All About Mandi

Hey y'all - my wife has created a myspace website for herself. Check her out....uhhh...I mean....check out my wife's website...doh!

www.myspace.com/firecrackermom

Ode to Kt

The past couple of years have given us lots to grumble about when the time comes to park next to the gas pumps and fill our tanks. The digital numbers on the pump after I satisfy my Bronco's thirst usually read right around $80.00. Ugh. That's a quite a kick in the gut. Fortunately, though, I have found a way to smile in the faces of the oil companies and their high rates. My bicycle has become the preferred method of transportation, especially en route to work and back, and it has been good for me in several ways. My marriage is strengthened because when my wife does the bills at the end of the month, she sees how very little I have contributed to the depletion of the fuel budget. That's a very good thing. And although it's probably very little in the grand scheme of things, I would like to think I'm helping the environmental cause, right? Oh, and my health is certainly thankful for the added boost of cardiovascular work. Seven miles round trip isn't far, but in the heat of a Nebraska August, it's no small task.

The best part about my bike rides, though, is the few minutes of reflection I get nearly everyday. The ride gives me time to think about life, to be by myself, and enjoy the company of, well, me. Such was the case a few days ago as I pedalled my way to work on a sultry summer afternoon. My thoughts on that day, for reasons unbeknownst to me, led me to a comment I remember someone making upon hearing about the passing of my Dad. I believe it was a gal who worked with my Dad, if memory serves me correctly. She said something to the effect of, "there are some folks in this life whom you meet and no matter how little time you may spend with them, you are a better person for having met them. Terry (my Dad) was one of those people." This comment has always stuck with me, because I think the person who said it was wise beyond her years. I have found this comment to be incredibly true, and I consider myself fortunate to know a few people who have made me a better person for knowing them.

One such person goes by the name of Katie, and I will reserve her last name since she doesn't even know I'm writing about her. Katie, or Kt as I usually call her when we chat via email, is one of my dearest friends from my days as a student at Wesleyan. She did more for my education and learning experience than anyone I can remember, and continues to influence and challenge me in all sorts of ways just by the type of person and friend she continues to be, and the paths she chooses to travel in her life. She leads simply by example, and she sets one heck of a fine example to follow.

As I made my way through the UNL campus that day, I began to ponder the sad fact that it has been far too long since I last spoke with Kt. Suddenly, I found myself being yanked out of the deep crevices of my own mind by the familiar and exciting sound of the Cornhusker Marching Band wrapping up its practice within the confines of Memorial Stadium. I can only assume they were putting the finishing touches on their half-time show in preparation for the first Husker football game this Saturday, and I quickly felt the goosebumps grow and the hair stand up on the back of my neck as brief flashes of game day sights and sounds interrupted my ride/soul-searching session. As I glanced toward the front of the stadium, the corner of my vision just caught the tall Roman columns which grace the facade of the NU Coliseum, home of the Husker Volleyball team. And then it all came together.

You see, Kt has fought for years to get me to understand there is more to life than Husker football. She has partially failed in that arena, but she has at least succeeded in helping me realize there is more to cheer for than just football. Nearly each time I begin a tirade on the football team, good or bad, Kt asks in some form or another, "so, Kev, how's the volleyball team doing?" Up until last season, I could only attempt an uninformed guess. To be sure, I have followed the lady Huskers a bit more closely, and this season I have not allowed my excitement for the impending football season to overcast the doings of the volleyball team.

So Kt, if you're reading and haven't been able to follow the season so far, here's the scoop -

The Huskers began the year preseason ranked #1 in the AVCA (which stands for American Volleyball Coaches Association - see, I can be taught.) poll. Their first contest came in the AVCA Showcase tournament, hosted by the Qwest Center in Omaha. The lady Huskers blasted unranked Tennessee 3-0 on Friday night, which put them in the championship match against #5 UCLA on Saturday. The 'Skers brought the Showcase trophy back to Lincoln by beating the Bruins 3-1. They are off to a 2-0 start and will look to keep it going this Friday evening when Creighton comes calling to the Coliseum for the home opener. I will keep you posted, and GO BIG RED!!!!

