VBS and a Question

Claire and I are teaching at VBS this week. She is the "Lifeguard" for first and second grade and I am the "Lifeguard" for the fifth and sixth graders.

Two days in and it has already proven to be a challenge. Claire's little ones all want to be her best friend, use her as a pillow and struggle with the idea that she is not a jungle gym. My group loves to push the bounds of authority, are terrified of being embarrassed and can't decide if they want to be "cool cats" or just kids.

One kid in particular has been a challenge for me. When he wants to be, he is sweet, charming and very smart. When he decides he is done with that, he is difficult, prone to anger outbursts, and cannot tolerate authority.

Last night, he asked if we could go outside of the group and chat. He shared with me that he had a "lot of stuff to worry about" and it makes it hard for him to behave. We chatted about the things going on in his 11 year old life and I was stunned.

I don't want to get into specifics, but he is clearly dealing with some very adult problems, most of which he should not even know about, let alone being involved in.

Last night, my heart hurt for him.

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If you had 2 weeks off to do whatever you wanted what would you do? BEFORE you answer that, let me put some limitations on it.

Limitation #1 - Travel more than 2 hours is barred and overnight travel is limited to 1 night.
Limitation #2 - You have to do anything you schedule alone.
Limitation #3 - You have a limited budget to work with.

Okay, let your mind go. What would you do with 2-weeks off from responsibility?

A REAL Vacation

Normally at the end of a "vacation" or even a weekend away, Claire and I are so tired we can't wait to get back to P-Towne. See, we are the types of travellers that make you scratch your head and ask "You went WHERE and you did WHAT?".

Typically we run around for hours each day. Getting up early and staying up late.

We usually walk 8-10 miles in any given city, exploring every nook-and-cranny that we can find. We get on the plane back to VA and crash. We are normally very exhausted and are eager to get back home.

This week's South Florida trip was different. VERY different.

I flew down to Fort Lauderdale last Tuesday for a work conference. Claire joined me at 1am on Thursday night/Friday morning.

After my breakfast meeting on Friday (at 7AM...jerks), Claire and I put on the suits and headed down to the pool with books/newspapers and sunscreen in hand. We only got up at 1pm to grab lunch with some friends, then we headed back to the pool...at 7pm we went out to dinner on the boardwalk.

Saturday was the "busy" day, including an early breakfast at the local bakery, shopping on the Miracle Mile and some other fancy dancy mall, a visit to La Gloria Cubana cigar factory, walking around Little Havana (yes, with a cigar burning away), lunch in one of Claire's favorite restaurants, and dinner on the beach at the Art Deco area of Miami. This day included the purchase of way to many things, something neither she, nor I ever do. Linen pants, a shirt from "Pinks", a stone ashtray, a box of cigars, and vintage cigar boxes were in my haul and Claire pulled down some clothes on the Miracle Mile.

Sunday was back to the pool...Claire grabbed the choice spot at 730am while I drove to the bakery for croissants, muffins, and coffee. It was there that we sat, sweating and getting a fancy tan until it was time to pack up and leave.

I told Claire on the way to the airport, on the airplane and when we deplaned in Norfolk that I was not ready to be home and would have loved to stay down there a while longer.

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Here are some shots from the birthday weekend.

Here is the view from the room...Yes, the Westin hooked a brother up!

Claire and I on the way to dinner Friday night.

Dinner on the boardwalk was amazing!

On Saturday we found this cool little fountain...Claire loves fountains!

The La Gloria Cubana Factory. A little slice of heaven.

Happy Birthday Claire

Today is Claire's second anniversary of her 29th birthday. We are in Miami for the weekend celebrating.

We are eating Cuban food, dancing to salsa music, and chill'n with the "in-crowd" at Miami Beach.

Happy birthday Claire.

I love you.

Learning to Love My Hair

When I moved to VA, I had to do some stocking up. There are things that don't make sense to bring along if you are moving across the country...Toilet Paper, Paper Towels, a Plunger, Coffee Filters, etc. Just make a run to the store and restock. It is so much easier than moving those type of things 3000 miles. This includes toiletries...right? I mean, do you really want to bring along that $8 Jumbo Conditioner from Costco when you can get a new one for, well $8? Of course not.

