Marietta Baseball - Justin Made the Team!

This weekend we made a last minute trip to visit Justin at Marietta. I know what you're thinking, “He's been there for eight weeks and you've made three trips to visit him.” In our defense, one visit was for Parent's Weekend, one was to see him play in a tournament and this last one was because fall baseball was winding down and it would be our last opportunity to see him play until spring.

Rain caused the cancellation of all his baseball games but we still had a good time, doing our usual stuff – lunch at The Galley, dinner at Applebee's and a trip to Walmart for groceries. We also sat in the downpour watching a soccer game and hung out in Justin's dorm watching a football game. For the record, his room is no longer neat and clean. It's pretty darn gross. So gross he said, “Mom, you can clean it if you want.” (I passed on that offer.)

On Saturday afternoon the baseball coach announced final cuts to the team's roster and Justin learned that he made the team. This was a big deal because Justin achieved his dream of playing college baseball and because being selected to play for Marietta is...well...a big deal. (Playing baseball for any college team is a big deal - much different than playing for high school.)

I should also mention that Bill and I were on pins and needles for the past two months, concerned about whether or not he would make the team. It's not that we didn't have faith in him but we did have concerns about his age (he just turned 18), his maturity level and his ability to adapt to college life while dealing with the pressure maintaining good grades and trying out for an extremely competitive team.

What most people don't realize - and we were among those - is that in college baseball being recruited doesn't mean you are automatically on the team. A typical practice is to over recruit, meaning there could be five incoming Freshman competing for each position along with the upperclassmen who have already played for the team. Positions aren't guaranteed for all four year of college.  This year Marietta cut a Junior and two Sophomores.

Looking good in that uniform!

Each kid wishing to earn a roster spot must prove themselves over and over both on and off the field.  As an example of what's expected, on Parents Weekend Justin took Bill and I around to a few of his classrooms and in each I would say “Where do you sit?” and he would point to one of the center seats in the front row. After noticing this in three different classes I asked him what was up with the front row and he said, “Our baseball coach said we have to sit in the front row and we have to keep eye contact with the teacher all the time.” He went on to say that if the coach came into the classroom and saw a player not sitting in front row or not maintaining eye contact with the professor, you got yelled at drill sargent style and had to run...a lot. Apparently, the coaches regularly make the rounds of all the classrooms of all the players, watching and making sure everyone is following their rules. Coach Brewer is big on eye contact, believing that if you're not maintaining eye contact with the speaker, you're not paying attention. (As a parent, I love that.)

Bill and I also noticed Justin had been wearing his hair much shorter than usual and shaving regularly (something he never did.) The reason, “Coach wants our hair this way and no one is allowed to have any facial hair.” Then over dinner one evening Justin told us about the baseball team's workout. It begins at 6 am, with 6 am meaning you are already working out, not arriving. Throwing up ten minutes into it is considered normal and drinking water during the workout is not permitted. (I'm still clueless on the logic behind that.) Our next conversation went like this:

Me: Did you join the military or a baseball team?

Justin: A little of both.

Me: And you like what you're doing?

Justin: Love it!

Justin knew going into Marietta that their program was going to be difficult but I'm not sure he was prepared for how grueling it turned out to be and how risky his decision was. I cannot describe how proud I am that he rose to the challenge while maintaining 3.1 GPA by mid-term. (I apologize for the bragging.) Playing for Marietta was something he's wanted for a long time. He even turned down offers from Division I and Division II schools for the opportunity to play there. Reason being, Justin hates to lose and Marietta's baseball team doesn't do much of that. (During the 2011 season they had a record of 47-4 and were the 2011 National Champions!)

Age 9

What makes this such an awesome accomplishment is that while Justin was an above average player in high school, he almost didn't even make the baseball team in 9^th grade. In four years of high school baseball he was never the kid who was considered the star or received much recognition or any awards. The local paper never named him to an All Star Team. In his senior year he started the season with a batting average of .175 but did manage to work his way up to .400 after hours of batting practice. And at 5 feet 10 inches tall and 155 pounds, his size kept many colleges from showing interest. 

But when Marietta recruited him they must have seen potential, something that that a few coaches he played for along the way missed. In his first eight weeks of college baseball, Marietta's coaches were able to motivate him in a way that some previous coaches hadn't been able to. They made him want to excel in baseball and in school and they helped him develop perseverance, patience, a new level of competitiveness and an understanding that with hard work, anything is possible.

That alone makes his college experience priceless. His next goal: Securing a starting position. Extremely difficult but not completely impossible for a Freshman.

Happy Halloween! Have a great day!

Happy Birthday Bill!

Happy 49th birthday to my awesome husband.  Here's a look back at some previous celebrations:

Bill's 29th birthday.  He always preferred a birthday pie instead of a birthday cake.  Don't you just love the mullet and the acid washed jeans!

30ths birthday present was a Penguin's sweatshirt for one of their biggest fans.

Blowing out candles on his 35th birthday pie.