Love ya, Kt!

Now, are you ready for some football?????????????

Five and Happily Counting

In my last few posts, I have touched a couple of times on the "busy-ness" of these last couple of weeks as we have tried to squeeze last-minute activities in before the start of school. One of the events which seemingly faded into the background was the celebration of our fifth anniversary. We were blessed to have Mandi's Mom, a.k.a. Grammy, come stay with the kids while Mandi and I escaped to Kansas City for a little while. We drove down on a Tuesday, had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, the Cheesecake Factory, then checked into our hotel. On Wednesday, we spent the day at Oceans of Fun and Worlds of Fun, and had a blast! Our original intent was to take on the slides and water rides first at Oceans of Fun, then conquer the big roller coasters and thrill rides at Worlds of Fun while drying off before our drive home.

The afternoon temps, however, flirted with 100 degrees which made for a fairly short stay at Worlds of Fun. We didn't have to wait in any lines for the rides, as no one in their right mind was out in the heat that day. That element of the experience was fantastic, but we wore down fairly quickly and opted to finish the day back at Oceans of Fun in order to cool off. We stopped at our favorite steak house on the way out of town, and arrived home around 11:00 p.m. We had a wonderful time, and were thankful to have the chance to get away for awhile and enjoy each other's company.

It has been over seven years since Mandi and I met and began building a life together. From our first date, to engagement, to marriage, and now three children. I have learned more from my beautiful wife and kids than any professor or teacher ever taught me, and the best part is that I continue to learn on a daily basis. I suspect that trend will continue for a very long time. The subject of marital disagreements has arisen several times in various discussions between Mandi and I, because we have yet to have a real knock-down, heated fight. We were advised by the pastor who married us that we would fight, no question. More important was how we fought. I won't proclaim that Mandi and I have a complete understanding of how to fight, but the fact we have not really duked it out, so to speak, certainly makes me proud. Please understand we have had our disagreements, and even a few heated discussions here and there, but never anything we weren't immediately able to calmly talk through and work out. I think this is quite a testimony to the love and respect we have for one another, and is an invaluable learning model for our kids.

I fall in love with my wife all over again everyday, and while it might sound a bit cliche, I consider myself very blessed to have Mandi in my life. She means the world to me and while she doesn't hear it enough, I can't imagine existing without her. Our five years (officially) together has been wonderful, and I look forward to many more good times as we begin to plan for our future, watch our kids grow, and enjoy whatever might be in store for our family.

It's Official!

After many agonizing days of fluctuation and plateauing, I have finally eclipsed the century mark with my weight-loss efforts. The scale today showed a 101-pound total loss from when I began in January. Funny thing is, I'm not all that excited about it. To be sure, I know such an achievement is something to be proud of, and certainly something worth celebrating. But I'm still not thrilled about what I see when I look in the mirror, and I know I have a ways to go yet before I'm completely satisfied. I will use this moment as continued motivation to continue the healthy living changes I've become so accustomed to, because I feel so much better physically and mentally as a result. Clothes are fitting better, and I can do certain things now that I was unable to before I began losing the weight.

Make no mistake, I'm proud of the achievement, but I'll be ecstatic when I start getting down to a weight I don't remember ever being in my lifetime. I was setting the goal of losing the weight in 20-pound increments, as concentrating on a smaller amount seemed to work the best. Now, however, the weight is coming off a little slower, so I think I'll change to 10-pound increments. That said, here's to the next 10!!!

Oh, the Agony!

You know, the thought occurs to me that I haven't discussed the latest results with my healthy living in quite some time. This is probably due in large part to my recent struggles with a pesky plateau which I just can't seem to get past. Of course, this plateau came at a time when I was very quickly closing in on the 100-pounds-lost mark. I even had visions of sitting down and proudly telling you that I had achieved the century mark. But, alas! It has yet to come. I've even come to within 2/10ths of a pound, but I'll be damned if I can break the mark.

