A Deal!!

Any of you who know me well- know that I can't pass up a good deal. And, I certainly can't pass up a GREAT deal.

On May 2nd, the PTA at Cunningham Park Elementary had their Family Fun Night and Silent Auction. It's their biggest fundraiser of the year. There were numerous (100+) items up for bidding; everything from resturaunt and grocery store gift certificates to autographed books, baseball & football tickets, craft baskets, salon services, ice cream with a teacher, picnic lunch in the principal's office---literally everything you can imagine.

One thing I did not imagine was a $2000 gift certificate for orthodonic services to the boys' orthodontist----I know, you had no idea that the boys had an orthodontist. They have one. In fact, last month after their consultations he gave me their orthodonic plan and an estimate of the Bad News; you know, the cost. Let's just say, I won't be getting a car this year! :) Sometimes dental insurance covers part of your orthodonic services, ours does not.

So, imagine my glee at the prospect of a $2000 gift certificate to OUR orthodontist with a minimum starting bid of $500!!

I won't keep you in suspense- after 30 minutes "glued" to the bidding table and several attempts to out-bid me, when the auctioneer's bell sounded, I had the winning bid of $625.



How Cool- Thank You to the PTA and to Dr. Garai! The gift certificate will be put to good use and is an awesome blessing to our family.

Army Adventures

It is moments like these where I wish I was a kid again. The boys insisted taking me on an 'Army Mission' this past weekend. While they attempted to get me into camo and boots; I was able to convince them that photographers don't have to follow the same rules.

They were fun to watch and appeared to me more guerrilla warfare or special forces rather then a plain old Army mission. Every once in awhile I need to stop and engage on thier level...dream on thier level...and explore on thier level. I read recently that the most significant vision casting is done 12 inches from your childrens face at night right before they head off to bed. Need to be dreaming / vision casting with these 'troops' more often. They are growing up fast.

Soccer Game

The thunder and lightening stayed away and we got to go to the DC United game last night!

V.W.I.P.

What is a V.W.I.P?

It's a VIP with a VW (Volkswagon ) Twist. Volkswagon is the new sponsor for the DC United Soccer Team.

Last night I got an e-mail from Volkswagon. I almost didn' t read it because I thought it was just our service reminder. But, to my surprise, it was an e-mail making sure that all the VW owners in the area knew about the new partnership with the Team. It also announced that all VW owners could go to ticketmaster on-line and receive 4 complimentary tickets to tonight's DC United game against the Chicago Fire. Not only that, but if you drive your VW to the game, you will get to park for FREE. And, for the rest of the season, the first 50 VW vehicles into the lot get free parking! So, we are definately V.W.I.P.s!! Barring thunder and lightning, we will be at the game tonight.

See you on the Pitch!

50 books in 52 Weeks

21 weeks have passed since I started the challenge of reading 50 books in 52 weeks. I have set benchmarks along the way to evaluate my progress and make sure that I am keeping on track.

Today was one of my "goal dates;" I wanted to have finished 20 books by May 3rd. I have finished 22 books! [Below is the list of books I have read thus far]

1. Fiction- 1st To Die by: James Patterson (12/17/07)
2. Kids/Finance- Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees by: Neale S. Godfrey (12/30/07)
3. Spiritual/Personal Growth- Wonder by: Arthur Gordon (12/30/07)
4. Leadership/Business- The Starfish and the Spider by: Brafman & Beckstrom (1/4/08)
5. Fiction- 2nd Chance by: James Patterson (1/4/08)
6. Fiction- Life of Pi by: Yann Martel (1/12/08)
7. Biography- Tuesdays with Morrie by: Mitch Albom (1/18/08)
8. Spiritual/Personal Growth- Cure for the Common Life by: Max Lucado (1/26/08)
9. Fiction- 3rd Degree by: James Patterson (2/2/08)
10. Self-Help/Life Lessons- The Five People You Meet in Heaven by: Mitch Albom (2/12/08)
11. Self-Help/Personal Growth- The Secret by: Rhonda Byrne (2/13/08)
12. History/Leadership- A Message to Garcia by: Elbert Hubbard (2/16/08)
13. Fiction- 4th of July by: James Patterson (2-23-08)
14. History- Common Sense by: Thomas Paine (3-5-08)
15. Biography- I’m Proud of You by: Tim Madigan (3-8-08)
16. Spiritual- I Became a Christian & all I Got was this Lousy T-Shirt by: V. Antonucci (3-15-08) 17. Fiction- 5th Horseman by: James Patterson (3-18-08)
18. Fiction- 6th Target by: James Patterson (3-24-08)
19. Marriage- The Love List by: Drs Les & Leslie Parrott (4-10-08)
20. Biography- Eat, Pray, Love by: Elizabeth Gilbert (4-15-08)
21. Fiction- 7th Heaven by: James Patterson (4-22-08)
22. Kids- The Five Love Languages of Children by: Gary Chapman (5-02-08)

My next goal is 30 books by July 13---when we get there, I will let you know how I am doing. Happy Reading!

NJ

Heading to New Jersey for the day. I love driving around DC early in the morning before the traffic gets crazy. This was at 6am and is one of my most favorite views in all of DC...

I have seen this view of the Capital on so many movies and there is something about this particular angle and street leading up to the Capital that really gets me. I love so many things about DC and there are great museums, parks, and monuments...but every time I drive down Constitution Ave., I get a little smile on my face.

I was able to stop by the largest coffee shop in the District...Ebenezers...and ran into Mark Batterson. We had a great conversation. Then I walked around the corner and caught the train at Union Station heading north to Jersey. I love riding the train...it is my most favorite form of transportation.

Let's see...I guess the title 'NJ' is all wrong...it should be 'favorites':

1. Favorite time to drive in DC

2. Favorite view

3. Favorite coffeeshop

4. Favorite form of transportation

~Cheers

David

SCHMAKA-

Last night when we got home from Colin's soccer practice, Sybella was waiting in the kitchen for us looking excited. Courtesy of her borother, Connor, she held out the remainder of a "Double Stuf Oreo" Cookie to show us what her enthusiasm was about. I asked her, "what do you have?" She replied as if I should already know, "Schmaka!" When I looked at her face, I knew instantly that "Schmaka" was a great name since she had schmaka'd it all over.

Happy Birthday Granda!

Happy Birthday Granda!

Love,

Colin, Connor, & Sybella