Friday, August 03, 2007
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
I'm Over It - Timeout
There comes a point in your life you have to call a timeout and I did, I was feeling angry, stressed and bitchy, I needed a break to spend some time catching up with friends, of course playing poker and letting some of the tension in my shoulders relax enough so I don't look so hunched back.
Kelsey spent the weekend at Ball State attending a newspaper clinic they ran, Alex was out and about with friends all weekend, mom as always was attending to the house and getting in a few work hours to catch up before the week ahead hit.
Tryouts for soccer were this week and the girls were both nervous and excited knowing 3 days of hard practices and tryouts would be there. Each day, they got up at were at the school by 6:45am. God love them.
Tuesday was again a horribly stressful day at work with the fallout of the server, another large deadline looming, and 2 more right behind it, I threw up..my body reacting when I could no longer do so and wondering why ultimately I put myself through this. Wednesday slammed in with more, the air at work filled with tension and stress, ....the other thing it was the day to find out who was to make what team, Kelsey made Varsity, Alex Freshman....this was tough for Alex and me as well. Freshman is a developmental team, not bad, but truly she wanted to be along with many of her friends on JV, I know this was tough and it took everything I had to put away my own stresses and focus on her disappointment. As I had with Kelsey, I tried to encourage to talk her to the coaches and ask what does she need to work on to have the opportunity to be moved up to JV, unlike Kelsey, this is a little harder for Alex. Oh, dang, this is what motherhood is all about. Life has not been all roses and we need to all get back on balance - especially me, I feel like I am spiraling, trying to get things back in line and it ain't working - I am only one person.
Another long day facing a computer, my shoulders knotted to a solid mass from hours of continuous work without getting up and the news that Alex has eye infections. Her contacts aren't allowing enough oxygen to the eyes - as explained whites cells were developing and if left to continue without treatment she could get ulcers and possibly loose her vision, alright god, enough, come on now - its really time to stop. can I cry for a minute now, please?
Kelsey spent the weekend at Ball State attending a newspaper clinic they ran, Alex was out and about with friends all weekend, mom as always was attending to the house and getting in a few work hours to catch up before the week ahead hit.
Tryouts for soccer were this week and the girls were both nervous and excited knowing 3 days of hard practices and tryouts would be there. Each day, they got up at were at the school by 6:45am. God love them.
Tuesday was again a horribly stressful day at work with the fallout of the server, another large deadline looming, and 2 more right behind it, I threw up..my body reacting when I could no longer do so and wondering why ultimately I put myself through this. Wednesday slammed in with more, the air at work filled with tension and stress, ....the other thing it was the day to find out who was to make what team, Kelsey made Varsity, Alex Freshman....this was tough for Alex and me as well. Freshman is a developmental team, not bad, but truly she wanted to be along with many of her friends on JV, I know this was tough and it took everything I had to put away my own stresses and focus on her disappointment. As I had with Kelsey, I tried to encourage to talk her to the coaches and ask what does she need to work on to have the opportunity to be moved up to JV, unlike Kelsey, this is a little harder for Alex. Oh, dang, this is what motherhood is all about. Life has not been all roses and we need to all get back on balance - especially me, I feel like I am spiraling, trying to get things back in line and it ain't working - I am only one person.
Another long day facing a computer, my shoulders knotted to a solid mass from hours of continuous work without getting up and the news that Alex has eye infections. Her contacts aren't allowing enough oxygen to the eyes - as explained whites cells were developing and if left to continue without treatment she could get ulcers and possibly loose her vision, alright god, enough, come on now - its really time to stop. can I cry for a minute now, please?
Monday, July 30, 2007
Brickyard 400
For the 2nd year, Dave, Amy, Rich and myself were off the Brickyard 400. It was a sweltering hot day and we were grateful for the seats under the stands! Surrounded by Jeff Gordon fans, I proudly wore my Tony Stewart shirt, they were not all happy.
The race was great, Amy and I managed to get most of the beers before the boys did, we are so good at this.
And of Course - Tony Won!
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Whew! Another stressful day
Work is 24/7, my mind reeling with all the tasks needing to be accomplished, support to be given and engaging everyone of my skills to keep them all juggling. It does get tough at times. The two biggest items on my plate, Kelsey getting an endoscopy and moving the hosting servers for work. Both truly require my full attention.
Kelsey, if you have read previously was suspected have had ulcers, she was going in for an endoscopy to verify this and to what extent. Selfishly I was again putting work before my family and had been considering canceling and re-scheduling this because as life always likes intervene, the final move and her endoscopy fell on the same day. I am so glad I didn't. She was scheduled for early in the morning so it meant we had to be up and out to go downtown. Jarod wanted to go along and to my surprise, he was up and moving, a little sluggish. Kelsey understandably was scared, but overall was a true trooper. I got to participate along with her in tasting the nasty medicine she had to hold in her throat for numbing (I tasted it, its truly nasty). Off I went to wait with Jarod. I don't know how long had past and they came and got us. She was in recovering, drowsy from the meds and just as silly as could be. The Dr. came in and let us know what was going on, not good but manageable. Poor girl had been suffering with a small intestine & 3 stomach ulcers along with an inflamed esophagus. The plan of action, medicine and absolutely NO, NO ibuprofen and aspirin, this was the probably the root cause of her troubles. I feel responsible for this, both girls use ibuprofen on a regular basis for their various sports related injuries and bruises. Ice and ibuprofen was my usual response for first level of treatment. This ain't all bad, but not good on a regular basis especially when taken on empty stomachs. Learn and live. Tylenol is safest on your innards just in case you wanted to know.
