Health Insurance

The following is a letter I received from my health insurance company: Dear Brad: Our records show that your upcoming birthday will move your monthly health plan premium to the next age category. As you may already be aware, your premium is subject to age-related changes every five years. Your new monthly health plan premium will be $435.49 effective March 1. Sincerely, SelectHealth Traslation: Happy Birthday...Now Bend Over!!! 

What's For Dinner?

Dinner time for a single dad is the worst time of the day! Well...I guess I can't speak for all single dads, but speaking for myself I dread the inevitable daily question "Daaaaad! What's for dinner?" Maybe if I was a decent chef it wouldn't be so bad. But unfortunately my cooking gives me heartburn. Growing up I only learned to prepare about five meals: Tuna fish on Toast, Chicken Pot Pie, Tuna Helper, Grilled Cheese and a Bowl of Cereal. Not exactly 5 star restaurant cuisine. But I was a kid and would have eaten lint if it was mixed with tuna. These days my taste buds require a little more high quality food. My kids actually don't mind when I cook. I've even added a few meals to my repertoire: macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, and Ramen noodles. And as long as it doesn't include vegetables, my kids don't mind. But I can't live on that crap. My solution? We eat a lot of take out food. I've found a few places that provide decent food for me as well as an acceptable option for my kids. But those restaurants are few and far between, so I have to improvise. Friday night is easy because that's pizza night. Pizza is the one universal meal that kids and parents can agree on. Monday night my daughter and I have found a mexican restaurant that makes a good chicken salad that we can share. So that takes care of two nights out of the week. The rest of the time I'm scratching my head trying to come up with something that won't make me sick and will satisfy my children. Breakfast for dinner is often the answer. Why not? When in doubt repeat an earlier meal. I've even served lunch for dinner. "Kids...we're having peanut butter sandwiches tonight!" Sometimes we have the "every man for himself" option. Which means I tell the kids to look in the pantry and find something they like. One kid will be making a casadilla, another child is pouring a bowl of cereal and dad is grazing in the refrigerator. If I was rich and famous I would hire a personal chef who would prepare delicious meals for me and Mac & Cheese for the kids. But for now I'll have to keep coming up with an answer to that question. "Daaaaad! What's for dinner?"

Political Emails

Political emails are annoying at best. But in my view they are the worst kind of spam because these emails are usually forwarded from friends and family. In the history of the internet, has a single political email ever swayed someone into believing that elitist capitalism is the only morally valid political view? Or that socialism is all the rage? No...political emails usually only demonstrate the ignorance of the sender. During the last presidential campaign my inbox was flooded with these political emails. I received the ever popular metaphorical stories that use farm animals to demonstrate a point. Or there are those that supposedly come from a school teacher and use children to play on our emotions. They use flawed logic and inaccurate comparisons to convince everyone that our country will be going to hell in a hand basket if we don't agree with them. Mostly these emails are trying to demonstrate that hard working Americans are getting the shaft because the Democrats are trying to redistribute the wealth. So here's my question...If these Americans are so hard working, how do they have time to craft and forward all of these ridiculous emails. So once and for all let me just respond to every political email I've ever received. 1. Not all hard working people are wealthy. 2. Not all wealthy people are hard working. 3. Farm animals don't work to feed their family and pay the mortgage. 4. Political party affiliation does not define a person. 5. If you have so much time on your hands, run for political office. 6. President of the United States is the most difficult job on earth and I certainly don't want it. 7. If you send me a political email degrading women, minorities, or gay people...I will put you in the bigot folder. 8. Do you really believe fear and hate will ever accomplish anything good? 9. If you are going to send political email, at least make it funny. 10. Spell check and fact check! 90% of these emails are false. Go to www.snopes.com and save us all some time!

The Best of a StrAinge Year

It is common practice to look forward to the New Year. We make resolutions and feel like we have a chance to make a new beginning. That is the reason we all love the New Year. Another common practice is to look at the year in review. So this year I am taking a moment to look at the highlights from another "StrAinge" Year. I often use sarcastic humor on this blog to dramatize the life of a single parent. But the fact is I am very blessed.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2nd Place Finish in the Deer Creek Antler Tournament



Not bad for a couple of hackers!

Attended the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines



What a thrill it was to be at the 2008 U.S. Open in person. It is magical to watch Tiger Woods play golf.

Missy Higgins in Concert



This was the best concert of the year! Missy Higgins is so down to earth and talented!

Guy's Weekend in Park City



This male bonding ritual has been going on for 18 years and is always one of the highlights of the year!

First Place in Men's Basketball League




Sometimes old guys like to get out there and re-live the glory days. It's all good fun until someone blows our their knee. :-)

The Annual Trip to California



Going to visit my mom at the beach is great! Kids can entertain themselves for hours at the beach.