So, when I moved out to P-Towne, day 2 included me heading to the grocery store to buy mustard, hot sauce, mayo, ketchup, eggs, bread, conditioner, shampoo, etc...

Shampoo. Yes, it was put into my cart. I even got a deal. 2 bottles for the price of 1. It was Vanilla Coconut scented (wish it included that flavoring!!). It was great!

Little did I know, Claire did not like this so much...no, the smell was fine, it was the buying shampoo and conditioner that made her look at me cross-eyed. I, of course, did not know this until a few weeks after. I just liked the way my hair smelled. I felt pretty...strike that last comment...I felt manly. Claire, just thought it was stupid.

What? Huh?

The evening I found out was a romantic one. I went over to her apartment to find that she had prepared me a nice dinner, complete with wine AND dessert. She even had candles.

The conversation was light hearted and fun. We laughed. We teased. We flirted. The food was great, the dessert amazing and the bottle of wine was perfect. We got to the end of the meal and just as I was sitting back in my chair, reveling at what an amazing woman I was dating, she leans in and says that she "has something important to show me." I smile, knowing that she bought me some cool present like a flat screen TV or a new motorcycle...

She took me by the hand, led me to the bathroom and opened a drawer. Inside, there were hundreds of bottles of shampoo and conditioner. I then came to realize why she felt me buying a bottle of shampoo or two was a waste. See, she and I travel a lot for our jobs. We usually stay in pretty nice hotels that have very nice amenities. So, for the past year or two, she has been gathering up all the nice bottles of shampoo/conditioner, bringing them home and saving some cash...not to mention using some pretty frigg'n nice shampoo on the cheap.

When I say this drawer was full, I mean it. It had to be rearranged to close it. The hinges on the drawer were bending. The wood at the bottom started to bow. This drawer had shampoo from around the world. This drawer was Shampoo mecca.

I quietly slid the drawer closed as she averted her eyes. She was embarrassed.

I grabbed her by the hand, nudged her chin up so that she could look me in the eyes and I told her "I love your shampoo drawer. I will never buy shampoo again."

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I ran out of my two bottles of Vanilla Coconut scented shampoo two weeks ago. I called Claire, met her at her place, had a romantic dinner, lead her to the bathroom and asked if I could have some bottles of shampoo. She happily obliged.

I now have 47 bottles of Bvlgari, Bumble and Bumble, Kerastase Bain and Alterna Ten , to name a few.

My hair thanks Claire.

Music and Driving

Music plays a big part in my life...many of you read about my Top 50 songs and some of the other music that has influenced me or been important.

This weekend, I realized that the music I listen to really effects how I drive. Let me share with you my ride to Volleyball on Sunday.

I started off listening to a nice little song like this:



My driving is slow and measured. I might stick my hand out the window, feeling the wind flow over and under my fingers. Speed = 54mph

Then I get through the tunnel and cross the bridge. The radio station I was listening to goes to commercial, so I change to button 3. The song that comes on is this one:



My driving picks up a bit. I am bobbing my head and drumming on the steering wheel. I set the cruise control and tap my feet. The people driving next to me are laughing as they drive. Life is good. Speed = 61mph

The song ends and I have to change stations again. It isn't until preset #6 that I find a song that I like. It is this one:



4:30 seconds into this song, I turn off the cruise, put the pedal to the metal and rock out. I am banging my head, yelling at the other drivers to get out of my way, and putting cracks into the dash board. I hear my self growl. I am fired up. Speed = 97mph and climbing.

Just before I arrive at my destination, smoke pouring from my ears, a sneer on my face, I hit preset #4 and the song that comes on is this:



Speed = 0mph...I had to pull over to allow myself to feel the emotion of this song.

I walked into Volleyball with tears in my eyes. I needed a hug. I called Claire and told her I loved her. I bonded with my team.

The music took me there.

And I went through it all again on the way home.

Gay's in Toga's, Satan and a Presidential Election...

Thought I would share some goodness for you cooks today...Claire came over to my place last night and baked some fresh bread. She has done this a couple of times, but last night she tweaked the recipe a bit and it was a HUGE WIN!!! What did she do? Well, she took the recipe below and used an Apricot Ale for the beer. Then we proceeded to eat it with brie and jam. It was fantastic!