Celebrating with Pat Davis in 1991. (Although I think this may have been at a class reunion and not a birthday party.)

 First celebration with Justin in 1993 - they're opening a card together.




Happy Birthday Willie!  Love you more than anything!

The HPV Vaccine - The Debate Continues

Before Justin left for college in August, he received the HPV vaccination. When Justin's doctor recommended it, I didn't question him. He's an excellent pediatrician, knows his stuff and has never given us bad advice. At the time, Bill and I paid little attention to the controversy surrounding the vaccine or the fact that it hadn't yet been recommended by the CDC. Justin's pediatrician explained the risks, gave us a booklet of information and after we read it, Justin offered up his arm. Done deal. Except a few days later when an acquaintance talked to me about the vaccine's risks and insinuated that we exposed our son to something which could harm his health, we panicked. After a calling a few doctors and researching the safety of the vaccine, we decided that we made the correct choice. I blogged about it and within hours, my email was flooded with messages from people telling me how I may have endangered my son's heath because he received this relatively new vaccine. (If you missed the original blog, you can read it here: The HPV Vaccine – Will Your Son Be Getting It?


I was shocked at the uproar over this vaccine and the numerous negative comments that blog received. Although I try to keep up to date on current events, I will admit, I previously ignored the controversy surrounding the HPV vaccine because I had a boy and didn't believe it applied to us. (Go ahead and call me naïve or give me a shame-on-you lecture. I received many since that blog appeared.) Still, I stood by our decision. Everything I learned indicated that the benefits of the vaccine outweighed the risks.

So on Tuesday when an Advisory Committee for the Center for Disease Control recommended the vaccination for boys between the ages and 11 and 26, I applauded. The availability of a medical tool which may prevent cancer is one of the great things about the era we live in. HPV infections cause about 15,000 cancers in women and 7,000 cancers in men each year. And while cervical cancer rates have plunged over the past four decades because of widespread screening, anal cancer rates in men and women have been increasing. Head and neck cancers have also been increasing, with the share associated with HPV infection increasing rapidly, perhaps because oral sex has increased in popularity.

What I find confusing is why so many people are opposed to this vaccine - something which was developed to prevent cancer.  Prevent cancer. And I can't help but wonder how many of those same people who oppose the HPV vaccine have spent time walking or racing for a cure, wearing pink ribbons, forming Relay for Life teams and crying when someone they loved died of cancer.  I mean, science and medicine gave us something we asked for - something that will save lives - yet there are millions of people afraid of it, complaining about it or saying "Danger! Danger!"

An anti-vaccine advertisement.

To help understand the uproar over the HPV vaccine, I did some additional research. That meant a few more calls to doctors, a visit to the library (Call me a nerd but I love the library!) and taking a hard look at facts and statistics. What I found is that there are several reasons why the vaccine is so controversial, too many to list in one blog. Some of the controversy is because the disease it prevents results from sexual activity, forcing parents to think about their kids having sex before they're ready to tackle the issue. Political candidate Michelle Bachman added to the hysteria by crusading against the vaccine in September, saying that it was “potentially dangerous” and alluding that it could cause “mental retardation” - both of which she later admitted were unfounded. There is also a grass roots anti-vaccination movement in this country which has been gaining in popularity, causing unnecessary panic and encouraging parents to not protect their children against dangerous diseases such as whooping cough. (On a side note, as a result of this movement, 20 to 30 percent of children are not being vaccinated and California is now experiencing its worst whooping cough outbreak in 50 years with nearly 9,000 people infected and 10 deaths – infections and deaths which could have been prevented.) Lastly, there is the fact that a lot of people are afraid of something which is new (except that the HPV vaccine isn't that new. Its safety has been carefully evaluated for over 8 years with millions of doses being safely administered.)


After researching the pros and cons of the HPV vaccine, studying them forward, backwards and sideways, separating the facts from the myths and reading through the opinions of political candidates it still seems obvious to me that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh the risks. Universal immunization has been recommended for females for since 2006 and since girls acquire the infection from boys it seems appropriate that boys should share the responsibility for preventing this disease. That means I'm standing by my decision to support the HPV vaccine for both girls and boys.

Of course you're also entitled to your opinion and I'd love to hear from you. Friend me on Facebook, find me on Twitter or email me at mcginn8@yahoo.

Breaking Up With a Friend - Have You Ever Done It?

About 15 years ago I had a friend I'll call Lucy. She wasn't a tell-all-your-secrets-to best friend but we hung out and went to lunch, shopped and made a few trips to the beach together. She had a daughter a few months younger than Justin and when they were 3 or 4 years old, they would play house while we sat around and talked.

Flash forward five years. Justin and Lucy's daughter are both about 8 years old. Justin is playing soccer, baseball, basketball and hockey. Lucy's daughter is taking dance lessons and gymnastics. Playing house and watching the Princess Diaries is no longer on Justin's radar with and with a husband working two jobs, I was busy running Justin to practices and games, working at my own job and attending school.

