I helped her choose his headstone in '04 it's hard to say goodbye, but I know that he will meet her again. Grandma is 92 years old she has had two close calls that were too close for her comfort and mine.

 I found a letter that she wrote me while I was living in London England going to school. 

It was really sweet and I thought I would share a few things from it with friends and family. May 28, 2000 

"Dear Matthew, A beautiful warm sunny peaceful Sunday. It is now about 6:30 pm and I'm thinking you are sleeping as it is early Monday morning. It is hard to believe just three days ago Utah was was having some wild weather. there was strong winds, rain, hail and even a tornado touch down in SLC. There was wind and water damage but no injuries."  She ends the letter "Study hard. Gain as much as you can. We love you. Grandpa & Grandpa Gold" Included in the envelope $20 "for something you may like". My Grandparents have given me so many opportunities. They have taught me the value of money and how to use it wisely. As Grandpa always said to me you only buy things that you have actual money in hand to buy. Such great advice from him. In this difficult economy so many of my friends and family members are struggling because they didn't save for a rainy day or years as the case may be. I am forever blessed by Grandpa by teaching me that lesson. He was the first person that I borrowed money from because I wanted a ghetto blaster. He gave me the loan and I paid the debt. Grandpa is a man who deals in handshakes and his word is his bond. I wish that more people were honest in their dealings. It would make the world go round at a reasonable pace rather than it's current pace of wheels and deals that hurt so many people. The power of one is real. One persons actions can have an impact that can change the course of history. My personal history is impacted by my Grandparents and I know that they have impacted thousands of peoples lives. I don't know what I spent that $20 on while in London, but my hope is that I shared it with my friends. Because at the end of the day you can't take it with you. I am so thankful that I have Grandparents that would care enough to send me a little letter to London with $20. Almost 11 years have past since I was walking in smoggy London. This is one of my favorite memories of London receiving a letter from Bountiful from my Grandma. It brightened my day then and it does now. It's truly a treasure to me. I love you Grandma. Grandpa I know you watch over our family and especially your sweet wife.

Good Morning World the Earth says HELLO

Long day. Time for beddy bye. I am really happy right now. I think my Grandma is on the tail end of her journey. She is a fighter, but I think that it's time for her to reunite with my Grandpa. It's been seven years this spring since he died. I know that he is nearby waiting for her sweet embrace. She has lived 92 years. She is so little now. Not like great Grandma Gold, but if needed I could gently place her on my shoulder like a sack of potatoes. I have really enjoyed spending time with her these past seven years since my Grandpa died. She is a strong, kind woman who has taught me the value of a good education. Also the importance of service to my fellow beings. It's hard seeing someone you love start to slow down. I hope that she makes it through the winter into spring, but if it's God's will for her to go I cannot argue with Him. I hope that when she passes. That it might be in the night like her father before her. It will be a touching reunion when it happens, but for now I will enjoy the visits and her sweet kisses that she always gives me as we say goodbye. I love you Grandma sleep tight.

1/11/11

Was a day to remember. Why you ask? Well I'll tell you. Today was a day filled joy and wonderment. The sun was shining and it was cold as the freezer. It's been a while since the UC has had such a cold front. The previous night I had enjoyed the championship game at Iggy's with my friend Dave. He is one of the best Y fans that I know. The game was great. I wish the Ducks could have pulled it out in the end, but the lack of creativity by the OC was frustrating. It reminded me of the tail end of of Ludwig's career at Utah. I had the Jack Daniels BBQ meatloaf and it was great. I couldn't resist the cheesecake. Every since I lived in London where I had the best cheesecake. I like to try cheesecake everywhere I go now. As a kid I couldn't stand the bitterness, but now as I have matured I really have enjoyed that end of the spectrum of tastes. Unfortunately for me I had an allergic reaction. I think my body has a negative reaction to some tree nuts. I never had a problem when I was a kid, but I never wanted to eat them. I'm grateful that I don't have a peanut allergy. Because I don't know how I would survive without my PB & J. I was unable to sleep, I didn't have any allergy medicine on me. Thankfully I rested this early morning of 11111 which in binary code is a glitch, for you nerds out there I could be wrong. Dave and I went to the game up on the Hill. I haven't been in the Huntsman Center since my sisters commencement. The game was fun for the first half. The Utes were playing well. Second half was Jimmer time. That kid can ball. As bummed as I was about Utah losing the game, it was great to witness that performance by a great athlete. After the game we went to Crown Burger. If you haven't experienced the Crown Burger at Crown Burger then you're missing out. It's a meal in itself. If you love pastrami then try it out. If you're in SLC go to the one that is closer to the U of U campus. It's better than the one on State Street near Century 16 theaters. My favorite Crown Burger is the one on Highland Drive that's near the SLC county Sheriff substation. After we finished eating we had a good chat about life on the way back to the UC. I feel really blessed to have good friends. Dave is a good friend. Salt of the earth type of guy. Tomorrow is going to be legendary...I think.