If I am being perfectly honest with myself, the struggle is most-likely due to my lack of absolute strictness when it comes to the food choice department. I've continued to exercise on a daily basis, and have even added some different routines to my schedule. But with summer bar-b-ques, holidays, and other such engagements, I have found it tough to stay true to my original lifestyle changes. To be sure, I haven't gained anything, but I just haven't continued to lose as much as I was losing on a weekly basis.

I suffered yet another blow last night as I was working out in that I injured a calf muscle. As I was jogging, the muscle felt like it sort of ripped, and I hit the floor in pain. It was all I could do to stand up and walk around, and I certainly had no chance of continuing the workout. The muscle was fairly stiff this morning, but not quite as sore. I pushed myself, against my wife's advice, through a three-mile walk this afternoon. I couldn't go quite as hard, and I was limping quite a bit through most of it, but I made it. I feel like the walk at least loosened things up a bit, and I'm hoping to slowly work myself back into the game at full strength.

The agony of being so close to losing 100 pounds and seemingly not able to get there, combined now with the agony of the injury, has certainly left me with the temptation to take some time off and go a bit lax with the changes I originally set forth for myself. It would have been so much easier to just sit on the couch this afternoon instead of pushing myself through the walk. Deep down inside, I know that's the ridiculous path to choose. I feel so good about what I have accomplished thus far, and I know darn well I will achieve my goals as long as I keep at it. As I said to my wife today, "no pain, no gain!"

Can Ya Feel It??

Jee whiz! Here it is the 18th day of August already, and I've posted but just one thought for the month. Pretty bad showing, I'd say. I've never had a stretch where it seems every time I sit down to write, either something or someone calls my attention away from the computer, or my eyelids are so heavy, I just can't go on any longer.

As I've already alluded to, this summer has been a great one, albeit busy. We have now celebrated three birthdays in a four-month span. Korynne's was in May, Mandi's was in July, and today was Madilyn's third birthday celebration. She actually turned three last Sunday, but we chose to celebrate today in an effort to accommodate most of her friends. She decided long ago that she wanted a princess party, so all of the princesses descended on our castle at 10:00 this morning. Whoa. I'll get back to ya on that experience, once the pictures are downloaded and you can truly appreciate and understand just what happened.

And now, the real reason for sitting down and typing this post. Ladies and Gentlemen, kids of all ages, there's something a-brewin' here in Husker Nation. The football season is quickly approaching, and the levels of anticipation and excitement are higher than they've been in quite some time. Fourth-year head coach Bill Callahan has brought in some big-time recruits, and seems just one or two big wins away from returning the program to the glory days. The offensive line is beginning to resemble the coveted "Pipe Line" of the mid-90's championship teams, when the front four were as big, ugly and mean as one could imagine. Our quarterback is a transfer from Arizona State who is big-game experienced with a strong arm and pinpoint accuracy. Our projected starting running back is chomping at the bit for a huge year, and seems poised to accomplish the task. While the Husker defensive line has some question marks with no returning starters, they have already surprised more than a few folks in team practices and scrimmages.

Dare I say, the Husker program is on the rise and will knock a few heads this season while competing for its first conference championship since 1999. It won't be easy. We visit Wake Forest, another quality program on the rise, for our second game of the season. USC comes calling to Memorial Stadium the following week for a prime time matchup. Three weeks later, we visit the Tigers of Missouri who were preseason picked to win the Big XII title. If that weren't enough, we travel to Texas to take on the Longhorns. But to be the best, you have to beat the best, and we certainly have plenty of opportunity to do just that this season.

My predictions? First, I think Callahan had this USC game circled in his planner a long time ago. This will be one of those career-defining games for him, and he knows he can say a lot about himself by knocking off the mighty Trojans. I think the Huskers shock the nation and hand USC a loss. Provided we take care of business as expected, Missouri should be our only real test in the Big XII north division. I don't see us losing to the Tigers. Both defenses are at least somewhat suspect, which means it'll boil down to whoever scores more in this game. Edge: Nebraska. This scenario will at least get us into the Conference Championship game against a mightier South division opponent, probably Texas or Oklahoma. I'd love to see another classic NU-OU matchup, but that remains to be seen. I'll save anymore predictions until after the Missouri game, and we'll see just where the Huskers stand at that point.

