Tampico Times

THE END OF AN ERA - A Tribute to Mr. Kitty

2008-06-24T09:57:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, June 23, 2008, we had to put our loving and lovable cat, Mr. Kitty, to sleep. He fought hard against what we finally discovered was a fungal infection that first shut down his bone marrow and then led to pneumonia. His health continued to worsen, and we did not want him to suffer any longer. He had not been able to sleep for about 2 days and was unwilling to eat or drink.

I'll can still remember when I first saw a very skinny Mr. Kitty. At first, he did not want to let me pet him, but after a bit of coaxing, he tentatively let me pet him. Soon he was hanging around fairly often, and when we started putting out dry cat food on our front porch, he was a common fixture! Strangely, after that, he was unlikely to warm up to any strangers!

We'll always remember the way he would wake us up to go outside or to tell us he wanted to eat - CLANG, CLANG, CLANG. Mr. Kitty would play with the handles on our bedroom furniture as if they were door-knockers to get our attention!

In addition to his waking us up, he was also one of Sandra's "napping buddies." Often, he got blamed for "making Sandra take a nap!"

We'll always remember how we thought one of his former names must have been Dell or Gateway as he preferred to be sitting in our laps in place of the laptop computer!

Another great memory was when our younger cat, Rascal, had not come home for a couple of days. We all feared the worst. Sandra said, "Come on, Mr. Kitty. Let's go look for Rascal." Off they both went - both calling for Rascal - around the block. About 10-15 minutes later, Rascal was home. I think it was Mr. Kitty's calls that led him home!

He was such an easy-going cat, allowing us to dress him up like Elvis or a Halloween character. Yet, if one of us was having a bad day, he'd make sure to give us extra special attention.

I'll always remember how he liked to hang around me when I was working outside.

I'll always remember how often in the mornings or the evenings he would stand up tall and majestic to watch the sunrise or the sunset as if he were giving thanks for the beauty before him.

I hope you consider clicking here to see pictures of our beloved Mr. Kitty -
he was always very photogenic!

Memphis 2007 Vacation

2007-09-18T15:41:00.000-05:00

For a vacation this year, Sandra and Troy met some friends (Tom & Sue Goebel) in Memphis, TN to take part in "Elvis Week" festivities. We arrived on 8/15/07 and left on 8/21/07 (you can check out pics by clicking here!). Here are a few highlights from the trip:

8/15/07:

We ate Superior B-B-Q on Beale Street, and Troy got to sing Elvis karaoke (Heartbreak Hotel) while there.
Troy got invited to sing and play guitar on two songs (Reconsider Baby & Steamroller Blues) with a local blues band (The Juke-Joint All Stars) in an outdoor pavilion!
Troy & Tom got to shake hands and have a picture made with guitar virtuoso, James Burton (Elvis' guitarist)!

8/16-17/07:

We had VIP tickets to the 30th Anniversary Elvis Concert at the FedEx Forum in Memphis. They project video footage of Elvis on a screen, and members of his band play live. It was sold out. The VIP tix meant that we got to attend a reception before & after the concert where we had B-B-Q (again) and other snacks. We also received some quite nice souvenirs (a pic of Elvis, Lisa Marie, & Priscilla hand autographed by Priscilla, a copy of an autographed pic of Elvis' TCB band, two different souvenir books, & a champagne flute), and we sat on the 4th row. At the reception, we got to see Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie Presley, Jerry Scheff (Elvis' bassist - thanks to my friend Sue, I got his autograph on his CD, A Fire Down Below), Ronnie Tutt (Elvis' and Neil Diamond's drummer), Glenn D. Hardin (Elvis' pianist), and Richard Sterban (formerly bass singer in the Stamps Quartet and currently in the Oak Ridge Boys - I got his autograph).
We also had tickets to the Midnight in Vegas concert, also at the FedEx Forum. The video footage of Elvis was all from Vegas. The band was more rockin' at this one. Maybe they were nervous at the earlier show. This was the first (and likely last) showing of this concert - sadly.

8/17/07:

We ate at one of Elvis' favorite Italian food restaurants, Coletta's. He liked their B-B-Q pizza. We didn't have that.
We visited Sun Studio at 706 Union. Still a cool place.
We visited the Rock 'n' Soul Museum adjacent to the FedEx Forum. This is well worth the price of admission. It is a history of Memphis music starting in the early 1900s. It really helps one see how rock & soul developed. FASCINATING.
We did a riverboat dinner cruise on the Mississippi River and ate . . . you guessed it . . . B-B-Q. Troy got to sing three Elvis songs with the band (Jailhouse Rock, All Shook Up, & Little Sister).

8/18/07:

We took a little 1 1/2 hour drive to Tupelo, MS to see Elvis' birthplace. The highlight here was the story wall of Elvis' childhood friends reminiscing about the good old days. The adjacent museum was "okay."
The Tupelo Automobile Museum is worth the price of admission with cars going back to the late 1800s and including rarities such as a Tucker (only 51 were ever made).

8/19/07:

We went to church & visited Troy's Aunt Mary & Uncle Rich in Collierville, TN. We also said farewell to our friends, Tom & Sue.

