Journal Entry #4

Journal Entry #4

Feb 14^th, 2013

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I wish I could afford to make a florist rich and send flowers today to all of the people I would like too! However I’m not in a position to do that, so will send wishes and notes electronically as this is what my pocketbook can afford and the thoughts and wishes are just as genuine!

It once again was a slow start to the morning. I waited for Cub to get going ahead of me but then he took too long and I used up the hot water on the poor little dude! Oh well will have to work harder to coordinate tomorrow or when he goes back to school. He’s off school starting tomorrow for a week and a day so I am sure he will enjoy that. He mentioned the other day that he would really like to see the Peace Bridge in Calgary so I am thinking I will take him for lunch downtown and then we will go see the bridge in person! I haven’t ever stopped to look at it up close; however I have driven by it a number of times!

It’s been interesting, in the last few days I have picked up a contract for installation only in a Mall store and now I’m tendering a little more of them so maybe we will do more of these? Several years ago I got in the groove of doing several American Eagle stores, however the crews complained a lot and I stopped doing them! Now I’m in the position where we have crews anxious for work so I am pricing anything and everything! Today I’ve got three projects to tender on! Happy to report, one down, two more to go!

Funny I am quite enjoying this journaling thing! I am not sure how my kid is doing with hers, however they did arrive at their destination last night and it was cool to sense the excitement in the texts from both Kelsey and Rebecca that the adventure is now really underway! Even if their first activity was shovelling copious amounts of horse poop! Kelsey hates coyotes for some reason, maybe due to some childhood nightmares, anyhow they were also part of the experience last night and she said she wasn’t so thrilled about seeing them! Funny I admire the coyote for its tenacity and adaptability! Not as fond of timber wolves and their howl makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up!

Gloria’s cousin and her husband live in Tucson, they are super, super people who I’ve grown very, very fond of! Their love for each other and their love for our creator are extremely encouraging for me! I am so glad that they are close and already good friends with Kelsey! Donna has seemed excited about Kelsey’s time in their town and this I know added so much to Kelsey’s excitement for this experience too!

Lol… Divine Hardwood does a lot of builder work, a few years ago one of the home builders in Edmonton built a “mini-gym” for his boys attached to his home! Just got told we are going to do a similar thing for a builder here in Calgary! Attached is a photo of the completed floor for the builder in Edmonton.

The storey behind the “Happy Face” logo is that the kids Grandmother when she was alive she always would put a happy face on anything she baked for the kids and the happy face was a tribute to her! Yes this was long enough ago that I still had hair!

Just received an invitation to tender for the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon in two weeks which has an onsite meeting associated with it Feb 26^th, 2013! I am working on a cost comparison for if I fly or drive! I will in all likelihood be driving; wouldn’t it be cool if I had a company vehicle by then?

The tenders went well, however my phone didn’t ring off the hook so generally speaking that’s not a good sign! Oh well just will keep plugging and wait and see.

I have to run an errand for my boss, and then I am going to head to the barn and give Leo a walk and some grooming attention!

A friend shared the following poem by Dr. Seuss on Facebook the other day and I wrote it down as I liked it.

You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

You’re on your own and

You know what you know!

And you are the one who’ll decide where to go!!!!

Taken from, “Oh the Places You’ll Go!”

I walked Leo and then gave him a good grooming! I recorded proof! It’s pictured below! This really set off my allergies so had to take allergy medicine when I got home!

  

Cubber studied like crazy last night for the second night in a row and this time it paid off as he was pleased with how easy the tests he wrote today were. I think I will try and get Hitman Tickets for this weekend!

Well that’s all for tonight!

Journal Entry #3

Journal Entry #3

Feb 13^th, 2013

It was hard to wake up this morning! However I had a meeting at 6:30 so had to get myself going without dillydallying! (Ok if that doesn’t date me then nothing will!)

I got a good morning text from Kelsey first thing and they were in Northern Arizona! This means they should be to the grounds in pretty good time today!

Liam and Glor were still sleeping when I left the house so other than a text back and forth with Glor regarding Kelsey we have yet to communicate this morning.

I have completed my meeting and am going to run and collect a check first thing! It’s a bit of a hike, however the check is large so it all works out!

I have to research a new sport flooring product and get my head around it. I will see what I can find out and pass this information on to the powers that be! Funny it’s tough for my old brain to learn something new! Oh well I will work at getting my head around it and see what happens next!

I also have to work at the start-up of a new contract for NAIT in Edmonton! We bid on this a few weeks ago and received our letter of award yesterday! This is exciting and will make it busy!

Just got a text they are passing Phoenix and so the end destination is in sight! New excitement is building! Lol… part of me so would like to be there! They are getting so close now and I get regular texts ticking off the last few milestones!

It’s no wonder my kid struggles with focus! The last couple of days have been a struggle as I find far too often my mind wants to wander south when I should be focusing on the task at hand!

A friend asked me about this adventure of Kelsey’s and what it means and while I’ve explained it to a number of people in person I haven’t put it down on paper! So today I am going to try and type this out here in an analogy that might help make it clear!

