Ben and Jenelle DOT COM

It’s been over two years since I last participated in a walk to support the American Diabetes Association. You might remember this post from October 2003.

There’s another Walk for Diabetes coming up. It’s in Racine on Sunday, May 7. I would appreciate your support, whether than means making a contribution, joining me at the walk, sending an e-mail of encouragement, or just making a quick comment on this post. In case you’re curious about where contributions go, here’s some details:

Your commitment to the American Diabetes Association funds research for a cure, prevention of diabetes and its complications, awareness and outreach programs, as well as our mission to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes.

I’ve set up a couple of web pages that make it fairly easy for you to sign up / make a contribution:

Here is my personal page that shows how much I’ve raised so far. It also has a link to make an online contribution. If you’d like to contribute using a check (a.k.a. an “offline” contribution), just let me know.

I’m also serving as team captain for the SC Johnson team at the walk, and here is the team page.

Thanks for your support! I’ll be sure to take pictures at the event and let you know how it goes.

We spent a little more than usual this year for our wedding anniversary, which occurred on March 29. I thought I might be a spending a bit much when I bought Jenelle a makeup case, a new customized photo jewelry box, and an emerald/diamond pendant. However, the biggest expenditure was yet to come.

Late Wednesday night, we reached an agreement with the seller of a 4-bedroom home in Kenosha. There are a number of things that have to happen before all is said and done, but there’s a decent chance we’ll be moving before summer rolls around. It’s very exciting and very time-consuming, but we’re enjoying the process. We’re especially thankful for everyone who has helped prepare our existing home for sale, including my parents (cleaning efforts galore) and Gina (lots of painting assistance).

In other news, work is also keeping us occupied. Surprise, surprise.

More on this story as it develops.

This is another one of those times when the lives of others seem more exciting than our own. Some people we know went to Las Vegas and had a great time. Others are going to parties and family outings. Old friends are doing an amazing job of counting calories and losing weight.

But what’s new with us, you ask? Let’s see… I’m still working on a movie from the Houston Marathon. I’ve been following up with residents of my condo association to try and obtain all of the necessary contact information for our annual meeting. I’m continuing to play guitar at church. Jenelle and I continue to meet regularly with our small group friends on Tuedsay nights. We’re both very busy at work.

I’m happy to be alive — I just wish I had something more exciting to share. Remember when we went to Disney World?

Thanks, mom, for reminding me to include Brian in the blog… although I would have sworn that I wrote something about him earlier. I have a very clear memory of typing about him while sitting on the plane. Anyway, it’s now updated below. We did see Brian on Thursday night for dinner at a place call the Yard House. Once we get around to putting up photos, there’s one of us at dinner.

I had a great time this past weekend with my friend Fil, who was my roommate in Delta Chi when I was a junior at Northwestern. He works for a consulting company, and every weekend he can either fly home to Chicago or fly someone else to North Carolina. I accepted his offer to fly me out for the weekend. He picked me up from the airport on Friday night, and we spent a lot of time catching up on things. We shared his hotel suite, so it was just like old times.

I got up somewhat early on Saturday and ran around the neighborhood. It was a tiny bit cool, but MUCH warmer than it is in the Midwest. I came back after about three miles, and then we had free breakfast in the hotel dining area. As usual, I took advantage of the waffle maker.

We went shopping in a nearby mall that had a lot of neat stores. We went in a lot of the gadgety places like the Apple Store, Sharper Image, and Williams-Sonoma. We probably would have spent a lot more time there if Jenelle was with us. 🙂

After having lunch/dinner at a $3.99 all-you-can-eat pizza buffet, we drove to the Greensboro Coliseum for the WinterJam concert featuring one of my favorite bands — Newsboys. There were several other groups, including Toby Mac, ZOEGirl, and Newsong. And I should also mention the Sphere of Fear motorcycle show. I took pictures, but they didn’t turn out too well. I’ll try and find a good one or two and post it soon. There was something happening at the event from 5:30 until about 10:00. It cost only $10 a person, and we managed to get seats pretty close to the front. We had a blast!

On Sunday, we went to a nearby fitness center, where we could both burn off the free pizza from the day before. I logged 10 miles in 90 minutes, and Fil spent time on the elliptical trainer and lifting weights.

After heading back to the hotel and packing up, we stopped at a nearby Subway, and still had plenty of time to get to the airport for my flight back to O’Hare. It was a quick but fun-filled weekend. It’s been a while since I spent more than a few minutes chatting with Fil, so it was great to hang out for a while.