As she was getting awake enough to get her moving, she realized she was hungry, still being silly from the meds, a very quick litany of food thoughts spewed from her mouth.......oh I want, two mcdonald cheeseburgers, no taco bell, no arby's, hardees oh I am so hungry. We settled on Denny's and proceeded to head out. She didn't eat, tried, but when it finally came down to it, she was still not fully up from everything. Off home to get her settled I was forced to leave her at home in the care of Jarod with explicit instructions to keep her down....don't let her do anything!!!!
Off to work I went, my mind switching gears and trying to figure out what order and items still need to be completed to get the servers moved. Moving servers is difficult, it's like unplugging a hugely sophisticated stereo system, throwing all the cables in a box, mixing them up a bit and then trying to resemble it all in its new home - remembering everything that had to be moved, components that need to be connected and testing it all to make it worked. Thankfully for myself I am organizer, it makes my brain be able to focus on getting the tasks done rather what needs to be done.
I arrived to my new recently moved office with my computer system running, files/supplies in boxes with construction workers all over the place. I tried to get going but damn, its pretty hard, already stressed, and trying to think when you have people working on ductwork over your head and full blown construction work happening all around you. Interrupted twice for them to work over my cube after just being there an hour, the many tasks that needed to be done, I and another choose to head out knowing we could better focus elsewhere. Back in the car again, by this time I have already put a good 100 miles on the car, stress building for the days events and worry about Kelsey.
What do I arrive to? My biggest fear, Kelsey is up and baking banana bread and doing laundry....where is Jarod, the boy was passed out. I allowed her to finish and ordered her back to bed where with my fussing out to her to stay down, she did. With a school meeting that evening, I got straight into getting everything setup for the server move, its an orchestration with trying to keep everyone on the same page and trying to account for everything that might go wrong, the move was to occur at 6pm. With my plan in hand to minimize downtime on the site, everyone notified, feeling satisfied I done what I could do, I left for the meeting .
Boring meeting, but necessary - school starts in a few weeks - Alex being a freshman, its required - course I was distracted the whole time hoping everything with the move was going smoothly and that we had covered all bases.
Meeting over, straight to my computer (its sick sometimes, I know this) I checked in with my developer who assists i - uh oh, trouble in paradise....plans had been changed without my knowledge, the result the site was down and that was a problem, ultimately my problem. Oh God, why do you do this to me, hey I am strong, but come on...give me a break here - a girl can only handle so much. Well, again, best laid plans and a change of plans it didn't happen that way. essentially by midnight everything was down on something that was completely out of my control, I would have to wait until morning to deal with ramifications and work on getting things fixed....Kelsey thankfully been following my instructions remained down for the rest of the day by 2am my mind slowly wound down enough to let me drop off into a fitful sleep....
Kelsey, if you have read previously was suspected have had ulcers, she was going in for an endoscopy to verify this and to what extent. Selfishly I was again putting work before my family and had been considering canceling and re-scheduling this because as life always likes intervene, the final move and her endoscopy fell on the same day. I am so glad I didn't. She was scheduled for early in the morning so it meant we had to be up and out to go downtown. Jarod wanted to go along and to my surprise, he was up and moving, a little sluggish. Kelsey understandably was scared, but overall was a true trooper. I got to participate along with her in tasting the nasty medicine she had to hold in her throat for numbing (I tasted it, its truly nasty). Off I went to wait with Jarod. I don't know how long had past and they came and got us. She was in recovering, drowsy from the meds and just as silly as could be. The Dr. came in and let us know what was going on, not good but manageable. Poor girl had been suffering with a small intestine & 3 stomach ulcers along with an inflamed esophagus. The plan of action, medicine and absolutely NO, NO ibuprofen and aspirin, this was the probably the root cause of her troubles. I feel responsible for this, both girls use ibuprofen on a regular basis for their various sports related injuries and bruises. Ice and ibuprofen was my usual response for first level of treatment. This ain't all bad, but not good on a regular basis especially when taken on empty stomachs. Learn and live. Tylenol is safest on your innards just in case you wanted to know.
As she was getting awake enough to get her moving, she realized she was hungry, still being silly from the meds, a very quick litany of food thoughts spewed from her mouth.......oh I want, two mcdonald cheeseburgers, no taco bell, no arby's, hardees oh I am so hungry. We settled on Denny's and proceeded to head out. She didn't eat, tried, but when it finally came down to it, she was still not fully up from everything. Off home to get her settled I was forced to leave her at home in the care of Jarod with explicit instructions to keep her down....don't let her do anything!!!!
Off to work I went, my mind switching gears and trying to figure out what order and items still need to be completed to get the servers moved. Moving servers is difficult, it's like unplugging a hugely sophisticated stereo system, throwing all the cables in a box, mixing them up a bit and then trying to resemble it all in its new home - remembering everything that had to be moved, components that need to be connected and testing it all to make it worked. Thankfully for myself I am organizer, it makes my brain be able to focus on getting the tasks done rather what needs to be done.
I arrived to my new recently moved office with my computer system running, files/supplies in boxes with construction workers all over the place. I tried to get going but damn, its pretty hard, already stressed, and trying to think when you have people working on ductwork over your head and full blown construction work happening all around you. Interrupted twice for them to work over my cube after just being there an hour, the many tasks that needed to be done, I and another choose to head out knowing we could better focus elsewhere. Back in the car again, by this time I have already put a good 100 miles on the car, stress building for the days events and worry about Kelsey.
