Long Time No Post

Random, disjointed, unlinked thoughts.

Ok. Been rather busy of late.
Work, family, work, kids, work, Vic, work,,,,you can see where this is going.
My shoulder is slowly, slowly, ever so slowly healing. Not sure what in the hec I did to it. I think Vic hit me in the middle of the night.

Did I mention work was occupying an exorbitant amount of my life lately. Someday, soon I hope, I'll stop working for the man and BE the man. That's right,,,,,BE THE MAN!!! We'll see. My two partners are genius's so I'm hoping all works out. Not posting any details yet. Perhaps in a few months I'll make an announcement and ask for product tryout volunteers.

It's the last week of summer for the girls. They start school again Aug 4th. I remember when we got out of school around May 18 and didn't start back til Sept. Those were the days. I remember parents back then looked forward to school starting, I can't say I feel that way. Bus service for the kids to differing schools and each of them getting out at different times makes for a very busy day.

Looking forward to my cousin Laura coming in a few weeks. I'm working now on a way to punk her while she's here. :)

All for now.
G'nite.

Reality

Ok. Time to face facts. With all the things going on in my life with family, injuries, motivation and another procedure on my nose in 2 weeks I'm going to bag the Curahee plans for this year. I just don't see it happening. I'll re-consider after Aug 8th when I get my nose worked on some more. Perhaps I can do the 3 mile option. Just don't know.

New Injuries

Yanked, banked, wrenched, pulled,,,,,whatever you want to call it,,,,my right shoulder and right knee today. Further evidence that I'm too old, too fat and out of shape beyond belief. And how you may ask did I bring this calamity of injuries upon myself? Well, I'd like to say I was doing something dashing, dangerous, sexy, saucy, naughty or heroic,,,,,,but no,,,,,,,I was just trying to get Alyssa buckled in her car seat.

Yep,,,,,car seats were made to be installed and utilized by circus acts who can lick the back of their thighs. People who can twist and conform themselves like putty into a car and do the inhuman. Well,,,,I ain't that. So, while buckling Alyssa in this morning headed to the local bastion of Chinese economics in America, otherwise known as Wal Mart,,,,,I wrenched both my knee and shoulder. But hey,,,,,we did get Hanna Montana 3D glasses for the concert next Saturday night, so I guess it was someone heroic and dashing.

I'm going to go sulk now and kiss a few Motrin.

It's Been a While

Ok, it's been a while since I posted,,,,5 days to be exact. Well,,,I done been busy. Working out, cooking, cleaning, playing Xbox360, working, sleeping, eating (way to much of that) and basically being the best dad and husband I can be for what they pay me.

I got some news from my cousins up north in Chicago. My cousin AJ is starting college soon and will be playing hockey there. Good God almighty. Little AJ playing hockey with a bunch of toothless, mindless, behemoths ready to pound his head in. He'll be in my prayers. (Kathy, that's for you. Gotta love me.)

Good work out tonight. Doing 1.5 to 2 miles each night. Making sure I'm running at least 5-10 minutes of that. Will increase that time in the coming weeks. Now I know some of you uber-athletes (and you know who you are) do 2 miles in 10 minutes,,,,,,,we're talking Joe pace here. :)

Girls are great, Vic's had 2 good days,,,,,(so I'm preparing for the worst tomorrow) and I'm feeling really good. No pain, injuries, soreness, blackouts, twitches, jerks or other bad signs indicating the exercising is bad for me. So all is good.

More tomorrow. I'll get some pics of me and the girls working out. Well,,,,,really me and Hailey working out and Gracie pestering/hurting/pounding/chasing/yelling at Alyssa.

Until then,,,,, G'nite all.

Back on the Stick

Ok. Surgery's over. Pains gone. Itching is tolerable. I have no excuses now for not hauling my hugeness back to my gym and working out again. So I did.

It's not been too bad really. I only missed 2 weeks solid cause of the surgery. Hit and mis other wise for a month. But I'm not hurting, still able to do 1.5 to 2 miles with little difficulty. So, all I have to do now is get back in my groove, get back to my diet and I'm good to go.

As Reger said a month or so ago, he lost his mojo. Although I'm only .00000001% the athlete he is, I can relate.

I'm trying to decide whether to start posting daily workout accomplishments on here or not. Perhaps. Also trying to decide whether to post what I eat during the day. But God says not to lie, and there could be a lot of temptation if I do. :)

G'nite All.

