Sets & Spikes

It has been about 4 months since I have played volleyball at the First Trinity Lutheran Church on Niagara Falls Blvd. Tonight I was able to play. Before I arrived I was so tired from a long day at work. If if wasn't for my friend, Chris, wanting to come out and play, I may have canceled and gone to bed early.
The evening was enjoyable. I saw some old faces and met some new ones. I felt bad because my setting was not that strong. I was concerned about an injury to my left shoulder that I had gotten back in April. I did not want to re-injure the shoulder. The games were competitive. I played four games and out of the four my team lost 3 times. I was okay with it because we played hard and gave to other teams a run for their money.
Well now I am home and it is late. I have to head off to bed.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~~

Catching Up

This past Sunday, Chris, an old friend from college arrived in town to do some training. Since he lives in Atlanta he doesn't make it to Buffalo all that often. Last night we were able to meet and have some good catch up time.
Since he was in Buffalo we thought it would be good for him to try things that you find in Buffalo. Chicken Wings are a Buffalo tradition so we decided to go to Duff's on the corner of Millersport & Sheridan (especially since I did not know how to get to the Anchor Bar). I had heard Duff's had great wings and we were not disappointed. We got one of the specials that came with fries and a pitcher of beverage. I notice Loganberry was on the menu so I suggested it to Chris. He was game. He asked what it tasted like and I was unsure how to answer. We even asked the waitress and she was unsure how to answer. She was kind enough and brought Chris a glass of loganberry to try before she brought us a large pitcher of it. He liked it. Yeah!!!
The wings were hot and juicy. Both of us do not like hot & spicy foods so we ordered the BBQ. By the time we were finished eating I think we used the whole container of napkins.
All in all we had a great time.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~~

Suites, Sweets and Baseball Bats

On Monday August 18 Charles invited a group of us to share a suite at Dunn Tire Park for a Bison's game. Some of us car pooled and others just met at the stadium. The evening was cool and everyone had a great time.
Some of the highlights were:
Name that tune: A song would come on in between batters and Christopher, Charles, Karen and Sue would guess the title, group and year it came out. Then they would start singing it.
Sing that Tune: In the Getto- The woman in the suite next to ours would sing songs we requested.
Laughter at nothing= Anything little thing that took place got a laugh out of Charles.
Bisons won the game: This year the Bison's have not had a good season, so it was nice to see them win a game.
All in all the evening was a lot of fun.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~

Tennis & Swimming

Sunday on the way to church, my friend, Jenn texted to invite a group of friends to her house for a pool party in the afternoon. I was thankful that I had placed my swimsuit in the bag in hopes of the call. I called her to set up a time and plans were in motion.
The morning service at the Chapel was good. I really need to listen to it again since I felt a little off kilter from lack of sleep. (Got home late the night before) After service I met up with Brad, Ted, Kathy, Alex and Julie in the Atrium. It is always fun to fellowship with friends. Tim called to ask why I canceled our tennis game. He reminded me that I need to follow through on my commitments. I was glad for his confrontation. I do not want to be one who is known for breaking commitments. I met up with him at the tennis courts and we played for about 45 minutes. I was glad we played. However, I did feel so out of practice.
After Tim & I played I headed up to Lewiston for the pool party. It ended up that Karin, Bill & I were the only ones who came over. Jeff had plans with his family and Mark Weber was busy with a ministry in downtown Buffalo. Well, the three of us ordered a pizza and we had a veggie tray and snacks. Umm Good!
After we ate we headed into the pool. (well not immediately after eating but soon after). The water was at a nice 76 degrees. A little shocking to the body at first entering but after moving around it was comfortable. The first thing we did was make a whirlpool in an oval pool. We were trying to rouse up the dirt on the bottom of the pool so that Wanda the Whale would do her job of cleaning the pool. After the whirlpool we decided to play a competitive game of water volleyball. Jenn had pick up a volleyball net inexpensively and put it on two posts. Jenn & Bill set up the volleyball net over the pool and the games began. Two against two volleyball is a little tough but we had a lot of fun and a good amount of laughs and teasing. Bill happened to be the deciding factor on each team he played on. (Yes, each of the girls had him for a partner at least for one game) The whole afternoon was a lot of fun.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~~

YOUR DREAMS

Your Dreams

Bring your dreams to the Lord.
Release them in His Hands.
Empty your whole heart to Him,
Not only your current plans.

