I am currently prepping for my brother's wedding. It took 10... 11 hrs to get to Wichita... and only 2 stops at McDonalds. Amanda was great on the trip. Thank God for inventing portable DVDs and for Disney for putting their movies on DVD! Oh yeah, and to Hannah Montana for putting out a CD. (I heard "Hoedown Throwdown" about 10 times.)
Today I have to work on my "best man speech" today. Now if I can only summarize 38 yrs of my experience with my brother in about 5 minutes. I think I will start with "Once upon a time..." Maybe that's due to all those movies I just heard in the car on the way here.
I will be coming back on Sunday... If the extremely boring drive through Kansas and Missouri doesn't kill me.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
Not A Mean Bone In My Body
If you read yesterday’s blog, you might have gotten the impression that I was actually quite mad at a certain co-worker of mine. I can understand that. It’s hard to hear the "tone" that something is written when you just see the words on a screen. I was completely joking about being mad at my co-worker. I can not be mad at her - well, I could be - but not about this. (There I go again!)
The outcome of my boss hearing about my "boring" comment was that the "boring" meeting ended with him saying "everyone who finds my meetings entertaining, enlightening and worthwhile may start their long weekend now. For the one who finds it boring, they can stay around and we will discuss it." I laughed. A lot!
He was not mad and neither was I. My blog yesterday was my small attempt at retaliation.... All in fun!
I will, however, not talk to Michelle (aka: Loose Lips #2) ever again.
At least until Monday.
The outcome of my boss hearing about my "boring" comment was that the "boring" meeting ended with him saying "everyone who finds my meetings entertaining, enlightening and worthwhile may start their long weekend now. For the one who finds it boring, they can stay around and we will discuss it." I laughed. A lot!
He was not mad and neither was I. My blog yesterday was my small attempt at retaliation.... All in fun!
I will, however, not talk to Michelle (aka: Loose Lips #2) ever again.
At least until Monday.
Inside The Meeting
Now I normally don’t write about particular people... unless they are in my house... and once about the President... But I want to briefly sidetrack the "norm" and write about just one person.
Do not... ever... tell Michelle Carruthers anything unless you want my boss to know it, too. (If you know her - I’m sorry. If you don’t know her - consider yourself lucky.) Now I am not normally one to be so mean. But come on! If you say (jokingly) that your boss’s meetings are normally, I think I said, "boring", and the office’s AA (previously considered a friend) hears it - wouldn’t you expect your (former) friend to understand that is NOT SOMETHING YOU RELAY TO THE BOSS!!!
In the dictionary I would swear under the definition for "boring" that I have seen it read "see: Meeting". It wasn’t a personal dig on my boss... whom I hope is still a friend and is not a reader of this blog... but rather (in jest) a comment on the normal experience of sitting through a meeting. Any meeting.
But, I should have known better. I will revenge this betrayal. I am not sure how or when. But I will. Oh yes, I will.
But I still love her... after all, she is one of my two "work wives".
Do not... ever... tell Michelle Carruthers anything unless you want my boss to know it, too. (If you know her - I’m sorry. If you don’t know her - consider yourself lucky.) Now I am not normally one to be so mean. But come on! If you say (jokingly) that your boss’s meetings are normally, I think I said, "boring", and the office’s AA (previously considered a friend) hears it - wouldn’t you expect your (former) friend to understand that is NOT SOMETHING YOU RELAY TO THE BOSS!!!
In the dictionary I would swear under the definition for "boring" that I have seen it read "see: Meeting". It wasn’t a personal dig on my boss... whom I hope is still a friend and is not a reader of this blog... but rather (in jest) a comment on the normal experience of sitting through a meeting. Any meeting.
But, I should have known better. I will revenge this betrayal. I am not sure how or when. But I will. Oh yes, I will.
But I still love her... after all, she is one of my two "work wives".
Friday, April 3, 2009
How We Are Fairing
I thought it was about time for another update on how we are doing. Cindy has been in heaven now for 5 months. (My calendar reflects that Oct 29th is her Trip to Heaven Anniversary rather than Death Anniversary. For me, that is a better reminder of how she finally was freed of cancer.)