8/20/07:

We went to the All Access Jumpsuit Museum across the street from Graceland. It was pretty amazing, beginning with the two-piece karate type suits he wore in '69, to the first actual jumpsuits of Feb '70, to a suit he never got to wear in concert. It was pretty amazing. I wish they would have spread them out more, though. It showed how little Elvis Presley Enterprises care about Elvis post-'73. Most of those suits were jumbled together in one place, so you couldn't see them well.
We visited the Gibson Guitar Factory near Beale St, where they make guitars such as Les Paul Studios, semi-hollowbodies electrics (like the ES-335 & B.B. King's Lucille), and hollowbody electrics. Too bad I didn't get to play one!
We walked around downtown Memphis window-shopping until we go tired.

That's our trip in a nutshell. Wish you could've been there!

Rascal's New Home

2007-06-02T12:55:00.000-05:00

Last week we moved into our new house. Our new kitten Rascal wasn't too sure about it at first, but now really likes the new place. Mr. Kitty has been harder to convince...he's spent a lot of time hiding under the bed.

A New Friend

2007-04-17T21:05:00.000-05:00

Troy and I have a new friend... He started coming around our house and he was so skinny we just had to help him. Of course now he's here everyday. This is also how we came to adopt Mr. Kitty, he just showed up.

He is very sweet and friendly. I'd guess he's probably about 6 months old, no more than a year. But we are not sure that we need another cat. If you would like to give this cute kitty a new home let us know!

European Vacation

2006-11-25T14:47:00.000-06:00

This week we returned from an amazing Mediterranean cruise. We had three stops in Italy - Naples, Messina (Sicily), and Florence. There were two stops in Greece and one stop in France near Nice. There were also three sea days where we relaxed and enjoyed the on board entertainment.

Here's our Online Photo Album

Happy Halloween!

2006-10-29T13:32:00.000-06:00

VACATION TO ILLINOIS & MISSOURI

2006-09-05T22:26:00.000-05:00

We left, Sunday, August 27 about 2pm in the afternoon to head for vacation - our first of the year! Our first stop was Springfield, Missouri where we visited my brother and sister-in-law (Tony & Vivian). We spent the night in their house that is over 100 years old! On Monday, we ate together at Hemingway's Blue Water Cafe (http://www.hemingwaysbluewatercafe.com/) at the Bass Pro Shops. They have a great breakfast buffet.

After Springfield, we headed to St. Louis (with a brief stop at a Russell Stovers outlet store on the way). We stayed at the Radisson Hotel downtown, and we had a view of the Gateway Arch from our room! The first thing we vistited was the Old Courthouse followed by the Gateway Arch (http://www.gatewayarch.com/). The ride to the top of the arch gives you an opportunity to Rock 'n' Roll! You can see for MILES from the Arch, though, and it is a neat view! At the arch we watched a National Geographic film on the BIG screen about the Lewis and Clark expedition. It was very interesting. After that, we ate at Skeeter's Eatery (http://www.skeeterseatery.com/) in historic Laclede's Landing (http://www.lacledeslanding.org/) - a neat place to window shop.

On Tuesday, due to cloudy and sprinkling skies, we visited the Missouri History Museum (http://www.mohistory.org/). They had great exhibits of Charles Lindbergh and the 1904 World's Fair held in St. Louis (did you know the Olympics were held there that year and tug-o-war was one of the games?). There was more to see, but maybe we'll see it next time. After eating at Jimmy's on the Park (http://jimmyscafe.com/) we made our way to the St. Louis Art Museum (http://www.stlouis.art.museum/). They had some pretty nice exhibits although some were not viewable as there was some construction going on. Then we made our way to The Loop (http://www.ucityloop.com/) where we did some window shopping and ate at Fitz's American Grill & Bottling Works where they make and bottle their own root beer! It was fantastic (http://www.fitzsrootbeer.com/). You can even order their root beer on-line! We even watched a movie at the historic Tivoli Theatre (http://www.landmarktheatres.com/market/St.Louis/TivoliTheatre.htm) also on the Loop. The movie we saw was Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore? (http://www.mrsmithmovie.com/) It shows the sad state of our political system.

On Wednesday, we made our way to the Anheuser Busch brewery for a free tour of the St. Louis facilities (http://www.budweisertours.com/docs/stltour.htm). Feeling famished from our tour, we found Zia's on the Hill (http://www.zias.com/). They had the BEST Chicken Parmigiana I have EVER had. Be sure to eat there if you go! Full of good food, we made our way to the Missouri Botanical Garden (http://www.mobot.org/) - what a beautiful place! An additional attraction was a Chihuly Glass (http://www.chihuly.com/) exhibition in the midst of the beautiful plants. The St. Louis Zoo (http://www.stlzoo.org/) was the next stop, and we were lucky to get to see a 350 lbs. "baby" Asian elephant named Maliha! This is a GREAT zoo, but plan to do a lot of walking as it is a bit spread out. We ate at the Thai Gai Yang Cafe. Their food was okay, but REALLY spicy!

On Thursday, we made our way to Kahoka, Missouri to visit my Aunt Maxine, Uncle Eldon, Grandma Bourgeois, and cousins (Brent, Tracy, Ryan, & Latisha). I helped Eldon and Brent a little bit with some work on the farm. That evening we shared a good, old fashioned family meal together, thanks to Maxine's great cooking.

