politics – warning, probably won’t like it if you’re liberal
Long, but good.
the reason why you should wear protective eye gear during racquetball
Tuesday was my usual racquetball lesson with Dad. The lessons are picking up some, so Dad suggested I wear my safety glasses. I don’t find them comfortable and I haven’t been wearing them during our lessons. I relented and put them on. About half way through the lesson they were bugging me, just one more thing I had to think about, so I took them off.
Just a few minutes later I hit the ball, it came off the wall faster than I anticipated and smacked me right in the eye. Thankfully no damage was done, I didn’t even have a black eye. Guess I’m just going to have to get use to wearing them after all. 
The racquetball lesson was a good one. I got a very good work out, ran more, and was finally starting to hit the ball more consistantly. Now if I could just start to gauge where the ball will go and make my body move fast enough to get to it before it bounces more than once. All those things I’m still working on. I’m hoping to be ready for a real game by Thanksgiving, maybe I should start praying.
Our last Weight Watcher’s weigh in is Saturday, I’m sure Dad will provide a REALLY good work out before the weigh in. I can honestly say I’m looking forward to it!
favorite Thanksgiving memory
I think I was 13, maybe it was a year before or a year after. My parents had been divorced for 4 or 5 years and I alternated spending holidays with them. We still lived in Arkansas at the time, Mom and Dad lived about an hour away from each other. During this Thanksgiving my Dad and I were spending it with his parents who lived here in Tennessee. It was about a 5 or 6 hour drive. Dad decided that he and I were going to do the Turkey (in Arkansas) and take it to his parents house (in Tennessee). I wasn’t sure what possessed him to get this idea and thought he was joking until I actually saw the turkey.
I’ll never forget standing in the kitchen with him while we both tried to figure out what to do with this huge bird. I had a vague memory of watching my Mom or Grandma pull something out of the caviety of the turkey before preparing it and putting it in the oven. So I look at Dad and say, “I think there’s stuff in there you have to pull out.” I remember him looking at me and saying, “What? Really?”, before he reached inside to pull out whatever it is they put in there. I was just glad he didn’t make me do it!!!
Somehow, someway, probably by the grace of God, the turkey was a success and even made the journey from Arkansas to Tennessee. We havn’t had another adventure quite it since, but it sure made for good memories!
preview to Thanksgiving
I know it’s a little early to start talking about Thanksgiving, but this year is going to be a first for us, so I thought I’d share. It all started a few months ago when I got an e mail from my cousin-in-law asking what we normally do for Thanksgiving. She and my cousin and their two boys live in Maryland, but wanted to come spend Thanksgiving with us. I was very excited, luckily she and I are both planners, so we started planning right away. As other members of the family heard what was going on, things started to snowball.
What started as a total of 9 people eating at our very modest home for Thanksgiving dinner, has grown to over 20 people coming from all over the country. Arkansas, Ohio, Maryland (of course we already knew that one), and possibly even Alaska. Wow.
To add to the excitement of having so many people over, this is the very first Thanksgiving we have EVER hosted in our home. In fact, it’s the first Thanksgiving I’ve ever hosted, period. I’ve always gone to someone else’s house, friends or family.
It’s going to be crowded, but I can’t wait. I just know we’re all going to have a blast! Here’s the best part, my cousin is an awesome cook and is going to do most of the cooking. And I’m more than willing to turn over my kitchen!!! I have a feeling this is going to be the best Thanksgiving ever!!
Over 9000
Wow, over 9000 hits on my blog so far. Thanks everyone for reading and making so many comments! (Especially Dad, Kween, and Angela!) God Bless!!!
new game
Today, as I was playing with the girls, they invented a new game. Reagan would headbutt me, I’d say “ouch”, she’d throw her head back and laugh, Hannah would kiss my boo boo, and we’d repeat the cycle all over again. I couldn’t believe how hard Reagan’s head was. And I couldn’t believe she was laughing so hard and going back for more.
I remember Anthony and I playing the headbutt game when he was a toddler, I thought it was just a boy thing. But Hannah did it and now Reagan too. I’m looking forward to the day when the girls invent a game that doesn’t hurt so much. Not only was the headbutt game played today, but the pull Mommy’s hair out by the roots and gouge her eyes out game was played too. Good times.
official weigh in #5 & work out diary
This morning was my weekly weigh in at Weight Watchers. I lost another 1.8 pounds, for a total loss of 9.8 pounds. I was hoping for at least 10 by now, but I’ll take 9.8.
The weigh in was after my Saturday racquetball lesson. I think I was able to run more today, which was good. It was another really good work out, which is great. I’m still trying to get comfortable hitting the ball correctly. I look forward to when it’s just second nature and I don’t have to think about everything my body is supposed to be doing. I know it will come eventually.
