Dumb A**

Oh I'm so proud of him....

A day away from it all...

Yesterday the boys and I were able to get away from the house for the day. Our good friend Danny and his wife took us out on the Chesapeake Bay for a little fishing excursion!!! We had a great time tooling around the huge bay. We did some fishing and some swimming and dined on some very yummy pretzel sticks all day! Hey we were fishing. Everyone caught a fish too. Including Brenda who wasn't even fishing!!!!

We went over by the Bay Bridge, as well as the Kent Narrows Bridge. While there we swung by Red Eye's Dock Bar. It wasn't Sunday so it was a little slow. Check out their website and I urge you so stop in on a Sunday afternoon/evening!!!!

After fishing we went back to their house with some other friends and just hung out by the pool and enjoyed the evening.

Here's a LINK to all the pictures I took that day... THANKS VERY MUCH DANNY AND BRENDA!

Keys Game

Yesterday was SuperHero night at the Keys stadium. Alex was WonderWoman so of course we had to go! Fun night and a perfect night for baseball! Thanks to Dave the GM for great seats once again!

Full Swing Summer

Well summer is here and in full swing. I'm working still. Times are tough in the industry right now and not many companies are buying stuff. I keep plugging along. Yesterday I had to go to Morgantown WV to actually install one of the systems that I sold. I was only 3 hours away vs. sending a tech from California all the way out there. It was good. I used to do that kind of stuff all the time, but now I am focused primarily on the sales side. All went well and the customer was up and running live on the new system when I left.

On the way home I stopped in Cumberland, MD and had dinner at a small restaurant in the blocked off downtown area. It was the best Jambalaya I have ever had, outside of New Orleans. Who would have thought in the middle of nowhere.

Health - I saw my gastroenterologist on Tuesday. All is okay with the tests and results that I've gotten so far. He recommended that I have another colonoscopy in 1 year to monitor one spot that they found. Also, he wants to perform an EUS or endoscopic ultrasound. It's pretty high-tech. They go down through your esophogus and perform some pretty low level investigation of the pancreas and other organs looking for abnormalities. It actually can get detail on the several layers of the tissue down there. If they find something, they can also do a biopsy at the same time. Only 2 places in MD do this right now, Hopkins, and UMD. Frederick hospital is getting the equipment right now and should be up and running on is soon. I could be the 1st one! Oh happy day. More on this later...

And now the crappy stuff. Some of you may already know, but Chris's mother found out a couple weeks ago that her breast cancer has returned. About 8 years ago she fought off early stage and has been doing pretty well. After all the tests and consultations they are confident that it has not spread. She will be undergoing surgery in about a week for a double mastectomy with reconstructive surgery. Recovery will certainly take some time after that. Cancer has reared it's ugly head once again.

Keep July 26th on your calendar. That is the date for the Frederick Keys Breast Cancer Awareness night in honor of Chrissy! Drop me a line and let me know if you would like to go.... I will have some tickets available.

Old friends

Thursday evening I attended a little reunion among friends I used to work with. There were 7 of us and many of us had not spoken in over 15 years! We used to work at my old company called Oncor and were all in the IT department there. We've since all gone our separate ways but the friendships are still there.

Cool Bird

While putting up shutters on the house we were able to get a birds-eye view of a mourning dove in the tree by the front door. She has a little baby under her.

Want fries with that?

Last night I went to the Keys baseball game except this time I saw none of it. Tyler and I worked in the largest concession stand there along with other friends from the high school boosters.

I worked the fryer! Making french fries, chicken fingers, and... corn dogs!!! I must have made 100 bags of fries and the temperature must have been 120 degrees by the fryer. There was grease and oil all over me!!! I think I still smell like a chicken finger. It really gives you an appreciation for the work that needs to be done.

In any event we made a good deal of money for the work that we did. It will go to a good cause for the school athletes.

Climb for Hope Lunch

I had the honor of having lunch today with Andrew Buerger who is the founder of the Climb for Hope charity that raises funds for advanced research for Dr. Leisha Emens. She was Chris's oncologist at Johns Hopkins.

Andrew brought his wife with him and the 3 of us had a wonderful lunch discussing all sorts of topics. His sister had just passed away a month ago from breast cancer leaving 3 children and a husband. A very similar situation as mine.

They are actually leaving this weekend for a climb in Iceland! Very exciting for all of them.

