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By now, you have probably heard and/or seen these two words on television or in advertisements: “gluten free.”  We are bombarded with advertising about everything that is gluten free.  I have known about these two words for approximately 17 years.  I first discovered this big bad word, gluten, when my cousin was also diagnosed with celiac disease a few years prior to my diagnosis in December of 2000. You can be diagnosed via a blood test called the TTG Antibody Test. If that test is positive–that is, if the results are abnormal or elevated—then you should also have a procedure described as an upper endoscopy performed to officially diagnose this disease.  The upper endoscopy consists of a scope that is inserted down your throat; you are sedated of course, so you do not feel anything.  This allows the doctor to obtain a sample of your small intestine to be biopsied to verify the celiac disease diagnosis. Gluten is found in grains such as wheat, barley and rye which makes gluten in a plethora of different foods.  The advertising community is now inundating us with “GLUTEN FREE” packaging.  For example, Rice Chex & Corn Chex cereals are gluten free, hence the names rice and corn.  The packaging is now marked with very large lettering stating that they are GLUTEN FREE – SEE BELOW.  I guess that is good marketing!! In general, you need to avoid the following foods or drinks:  beer, bread, cake, pie, some candy, some cereal, communion wafers, cookies, crackers, croutons, gravies, imitation seafood, matzo, pastas, processed luncheon meats, salad dressings, sauces, including soy sauce, seasoned rice mixes, seasoned snack foods, such as potato and tortilla chips, self-basting poultry, soups and soup bases and vegetables in sauce, unless any of these are labeled as GLUTEN-FREE. Just be DILIGENT and always check under the INGREDIENTS to see if the first ingredient is wheat, barley or rye.  If the first ingredient is corn, rice or other gluten-free grain, YOU ARE SAFE. If you accidentally eat a product that contains gluten, you may experience abdominal pain, diarrhea, etc. There are some people who experience no signs or symptoms after eating gluten, but this doesn't mean it's not damaging their small intestines. Even trace amounts of gluten in your diet may be damaging, whether or not they cause symptoms.  In some cases, if left untreated, people with celiac disease can develop other autoimmune diseases, osteoporosis, thyroid disease and cancer. One of the risks with celiac disease is that your body is not absorbing nutrients from the food you consume.   If you have celiac disease and follow a gluten-free diet, you may have lower levels of certain vitamins and nutrients.  Ask your dietitian to review your diet to see that you're getting enough of these key nutrients: iron, calcium, fiber, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin and folate. Some people have what is called non-celiac gluten sensitivity. People with non-celiac gluten sensitivity may benefit from a gluten-free diet-it is just trial and error for them.

For most of us, it’s hard to imagine a more horrific crime than child abuse. It is truly sad that over the past few months, we have had to hear about young children--infants in some cases-- who were seriously injured or killed by parents who abused them.  We read of the mother who sold her 11 year-old daughter for drug money.  We heard of the boyfriend who beat a crying infant to death.  As a parent, I have felt that instinct to protect my children at all costs, regardless of the circumstances.  I think that instinct is what caused me to devote a significant portion of my legal career to the representation of abused and neglected children.  It is also what drives me to do whatever I can to help reduce the instances of child abuse in West Virginia. In 2013, I became a member of the Board of Directors of the West Virginia Child Advocacy Network, otherwise known as WVCAN.  WVCAN is an alliance of all local Child Advocacy Centers (CACs) in West Virginia.  CACs are dedicated to helping local communities respond to allegations of child abuse in ways that are effective and efficient—and which put the protection of the child victims first.  In order to understand the importance of WVCAN and the CACs throughout our state, you have to first understand the concept behind the CAC model. CACs, which exist throughout the country, are designed to fundamentally change the way communities respond to child abuse.  At its core, the model is about teamwork—bringing the agency professionals involved in a case together at the outset.  Prior to the creation of CACs, a child who had been victimized would first have to tell his/her story to a parent or trusted adult, who would usually report the matter to law enforcement.  The investigating officer would interview the child, and report his findings to a prosecutor.  The prosecutor would then interview the child again, and pass along his findings to the welfare department, who would interview the child again. . . .   I think you can see the problem.  The old system required the child to re-live the nightmare sometimes four, five times or more, which served no purpose other than to perpetuate the harm.  Under the CAC model, all of the interested parties are brought together at the outset.  Law enforcement, prosecutors, child protective service workers, therapists, etc. are all a part of the process from the beginning.  An interviewer with extensive training in dealing with abused children conducts an interview which is recorded and transcribed, and which provides the basis for all that comes next, from therapy for the victim to prosecution of the offender.  The result is effective, efficient, child-centered casework.  Fortunately for residents of the Ohio Valley, we have one of the most efficient CACs in the state right here:  Harmony House Children’s Advocacy Center in Wheeling. Last year, CACs in West Virginia provided services to nearly 2,900 children who were alleged victims of child abuse.  75 percent of those cases involved sexual abuse, while the remaining cases consisted of physical abuse, witness to violence, drug endangerment, and psychological abuse.  The estimated lifetime cost of treatment and services to a single victim of child abuse is $210,012.00.  A recent study revealed that annual medical costs for victims of child abuse in that year amounted to $43,178.00 per victim. Take a minute to do that math, and the lifetime cost of child abuse becomes absolutely staggering. WVCAN and its CACs strive to restore the lives of abused children by preventing the abuse from happening to begin with.  When a CAC intervenes early and effectively, we help to break the cycle of abuse by protecting the child victim, other children, and generations of children to come.  Our success stories are many, and our growth rate is impressive.  When WVCAN began in 2006, there were a total of two nationally-accredited CACs in our state.  Today, there are 21, serving both rural communities and major cities.  Over the past five years, we have seen a 60 percent increase in the number of children we have served.  The model is working. If you would like further information on WVCAN, Harmony House, or any of the other CACs throughout West Virginia, feel free to contact me through our firm’s website.  I would be happy to answer any questions you might have.

