How DOES She Do It ?!

It is a shame that I have wasted 45 blogs thus far

and have not yet taken the time to write about

the single

most important

and best part of my life:

my loving, underappreciated, overworked, amazing wife

Karen Joy "Lockard" Case.

So through some amazing "stupor of thought" I was able to convince her to marry me 12+ years ago.  I think the Spirit must have been still lingering from my missionary days (or is the spelling "daze" more appropriate?) and it was just enough to hook her for time and all eternity.  No matter what it was, I got her and I'm keeping her and there's nothing anyone can do to stop it!  Bwa ha ha!  Oh wait ... the evil laugh really doesn't work so well here.

Karen is AWESOME !!!

There is no correct place to start and there is no end to how amazing she is.  So I'll just highlight a bunch of things that come to mind right now and you'll just have to expect MANY more blogs (or at least comments on individual and seemingly unrelated to her blogs) about how great she is and how lucky I am to "have" her.

Karen is absolutely beautiful.  Her face is strikingly pretty, but in a soft way (not some over-make-upped actress that deep down is not pretty or beautiful at all).  Her hair always smells so good it makes me want to have her head on my chest and be running my fingers through her brown locks.  I'll spare any TMI (too much information) and just say that many other parts of her are very noteworthy and extremely attractive.

But it is her smile and her laugh that get me EVERY time!

I love to watch movies or tv shows with her, especially those that make her smile and/or laugh.  I can't describe her laugh but there is just something about it that makes me feel so good when I hear it.  When some people laugh it is forced and fake (I am guilty of this at work and at family get togethers from time to time).  Karen's laugh is not forced.  It is not fake.  It is like that of a child who has been tickled until they almost lose their breath.  It is the laugh of a person who shows no pretense and doesn't much care if others find the same thing as funny as she does.  It is pure.  And when she laughs, I laugh ... and a part of me inside is made better for having been able to enjoy that often brief, but always fun moment with her.  I am so glad that we find the same silly things funny.  The way our kids phrase things.  TV shows like Friends and The Office and Psych.  Just plain awesome!

Beyond all the laughter and fun times, Karen is just about the most charitable person I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.  And our kids follow her lead in ways that just make me want to cry tears of joy!  She is too humble to take credit but I know they are not offering me part of ther snack because I do this ... it is from the example of their awesome mother!  She was the Compassionate Service leader for our ward for over a year and a half.  (For my non-mormon friends that is a huge responsibility within a congregation as you coordinate meals for families that are ill or recently had a child, coordinate babysitting or housecleaning for expectant mothers on bedrest, coordinate friendly visits for new members of the ward, and on and on and on).  True, she was not always the most excited to make dozens of phone calls for each "event" but she did an amazing job of asking others to serve, and just as often she stepped in to complete the assignment when something fell through.  Many women took the time to thank her for her efforts, but this was rarely directed at her and more at the "ward for helping me out."  So it was a very thankless responsibility but she did it with a smile and impressive organizational skills for a very long time.

Above all, Karen is concerned with how people around her are feeling.  She wants everyone to be happy all the time.  You can see how this might lead her to be pessimistic (because there is no way that goal can even come close to being achieved).  But she's not a pessimist.  She is a true-blooded optimist if I have ever known one!  She thinks anything is possible (and with her it almost always is!)  She finds a way to feed and clothe our family of 8 on the most limited of budgets.  She is not too proud to take advantage of things like free preschool and clothes from Goodwill.  She has a pioneer spirit about her that reflects the adage "Use it up.  Wear it Out.  Make it do or do without."  This may be the result of having married me and my somewhat meager salary, but I think she would be just as thrifty and happy with the "simple things" if she was married to a millionaire!  But back to the keeping everyone happy line of thinking ... she is just so aware of the needs of those around her.  Her empathy for others is so great it brings her to tears and incites her anger quicker than if something sad or tragic happened to her personally.