I'm an APPLE

I broke down and bought iPad. I got it last year, but I was waiting till the new year to bust it out. I like it. The keyboard is definitely different. When I first got my iPhone I thought I wouldn't be able to adjust from my days of the old tiny Nokia block phones. Now I wouldn't ever want to go back to the 90's or early 00's style phones. The ATT data pkg pricing is lame. They should do group pricing if you have an iPhone or have an unlimited data pkg for $50 bucks or less. I don't think I'll blog with it unless I get a wireless keyboard. This post was brought to you by the pad. Good night and have pleasant tomorrow.

2011's Mohawk I did it all by myself@1:30am on 1/5/11

My days and nights are one and the same too much.

For sometime now I have been burning the candle at both ends. It's great sometimes and sometimes it's a nightmare. Monday was hmmm. My day started with 3 hours and forty five minutes of sleep. Not my personal record, because I suffer from insomnia I have had close to three days without sleep. I set my alarm at eight on my clock radio waking to OK GO GO's song Here we go again. I think I need to wake up to something a little more pleasant like the George Harrison's Here come's the sun. He is my favorite Beatle FYI. As backup I had my iphone set a little later. I need backup for some reason, once I fall asleep it's like trying to wake a bear from hibernation. Let sleeping bears sleep! Then I was off in my pop's truck to pick him up for his day because I had taken his truck home because I had brought my mom's Jeep to my grandma's house. My grandma recently had an infection that they believe is relative to staff infection. If not for the quick motion of my cousins she may have lost her leg and her life. As grandma said to me today "I've had two close calls recently and that's too many" I couldn't agree with her more. Back to Monday whenever I am asked to be at a place at a certain time I am there. I like to be on the dot. My family is notorious for not being able to compartmentalize time into actual time. My dad specifically stated that he needed me to pick him up at 9:00am. Now when my dad makes these statements it typically means he's at the door waiting. I pull in smelling and feeling crusty. There was no chance for a shower, because I had a water heater that had decided that after twenty years off service that it was ready to give up the ghost. With the unusually cold winter that we are having my cold water is like taking a dip in a mountain stream so I wasn't in the mood for a "refreshing" shower. I got there and there he was let's just say not ready at all. He had made fish sandwiches in the morning and a cheese crisp. I was blessed to take a hot shower. After my shower I came down and waited as my dad just takes his sweet time  by the time he got on the road it was longer than I had anticipated. As we got off the freeway he wanted me to drive home as we neared my place he did his predictable behavior of looking at his watch to signify that he is annoyed that he isn't at work when he wanted as if it's my fault. You'll know this behavior if you have ever traveled with him via airplane. He likes to be at the airport at ridiculous times before the flight. Sometimes he'll drive himself to the airport rather than drive with the rest of the family. It's classic if only video phones were available when I was a child oh the youtube video hits I would have. This is just a snapshot of my first Monday of 2011. Thankfully I hit my bed like a ton of bricks and passed out. I have a new water heater that is supernova and sleep is my friend again. Let's hope Monday v2.0 2011 edition has less hiccups. This week has turned out to be quite productive so I am grateful for that.