It’s strange how a story can actually become a little too familiar. We have the outline of the story committed to memory and sooner or later it’s reduced to nothing more than a series of people, places and things.  We lose touch with the heart of the story.  With the real life emotions that lie behind the story and make it so powerful. I think that’s what happens with the Easter story.  We know the cast of characters--Jesus, the disciples, even Pilate, Caiaphas and the crowd of mockers.  We remember how the story moves from the Passover, to the cross, and finally to the empty tomb.  But we forget how those three fateful days impacted the disciples and changed their lives forever. Thursday was a day full of doubts and questions.  The disciples gathered with Jesus in the upper room, expecting to enjoy the Passover meal together.  Instead, Jesus said that one of them--one of his closest friends--would betray him.  Then he shocked them by saying that he was going away and that none of them could follow.  How the questions must have filled their hearts!  Peter tried to show off his faith, only to be told that he would actually deny Jesus three times before the sun rose the next morning.  Then off they went to the garden, where Jesus prayed fervently while the disciples slept.  Jesus woke them up, only to announce that a detachment of temple guards had come to arrest him.  Utterly panicked and afraid, the disciples ran off into the night. Friday was a day of broken hearts and shattered dreams.  Jesus was beaten, whipped and crucified.  The one who claimed to be the promised messiah was hanging on a cross--cursed, mocked and humiliated.  Then he died, and a Roman soldier drove a spear into his heart to prove it.  Jesus was dead.  There was no denying it.  And for the disciples, all of their hopes and dreams died with him.  There would be no more teaching.  No more miracles.  There would be no messiah righting wrongs and restoring the glory and honor of God’s people.  There was just a dead man and a tomb. The Bible says nothing about Saturday.  That seems very fitting to me.  I imagine the disciples felt nothing but numbness after everything that had happened.  Numb from grief.  Numb from shock and worry.  Numb from fear.  I see them huddled together behind a closed door, locked for their safety.  I hear weeping and wailing.  Their lives had been transformed in an instant.  Only a few days before they had been sitting under the teaching of Israel’s greatest teacher.  Sharing his life.  Following in his footsteps.  Now there was nothing… But thank God for Sunday! It was on Sunday that Jesus fulfilled the scriptures by rising from the dead--literally, bodily and with witnesses to confirm it.  Jesus was alive!  Their hopes and dreams were alive!  The tomb that only yesterday had stood as a symbol of death and despondency was now a symbol of life, hope and endless joy.  The risen Jesus not only filled them with a sense of hope and wonder, he also charted a new path for their lives.  In barely a month and a half the Holy Spirit would come, empowering them to proclaim the risen Jesus to the world.  In the beginning, they were nothing but fisherman.  Then they were followers learning at the feet of Jesus.  Now they were full-fledged missionaries, sharing the story of their Lord’s life, death and resurrection and the hope that only he can bring. I pray that Easter will be as meaningful and life changing for you this year as it was for the disciples 2000 years ago. Thank God for Sunday!