On Friday, we went with Maxine & Eldon to Hannibal, Missouri (http://www.hanmo.com/). To get there, we took the ferry across the mighty Mississippi River at Canton, Missouri (http://www.showmecanton.com/) to Illinois. Then we went through Quincy, Illinois to take care of some errands. After eating at Steak 'n' Shake, we got to Hannibal. In Hannibal, we visited the Mark Twain Cave (http://www.marktwaincave.com/) did some window shopping in downtown Hannibal, even walking by Mark Twain's boyhood home (http://www.marktwainmuseum.org/). After getting back to Kahoka, we ate pizza with our cousins and watched them get ready for their car shows over the Labor Day weekend.

Saturday, we made our way to Versailles, Illinois to visit Grandma Sims. To our surprise, we were greeted by my cousins Andy (and his wife Carissa and their daughter Jaslyn - their expecting a boy in February) and Jake (and his girlfriend Amber). Our visit was cut short, though as Andy had to go play a gig with his band (http://www.mattallendoubledeuce.com/) and Jake had to go work on his house. The rest of the day was spent visiting with Grandma and relaxing.

Sunday we went to church (http://www.chambersburgchristian.com/) with Grandma followed by lunch with my cousin Bob (and his girlfriend, Chris) and my other cousin Bob (and his son, Baylor). Bob and I got a chance to jam before he had to go run lights and sound for Andy's band. Later in the day, we went to Jake's house in Griggsville, Illinois to see all the renovations going on. They are doing great, although they still have a lot of work to go.

Monday, we hopped in the car and drove for over 12 hours to be back in Wichita Falls. Sadly, we had a "welcome home gift." Someone had shot a hole through our kitchen window and blinds. That was a bummer, but not enough to spoil the fun from our vacation!

If you want to see pics from our vacation, go to: http://tampicotimes.myphotoalbum.com/view_album.php?set_albumName=album04.

1969 MEETS 21st CENTURY - A Fun Project

2006-08-05T17:33:00.000-05:00

About 2 years ago, Sandra and I were visiting with some friends of ours, Charlie & Julie Horvath. In catching up, Julie mentioned that they had bought some old console radios primarily for the beautiful cabinetry (although I know Charlie enjoyed getting those old units working). That got me to thinking that it would be really cool to get an old console stereo and convert it to a computer desk!

Well, after a long hunt, I recently "won" a 1969 General Electric A726G console stereo on eBay for only $49.99! This thing actually has solid wood in it. A few pieces of the unit have real wood laminate, but the laminate is at least 1/16" thick - not paper thin like modern furniture.

I spent $20 on a schematic to help troubleshoot the electronics and about $10 in parts to fix the electronics. I spent $20 on a wireless keyboard / mouse combination so I wouldn't have to cut into the nice wood! I made a few minor modifications to the cabinet for the computer to fit, and I bought a more modern turntable as well. My cassette deck fits nicely next to my monitor. My reel-to-reel deck fits well on the file cabinet, and as luck would have it, my scanner fits almost perfectly on top of the reel-to-reel! I'm really happy with the setup. One of the cool things is that I no longer have to put up with tinny-sounding computer speakers, because this thing ROCKS! This new setup will also make it easier to convert LPs, cassettes, and reel-to-reel tapes to CD!

Check out the pictures below!

The unit.

The unit with the cabinet open to show the computer and turntable.

A view of the unit where you can see the computer, turntable, and reel-to-reel.

Check out the 1969 electronics and the wireless keyboard & mouse!

BPW National Convention

2006-07-28T16:56:00.000-05:00

Last week I was a vendor at the National conference for Business & Professional Women, an organization that I am a member of locally. I met a lot of great people at this conference. At my booth I had a drawing for a 5 Pound Chocolate Bar which generated a lot of interest, as you can see here.

I also met Becky McCray, a really cool lady and small biz owner. She has a great blog with insights for small businesses, especially those in rural areas. She even wrote a feature about me on her blog. :)

Finally arrived. . .

2006-06-11T22:35:00.000-05:00

After 7 long years, Troy has finally been fully ordained a Deacon in Full Connection in the United Methodist Church! As a Deacon, Troy is called to ministries of word (i.e. preaching and / or teaching) and service (i.e. being a servant leader to and with congregations to help them be in service to the local church, community, and the world).

The day of ordination was June 6, 2006. That morning, Troy was able to address the North Texas Annual Conference for a total of 2 minutes! After that, he participated in a memorial service where he was honored to place a rose in memory of Rev. Dr. Robert Allen who passed away this last January. Following that, Troy received his "official" Deacon's pin at the Deacon's lunch and also participated in a short service of being welcomed into the Order of Deacons.

The ordination service took place at Custer Road United Methodist Church in Plano, Texas. The preacher was Bishop Hope Morgan Ward, and she was very inspiring. Troy was honored to have so many people from First UMC Lewisville, Grace Avenue UMC in Frisco, and First UMC Wichita Falls participate in this special time.

To see pics of these events, go to http://tampicotimes.myphotoalbum.com.

To see a video of the ordination service, go to http://www.webcasting.com/ntcumc/.

THANK YOU to all of you who have helped Troy arrive at this special time in life!

4th Anniversary Camping Trip

2006-05-13T17:19:00.000-05:00

Thursday, May 11, was our 4th Wedding Anniversary! To celebrate, I took off work from the church on Friday, and we went camping at a new favorite recommended by our friend, Linda Beltchev:

Caprock Canyons State Park.

The scenery was quite beautiful as you can see in our

pictures (click the link to see them). We ran into a few horny toads (why didn't I wear my TCU hat) as well as a few skunks (yes, they do prance about like Pepe LePew).