Along the way, Justin and I developed new friendships with other parents and kids on his sports teams. As a result, Lucy and I spent less time together and when we were together her college friend, who I'll call Ethel, was always with her. Ethel had moved to our area from out of state and she and Lucy became a package deal. (You never got one without the other.) Although Ethel was smart and funny and fun, when she was around (which was all the time) the conversation turned to one of three subjects:

1. Her complaining about not being married or having a steady boyfriend.
2. Her wanting to go out and have a beer on Friday, Wednesday or right now.
3. Her telling and retelling stories about her and Lucy's college experiences. (Yes they were funny, but the humor wears off somewhere around the 7^th, 8^th or 110^th telling.)

I gradually began spending less time with Lucy.  She and I now had different interests and friends.  Lucy didn't like any of my new friends and preferred spending time with Ethel.  Although I didn't dislike Ethel, I found her to be very immature. Lucy thought my new friends were too grown up and "snobby."

While it seemed obvious to me that Lucy and I were growing apart, to her it wasn't so apparent. She called me, wrote me letters and sent me cards, explaining how much she missed me until one day I pointed out that our kids now had different interests and I was to busy to hang out as much as we once did. She seemed understanding until I touched on the subject of Ethel. Lucy was very protective of Ethel and not pleased that I didn't find Ethel as endearing as she did. Still, a few months later Lucy invited me to go to the beach with them. (I passed because we already had plans to go to an out of town soccer tournament during that time.)

Friendships are voluntary and life is constantly changing. Sometimes the people you were close to no longer fit into your lifestyle. I've always believed you shouldn't bother with someone who is no longer good for you and you have every right to end any relationship you want. Which is what happened to me and Lucy. As time went on, we lost touch completely - until a few weeks ago when I stumbled on her profile on Facebook. I sent her a friend request and a short note, saying hello and asking what's been happening in her life. I looked at it the same way as if we would have run into each other in the grocery store – as a causal “How have you been” conversation which may or may not lead to something more. What I got back was a long, rambling note detailing the numerous ways she felt that I wronged her 10 years ago. She spared no details, complaining about who was and wasn't supposed to pay for lunch one afternoon in 2001, wanting to know why I didn't like Ethel and ended with a request for an “honest and genuine explanation” on what she did to make me not want to be her friend.

Oh good grief!

I spent two weeks thinking about how to respond to Lucy's message and ultimately decided not to. It seemed that anything I said was going to inflame her even further.  And a friendship which begins with one person having to explain herself while the other demands “honest and genuine” answers and doesn't accept what's been offered is unbalanced and ultimately doomed.

If the situation had been reversed, how would you have handled it? If I was the one who received the friend request, I would have sent back a “Nice to hear from you” message and gave her a few details on what had been happening in my life. Breezy, light and polite. I'm not perfect and I've made thousands of mistakes where friendships were concerned but I know I wouldn't have responded in full fledged attack mode or dredged up details from a decade ago, at least not initially and not in such a combative manner. But that's just me. It seems the older I get, the less patience I have for drama. And at age 45, my goal is too keep life as easy and relaxed as possible.

Have you ever broken up with a friend or received a less than friendly Facebook message from an ex-friend?  How did you handle it?  Friend me on Facebook, find me on Twitter or email me at mcginn8@yahoo.com.

TGIF!

Happy Friday! 

This week was pretty much disaster for me and I can honestly say, I'm happy to see it end. (Better things around the corner, right?) There was the acid reflux issue, the creepy guy at the gym and a mountain of work stress. I spent the majority of the week cranky, not feeling well and being a little snappy with anyone who was “lucky” enough to cross my path. (If you were one of those people I directed some of my frustration towards, I apologize.)

Here's an update on what's been happening.

I went to the ear, nose and throat doctor yesterday. He explained that acid reflux medicine can take up to a month to show its full effects. That means I may be dealing with this for several more weeks. After that, it will still take a month or longer for the tissues in my body to heal after being splashed with stomach acid for such a long period of time. I was told not to expect any immediate improvement but more of a gradual resolution of symptoms. Being the most impatient person on the planet – I want to feel better and I want to feel better now - that was tough info to hear.

To deal with the creepy guy at the gym, I attempted to reason with him but got nowhere, which was hardly a surprise. I also tried reasoning with his best buddy at the gym and didn't have any success with him either. The buddy's reasoning is that creepy guy's confidence is low and he's only trying to feel better about himself. I'm all for people trying to boost their confidence but not at my expense and not in a way that is so weird! (If you missed the original blog post about the creepy guy, you can read it here.) That means I'm left with three choices. I can work out at a different time and hope I don't cross paths with them, I talk to the owners of the gym or I can join a different gym. At this point, I haven't decided which option is best.

My goal was to have both problems wrapped up and out of my life by today. Instead, I'm ending the week with two unresolved issues, a much needed lesson in patience, a craving for a McDonald's cheeseburger (which I can't eat because of the reflux) and plenty of hope that tomorrow will be a better day.

