In Memory

I dedicate this posting in memory of my Grandmother Lilah Janis, who passed on 12/15. Though we were never as close as most grandparent relationships are do to the distances we lived (she in Atlanta, GA), I always made an effort to call her everytime I changed planes in Atlanta. She was probably one of the most avid readers of this blog and asked me to write more so she could keep up with us. Now as I write this I reflect on all of the times I spent with her and the impact she and my Granfather had on my life. I wish I had more time with her and wish I could share the birth of our new little one with her, but I'm at peace. Peace because I know that she is with the love of her life my Grandfather Stanley Janis. I also know that she has finally had the chance to meet her Great Grandson Johnathon (he's probably listening to her read a nursery story just like the one she read to me). I ask during this time for two things. Prayers and phone calls. Prayers for my family in dealin
g with this loss and for everyone who reads or hears this blog to pick-up a phone and call that relative that you have not heard from in awhile. Let them know you are thinking about them. Distance grows us apart but communication keeps us together.

I pray that peace, joy, and happiness may come to you this holiday season.

Police & Fire Academy Photos

I graduated Thursday night from the City of Euless's Citizen Police and Fire Academy. This will allow me to do volunteer work for the Police and Fire Departments. Nothing dangerous just helping to deliver cold water on a hot day and/or aiding them in some charity events. They took pictures of us doing various tasks that the real public servants perform. Here is the link to the rest of the pictures.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/srjanis1998/sets/72157622758132668/

What a Week

So this past week has been choked full of many things. I've had everything from recovering from my surgery, taking an exam in school after missing classes because of surgery, getting hired to a new job, and finally piloting a Falcon 200ex over Memphis (from takeoff to landing). It has definitely been a busy, productive, and exhilarating week. What can this week hold? I do not know but I don't think it can top this one. However, before I cross this week I had better explain what occurred above.

My surgery went well and I have been up and moving around quite well. Some pain issues around the incision site, but otherwise no real problems. I did have my post op visit today with the Doctor and he has cleared me to return to light duty with a return to hockey on 11/28. I will start a stationary bike routine this week to slowly get me back up to speed. By the way, my theory on hernia surgery is that it is a real pain but still better than shoulder surgery.

Due to the effects of the narcotic pain pills I was given I was not able to study for my Anatomy and Physiology class very much. This made it tough to remember anything for my exam. In the end, I did quite well on my exam and made a solid B on it.

I am completing all of the pre-hire paperwork and background checks to join Bell Partners. I will be managing Derby Park apartments in Grand Prairie for them. I am looking forward to getting back to work and to working with so many of my former co-workers. A couple of years ago my old company UDR sold many of its properties to Bell and when this occurred many of my co-workers left to go work for Bell. Being hired by Bell is like having a homecoming even though I will be working for a new company. It feels very strange to say the least.

Becky decided to surprise me Friday night with the experience of a lifetime. She arranged for me to fly a Falcon 200ex. Though my first landing ended in a fiery crash, my second landing was more successful. Becky’s co-workers husband works for a company that trains pilots and he was able to get us into one of the flight simulator trainers. This was awesome to experience what it is like to fly a regional jet with such realism. I don’t ever plan to really fly an airplane so this will be the closest I ever get. Knowing that pilots can receive all of the training they need on these trainers and can go directly into flying from here made me extremely impressed by it all. Why did we fly around Memphis? I’m not sure why. I guess because Elvis is there and it is good to be the King.

Update on Becky. Just when I thought the nausea was gone, it came back. I hope its return is short lived. Other than that, she is doing quite well.

Finally, I wanted to let everyone know that November 11th will be Johnathon’s 2nd birthday. In celebration, Becky and I are having his birthday party this weekend for him. It will be the same as last year as we will be going to church on Sunday 11/8 @ 11:00am, lunch at 12:15pm at Main Street Bar-B-Que, and then cupcakes and decorating at his gravesite. If you are able to make it to any of the festivities, we would love to have you there.

Not Again

Some good news on Becky. At here doctors visit last week we were able to hear the baby's heart beat. This means she has a less than 1% chance of a miscarriage. I have decided that I am going in full hockey gear to her next appointment. Mel has now gone from kidney blows to shin kicks. She is so giddy to be there with us and to experience what we are experiencing that she can hardly contain herself. The good news is that any bruising does heal quite fast.

We got to see my Aunt last week as well. It's always fun to see Aunt Liz and Victor. Wish they could have stayed longer but unfortunately their stay was short. My Mom even came by for a visit last week. So if you saw a red Cadillac that was creeping 10-15 mph below the speed limit on the highway I hoped you waved. My Mom prefers that over the honking horns. Last but not least I had dinner with my Dad tonight. He came into town to give me moral support.

Did I mention that tomorrow (or today depending on when your reading this) I will be having hernia surgery. Yeah yeah I know what your thinking, it must be from the hockey or from the weightlifting. I say its from the baby making! At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it. It's something that has been bothering me all year long and I have grown tired of living with it and it's time to get it fixed. My job interviews have picked up and some opportunities have started to open, so it is better that I go ahead and get it taken care of now before I get an offer and start working. So I should be down and out for one week and then back to the living. As for hockey and weightlifting . . . looks like 4-6 weeks for that one.

I leave it to my wife to embarrass me again and post pictures of me in the not so best of conditions from the pain medications. By the way if you come to visit Tuesday night, I am not responsible for the songs I may start singing to you. As I now have a history of doing this.

Rice???

Well it turns out rice is not only the San Francisco treat, it is also the size of the little one who has taken up residence inside of Becky. As of last Thursday the new house was the right size for someone who is at 6 weeks of development. This puts us with a due date of May 19 or 20 (don't worry as we get closer I will get the tote board up and we can start placing bets again). By the way if you see me doubled over as I come walking out after Becky's sonograms please understand this is not from the reality of fatherhood hitting me, but because our friend Mel has been punching me because she is so giddy with excitement.

