Merry Christmas to All and Happy Birthday Christa.

Happy Birthday Christa. She would have been 38 today. I hope that all of you who cared for Christa were able to take a minute to remember her on her birthday.

I hope all are having a wonderful Christmas season. Only 11 more days until Christmas is over and then we can start planning for next year.

In all seriousness, this is my Christmas wish to you.

May the peace of God be with you and may the stillness of that Holy night, when the world welcomed the One called Wonderful, be in your heart and calm your spirit.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

Eilish Gets Her Bling.

Eilish participated in her second gymnastics meet of the season today. Her hard work has payed off. She placed first on uneven bars and vault and placed sixth on beam and floor. To top it all off she placed second in all-around. For those who are keeping count, that is a total of five medals. To say the least, she is extremely excited and her Dad couldn't be more proud.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

P.S. I hope you had a good first Sunday of Advent.

Don't Be Surprised If You Get Garth For Christmas.

This may be the perfect Christmas gift. This Garth Brooks collection will be available through many retail outlets, however if you will use the link here $10. of your $15. purchase will go toward finding a cure for Breast Cancer. Your money will be going to the
Susan G. Komen Foundation.

Garth Brooks – The Ultimate Hits Exclusive “Pink Edition”!

Garth Brooks has joined forces with Susan G. Komen for the Cure in the promise to end breast cancer forever, with the release of the “Pink Edition” of The Ultimate Hits album. The album is a new 3-disc set, and contains 30 classics, 3 new songs and a bonus track on two CDs. The set also includes a DVD with videos for all 33 songs, including new and never-before-seen footage.

For every “Pink Edition” of The Ultimate Hits album sold, $10 will go to Komen for the Cure. Each CD is packaged with important information to help you protect your breast health, and the health of people you love.

The album is currently available for pre-orders, and will ship on November 5th. This is a Promise Shop exclusive - order now and reserve yours today!

Peace And Good Cheers,
Marty

Cover Girl Models Roll for the Cure.

So for those who don't know, the girls were asked to be on the cover of a magazine to help promote "Breast Cancer Awareness Month". It was cool, the girls actually got to do a "photo shoot".

The woman on the far left is Miss Missouri. The woman just to their right lost her mother to breast cancer. The last woman, with the hat on, is two years in as a survivor.

Not everyone can say that their girls are cover models. :)

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

First full Day of Fall.

Good morning all and welcome to the first full day of fall. This is my favorite time of the year. I love to feel the the chill in the air as the Fall ushers Summer off for its well deserved vacation.

I have officially started growing out my winter whiskers. As usual I have one daughter who is happy with this and the other who will tolerate it because she has no real say in the matter. :)

We planted a bunch of mums at the front of the house this weekend. It should add some much needed fall color. That is if they make it through the initial planting stage.

I know it is hard to believe , but I didn't hit the lottery this weekend so I now have to head off to work. I'm beginning to wonder if this is the best vehicle for my retirement plan?

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

I Learned Something New.

My cousin, Elizabeth, Has taught me something new today. I challenged everyone to go out and make a difference in the fight against breast cancer. She showed me how you can make a difference, every day, without doing anymore then surfing the web. Here is how:

Visit:

The Breast Cancer Site

At this site, click on the pink button that says "Click here to give... it's free"

This site relies solely on advertising. And if enough people click this button everyday, then the advertisers pay for someone to have a mammogram, every single day.

It's really easy. I added it as a second home page. I don't even have to think about going to the page, it just comes up. Open the page in a second tab, and then go to internet preferences/settings, and for the homepage, click the button that says "use current".

It's that simple

After you click on the button the first time, the site will show you the statistics on the service they have provided because people took the time to click. Every little bit helps and this one is free.

Peace and Good Cheer,
Marty

P.S. Thank you again Elizabeth.

People, What Are You Waiting For.

A challenge is in order. I want to challenge everyone to participate in one event over the next year that benefits Breast Cancer Research. I know that here in Columbia, there are events year round that help to raise money for this cause. I will be posting information soon about one of the many events happening during October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

My Cousin and the rest of her family have already done their part. They dedicated their race in honor of Christa. What will you do?

I hope I will have many take me up on my challenge and when you do send me a picture. I would like nothing more than to post them on my blog. Good luck to all.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

P.S. I "swiped" the picture from Elizabeth's blog. Check there for more great pictures.

366 Days, But Who is Counting.

Thanks again to all who visited my blog on 9/18. It was the largest amount of "hits" I have ever had and it shows me that we are still in many peoples thoughts.

I hope everyone will take a minute and look over the entire blog. I have added several new pictures as well as a poll question where you can vote for your favorite answer. Most of the questions will be of the humorous nature, so I hope we can have fun with it.

Gotta head to work.

Peace and Good Cheer,
Marty

11:00 pm And Life Goes On.

So I've decided that I really had no idea what to expect from today. What I do know is that I have had a good day. I've heard from a few people that I haven't heard from in a while which was nice. I've had people, whose opinion I value greatly, say very nice things about me. Always a plus.

So, what does it all mean? Here is what I've come up with. Today should always be a day to celebrate Christa's life. Christa is missed greatly but she is not mourned. She instilled in many the need to continue moving forward with our lives.

I want to thank all of you who have checked in on me today. I wish all of you the very best and I hope that you are so inspired to continue to move forward in all that you do.

Raise a glass for Christa.

Peace and Good Cheers to All,
Marty

6:20 And Still Going Strong.