Saturday Evening Post

Well it's Saturday and what a great day it was.

First, the love Doc Simon showed me worked. No pain in the elbows. I'm back in business.

Second, had some activities at my house this afternoon for a project Reger and I are working. It was fantastic. Got to meet the lovely Dani and the studly Keith (no website) who I've seen on Reger's site for years. Both quite wonderful people and hopefully it will only have been the first of many such meetings.

Third, I may have gotten my motivation back today. That burr in the backside which moves me forward. I think it was a combination of things really. The success of our our afternoon activities was one. It really got me pumped this evening. Best mood I've been in for 2 months. Then I watched the end of Click (with Adam Sandler), which really shows you where priorities should lie. I have a habit of devoting too much time to work sometimes and not family and health. And then Reger posted this picture of me on his site which really shows off my wide body and triple chins. Gotta love him. I know he did it for the sole purpose of motivating me back into my workout routine. :)

Well,,,,,I think it's worked. I'm feeling pretty motivated right now.

Hope everyone had a happy Fourth.

G'nite.

Happy Wednesday

In case you didn't know, I aggravated my elbow again and injured by other elbow over the past 2 months. So I visited my doc yesterday and asked for some love. That's actually what I said:

Doc: You want some love?
Joe: Yep. I want some love.
Doc: You know, most people don't call this love.
Joe: I know, but I need some love.
Doc: Ok then,,,,I'm gonna show you some love baby.

Gotta love this guy, he's great. Good doc, personable, funny. He's the one who took care of Vic's ACL. And it really doesn't hurt that bad.

In other news, my intention is to get back on the stick this weekend. I've only been working out a few days a week, and I've not been watching my diet. Not a total loss for the year, but quite a set-back to my goals. It's ok. A lot going on in my life, I haven't given up on my dreams and goals. Big weekend coming up, so I'm hoping that will get my engine running again.

Oh, and a nice big shout out to Steph, who tried to play Charles Bronson from those seventies movies where he was a vigilante. Ok, ok,,,,,,she only stopped a drunk teen who'd crashed her car from running off. But I can see Steph in a leather jacket with a sawed off shotgun.

Sheriff Buford

Tocko (my aunt) called me from Kentucky yesterday asking where my sister was and telling me about all the family coming in from Ohio and Florida for a July 4th shindig at the old home place. Short call really, but near the end Tocko told me my cousin Jan had just called her from the road. She was driving up from Florida and was in Georgia right now. My mind instantly started churning, a plan was forming. “She’s in Georgia right now?” Oh boy. “Bye Tocko!”

Anyone who knows my cousin Jan also knows she views the speed limit as merely a recommendation. They really don’t expect people to drive as slow as 70 mph on the interstates. Time for me to have some fun.

ACT I
I grab my cell phone, yell at everyone in the house to be quiet and call Jan’s cell. I obviously use a very southern accent and disguise my voice as much as possible.

Jan: “Hello.”
Joe: “Good afternoon maam, this here’s Sheriff Buford Beauregard of the State Patrol.”
Jan: “Ok.”
Joe: “We’ve been monitoring you driving up I75 and would really like for you to slow down.”
Jan: “What!?!
Joe: "Yes maam, we been keeping an eye on you."
Jan: "Joe? Is that you?” (She didn’t really call me Joe, my family call me by my middle name.)
Joe: Uncontrollable laughter.
Jan: “I don’t believe you,,,,,,I had already started slowing down and was getting ready to pull off the road.”

Jan wouldn’t have known it was me except one little error. I thought she was on I75, she was actually traveling on I95, and they'd just crossed the South Carolina state line.

I still got her though. BUT WAIT!!! IT GETS BETTER.

Jan told me Laura was in the car behind her, gave me her cell phone and told me I needed to pull the joke on her. I needed no further encouragement. (Laura is Jan’s daughter and my favorite cousin to play jokes on.)

ACT II
Laura: “Hello.”
Joe: “Good afternoon maam, this here’s Sheriff Buford Beauregard of the South Carolina State Patrol.”
Laura: “Ok.”
Joe: “We’ve been monitoring you driving on I95 and would really like for you to slow down some maam.”
Laura: “Ok. Yes sir.”
Joe: “That's good maam, this here’s just a courtesy call, now you drive safe.”
Laura: “Ok.”

I could hear it in her voice. Total, absolute fear. This was great!!!!

