One Amazing American

Okay, so here I am again, over 2 weeks have passed since my last post, but hey, it's better than 3 months, right?  I don't have to great of deal to report, other than the NFL draft is finally over for the year (as of yesterday).  This means that summer break is slowly approaching and I CAN'T WAIT!  I also went to my first Oakland A's game on Easter Sunday (April 12th) with a few coaches and their wives, and then again on April 14th with the QB's coach and his wife (who I have spent a bit of time with- and ADORE) to see the A's beat the Red Sox in 12 innings(always enjoyable-sorry Anna and P. Daddy).  Here is a picture of John and me at my first A's game(after the Seattle Mariners won). 

The weekend (April 18th/19th) following those two games brought AMAZING weather to the Bay Area.  We had temperature in the mid-high 80's, which apparently is very rare for here, but I was definitely not complaining!  We went for runs, bike rides, hung out by the pool, and enjoyed our new lounge chairs on our back patio.  We had an absolutely picture perfect California weekend.  

Unfortunately, John had to go back to work and get ready for the draft, and I had a very exciting week ahead of me.  I volunteered to be part of the organizational process for an absolutely fantastic fundraising run.  It is called Pat's Run.  For those of you who don't know what it is, here you go:  It is a 4.2 mile run that is held in Tempe, Arizona one week, and San Jose, California the following week.  It is put on by the Pat Tillman Foundation and the significance of the locations and distance are as follows: Pat Tillman was born and raised in San Jose and went to college in Tempe and went on to play in the NFL for the Arizona Cardinals.  Although his jersey number for the Cardinals was #40, his number at ASU was #42, hence the 4.2 mile run.  

I am sure many of you have heard the name Pat Tillman before.  If not, here is a very brief version of his life (basically what I knew prior to getting to experience working for his foundation).  Pat Tillman was a handsome, strong, All-American type, California boy.  He played football and was an extremely hard worker.  His hard work led him to an education and football career at Arizona State University and then to his professional career with the Arizona Cardinals.  He played there for a few years, but after being touched by the events of Septemeber 11th, Tillman turned down a multimillion dollar contract to enlist in the Army and serve our country.  He was killed, we later found out, by friendly fire in Afghanistan.  As if the fact that this young man gave up money, fame, and a comfortable life, to serve our country wasn't enough to pull at my heart strings, what I learned about him over the past couple of weeks, put me over the top.  

A well read young man (in every type of book you could imagine), he graduated from ASU, with a major in marketing,  in LESS than 4 years and a GPA of 3.84. He was intelligent. With his spare time, he took classes in special education so that he could better understand a friend who had learning disabilities.  He was caring.  He often volunteered in the community at places like the Boys and Girls by doing things like reading to children.  He was selfless.  He was once offered $9 million to play for an NFL team other than the Cardinals(one that had just won the Superbowl), but he turned it down JUST to stay with the losing Cardinals.   He was loyal.  He married his high school sweetheart.  He was committed.  He drove the same non air-conditioned truck that he drove in college while playing for the Cardinals.  He was down to earth.  In addition to being a professional football player, he completed a marathon AND a Half Ironman.  He was a competitor.  Even while making millions, he rode his bike to and from training camp practices.  He was had a young, free spirit.  He turned down a large contract (again) to proudly wear the US Army uniform.  He was patriotic.  These are just a handful of examples of who Pat Tillman was...from a person who didn't even know him.  Imagine how he touched the lives of those who ACTUALLY knew him?!

I don't want to get into the full biography of Pat Tillman, because if you really want to, you can crack open a book, or google him to learn everything you want to know.  I just wanted to share some of the things I learned about Pat Tillman over the course of last week, which shaped my opinion that he was a truly exceptional human.  He was the textbook definition of a role model.  Imagine if we had a country full of people who demonstrated even a small fraction of the qualities that Tillman did in his 28 years of life?  Wow, how much better off would we be?  That is the idea behind his foundation.  Or at least that is what I take from it.  If the foundation can raise money to give young people a chance to lead through their actions, I am all for it.  Even if you take the money raised out of the equation...this man, who unfortunately is not with us anymore, brought together nearly 5,000 people(most of who didn't even know him personally)...two weeks in a row, not only to celebrate his life, but to remember the person that he was, and hopefully inspire them to make positive changes in their own life. Now, I am not suggesting that everyone go out and enlist in the army, because as much as I appreciate and respect EVERYTHING that our brave young men and women do, it is definitely NOT for everyone. But, I challenging you today, just today, to take one aspect of who Pat Tillman was, and incorporate those qualities into your own life.  Trust me, you will feel better about yourself, and you will make the world a better place at the same time.  Heck, what could be better than that?   And who knows, maybe you will even want to challenge yourself again tomorrow:-) 