Friday, we hiked on our own for about an hour, and Saturday, we participated in a guided hike where we learned about local vegetation as well as the various layers of rock and rock formations.

Friday night made for quite cool sleeping while the days were quite warm.

On our way home, we ate at the Caprock Cafe in Quitaque, Texas. Most of the food was average at best, but the Chili Rellano (that's how they spelled it) was FANTASTIC! I'd recommend it! Then, as usual on our trips outside of Wichita Falls, we stopped at the Dairy Queen in Childress, Texas for a Blizzard (I had the Chocolate French Silk Pie, and Sandra had the Brownie Batter).

Defensive Driving Here We Come

2006-05-11T12:34:00.000-05:00

I just had a fender bender yesterday. Yea, I don't have good luck with cars. But fortunately this is the first accident I have had in a very long time - since college. (Well besides my Tempo which was totalled by very minor damage from someone else rear-ending that car in '02). I haven't gotten an estimate yet but of course it does have full coverage. And now Troy has another reason to drive his favorite truck more often!

A Family of Webmasters

2006-03-28T21:48:00.000-06:00

I'm not the only website creator in our household! Now in addition to being the volunteer webmaster for Friendship church and Bridgeport camp, Troy has also created a site from scratch for the
Wichita Optimist Club. Yes we're a little family of webmasters!

I'm adding new sites also, both business and personal. I've been the volunteer webmaster for BPW since last summer and have been slowly adding more to it. Once a month we have a full page feature in the local paper and our members write articles. I just started adding the articles to the website - including mine which was printed last month. ;)

My Challenge

2006-01-24T20:04:00.000-06:00

In the past 2 months I did a lot of planning of my personal and business goals for 2006. One of my personal goals is to lose 24 pounds - to go from 149 to 125.

To keep me motivated to lose weight I decided to create on online journal about it. In fact I recruited a few others who also wanted to get fit and we created a group Body Challenge. We're all following our own preferred diet plans and just posting about our progress, suggestions and diet strategies. You can follow along with all of our progress online, or click on my name just to see my entries.

We're into week 3 and so far I have lost 4 pounds! I KNOW I couldn't have done this without the accountability of knowing I had to post about it online. Of course I also have Troy who is encouraging and getting in his workouts too when we play raquetball 1-2 times a week.

Christmas Photos

2005-12-29T16:04:00.000-06:00

Hope you had a great Christmas! This photo was from Christmas day at my mom's house.

I mentioned to several people about our great experience with Snapfish ordering prints of our digital camera photos online.

After saving your photos to your computer or inserting the card into your PC, just logon to Snapfish and upload the pictures. Then order prints of the ones you like. You can order a variety of sizes too. All new customers get 30 FREE prints with your first order or the first roll of film developing free, if you are using standard film.

Christmas Spirit

2005-12-21T15:13:00.000-06:00

Christmas is only a few days away...are you still shopping? Most of our packages are waiting underneath the tree for Chrismas to get here. Kitty is not quite so patient and he enjoys playing with the ribbons and shaking the tree to make the bells ring. So far no major cat-astrophes though!

Movies and music help me to get into the Christmas spirit. Monday we watched Rudolph and Troy wondered out loud why he liked this movie as a kid - the songs were so cheesey. It was the '60s what can you say? ;)

We also got the Grinch cartoon on DVD this year and have several others ready to watch. I can't imagine missing my favorite Scrooge (with even goofier songs than Rudoph) but may watch the A Christmas Carol with Patrick Stewart instead. It was a TV movie on the TNT network a few years ago and is a very good modern version.

What about you, which Christmas movies are your favorites? click here to vote for your favorite Christmas movies and/or leave a comment below.

Cruise Photos

2005-11-30T11:05:00.000-06:00

Before Thanksgiving we went on a fun 5 night cuise on Carnival Elation. There were two ports of call in Mexico and the rest of the time was spent relaxing on the ship. Troy even got to do Elvis at Karaoke night. ;)

Here's a pic of me as we leave the port of Galveston.

Our first stop was the Port of Progresso, Mexico. We boarded a bus to take a tour of the Myan ruins at Chichén Itzá. The bus ride was almost 2 hours each way so our only complaint was that we didn't have enough time to tour the ruins themselves. Our tour guides were locals who claimed Myan ancestry, and gave us a lot of great information about the ruins.

The photo above is the pyramid at Chichén Itzá. It is four sided and VERY steep with only a rope to hold onto for safety. The next day both Troy and I had very sore legs!

Here's a pretty cool website that I found with more info & photos of Chichén Itzá.

The Calica shoreline with very beautiful blue green water!

Troy and I as we leave the ship for our tours in Calica/Playa del Carmen. At this stop we went snorkeling in a cavern!

Copper Breaks State Park - West Texas' Best Kept Secret

2005-09-24T15:44:00.000-05:00

Sandra and I spent the night at Copper Breaks State Park, about 10 miles south of Quanah, Texas, on September 16-17. A friend from church (Elizabeth Edwards) had recommended it to us, and we were not disappointed! We stayed in our tent in a relatively secluded campsite and enjoyed the cool front that had passed through on Thursday night providing a cooler time for us.

Friday night (the 16th), we ate at the Medicine Mound Depot Cafe, which was excellent. I had the usual (chicken fried steak), and Sandra had a cheeseburger and curley-q, homemade potato chips. Saturday morning, we got up, and after having a breakfast of Yoohoo and pop-tarts for me and fruit punch and granola bar for Sandra, we went on about a 6-mile hike! We were surprised at the variety of beautiful terrain, as you can see in some of the pictures below.

