a flurry or two

yes, you read correctly! it wouldn't be PA without a few snow flurries in the middle of spring...grr!


MySpace Codes!

Annie

shortcake for a shortcake

one of ally's favorites these days is "cake-cake" (aka strawberry shortcake)...personally i believe she would much rather have a plate of whip cream and a lot less cake-cake. i started her early loving sugar, i know, i know, mom of the year here!

Fan Fest 2008

It was a nice weekend, however the rain did spoil the Fan Fest at Heinz Field on Saturday just a tad. Keith would like to think that is the reason he missed the field goal he kicked, but I think it was poor mechanics! Haha!
Anyways, here are some candid shots from the day...hope you enjoy!

some big news...

this has been quite an interesting week as i look back over it...usually you don't have a lot going on in your life at one time but this week took the cake as far as big happenings! i thought i would devote this posting to two big ones of the week:

JAMIE, BEN and KENDALL for their exciting news of currently finding out they are having a baby boy! congrats also to breaking the chain of most pilot families who have girls! like us!

CINDY and CLIFF - for their newest committment to one another. congrats on the engagement, the wedding plans and your move to ENGLAND! i knew that some day your prince charming would come! you deserve it. the journey you are both about to take will be one of many and i wish you all the luck in the world. i sure am going to miss you not living in the states, but i am serious about making a visit europe to see you :)

aside from such great news comes so not so great news, but i am praying that both my uncle angelo and uncle charlie will soon be on the mend. i was sorry to hear that both went in for emergency surgery this past week within a day of each other.

elsewhere, my dad had his first interview this past week for a job in his new degree (which he will be finishing up this may)...not too shabby for a 60 year old man who lost the only stable job he really knew 18 months ago when his company moved overseas. we will know if he got the position in a few days, regardless though the bigger accomplishment has been seeing him finish school! way to go dad!

on tap this weekend: fan fest (heinz field), cleaning (grr!) and maybe a hike on sunday in the woods with the family.

backyardigans live or not....

well, wednesday night we decided to take ally to the city to see the backyardigans live...sounds like an awesome time right? well, it couldn't be more of a disaster of a night. ally probably watched all of 15 minutes before turning into a pumpkin and throwing a fit. plus we got a little lost and missed about the first 10 minutes of the show as well. then we had to stand in a line to pay our parking garage ticket for 30 minutes after the show.

moral of the story: 2 year olds are defintely not up for a show of this caliber esp. on a weeknight.

all and all, we might as well of threw $90 in the garbage. live and learn i guess :)

who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?

i found today to be very inspiring for several reasons...

first, my class of mostly juniors and seniors took their final fitness assessments and the majority of the class improved tremendously - their bright smiles filled up my morning. it's always good to inspire people to be healthier and in return happier. it just feels good down to the soul. i have gotten a lot of good feedback from those smiles and i truly feel as though i have done my job as their professor.

second, i found that teaching something new in my curriculum of striking and fielding was well worth the risk...my students really enjoyed learning new games that they could use with limited equipment and space. in fact the most negative student i have come to know in two semesters here at SRU, complimented me on introducing this new style of game play - it caught me off guard, but i was thankful.

and lastly, something i have been working on for the past couple of years is doing a lot less complaining about things that i have no real control over and being more accepting of the way things are...so i was thinking today that this past couple of weeks have been really trying at home for numerous reasons, but somehow having a positive outlook really has made a big difference in my whole demeanor. i have slept really well, continued to workout and have been able to concentrate better. it just occurred to me that it is probably because i have been able to abstain from complaining and just start living. it was quite profound.

needless to say, this old dog as adopted a new way of living and i hope to continue taking risks, accepting things as they are and enjoying life :-)