What great weather we are having here. I have enjoyed being out and about working with friends at the church on projects and taking Miss Divine for walks. I wish Becky was available to join me for more of it, but unfortunately the pregnancy hormones have kept her down. It has been a challenge to cook her foods that will not upset her sensitive stomach. I do know one thing if you are in need of a hot stock tip then buy dairy production companies. Our milk consumption is now up to a gallon a day. Fortunately or unfortunately last weekend our refrigerator went to Fred Sanford's place. We had to buy a new one. The new refrigerator is bigger than our old one so this has made it easier for us to stock up. Thanks to our neighbor Scott for lending us a hand in getting it in our house. What a pain it was as we had to take the refrigerator and the house doors off to make it fit.

In case you missed it I was on ESPN2 this week. My friend AJ and I attended the live taping of the Mike and Mike show Monday morning. We were smart enough to sit under the Boston's restaurant sign so that every time they showed the sponsor for their location we were the first people you saw. The only bad thing was that we were shown at 5:00am - 7:00am (central time). So if you were up you might have seen us.

Finally a triumphant hockey win on Saturday against the number one team in the league. It was a tough game full of bumps and bruises, but we were able to escape victorious. This weekends (10/3) game is at 7:00pm. Would love to see you there if you can make it.

Fire or Police

To those of you familiar with Facebook you probably have participated in one of those surveys that tell you some mindless prediction of who, what, or how you are. Usually they ask you some question that has nothing pertinent to do with the subject matter. For me the question would be” do you like puppies”. The concluding answer to “are you a Fireman or a Policeman” would show that I am a “Fireman”.

After participating in a mock raid of the high school last night, I have determined that I would be the officer you hear about on the news. No, not the one who stopped the criminals. Not even the one who was shot in the line of duty. I would be the one who was too busy eating donuts in the Wal-Mart parking lot as the place was robbed. You know, the goof ball cop we tell jokes about. Last night I was able to locate the hostages but ignored the gunman standing behind a statue in the corner. Only to get it in the end after I said “I guess we‘re done and we can leave now”.

This leads me back to firefighter training. I have learned how to rush a burning building, how to search for injured people in the dark, and how to rip a car open with the Jaws of Life. Though each job comes with its pitfall only the Police are known to frequent Dunkin Donuts. Have you ever seen the Fire Department parked in front of one of those places? That is because Firemen cook for themselves and workout so that they can perform skills of strength at a moment’s notice. Don’t get me wrong about the Police Department they have equally deserving skills of being able to aim and react. However, at the end of the day it’s the donut shop on the way back to the station that always get a quick drop-in.

Don’t worry Mom I am not quitting my day job to runoff and be a Firefighter, after all we already have one crazy in the family and do not need anymore. I'll just stick to my citizens training classes. Now if only I had a day job. If you have any suggestions let me know, I am interested in pursuing all leads.

Hockey game is Sunday (9/20) at 6:00pm. Love to see you there if you can make it. I know Sunday is such a different day for it, but it is always good to have some change in your life every now and then.

Speaking of change, did I mention that Becky is PREGNANT . . .

Weddings and Cadillac's

Well I took a month off from blogging to try and focus on several key projects of life (job search, home projects, pampering wife to better health, and building a hockey team). Of all my projects the only one still not coming to fruition is the job search. I have been a candidate for a few positions but they have not bailed out. I keep working on it daily, sniffing out leads and trying to find opportunities. Though our job market is not as bad as others most of the jobs are in the lower tier jobs (those not requiring a college graduate). I am not quite ready to start my career as a waiter.

As for Becky she is moving around quite well in her ankle brace and is progressing nicely at physical therapy. She will be heading off this weekend to Michigan to see her brother get married. I wish I could go but to save money on finances I am staying home and she is being escorted by Mel. I figure if Mel can be my protector on the hockey team she should be able to handle Becky. As for handling Becky's family that is yet to be determined. I guess I should warn her about how quickly they can swarm on you. No, never mind I had to learn it on my own so I'll let her have the experience.

Saw my parents yesterday as they zipped in to drop off their dogs and run to a car dealership. Mom and Dad decided it was time for them to have some luxury in their life. So they bought a Cadillac SRX. When they came back home I noticed that both of them were in the new car. It was then that I realized that the cash for clunkers was over with or else one of them would not have returned. Of course maybe that is why they waited for the program to be over with so that I could not have teased them about it. Too late I'll find a way to tease them some how.

On the hockey front we won our first game of the new session last weekend 3-2 in overtime. It was our first overtime win in a long time. Last session we lost all of our overtime games. Our next game is Saturday @ 6:30pm. Love to see you there if you can make it.

Finally a Divine update. Our little Miss Divine has really started to come out of her shell. She is a puppy in a four year old dogs body. She loves to play and has begun to talk to us on a daily basis. We are not always sure what she is saying but we think she is quite happy to have us. We have introduced her to my parents backyard of which she has turned it into one of her racing circuits. Her new friend is my parents dog Pepper. The two of them play and wrestle all of the time. Unfortunately for Pepper, Divine is too fast.

One final note. I never intended to use this blog for political statements but I felt that I must say this. I am not happy with the the new health care bill. My reasoning is this. Part of the American dream is to work and then retire someday. Upon that retirement us guys are supposed to pull our pants up to our chest, eat our prunes, move to Florida, and complain about taxes and health care. With the way our government is going all I am going to have to complain about is taxes and that does not bode well with me. Am I expected to lose half my conversation time and use it for more nap time? So I beg you please don't fix health care, I will need this to complain about someday.

I hope that little take gives you a funnier way of looking at things today. Well must be off, but I look forward to seeing you soon.

