Post Turkey Musings (sneeze free)

Well, I hope everyone had a great thanksgiving. I ate pretty good for a change... dare I say it... ALMOST healthy...ha!... I had a pretty good weekend. Found a brand new 10 cup coffee maker at the for four bucks... It was such a great deal I had to buy it... and I don't even drink coffee! Found some other things too but I have to keep those to myself because I know that some people (hint: gal pal) read this space so I shall keep things mum... :) Anyhow, my weekend was fun because for a change, my sports teams won... woo-hoo... that's always nice. My favorite thing to do this weekend was watching the Grey Cup football game. I have a little to-do every year for it and it was fun. For those who don't know what that is... the Grey Cup is the equivalent of the Superbowl in Canadian Football... I know the question to be ask is: "Mik, why do you watch Canadian Football?" Big answer: I don't know... I just do. Larger field, only 3 downs instead of 4... I dunno... but I just do. I still love college and pro here in our country too, but I've liked the canuck version since I was a little kid back in the days when dinosaurs walked the earth... my favorite team won so I'm happy...
Had a strange experience on Saturday night. I had to broadcast a basketball game online down in Fremont. No big deal, But as the game was ending, I could feel myself coming down with something. I was feeling very congested and sneezing almost uncontrollably. I wasn't driving so I closed my eyes and tried to sleep some on the way back home. No such luck. I finally got home after what seemed like an eternity and sat in front of my TV set to watch the end of the Missouri-Kansas game when I popped a throat lozenge in my mouth. Not a cough drop nor cough syrup, but just a lozenge that numbs up your throat when it's sore. I fell asleep about ten minutes after I was done with the lozenge and woke up the next morning with no congestion, no sneezing, no cough, nothing... It felt almost surreal... I had put in a 20 hour day on Saturday so part of it is due to exhaustion. But when did a throat lozenge cure an oncoming cold??? Must've been Divine Intervention... mind you, I'm not complaining... :)

Giving Thanks = Thanks Giving

Hey y'all,
Just wanted to take a moment here on Thanksgiving to give thanks for life, family, and friends. First, I thank God for His Blessing me with the gift of life. My life may not be a bowl of cherries or the life of riley, but I've seen too many instances where people have lost loved ones way too soon and don't have a second chance to patch things up or make changes in their lives to turn things around. We can't change our past, but we can do something about the future. Which is why we live in the gift of the 'present'... Always remember folks, it's not how you start in life, it's how you finish. So to God, I say thanks for loving your kids here... even when we color outside the lines.
I give thanks for my family. This hasn't always been easy. I grew up a self serving selfish punk. It was always all about me. I didn't want to be around my family because I was hell bent on doing my own thing. As I've gotten older and absorbed some of the bumpier side of life, I've come to realize that while you can't pick your family, it's never too late to make things right. I made things right with my father in the final 5 years of his life. That is a gift I treasure. There are others that I wasn't so fortunate. But I can't change the past so I live in the now. I can't impact the lives of people that are gone from my life. But I can impact the lives of people that are in my life right now. My sisters, my nephews, have become very important to me. Watching Lou and Terri struggle with their health has really made me realize how strong they are and that they impact lives a whole lot more than I ever could... I talk alot about my faith... They LIVE their faith. Actions, not words, are what gets things done. But I'm growing and learning to appreciate them more than I did in the past.
Finally, the gal pal. She has taught me more about life and what it is to overcome obstacles and she does it with such beauty and grace. She has absolutely no clue as to how amazing she really is. There are times where I wonder how she deals with things like not being able to walk. Things that I take for granted everyday. It doesn't even register with her that she has a "disability"... She prefers to think about the abilities she does have. She touches lives and continues to live each and every day to the fullest. I am in complete awe of her. It blows me away that she is as crazy about me as I am her. Thankful? Are you kidding me? ABSO FREAKIN' LUTELY... Grateful to God is more like it. She has rocked my world and I'm a better man for it...
One more thing... I thank God for all of you... that's right... YOU. You guys have been a true blessing to me. I know some might say that you guys are out in cyberspace and not part of my 'real life'... well I say that is a pile of buffalo bagels... when I've been down in the dumps, discouraged, frustrated... angry and po'd at the world, you've been there offering prayers, words of encouragement, practical advice. I am honored that you guys would come hang out at my little outpost and become my friends. Thank you seems inadequate but that is what I have to offer... THANK YOU... and may you all find something to be thankful for... even when things aren't going perfect. I know tomorrow starts the insanity of the Christmas shopping season... I'll be out there too. I'll do a little online shopping but I like going out there and watching people go all maniacal in the stores. Hey, if you've got a funny or cool story about your turkey day or black friday shopping experience, feel free to leave it here. I want to hear from you guys... In the mean time, my gratitude, and best wishes for a blessed thanksgiving go out to all of you and your loved ones... God Bless You...
Mik