3c Self Rising Flour

3tbsp Sugar

1 Can/Bottle warm beer

Mix together and pour into well greased bread baker. Rub butter on top while baking to brown better. Bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 mins.

Oh yea, I would also recommend adding a little salt when you butter the top about 1/2 through baking...it ads such great flavor.

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Went and saw Batman: The Dark Knight on Saturday night. It was a very cool flick. I don't normally enjoy the comic book to movie genre, but this one, like the last one, was very good.

And yes, Heath Ledger really was that good...Oscar good.

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I think that I am officially swearing off going to the Regal Cinema's across the water from my apartment. The last two or three times I went, it was nothing but loud talkers, constant texting in a dark theater, and Bluetooth headsets blinking...Seriously folks, turn off the celly for 2 hours and enjoy the movie. I paid my $20 to be here and enjoy it...when you open your phone the light shines like a beacon of annoyance.

And take that stupid Bluetooth headset off your ear. The flashing blue light is crazy annoying in a dark room and you are not so important that you need to have your phone on your ear at all times...plus, you look really dumb.

Sorry, rant over.

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The title of this post was the "teaser" that a CNN announcer used just before going to break this morning...he said "Gay's in Toga's, Satan, and a Presidential Election...has a comic book gone too far?"

I think I shot coffee out of my nose when, using his best TV announcer voice, he paused between "Gay's in Toga's, Satan" (pause) "and a presidential election".

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Sign #486 that I am getting old...

When nobody is around and I know I won't get caught, do you know what I like to do?

Take a nap.

Did it twice this weekend.

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On Saturday morning, Claire and I headed out to Virginia Beach to participate in a 5k...We ran as part of Team Hoyt, a running team for St. Mary's Home for Disabled Children. We had a great time running with our new friend Izzy, who alternated between watching a video on her iPod and staring out at the course on the boardwalk. While the heat made it a harder run than it should have been, we really enjoyed it.

If you don't know anything about Team Hoyt, click on the link above and watch the Good Morning America story. It is amazing.

Happy Anniversary

Anyone going to see Dark Knight this weekend? I am going to see it on Saturday even though I usually HATE going on opening weekend to movies.


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I was reading this post over at Charming Hedonist's sight this morning and it got me thinking about how some relationships can get so sour so quickly.

Dealing with people is such a funny process and clearly some are better at it than others. It does, however, never cease to amaze me at how perfectly rational and mature people who have a long standing and warm relationship can turn so emotional and immature so quickly. Now, I understand that often times it is simply a build up of emotions over time and the "moment" it changes it is more a "straw that broke the camels back" rather than a quick roundabout, but...

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File this under "How did I end up doing this?"...sort of like the marathon training last year, the Goofy Challenge training this year, and the whole moving from San Diego to the hot, muggy and buggy East Coast, I am getting up at 5am on Saturday to go run at the beach...sure it is for a good cause and I really do embrace my being a "morning person", but 5AM on a Saturday is a bit much.

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In HER defense, I did willingly agree to all of these things and in almost all cases encouraged it, but I don't know that I will be that happy on Saturday morning when the alarm goes off at Zero-Dark-Thirty.

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Four years ago this weekend, my buddy started a church in his home...he was the "Head Cheerleader" (aka Lead Pastor) and I was the Associate. A lot has changed over the past 4 years...holy molly is that true....but a few things have remained constant. My buddy Deron is a good pastor (and getting better daily), a great friend and a phenomenal man. That little church plant we started is growing and impacting lives in East County San Diego. I think the Sunday morning service is running around 150 people, most of whom were either completely unchurched or had walked away from their faith before "finding" The Gathering.

So, if you are in San Diego, pop on over one Sunday and tell them I sent you...You won't be sad that you did...

Congrats Gathering Family...I miss you more than you know.

So Wrong...

Driving the other day, I was stuck behind a convertable car with two fairly large people in it, consuming a very large bucket of french fries...

Do you know what their license plate said?

FRYBABY

There is something very wrong about that.

HR Derby

Did y'all see Josh Hamilton last night in the Home Run Derby? If not, take a quick peek into his story here...then read about what he did last night here.

It is an amazing story, one that I have been watching for a couple of years now.

Congratulations to Josh and his family! What an amazing display he put on last night.