A Drop in IQ

What happens when you mention "I would like to try that". You end up actually doing it one day. In my case this was playing goalie. I had never strapped on the gear before nor given up my body as purposeful equipment for stopping a hard rubber object flying at me. So to say I was in my right mind could definitely be questioned. My night started with what took almost an hour to get dressed and ended taking just as long. Special thanks to Nick our regular goalie for making sure I did not look like a dolt by going out with my gear on backwards (which had occurred on my test dressing earlier in the day). In between the dressing there was shaky nerves, relief, desperation, and a small but controlled panic attack. Now as I write this I am feeling sore in parts of my body I did not expect to feel sore in.
I felt this picture best portrayed me as a giant in the net.

Becky felt this was better as I appeared to be a goalie lining up his putt on the green.

I enjoyed my night in net as I faced 28 shots and stopped 20 of them. We lost 8-6 but my team stayed close and in the game most of the night. The best part of the game was playing against my friends and former teammates on the Silverwings. Many of them thought I was quite daring in trying to stick handle the puck but it just felt natural to get involved in the action. So I hope the next time you think twice when you say "I would like to try that". As it may actually come true. Here is to hoping that someone is not trying to impale you with a smaller rubber disk. (Please note no Stephen's were hurt in the playing of this game, but joint and muscle soreness will be his payback for allowing such a decision to occur.)

Great news!! Becky can now bear weight. The Doctor cleared her on Thursday to start advancing to weight bearing. She has worked up to 25% of her body weight and is continuing to get more movement back in her ankle. Hopefully in about 2 weeks she will be able to start physical therapy and get back to a normal life. Though I think I will miss driving her to work and helping her with her crutches. Well I guess as long as she has me around she will always have her "crutch".

Important item to note, this Sunday (7/26) marks 35 years of Pastor Eddie being at our church. Wow that's dedication! I thought I did good being at the same company for 10 years. I guess I was only a drop in the bucket compared to his tenure at our church. I hope that I will be able to have this dedication in all of my future endeavors. I hope this finds everyone doing well and I send you our love.

One final picture of me laying down on the job again.

On the Mend

Sorry for taking so long to post, but taking care of Becky is more of a full time job than I expected. Surgery went well and she only stayed one night in the hospital. The good news they gave her a nerve block to take care of the pain. The bad news they had to put her back under anesthesia to do it after surgery and when it wore off she really felt the pain then. Her Doctor is pleased with how everything went and says she will be non-weight bearing for 4-6 weeks depending on how the healing is progressing. She is returning back to work on Wed (7/8).

We went to my parents house for the 4th of July to get Becky out of the house, it also gave Divine a chance to meet Coco and Pepper (my parents dogs). Lets just say Divine put on a running show that proved why she ran so many races (sorry Pepper maybe next time you can come close to catching her). We watched the fireworks from the city's around us and then we headed home for the night. It made for a great weekend as David and Ed were able to join us for our celebration lunch.

Special thanks to Jean, Roy, Judy, and Eddy for helping us out after Becky's surgery. Their special deliveries helped out so tremendously (especially me with my new role as chauffeur, chef, and personal assistant for Becky). Also thanks to all of our friends and family members who stopped by to cheer Becky up.

Isn't it Divine

Well last weekend was the craziest. On Saturday we got a desperate call from the greyhound adoption organization. They needed us to foster a dog named Divine that we were looking at because their kennels were full and they had received a bunch of new dogs. Since they were taking care of everything all we needed to provide was love and a home. So we agreed to it.

Then we went to play hockey. Our game was a late one set for 11pm, but when we got to the rink we found the schedule was running a half hour behind. The game went well, a tight affair ending in a 2-0 loss for us. Both Becky and I played well. I had 3 strong shots on goal and Becky took down our friend on the other team (though by accident it could not have looked more perfectly executed). After the game Becky and her friend Jenn on the other team went to give each other a congrulatory hug. Becky stumbled lost her balance and fell into her Jenn. This caused Jenn to be pulled down on top of Becky. During all of this Becky's leg became tangled underneath her and it twisted around until she broke her fibula.

We had an ambulance take her to the hospital for treatment. They put her in a walking cast and told her to stay off of it. She then went to the Orthopedic surgeon on Monday. He diagnosed her with an unstable ankle and tendon damage on top of the break. He has scheduled her for surgery tomorrow (6/26) at 4pm to put in a metal plate to stabilize the break and the ankle. He will also do tendon repair if the damage is severe enough. This will put her non-weight bearing on her ankle for about 6 weeks. The surgery will be done at Baylor Medical Center of Trophy Club.

Some good news is that Divine has passed through the adoption process and is now part of our family. She has happily taken over our bedroom as it is her favorite room in the house. She quit racing in March and had raced over 100 races. Divine is 4 years old and only has been in a house for about a month (she was in the kennels prior to that). With Becky limited by her injury I have been taking an active role in training Divine. I would like to say we had one incident with Divine trying to test her boundaries but thanks to Supergirl (who I am not sure if she is as fast as a speeding bullet, but I do know she is as fast as a greyhound) and Pastor Eddie being able to corral the situation and bring Divine back home nothing serious came from it. Just remember when you come to our house that Divine is quick, slippery, and very much in racing shape.

Please keep us in your prayers this week as Becky's injury has definitely been more work for the both of us and we could use all of the strength we can get.

The last Chapter

After 2 days of uploading pictures to my flickr account I now have the pictures posted from our trip. Here is the link to view those pictures. http://www.flickr.com/photos/27447108@NO2/sets/72157619601260428/

Here is the final reports from our travels.

Oslo, Norway

Well I found a place for me to get a job making $30/hr. with no experience required. All I have to do is make sure the fries do not burn. Yes that's right at the McDonald's in Oslo the starting pay is $30/hr. Just remember one thing the Happy Meal is $26. Oslo is the 3rd most expensive city in the world ( I guess I should feel solace in knowing that we were not in #1). So what do you do when your in the 3rd most expensive city? You shop of course. You shop for small cheap souvenirs. In our case we walked the whole city to end up at the first store we started at and bought our keepsakes there.

