Thursday, September 29, 2005

From the Management

I received the following letter on Naman Howell Smith & Lee letterhead on Tuesday.

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing you regarding the free money you are giving in honor of September 23rd.

Please send the money to the following address:

Shadow Lawyer
P.O. Box 1470
900 Washington Ave, 7th Floor
Waco, TX 76703-1470
I am glad to help you celebrate your happiness for September 23rd. If you would like I can have the rest of the firm write as well. Thank you for your generosity.

Shadow

This then is my response, which will be mailed later today.

Shadow Lawyer
Naman Howell Smith & Lee
P.O. Box 1470
900 Washington Ave., 7th Floor
Waco, TX 76703-1470


Dear Sir,

Due to the overwhelming response to the blog “My Teresa” by Clifford PLusk, we are unable to fulfill your recent request for free money. There are several reasons.

1. Who knew that anyone actually read his blog?

2. While it is true that there was an offer to pay $100 to every reader of that certain blog, by writing to this address, If you will carefully read the blog in question, you will see that the author states,

“So in honor of September 23rd, the greatest day ever, I'm giving everyone who reads this $100 dollars. Just write to
Free Money
2801 N. 42nd St.
Waco, TX 76710” (emphasis added)

As you can plainly see, the obligation to pay the $100 rests squarely on the blog author, (or blauthor), and not with the management of 2801 N. 42nd St. To date the blauthor has funded the Free Money group exactly nada.

3. There is no such thing as free money.

4. If there were, you attorneys would have cornered the market.

In light of the foregoing, please do not encourage any of your associates to write requesting any money. If they are strapped for cash, they should look toward the time-honored traditions and just overbill clients as they have done in the past.

Thank you and have a nice day.

- The Management
- 2801 N. 42nd Street
- Waco, TX 76710

sg/SG

cc: CPL; JMG ;YM

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

always wear a stylish fanny pack like mine!!


It's true. I'm wearing a fanny pack...well I'm not actually wearing it...it's more like a shoulder bag for me cuz I don't do the fanny pack thing.

Pray I don't forget that this thing is attached to my body and inadvertently let Klepto dog get her teeth into it. You would not believe what I found in her crate today....shame shame little doggie.


You know when this regimen is over at the end of 6 months I will be ready for a backpacking trip. Road trip anyone???

Wonder if I get to keep this stylish fanny pack as a momento?!? Hmmmm!

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Another Tuesday Night

Sorry for the delay in getting these pictures up, but I have been really busy. However, since there was not a Tuesday night gathering this week, I am able to get completely caught up. In honor of the Visual Purity emphasis on October 9th at CABC, this week's theme is 'smoldering temptresses of the silver screen' Here we have the girls putting on their best silent film star look.

Teresa displays pouty but slightly amused....



Brittney is pouty and largely confused.....



Crackuh looks pouty and fairly obtuse....



Whereas Trish says "How You doin'?



There is also a picture of Laura Cockerham with this bunch, but that picture was deemed to be a bit too steamy for this blog, so I was forced to omit it.

I added this picture, because it made me laugh. I am not sure what it is about, but it is amusing, nonetheless.



Oh, and a quick update on Cliff's handburn. By digitally enlarging the picture we were able to determine that Cliff had a Close Encounter with something a little more menacing than the spatter screen.




Remember "Clifford P - phone home." and "Be Gooooood"

Monday, September 26, 2005

chemo update

We have some kind of wishy-washy plan!!! Or do we??!!??

The plan was that I would start chemo today. However, the chemo administering nurse, JEREMY, never called. I got tired of waiting for him to call me so I called him(8:35 am to be exact). I spoke with the receptionist who then looked at the schedule for today ( that I was not on) and the conferred with JEREMY, who at that moment decided he could take me at one o'clock. So...I proceeded to call the fam and let them know when I would begin treatment. Work for some was cancelled, meetings were postponed, etc.
Approximately 30 minutes later, JEREMY called to inform me that my medicine that goes in my pump did not arrive today. ARGGG!!!!!

New plan......according to the schedule now I will start chemo this Wednesday at one o'clock.

Friday, September 23, 2005

Sic'em Bears!

In honor of the Baylor Bears and their stellar performance so far this year. (3-0 for the first time since 1996, and virtually guaranteed not to lose this weekend, because we are playing some team called Bye, who has never beaten the Bears yet.)

Here are three of the better looking members of the Baylor Line at their first Home game. (Abby, Katie and Staci) That's me in the background to the right, I apparently had an important phone call.



And in this next picture they display the proper method of displaying the "Sic'em Bears" motion while growling so as to intimidate their opponent.



(Staci and Katie look fierce, Abby kind of looks like she smells Bleu Cheese.)

We are prepared.














For anyone following the storm, I wanted to post this picture of our kids so that everyone will know that we are prepared.

