Ketchup?

  The glue that holds a family together is a mysterious red substance known as ketchup. From the traditional French-fry to the base of more complex bar-b-que sauces, ketchup can be paired with almost any kind of food; almost. So, when my brilliantly tasteful wife came home from the grocery store with a bag of ketchup flavored potato chips you would think I would be chomping at the bit to try them. After all, I have been known to top my morning eggs with a squirt of ketchup every now and then. However, the thought of biting into crispy ketchup somehow didn't appeal to me. Don’t get me wrong, I was willing to give them a shot, just to be fair.
To be honest, when it comes to food, I’m not hesitant to try anything at least once, maybe twice …just to be sure. This is why I’m a little rounder than I was back in high school. Everything my wife puts on the table in front of me gets eaten. The real problem is my Cyndi is truly a master chef and EVERYTHING she prepares can lead to a wonderful show of culinary magic for the human pallet.

So, of course I had to take a hand full of these new fandangle chips for a taste-drive. My opinion; well, they taste like ketchup, and for a short while I was against trying any more. My wife was very adamant in stating she would in fact be buying more of these chips because she and the boys liked them so much. The real question was could I grow to enjoy them. After all, I would like to join in the snacking fun everyone else in the house was experiencing. The outcome came to be I too have come to crave my ketchup potato chips.

What was it that finally won me over and made a Ketchup chip fan out of this cynic; an appeal to the child within me and the innocent logic he posses. The simple idea that ketchup and French fries are great together, and a bit of ketchup on top of some mashed potatoes is fabulous. Potatoes and ketchup are naturally made for one another. So, let’s hear it for ketchup, and for the love of my life, my wife not the ketchup, who, as usual, knows me better than I know myself sometimes.

Ketchup chips; go figure. What are next, mustard flavored hotdog buns? …Wait, I thought of it first. Where’s a patent when you need one?



Blessings,
Mike Salinas

Creating Memories

 My beautiful wife, our two boys, and I have spent this past weekend at a breathtaking Catholic Engaged Encounter convention in Reno, NV jammed packed with fabulous guest speakers. It was there that we met Jason and Kim Kotecki, one of the most inspiring Catholic couples in active ministry. I had first met Jason just about six years ago at a local Catholic business professionals breakfast where he was a much anticipated guest. It was then that I first was diagnosed with "Adultits (TM)". Want to find out more about my diagnosis, you must visit http://www.kimandjason.com/. In short, the cure for my condition is ice cream...for dinner. Who am I to argue with the experts? 

  So there my family and I were making the long drive home back to the Central Valley after a great weekend with the hours slowly ticking away when finally the need for gas and food had arrived; time for some much needed medication, of the cold and creamy nature. It has to be understood that the four of us were most certainly hungry, and so much would have been just tasty, but none more tasty then ice cream. Our boys LOVED every bite, especially after knowing this was not an everyday thing, (although it may have to be, we'll see. I'll let you know). For about a half an hour that parlor enjoyed the company of four kids rather than two adults with two children. To top it all off, we each ate out of each others waffle cone bowls.
  I'm not cured, but I'm certainly not planning on missing any doses of childhood and opportunities to create memories for my children, and my beautiful wife.

  So, just today, the family and I were shopping for groceries when my six year old son told a complete stranger that he and his family had had ice cream for dinner the night before. I didn't get any look of horror from the stranger, nor even one of disappointment. Instead I received a laugh and a "way to go, dad. Keep up the good work". I plan on doing just that.

Blessings,
Michael