How Cool Was That ?!

This past Sunday (Mother's Day) in Sacrament Meeting at church, something happened that has never happened before:

My blog was quoted by one of the speakers.

I knew that I liked what I wrote about Karen and what an awesome mother and wife she is, but it was very gratifying to hear my words coming from someone else as a represenation of the greatness in ALL mothers.

Thanks Aaron for both using my words and being thoughtful enough to ask for my permission to use them.  You made them sound even better than I thought they were.  The rest of your talk was great too!  I did not get the chance to tell your wife that her talk was very good as well so please pass on that compliment to her.
Happy belated Mother's Day to all the moms and aspiring moms out there!

And the Progressive shirt of the day looks like this ...


"There's something different about you ..."
Oh yeah!  My hair is gone!  :)

This shirt is for "Progressive Volunteers"
and on the back it reads as follows:
"I'm insuring a better world.  I'm Progressive"

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Is it still the thought that counts ?

You may have noticed the absence of my blogs from cyberspace ... okay, probably not.  Things have been busy in the old Case household (except we're probably the "young" or "middle-aged" Case household since my parents are in town and have us by some 30 years).

Anyway, Saturday was a frustrating day because everything I tried to do seemed to blow up in my face.  That disappointment over and over again made me think about the adage "it's the thought that counts."  I sure hope so, because the actions sure didn't count for anything very good.

Here's a summary of my most notable "failures" of that day:
 - I found out the gift I got for Karen from the kids for Mother's Day was not something Karen was actually excited to be getting.  Not her fault ... just wished I had known beforehand so she could have been really happy about her gift(s) instead of just being happy to be nice.
 - I attempted to "joke" with some of my "buddies" in the Tenor section at Stake Choir practice, but I think they actually took offense at my humor.  Sigh.
 - I asked a peer for his input on something at work and basically had to listen to him critique me for 30 minutes on things I didn't ask about.  I got very upset and almost walked away but decided better of just waiting for him to finish so I could leave calmly and get back to work.
 - I searched at three different stores for a gift I had planned to get Karen for Mother's Day (two of which had said on-line they had it in stock). None of them had it. Grrrr.
 - I had to go to two different stores to find suitable roses worthy of my beautiful wife, for Mother's Day.
 - I was unable to blog one single time, despite many attempts to do so and many really good blog post ideas (all of which have left my brain by now!)

But in a spirit of moving on ... here's my Progressive shirt of the day ... and I really like this one!

I got this shirt from my younger brother
Jordan, who "donated" several shirts to me
when he "retired" from Progressive
to run his own Sears store.
I've always liked this one the best!
But it only has a little time left ...
the collar is beginning to fray.  :(

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Catching Up On Sleep?! Ha !

By my own choosing, I have been without regular or consistent sleep for each of the past four nights.  And as far as I'm concerned, there is no such thing as "catching up" ... the best I can hope for is to get back on a regular pattern of sleeping 6-8 hours a night.

On Thursday into Friday (as I blogged about here) I attended a midnight showing of Thor, so I only got about 4 hours of sleep.

On Friday into Saturday, Karen and I stayed up later than we should have playing games with our good friend Mindy (whose husband, also a good friend, is away on business ... in Guam!)  I got about 5 hours of sleep that night ... because I had to be up early so my voice would be ready for Stake Choir practice at 8:00am.  Singing before 10:00am requires some preparation for me and my mediocre voice!

On Saturday into Sunday, we played games later than expected with some more good friends, the Browns, and Sunday was Mother's Day so I was up earlier than usual to try and do things right (to make the day great for Karen).  Looks like I succeeded ... but I only got about 4-5 hours of sleep that night.

On Sunday into Monday, we headed to bed at a reasonable time, but Myra woke up and refused to go to sleep unless she was beng held.  I tried and tried to get her to stay asleep but any parent knows that babies have an innate sense of when they are being laid down ... which kicks in and wakes them up as soon as you're just out of the room.  Eventually I gave up and simply laid out a blanket on the living room floor.  Myra laid down with her blanket and I laid on my pillow.  I'm not sure who fell asleep first, but we both only made it until a little after 7:00am, which worked out to about 4 1/2 hours of sleep.

And then Karen, sweet as she is, convinced me to "just rest" when I brought Myra with me to our bed at that time.  Unfortunately, I slept until after 10:00am, which made me feel like I wasted the whole day.  I did not feel a whole lot more rested and kinda just woke up angry that I'd slept so late.

The day ended great though, with a super-fun Family Home Evening @ the Amsden's house.  They are such fun friends and we're super excited Kevin is back from Japan (probably me more than Karen since I won't be the only man around any more!)

I'm off to bed soon so that hopefully I can get back on a better regular pattern ... good night world!

And here's another of my Progressive shirts ...


A comfortable shirt to be sure, but ...
unless you're a Denver Broncos fan
the orange-colored edges look goofy!
This was the 2nd team shirt I bought
and was pretty well received by them

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Am I Getting "Too Old" for This ?