As a child, I always thought that the Easter Bunny was somewhat creepy. Aside from him being much larger than the average bunny, bunnies do not lay eggs. Also, I always imagined the Easter Bunny being male.  I guess I equate this to the bowtie and vest he sports much of the time. So, since the Easter Bunny is male (I think) it makes it even more unlikely that he hops around laying colorful eggs.  Of course, as I grew older and wiser, some of those questions were answered.  However, I find myself asking this question—what is the association between the egg laying Easter Bunny and the holiday itself? With my curiosity getting the better of me, I went in search for the answer to my question.  What I found was that spring festivals were celebrated within the pagan culture.  One of the most popular festivals being held in honor of Eostre, an Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and fertility ( and where Easter eventually derives its name).  The spring goddess, Eostre, was linked to the hare and the egg which are both symbols of fertility; the hare because of its known ability to reproduce in vast quantities and the egg—a symbol of life.  Eostre was solely responsible for bringing in the spring season each year.  Apparently, one year she was late and in order to make up for not being on time, she found an injured bird who could no longer fly and transformed the bird into a hare.  However, in its transformation from bird to hare, it had not lost its ability to lay eggs—thus, the emergence of the egg-laying hare. In the 1700s, German immigrants brought the tale of the hare—known to them as Oschter Haws—to America.  As Christianity spread, the Oschter Haw, Americanized its name to the Easter Bunny, became a part of their Easter celebration.  As for the egg—according to an article in The Digitial Universe, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah (01-2015), it is the Christian belief that the egg is a symbol for renewal and rebirth that ties back to Christ’s resurrection.  The egg itself is a representation of the tomb which is evidenced by its shell.  Cracked, it imitates the resurrection of Christ and his emergence from his resting place.  It also mentions that the tradition of rolling eggs represents the rolling away of the stone covering Jesus’ tomb. I am sure there are many other tales as to how the infamous egg-laying bunny emerged but I found this one interesting.

Almost a quarter century ago, the Autism Society “launched a nationwide effort to promote autism awareness, inclusion and self-determination for all, and assure that each person with ASD is provided the opportunity to achieve the highest possible quality of life.” Autism is a topic close to my heart for many reasons, and I have been blessed to be able to watch a family member grow up with autism and blossom into an outstanding young man. Instead of focusing on the spectrum or other aspects associated with autism, I want to focus on the amazing accomplishments of my younger cousin who has autism, the blessing he has been in my life and reflect on the mission of the Autism Society and National Autism Awareness Month. It was just last night that I was talking with my mother about the fact that my younger cousin was accepted into a local community college where he will start taking classes next fall, after he graduates from high school.  While this may not seem like a big deal to some people, to his parents, my mother and myself, this is an amazing accomplishment and yet another example of the great things someone with autism can accomplish if given the opportunity. From the time my cousin was born, his parents were determined to treat him the same way they treated their other children.  While there has obviously been challenges, they wanted him to have as normal of a childhood as possible and, because of their efforts, he has gone on to achieve much more than anyone could have ever imagined.  His family’s drive for him to succeed, combined with his own effort and determination, has allowed him to take classes with the rest of the students in high school and become successful within those classes. Many times people with autism struggle socially or in other specific aspects, but can be very intelligent in others.  However, if they are not given the opportunity to succeed, their talents may never be noticed or developed. Moreover, at least in my experience, autistic people become focused on specific subjects and, despite their limitations in other aspects, become incredibly intelligent within the areas they focus on.  For my cousin, his focus has been on trains since he was a young boy and a train conductor would be amazed at his knowledge.  Even at a young age, he would walk up to me and start analyzing the type of train that he was playing with, how the engine worked, when it was made, the type of cargo it would normally carry and many other details that I did not expect a child of his age to know or understand.  As he has grown older, he has expanded his knowledge into many different areas. Despite his accomplishments in the classroom, the most impressive aspect of my younger cousin is his love for life and genuine care for other people.  During his childhood, he had to undergo many operations due to various issues with his health, but, if you ever talked with him, you would never realize the challenges he has gone through.  Both of my cousin’s younger brothers have been successful in sports and many other areas that he was not able to participate in growing up.  This would lead many people to become angry or jealous; however, my cousin is the exact opposite, he is genuinely proud of his family’s accomplishments and loves and cares in a way that is rare in this day and age where many people are too focused on what is in it for themselves. The autism society has the goal of raising awareness, funds and support for people with autism and their families.  Without organizations like this, many people with autism may not be able to showcase their unique personalities and abilities to the world.  Autism Awareness uses a ribbon with a puzzle pattern as their logo to reflect the mystery and complexity of the autism spectrum.  The different colors and shapes represent the diversity of the people and families autism effects, while the brightness of the ribbon signals hope—hope that people with autism will live fuller and more complete lives through the increased awareness of autism, which could lead to early intervention and appropriate treatment. Autism Awareness ribbons can be purchased online at: http://www.autism-society.org/about-the-autism-society/history/autism-awareness-ribbon/. Moreover, the website outlines many other areas where people can help by donating their time to the cause.

In the United States we value our rights established in our Constitution. We value our First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and freedom of religion. We value our Second Amendment rights, our right to keep and bear arms. We hope we never have to use our Fifth Amendment rights, like the privilege against self-incrimination, or the “right to remain silent,” but we value that right. The right that doesn’t get as much attention is our Seventh Amendment right. The Seventh Amendment includes our right to trial by jury. The right to trial by jury was just as important to our Founding Fathers in the original structure of our Constitution as these other rights. Before trial by jury was an established right, the King of England, or other government officials, could hold summary trials that were favorable to the government and against the rights of the people. The Seventh Amendment changes that. It establishes that in our civil and criminal courts, citizens should be the finders of fact and the key decision makers, rather than being judged by a bureaucrat, official, or a servant of the King. We as Americans, have the right to be judged by one another. Our Seventh Amendment right is under persistent attack. It turns out that not just the King, but other powerful interests, don’t like being judged by citizens. They prefer to be judged by someone that they pick, that they influence, or that they control. We see this sort of thing all the time when cases are forced into arbitration at the behest of wealthy corporations that write contracts favorably to them as a method for taking away your right to a jury trial. We also see it when laws attempt to prejudge cases by trying to decide for the jury in advance what is a fair and just penalty for a wrongdoer. People go back and forth debating the wisdom of these types of laws or the utility of arbitration, but that really isn’t the issue. The point is these laws are unconstitutional. They impinge on the right to trial by jury, as established in our West Virginia and United States Constitutions. Unless and until we decide to change that Constitution, that should be answer enough as to why some laws are not being enforced.