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Claire and I went and saw Hancock on Sunday. It was silly, stupid and campy, yet it was a lot of frigg'n fun. Both Claire and I enjoyed it. Just thought I would pass that along.

The Baconater and a Slip-n-slide

Claire and I met Mr. Peanut this weekend. You know Mr. Peanut as the mascot for that one peanut company. Mr. Peanut was very nice. He told Claire and me all about Suffolk, VA, was really happy to pose for pictures with us, and even shared some coconut peanut brittle with us. I was surprised that he treated us so well even after the face Claire made at him when she tasted a raw peanut for the very first time.


After our tour of Suffolk, we had a little BBQ at a friends house to celebrate the end of softball. The Bridge/Monumental team was not very good, but we took losing well and always had a good time together.

Our manager Bob invited everyone over to his home to have a grill out, a bonfire and a SLIP-N-SLIDE...you know, for the kids. HA.

By the time the 8 kids were getting tired of it, 4 of the players decided it was time to take it over. I won't share all the pics (this is a family friendly blog and nobody needs to see that), but as you can see, this homemade slip-n-slide was well used by the end of the day!

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I was given a nice little blog award this weekend from Practically Joe over at Practically Wisdom. Joe has been a contributor to my comments for a while now and has a very enjoyable and unique blog. Pop on over and say hey....thanks for the award Joe!!

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Bacon and eggs on Saturday morning.

Bacon sandwich for lunch.

Bacon sandwich for breakfast Sunday morning.

Bacon sandwich for breakfast Monday morning.

Now I am out of bacon and I am sad.

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My other culinary treats this weekend included a chocolate covered macaroon, a chocolate dream bar, 3 chocolate chip cookies, 5 chocolate mint brownies, 1 piece of marble pound cake, 1 1/2 hamburgers, 2 hot dogs, 1/4lb of coconut peanut brittle, 1/4lb of chocolate covered peanut brittle, 1 tomato sandwich, uncountable amounts of chocolate chip cookie dough, and finally some Sushi on Sunday night to be healthy.

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I might have to wear scrubs and other clothes with elastic waist bands for a while.

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Finally, one of my favorite little clips...and it happens to have some bacon in it. "I just like that story."

I Am Funny, Dang-it

Claire laughed AT me today...no, not with me...AT me.

We met up to go for a 530am run. We are beginning the long road of training for Disney's Goofy Challenge in January (1/2 marathon on Saturday and 1 full one on Sunday...same weekend.)

She mentioned that our pastor was swapping churches this weekend and he would have to preach in robes. Pastor Hank is certainly not a robe guy, he is a jeans and polo preacher, so the thought of him preaching in formal robes was unusual.

This reminded me of one of my favorite jokes from the Catholic High School I attended...quick mental picture...priest, walking into mass with his full robes on, swinging the incense burner...got that picture in your head?

Good.

Now, if we were sitting there an I tapped you and whispered:

"Nice dress, but his purse is on fire."

Would you laugh?

Fat and Happy

Have I ever mentioned my love of cookies? Chocolate Chip, no nuts, type of cookies? Maybe, once or twice or even three times...okay, maybe even more than that, but you get the picture.

Well, last night Claire and I were supposed to go golfing. The impending storm made that plan unexecutable, so she just came over to my place, had dinner, played Wii, went for a walk AND MADE ME SOME COOKIES.

Not only did that beautiful woman bake me some Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies with no nuts, she also made extra batter so that I could have a couple of hot, fresh Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies with no nuts anytime I want during the week.

How sweet is that? How sweet is she?

I think I am in love...yes, with both her and the Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies with no nuts.

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And to add to the nature vs. nurture debate...last time we visited Claire's family in South Louisiana, her mom had a Tupperware full of Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies with no nuts just sitting in the fridge waiting to be cooked and consumed by me.

How cool is Claire's mom?

Way cool.

4th of July 3-Day Weekend Getaway

The Fourth of July weekend was a blast for Claire and I...starting with a great time at the ballpark on Thursday night.

Claire came over, ate a quick dinner, then we headed to the ballpark ferry...about 300 yards from my apartment is a ferry boat that takes you directly to a dock just off of the Right Field Corner...and it only costs a buck! What a deal.

