Today 25 years ago at the time of this blog post, our nation as a whole lost 7 heros. It was at this time January 28, 1986 that the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds into flight killing all 6 astronauts and 1 teacher on board.

This post is in memory of them… Michael, Dick, Judith, Ronald, Ellison, Gregory, and Christa. As President Reagan said that evening “We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for the journey and waved goodbye and ‘slipped the surly bonds of earth’ to ‘touch the face of God.’”

You will forever be in our hearts. God’s speed.

Yesterday I blogged about my 2010 year in review so tonight I turn away from the past and look towards the future. I’m not a person to normally make New Year Resolutions, however I think if I set some goals for myself I’ll have something to strive towards as this year progresses.

Goal #1… Finally win the battle of the bulge and have it in a full retreat by the end of the year.

Goal #2... Get out and enjoy the great outdoors more then I already do.

Goal #3… Set aside one weekend a month and make it technology free. Step back and enjoy the finer points of life without the constant distractions of the technical world.

Goal #4… Move my personal business from the shelf and onto one of the burners. Strive to grow it into something which could become my primary source of income in years to come.

Goal #5… Keep mindful of the stresses I’ll encounter in the upcoming year with the planning of our wedding and remember that this is the last time I’ll ever be doing this so stop sweating the small stuff.

Goal #6… Blog more then I have in the past. This is going to be an exciting year and I want to keep it chronicled for the future.

I know some of them may not seem like resolutions at all, or they seem out of place, but hey I’m not going to write something down which I don’t think I’ll be able to do.

Until Later…

Well, here we are at the beginning of a new year. A time for us to finally look towards the future, however this post will deal with the past, specifically my past year. So, here we go… my 2010 year in review.

January started out as any normal January would, quiet and somewhat cold. I continued in my job as a Business Analyst at Capital BlueCross in the Medicare Enrollment department. After a Management Change the beginning of December 2009 it was a little unclear what exactly was going to happen within my department but we were all muddling along as best we could. The end of January brought on a trip of sorts for me… No, not a vacation but a slip and fall at home which messed up my left knee (More on this later).

February brought a month of limping along in life. I celebrated Jen’s Birthday on the 9th by being snowed in with her. We had 2 winter storms in the span of a week dropping several feet of snow on the Lower Susquehanna Valley and between the two of us we were able to dig out and have some fun a the same time. Also, I finally broke down and visited the Doctor for the first (of many) times about my knee.

March was a month of transition for me. I was transferred within our unit at work and went from the Enrollment group to IMaR (Information Management and Reporting). This was a blessing in disguise because come later in the month the unthinkable happened, my employer went through a round of layoffs. Our unit lost two members, one who was a close personal friend but overall we were spared a major cut.

April brought me another birthday and physical therapy for my still ailing knee. It also ushered in the beginning of fishing season, I tried to get out as much as possible, but time wasn’t good for me. As per my norm, the first day of Trout Season brought an early morning at the lake with Jennifer but no fish at the end of the day.

May was somewhat busy. We welcomed another family member into our brood, not by birth but by marriage. My Cousin got married on Mother’s Day (May 9th) and she officially became a Berry… Mandy Berry that is. The following week I got my father out on a boat fishing for Striped Bass at Raystown Lake. We didn’t catch any stripers, however I boated a rather nice Lake Trout which ended up at Jen’s Parents house. I also got the news I didn’t want to get, but knew in the back of my mind was going to happen. I needed surgery on my left knee.

June was actual uneventful. I had my knee Surgery on the 21st and was laid up for a good while.

July brought the 1st annual Lorenz/Wentz camping trip to the cabin in Tioga County over the 4th of July weekend. We all had a blast, well as much as I could less than two weeks post surgery. We had great weather (only hot and humid on the last day) and great fun with great company. Of course we had our laughs, the highlight being Cindy chased by fireworks gone wonky.

August and September were also quiet with my knee getting worse then better. A quick trip to the doctor found that he “fixed” it too well, causing arthritis in the joint. I limped along until the end of September when I got, as the doctor called it, “a lube job for my knee”. I also started planning Jennifer’s Christmas present, and it was one for the ages.

The rest of the year was quiet and uneventful… that is, until Christmas morning. That was the day I asked my wonderful Girlfriend to Marry me. She said yes and now we’re going to be planning a wedding.

All in all, I had a rather uneventful year. Quiet as I like it but punctuated with the good, the bad, and the ugly. I hope this coming year continues the trend… but only time will ultimately tell.

Until Later…

As you guys probably know, I asked my wonderful girlfriend Jennifer to be my wife on Christmas morning. As expected, she said yes (well, actually a nod of her head caught on video which she did confirm later as a yes) so now we’re in the very early stages of planning a wedding.

A little behind the big event, I’ve been planning this day for quite a while and kept it a secret until the beginning of October when I let her brother and sister-in-law in on my plans. Needless to say they were thrilled at my idea and Cindy had a bit of fun poking and prodding at me up until the big day. I let her parents in on the plans the beginning of December when I asked her father his permission and blessing. Yes, I know it’s old fashioned, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. He did say yes, but with one condition… that there were no returns, refunds or exchanges. I told my parents on Christmas Eve of my plans and they were both overjoyed.

The big moment came around 6:45am Christmas morning. The last thing Jen opened was a card saying that there was one more gift for her to “find” and it was located somewhere on her parents Christmas tree (We were at her parents for the morning). While she was looking all over the tree for something we took the opportunity to clear the way for me to make my move. I came wandering over to give her some assistance when I gently turned her around and then gracefully took a knee, asked her to marry me, and opened the Amethyst and Diamond ring for her to see. She was stunned, tears started to flow freely, and she nodded yes (later confirmed verbally).

With the big question out of the way, now the planning has begun. So far we’ve set a date of April 28, 2012 and we’ve kicked around some other ideas. I’m sure the next sixteen months will go rather fast and be full of planning… which I’ll occasionally blog about.

Until later…