Delight yourself in the Lord.
Allow Him to guide your heart.
Never fear His direction,
'Cause He knows where you need to start.

Although at times this may seem hard.
Remember what He has promised.
Each time you place your trust in Him,
You will see your dreams accomplished.
12/1997 ~Tracy L. Stone

Ultimate Night of Destruction

This past Saturday I met up with Jackie, Karen, Charles, Jeff, & Karin to head out to the America's fair for the second time in four days. We were going to spend the day walking around and then in the evening go to the grandstand to watch a Bus demolition derby and some other Crazy 8 car races.
We arrived at the fair around 12:30pm and headed over to the pig & goat barns to meet up with Vince. We then went into the Cow maternity ward and were able to see a jersey cow receive an ultrasound. The veterinarian who performed the ultrasound said he does 40,000 a year. I figured it out and it averages out to be 110 ultrasounds a day. How would you like a job where you got to stick your hand and arm up a cows butt all day long? I will stick with my job of working with figures.
After the cow barn some of us went through a candy tent where a lot of the old fashioned candy was sold. Charles was just like a kid in a candy store. 0h, wait! We were in a candy store :-)
We then did a little bit more walking around the fair with a stop at the main food vendors where people got french fries, chicken pitas, chicken on a stick and other fun food. The food was delicious. At least I thought it was good.
Vince & Charles found some pink cowboy hats that they insisted they try on. Very interesting! What do you think?
At one point we passed the hot tubs and Jeff insisted that Jackie buy one. Karin got into the conversation and then the sales rep also came over and told Jackie all the finer points of owning a hot tub. The salesman was good. Jackie is mulling it over. Check back next summer.
We walked through the Ag Center and then we went and watched the Peking Acrobats. The show was a little bit different than the one I saw on Wednesday. It was the first time for some of those with me. It is always neat to see the expressions of those who have never seen the show.
Around 5:30pm Christopher & Phil met up with us. We then grabbed something to eat before entering into the Grandstand to watch the derby. How crazy is it to watch at least 6 buses try to crush one another? It was crazy. We each had our favorites.
The derby was interesting and scary at times. The bus who won made the 2nd to last bus start on fire. The guys were ecstatic with joy while the girls were screaming for the driver to get out of the bus. All in all it was a good day.
Until next time!
Blessings to You~~

Fire @ the Phillips

Friday evening after work found me visiting with Nate & Wendy Phillips at their home. The Saturday before while visiting with Kim, Nate mentioned it would be nice to have a bonfire at his house since he did not have many get togethers this summer. I said Friday sounds good and an event was created. However, I did have to organize it and it was to be a small gathering of friends.
Well, Friday came and I became a bit concerned when we had a massive downpour in Alden. I was wondering if Nate covered the wood. If not we would have a smokey fire. I need not have worried, the storm missed their area.
My sister, Cassandra and I arrived a few minutes before 7pm. Cassandra had made garlic biscuits and a good chew cookie. After 7 others began to arrive. Nate had the fire started by about 7:30 and we all made our way out to the bonfire area of the yard. Everyone brought either dessert, appetizer or chips. We had our fill of good food. Karin even brought ice cream sandwiches.
While sitting around the camp fire we just talked about current events in each of our lives. I may have fallen asleep for a little while. The day had been a long one. It was nice to be able to be comfortable with friends.
Around 11pm Mark Weber arrived after spending the day at the fair with his parents. He said he saw the entries my family had entered in the fair. He was excited for my sister, Amy. I was glad that he was impressed. (Mark I hope you are jumping for joy- you are mentioned a 2nd time in my blog)
At midnight Cassandra and I left. I was ready to fall asleep again. I was glad for the evening. Like I said before it was nice to hang with "old" friends and catch up on each others lives.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~~~

