Thursday, March 31, 2011
March 'Madness'.....
March 'Madness' took on a new meaning for me this year. It looked like Ohio State was in line to capture their first national championship in basketball since 1960. In their first 2 NCAA games they had won by an average of close to 30 points and they were taking on a talented but inexperienced Kentucky team in the Sweet Sixteen. Surely the experienced play of John Diebler, David Lighty and William Buford would prove to be the difference in the game. Unfortunately, it was Buford who looked like a freshman - the Buckeye swingman who had played solid basketball all season long shot a dismal 2 of 16 and missed a 3 point shot at the buzzer which would have won the game to bring the Buckeyes stellar season to an end. It was a stunning loss. Going in to the game my worry was that the refs wouldn't let the players play - ironically they did and that proved to be the difference. Kentucky played with tremendous aggression and were very physical with Buckeye freshman, Jared Sullinger, who scored 21 points but had to fight for every one of them. During the season play like Kentucky's would have sent the Buckeye big man to the foul line on just avoyt every possession but not in the Sweet Sixteen. So it's wait until next year....again. This was a great Buckeye team. They were fun to watch and played the ultimate team basketball. Sometimes the best team doesn't win and I truly believe that was the case last Friday night. Unfortunately you don't win banners for being the best team, you win them for going undefeated in the NCAA tournament. This year it won't be Ohio State and I hope its not Kentucky. I'm hoping this is the year a true Cinderella takes it all - so I'll be backing the winner of the Butler/VCU game next Monday night. Go Bulldogs, go Rams...UK? Just go home.
I'm not sure if you've heard but Julie celebrated her 50th birthday on Monday. I threw a small pary for her last Saturday (neighbors, the Judd siblings, Ed and Jane and a few of our Buckeye friends). The night ended with a rousing game of flip-cup which is a very quick way to drink more beer than you should (as I learned the hard way). I was not in very good shape on Sunday but we sure did have a great time Saturday night!
Abbey has had a rough week. She started to feel bad Sunday night and I think she hit a low point yesterday when her temperature reached 103.5! Jules is out of town at a work conference so I've been trying to nurse Abbey back to health. I stayed home with her today and I think she's finally on the rebound. She still has a sore throat but her appetite seems to be coming back and I'm hopeful she'll return to school tomorrow after missing 3 straight days. I have to admit I feel pretty helpless with a sick child, it's very frustrating and when the temperature gets as high as 103.5 I tend to freak out. Fortunately a dose of Tylenol lowered her temperature to 99.7 and she was able to get a good night of sleep.
It was Opening Day today in Cincinnati and the game ended with a bang as Ramon Hernandez hit a 3 run homer in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Reds to a 7-6 win over the Brewers. If you're going to go undefeated you have to win the first game so the Reds are on their way. Joey Votto and Drew Stubbs also homered for the Reds. Tomorrow is an off day and they'll play the Brewers Saturday and Sunday to complete the first home series of the year.
I guess that covers the past week. March is almost over and hopefully with it, all the chilly weather. Bring on the spring! Hope all is well with you and your family!
I'm not sure if you've heard but Julie celebrated her 50th birthday on Monday. I threw a small pary for her last Saturday (neighbors, the Judd siblings, Ed and Jane and a few of our Buckeye friends). The night ended with a rousing game of flip-cup which is a very quick way to drink more beer than you should (as I learned the hard way). I was not in very good shape on Sunday but we sure did have a great time Saturday night!
Abbey has had a rough week. She started to feel bad Sunday night and I think she hit a low point yesterday when her temperature reached 103.5! Jules is out of town at a work conference so I've been trying to nurse Abbey back to health. I stayed home with her today and I think she's finally on the rebound. She still has a sore throat but her appetite seems to be coming back and I'm hopeful she'll return to school tomorrow after missing 3 straight days. I have to admit I feel pretty helpless with a sick child, it's very frustrating and when the temperature gets as high as 103.5 I tend to freak out. Fortunately a dose of Tylenol lowered her temperature to 99.7 and she was able to get a good night of sleep.
It was Opening Day today in Cincinnati and the game ended with a bang as Ramon Hernandez hit a 3 run homer in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Reds to a 7-6 win over the Brewers. If you're going to go undefeated you have to win the first game so the Reds are on their way. Joey Votto and Drew Stubbs also homered for the Reds. Tomorrow is an off day and they'll play the Brewers Saturday and Sunday to complete the first home series of the year.
I guess that covers the past week. March is almost over and hopefully with it, all the chilly weather. Bring on the spring! Hope all is well with you and your family!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
That was a quick month...
I can't believe it's been close to a month since my last post. I think the relief of my CT scans prompted me to take a few weeks off from the blogging business. I hope all is well with everyone as we head into the spring months!
Abbey found out yesterday that she has been offered full tuition at St. Louis University so it looks like it will come down to SLU or Dayton, where she's also been offered full tuition. We are pulling for Dayton but she is going to go over to SLU to take one final look. SLU needs to know by April 15 so we only have a few weeks left to this process. I think Abbey will be glad to have it behind her and I also think she's happy that she has a couple of really great options. We would just love for her to stay close to home and think that she would be a perfect fit for UD.
Aaron just returned to SLU following his spring break. It was great having him home and he was able to work a few days while he was home which was good because the kid needs money!! It will also be good to go over with Abbey for the SLU visit since it will give us an opportunity to visit Aaron, as well.
Judd is down to the final 6 weeks of his undergraduate college career! He will graduate on Mother's Day and he is slowly but surely trying to make some contacts to find a real job. If any of you know of anyone company that could use a raw and eager graphic designer we have just the kid for you!