What do I arrive to? My biggest fear, Kelsey is up and baking banana bread and doing laundry....where is Jarod, the boy was passed out. I allowed her to finish and ordered her back to bed where with my fussing out to her to stay down, she did. With a school meeting that evening, I got straight into getting everything setup for the server move, its an orchestration with trying to keep everyone on the same page and trying to account for everything that might go wrong, the move was to occur at 6pm. With my plan in hand to minimize downtime on the site, everyone notified, feeling satisfied I done what I could do, I left for the meeting .
Boring meeting, but necessary - school starts in a few weeks - Alex being a freshman, its required - course I was distracted the whole time hoping everything with the move was going smoothly and that we had covered all bases.
Meeting over, straight to my computer (its sick sometimes, I know this) I checked in with my developer who assists i - uh oh, trouble in paradise....plans had been changed without my knowledge, the result the site was down and that was a problem, ultimately my problem. Oh God, why do you do this to me, hey I am strong, but come on...give me a break here - a girl can only handle so much. Well, again, best laid plans and a change of plans it didn't happen that way. essentially by midnight everything was down on something that was completely out of my control, I would have to wait until morning to deal with ramifications and work on getting things fixed....Kelsey thankfully been following my instructions remained down for the rest of the day by 2am my mind slowly wound down enough to let me drop off into a fitful sleep....
Sunday, July 22, 2007
It's Cheer Camp Time
Off to IU for a 4 day Cheer Camp for Alex. She will be a Freshman basketball cheerleader for the high school this year, cheerleading is all new to me. Thankfully, if she wanted to play soccer, basketball was the only squad she could tryout for, it keeps me warm! ;)
The girls left early in the morning, loading the buses was an interesting mass organized chaos children, luggage, huge coolers, bags of food all trying to get into 2 buses and one van. Off they went. There were several items, tryouts and the such through out the week the parents could attend, on a couple I would of like to have gone down, but by the time I put in all my hours at work (stress factor 9) and drive an almost 2 hours down to where she was, I just couldn't. It did provide Alex some private, bonding away time and of course fun. I know she missed me on Monday evening.
When Thursday came along, it was the parents responsibility to pick them up. Having taken a welcomed morning off of work, i rode down with a fellow parent for the days activities. We arrived at 9am with a gaggles of cheerleaders spread all over the center. Some practicing for the competition ahead of them, some hanging out and chatting and parents slowly filtering in and getting re-acquainted. After about an hour (and parents getting restless), the show began. Each squad was to compete in three different categories for camp trophies. I settled to sitting on the track (no bleachers) with a few of my favorite cheer moms to proceed to watch the festivities. Okay, I will admit it did get a little old when you have to wait for all the squads to go through their routines before having the opportunity to view your girls.
Alex is a flyer or the person who gets lifted up and in the older squads thrown into the air. Those who know Alex are saying 'well no duh!', for those who don't, she is very petite in stature and weight. This is both fun and scary for me to watch. She is trusting a bunch of girls to lift her by either both her ankles or just one and lift her above their heads. It takes practice, communication and trust on all their parts to ensure that Alex does not drop or get hurt. All the squads had some falters and Alex's was no exception. Don't ask me which routine this is, all I know Alex went to be lifted and some mis-communication ensued, bottom line, she bowed out and starting cheering. She didn't feel safe and good for her to understand this.
Will post a couple of videos & pics soon I took with my camera, you can see we are sitting on the track right along with the kids, oh my butt after hour 1. They won 1st place for their nicely executed Pom routine.
All Cheer Routines - Alex is one nearest camera on top!
Awards (finally) and now off to the dorm to get their stuff. We grabbed lunch and back home by noon. For me it was work, back to the stress of horribly tight deadlines and expectations with no support. I have not ever seen in my life the degradation of a company's culture than I have witnessed over the past year. I try to keep focused and get done what I can and need to, I ended up working late into the evening as always.
The girls left early in the morning, loading the buses was an interesting mass organized chaos children, luggage, huge coolers, bags of food all trying to get into 2 buses and one van. Off they went. There were several items, tryouts and the such through out the week the parents could attend, on a couple I would of like to have gone down, but by the time I put in all my hours at work (stress factor 9) and drive an almost 2 hours down to where she was, I just couldn't. It did provide Alex some private, bonding away time and of course fun. I know she missed me on Monday evening.
When Thursday came along, it was the parents responsibility to pick them up. Having taken a welcomed morning off of work, i rode down with a fellow parent for the days activities. We arrived at 9am with a gaggles of cheerleaders spread all over the center. Some practicing for the competition ahead of them, some hanging out and chatting and parents slowly filtering in and getting re-acquainted. After about an hour (and parents getting restless), the show began. Each squad was to compete in three different categories for camp trophies. I settled to sitting on the track (no bleachers) with a few of my favorite cheer moms to proceed to watch the festivities. Okay, I will admit it did get a little old when you have to wait for all the squads to go through their routines before having the opportunity to view your girls.
Alex is a flyer or the person who gets lifted up and in the older squads thrown into the air. Those who know Alex are saying 'well no duh!', for those who don't, she is very petite in stature and weight. This is both fun and scary for me to watch. She is trusting a bunch of girls to lift her by either both her ankles or just one and lift her above their heads. It takes practice, communication and trust on all their parts to ensure that Alex does not drop or get hurt. All the squads had some falters and Alex's was no exception. Don't ask me which routine this is, all I know Alex went to be lifted and some mis-communication ensued, bottom line, she bowed out and starting cheering. She didn't feel safe and good for her to understand this.