Passing Through

I notice I have a lot of traffic from different countries and even the United States visiting my blog. If you do read the blog, please comment. I would love to know where you are from and if you found the blog interesting.
Thanks for looking!
Until next time!
Blessings to you~~~
Tracy

Birthday Celebration for a Pastor

On Thursday August 14, 2008 Charity, Johnny & Rob put together a surprise birthday party for Pastor Deone (the Chapel singles pastor). Normally around this time of the year we have our annual chicken barbecue, almost knowing that Pastor Deone will not be in attendance. Charity, Johnny & Rob recruited Pat(Deone's wife) to help get him to the dinner. He had been in Virginia for a conference.
The chicken barbecue was delicious. Jim and Randy grilled the chicken while Jenny, Sylvia, Terry & Cindy all helped with the other dinner preparations. It was a nice evening of fellowship. After dinner the festivities began. We had some announcements about a missions trip fundraiser, divorce care and welcoming new people to the group. This all led into Sue getting up in the front to say she was blessed to know Pastor Deone for the past 15 years and was blessed to be able to celebrate his 50th birthday with him. At that point, Johnny, Charity, Rob, Ted & Mary Beth all came in with balloons and gifts for Pastor Deone. He was both surprised and blessed. Ted made him open a gift bag full of supplies for people getting old. Pastor Deone had a good laugh along withthe rest of us.
After the gift was opened cake and ice cream was served. It was a wonderful evening of fellowship.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~~~

Fair, Food & Fun in the Sun

Last Wednesday (Yes, I know I am a bit behind in my blogging, please forgive me) I went to the America's Fair in Hamburg New York with my family. We were suppose to leave the house by 9am but did not get out of the driveway until about 9:20am. We stopped at a NAPA store for a belt for the lawn mower. Finally we were off to the fair.
We arrived at the fair around 10:30 and headed straight for the Creative Arts building where my sisters, sister-in-law and mom all entered crafts to be judged. My sister Amy and my sister-in-law, Sara had photos that were considered for the Tri-color award in photography division of creative arts. Hurray!!!! Cassandra took a second place award for both a painted egg and a crocheted doily she made. Mom took a few seconds in different categories. Seeing the entries of others I may enter some photographs next year and maybe a few pages of my scrapbook. I will have to be reminded of my intent.
After the Creative Arts building we headed to the concession stands. I ordered my yearly favorite, a chicken pita. Ummm Good!!! Cassandra and Amy got ribboned potatoes. After we got our food we were suppose to meet our parents over by the horse corrals to see horse jumping. We decided to eat first and then headed over to the corrals.
When we arrived at the corrals the horse jumping was in full swing or should I say in full jump. We watched the horse jumping for about and hour before heading over to see the Peking Chinese acrobats performance. Even though I have seen them many times over the past six years it is always amazing to see the show again. Each show is a little bit different. I am amazed at how agile the women and men performers seem to be. It takes a lot of work to do what they do.
After the Peking acrobats we saw a break dance performance. It was a lot of fun even if it was only a short performance.
After both of those shows we walked around a little bit in the Ag center to see the different products on display this year. Sometimes it is interesting other times I would rather be doing something else.
We got dinner another chicken pita and then we were off to see the Balloon man. He put on an interesting performance. I liked most of it, but there were times when he was speaking a little bit negatively to the young children he had up on stage.
Over all it was a great day. We left the fair around 8:30 pm. I was exhausted. It was nice to be able to take a day off from work and enjoy it with my family.
Until next Time!
Blessings to you~~