In about two hours I'll be sitting in a theater for a Midnight Showing of the new movie "Thor."  My good buddy Greg from work has attended dozens of premieres for a variety of different movies.  And I have accompanied him on probably a dozen or so myself.

I've seen at least one of the Pirates movies at a midnight showing, as well as these that also come to mind:
 - Superman Returns (l-a-a-a-ame!  very sacrilegious ... ask me why I think so!  I'll prove it to you!)
 - Indiana Jones 4 (also l-a-a-a-ame!  aliens?!  really?!)
 - Spiderman 2 and 3 ... both very good in my opinion
 - X-men Origins: Wolverine ... enjoyable
 - Transformers 1 and 2 ... both Excellent, if only for "summer movie" quality fun!

But I am beginning to wonder if I'm getting too old for this.  The crowds are usually crazed teenagers (or if not "teenagers" in years, certainly in maturity).  There are cheesy, dumb contests of embarrassment.  There is usually a long wait (I've personally "camped out" for about 8 hours at least twice) in a boring line just to get in to the theater (if you want decent seats anyway!)  Then the movie gets over around 2-3 in the morning ... and that is NOT good on the sleep patterns and cycle of an "old man."

So tonight is more than just the first time seeing a summer potentially blockbuster hit movie ... it is possibly the last time I make this kind of decision.  We'll see how it goes ... but if you don't hear about it again in a future blog, you can probably guess the outcome.

And finally, here's the part you're really excited about (NOT!) ... the Progressive shirt of the day ...
(to be loaded later since my wife isn't home and I don't know how to upload pictures from the digital camera!)


This is one of the few Progressive shirts
I have actually bought with my own money.
Our "Coach" team wanted to be unified
so we agreed to get these embroidered shirts
but I should have gotten a larger size
because it shrank and I hardly wear it now.


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Can't We All Just "Get Along" ?

I've debated about how much detail I wanted to go into on this post.  At length, I've decided to be as cryptic as I can, while still sharing something that really has bothered me for weeks now.

In one of the "extra-curricular activities" I participate in, there has been a recent rash of discord and movement away from unity among the group.  Not really a division of parties so-to-speak, but people are definitely choosing "sides" and making a big deal out of "nothing" which is ruining an activity and group that was supposed to be spiritual, uplifting, friendly, welcoming, inviting, uplifting, and most of all ... fun!

I can see both sides of the "dispute" and understand the passion it invokes in those involved.  There is an impact to families and time and even individual spirituality based on each member's involvement and the "side" they land on.  But I'm not torn at all.  I just think it is ridiculous that adults can be so rigid in what they believe their "needs" are.  For the record, I fully support the person in charge of the whole "activity" but even they are leaving room open for this kind of discord to exist.  There seems to be a sense of wanting to have both a large group and consistent attendance of everyone at our "activities" ... but it just might be impossible to achieve both at the same time.  And I wish that was "okay" in everyone's minds.

As for myself, I'll continue to participate in this activity and will gladly share my, hopefully humble, opinion ... if asked for it and not just because I think it should be heard.  I am hopeful that we can get back to the kind of awesome, uplifting spirit we've had in this group just a few weeks ago, but my faith in a resolution that works for everyone involved is waning.  I am fearful things are going to get even more "serious" than they have already become ... and if that happens I may have to withdraw from the activity that I have come to love so very much!  But I can't willingly choose to put myself in a confrontational environment ... I have enough of that as it is in the other areas of my life.

I've probably said too much.  I hope (if anyone involved in that activity reads this blog) that I have not offended anyone.  I am truly sorry if I have and would be happy to clear it up personally for anyone involved who would like to discuss it openly.  I just could not NOT blog something about it because it has not left my mind for more than a few seconds at a time in at least a week.

Thanks for "listening" reading ... :)

And today's Progressive shirt picture is ...


This was last year's shirt for my team @ work.
I really like this shirt but ...
the sleeves are too short.
I really have long arms compared to my torso.

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More useful than Duct Tape ?

Some years ago I decided to try something I had thought about before, but had never dared attempt.  Maybe it wasn't fear of attempting it, but instead was laziness or forgetfulness.  Whatever the case, I finally tried it and was amazed with the results.

What am I talking about?  Simple ... Painter's tape.

The MIRACLE cure ?!

At this point you have to make a decision ... do you care enough about "painter's tape" to continue reading?  Or are you certain you will NOT be missing out on anything important and instead of wasting your time will go back to your farm or mafia or bejeweled game?

If you're still reading I have to assume you're either:
a) weird like me ... or ...
b) have some time to kill before harvesting your next farm or city items

Painter's tape (the blue kind anyway) is awesome!  Sure it's not strong like duct tape, but often I need to attach things to a wall for a short period of time.  And painter's tape is perfect for that!  It doesn't take the paint off the wall (kinda by design right?!) and also doesn't leave any holes like pins or nails do.  It is rather inexpensive, compared with other materials, and I've even used it for quick, temporary repairs to books or game boxes, etc.