Will post a couple of videos & pics soon I took with my camera, you can see we are sitting on the track right along with the kids, oh my butt after hour 1. They won 1st place for their nicely executed Pom routine.
All Cheer Routines - Alex is one nearest camera on top!
A Few Pictures
Awards (finally) and now off to the dorm to get their stuff. We grabbed lunch and back home by noon. For me it was work, back to the stress of horribly tight deadlines and expectations with no support. I have not ever seen in my life the degradation of a company's culture than I have witnessed over the past year. I try to keep focused and get done what I can and need to, I ended up working late into the evening as always.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Happy 4th!
Happy Fourth Everyone!!!
Alex headed off to the beach to spend a weekend with one of her friends, Kelsey and I headed up north to meet our new editions to the family, to celebrate my mother's day of birth and spend time with family.
First - Happy Birthday Mom, this great lady came into this world on July 3rd and this year celebrates another good year of life - hey, I won't disclose her age but she's a youngster. Our gift to her this year, the opportunity to spend time with both her daughters, new grandson's her eldest granddaughter and of course, my brother in law and Dad.
After arriving into town on the 4th, Kelsey and I tired from the hectic weeks preceeding were pretty much in the mood to just hang and relax knowing the next day we would back into the car to be headed up north. We did enjoy a mini shopping spree for baby stuff in our anticipation of meeting our new editions to the family, that is always fun and thankfully for me, someone else is using it. Fun to buy but I would no longer want to be in a position to use it!
We headed up north to the land where they say 'eh, cows roam, cheese and bratwurst are readily available. The boys are beautiful and we all took many turns holding them, loving them and visiting with Steph & Todd. They are both looking tired and doing well taking each day and its challenges as they come along. Excited we of course showered them with all our newly bought things that provided which is always fun and geez, two boys, who doesn't need super industrial need a fork-lift size box of diapers.
Though we were excited to have the opportunity we also knew that we couldn't go overboard as not to stress them out. But this allowed us to visit with Steph & Todd, something I don't get to do often enough (miss u both).
The boys are movie stars in their own rights with video and pictures being taken constantly, with no flash as not to strain or hurt their still developing eyes.
Pics available of our visit shortly.
Kelsey we found is a natural at keeping the boys calm, but on her first try to change a diaper, well I will post the video clip soon! We came back home on Saturday, Alex arrived home on Monday after some car trouble delayed their trip home. I know Alex was so upset they had to stay in Florida one more day.
I hope your holidays were as enjoyable as my own!
Alex headed off to the beach to spend a weekend with one of her friends, Kelsey and I headed up north to meet our new editions to the family, to celebrate my mother's day of birth and spend time with family.
First - Happy Birthday Mom, this great lady came into this world on July 3rd and this year celebrates another good year of life - hey, I won't disclose her age but she's a youngster. Our gift to her this year, the opportunity to spend time with both her daughters, new grandson's her eldest granddaughter and of course, my brother in law and Dad.
After arriving into town on the 4th, Kelsey and I tired from the hectic weeks preceeding were pretty much in the mood to just hang and relax knowing the next day we would back into the car to be headed up north. We did enjoy a mini shopping spree for baby stuff in our anticipation of meeting our new editions to the family, that is always fun and thankfully for me, someone else is using it. Fun to buy but I would no longer want to be in a position to use it!
We headed up north to the land where they say 'eh, cows roam, cheese and bratwurst are readily available. The boys are beautiful and we all took many turns holding them, loving them and visiting with Steph & Todd. They are both looking tired and doing well taking each day and its challenges as they come along. Excited we of course showered them with all our newly bought things that provided which is always fun and geez, two boys, who doesn't need super industrial need a fork-lift size box of diapers.
Though we were excited to have the opportunity we also knew that we couldn't go overboard as not to stress them out. But this allowed us to visit with Steph & Todd, something I don't get to do often enough (miss u both).
The boys are movie stars in their own rights with video and pictures being taken constantly, with no flash as not to strain or hurt their still developing eyes.
Pics available of our visit shortly.
Kelsey we found is a natural at keeping the boys calm, but on her first try to change a diaper, well I will post the video clip soon! We came back home on Saturday, Alex arrived home on Monday after some car trouble delayed their trip home. I know Alex was so upset they had to stay in Florida one more day.
I hope your holidays were as enjoyable as my own!
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Quick Month
It has been a fast month starting with the end of school, soccer tournaments and full blast into summer. The girls have been keeping busy with soccer conditioning 3 times a week, work for Kelsey and other summer activities.
Kelsey is doing better at this time they are leaning towards ulcer but she will have an endoscopy in July to finalize it, too much ibuprofen is what the GI guy is thinking. Alex and I have been pretty much hangin not getting into to much. I have had no energy to get much done anywhere and actually took a weekend and did nothing, that was truly amazing. The lawn is about to go up in flames due to drought, but I am almost thankful because I have not had to mow for the entire month.
July is just around the corner, Alex is with friends in Destin right now, last report she got stung by a jellyfish but is surviving. Kelsey and I are headed to Chicago next week for the 4th festivities and to jump up and see my sister and my new nephews. The boys were released earlier than expected which left them a little un-prepared. Hawthorne is adjusting and doing well at home. It was a little much for Ethan who just quit breathing (stress) and had to be taken back to the hospital, he is doing well now. I can't image how scary it was for my sister who had to do CPR and call the medics.
I wish everyone a Happy Summer and hope you are all doing well.