 

How was your week? You can friend me on Facebook, find me on Twitter or email me at mcginn8@yahoo.com.

Ever Have a Really Bad Day...Or Two?

I hate to spend a blog complaining but I am feeling really frustrated, angry and crummy right now and need to vent. (If you don't want to hear ranting and whining, don't bother reading any further.)

For starters, I've had horrible – and I do mean horrible – acid reflux for about three weeks. If you've never had acid reflux, consider yourself extremely fortunate. It is undoubtedly one of the most painful and uncomfortable things I've ever experienced. I went to the doctors last week and she increased my prescription from one pill a day to two to help control the acid. Apparently I have the type of reflux where the acid from your stomach moves up the esophagus into the nose, throat and sinuses and irritates all three. That means I have an upset stomach, my throat hurts and burns, my sinuses burn and I've got awful post nasal drip which future irritates my stomach, making it produce more acid, which comes up my throat. It's a terrible cycle. As an added bonus, this type of reflux is more difficult to treat and must be treated more aggressively than regular reflux.

Wonderful.

On top of that, on Sunday at my regular writing job all writers were told they needed to insert a short computer code into their author profile. I won't go into the reasons why (it has to do with online searches and crediting work) but will say that I have spent two days fooling around with this code and still can't get it to work. Two unpaid days! I am beyond frustrated. Yesterday, five hours into a process which should have taken 10 minutes, I was so angry I wanted to throw something across the room. The only thing that held me back was the fact that I would have to be the one to clean it up and I already have enough cleaning up to do around this house.

To relax, I took a break from the computer issues and went to the gym in the late afternoon. Most of the time walking on the treadmill while reading a good book is calming. Unfortunately, it didn't work yesterday. There is a guy at the gym who likes me in a romantic way and in his head, he is convinced that I like him too. He twists everything thing I say, regardless of how innocent, into a declaration of my love for him. He knows I'm married. I've told him several times to back off and friends who belong to the gym have said to him, “She's not interested in you” more than once. But none of that phases him because he is absolutely certain that we belong together. (If this sounds creepy, that is because it is.)

If I'm upstairs, he's upstairs. If I'm downstairs, he's downstairs. If I ignore him and talk to someone else, he purposely stands between us and interrupts the conversation. Yesterday he interrupted me while I was talking to someone about being frustrated with my job and that stupid computer code and I said to him “You should get a job” (Did I mention that he's unemployed by choice?) and he said, “Do you want me to get a job so we can be together?”  The worst part, he was completely serious. (I should also mention that he has absolutely no sense of humor.)

I've never been rude to this guy and I certainly don't want to hurt his feelings but it's getting to the point where I either need to switch gyms or start working out at a different time, which is a bummer because the late afternoon best fits my schedule and I have several friends who are there at the same time.  Because my job is so isolating, I look forward to having someone to talk to while I work out.

I'm sure if I felt better physically, none of those things would bother me as much as they did yesterday but being sick can lower your tolerance level and make everything in your life seem incredibly annoying.  I'm seeing an ear, nose and throat doctor on Thursday to try to get a better handle on this reflux and will most likely spend the rest of today dealing with my computer problems. (That stress is most likely adding to the reflux issues.  Like I said, it's a big, nasty circle.) Since the weather seems to nice today, I'm thinking about skipping the gym, taking a long walk in the late afternoon and then cutting the grass for exercise.

Have a great day!  I hope you're all having a better week than I am!

Nemacolin Castle - Our Trip to a Real Haunted House

On Saturday night Bill and I celebrated Halloween a few weeks early when we visited Nemacolin Castle. If you are not familiar with the castle (and we weren't until I was talking to a friend about wanting to visit a “real” haunted house) it is a mansion in Brownsville, Pennsylvania which was built during the mid to late 1790s by Jacob Bowman, who operated a trading post on the site.

Nemacolin Castle is named after Nemacolin, a Native American who helped the white settlers move west. Three generations of the Bowman family were the only ones to live in the castle. Jacob Bowman and his wife designed the first part of the structure with his trading post on the ground floor and one room above it where they lived. After Jacob's death in 1847, he left the house to his son Nelson who added the east wing of the house and the tower.

The castle is believed to be haunted by at least ten ghosts and a dog.  All have been seen during tours and by the volunteers and caretakers who now work at the castle. As our guide explained at the start of our tour, the Nemacolin ghosts sometimes they show themselves clearly. Other times people visiting will feel cold spots, hear unexplainable sounds, see movement out of the corner of your eyes or capture orbs on film. (Orbs are white balls of light which are not visible to the naked eye but appear in pictures. They are believed to be the energy of visiting spirits or ghosts.) 

Here are some pictures I took during our visit to the castle. Maybe they show ghosts, maybe they don't. What do you think?

Here is a picture of the outside of the castle in the daylight.
It doesn't look scary and the exterior is actually quite attractive.