After returning from our hike, we packed up camp and headed back to Wichita Falls with a stop at a Dairy Queen in Chillicothe, Texas.

Sandra and Our Tent

Pretty and Prickly

Don't Fall!

Look Out for That First Step - It's a Doosy

A Scenic Shot

Something Tells Me We're Not Alone

A Scenic Shot

Which Way Do We Go?

Back to Civilization

UMCOR Response to Hurricane Katrina

2005-09-01T12:26:00.000-05:00

In these early days after a disaster of this magnitude, there remains a state of emergency. Communication with the affected areas is difficult and details continue to be uncertain about persons and places connected with the United Methodist Church. But even as the official rescue efforts are occurring, UMCOR is engaged in the planning and strategizing for long-term recovery.

Keep Reading: UMCOR Begins Three-Stage Response to Hurricane Katrina

A Walk in the Park

2005-08-01T17:23:00.000-05:00

My new wheels....a fun to drive Pontiac Grand Prix.

I decided to take my camera along with me on one of my usual morning walks. Here's a photo of the walking path in Lucy Park. This one is near the bridge that goes to the RV park...

There's all kind of wildlife in the park. Of course there's ducks and geese at the little duck pond and many resident squirrels. Once I saw a racoon who quickly hid under the sidewalk inside a culvert.

Today I saw this little guy walking across the grassy field. He was pretty big, at least 16 inches long. He also ran away when I got too close.

Dream Come True for T-roy

2005-05-07T13:03:00.000-05:00

I recently had the opportunity of a lifetime. Two good friends, Tom & Sue Goebel invited Sandra and I to come visit them at their home in Massachusetts. As a part of the trip, we got to see ELVIS THE CONCERT. No, this was not an Elvis impersonator. This was not just video of Elvis on the big screen. It was Elvis projected on a screen and only his voice along with this REAL band:
Guitar: James Burton
Bass: Jerry Scheff
Drums: Ronnie Tutt
Piano: Glen Hardin
Conductor: Joe Guercio
Male Vocals: The Stamps
Female Vocals: The Sweet Inspirations

It was GREAT! There were times in which I'd subconsciously look down from the screen to the stage expecting to see Elvis. It was the closest I came in this lifetime to seeing Elvis live. Here are some pics:

Elvis and Jerry Scheff

Elvis and Jerry Scheff

Elvis and Ronnie Tutt

If I Can Dream

If You're Lookin' for TROUBLE

James Burton and the Sweet Inspirations

Elvis and the Stamps - Sweet, Sweet Spirit

Fun with Friends

2005-04-27T10:29:00.000-05:00

It was great to visit with Tom & Sue last week at their home in Western Massachusetts. They showed us all the sights, historic areas, and shopping. Of course Tom and Troy especially enjoyed the "Elvis Concert." Here's a couple of photos of us before we went into the arena for the show:

Historic Homes Tour

2005-04-09T14:32:00.000-05:00

My friend Marilyn from church invited me to go with her on the Wichita County Historic Homes Tour today. We parked our car at the first house, and rode bikes from one house to the next. I'm so glad she had this idea, it made the tour easy and fun.

There were six beautiful historic homes in a wide range of styles including Colonial, Tudor, and French provincial.

The Spanish Eclectic home of the Pridham family was one of my favorites. The interrior architectural details, such as exposed beams, fireplaces and even a little balcony in the living room were quite unique.

The Womble's home pictured below was built in 1941 in a French Provincial style. This is a view from the backyard, with the more recently added swimming pool and garden.

The interior of the home is inviting, with many large windows letting in the natural light. Each room is uniquely decorated and distinct from one another. The common trait throughout the home is a fun, contemporary style with an emphasis on bright colors.

This casual dining area is predominately muted greens and yellows, but the pink adds the perfect splash of vivid color:

I loved the way this placesetting was laid out. There's even namecards for a fantasy dinner party. Who's on the guestlist? None other than Elvis, Madonna, and Oprah!

It was fun touring all of the homes. It was a wonderful way to get to know more about the history of our city, by seeing how the families have preserved and updated these grand homes.

You Know It's Springtime When...

2005-04-08T18:19:00.000-05:00

...you hear the chimes of the ice cream truck around the corner.

Palm Sunday Weekend

2005-03-21T17:26:00.000-06:00

Troy's parents came to visit this weekend. We went out for burgers for lunch, went shopping and then had a cookout for dinner.

Palm Sunday is our church's traditional day for the Easter Egg Hunt. After services we have a spaghetti lunch sponsored by the Berean sunday school class. Then the Egg Hunt festivities begin.

Troy giving a devotional before the egg hunt begins.

Here are some of the budding artists in my sunday school class. We made prints of palm leaves to remind us of Jesus's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The 1-2nd graders were especially creative with this project.

February Photos

2005-02-12T16:07:00.000-06:00

I'm going nuts with the digital camera...it's a lot of fun. Here's some recent photos that I uploaded to Yahoo. Clicking on the links will take you directly to the slide show. No login needed.

Sherri's birthday at Mom & Dads

Valentines N Vegas - this was so much fun! I've been working on the planning committee of this event for a couple of months. It was with Business & Professional Women of Wichita Falls, and the proceeds benefited our college scholarship fund.

