Busy February

Things have been pretty busy for February. For a short month, lots sure did happen.
I started a class at Andover Newton Theological School and that's taking a lot of time but it's worth it. I am learning a lot about worship, the church liturgical year, and how to make the two of them more meaningful and worshipful for God. Pretty amazing stuff.

On one Saturday night, I had the wonderful pleasure of attending the Boston Ballet's Romeo and Juliet with a friend from church. WOW o WOW what a wonderfully breathtaking performance. The Orchestra was amazing and the dancers were marvelous. I unfortunately don't have any pictures, well because, I could not take any. I figured I better not try.

Then my good friend Laura came up to visit for a long birthday weekend. She wanted to see snow and sure enough, she got it. 9 inches later, we were traveling around Boston and west there of to see some of the world.

On Friday, we trekked through the falling snow and traveled to Overlook Farm, one of the learning centers for www.heifer.org program. We saw some cows, goats, and new little baby goats. I am holding one of them. How cute is she? Or how cute is he? Not sure which one but it sure was cute. We also saw some baby yaks, but didn't know we saw them until later on. Please take note: don't go to a farm in the mountains of Massachusetts, without a hat and scarf. You just might get another sinus infection (for doing the same stupid thing you did in December) and possible bronchitis. stop laughing!

Anyway, then on Saturday, we went to the place...where everybody knows your name. Yes - we went to Cheers, had a great time, saw the bar where Norm sits, and enjoyed a warm and dry atmosphere. haha

And lastly on Saturday, we went to see a funny funny show called Menopause the Musical. Yes, that is right. Even though we are nowhere near that time, it was hysterical! Go to www.menopausethemusical.com to see a few clips from the show. It was a great celebration of "the change" as they call it. They took several well known songs and changed a few words to make it personal to the situation. To see the women in that theater laugh so hard they cry, and then to dance on stage with the actresses at the end - they were embracing the time. It was remarkable to see. For those of you in Richmond, the show is going to be in Norfolk. You should consider going to see it.

My birthday was this past Wednesday. Another year older. I enjoyed dinner out with a couple of people from church and then lunch the next day with my good friend/colleague/boss Charley. He asked how do I celebrate my birthday nowadays. He knows what happened 11 years ago. It's hard to say really. I don't have the advantage of being able to visit my dad as the others do but I get to visit in other ways. My birthday is not like it was 12 years ago and I am not sure it would be different if nothing happened. As you get older, it does not matter so much. What's more important is spending time with people you care about and I did, whether it was on the phone, visits, or meals.

I heard on a recent show a strong piece of advice: Remember this day as 56 years of life (38 years for me) instead of one moment of death. I know that's what Dad would want and so do I.

It was a great month, busy, but good. Now, it's time to focus on March and looking foward to the following:

• Seeing Coach K get win # 800
• a visit from my dear friend Steve who will soon be "Dr. Steve",
• The Acc Tournament
• a wonderful St. Patricks' Day,
• March Madness,
• Maundy Thursday Tenebrae Service,
• Easter Sunrise and Sunday services
• and my first 5K Race.

Here we go!

Blue Devil Heaven and what a difference a year makes

What a GREAT week I have had with my Blue Devils. Wednesday night, they kicked some Tarheel butt (sorry Kenny) at Chapel Hill no less. Did I say that??? Thursday night, I got to see the Blue Devil Women beat up on the Boston College Eagles (sorry Heffs). The funny thing about that one is that I was in the middle of a bunch of teenage girls with the BC attire on. THEN on Saturday, Boston College went down to Durham and well, were sent back to Chestnut Hill by the #2 seed Duke. So overall, it has been a good week. ahah

oh - by the way, it has been a year since I started on this new lifestyle journey that I am on. You can see some of the difference in the above pictures. The one in the white shirt was taken at the Duke MENs game on Feb 14, 2007. The one on the with the blue shirt, was taken at the women's game on Feb 7, 2008. I don't like pictures of me very much, especially ones from my past life, however, I couldn't help but put these two together. It helps me to see what I have a hard time seeing. Thank you for keeping me in your prayers and walking with me on the journey. We have lost 110 pounds this year and I can't wait to see what happens in the next.

Maybe, just maybe, an NCAA tournament. ooo oo

A Small Follow Up and tribute to Bobby Knight

Here are some updates from previous posts:

1. If you have not heard, my prediction for the Patriots did not happen. Congrats to Eli Manning though. The Massachusetts people are taking it better than I thought. Wonder how the Celtics are doing? Not sure, but I get to go see Duke and BC play tomorrow!!!! The women's teams. Last year, I got to see the men. Pray for me as I will probably be the only one in blue.

2. I have not completed a bucket list yet, BUT, on Sunday, I was able to laugh hard enough that I cried. Spend some time with sugar high youth and you will laugh too! I didn't pee in my pants, but there were tears.

3. I am sorry that John Edwards is gone. Gotta love the North Carolina acccnt! However, the other two seemed to be getting along with one another based on the last debate. Good to know that this can happen. Is this the "Dream Ticket"?
NOW it feels good to see that we are going to make history and better yet, we have two wonderful options to consider. When was the last time we had that?? But I never thought I would hear Ann Coulter "cheering for Hillary" in the terribly sarcastic, arrogant, deprecating way that she does. I bet Elizabeth Edwards is laughing today. Not sure if Ann in the Hillary corner is a good thing for Democrats but it's not saying much for the republicans.

4. I can't leave this day if I did not mention a small tribute to Coach Bobby Knight who resigned from coaching this past Monday. A winner of 902 games and leading man in the NCAA, he is a great and loyal coach to his team and colleagues. The only person ahead of him in wins is the great Pat Summit, women's coach from Tennessee. How bout that???
Yes, he had his moments, but who hasn't? He never broke any league rules, never cut corners in recruiting - he did it by the book. He demanded the best from his teams and got it. He can also take credit for the work that he did to develop Coach K into the coach that he has become. Coach Krzyzewski played under Knight at Army and later assisted him at Indiana.
Should I be as demanding in my leadership as he? Probably not and probably never will be. Maybe I should though. Is it wrong to ask for the best from people when they made a commitment to do just that? No.

Congratulations Coach Knight! Now, let's go fishing!!!!