I was going to have the last blog of the year about how I'm not making New Years resolutions because I'd just break them anyway.
Well, I found one that I'm not breaking and I'm letting this count as a New Years resolution, even though it's still December, 2011.
I came across a video while perusing Facebook at lunch and it absolutely sent a shock of terror through me. Imagine your teenage daughter just up and running away and saying she never wants to be found. This poor father is so broken up about it, he can't even speak, so he delivers his message on file cards.
Take just 2:45 of time out of your busy day and watch the video I've added to this post and make a New Years Resolution that you'll pass it on in anyway you can think of...Facebook, Youtube, email, whatever.
Let's all make a New Years Resolution together, to get young Haley home.
God bless you and yours and may you have a prosperous and wonderful 2012. Until next year!
I've had the pleasure of visiting over half of the fifty states in the United States. I've seen amazing vistas in California, rugged shorelines in New England and endless prairie in the midwest, but nothing compares to the rugged beauty of my Texas.
A close friend shared this video with me today and I'd feel remiss if I didn't share it with all Texans, everywhere. No words are necessary. Click on the link, turn up the volume, sit back and revel in the unmistakable beauty of West Texas...
Yep, it doesn't seem like it's possible, but 2011 is coming to an end. It seems like yesterday we were marveling at the sound of "January 1, 2011". Well, here we are marveling at another new year that's nippin' at our heels.
It's been a wonderful year for The Impulsive Texan. I've met many wonderful people on my blog and I've picked up readership from all over this piece of rock we call Earth. Just this morning I was reading the stats of the visitors I've had to the site in the last twelve hours. People are reading from all over the globe from places like Killeen, Texas, Mikkeli, Eastern Finland, London, England, Oroville, California and Zagreb,Grad Zagreb. I don't know where a few of those places are, but it does an old Texans heart good to know that I now have reader fans from everywhere.
This time of year my mind turns to counting the many blessings that I personally have in my life. Just a few off the top of my head are:
1. I am going into my tenth year at my job that I absolutely love
2. I have a wonderful and supportive family that encourages me to keep writing on here.
3. We have a warm and cozy place at our homestead, "La Puerta del Cielo".
4. And to be my age and have the health I have? What a blessing. I tell my wife that when I swing my legs out of the bed each morning and stand up, everything else that comes is a true bonus.
But the biggest blessing we received this year is that we are still able to spend time with one of our young granddaughters. Crista, our second youngest almost lost a fight with a bad case of pneumonia literally just a few weeks ago. Her ability to fight off the unceasing 105.5 temperatures that ravaged her body even made the doctors shake their heads in amazement. We came very close to losing our little "Crista". But she's here and as I write this, I can hear her little voice carrying throughout the house as she helps Granmama make peanut butter chocolate chip cookies in the kitchen.
All in all it's been a fabulous year around our household. Our youngest daughter brought grandchild number seven into this world and Kenna Michelle is absolutely adorable. There are so many things to be thankful for, I could take an entire day to share them. But, I won't go into all of that. Instead I want to share something with you that I recently came familiar with that has absolutely blessed me beyond words. And how appropriate it is for the Christmas Season.
All of you that know me, know that music is my one passion. I write songs, I play guitar and I attempt to sing. I've been told to "stick to writin' 'em, let someone else sing 'em". Hehehe...and I totally agree.One of my all time favorite entertainers is a young man named David Phelps. He is a gospel recording artist and is to me, one of the top tenors in the world.
I leave you with a video of his rendition of the classic Christmas song "Oh Holy Night". I hope it blesses your heart as much as it did mine. Listen as he defies gravity with his vocals in this amazing performance of a true Christmas season classic. Pay very close attention and have the volume way up when it gets to 3:20 of the performance. Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous stuff.
So from my family to yours, from here at La Puerta del Cielo, our little place in this world in Egan, Texas, we wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year and all the blessings your heart can hold. Until we meet again in 2012, love and compassion to all.
Without a doubt, Julio's Corn Tortilla Chips are the best tortilla chips that have ever two-stepped or salsa'd (is that a word?) into my mouth and across my tongue on a slow, DEE-licious trip across my taste buds! I normally don't like the store-bought or the thicker chips, but Julio's are light, crispy and OH so danglicious. They have an amazing blend of spices ever so lightly sprinkled over them and they melt in your mouth like a snow cone on an August sidewalk in San Marcos...mmm, mmm, mmm....
I have only found them at Brookshire's in the metroplex. So if any of you out there know of another place that carries them, hook The Impulsive Texan up ya hear? I just cleared off the shelf at the Midlothian Brookshires and the checkout clerk weren't none too happy about it either. Seems she's a fan of this crispy creation from down San Angelo way herself. Sorry sister...the customer is always right...
If you want to contact the fine folks at Julio's, go to this website and read all about how they began and how you can get in touch with them.
As a teenager in the '70's, I was exposed to a lot of music and honestly, I have probably forgotten more songs than I remember. The '70's was a transitional period for music everywhere and some would argue, including me, that the '70's was the greatest decade in American music. But one song that remains with me to this day, a song that totally defined the '70's for me and countless others, was "Drift Away", by Dobie Gray.
That song has a way of lifting my spirits and clearing my mind of the clutter that comes with the daily grind. The smooth vocals Dobie displays and the music in that song, always helps me "Drift Away" to my teenage years and to another time and a better place. Without hesitation or question, this is my all-time favorite '70's song. In my humble opinion it's a masterpiece of songwriting and musical genius. It totally defined the mood and feeling that was alive during that time in my life.
God bless you Dobie, you are loved and surely will be missed!
This woman is 51 years old. She is TV health guru, Gillian McKeith. She advocates a holistic approach to nutrition and health, promoting exercise, a vegetarian diet high in organic fruits and vegetables. She recommends detox diets, colonic irrigation and supplements
This woman is also 51 years old. Her name is Nigella Lawson. She is a television chef that eats meat, butter and desserts. I believe I'll stay a carnivore.