Friday morning we took off for Washington D.C., stopping in Fredericksburg for a picnic by a creek, a 4th of July street fair, a quick golf lesson for both of us and the BEST COFFEE EVER. Sure, that detour was a little longer than expected, but we were having so much fun. We so love spending time in Fredericksburg!

As we got just south of DC, Claire's cousin Lynn called and asked us to come to the place they were staying...sure, why not?! So we quickly jumped off the freeway and headed to a sweet little community near Mt. Vernon...you know, where George Washington lived.

We ended up getting along so well with the people her cousin was staying with, we spent the rest of the day at their house, on their boat and at their yacht club, even exchanging phone numbers with a promise to meet up again soon.

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Quick break from the story to bring you a tasty little treat for the grill...take stew beef or venison (if you have it), lay a bite sized chunk on 1/2 a strip of bacon. Dab on a dollop of cream cheese and a couple diced jalapenos...wrap the bacon around the filling, skewer with a toothpick and grill (in a grill pan) for a couple of minutes. Wowee delicious.

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Saturday morning saw a breakfast of wonderfulness at La Madeleine French Bakery. The croissant was exquisite, the butter and jam on fresh bread divine, and even the help-yourself coffee was good. Then we headed over to the shopping mecca TYSONS CORNER. Claire had to walk around all of the shops. Not to buy anything necessarily (although that self control did not last long), but just to check out all the cool designer shops and stuff. I even scored new clothes that I look ever so crack-a-lack'n in.

Then we headed into Maryland and down the back way to the Eastern shore. We spent the next day and a half, cruising into and out of small towns...checking out ice cream shops, Nick-Nack stores run by crazy ladies, and out of the way family wineries. We found a general store that had been turned into a restaurant with some of the best wings and fries ever. We stayed on a NASA Rocket Deployment Facility (thanks to Claire's Navy enlistment) and even found time to walk along the beach and get yelled at for climbing on rocks. (The "Lifeguard" that yelled at us, at least took our picture before we had to get down...see:

We were even back in P-Towne on Sunday night early enough to eat some brie and hard meats (gotta check out poop-n-boogies post on salami...rated PG to PG-13 for those so inclined) and unwind with a little TV watching.

That weekend ranks right up there with some of the best Claire and I have spent together.

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Thought I would end this post with a recommendations of the highest degree. Do you like cupcakes? I know that is a silly question, but I have to ask...cause if you do, then we found the best cupcakes ever. We might have thrown down 1/2 a dozen morsels of goodness.

If you are ever in DC or even within an hour of Georgetown, you have to, have to, have to check out Georgetown Cupcake for a little taste of heaven. They are so much better than that crappy place we waited 45-mins to get into while we were in New York last year. The only reason that place has a line is because it was on some stupid TV show on HBO...you know the one that men hate and women fawn over...yea, that one. We waited in line there to try these crappy little cakes. If that stupid show would have been filmed in Georgetown, then Georgetown Cupcake would be the rightfully famous one...anyway, I digress.

We ate the following flavors and I would encourage you to try them all...

CHOCOLATE COCONUT - valrhona chocolate cupcake with a vanilla cream cheese frosting, topped with coconut

CHOCOLATE3 - valrhona chocolate cupcake with a creamy chocolate frosting topped with chocolate sprinkles

LEMON BERRY - lemon cupcake with a lemon raspberry frosting

MOCHA - valrhona chocolate cupcake with mocha frosting and a chocolate-covered espresso bean

LAVA FUDGE - valrhona chocolate cupcake with a fudge frosting

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT - valrhona chocolate cupcake with ganache icing, topped with crunchy hazelnuts

Pooling Spit

Sitting here drooling on my computer keyboard after an early morning call to the dentist...I hate going to the dentist...really hate it when I have to drool for 4 hours after the visit.

Best part is that I get to go back in 3 weeks for a "routine" cleaning. That should be fun.

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I think I know why dentists traditionally have the highest suicide rate of any profession.

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Claire and I had an amazing weekend...will give the rundown later this week with some pictures, but it included a AAA baseball game, boating with people we did not know, shopping in Washington D.C., staying on a military base/NASA Launch site called Wallops Island and cruising the Eastern Shore. It was a great 3 days.