Never Forget #40

Holy Stinkin' Moley

Oh my goodness.  I am the WORST blogger in the history of the world.  My lack of blogging activity spiraled out of control after I returned from my February trip to the East Coast, for my dear friend Carin's wedding!!!!-which was AMAZING!!!  I returned, and felt that I had SO much to write about, and then I started to feel guilty for not writing for the whole MONTH prior.  So I didn't log on.  Then, before you know it a month and half had passed, then two months...and now, here we are at 2 and a half months...and I am completely ashamed!! I know I have promised this in the past...but isn't admitting the problem the first step? :-)  I have overcome my fear of the blogging gods striking me down for logging in without writing for 2 and a half months..and here I am making my post..and as far as I can tell, I am still alive!!  First, a quick note about my trip back East:  It seems like forever ago, but here goes the best recap I can come up with!!  I got to spend lots of time with my family doing the usual things, like lunches with Dad and Matty at Starbucks, hanging at home with Mama, dinner in the city with Lulu, and lunch at THE BLAZER (ahhh heaven) with the best big bro in the world, Danny.  Even though none of those things seem spectacular or earth-shattering, those are the things that keep me smiling when I think about my family while I am so far away. Also, while they are not earth-shattering events, they are the things that mean the absolute most to me.  I also somehow convinced most two of my Aunts and Nana to come meet in Connecticut for a dinner at our perfect meeting spot, Bertucci's.  I always love catching up with Aunt Susan and Aunt Leigh about all of their latest news and life happenings, and of course seeing Nana always means the world to me.  She is the most amazing lady (any of you who have ever met her, know this first hand).  Coincidentally, she turns 84 today!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANA!! If I could have half the youthfulness that she has when I am 84, I will be one happy lady!!  

P. Daddy and I also got to see my awesome cousin Larry, and his pops, Uncle Larry, for a dinner date one night and a movie/dinner date another night!!  How lucky am I to get to have TWO dates with THREE absolutely unbelievable guys at one time, and still have my wonderful husband to talk to at the end of the night!! Wow, I am blessed!!  

I also got to be part of my very  best friend's birthday celebration at a Saki bombing sushi restaurant in the city.  Although, the restaurant wasn't exactly "my style" being able to sit next to my Meggaroo and share her birthday with her, was something that I am extremely grateful for.  When you live somewhere far away, being there for people's birthdays are something that you realize you may have taken for granted before.  Thank you Meg for sharing your day with me!!  

While home I was also able to catch up with a few grad school friends (and my DEAR friend Millie) over dinner, which was a welcomed surprise component of my trip.  Speaking of friends, I was very lucky to have my two best friends from college Josey and Jana in New York at the same time I was there.  Jana of course lives there, but Josey planned a trip to see Jana and me knowing that I would be home. 

Josey and I hadn't seen each other for a very long time, and it was wonderful to see that the second we "got back together" things were just the same as they were 6 years ago in our old row house in Lancaster, PA.  Both Josey and Jana were such a HUGE part of my life for my college years, and I am extremely grateful that they are part of my adult years as well.  I love you guys!!  

Finally, CARIN and RYAN's WEDDING was on February 28th, 2009 at the Baltimore Museum of Industry and what an event it was!! Despite being sick as a dog, I had such a blast!!  Carin had been planning this event FOREVER and it showed!! Everything was perfect.  The venue was breathtaking, the flowers and her dress were flawless, the table settings were unique and beautiful, and more than anything else, Carin was PERFECT!!  She looked absolutely beautiful on her special day and I felt so honored to  be able to stand up there with  her as one of her "maids" to help her leap into the next phase of her life. Thank you for asking me to be part of your day Carin!! I can't say it enough, it was AMAZING!! And it makes me so happy to see you happy!  

