Happy 4th Weekend

Hope everyone had a great weekend. We did lots of stuff and had a relaxing time. Friday was, as the Wife put it "get some shit done day". We had a new storm door put on our front door. We didn't have one before so now we can get lots of light and keep the front door open! Buddy thinks it's great to be able to look out on the world. We also got Grasshopper a new set of frames for his glasses and picked up some additional gear for scout camp next week.

Yesterday we got strawberries for canning. Ellen makes jam every year and this year we ran out of time and the weather was too rainy to pick them like we normally do so we just got some from the farmer's market. We also spent the day at her neice's place. It's on a creek in the sticks so we had a great time. The boys did some fishing and we basically hung out with family. Her neice's husband and her nephew both are in the bicycling industry and she's in the market for a nice bike to ride the trails on the canal in this area. So we got some good advice. We capped off the evening with local fireworks which was nice, although by then I was getting a little pooped and just wanted to go to bed. I know, I'm getting old.

Today we went to the bike shop where her neice's husband works and she tried out some bikes. The shop is right on the canal so we brought our bikes and she tried one out and we took about a 4 mile spin on the canal to get a feel for it. So we're going to go ahead and get her a bike. We're turning into a biking family it seems so we're going to try and get out and bike the path's more on the weekends through the summer. We're enjoying getting out of the house and doing things more, especially when the weather cooperates as it did today. We finished off the day by canning the strawberries and making jam and then after dinner sitting on our porch enjoying the cool evening. It got pretty hot in that kitchen, and not just because Ellen was in it!

Basically this weekend has been all family related stuff and no (or little) stress. Just the right kind. Hope everyone out there had as fun a weekend as we did.

Not The Mama - Updated

I had intended to post about the stupid driver I encountered on the New York State Thruway coming back from an off site meeting today, but this stuff is better.

First, I was planning on going rollerblading today after dropping Grasshopper off at karate. The rain's been on and off and we had a break of sun and perfect temps to rollerblade. Clouds were moving in but I thought I had time. However, I hit EVERY red light on the way home. Then I had to take care of a thing or two and get changed when I got home. I grabbed my stuff, sat on the porch and started putting on my pads when it started sprinkling. Not wanting to blade in the rain, I hit the treadmill instead. When I was done with my 30 minutes, it was POURING outside. It appears the good Lord put some obstacles in my way to keep my safe and dry. Awfully kind of Him. That's why we're such tight pals.

Second, and more important, I have to give the Wife the Supermom of the Year award for duty above and beyond to her child(ren). Maverick (who I think is old enough by now to call by his real name, Christopher), has been at wrestling camp at the state college about 20 minutes from our house since Saturday. We decided to have him commute instead of staying on campus as it's his first time at a camp like this. This has required the Wife (Ellen for those keeping track), to shuttle him out for registration, home for dinner, and back for evening session on Saturday, take him out there on Sunday, home for dinner, and back again for evening session, pick him up yesterday at the end of the day, and the plan for today was to pick him up at the end of the session (note the number of trips, 20 minutes there and back each time people).

So today, she's pretty whipped. And looking forward to relaxing a little before having to pick him up at 9. We decided to spring for lunch and dinner today and have him stay the whole day so she only had to pick him up at the end. As a clarifier, my nephews are attending the same camp so I've been dropping them off at my sister's house in the morning and she's taking the three of them out.

Anyway, Christopher calls home from his cell about 7:30. He asks if the Wife has left yet. The answer was no, she was planning on being there at 9 pm. So he asks to talk to her. There's a tournament tonight, he hasn't wrestled yet, and wants Ellen to come watch him wrestle. She's JUST gotten comfortable in her chair to FINALLY get some rest. So what does she do?

That's right. She gets up, grabs her stuff and a camera, and heads off to see the kid wrestle. So, ladies and gentlemen, this is why she is honored as Supermom of the Year. You may commence the wild cheering and raucus jubilation.

Update - I got a call from Christopher today. He placed 3rd in his weight class! He's very proud of himself.

Crazy Weekends

It's been another of those crazy weekends, filled with sports and parties. This weekend was the Hot Dog Cup, the soccer tournament for the boy's summer league. Grasshopper participated with his team and they had some wild games. The first game the were down 4-0 early, but battled back and tied it up. It went back and forth until his team finally won 9-8. Talk about a nail biter! They finished the tournament 2-1-1. There was no championship game at their level so he got a participation trophy.

Maverick missed the tournament because he's at wrestling camp from Saturdy to Wednesday. The Wife got taxi duty on that one. Sessions go all the way to 9 pm. Luckily, my sister's boys are at the same camp so we're splitting carpooling duties to a certain extent. She's going to take the boys but her kids are staying all day while Maverick is missing the evening session on Monday due to a soccer game.