So I wait a minute and call Laura back.

Laura: “JOOOEEEE I’M GONNA KILL YOU!!!!!!”
Joe: Uncontrollable, bent over laughing.
Laura: “I slowed down so much I can’t even see Mom any more. I was ready to pull over.
Joe: Still uncontrollable, bent over laughing.
Laura: “I called Mom and she told me it was you. You’re dead!!!!”
Joe: Still laughing. “Laura honey,,,,,your Mom was the one that gave me your cell phone number.”

As George Peppard said on The A Team. “I love it when a plan comes together.”

So,,,,,,how was your weekend?

FrankenJoe No Mo

It’s been a few days, but I’ve been busy. Work, my family in town, screaming children and Vic’s been sick a lot this week.

My own recovery is coming along nicely. The itching isn’t constant now, just every hour or so. I had a follow-up with the surgeon and he was very pleased. In 6 weeks I will have another procedure performed to make my nose pretty. It’s going to get BUFFED. That’s right, they’ll numb me up again, take sterile sandpaper (I’m not kidding) and buff my nose. I wonder if they did this to Joan Rivers. Here are some pics of the progress. No longer Frankenstein here.


And no post could be complete without my resident camera queen Gracie.

Great Thought

I saw this joke today and thought it was pretty funny.
I realize it ignores the reality of the global market,,,,,but I still like it.

OPEC sells oil for $136.00 a barrel.
OPEC nations buy U.S. grain at $7.00 a bushel.
Solution: Sell U.S. grain to OPEC nations for $136.00 a bushel !!!

Can't buy it? Tough! Eat your oil! Ought to go well with a nice, thick, grilled filet of camel butt !!!


If only it were that easy.

Another American Hero Lost

America lost another hero today. A man who served his country with honor and distinction. A man who went to hell and back to defend our freedom and the freedom and liberty of others. A true member of the Greatest Generation, yet few if any knew.

This story is like many others I've heard over the past few years. A World War II veteran dies and while the family is going through their personal belongings, talking to friends or something a whole different side of the individual is revealed. A history no one knew of not even their closest family or friends. One of the more famous illustrations of this is John Bradley, a Navy Corpsman who helped raise the flag on Iwo Jima. A moment captured on film in Joe Rosenthal's famous picture.


John Bradley's son was so taken by the stories he uncovered about his father that following his death he wrote the book Flags of Our Fathers, which was later turned into a movie by Clint Eastwood. Men like John Bradley weren't seeking glory or medals or accolades. They did their job for their own reasons. And when the war was over, they came home and went about their lives.

Such is the story of a man I know from my home town. His name was Reed Potter Sr and he was 83 yrs old. I didn't know him well, probably only met him in person a few times, but I never heard a bad thing about the man. Vic's family knew him quite well, attending church with Reed and his family and playing softball with his daughters for years.

Yesterday Reed died in a car accident near his home in Kentucky. I don't know the cause yet, but I did learn a little about his past, as did a lot of people from my home town.

Reed Potter was a member of the 82nd Airborne in World War II.
- He was part of the D-Day invasion of Normandy.
- He was part of Operation Market Garden (immortalized by the movie A Bridge Too Far)
- He was part of the historic defense of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge
- He was wounded twice, receiving two purple hearts.
- He was awarded five (5) Bronze Stars for his actions in combat.

When I heard this I was floored. How many soldiers earn 5 Bronze Stars? How many earn 5 Bronze Stars and live to tell the tale? My grandfather earned 1 in World War I, but 5? Wow!! Apparently his family knew nothing of his exploits until he was interviewed recently by a PBS affiliate in Kentucky. If not for that interview, none of us may have known the history and legacy of this man.

I don't have any of the details regarding Reed's awards or his actions during the war, but I will try to find out. I'm betting there's a story there we could all learn from and could serve as a lesson for younger generations.

Our thoughts are prayers are with his family tonight.

Fare Winds and Following Seas Reed Potter.

Itching, Scratching and other Manly Things

I'm convinced I'm going to need therapy soon. The itching never stops. It wakes me up all night long. I'm up about every 20 minutes. And I can only sleep on my back or left side 'cause of my ear. That doesn't help. So,,,,I spend a lot of time thinking about itching and scratching. I can't actually scratch,,,,,that would rip my new nose apart. But I can sure think about it.