Kelsey is doing better at this time they are leaning towards ulcer but she will have an endoscopy in July to finalize it, too much ibuprofen is what the GI guy is thinking. Alex and I have been pretty much hangin not getting into to much. I have had no energy to get much done anywhere and actually took a weekend and did nothing, that was truly amazing. The lawn is about to go up in flames due to drought, but I am almost thankful because I have not had to mow for the entire month.
July is just around the corner, Alex is with friends in Destin right now, last report she got stung by a jellyfish but is surviving. Kelsey and I are headed to Chicago next week for the 4th festivities and to jump up and see my sister and my new nephews. The boys were released earlier than expected which left them a little un-prepared. Hawthorne is adjusting and doing well at home. It was a little much for Ethan who just quit breathing (stress) and had to be taken back to the hospital, he is doing well now. I can't image how scary it was for my sister who had to do CPR and call the medics.
I wish everyone a Happy Summer and hope you are all doing well.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Soccer and IVs
The first weekend of June found me attending 6 games over the weekend, both the girls teams didn't do so well, they fought hard but just couldn't get it together. The second weekend of June, another 6 games starting on Friday the 8th and up early the next morning for a 7:30am game - UGH!
We managed to do better in this tournament with Alex's team pulling out for the championship and Kelsey's placing 2nd by forfeiture to their sister league team.
Kelsey's team had just played the same team at 1:30pm, since it ended in a tie that meant they both played again at 5pm. Her team had no subs so this meant the girls had to run for 35 minutes straight with no breaks and it was hot outside. This is where Kelsey ran into some trouble. With her current condition which doesn't make her want to drink a lot for fear of stomach pain and playing her heart out - in the second game, she went down....
Me, I was running back
and forth in between the awards tent and the game trying to get Alex taken care of and send her off to the lake with her team mates for celebration. My last trip over to the fields it was halftime, my friend leans over and says that is Kelsey on the ground, I waited (sometimes they just lay down a bit) but when her teammates came running over stating they were getting a medic, that is when mom went running - I found her crying, cramping and shaking. The medic showed up and was a familiar face, her high school trainer - 'Trainer Dave' looked at Kelsey, looked at me and said - take her to the ER, she needs fluids. So off to the hospital we went, Kelsey got lots of tests run - first time in her life she really has anything medical like this. They pumped her full of IVs and home we went. She was told mandatory down for 3 days. So when I come home Monday what do I find, the house cleaned, laundry done and more - so much for mandatory down, she doesn't know the meaning, stubborn German - just like her mama.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Kelsey Gots Pains
During finals week Kelsey had been complaining of side and stomach pain. After playing soccer over the weekend, she decided to tell me a few more of her symptoms - it was time to get her to the Dr.
So off we went, some blood work and a CT Scan we still not sure what's going on. The CT didn't show enough of her inards for them to get a good look so they want to do another one and we are going to see a GI doc at the end of the month. This is the first time Kelsey ever had blood drawn or anything medical with exception of pulled tendons...it all new to her.
Other than hurting after eating and excercise, she is doing alright and going about her normal activities....will keep 'ya posted.
So off we went, some blood work and a CT Scan we still not sure what's going on. The CT didn't show enough of her inards for them to get a good look so they want to do another one and we are going to see a GI doc at the end of the month. This is the first time Kelsey ever had blood drawn or anything medical with exception of pulled tendons...it all new to her.
Other than hurting after eating and excercise, she is doing alright and going about her normal activities....will keep 'ya posted.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Schools Out for Summer
Wow another school year is done, a busy hectic week for both the girls, mostly Kelsey with finals and SAT to take on Saturday. Soccer season is winding up then will be finished with a couple of tournaments, but resumes for High School with conditioning starting on Monday morning, I know Alex is not looking forward to this at all.
Memorial Weekend was much fun, I went to the race and my driver ended up winning so that put some $$ in my pocket, I was very excited.
Girls have finished this year with great grades, Alex is now officially a freshman and I am officially a parent of two high schoolers....the years have gone by quickly, Alex was only 6 when we moved here..I am doing okay with it ~ at least for now.
Memorial Weekend was much fun, I went to the race and my driver ended up winning so that put some $$ in my pocket, I was very excited.
Girls have finished this year with great grades, Alex is now officially a freshman and I am officially a parent of two high schoolers....the years have gone by quickly, Alex was only 6 when we moved here..I am doing okay with it ~ at least for now.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
A New Mom with her Sons
Steph had an enjoyable mother's day being able to hold both boys and taking family photos. Ethan and Hawthorne are doing well and progressing each day.
Keep your good thoughts and prayers they grow stronger each day.
Read Stephanie's Blog
Love you all
Keep your good thoughts and prayers they grow stronger each day.
Read Stephanie's Blog
Love you all
Monday, May 14, 2007
Mother's Day Weekend at the Track
A Tradition in my Family....
We all went on Saturday and enjoyed the day. Sunday, April and Dad took the day and I worked mother's day in the girls rooms switching and cleaning them...it was so relaxing, uh not! The garage is once again full of stuff that needs to be dealt with and my car is back outside...thank goodness its warm.
But it was done and Alex's new bed was constructed.
We all went on Saturday and enjoyed the day. Sunday, April and Dad took the day and I worked mother's day in the girls rooms switching and cleaning them...it was so relaxing, uh not! The garage is once again full of stuff that needs to be dealt with and my car is back outside...thank goodness its warm.
But it was done and Alex's new bed was constructed.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Monday, April 23, 2007
A new Aunt again x2
A little early to arrive, my sister Stephanie went into labor on Sat. and was hospitalized with the hope that labor could be delayed. This was not successful and she delivered 2 little boys Sat. night about 10:30 pm.
