Mini update

After chugging a couple Nyquil, and several teaspoons of some bitter liquid cough syrup (a prescription left over from the winter), I'm finally feeling ready to drift off to sleep this first night of our Labor Day weekend. Hallelujah!

As many of you know, Mom was in a bad car accident this week, and although her little Mini Cooper is completely totaled, we are infinitely grateful for the angels that were by her side Wednesday morning. She is well on her way to recovery with a great attitude, and is healing day by day. Thank you all for the prayers and for all you've done to help support us and her this week. I am humbled and so thankful for the outreach.

In happy news, Mr. Will accepted a great offer picking up a big chunk of play-by-play work for the fall doing IUPUI volleyball, and starts the season this weekend. You can listen to/watch him on www.iupuijags.com. He's got some other NCAA championship work coming up this year too, so he'll be busy. Although a couple date nights will have to be sacrificed, I'm busy on a mission to ready our house and garden for the fall. As soon as I kick whatever bug I picked up in the ER, I'll have pictures to share of our progress.

In the meantime, here's a shot of our baby, staying hydrated at the Dog Park.


Happy Labor Day!

Times they are a-changin'

The windows are wide open tonight and the first few breezes of cool air are drifting in (deep breath)...smells like fall is on its way. We have had stifling temperatures the past couple weeks and my poor grass, garden, dog, etc. can't seem to get enough water or shade. As I turned the corner down our little city block tonight, leash in hand, I saw my neighbors had planted some deeply burnt orange mums and hung their fall wreath. It made me smile the rest of the block.

Oh, how I love the fall... I love school supplies, super sharp pencils in particular, the latest Trapper Keepers, a new season of The Hills, Pumpkin everything, hot coffee, apple candles, and cozy clothes. I imagine that in a place where fall is always the season everyone drives Grand Wagoneers with sheep slip covers on their seats, and they all use Nutmeg, have red reading glasses, a big dog and wear clogs. In my mind, this is how I envision myself, of course. :)

The fall always brings great things for me; so many big life changes. When Will and I were on vacation this year, we joked that everything is surprisingly "normal" for this time of season. Alas, I spoke too soon. We returned to find lots of changes are occurring, and I pray this year, like all the others, will turn out great.

My boss shared with me some wise words this week, which I believe to be true: the best skill, he said, that we can each have is the ability to adapt to change. It will always serve us-- in our work, in our marriage, in our families and in our beliefs....

Each year when I watch the red and gold leaves drop from the trees with great excitement, I remember how thrilled I was in the spring to watch them pop from tiny green buds and burst forth onto their branch. It reminds me that this change is good, and so can all change be good.

Grace and I are going to finish the chapter in our book, light a "mulled cider" candle, kick off the AC and pick the coziest blanket we can find to ring in the new season... even if this cool only lasts a couple days.

Back from Vacation!

Well, it has been a few weeks since Mandy and I updated the good ol' blog. Why? Because we got something we've never experienced in our young, professional lives: 2 weeks of vacation!! It was an interesting experience to say the least. We were still in Indy for the first week, but felt like we were still working. Then, we got to spend the second week in one little piece of heaven, Watervale, a tiny resort in Northern Michigan. We slept, ate, drank, sunned and generally rediscovered the glory of doing almost nothing. No TV, barely any cell phone and a ton of quiet.

The water was freezing all week in the big lake, but it was perfect weather. Calm and sunny almost every day. I always joke with Mandy that when we first started dating, she wasn't as fond of the "do nothing" vacation because she was on edge to, well, do something. Now, with life hectic at home, there is nothing better. The tan is starting to wear off a little and the sleeping 'til 9:00 is not working very well with our work schedules, but I think it's safe to say that we are relaxed and feeling good about the start of another "new year." This time of year always seems like our own personal new year. We've always experienced some sort of transition, and the body clock still feels like I should be getting geared up for the start of another school year.

So, Happy New Year to everybody out there who feels the same way!

Thanks, Dad!

Being the loyal Cubs fans that we are, my Dad thought it only fitting that Gracie also had the appropriate attire. He sent a Cubs cap made especially for a dog, and she looks pretty darn cute in it. Thanks, Dad!