Tonight, while the kids got set up for bed, I used painter's tape to hang up about 20 different school coloring projects for Savannah (almost 6) and Catalina (almost 4) in their room.  It's ingenius!  Either the tape will fail to stick (after the girls pull down their pictures multiple times) or "other" pictures will be more important to them and we'll just peel the tape off the back of the projects (assuming we don't just throw them away).

So if your kids bring home seemingly endless piles of "papers" they want to proudly display, consider using painter's tape to attach them to the walls of their room.  I even use this kind of tape at work on walls that are not supposed to have anything taped, nailed, or otherwise attached to them.  Facilities never knows the difference because it leaves no residue or holes, marks, etc.

Now aren't you glad you kept reading ?!  :)

Here's the Progressive shirt "picture of the day" ...


A former manager of mine liked my idea
of giving shirts to my "direct reports"
so she got her "Supervisor" team these.
She's not employed at Progressive any more.
But I don't think it's because of the shirts.  :)

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Why Is May 2nd Such a Special Day ?

It's a few days late as a blog, but I say it still counts!

May 2nd is the anniversary of the special day when my beautiful fiancee became my beautiful wife!  Maybe next year I will write a whole long blog about the whole day and the ups and downs of the whole experience ... but not today.  Today I am simply going to share a few of my favorite love songs that always remind me of my love for my most amazing wife, Karen!  Each of these songs has special meaning for me related to her, and also to our awesome relationship.  As with any true partnership, there are ups and downs, but the overall painting of our lives together (thus far and for eternity) is more beautiful than either one of us could have imagined individually or created alone.

On to the songs ...

Glory of Love by Peter Cetera
 - This has always been one of my favorite songs, but it took on special meaning once I actually had a person to "live forever" with.  The "glory of love" is in love itself that stands for something more than just a passing relationship or fling.  Love is glorious when it lasts forever!

All I Ask Of You from Phantom of the Opera
 - I am a huge fan of live theater, especially musicals like POTO.  Karen knows this and even though we've only ever been to one performance of live theater together, it was my favorite broadway musical of all time and this song was absolutely mesmerizing!  "Love me ... that's all I ask of you."

Marry Me by Train
 - I heard this song on the radio one time and actually pulled the car over to the side of the road to listen to it turned up super loud so I could hear it all.  The video is cute, but the words of the song make me think about what I am doing to get Karen to "marry me today and every day."  It also makes me think that "forever could never be long enough for me" to be with Karen.

Just When I Needed You by The Nylons
 - Unfortunately I cannot find this on YouTube and have not yet learned how to share my music on this blog ... but this song is absolutely beautiful!  Some of the lyrics go as follows: "I had my dreams, you lived them too.  Sometimes it got so hard to do.  But you'd always be, right next to me, just when I needed you."  And then at the end the music swells and you can hear the passion in the lead singer's voice as he croons "And guess who I find, right by my side, just when I needed you?  Just, when I needed you!"  If I can learn to play the song on the piano or guitar, I'd love to sing it for Karen at our 25th wedding anniversary!

Come What May from Moulin Rouge
(by Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman)
 - Another song that I fell in love with the second I heard the first few notes and lines of music.  "Every day I love you more and more.  Listen to my heart, can you hear it sing.  Telling me to give you everything ... but I'll love you, until the end of time."  The only part I don't like is that they sing about loving each other until their dying day.  I know Karen and I will be together FOREVER, even after our passing from this mortal existence.  But I guess forever doesn't rhyme with "Come What May" so it'll have to do ... or maybe I can just think about it as an "eternal dying day" which will never come ... yeah, I like that even better!  :)

1 2 3 4 by the Plain White T's
 - I hate almost every single song that involves math, but this one is just too cute and the lyrics perfectly describe how I feel about Karen.  It is also very creative have they sing "There's only ONE thing TWO do.  THREE words FOUR you ... I love you."  I know "to" and "for" are spelled as numbers, but it's cute and I like it!  Song writing should be creative!  Kudos T's on another awesome song!  Thanks Karen for making "it easy" to say these words all the time!

At the Beginning by Richard Marx and Donna Lewis
 - From the animated feature "Anastasia" which was consequently the movie Karen and I saw together on our official "first date."  I hated to do something so cliche as dinner and a movie on our first date, but it sure turned out okay and this song and movie have always been a part of our life together.  The title sums it up, in that we were "at the beginning" of our dating life and then again "at the beginning" of our married life together for all eternity.  The "journey" has been "wonderful" and will continue to be!

I love you Karen Joy Lockard Case!  Thanks for saying "Yes" 13 years ago and making me the happiest, most blessed, and most-improved-in-every-way-just-for-knowing-you man in the history of the world!

Oh and here's the picture for that day ...


This is a windbreaker that I got from
my first "Mentor" Jake Schow
(our whole coach team had them)

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