Jennifer, Anita's Bugging Me!!!

In the previous post, I mentioned that my co-worker Jennifer (Pictured in her blog) had been replaced by three ladies and a bunch of bribes. Here's the story.

I first got to know Jennifer Mies because my previous team lead, Joe, invited me to take frequent water breaks with him and these two ladies from a nearby team, Jennifer and Lori. This became a frequent ritual. If you didn't participate at least once or twice a day, it was looked down upon greatly. Joe (a.k.a. Putz) finally abandoned us completely.

Eventually, Jennifer realized that I would provide pretty much any report, or update to a current report, if sufficient nagging was made. Kinda like persistent prayer, but I can only offer reports as an answer....Finding Jennifer at my desk with a special request OR receiving a Sametime message from her saying "Get over here!" was a very common occurrence.

In reality, Jennifer is one of the most pleasant and encouraging co-workers you can ask for. She was always thinking of others and made it a point to balance work related issues with an equal amount of personal conversation and concern. She is always thoughtful and very generous with her time. Few people host a party better than Jennifer. Even fewer people can take pregnant jokes as well as she did. Seriously, she was HUGE!!! Jennifer will be out of the office for the next five months, making googley faces and noises at her newborn daughter Rachel, whom I have yet to meet (seriously slacking).

Before leaving, Jennifer was able to leave behind three brand new replacements to take care of all of these voids (annoying me, demanding favors, taking food breaks, just talking)

First came Anita. She shadowed Jennifer whenever demands needed to be made. So as soon as Jennifer left, there was no break in the demands. Hence, the "Anita Bugged Me" counter on the right hand side of this blog.

Jennifer L, replacement #2 is the one who came up with the idea of bribing me with M&Ms at her desk so that I wouldn't say NO to all of their demands. She's probably the least demanding of the bunch though :-) (this is going to make work fun on Monday)

Amber, #3 upped the bribes a bit with TWO jars of Reese's Pieces and Snickers nuggets.

I am beginning to suspect that these candy bribes could possibly be the cause of the 10lb. discrepancy in our bathroom scale after my roommate returned it recently.

Rachel Kathryn Mies

Congratulations again to Jennifer Mies on the birth of beautiful (but not big enough) Rachel Kathryn Mies. You can check out every moment of Rachel's life for the next five months at her blog. :-)

Jennifer WAS my favorite co-worker (Sorry Christi and Andrew). She is now out for 5 more months of maternity leave, and it has taken three people (and alot of bribes) on her team to replace the fun and DISTRACTIONS that Jennifer brought to the workplace.

Before Rachel was born, Jennifer setup an account on www.expectnet.com. This is a place where your friends and relatives can predict various aspects of your child's birth such as date, weight, hair color, etc. What stinks is that the baby's gender counts as a ridiculous amount of points, and that killed me early on. Her husband and I were in a bit of denial for a couple of weeks.

My only hope was that Rachel would come out bigger than Andrew's dream scooter, since I was the only person who predicted a weight of 12lbs. (sigh) She didn't make it much past 9. Which was a little disappointing considering Jennifer's tummy was so huge. I mean....HUGE!! Everyone was convinced she was having twins.

Jennifer, we miss you. Keep showing the dog some blog lovin' too! :-)

Bible Study Begins

Last night was the kick-off for another study series for the men of Career Impact. We were originally going to tackle the more tame topic of God's infinite and awesome attributes. However, I solicited the feedback on another topic in the weeks approaching the study, and it was surprisingly positive. So, we have instead began a study of "The Song Of Solomon - What Solomon Says About Love, Sex, Marriage and Romance". Oh ya, we went there.

I'm actually slacking in my first time leading Bible study. This is a video series by Tommy Nelson, so there aren't a whole lot of responsibilities on my part.

The first revelation we made last night, however, was not about how dirty the Bible can be (that was the second one). Rather, I was very surprised to find out that we are all (except one) pretty geeky. Almost everyone was able to chime in about the topics of computer components and gaming. No wonder we're single...

Jed was gracious enough to lend me his camera without knowing it. Thanks Jed!



We joke about how dirty or awkward this study can be, but it was actually not that at all. Later on we'll get a few awkward moments, but the insights into what Solomon and his bride say about themselves and one another are more convicting than anything about the standards and priorities that God has commanded us to have in our single and married lives. Join us next week!




I can't wait to see Josh's reaction in session three when Tommy drops the bomb --->




Besides finding out that Nan is pretty much the only guy with any chance of getting married (sorry Peter, you're a geek too), it was cool to see how many guys have pretty deep thoughts, convictions and a desire to grow in this area.



In other news, Andrew's hopes were dashed upon the rocks of legality when he found out that his dream scooter will not be legal to drive on the streets of Columbia, Missouri. Sorry man.

