The Rowe Family Blog

Today, for the eighth year in a row, we hunted and killed a Christmas Tree at Stokoe Farms. Cassie was awake this year, but barely. She and I went down the slide together. It was a fun day with lots of family (“both bamma bampas”). Follow the link for a couple of videos and pictures.

Read the rest of this entry »

For quite some time I was a contributor to Bianca2000′s Shark Attack map on Platial.  In early 2009 I decided I wanted to do things on my own.  Platial was slow, I didn’t like the way it looked, and I had to wait for Bianca (if that’s her real name?!) to update with my posts.  I found some excellent free software that would allow me to do just that.

I don’t update the blog as quickly as Marcus at Swim At Your Own Risk, nor do I cover as things as he does.  I’m focusing  only on shark attacks.  It’s a strange fascination that I have.

So check it out!  It has a global shark attack map that allows you to see where shark attacks are clustered around the world.  In some ways it’s a lot like Bianca’s shark attack map when I originally found it so many years ago.

Last Saturday we held the first (annual?) Matlyn Drive Street sale.  We had a pretty good turnout.  Traffic was constant from a little before 8 AM until a little after noon.  I think the traffic came a lot from people going to and from the farmers market.

We didn’t sell as much stuff as we wanted to.  We were hoping to sell all of the furniture but very little of it sold and it sold for less than we were hoping to get.  It’s hard to sell furniture at garage sales because few people are out looking to spend hundreds of dollars on antique furniture.  Oh well, it’s off to craigslist we go!

While we didn’t sell the furniture we did sell…the garage.  Actually we sold the entire house.  A couple stopped by and bought an item or two and I had a nice conversation with them.  They soon returned and asked if they could look around at our landscaping.  I thought it odd but since I had the house locked up I said “sure.”  Then they admitted that they came back because they wanted our house!  They said that they’d like to have the first bid if we decide to sell our house!  I took down their name and number and I’ll keep it in my “house” file.

Who knows, in a few years (or sooner…or later…) we might look back at this garage sale as the best thing we ever did.

Unless I think of something else, this should be my final birthday list:

• Asics running shorts that were/are on clearance at MedVed
• Balega running socks
• Apples to Apples board game or other fun board games
• Manicures and/or Pedicures (I like this place)
• BOB Stroller Accessories – sun sheild and handlebar console
  
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix DVD
• Fun card games
• Running music (stuff with a good beat and lyrics)
• Cheap measuring cups and spoons
• Money for new work clothes

Check back periodically as the list will likely change. Follow the link to view our 2007 Christmas list. Read the rest of this entry »

    Last night you decided to dine in my garden.  I have not had you visit my garden over the past 3 years.  You decided to visit this year and steal away some of my favorite veggies.  Yeah, the zucchini.  I’ve never heard of deer eating zucchini before, but I know it to be true due to last night’s events.  You ate the leaves off of my zucchini plants and then ate portions of two of my zucchinis.  They were the perfect size too.  I couldn’t believe it!  You didn’t eat the oversized ones that I didn’t want.  Nope…you ate the good sized ones- perfect for frying.

You think you are innocent?  Oh no…I have evidence.  Your DNA is on the zucchini and your prints are in the garden as shown in exhibits A and B below:

Do not come back to visit my garden again or you will be sorry!  I am not a violent person, but you’ve tampered with the wrong garden!

Well, I have finally gotten back into my workouts. I have been walking pretty regularly since Cassie was born. In the past 3 weeks or so I have been walking with our friend, Marie, one or two nights a week. That has been good for all 3 of us. Marie and I both want to get in better shape, so we’re going to try to tackle it together. Our goal is to build up to a run/walk and then just run. I know it’s going to be tough, but I want to get back to my pre-pregnancy shape.

Yesterday I did my first step-aerobics class since Cassie was born. The step-aerobics portion was difficult but not nearly as difficult as I expected it to be. I was out of breath but so was everyone else. The challenging part of class was the ab work. I could do crunches just fine but once we started adding some leg lifts and lower ab moves, I really felt it. I took it easy and only did as much as I felt I could do. I am going to do the moves but I’m going to have to take it slow.

This morning was big progress for me. I went out for my first run! I don’t know if you could call it a run because it was more of a slow jog…but I’m going to call it a run. I ran 2.2 miles in a pathetic 30 minutes (but I didn’t time it…I just eyeballed it from about when I left until about when I got back) It was as fast as my incision would allow me to go without pain. By the time I reached our neighbor’s mailbox, I knew it was going to be tough. I was proud of myself for running beyond the end of our street. I made it almost to Davis Park and then walked until I reached Chestnut Ridge. From that point, I ran for a little while. By the time I reached the first mile, I didn’t really feel like I needed to walk much anymore. I probably walked every quarter mile from that point in. My sprint to the mailbox was pathetic, but I did it. I hope not too many people saw me while I was out running today because I’m sure it looked sad. My form probably stunk…but I’m just so glad that I got out there!

Here is my plan for the next few weeks:
I plan to run at least 2 days a week. I’ll be walking with Marie one or two days a week. I am going to do aerobics on Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings. If I can while I am off of work, I may also try to do one additional aerobics class during the weekdays. I’d also like to do some weights at least a couple of days per week, but we’ll see how time goes. I enjoy time with Greg and Cassie so much these days that I want to allow enough time for us to spend together.

I added a graphic on the right side of the site.  If you click on it you can add the “RSS” (Really Simple Syndication) feed of this site to either your Google homepage or the Google RSS reader.  You’ll get links to the posts on the site among other nice things.  Play around with it, I think you’ll like it.

Mike’s funeral was incredible. There were hundreds of people there including around 120 bikers. Many of the bikers brought flags with them and displayed them at the cemetary. My Uncle Dave led the procession on his motorcycle. The procession was 3.5 miles long! We had police escorts and they closed a major highway for the procession. They didn’t allow any traffic on the highway as we went through. Even people who had stopped at rest areas were not allowed back on the highway until we had passed. It was awe inspiring to see the number of people that came to show their respect for Mike’s life.

A number of people took photos. If you have any please send them to me. I would like to post a few of them.

This past Tuesday my cousin Michael Rowe was killed in Iraq. A roadside bomb detonated alongside the humvee that he was in.

I hadn’t seen Mike in a very long time. His family moved to Florida when we were young. Before he moved he and I spent many weekend afternoons sledding together at our Grandma’s house. He and I always had a good time.

I never knew Mike as an adult but it’s clear that he continued to be a great person. He joined the army because he felt a duty to do so. He died for something that he truly believed in and there’s nothing more honorable than that.

Tampa Bay’s 10 did a nice piece on Mike. You can view the video.

There are a number of articles as well:

Miami Herald.
Orlando Sentinel.
Sun Sentinel.
Tampa Bay’s 10.
Tampa Bay Live.