We had lunch a year ago as well and will continue to keep in touch for sure. Please check them out at www.climbforhope.com

Alex makes conference honor roll

Here is the story...

Alex was one of 9 girls on her team to maintain an overall 3.2 gpa or higher. She was honored in the MAC conference for lacrosse.

Lacrosse comes to a close and 20% less!

Well today was our Spires Lacrosse club picnic. Of course it was supposed to be on Friday but was postponed due to the 2 straight days of heavy rain. Then the boys tournament on Saturday was canceled because of the soggy fields. The girls tournament went on as scheduled on Sunday. Even with the reschedule we must have had close to 500 people attend the end of the year picnic. Very well attended this year. Finally, lacrosse in the DeWitt house is over.

Saturday evening there was a small get together in the cul-de-sac that I live on. About 10 families came out and we ordered crabs and had a small cookout with a bon-fire in the middle of the circle! It was nice as I had not really seen everyone in a social setting like that in quite a while. Hopefully, we can do it again soon.

Today was also a crappy day for work. Everyone in my company was hit with a 20% pay reduction until the recession rights itself. This was hard for all of us to swallow. Especially me. Going from 2 very successful salaries to one was hard enough. Now that 1 is not as successful and is now 20% less! Hmph... It does beat the alternative of being laid off and only makes me want (need) to work even harder at the sales and marketing stuff. Wish me luck!

School's out next week and it's time to start planning the next 10 weeks of summer. Tyler needs a JOB. If not then he'll be volunteering somewhere in downtown Frederick.

Critters!

Came home a month or so ago to find about 6 deer in the front yard of the house. Hard to see them but their eyes light up. Last night I was attacked by a lunar moth! It was huge!

2nd Annual Award

Last Wednesday I presented the 2nd annual credit union award in Chris's honor at the MDDC League's annual marketing award ceremony. This year Tyler and Michale attended along with Chris's Mom and Dad. It's a great feeling to be a part of something so special...

DGEFCU Wins Christine DeWitt Memorial Award
for Excellence in Marketing, Best of Show

The Christine DeWitt Memorial Award for Excellence in Marketing, Best of Show, was presented to DGEFCU for its winning entry in the Best Marketing Campaign. The award memorializes Christine DeWitt who was the Vice President of Operations of COMSTAR FCU before her untimely passing in September 2007. Members of the DeWitt family presented the award to Carla Decker, CEO of DGEFCU, Joann Clark, Chairman of DGEFCU, and Claudia Saidon and Maximo Gastaldi from Graphic Ideas.

The entry featured low-rate tiered unsecured loans (personal, holiday, kwik cash, overdraft LOCs and credit cards) and a chance to win a loan payoff up to $5,000, from October 1, 2008, to January 20, 2009. The theme was “New Year, New President, New Possibilities…Inaugurate Yourself!” to make your dreams come true. This theme was used throughout the campaign and featured, “Inaugurate Yourself with a makeover, celebrating with your family, with new adventures, with extra cash, and in your work place. All of the promotional materials were printed in both English and Spanish versions.

The judges remarked on the creativity of the Inauguration theme and perfect tie-in to DGEFCU’s field of membership as well as the results – they exceeded their loan goals despite the overall lack of consumer confidence and the credit union’s falling loan volume and balances.

2009 Christine DeWitt Memorial Award for Excellence in Marketing, Best of Show, is presented to DGEFCU. Left to right: Claudia Saidon, Graphic Ideas; Joann Clark, Chairman of DGEFCU; Charlie DeWitt; Mallorie David of COMSTAR FCU; Carla Decker, CEO of DGEFCU; and Mike Beall, CEO of MDDCCUA.

Another week gone by...

Where is the time going? It is Memorial Day weekend already! I've been feeling a little bit better. I did have my lower x-ray series done awhile ago. Never heard anything from the Dr. and that means normal. There's a sign in the office that says they'll call you if the results are not normal. So if the phone rings... that's when you panic! The test took 3 hours and was really just time consuming. Next Friday is my colonoscopy.... happy days.

So, yesterday I found out that yet another high-profile person has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Amy Mickelson, wife of Phil (golf pro), was just diagnosed. Not much details out, but hopefully this will bring more attention to the subject!

