Dad and Me

My Dad passed away two weeks ago today.  It’s so hard to believe, I can barely type the words.  The memorial service was held for him this past Saturday, 8/27 at Chinese Grace Bible Church.

He was an amazing man of God.

Here’s his obituary as found on the Bakersfield Californian (or the Sacramento Bee):

David A. Wong 1952 – 2011 David A. Wong 59, ascended to be with our heavenly Lord on August 17, 2011. All immediate family was present when he died.

He was born on March 1, 1952 in Los Angeles, and was the youngest of 7 siblings. He graduated from UCLA and received his Doctorate of Pharmacy from USC. He leaves behind his wife of 33 years, Beverly Wong, and his two sons, Brian (Charlene) and Andy.

David gave his life to Jesus in 1975. He became an active church member and led several youth missions trips to inner city Los Angeles. The Juvenile Hall ministry of Youth for Christ was an important part of his life for many years. He played an active role in the life of his children. He was a loving brother, father, and husband. David enjoyed many outdoor activities such as biking, hiking, and dreamt of having a sailboat.

A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, August 27th, 2011 at 1:30pm at Chinese Grace Bible Church (CGBC) 6656 Park Riviera Way, Sacramento, CA. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Focus on the Family at 1-800-232-6459 or Youth for Christ in Bakersfield at 661-323-9041. Indicate David A. Wong Memorial.

Dad, I love you, and I miss you.  But I’ll see you soon.

Here’s how to make your own:

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 pinches of salt (more if you like your kettle corn more salty)

Directions:

1. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add three kernels of popcorn.  Cover with a splatter guard.
3. When they pop, add the rest of the popcorn.
4. When the first kernels pop, add the sugar and salt.
5. Shake vigorously until popping stops.

I found this fantastic recipe for Pepperoni Pizza Monkey Bread, and decided to make it my own.  Charlene has really been craving pizza lately, so I figured this might be a decent answer to her hunger pangs.  The biggest difference between the recipe above and mine is that I didn’t use pepperoni–Charlene prefers mushrooms, and I got my dough from Trader Joe’s.  To make preparation easier, I also used string cheese, and cut it into small pieces, rather than getting a big block of mozzarella.

Here’s what they looked like up close:

Percent Contained is the ratio of “fire line” length to the fire’s circumference.

Fire line is either dug or created by firefighters, or a naturally occurring landscape feature like a cliff or a body of water. In other words, if the fire is 100 miles in circumference, and there are 50 miles of fire line, then the fire is 50% contained.

Interesting, huh?

For further reading:
http://www.slate.com/id/1008128/

56 pounds of tri-tip is by far the most tri-tip I’ve ever bought.  I look forward to breaking that personal record one day.  Here’s what 56 lbs of tri-tip looks like:

Four 15 pound-ish cryovac bags with tri-tip inside…mmm

Four 15 pound-ish cryovac bags with tri-tip inside...mmm

According to the NY Times article, it takes several hours to setup a shot, and they use paint and makeup to blend him in on site. I can’t imagine standing still that long, especially in the heat and humidity of Beijing.  Hope he does his shots in the winter.

Mpix.com now has magnet prints.  Looks like the perfect vehicle for sending save the dates, graduation announcements, engagement announcements, baby announcements, etc. They probably wouldn’t make bad Christmas cards either.

And they’re priced fairly reasonably, starting at $34.50 for twenty-five 4″x5.5″ and going down as you order more.  They even include the envelopes!

I also love the fact that the tool used to create them comes with some pre-defined templates to help you get started, or you can just upload an image of the correct dimensions, and create the card from that.

Updated-Here’s another look: