Spring has Sprung...

Well it's been a very busy couple of weeks. Last weekend my very good friends from Annapolis came up to Frederick and we continued our semi-annual tradition of going to LaPaz for dinner. We've done this for over 15 years now and have had a hard time getting together the last couple of years.

This year Heather, of course, went with us and we all crammed into my MDX and went in one car! It was a hoot. Dinner was great, company was great, and Brenda scored a bunch of napkins!!!!

Lacrosse has started full swing for everyone. This week Heather and I drove up to Lycoming to watch Alex's team play Susquehanna They lost but we had a great drive up and back and took Alex and Cory out to dinner to the Bullfrog Brewery. Two days later Michael and I drove up to watch them play Widener. An exciting game but unfortunately they lost. We stayed after for awhile and had a bite to eat at the team tailgate, then went over to Alex's dorm and hung out there for a little while before making the trek home.

Michael's name was in the newspaper the other day for the highschool team. They had their first game and the coach allowed him and 9 other underclassmen to travel with the team. They did not play but it was a very good learning experience for him. He has been practicing very, very hard and is looking forward to his first JV game this coming Saturday. He's put a lot of work into it and hopefully he'll see some reward for it. He's also been working fairly hard to get his grades where I expect them. I may be a little hard but... I also pay the tuition.

Tyler does have his license and has taken over the very tedious chore of picking up Michael from his various practices and the like. He starts work this week at a couple of venues so hopefully he'll be making some cash to put gas in the car he drives. I've allowed him to drive my Nissan Maxima. It's a 2000 and had very low miles on it. Hopefully, he can keep it in good condition for a lot longer. He's working at the golf course and for the Frederick Keys this summer. He'll also be doing son lacrosse officiating as well. Hopefully, he'll save some money as well!

I'm doing okay. Still playing basketball and maintaining the weight loss. I'm feeling very good compared to this time last year when I was at an all-time low. Spring is coming and I'm looking forward to getting outside and working in the yard and all that. Heather and I have been dating for over 6 months now. It's very hard to believe for sure but everything has been going splendidly. We see each other regularly and that helps a lot. Work? That's another story.... TBD. I'll keep you posted.

St. Mary's Pink Out Game

This came to me this morning from the coach at St. Mary's College of Maryland

THIS SUNDAY!:

Sunday, March 28, 2010

The women’s lacrosse team at St. Mary’s College of Maryland will be holding its 2nd Annual Breast Cancer Awareness Lacrosse Game vs. Salisbury University at 2 pm at Seahawk Stadium in beautiful St. Mary’s City.

This game will be played in remembrance of Christine A. DeWitt, the mother of a player I once coached, who lost her life to this disease last year as well as all individuals affected by breast cancer. The lacrosse team will be selling T-shirts in order to raise funds for Climb for Hope, a division of breast cancer research that Christine believed in very strongly.

Climb for Hope was organized to raise and channel funds towards targeted and promising research in the fight against breast cancer. Its mission is to find a viable treatment for breast cancer within the next three years. In the past two years, the organization has raised over $550,000 for a vaccine being developed at Johns Hopkins University by Dr. Leisha Emens. This research will one day allow patients to successfully battle the disease using a specialized vaccine in conjunction with lower doses of chemotherapy. Not only does the vaccine address some of the most aggressive and lethal forms of breast cancer, but the research is expected to promote treatment advances for many forms of cancer as well. (www.climbforhope.com).

To purchase a pink lacrosse T-shirt, please contact Kara Reber at klreber@smcm.edu or by phone at 240-895-3304. Shirts are $10 and come in adult S, M, L, XL, XXL. Cash donations are also welcome. Pre-sale orders are due by tomorrow 3/23, otherwise you may get one at the game.

We would like for you to wear your pink T-shirt to our game on the Sunday as we would like to have a “pink-out” of the stadium. Our goal is to raise over $3,000.00.

Please join us for this event and help support a cause that affects many of our lives.

See you at the game!