I wake up almost every day waiting for the other shoe to drop.  Waiting for her to realize she is getting the raw end of this deal and that she could have it so much better!  I remain so unworthy of her love and admiration that it sometimes is easier to head off to work and pretend to be good at something than to have to be near her awesomeness!  It's overwhelming at times.  I try so hard to play it off (because I don't want to help her realize she is out of my league in so many ways) but it is impossible to mistake or forget.

Karen, you truly are amazing!

Don't you ever let anyone (including me when I'm in "really stupid" mode) tell you differently!

You literally light up my life.

You give me reason to live and to change everything I hate about myself.

You inspire me to try harder

and to love more openly

and to forgive others more fully.

You are the best mother for our beautiful children

and the reason they are beautiful!

You are brilliant in so many areas and could be equally brilliant in any others, but you let me have my "smart moments" because you know I need them.

You have talents upon talents and could "go pro" in many different areas but have sacrificed that fame and fortune to be a mother and a wife ... and ...

I and our children will forever be in your debt as a result.

You deserve the absolutely best things in life and I promise you that you will have them!  It may take an eternity to bring them to pass, but you shall have your just reward if it takes everything I have to bring it to you.

I love you more than I could ever convey

and will strive to show you more often in word and in deed that

you cannot get rid of me!

:)

Thank you.  Thank You!  THANK YOU !!!

...

Why all the running lately?

Well if you can't beat 'em (but I can) then join 'em (I did).

Big thanks to my little sister Jaimee for encouraging asking dragging inviting allowing me to come running with her this evening.  I have not gone "running" in ... wow ... at least 15 years, maybe 16 if I do the math right since my birthday was last week.

She was gracious in making me feel like a freakin' superstar runner, but we all know I was never that good.

I ran in high school for two reasons (and ONLY these two reasons!):

#1.  You could not really get "cut" from the Cross Country or Track teams.

#2.  Both teams were co-ed (for our slower readers, this means they had girls and boys on the team)



"That dude looks skinny but at
least he's slow enough to catch."



I have heard people talk about the joy of running ... but I think they're full of crap.  I run when something is chasing me, or when I'm playing a real sport (see: basketball, football, baseball, sometimes volleyball), or when someone did not hear me clearly call "SHOTGUN!" and so I have to beat them to the front seat.  In other words, I run when I have to not "just because."

But Jaimee has been on this running kick as of late (along with what seems like EVERY one of my Facebook friends and extended family members*) and so I thought this would be chance to support her healthy habit and exercise the old muscles once again.  *Huge props to my cousin Darrin who just completed a Triathlon!  Wow!  I don't care if the knee-brace wearing octagenarian bested you ... you'll get him next year!



I just want to beat the short old guys ... and my sister!  :)

So on October 16th, I will be joining my sister and a few of her friends (plus Chris Fark, a guy I work with who signed up too) for the 4th Annual Peace Officer's Memorial Valor Run (good luck fitting that on the t-shirts).  It is a 5K race (3.1 miles for those who don't use the metric system).  Jaimee's goal is to break 30 minutes ... and that will be my goal as well ... at least for this first race.  Personally I would love (that's way too strong a word since I kinda don't really care) to get back to "under 20 minutes" for a 5K run ... but that may be unrealistic at my advanced age.

Either way, 2 1/2 hours of full-court basketball this afternoon, mowing the lawn this afternevening, and then running 2.2 miles (in about 25 minutes) has left my muscles good and tired ... but I feel good too.  Hmmm ... maybe that's the "runner's high" everyone keeps fabricating.  Stinkin' liars!  :)

...

What is going on here ?!

The other night I go downstairs to turn off the lights for the kids and I find this ...

Ben (almost 9) with his arm around Josh Jr (almost 11)

I suppose on some level it is cute.

But on another level ... they are going to HATE me for posting this!  :)

Here comes the punchline ...

It is a real life BRO-mance!  Get it?!  Since they're BROthers?!

Ha ha ha.  Oh waitaminute ...

Hope they don't get me back while I'm sleeping ... uh oh.

...

Happy Birthday to who?

Quick post tonight ... 'cause it's my birthday and I think sleep sounds like a great present!  :)


Mmmm ... so good!