People have said many nice things to me today. A very good friend of mine nominated me as a local "Hero". As usual it is hard for me to take such a compliment. I want to share what she wrote because it made me feel very proud.

A year ago, my nomination began to live the life of a hero. On 9/18/06, Christa Ballew-Matthews died due to inflammatory breast cancer. She left three young children (9, 6 and 3) and a loving husband.

Since then, Marty Matthews has greeted each day as an opportunity to live and teach the lessons Christa's life embodied. While others might give up, Marty remains steadfast as a parent and friend.

Like all truly great heroes, Marty isn't perfect. He reminds me every day of how the best inspirations are folks who meet the challenges of life head on with grace.

Thank you, Susan, for the very kind words. No "qualifiers" this time, just a humble thank you.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

3:15 And All Is Well.

A friend of mine sent me this earlier today. I'm sure that it is one of the many stories that people have about Christa and believe me they are always nice to hear.

Today is a very special day for the four of you as you remember Christa's passing and celebrate her life and memory. While I spent only a short amount of time with her, I do want all of you to know that I found Christa to be a truly remarkable spirit and I enjoyed my conversations with her very much. Every single time I see a box of chocolates I recall Christa telling me of her mother sending a huge box of chocolates and the purpose behind it. Everyone who enters our lives leaves a memory and I am certainly glad to have one of Christa.

Thanks for sharing your memory Leslie. I hope to post more later.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

Two In Twenty.

Sounds as if my last post has got people worried.
I have had two calls of concern in less than twenty minutes.
Really, all is well and there is nothing to be concerned about.
The previous post has more to do about getting my day to day life more organized so that "hopefully" things run a little more efficient.
Sorry for not being clearer.

I will try to post more later.

Peace and Good Cheers to All,
Marty

Almost A Year.

A friend of mine posted this on their blog a little while ago. It sums up some of what I have been thinking over the last week or so. I hope they doesn't mind me borrowing it. I'll leave it anonymous as to protect the innocent.

I think that more to the point is that I’ve resumed where I left off about a year ago when there were a couple of deaths in the family, people who served as reference points and people for me to look up to. A year later I haven’t really pressed on as much as I should have, and I have to face the fact that I’ve racked up quiet a few poor choices in the process. Some of these decisions were major ones that require some drastic course corrections on the sailboat of life. I alone am responsible, but I like to make up excuses.

To all who are concerned, I'm doing well. Reflecting on the past year. Both the good and not so good. Not that I have many things to complain about. It is however, time to try to get my "sailboat" headed in the right direction. I think I can feel the "winds of change".

"Left at the first star and straight on until morning."
Peter Pan

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

Pictures From Labor Day Weekend.

Here are a few of the pictures from our trip to the lake over the labor day weekend. We all had a blast. As you can see it was perfect weather for swimming.

Rub-a-dub-dub.

You know the rest.

Rowen was supervising the water activities.

Rowen kicking back and relaxing.

After four hours of swimming in the lake, the kids decided to spend a little time in the pool. I think this was the "rinse" cycle after the lake and before the bath with soap. I'm sure the chlorine will kill almost anything. :)

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

Smile For The Camara.

Today after work, I have to take Eilish and Elora over for their first "cover" shoot. The girls are having their picture taken with Miss Missouri for the cover of a local magazine that is sponsoring a "Roll For The Cure" in October. It should be fun for them. As soon as I have a picture I will post it.

As all of you know, October is "Breast Cancer Awareness Month". If you feel that the only way that you can support breast cancer research is by buying something pink then please do. But if you really want to maximize the dollars for research, don't buy the "pink thing" and just write a check to one of the many fine organizations that are doing the vital research. Or better yet, organize a team and join a Walk For Life. A friend of mine and I will be organizing a team in memory of her mom and Christa, who both were taken by Breast Cancer.

I hope this hasn't been to preachy for being my second post back from "getting coffee". It is just what is on my mind this morning. Have a good day all.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

Meet "Big Bertha".

Imagine this thing being pulled behind a boat, at 25-30 miles an hour, over choppy water, with Elora and I in it. Did I mention that she is doing everything she can to bounce the tube so it will "catch air". I asked her afterward if she was trying to bounce me out. She said she was. I informed her that if I had fallen out she would most likely have to. She said she was OK with that.
I can tell you I used muscles this weekend that I forgot I had.
I'll post pictures later.
I hope all had a good and safe labor day weekend.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

Went out for coffee, be back soon.

It's scary isn't it, two post in less than a week.

My mom sent me the picture above. It was taken when the kids were visiting at the beginning of the summer. Pictured are my two cousins on my Mom's side, my nephews, and of course my kids. They had a great time playing with each other and we practically had to pry them apart when it was time to leave.

I just bought three of the activity/chores charts above. I'm hoping that this, along with a small bribe, will motivate the kids to start helping a little more around the house. They should arrive in a couple of days. I bought them from Amazon.com.

Everything else is going well. I 'm looking forward to the short week. We actually get July 4th off so I'm planning on taking the kids to see Transformers during the day and then the fireworks in the evening. It should be fun.

That is it for now.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

P.S. I was roughly 15 minutes shy of a week. For those who are counting.

I'm Back! Did You Miss Me?

Good morning all.

Sorry I've been neglecting my blog. Actually it's not that I've been neglecting it, the truth is I've been letting work impede my blogging time. We have been short a key holder at work so I've had to work a lot more opening shifts. Having to be at work at 8 am hasn't allowed me the time to go sit, drink coffee, and blog to my hearts content. I know you fill sorry for me, but my mom has informed me that this is what most people have to do.

