A Day At The Fair!

We spent most of the day Monday at the Coshocton County Fair. Normally when I say this, I would tell you about rides, food, and walking around to displays...but not this time. This was Skylar's first time to show her rabbit...and she did well.



Though I know virtually nothing about the agriculture side of the fair, Amy showed rabbits for years...so she tells me what is going on. Skylar first did Showmanship, which Amy told me is the only thing you really have control of. Skylar did very well with this. She and two other girls were neck and neck. They brought them up for tie-breakers...and Skylar got 3rd. I was really happy for her.



Then she showed in the rabbit breed part of the competition. If you think I am sketchy on showmanship, then wait til you hear about my expertise on this. I got nothing. Skylar's rabbit got 5th on this one!



I thought it was a long day, but Amy assures me that we got off easy. Afterward, the girls got to do a few fun things.



They love this bungee thing...but it costs $5 per time. That adds up! Here is Connie and I with Jade on it behind us. Thanks to Mayor Steve for taking the picture!



Finally we walked through the other barns to check out the animals. And hey...I made a new friend!

Good weekend

It was a good weekend. Amy, the girls and I went to the Coshocton County Fair on Sunday (though we forgot the camera). It was good to walk around and see the sights with the family. Skylar has a rabbit in the fair this year and she took an interest in the other animals as we went around as well.

I also got to spend a bit with my family. My uncle Steve and aunt Shelly are going to be moving out of state, so we got together to say our goodbyes. It was good to see all of them too!

My sister, Hillary, was there. I have not seen her for a while so it was good to catch up. She showed me a picture of her daughter on her phone. I laughed out loud and said, "you have to send me that for my blog!" So she did!

Here is Bella as soon as she wakes up!

Good column

I haven't been posting as much as usual...I will get back into it. But I saw this column in the Coshocton Tribune yesterday from Len Lacara and thought I would share.

I liked it. You?

Inspirational Reading

A young woman was complaining to her father about her problems and how difficult her life was.

"Come with me," he said. "I want to show you something." He took her into the kitchen where he put three pots of water on the stove to heat. Meanwhile he cut up carrots and put them in to the first pot to boil. Into the simmering water in the second pot he put two eggs. In the third pot he poured some ground coffee. After a few minutes, he strained the carrots into one bowl, peeled the eggs and put them into another, and into a cup he poured the strained coffee. Then he placed them before his daughter.

"What's this all supposed to mean?" she asked somewhat impatiently.

"Each of these can teach us something about the way we handle adversity," he answered. "The carrots started out hard, but the boiling water turned them mushy. The eggs went into the water fragile but came out hard and rubbery. The coffee, on the other hand, changed the water into something better."

"Sweetheart," he said, "you can choose how you will respond to your problems. You can let them make you weak. You can let them make you hard. Or you can use them to create something beneficial. It's all up to you!"

From John C. Maxwell...

Brilliant!

So as most of you know there are LOTS of folks still without power. Well I want to give a "shout out" to a very creative way to try and "grease the wheels" for progress. I saw this picture on the Tribune site...and I believe I recognize the house! This is problem solving baby!




Nice job Billy!

Skylar's Birthday Party

Okay...so I was going to post this a while back, but Hurricane Ike distracted me! Last Sunday we had Skylar's official birthday party. First we had a group of girls over to the house. Hmmm...how to keep them entertained...



Well...we played a game where they all had balloons tied to their legs and they tried to bust each other's balloons. Good stuff.



Then we had a scavenger hunt.



Then some volleyball in the yard!



And of course we did the cake and ice cream!



Then after the girls left, we had the family over.





So before Hurricane Ike hit us...it was fun at the Hasseman House!

Coshocton in USA Today

Well this doesn't happen every day! Check this article in USA Today out!

USA TODAY

What a storm!

So while yesterday was the day we had Skylar's official birthday party, a windstorm blew through Coshocton County. I will post Skylar's pics later. But for now...here are some shots from the damage around Coshocton.

These first two are from Orange Street.





These two are from Cambridge Road.





This is on Beach Avenue...below.



This is from Ridgewood Drive...just a few houses down from us.



Just ripped right from the ground!



And if you need gas at Marathon...you might be out of luck!

Pre Game Fun

Last night before the big game, Amy and the gang did a Guest Bartender Event at the Club. It was a fun time and the girls did a nice job. Well..that might be stretching it...but they looked hot!