I came across a new study recently that suggest that sugar hidden in junk food is eight times more addictive than cocaine. A separate study ranked the top five most addictive foods as ice cream, chips, chocolate, cookies and pizza. Pizza was actually ranked at the top of the addiction list, due largely to the amount of sugar added to the pizza sauce, with one slice having more sugar, on average, than an Oreo cookie. That made me recall another article I read a while back suggesting that Oreos have a chemical reaction in the brain similar to opiate drugs. I suddenly realized I was seeing a trend. Food “addiction” has been a somewhat controversial subject over the last few years, but seeing these recent studies has only reinforced what I have recently discovered over the course of the last couple months, namely that I am an addict. A sugar and junk food addict. I learned a great deal about myself and my relationship with food over the past couple months and gained a new perspective on eating and its effect on my health.  I have had plenty of interest in health and healthy eating over the years and have tried tons of different plans at various times (Zone, Body for Life, Schwarzbein Principle, Weight Watchers, etc.), but inevitably I would always return to my old ways, which basically meant I would eat and drink whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted it.  Stress eating?  Check. Celebratory eating? Check. Down in the dumps eating?  Check.  Late night pop and chips 5-7 nights a week?  Check.  Eating junk food because I just happened to pass by it?  Check. Eating fast food every day for weeks on end?  Check.  Whether ignorant or living in denial, I never really appreciated that my relationship with food contained many hallmarks of addictive behavior.  I thought addiction was reserved for drugs and alcohol, but this winter I came to realize that there was very little difference between my behavior and relationships with food and that of someone struggling with addiction to those substances. So how did I come to this realization?  By giving it all up - for 30 days.  I’d like to say this was a conscious decision on my part, a concerted and focused effort to take back control over my health and well-being. But the truth is that I owe this newfound realization entirely to my wife, Jessica, who decided to start a program called Whole 30 If you’re a guy like I, you eat what your wife makes, so I was sort of unwittingly dragged into this Whole 30 journey with the option to either eat whole foods or starve. Whole 30 is a program set out in a book called It Starts With Food written by physical therapists Dallas and Melissa Hartwig, who is also a certified nutritionist.  The Hartwigs’ underlying philosophy is that what we put into our bodies is either nourishing or harmful, and the Whole 30 directive is to consume only nutrient-rich, nourishing food for 30 days. In the Whole 30 world, sugar is known as “The Dragon” and the program is designed, in part, to allow us to gain control over sugar-cravings. By eating Whole 30, we reduce chronic inflammation, hormonal imbalance, autoimmune disorder, and thereby greatly reduce our incidence of chronic disease and food-driven malaise.  Whole 30 is not a weight loss program, although weight loss is a side effect of the program.  While the book goes into great detail about the reasons for eating the foods recommended and avoiding those that are not, in a nutshell, the program requires you to quit sugar, grains, dairy, legumes (i.e. beans, peanuts, etc.), alcohol and all processed foods for 30 days.  There is absolutely no cheating allowed.  If you have a bite of an Oreo, a sip of pop or a nibble on a piece of cheese, you have to start all over. Cold Turkey is the only way to go on Whole 30. After 30 days, you begin to add legumes, grains and dairy back into your diet under certain guidelines in order to determine your particular sensitivity to these food categories, so you can eat accordingly moving forward after completing Whole 30.  So for 30 days my wife and I ate some combination of meat, eggs, vegetables, some fruit, certain nuts and lots of healthy fats (i.e. avocado, coconut, olive oil, ghee, etc.) for every meal. Now, please appreciate that going into this, it was simply inconceivable to me that I would be able to give up all the foods that I absolutely loved.  No DiCarlos?  No Figaretti’s? No Golden Chopsticks?  No Mountain Dew?!?! Are you kidding me?  Yeah right! If I can’t have those things, what’s the point of life?  That lifestyle was never going to be practically feasible for me. In fact, the first thing I said on Day One was, “I just can't comprehend the fact that I can never eat pizza again.” I was simply trying to be a supportive husband in the beginning, humoring my wife while harboring every intention of returning to my old ways within a week at the latest. But something happened once I started. I quickly found that it was much easier to eat Whole 30 than any other program I had ever tried.  The food was delicious, because it was mostly protein and fat which are incredibly satiating. So I didn’t find myself hungry 30 minutes after I ate. I also quickly discovered why I could eat a whole family size bag of chips and drink a Big Gulp in one sitting.  Junk “foods” don’t satiate, but instead insidiously trick the brain into being able to eat way more than the body is otherwise equipped to handle, which happens to be great for business if you’re a junk food producer. My wife, Jessica, had more difficult days in the beginning (she’s way more food sensitive, in general, than I), but also quickly found it easy to eat Whole 30. But although eating the food was easy enough, this is not to say the program was a breeze. Two things made it tough. The first hurdle was shopping.  I quickly discovered that if it’s at the store and is not a fruit or vegetable, it has added sugar in it.  