This was the first room we toured.  Once everyone was in the room the guide asked if anyone felt short of breath.  Three people, including Bill, said they were.  The guide then told us a story about a women who died of a respiratory illness in this room in the 1800s and added that it is common for people to feel short of breath when they are in it.


Bill had his own take on the situation.  He said, "I can't speak for anyone else but I'm pretty sure I'm out of breath because I just climbed two flights of stairs."

This is a view of the 70 foot hallway on the second floor. (That hallway alone is twice as long as my entire house!)  Visitors and mansion volunteers have reported seeing a women wearing a long dress with her hair in a bun enter the nursery but when they checked, there was no one there.  It is believed to be a ghost named Elizabeth.  The figure you see at the end of the hall is not a ghost.  It is a mannequin.  There are several mannequins throughout the mansion - adding to its creepy factor.

This is the nursery, supposedly one of the most haunted rooms in the house.  The rocking horse is said to rock by itself and the dolls eyes have been seen opening and closing while the doll is not moving. A caretaker who was once decorating the room for Christmas left for few minutes to get cleaning supplies and returned to find the name "Mary' spelled out on the bed with the Tinker Toys.  Although none of those things happened while we were in the room, we did see an orb on the wall above the shelf and managed to take a picture of it.

Directly above the money's raised arm you can make out a white circle, which is an orbs. Orbs are believed to be ghosts which appear in the form of balls of light.  The common belief is that they represent the human soul or the life force which was inside one's physical body when they lived on earth.

This was another bedroom in the mansion. It had a long, curving staircase that leads to a tower.  Although we didn't see it, sightings of a man in Civil War clothing have occurred in this room.  Researchers later learned that one of Jacob Bowman's son's was a soldier in the Civil War.

Another view of the staircase to the tower. (The guy in the picture is someone who was also on the tour.)  Some visitors to the castle have reported seeing a little boy sitting on the steps.  Unfortunately, he didn't seem to be around when we visited.

When we were in this room, the guide asked us if we could see any images in the wood grain of the headboard.  Bill instantly saw what looked like a wolf and Jesus and the guide agreed, saying those are the images most people admit to seeing.  There is also a Bowman family legend which says that before someone in house is about to die, three knocks are heard coming from the headboard or a dove is seen somewhere on the property.

This is undoubtedly the ugliest room I've ever seen in my life.  No ghost sightings, but one woman did freak when she looked into the mirror and noticed everyone's reflection except for hers had something that resembled a halo over their heads.

Another view of the 70 foot hallway. There are three orbs in this picture. Although two are difficult to see, one is clearly visible on the left side of the picture by the staircase.  Although this hallway was warm the first time we walked down it, this time everyone complained of being cold.

One of many staircases in the house. According to Bowman family records, in the 1800s a maid fell down these steps and died. Since then, people have reported feeling something grabbing at their ankles as they walk down the steps.  I walked down the steps very slowly hoping for some action - mentally daring something to touch me - but no one in our group felt anything here.  It is also reported that metal objects seem to "disappear" in this room.  I left a few quarters on the table but when we returned, they were still there.

I wandered into this room by myself while everyone else was across the hall.  It was one of the few rooms in the house that felt creepy and strange.  As I walked through it, I felt like someone was behind me the entire time.  (I stopped and looked several times and no one was there.)  There were two orbs in this room.  One is to the right of the lantern on the table and one is above the picture on the wall.

There are two small orbs in this room.  One is in the lower right corner of the first picture and the other is on the wall between the first and second pictures.

This was the room where the Bowman family supposedly spent the majority of their time. The Bowman children were known to hide under the table and visitors to the mansion have often seen the table cloth move.  Although the tablecloth stayed put while we were in the room, the rocking chair started rocking on its own. (If you look close, you can see an orb on the rocking chair.)  The door to the left of the rocking chair has a lighter area on it which actually appeared as a mist or fog.  While we were watching the "fog" the door made a loud creaking sound and slowly opened by itself.  After someone walked over and shut it, it slowly opened again!

Here is a picture I took outside after the tour ended. You can see a large orb on brick in the center of the picture.

Bill took a picture of me after the tour. There are two orbs to my right and one to my left in the grass.  The lights in the background are real lights, placed there so the path wouldn't be dark.  If you look to the far left of the picture, in the background, there is a little dog standing there.  Although it's hard to make out on the computer, in the actual picture you can see him clearly. He has his tongue out and his tail in the air.  No big deal, right?  Wrong!  There was no dog there!

I know there are many plausible explanations for the orbs that don't involve the supernatural but the rocking chair, odd mist, the door which opened by itself and a dog showing up in a picture where there was no dog are a little hard to explain.  Even so, I'm still not sure I believe in ghosts but did have a good time looking for them.


Have you ever been in a real haunted house or encountered what you believe to be a ghost or spirit?

Related Posts
We Spend The Weekend At The Spooky, Haunted Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum
Haunted Bookstore in Ohio: Owners Discover A Ghost Who Loves Toys
 
 

A Senseless Crime in a Small Town

Short blog today but a very difficult one to write.

