NOTICE!

After over five years we have decided to finally end this blog! Read more below:

 

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

End of the Blog

After five years of family blogging we have decided to terminate our blog on MoritzOnline.net.

It is evident that the frequency of our posts has declined significantly in the last year or so. This is largely because of our increased use of Facebook and other social networking tools which lend themselves better to sharing updates on our lives. Some recent technical developments have forced our hand, and as a result we have no choice but to shut down.

The good news is that you can still keep up with us on Facebook. Each of us have a profile and update quite regularly. You will also find photos and many other snippets of our lives to observe. If you have not already done so please "friend" us there!

Blogs are still a powerfull tool, and we still have several others that we operate. Most notably be sure to check out Lloyd's The Breakfast Bowl, the world's largest cereal blog, and Luke's personal thoughts and reflections at Jukey Blog.

Thanks for following us here these past five years!

posted by Lloyd  # 9:21 PM

 

Sunday, November 29, 2009

New Job & Apartment

I am happy to report that on Tuesday, December 1st, 2009 I will be starting my new job. After sending resumes to the marketing firms here in Fresno (and literally hundreds of other places around the world) my creative self-promotion finally paid off. If you have not had a chance to check out my resume landing page website, you should.

I will be working for Astone Agency, a full-service marketing firm that specializes in public outreach, enrollment, casual dining, gaming, and hospitality marketing. They are based in Fresno and have satellite offices in San Francisco, San Diego and Sacramento. The first three months will consist of a paid internship type trial period where they get to know me, and make sure I am a good fit for the company. After that I will continue on full-time. It appears I will be heading up a lot of their social media marketing efforts, which means I will be paid to use twitter/facebook/etc. I am very excited to join the team over there.

One of the selling points of Astone Agency for me is their location in downtown Fresno. I am very interested in the downtown revitalization efforts that are afoot here in Fresno, and working downtown will allow me to spend more time down there. As well, my roommate and I have decided that we want to have a more urban lifestyle and in January we will be moving to some brand new lofts in downtown Fresno, the Iron Bird Lofts. We are both very excited to make the move.

posted by Luke  # 7:48 AM

 

Monday, October 19, 2009

Upcoming Trip

I am taking a trip starting this week.

I will be taking the Amtrak train from Fresno up to San Francisco to visit my friend Andrew Ellenberger. After spending some time hanging out with him I will be flying out of Oakland to Seattle (my first time on Southwest Airlines and flying into or out of Oakland!). After taking the Airporter shuttle bus from Seattle to Yakima I will be with my parents. My Dad and I will be driving up to Edmonton on Friday and spending time there until Wednesday of next week when we will drive back down to Yakima. I will spend a few more days with my parents in Yakima until the following Sunday where we will be heading to church in Bremerton, WA. My parents will drop me off at the Seattle Airport on their way back home from Bremerton. I will then be flying from Seattle to Fresno.

It should be a lot of fun, and I will be doing a lot of traveling which will include train, plane, bus, and car travel (and maybe even a boat if we take the ferry to Bremerton!). It'll be great to get to see a lot of people who I don't normally get to see, especially my Grandma whose health is not good currently.

posted by Luke  # 11:41 AM

 

Monday, October 05, 2009

Career Move

I recently made the decision to quit my job at Target to pursue other opportunities.

Check out my blog post about specifics.

I am currently unemployed, but I am looking for something in marketing which is much more in line with my passions and talents.

If you know of anyone hiring or know of any opportunities, pass it along!

posted by Luke  # 9:08 AM

 

Monday, September 21, 2009

Busy

Life has been extremely busy this year - one of the reasons I have not posted much here. In particular my work has been extremely demanding due to the major re-organizational change that I have been leading our association through. While it has required significant time and energy the results are well worth the effort.

But there has been much more going on as well. My dad's illness and death this summer has meant several trips to Edmonton and a number of extra responsibilities. And, occasionally travel keeps life full as well. Last week I spent four intense days in Baltimore, although I was able to spend a couple of hours seeing Washington, D.C. for the very first time. This year I have also been across the continent in many other places, including San Diego, Orlando, Victoria, Chicago, Detroit, Anderson, and St. Louis.

All in all, life is good and there is much to be thankful for!

posted by Lloyd  # 9:13 PM

 

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Job Stuff

If you follow me on twitter or facebook you may already know, but I recently put in my notice at Target. My last day working for Target Corp. is October 3.

After a lot of prayer and consideration I decided it was time to move on to something else.

This means I am currently looking for employment, specifically something in marketing where my passions are.

If you know of anything available, let me know!

posted by Luke  # 8:27 AM

 

Monday, August 17, 2009

East Coast Trip

I am currently on a road trip/vacation with my good friends Tim & Chris. On this trip I've already driven across the country, visited Washington DC, Princeton University, Yale University, Annapolis, MD, and a bunch of places along the way.