Last weekend the kids and I went to a very good friend's son's 1st birthday party! Nick Kreiner is just a gem. Marianne used to work for Chris, and called me the week she was in the hospital before she died to tell me that she was pregnant. I told Chris and even though she was heavily sedated she knew exactly what I told her and was so happy. Marianne visited Chris the night before she passed away and the first thing Chris did when she saw her was say.... "I know, I know". Chris will be watching over Nick his entire life I'm sure.

After the birthday party, we headed out to Annapolis for a graduation party. Great to see all our friends out there. We were really tired as that morning we all got up early to participate in the community yard sale. We got rid of a lot of stuff, including some things of Chris's that were a little difficult to part with. All in all it was okay and the kids and I plugged through w/o too many problems.

This past Monday I played golf in a charity golf tournament. It was for a hospice in a neighboring county. I had a great time and the weather was pretty good. Unfortunately, I am now sick again with a cold or allergies!!! 3 days of stuffy nose and sore throat!!!

This weekend is going to hopefully be spent relaxing. We all need some downtime. Michael has been working very hard on 2 big projects for school. It's been a drain on me as well as Alex. She is working part time for the credit union. They cut her hours way back this summer but she's still getting some that's a good thing. She's also an intern (no pay) at the Frederick Keys stadium and is working many of the home games. It's good experience and she's enjoying it too.

Me or Willie?

Okay so my friend Rich keeps telling me everytime he comes to my house that a picture I have in my living room of Chrissy and I makes him think of Willie AAmes from 8 is Enough fame. Here's my college Id and a picture of willie from the 80's.... what do you think?

A very sad loss...

The founder of Climb for Hope lost his sister to breast cancer last week. She had been fighting for over 4 years. She was diagnosed 1 month after Chris. This posting was placed on the website that I keep for Chris. It was posted by his sister.

The following remarks combine the thoughts of Peter Augustini with mine on the loss of Jodi Alter Buerger, Mr. Augustini’s wife and my sister.

Jodi A. Buerger ended her four and one-half year struggle with cancer May 8, 2009.

My sister Jodi was the inspiration to create Climb for Hope. When she was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer in October 2004, I knew we had to move quickly to find a cure. Jodi was one of the greatest women you’d ever meet. Her courage and strength led me to put together an organization dedicated to speeding up work on a treatment for advanced breast cancer to give her more time with her family.

Our precious and beautiful Jodi died only after exhausting every ounce of energy from her broken body. She never gave up and never wavered, clinging to life with awesome courage and determination. I believe she was driven by a sacred devotion to her children and an abiding promise to protect and nurture them. That’s the spirit we embody on our mountaineering expeditions.

In turn we honor her life and take forward the lessons she taught us about being a good and decent person, always acting with integrity and grace, always with words of support and encouragement. She measured her life by what she could do for others and never by what was taken from her.

Throughout her battle she drew tremendous strength from the overwhelming support and love of her family, friends, and climbers. It helped her more than you might know—through all the harrowing medical procedures and crushing relapses and in those dark moments when unspeakable pain and suffering would momentarily weaken her grip.

She leaves behind Peter, a loving husband of 14 years, and 3 children Charles 12, Caroline 9 and Max 5,

We were not able to save my sister Jodi’s life. But, as Jodi remarked to me when our expedition returned successfully from Kilimanjaro last year that we may not find something fast enough for her, but she believed that her daughter Caroline would grow up in a world without breast cancer because of the hard work of CFH volunteer climbers.

I want to thank each of you for all you’ve done to support and sustain us. Thank you for every hug, every tear, every dollar, and every ounce of support to create a sustainable organization that will keep Jodi’s name alive.

Our board recently voted to change the name of the organization to Jodi’s Climb for Hope to fulfill her wish that despite leaving us at an early age, she never be forgotten.

Now, in Jodi’s name we will continue on the many advances we’ve made in three short years, giving Johns Hopkins researcher Dr. Leisha Emens $350,000. That money sped up research by six months and lead to the ground-breaking discovery that lower doses of chemotherapy increase immune responses, a lasting legacy that will be left for future generations.

Jodi will be missed by so many people, including the more than 75 CFH climbers that she inspired to push themselves way beyond their perceived physical limits to summit a mountain they never thought possible.

