Ben and Jenelle DOT COM

I finished second in the latest poker tournament at Adam’s place on Saturday night. This is a big improvement from my last two performances (eighth and sixth).

For those of you poker fans, here’s a description of probably the most exciting hand of the night:

With four players remaining, I am on a short stack, as is Carl, the player to my immediate left. The other two players are doing fairly well. I’m on the button. Adam, the player to my right, folds. I draw a pair of nines and decide to go all-in. Carl, who has fifty cents more than me, calls without much hesitation. Loren, the player across the table also goes all-in.

I’m holding 9s-9d. Carl has Ks-Kc. Loren has Kd-Qh. This makes Carl the favorite before the flop. I’m hoping for a nine to show up.

The flop comes 5s-10c-8h. No help for anyone. The turn card is Jh. This gives Loren an inside straight draw. If a nine comes up on the river, I would have three of a kind, but his straight would beat me. Am I drawing dead?

Nope. This picture shows the table shortly after the final card was dealt. What a lucky draw for me.

It’s a beautiful day in Wisconsin. Jenelle and I will be heading out to enjoy it soon, but we really wanted you to see these Easter Photos. One of my personal favorites is Jenelle with her new sewing machine. Her mom helped her make a cushion for our bedroom out of an extra bed sheet. It turned out really well — perhaps I’ll take a picture of that for the NEXT album.

Oh wait, tomorrow is the MS Walk, so pictures from that event will be in the NEXT album. In any case, we’re finding plenty of things to take pictures of these days. 🙂

My parents, my wife, and I will all be participating in the MS Walk on Sunday, April 18, 2004. This is an event sponsored by the Wisconsin Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. We are walking 3.1 miles to raise awareness and to gather financial support to help find a cure for MS. More information on MS and the walk is available here.

If you’d like to support the four of us in some way, here are some things you can do:

–Give us words of encouragement. I don’t know how many of you have friends or family members affected by MS, but sometimes a note that says “I appreciate what you’re doing!” goes a long way. I can pass on any e-mail replies to the appropriate person(s).

–If you live in the area, you can participate in the walk yourself. We’re actually all signed up on an SC Johnson team (of which I’m the captain), but friends and family are welcome to join it. The more, the merrier!

–If you would like to support us financially, you can give online. Go here and click on the “Pledge a Participant” link by the MS walk logo. If you would like to send a check, e-mail me for details.

After the walk, I’ll post an entry here that outlines how everything went. I’ll probably get pictures online as well. 🙂

I appreciate you taking the time to read this message — just doing that really means a lot.

I stepped on our semi-new bathroom scale yesterday evening. I was shocked at what it said.

90.71.

Realizing that the scale had somehow switched to metric, I switched it back to English units, and I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw.

199.6.

I have lost an estimated 25 pounds in 10 weeks. I am not doing Atkins or South Beach, or even that points thing. All that I’ve done is eat a bit less and start exercising at least 3 times a week, usually for about 45 minutes each trip. It also helps that I haven’t had a slice of pizza in 34 days. 🙂

Thanks to everyone who sent us anniversary cards and gifts — Jenelle and I celebrated on Monday by going to dinner at Salute Italian Restaurant in downtown Racine. We also ate one of the leftover chocolate bars that were favors at the wedding.

Sorry for the delay on the concert pictures — with luck, I’ll have them up by the weekend.

Tonight, Jenelle and I are going to a Newsboys concert with two of my college friends (Adam H. and Fil). We have third row seats. It’s going to ROCK! I’ll bring my camera.

Happy Birthday, Aunt Sandy!

It’s finally getting warm. I think I’ll go for a walk outside…