Kelsey and Rebecca have been diligently training as show jumpers very determinedly these past few years. This to the point where we were at the barn generally five times a week and sometimes six and seven times a week. I alluded to earlier that I should have been journaling the stories and experiences of these years and some of it can be pieced together by reading over my Facebook timelines etc. However I didn’t really make an effort to journal, but now I am due to helping support Kelsey by doing what she’s doing! If you ever get the chance you can watch a movie that tells in part the storey of Rebecca and Kelsey! It’s called a Knights Tale… lots of similarities between that fantasy storey and the storey of our girls! Is this adventure a big deal, well yes it is! First the girls get to work and share with two of their mentors and hero’s whom they’ve looked up to since they started riding. They are essentially apprenticing for their chosen vocation in the truest old school sense possible! They are living and working for the next two months immersed in the world of show jumping at the most elite levels. The coach for the girls they are with is a former coach of a nation’s Olympic team! He himself competed at the highest levels with notable success! They will learn for sure if this is where they can go and what they can do! Kelsey will ride and learn lessons that I as the loving and supportive father could never on my own afford to give her! How much it will mean is something that only time will truly tell! It is I suppose to use a hockey comparison like making it to the WHL or NHL farm team! They aren’t competing at the top levels yet but they are now being trained for it!

Well I flew home, changed and went and walked the old boy! He wasn’t nearly as happy as usual tonight and while he was grumpy wasn’t as prone to make an issue. Seemed to mostly want to stand still and even his roll wasn’t as enthusiastic as last nights!

Cub did an awesome job of getting the cleaning started at home; I helped a little when I got back here, ate a quick supper of leftovers and then washed the floor and had to stay in my barn clothes for meeting. I don’t think it really made any difference for anyone else and it certainly didn’t affect me! What a comforting feeling to have the cares of the day set aside for a little while!

Journal Entry #2

Journal Entry #2

Feb 12^th, 2013

So far my intention of going in the morning to walk Leo hasn’t worked. Everyone myself included slept in a little too long this morning for this to be a reality. I then drove Cubber to school and headed downtown for a meeting with a lawyer to collect a long outstanding debt! This was a huge relief as the account was paid in full.

I then have worked at my desk since then! I received the award on a small contract for a mall store in Edmonton. I will have to do some work to get it in the system and scheduled.

I also received numerous invitations to tender that require a response so must get these reviewed and scheduled as soon as possible! I do need to of course keep working and making progress.

I emailed my holiday request today! I am going to go visit my kid in Tucson with Jay and Paula (Rebecca’s Dad and Mom) we leave on the 7^th of March and return on the 14^th! It promises to be an interesting trip! We are intending to drive it straight through so we get as much time as possible with the girls. I broached this subject when I finally made it home to some mixed reviews!

I was in a meeting until 7:30 and then quickly drove home, changed and headed to the barn to walk Leo. He seemed to enjoy his walk and loved his roll! In fact he rolled and rolled. It of course revved him right up to the point where he seriously considered walking the rest of the time on his back legs! I will get out to give him a quick walk tomorrow evening and then it is my intention to spend a little more time Thursday giving him a groom and such!

I have a meeting tomorrow morning at six in the morning so will not get out until after work. Then it is Wednesday so this means a little more rushing around at home as well!

I was thrilled that Liam was actually studying for an exam tonight when I got home! I hope it goes well for him!

Last word from my travelling kid was that they were in the middle of nowhere Utah! Funny we have places like that here too!

Journal Entry 1

March 11^th, 2013

Journal Entry Number 1

Woke up to a text at 4:24 AM this morning, my daughter was enroute to St. Georges stable to help load horses for the three day trip to Tucson, Arizona. I was at a good friends just shy of the foot of the Rockies and while I didn’t get out of bed I was still conscious of the text that then followed two hours later to inform me that the journey had begun!

Three hours later the text came that they had crossed the border and were now south bound through Montana.

I am journaling to support Kelsey from afar on this amazing experience! Kelsey is now seventeen, if you look a little lower in this blog you can find a summary of Kelsey’s journey and storey! I sorta wish now that I had done this over the past two years as many things of significance have happened however due to my foggy brain they are now obscured in memory banks I seldom access specifically.

Kelsey has set out on a life changing adventure. A few months ago two professional show jumpers, JJ Atkinson and Taylor Boyd invited the girls (Kelsey and Rebecca) to come to Arizona for two months to ride and work with them at a spring Horse Show for two months. The girls had briefly helped in the past at Spruce Meadows so this was an extension of that experience and will be a really big deal in helping the girls determine that their future is to advance their careers as professional show jumpers and everything that goes with this. Both Kelsey and Rebecca have looked up too and admired JJ and Taylor since their own bums first hit a saddle so the privilege and opportunity that now presents itself is the thing dreams are made of!

I spent a bit of time visiting a jobsite south of town today and likely this was a good thing as the drive allowed me to think about my kid and the adventure that awaits! Also I was tracking her progress all day on the map on my phone!

I loved one of her texts in response to my question was she still smiling and did she sleep? She responded, “I was sleeping and smiling!” I really liked that!