Lax Season Begins

Well last Saturday marked the beginning of Alex's final season as a lacrosse player! They had a game at McDaniel College which is not too far from our house.

Heather, Michael, and I made the journey up there and met up with Alex's grandparents and Uncle. Although the outcome was not good, it was a good chance to see her and her teammates.

After the game the team went to Harrisburg to the airport and flew out to Dallas, TX for spring break! They played 2 games down there and are coming back today. Their conference opener is next Saturday up by NYC.

At the same time, Michael continues to practice with the St. Johns Catholic Prep lacrosse team. He is a midget amongst giants as the JV and Varsity practice together. He is doing very well and hopefully the snow will go away and they can begin practice on the real grass soon!!!

Last Sunday Michael was confirmed to the Catholic Church and is now part of the St. Johns parish in Frederick. Tyler was his sponsor and both did a great job. After the mass we went to his favorite spot for dinner. A local Japanese Steak house!

Tyler? OH MY! He finally got around to taking his driver's test yesterday and passed on the first try! So of course my life and wallet are now changed forever! He'll be driving the Maxima and picking up Mike as much as possible. No more needs for rides to church and all of that! Life is a little easier on me now. I hope! He also got a job at Holly Hills Country Club as a cart attendant or something like that. He has a friend that works there who put in a good word for him and in fact, Heather's son also works there too! I hope that this occupies a great deal of his time this summer! He also put an application into the Frederick Keys and will be working there some during the summer as well.



Me? Hmmm.... I'm busy running ragged. But I'm doing very well. I still play basketball 3 days a week. I've lost a total of 22 pounds (give or take) and feel great. I've had to buy new clothes as my old ones were too big AND I'm actually wearing suits and slacks from 6 years ago that now fit perfectly again!!!! I see Heather on a very regular basis and Life is very, very good.

Busy Birthday !

Got home late from Biloxi. Good to get away and not have to run around doing stuff, but having to worry about the boys was tough. Michael had rides to school in the morning from his Uncle and Heather picked him up each day! A great relief to have someone home to help out! It took a lot of pressure off my shoulders for sure.

Saturday was my 48'th birthday. I've not been one to celebrate birthdays in the past and especially the last couple of years. This year I have to say was one of the best that I can remember in a long time. Heather bought me a few wonderful presents and she and I went to my good friend Danny's 50th surprise birthday party. I didn't feel so old after I went to his party!!!

I bought her tickets to the John Mayer concert for Christmas. Saturday she and I went. Before the concert she took me out to dinner to Old Ebbits Grill right by the White House in DC. Great dinner and we had a wonderful chat during it as well. After the dinner we went to the concert. Michael Franti and Spearhead was the opening act. They were great. Very energetic and he doesn't wear shoes!

After that John Mayer came out and put on one of the best concert shows I've seen. I've seen a lot that is for sure and this just caught me by surprise. The verizon center was sold out and we had great seats. It was a great birthday present for sure. One I won't forget.

This week Alex's lacrosse team is preparing for their opening game at McDaniel in Westminster, MD. Here is a great preseason writeup about them. Alex is one of the 3 team captains this year and after starting each game last year she should be doing the same this year as well. This year brings about 13 seniors back. These are girls from a huge recruiting class that her 1st coach brought in. Should be a great season!

Mike also has started his lax season at St. Johns. Lot's of practice so far and that's a good thing!

Out of town in Biloxi, MS

Well after 80" of snow this season I was ready to get out. The boys have been out of school since February 5th!!! We have been buried and have about 40" on the ground. It's not melting at all and the kids cannot get to school.

Finally today Michael went to St. Johns and Tyler goes in tomorrow, albeit 2 hours later.

I am currently in Biloxi, Mississippi. I get to add another state to those that I've visited. Very pretty down here but they were wiped off the map by Katrina before. The hotel I am in, the Beau Rivage, was totally wiped out, as was the new Hard Rock hotel next door. Both are open and doing well. I'm here for a small trade show and hoping to drum up some business.