Even though those 'supposedly' intelligent folks at Baylor have decided to step down their preparedness for the storm, we will remain vigilant. In fact, I plan on staying up continuously until the storm passes so as to adequately protect our vital supplies. (Drinking water and toilet paper, the two things that disappeared fastest from the local grocery store.)

Thursday, September 22, 2005

In honor of Brit Hood

Check out Brittney's website here for some more of these. They are a lot of fun.







Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Miscellaneous Nonsense

First, if any of my creditors and or employers are reading this blog, I was just kidding about the quitting my job thing. Just one of those things that makes you think....

I needed to post some pictures from recent dinners and other happenings that have been mentioned on the blog. First last Tuesday night's dinner. Here is a photo of Scott enjoying the dessert that crackuh made for us.



Brit and the crackuh were really worn out from all the cooking that they had to do to get the potatoes and fixin's ready, so they just spent the entire evening sleeping on the couch. This was the first time that Brittney slept face up on the couch, so it was something of a milestone event. As you can tell by the picture Brit snores, and Elizabeth is a sloppy eater. (Makes her fit right in here at the Gohring's. Jan says I always look good in anything I eat.)



Later that week we had the not at all famous North Waco blackout. We were convinced that al qaeda was behind this, but the lights went out for nearly an hour here. We kept a sharp lookout for looters and/or looting opportunities, but our fears were ungrounded (and opportunities limited by the number of homeowners with guns in my neighborhood) and lights (and a/c!) were restored in a reasonable time. The following pics are from the blackout. (You can tell from the candles, but because I used a flash, they turned out really bright.)

First we have Cliff vigilantly watching for looters, raccoons or Osama bin Laden, as Jan calls people we know to see if they are in the dark as well. (Interesting lighting effect from the candles in this picture.)



And Cliff in this picture is talking on the cellular phone at a moment when he thought it was too dark for Steve to be taking pictures.



And finally, last night, Staci and Cliff showed us what happens when you bend back a plastic spoon and strike someone in the head with it.

Random Thought of the day

I spend a lot of time on the computer at work, most of it actually work-related, surprisingly enough, and there are a couple of different programs that I use that whenever I am exiting the application I get a pop-up that says this......



There are days when I just sit there and look at that question and think, "Man do I ever want to quit!!", and then I start thinking about what I could be doing if it weren't for all of this time I am having to spend working.

Do you think that the people who write programs for a living know that they are messing with my head everytime that I see this? I mean, they could have asked "Are you certain you want to exit?" or "Close Application?" or even "Do you want to quit?", but no it is always "Do you really want to quit?", as if "Do you want to quit?" would not convey the feeling properly.

Crackers and cheese with the CRACKUH

Yo....EWhite....You da bomb wit a chesse ball!!!

When you gonna git me the recipe for dat one???

For those of you who didn't SEE or taste the cheese ball (too bad for u) ...it looked very different than the one you see in the picture above. It was perfect and so delicious. I'm craving some right now.

For our Tuesday night Family dinner last week Brit, Elizabeth & Trish cooked up some taters with all da fixins and Eliz made a chesse ball that was so good..not to mention a Choc layered dessert that everyone really got 'INTO". (Check back later for a clear understanding of that last statement.)

Come on Crackuh...Send the recipe out to yo homies!!!!

Monday, September 19, 2005

Dallas Trip

Some of you know I had a scheduled appointment with Dr. Michael Grant at Baylor Medical today. Well....Praise the Lord...more good news.

After a sonogram and another mammogram the doctor explained and showed me on the screen(sonogram) exactly what I was dealing with. And it's nothing to worry about. I had found a lump/cyst the first week of August and with the news of colon cancer and the doctor wondering about the spot on my liver my Dr...(Howton) sent me to his collegue and friend for a check up. The results show only several fluid filled cysts that are competely benign.

Now if we could just get Steve's teeth fixed we'll all be doing great. Smile

Sunday, September 18, 2005

Family Picture Time



We are in Dallas tonight, Jan has a Dr. appointment tomorrow. I have added Momma G to the list of contributors for this blog, so we may see some blogs from her in the near future. This is her with Grandpa, at one of the recent Tuesday night dinners.



And here are two of the greatest kids in the world con Antonio el Tigre, spokesperson for 'Zucaritos -- son Grrrrrrrrreeeeeeeaaaaaatisimo!'



Here are all three of our wonderful children, in one of those moments that come along only every now and then, when everyone is getting along.



And finally, here am I, eating a snail. mmmmmm! (Some snails were hurt in the production of these pictures, but come on, they're snails.)

Thursday, September 15, 2005

A Blast from the Past


OK, this is going to be a scary entry for Scott to see, but Jan says I should blog it. The young man with all the hair in the picture on the left is not my son.