Another thing to do in Oslo is take pictures of all of the naked people. That's right they have more detailed naked statues in this place than I have ever seen. To make it worse Becky wanted to go to a park that had even more of these statues. I had to draw the line. One can only see so much nakedness before they get tired of that (I probably just lost my man card for saying that).

Copenhagen, Denmark

Being back in Denmark only signaled one thing to me . . . vacation was almost over. Getting off the boat was a little scary. I was scared to think that from now on I would have to pay for my food and it was not going to be a five course meal. To make it worse no one would be turning my bed down at night and leaving me chocolates on my pillows. (Hint, hint Becky. This could lead to our marriage being perfect. Ummm does anybody have a doghouse I can borrow after that comment.) We arrived at the airport but could not secure ourselves on an earlier flight so we went back to our favorite meeting place, the Marriott hotel. We met up with my parents and decided to tour the local 7 Eleven. Let me just say the bacon wrapped hot dogs at 7 Eleven looked really good. I did not get a chance to try one, but I hope they start selling them here soon so that I can try them. Finally we left for Amsterdam.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Let me just say up front this city gets a bad wrap. Many people picture it as a dope smoking and prostitute riddled city. We found that this only exists on one street for about two blocks. What you don't hear about as much is all of the canals that exist here and how much people just sail up and down the canals enjoying the day. Another great item of interest here is the Anne Frank House. This is the same house that Anne and her family hid in during the German occupation of the city made famous by her writings in "The Diary of Anne Frank". So much of what occurred to the Jewish population of this time period can be seen in this house. After going through the house it was quite an eye opening experience. It really is true you never know what someone goes through until you are in their shoes. Being in the house and seeing the close quarters and only imagining how scared they were of being found was a tough experience. It makes you more sensitive to others and to the persecutions that still go on in our world today.

I would like to go back to Amsterdam some day and tour one of the old windmills, see the Hermitage (a smaller branch of the Hermitage museum located in St. Petersburg, Russia), and tour the Heineken brewery. This is why we tour on cruises like this and spent a day in a city. It gives you a great taste and lets you know if it is somewhere you might want to go back to again someday. I would say overall I would include Stockholm, Helsinki, and Gdansk on that list.

Oh by the way I did find one picture I wanted to share with you from Estonia. Not sure how you pronounce it, but no matter how I said it it came across as being painful and bad.

In Memory of Haven

Haven

January 1996 - June 8, 2009

"A champion runner, faithful companion, and the center of attention."

In observance of the passing of Haven I will not post anything today regarding our trip, only to say that upon our return we learned that on Saturday June 6 Haven developed a limp in her left front leg. The next day Becky's cousin Dorothy and her friend Spud kept Haven comfortable and iced here swollen leg. As soon as we arrived we took her to the vet for an x-ray. The vet determined that the ulna in the leg had fractured from bone cancer in her wrist area. The cancer had eaten at the bones and would cause the fracture to not heal. They splinted the leg and medicated her for the pain so that we could take her home. At 3pm today Haven's regular vet concurred with the previous vets diagnosis. The only treatment would be amputation of her leg. With a degenerative nerve condition in her back legs and given her advanced age she was not a candidate for this procedure. We made the determination to have her euthanized instead of leading a painful life. She was put to rest at 3:55pm. We will greatly miss her but we are happy that her final days were spent with Dorothy, Spud, and Gracie (their Labrador). They made her last couple of weeks some of her most happiest. She will always be our "little pup".

Are We Russian Along??

St. Petersburg, Russia
Day 1

The only way to go ashore in Russia is to have a Russian visa or a booked tour. Unfortunately we could not get in on a tour for the first day in Russia. We spent the day hanging out on the boat doing laundry and getting some sun. Yes that's right we lounged in the Russian sun. The expected weather was to be cold, but the weather in St. Petersburg is notorious for changing and just our luck it changed for the good.

Day 2

We attended a tour that visited Catherine the Greats Palace and Peter the Greats Palace. Can I say by the end of the day we were all Palaced out. Sick of tacky gold trim work that decorated every room too the point of making you sick. How did one ever live with such a gaudy architecture. It's not all bad, but it is too much. We also shopped in the markets that were outside of the palace grounds. We enjoyed the many deals we were able to negotiate here.

We were able to travel by a Russian Navy base when our ship was navigating out into the Gulf of Finland. A few years ago you were not allowed to take pictures of this base. Now you can and I have many wonderful pictures to share when I get back home. By my estimate I think between Becky's, my Dad's, and my camera we will have over 1000 pictures to look at. Coming soon will be the picture donation fund to pay for developing. I hope to post these pictures on my flikr.com account for everyone to see.

Tallinn, Estonia

What a quaint city this is. We enjoyed walking it's many cobblestone streets and seeing the city. We found shopping to be decent here and several of the churches were very ornate. The town was a throwback to an old era rich in history from 1635 to 1800. This city did us all in as we walked every little knick and cranny we could find. Funny thing about this country they just want to be left alone and at one time were under Russian control. Today they are a separate nation but they do not like Russia too much. Yet the Russian influence can be seen everywhere.

Gdynia, Poland

What a dump! Ever been to a shipping yard for tankers complete with a metal scrap yard? Then you have seen the port of Gdynia. Now for the fun part. If you walk off the boat and work a deal with the Polish taxi driver to take you to the train station, you can take a 35 minute train ride to Gdansk (or formerly known as Danzig when it was occupied by Germany). Gdansk was the starting place for World War II. A beautiful city that bombed to pieces by the Germans. After all of these years you can visit the old town and see the reconstruction that has been done and the buildings that still remain damaged from the war. The Polish economy has been one of the strongest compared to the other economies during the world economic downturn. The price of goods there was excellent and we were able to land many wonderful deals.