Blog For The Blind

This is very very sad. Without my camera, a blind person (with assistance) could enjoy this blog as much as you right now. I did begin shopping for a new one today. If there is no hope of this one being fixed, I do have ideas of what to get.

It's tea time! Andrew, Dan and I have begun the habit of filling our cups with hot water and steeping some green tea about twice a day at work. It allows me to keep up my caffeine intake (which I have given up giving up) without the things I don't like about coffee or soda. Add a little honey, and we're in business. (sigh) No pictures of our tea to show you. :-)

Thank you for turning off the rain midday God! Tuesday night softball went forward, and it was a great game. Team Harry whipped it good 12-2ish. Play of the game goes to Tanna for her smashing double. Ummmmmm klutz of the game goes to...Jon Ananias, just because. Way to go man.

That's all I got for now. Too much left to do before bed. Yes, that's Kevin, do the fun stuff first. You already knew I was a slacker, it wasn't a secret.

Busy Weekend

Josh and Vivian Moon! Congratulations. Another terrific wedding on a beautiful day (Saturday).





I know that pointing out the height thing might sound cruel, but it's not. At the reception, guests were given surveys to fill out which included fun questions such as "How many kids will they have?" and "What should they name their first child?" It also contained a space for guests to draw a picture of what their children will look like. When they get back from their top secret honeymoon location (not even the bride knew where it was) they will be going through a huge stack of sketches, all being variations on the 6-foot Asian daughter and 5-foot Caucasian son. Very fun.


Because so many guests on the bride's side spoke little to no English, a translator stood to the side and read off Pastor Fred's message and vows. He seemed to do a great job, but you have to wonder if he didn't have just a little fun with it at our expense. I distinctly heard the words "Funyuns" and "Hokey-Pokey" at various times.


I've always enjoyed weddings performed by the Bethany pastors. However, I've never heard vows before which expressed the depth of love, sacrifice and honor that Fred had Josh and Viv speak. Dry eyes were not allowed.


This was the first wedding I've been to this year (out of three) to have dancing at the reception. The Peoria Dance Club (PDC) made up mostly of Career Impact Sunday School dancing nuts, I MEAN enthusiasts, finally had the chance to show off their skills.







Kevin pretty much just stuck to what he knew...the Electric Slide (aka Cha Cha Slide) and went home.

Today (Sunday) was a special outdoor service at the land which is being prepared for our new church building. It was also the ground breaking ceremony for the new building. I'm sorry I don't have cool pictures of the event. My camera died on Saturday, and I haven't secured a replacement yet. A few camera phone pictures is all I got today.


The ground at the new land is still pretty rough, with lots of ridges left over from when it was previously farmed. We were given careful instructions to watch our step when walking from one place to another, but Julie was apparently distracted, which is how she wound up here.



Later we had the privilege of hosting a small dinner for Jim Kurczodyna, who will be taking an internship with Campus Crusade For Christ in the Peoria area this next school year. He gave a run down of Cru's ministry in the area, and what they do on our local campuses. We also got to hear his testimony and forced him to answer a million personal questions. Nan was VERY helpful in this area. :-)


That's Jim near the doorway.


We also celebrated Jim's Birthday, which was only one day earlier. With a little inspiration from the Harms, I decided to decorate the cake myself. However, I failed to calculate the amount of space required for a simple birthday wish. So today we were simply happy that Jim was born at some point.

Yes, I have a brother

His name is Eric, and he just moved into a house a block away from me!! We'll see if the punk ever actually visits me though. He's never going to speak to me again after this blog entry :-)

Definately not going to speak to me again.

This was the beginning of my love for dogs...and my brother. The black blob was our dog, Ginger. I'm sure I'll have a tribute to her one day as well.


I had forgotten how much Eric and I played together until I looked through these old pictures. I remember I was kind of a bully though. Sorry for trying to strangle you with a superman cape that one time man.


This is my all time favorite picture of my brother, and not because I'm in it. But that's cute too. Thank you for working so hard to find it Mom!


Here we are at a Christmas get together. That's our cousin Laurie in the middle, and our triplet cousins, Grant, Kira and Erin. Eric's great with kids (ladies...)


The only reason I included this picture was because it is probably the only picture in existence where he is smiling (technically) and I am not (no idea why). That sourpuss was always a grump when the camera came out. He's finally loosening up. :-) Merry Christmas Grandma!!


I love my brother. He, like the rest of my family, have stuck with me despite my constant pursuit of a busy yet often superficial social life since high school. Eric's going to move away eventually for yet more school, and I'm really going to regret not getting to spend more time with him. Which is why he has to come over more now that he lives a block away!! I'm really proud of how well he's doing in school. Neither of us got superstar grades in high school or college, but he's kicking butt (mine) now. Don't get me wrong though. Spend a few minutes talking with him about his typical day, and you'll find out why I'm proud to call him a fellow slacker.

