Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Here is a photo of the dessert TJ and Todd made for me for Valentine's Day. Todd is training him well!

Devin's Birthday

Last weekend, Devin, Bill and Diana as well as Big Bill, Noreen and my Dad came north to attend TJ's basketball game. Unfortunately, TJ's game was "fumed" out and rescheduled to another night but we were able to enjoy dinner together! Nephew, Devin celebrated his 14th birthday on February 11th so we had cake in his honor at George's Neighborhood Grill. Yum!

Pondering How the Game Will End

The season ended tonight for the Tigers in the Final Four of the IBA tournament. The game was tied most of play. The Tigers played fabulously. TJ drained 3 three pointers in the last two minutes but they got into foul trouble and lost by just a few points.

Top Row: Coach Duffy, TJ, Alex, Jack, Coach Mann, Will
Bottom Row: Nolan, Ben & Elijah

Baseball Season is Just Around the Corner

In preparation for the season, I am reminded of the fan equipment/supplies required:

1 red solo cup
2 beers
1 can frozen limeade concentrate
Tequila (I use ½ can however for a stronger drink use 1 can)
Lime and salt, optional.

Acceleration Indy

TJ has been training at Acceleration Indy for several months. They are not only teaching him the proper form for running but increasing his speed and endurance in the process. He has also added band strength training for pitching as we enter into baseball season.

LIT Tourney Champs

Our nephew, Devin is in 8th grade at St. Peters Lutheran School in Columbus. He and his teammates played in the Lutheran Invitational Tourney this weekend and won. They advanced to the next level of play. We were able to attend two games but had to get
updates via text during the championship game as TJ had hsi first IBA All Start Tourney game in Indy at the same time! TJ's team also won. Both boys play again next weekend!

Valentine's Day

I had an exceptional Valentine's Day. I arrived at work to find a gorgeous boquet of flowers had been delivered from my two favorite men! After work, Todd and I enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Eddie Merlot's. I overinduldged in Berry White Martinis and could not eat my red velvet cake dessert so I asked for it to-go. (It was enormous - I ate a quarter of it each night for four days!) When we arrived home, TJ presented me with CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRIES that he and Todd made after school. Was not too full to eat those! TJ gave Todd a new hoodie sweatshirt he picked out at Dicks and a hunting DVD. I received accessories for my IPAD and TJ received a White UofM t-shirt and a DVD. It was like Christmas!

Eight Sleeping Bags

TJ invited his school basketball team over for a sleepover following the end of season pizza party at Pat Flynns. We had some doubt that the sleeping bags would be necessary but we were pleasantly surprised when the movie ended at 10 p.m. and the laughter and whispering seemed to end by 11 p.m. However, it started up with a bang at 6:30 a.m. and was fueled by glazed donuts for breakfast.

Ice Sledding

Not only did Todd teach TJ to drive the big ATV and do 360s on the ice, they managed to get some major speed around the neighborhood.

Snowy Winter

This may be one for the record books. We have had more continuous snow this winter than I can remember. On top of the many inches of ice on our driveway and yard, we added several inches of snow today. Atleast now we can get some traction when we walk on the sidewalk/drive.

Caoch Mann

Todd is coaching the CYO 5/6 B team for TJ's school. They are currently playing in the tournament. They won their first game and play St. Barnabas tomorrow in round two.

ICE ICE BABY

This week, Indiana and most of the mid-west has been pelted by ice. This massive storm produced ice and sleet that covered everything in it's path. There is no less than an inch of solid ice covering the driveway and roads around our home. We were lucky to not lose power unlike many. However, Todd had the generator unboxed and the wiring ready to hook up at a moment's notice. Schools have been closed since Monday and TJ has yet to change out of his pajamas and has that I played x-box all day glazed over look about him.

Attitude

John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood
and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him
how he was doing, he would reply, 'If I were any better, I would be
twins!'

He was a natural motivator.

If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee
how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked
him, 'I don't get it!'

'You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?'
He replied, 'Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two
choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or...you can choose
to be in a bad mood

I choose to be in a good mood.'

Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or..I can
choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it.

Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their
complaining or...I can point out the positive side of life. I choose
the positive side of life..

'Yeah, right, it's not that easy,' I protested.

'Yes, it is,' he said. 'Life is all about choices. When you cut away
all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to
situations. You choose how people affect your mood.

You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's
your choice how you live your life.'

I reflected on what he said.. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry
to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him
when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident,
falling some 60 feet from a communications tower.

After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released
from the hospital with rods placed in his back.

I saw him about six months after the accident.

When I asked him how he was, he replied, 'If I were any better, I'd be
twins...Wanna see my scars?'

I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through
his mind as the accident took place.

'The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my
soon-to-be born daughter,' he replied. 'Then, as I lay on the ground, I
remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or....I could
choose to die. I chose to live.'

'Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?' I asked.

He continued, '...the paramedics were great.

They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me
into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and
nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'.
I knew I needed to take action.'

'What did you do?' I asked.

'Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me,' said John.
'She asked if I was allergic to anything 'Yes, I replied.' The doctors
and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep
breath and yelled, 'Gravity''

Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live.. Operate on
me as if I am alive, not dead.'

He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his
amazing attitude....I learned from him that every day we have the choice
to live fully.

Attitude, after all, is everything.