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Thank you all for the kind words on my post about Mandy. She really was great...and yes, KP, that summer seems like forever and a day ago.

Mandy

21 years is not long enough to live for a woman like Mandy.

In March of 2000, she made the trip with me and 3 others to watch the Padres in Spring Training. We sang karaoke, she helped me impersonate a professional ball player and we learned about flashing truckers. She loved baseball and had a HUGE crush on Brad "Nice" Ausmus...always trying to score seats behind home plate so she could stare at Brad. She enjoyed food, good food and spicy food. She taught most of us about "White Trash" progressive dinners, racing in shopping carts and how to make a stranger ask about her faith.

21 years was not long enough for those of us who knew her.

The headache was crushing. She tried aspirin and ibuprofen. She tried sleep and rest. She tried to ignore it, but it would not go away. She had to see the doctor. On June 13 her mom took her to the emergency room. The pain was far to great. Something had to be done.

21 years is such a short time.

You couldn't miss a girl like Mandy. Tall and pretty with an unbelievable zest for life. You want to know who was the most popular girl at the party? It was Mandy. The girl so many of the guys wanted to secretly date? Mandy. The leader in the church group? The deviser of plans? The one that would visit you when you were sick, make you laugh until you peed your pants or cry with you until you both had no more tears to give? Mandy, Mandy, and Mandy. Just something about her made everyone want to be her friend...and she obliged.

21 years goes by so fast.

A softball sized tumor was in her brain. They thought they might be able to operate, pull it out, do radiation and chemo and then maybe, just maybe she might be okay...but probably not. Mandy took it in. Thought for a moment, then smiled at the doctor. She said "Doc, let's do what we have to do."

21 years should not be a lifetime.

Her faith was on her sleeve. It always had been and some little tumor was not going to change that. It did not matter where she was or what she was doing, Mandy lived her life by two principles...Love God and Love People. It was no different during her short time in the hospital. Nurses and doctors, strangers and loved ones, every single person that got to see her during this time got to see what it was to Love God and Love People. That guiding principle led her to enjoy life like so few do.

21 years can't be all that she got. Not her.

The surgery was successful. "There may be some complications" the doctors said, but it went well. Radiation and chemo were to start in a few days. Mandy rested and the rest of us prayed. 7 days later we got a call, the tumor had returned and it was already the size of a golf ball. Despite the "successful" surgery, Mandy's tumor was back. There was nothing that could be done. 3 weeks to the day of entering the ER, Mandy died. July 4, 2000.

21 years was all she had.

The funeral was later that week. The church was meant to hold 250...there were over 500 there. They were in the entryway...they were in the patio...they were in the parking lot. 500 people. There were only 100 invited. They were all there to say goodbye to Mandy.

21 years lived the way they should be.

At one point during the service, Pastor asked how many people's faith in God was impacted by Mandy...EVERYONE raised their hand. She was not perfect...she did not always say the right thing...she certainly did not fit the mold of a "good little church girl"...but she walked the way she talked...her faith guiding every step of the way.

21 years is all we got of her.

She is missed often, spoke about occasionally and certainly not forgotten.

July 4 is my reminder...21-years...She lived them right.

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly...

The Good - Claire coming over on Monday night with a box of Chocolate Rice Crispy's which she turned into Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats.

The Bad - I ate a row of them last night...a BIG row.

The Ugly - I had 3 for breakfast this morning. Well, not really breakfast, more like pre-breakfast as I went out to eat after consuming the Chocolate Peanut Butter goodness.

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The Good - Claire and I started our running program for the summer on Monday night, making it a full 2 1/2 miles on our first shot.

The Bad - We walked over a mile and a half of the track.

The Ugly - The mile's worth of running and mile and 1/2 worth of walking made me sweat like the fat kid in dodge ball...it could have just been the Chocolate Peanut Butter heaven I ate, but maybe not.

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The Good - Owning a Wii rocks!

The Bad - Claire keeps whoop'n my butt in Wii boxing...like, not even close...like Mike Tyson vs. Joey Bagadoughnuts.

The Ugly - Boxing until 930 last night, falling over from exhaustion, but being unable to sleep b/c I was so upset about the beatings I kept taking.

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Do you have any Good/Bad/Ugly's today?