Wedding Card

This is the wedding card I made for my niece Laura :)

This is the inside.

My brother Steve passed away very suddenly on Tuesday, September 18th. The suspected cause of death is due to a pulmonary embolism. He was 57 years old.

He went to the hospital Monday morning because he was having trouble breathing. Initially, it didn’t seem serious and his nurse told me he was being held over night for observation and that he’d probably be released the next morning. Later that evening is when they determined it was a pulmonary embolism. Tuesday morning I talked to him at about 9:30am. He didn’t sound good and he said he felt terrible, but he joked a little with me before he had to go because they were about to run another test. He told me to call him later that day when I got home from work so we could chat some more and he would probably have more information about the tests they were running. I told him I definitely would and we said goodbye. The call was about 10 minutes. He went into cardiac arrest about 45 minutes after I talked to him. They revived him briefly but he went back into cardiac arrest and they were not able to revive him that time.

Steve enjoyed simple pleasures; watching NASCAR, movies, time with his dog Chico, and assembling model airplanes and ships. Cars were a passion of his since he was a little boy, so now the heavens have a top-notch mechanic. He’ll be happy to find the parts he needs are always in stock there. He was a reserved person, but when he was among family and friends, he was a jokester and had a contagious laugh and fun spirit. Steve was very generous and a kind person. His sudden passing has left us all in shock and I find it hard to talk about him without getting watery. It's a painful loss. There's some comfort in knowing that he will be with my Mom who passed away only 5 months ago, but he was too young to leave us. He was on the heels of retirement and had been making preparations for that. I know I'll be asking over and over why we had to lose him now. 

You're gone too soon, Steve. We love and miss you.

Getting Older

I'm sharing this because....well, I'll share why at the end. This is an email someone sent me.

Lost Keys

Several days ago as I left a meeting at our church, I desperately gave myself a personal TSA pat down. I was looking for my keys. They were not in my pockets. A quick search in the meeting room revealed nothing. Suddenly I realized, I must have left them in the car. Frantically I headed for the parking lot. My wife, Diane, has scolded me many times for leaving the keys in the ignition. My theory is the ignition is the best place not to lose them. Her theory is that the car will be stolen. As I burst through the doors of the church, I came to a terrifying conclusion. Her theory was right. The parking lot was empty. I immediately call the police. I gave them my location, confessed that I had left my keys in the car, and that it had been stolen.

Then I made the most difficult call of all, “Honey,” I stammered. I always call her “honey” in times like these. “I left my keys in the car, and it has been stolen.I've called the police.”

There was a period of silence. I thought the call had been dropped, but then I heard Diane’s voice, “Ken,” she barked, “I dropped you off!”

Now it was my time to be silent. Embarrassed, I said, “Well, come and get me.”

Diane retorted, “I will, as soon as I convince this policeman I have not stolen your car!”

The reason I shared this is because I had something similar happen to me. I used to park off campus and walk to work (about 25 min walk) so I didn't have to pay for parking. Parking fees at work are crazy. Anyway, it was raining one day and I was going to be soaked by the time I got to my car so I paged to my department that I needed a ride to my car. We use a chatroom kind of thing that everyone logs into and can page things because so many of us are in different buildings. A guy I hardly knew was also leaving so he offered to drive me to my car. As we turn the corner to where I parked....my car wasn't there. A terror like none other came over me and I was saying something like "oh no...oh no" over and over because I thought my car was stolen. Joe, the guy who gave me the ride, was becoming slightly panicked as well because it was clear my car wasn't there...blah, blah, blah. Then it hit me....I used one day parking pass that day and had parked on campus because of the rain! My car was parked right outside our building. I suddenly stopped with the oh no's and became silent because I now had to tell this nice person who gave me a ride to my car that I'm a complete moron and could he take me back to work where my car was. He was looking at me with a confused look because I wasn't saying anything now and that made it worse. Now I'll seem like a crazy moron. I'm fairly sure he tells people the story about the day a crazy girl at work had him driving around campus in the rain looking for her car. He's much too nice to tell me he does that, but I bet he does. We actually became friends after that so something good did come out of it.

This Will Make You Smile

One Year Ago

A year ago today Calvin passed away. Words cannot express how much we miss him. Hopefully he's playing and sunbathing and we'll see him again someday.

Oprah and Marianne Williamson

I encourage anyone reading this to watch this episode of Oprah's Super Soul Sunday. It's changed the way I think. Honestly. It's thought provoking and the message is powerful. I recorded the show and I've watched it twice. I can't delete it because I think watching it over and over can only be a good reminder. The "pray for your enemies" part is something that really got me. Like Oprah says, it's hard, but due to Marianne's reply to that, I've been doing it. You have to watch....you just have to watch (around minute 11:45). Skip to minute 1.50 in the beginning to get past the show intro which is kind of long.

What it HERE.

Summer Fresh

As I was cooking dinner (turkey meatloaf), I realized how pretty all the sauteed veggies looked in the pan....so I took a picture.

Then I made dessert and it was pretty, too! Vanilla yogurt, a little raw sugar and fresh blueberries!

Wigs

Have you seen Wigs?

No, not the kind you wear on your head.

Wigs

It's a video series on YouTube. Each video is kinda like a short TV show...only about 8-10 minutes long and there are between 1 - 12 episodes total. I've watched them all...currently watching "Christine". The first series I watched was "Blue". I liked this series because of the main character and found the storyline intriguing.

They're not spectacular but they are a good way to pass time on a break or during lunch. I watched almost the entire "Blue" series one day at lunch because several episodes had already aired. I'd recommend "Blue" as a good one to start with. "Christine" is a good second to try. "Serena" is a single episode and I like that one as well. "Diana" is nothing like the others because it's a documentary....very good. The only series I didn't like the "Jan....but you might love it.

Simon Says Stamp Challenge

I decided to create a card for the card challenge over at the Have you tried Simon Says Stamp blog. Kristina Werner provided the inspiration - her cat Mannie :) Here's what I came up with. Hope you like it!

Photo Opportunity

My camera and I have been estranged. Not sure what happened exactly, but I just put it down and have not had the desire to use it again. The last picture I uploaded to Flickr was on Valentine's Day....7 months ago! I've actually been considering not renewing my Pro account since it doesn't seem worth it.

However, this morning while I was watching Super Soul Sunday (recorded) and painting my toenails, things changed. I have the shutters open to let in the morning light, very early...6:30am, and I looked out the window and saw something inspiring. The plant outside the window had some new growth that I thought was so interesting! I thought to myself....I need to take a picture of this! So I literally dusted off my camera and went out and took pictures. I took a spray bottle with me because I could imagine water droplets on the little curls would be especially pretty. This is what I got....and you must click the photos and view them large to really see them in all their glory.

I like them equally. Which do you like best?

I didn't stop there. I turned my attention to my hydrangeas. They are some of the most beautiful flowers! I mean....look at them - they are perfect little miracles! I love the baby pink ones but the purple/fuchsia ones are spectacular! They almost look fake, but I assure you, they're not. I like them all, but my favorite. Why? See the little green light coming from the center? It's like a magic place nature created. That for me makes the photo. Again, you have to see it large to really appreciate it

I'm so glad I found inspiration and reconnected with the picture-taker inside. Not sure if it will last, but it was fun for today!

Uh....CRAZY!

I'll be honest, I was only able to watch 30 seconds of this. The guy is certifiable.