Amanda is growing so fast. She just went through another growth spurt and she is now 4' tall. She is solid and quickly getting too big to put on my shoulders or to lift up. I just signed her up for summer softball in Carbondale. You will be able to spot her - she will be the best player on the field in pink. Games start in April. She is excited because I am taking her and my mom to the Michael W. Smith/Steven Curtis Chapman concert on April 30th in Paducah. The guy I met in Franklin, TN, who knows MWS might come to the Paducah concert and if he does promised to take us back to meet Michael. Amanda is very excited about that possibility. (Almost as much as her dad.) She will also be the flower girl at my brother's wedding in Wichita on April 18th.
Luke is putting up to three words together. "Daddy move back." "Lukie do it." "St. Louis Big Arch." Those are just some of the phrases he can actually say. Oh, and he can count to four. He turns 2 next week and is all boy. He likes dump trucks, backhoes, fire engines, diggers, mounds of dirt or rocks, and sirens. He is the pickiest eater I have ever seen... since me! Luke is not traveling to the wedding. It's just too hard on everyone.
Joe is frustrated at work like never before. Our computer program has been down since about 9am on Monday. Apparently, there's a wire... somewhere... which is not labeled.... which needs to be switched to another place..... and that might fix the problem.... but they don't know. In the mean time, I can't enter notes, send appointment letters, change client's info, prepare violation reports, check to see if someone is my client or not, or much of anything useful. I am so glad we are going "paperless"!
As far as emotionally/mentally I think we are doing great. There's still not a day go by that I don't cry at some point about missing Cindy. The cries are of shorter duration and seem to come around in the evenings more than mornings. I still have a hard time hauling my behind to bed at a decent hour. I think that is part genetic and part mental. I have always been a night owl and Day Joe doesn't seem to mind being a little tired to make room for Night Joe staying up. Amanda is still very good about this whole new life that we have started.
I have never been really angry with God over Cindy's dying. Sad, aimless, lost, confused, tired, and stretched, but not "angry." Does not being angry make me a strong Christian? No. Does that make it sound like I am callous? I hope not - cause I am not. I think I have been able to accept what happens in life and move on due to all the "crap" I have had to deal with in my first 38 years of life. See my profile if you would like to see why I say "crap". (And there has been more to deal with than what I posted in my profile.)
Keep praying for us as we continue to adjust and move forward. Thanks.
Amanda is growing so fast. She just went through another growth spurt and she is now 4' tall. She is solid and quickly getting too big to put on my shoulders or to lift up. I just signed her up for summer softball in Carbondale. You will be able to spot her - she will be the best player on the field in pink. Games start in April. She is excited because I am taking her and my mom to the Michael W. Smith/Steven Curtis Chapman concert on April 30th in Paducah. The guy I met in Franklin, TN, who knows MWS might come to the Paducah concert and if he does promised to take us back to meet Michael. Amanda is very excited about that possibility. (Almost as much as her dad.) She will also be the flower girl at my brother's wedding in Wichita on April 18th.
Luke is putting up to three words together. "Daddy move back." "Lukie do it." "St. Louis Big Arch." Those are just some of the phrases he can actually say. Oh, and he can count to four. He turns 2 next week and is all boy. He likes dump trucks, backhoes, fire engines, diggers, mounds of dirt or rocks, and sirens. He is the pickiest eater I have ever seen... since me! Luke is not traveling to the wedding. It's just too hard on everyone.
Joe is frustrated at work like never before. Our computer program has been down since about 9am on Monday. Apparently, there's a wire... somewhere... which is not labeled.... which needs to be switched to another place..... and that might fix the problem.... but they don't know. In the mean time, I can't enter notes, send appointment letters, change client's info, prepare violation reports, check to see if someone is my client or not, or much of anything useful. I am so glad we are going "paperless"!
As far as emotionally/mentally I think we are doing great. There's still not a day go by that I don't cry at some point about missing Cindy. The cries are of shorter duration and seem to come around in the evenings more than mornings. I still have a hard time hauling my behind to bed at a decent hour. I think that is part genetic and part mental. I have always been a night owl and Day Joe doesn't seem to mind being a little tired to make room for Night Joe staying up. Amanda is still very good about this whole new life that we have started.
I have never been really angry with God over Cindy's dying. Sad, aimless, lost, confused, tired, and stretched, but not "angry." Does not being angry make me a strong Christian? No. Does that make it sound like I am callous? I hope not - cause I am not. I think I have been able to accept what happens in life and move on due to all the "crap" I have had to deal with in my first 38 years of life. See my profile if you would like to see why I say "crap". (And there has been more to deal with than what I posted in my profile.)
