Happy New Year !

Marion and I spending New Year's Eve at the wedding our friend's Chris & Amy. A lot of food, drinks, and friends ... this is going to be a great night I can just feel it. I hope everyone has a happy and healthy New Year !

Getting Ready for Santa !!

The girls just spread all the reindeer food in preparation for Santa's arrival tonight. This is the last year all three girls will believe in Santa ... kind of sad ... but enjoying every minute of it ... they are soooo excited. Merry Christmas everyone !

Time to Make the Cookies !!

Marion had some help making Christmas cookies this year. With helper like these how could the cookies not be delicious !

Merry Christmas !!

Now that we finally have all of our Christmas Cards mailed out ... I can unveil the photo for our 2010 Christmas Card. Not too bad this year ... got this picture on our second try. Typically it requires a lot of cursing and about 25-30 tries at getting all 3 of the girls looking at the camera at the same time. Gotta luv the holidays !!

Another Year ... Another Tear !!

Our family tradition continues of getting a photo with one of the girls crying on Santa's lap. This year it was Maggie who did the honors. Nothing says Christmas like a screaming child.

Maggie Helping Out !

Maggie is pretty excited over the tree ... she is a big help as she keeps "taking the ornaments off the tree" to show them to the rest of the family.

In search of the perfect tree ... yet again !!

The Sokoloski's and Yurgosky's headed out on their annual Christmas Tree search. This is the first time in a long time we didn't freeze and have to slosh through snow to get our tree.

Little Full ... Lotta Sap !!

Helped our neighbors the McGrane's with their 1st Annual "Light the Tree" party. We survived not only climbing a 35 ft Christmas Tree, but also a blizzard.

A great time was had by all, as a lot more than the tree got lit.

Happy 3rd Birthday Maggie !!

Remember when 3 yr old children would sing songs from Barney ? Not our Maggie ... here she is belting out a little Ke$ha on her birthday.

Halloween 2010 !

Marion and I are ready for a night of Trick or Treating !

Columbus Day or Father's Day ??

Got confused today... Annie cutting the lawn .. thought maybe it was Father's Day instead of Columbus Day. :) Any way it was a great day to end a beautiful weekend.

Perfect Fall Day !!

Perfect day ... temps near 70 ... and not a cloud in the sky. Kids enjoyed playing in the leaves ! Wish it could stay like this until April.

Congrats to my Cheerleaders !!

Congrats to my Cheerleaders, Annie and Emily, as the Jr Chiefs Cheerleaders brought home a boat load of first and second place medals from the ACC Cheer Competition! Great Job !!

ASBDC 2010

Was in San Antonio today and presented "Helping Small Businesses Spread the Word Using Social Media" at the ASBDC 2010 Conference. ASBDC puts on a great conference ... this network is made up of some amazing people and their knowledge is unsurpassed. I always feel energized upon returning from this and it makes me realize how much I love my job and the people we help.

Back to School!

Annie & Emily heading back to school today ... and while Maggie had her backpack on and was ready to go, she is still a few years away. Best of luck on a great year !!

The Yurgosky's go to Washington !

Bob Hope once said, "I always like to go to Washington D.C. It gives me a chance to visit my money."

Well ... we took the kids on a whirlwind tour of Washington DC monuments so we could visit "our money". Of course the City of DC grabbed us for even more money buy hammering me with $200 worth of parking tickets. What a great way to encourage people to visit your city.

Spending the week with Ed & Sarah and the kids at their family's house on the Chesapeake Bay. Very relaxing atmosphere ... a little piece of heaven on earth. The views at sunset are amazing!

Fishing on Lake Onterio !

Left the confines of Newton Lake and headed north today to do a little fishing on Lake Ontario. Had a perfect day for fishing and caught a bunch of fish. Fished aboard the Maverick with Capt. Chris LoPresti and his son Christopher. Great time was had by all !!

Summer of 2010 !!

Another great summer day on the lake with the Fawcett's ... got this great photo of the girls jumping from the pontoon boat... and I also got a once in a lifetime picture of Marion holding a fish!!

She's on a Boat !

Here is Marion taking on the role of ship's captain. Just another beautiful day here on Newton Lake. The weather this summer has been amazing !

Great time... Great friends at BOS 40 !!

Had a great time out with friends last night ... while celebrating BOS 40 !! Even though we don't recover like we use to, every now and then you need to unwind. Great time was had by all !!

Summer Keeps Getting Better !!

Spent another great day on the lake with the Fawcett's ... the weather this summer has been perfect ... water temps in Newton Lake are around 80 degrees. Hot temps ... cold beer ... cool water = Great Summer !!

Sleeping Under the Stars !