My beautiful wife Karen made an "extra" Lemon Cake yesterday so that I could take it into work today for my team and peers.  I wanted to do this because it reminds me of birthdays in grade school where the birthday boy or girl would bring in treats for the rest of the class.  I always thought that was backwards, but now that I am older I actually like the idea.  Think about it ... if I'm bringing the treats for the day then I get to pick what we're having and I know that at least one person will like them ... ME!  :)

Thanks to all my family and friends who wished me a happy birthday and/or blogged about it and/or provided me with gifts (or at least pretended to like me more today).  Your efforts were noticed, appreciated, and made my day much better than it would have been.  Pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

...

You're saying THAT is your Guilty Pleasure?!

Oh yeah ... I am!

Admitting it for God and everyone to know.

Not ashamed in the least about it.

I'll be on my deathbed

and asking for

one

more

hit.

I know it's not "good for me."

I know the risk I am taking with my health.

I DON'T CARE !!!

They're just irresistible to me.

I'd have them every day ... if I could afford it.

And I KNOW that I am not the only one who feels this way.

So let the world know.

Shout it out proud.

You're hooked!

I Just Can't Get Enough!

Mmmmmmmmmmm ...

McDonald's French Fries!

Ohhhhh ... soooooo ... goooood !!!

...

Why did you do that?

The most common response I have received from people regarding my blog post yesterday (with the picture that I will be explaining shortly), is why?

Why did you do that?

To answer that valid question, I have to take you back in time a few years to one of my first experiences as a Supervisor at Progressive Insurance.  I could write forever about how cool I think the company I work for is, but that will just come out in bits and pieces throughout my blog posts.  There was a job fair that was going to be held at   UCCS (University of Colorado at Colorado Springs) and the recruiting department wanted to have Progressive employees run a booth there.  Through process of discussion it came up that myself and one other Supervisor (Brian Kimberling) had in fact graduated from   UCCS.  So we're the "perfect" candidates to represent Progressive, right?!  The jury is still out, but WE sure had fun!

I'll tell more of that story later but to "get to the point" (not my strong suit) let me explain how this ties in with the picture.  I drove us to UCCS for the "career" fair and after we were leaving Brian took his nametag sticker and stuck it on the ceiling of my car.  He said "Now you'll always have something to remember me and this day by."  And I left it there.  Weeks went by and I was sitting in a Sonic drive-thru (getting my Route 44 sized Watermelon Slush after an afternoon of playing basketball).  They handed me my drink and the receipt was taped to the lid with a Sonic Sticker.

A thought entered my head: I should just add this to the nametag that "BK" left here and start a collection.  And so I did.  Over the years (it has been at least 2 years now, maybe 3), I have added dozens of stickers to the ceiling of my car.  Almost all of them are Sonic stickers (I seriously get excited when they hand me my order and it has a sticker on it!) and you would never know they are there unless you have the priviledge of riding in my car.  A few of the stickers are from Odyssey Elementary events that I attended with my son Ben when he was in 1st or 2nd grade.  Good times.  Good memories.

So back to the question of "Why?"  The answer is simple ... just because.  Because I can.  Because it's something I would do.  Because it is silly.  Because Brian started it.  Because it gives me something to collect that doesn't really cost anything.

And my personal favorite:

... all parents say it with me now ...

Because I said so, that's why!  :)

...

Can you tell what this is a picture of?

The answer will be provided in tomorrow's blog.

So if you're curious, pop on back to find out.

If you're NOT curious ... good for you!

It's probably not worth your time.  Really!  The story behind it couldn't be that interesting.  You'll probably never wonder about it.  I bet not a wink of sleep will be lost by you.  In fact, you're probably not even going to look at the picture 'cause it's such a lame blog idea and you're WAAAAAYYY smarter and more mature than that.

Good for you!

Good for YOU!

If you DO know ... please don't post the answer ... it will just kill the suspense for tomorrow.

You don't want to be responsible for ruining the fun now do you?!  I thought not.  :)