Lower Burrell and surrounding communities are mourning the death of Officer  Derek Kotecki, who was killed Tuesday night in the line of duty. If you are not yet familiar with the story, you can read about it here: Lower Burrell Officer Knew He Was Headed For a Dangerous Situation.

Regardless of where you live - big city, small town - this type of violent, senseless crime is hard to comprehend. In our little community, it is even more difficult to understand because that type of thing never happens here – or so we all thought.

Officer Kotecki leaves behind a wife and two children. If you can, take a moment to include him and his family in your thoughts and prayers. Give your spouse and kids and extra hug and be especially grateful for the for every moment you have here on Earth. Unfortunately, we never know when a tragedy like this will strike.

The Derek Kotecki Memorial Fund has been established for Kotecki's family, in care of the Fraternal Order of Police, Allegheny Valley Lodge #39. Donations may be sent to S&T Bank, 4251 Old William Penn Highway, Murrysville, PA 15668.

A Scary Experience at the Marietta, Ohio Holiday Inn

Have you ever thought about how safe you are when staying in a hotel? I'm embarrassed to admit, I rarely do. For starters, whenever I'm traveling it's usually with my 6 foot 4 inch husband. When he's around, not only do men rarely talk to me, most won't even look my direction. (Although Bill's size makes him look scary, he really isn't.) Secondly, even though there are reports in the news about bad things happening to people who are traveling, I've always considered them rare occurrences and focused more on having fun than worrying about potential dangers.

But something happened last weekend which make me realize I need to be a little more vigilant.

On Friday night we went to Marietta to visit Justin. The baseball team was hosting an event to raise money for cancer awareness. There would be a two game series against Cortland State along with raffles, prizes, a tribute to cancer survivors and a blood mobile for anyone who wished to donate. And although the games weren't “official” it was to be Justin's college baseball debut and something we weren't about to miss.

After spending the day at the baseball field, Justin showered, we went out to eat, took him to Walmart for groceries and then dropped him off at his dorm. By then it was about 9:30 pm and Bill and I went back to the Holiday Inn, where we were staying. We went to the bar for about an hour and listened to karaoke. Karaoke is a big deal at the Marietta Holiday Inn. There is no shortage of singers in the town and most of them are quite good. Bill and I each had a drink and went back to our room around 11 pm. We were both totally exhausted and went straight to bed.

Around 12:15 I woke up when I heard someone outside our door. The Holiday Inn has key cards, plastic cards which are programmed to work as keys and open the doors. I could hear someone putting their card in and out of the slot on our door. I could also hear two men talking, saying things like “Why won't this key work?” “Maybe you're putting it in the wrong way.” Three more tries and then “Why won't this f-ing key work!” “I'm going to f-ing kill someone!” Their words were slurred and they were obviously angry that their key wouldn't open the door.

At that point, I wasn't alarmed. The Marietta Holiday Inn is small, made up of two floors and has a bar which appears to be one of the hot spots in the town. This weekend, the hotel was booked solid. It appeared that two guys left the bar intending to go their room, stood in front of the wrong door and tried to get in. Their key wouldn't work because it wasn't programmed to open our door. While I wasn't pleased that they woke me, listening to them was entertaining and I was secure in the knowledge that they couldn't get into our room. You got to love technology.

Except that 15 minutes later they came back. With a key that worked.

Apparently they went to the front desk, said their key wasn't opening the door and rambled off our room number. The desk clerk never bothered to check their identification to the names of the people who were actually staying in that particular room and just issued them keys.

Let me just say, it's pretty darn scary when you wake up in the middle of the night to the sound of two drunk guys opening the door and then coming into your hotel room while talking about how “f-ing pissed” they were that their key didn't work in the first place. Luckily Bill, who usually sleeps through everything, heard what was going on, jumped out of bed, cut them off and said in his meanest voice “Hey! There's already somebody in this room!” (He really did sound scary and his size alone made him look frightening in a Herman Munster way.)

Hello Manager? The desk clerk just let two drunk men into my room!

Thankfully, the two guys left without any further incident and Bill and I went back to bed, but I couldn't sleep. I couldn't help but think about what could have happened. This was an incident which had the potential to end badly. (Two people in bed sleeping in the middle of the night. Unless you're in the shower, there really isn't a more vulnerable position.) 

When we woke up the next morning we were the ones who were “f-ing pissed.” We talked to the morning desk clerk about what had happened and she contacted the manager. To his credit, he apologized and acted quickly, giving us our two night stay for free. That's all well and good but Bill and I will think twice before staying in this particular Holiday Inn again and only use it as a last resort.  The manager also said he would review the videotape of the front desk from the previous night to "determine exactly what happened."

Determine exactly what happened? What happened was that someone, for whatever reason, didn't do what they were supposed to do and put my family in jeopardy. I'm not an expert in the job requirements of a hotel desk clerk but I'm thinking this is something that is covered on Day 1 of the job and should be common sense!