For the first time I got home changed and went to the barn on my own to walk Leo! Leo was Kelsey’s first horse and due to an injury she has been unable to jump him for over a year. This is a little heart rending as prior to this they had been often training over 3’9” and even 4’ jumps on occasion. That being said however the experiences that have unfolded as a result and Kelsey’s attitude that I will ride whatever I can whenever I can has helped her riding advance and develop even though she hasn’t had her “Own Jumper” to ride. I definitely take my hat off to her coach and her continued work and support!

Well for today that’s gotten long enough. I will journal some more tomorrow. Kelsey just texted they are in Idaho Falls tonight some pretty tired girls all of them! (Kelseys story is http://timmbits-justme.blogspot.ca/2011/04/kelseys-storey.html)

Just a short note

I have to work on my focus but an incident last night at home made for a late night and then I got up early and went to Yoga this morning!

I really am pleased that I did, however my mind is really struggling for clarity right now!

Liked this quote, “The difference between try and triumph is just a little umph!” – Marvin Philips

Well got a couple of stops to make so gonna run for now!

Talk to you later

A really cool Lesson and a short update at the end!

A few years ago, a man was told by his doctor that he was dying. As they were having this most difficult of conversations, the man asked his doctor what it was like? (Dying that is.) The doctor was thinking of how to respond when a sharp scratching sound came from the office doorway. The doctor rose and opened the door and there to greet him was a very happy golden retriever. The dog expressed very evidently his joy at seeing his master and then was ushered into another office to wait for the doctor to complete his consultation with the patient. The doctor came back into the office and said, “You saw my dog just arrive here, he has never been here before. However he knew his master was here and so with anticipation he came joyfully through a door he had never been through before! To answer your earlier question, I like to think this is what dying is like. We are going through a door we have never been through before, however we know our master is waiting on the other side and so we go with joy and anticipation knowing a welcome is waiting us there!”

I haven’t thought of this much since when my Dad died, however last week with the passing of Steve Jobs, I was caused to read his 2005 Stanford commencement address, in it he talked very eloquently of various things. I enjoyed what he said and was sorry I hadn’t heard it or read it sooner. However at one point in discussing dying he said, “Even people who want to go to Heaven don’t want to die to get there.” This caused me to think about this a fair bit and the following is how it all came together in my mind.

We must learn to die to self, die to our self desires, longings, dreams and ambitions so that God can work into our lives whatever His plan for us is. (Don’t worry often the very thing He wants for us is even more wonderful and rich than what we can imagine for ourselves.) I am working at learning this. I had a wonderful experience of knowing several people in my life who successfully did this. Because you might by chance know some of these men and women, I am going to list their names and then you can see if you concur with my assessment. The people who come to mind are Stanley Sharpe, Steve Keech, Arnold Simpson (my dad), Ruth Haglund, Marion Robinson, Gordon Winkler, Alan Graham and many more.

I felt a little sad thinking of this, realizing one of the richest men in the world to his recollection never had the privilege of knowing someone who had learned and successfully implemented this lesson. I am so glad that the people I mentioned shared and affected my life… they were examples of “Letting go and letting God!” Their lives from start to finish were examples of this for as long as I knew them. I suddenly realized as I thought of it, how rich I am that I knew these people who, believed in Heaven and were dying to get there! I am going to work this week on living so that others will know when they come in contact with my life, “I too believe in Heaven and I too am dying to get there!”

Now on an additional note… I am continuing to enjoy good success on the first things first marathon and the lifestyle change adventure. My calorie counts got a little wonky this past weekend with several special feasts that I enjoyed, however I am well back on track and sweated my way through a very good “Hot Yoga” session at 6:30 AM this morning!

Just some rambling thoughts

Good morning, I haven’t updated this for a few days and so decided to rectify that by typing this as I get my day underway. I am happy to report that so far everything is continuing as it should. This means, first things first, lifestyle change in full swing. I haven’t noticed any swings this week in weight. However having hit the twenty pounds lost milestone a week ago, I am still riding this high!

It is the Friday before a long weekend; the office is going to be very quiet today as several are away and this keeps things relatively subdued! I am certain that if today goes like any other day then even though it starts slowly, come noon I will be wondering how I can fit in all I want to do before the time to do it in has passed.

It would seem that sometime this weekend we are going to try and at some point celebrate our twentieth anniversary. This is a bit of a milestone in many ways, unfortunately not in many of the ways it should be. I may or may not write more on this at some future time.

My poor son is fighting a bug of some sort and Kelsey continues to carry a load that in my mind is way too heavy for her young shoulders. However these are things that somehow from time to time make things better in the long run for the qualities that are worked into their young lives through this experience. Both kids have today off today and I enjoyed the following cartoon, thinking that in some way it was a little how it unfolded this morning.

I was supposed to have lunch with an old friend today, however that cancelled so now I am going to have to come up with something else! Oh well that’s what keeps life interesting. Time to make a phone call … well did that while I was typing and that didn’t work either so guess its time to move on too plan c.

Will maybe add more later