One of our best finds was in underground markets that feed the train stations and street crossing areas (they are tunnels that run under major streets so you don't have to cross at the corners). They sell everything from lingerie to electronics here. Dad was able to find a bakery that had the best pastry I have ever had. I need to stop typing about it because it is causing me to drool on my keyboard. After shopping we toured the Church of Our Lady. This church is the largest brick church in the world and holds 25,000 people. It was built in 1343. It was unimaginable to see a church this old and this big.

Finally we jumped back on the train and headed back to the ship. Our ship comedian made a good joke about Poland. He said every 20 years someone takes them over. First it was the Germans then the Russians followed by the Germans again. It happens every 20 years or so. It's been 18 years since the last occupation and so the country is getting concerned. He also pointed out that the Polish language was created to upset the Germans since it sounds like gibberish. Anyways thought I would share those funny viewpoints on the country.

Tomorrow is a sea day as we travel to Oslo, Norway. I will post something after we finish in Oslo.

Cruising the Big Cities

Stockholm, Sweden

I finally found where Becky came from. Judging by the citizens of Stockholm she fits in well with her blond hair and blues eyes. Imagine a city where everyone looks like Becky, that would mean its a city where everything could lead to greatness with moments of silliness (or being air-headed).

It was fun to tour the Vasa warship. It was built and sailed in 1627. A grand and wonderful warship with over 50 cannons and the tallest grandest warship of its time. So just as stated above it was built for greatness, it's blond moment came 20 minutes into it's maiden voyage when it rolled over and sank. A design default from making it too tall for its size.
Our next stop was the Palace and some shopping. We toured the city via boat and by foot. We even immersed our self into their culture by visiting a local grocery store and buying some candy bars and Coca Cola.

Upon returning to the ship Becky and I made our impact felt in the casino. I drew a crowd to the quarter flipping machine that tries to knock more quarters out for everyone you feed it. You know the suckers bet in the casino. Unfortunately for the casino this sucker did not lose! I walked away 10 minutes later with my same dollar I started with. So ha, casino who thinks it will take my money, take that! Becky took on a blackjack tournament. In the first round she finished 3rd to qualify for the championship. After 6 long rounds of back and forth action it came down to 3 players hands. The first player hit to a 20. The second scored a blackjack. It all came down to the dealer who was initially dealt a 13. With the next card drawn the dealer ended up with 18. Had the first hand been beat by the dealer with a dealt 21 then Becky would have won with her blackjack. Instead she finished second in chips to the first player making her 2nd place in the tournament (or as I informed Becky she was the first loser).

Helsinki, Finland

Walking on cobblestone sidewalks is horrible on your feet no matter what kind of shoes you are wearing. We trudged on walking to Temppeliaukio Church (we called it the “Rock Church”). In Helsinki 70% of the population is Lutheran, 29% is Orthodox (Russian Orthodox but they prefer to not call it Russian), and 1% is other. The Rock Church is the other. When a group wanted to build a new church the city at first said no they had enough churches. Finally the city thought the best way of getting rid of these people who kept bothering them was by giving them the only land in town with a big rock on it. So what do you do when the only land your given is filled with a rock? You blow a hole in it and build a church in it. So now you know why we called it the “Rock Church”. While there we were able to hear a symphony orchestra that was performing for a Finnish radio station.

We continued to tour the other large Lutheran and Orthodox churches, but none of the these beat the Rock Church. Along the way we shopped and enjoyed the wonderful atmosphere of this bustling but relaxing city. At the end of the day I only wished I could have sat in the park with the locals and read a book with them. (Something to save for another day.)

We are now back on the boat and heading to St. Petersburg, Russian. I should have another post up on Sunday. By the way we have added another time zone and will get a second one in St. Petersburg (this puts us 9 hours ahead of our home time). This is making my sleeping pattern get really screwed up (that plus only 5 hours of darkness).

Hello from the Emerald Princess

Well what an adventure our first days have been. Our flights were fine and rather uneventful. However upon arriving in Copenhagen our fun began. After gathering our luggage we found our way to the train that took us to the Central Station in downtown Copenhagen. From here we walked to our Hotel to check-in our luggage. Once our luggage was secured we ventured to the shopping district to find something to eat. Never thought we would travel all the way to Denmark to have pizza but that's what we did. After eating we hiked to the Queen's Palace to see if we could visit with her. (I thought she might allow us to rest on her couch.) Upon being greeted by her sentry with their guns and tall fuzzy hats we decided we would just take a picture of them proceed on. (The Queen will just have to wait to meet us another day).

We hiked back to the hotel viewing many of the sites of the city along the way. Upon arriving at our hotel we came to the conclusion that cobblestone sidewalks hurt your feet and that walking with jet lag is mind numbing. After taking up residence in the hotel lobby we started to notice that the staff was looking at us strange (after being their for couple hours and partially sleeping on their couches). I guess they were wondering if we were ever going to check-in, the problem was the room reservation was in my Dad's name. Mom and Dad were running late to meet us and we had no idea of the adventures they were on in London. Finally after waiting 2 hours after their scheduled time to meet us we gave in and decided to ask the hotel for help with what was going on. Funny thing some how my name was put in the system for the room and this allowed me to be able to check-in. Evidently my Dad had tried to contact the hotel to give us a message and during this exchange my name was put on the reservation. The message was given to me in a sealed envelope but the hotel instructed me that this message was from the hotel to my Dad and not from Dad to me. After checking in we accessed my computer and find out what had happened to my parents flight. We discovered that they had a flight delay leaving DFW and were late getting into London. This caused them to miss their flight and to be placed on a later flight. Three hours after our scheduled meeting time they showed up.