I started thinking at one point,,,,,around 3am this morning,,,,,,what if some of our favorite musical artists were experiencing what I am going thru when they wrote their songs. We could have:

You’ve Got another Itch Comin – Judeus Priest
Only Women Itch – Alice Cooper
How Deep is your Itch – The Bee Gees
Ooops I Scratched it Again – Britney Spears
My Itch will go On – Celene Dion
What a Girl Scratches – Christina Aguilera
Who’ll Stop the Itch – Creedence Clearwater Revival
All She Wants to do is Scratch – Don Henley
New Itch in Town – The Eagles
Benny and the Itch – Elton John
Here Comes the Itch Again – Eurythmics
You Make Me Feel Like Scratching – Leo Sayer
We Got the Itch – Go Go’s
Sweet Itch of Mine – Guns ‘n’ Roses
Scratch Your Booty – KC and the Sunshine Band
Scratch Like an Eygptian – The Bangles
Don’t Scratch so Close to Me – The Police
You’ve got the Itch – Prince and Sheena Easton
You Can’t Always Reach What you Scratch – Rolling Stones
She’s a Bad Itchy Mamma – Stevie Wonder
Itch me Baby, One more time – Britney Spears

And Vic and mine's personal favorite:

I’d Do Anything for Love, But I Wouldn’t Scratch That – Meatloaf

Oh,,,,,that just kills me.

Diary of a Mad Man

It's day 5 since the surgery and I'm starting to lose it. The itching is starting to dominate every aspect of my day. My nose and ear feel like a million tiny ants, the size of microbes have descended upon them and are tickling in unison. Yes,,,,I'm sure it orchestrated,,,,there is an intellect behind this torture, this evil, this truly unbearable existence is being directed by aliens, demons from hell,,,,,I,,,,,,,,can't,,,,,,,,,stand,,,,,,it,,,,,,,,,,,,ARRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
Where's my AK47,,,,,,,,where's my whip,,,,,,,,,where's my teddy bear,,,,,,,,,Mommy?!?

All joking aside, today has been totally miserable. Allergies kicked in, sneezing, nose running, itching, constant, unending, unbearable, itching, itching, itching. It's made work extremely difficult and miserable. Did I say I was miserable yet?

But it's a good sign. A sign of healing. But I tell you,,,,,from looking at the pics below, I don't see any real healing on the outside. I took these tonight as I was cleaning the site and changing the dressing.



I'll post pics next week and we'll see if there is any improvement.

I did work out tonight for the first time since surgery. I didn't push it, just 31 minutes on the treadmill at a nice 3 mph pace. All was good until I started sweating. It was hot down in the basement,,,,,and the sweat started getting under the bandages,,,,,and,,,,,,the itching started,,,,,just a little a first,,,,,but it got worse and worse,,,,,,and,,,,,,,and I started visioning hatchets,,,,,and axes,,,,and machetes,,,,and,,,,and guns,,,,,oh yea,,,oh yea,,,,,,,

Whew,,,,that was close. Did I tell you my nose was itching a little?

Anyway, I've gained a few pounds since this whole cancer thing started. About 12 to be exact. Call it stress eating, not working out enough, lack of motivation. Pick your poison. But I'm back now and working to Curahee. My new, adjusted goal is 230 lbs for Curahee in Oct. And to finish the mountain in 2 hrs. I'm just trying to be realistic here.

I do appreciate all the emails I've received from everyone. It really does help, (not with the itching),,,,but with the stress of dealing with this type of issue. Thanks specifically to Paul and Steph,,,,who I've never met,,,,but who never fail to send me words of encouragement.

Ok,,,,enough mushy, gushy stuff. It was my Father-in-Laws Birthday Sunday and here are some pics of him, my girls and my niece Lindsay.

Let the Itching Begin

I now feel like I have poison ivy on my face and ear. It just won't stop. It's relentless. I realize, logically, with my brain that its just the skin and flesh healing. BUT OHHHHHMMMYYYYGOOODNESSSSMAAAAKKKKEEEITTTTTTSTOOOPPPPPPPPPP!!!!! ARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK,,,,, I feel a little better now. Up close I still look like Frankenstein

Vic's down again, so I cleaned my dressings myself this evening. So I'm covered in Hydrogen Peroxide, Polysporin, went through about 50 Qtips and 3 gauze pads. But by dingy,,,,,,the wound is now dressed.

Anyway,,,,looks like my new nose may be crooked. Could be the swelling and healing,,,,but I really think it's going to be crooked. I don't remember asking for Owen Wilson's nose. I wouldn't mind his money,,,,,,but not his nose.

