Golf Isn’t so Bad

I went to help out with the Special Olympics golf tournament last Saturday.  I can’t say I was really excited to be there at first because I don’t really get golf and I wasn’t sure if they really needed me to be there.  It took a while for things to get organized but in the end I was assigned to keep score for two teams on a 9 hole course.  They told me to count every stroke that was made, and that was really hard to do when they made no contact with the ball.  It was also hard to tell sometimes if they were making practice strokes or if they missed the ball.  I tried to be kind.

  They have a Special Olympic athlete assigned with a Unified Sports partner, or coach and they each took turns hitting the ball.  I wasn’t so interested in the trajectory or distance of the golf balls, for me it was just nice to see the interaction between the athlete and the coach.  It was also nice to see the encouragement that the athletes were given and how happy they were when they made a good shot and got some encouragement.  I was working with a female team and a male team.  I was talking to the mother of the male athlete and she said that her son had been working with his coach for three years.  It is nice to see people with that kind of determination to help others.  I was impressed at times with the athlete’s skills.  They probably play a lot better than I do.  :/

In the end I was glad I went.  Even though it was hot and sunny I left there feeling a little better about the world we live in. 

All Grown Up

What happens when you cross this...

With this...

You get this...

And just incase you were wondering what happens when you cross this...

With this...

You get this...

Just don't try to grow up too early.  It can get ugly!  :)

Fun at Scheels

 

I just thought I would share these photos because they cracked me up a little bit.  If you want to have the same kind of fun, head over to Scheels in Sandy and bring a decent camera.

Cutting the Cake

I was looking at some old pictures and I came across this GEM that always makes me laugh.

It was taken at my sister Cate and brother-in-law Tyler’s sealing reception.  They had already been married for at least 4 years and then they were sealed in the St Paul Temple for time and all eternity.  Anyway, they had all this food and their friend Jesse was ready for the cake but the happy couple wasn’t really interested in cutting the cake so they told Jesse he could go ahead and cut it himself.  Then Tyler decided to give him a hand as my camera stood ready and he made Jesse feel a little uncomfortable as you can see.

I guess I just thought I would share all of this in light of“Chick-fil-A appreciation day.” Long live traditional marriage! 

Office Humor

These are just a few of my favorite stories from work that I wanted to share because we all need to laugh more.

I was at work one day listening to a mixed CD my roommate made for a dance party we had at our house. Surprise surprise, I know. I was listening to “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer, when a guy walked by my cube and started laughing. I wondered why he was laughing and then I started to wonder if I had been singing out loud. I took my headphones off and asked another coworker if I had just been singing out loud. She said that I had. I asked her how loud I was and she said that I started out pretty quiet and I got louder over time.

There was another time I meant to apologize for an inconvenience in an email and I am sure I misspelled it and then it auto corrected to incontinence. I had copied a coworker on the email and she just busted up laughing when she saw it. My co-worker Melanie replied with “Well, Alicia… that “DEPENDS” on what you mean… I think you are “POISED” to be very helpful." The lady I emailed never would have noticed if Melanie didn’t point it out to her.

I think Melanie has the funniest story of all though. Keep in mind that I work for a religious based company. Melanie was spelling something for someone over the phone and she said, "S as in slut." after it came out they were both so shocked that neither of them said anything to each other about it. Then after she hung up she proceeded to repeat over and over again, "S as in Sam."

It was blood donation time at work and my co-worker Fernando who is from El Salvador was trying to decide if he should give blood. I said, “Why wouldn’t you give blood if you can.” He said, “Well my wife faints when she gives blood.” I said, “Well that is your wife not you, go and give blood, they need it.” So he went and then he was gone a really long time. Maybe two hours. Then when he came back he said that he passed out. I felt a little bad about the pressure I gave him but he didn’t tell me that HE passed out when giving blood. Then about a year later he was telling someone why he doesn’t give blood. He said, “Last time I gave blood I passed away.” He needs to work on his English a little bit but it does crack us up from time to time.

Ray Gibson

I met a new friend on Friday as I was running around the park.  I was stopped by an older gentleman who I saw off in the distance doing calisthenics.  He stood up when he saw me coming and asked me how far it was around the park.  I told him that it was about a mile if you stuck to the perimeter of the park.  He then proceeded to tell me that he started to run in his 40s and that in his glory days he could run a mile in 4.somthing seconds.  He said he ran a 5K in 15.something seconds.  He said that he was in the top of his age group in the region.  Now that he was in his 80s he was going to try and get back into it.  I told him I thought that was impressive and that my grandma was running into her 70s.  I assumed that as a runner he would understand my need to get back to my run.  I wished him good luck and he told me that I would probably see him around. 

During my next lap I got to thinking that perhaps he was staying at the Alzheimer’s care center next to the park because there were some things in his stories that didn’t seem quite right like the fact he was wearing jeans and no one serious about running would be in jeans.  I have seen residents sneak out of there before.   I decided that it would be a good idea to get his name the next time around just in case so I could check with the care center.  I found him again doing some serious runner’s stretches.  When he saw me he said, “You just completed another mile.”  I agreed and got his name, Ray Gibson.  I told him mine and said it was nice to meet him.  I decided that on my next lap I would just run over to the care center to make sure since it wasn’t too far out of my way.  I went and told the guy why I was there and he checked his records and told me that he wasn’t one of their residents but he very gratefully thanked me for checking.   Unless Ray was on to me and decided to give me an alias, I may have just found myself a new running friend. 

Ruth from Duluth

Today is my Grandma’s birthday. She was a pretty special lady so I just want to say a few things about her. There was a lot to admire about her. She lived to be 90 and she was one of the healthiest people I know. I remember visiting her in Minnesota as a young child and I was impressed that she was still jogging into her 70s.

I remember in her 80s she was hit and knocked over by a car while walking in a parking lot. She went to go and get checked out and while any other woman her age probably would have broken a hip, she checked out fine and made sure she got to her water aerobics class that night.

She had more spunk than any woman I know. She wore a bun in her hair with two chopsticks sticking out. She loved fashion and good quality clothing. She drove a maroon 68 Mustang that she adored. She seemed to have a need for speed on the road and sometimes I even worried that she was going too fast.

I would always like to hear my mom say, “You are just like your Grandma!” She told me that we were both Pisces and because of that we had things in common. I can’t remember all the things we had in common except we both enjoyed a good bowl of oatmeal and she always had to dance when she would hear good music. I feel like I am still learning lessons from her as I think back on her life. I remember she was very much into deep breathing and now I am looking into the benefits of deep breathing.

She believed in taking control of her life and made the best of every situation. When my grandpa died, she decided that she needed to take over his advertising sales business and start meeting with his clients. When she found out that the valium her doctor prescribed her was addictive she got angry and quit cold turkey. When she felt lonely she remembered to think of those who were less fortunate than she was. She had four beautiful daughters and definitely left her mark on the world.