I was absolutely floored to discover that literally every packaged food on the grocery store shelves is laden with added sugar in one form or another.  From lunch meat to canned vegetables to beef and chicken stock, even nitrate-free bacon, it all has sugar.  So there was a bit of a learning curve, and a lot of label reading, to find foods that were Whole 30-compliant in those first couple of weeks.  But this was a very manageable challenge and fortunately, Kroger and Riesbecks’ now offer a lot of organic options.  Trader Joes in Pittsburgh is also your friend (it’s like the Aldi of organic food).  Their prices are amazing, and it’s well worth a trip to stock up on staples like tuna, cashew butter and coconut products (all good on Whole 30). The second, and bigger, challenge was meal preparation. There are very few options for eating out on Whole 30, although it can be done (Thank you, Cilantro Grill. But meal prep. is a must, and that is time consuming any way you slice it. Recipes are no problem. We have found tons of delicious options and have a list of things to try that will last us years. But we have had to diligently plan, prep on weekends, and do dishes twice a day. Jessica did the cooking almost exclusively, while I helped with prep and was in charge of clean-up, and to be honest we are still challenged to find the best balance for this lifestyle. But here’s the thing. Hardly anyone simply has the time for dedicated meal prep in today’s society, so we have to make the time. Attention to your health simply has to become a top priority in your life.  Difficult I know, but if we can do it so can you.  We have tremendous demands on our time, young kids, and a steady helping of unanticipated monkey wrenches like everyone else, but so far, we have been managing to make this work by making it a focal point of our daily lives. Plus by eating healthy, you should have much more steady energy throughout the day, be better able to focus and concentrate and, as a result, the quality and timeliness of your work will hopefully improve to more than make up for diverting an extra hour or two a day to food prep. And there are so many free resources on the net to help with planning and preparation that it really is easier than ever. By and large, the meal preparation has actually been a fun and enjoyable, albeit challenging, experience. I have learned new ways to cook and am way more attuned to the particular health benefits of different foods. I’ve been eating “Whole 30” now for a couple months, and I can say it has made a tangible difference. By the end of that first month, I found myself no longer craving the things I thought I could never, ever give up. I mean, I truly cannot imagine anyone craving and loving junk food more than I, and I was as skeptical as they came in terms of believing I could ever stem these cravings. So I truly believe that if I can do this, so can anyone else. I sleep much better now, my energy levels are consistent all day – no more mid-afternoon Cokes to stave off the inevitable post-lunch crash, and I feel much improved physically and mentally.  Oh, and I also lost 20 lbs. in that first month.  I can honestly say that my taste buds have changed.  Foods that I was previously lukewarm (i.e., sweet potatoes, olives) or completely averse (i.e. tuna) to have now become favorite staples in my diet. Since completing Whole 30, we’ve basically just continued the lifestyle.  It’s feeling more and more like a part of our household, which is perhaps the biggest difference I’ve noticed over other programs I’ve tried in the past.  Those other programs always felt like short term solutions, whereas this feels more sustainable. Think of Whole 30 as a precursor to a paleo-type lifestyle. After Day 30, “cheating,” or in Whole 30 parlance “nutritional off-roading,” is allowed when something just absolutely seems worth it to not pass up. So I’ve had some offroading during my second month. DiCarlos and I still hook up occasionally.  But the big difference so far for me has been that, instead of an “off-road” meal triggering a fast-track return to old habits, these choices now make me want to quickly return to putting healthy food in my body. However, that’s not to say I don’t enjoy these indulgences.  The thing about eliminating the junk from my daily diet is that when I have indulged, I make my decision, savor it, and move on with no regrets or guilt. The biggest difference is that I am now much more selective of what I deem as worthy of my pleasure. Some of our other cheats have been much healthier options of indulgent foods we love – chocolate chip cookies made with almond flour, coconut oil and honey, for instance, which now taste like the most delicious cookies ever.  In contrast, my 3-year-old, who has yet to adopt a Whole 30 lifestyle, thinks those cookies are gross and won’t touch them because he’s used to sugar-laden junk foods. I can’t blame him.  I would have felt the same way two months ago.  Because I was unwittingly riding that Sugar Dragon as hard as I could without realizing the way that the sugar and food processing had reconditioned my brain and taste buds to react to processed foods. Am I in for a relapse?  Probably.  Relapses are part and parcel of addiction.  But I feel like I have finally found a blueprint for good health to which I can return if I do revert to my old habits.  For now, I am immensely grateful to my wife, once again, for dragging me into Whole 30, kicking and screaming, but opening my eyes to a whole new way of eating, living and feeling. Again, it’s difficult to express in words, the skepticism I had towards being able to abandon the comforting food habits upon which I grew so dependent. To be able to undo a lifetime of unhealthy programming in just one month seemed utterly unfathomable to me.  But so far, so good, and the Dragon remains at bay. If you’re interested in a Whole 30/Paleo lifestyle, here are some additional links to learn about these programs.

