Update on My Mom...

As some of you know, my mom underwent a lumpectomy today to address the cancer in her breast. The good news prior to this procedure was that it was contained in a duct, and that it appeared to have not spread. Also, she would not have to undergo chemotherapy. Instead, they would do surgery and then radiation therapy.

Well, we've been waiting to hear from Joel on how the surgery went today. He called my sister around mid-afternoon to let her know that mom was now in "Recovery" and would be allowed to leave around 4:30. The doctor did not think any cancer was on the fringes of the tissue he removed, but they will know for sure on Friday when they hear from the Pathologist.

I will be going over there tomorrow to check on her, but I wanted to let those who have asked that she's doing great and the power of God's healing hand is at work!

Thank you again for your prayers...

That's so CUIL...

A new search engine was launched yesterday. It's called "cuil," and pronounced "cool." It was started by former Google employees who hope to give web surfers a better "search" experience.

One thing you'll notice immediately is the "text dropdown" as you type in your query. And when you've completed your search, it will provide a lot more information than other search engines.

Instead of showing snippets of of your search results, it displays longer entries and uses more pictures. It also provides tools to help users refine their searches.

The site boasts a database that searches over 120 billion web pages - larger than any other search engine. The company uses a form of data mining to group web pages by content, which makes the search engine more efficient.

So check it out. www.cuil.com

How Great Thou ART...

I'm a HUGE Baylor fan... much to the chagrin of most of my friends and family. We've taken our lumps in the Big 12 since it began in 1996. However, across the board, we're competitive (if not champions) in most sports. And last year, in men's basketball, we had a great team that made it to the NCAA Tournament! Sic Em!

But alas, when you're in the Big 12, football is what matters. And yes, we haven't done a very good job of taking care of what matters. When we were in the old Southwest Conference, we were typically in the top 3 teams... not the cellar dwellars of today. It kills me that we've only won 11 conference games since 1996.

So here we go again... hired a new coach. His name is Art Briles, and I have a feeling he just might turn things around. He comes from the University of Houston, and he is extremely positive and has a penchant for producing champions.

A recent article was posted in the Tulsa newspaper. I thought I'd share with everyone why we're all hoping ART will be our next "Grant Teaff."

Link

My Mom...

I'm not sure if you have a good solid relationship with your parents, but I definitely am a guy who loves his folks. They have been great supporters of my life... my choices... my decisions... my goals. And most importantly, they've been there for me during the good times and the bad.

I've told my mom before that she has been my "biggest fan." We have a unique relationship - more like friends through the years. She's a strong woman, and has a huge heart... and most importantly, she puts her family above her own needs.

So imagine my shock last week when she called me and told me she has breast cancer. Before that, I thought I was having a very bad day (work was terrible for the entire week and especially that day). Needless to say, it wasn't about "me" anymore.

For the past week, I've been a bit consumed with thinking about what she's going through. And not just her, but my father Joel. I went over to their house on Sunday and I could see the worry in his eyes. She? Well she's got a great attitude about the whole thing!

My mom has been very diligent to have mamograms every year. Her mom, my grandmother, had breast cancer. Her sister, my aunt Charlene, has been battling hip cancer for the past few years. And last week we found out her brother, my Uncle Wayne, has prostate cancer. If you remember, his daughter, my cousin Angie, passed away on Christmas Eve last year.

When it rains it pours...

However, today we got some good news! She meets with the surgeon on Monday (21st), but wanted to come prepared. So on Wednesday she had an MRI done on both of her breasts. I didn't know this, but for the past several years she's had problems with her right breast. So she was surprised last week when they said cancer was found in her left one.

So the good news is NO cancer was found in the right breast. And, for the left breast, the cancer is contained in a "duct" and has not spread. They categorize this as Stage Zero.

When I spoke with them tonight, you could just hear the joy in their voices! I was SO happy for both of them!

We're not out of the woods yet, but at least today we got some good news! Prayers are being answered!

DIY: Make Your Own Air Conditioner

As most of you know, when you have questions about certain products in your house, the answer is as simple as finding a FORUM on the topic. I usually go to Google and look for discussions on topics I'm interested in. Well, for HVAC questions, I found HVAC Talk.

While perusing the topics, I found this little gem above. It was linked to You Tube, and I found it fairly interesting. Especially during the hot days of summer...