Annie & Emily decided they wanted to camp out side tonight. Weather was perfect... however the 4th of July weekend here at Newton Lake sounds like the middle of a war zone with all the fireworks going off. But despite the noise we had a great night !!

What a Summer !!

Fawcett's and Yurgosky's 4th of July at Newton Lake


In what has been one of the best summers I can remember, we spent the entire day on the pontoon boat. Then went back out in the evening to watch the Newton Lake fireworks display. It was a perfect night !

P90X Before & After

Well ... I did it ... I completed P90X and I can honestly say it lives up to the hype ! Here are my before and after pics. If you follow the program and watch what you eat you will get results.

My final weight loss was 16 lbs. and I have to say it feels great ! Kudos to Beachbody CEO, Carl Daikeler for creating a great company and a great product. Also to Tony Horton... you are an inspiration!

Going to take a few weeks off and then hit it again for Round 2!!

Early start on the Lake!

Spent a gret day on the lake with the Fawcett's and the Mancuso's. This raft was a great investment... kept the kids off the boat and allowed the adults some time to relax. I hope the weather stays like this and not like last summer.

Tis the Season !!

Hit the lake this morning to do some fishing. Had a busy morning as the fish were biting. I love summer at Newton Lake !!

Time to Hit the Lake !

Memorial Day Weekend and the weather at the lake was absolutely perfect !

Water temperatures are already in the 70's, so the girls took advantage and jumped in the lake to cool off. Here is Annie jumping off the dock !

It sure feels like summer !

Marion and I got all our summer flowers planted today ... with temps in the high 80s today and not a cloud in the sky, it was a great day to be outside! I know it's only May but it sure feels like summer ! I hope this weather is just the beginning of a great summer season !

Happy Mother's Day !

I want to wish all the moms out there a Happy Mother's Day today !

Today The Scranton Times had a special column written by Joby Fawcett remembering his mom. If you have a few moments, take the time to read it.

Remembering Mom on Mother's Day

There are times when I can still hear her voice. The echoing sound of encouragement from her frail and weakened body came through loud and clear as she sat beneath an umbrella even when there was no rain.

As the finish line grew closer, her words sounded stronger. And even as it hurt, she rose to her feet.

Soon after, to her delight, I would point to her location, and her smile was my greatest award.
Mother's Day is always special. It's a day to recognize the most wonderful people in our lives.
Today, I will visit my mother, Jean Fawcett. I will offer a casual hello, gaze up to the heavens, and put my hands on my daughters' shoulders as they ask questions about their grandmother.
My answer always begins with her being the greatest, most loving person in the world.
I will remember how she would somehow, against all odds, get to Lakeland Stadium to watch me and my brother play football or run track. Or to see my sister cheer.

See, in her life, that was a victory. Because the only thing that could conquer her will was the devastating and debilitating effects of Lupus.

I will continue to tell my two daughters how much she loved her children and how much she loved sports. There were days, oh yeah, there were days when I just simply didn't like to go to practice.

There were many days when running 400-meter sprints for a workout, honestly, weren't fun. In fact, they hurt.

"Hey, running track is supposed to hurt," she'd tell me.
There were days when losing wasn't much fun either. I'd put my head down and pout. And rather than comfort and offer compassion, mom would look me straight in the eyes and tell me to "work harder."

Then came the love.

"Losing is all right," she'd stress, "but accepting defeat is not."
It hadn't occured to me then, that those where the words she told herself with each passing day.
All I needed to do was to watch her at a dialysis appointment, come home, drained of what little bit of energy she had left, her shining hair falling out in clumps, a rash covering but not hiding her movie-star looks, and yet she still insisted on cooking dinner.

That was where I learned about competing, and the value of life.
My battles on the football field and on the track paled in comparison to what she and millions of moms battle with when their health is put at risk.

But in mom's mind, it was all that mattered. That's what I'll tell my daughters as we touch her grave, and celebrate her day.

So athletes across our region, remember your moms today and forget about wins and losses.
Lavish her with flowers. Take her to brunch.Thank her for all she has done, from changing diapers, to wiping your nose, to patting you on the back or kicking you in the behind.
But most of all, if you can, give her a hug.

Because there are many, like me, who will wish they could today.
Contact the writer: jbfawcett@timesshamrock.com

Great job Joby ... I know your mom is smiling today !

Corky's 2010

Emily's softball season is again in full swing. Here is hoping for a great season. We have a great bunch of girls and look forward to a fun season. I know by June I will be wishing the season was over but for now we are going to have a great time!!

P90X - Half Way There !!

Reached the 1/2 way point of P90X ... Day 45 ! It's been a pretty good ride so far. I really enjoy the program. I weighed in at 158 this morning, so I have already surpassed my goal of getting to 160 lbs. Even had a couple of people ask me if I had lost weight ... woo hoo !