Everyone is well here. The kids are going to day camp at the gym. Their having a good time and coming home exhausted. Yeah. Besides day camp, I have Elora seeing a tutor once a week so she can maintain her reading level. last week was the first meeting and she seemed to enjoy it. Eilish does pretty well at reading in her spare time. She enjoys it.

The kids visited Grandma Gretchen the first week after school got out. My sister drove up from Austin with her boys so there was a full house to say the least. They had a blast. Hopefully they will get to visit Grandma Sue sometime in August.

Gonna close for now. Hopefully it won't be as long until my next post. I hope everyone is well.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

A Doctor Story.

So today on of Christa's doctors, her OB/GYN, came into Chipotle for lunch with her husband. As I watched her eat lunch, I felt this small wave of anger come over me that I have never felt before. This Doctor was the one who misdiagnosed Christa in the beginning. She had thought it was a mastitis. It was after two courses of antibiotics that she decided to send Christa for a biopsy and we all know the rest of the story.

Now, I know that Inflammatory Breast Cancer is hard to diagnose. Even with all the publicity that the disease has gotten it is still very rare and many doctors will never see it. I also know that this Doctor is very competent. In my opinion, she made an understandable mistake.

The thing that got me upset was that she was setting there enjoying lunch with her husband and having a good time. She was doing something that I don't get to do anymore.

I was really surprised at how these feelings came up. When it is all said and done, I was probably more bothered by how that "feeling" was able to well up inside of me, than I was with the Doctor.

I hope some of this makes sense.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

I Dislike Hospitals.

This morning I escorted a friend of mine to the doctor for a biopsy for skin cancer. She has been putting it off for a while even though the Doctor had told her she thought they were benign. She called yesterday morning and said she was going today and would really like some company. So I made a mad dash of phone calls, got my shift covered, and did as I promised her I would do. She is a kindred spirit. She lost both of her parents to cancer. Her father passed away shortly before Christa.

Gotta tell you I don't like hospitals any better now than a year or two ago. But, I was able to "suck it up" and make it through.

I'm going to take the rest of the day and work on some projects at the house. The laundry is trying to reclaim a few rooms so the battle will ensue when I get home.

I hope everyone is well. I'll post again soon.

Peace and Good Cheer,
Marty

Sorry I've been a poor host lately. I've been allowing other concerns to creep into my blogging time.

So now for an update. The kids are all doing well. They have been taking advantage of the sunshine to play outside as much as possible.

Eilish is making progress on her level six skills for next year. If she continues to practice this hard through the summer she should make it.

Elora's practices have gotten much better. Molly, her coach, developed a sheet which she fills out at the end of practice which tells how well they did. Elora was rather proud of her row full of checks for last night.

Rowen is his happy-go-lucky self. He and Elora are going to a birthday party at Bonkers tomorrow night. They will be exhausted. Ha Ha

I've yet to make it to yoga classes. The way it is looking now, it may be June before I get started. A friend has told me of another yoga studio I may look into.

Well I'm going to wrap this up for now. I gotta go pick up the kids from school.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY.

Happy mothers day to all who are. My moms, both Gretchen and Sue, have been there so many times for me over the last year that I thought that I needed give them a public thank you. THANK YOU.

I wanted to share with everyone the gift that I gave Sue for Mothers Day. My mom and sister, Jennifer, made a throw blanket for her that has a patch work heart sewn in the middle. The heart is made from some of Christa’s clothes; head scarfs, pajamas, shirts, etc.

They made one for Sue and each of the kids. It will give the kids a comfort tool when they need one.

Peace and Happy Mothers Day,
Marty

Funny Ha Ha.

I sometimes feel that God must be having a good laugh at my expense. I was all excited about going to my yoga class on Friday. Got there a little early and waited. Finally, at the time that class was supposed to start, I looked at the calender on the door and noticed that my class is canceled until Intersession classes start. Hello, no one told me this during the planning process.

This is the second time in two weeks that something I was really looking forward to has been canceled. The first was the gallery crawl and now this.

I feel like I should expect my counseling session to be canceled at the last minute just so I don't get my hopes up. If it does get canceled expect to see me on the news tomorrow evening, standing in the middle of the 9th street, yelling at the top of my voice, "why has thou forsaken me?".

Or maybe I'll just go drink a beer.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

Gonna Relax Until It Hurts.

I have about thirty minutes before my first yoga class. I hope the instructor doesn't tie me in some shape loosely resembling a pretzel. I also hope they have 911 on speed dial just in case.

I decided to go easy on the coffee this morning, just one, little, eight ounce cup. I didn't think drinking several cups would be such a good idea before trying to learn to relax.

So far the majority of voters, all 2 of them, have chosen "The Coffee Press" as their favorite name for my next business venture. You can always just email your vote to me if you don't want to post in the comments section.

Gotta go.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

Stress Bad. Help Good.

As some may know, my stress level has been a little high over the previous couple of weeks. I feel like that I have come to some realizations as to what is causing this and am now taking some steps to remedy this.

I start yoga classes on Friday at 9:30. This, in it's own right, is a sacrifice in that the "High Court of Caffeine", i.e. morning coffee, will only be in session for roughly 45 minutes. After yoga, it's off to work.

I have also decided to meet with the Pastor of my church for counsel. For those who remember, Amy was the official at Christa's memorial service. I will meet with her on Monday, after work. It should be interesting.