I am so excited about today’s game against Kentucky!!!! The Mountaineers can beat anyone with their style of play.  A near perfect game is absolutely not out of the question for this team.  They have been focused, their shot percentages are up, turnovers down and foul shot problems are in the past.  If they keep their heads on their shoulders and don’t make any “stupid, stupid fouls”—as my husband calls them—they have as good a chance of winning as anyone.  Keep up that pressure—make Kentucky make mistakes.  Follow your shots and get those rebounds. Congratulations to Coach Huggins on being the Big 12 Coach of the Year and congratulations to the entire team for making it to the Sweet 16. 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StartFragment What do you when it’s the sweet sixteen and your team is playing your fiancé’s team? I’ve been a Mountaineer fan for as long as I can remember. Even when I went to Marshall and graduated from there, I was always a Mountaineer at heart. So needless to say I always root for them to do well, especially during March Madness. Since I met my fiancé, though, I’ve also become a Kentucky fan. I actually really like Coach Cal and find his interviews very entertaining. But let’s be honest, my life is easier when his team wins. This season there has been so much more at stake because Kentucky has been undefeated. We joked all season about our teams meeting in the tournament, but never thought it would actually happen. Now it has and now we have a house divided. He of course will never waver on who he wants to win, but I’m torn. I would love to see my Mountaineers win and move on to the elite eight, but I really think it would be something special for Kentucky to remain undefeated and hopefully go on to win the National Championship. EndFragment I guess I’ll be rooting for both teams because it’s a win for me either way. - Shay Stein

Move over Danica! I’m ready to go racing and the Richard Petty Driving Experience (RPDE) is making that possible. Within the next few weeks, I’ll be strapped in a race car in sunny Florida ready to go fast. I really can’t wait! Another item off the bucket list. I guess you could say auto racing is in my blood. My grandfather and my dad raced stock cars at the local level and, of course, were NASCAR fans. This was in the day when Junior Johnson and Rex White were hot shots on the track. While most kids my age were excited about watching the Super Bowl, every February on a Sunday afternoon I couldn’t wait to tune into the Daytona 500. Richard Petty was a very common household name. You can imagine how excited I was to meet him in June 1986 when I attended my first NASCAR race, the Miller American 400 at Michigan International Speedway. I was 14. That day, King Richard made the 1,000 th start of his career, the first driver in NASCAR history to log such, and I was there to see it. And if meeting Richard Petty (and Kyle, too) wasn’t enough, I watched the race from pit wall. There’s nothing like feeling the rumble of the engines beneath your feet and smelling the unmistakable scent of racing fuel. At that time, my family’s towing, truck rental and repair business provided the hauler for James Hylton Racing. (More about Hylton in a minute.) This allowed for access to the garage area and the pits. I also came face-to-face with Harry Gant and Cale Yarborough that day. It was amazing to see it all up close and personal, truly an experience I will never forget. While I’d been around racing in some form my whole life, it was at that time I realized the sport is more than cars just driving in a circle seeing who can get to the start-finish line first. It’s about engineering, mechanics, calculations, timing and athleticism. It all has to come together for a winning team. Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to meet Jeff Gordon during his rookie year, Brett Bodine a couple of times and the late Davey Allison. As time has passed, NASCAR has evolved and become more mainstream. The fan base has grown and what began as a southern sport born on a beach in Florida is now big business. The guys I rooted for decades ago have since retired and now have children and grandchildren competing, but for a gal who got a real taste of racing in the 80s, it’s still just as exciting. Instead of Richard Petty, I’m cheering for Jeff Gordon (at least for one more season), Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick. One of my high school buddies landed a job on a Stewart-Haas team after getting his engineering degree, so I can’t help but wish good things for a hometown boy. Now, about Hylton. He remains a personal friend of my dad’s and is still toying with racing at 80 years young. Hylton got his start in auto racing as White’s mechanic. The Cup Rookie of the Year in 1966, Hylton is the oldest driver to race in each of NASCAR's three highest divisions and spent the last several years of his career racing in the ARCA series. On January 30, during the 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Hylton was brought on stage to present White with the honorary Hall of Fame ring. It made watching the ceremony on TV kinda cool. I played putt-putt golf with that guy! There’s no doubt that I’ve had once in a lifetime experiences as a race fan and those experiences are fueling my excitement for the RPDE. (And of course I just want to go fast!) And a big shout of thanks to my dad, who thought the RPDE would be a great Christmas gift. I’m glad he doesn’t mind having a daughter who is a bit of a gear head. Check back in a few weeks. I plan to share my experience on the track with you through another blog. Now I’m just waiting to hear those famous words, “Gentlemen (and lady), start your engines!” Move over Danica! I�m ready to go racing and the Richard Petty Driving Experience (RPDE) is making that possible. Within the next few weeks, I�ll be strapped in a race car in sunny Florida ready to go fast. I really can�t wait! Another item off the bucket list.