Family

This past Monday night my brother, Ryan, my sister-in-law, Tammi, and my two nephews, Michael and Matthew came up from Ohio for a visit. Since I have not seen them since Easter it was nice to be able visit with them. My mom and sister, Cassandra prepared a delicious dinner and we were all able to eat outside and enjoy the nice weather we had on Monday night.
One thing that was nice about the evening was that all my family but my brother, Keith, were at the house. Would have been a great photo opportunity, but I missed it. :-(
After dinner the kids found our miniature playground. I guess it seems miniature to me because the slide, teeter totter, merri go round and kitchen sets are all too small for me to use. Matthew & Dakota (my niece) had a great time on the slide and teeter totter, while Michael had fun being swung around on the merri go round.
My brother, Jeff, decided to help move a pile of dirt over the back ledge by the pool. Dakota & Anna were able to help. They are great little helpers.
All in all it was a great evening. I am blessed to have such a great family.
Until next time!
Blessings to you~

Rain & Jousting

This past Sunday after church I headed out to the Darien State Park with my sister, Cassandra and three friends Jeff, Karin & Jenn to enjoy a work picnic. The day started out not very promising with rain clouds in the sky. I did get to see a rainbow on my way to church. That was promising!
Around 12:45pm Jeff, Karin & Jenn arrived at my house so we could head over to the park. The rain decided it wanted to stick around. It did not damper our outing.
When we arrived my fellow coworkers were all under the shelter along with a huge round jousting inflatable. The caterers were cooking the chicken on a grill to get ready for lunch while some of the kids were jumping on the jousting arena. Around 1:30 the food was ready. We all enjoyed chef salad, baked beans, pink stuff, chicken and barbecue hamburgers. All the food was delicious.
After lunch the competition began. Tina & Katie got into the jousting arena and Tina kicked some butt. It was a lot of fun watching. I just could not watch so I did get in the arena and Tina went flying.
Everyone seemed to have a good time. It was especially great to see the fathers get into the arena and joust with their sons.
Well, until next time!
Blessings to you~

Splash!

Yesterday I went with my two sisters, Cassandra and Amy to my girlfriend, Kim's house for a pool party. Kim put her invite out through Charity's list of events. If you didn't look close enough you might have missed the event. Well I saw it and I am glad I did because I had a great time.
I arrived later than I wanted to but I did not miss any of the highlights. Brad, Johnny & Charity were the first one at the house. Once I arrived and a couple others we ate subs from Wegman's plus other good foods.
After we ate (we didn't wait a half an hour) we decided it was good to go into the pool. Getting in was a challenge if you didn't want to submerge yourself right away. After a few minutes the water was comfortable. I actually tried diving off the diving board. I haven't done that in a couple years. I was not very graceful by any means. It didn't matter because I had a great time. Everyone but Nate got in the pool. I was good and only hit Jeff once with the noodle he gave me for my birthday. Brad did try to tip him off the float. After a while the wind picked up and I got cold. One by one the others got out to dry off and get warm. We even had hot cocoa in the middle of August.
Before I left a few of my friends started to play Settler's of Cattan. My sisters and I left and beat the storm that was brewing home. I was glad to be able to spend an afternoon with good friends.
Until next time!
Blessings to you!

Having a Ball!

This past Thursday I encouraged my group of friends to head back to the Transit lanes for a couple hours of bowling. Who can beat 50Cents a game! I know I can't. This week the group consisted of Jim, Phil, Karin, Jackie, John, Christopher, Jeff, Bill & me. Once again I made it to the lanes first and was able to purchase the games (actually Christopher bought the games) before everyone arrived. Once everyone arrived the games began.
Jim, Karin & Bill were on one team, while Christopher, Phil & I were on the other team. We did have two extra games to bowl so we had team members name Any1 and Any2. When those games game into play we just practiced bowled. Bill would try out his spin, while Christopher would either give Phil a hard time or have me bowl to tire out my are(since I was bowling good that night).
It was a fun evening. Jim was up to his antics again of walking in front of the camera purposefully to mess up the photo. Thanks a lot Jim! All in all everyone had a great time. I even bowled better than last week. Getting enough sleep the night before helps out greatly.
Until next time!
Blessings to you!

Sunsets

This year the clouds have been phenomenal. I have been able to take some photos while I am traveling plus when I am at home. Here are just a few. God is so AWESOME!