Now I'm trusting that those who are reading this will be discreet about some of this information as I don't want rumors started. After all, it's not like I'm posting it on the web. Wish me luck.

Peace and Less Stress To All,
Marty

News From The High Court of Caffiene.

Now for some good news. I got a letter from Stephens College saying that Rowen had received a $5500 scholarship to attend day care there during the 07-08 school year. That will cover everything but before and after daycare which cost me about $100 a month.

For those whom I have not told, Rowen is now learning to write letters and numbers and he can also recognize the letters in his name with ease. He will be 4 in June.

Now for something completely different.

For those who don’t know, I backed out of the coffee shop plan because I was concerned with the amount of time that this project would have taken from the family. I did offer my services as a consultant to owners of the building but have not heard back from them.

I have decided to pursue my weekly, lite news, publication which I have mentioned before. It would be something I can start from home and with very little financial output. It would be similar in format to Coffee News for those who have seen this publication. I have two possible names and would like to hear your thoughts:

1. The Coffee Press
2. The Bistro Bugle
   

Thanks and I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Please keep this information on the "down low" as I can't afford to give away another idea like eBay.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

P.S. I'm holding court at the coffee shop this morning until 9:30 am.

You Have Got To Be Kidding.

I just sent the following email to Governor Blunts office. For those who don't know, it has been proposed by the Governor to sale off some of the assets of MOHELA, which is the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority, to private institutions and use the funds for capital improvements.

I have to say that I was neutral to the “MOHELA” plan that has been working its way through the legislature. I understand that the leadership in the legislature has managed to get this to a vote and in the process projects were cut in districts of opponents of the sale.

After having lost my wife to Inflammatory Breast Cancer last September 18th, I find it very disturbing that the population of mid-Missouri, both Republican and Democrat, will be penalized by the elimination of funds for the expansion of Ellis Fischel Cancer Center. It is sad that the lives of cancer patients, now and in the future, can be considered collateral damage in the great game of politics.

My hope that you, Governor Blunt, can be the one person to stand above the partisanship and push to reinstate the funds for Ellis Fischel. Mid-Missouri cancer patients deserve better.

Thank you,
Marty Matthews

Peace and Deep Thoughts,
Marty

Relaxation Suggestions.

My dear friend Shelly posted in the previous comments that she thinks a good "message" might be just the thing I need.

Now Shelly, what kind of guy do you think I am that I would darken the door step of a massage parlour?

(Please send your references to my email inbox.)

I'll post more later.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

RELAX.

It was kind of a stressful weekend again. Not as bad as last weekend, but still stressful. It's not that anything "bad" has happened to induce this feeling. I think it is the culmination of many small things, piled one on top of another, that is weighing on me.

So I have decided to take a friend's advice and "relax".
Just relax.
Slow down.
Take a deep breath.
As soon as I post this I'm going to email Christa's yoga instructor and see if there is a morning class that I can take after I drop the kids off at school. I think I need to take some time for myself to "relax" so that I am ready to enjoy the good things in life when they come along and there are many good things in this life.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

The Title Is In The Picture.

I have to say that the days that I can go, set, and drink coffee in the morning before anything else, are the good days. Just seeing the usual faces and saying "hi" to the usual people is very relaxing. No surprises. Just "the usual". The only thing that can make it better is when there is someone to share both the coffee and the conversation with. There is always someone to "chit-chat" with, but an in depth conversation can really get the brain churning. Or maybe it is the coffee. Maybe I need to do a study on this.

More later.

Peace and Good Coffee,
Marty

It Is In The Mail.

I got my State taxes in the mail at exactly 6:35 p.m. I had a whopping 25 minutes to spare. Now you have to understand that I filled my Federal statement electronically, in the middle of February, because I was getting money back. I waited until today for the State return because I owed them a grand total of $34. There was a point to be made. I'm not entirely sure what the point was, but I made it.

If you have not sent your taxes off yet you have 22 minutes. Better get moving.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

How Many Days Until Friday?

I have to say that last weekend was extremely long. It wasn't any one thing that made it that way. It was the culmination of many little things. As soon as I post this I'm headed to bed. My sleep has been erratic at best over the last couple weeks and didn't get any better this weekend. To many thoughts, to little time.

Elora was really a challenge. She and Rowen could hardly be in the same room with each other without arguing over something. I will say that at least half the time Rowen is the instigator. Even when that happened, Elora certainly knows how to take the argument to the next level. After having butted heads with Rowen and then butting heads with me, Elora came in, after she had been in bed for an hour, and said that she didn't feel well and the she wanted her mother. We talked about Christa for awhile then she went back to bed and went right to sleep.

From other things that have been said by the kids over the last week, I think that the realization that Christa is not coming home is starting to sink in and they are all starting to talk about her each in their own way. I think this is good.

That is all my news. I hope all is well with you. Say a prayer for Virginia Tech.

Peace and Good Memories,
Marty

I've Resorted To Talking About The Weather.

The question of the day is should we be concerned with the fact that they are predicting snow on the evening of Friday the 13th? They have scaled the prediction back to around an inch of accumulation and the high tomorrow is "supposed" to be around 45 degrees. If that holds true any snow should be gone by tomorrow evening. Anyone up for a snowball fight?

Tomorrow I have to take Eilish to gymnastics at 9 am and then take Elora over to one of her friends house for a birthday party at 10 am. They are going to go to a movie and then go back to play and have cake and ice cream. It will be just Rowen and I for a couple of hours. We will have to find something fun to do which for him means going to McDonald's (a.k.a. the second level of hell).

