God, I am calling you out!!!

If you read my posts from about a week ago, you know that I was worried about the health of our oldest Schnauzer, Princess Tita. Well as luck would have it, she died this morning, on my birthday. We have had Tita for 16 cuddly Schnauzer years - and I sure wasn't even close to ready to give her up. Absolutely, the saddest birthday I have ever had.

I realize that 16 years is really old for most dogs; arguably over 100 in "dog years". But that is the problem; The entire canine species was underdesigned...by our magnificent creator. What kind of God designs "man's best friend" to last only 20% of a man's life??? This is either sheer incompetence or damn meaness since it virtually guarantees a man (or any dog lover) a minimum of 5 heartbreaks per life time. Why would God do this? As I said earlier, God is either an incompetent designer or a Damn Mean a-hole. Let's examine the two sides of this argument.

Damn Mean God - decides that man has it too good (still hasn't gotten over that stunt Eve pulled in the Garden). He therefore decides to shorten the life of "man's best friend" so there is the constant threat of losing at least five of your best friends during a normal person's life time. I don't care what you say.....that is Damn Mean. See picture on right.....

Incompetent God - far from being mean, and far from being perfect and all knowing, God made a shit load of engineering errors. It is possible that he attended the Galaxial equivalent of Texas A&M. As such, God designs dogs first (this is actually in the Bible), and then after several days hits upon the idea of creating man in his own image. But he had already finished the dog....so he just shruggs his Aggie shoulders...and says tuff....you have to get a new best friend.

This is where it gets interesting......we know (because it is in the Bible) that God created man in his own image....therefore wouldn't it be logical that God created Man's Best Friend in the image of God's best friend??? So God, does your best friend die every so often and cause you to have a broken heart??? Or are you just an incompetent / mean prick who gave us earthlings a defective product?

No matter what....GOD.....I hope your dog dies.....just to teach you a lesson!

World's Best White Bean Chili.....

It's starting to get a little cooler over most of the Northern Hemisphere now and the days are getting really short. It's the time of the year to bust out your flannel shirt, warm coat, gloves, and of course, your winter hat. Better yet....it is soup, stew, and chili season!!!! Over the last couple of years I have started seriously studying soups - probably because I am currently "letting go in the Great White North", Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. Soup and Chili season is longer here...and you get more time to practice. Further, nothing quite beats a good hot bowl of soup when the weather is nippy. Over the next few posts, I'll try and share some of my best soup discoveries; if you get a chance try one and let me know what you think. Better yet, send me your favorite so I can do another experiment.



Everyone in Texas knows how to make "Texas Chili" but wait till you try this one. Bon Appetite, and all the best, ..... mike

World's Best White Bean Chili

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 medium onion chopped

3 stalks of celery chopped

2 carrots chopped

1 1/2 tsp of garlic powder

1 TBSP Cavender's Greek Seasoning (this stuff is pure magic)

1 tsp of olive oil

2 cans of great northern white beans (15 1/2 oz.)

1 can 14 1/2 oz of chicken broth (you might need a little more depends on how thick you like your chili)

2 cans (4 oz.) chopped green chiles

1 cup of mushrooms chopped

1 can of niblets corn

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

1/2 teaspoon of black pepper

1 tsp of cayene pepper

1 cup sour cream (I actually use more - maybe 2 cups)

1/2 cup of whipping cream. (depending on what you do with the sour cream - can be omitted)

Saute chicken, oninon and garlic powder in olive oil until chicken is no longer pink. Add celery, and carrots to saute. In a stock pot combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Stir in sour cream and whipping cream.

This stuff will knock ur socks off. Enjoy. Let me know if you like it!

Tough Day.

It could have been a good day....it held some promise...but at the end it was a disappointment - I'll share the ups and downs. First the ups....

We closed a big contract - that I have been totally devoted to for the last 6 months. It is the largest in our company history for this type of effort. It has been a see-saw battle.....and finally the deal is signed. It is the biggest deal I have closed in my career. That would seem pretty positive....right? Well its not that simple....a lot of folks think we should have not taken the contract - the economy is pretty tough....like I said...it was a see-saw thing...and winning is questionable.....quess it depends on knowing a lot about the future...and I only know about the now.

I got home....to find out that a long-time Texas hero of mine had passed, Dandy Don Meredith. I have spent many of Sunday afternoon with my Dad watching Dandy Don and our "Dallas Coach of Coaches", Tom Landry battling to achieve a standing in the NFL. I am living in Wisconsin now, and I remember the "ICE BOWL" which most folks agree was one of the NFL's greatest games......Dandy Don...was our Quarterback....playing against the legendary Vince Lombardi and Bart Starr. Great game...and the cowboys lost....which is ok..it was a great game.. But now we have lost two winners.....Vince Lombardi and Don Meredith. This is one of the few things I don't like about life.....losing people you love. I just can't quite reconcile it.

Speaking of losing....we may have an upside on the day....Princess Tita, our 15 year-old minature schauzer ...had been having seizures all week end....we thought she was a gonner also....holy smokes she has been two days without another seizure....seems to be eating normally. With luck...maybe she just had a reaction to the cleaning products that the cleaning ladies used (pinesol and lysol). There are some reports that these things can injure dogs....especially if ur dogs drink from the toilet....which ours sometimes do. Maybe...with some luck...we can keep our old dog a while longer.

It has helped me to write this down. I realize that while I have suffered some losses, I have also had some wins, and some of the losses that I was expecting have, may have, at least, been delayed.

Vince Lombardi in his most famous talk...which I know by heart at this point...said...

"Winning is not a sometimes thing. It is an all the time thing. You don't just do things right some of the time. You do things right all of the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing."

Vince was right about everything he said. Unfortunately, in the big game of life....losing is real...which includes losing people and things you love. Like losing your dog....or your hero Don Meredith. And to tell you the truth....losing these will make you cry. I am crying now. But as someone else said (I can't remember who).....

"Show me a man who doesn't mind losing...and I'll show you a loser."

So though today I had a win....or 2 ...I also had some losses and am reminded of previous losses which include my Dad, Tom Landry, Vince Lombardi, Coach Huddleston, and now another hero Don Meredith. So if you don't mind losing.....well there u are...

I guess the tears prove that I am not a total loser. I hate losing.

All the best...

mike