Anyway,,,,start working out again tomorrow. I'm sure I've gained 15lbs over the last week. So I've got my work cut out for me.

G'nite All.

Nose Damage Assessment (NDA)

After the bombers attack a target recon satellites or jets take photos of the aftermath to see if objectives were destroyed. This is affectionatly referred to as BDA, Bomb Damage Assessment. Well, in the case of my nose the objective to remove the cancer was acheived, so the only thing to assess is the nose damge.

Behold - the NDA of Joe's nose.


I guess this one is an Ear Damage Assessment. It's where they got the cartilage to rebuild my nose.

The Procedure

It’s the morning after and my face feels like Evander Holyfields punching bag. But I finally got to sleep last night around midnight and got some rest. I promised the story and pics, so here they are. I’m still on pain pills, so if I ramble a bit I apologize in advance.

We showed up way early to the medical center. All because I wanted to make sure we beat traffic. It was a good thing cause I had to spend 20 minutes in the little boys room replaying a certain scene from Dumb and Dumber. Pretty sure it was the nervousness of having my face cut on, not knowing who I’d be when it was all over.

We were called back to the procedure room where the lovely nurse gave me two valium to chew up. Not a bad taste if you like eating bark or weed roots or something. She said by chewing them up it would get in my system faster. And they did. J

The doc came in, some chit chat, jokes, he met Vic, then it was time to start. The first part was the numbing of my nose. When I had the biopsy they also numbed my nose and it was quite painful. Afterwards I teared, sneezed and snotted for 5 minutes, it wasn’t pretty. But my nurse yesterday was awesome. One little stick and that was it.

They let the numbing take effect for about 10 minutes then it was time to start carving the turkey. Slice, slice, slice, a little blood, more slicing. No big deal really except it was taking place right in front of my eyes. The doc told me to keep my eyes closed, but I had to watch. Big roundish chunk they removed, right off the end of my nose. Then they cauterized the site to prevent bleeding while lab checked the first cut of meat. There’s nothing quite like hearing the sound of your flesh being burned, unless of course it’s the acidic smell of your flesh being burned. I tried to get Vic to take pics of this part, but she wasn’t getting any closer than she had to for that procedure.

Then it was out to the waiting area while the lab determined if they’d gotten all the cancer. The valium had kicked in real good by this point, so the iPod was cranked. I tried to read some of Tom Clancy’s – Hunt for Red October, but between the nerves, excitement, valium and smell of burnt flesh,,,,it wasn’t a real possibility.

They called me back in and the doc explained he’d gotten ALL the cancer on the first hack. This was great news!!! Although he took a lot of the end of my nose already, he would have had to take much more if there were still cancer there. Again, this was great news to me. I was able to relax a little now. So now it was time to rebuild my nose.

To rebuild my nose they had to take cartilage from my ear so out come the needles again to numb the ear. Once numbed, more slicing, cartilage removal, pulling and stretching of skin, more cutting, more skin removal and moving, slicing, stretching etc. This was by far the longest part of the procedure. And according to Vic through it all my mouth NEVER STOPPED. She said the valium had me just a humming, telling every Navy story I could think of.

Near the end I found out my doc was also a triathlete. His name is Mark Baucom if anyone knows him. We talked about my efforts this year to lose weight and Curahee. I told him I was still primarily walking, but had started running a little each night. Walk 5-8 minutes, then run 2-4. He said his sister was like me, started out walking, then would run the distance between 2 telephone poles, then walk a while and repeat. She kept at it and was now running races. He then tells me I can start walking again in 2 days, and will be able to start running and lifting weights in 1 week. MUCH better news than I was prepared for. So I’m pretty happy right now.

With everything done it was time to go home. I was worried the girls would be scared of my bandages and stuff when we got home, but they weren’t. Alyssa says I look like an elf. I didn’t realize til I got home how little bandages I actually had. And since they’re skin colored, they don’t stand out.

I worked a good portion of the afternoon. My teams had some integration testing and patch loadings taking place and I just couldn’t keep myself away from it. But eventually I did, cranked the iPod and layed down.

Well, that’s about it. It wasn’t best case scenario with regard to size of the removal, but it surely wasn’t worst case either. Doc says that when it heals I should look better than when I walked into his door. I gotta say,,,,the man is confident, and I like him. If there are two people in the world I don’t mind being a bit cocky and arrogant, it’s fighter pilots and plastic surgeons.

