The raindrops started just outside of St. Cloud and I had a hunch we were in for a long, cold, wet football game. Darren, Kevin and I attended the Minnesota High School All-Stars game on Saturday night but before the game started, we met up with Jeff of View From the Cloud. Having met Jeff and his wife, Char, on a previous occasion, I knew it would be a joy to see them again. And it was. As...
Monthly Archives: June 2008
Every once in a while I run across a photographer on Flickr.com whose photography just takes my breath away. Mehraj Mir is one excellent example. From his profile on Flickr: I Mehraj Mir was a trained video photojournalist but decided to switch career and took up photography as a profession. Grew up amid chaos and...
This moth wears more eyeliner than Steven Tyler and is hairier than Robin Williams which means it’s probably very difficult for this moth to find a date.
I can take no credit for the blooming of this plant except to say that for a full year I avoided running it over with my car. Perennial is Latin for “plant that withstands idiots”.
Q: How many ADHD children does it take to change a light bulb? A: Let’s go ride bikes! Just when I think that Isaiah is incapable of sitting still for more than a nanosecond, I catch him on the deck rail trying to get an up close view of the gold finches we feed. He...
I’ve never wanted to be the type of parent who perpetuates the myths common to childhood, like Santa and the reindeer or the omniscient Tooth Fairy. But I am exactly one of those parents. I’m one of those parents who loves to see their children’s eyes grow wide with wonder and excitement at the possibility...
A couple days ago I woke up and sat down to check email only to discover that my beautiful 19 inch flat screen computer monitor had died sometime during the middle of the night. It struck panic in my heart since not only do I need it for work, I just plain need it. I...
This morning I thinned the carrots growing in my garden. It was an act done without malice in order to make room for the remaining carrots to come to fruition unimpaired by its impeding neighbor. Most gardeners understand this to be a necessary evil and I wouldn’t have thought twice about it had I not read The...
My knees still get a little shaky every time my deadline rolls around at the newspaper and I still fight the persistent fear that maybe I’ll sit down to write and nothing will come out of my pen. I’ve heard of writer’s block but writer’s stage fright? My mind somehow envisions my little stenographer’s book as...
I want this song played at my funeral, preferably by Bocelli himself if that’s not too much to ask. I listened to him sing L’Ultimo Re as the sun rose from the horizon this morning and at the risk of sounding like a total geek, for that moment it felt like the whole world belonged...
I was given the joyous duty to capture the events taking place in our community today: a Flag Day Celebration, a saddle club horse show, a flag burning ceremony held by the American Legion, and the happenings at the Aquatic Center. It was a hectic day, time-wise, but as I went from one activity to the next, enjoying all the...
I’m so sad to hear that Tim Russert passed away today from a heart attack he suffered while at work at the NBC studio in Washington. I have long been a fan of Meet the Press with Tim Russert and while he was an outstanding journalist, what struck me most about the man was his passionate love of his son, Luke. He mentioned his son often and...
This photo will explain itself if you read this.
I found the most adorable handmade greeting cards over at Etsy -a website which sells homemade items exclusively. This greeting card was crafted by Michelle at MF Cardworks. Michelle is currently having a sale so I invite you to check out her site if you are interested in sending a friend or family member a card that makes Hallmark...
Minnesota is covered in a giant mass of clouds today which prevents me from hanging clothes outside to dry in the spring breeze. My motivation to wash clothes today is low for this reason. It is a fond memory of my childhood to recall the times when my brother, sister and I would run through the freshly laundered clothes...
BlogHer is holding a contest for their upcoming conference in San Francisco, CA in which a tagline for their official conference canvas bag is chosen by a voting process. The theme this year is “Reach!”. My tagline was chosen as a finalist: Blogher 08: To Reach Her Own. I would love it if you would...
As a part of their summer break from school, I have required the kids to stop whatever they are involved with to spend one hour of reading time each day. Most of my kids enjoy this quiet time and actually enjoy reading to themselves. But not Isaiah. Today I found him like this…reading upside down,...
Having found a marker from the supplies the kids brought home from school at the end of the year, Kevin decided that he must use it in a way it wasn’t intended. “Hey, Dan. You should let me draw a tattoo on you.” “No.” “Yeah, come on. It will be sweet.” “No.” “I’ll give you...
Happy birthday to the woman who taught me to love even when it’s hard, give when there’s a need and help others without expectation of return. Thank you for being my cheerleader, confidant and life coach and for constantly reminding me to seek after God’s own heart. This world is a much better place because you are in it. Happy birthday, Mom. I...
You’d think I’d be used to it by now. I blame testosterone for the constant tangles my five boys instigate with each other. I guess I don’t know if it’s normal in other homes for two brothers to merely pass each other in the kitchen and end up panting for breath after wrestling for 15 minutes because, and only because,...
The parents of this little boy need to be commended for raising this child right. I had the pleasure of spending the day with him and it was a complete joy. Not only is he content to go with the flow of activity in our home, he has a charming sense of humor. This wee...
This week I wrote my first non-sports, non-business article for the newspaper. It was a refreshing change of pace and yet I struggled to stick only to the facts. My style of writing tends to be: a) grammatically incorrect, and b) primarily from the heart, not so much the brain. In other words, I couldn’t...