Following the wedding, after getting to squeeze a FANTASTIC afternoon of Floozie time in with the world's most adorable couple (Em and Dave), I headed back up to NY to catch my flight back to CA, only to get caught in a MAJOR snowstorm that resulted in my flight being cancelled...it was majorly stinky because at that point I was desperately missing John, but at least I got to spend an extra day with my awesome fam!!

Phew!! That was exhausting!! So, I got back March 3rd, and got to catch up with my sweet husband and got to see him do an awesome triathlon called the Diabloman, which was basically a swim at the bottom of Mount Diablo (google it), a bike ride UP the majority of the mountain, and then dismounting the bike 3.1 miles shy of the summit and then running the remainder of the way up.  Sounds fun? No. It didn't look fun either, but I was able to "chase" him the entire way up the mountain in the 4Runner throwing Powerbars and Gatorades at him as needed.  Even though the race wasn't exactly my cup of tea, it sure was John's because he came in FIRST in his age group!! YUP!! That's my hubby!! SO PROUD!! :-)

During the week following the race, we got a visit from my other, new Dad because he was in town doing a press conference for a new football league that he is part of.  It was so awesome to be able to spend a day or so taking walks, catching up, having dinner etc.  It was definitely a VERY welcomed surprise.  Whenever I hang out with my "in-laws" I am reminded of how happy I am that I don't have those looney in-laws that everyone seems to have and always talks about.  Sorry for all of you who have them, that trend somehow skipped me!! Again, blessed.  

In March, I also got to go to my very first NBA game!! It was the Golden State Warriors v. the NJ Nets and holy cow did we have amazing seats(one of John's friends totally hooked us up-thank you Ron!!).  We were LITERALLY three rows from the NJ bench and I have to say, NBA games are SUPER exciting in real life!! Of course, it may have had something to do with our proximity to the court, but hey, if that is the last game I ever go to, I went out on a high note!! And to top it all off, the Warriors won!! 

The Friday after the Warriors game, twin sister from another mother, Erin came to town to visit!! How did I get so lucky that she wants to waste her spring break visiting me?!?  I obviously wanted to make sure it was a trip to remember, so we started it off with some major fun!! The day after she arrived we hopped in the car for a little 3+ hour trip(she is a trooper!!) to Yosemite National Park!!! 

 I really could never describe the wonders of this place, so I am not going to even try...but trust me, YOU HAVE TO GO!!  

We spent the first day checking out the usual touristy spots (Bridalveil Falls, Half Dome, The Tunnel View, etc.) and then on the second day we went to a less traveled part of the park called Hetch Hetchy Reservoir.  We weren't sure about the decision to spend our second day there, but it was SO close to the cabins we were staying in that it was very appealing.  We took a risk, and holy cow, it was worth it.  While all the famous sites of Yosemite were worth seeing, the Hetch Hetchy section of the park provided all the beauty(maybe more) of the main part of the park, but it was also SO much more peaceful.  Well worth it!!  

After we got back from Yosemite Erin and I took some shorter trips to places like the Jelly Belly Factory so we could see how those little wonders are made (yeah, we are really 8 years old).  We also hit up Old Faithful of California, which is one of 3 faithful geysers in the entire world.  It was a little bit of a weird location, but hey, if you get to see a geyser, some fainting goats, llamas AND the beauty of Napa, who really cares how weird it is:-)  On Erin's last day, we slept in a little, took a walk around Alameda's paths, went over to Berkeley (just so she could experience it), and then went over to San Fran to meet one of Erin's old friends for dinner.  All in all, it was an AMAZING trip that I will never forget, and hopefully Erin won't either.  My evil plan of brainwashing her to move out here might slowly be working:-)

I think that pretty much brings us to now.  A few weeks have passed since Erin left, but there isn't really anything SUPER exciting to catch you up on...plus, I am tired of typing.  I need to get back into good blogging shape.  Luckily my next ones won't have to be as long because there won't be so much time in between this one and the next!!! Much love!!