a 4 oz. portion of skinless boneless chicken breast is about 2 or 3 bites for us. We both love to eat. Eating "right" is a difficult thing for guys like us to do.

9:39 am. Danny calls. "Come on up." FINALLY!!! Back to the Green elevators, down from the 7th floor to main, down the "Avenues" again to the Purple Tower, up the elevator to the 4th floor. I may have set a record. I was ANXIOUS!!!

9:4? am. I get to room P439. I knock and open the door. I see Grandpa & Grandma. I see Drew & Charlie. I see Amanda, her sister Kathy, and Danny holding my newest Grandchild. "Go tell him Drew." Danny commands.

Drew runs to me with a big smile on his face and announces "IT'S A GIRL!!! And her name is Lenzy Lu!!!"

Drew was quickly corrected "It's Lindsay Leigh." And to be safe, I asked for the correct spelling.

I took a moment to get hugs and kisses from my two GrandSons, and made my way over to Danny. "Gimme!!!" I was ready to hold my GrandDaughter.

She's BEAUTIFUL. She's a little ANGEL. She's clearly a BLESSING FROM GOD.

Link to Danny & Amanda's Wordpress Blog.

Link to Lindsay Leigh Boles' Birthday Slideshow/Video.

Ch-ch-ch-ch CHANGES

WOW. I was sitting here thinking "I need to write a new blog post, but it's only been a little more than two weeks since my last post. What has happened in the last couple of weeks?" WOW. I realized that more CHANGES have happened in the last two weeks than typically occur in two months of my life.

1st, I've moved. I won't get into the details on all the reasons why, but the main reason was to be closer to where I work. I had been staying with a close friend who lived in an area that was nowhere near a bus route and a healthy hike to anything. Consequently, I was dependent upon this friend to take me places, to get me to a bus stop in the mornings, and to pick me up from work at night. I HATE being dependent upon someone else. And as much as I appreciate those who help me, I'd much rather take care of myself.

My new location is great. I'm within walking distance to just about anything and everything. Restaurants, grocery store, bank, and yes, a bus stop. I've got a comfortable bed, a mini-fridge, high-speed internet, over 200 TV channels, and a very unusual inclusion to the roommate agreement - home cooked meals!

Now, most of my friends that know me well will tell you that I am an extrovert and I feed on social interaction. No problem! A five minute walk and I can be among my (new) friends at Keegan's Public House. I've already made several new friends there, and they already know what to pour when I walk in the door. The food is really good, and they have $3 pints on Tuesday nights!

I've also gone through a major technological change in the last two weeks. Thanks to my carelessness one evening during my closing duties at work, I lost one of my prized possessions, my iPod Touch. Now, I had been contemplating for months the concept of combining my two "devices" - the iPod Touch and the Motorola Razor. I used my phone for, well, the obvious, as well as text messaging and posting photos to Twitter and Facebook. I used my iPod Touch for checking email, Twitter, Facebook, web browsing, calculator, notes, and a ton of other things. The day after I lost the iPod Touch, I was LOST. I had no handheld device for my extroverted-technological-social-interaction, and it made me crazy. So ... this past Thursday, I became DROID-matized. And so far, I love it. One of the silliest things about it? For many years now, I have used my wireless phone for my alarm clock. And I never really found an alarm tone that I was fond of. But now, my Droid awakes me with a rooster crowing!!!

Finally, I must share a video I made with my Droid of the Snow Day we just had here in Kennesaw, GA. This was made outside the apartment building where I live and features some kids having a snowball fight in the playground.

Sláinte mhaith.

Chocolate Gravy & Biscuits

Yes, you read the title correctly ... this post is about Chocolate Gravy & Biscuits. And before you get started, don't knock it until you've tried it. Whether you follow my recipe below, or one of many variations, you should at least try it. Some of the variations I have run across recently do not sound that good to me, so I'm going to suggest you start with mine, and if you want to tweak it to suit your own taste, be my guest.

Until recently, I had come to the conclusion that this incredible breakfast treat was confined geographically to a small area in middle Tennessee. Thanks to a link shared by my adorable friend Amanda (thanks Sweetie!), I realize that there are folks in other states who've enjoyed it's deliciousness.



For me, it's most certainly one of my fondest childhood memories.

Ingredients:

- 1 stick of butter or margarine
- 1 cup of sugar*
- 1/4 cup of flour*
- 2 heaping tablespoons cocoa*
- milk

Preparation:

Slowly melt butter or margarine over medium to low heat in a saucepan.
In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, flour and cocoa. Add to melted butter.
Slowly add milk and stir constantly. Adjust heat as needed. Do not allow to boil, but it needs to get hot enough to thicken. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the gravy is smooth. Spoon over biscuits and enjoy while hot with a cold glass of milk.**

DO NOT used canned biscuits! If you're like me, and cannot make biscuits from scratch, get the frozen Pillsbury Grands (Southern Style).

* The measurements above are a STARTING POINT ONLY. It may take several attempts to get it right (as it did for me). I often add a little more flour while cooking if it's not getting thick enough, and will sometimes add more cocoa if it doesn't look chocolaty enough.

** Although Chocolate Gravy & Biscuits is incredibly delicious on it's own, I sometimes enjoy it along side the traditional bacon (or sausage) and eggs.



As I mentioned above, this is certainly one of my fondest childhood memories. And now, it's something that I have the pleasure of sharing with my two boys and my Grandchildren.



Here are some links that I have run across with some history and additional variations of the recipe:

Homesick Texan - Thanks again Amanda!

The Food Timeline

AppalachianFolk

Google Search

So give it a try. If you're still not convinced, maybe you should just invite me over to make it for you. If you still don't like it (after I've made it for you), then you obviously don't like chocolate in the first place. Or you don't like breakfast. Or you're just ... strange. ENJOY!!!