I hope everyone is well.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

You Don't Have to Yell, The Washer Is Running.

The new washer is in and I didn't have to go to the laundry mat. I've decided that the new washer is large enough to wash the kids in, all be it one at a time, if it should become necessary. It could make bath time very interesting.

The only down fall is that the new washer is way to quite. I can actually hear the television over the washer while it is running, without closing the two doors that stand between the two. I should be caught up on laundry tonight or tomorrow at the latest.

It's a good thing.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

P.S. It never hurts to have 911 on speed dial.

P.S.S. First person to hurl during the spin cycle will be asked to leave the island.

Laundry Is Backing Up. If You Don't Hear From Me Soon Call 911.

I hope everyone had a happy Easter. I know I did. I got to go to Lowe's and buy me a new washing machine. Jealous aren't you. There is that one sound that we all know and dread. The sound of grinding gears. It comes in many different frequencies. But, no matter what the specific sound is, we know what it means. Pain. In this case the "pain" of buying a new washer. Delivery is Tuesday.

That's all for know.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

P.S. Prayers for Brady and Barb.

Just a quick note, Sue and her mother opened their antique store on Wednesday. They had the store blessed by the Episcopal priest and then it was off to the races.

Mark sent me a link to a gallery of pictures from the store. If you have a minute check out some pictures of White Cat Antiques.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

Pictures From Spring Break.

My Mom took these when she was here over the kids spring break.

No this is not part of Eilish's bar routine.

This may actually be part of Elora's routine.

Probably part of the Batman training program.

My Zoom Zoom Zoom.

Peace and Good Cheer,
Marty

Zoom Zoom Zoom

I've gathered that there are many people who feel that I needed a new car. Well guess what, I got a new car. Actually it is a new/used car. I bought a 2006, Mazda 5. It is candy apple red, seats 6, and gets 28 mpg on the highway. It's kind of a mini, minivan.

I want to thank my Mom and Dad for first talking me into looking for a new car, and second walking me through the process.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

So The Question Of The Day Is.....

If I step out on my own and open a coffee shop, what do I do about insurance? Are there plans for small business, or maybe coop plans, that anyone knows about?

This is one of those post that will hopefully spark a little discussion (see previous post).

Thank you for the replies.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

An Open Letter To The You.

Friends,

I would like for this blog to become more of a "discussion" than a journal. Although I'm glad that you have taken the time to keep up with the exploits of my family, it would also be nice to hear your thoughts on things. After all, the majority of the time Eilish is the most "adult"person I talk to. Granted she is mature for her age but ten is still ten.

There will be some entries that don't require responses. You'll know them when you see them. Other entries will be specifically written to initiate a discussion.

Of course, you are always welcome to just read my blog and I will also continue practicing to be on that new game show "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?" or in my case a fourth grader. HELP, I'm surrounded.

Let the discussion begin.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

"Have A Good Idea?"

Did I hear her right? Did the clerk at the convenience store just tell me to "have a good idea"? I know she was meaning to say "have a good day", which she quickly added. At first I thought I may have been suffering from coffee deprivation.

The reason I found this so weird is that all I've been trying to do this week is to " have a good idea". I think I have a couple stuck in the back of my head so I've been trying to get them pulled out intact.

I've been trying to figure out ways to make more money. Now, before rumors get started, We are not headed to the poor house. I'm just trying to be the good capitalist and increase my take home pay without having to take anymore time away from my children. There in lies the rub.

Let me share with you the ideas that I'm working on.

I've been presented with the opportunity to open a small coffee shop in the only area of Columbia that is not over populated with coffee shops. It would be surrounded by one of Columbia's four major hospitals, four large office complexes , and five hotels all within walking distance. The beauty of this idea is that the store would operate on Doctor's hours and the landlord is open to many different financial arrangements.

The second idea would be a publishing business ran out of the house. This would be a single sheet, "lite" news, paper published once a week and distributed free through varies coffee shops, restaurants, doctors offices, etc. How do you make money on this? I have one word for you, "PLASTIC". Actually the word is "advertising".

So I'm now soliciting your input. If you need more details let me know. I have to keep some things on the "down low" so that I don't give anyone else another good idea on how to make money.

Well I have to go make money for "the man" now. Blog you later.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

P.S. This is the stuff that Christa used to hear all the time. Now it is your turn. Thanks.

What It Is All About.

Need I say more.

This last picture shows Christa's artwork that I've had framed. This is my "gallery".
I hope everyone likes it.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

Six Months or Yesterday.

Over the past week or so I've been thinking about what today would be like and what it all means. For those who have not been counting, today it has been six months since Christa passed. She loosed her fight not for lack of will but lack of strength. She fought so hard and never gave up.

Christa was a wonderful mom. Early on in our relationship, I can remember her saying that she didn't think she really wanted to have children. Actually I believe she said if we were going to have children it would be me doing the "pushing". She tried to make sure that the children were exposed to as many things as possible. She taught them that beauty can be found in a pencil sketch as well as the painting of the "masters".

She was a beautiful woman. She had a beauty that shown from within. I find that as I look back through the pictures I realize "wow, I am a lucky man". To have been loved by a woman so with so much beauty.

In many ways September 18th could have been yesterday and yet it has been six months. I have been surprised at how many people have moved forward doing things that six months ago would have seemed so out of character for them. Maybe it is because we now have a muse or guardian angel. I hope to be among those who move forward and make Christa proud.

