Changes in 2011

We hope that our inaugural Christmas letter finds you in the best of God’s blessings. To say the least, 2011 was eventful. We started the year with the rigorous P90X workout routine, seeing more of Tony Horton than we ever expected. It worked and we were in great shape.

In March, we travelled to New Mexico where we relaxed and saw Albuquerque; dined and shopped in Santa Fe; and snow shoed in Taos.

Jen married Brody Gregg in April. Perfect weather, scenic background, and lots of family and friends contributed to a beautiful week.

Paul’s cousin, Wanda, stopped overnight for her son’s graduation in May, and then we saw her again – and lots of other cousins, family members and friends – in June, when we travelled to Pennsylvania to visit Ed and Ilonha. It was Cindy’s first time in Pittsburgh, Canton (to see all of those Steelers in the HOF), Niagara Falls, and Ontario, where we spent a few days touring and tasting wine.

In August, we celebrated our First Anniversary.

Shortly thereafter, Cindy retired from the Lawrence Livermore National Lab after 32 years. Paul left his post at Berkeley Food and Housing Project. In September, we moved to North Texas to be closer to Cindy’s parents, Tom and Peggy Harmon.

After a month of job searching, Paul found a position at World Neighbors in OKC.  … That is how we ended up in Edmond. Within our first week, we felt two earthquakes, and experienced hail and thunderstorms.

In November, Matt returned from Iraq, where he served our country since February as a member of the US Army Infantry. We are thankful to God for his safe return.

In between, we poured and tasted wine; vacationed at Pismo Beach and camped at Lewiston Lake.

Sports fans – We saw two Pirates games in Pittsburgh and San Francisco, an NHL game in San Jose, an AHL game in OKC, and the Cal-UCLA Women’s BB game in Berkeley. We kick started our fitness lifestyle through Beachbody.

The animals have settled in to their new surroundings. Lindsey enjoys daily walks, knowing that she is the most adorable dog in OK. Buddie scaled new heights, until we had to fetch him from the roof. Winnie’s favorite spot is where ever Paul’s lap is.

We keep you in our prayers as we celebrate Christ’s birth and hope that 2012 is filled with God’s blessings.

Love,

Paul and Cindy Cwynar

18413 Laurel Oak Drive

Edmond OK 73012

405-513-5461

paulcwynar@gmail.com

cindycwynar@gmail.com

Where Did I Put that $891,465,650?

Chalk it up to one of those, "Now, I remember!" moments. http://on.wsj.com/vlAMM3

Vin Dolce in Edmond

Vin Dolce aka The Wine Bar, managed by Addison Howell, located at 16 South Broadway in Edmond, is an oasis for transplanted Californian wine lovers, like my wife and me. Staff knows wines and which wines should be poured into which Reidel glass. That's right - The Wine Bar carries a full set of Reidel glasses.

While Cindy enjoyed a Rombauer Chardonnay and I sipped on a Milbrandt Riesling.

In addition to an excellent selection of fine wines, Vin Dolce serves an assortment of appetizers. It's a great place to stop before dinner, afterwards or after a day of shopping. I suggest if you have a party of four that your stop and share a bottle.

Maintain Your Weight through the Christmas Holidays

I suggest you read this if you want to maintain your weight through the Christmas holidays. http://bit.ly/rS2lAK

P90X

I am Learning how to get friends in best shape of their lives - and make them rich thru the Challenge. beachbodycoach.com/cindycwynar

Othello's of Edmond

The only negative was our choosing the chianti. Everything else was excellent - food, service, owner coming to our table talking to us. ...

Cindy had the lasagna with meat sauce and thought it was excellent. I had spaghetti and meatballs, and they were fabulous. (Always order this if it is the first time you are eating at an Italian restaurant.)

We agreed that when we have people in town as guests, we will eat here.

Bobby the owner is fabulous.

Moving Movers

I moved three times in three years over a distance of 4500 miles. From Pennsylvania to California to Texas and finally, to Oklahoma. Each time I called Wheaton, which was suggested by a realtor. This last time, we used Duryea Moving and Storage from Denton, Texas, to move our belongings from U-Store-It in Sherman, Texas to Edmond, Oklahoma.

I am much appreciative of Wheaton because we only gave them one week’s notice, and most companies will only move you if you give them at least two weeks. Wheaton came through again, and our driver, Steven Peace, contacted us on Thursday, telling us that he would meet us at the storage facility 8:30 that Saturday morning. With a crew of three, including himself, Steven had our two units emptied and loaded in less than three hours.

He arrived in Edmond with a crew of four Monday at 7:30 a.m. If anything, Steven is prompt. They unloaded, took direction, hooked up our appliances, set up the beds and sectional furniture, and were finished before lunch. In addition to being prompt and quick, his team is courteous and professional. We recommend Wheaton and Steven if you are moving a short distance or cross-country.

My Wife Ate a Buick

(Have you read my yelp review on MG's in Sherman?)
 