You want to know something else that is common sense? Technology is only good as the people who use it!

Have you ever had a scary experience in a hotel or motel? Friend me on Facebook or find me on Twitter.

Making Over a Room on a Budget

The fish on the wall is a marlin Bill caught off the coast of North Carolina.

I am embarrassed to admit, these are pictures of our basement that I took this morning. Before you think we're complete slobs, let me just say that this room and Justin's bedroom are the only two in our house that look this way. (If you missed the blog about Justin's messy bedroom, you can read it here.)

We finished this room about 14 years ago as a “playroom” for Justin. It was a place were he and his friends played with G.I. Joe, Leggos and trucks when they were little and where they played video games, watched movies and had sleepovers as they got older. (Once when Justin was about 12 years old I cleaned the room after a sleepover and found a Girls Gone Wild DVD under the couch. Still not sure where that came from.)

As you can see, this room needs some work. Because there hasn't been much playing or hanging out going on down there lately, it's become the area of the house where Bill and I have been putting the miscellaneous stuff that we aren't ready to throw away or are too lazy to put back where it belongs. Last week I decided that giving this room a complete makeover would be my fall and winter project. My goal is to make it brighter, bigger and increase the amount of available storage space.

Here's a view from another angle.

Because we're on a limited budget, I made a three stage plan for this project. Stage 1 consists of clearing everything out of the room. During Stage 2 we'll paint the walls and clean the carpeting and during Stage 3 (my favorite) we'll decorate.

Last week I gathered boxes and got down to business. Initially I thought I could get the room cleared out in one afternoon but learned I seriously underestimated when I got sidetracked looking through old high school year books and photo albums. (It was a happy and humorous trip down memory lane. Who doesn't laugh looking at the hair and clothes we wore in the 1980s!)

Once the room is clear, I'll move on to Stage 2, which is painting the walls and cleaning the carpeting. I haven't bought the paint yet but I'm thinking of a pale, creamy yellow. Thankfully, the carpet is still in excellent condition and won't need to be replaced thanks to Bill's no-food-in-the-basement rule and his tendency to act as the shoe police when anyone comes into the house.

Stage 1 and 2 will both be pretty inexpensive to complete, which will give me time to save money for Stage 3 where I have several planned purchases. Because the room can be cold in the winter, I'm considering installing a wood burning stove. I haven't made a definite decision on this and am still weighing the pluses (savings on the energy bill) and minuses (having to haul wood into the house). I'd like to replace the current couch with a comfy sectional and two items I'm also considering are a leather storage bench and a lift-top coffee table. Both are relatively inexpensive and will provide much needed storage space.

If our budget permits, I'd like to install cabinets (more storage) and a counter top at the far end of the basement. On the counter top I'd like to have an old fashioned popcorn machine and under the counter I'd like to install a dorm sized refrigerator to hold soda, beer and wine.

I'll post updates and pictures of our progress. Have you done any remodeling projects lately? Feel free to share pictures and ideas. You can find me on Facebook, Twitter or email me at mcginn8@yahoo.com.

Got Any Creative Fundraising Ideas?

So in the last two weeks, only one month into the school year, I got hit with five different fundraisers. There was the entertainment book for $30, a $17 necklace, a $16 bag of cashews, $15 box of popcorn and three hoagies at $5 each. Of course everything I purchased was described as great savings, high quality, gourmet and deluxe so the fact that it was all incredibly overpriced shouldn't matter, especially when half the proceeds will be going to a church, a school, a boosters club, a sports organization or will help send someone's kid on a field trip.

What did I get in return? I now have a two pound book loaded with coupons (more than I can use in a decade let alone in the one year before they expire), a necklace similar to those you find in a Dollar Store, a bag of cashews which typically sells at Sheetz for $2.99 and a box of popcorn I could have bought at the grocery store for a third of what I paid. And let's not forget the five extra pounds that will settle on my butt after I plow through the hoagies and buy-one-get-one free meals we now have coupons for. (On a side note: If Michelle Obama wants to help her obesity campaign, she should find a way to stop the onslaught of fundraising order forms thrust upon us during the school year. With kids and their parents selling tubs of cookie dough, boxes of candy and Girl Scout cookies, is it any wonder we have an obesity epidemic in this country.)


Bill, Justin and I spent 10 years participating in fundraisers before saying “Enough" during Justin's junior year of high school. By that point we just didn't have it in us to ask one more person to buy and I'm sure some people would have run away screaming had they seen us approach with yet another order form. (Hide your wife!  Hide your kids!)

To be honest, selling that stuff is yucky, especially when many organizations make parents and kids feel obligated to peddle products they don't believe in or that cost way more than they're worth. Yes, it's for a good cause but when fundraising committees use coercion (i.e. you can't participate in these “special” workouts if you don't sell your quota of what we're hawking this month) it is wrong. And unfortunately it happens. A lot.

But that's not where I'm going with this.