A Pretty Good Day

Today is one of the better days going on in Mik-dom... First of all, Lou gets to come home to her house for the first time in over four months! She worked her butt off to rehab to the point that they said she could be discharged. Her and Terri are going to make a go of it. Terri has a couple more weeks of work and then she's done. She's still not that happy about it, but is going to do what she can to keep going... Lou had yet to see the new ramp that was built for her. There are lots of reasons to be thankful as we head towards the Thanksgiving holiday... This point was driven home BIG TIME at church on Sunday. It wasn't this big religious experience or anything. But we had a visitor in the form of Patrick Henry Hughes. Patrick and his dad (Patrick John) were the featured speakers for services this past weekend. Patrick Henry's story was on ESPN and he's done speeches all over the country I guess. PH was born without eyes and can't walk and his arms and legs can't really straighten out. But he developed an ability in music from the age of 9 months and by age of two could play his kiddie tunes. He now is a freshman in the U of Louisville marching band. His father (PJ) pushes PH's wheelchair in the different formations while PH plays the trumphet. The irony of it: PH is not a music major in college. He's a spanish major. What a hoot. But he and his dad were at my church and boy I felt like I had no reason to feel bad about anything... these two were a huge inspiration. I hope that I can improve and be a better person and no matter how bad things can get, that I can be grateful in all circumstances... If you want to check out the service, they have it archived on Cedar Creek's website. Just click on the the link on the right side of this page and click on "watch messages" on their home page. Now please note, the video that will pop up is from 11/11/07 and Ben is sitting in a comfy chair at Starbucks. But if you look to the bottom of the video it has a link also that reads 11/18/07 and if you double click on that, you can watch Patrick's story... it's really awesome... anyway, I thought I'd say hello and wish you all a great day. By the way, I had a blast on friday on the radio show. Todd said he wants me to come back and fill in again sometime... I have a heart today of gratitude... I pray I can keep that spirit within me...

I Heard It On The Radio...

Hey folks,
Just wanted to touch base and say howdy. Terri's birthday was this past Sunday so I was/am thankful for another year of life. She was told by her doc that she has to go on disability. She is really bummed about that. She's tried putting on a brave face, but it really has got her down. The doc told her that the tumors haven't shrunk any, but they haven't grown either. So it's a minor win. At this point, we'll take it. She cheers up when she wants to know how me and my gal pal are doing. She and Lou both eat it up when they hear and see their little brother squirm trying to not talk about my relationship. Great as it is, I'm just not used to talking about me. That has always been a tough thing for me. But it lights them up when they hear that my gal pal keeps me in line. They just howl and have big crap eating grins when they see me squirm. It cheers them up. Lou is doing great in her rehab and the prosthetic leg... she'll be getting ready to think about home before too long.
Nothing new with me. I'm going to co-host with my buddy Todd on a morning radio show on our local Christian rock station this friday morning. It should be weird. But I'm looking forward to it. I don't know what all we'll talk about, but I'll try and be ready for just about anything. Plus, it's a music intensive show so I won't have to chat THAT much. But it should be fun. The station "Christian Hit Radio- Yes FM" streams their station online also so if any of you guys are bored and want to hear me and Todd talk a little about God, sports, music and whatever else we'll be yakking about, just go to Yes FM's website and click on the listen live link. They stream 24/7 so you can go check it out anytime to see what kind of music can be heard. Mostly geared towards our youth, it's more hard rocking than say, K-LOVE... but it remains Christ centered... Todd's normal radio partner Laura is on maternity leave, so he's had different substitute co-hosts. We're on this friday morning (nov 16) from 6-9am Eastern Time... I hope not to screw up too much... but I'm going to just have fun and be a goof... I'm good at that y'know...lol...

Kiss and Tell... ME? Nah...

Got to spend some time with the gal pal this past weekend. I don't get to spend a lot of time with her so when I do get to be with her, I absolutely enjoy it. She is wonderful. A whole lot more than a guy like me deserves... But I am simply the happiest guy on the planet when we're together...