The best part of the evening was a performance by Elvis (Troy of course) and a renewal of wedding vows ceremony. See the Valentines Pictures

Holiday Photos

2005-01-24T13:59:00.000-06:00

Okay...here are a few holiday photos. Better late than never right? Troy gave me a digital camera for Christmas, a Fuji Finepix and it's way cool. On Christmas I just had the small memory card that came with the camera so we didn't get too many photos. Now I have the 256, which is I think the largest you can get. Now if I can just get around to reading the manual and figuring out all the nifty features.

Me munching on some Christmas goodies

My sister Sherri with a sleeping baby Cooper (her grandson)

My uncle Ken with his son Victor and Cassidie's son Cooper (far right). Cooper really caught on to how to open those Christmas presents, though sometimes he'd reather chew on toys than play with them. Here Victor is sharing his new train set and apparently does not mind. He must be sympathetic since he's teething too. :)

Thanksgiving Day at the Sims house: Troy with his brother Tony, and parents Doris and Paul (Ron)

Tsunami Relief

2005-01-10T01:09:00.000-06:00

Many people have wondered what they can do to assist the victims of the Tsunami in south-east Asia. Well, the United Methodist Church has an organization that is working to help these victims. This organization is known as UMCOR (United Methodist Committee On Relief), and they are currently taking donations online at:

http://www.methodistrelief.org

If you'd like to make a donation that you feel confidant will make it to the victims, I highly recommend this organization. Thank you, in advance, for helping the victims!

Family Photos

2004-11-19T14:08:00.000-06:00

Troy with Granma Sims & Aunt Virginia

Troy with Granma B

Troy w/Ryan & LaTisha

Brent's Toy

"Is this seat belt snapped in tight?"

Brent (Troy's cousin) has won many awards at car shows for his truck. Troy and Brent jib-jabed in car language while I took the photos. They sped off for a joy ride that must have been lots of fun. (I'll take their word for it.)

Fall Color Photos

2004-11-19T13:41:00.000-06:00

Beautiful fall color in Downtown Chicago:

In the sculpture garden at the Art Institute

Chicago Photos

2004-11-14T13:14:00.000-06:00

Here are a few pictures from our trip to Chicago last week:



Troy at the planetarium



Troy and the geese, with Lake Michigan in the background



View of Lake Michigan with

the Aquarium on the left, and the Chicago skyline in the background.



Sandra at the Planetarium with the Sears Tower in the background



View of Chicago from the steps of the Art Institute



Sandra at the

Art Institute

Kitty's Ready for Halloween

2004-10-05T13:17:00.000-05:00

Okay, I know this is getting ridiculous, even our cat is dressed like Elvis! Troy's cousin Brent gave us this costume which is actually for a little dog. (Please don't tell Kitty that!) There's actually flared pants that go with it, but as you can imagine a cat would not stand for that.

New York Times Bestseller List Here I Come!

2004-08-31T12:03:00.000-05:00

One of my longtime dreams has now come true! I just self-published a book about one of my favorite subjects - fundraising. It's a basic how to get started manual for individual or small group fundraisers and is only available in digital format. I've been working on this since May and spent most of the summer in the "research phase." I have gathered a lot of success stories and tips from other fundraisers too. My Aunt Sylvia was even kind enough to lend her own expertise and helped create one of the best chapters in the book!

I do hope to continue to improve the writing quality of the book and add more success stories. I'll probably come out with a new edition next year.

The Beginner's Guide to Fundraising

The Swalleys Visit Tampico St

2004-08-22T23:20:00.000-05:00

It was truly a pleasure to be able to spend part of our weekend with our good friends, Larry & Dorothy Swalley from First United Methodist, Lewisville, Texas. They came in Friday evening and ate supper with us (Sandra cooked a Mexican Spaghetti Casserole and I made homemade ice cream). After supper, the Swalley's showed us pictures from their recent mission trip to Chile. It was apparent that they had been busy working and having fun!

On Saturday, Sandra & I went to a Children's Sunday School seminar in Plano with some wonderful people from FUMC Wichita Falls, but upon returning, we went to eat with the Swalley's and their nephew, Lyle, at Casa Manana (our favorite local Mexican food restaurant). After that, we experience the Texas Ranch Roundup Rodeo at the Kay Yeager Coliseum.

Sunday, the Swalley's went to church with us, attending Sunday School with Sandra and sitting with her in worship. Then it was off to Buffet City for some Chinese food with some more good friends, Charley, Diane, & Robbie Pierce. I'm sorry to say I was not able to go to lunch with them as I had a meeting after church. All too soon, the Swalley's had to leave, but we look forward to visiting them and them visiting with us in the future!

Political Soundbites

2004-08-19T09:34:00.000-05:00

With the election year upon us, we have already become innundated with political "sound bites" from candidates, news media and advertisements. The problem with many of these messages is that they are the ones the speaker wants us to hear, and not necessarliy "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth."

While I didn't watch the majority of the The Democratic National Convention, I was intrigued by some of the clips the media kept playing afterwards. Of course the speech from John Kerry was covered well, but it seemed the second most frequently played clips were from Ron Reagan Jr.

Ron's speech focused on his personal cusade, which is embryotic stem cell research and cloning. The sound clip I heard repeated several times was..." it does not follow that the theology of a few should be allowed to forestall the health and well-being of the many." This statement is untrue on both parts. There are more than "a few" people opposed to embryotic stem cell research, people of many backgrounds. And second, stem cell research is not a miracle cure.