Obviously Abbey is graduating too so we're getting the house ready for her big party. We had some painting done last week, getting some new furniture for the family room and will have a lot to do outside between now and the end of May. If anyone would like to help, let me know!!!
Julie is really enjoying her new job at Medpace but the bigger news is she is about to hit a big birthday milestone; I won't say what it is but she was born in 1961! March 28 is the big day and she will become the latest member of the ever growing club that I joined about 2 and a half years ago.
I have to make a comment about the recent news regarding Jim Tressel and my Ohio State Buckeyes. I'm still shocked and saddened that something like this has happened under Coach Tressel's watch. I truly believe he's a good and honest man and can't figure out how such a mess could happen. Making it worse is it's all over a group of kids getting tattoos, unbelieveable. I am holding out hope that it's not as bad as it sounds right now and in the end Coach Tressel won't look as bad as he has the past couple weeks - something just doesn't seem right and in my opinion it looks like Tressel is taking the heat for someone else although I have no idea who that might be. I guess we'll have to see how it plays out.
On the positive side, the Buckeye basketball team has been tremendous - what a fun and unselfish team to watch. Provided some whistle-happy referee doesn't decide to get Jared Sullinger in foul trouble, I think this could be the year Ohio State cuts down the nets at the end of March Madness. That would be quite a welcome diversion given what Buckeye fans have had to deal with regarding the football team the past several weeks. Should Ohio State win the NCAA championship in basketball, it wouldn't surprise me if more ugly news involving the football team would come out at the same time to take some of the luster out of the win - ESPN and several other media outlets just love to rip on Ohio State every chance they get.
Healthwise, I'm feeling great. I've dropped 24 pounds since the first of the year, my training for my upcoming Tahoe ride is ahead of schedule and I'm also getting in 3 runs per week. If all goes well I'm also going to run the half marathon at the upcoming Flying Pig Marathon. My legs aren't quite there yet but I still have 6 weeks to train so i'm optimistic i'll be able to pull it off.
I guess that's it for now. I'll try to be more active in my blogging. But just keep in mind that as long as I'm not posting anything new, it means all is well on the health front.
Please pray for those who are struggling with their health, jobs and personal relationships. We have a few people close to us who are going through difficult times right now. I know first hand about the power of prayer. Just knowing there are people praying for you is tremendously uplifting. As always, thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers.
Vince
Abbey found out yesterday that she has been offered full tuition at St. Louis University so it looks like it will come down to SLU or Dayton, where she's also been offered full tuition. We are pulling for Dayton but she is going to go over to SLU to take one final look. SLU needs to know by April 15 so we only have a few weeks left to this process. I think Abbey will be glad to have it behind her and I also think she's happy that she has a couple of really great options. We would just love for her to stay close to home and think that she would be a perfect fit for UD.
Aaron just returned to SLU following his spring break. It was great having him home and he was able to work a few days while he was home which was good because the kid needs money!! It will also be good to go over with Abbey for the SLU visit since it will give us an opportunity to visit Aaron, as well.
Judd is down to the final 6 weeks of his undergraduate college career! He will graduate on Mother's Day and he is slowly but surely trying to make some contacts to find a real job. If any of you know of anyone company that could use a raw and eager graphic designer we have just the kid for you!
Obviously Abbey is graduating too so we're getting the house ready for her big party. We had some painting done last week, getting some new furniture for the family room and will have a lot to do outside between now and the end of May. If anyone would like to help, let me know!!!
Julie is really enjoying her new job at Medpace but the bigger news is she is about to hit a big birthday milestone; I won't say what it is but she was born in 1961! March 28 is the big day and she will become the latest member of the ever growing club that I joined about 2 and a half years ago.
I have to make a comment about the recent news regarding Jim Tressel and my Ohio State Buckeyes. I'm still shocked and saddened that something like this has happened under Coach Tressel's watch. I truly believe he's a good and honest man and can't figure out how such a mess could happen. Making it worse is it's all over a group of kids getting tattoos, unbelieveable. I am holding out hope that it's not as bad as it sounds right now and in the end Coach Tressel won't look as bad as he has the past couple weeks - something just doesn't seem right and in my opinion it looks like Tressel is taking the heat for someone else although I have no idea who that might be. I guess we'll have to see how it plays out.
On the positive side, the Buckeye basketball team has been tremendous - what a fun and unselfish team to watch. Provided some whistle-happy referee doesn't decide to get Jared Sullinger in foul trouble, I think this could be the year Ohio State cuts down the nets at the end of March Madness. That would be quite a welcome diversion given what Buckeye fans have had to deal with regarding the football team the past several weeks. Should Ohio State win the NCAA championship in basketball, it wouldn't surprise me if more ugly news involving the football team would come out at the same time to take some of the luster out of the win - ESPN and several other media outlets just love to rip on Ohio State every chance they get.
Healthwise, I'm feeling great. I've dropped 24 pounds since the first of the year, my training for my upcoming Tahoe ride is ahead of schedule and I'm also getting in 3 runs per week. If all goes well I'm also going to run the half marathon at the upcoming Flying Pig Marathon. My legs aren't quite there yet but I still have 6 weeks to train so i'm optimistic i'll be able to pull it off.
I guess that's it for now. I'll try to be more active in my blogging. But just keep in mind that as long as I'm not posting anything new, it means all is well on the health front.
Please pray for those who are struggling with their health, jobs and personal relationships. We have a few people close to us who are going through difficult times right now. I know first hand about the power of prayer. Just knowing there are people praying for you is tremendously uplifting. As always, thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers.
Vince