Finally now that everyone was together we ventured downtown and had an authentic Danish meal, steak and potatoes. (Wow, seams like something I would eat back home.) This was followed by a well deserved night of sleep. The next day we took a boat tour of the canals of Denmark learning about all of the sites and history. After this we headed to the cruise ship to get settled in for the next leg of our journey. Since we have been on the ship we have verified two things. 1) the European milk has a funny taste and they like to drink it warm. 2) after all of these years my Mom still likes to hit the bottle of free champagne. That's probably another story for another time. (Like when she is not able to see and read this).

By the way if you happen to see an episode of Danish Most Wanted, please understand I did not mean to assault the guy on the train with a piece of luggage, accidents happen. Off to Stockholm and the rest of our travels.

Almost Here!!!

The time for us to sail on our cruise is almost here. We all packed and now are forcing ourselves to go to bed. Being so giddy with excitement, I do not know how we will sleep. We have had such a long day of packing and preparing everything for our departure. We even played in a hockey game tonight. Mom and Dad asked one favor of us, "do not get hurt playing hockey". Well we escaped bruised (Becky's arm from a puck) and battered (my tender groin being agitated again). Otherwise we will look good as we limp into formal night pictures with a pretty black and blue mark on Becky's arm.

I am looking forward to finally getting away and visiting such unique places and cultures. I hope to be able to blog on some of the experiences we have but please remember the Internet is slow on the boat and must be bought by the minute. Plus who can be daunted with such a long period of being on the computer when you can be living it up in a conga line. My goal is to win the longest drive contest on the boat.

Quick updates Becky's Dad had a tumor removed from his neck on Wed. All tests came back that it was benign. He is home recovering with a smiley face incision on his neck. (If you didn't know him you would have thought he tried to off his self by the looks of the incision.) My Mom will have some work done on her elbow and wrist when we get back. I guess old age is starting to catch up to her. (Mom don't worry I will get you a turbo charged walker one day, then you can use it to beat Dad over the head to keep him in line.) Please keep Becky's Dad, my Mom, my Dad, Becky, and I in your prayers. We hope to have a fun and safe vacation and will chat with you upon our return. Now where did I put that hammer to knock me out so I can get some sleep?

How did she do?

Sorry for no pictures from Becky's last practice. After experimenting with a new restaurant she became too ill to practice and experienced what hockey officials would call a upper body illness. Don't worry it was short lived.

The lack of practice put Becky at a disadvantage for our first game with the rough and tough Mutineers. After a period of long thought regarding sitting her out for the game I decided to put her in the game with one caveat. She would be playing on a line with one of my first centermen, Sergio. Sergio is a tough fast skater who can electrify the ice with his charisma. At the same time his speed can sometimes do him in. Becky was able to establish a good repertoire with him and through their chemistry Becky at one point was able to carry the puck into the offensive zone and send a pass to a charging Sergio. Unfortunately his speed was a factor as he skated too fast into the pass and became handcuffed by it. I was so proud to see Becky become so active in the play after only being on the ice for a short period of time. It also made it fun for her to be joining another female newbie, Diana who just joined our team (it gave them both someone to help put all of that gear on with).

I was a little concerned however that she may have a little bit of an agitator in her as she became involved in a shoving and elbowing match with a player on the other team. Add that to the fact that she has threatened to take Sergio's girlfriend out with a "cat fight" at center ice when we play against her and the Silverwings (they are both first time players trying to show off). With this kind of action the Crossbar at the rink will surely be full to see these fisticuffs. I put the odds at even on who will win. Becky maybe quick, but Jenn is stronger. So let the match begin (I will send dates and times on this one as soon as it becomes available).

If you want to check out Becky's next game it will be this Saturday at 7:30pm against LSI. One of my old teammates and good friend Mike plays for them. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of agitation Becky can deliver upon Mike. If you can make it see you there.

Wish me luck as I am wrapping up final exams next week. I will be so happy to be finished with my Anatomy and Physiology course. Though I enjoy my lab class professor the lecture professor has been quite arduous (more than necessary). I cannot wait to be finished and to start preparing for our Baltic Sea cruise.

Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday dear Supergirl!
Happy Birth . . . . .

Ok enough you guys sound like a heard of dying goats. Sorry Mel next year we will just do it in sign language or I will pay Bobby to mime it.

Next week undercover pictures of Becky's hockey practices. If she does not delete the evidence. Much love and peace to all.

"Do You Believe in Miracles"

Those fateful words were uttered by Al Michaels in the last seconds of the US Olympic Hockey team defeating the Russians in the 1980 Olympics. These same words were uttered tonight by the Grave Diggers after we defeated the Chiefs 5-4.

In a game that can only be described as MIRACULOUS, the Grave Diggers amounted a consistent attack and pushed the Chiefs to do something they have not done all season and chase another team for the lead. Though they were able to tie it up, the arrival of our regular goalie John made it that special to have our complete team together. Both teams had 25 shots on goal yet we were still able to squeak in the deciding goal with 4:46 left in the game.

Being my third time to play for a championship and my second winner, this one proved to be the most special. Playing with a group of guys who were more concerned with having fun and playing as a team allowed us to win. We were not individuals focused on being difference makers we were teammates playing for each other.

I would like to thank our fans for showing up for tonight's game. You made this game that much fun for us to have shared it with you. At times your cheers proved to be the extra teammate we needed to push us. I also want to thank Raul for taking the position of our coach and being our ready to play to player to fill in for some of our injured guys who fought to stay in the game all night. Raul you have been a detriment to this team for numerous seasons and your accomplishments will never be forgotten. I look forward to many more seasons with you. I also would like to thank all of my teammates tonight for making this victory special (Ron, Steve C., Stephen S., Randy, Bob, Tim, Billy, Mel, Howard, Brian, Tom, Bruce, David, and John). I look forward to playing with each and every one of you again next session and growing as a team.

Here are some pictures from our celebration (at least the clean ones, you know how those hockey celebrations can go).

To The Keg!!