My Wife Ate a Buick!

And I ate a Cadillac. I like how each sandwich is uniquely named - 57 Chevy has Heinz 57 sauce on it; T-Bird is a turkey burger ... The woman who took my order asked if we wanted 2 individual orders of fries or one we could split. This is the first time anyone had the foresight to ask this question. Brilliant because my wife, Cindy, never finishes her fries. Thank you, MG!

In addition to the appropriately appointed and named hood ornaments attached to the ceiling, MG's serves Texoma's best burgers, fresh cut fries, perfected onion rings, free refills and take-away drinks. My only regret is that we're moving to OKC, but we know where we will eat when in Sherman.

Smile Etiquette

Mark Horstman and Mike Auzenne are co-founders of Manager Tools LLC, a management consulting firm. I have been listening to their podcasts and reading their posts for more than a year. While I am in the nonprofit field, I find their wisdom invaluable as a manager. As a former pastor, who directly managed six, and oversaw several dozen paid and volunteer staff members, I admit that I wish I had had their wisdom a decade ago. Their most recent newsletter is simply entitled Smile Etiquette.  This newsletter is for those who prefer not to smile and those who work with people who choose not to smile. 

I recently landed the position of Annual Giving Coordinator at World Neighbors in Oklahoma City, and on our way to the interview, my wife, Cindy, reminded me several times to smile throughout the interview. Smiling, as one recruiter reminded me, lets people know that you have a personality behind all that intellect, knowledge, skill and expertise.  My interviewers may not remember, but I smiled throughout that interview more than I ever smiled for one. There are other reasons I landed the position, but smiling, I am sure, did not hurt.

Mike Rowe smiles all the time when performing dirty jobs.  On pig farms, in grease pits and everywhere else imaginable, he smiles. And come to think of the years I worked cleaning sooty air-conditioning filters in steel mill cranes and power-washing greasy scale pits at Babcock & Wilcox 30 years ago, there were many times when smiling made our jobs easier.

Take a minute to read Smile Etiquette, and after a month see how much the workplace changes for all those around you.

Raising Money and Reducing Costs

Reading A Personal Touch Lifts Donations and Helps Charities Save Money by Debra E. Blum and Holly Hall reminded me of the experiment we did at Berkeley Food and Housing Project.  Instead of mailing the Feeding Appeal to everyone on our database, we mailed it only to those who historically had given to that particular appeal, and found – not surprisingly – that our ROI increased significantly. Jim Young’s remark is spot on, “You raise funds by who you mail to, but you get more efficient at raising funds by who you don’t mail to.”  At BFHP, we tailored solicitations based on their donors’ giving history or simply emailed them the letter. The result was generating more than we did in the past.

Finding a House

World Neighbors offered me a position, which I accepted, and start on 11/1/11. Immediately after accepting the position, Cindy and I started looking for a house to rent. A  house that would accommodate all our belingings, dog and 2 cats, and be within a short driving distance of my office.

Amazing the difference one finds between descriptive words and staged photos one finds posted on craigslist and property sites and what one actually sees when looking for a house to rent. Into our second day, having eliminated the ones we know we don't want, we venture on to view new home sites for our move to Oklahoma City.

Finding a few places to stay overnight or a place to eat will be posted on my yelp page

Use of Time

Today, my wife and I drove 82 miles one way for a job fair hosted by a tax preparation company. After rising early, preparing, putting on our best business suits, and arriving in plenty of time, we found the experience a total waste of time. Cindy and I are professionals with four masters degrees between us. Should we get hired, we would earn about $15 per hour for work that will last for four months, offer no other benefits, and we would be expected to pay for "tax preparation" classes.

On the other hand, yesterday we were given a two hour tour and personal introductions at a local university by a Dallas native I met via LinkedIn. I expected a 20 minute chat, but instead she gave us her full attention for two hours. I was totally impressed.

When you enter into networking, you never know who you will meet or how you will be greeted. While today's experience was a total waste of time, yesterday's was certainly well worth the time. We are grateful to a true Dallas native. Thank you, Texas.

Berkeley & Dallas Folk

One of the most pleasant memories I will remember about Berkeleyites was that they were they are some of the most educated AND GENEROUS people in the world. Having been fortunate to have lived and worked there for three years, I know that I am a fortunate one.

Now that I am living in DFW Metroplex, I have quickly come to know that the people here are the friendliest. I received news of a career setback from the church and an organization through the last two weeks. I contacted a number of people I met through LinkedIn, and have established connections with individuals I have yet to meet. Dallas folk live up to their reputations. Thank you, Dallas.

GROWING ACCUSTOMED TO NEW SURROUNDINGS

Living at my in-laws, our cat, Winnie, spends most of the day underneath a bed. Her sibling, Buddie, has grown accustomed to his new surroundings. Daily we pull Winnie from underneath the bed in the spare bedroom. She eats and then scurries to her hiding place again.