Hawthorne Edwin. Weighs 2 lbs. 4 oz. 14 ins. long and Ethan Eoghan (Celtic for Eugene) and weighs 2 lbs.14ins long.
They will be in neo-natal for a few months. Prognosis is good but guarded. They were both big for being 26 1/2 weeks which doctors feels is a plus for them.
Welcome Hawthorne and Ethan!
We are so excited you are with us!
We are so excited you are with us!
Hawthorne Edwin. Weighs 2 lbs. 4 oz. 14 ins. long and Ethan Eoghan (Celtic for Eugene) and weighs 2 lbs.14ins long.
They will be in neo-natal for a few months. Prognosis is good but guarded. They were both big for being 26 1/2 weeks which doctors feels is a plus for them.
Congratulations Stephanie and Todd!
We Love and Miss you Both!
We Love and Miss you Both!
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Thunder over Louisville.....
Derby festivities begin with a bang......we were in town for a soccer tournament!
While watching the games on Saturday we were entertained by different mini-airshows, they were practicing for later that evening. And always the little kid, I had to stop and point out the stealth bomber to the girls - they really weren't excited.
The weekend wasn't much thunder for the girls on the field, but they enjoyed themselves it was a good bonding weekend. The weather was beautiful and a good friend and co-developer of mine joined us Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, she was just needing a reason to sit outside, I provided!
We stayed in on Saturday and allowed the to eat pizza, swim and bond. With all the crowds downtown, it was a good thing....though I really, really wanted to be a the fireworks, did I mention, I love fireworks!
While watching the games on Saturday we were entertained by different mini-airshows, they were practicing for later that evening. And always the little kid, I had to stop and point out the stealth bomber to the girls - they really weren't excited.
The weekend wasn't much thunder for the girls on the field, but they enjoyed themselves it was a good bonding weekend. The weather was beautiful and a good friend and co-developer of mine joined us Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, she was just needing a reason to sit outside, I provided!
We stayed in on Saturday and allowed the to eat pizza, swim and bond. With all the crowds downtown, it was a good thing....though I really, really wanted to be a the fireworks, did I mention, I love fireworks!
Saturday, April 21, 2007
It's a Deere!
Dad finally got himself a John Deere Tractor, he is so excited.......
We won't mention he still has a full size 1940 something Farmall H sitting in the garage next door, but it's a little big to do the lawn with!!!!!
Congrats Dad!
And welcome to your 2nd Retirement, it's about time!
Congrats Dad!
And welcome to your 2nd Retirement, it's about time!
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Prom Dresses and Where is Spring?
It has been a cold, windy awful weather week. Tough for all those spring breakers coming back. My plants I got into the ground a couple of weeks ago are still struggling, but alive. Soccer has pretty much been canceled all week due to either cold or the fields being to wet to play on.
Kelsey's friend Shae (one of my 2nd daughters) stayed with us this weekend with her parents out of town attending a wedding. The girls had both originally planned to go to Bloomington early before their games to check out Prom dresses. Games canceled, we went ahead down. I have to note, I love Shae especially when she calls us on her cell phone from the bathroom downstairs to let us know she needs TP - these kids have truly embraced technology to the hilt!
We had fun with them modeling several dresses and joining in on a bride to be's decision on her dress. It was a family atmosphere and we enjoyed the shop owners. Here are the girls trying on dresses.
Shae fell in love with the green Flash dress, Kelsey love the deep purple one. We will need to return to get them altered - on Kelsey, they were all way to long and a little wide around the waist/bust. But at least we do not have to go to a dozen more stores, I am so relieved.
Alex spent the day with friends and stayed over night at Ashleigh's. I got out later that night, the first time in several weeks, almost forcing myself to go - by the time I got out, it was snowing making me want to snuggle at home. But, glad I went out and enjoyed the opening of a friend's new bar and another friend's birthday, slide show is on myspace.
Kelsey's friend Shae (one of my 2nd daughters) stayed with us this weekend with her parents out of town attending a wedding. The girls had both originally planned to go to Bloomington early before their games to check out Prom dresses. Games canceled, we went ahead down. I have to note, I love Shae especially when she calls us on her cell phone from the bathroom downstairs to let us know she needs TP - these kids have truly embraced technology to the hilt!
We had fun with them modeling several dresses and joining in on a bride to be's decision on her dress. It was a family atmosphere and we enjoyed the shop owners. Here are the girls trying on dresses.
Shae fell in love with the green Flash dress, Kelsey love the deep purple one. We will need to return to get them altered - on Kelsey, they were all way to long and a little wide around the waist/bust. But at least we do not have to go to a dozen more stores, I am so relieved.
Alex spent the day with friends and stayed over night at Ashleigh's. I got out later that night, the first time in several weeks, almost forcing myself to go - by the time I got out, it was snowing making me want to snuggle at home. But, glad I went out and enjoyed the opening of a friend's new bar and another friend's birthday, slide show is on myspace.
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Dying Eggs
The girls made it home, I was still out shopping, they weren't happy I wasn't there to welcome them home, but I think I made it up. I dropped the bomb on them my decision to switch their bedrooms putting Alex into the bigger room and Kelsey in the smaller one. It is a decision based on effective space use since Alex is here and usually with anywhere between 2-5 friends crammed into her small room. Kelsey sleeps and does homework. Her first comment, great you are already moving me out the door! Being fair, Kelsey will get to repaint and buy a few new pieces of furniture, that smoothed it over a bit.
Jarrod joined us for the rest of the day and being Easter is tomorrow we cannot forgo the season favorite activity of Dying Easter Eggs, Jarrod had never done it before - We were amazed - he delved in and throughly enjoyed himself and so did we.