Enjoy!

Vacation Update: Part 2

Sorry it has taken me almost a week to complete my vacation blog. It's been a rough week at work...

Ok, when I left visiting my family in Port Neches, I headed to Galveston to meet my parents and sister's family.

I always enjoy driving this route - it's a coastal highway that goes through numerous beach towns. The highway ends at the Bolivar Peninsula, which is at the mouth of Galveston Bay. From there, you drive onto a Ferry. It's about a 20-minute ride across the bay, but it's always fun and brings up old memories when I was a kid.

Normally I stay in the same condo with my parents (above). The Galvestonian is a great place to vacation, and it's totally geared towards families. It's 12 stories tall, has a large pool and jacuzzi, and sits on a great beach. In fact, the beach is private, so it's legal to drink.

However, this vacation I decided to stay at the Tremont Hotel. It's a Wyndham hotel located in the heart of the Strand. It's very old, and is one of the few buildings still standing after the 1900 Hurricane. I would highly recommend staying at this hotel if you're in need of a quiet place.

The first night, my parents and I feasted on fresh red snapper stuffed with crabmeat, shrimp, and oysters. My mom picked it up from the pier when they arrived. That's something I really like about Galveston - you can buy fresh fish right off the boats!

The next day, July 4th, Rachel/Steve/Carson/Tanner arrived. We spent the morning on the beach, and in the pool... up until a big storm blew ashore in the middle of the day. It was a very fast moving storm - high winds, a lot of rain... but it was over with around 3:00 PM. My mom made another fantastic meal that night, then I retired back to the Tremont.

Saturday was a perfect beach day! I spent a majority of the day on the beach with the family. Want to know what a day is like? You go down with a ton of stuff (chairs, towels, toys, etc.). The kids dig in the sand, then beg to be taken out to the deep (chest deep is "deep" to them...). I also bring down a big sein net, so of course they love that! Later, they tire out and I just sit in my chair next to Joel reading my book for the rest of the day. Awesome...

That night, my parents and I went to The Waterman restaurant on Pirates Cove. It was excellent - we sat on the deck and ate our meals looking out over an incredible sunset across the bay. After dinner, they both wanted to show me the historic Balinese Room. A lot of celebrities have been there, and it used to be an illegal casino. We went inside for a drink.

After I dropped them off, I headed back to the Tremont. The next day, I headed back home. I had such a great vacation. I got to see family, spent time on the beach, and ate some great meals.

Unfortunately, the relaxation was taken away the moment I came back to work... sigh.

Vacation Update: Part 1

What a vacation! I loved it! Given that there was almost a week of it, as well as 2 parts, I decided to tell my story in increments.

First of all, here is a great picture of my Aunt Loretta. I took this right before I left.

So everyone knows the story of how I came about surprising my family. Well, I forgot to include another key component: My 2nd cousin Kaelyn. Ahem

You see, a few weeks prior to my trip, I emailed her for the first time. My motive was pure - to thank her for all of her help & love towards my aunt during this difficult time. Kaelyn not only came down with her parents when the stroke happened, but she returned for a 3-week stay in May.

Well, I had tried to establish how long her mom (Julie) would be visiting Loretta and Jerry during my trip. It turned out great as she told me her mom was staying for a few weeks. So "Thanks," Kaelyn!

Ok, after I shocked everyone, Lori and Stacey took me out to their new house they are building. It's amazing... beautiful, lots of amenities, and it sits right on a small lake with a dock. They're even adding a jacuzzi and fire pit! Lori had a hard time (A VERY HARD TIME) accepting me staying in a hotel while I was there... so she made certain to point out "The Bro Room" for my future visits.

On Wednesday I came over to the house and hung out with Julie and Loretta all day. Christie and her kids came over, too. It was great... just spending the day talking, catching up, and watching how much my aunt has progressed!

Later that day, we met up with Jerry and went to see "Get Smart." I'd probably give it a "B" rating. It was funny, and it was even better watching my aunt and uncle laugh so much! Although, the theater had seen better days. We had some sound issues...

That night I went with Stacey and Lori out to Larry's. For those that know me, this is the place I go each spring to eat my boiled crawfish! Oh baby... let's just say we put the hurt on them! We each ordered 4 lbs. To say it was fantastic wouldn't do justice to how good it was...