We grow accustom to our new surroundings in Texas. Cindy and I venture out to nearby churches, restaurants, stores, etc. In the mornings we walk an hour on the byroads surrounding my in-laws home. On Monday, we ventured to Ardmore, OK, venturing through Chickasaw Territory, passing the Winstar Casino.

Today, disappointment hit. The agency that asked me to fly to Virginia to interview for a fundraising position informed me that its funds are so low that it cannot afford to bring onto its payroll another employee. So, like Winnie, I stayed home surfing the web for possible employment.

Overall, disappointment notwithstanding, it was a good day for me. I get to spend more time with Cindy.

David McCullough

Read David McCullough's The Greater Journey or any of his other works and you come away appreciating what others did to make our nation great. My favorite is 1776. Considering what our Founding Fathers accomplished in that one year alone is unimaginable. They declared our independence from the world's greatest empire and defeated the greatest army and navy. As we reflect upon the service of our nation's first responders, let us thank God for our nation's First Responders, and for David McCullough who re-tells the stories of our nation's greatest generations.

An Appropriate 9-11 Message

My wife and I attended a new church today where the pastor's message dealt with mercy. Appropriate for the day because the readings were about Joseph and his brothers (Genesis 50:15-21) and the servant who owed the king an enormous amount (Matthew 18:21-35). He opened with visions of 9-11-01, and quickly moved to the acts of mercy people showed one another on that day and the days and weeks following. He then spoke of the mercy people showed one another in the more recent hurricanes and fires our nation experienced. His sobering message is that our magnanimous God grants us unmerited mercy. May we show mercy to those who hurt us.

61st Anniversary

Today marks what would be the 61st wedding anniversary of my parents, John Walter and Genevieve (Bednarski) Cwynar. They were married at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church in Ambridge, Pennsylvania by Father Zygmunt Szarnicki. 50 years later, Father Szarnicki joined us for their Golden Wedding Anniversary. I am grateful to God for providing me with the parents He did.

Travellng with Cats

Our biggest concern in moving to Texas was how the cats would react. Cindy sought the advice of professionals who suggested dosing them with Benedryl, scenting their cages, and taking them for rides to prepare them for this trip. We did a trial run from Livermore to Sunnyvale, and I thought that the trip was going to be a disaster as the cats cried round-trip.

On the day of the move, we put the cats in the truck cab with their harnesses and leashes, and after about an hour of crying and exploring, they found their hiding spots and went to sleep.

The hotels where we stayed were pet-friendly. We transported them in the cages from the truck into the room, set up the litter boxes in the bathroom, freed them in the bathroom, and went to dinner. This way they couldn't escape when we returned.

Other than exploring the hotel room which provided us with feline entertainment, Buddie and Winnie were perfect travel pets.

Our Golden Retriever, Lindsey, was her usual perfect self.

On the Road

Cindy and I drove 1,200 miles in 2 days, and now rest in Santa Rosa, NM. We loaded up the Silverado and LeSabre Monday and have been pulling the latter on a carrier. All has been going well so far. Even the cars, Buddie and Winnie, and our Golder Retriever, Lindsey, have been great. By tomorrow night we should be in Whitesboro, TX.

The best thing about this trip has been being together. Our honeymoon continues.

Seeing the changing landscape from northern CA to AZ and now eastern NM is satisfying.

Packing

Today we packed our car and truck after loading the former on a U-Haul car carrier. It's amazing how much you can cram into a 2006 Buick LeSabre. My back is so sore from loading the vehicles. We have no food or utensils to cook it on. Thank God that we went to dinner on Saturday with our friends, the Lights, had dinner at our daughter and son-in-law's, the Gregg's, and dinner with them again this evening.

It is our last night for everything in CA and our house. Cindy will miss the weather and her friends, but not the house and CA politics. We will return, however, because we own a condo in Pismo Beach. For now, we start tomorrow for Texas.

New Chapter in Life

This marks the first time when I have not been working or studying since the age of 5, not including summer vacation. My last day as Director of Development at Berkeley Food and Housing Project was Friday, September 2nd. I had worked there for 3 years raising money and awareness so that we could provide solutions to homelessness and hunger in the East Bay.

How does one transition from decades of study and employment to an uncertain future? When Cindy and I married Cindy on August 7, 2010, I never imagined we'd be moving to Texas in 13 months without jobs. But several months ago when Cindy came home and asked what I thought about her quitting her job and us moving to Texas, I was actually supportive of her idea. She had worked at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories for more than 32 years, retiring in August as a budget manager. We're moving to Whitesboro, Texas to be  closer to her parents, Tom and Peggy Harmon.

I support Cindy in her decision. I was the primary caretaker of my mother for 10 months before she died in 2006.  I moved back to Pennsylvania from Eureka, CA to do this.

These past few weeks Cindy and I have been packing our belongings and donating items we choose to leave behind. Labor Day is our last day in California. Tuesday we drive off to begin a new chapter in our lives.