Anthony P. Richards (APR)

I love my job.

Tonight I met with a young couple that I am going to marry in October this year. It was exciting to talk with them and be a part of the plans for their big day. I have to say it is one area of my new occupation that I absolutely love. As a minister you get to be with people through their highs and lows and it doesn't get much higher than your wedding day (OK the birth of your children are up there too). So I feel very blessed that I get to play a part in this 'high' of their lives. I know it will help me be there for them through the eventual lows but right now it's fun to focus on the upcoming high.

Mummy's birthday weekend Pt 2

First thing this morning Mandy got a phone from Australia from one of her best friends, Shazza. It was a lot of fun for Mandy as we then did a webcam with Lee & Shazza (pictured below) whilst Mandy opened some more presents. It was great for Mandy to share this time with a special friend. Then we went to Mandy's favourite birthday restaurant - Northcoast at Wayzata right on the water. It's not just a great location, the food is absolutely fantastic and the prices are very reasonable. The gi-normous cinnamon roll is complimentary (that is, free) and kids eat free as long as 1 adult orders a main. So Mandy had the crepes (no she didn't eat them all.... I did), I had the Eggs Benedict and Emma had the chocolate pancakes. Then we went for  a walk around the marina, did some 'boat dreaming' then played on the beach (well, as close as we're going to get to a beach in Minnesota). So now I'm at home with George watching Greg Norman vying to become the oldest person ever to win a major golf tournament at 53 yo (right now he's the oldest person ever to be leading a major after 54 holes) whilst Mandy and Emma are getting pedicures and manicures. I think mummy has had a pretty good birthday weekend don't you?

 

Mummy's birthday weekend Pt1

Today is Mandys birthday but we actually started celebrations last night and then will be continuing on this morning...lucky Mandy hey! Last night we went to Maccaroni Grill with Mandy's sister Jacqui, her husband Rick and their youngest son, Jack. Then we went on a beautiful walk through Centennial Lakes which is where the in-laws have bought a condo and will be residing on future trips to MN...go Jannie, great place. It really is a beautiful place and I know they will really look forward to living there, stacks of things to do with the grandkids too. So, that was last night, stay tuned for this mornings events.

Simon, I can't believe you've let me down!

We lead a pretty busy life in the Richards household with Mandy & I both working full time. One area of household life that has been streamlined for us for the past couple of years has been grocery shopping which we do online through Simon Delivers. Well today we got an email that they are going out of business and I had a slightly mild panic attack. Where are we going to find the time to add a few hours a week scouring supermarket aisles for items we want and ending up with stuff we don't really need? So I checked online and found that Lunds and Byerlys is the only other grocery delivery service, to which I thought 'Great, the only place that can deliever now is THE most expensive supermarket in Minnesota!' So, is there a cheaper alternative or is the rocketing price of gasoline in the US now affecting everything? Will pizza delivery still be available? Will Jimmy Johns still deliver?  Milio's? Where will it end? BTW, we don't mind paying a small premium for the convenience.

Don't fall for the trap!

Today, I re-learned two life lessons - when you find a good thing, don't overdo it cos you'll pay a price; and when you find a good thing, don't try something new. Yesterday I went to a new panini place for lunch with some guys from work and had the best panini I'd ever had (see photo). So today we all decided to go back there again as it was so awesome. Mistake No2 was not ordering the same thing I had yesterday. No, I tried to branch out and try something new. Bad mistake. I ended up forming a way closer relationship with the bathroom this afternoon than I ever intended to (you'll be pleased I have not attached a photo of this). So now instead of reminiscing about the wonderful memory of yesterday's lunch I am left with the bitter memory of my poorly spent afternoon today. Why do we do these things to ourselves? This is truly a mystery of life.

Do you always win at golf daddy?

That was the question Emma asked me on the weekend out of the blue. I responded "Sometimes." She said "I think I'd like to win at golf and to win I know I have to practise and to practise I need some golf clubs, and they would need to be pink, so will you buy me pink golf clubs daddy?" I was so gobsmacked I just went out and bought the clubs. Gobsmacked because I have never talked to Emma about golf, she just knows I have played a couple of times in the past few weeks. Turns out she saw Natalie Gulbis play in the final round of teh US Womens Open a couple of weeks ago, wearing all pink and playing with pink clubs and pink balls. Natalie is referred to as the "pink golf girl." Since buying the clubs we have been out practising every night on the front lawn and I am so stoked my daughter wants to play golf with me. Interesting fact: did you know that one of the most under-utilised college scholarships for women in the US are golf scholarships?

Old Friends

This past weekend Mandy re-connected with one of her best friends from High School. For those of you who don't know Mandy actually completed her final 3 years of High School at Minnehaha Academy in Minneapolis whilst her family was here on a work posting from Oz. It was pretty cool because Mandy found out that Ellen is living less than a mile from where we live now so the old friends are actually neighbours also. What is even more remarkable is that Ellen has just arrived back from Cape Town Sth Africa after living there for 8 yrs running a Youth non-profit Africa Jam so the timing is perfect. It is just another way that God has shown us that the world is a small place to Him. It was fun reunion and we even webcam'd with Mandy's mum in Australia (see Nancy, webcams again!).

My first wedding

Yesterday I had the privilege of performing my first wedding as a credentialled Minister in the State of Minnesota. It was for Tom and Patti Borgerding who were a couple I met when they attended the Alpha course at River Valley Church. It was an honour for me to meet them, share the excitement of their engagement and then perform their wedding. What made the ceremony yesterday extra special was the location. It was on a rocky outcrop on the North Shore of Lake Superior and it was an absolutely stunning setting. The wind was blowing, the waves were crashing just inches behind me and I thought it was fantastic that I got to do a wedding like this for my first one when other Ministers may go their whole lives without performing a wedding in such a wonderful location. Can you tell I just loved it. Congratulations Tom and Patti! Oh, and the food matched the setting...awesome.

Webcam Wow!

Pretty close to every day we talk to the grandparents in Australia on webcam through skype. It's a great way for us to stay in touch and for Emma and George to build relationships with them every day even though their grandparents live nearly 10,000 miles away. I think it's cool how Emma and George will grow up with this being 'normal' and will ask me later on 'What was it like when you didn't have the internet?' and I'll tell them about how we used to 'write' letters. I wonder what Emma's children will say to her..."It used to take 30 hours to get to Australia, you're kidding right."

Freak me out, how awesome is this! What is the secret of success?

Tonight Dara Torres qualified as the fastest 100 meters freestyle swimmer in the USA for the Beijing Olympics. Why is this awesome? Because she's 41 and her first Olympics was in Los Angeles in 1984! She didn't just qualify for the team relay, she actually came first and beat girls who weren't even born when she competed in 1984. I was so excited I jumped and yelled 'YES!' when she hit the wall first. It just seems like a huge accomplishment. When she was interviewed poolside after the race a reporter asked her, as if hoping to unveil some secret, how did she do it. Her answer was almost disappointing but obvious and so true - 'hard work and perseverence'. What a role model. We always want to know a secret to success but the secret isn't really a secret. Benjamin Disraeli said, in what is my favourite all-time quote, "The secret of success is constancy of purpose." Dara just proved it. Well done Dara.