Saturdays epic battle between the Grave Diggers and Warriors turned into a Diggers classic game style. It was a game of puck position, making plays to take the puck away, and passing. The Diggers were able to put 33 shots on the net (the Warrior only registered 12). The dominance continued even when the Diggers went short handed due to penalty infractions by yours truly and others. Don't worry my penalty came when a guy did not like me pushing him out of my goalies way. He smacked my stick causing it to hit his own teammate in the face and giving me a highstick penalty (hey that's hockey ref's only see 25% of what occurs and only call 10% of that).

All in all we ended up with a 3-0 win. Giving our goalie the only shutout in the playoffs this session. Next up is the Keg game against the Chiefs. The Chiefs have advanced with an perfect undefeated record making us the underdogs (wouldn't have it any other way). The game will be Saturday 4/11 @ 8:30pm at the Dr. Pepper StarCenter in Euless.

If you can make it we would love to see you there. If you come you must yell loud and proud!

a moment of Reflection . . .

Sitting atop of mount Calvarious listening to the chantings of Coolio and Lady Gaga (a little old school with the new) I am reminded of how things meta morph and every dog has its moments of zen. Going into this year I knew that I would be making adjustments in leaving the board of directors for the homeowners association. A daunting task that I was looking forward to. Last week I was finally voted out and achieved the separation I was wanting. This freedom has given me some extra time to myself (and taken some worries away from me).

The second change that I planned to make this year was to reduce the amount of teams I am playing with at the rink. Three games in one night takes a beating on you. This coupled with the changes that were occurring with my teams gave me some concerns. Unfortunately the Komets took a big change late last year and went from a team focused on fun, learning, and gamesmanship to one focused on winning. Don't get me wrong winning is great but it does not help when you want to learn and become a more complete player. For me this development meant that I needed to leave my comfortable position as a winger and play as a center men. For those of you not familiar with hockey this is a position that requires you to be both on offense and defense at anytime. It's a lot of work and always requires you to be thinking ahead of the play. This season it has made me the best player that I have ever been. For me to make this change I left the Komet's and became a full time player of the Grave Diggers. The perennial "bad news bears" of the hockey rink (just remember this team was once called the Leftovers for good reason).

I knew going full time on my part time team would require me to be a more vocal member in the locker room, on the bench, and off the ice. I was concerned that this would be quite a formidable duty. To make matters worse the coordinator for the team was going to be away on business for most of the season and unable to participate in much of our games. This put added pressure on my friend Mel to step-up and fill this coordinators role. This now made me feel even more vested to perform at a higher level than ever. In the past I have always led by example and by the assertiveness in my actions. I knew that this alone would not be enough. I can stand here today and say that I have been able to transform into a vocal leader. I have even played better on the ice like a little kid skating with no worries in the world (even with two sore groins reminding me that they do not care for what I am doing). I have shared glorious moments with my teammates watching them score goals, make slick plays, or just simply skate with the puck.

Going into the season I expected to learn the nuances of a new position. Instead I have learned about how I can lead others in more ways than I am aware of. Knowing that I would be with team underdog I fully expected to see a mediocre season. Call it special leadership from Mel, mystical play, perfect timing, growth of teammates, or my efforts (I feel it is all of the above) the Grave Diggers have finished the season in 2nd place with a 6-2 record. It has been almost a week since the regular season has ended and I still cannot grasp the concept of how this team has turned around in such a short period of time. When I look at this team and its motley crewof players the most discernible fact is that they have HEART! They play with passion. Not the passion for the game but the passion of little kids out on the pond having a good time. Win or lose we have walked away all season saying "wow that was fun"!

This Saturday at 7:15pm we will be playing the first round of the playoffs. Winning this game would put us in position for the championship keg game. When I look at all of the teams out there I can't think of a more deserving lovable group than the Grave Diggers. If you have some free time and want to see the Rodney Dangerfield of hockey teams then come watch us play. Just remember it takes a special team to draft a player like Becky to play for them next season.

On this note Becky has already chosen number 29 to wear. She is doing this as she anticipates to be the Steve Ott agitator on the team. When I took her to the Stars game she became quite interested in Ott's move called clipping. It causes a penalty but definitely is a cheap way for a smaller player to make a giant impact on a bigger player. Watch for your self and then pray. Pray for Becky, pray for the other player, and most of all pray for all of the humanity that could come from this if she ever pulled something like this off (yes I actually envision that this would cause the world to turn upside down and for cats and dogs to start loving each other). I hope everyone is doing well, until next time . . .

What I learned on Spring Break

Well it's not been since 1995 that I have had a Spring Break and had no work to deal with. So what have I learned this year compared to 1995. In 1995 people would turn on their TV's to see the latest on OJ Simpson's murder trial. Now we tune in to see who has murdered the economy and Wall Street today. So in essence not too much has changed as someone is dieing one way or another.

I have learned that while looking for a job it's best to see if the company has taken any federal bailout money because I will need to seriously re-consider their ad that says "Salary + Bonus". I would hate to have Becky and I join some program to protect our safety because I took a bonus (or pay an unbelievable tax to the government). I guess it may come to these companies running job ads that say "Salary + Bonus + Money owed to Uncle Sam".

Another thing I have learned on Spring Break is that Hooters is now the family restaurant. It felt strange being there and seeing so many little kids. I kept wondering if I had walked into a McDonald's by mistake. Finally I have learned that no matter how much fun you have on Spring Break their is always a bunch of poop you have to clean up (thanks Haven).

It should be a busy weekend as we will be trying to sell our wares at the church garage sale on Saturday. I hope I can sell everything so that I can finally have room in my garage.

Some Good News!!

Last week proved to be a very difficult and emotional week. I was laid off from work last week ending a 10 year relationship. A product of the economy there is not much that can be done about it. Don't worry about me as my spirits have remained high. It's a new experience for me and it is a welcomed one. Of all the things I could think of that I could go through this one is not that bad. I have already started my job hunt and have heard back from several friends who have some contacts. If you know of anything let me know and I will jump right on it. Till then I will be focusing on my Anatomy and Physiology class. Oh yeah and some hockey!