No that's the old man, check out the date on the picture. Oh, and my cousin was a midget pirate. Fortunately she outgrew most of her problems.

One more thing

Three blogs in one day, man I am on a roll. This was sent to me by an anonymous attorney here in town who occasionally moonlights as a shadow. I had no idea that Cliff was in advertising.

Results are IN!!!

We received the results today on the PetScan that Jan underwent on Wednesday, and, according to Dr. Howton, they were completely clear. This is a huge relief for us, as it indicates that the cancer has not taken hold anywhere else in Jan’s body, and her diagnosis remains Stage III Colon Cancer. She will still undergo chemo to destroy any lingering cancer cells, and will be monitored for the next 5 years to make sure that it doesn’t return. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement, we are truly blessed to have so many friends and loved ones who are helping us through this time. We will be offering a prayer of thanks for God’s healing hand as He has held us and sustained us through a difficult time, and we know that He will continue to be our strength in whatever comes our way. (By the way, did I marry way over my head or what? What a cutie!)

The Rice Krispies Debacle


OK, I was reading Cliff's treatise on why he has been banned from the kitchen. You can read about it, provided that you have a considerable amount of spare time, on Cliff's Blog. Looking over all the pictures that he posted from the Cereal box, I realize that he failed to fully read all of the instructions. (As most of us men are apt to do.) So for your edification Cliff I have added here on my blog the portion of the instructions that you failed to review. The lower case, but very important, "Notes". (You'll have to click the picture to be able to read it, the writing is very small.)

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

My Friend the Blogarist

I was looking at blogs this morning, and I noticed that Cliff had posted a list of "friends" (more like a exhaustive list of people who might return his calls, if you ask me). Any way, there were also pictures posted that, I assume, he wanted us to believe were of him. However on analysis, I think that I have conclusive evidence that he is passing off pictures of other people as himself. Take the first photo ....



As you can plainly see, this is clearly a photo of Singer/Songwriter/Actor/Short Guy - Paul Williams. The guy who wrote An Old Fashioned Love Song (Three Dog Night), Evergreen (Barbra Streisand) and virtually everything that The Carpenter's ever sang. I give Cliff credit for trying to throw us off, by contrasting the solid shirt and plaid vest above with the plaid shirt solid vest below, but it is clearly a case of stolen identity.


Paul Williams is noted most, after his songwriting ability, for the fact that he is vertically challenged, and has a somewhat cheesy sense of humor, thus explaining why Cliff would feel compelled to pass one of his pictures off for himself.

And, unlike Cliff, I will allow comments to be posted to this Blog, because I think that it is important that we monitor the internet and make sure that every single word out there in cyberspace is the truth, just as it has always been. So I will be here, vigilantly seeking bunk to debunk, for you my loyal blog readers (or reader, as the case may be).

Sunday, September 11, 2005

Happy Birthday Cliff

Although he has an unhealthy, bordering on psychotic, obsession with all things Steve, I want to wish Clifford P. a very Happy Birthday. Rumor has it he is 27, and we are all very hopeful that he will soon grow up and get a job.

Saturday, September 10, 2005

Saturday Again

Well, we are supposed to have been doing the Parent Weekend Thing, but we have not made to any of the events yet. We are planning on making the game later, however. We want to see Staci run around the field with the Baylor Line for the first time!

She has been feeling better, but I understand that her roommate, Abby, is now feeling tired and rundown, and she recently learned from her mother that she had never had mono before as she thought.

I want to take this opportunity to give a big shout out to our dear friends Dana and Benny Ferguson. Dana, as some of you know, came up from New Braunfels and took excellent care of us a little over a week ago. She made her world-renowned sausage bread for breakfast, and cleaned and helped organize, and generally was her typical wonderful self the whole time she was here. I did not have a picture of Dana by herself to post to the blog, because she seems to rarely allow herself to be photographed. I will attempt to rectify that matter sometime in the near future. But here is a (not recent) picture of her with Kalei, her grandaughter.

















Here is Kalei terrorizing 'Uncle' Steve in Kitok's parking lot. Even at this young age, she already knows the best places in Waco to go eat. As I recall she had the Liplocker with cheese, Oriental Fries, Chicken Bulgogi and a Small Fried Rice, with a Diet Dr. Pepper (You know, a girl's got to watch her figure.)













And finally here are more recent photos of Kalei. I may be a little prejudiced, but I think she might just be the third prettiest girl in the world. (In case you were wondering the hairbrush is not for her, it's Benny's.)


Wednesday, September 07, 2005

More fondue pics

Alright, no money was forthcoming so here are some more pics from the night of lunacy.



Look at the expression on Jan's face!! (Shocked AND appalled)



Trish as Pam Cookie



The Doctor said Jan couldn't eat nuts, he said nothing about snorting them.



Brit looks berry interesting.....