And outside.....

In the winter, I wrote a little bit about our garden and my plans for this summer. I snapped some pics this morning of the good progress-- looks like we'll have some serious veggies (especially squash) by fall! We also had a new fence installed along the back of our property and had a gate placed over the driveway for full privacy, and a nice place for Grace to romp her fuzziness around- sans leash. The vegetables have attracted a groundhog, who we have named Gary-- Gary the Groundhog (Will is big about alliteration). Although Will and I know that Grace would love to befriend him if he would take any interest in her red ball, he is completely afraid of her, so we haven’t had major damage to the plants. Fingers crossed.
New fence:





Garden:

Who know a couple cans of Killz could make me so happy?

I'm back! Long time, no post. Life has been more than hectic lately, but I wanted to post some new pictures of our lives as of late.

After days of scraping, sanding and bleaching, we stripped our post-flood basement floor and walls, and began the big renovation. It only took the two of us a week! And it only took another week for me to stop being sore in places I didn't know I had! We are so happy it's finished, and that everything is at least a foot off the basement floor in case there is a "next time." When you loose half your stuff, you get the perk of re-arranging some things. Now, it's nice and friendly looking-- a major improvement from the grab-your-laundry-and-get-the-hell-up-the-stairs-before-the-boogyman-gets-you previous decor. Here are some before/after shots.

Before:

After:

Golfin' Buddies

Thanks to the wonderful understanding of my wife, I've been able to live up to my own personal promise to play a bit more golf this summer than usual. Last summer, I think I played 2-3 times a month. Now, I am getting out 1-2 times per week, which is certainly enough to feed the habit. It's even gotten my competitive juices flowing to the point where I feel I can enter tournaments again.

But, in order to play consistently, I needed to find a league (or two). Since most of my friends who live in Indy don't play a regular amount of golf, I needed something to get me a guaranteed game. And, of course, the leagues had to meet certain criteria:

1) Available - Lots of weekend travel and commitments make most leagues problematic for me

2) Cheap - Play it a lot and golf is really expensive

So, I've found my two outlets: One is My Church League which is a really nice group of guys on Monday afternoons with low-impact competition and all of the personal restraint I can muster to not curse or use the Lord's name in vain!

The other? Let's call it the exact opposite of the church league. It's the Men's Club choose up at South Grove, one of the city's oldest courses. It's not hard, but it's affordable. And, I am the youngest player in the league (minus 1 or 2) by at least 30 years. Almost every player in my league is a retired blue-collar worker. And while I grew up playing public golf courses, let's just say that my time in competitive golf and working at country clubs certainly removed me from this type of course clientele. Here is a snippet of my group a few weeks back:

All 3 of my teammates had solid beer guts. I'm talking about the gut that totally hides the belt (if there is one) and looks like a man pregnant with a medicine ball. The captain of my team wore his Purple Heart hat (bill flat with the gold, raised stitching), accented by his "Worlds Greatest Grandpa" T-shirt. I can't remember what our group produced more of during the day: pars or cigarette butts (I made at least a dozen pars, btw). But, the highlight...

We arrive on a hole back in the woods and one member of my group exclaims, "Good thing we are the first group off today, we'll get first pick." This was an odd thing to say 12 holes into the round. What could we possibly pick? I then watch as all 3 men walk towards the woods and begin eating the berries off the tree. Look, I know they won't kill you, but I never really thought of berry eating as a group activity amongst men on a golf course. There were other detours during the round to visit the woods and munch on some fruit. I felt like a spoiled young man when I pulled out my all-natural fruit and nut granola bar from my golf bag. It was like turning my back on Mother Nature, I guess (smirk)...

I only partially joke because they have been some of the most welcoming people to ever play golf with. They even help to educate me whenever possible. Like this past Saturday, when I was informed that all African-American people (my term, not theirs) are Muslims. News Flash to Me! Yep, no denying it, according to my partner.

I just hit my shot and kept on walking. It's affordable, Will, don't forget.