Getting here is not the hard part. The hardest part is not being at home to make sure that the boys are where they need to be when they need to be! I had to find rides for Michael to school from his Uncle Ken who works right down the street from St. Johns. My girlfriend Heather was able to pick him up each day and bring him home. This was made even trickier as he now stays late for Lacrosse practice! She has been a great help to me in situations like this and has made this trip so much easier to make than the ones I've done in the past. Our good friends on our street are also looking out for them too, but this time the boys stepped up and stayed at home for 2 nights alone. Not a big deal but definitely something we had to work out.

Alex's first lacrosse game of the season is coming up on Feb 27'th at McDaniel College in Westminster. For those interested the game starts at 1pm. There will be a tailgate afterwards for the girls and if you would like to participate then just say so and bring a dish for the girls and dig in with them! Alex is one of the Captains this year and it is looking like an exciting season for the 12 graduating seniors this year. After their game they are headed to Harrisburg and fly out to Dallas for their spring break. They play 3 games in Texas along with some fun time I'm sure.

Busy week this week for sure with all the travel. This Friday is my birthday, and Saturday Heather and I are going to the John Mayer concert in DC. I bought her tickets for Christmas and she's taking me out to dinner for my birthday beforehand. Should be a good time!

Blizzard of 2010

Oh my! We got hammered on Saturday with almost 30" of snow!!!! It started Friday night and just kept coming until late Saturday afternoon! We were trapped in the house for the entire day. Snow plows didn't show up until Late Saturday night!

Lots of shoveling and lots of shoveling!!!

Here's some pics but there are more on our Picasa page.

Having a little fun!

Lycoming Lax gears up

Alex's lacrosse team voted her to be one of the team captains this year! A very nice honor for her. Here is a picture of her new uniform too! Go 25...

What's up?

Okay... It's been a couple of weeks since I've posted anything worthwhile on my blog. I know, I know, that makes for boring reading and for that I'm sorry. But, things have been going pretty well around here.

This weekend Tyler and Michael went away for Michael's confirmation retreat. They were gone from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon. Tyler was the retreat leader and Michael was an attendee. All went well.

This gave me a weekend off which, let's just say, I really, really needed. I spent some time away and some time around here but all in all it was just a very well spent time which I will not forget for a long time.

We got hit with about 6" of snow on Saturday which of course brought the area to a standstill! It's going to be cold for awhile so it should stick around for a few days.

What's new? Not much.... Alex has started practice for lacrosse. This is her final season and she was voted as one of the team captains this year. She's excited and so am I for her. Can't wait to visit and watch her and her team play this year. Tyler is finishing up driver's ed and should be getting his driver's license in a couple weeks! Yeah, I'm not looking forward to it but at the same time I really am as I could use the help with all the driving I have to do. Michael finished up midterms at St. Johns and did pretty well for his first semester. His lacrosse season begins in a few weeks and he is really looking forward to it as well. It will be a big adjustment for him as catholic high school lacrosse is pretty competitive. He's small but bounces up pretty quickly when knocked down.

Me? I run all over taking Michael to and from school each day. I'm also, running Tyler all over for school and church as well. Work is going well. Last year was a killer with the recession but personally I'm doing well enough to get through as is the company so hopefully this year we'll see a turnaround. I'm going on a business trip in Feb for a couple days to Biloxi, MS... I am still playing basketball at the YMCA 3 days a week at lunch. I've met a lot of good friends there and it is an incredible workout for sure. I've lost 18 pounds since last September! I'm sort of stuck on the 18 pound mark but for now I'll take it!

Heather and I continue to enjoy relationship beyond belief. We both enjoy one another's families and see each other quite a bit during the week. Often it may only be for a few minutes but that has been great for us to be able to spend time getting to know each other. We had a wonderful December and January has just flown by!!! We take each day one by one, getting to know another better and better each day. We have a busy month ahead and are going to see a special concert right after my birthday... More on that later.