I would have traded anything that Jodi would have never gotten this disease. Since she did, she was able affect real change in this world. Due to Jodi’s humble personality, she never fathomed how many lives she touched – donors, climbers, guides, volunteers, breast cancer survivors, and grieving families – through Climb for Hope.

If furthering cancer research and inspiring scores of people is how’s she’s remembered, than she’ll have lived a fulfilled life.

May her memory continue to be a blessing.

Donations in Jodi Alter Buerger’s memory can be sent to the charity of your choice or on-line to Climb For Hope, a Baltimore-based foundation that raises funds for breast cancer research. http://www.climbforhope.com/

Laces

Sunday Alex got up early and went to Mass really early and then went to the cemetery. Later in the day I went by on my own and noticed that she had left her pink shoelaces there that she had worn all season in honor of her mom. A perfect mother's day present for sure.

Yesterday

Yesterday was Mother's Day... 'nuff said.

Dr.

Went to the gastroenterologist last Tuesday. Left with 2 tests that I have to take. Small bowel series of x-rays.... and since I'm almost 50, oh god did I say that?, a colonoscopy... So that's it for now... still feeling okay but not that great.

TODAY - I took Tyler to the MVA and he now has his learner's permit to drive in MD! Watch out! As we were leaving I tossed him the keys and said drive home. He was like a deer in the headlights! Too funny. Could not figure out the turn signals!!!

Just busy...

It's been yet another very busy few days in the life and times of cedewitt... Last week after watching Alex's game up in Philadelphia, I had to go up to Lycoming on Friday morning and get her things. She has a lot of things.... I left really early in the AM and got up there about 9:30. We went to her cafeteria and had breakfast and then packed the car. We finally made it home abour 2:30. We had a couple of hours to unpack and then went to the high school to watch Tyler's lacrosse game.

Saturday was a day of youth lacrosse and I had to drive Michael to Chambersburg, PA for his game. 1 hour there 1 hour back... you get the idea. I did stop and get some salmon and we had a nice dinner at home that also included Tyler's friend Tanner. He's a great kid that lives around the corner from us. Always welcome in my house.

Sunday... more lax. Michael had a tournament that started at 10am not far from home. ONly problem was that it was pouring outside all morning long. It was miserable. They played 2 and it was cancelled around 12:30. Cold and dejected we came home and spent the afternoon trying to warm up.

Alex and I went grocery shopping last night. When she comes home we have to throw out all the outdated stuff in the fridge and buy new stuff. Milk that is only 2 weeks out of date is still GOOD. She doesn't understand...

Today is raining again. I have a dr. appointment with the gastroenterologist this afternoon. I'm hoping we can start figuring out what has been causing me to feel so poorly recently. I'll keep you posted.

Inaugural Breast Cancer Awareness Game Raises over $3,500

This is from the Saint Mary's website:

St. Mary's City, Md. - St. Mary's College of Maryland women's lacrosse coach Kara Reber announced Monday the results from the inaugural Breast Cancer Awareness Game held on Saturday, March 7 against McDaniel College.

The Seahawk women's lacrosse program raised $3771.74 through the sales of pink St. Mary's College of Maryland lacrosse t-shirts and the donations collected from over 500 fans in attendance at the game.

"I am amazed by the support and participation in this cause given by the St. Mary's community," said Reber. "This type of dedication proves that there are more important things than wins and losses. We have a chance to truly impact our nation by raising breast cancer awareness and dollars for research."

The game was played in remembrance of Christine A. DeWitt, the mother of a player once coached by Reber at Lycoming College, who lost her life to breast cancer last year as well as all individuals affected by this disease.

The team's charity of choice is Climb for Hope, in partnership with EarthTreks Climbing. Climb for Hope, a division of breast cancer research that Christine believed in very strongly, was organized to raise and channel funds towards targeted and promising research in the fight against breast cancer. Their mission is to find a viable treatment for breast cancer within the next three years. In two years, they have raised over $550,000 for a vaccine being developed at Johns Hopkins University by Dr. Leisha Emens. Not only does the vaccine address some of the most aggressive and lethal forms of breast cancer, but the research is expected to derive advances for many forms of cancer as well.

de Beers Lacrosse and GTM Sportswear were involved in the inaugural Breast Cancer Awareness Game. de Beers and GTM both donated pink T-shirts, while de Beers also provided pink eye goggles, pink balls and a pink stick which was given away as part of the halftime shootout.