Mom, feel free to add any comments about that son of yours. :-)

Maya Where Are You?

So Long Maya And Josh

Jed is so cruel. I thought that we had one more night with Maya, but he heartlessly ripped her away from us tonight and took her home. I think he's just bitter that she was whining all night again last night.

Congratulations to Josh and Vivian, getting married this coming Saturday. To celebrate, console...thoroghly tease Josh, several of us went out to Buffalo Wild Wings and then hung around the hood (Mike's) to have a few laughs.

Note to self - Don't ever make fun of Micaiah's hat again.







Be careful the next time you visit Mike's house. He lacquers the floors when he's bored. I believe the one in this picture is on it's 57th layer. If only I had my wool socks on.

	Jason and Ben had us laughing so hard I almost got to see my spicy garlic wings again. P.S. I know I'm a horrible picture taker.

Softball, Secrets, And Sweet, Sweet Words

My cardboard-cut finger is doing much better, thank you for asking.

I TOTALLY forgot to report on the Tuesday night softball game. Sorry guys! We won pretty handily. Highlights - Scotty Lawson and Stevie Wonder both hit homers We had some home base outs and a double play. Mike Barngrover gets the blooper award for being burned twice in the same inning when he initially ran in to catch the ball only to change direction and run backward as it sailed over his head. And THAT'S why you don't see me out there folks.

For reasons I am unable to disclose right now, Andrew was tooling around with Google searches for Jed's name on the internet this morning. Eventually, he stumbled onto this site. I spent a good ten minutes trying to convince Andrew that he had not in fact discovered records of Jed's secret past as a bodyguard who had previously belonged to a cult. My first reaction was "Jed...bodyguard?" Cuz apparently, I can believe he was in a cult... Andrew's response "Well, he's compact". Of course, what Andrew meant was that Jed is really strong for his size. But my first thought drifted to images of a bodyguard that fits into a corporate exec's laptop bag as he jet sets around the world, ready to pounce on any would be assassins. That...would be cool.

And here's yet another story brought to you by Andrew - I discovered the coolness that is Freerice.com today. It's really interesting, and totally addicting. For every word match (synonym) that you get right, they donate 20 grains of rice, using the various funds from actual people who send them money. Sure, they could just send the rice, but where's the fun in that. Also, who would know about them to give them money if they didn't use a fun gimmick? You can check out this NBC News story on them on YouTube.

This site does make you wonder. Why would anyone EVER use some of these words...ever?! For instance:

protuberant = bulging
supernumerary = extra
tintinnabulation = ringing
ambulate = walk

If I have something supernumerary to tell you, I will always just say "Here's some extra information for ya", I promise!

Fred, after you get back from vacation and begin reading this blog daily, please tell me that you already knew what a hemidemisemiquaver was.

Anita, my co-worker, asked "So what happens when you get it wrong?" Well, somewhere in the world, a child has 20 grains of rice taken away from them. She is now addicted to the site, just like Andrew and me.

Bad Girl!

Cleaning - 90%! Filing papers is a pain.

You know that your blogging might be getting out of hand when you cut your finger on a piece of cardboard and think about what you're going to say about it in your blog. So if I don't say anything about it, I should be good right?

Maya is not so popular today. She seems to have a habit of picking one night each time she visits to make sure that no one gets any sleep. Except Chris. Once he's out, he sleeps through anything. After taking a good half hour to settle down from barking at bed time, she started up again around 3am.

Just like me recently, she didn't feel like stopping there and cutting her losses. Lets get into a little more trouble the next day! After I came in from mowing the lawn, I noticed that Chris had put her back in her pen. We usually let her out while someone is home, so I asked what the deal was. She was in timeout for eating his dinner while he was distracted on the phone.

We can't stay mad at her for long though. Andrew has gotten sucked in to her infectious love and brought home a bone for her, which I can hear her munching on as I speak.






Maya, you're still in trouble until you redeem yourself tonight. As my mother has sadly reminded me, our family dog has felt very left out this past week. Tilly, I love you too!






Took a little trip to the downtown carts today with my close by cubemates, Andrew, Cristian, Jon and Dan. Jeremy Knapp, who didn't contribute at ALL to this week's softball victory, also met up with us. No, I did not get a BBQ pork Sandwich. Next time.





This post feels a little weak, so here's a preview of some upcoming topics to keep you coming back.

- Kevin's first book review
- Yes, I have a brother

The Other Cutest Baby

I didn't think there would be anything new to blog about on a Tuesday, since I've already bragged about our awesome discipleship group. But no. Taylor Burke joined us for small group last night. The only time a female has been allowed to listen in on our deep, serious guy-talk. I believe she's just over six pounds now. No, Joe did not bring a baby, just born yesterday, to Borders. She's six weeks old, born a month early, and doing fantastic!