If you don't already, you should read my blog ( http://jukeyblog.blogspot.com/ ), follow me on Twitter (@jukey), and find me on Google Latitude to check out how my trip is going.

posted by Luke  # 4:55 AM

 

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Edward Moritz - Biography and Obituary

My Dad was born in 1924 in a modest farmhouse in the village of Tempel, just outside of Ribnitz-Damgarten, in what was the state of Pommern in Northeast Germany right below the Baltic Sea.

He was the 4th child born to Edward and Lydia Moritz, (nee Keding) following the births of sisters Dorothy, Hilda, and Freida.

Dad was not yet walking when he was ushered in Grand style aboard the Empress of Scotland with the family, who sailed in May 1925 to Canada. At the time of it’s maiden voyage, it was the world’s largest passenger ship.

The family settled on a farm in Clymont, Alberta where younger brother William was born. Dad told us many stories of growing up on the farm and getting into mischief with his brother Bill. One story I remember is when they were kids with nothing but time and energy on their hands and were chasing a chicken around the yard. After the “unfortunate” loss of feather’s by the chicken, they got scared of the consequences and decided the “smart” thing to do was “hide” the chicken down the hole in the outhouse. Later that night, Grandpa was seen running out of the outhouse after being unceremoniously startled by a screaming chicken. What followed was the very familiar:

"Adolf, Willy, Kommt Hier!!"

He stayed on the farm until he was 16 years old, and then went to Edmonton to look for his first job. He worked in the city for about two years and when WWII broke out, he returned to the farm where he worked a half section of land by himself – he had seven others to take care of – six horses and an old Fordson tractor. Although farming this land was a huge task by himself, he somehow found the time to court Irma and they got married in 1944 when he was 19 years of age.

After having his fill of farming, mom and dad decided to move to greener pastures to Chilliwack, BC, where dad got a job driving truck on a daily run from Chilliwack to Vancouver. He enjoyed this work, but they missed the family and moved back to Edmonton in 1949. They lived in Onoway for a few years and then moved back to Edmonton where Lloyd was born in 1961 and I was added to the family in the spring of 1965.

In 1967 Dad went to work for Boychuk Transport and continued to work for many years in the trucking industry. Later, I had the pleasure of being present for a National Transportation Award Ceremony where the Minister of Transportation attended. My father was presented with a long term service award for 40 years of service and the “Man of the Year” award in the Transportation Industry. This was one of the proudest moments I shared with him. Dad worked for several companies over the years, but was called by Tim Boychuk in the early 90’s to return to work in sales where he finished his career at the age of 80. Tim graciously hosted a retirement party for Dad where many of his friends and colleagues celebrated his achievements and contributions over the years.

We spent many wonderful years together as a family and I especially remember when we had Dad (and Mom) all to ourselves for annual summer Vacation. Every year, without fail, Dad would pack up and take us traveling and camping, often to BC and sometimes to the US to visit our family in Michigan. In the early years, we would go tenting, and as a child, I remember the men telling stories about bears wandering through the campsite at night and causing havoc. Between the mosquitos and the bears, Dad had enough and upgraded to a tent trailer. One year we had to abandon the tent trailer and scurry to safety as a tornado suddenly hit - within minutes trees were uprooted and the campsite flooded… through it all dad was our rock, steadfast and true. After the tornado, Dad purchased a nice Travel Trailer and that was the end of our “mis-adventures”.

Dad was also a great spiritual influence in our family by taking us to Sunday School, Church, Choir, and later Youth. He also valued family devotions, thus providing a solid foundation for us to later draw upon during the trials of life.

In 1985 we suffered a great loss with the death of his wife and our mother, Irma.

In 1991 dad married Helen and gained 4 stepchildren and 8 step-grandchildren. Dad loved all of his family very much and enjoyed visits and impromptu concerts during family events. Helen and Dad were always generous hosts, especially for gatherings of the Moritz and Breitkreutz clans.
In retirement, Dad developed several interests, one of which was bird-watching in his backyard. He built a number of birdhouses and fixed them to posts, so he could watch them while BBQ’ing or sitting on the patio. He could tell you what kind of birds lived in each house, how many baby birds were born, and other details including their feeding habits; in which he helped by throwing breadcrumbs and trimmings onto the garage roof.

Dad was always willing to go out of his comfort zone to learn new things, like learning to use a computer with email, instant messaging, Skype, Facebook, and even computer games when he was in his late 70’s and eighties so he could keep in touch with the family and his much loved grandchildren whom he talked about often - with great interest and pride.

