My Life Cycle Is Over ?

Okay, actually not MY life cycle, but the life cycle for my laptop at work.  Apparently, these laptops have a 3-year life cycle, after which our IT department has orders to replace them.

I pretended this wasn't going to happen by ignoring the emails as long as I could, but when the day finally came, it was surprisingly fast - and I had NO issues!  And best of all, the new laptop has some nifty features that I already love.

For starters, it is significantly lighter and thinner.  This doesn't seem like a big deal, but as often as I am toting it around multiple floors and buildings at work, it was a noticeable change.

It also has a quiet keyboard with back-lit keys (they light up when in use).  This eliminates the need for a keyboard light but I think I like the quieter keys even more.  I am often typing on the laptop in the back of Training rooms and before I've felt like my typing may be a distraction - but not any more.  You can't barely even hear it sitting right next to me, let alone across a large room.

In a serendipitous twist, the comic above was just on my Dilbert desktop calendar within this past week.  I'm super excited about my new laptop, but I also feel like technology is laughing at my age.


Song Of The Day:
I like the Brad Paisley tune "Welcome To The Future" because it conveys how far we've come with technology but also how far we have come with other developments.

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How Was Your 4th Of July ?

Around this Case household, the 4th of July has come to mean one set thing for the past five+ years: a day at the VGRA pool.  My wife has been the President of the Pool Board for this local community pool for most of that same time period, and has done a remarkable job leading the board and helping turn this pool around (but that's another story for another post).  On this day every year, the pool has a MASSIVE party, primarily for pool members.  The party has had a few elements change of the years, but one thing has been constant: it's just plain old good family fun!  There are relay and individual races (including watermelon pushing contests and wet t-shirt swimming [trust me, it's hard to swim in an over-sized wet t-shirt]).  There is also a series of "money dives" for different age groups (to make it more fair).  I'm grateful for the strong swimmers each of my kids are because they always do well in those money dives.  To be fair, almost always is the money re-invested in the pool itself by way of the snack bar, but the kids get to choose how to spend their money so it's all good.

There is also a very loosely facilitated water-balloon tossing "contest" which is depicted in the picture to the right.  Some people take it really seriously and get quite a great distance apart from one another before inevitably one of the pairing mishandles a catch and gets a balloon bath.  For others, that bath happens on the first toss.  No matter, as there are buckets full of water balloons to try again with.

As much of a challenge as it can be to watch over our 7 kids mostly by myself (remember Karen is busy running the grill or staffing the check in table or supporting the whole pool in some way), it always ends up being a very enjoyable way to spend most of our day.  I get a little swimming in and a little sun on my skin and usually a little time to read or just chat with other people.  We're usually too exhausted at day's end to go watch any fireworks, but the kids never seem to mind.


Song Of The Day:
I just love Brad Paisley's music and his song "Water" just fits nicely with the theme of this day's post.  One of the lyrics states "all you really need, this time of year ... is a place that's near: water"  Quite a bit of the fun at these pool parties involves things that aren't so much in the water as near the water.  Wise words song-writer, wise words.

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When You Say 'Get Dirty' ... ?

Since I make my living sitting behind a desk (for the most part anyway), I am often very grateful when the opportunity to "get dirty" comes along.
I rather enjoy working in the yard, especially when the temperature is reasonable and the physical work allows me to see progress at the end of hours of effort (sometimes hours of effort at any desk job can end with no discernible "progress" to show for it).

Last fall I snapped the picture to the right after a day of moving dirt and rocks and whatever else was on the list.  I found it amusing that, despite wearing socks and shoes, my feet themselves were still caked in dirt and grime.  I am confident these socks never came clean (that's okay though because I always need work socks and work shoes and work shirts and work pants and so on).

As Spring has sprung, I am looking forward to getting started on (and hopefully completing) this year's backyard landscaping projects.  I always sleep very soundly after a day at work in the yard, and those showers afterward are always the best!


Song Of The Day:
When I think of working in the yard I find myself in a farmer-type mentality, and that always leads me to country music.  Brad Paisley has been a staple in the country music scene for well over a decade now and his song "Mud On The Tires" is a personal favorite of mine.  I like the message of "real life is dirty" because I think we are all guilty of being too "pretty" sometimes.  In fact, Brad's song "I'm Still A Guy" is a great tune too and I think that fits here as well.  Enjoy the two-fer on this Tuesday!

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How Do I Love Thee ?

Today I celebrate 15 wonderful years of marriage with my sweetheart, Karen!

Our lives have changed so much in the decade and a half that we've been together, most of which has been change for the better.  Our family has expanded (and expanded and expanded) ... perhaps blossomed would sound better because it's not like we're fatties or anything ... to include 7 awesome kiddos.  We have moved through three different homes, and one just the right size for the time basement apartment.  Our sports cars (my old Trans Am) have been swapped out for mini-vans (and one BIG van).

But the biggest change has been our "us" time.

Karen and I strive diligently to find time for "us" but this gets more and more challenging as the kids grow older and we have more responsibilities placed on us as individuals.  Today was an appropriate example of the sacrifice that naturally comes to "us" time as the years progress on.

One of our daughters had her school program rescheduled for today, so we spent part of our afternoon watching her sing songs and say her part for the play.
Our oldest son also had his final band performance of the year scheduled for this evening, so we enjoyed two hours of middle-school music as our evening appetizer.

And my awesome wife didn't complain about either unromantic activity.  She may have lamented the timing of these events, but she found a way to be happy about how our "us" time often includes children nowadays.

And that's just one of many ways that I love her more now than I did before.  Love definitely grows over time and I can see that happening in our relationship ... which is pretty cool.  As circumstances change you can find yourself with a different person than you think you started out with, but that's just another side of the same person that you get to love and appreciate.

Thanks for coming with me on this incredible journey Pretty Lady!  I love you so very much!  :)

Song(s) Of The Day:
No need for explanation on these songs for today.  Just a handful of them that I love and want to share because they remind me of my wonderful wife!

"Silly Love Songs" by Wings

"For You" by Michael W Smith

"Just When I Needed You" by The Nylons

"Then" by Brad Paisley

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