Keep praying for us as we continue to adjust and move forward. Thanks.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
You Might Be Outta Shape If...
you pull a muscle... bowling! Yep, you read it correctly. I don’t know when it happened, but at some point in the middle of the first game I realized that my right leg (I am left handed) was not wanting to do that little slide step at the end of the approach right before you release the bowling ball. I also noticed that if I tried to force myself to do it... um... something... in my butt region yelled out, "Are you frickin’ kiddin’ me?" I then said to myself, "Are you frickin’ kidding me?"
I ended up bowling a 113. That’s about 35 pins below what I normally bowl, you know, when my butt is in top shape. Don't worry, it's feeling all better now. We did have fun joking whether or not I needed to tape it up - or get a cortisone shot - or... well, that's all I will share in a G-rated blog!
I think there’s a certain skill level involved, though, to pull a butt muscle bowling. Hey, at least I wasn’t wearing one of those cheesy bowling shirts with an ad on the back like that team next to me! Oh, wait, that was my boss' team.... They looked soooo cool - if it were 1957.
I ended up bowling a 113. That’s about 35 pins below what I normally bowl, you know, when my butt is in top shape. Don't worry, it's feeling all better now. We did have fun joking whether or not I needed to tape it up - or get a cortisone shot - or... well, that's all I will share in a G-rated blog!
I think there’s a certain skill level involved, though, to pull a butt muscle bowling. Hey, at least I wasn’t wearing one of those cheesy bowling shirts with an ad on the back like that team next to me! Oh, wait, that was my boss' team.... They looked soooo cool - if it were 1957.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
FORE x2!!!!!!
So one golf lesson is in the books.
Lance, the instructor, asked what my history with golf was and I told him the truth- 2 times to the driving range in my life. He said I was holding out on how much I had actually played. He said my swing was much better than a true beginner. I bet he says that to everyone.
Anyway, I did fairly well and actually hit a couple balls. And they were almost straight.
Nobody likes to hear about someone else's golf game, so I will spare you the further details - unless you wanna hear them!
I will tell you this - I am soooo sore. I am not as young as I think I am and these weekend warrior outings are really hard to take. And on top of the golf swing soreness, I will have bowling soreness after Saturday.
And to add insult to injury my arms are not nearly long enough for my eyesight anymore. I used to make fun of "old" people who had to do arm-stretch reading. But not anymore! Getting old is really ticking me off!
Lance, the instructor, asked what my history with golf was and I told him the truth- 2 times to the driving range in my life. He said I was holding out on how much I had actually played. He said my swing was much better than a true beginner. I bet he says that to everyone.
Anyway, I did fairly well and actually hit a couple balls. And they were almost straight.
Nobody likes to hear about someone else's golf game, so I will spare you the further details - unless you wanna hear them!
I will tell you this - I am soooo sore. I am not as young as I think I am and these weekend warrior outings are really hard to take. And on top of the golf swing soreness, I will have bowling soreness after Saturday.
And to add insult to injury my arms are not nearly long enough for my eyesight anymore. I used to make fun of "old" people who had to do arm-stretch reading. But not anymore! Getting old is really ticking me off!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
FORE!!!!!!
Tomorrow... Thursday.... March 26th, 2009.... I am no longer "Joe". From that day forward, I will be "Joe - the golfer".
I know, it's really no big deal. A lot of people golf. A lot of people chase a little white ball around a big green pasture with trees and sand and call it golf. I am now a "golfer".
I don't know if I will be any good. I can hold my own on most miniature golf courses.... but I hear that real golf is a little different. Give me a giant windmill to navigate and I am good. How much harder can real golf be???
Anyway, I have some clubs, six lessons coming, a bag, some shorts, a little rusty athletic ability, and the motivation to be good enough to not embarrass myself by August.
You might want to stay clear of the giant swinging pencil, though. And if anyone asks - I am doing it for the "excercise"!
I know, it's really no big deal. A lot of people golf. A lot of people chase a little white ball around a big green pasture with trees and sand and call it golf. I am now a "golfer".
I don't know if I will be any good. I can hold my own on most miniature golf courses.... but I hear that real golf is a little different. Give me a giant windmill to navigate and I am good. How much harder can real golf be???
Anyway, I have some clubs, six lessons coming, a bag, some shorts, a little rusty athletic ability, and the motivation to be good enough to not embarrass myself by August.
You might want to stay clear of the giant swinging pencil, though. And if anyone asks - I am doing it for the "excercise"!
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