Friday night turned into a real treat as my parents came up to celebrate their anniversary and have a belated birthday dinner with me. We ended up at Texas de Brazil. If you have never been there it is an all you can eat Brazilian Steakhouse. The waiters walk around with various meats on sabres that they serve to you at the table. My Dad has now classified it as the best lamb he has ever eaten. Becky and I wll agree to the "best of" statement but for us it is the steak. Mom fell in love with the Reisling wine (she can be so simple sometimes).

To top off the weekend I must turn it over to the eye in the sky report from the hockey rink who sums it up this way:

Ice Holes (0-3-1) 0
Grave Diggers (3-1-0) 2

The Holes were a force to be reckoned with for about three minutes, after having nothing to show for it they retreated into their zone depending on Jayson Jones. The returning netminder was up for the challenge, turning away nearly two periods worth of Digger offense. Stephen "Chilly Willy" Janis sinks the Ice Holes' battleship with his period ending goal. The Holes fail to answer the Chilly goal and end up allowing 29 shots on their own net, one more of those finds its way on to the waiting stick of Bob Barr who puts the game out of reach for the Ice Holes.

(I guess the hockey part is paying off I hope the Anatomy and Physiology goes just as good).

Wonder Woman and Birthdays

Well February always proves to be an eventful month as we celebrate Valentine's Day and my Birthday. I will back up a few weeks to Valentine's Day to tell you of all the fun and excitement we had.

For Valentine's Day this year Becky and I really did not want anything (though we did give each other some small trinket gifts to let the other know we had not forgotten). Becky decided that she wanted to give me a really big gift. The hockey rink had no games scheduled on Saturday the 14th to avoid the possible fight it could provide with spouses and girlfriends. Instead of having wasted open ice they allowed teams to be part of an open hockey session. Becky feeling brave and sassy decided that she would participate in this practice session.

So off we go showing up at the rink with our gear in hand. Becky started getting second thoughts when she saw some of the skaters on the ice, but she still went ahead with getting dressed. I figured once I got her to the bench our friend Supergirl would be able to get her on the ice. Unfortunately Becky forgot her jersey so I had to give her my extra one (yes it looked like a dress on her and if it was not for the hockey gloves she would have looked like a ghost with no hands). This left one problem as I did not have my extra black jersey, so she and I would have to be on opposite teams.

When we got to the bench Becky decided to sit and watch and try to figure out what she got herself into. It was at this time that Supergirl swooped in and joined her on the bench. After some coaching Becky took the jump. This led to her transformation from the sweet Becky we know to Wonder Woman. That's right she quickly became a force to recon with on the ice as she collected a pass from Supergirl and then skated with it until she passed it off to Chim Chim (the monkey from Speed Racer, aka Coach of the Grave Diggers). It made for a super play as I sat proudly on the bench cheering her on.

After her debut it has many people asking what's next for Wonder Woman? Does she go back to her normal life, venture into crime fighting, or secretly wait planning her next hockey moment? Stay tuned to find out.

Becky in pink gloves next to Supergirl.

As for my birthday I spent a wonderful day of relaxation followed by spending some time with Charles, Melody, Mel, and Becky. It was such a wonderful evening as we went to Twin Peaks for dinner. The next day I was treated to special seats at the Stars game (too bad they lost, but the up close action was wonderful) and a wonderful game with the Grave Diggers.

The Grave Diggers played against my other team The Silverwings. I played center for the Grave Diggers and enjoyed a wonderful game. I started off strong and then found my weakness, my stamina (yeah go ahead with the old age jokes). I was glad to see this as it gives me something to strive for to improve before my next game. So if you see me working out extra hard this weak its because yes I am trying to turn back time and bring my youth back (or bring sexy back either way I win).

Thanks to everyone for the gifts and gestures for my birthday. I appreciate all that you have done for me and I look forward to returning the same someday.

Why so Quiet

Well I have spent the last two weeks now fighting bronchitis. This is all do in part to our neighbor's kid sharing this with me. Sharing of this variety I definitely do not need. I am almost back to full capacity. I still have a cough, congestion, and worse part of all a terrible sore throat. If you need a Hall's throat lozenger I have bought 3 bags since this has started. Good news is my asthma has not bothered me as of late so I should be back playing hockey this weekend. Last weekend was the opening weekend of the new season. I ended up helping to coach the Silverwings to a shootout loss. This weekend I hope to be on the ice with both the Grave Diggers and Silverwings.

If you have some free time this weekend and want something to do come on down to the ice rink in Euless. The first game is at 5:30pm and my last game of the night is at 9:15pm. Please see below for the schedule for this season.

Becky has returned back to full duty from her surgery. She will be testing her recovery this Friday when she goes rock climbing with the youth group from the church. Ahhh the luxury of being a nurse that you can help out a youth group while enjoying the time as well.

Well must be off, hope you are doing well and we hope to see everyone soon.

What a week

Well this past week was actioned packed. Let me back up and give you some background information. About 4 weeks ago Becky started experiencing pains in her lower abdomen. Once they continued for longer than a week she went to the Doctor to see what was going on. After some tests and review by a specialist it was determined that a cyst had developed on her ovary and was the cause of her problems. This cyst had grown to a size of 4cm and was causing her to be uncomfortable. Unfortunately with the cyst she had it will only grow and get worse and cannot be treated any other way than with surgery to remove it. So off we went last Tuesday to get it removed.

Becky was gracious enough to pose for this wonderful picture previous to her surgery.

After everything was all said and done she came through with flying colors. Though this after picture clearly shows the effect that pain medicine and anaesthesia have on you.
Keeping smiling Becky it's about time that I finally got some payback for the pictures you took of me.

I hope these pictures made you chuckle. I also hope this posting finds you doing well. May God bless you as we move into this new year.