Looking forward to the second half of this program. Wish I could get Marion to share my enthusiasm :(

P90X Four Weeks Down - Nine Weeks To Go !!

Marion and I completed our 4th week of P90X. Not sure I could really consider this past week a "recovery week", it was just as gruelling as weeks 1-3.

While I did not follow the P90X advice to take measurements when I started.( now kind of wish I did ). I can tell my waist is a few inches less than when I started. I am now pulling my belt 2 inches more than I did fefore I started, and I think I am noticing more definition in my abs, shoulders and arms, although that might be in my head.

Also, I am down 10 lbs. which feels great. I honestly do not want to lose anymore weight, and for that reason I think I am going to switch from the Lean to the Classic program for Phase #2.

P90X Yoga ... Again

Did the P90X Yoga tonight ... I have to admit I am doing much better at it then when I started. I still find it somewhat repetitive and boring. However as I learn the positions I don't have to keep stopping to look up at the screen to see what Tony Horton is doing. That makes it much easier and obviously more beneficial. Some of the stretches at the end of the program are awesome.

So on to Core Synergistics tomorrow as I work through my "recovery" week. I hope everyone has a great week !

P90X 3 weeks completed !

Finished our 3rd week of P90X ... did Kenpo today ... what a workout! I was dripping in sweat. Went off the diet tonight ... rewarded ourselves with a little chicken parm.

Considering we hadn't done any sort of exercise in approx 20 years ... we felt we needed to treat ourselves for working out everyday for the last 3 weeks.

Back at it tomorrow with the recovery week. I am really noticing a difference in my abs ... I can't believe the changes come so quickly. Kudos to Tony Horton and Beachbody Team ... they really have developed a great program !

March 22 - 170 lbs

April 11 - 164 lbs

Motivation

Anyone looking for motivation to continue working out ... here it is. Obviously much better to have muscle than fat . That photo grosses me out. In my 3rd week of P90X and while I haven't lost any weight ( not actually trying to ) I do feel a lot better and I think I am already seeing results. ( not feeling as flabby ). So even though I am still pretty sore I am going to push on through and see where this takes me.

"Pain is just weakness leaving your body"

I saw this quote, "Pain is just weakness leaving your body", and I thought how fitting it is for Marion and I as we are working through P90X. After doing the Legs & Back workout we are both experiencing a lot of weakness leaving our bodies. Two days and numerous Motrin's later and we are still sore. Obviously that is not an area we have exercised in a long long time.

Two weeks down .. and we are still alive !

The world lost a good man :(

I have a heavy heart today :(

Just found out my good friend Frank Sylvester was killed last night in a motorcycle accident. Frank was one of those guys you could always count on if you needed him. I am pretty sure he had no idea how many friends he had and how much he will be missed.
















So to my friend Frankie, I say "Salute" ! Never again will I drink a glass of homemade wine without thinking of you!

P90X - One week down !

Well.. finished week 1 of P90X ... its hard ... considering I haven't done any sort of physical activity in years. I have to say my wife makes a pretty good work out partner. Married 14+ years and I learned something new ! ha ha !

Hopefully early to bed tonight and rest these aching muscles !

Yoga

OK... I gotta tell you I got very bored with the P90X Yoga. It could use something to break it up in the middle ... I was ready to start shooting the Warriors and upward and downward dogs.

I am not saying it doesn't work ... just saying it bored the hell out of me.

P90X

OK ... After realizing I am getting seriously old I have decided I need to try one last attempt at getting back in shape. I also realize there is no short cut here, the only way to change is through hard work. So like millions of others I am going to try P90X. Everyone I have talked to said it is brutal. That is what I need ... somebody to kick my ass. Tony Horton you get to be that guy. I am not doing this to lose weight as I am currently at 170 lbs, I just need to get healthy.

So here I go ! Wish me luck !

Buried !!!

Well it seems like it has finally stopped snowing. This storm really lived up to the hype... as of 9 pm last night I was totally shoveled out and this morning there seemed to be another 18 inches. Although the wind is so strong its hard to tell exactly how much snow we got. The drifting is amazing.

I am totally shocked we never lost power. Typically if somebody sneezes here in Greenfield Twp. our power goes out.

Storm of the Century !!

Forcasters are calling this the "Storm of the Century" or a Hurricane with snow ... a Snowicane !! Regardless ... the kids enjoyed the day off from school. Spent a great day hanging out with friends and being snowbound. One of the nice things about living at Newton Lake is the close proximity to our friends... being snowbound really isn't too bad.

Soprassata Saturday !!

First for me today ... assisted in the making of soprassata ... never realized how involved the whole process is. But it was a great time and hopefully in a couple months we'll find out if all of our work was worth it!