Keep in touch and I'll do my best to keep you all posted on the goings on here in the DeWitt household...

Cheers.

Making the Rink Pink

Well I am now the proud owner of a #25 Jason Spivak Pink RIT hockey jersey!

Check out all the jerseys here.... Mine is on the way. I know they raised a bunch of money for a very, very good cause. I'll post a picture when it arrives!

Pink Rink

RIT Hockey is have a Pink Rink day to raise funds for breast cancer! That is my alma mater from 1985!!!

Hit Counts!

After the news piece traffic to my websites skyrocketed! Over 500 hits on Chris's blog and almost 400 on mine. Many positive comments as well.

On the television NEWS!

Well I have now been featured on the news! I received a call from a woman reporter from our local NBC25 television news department. She has been following my blog for awhile now and after my recent post a week ago she decided that she wanted to do a report on me and my blog.

It was great! She came to my house this morning carrying a huge camera and tripod! You see she not only interviews, she also does the taping, and editing for the story as well!

She asked me a bunch of questions, which you could tell that she read both of my blogs in detail in order to get them. I answered them and then she went about the house video taping us in various roles of normalcy! Me on the computer, Michael doing homework, etc.

I stayed up late tonight and watched it live on the television. It was weird but very interesting for sure. Seeing yourself on tv is a bit odd. As soon as they have the video up online I'll post the interview here! But for now you can go to it's future location by clicking HERE.

Made it through the holidays!

Christmas came so very quickly this year. It seems like just last week that we were in Deep Creek celebrating Thanksgiving.

This Holiday season I was actually looking forward to the coming holiday. That last several years I actually dreaded the entire season. This year, with my new-found friendship with Heather, I was excitedly looking forward to having a good Christmas this year. I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED!

One of the days the week before Christmas I took the day off of work and Heather and I spent the entire day together going to a big mall and looking for some last minute presents. We took in the decorations and the music and I actually enjoyed shopping for the first time ever!

On Christmas eve Alex, Tyler, Michael and I along with Heather and her children went to Mass at St. Johns church in downtown Frederick together. We went to the 4pm mass and although it was very full we were able to sit together. After mass we went back to Heather's house and had a traditional Italian Christmas eve dinner of homemade Italian sub sandwiches. The kids all sat around and chatted and we enjoyed our company greatly.

Christmas morning the kids and I opened our presents along with Chloe. Mid-morning we drove over to Heather's and had a very large and very wonderful Christmas morning breakfast together. We all pitched in and helped and it was a wonderful time together! I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to celebrate the holiday with our new friends!

Late Christmas afternoon we came home and checked on my Turkey that was cooking in a plastic bag in the oven! My In-laws along with Chris's sisters and brothers were all invited over to spend the even together. They all came over around 4. Also, Heather and her kids came over and met all my inlaws that were here too. We all got along splendidly and had a wonderful dinner and gift game. Heather and I were just thrilled to be able to spend the entire day together along with our families.

The week after Christmas was also busy. The kids were home from school and enjoying the remaining snow on the ground. I had some end of the year work to finish up. New Years Eve was fast approaching as well. Heather and I were invited to go to our friends out by Annapolis. After a while we decided to go on out and spend the evening there once we had her young daughter set for the evening. We were able to ring in our first new year together. After several very, very depressing New Year's eves we both have been shown a new future for one another and cannot tell you how excited we are about 2010. Nothing is ever certain in anyone's future but we know that we are looking forward to learning more about one another and enjoying our time together...

On a side note.... I will add that I have been playing basketball regularly 3 times a week at the YMCA as well as working out as well. During that time I have been able to lose about 18 pounds and I cannot tell you how much better I am feeling physically! It's been great and as long as I don't get HURT I should keep on the downward path. I actually had to buy some new clothes as my old pants were too big. I also am wearing dress slacks that have been put away for 5 years!!!!

There are some additional pictures from the holiday on my picasa page and they can be found <HERE>


NOTE: Facebook does not allow people w/o accounts to view photos any longer. If you have a Facebook account you can see all my photos here: FACEBOOK There are no security settings set and all can view.