I am making Easter dinner for tomorrow and bringing it over to my brother's, with race season and a new baby, time for family dinners are at a minimum. Deviled Eggs of course will be on the menu - yum!
Happy Easter All!
Jarrod joined us for the rest of the day and being Easter is tomorrow we cannot forgo the season favorite activity of Dying Easter Eggs, Jarrod had never done it before - We were amazed - he delved in and throughly enjoyed himself and so did we.
I am making Easter dinner for tomorrow and bringing it over to my brother's, with race season and a new baby, time for family dinners are at a minimum. Deviled Eggs of course will be on the menu - yum!
Happy Easter All!
Keeneland and Snow?
Sensible shoes and dress were the words of the day. I took a day off to travel south for opening day of Keeneland and to enjoy some old friends. It's about a 3 hour drive and I arrived to a welcome of wine, cheese and cold weather. Cold weather, this is opening day of Keeneland, we are supposed to be in spring dresses, enjoying bright sunshine and a warm spring breeze.
What we got was overcast snow and cold. Fortunately for me, I left my ugly old Dickie's thermal jacket in the car, it wasn't pretty but it was warm. As we got into the track, laughing at ourselves, we began laughing at all the young girls forsaking their coats, dressed in high heels and slinky dresses all in the name of 'looking good'. Silly girls, they will learn on a day like this warm and 'sensible shoes' are the only way to go.
We all enjoyed the day catching up, betting the ponies, trying to stay warm and of course drinking. I managed to make a few good hits on some races leaving me pretty much even for the day....it's been to long ladies, we need to do this again when Keeneland opens in October, hopefully it will be a much prettier day.
I got home about 9 that night, I had places I should of been but tired and still recovering, I went to bed. This morning I woke to a text message that my daughter's would be arriving home today....guess I need to go grocery shopping - uh, it dawned on me Easter is tomorrow and I haven't done a thing!
What we got was overcast snow and cold. Fortunately for me, I left my ugly old Dickie's thermal jacket in the car, it wasn't pretty but it was warm. As we got into the track, laughing at ourselves, we began laughing at all the young girls forsaking their coats, dressed in high heels and slinky dresses all in the name of 'looking good'. Silly girls, they will learn on a day like this warm and 'sensible shoes' are the only way to go.
We all enjoyed the day catching up, betting the ponies, trying to stay warm and of course drinking. I managed to make a few good hits on some races leaving me pretty much even for the day....it's been to long ladies, we need to do this again when Keeneland opens in October, hopefully it will be a much prettier day.
I got home about 9 that night, I had places I should of been but tired and still recovering, I went to bed. This morning I woke to a text message that my daughter's would be arriving home today....guess I need to go grocery shopping - uh, it dawned on me Easter is tomorrow and I haven't done a thing!
Sunday, April 01, 2007
And their gone....
I managed to make it through the week, slowly recovering but still not 100% which still leaves me a little weak after awhile I just need to lay down.Alex's birthday was on Monday, we took her for dinner, but we still needed to have her party, the only day that everyone was available was Thursday before spring break began. So Thursday after work, her and I were off to the store to pick up party supplies and her cake, it was to be a little more laid-back affair this year. We tried several other options, but timing and friends availability did not allow any of those to happen. She had 8 girls over to hang and celebrate, 4 of them ended up sleeping over. They were both pleasure, amusement and pain sometimes. One kept insisting she was going to TP me while I slept, I informed her she wouldn't be living after that and then the lighter seen below needed to be confiscated after they decided to burn things, cake, plates, etc....Ahh kids, don't 'ya love them. They finally congregated in Alex's room chatting, IMing other friends and playing DDR.
Early Friday morning, Alex still needed to pack and I had 4 girls to get on their way home and myself into work. We managed with Kelsey taking Ashleigh home so she could see Jarrod before she left. I past their dad on his way to the house in the RV on my way into work. They are headed to St. Augustine, though Alex truly wanted to go to St. Pete.The house was not to bad and some early morning picking up while the girls were slowly waking up, I managed to make it look decent again.
After a day of work, no kids and the house to myself, guess what I was ready for....party!!! Uh no, BED!!! and that is exactly what I did. By 6pm, I was in bed, cell phone off and no communication...rest was in order.
I woke up early Saturday, hmmm wonder if it was the 6pm bedtime? Still slow and walking like a pregnant woman whose belly hurts, I began working getting the rest of the house done. After almost 2 weeks down for the count a few things have gotten out of hand. It was a good day, storms ran throughout the day, some quite strong and the lightening hitting close, I had the windows open, I do love a good storm. In between cleaning and laundry, I rested, still getting my energy about me. Though I am hungry, it generally hurts after I eat, so I have been waiting until I can't stand it. I know, not smart, but hey you deal with the aches & pain I have. And yes, I know, what about the dr., been there, same story, pain relief, heat and time.....don't they know I am not a patient person and have things to do? I stuck close to home all day and went to bed early again, but at least my house was clean and I was feeling good about that. I am not a neat freak, but I do like some order and when chaos prevails, it truly throws me off balance, this would explain why I keep Alex's door shut -lol.