Vic took pics during the procedure. And here they are.






Here I am this morning. The color of these bandages really make me look almost normal. But I don't see where Alyssa gets the Elf comment.

One more thing, Haily lost another tooth. It was so loose I was able to pull it out with my fingers.


Thanks everyone for your thoughts, prayers and emails of support and encouragement.

It's Over

Just wanted to let everyone know the surgery is over.
Took about 4 hours, they got all the cancer, and I have a new nose.

In a lot of pain right now, so I'll go into the details tomorrow. Vic took pictures during the procedure, I'll post them to.

G'nite all.

End of an Era

The surgery is tomorrow. Will it be 2 stitches and a Tylenol or a total nose reconstruction. I'll let you guys be the judge by posting pics as soon as possible.

The surgery will take 4-8 hours I believe. Depends on how much they remove. In between slices, I have to go to a waiting area until they determine if they got it all. I'm taking my iPod, Blackberry and a book for this down time. Even so, I'll be bored to tears I'm sure.

I just had a thought, what if I sneeze during the procedure? Ouch,,,,that won't be good.

Hailey wanted me to post some pics of the old nose before the surgery, so here they are.

G'nite all.

The Surprise

So the surprise coming with Gran Gran and Pa Paw was my niece Lindsay. She's my favorite niece actually and we're all glad to have her here. Hey,,,,you know,,,,,I think she's my only niece. Anyway, so now it's really a house full of girls. Pa Paw and I can do nothing but hide.

I took all the girls to the pool yesterday evening and today and they've had a blast. Hailey's learning to swim really well. Standing on her hands, doing flips underwater.

Alyssa is still wearing floaties, but I think she'll be done with those soon. She's starting to open her eyes underwater without a mask or goggles. I tell ya,,,,,Navy Seal material.

And Gracie is still our social butterfly. Tonight is a great example.
- She co-opts another Mom in the pool to swim around with her. I've never seen this woman before in my life.
- The Mom's name is Catherine, but Gracie insists on calling her Elizabeth,,,,and does.
- She finds a group of boys around 10-12 years old playing by the big water mushroom. The boys are laying down on the ground in the water, so Gracie proceeds to run around all of them and over them splashing water into their faces. She had never seen these boys before tonight. And they didn't seem to mind the extra water.

Lindsay is a great swimmer and after my superb lessons last night in throwing and catching a ball she did MUCH better playing catch tonight. (Last night - she caught 1 ball thrown her way, tonight 20 balls). Yep, this proves I can teach anyone. (I can't let her read this or I'll find myself glued to the bed.)

Here's Gracie under the mushroom, without the boys.

Alyssa floating.

Hailey getting ready to do an underwater flip.

Lindsay pulling Gracie around the pool.

Alyssa just getting airborne during a jump into the pool.

The landing. Look at that form and distance.


Gracie picking up every toy around the pool.

Lindsay practicing throwing a ball.

Gracie posing.

Lindsay laughing at one of my jokes.

Hailey's Recital

Yesterday was Hailey’s 5th Ballet recital, and it couldn't have come on a better day. Vic was relatively headache free all day. First time this week.

Hailey performed 3 numbers.
- a Tap number to “We Like to Party”, (The Six Flags Commercial song)
- a jazz number to “I Don’t Dance’, from High School Musical 2
- a Ballet number to “Enchanted Suite” from the movie Enchanted

As usual, she did a wonderful job and was beautiful. She wants to be a member of Steps Dance Company, but that’s a lot of hard work and a lot of expense. I told her she’d have to work out all summer long and get in real good shape to audition and make company.
So, I have another, albeit inspirational, goal for this summer.

One thing that I did discover yesterday in the recital was that the artist Fergie has a pretty good voice. I’d never heard the song Finally before. Some of the older Company dancers did a number to the song and it was beautiful. It’s stuck in mine and Vic’s head, so I had to download from iTunes.

Gran Gran and Pa Paw Kelly are coming in today. The kids are really excited, but what they don’t know is they’re bringing a big surprise. Can’t say now what it is, I’ll let the cat out tonight.
All for now. More later.

Oh and here are pics from the recital. Unfortunately we were sitting really far back and my digital camera only has a 3x optical zoom, so I had to use the digital zoom. Next camera will have a minimum 10x optical zoom.