And the guys enjoyed the pre-game festivities too!



Then the group gathered for the game. If I may be afforded one rant (and it's my blog so there!) I would like to say that this is why I don't like college football as much as I like the NFL.

We got crushed. I get that. But the fact that one team is basically out of the national championship hunt in week 3 is ludicrous. I know that proponents say that it makes each game special. I think that's a weak argument. OSU/USC will be big no matter if there is a playoff or not.

Okay...enough of a rant for now. Have a great day!

Inside Coshocton

Okay...so I haven't been as up to date as I would like on this. BUT...here is this month's edition of Inside Coshocton Online! Take a look and let me know what you think!

Proud of Shanda

A couple weeks ago, my office manager Shanda Huston, started a training plan. It was a beginner's guide to running a 5K. I came across her running at Kids America the other day and she is keeping to the program. As all of us who have begun a program know...it's tough.

So great job Shanda! We are proud of you. Keep it up!

Happy 10th Birthday Skylar

Ten years ago today Amy and I spent 13 hours in Coshocton Hospital waiting for our very first bundle of joy. It seems surreal to me that she can possibly be 10 years old. As anyone with children knows, it is such a cool process to watch them grow up (for the most part!). I see myself in Skylar and hope she continues on the path she is on. She will grow up to be a nice young lady.

At any rate, after waiting 13 hours that first day, Skylar has made it a habit of making us wait ever since. So this morning she opened a couple gifts. The first was a hair straightener (don't get me started. I know she has straight hair!). The second...was a watch!



Be on time Skylar! Please join me in wishing her a great 10th birthday!

Happy 10th Birthday! We love you!

Birthday Cupcakes

Last night Amy and the girls worked on cupcakes to take to school for Skylar's birthday. When I came home I must say that I was impressed with the time they spent decorating each one individually.



The girls had fun with the project and insisted on this "goofy" shot to commemorate the action!



Nice job girls.

Happy 60th Connie

My mother in law had her 60th birthday last week and the family got together to celebrate. Both my brother in laws were in town and we had a great dinner at Raven's Glenn.

After dinner we took the time for a group shot! Happy Birthday Connie!

Final First Friday

The final First Friday of the year took place this past Friday...and it was a great success. There was just a ton of things to do...and a very nice crowd downtown!



As always, the United Way takes part in this great community event. They handed out popcorn and had games in the street for the kids. Usually there are folks that take part, but for some reason this time, it was packed!



The horses from Sheriff department even got in the act!



It was a great way to end this event for the year!

Queen Bee

So you might have seen the mess that was our house due to the invasion of bees. We killed hundreds of them...and then Amy cleaned up the mess. But they came back.

This time we used another product (thanks to Jason and Cindy Bradford) and killed them for good. But there was still the issue of the mess...and the hive in our ceiling and walls. So one night while I was at play practice...Amy went after it.



Above you see a shot up into the ceiling. Amy cleaned out everything she could reach...and below is a shot of the trash can filled up with the mess.



That seals it. She's tough. This gives me the creeps!

Working on 7 Habits

Some of you know that I took the class 7 Habits of Highly Effective People several years ago and it had a profound affect on me. The class was taught by Bill Weaver (a blog I mention on here regularly) and Amy Stockdale.

In reflection, I have decided that though I need to work on all of them (to Sharpen the Saw), I really need to focus on Habit 5 right now. Habit 5 is Seek First To Understand, Then To Be Understood. I struggle with this one. Here is an explanation:

Communication is the most important skill in life. You spend years learning how to read and write, and years learning how to speak. but what about listening? What training have you had that enables you to listen so you really, deeply understand another human being? Probably none, right?

If you're like most people, you probably seek first to be understood; you want to get your point across. And in doing so, you may ignore the other person completely, pretend that you're listening, selectively hear only certain parts of the conversation or attentively focus on only the words being said, but miss the meaning entirely. So why does this happen? Because most people listen with the intent to reply, not to understand. You listen to yourself as you prepare in your mind what you are going to say, the questions you are going to ask, etc. You filter everything you hear through your life experiences, your frame of reference. You check what you hear against your autobiography and see how it measures up. And consequently, you decide prematurely what the other person means before he/she finishes communicating.

So here I go! I will try to Seek First to Understand today!