We did have a couple of laughs during my lesson. Remember how I talked about Dad chasing me to motivate me to run, while saying “I’m gonna get you”?. I decided to turn the table this time and positioned myself behind him so I could do it to him. I don’t think he saw it coming. Later, after running AGAIN (remember I said we ran more this time?) I had just had enough and was getting really tired. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Dad coming up behind me, I knew what was coming next. So I dodged out of the way, touched the wall and said “SAFE!!!”. We both got a good laugh out of that one. It’s probably been 25 years since I’ve said that. It was all a lot of fun though. I’m looking forward to Tuesday so we can do it all over again!
Another funny forward…had to share
BANNED FROM WALMART
This is why women should not take men shopping against their will. After I retired, my wife insisted that I accompany her on her trips to Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, like most men, I found shopping boring and preferred to get in and get out. Equally unfortunately, my wife is like most women she loved to
browse. Yesterday my dear wife received the following letter from the local Wal-Mart.
Dear Mrs. Dilley
Over the past six months, your husband has been causing quite a commotion in our store. We cannot tolerate this behavior and have been forced to ban both of you from the store. Our complaints against Mr. Dilley are listed below and are documented by our video surveillance cameras.
1. June 15: Took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in people’s carts when they weren’t looking.
2 . July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in Housewares to go off at 5-minute intervals.
3. July 7: Made a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to the women’s restroom.
4. July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an official voice, ‘Code 3 in Housewares. Get on it right away.’
5. August 4: Went to the Service Desk and tried to put a bag of M&M’s on layaway.
6. August 14: Moved a ‘CAUTION – WET FLOOR’ sign to a carpeted area.
7. August 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and told other shoppers he’d invite them in if they would bring pillows and blankets from the bedding department.
8. August 23: When a clerk asked if they could help him he began crying and screamed, ‘Why can’t you people just leave me alone?’
9. September 4: Looked right into the security camera and used it as a mirror while he picked his nose.
10. September 10: While handling guns in the hunting department, he asked the clerk where the antidepressants were.
11. October 3: Darted around the store suspiciously while loudly humming the ‘Mission Impossible’ theme.
12. October 6: In the auto department, he practiced his ‘Madonna look’ by using different sizes of funnels.
13. October 18: Hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed through, yelled ‘PICK ME! PICK ME!’
14. October 21: When an announcement came over the loud speaker, he assumed a fetal position and screamed ‘OH NO! IT’S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!’
And last, but not least ..
15. October 23: Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited awhile, then yelled very loudly, ‘Hey! There’s no toilet paper in here!’
Regards,
Walmart Manager
Our new kitty
meet Zelda
Until Monday night we didn’t have ANY plans to add any animals to our household that already includes two cats and 1 dog.
meet Szechi
meet Yugi
and our Boxer, Gracie
But Monday night a girl that comes to our LifeGroup brought a little kitten that had followed her through our neighborhood while walking to our house.
stray kitty?
She fell in love with this kitty, and the kitty fell in love with her. We weren’t sure if it was a stray kitten or if it belonged to someone. She really wanted to take the kitten home with her, but her Mom said no. So Anthony asked if we could keep it. Our first answer was no. That a free kitten isn’t really a free kitten once you pay the vet bills, buy flea treatment and feed it. He offered to pay for all of that by handing over all his paychecks until the vet bills were paid. After much begging and pleading, even offering to clean out the litter box, we relented. The kitten stayed the night.
There’s one house in the neighborhood that I thought the kitten might belong to, so I told Anthony he needed to check with them before we officially kept the kitty. Of course it did belong to them and they had been looking for it for two days. At least we had kept it warm one of those nights.
But, since we had left the door open for another animal, the search was on. I found some “free” kittens in the local paper, called to set up a time to see them, and now we have the new 6 or 7 week old, very cute, female kitten. Anthony named her Zelda after one of his favorite video games. It actually suits her though.
Zelda, comfy with Paige and Anthony
work out / racquetball diary
Tuesday evening I had a great opportunity (thanks to Dad for taking time out of his day and to our neighbors – the best neighbors ever- who watched the girls for me) to have a racquetball lesson during the week. I’ve wanted to play more than once a week since the first lesson, things just usually don’t work out that way. But I think (thanks again to Dad and our awesome neighbors) we’re going to start making Saturday mornings and Tuesday afternoons our lesson times.
It really is a great workout, and Dad makes sure I get the best work out possible during that hour. In fact, I was so worn out after this work out that I was really wishing Anthony had his driving permit so he could have driven home. I think Tuesday was the hardest work out yet. I have to admit, I’m getting better at hitting the ball, and even a little better at running after it. But there’s still quite a ways to go! I’m thankful that Dad is a patient man!
It’s always a lot of fun. This time Anthony was with us. He was studying while we were playing, but I would look up every now and then (usually after I took a swing at the ball and missed) to see a grin on his face. But that’s okay, I like seeing him smile, even if it’s because I missed the ball!