Snow!

Oh and for those who didn't already know we got hammered last Saturday with 22" of snow in Frederick, MD and the entire surrounding area. We usually only get 15" for the entire YEAR! We haven't had snow like this in a long time. Of course it snowed on Saturday. This picture was taken Sunday and they closed schools for the next 3 days until Christmas break. Not quite like it was when I grew up in upstate NY!

Mike's picture

Michael made this piece of artwork in Art class at St. John's. It was listed in their newsletter that is sent out to all parents and staff. Very nice.

Merry Christmas is on the way...

Hmmm.... where to begin? I know that many of you "followers" continue to follow my blog and want me to keep it up. I will continue to do so as best as I can. I will admit that I have been "busy" the last few months getting to know Heather and meeting her friends and family. In fact this past Saturday we went down to Annapolis and she was able to meet all my close friends from down that way. We had a great time and she got to meet quite of few friends. These are my friends that have looked after me so closely the past couple of years. Yes years.

I find it so very hard to see where I am now vs. where I was. Losing a spouse is an incredibly difficult thing to have to deal with. The emotional pain as well as the incredible household burdens are overwhelming and take a lot to get through. After 2 years it was finally time to move ahead with my life. What has happened in the past 3 months has been a 180 degree turnaround. I am feeling wonderful. Both emotionally as well as physically. In fact I started playing basketball at the Y again on a regular basis 3 days a week. During this time I've lost 17 pounds! So much in fact I had to go and buy new jeans as my old ones for the past 8 years or so were too big!

Christmas has come up pretty quickly and I am looking forward to spending it with someone special this year in addition to my own kids and family. I have yet to finish my shopping. I'm actually taking a day off this week to to shopping with Heather and hopefully she can help me get some of it done. I really can use the female point of view on some things.

Keep your eyes open and check back often and I'll do my best to keep you posted on how things progress in the DeWitt household! Merry Christmas is on the way!

TSO

Since Thanksgiving things have been going along pretty smoothly. Alex has a few days or so left of school and will be home for Christmas next week.
Mike and Tyler are plugging along through school and me? I'm doing very well in my new relationship and looking forward to the holidays once again!

Last night Heather and I went to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert in Washington,DC. It was a wonderful show and we both we just in awe at how great the music was.

I believe you can see all the pictures on my FACEBOOK page. That can be found <HERE>

With only 2 weeks left before Christmas we're going to be pretty busy around here. More on that later...

Thanksgiving comes and goes...

This year Thanksgiving came upon us pretty quickly. We didn't decide until about 2 weeks before that we were going to go to Deep Creek again. We did though. Alex came home Tuesday afternoon and that evening she and I went out to dinner with Heather. Since Alex has been at school she has not been privy to the things going on in my life recently. We had a great dinner at La Paz and while there actually ran into Alicia, the woman who watched Tyler and Michael back when they were in elementary school.


Tuesday we went up to the lake and basically went through the same ritual we have in the past 2 years. All you can eat pasta bar came on Wednesday night, coffee shop breakfasts for me on both days, a walk in the woods at Swallow Falls Park, Thanksgiving buffet in the lodge, a movie (2012), that evening. This year we cut it short by one day. We came home on Friday instead of Saturday. Alex wanted to spend some time at home before heading back to school. All-in-all we had another nice get away together.

When we got home we were able to get most of our Christmas decorations up in the house and Sunday Tyler put up the Christmas lights in the 60 degree weather. I am really looking forward to the holidays this year. The past 2 years have been very depressing at the holiday time and so far I can tell that this year will be a complete opposite...

Here is a link to all the PICTURES located on my Facebook page...

Burning Leaves

We burned up all the leaves in the back yard last night. We have too many to bag them so we just toss a little gasoline and whew they're gone like that ! Heather came over to monitor the excitement and make sure no one got hurt...

Here's a little video of Tyler and his biking escapades!