In the meantime, I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about the possibilities for this year. Can somebody please give me a "GO BIG RED!?!?!?"

Pope Benedict the Comedian

It's hard to believe August is upon us, and even harder to believe we are just over two weeks away from the beginning of school. The tell-tale signs of summer's end have begun to appear, and I have spent the last couple of weeks making the most out of what is left of the season. Camping trips, fishing, cookouts, swimming, picnics, bike rides, gardening, etc. All of these activities dotted in and amongst lots of overtime hours at work has left my blog to suffer. I have heard from several of you who grace my little discussions with your thoughts and insight, and I apologize to you for my little sabbatical.

Something has been on my mind for quite some time now, and I intended on addressing it long before now. Because the topic has found its way into a few discussions over the last couple of weeks tells me it's not something which will just dissipate if I ignore it. So, I shall address it.

As many of you know, Mandi and I began the Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey several months ago, and are well on our way to becoming debt-free. It has been an enlightening and educational journey, as we have learned to live without many of the luxuries we really don't need. One such luxury I have forced myself to live without over and over is a subscription to Sports Illustrated. I love the magazine, but I know it's not something I absolutely need at this point. That said, you can imagine my shock when I discovered my wife has subscribed to Mad Magazine. Not only is such a move completely off the radar in terms of what we are trying to accomplish financially, but it's even further off the radar in terms of Mandi's brand of humor. In addition, she hadn't even bothered to discuss this move with yours truly! Not that she has to clear anything with me, but since we don't even subscribe to a magazine, or didn't, I would have loved to have offered my two-cents. What about my needs???

At any rate, I discovered the magazine on the kitchen table a couple of weeks ago, and it was open to an article which I found to be the funniest thing I've read in a long time. So hilarious was this piece that it nearly justified my wife's silly investment in the aforementioned subscription. The topic of the article was the assertion by Pope Benedict XVI that the Catholic Church is the only true path to salvation, and other Christian communities are "either defective or not true churches." Now that is good stuff, people. When did the Pope become a comedian? Who knew the Vatican would allow His Holiness to hold a second job, and especially one in stand-up comedy??? I mean, I thought this guy was a serious, ultra-conservative, strictly-by-the-book kind of Pope. I figured his reign would have no room for anything funny. Tell ya what, I'll be the first in line if this guy ever makes it to a local comedy club. Catholicism the only true path to salvation? Other churches are jokes?? This is priceless, roll-on-the-floor kind of humor!

And here's where the joke ends. My wife never actually subscribed to Mad Magazine. The article I have referenced actually appeared in the local paper, which means its contents were true. The Pope actually made such a ludicrous statement, and I was merely hoping that what I was reading was from some off the wall comedic publication. To be honest, after I read the article, I wanted to vomit. I was sick. I simply cannot wrap my brain around the thought of a prominent religious leader drawing lines and using religion to divide, though it happens far more than I care to acknowledge. Such action is so far removed from what I believe to be Jesus' central message, which is that we are all God's children. We are human beings, regardless of color, regardless of faith, regardless of sexual preference. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the WORLD...." It does not say, "for God so loved the Catholics." Or, "for God so loved heterosexuals." Or, "for God so loved the Caucasians." Let me reiterate - the verse very plainly says, "For God so loved the world..." Seems pretty all-inclusive to me.

I ran the spectrum of emotions after reading the article, from being sick to sad to angry. Given my love for humor, I finally decided to shrug the whole thing off as simply funny. To think the Pope is so ignorant to actually believe in the stance he has taken is simply funny. I'm not a perfect specimen and I'll be the first to tell you that I tend to judge people way too much. I think it's a natural human tendency to draw lines. In the end, though, I believe we all come from the same Maker who loves us regardless of who we are or how we think. God's grace is the single most amazing gift in the world because its intended for....the WORLD. It's not the easiest concept to grasp, and to be sure, I'm still trying to understand it. And therein lies the beauty - regardless of the lines we silly humans tend to draw to separate each other and make labels, God's grace remains steadfast for all.

Keep 'em comin', Pope!