I'm the webmaster

1968, that's where it all started for me.

Born in a small town in Indiana, I experienced life in the Hoosier state until the ripe age of 10 when my family moved to Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes.

I guess you could say I have the traditional nuclear family (sans the dog) - mom, dad, sis, and me. I also have two half-sisters (but we tend to skip the 'half' thing) who reside in the Ohio river valley along with my two awesome nephews. Most recently, my sister and her husband welcomed their first child, my niece, Sarah, into the world. Sarah is a gorgeous little girl and we all feel very blessed to have her in our lives.

Meet Laura

An incredibly intelligent woman with a dazzling smile, big heart, bigger dreams, and the ability to make me laugh out loud. How did I get this lucky?

Laura is much more than my girlfriend. We have a true connection that I can't explain - she just 'gets' me and I 'get' her. We truly appreciate all the little things that make us what we are. Our big difference? I'm a morning person and she catches her second wind around 9:00 p.m. Hey, whatever works.

Geekdom

Honest to God, really, I'm not a geek. I'm a geek wannabe. Seriously. I love this web, graphic, and multimedia stuff and you can find me at my computer on most nights either learning something new or visiting a cool website as a 'reality' show blares on the TV hanging on the wall next to me.

Am I code jockey? No. Am I a problem-solver? Yes. While I've always been right-brained (I started drawing as soon as I could control a pencil), I'm also very practical, which led me to my college degrees in both business administration and marketing (go figure). When it comes to web sites, designing is where my heart is, however programming is a necessary part of it, so I find tools that assist me and speed up the development time. Understanding code and how it works is essential, reinventing the wheel is not. Using tools and editing code to meet my needs is how I solve problems.

Fitness

December 1999 I was at my heaviest - I weighed 265 pounds. My life was full of fast food, sugar-loaded drinks, personal unhappiness, and inactivity. During the holiday season of 1999, I made a decision to change my lifestyle, lose the weight, and improve my quality of life. My transformation was far from being extraordinary, but just an example of what can be accomplished if you make a commitment and follow through. The key to making a lifestyle change is giving yourself the tools to be successful - and that includes taking the time to plan your routine, your food, your activity level. It won't 'just happen', you need to put forth the effort, make a plan, and live that plan. Even today, I continually adjust my routine and do my best to lead a balanced life which can be very challenging. Fitness is about more than being in shape and looking good. Surprisingly, it has more to do with your mental well-being and finding balance. As you can tell, I can go on and on about this for days - it's something I am passionate about.

Golf

I've been putzing around with golf for a little over four years - just golfing with some friends, hitting balls on the driving range, with no expectations at all. Only the hope that I could hit the ball. My, how things change.

In 2006 I invested in my first set of new clubs (I had been using an old set purchased from a buddy of mine) and picked up a sweet PING G2 driver and 3 wood. What a difference! The new clubs got quite a workout last year between the driving range and courses Laura and I played. That first year alone I played a few different courses in the metro area, up north on the Iron Range, near Laura's hometown in Iowa, and even Scottsdale, Arizona.

For me, that summer was about the basics. Fundamentals. Etiquette. Keeping my head down.

2007 was more about control. Letting the club do the work. Swinging through the ball and putting it where I want it. Kinda.

2008 is about consistency. Concentrating more on form than being overwhemled by the shot. Being more competitive. Patient. And having much more fun.

Golf is a game of love. Even when you suck and nothing is going your way, you stick with it. Why? Because when it's good, it's really good. And even if you only have one nice drive or one great putt in the entire round, it's those moments that bring you back because you know it's possible.