As Nigel M. de S. Cameron recently stated, "To suggest that cures for juvenile diabetes and Parkinson's disease are just around the corner, and that voting in pro-cloners will somehow make it happen, is a travesty. In fact, to date, only ethical research on adult stem cells has actually cured people with "incurable" diseases."

For anyone struggling with such diseases, a desire for a cure is understandable. It is hope that keeps the human spirit alive. However, hope should not dissapoint, and placing our hope in unethical treatments that have proven to fail will dissapoint. The fact is that only research using adult stem cells has proven effective.

Hijacking the Reagan Name by Nigel M. de S. Cameron

Stemming the Confusion: The False Sell on Stem Cells by Charles Colson (this article also lists 20 other refrences and resources)

In this debate, as well as the many other issues that face our country and our world today, we have to be vigilant in the search for truth. The "sound bites" are often one-sided and do not take into account the whole of an issue. Many times the heart of the matter, and the solution, is found somewhere in the middle.

Camping Photos

2004-07-29T11:33:00.000-05:00

Troy and I recently went camping at the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. We set up camp as you can see in the photos below, with our little tent. (Don't worry we had electricity and FANS!) And my parents set up their RV nearby. We got to eat at the famous Meres Burger, twice! And once at the only other restaurant in town, which is also very good.

We went hiking on Saturday morning, and although it was only in the high 80's-low 90's by the end we were pretty hot. The trail map said it was 5.7 miles and the sign at the trailhead said 8 miles. We're not sure which it really was, but it took exactly 3 hours to hike. By the second hour I was ready to pass out! But it was beautiful hike with many trees, lakes and wildlife, including a herd of buffalo.

The prarie dogs live in close proximity to the buffalo herds, and we got to see both up close:

Overall it was a fun weekend. I think I'm ready to go back!

Photos Prove, Elvis Lives!

2004-06-12T13:33:00.000-05:00

The King, Elvis Presley, recently made a surprise visit to Wichita Falls, Texas! He was the hit of the "Cafe Broadway" variety show at the First United Methodist Church. Fans were treated to two songs, "Blue Suede Shoes" and "Love Me."

T-roy "Elvis" Sims

The King woos the crowd

Some of Elvis's famous dance moves

The Office

2004-06-06T22:18:00.000-05:00

I just finished watching the complete first series of The Office , a British comedy series, on DVD. It was pretty funny, sort of a British Office Space in a mock documentary reality TV style. Eventhough I watch a lot of Britcoms, there were some bits that I know went straight over my head. Luckily in the DVD there's a British to American slang dictionary, which is helpful and rather funny in itself.

Now I have to get my hands on a copy of the second series which is from 2003. If I'm lucky they will also have a copy of this at the library (where I got the first one.)

A Good Weekend So Far

2004-05-30T23:36:00.000-05:00

Well, it has been a good weekend so far, except that I had to work some on Saturday morning and this morning (Sunday) was quite hectic at work. However, we shared lunch with some friends and talked about Confirmation next year, and it looks good.

In addition, on Saturday, I bought an old HeathKit amplifier at a garage sale. I was a little disheartened when I realized that one channel had some distortion in it. My oscilloscope is currently out on loan, so I didn't have a good way of tracing the distortion. However, I started comparing voltages between the two channels, especially around the transistors in the circuit (I figured the biasing on a transistor might be off). Before too long, I found that one of the output transistors was bad. Luckily, Radio Shack had one that would work for my application. It sounds good!!!

Now I just hope tomorrow is a continuation of the good weekend!

Race Day Photos

2004-05-29T13:58:00.000-05:00

Me with my honored hero Desi

6:30 AM, before the race. Not quite awake yet.

Crossing the Finish Line

Powerade, now!

Proud of Sandra

2004-05-17T21:45:00.000-05:00

I was (am) VERY proud of Sandra and how well she did on her race on Sunday morning. She had a better time than she had in any of her training!

We also had a fun weekend together. We got to go out with our friends Charlie & Julie Horvath, whom I met when I worked at Raytheon. They are fun people, and it was neat to hear about all their projects (old radios, gardening, restoring '54 Vette).

We did realize, though, that about the only thing we missed from the Dallas area was restaurants (Dave & Busters, Razoos, Royal Thai, etc.) and certain shops (the BIG Half Price Books, CD Universe, etc.).

Triumphant Finish!

2004-05-17T18:50:00.000-05:00

By Saturday evening, I had become pretty nervous about the race day. I knew I could do it, after all I have completed a full marathon before, but this time was different. Eventhough it was a half marathon, 13.1 miles, my goal was not only to finish, but in under 3 hours. In addition I am running about half of the distance now, which is more challenging than walking.

After arriving at the race site and I found Nancy and her son, our honored hero. I was also excited to see Candance running the race since she had battled a leg injury this season and was unsure at one point whether she could run or not.

The weather was beautiful and the course was flat and well marked. The course followed the While Rock creek trails through parks and wooded areas. I kept a close eye on my watch and timed every mile. I was amazed to find that I was just over a 13 minute mile for the first 3 miles! I began to slow down a bit after mile 9, but just kept talking to myself and watching the time. I would watch someone ahead of me whose pace I knew was in my goal range, and I would keep up or catch up with them. This strategy worked really well.

I ran most of the last 3 miles, because I knew I had to make up a few minutes. Plus, I didn't feel the muscle aches until I started walking, so it was easier to run!