Thursday I checked out of my hotel and headed back over to my aunt's house. Would you believe she was making a FULL breakfast for us? She made homemade biscuits, eggs, bacon, blueberry muffins... it was awesome! That was HUGE for her recovery! We were so proud of her. She worked so hard to get to that point, and I know she'll just continue to get better and better!

One interesting moment happened. Kaelyn called after we had finished our breakfast wanting to speak with her mom. She was in Chicago visiting friends. While Julie was out of the room, Loretta and I had a chat. I asked her how she was really doing, and she told me she guesses she's doing ok. I asked her if she worried about anything, and she said no. I specifically asked if she worried about a specific family member. She said she didn't... then said, "Maybe I should, but I don't think about things like that." She then said, "I have a hard time remembering recent things. I'm afraid I won't remember Julie being here after she leaves. That's the one thing that bothers me about all of this."

It made me sad... so I said a quick prayer right there that she'd remember Julie's visit and how much her family loves her.

BIG Suprise!

For over a month, I have been planning a "surprise" for my family down in the Beaumont area. Well, yesterday was D-Day!

I set out on my little drive from Dallas to SE Texas around 11:30 AM. For those that have never had the pleasure, it's about a 4.5 hour drive. There are two ways to go: I-45, or Highway 69. I like to take the East Texas route, so I drive down to Jacksonville, then come south on 69.

My goal? To surprise my aunt and cousin! As most of you know, my aunt had a stroke (numerous, actually) in March. It was a blow to our family, and it also caused me to re-schedule my visit.

Now my aunt is like a 2nd mom to me. We're very close. She's my late father's sister, and I love spending time with her (and eating her incredible food!). Whenever I call, she'll always ask, "When are you coming down?"

The plan was simple: Drive into town, show up at Lori's work, surprise her, then go to my aunt's house and do the same.

Well, plans don't always work out as "planned."

First, I enlisted the help of Chandra. She met Lori and Stacey (above, along with my aunt) a few years ago. She sent an email to Lori last week saying she would be down in Beaumont on business and wanted to see if they could meet up on Tuesday. Lori responded that she would be out in the afternoon, but to call her on the cell.

Sure enough, we started calling around 4:30. Nothing. It went straight to voicemail. We then (We're doing this with 2 phones so I can hear) call Lori's house. Nothing. Voicemail. I then think, "Maybe she's at her new house with the contractor." So I go out to the new place... yep... Nothing. Nobody is there.

I then call Lori and leave a message, "Hey... Chandra needs your help finding the airport. Can you call her?" (Believe me... the airport is VERY easy to find).

Well, I gave up with that surprise and decided to focus on my aunt. I gave her a call and she answered. "What are you doing?" I asked, and she said just sitting in the cool air. I told her I was on my way home from work and was thinking about her. Of course, she immediately asked, "When are you coming down?" I told her in the Fall and she said, "Ok... I guess I thought you were coming around the 4th."

Then I told her I was going to Galveston and she asked if I would make it their way. (My heart was breaking because I could hear how much she wanted to see her only nephew). Well, at this point I was on her street and was bursting with excitement! I pulled into the driveway, hopped out of the truck, and headed to the door.

When I walked in, she and I were still talking. My uncle Jerry was in the kitchen and he stopped and had that "deer in the headlights" look. I immediately shushed him and kept talking with her as I headed to the living room.

As soon as I walked in (her back was to me), my cousins Julie and Christie looked up and then had the same shocked look on their faces! I then stood right in front of her and she looked up... pause... pause... and then "click." It registered. "REGAN????" (She was still talking to me on the phone!)

The next thing was the room erupted and I hugged my aunt and everyone else in the room. My cousin Julie, who I haven't seen in 10 years, said she wished she had a video camera! It was priceless...

Then my phone rang. It was Lori. "Hey Bro... wait... I thought I was calling Chandra!" Then after a minute she said how much she missed me and wished she could get her "Bro hug." I said, "Hey... I have someone who wants to say something to you." I then handed the phone to her mom...

Now this literally took about 2 minutes for it to register... finally, I heard this, "Oh my gosh! I'm SOOO confused! He's there???"

Yes, I'm here. And I'm having the time of my life surprising my family... but more importantly, spending time with them! I leave tomorrow, so I'm soaking it all up!