In 1963, Edward Pola and George Wyle wrote a song titled, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” The song highlighted all of the song writers’ favorite things about Christmas and is played in what seems to be every shopping mall across the country throughout the month of December.  My own memory of this song, from my childhood, was that my Dad would jokingly, or possibly seriously, sing this song to me when I was upset that I had to go back to school in the fall.  Personally, while I do love Christmas, it is tough to beat the middle of March.  Over the past several weeks, our cold and cloudy days have disappeared and have been replaced with warmer weather and a little bit of sunshine.  The leaves are slowly starting to come back on the trees and flowers will soon be blooming again. In addition to the weather changes, as an avid basketball fan, the NCAA tournament is my favorite sporting event of the year.  While in undergrad, I was blessed to be able to participate in a similar tournament at the Division II level and have many great memories with my teammates, friends and family.  There is something special about the intensity and passion in this tournament, as the vast majority of the players will not be playing professionally and know this will be their last time representing their school and playing at such a high level.  Additionally, the bracket challenges that take place across the country make the tournament interesting to even a casual basketball fan, as people want to see the teams they picked advance. Another aspect that should make this year exciting is the impact this region has and will have on the tournament.  In Pittsburgh, CONSOL Energy Center hosted first and second round games, which featured my alma mater, the University of Notre Dame, advancing to the Sweet 16.  In Columbus, the West Virginia Mountaineers beat the University of Buffalo and University of Maryland and, in the next round, matchup with the undefeated and number one ranked Kentucky Wildcats.  Personally, I think the Mountaineers’ aggressive full court press combined with their depth, size and athleticism will give Kentucky one of their most difficult challenges of the season.  Furthermore, Ohio has been represented well in this tournament.  Ohio State, Cincinnati and Dayton all advanced to the round of 32 before losing.  Moreover, Xavier has yet to lose and will play Arizona in their next game. Every time of year has something that makes it different and special and, for the next several weeks, I plan on getting outside, enjoying the beautiful weather and watching some of the NCAA tournament.

OMG! My son is turning 40. Wait, isn't that how old I am? When did this happen? It doesn't seem so long ago that he weighed in at 9 pounds, 11 ounces and could get his legs over the side of the incubator in the newborn nursery. I knew then that he was going to be mighty, but nothing could have prepared me for all that he would be. Sure, there were signs. Like when I walked into the nursery and saw a football in his crib, a premonition I guess, that he would play and coach. That he would have the opportunity not only to teach young men to play football, but to teach them the important things in life. That someday he would have a mini Jamie, a boy called Jay, trailing after him with a football in his hands. I should have had a clue that the kid who learned to read by poring over every column of the sports section of the newspaper would one day be the sports editor for the yearbook at a university that is synonymous with good football. I should have known when I saw him lying on the floor of our office reading depositions as a 9-year-old that there was a lawyer in the making. I should have known that the kid who wanted to spend his summers earning spending money at Bordas and Bordas was going to want to run the place someday. Even after I fired him one year for fighting with his brother during office hours, he showed up the next summer. Even after I refused to hire him one year so he could find out what it was like to work somewhere else, he kept coming back. Why didn't I know that after seven years at Notre Dame he would come back to Wheeling and find that the girl of his dreams was someone he had known since the day she was born? Why didn't I know that the boy who majored in business and had a knack for marketing would want to start an ad agency someday? Why didn't I know that the same boy who gave his favorite watch to Justin Kiger and his favorite ring to Jason Koegler for graduation would grow up to give so generously to so many people in need. All the signs were there of the man the boy would become. I could have figured out some of it. Most of it shouldn't have surprised me. Some of it still does. I never figured him for the guy that would be having a fifth child this year. Who does that these days? I wouldn't have pictured him doing the weekly grocery shopping. I wasn't sure he had even been in a grocery store since the times as a kid when he would run into my heels when he insisted on pushing the shopping cart. I couldn't have known that he would continue to call me every night before he went to bed. Sometimes surprises are the best gift a mother can get. Happy Birthday Jamie!

