The Big 3-0

The pictures have landed....on my hard drive. Thanks again to everybody that came out to celebrate my 29th+ birthday. Here's Dorian, Flip, Tera, and Kim.






The only place to get cake in Charlotte is Hansel and Gretel. Best cake ever!! I'm so glad Dave and April.....well April introduced us to it. I think it's the first wedding we have ever each had our own piece of cake instead of sharing.....it's that good.





Me and the master planner. I still don't know how you did it. Thanks again sweetie (you too, Flip and Julie)! I Love You!







Tera, Flip, Me, and Julie. You have no idea how much each of you mean to me. This is close to being the small town NC group......I guess small town Ohio counts too. I think Flip wins for smallest town, although Tera and I probably thought you couldn't get smaller than Hudson or Denver growing up. When are we hitting Collinstown up for another camping trip? I need some Flippin food already!!....or as Mike says.....a Mike buffet.


Shot number........I don't remember. It's all Tim and Debbie's fault. Who would have thought my boss was such a trouble maker? Thanks Ash for.....shot number.....again, I plead the 5th.






The gang truly surprised the co-social chair of the group (Flip gets top honors in that category). It was a blast. We'll have to do it again for Julie's birthday......but wait.....a little one is on the way......ok, ok.....we won't make you celebrate your birthday in a bar. I promise.....at least not on your birthday. I'm making no promises about your 31st though.

Women like Nascar too.......

I stumbled across this on charlotte.com today and got a kick out of it. This one's for you Dorian (especially since she's a Kasey fan)....at least you know the driver's names this year.

http://mynascarrookieseason.wordpress.com/

Precious

In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice; In practice, there is.

- Chuck Reid

Surprise, Surprise.....

Why a picture of a butterfly........just because they're one of my favorite things and I thought it was pretty.

It's been a while since we posted any news so I thought I would catch everyone up. We have some surprises, great news, good news, and some sad news. Let's see.....where to start.

Let's start with the sad news, that way we can end on a high note. As we have talked about on here before, Mike's Uncle Harold has been battling cancer for almost a year now. Last week we found out that they have found cells in other areas of his body. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. When the Komen website gets up and going for this year we'll start posting details about this year's "Harold's Angels" team. My next Komen meeting is Monday so hopefully I'll get more info then.

Our hearts go out to Julie and Brad. Earlier this week they had to put down their precious Mazzie. She was a great dog and we will all miss her greatly. We've posted pictures of her on here in the past (see the Christmas pictures from last year for the latest). You were both great "parents" to her and know that she is in a better place now.

Now for some related good news now that it's public information. It killed me to keep this quiet, I didn't even tell Flip! Since Julie and Brad were so great with Mazzie we know they're going to be great parents.....that's right. Julie and Brad are expecting!!!!! We are both so happy for you! Now we just need to figure out how to make a Michigan/Ohio State/Browns/Steelers onesie.....think we can fit that all on there. Man....this will be one confused kid. Maybe we'll try to convert the baby to be a Tar Heel fan. Seriously though, a kid couldn't ask for better parents. Wonder how long it will take for Brad to quit beaming? He was grinning from ear to ear when we saw him last week.

Tuesday night Mike was working in the yard and I was working inside when the door bell rang....surprise, it was my Uncle Mike that lives in AR. He was in town on business and surprised me. I cannot tell you how great it is to see him more often. We got to visit for a little while, hear about his trip to New Zealand (i'm jealous), and then we got more good news......he's engaged. Congratulations!!!!!

I was clueless about the other surprise. As most of you know I turned 30 last Friday, which is still hard to believe. I thought we were on our way to dinner with Julie and Brad when Mike pulled into Tyber Creek Pub. I'll let him share the story on my reaction....he loves to tell it. I don't know how they did it, but Mike, Julie, and Flip planned a surprise party for me. All along I thought Flip was going home and my Dad was at the beach. Thank you to all of you who planned and came to celebrate. Like I've said before, I'm truly blessed to have all of you in my life. It took me all day Saturday to recover but it was worth it. We'll post some pictures when I get them, obviously I didn't have a camera since I didn't know about it. I'll say this just once Mike....."I was wrong"......you can surprise me even though we live together. Love you!

We've got some other friends that need your prayers right now, but I don't think it would be appropriate to put on here. Just know that we're always here for you and please let us know if you need anything.

I gave a card to Debbie for Mother's Day that said something about our family doesn't necessarily mean people you're related to......how true, how true.

The Importance of "Hi."

It's been nearly a year since I started working at Lowe's, and I can hardly believe that. Really?! A year?! Seems like I was just driving down to the S. Charlotte store to take my drug test last week. Orientation? Yesterday. Anyway... not my point. But I'm getting there.

When I started at Lowe's, I said hello to everyone I passed. Part of it is because I wanted to make a good first impression, especially since I didn't know where these new faces fit into the whole rank-and-file hierarchy. Sure, I'm a relatively shy and introverted person, but that shouldn't be mistaken for snobby behavior or aloofness. Didn't want to burn any bridges before they'd even been built. The responses I received were as varied as the people who delivered them: some stopped and introduced themselves (recognizing that I was a new face), some returned a bright hello, some flashed a slight smile, and others - these were the curious ones to me - ignored my hellos altogether.

One person in particular seemed to be oblivious to the fact that I was even there. So disturbing was the trend of never receiving a hello from him that I tried harder to elicit one. No dice. I began to wonder if something was wrong with me. Had I somehow slighted him without knowing it? Was this payback? Was I not important enough to be spoken to? I really started to worry. Then we were introduced to each other through a mutual acquantaince. Now, we chat quite often, and have become fairly close colleagues. I still don't know why I never received a response in those early days at Lowe's, but the psychological effects of my unrequited hellos startled me.

I suppose I tell you that story to say this: doing nothing can have just as much - if not more - of an effect on someone than even the smallest act. Sometimes, it's not enough to stay out of the way. Sometimes, we're called to action... even if it's just to say hello. Sometimes, the simplest personal gesture can mean so much in an age when transactions take place across the vacuous expanses of cyberspace and a face or a voice are the last things we expect to see or hear. Sometimes, when someone says "hello", all they really need is for you to say "hi" in return.

Who Buried A Pineapple in the Front Yard?

Productivity

OK, so maybe I just feel guilty when I see others "getting stuff done", but I've been thinking that productivity shouldn't be measured by the quantitative results one is able to demonstrate as having resulted from his/her actions.

My mom is neat and orderly. She doesn't like to clean, but I daresay she gets stressed out by a dirty, disorderly home. So she'll clean because she likes the results. Her sister: not so much. I'd be willing to bet that woodcarving and reading rank above folding laundry and mopping on my aunt's to-do list. She doesn't mind a little clutter... and she has a very curious and creative mind; one that would rather tinker and learn than keep things straight. So which sister has her priorities in order? They both do. They do what makes them happy, and they stay true to themselves.

I wonder how many attempts my aunt has made at carving a figure before she arrived at something she liked or was proud of. I know firsthand that she'll spend hours upon hours perfecting her art. Sometimes she has nothing to show for it. Does that mean she wasn't productive? No. She's learning... getting better all the time... being productive.

Reminds me of a favorite quote from Thomas Edison: "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."