Chipper Jones FATHEAD

The Chipper Jones Fathead wall graphic is constructed from tough, tear and fade-resistant vinyl and features high-resolution 3D graphics. It includes separate mini graphics of the team logo, additional player image, player name and number, ...

Chipper Jones

Great dorm room decoration!

4 out of 5

I purchased the Chipper Jones fathead because Zach was headed off to college and needed something for the walls of his dorm room. Boys dorm rooms are usually pretty messy with stark walls and pizza boxes littering the floor. The Chipper Jones FATHEAD adds color and action to the room. The installation was simple and there's no maintenance.

"Nesting"

Some of you will quickly recognize the reference that title makes. For others, you'll wonder what's wrong with Jeff. Well, we're only weeks away now from the new baby and Grace is truly "nesting." We've scrubbed and painted and rearranged for the last couple months now, getting ready for Caleb. Seems like everyone has been in on the fun. Special thanks go out to Cat, Max, Jim, Chris, Bryna, Alex, Justin, Jamie, Zach, Stacy, Carol and so on...

Earthquake?

...I was sitting comfortably this morning, perusing my newest Men's Health Magazine before getting my day going and I heard - more than felt - a soft rumble. It seemed to last for little more than 10 or 15 seconds. I slept through the larger quake of a few week's ago so I didn't even realize what it was at first and then, when I did start to think of it as an earthquake, I still doubted - - there was no "quaking"; no vibrations I could feel.

Does anyone think this is anything to be concerned about? The earth shaking under our feet? Isn't it interesting how we all just go about our normal lives in spite of the "earth-shaking changes" around us every day? See my blog TOMORROW for more thoughts on this topic...or, better yet, post your own comment!

The pitcher...

Zach is an 18-yr-old senior at St. Louis University High School and pitches on the varsity baseball team. His games are often early in the afternoon but this week he played St. Mary's at 8pm. I got home from work in time for the two of us to ride to the game together. Seemed a little like "old times."

Zach came on to pitch in relief in the 5th inning of a 3-2 game with bases loaded and only 1 out. The first batter Zach faced was Taylor Stoulp. Taylor and Zach are teammates on the St. Louis Bruins baseball club. How fun that they would match up during the high school season.

Zach started Taylor off with an offspeed called strike one. On the second pitch, also an offspeed pitch, Taylor lined a foul ball over the first base coaches head for strike two. The boys traded smiles with each other and comments only the two of them were able to hear. On the third pitch, Taylor lofted a lazy fly ball to short left field. The left fielder made the catch as the runner on third launched himself down the third base line. The throw was a strike to the catcher on a line from left field. The catcher made a sweeping tag of the speedster from third sliding into the plate. The umpire made a passionate "out" call and the inning was over. Three pitches, two outs and the end of the St. Mary's rally. Wow...

Zach returned to the mound in the 6th inning and was absolutely delightful to watch. There are many boys at this age who throw hard, Zach uses a lot of off-speed pitches and strategy to get his outs. I can't describe the feelings I had as I stood off the field as he cruised through the 6th inning strking out two batters who watched fastballs blow by them with two strikes and walk back to the dugout shaking their heads. I remember the times Zach and I used to watch the Braves and guess what pitch was going to come next. He really demonstrates his analytic side when he's pitching.

Zach got into some trouble in the 7th. He walked the first batter, gave up a sharp single to right to the second batter and then walked the third. With bases loaded and no one out, he was going to have to pull a few surprises out of the bag to get out of this one. He did it. Another strikeout, a short fly to right that didn't score a run and a final strikout and the SLUH boys had won another game by the final score of 5-2. Wow, what a truly awesome experience for the dad of a pitcher. Zach overcame some real adversity - there's an experience that will pay off somewhere down the road.

If you'd like any more color commentary or "pitch-by-pitch" descriptions of the plays of the game, feel free to comment! - Proud Papa J :-)

Maximize your strengths...

I just received the getAbstract book summary on the book, Go Put Your Strengths to Work. I find this concept of maximizing your strengths to be very interesting. If the summary moves you to read the book, great, but the point of my msg to you is how important it is to "maximize your strengths."

This is a concept that I first read about when studying Peter Drucker a few years back. It's an interesting concept and extremely sensible if you can get your arms around it. Many of us are constantly striving to eliminate our weaknesses - which takes a great deal of time and effort and often only gets us incremental gains. The results of maximizing our strengths can be magical.

Now, it would be a fairy tale if we tried to ignore our weaknesses, so something we've talked alot about is identifying one's "critical flaws" and "neutralizing" those - not trying to turn that weakness into a strength. Instead, just making sure the flaw doesn't hold us back. Think of the "tragic flaws" in Shakespeare's major characters. No matter what great things the character can accomplish, if he/she doesn't "neutralize" or manage the tragic flaw, it becomes the source of the downfall.

Yes, this is a current picture of the pregnant mother of Jamie and Zach. She's about 14 weeks here. We're in Cabo and hiking on the beach we came across this awesome stone outcropping...

This is daughter Jamie with boyfriend Tim on our weekend getaway in Jackson, Mississippi over Easter. We were taking a leisurely stroll and ran into this beautiful scene on the quad at Belhaven College.

Jamie and Tim are sophomores at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama. They have both been accepted to study abroad in New Zealand in the fall of 2008!

Traveling Companion...

Here's my traveling buddy on the patio at the Fairview Inn Bed & Breakfast in Jackson. Grace and I met Jamie and Tim here for a weekend getaway over Easter - a great start to a fantastic Spring Break 2008!

This is Zach the morning Grace and I left for Spring Break. As you can tell, he's very sad we are leaving and can't quite contain his emotions.

Inaugural Posting!

Hello World!

This is the first official posting of the life and times of Jeff Villmer. Not quite sure what to do here other than a little brain dumping. Maybe this can be as simple as an online diary - maybe as cool as an autobiography - maybe some of both. I'm sure there's a lot more to it than I am familiar with but will have to talk to Bryan and others for ideas. Who knows, I may have to pickup a copy of Blogging for Dummies at the local bookstore...

Welcome and thanks for playing...