With the present economy of ever rising utility bills, gasoline prices (remember when we could fill our tanks for less than $20?), groceries, just the general cost of living and stagnant wages, everybody has had to cut back and trim their budgets. I know I have had to adjust and re-adjust my budget several times throughout the past three years and do without a lot of pleasurable pursuits and, sadly, a few necessities that I once took for granted.  For those of us who pay a portion or all of our health insurance premiums, we have seen that figure increase astronomically yearly since 2006.  And although the initial hope and promise of The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) signed into law on March 23, 2010, was to make things better for all of us and ease the burden, the debates over the pros and cons have been loaded with so many downright lies and misinformation it has created so much confusion over what the new law will actually do to our healthcare and insurance premiums. Many of us who pushed for its passage in the beginning are now filled with dread and uncertainty that our health insurance premiums are going to sky rocket even more and our healthcare is going to deteriorate. There are many blogs out there to give you some tips on how to save and stretch those precious earned dollars throughout the month replete with pie charts, graphs and spreadsheets. However, this is not one of them! I haven’t met anyone who hasn’t done this, at least once.  It begins by you needing a particular item or two at the store. Maybe a loaf of bread and a pound of lunchmeat for the bag lunch you have decided to take to work to help save money.  After work, before going home to eat supper, you decide to drive to one of the have-everything-department stores at the Highlands to get the lunchmeat instead of stopping at the local convenient store because the lunchmeat at the Highlands store is on sale.  As you walk through the door and point yourself in the direction of the lunchmeat and bread, a display catches your eye.   The body wash that you use is on sale, two for the price of one. That sounds economical so you pick it up.  A penny saved is a penny earned! Then you remember your toothpaste is getting low and you go back to check out the prices on your brand.  Not on sale, but you decide you better get it while you’re there.  A new mouthwash happens to catch your eye in that aisle, proclaiming that it will not only stop that nasty plaque, but it will whiten your teeth in just two weeks!  This might save you some expensive trips to the dentist!  You grab a bottle of that to try.  By this time, you realize that your arms are full so you go back and get a cart.  You walk back to the front of the store where the carts are lined up, place your items in one, turn back into the store and absently begin walking in the opposite direction of the items that you originally came into the store for!  As you try to remember just what you came into the store for in the first place, you nonchalantly browse the shelves.  After walking up and down four aisles grabbing this and that, you notice that your nearly empty cart of moments before is now a third full and you still haven’t gotten the items that you came in for, whatever they were.  You gaze around trying to remember.  Oh, yes, bread and lunchmeat!  You turn the cart back into that direction which, of course, places you right smack in the middle of the deli section!  The scent of freshly baked pastries caresses your senses.  It seems to whisper your name seductively as you steer over to the lunchmeat case.  Some yummy caramel sticky buns stop you dead in your tracks. Freshly made at the store that morning. As your willpower begins a battle with your cravings, you pick a package up and make a silent pledge to your willpower that you will allow yourself only “half of one a day” until the six are gone.  Guiltily, you place the package in your cart looking at them longingly.  Well, maybe a whole one a day.  You are finally in front of the lunchmeats and before the clerk waits on you, you notice that the Baby Swiss cheese you like is on sale.  The clerk arrives. Yes, give me a pound of that. Your eyes move from item to item trying to decide whether to get the turkey breast that is on sale or the more expensive kind that you really prefer…the clerk hands you the cheese…Oh, what the heck.  You work hard for your money, you deserve to splurge a bit on the lunchmeat.  After all, you are not going out to lunch anymore. Yes, a pound of that smoked turkey breast. More waiting, more gazing at other items… wonder what that olive loaf taste like...the clerk hands you your turkey breast… Anything else?... should you try that olive loaf? Willpower finally wins!!!  Reluctantly you move away from the counter. No thanks, that’s all. Now you need to get the bread.  You walk past more display cases to get to the bread section and by the time you make it to the bread section you note that your cart is now three-fourths full.  Oh, there’s whole wheat bagels…grab a package of those…grab a loaf of whole wheat bread, then notice it is on sale two for $5 so you grab another loaf…moving on you realize you must be getting hungry because those potato chips look really good…so you grab a bag of those; then you remember you need something to wash them down with.   Not even being fazed by the irony of the choice, you place a 12 pack of diet soda in the cart.  You suddenly realize that you are tired, hungry and want to get home so you head for the cash registers.  As you move out of the food section you have to pass the women’s clothing section and notice a nice top that’s on sale!  Find your size and color, grab one and throw it in the cart deciding to try it on at home.  Finally, you make it to the cash register section and try to find one without a long line but typically, three out of 10 registers are open.  You take your place at the end of a line with six other people with overstuffed carts. You sigh, look down at your own exploding cart and gaze longingly at the 12 items or less register with only one person in line. If you had only gotten the two items that you originally came into the store for you would have been on your way home now instead of standing in line to check out. The upside to this story is that you won’t have to go grocery shopping again for a whole month.  The downside is you won’t be able to afford to go grocery shopping for a whole month.  You’ve just blown your whole grocery budget buying a loaf of bread and a pound of lunch meat!