Christa I love you and I miss you.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

I talked to Sue and Gary this evening. It sounds as if everyone is very excited about the upcoming opening. I hope we get to go out to Carson City this summer and see the place.

A good idea opening on the second, April Fools Day is probably not the best day to open a new business.

Peace and Good Luck,
Marty

Roller Coaster Week.

Where do I begin? This past week was a little tough. Most of it has been in my head. That doesn't mean that I need to see a "shrink" so let's just throw that thought out the window right now. The following is my laundry list for the week.

First, let's talk about work. This is the first week in over a month that I have actually worked near forty hours. Now before everyone pulls out those tiny little violins to start tuning them up, please understand that I'm not complaining about the hours except that it doesn't give me time to do some of the other things I need to do.

I got a call from Wash U. on Tuesday about an outstanding medical bill. I had been trying to get the insurance company to explain why they haven't payed it. I will go ahead and write them a check since they shaved 20 percent off. I can still get a refund if First Health decides to pay.

Wednesday I got a from a collection company. They had a bill for $3.15 that hadn't been paid.
I thought about asking them if they would take payments but decided to go ahead and pay the whole amount.

Thursday I heard that sound that we all dread. The starter seems to be heading out on the van. Luckily the Sable seems to be running well. I was hoping to hold off on buying a "new" car but that may not be an option.

The end of the week looked brighter. My income tax refund got here. I also found my bonus check that I had forgotten about and hadn't cashed. I also found a letter from the state that said I had over payed my business taxes and I'm due a refund. Cha-Ching.

I think that what really struck me the most this week is that I that it will be six months on the on the 18th since Christa left us. I don't know how this could be coming around so soon. Also, the 17th, St Patrick's day, is the day that Christa and I had our first date. We went and saw Wall Street at the theater. I may have to light two candles that day.

So here is the update. Sorry for the long time between post. I will try to blog again soon.

Peace and Good Memories,
Marty

20 Ways To Test Your Level Of Sanity

I found this on another blog and couldn't decide where I would fall:

1. At Lunch time, sit in your parked car with sunglasses on and point a hairdryer at passing cars, watch to see if they slow down

2. Page yourself over the intercom and don't disguise your voice

3. Every time someone asks you to do something, politely ask them If they want fries wiff dat!

4. Put your garbage can on your desk and label it IN Box

5. Put decaf in your coffeemaker at work for 3 weeks,once the employees have gotten over their addiction to caffeine, switch over to espresso

6. In the memo fields of all your checks, write For smuggling diamond expenses

7. Finish all your sentences with In accordance with the prophecy

8. Dont use any punctuation

9. As often as possible, skip rather then walk

10. Order a DIET water whenever you dine out to eat and say it with a serious face

11. Specify that your drive-through order is TO GO!

12. Sing along at the Opera

13. Go to a poetry recital and politely ask why the poems don't rhyme

14. Put mosquito netting around your desk area at work and play tropical Island sounds

15. Five days in advance of a friends party, announce to them you wont be attending because you're not in the mood.

16. Have your co-workers address you by your wrestling name Rock Bottom

17. When your money comes out of the ATM machine, scream loudly woohoo I hit the jackpot..

18. When leaving the zoo, start running and begin screaming they're loose, run for your lives!

19. Tell your kids over dinner due to the current economy, we are going to have to let one of you go

20. Make someones day by smiling at them and then say to them Do I know you?

OPENING SOON.

Good morning all.

Sue sent me an email last night updating me on her post retirement project, White Cat Antiques L.L.C..

She got the keys yesterday and will spend the next month moving in and getting everything ready to open. I believe that she is planning to open around the first of April.

Mark, Christa's brother, has been recruited to build a website for the store with a shopping cart so that they can get some e-commerce going.
They will also be linking their website to the Memorial Fund For The Arts blog to give that project more exposer. If you have a website or blog, and are so inclined, please give a link to White Cat Antiques and help her out.

Sue also indicated that she will be taking retirement in July. Sounds like she is looking forward to this next chapter in her life. Please wish her good luck.

Family update coming soon.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

Brain Age = ?

House in Quarantine.

Plague has set in at my house. Rowen woke up running a fever last Tuesday. He stayed home and was fine as long as I kept him dosed up on Tylenol. Wednesday he went to school, again dosed up on Tylenol, and had a good day at school. He now has a cough that is slowly getting better.

With all my best prevention techniques, Eilish started running a low grade fever on Friday. This would have been fine except Eilish had gymnastics meet this weekend. Considering the fever, Eilish held her own and understands why she scored how she did.

Elora has yet to pick "it" up. Thank goodness. Hopefully she be able to fight this off.

I will try to blog more later.

Peace and Good Health,
Marty

Thoughts for Ash Wednesday.

Welcome to the first day of Lent. That' right, it's Ash Wednesday and the party is over. Forty days until Easter, what temptations will you overcome on your journey through life.

The only "physical" sacrifice that I am making is to give up soda, or any other drink with high fructose corn syrup. They're not good for you and I don't need the extra calories. I should "be feeling the love" from the coffee shops as they will be my main supplier of caffeine. I may also take up yoga, but this is still under consideration.

The other thing that I will be working on is conquering apathy and laziness. I feel that I, more than most people, should know that none of us know the amount of time that we have on this Earth and I need to start making best of everyday given. Christa taught me this. I'm not ready to give all the details of what this means except to say it is time to put up or shut up. The few small projects that I have accomplished lately around the house have wet my appetite for more.