In spite of my complaining, I'll support anyone who comes around selling something. I'm a sucker for a cute little kid, I never say "No" and want to give back after years of friends and neighbors supporting Justin's fundraising efforts. But you know what I'd love to see? Some creative fundraising ideas, some thinking outside the box. I can't be the only one who thinks the mediocre cookies, waxy chocolate and overpriced hoagies are boring, tiresome and so ho-hum. And don't even get me started on those match-the-daily-number lottery tickets.

Hard to believe these guys are all in college and considered "alumni" now.

My friend Carol had an awesome idea to help raise money for her daughter's soccer team. She sold umbrellas and blankets with the school logo. They were high quality, reasonably priced and came in a few different styles. Who doesn't use an umbrella or blanket? Perfect! I gladly handed over a check for that.

Another great fundraising idea is the alumni soccer tournament our high school soccer team holds each year.  Alumni players pay $25 to participate and local businesses pay to place ads in the program booklet.  Alumni players receive a tee shirt and additional shirts are also sold during the game.  Players are asked bring a covered dish or drinks for a picnic after the tournament in a pavilion by the soccer field. It's a really cool event and everyone who participates has a blast.

Now that's the kind of fundraising I can support – the kind where you buy something you want or need or will be proud to give as a gift. The kind that brings people of all ages together, allows friends to reconnect and makes you want to dig deep for the things you care about.

Keep your chocolate and sell me more of that!

Extreme Couponing: Am I The Only One Who Thinks It's Ridiculous?

Last week I came home from the gym, had the house and the television to myself and - in a rare moment - laid down on the couch and caught a few episodes of Extreme Couponing on TLC. If you've never seen that show, it follows people who take couponing to an extreme level, buying $400 worth of groceries for $12 or paying for 95 percent of their grocery bill with coupons.

Initially it sounded cool but after watching for a few minutes I realized that nearly every person the show featured had a bomb-shelter like area of their garage or basement where they stored (stockpiled) their purchases. In one episode, Nathan Engels, the king of extreme couponing, proudly showed off his garage featuring 40 bottles of vitamins, 700 bottles of body wash and 1,000 tubes of toothpaste which were “free.”

Seven hundred bottles of body wash? One thousand tubes of toothpaste? Am I the only one who thinks that is ridiculous?

I understand the feelings of comfort and the convenience a full pantry brings but at a certain point it stops being practical and becomes silly, even selfish. Looking at some of the stashes extreme couponers accumulated, it's clear they've gone beyond need and sit firmly in the greed category. (Like the woman who purchased over 50 bottles of soy sauce? Apparently soy sauce doesn't spoil. Who knew!)

What I struggle to understand is why people would want to spend 15 to 20 hours a week organizing coupons when there are so many more interesting, fun or useful things to do. Some of the people on the show appeared to get a rush from couponing. Others seemed to enjoy competing with friends to see who could accumulate the most savings per grocery store visit. In most cases, I'm sure it begins with a limited family budget and the discovery that couponing allows them to feed their families for less money. Totally cool. I get that. I do that. But what drives a person to move beyond meeting needs to wanting to own hundreds of bottles of ketchup?

One extreme couponer's stockpile.

The one trait all extreme couponers share is that they give little, if any, thought to the other – regular – shoppers. Buying out one store's stock of a particular item just because they can is selfish, especially when it will sit in a stockpile for months. It bothers me when I go to the store to buy mustard only to find that there is no mustard because couponers have wiped out the shelf. It is not necessary to buy at rates which deprive other shoppers. It is inconsiderate. Don't get me wrong, it's alright to want things and treat yourself. I want a pair of Lucky Brand jeans but should they happen to go on sale, I'm not going to buy them all because other people want them too.

The only saving grace I can find in extreme couponing is the potential for donations. For example, last week's show featured a woman who uses couponing to feed the members of her church while another woman who used her coupons to buy food for her sister's wedding. Some donate a portion of their grocery items to a food bank or needy families in their town. Awesome! The potential for donations and the promise of sharing offsets the crazy hoarding component of this “hobby.”

Apparently I'm not alone in my dislike of extreme couponers. Newspapers across the country have recently reported an uptick in Sunday newspaper thefts, which they blame on people trying to get more coupons for less money. Last month the Food Marketing Institute, a trade group for food retailers, warned retailers to watch out for fraudulent behavior such as trying to use a coupon for one product to redeem another, similar product. They also warned about people attempting to intimidate cashiers to violate in-house policies such as how many coupons a person can use per visit.

Cheating, theft and intimidation just to save money on groceries? Perhaps some of those couponers need to step back, take a deep breath and be reminded of the three most important rules they learned in kindergarten: Share everything, play fair and don't take things that don't belong to you.

If you'd like to save on groceries check out: How to Be an Extreme Couponer, How Coupons Save You Money and Tips for Saving Money at the Grocery Store.

What are your thoughts on extreme couponing?  You can find me on Facebook, Twitter or email me at mcginn8@yahoo.com.