The Wife and I also attended a surprise 60th birthday party for her cousin last night. It was an impressive feat keeping it from him but he was completely surprised! We had a good time mingling with family. The home we were in was very nice and cozy, but a bit small for the approximately 30 people we had there. Still, there was plenty of snacks and refreshments so it went well.

The Wife is really looking forward to next weekend. We're going to her niece's place for the 4th and we haven't been to thier place since she moved back from South Carolina last year. As a matter of fact, the laptop I'm typing this on is being prepared to "donate" to her niece as we speak. I'm getting a newer model so I'm passing this down.

While it's been a busy weekend, there's been lots of fun as well, just no all together family kind of fun. Hopefully we'll get some of that next weekend. Hope everyone has a good week!

Built for Speed

About a week ago I got myself new rollerblades as my old pair was totally hammered. The new ones fit great and I couldn't wait to try them on the road. The first time I tried them out, it seemed that I wasn't going very fast and working very hard. After I put a good 5 miles on them, I took them off and spun the wheels. They stopped very quickly. I compared them to my old skates, and the old ones spun FOREVER. No wonder I was working so hard!

Saturday I brought them back to the shop I purchased them and had them look at them to see if they could be adjusted. It turns out this pair had the lowest end bearings that come on skates. So I did the smart thing and had them upgrade the wheels to a set with better bearings. Not the best there are, since those only come on a larger wheel size.

Father's Day I got a chance to try out the upgraded blades. They were better, but not like my old pair. With the original wheels on my new blades, I barely picked up speed on a downhill. With the upgraded wheels, I pick up some speed. With my old blades, I'd be flying. The new blades are now good, but it feels like the difference between walking and running. However, I get a good workout so they'll do. With new wheels, I also get great grip and don't feel like my skates are going to slide out from under me in the turns.

On a more sombre note, one of the Wife's uncles passed away. She's at the wake tonight and going to the funeral tomorrow. Prayers and good wishes for her and her family are much appreciated.

Mission Accomplished

I'm just now heading back home on the train from Schenectady. I spent an overnight there as part of my ongoing effort to be a better manager and actually meet with my staff more often. It was a productive trip. I got to work directly with my Schenectady staff and get some good face to face things done with my peers and counterparts.

However, the most successful part of the trip was last night. Some of my other Rochester compatriots were out here as well so we went out for dinner. They showed me one of the best Asian food places EVER! It was primarily Thai, though they had sushi as well (which I don't eat, but that's another story). The waitress was so good that she remembered what they drank and what the ordered the last time they were there. Which was Monday night. Which was the first time they'd ever eaten there. She was fabulous! And the meal I had was just heavenly. I know where I'm going to eat more often when I'm out there.

I also picked up a box of Italian pastries to bring home for the family. I've known of this place for a while but haven't visited there for a bit. For my treat, I got a chocolate canolli. It was a cannoli with chocolate filling AND dipped completely in chocolate. Can you see the angels and hear their heavenly hymn? It was that good.

Anyway, not much planned this weekend. If the weather is good Sunday, I'll probably do a round of golf as my Father's Day treat. Otherwise, the honeydo list awaits.

Passing the test

It is written not to put the Lord, your God, to the test. However, it is not written to refrain from putting your boss to the test. After everything that's been going on, I was not sure I would get continued support for the company to reimburse me for graduate school classes. So last week, I sent the request in for fall semester, not sure what the result would be. Yesterday, I got an email from my boss telling me that I was not forgotten and that it was in process. This was the first time my boss had processed one of these requests and was making sure everything was in order before passing on to HR.

So it appears my boss passes. I take this to mean, at a minimum, my status has not gotten any worse, and perhaps has even improved slightly. I've recieved no additional negative feedback. However, I haven't recieved ANY feedback in a few weeks. Still, I'll assume no news is good news. I'm ever the optimist.

If I could but touch His clothes

I was reading Mark chapter 5 again today and read the story of the woman afflicted with hemorrhages. Doctors couldn't cure her but she said to herself, "If I could only touch His clothes, I shall be healed."

Healing has always been a theme for me in my personal spiritual growth. When I first came back to my faith, it was for healing. Everything I tried to get from the world and do on my own never resulted in happiness. It was only through Jesus I felt healed. Whenever something major is distressing me, I look to the Lord for healing. There are times where I feel like I'm reaching for His cloak and not quite touching it. But you have to keep reaching.

So much goes on in every day life that doesn't really matter. A customer at work you need to approach carefully because they'll cause a fuss. An employee with poor job performance that doesn't seem to want to improve. A project that's behind schedule. The laundry piles up because the kids have sports 4 days a week. A tail light bulb needs to be replaced.

But then there's the person that's always wanted to be a dad finding out his girlfriend is pregnant and doesn't want the baby. And you can't do anything for them. Or struggling every morning to be pleasant to the rest of the house when you know some little thing might make you lose your cool.

So I keep praying for healing. Cause if I can only touch His cloak, just for a moment, I'll be healed.