So your challenge today is to ask yourself, "what can I do today to improve my situation?" It is a simple question and I know you'll find the answer to be just as simple. Take that answer and act on it. I'm near certain that you will feel better about yourself even if you don't succeed. It is the challenge, and the journey, that matters.

Until next time.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

Join The Aleconner Book Club.

We went to see Bridge To Terabithia yesterday. I've thought about this movie a lot today and have come to some conclusions that I thought I might share. No need to worry, I won't give anything away.

For anyone who wonders how I feel about what has happened in my life over the past six months, take two hours out of your life and go see this movie. It encapsulates many of the emotions and thoughts I have and feel. It also sums up why I feel that I have to be the best father I can be.

If you don't feel like seeing the movie, then join me in reading the book. I'm starting today. It should be a quick read and I'm sure that we will all have some very interesting discussions.


Peace and Good Reading,
Marty

Second Snow This Week.

So tonight was the Lee School dance. Anybody want to guess what the weather decided to do? You guessed it two inches in just under 2 hours. I think they pull out the old farmer's almanac and look for the Friday night with the best chance at getting the crappiest weather. I can hear the discussion, "hey, here it is, February 16th, three to five inches of snow with wind gust up to twenty miles an hour and a high in the teens. All for the 16th say yea, all opposed nae, the yeas carry with no decent.

As usual, the halls were at capacity with kids and parents. Where is a hall monitor when you need one? The weather didn't detour many from showing up and having fun.

Now for something completely different. I picked up everyone's packages from the post office today. Seems the postman decided not to leave them at the house. You would have thought it was Christmas seeing me leaving the post office with four packages, one on top of the other. Thank you goes out to my Mom and Dad, Sue and Gary, Jen and Ken and the boys, Catha and Jon and the kids, Ivan and Regina and the kids, and Joan. I will try to verbally say thanks next time talk, but until then I wanted to let everyone know that everything arrived and was appreciated.

Peace and Good Cheer,
Marty

Ready For St. Patrick's Day.

Hope you have a Super Valentine's Day.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

33 Is The New 42.

This Brain Age game is really interesting. I'm sure that a good percentage of any improvement is in learning how to take the test. Having achieved a Brain Age score of 33, I'm wondering if I forget something from two or three weeks ago, is it because I've now regressed to that age? If this isn't the case I, at least, should get originality points for coming up with this excuse.

Now, as Shelly has pointed out, I just need to get the rest of me performing at age 33. I know what you all are thinking and your probably right.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

Good Morning, Good Monday.

I hope that all are well this morning. Sorry for the lack of attention that this blog has been getting lately. I would like to be able to tell you that I've been so busy with everything that I just haven't had time to post. Truth is, I've just been hanging out with the kids watching movies and thinking how I really should post something.

I've decided that it is time to get some things done that I have been putting off. The first, taking a few minutes to update my blog. The second, enjoy a cup of coffee at my favorite coffee shop.

I'm not going to give you the entire list of things that need to be done. Let's just say that I've got enough to justify taking Wednesday off and getting them done. If I don't get them done I won't be able to use the "lack of time excuse" anymore. I'll have to find a more creative excuse, example: The dog ate my free time.

I did get my "gallery wall" painted this weekend. Now I'm trying to decide the best configuration of Christa's paintings to hang. I'm very pleased with the way it has turned out so far. She would be pleased. When I get everything hung I'll post some pictures.

I'm going to wrap this up for now. I'll try to be a more dedicated blogger going forward, at least as long as I don't start repeating myself. Blog you later.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

Brain Age = 33

What is a Soul Mate?

I wish I could claim these words for my own:

What is a Soul Mate?

If you have found a smile that is the sweetest one you’ve known,
If you have heard, within a voice,
The echoes of your own,
If you have felt a touch that stirs the longings of your heart,
And still can feel that closeness
In the moments you’re apart,
If you have filled with wonder
At the way two lives can blend
To weave a perfect pattern
That is seamless, end to end,
If you believe some things in life are simply meant to be,
Then you have found your soul mate,
Your heart’s own destiny.

By Emily Matthews

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

Another Short Update.

I know, you thought I forgot how to type. The truth is I haven't really had anything to say. Life is VERY routine . I take the kids to school, go to work, pick the kids up from school, come home and then get ready to start the process over again. Exciting don't you think. Every week day down is one day closer to the weekend.

I started a project a couple of weeks ago that I'm hoping to get motivated enough to finish this weekend. I installed about twelve feet of track lighting in my living/dining room. I'm going hang four or five of Christa's pieces on twenty feet of newly painted wall. It's the newly painted part that is challenging my motivation.

Eilish had her third meet of the season today. She went into the meet with reasonable goals. She wanted to place in at least one event, i.e. bring home a medal, and she wanted to improve her all-around score. She accomplished both. She placed sixth on vault, i.e. brought home a medal, and bettered her all-around score by four tenths. Wish you could have seen the grin on her face when she got her medal. Priceless.

Starting to have problems keeping my eyes open so I think I'll turn in. It is either turn in or crack open the books of toothpicks to hold the eyelids up. Ouch.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

Brain Age = 38

YEAH For Eilish.

I'm setting at Coffee Zone pondering the start of another work week. At least the coffee is good. For those who were concerned, Eilish qualified for the state gymnastics meet this weekend. She also placed on vault. Now we can go to the rest of the meets this season and just have fun. It sounds like, from the little details that I have been given, she had a good time. She was pretty tired when she got home. Luckily, Elora and Rowen burned a lot of energy at Bonkers so they were all pretty mellow the rest of the evening. Well, I gotta go to work and play nice with the customers. I'll post more later.

