An Evening with Cameron

I'm sitting for my nephew Cameron this evening. I thought we might be watching episodes of iCarly but instead he has a new game for his XBox called Kinect. It makes it so you can play more active games like the Wii games. However, you don't have to hold a controller in your hand. Somehow it shoots lasers or something at you and senses your movement. Then the avatar on the screen moves as you do. It's really something to see. Of course I felt a bit like I was being checked out in a grocery store scanner. The wildest thing is that it takes photos of you while you are playing the game and then flashes them up on the screen when the game is over. Usually it's a photo of you waving your hands or crouching down in some strange position. I was not very good at it. Cameron yelled at me the whole time and told me that I wasn't really trying very hard.
I was thankful that his friend Sam came over to the house and played with him for most of the evening. If had to play Kinect the whole time I would probably need to be hospitalized. However, I almost did have to be hospitalized when we went to McDonald's for dinner. I knew that's where Cameron and Sam would want to go. I should have realized that on a Saturday night the play area would be filled with screaming children and it was. I just sat there in a daze wondering how many bacteria I was picking up by just being in the room. I also wondered when the last time several of the children had washed their hands. They looked sticky and several of them were coughing.
All in all, it's been a good evening. Cameron is quieting down now since his friend Sam went home. He wants to try to stay up until his parents come home. We'll see how that goes. He does not want to seem to want to take a shower. I guess that's normal for a seven year old boy.
My friend Karen and I got back into our walking groove today. We only walked five miles but it was okay. I was worried about being tired and out of shape. I did fine. I think we will try to walk thirteen miles next Saturday.
I hope you are having a great weekend. Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Super Bowl Sunday

Well, I've just finished filing my taxes. I'm glad that I don't owe anything and will be getting a refund back again this year.
I have the television on as I write this. I'm actually watching the Super Bowl. While I have watched the Super Bowl in the past and actually been to a few Super Bowl parties, I am watching the game this year with a different eye. I have actually met one of the players that will be on the field. His name is Tim Masthay and he is the punter for the Green Bay Packers (#8). I found out that a punter is different than a kicker. Who knew?
Tim is the son of the Jean Masthay, the Executive Director of TriState Habitat for Humanity, where I work. While I don't really follow sports at all, it's been exciting to hear from Jean the progress that the Green Bay Packers have been making during the season. Jean and her husband Mark are watching the Super Bowl at the stadium in Dallas. I'm sure their hearts are filled with excitement and pride.
I did tell Jean last week that I was really excited about the Super Bowl this year because I read that Lea Michele from the television show Glee was going to be singing at the Super Bowl. I asked Jean if she would run down onto the field and get Lea's autograph for me. I'm not sure that's going to happen. Oh well.
I am also excited about the special episode of Glee that will air after the Super Bowl. They are going to do a Glee version of Thriller. I saw a clip from the opening number and it looks like it's going to be great.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Good Day

Today was a good day.

• I started off with my morning walk. It has warmed up a few degrees here in the Cincinnati area. However, when I walked this morning, the wind was blowing pretty hard. I found myself in some places feeling a bit frozen. I only walked two miles. Next week I start my full training schedule for the half-marathon. The shortest distance I walk during this time will be three miles so I am really going to have to step it up if I'm going to be prepared for the half-marathon.
• I then ran some errands and then came home and did laundry and cleaning. I knew that if I didn't at least do some cleaning and laundry it would not get done. One of my New Year's resolutions was to try to keep myself on a cleaning routine and Saturday seems to work best for me. So, before I got on with the rest of my day, I decided to get as much done as I could.
• After lunch and watching an episode of the series Alien Nation through my Netflix subscription, I headed off to my nephew Cameron's basketball game. Cameron did well. I can tell that he is getting better. I met my sisters Stacey and Shelly and my nephew Michael at the game. Shelly and Michael are up for the weekend.
• After the game, Shelly met her friends John and Lisa and their son Hank at Ikea and I went back to Stacey's house and played a few rounds of Wii bowling with my nephews. I must brag about my nephew Cameron. He is a very good bowler. Both nephews beat me pretty badly at bowling.
• Shelly and her friends returned to Stacey's house from Ikea and we had a shrimp boil dinner. It was quite delicious. Then we did our Christmas gift exchange.
• After dinner we played some games. John and Lisa are big board game players. They always have new and innovative games to play. I was lost through the first game but got into the second game a bit more.

Tomorrow after church we are getting together for lunch before Shelly, Michael, John, Lisa, and Hank leave town.
I took Monday off from work so I have a long weekend. I need to get a few things done and I'm hoping to maybe take in a movie.
Today was a good day for me. Time with family and friends. Good food. Games. Life is good.
I hope you are having a great weekend. Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Creative Writing Class - II

Well, I finally did it. On the last day I had to register for the second creative writing class, I signed up for it. I am really excited about starting the class. I really enjoyed the discipline that the class brought to my life and the things that I learned about writing and about myself.
I am looking forward to making progress with the piece I have been working on since my last class ended. I am ready to be pushed further and learn more. I am ready to again be with a group of people who are passionate about writing. I know that I will learn a lot from them.
I am hoping that I will have time this weekend to spend some time writing. However, it looks like I will be busy with my family. Shelly and Michael get into town tonight. Cameron has a basketball game tomorrow afternoon. Shelly is planning to make a shrimp boil for supper on Saturday evening. We are then going to play some games.
I hope you have a great weekend. Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Frigid Morning Walk