Near the end of his life when Dad was diagnosed with cancer, he was never in denial, angry, nor resentful. He accepted this challenge as he accepted every challenge in his life: head-on and with courage. He enjoyed all visitors while in care and was very gracious and generous with the little time he had left. He was brave and inspired all of us by his example in the way he carried himself until the end. He will be Dearly remembered by his family and friends and we ALL just all want to say:
WE LOVE YOU and UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN

(by Myron Moritz)



On Saturday, July 25, 2009, at the age of 84 Ed Moritz passed into the presence of the Lord, following a brief illness. Ed is survived by his wife of 18 years, Helen; his sons Lloyd (Kathy), and Myron (Betty); his grandsons Luke, Jonathan and Andrew; his stepchildren Dale (Carol), Kathleen (Doug), Dan and Tim (Su Lin); his step grandchildren Sara, Dylan, Donna, Melissa, Andrew, Hope, Karlee and Melody; his sister Hilda Sturz and numerous family and friends. He is predeceased by his sisters Dorothy Stumkat, Frieda Hartwig, his brother Bill and his first wife Irma in 1985. A private interment will be held at the request of the family, followed by a service celebrating his life, at First Church of God 9224-82 Street, Edmonton on Wednesday July 29,2009 at 2:00pm. In Lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to a charity of one's own choice.

posted by Lloyd  # 10:53 PM

 

Saturday, August 01, 2009

Edward Moritz

On Saturday, July 25th my father, Edward Moritz, died peacefully after a relatively short bout with cancer. Needless to say, things have been somewhat chaotic in our lives in the past month - dealing with the news of his diagnosis and prognosis, traveling to Edmonton to see him several weeks ago, and returning this past week for his funeral which I officiated. Luke and Jonathan were able to be with us in Edmonton. Unfortunately, Andrew could not.

Dad passed away just one month and one day short of his 85th birthday. He was well prepared for his departure from this earth, and we enjoyed the times we spent during our last visit. His impact on my life is very significant, and there are many wonderful memories and reflections to cherish.

In the coming week I will post some more information here, including a more detailed biography.

posted by Lloyd  # 6:07 PM

 

Monday, June 22, 2009

My New Phone

I haven't posted a lot recently due to not having Internet for the first few weeks at the new apartment I just moved into.

Other than moving to a new apartment, the only other exciting thing about my life is my new phone, which you can read about here.

posted by Luke  # 6:00 PM

 

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Father's Day

I think one of the biggest influence in our lives is our fathers, but it seems in our culture they are not as valued as mothers. As a daughter, a father is very important in building a safe relationship so that when she grows up, she can look for a spouse that is respectful to her. I am grateful for my dad and even though we don't get to talk often, I appreciate having a great relationship with him.

So, to all you dads out there, remember that you are a very important part of your child's' life no matter what their age.

To my dad specifically, I wish you a very, very Happy Father's Day. Wish I could spend time with you more often!

To my sons, I want you to know how lucky you are to have a dad who only has your best interest at heart, and loves to be there to help whenever he can.

Lastly, (but not leastly) to my husband, the father of our 3 wonderful sons, you are the love of my life and I appreciate so much the positive influence you have been in their lives.

Wishing all the dads a wonderful year full of God's great blessings and praying that you will continue to be a blessing to those around you.

posted by Kathy Moritz  # 8:46 PM

 

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Visit from Luke

We were excited to have Luke come to Yakima and spend a full 5 days with us last week. We had a great time just hanging out and enjoying each other's company. I also had fun trying to incorporate asparagus into every other dinner as we were able to get all we wanted for free from my boss, Mark. He's the avid gardner where I got all my raspberries and blackberries for jam last summer.

Luke and I got to visit Snoqualmie Falls while Lloyd was meeting at Double K. It's a beautiful and tall waterfall. We took the 1 mile hike to the river and back, which was pretty steep, but I was glad I went. We saw some beautiful scenery on the way down. The way back up was spent trying to get my breath on 3 or 4 occasions, but before I knew it, we were back at the top. After picking Lloyd up, we drove to the beautiful Bavarian-like city of Leavenworth and went out for some great schnitzel and spaetzle (forgive my spelling if it's wrong).

Sunday evening came too quickly and we had to drop Luke off at the Yakima airport to go back.

We sure enjoy it when the boys' can come and visit.

By the way, the sheets are clean on the bed in the spare room, and you're welcome to come for a visit!

posted by Kathy Moritz  # 3:01 PM

 

Friday, May 01, 2009

Trips

Last week on April 21st Jonathan and I drove up to San Jose in my Smart Car to the dealership where I bought my car.

I got a letter in the mail a couple of months ago that I was able to take my car into the dealership to get the "Smart 2.0 Checkup". They did a few things to my car including installing a bigger battery, upgrading the firmware/software for the transmission and engine, checked and updated smog and VIN stickers, as well as replaced my sun screen in the headliner/moon roof of my car, as it had broken.

While the trip is about 2 1/2 hours, it was worth it because I got all those things done on my car for free, and it gave Jonathan and I some good time to hang out.

I also booked my plane tickets this week to fly from Fresno to Yakima on May 12th. I will be visiting my parents for about 5 days that week. I haven't seen them since December, so it will be nice to be with them for a bit. Plus, Mother's Day is the Sunday before.

posted by Luke  # 9:26 AM

 

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