Peace and Good Day,
Marty

10% Real Meat, 90% Fillers.

I am suffering from writers block again. I keep thinking that I need to set down and write something, but then I tell myself that I don't really have anything to say. There is no earth shattering news that everyone is waiting to read. The world is still turning on it's axis and life goes on. One of these days I'll set down and write one of those long winded, tear jerking posts that spreads around the web like wildfire. Not today.

I have to have Eilish at the gym by 8:30 am so that she can ride the bus, with the rest of the team, to their next meet at South East Missouri State University. They are going to watch the college girls compete after lunch and then their meet is scheduled for Saturday evening and Sunday morning. The Level 5 group is Sunday morning. I decided not to go just to see how she competes without the added pressure of Dad watching. We'll see.

I think I'm going to take Elora and Rowen to Bonkers Saturday afternoon so that they can go "bonkers" without wrecking our house. I've told Elora that this "treat" is dependent on her doing some work on her room in the morning hours.

I've decided that Elora definitely has a better understanding of math for her age than Eilish had at the same age. I was helping her with her math homework the other night and one of the problems required her to do some counting evaluations of different groups. Instead of counting each individual piece. She was counting them by 4s, ex. 4, 8, 12, and then adding on the three remaining pieces. This is a multiplication technique that Eilish's class was working on at the beginning of the school year. Pretty cool, don't you think.

I've downloaded the Skype software and after some shopping tomorrow to buy a microphone, I'll be ready to give it a try. Skype is an online phone service that allows you to talk to anyone else who has the who has Skype for free no matter where they are. I'll be hitting people up to join so don't be surprised if you get an email about it. If you already use Skype let me know so I can add you to my contact list. I've also added a Skype status bar to this blog.

I'm falling asleep as I write this, which doesn't bod well for this post winning a Pulitzer, so I better wrap this up and turn in. I hope everyone is doing well and I'll try to write more soon.

Peace and Good Dreams,
Marty

Brain Age = 42

Congradulations Are In Order!!

I now know why I haven't heard from Sue lately. She has been out joining the ranks of the self employed. She will be opening an antique store on April 1st in Carson City. The building to the left will "house" this new endeavour and is, of course, located on Main Street. I know this is a long held dream for Sue and her mother to have an Antique Store and I wish them good luck.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

I'm Not Sure If This Is A Compliment Or Not?

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Milord Earl Marty the Imaginary of Piddletrenthide on the Carpet Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

"Nice Start" To A Long Weekend.

I gotta call at 11:30 yesterday while I was at work. It was Eilish calling from school to tell me that they were releasing school at 1pm due to the ice storm moving into the area. So I had to make a mad dash to find somebody to finish my shift. I left work just as the first wave of the ice moved in.

Now to prove that Murphy's Law is always in play, last night was the only night that we had made plans for. Mizzou Gymnastics was having their "Pink Out" for breast cancer last night.


We braved the weather, dodged the sliding cars, and headed off to the Hearns Center to see Mizzou compete against the Fighting Illini and to get our "Pink Out" t-shirts. Mizzou is ranked 18th in the nation and they won last night by three points.

After the meet, it only took us twenty minutes to chip the ice off the van and thirty minutes to make our way home at twenty miles an hour. We got home just in time to go to bed. Yeah.

Eilish's gymnastics practice was cancelled this morning so i let them sleep in until about 9am. We're now getting ready to go do some grocery shopping before the second wave of ice slides into town this afternoon. Boo.

According to the weather man we may be spending most of our three day weekend at home. I'm already getting cabin fever. It sounds like I will have plenty of time to blog this weekend.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

Brain Age = 44

What Is Your Brain Age?

Because as everyone knows that I have absolutely nothing to do, I signed up to participate on one of the visionary groups for the growth of Columbia. The group I signed up for is the Arts and Culture group. I have no idea what this is going to in tell. I think this will be a good way for me to meet some like minded people in the community. The first meeting is Jan 17th. Should be interesting.

On a different note, Sue and Gary gave me a gift card for Christmas and I want to show everyone what I got. I bought a Nintendo DS Lite (onyx). I'll spare everyone the details of how cool this thing is and just say, "it's way cool".
I also bought this game called Brain Age. I swiped the following description from Amazon.com:

Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day is a fun, rewarding form of entertainment everyone can enjoy. Inspired by cutting-edge neuroscience, it's a full set of reading and mathematic exercises that stimulate the brain. At the start, you'll take a series of tests and get a score that determines how old your brain is. This is your "Brain Age" -- by performing daily exercises just minutes a day over weeks and months, the better you'll get and the lower your Brain Age will get.

So for those who are curious my Brain Age today is 60. This is before coffee and my daily training with the game. My Brain Age yesterday was 50. Laugh it up, It's not as easy as you think.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty

Look What I Found On The Internet.

I found this bracelet on the web and decided the girls needed one.

The Memorial prayer is told with the combination of
Sterling Silver Charms & Glass Beads on the bracelet.
The prayer goes like this:

"Do not stand at my grave and weep,I am not there. I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond's gilt on snow. I am the sunlight on the ripened grain, I am the gentle autumn's rain. When you awaken in the morning's hush I am the swift uplifting rush of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the soft stars that shine at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry, I am not there,
I did not die."

The prayer reminded me the book,
The Next Place by Warren Hanson.

Peace and Good Cheers,
Marty