I crossed the finish line in 3 hours and 5 minutes. This is about a 14.2 minute mile, a huge accomplishment since my training pace had been 15-16. Troy was waiting there for me at the finish, snapping my picture, and then helping me limp to the water station!

Overall this has been a great season. I have met so many great people on the team who are also working hard toward their goals. My final fundraising total for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is $914.24. Thanks to everyone who made this possible!

Ready for the Race

2004-05-14T23:50:00.000-05:00

I'm getting packed for our little trip to Dallas for the half marathon. Okay, I've got my running clothes, camelbak (Powerade container), powerbars, ummm... what else? Oh, yea shoes. Okay, I think I'm ready.

The most difficult thing about this race weekend is not getting up at 5:30 AM for race day, or walking 13.1 miles, heck that's the easy part. No, the difficult thing is deciding where to dine out while we are in the 'big city' for the weekend! While the list is long for Mexican restaurants, we managed to settle on Mariano's. There's one on Greenville Ave near where we're staying. (There's also one in Arlington, too.) So many enchiladas, so little time.

Web Updates

2004-05-07T16:57:00.000-05:00

This is just a quick post to say that I have recently updated both the walking journal and the Bulgarian Ministry websites.

Life of Pi

2004-04-25T21:24:00.000-05:00

Today was the first meeting of the new book club. Our first selection was a good one - Life of Pi by Yann Martel. The book starts by describing the childhood of the main character, Pi, who lived in India. He is a very spiritual person, even as a child. He learns about and follows the teachings of Islam, Christianity and Hinduism. When he accidentally runs into the local leaders of all three religions it is quite comical how they fight over Pi.

Once his family decides to emigrate to Canada, the book becomes a real page turner. I really enjoyed interpreting the stories, especially the many layers of symbolism. The psycological aspects, namely the symbolism of the tiger, reminded me of the concept of the "shadow side" as described by Carl Jung. It was interesting to discuss the book in the group, to hear different reactions and interpretations.

Birthday Celebration

2004-04-24T23:15:00.000-05:00

It was a birthday to remember for our good friend Mary Louise! There were many friends and family to wish her well at the party in Lewisville today. The biggest question on our minds before we got there was if Mary Louise made her own birthday cake. This might sound odd, but she is famous for her cakes. (She and Jan made our wedding cakes.) And lucky for all of us, she did. Her and Cora made a delicious chocolate with peanut butter icing and a white cake. I went for the chocolate! It was great to see so many of our friends at the party, too.

2004-04-06T08:52:00.000-05:00

Well, my web designs session went on into the wee hours of Friday evening/Saturday morning. Though the Partridge Family didn't last long...there's only 2 good songs on the whole CD. Big surprise, there. So I quickly went on to my other favorite CDs and have somehow managed to go through most of my collection over this weekend. The only alternatives now are to either a) delve into Troy's Elvis collection or b) shop for new CDs. Hmmm...which shall I choose.

Speaking of CD shopping, my favorite place online to get CD's is Marie's Ebay store. Marie has been selling CDs for years on ebay, and in fact is one of the most popular sellers on all of ebay. We've bought dozens of CD's there. You can get some really good deals, too. Marie's CDs

So now after all these hours of music and working, I've finished the redesign on my diet website. I like this design a lot better, it's much more colorful. Plus I reworked a lot of the pages to be more user friendly (that was the intention anyway.) South Beach Diet Success

Painting

2004-03-09T19:56:00.000-06:00

We're in the middle of painting the interior walls of the house. We did the living room weekend before last and it turned out great. The walls are a midtone green, the paint mfr calls it "Sagey." It goes well with our neutral light brown couch. Ken gave us a rug that's brown and ivory stripes and it really pulls the room together. I'd like to add some plants, fake or real either way. I have a couple of ivys that don't really have a home, so maybe I can find a place for them in the living room.

The kitchen and dining room are in varying stages. The dining is mostly done except for the trim. The rest needs work. We haven't gotten as much done in the past few days because of the Perkins lectures at church. I'm sure we'll get back to it soon enough.

Plane Ride

2004-02-21T14:20:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago Troy and I went on a plane ride around Wichita Falls. Our pilot Danny goes to our church and invited us out. I told him way ahead of time that I was a bit apprehensive. I flew in another 4 seater about 10 years ago and it was pretty scary. Way too much turblulence!

But I was very glad I did not give in to my fears. This plane was much nicer than the one I rode in before. It has heating, leather seats, and it's a real heavy plane. There were only a couple of very minor bumps during the hour plus ride. Troy was in the front passenger seat most of the time while I took photos out the side windows.

Danny showed us all the controls, the navigation system and everything. There were guidance systems for flying through clouds and other safety systems on the plane. The radio controls were pretty cool and we kept in touch with several aiports along the flight. Troy and I both got to try our hand at flying the plane, which was pretty fun.

2004-02-15T14:06:00.000-06:00

Valentine's Day was really special this year. Not only did we get to play in the snow, but Troy and I had a great date too. We went to Bari's, a local Itallian place. The food was wonderful and the atmosphere was romantic, yet casual. Afterward we went to a performance of the Wichita Falls Symphony. It was a great concert and they had a guest violinist who was amazing.

Today some of the snow is still here, but "George" has gone to snowman heaven.

Snow

2004-02-14T16:16:00.000-06:00

Today it snowed! It was so beautiful when we awoke to find the world covered in white.