All this mayhem caused by, you guessed it, CHOCOLATE! I really am beginning to think that it should be a controlled substance, at least when it comes to these three.

Monday, September 05, 2005

Chocolate Fondue Night-Saturday

Well, Trish is back! And everyone knows that Trish + Brit = Party! O, como dicen en espaƱol, ¡Fiesta! For anyone who might have been worried about Jan's attitude and spirit as she is getting ready to begin chemo, I offer the following pictures. (For anyone who might be concerned, I hung around long enough to take the first picture and then I vacated the premises, because things were starting to get out of hand.)

First we have the chocolate fondue lipstick.



Then, when the bowls were empty they decided to see who looked the most like Mr. Magoo.



I am going to have to vote for Jan, Brittney's looks too much like a lizard or something, and this is actually a good look for Trish.

There are plenty more pictures to come, unless of course someone wants to purchase my blog-silence.

Saturday, September 03, 2005

Some Saturday afternoon thoughts...

We had the Family Visitation at the Oak Crest Funeral Home on Thursday night, and I have come to the realization that these last for no more than two hours because someone has calculated that this is the exact amount of time that anyone can stand to feel awkward. You are all visiting, talking about kids, grandkids, etc., and trying to ignore the fact, more or less, that the deceased is there in the room with you. It was a little bit easier in our case, because we had decided to have a closed casket. Jan’s mom had lost so much weight toward the end of her life, and most of the family had not seen her in years, so it was an easy decision. The funeral was Friday morning at graveside, and was a beautiful service. Jan’s cousin’s husband, Joe Moore performed the service, and he, his brother, and four of his daughters sang.



Other than the fire ants, gnats and oppressive heat it was wonderful. I am very thankful for those who came to share in this moment of sadness with Jan and the family.

We have had visits from so many people that we have lost count. I mentioned to some of the family who were here after the funeral that all denominations respond to death in similar fashion, but Baptists have refined the bringing and sharing of food to an art form! I think that we are going to have to package some of the excess up and see if it can be used at the Center for feeding some of the evacuees from New Orleans. We are truly blessed to have so many wonderful friends that love us so much to do this for us. Jan is feeling a lot better, and continues to heal from her surgery, and she is growing stronger daily, ready to face the next challenges that are to come. We know that God has brought us safely this far, and has plans for us, and trust that He will guide us through, wherever the path might lead.

Staci sent Jan a card, and in it Staci said that she knew that God was in control, because He chose to take Granny at this time, so that Jan would be free from the worry of caring for her mother so that she could focus on herself and her own healing in the months to come.

I am often floored by the perspective that my children are able to give me, and I know that it is not her mother and I that have given them the ability to so trust God and seek him, but all of our Church Family, who have invested into their lives for these many years, and that blessing is the best of all.

Thursday, September 01, 2005

Thursday Afternoon (9/01/05)

Jan came home on Tuesday. The results of the test were not what we wanted to hear, but we believe that God will heal. Of the 21 lymph nodes that were tested, there were cancer cells in one. That means that her official diagnosis is Stage III Colon Cancer, and she will need to begin chemo within a couple of weeks. We have an appointment with an Oncologist scheduled for next Wednesday. We went in for an MRI this morning, to look at the spot on her liver that the Dr. believes to be a hemangioma, which is basically a benign tumor on the liver, which is not a problem. Hopefully, this is what it is, and nothing more. Keep on praying with us, because we know that nothing is greater than our God.

Jan’s mom, Marcell Schwarck, after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s, passed away Tuesday morning in the nursing home. (That’s right, the morning of the day we were told that she had colon cancer.) She was 79 years old. There will be a graveside service Friday morning at ten at Waco Memorial Park, with a visitation tonight at Oakcrest Funeral Home (on Bosque Blvd., across from the HOT Coliseum). It was a blessing that she held on this long, we were afraid that she would go last week, before, during or right after the surgery. Please pray for Jan as she deals with the loss of her mom. We went by the nursing home today and saw her nurses, and thanked them for the wonderful care that they gave her. If, God forbid, you have a loved one who is stricken with Alzheimer’s, we would highly recommend Wesley Woods for them.

Staci has been officially diagnosed as having mono, and together with the news that her mom is sick, and her grandmother passed away, she is not having an outstanding week. She is a trooper though, and I am sure she will be fine, as long as she gets a lot of rest and keeps the extracurriculars to a minimum.


Meantime, there is a whole bevy of ladies here cleaning, making meal arrangements, visiting, and I am sitting here at the dinner table typing up this for the blog, when I am supposed to be working. It feels weird to sit here and have people do things for me (us) and just accept it. There are a lot of things that are being done, that I could have done, but I know that people just want/need to help, but it just plain feels strange to be on the receiving side of all this.

More later, and I am sure the humor will come back, it’s just on a hiatus.