Today was my day to walk this morning. I had a hard time prying myself out of bed. When I did finally make it outside, it was cold. Part of my walking route includes an area that is all open fields. When I got to that spot this morning, it felt like the icy winds were going to blow right through me. I only walked two miles and got back inside as quickly as possible. It's been hard to walk this week with the snow on the ground because they really haven't cleaned the streets very well. There's still a lot of snow in some places where it has blown out onto the pavement. The sidewalks are not cleared at all.
I am really grateful that I was able to buy an iPod Shuffle with a gift certificate I received for my birthday. I've loaded it up with music and it really helps my walk seem to go faster. I've got an eclectic collection of songs and I kind of like not know what song is going to play next. A Christian praise chorus is followed by Elvis singing Hound Dog followed by John Mellencamp's Peaceful World. Digital music players are truly marvelous inventions.
I'm looking forward to the weekend. My sister Shelly and nephew Michael are coming up to Cincinnati from Tennessee tomorrow and will be staying at my sister Stacey's home through the weekend. We are going to have our Christmas gift exchange that got postponed a few weeks ago. I also think playing games will be in my future. I am really excited about that.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!

On the Road Tomorrow

Tomorrow I hit the road for St. Louis. I am spending the rest of the week with my friends Ian and Sheri. I am really looking forward to the trip. We plan to play a lot of Sequence, eat turkey, and enjoy the week together. I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends who will house me, feed me, and listen to me whine when I lose at board games.
I don't know what my blogging schedule will be like. I will try to get to the computer every day but that may interfere my rigorous schedule of napping and game playing.
I hope you have a wonderfully blessed Thanksgiving week. I would appreciate your prayers for a safe journey. Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Trivia

I joined a co-worker and some of his family members at a local pub for an evening of trivia tonight. I must say that I really stunk at it. I always have this impression of myself that I know lots of useless facts. However, they didn't ask any questions about the useless facts that I know about. I don't think I came up with a single answer that someone didn't already say. Granted, I had no clue on anything related to sports. I also didn't know much about music from the 1960's which seemed to pervade the questions.
It was a fun escape after a long day even though my brain is tired from trying to think of the answers to all of those questions. I'm grateful for the invitation and may try to join the group again in the future. I think I will have to study up before I go again.
I hope you are having a great week. Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Class Canceled

I'm bummed. My creative writing class was canceled tonight. The instructor is ill. I guess we are going to make up the session at sometime in the future.
I was really looking forward to the class tonight. I was inspired by a writing topic this week for our upcoming short story assignment. I think I am going to use some time tonight to further develop this idea.
I have a busy day tomorrow at work. I'm making a presentation to TriState Habitat for Humanity's Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative task force about the A Brush with Kindness program. Later in the day I am meeting with one of our Partner Families. Then tomorrow evening I have been invited to play trivia at a local pub in Fairfield, Ohio. I'm looking forward to this. As long as there are no sports or math questions, I should be fine.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!

A Good Day with Family

Today was a good day with my family. This morning I attended my nephew Cameron's flag football game. I don't know anything about football and could not tell you if Cameron's team won the game or not. I don't think they really make a big deal out of the score. It was a lot more time than I like to be outside but it was good to see Cameron play. It was a beautiful warm fall day.
I then went over to Rob and Stacey's home in the afternoon. My nephew Cameron wanted to play Monopoly so Rob, Cameron, and I played a game. It was both fun and very long.
Later in the afternoon, Stacey, Dad, and I went to pick up a cart that Stacey found on Freecycle.org for her church. When we got to the house where the cart was, there was also a chair with the cart. I have been looking for a chair for my computer desk and this seemed to be a pretty good one. So, we loaded the cart and the chair in Dad's truck and brought our treasures back home.
We then all had dinner together and enjoyed some conversation and laughter around the table.
My parents are leaving for Tennessee tomorrow. They will then move on to Texas for the winter so I won't get to see them until spring or summer. I'm sure they are looking forward to moving on to new scenery and to connect with some of their fellow snowbirds in Texas.
Overall, it was a good day with family. I'm grateful for the time and for the blessings of family.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Sermon Written and Ready to Go

My sermon for tomorrow at my sister Stacey and brother-in-law Rob's church is written and ready for worship tomorrow. I am feeling a little nervous about it. I hope that through my preparation and delivery, God will help me to be in ministry to this congregation. I also hope that what comes from my mouth will be from God and not Kevin. I would appreciate your prayers.I had a great time with my nephew Cameron today. We spent the morning and a few hours into the afternoon together while his parents were at a training workshop for a program at their church. We went to breakfast at McDonald's together. We watched an episode of iCarly. We played several rounds of Phase 10. Cameron also tried to get me to play a video game on the X-Box. I had no idea what I was doing and relied on him to tell me when to push a button. In spite of my complete lack of knowledge about video games, I am so grateful for the time we spent together today.
I also had an answer to prayer about my car. I think my check engine light might have come on because my gas cap wasn't on tight enough. I say this because I filled up today and it was kind of loose when I went to take it off. After I filled up and put the gas tank cap on again, I noticed my check engine light was no longer on. That's a good thing. I will watch it but I think I will hold off taking it into the mechanic this week.
I hope you are having a great weekend. I'll let you know how tomorrow goes. Thanks for your prayers and for being a part of my journey!