Today was a truly beautiful day, sun, light breeze and wispy clouds. My neighbor trumped me again by mowing his lawn early, this left mine looking about 2 feet to high. I know he is excited about his new 42" deck mower, but come on, at least one more week? It was time to mow, dad, you would be proud of me, I cleaned the mower deck, check the spark plug and added oil. One pull and it was running, this much to the chagrin of my other two neighbors who were attempting to start their own mowers, they weren't having much luck. Off and mowing, I like to mow,
it gives me a sense of being done with something...but...problems; as I mowed a straight line from the front to the back, the water became deeper and deeper. Opps, the backyard is a moat, guess it will have to wait. I continued on with the front, finished and rested.This is my Bradford Pear, they are all over in our neighborhood which is called Bradford Place, think there is a connection? This tree was all but dead 2 years ago. Mine and two neighbors were lost from some boring beetle. Mine started to re-generate from the base and now has come back as this beautiful flowering display.
Not to keep me down when I am on a roll, it was time to plant all those beautiful plants I picked up at the garden show before they died in their pots. Evaluating, moving and watching the sun patterns (most like partial shade) I decided most of them would do best in my big side garden, the planting began. They are all now happily resting in their new homes with expectations of rain this evening to give them a boost, if not, I will water them tomorrow after I get a new hose, mine didn't make it through the winter - I got soaked finding this out.
This is a Japanese Pieris, I fell in love with the tiny hanging rows of cockle shells when it bloomed and its an evergreen. Seeking information with my mom's help on where to plant and to know a little m
ore about it, we discovered there is an American version called Andromeda or Moutain Fetterbush and guess what, it's highly toxic....oh well, need to tell my kids no Yule Gibbons acts on this plant...like they would even know who he is...Once done, I rested again dozing while a wonderful breeze flowed through my windows only to be suddenly awoken by incessant ringing of my doorbell. My neighbor, the one who mowed to early, we swap equipment all the time and he was needing my spreader, for this, he took his new bad-ass mower and took care of my backyard saving me the headache and backache (the grass grows even taller & thicker back there). So laundry almost done, the house cleaned with no expectations of it getting messy this week and my yard ready for Spring, I feel I did get something done despite my slowness.....hopefully this week will be a continued recovery so I can be back to my old self, on the move, getting things done.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
The week is almost over!!!
It's been a busy one, the priority, Alex's birthday party to be held this evening, Alex having cheer leading tryouts and awaiting the posting of the teams, and of course, my very slow recovery and still not right feeling trying to get through all of this! Don't you just love life sometimes!
But the big news!!!!
There is evidence another teenager has been inhabiting the house, we have seen this strange mysteriously elusive creature on occasion or hear its call as it moves through house.
But the big news!!!!
Alex made the Freshman Winter Fall Squad for Cheer leading.
This is a big deal, competition was tight, a lot of girls trying out and Alex lacks years of competitive tumbling, dance and cheer, we played soccer. She took a few tumbling classes, but for the most part, she was not as experienced as a lot of the other girls trying out. She will be taking back handspring classes now to get this right, I am coming to understand this is one important cheer skill. She can do it on Kelsey's bed, when being spotted or on a trampoline, its her confidence that needs building, I have no doubts she will have it mastered before her season.
The posting of the squads was interesting, here are all us parents sitting in the parking lot at 10pm, the girls huddled around a door awaiting to see if they will post them tonight, most are in their tryout outfits still (shorts & t-shirts) freezing. Alex had plans with 5 other girls to spend the night at her friends house, she had gone to the posting with someone else, never asking if mom wanted to come. But I was worried, if she didn't make it would she truly want to go spend the night with a bunch of girls that might have? I drove to the high school, parked and waited. Roughly 10:10pm, you could see the activity at the door, and then they began to file out, some cheering loudly, others not so much. But where was Alex, finally I saw her, neither looking dejected, nor elated...okay this is tough. I watch, not wanting to intrude, finally she begins to walk back to the friend's car, I get out and sit on the front my hood, she doesn't see me, still I can't tell what has occurred from her mannerisms, and it is dark. I call out to her, she looks up, screams Mom, obviously elated I am there and shouts ' I made it!', relief floods over me, good for her! For all the pain I may suffer, it is moments like these I hope remain with me forever.
Congratulations Alex, mom is proud of you!
This is a big deal, competition was tight, a lot of girls trying out and Alex lacks years of competitive tumbling, dance and cheer, we played soccer. She took a few tumbling classes, but for the most part, she was not as experienced as a lot of the other girls trying out. She will be taking back handspring classes now to get this right, I am coming to understand this is one important cheer skill. She can do it on Kelsey's bed, when being spotted or on a trampoline, its her confidence that needs building, I have no doubts she will have it mastered before her season.
The posting of the squads was interesting, here are all us parents sitting in the parking lot at 10pm, the girls huddled around a door awaiting to see if they will post them tonight, most are in their tryout outfits still (shorts & t-shirts) freezing. Alex had plans with 5 other girls to spend the night at her friends house, she had gone to the posting with someone else, never asking if mom wanted to come. But I was worried, if she didn't make it would she truly want to go spend the night with a bunch of girls that might have? I drove to the high school, parked and waited. Roughly 10:10pm, you could see the activity at the door, and then they began to file out, some cheering loudly, others not so much. But where was Alex, finally I saw her, neither looking dejected, nor elated...okay this is tough. I watch, not wanting to intrude, finally she begins to walk back to the friend's car, I get out and sit on the front my hood, she doesn't see me, still I can't tell what has occurred from her mannerisms, and it is dark. I call out to her, she looks up, screams Mom, obviously elated I am there and shouts ' I made it!', relief floods over me, good for her! For all the pain I may suffer, it is moments like these I hope remain with me forever.
Congratulations Alex, mom is proud of you!
There is evidence another teenager has been inhabiting the house, we have seen this strange mysteriously elusive creature on occasion or hear its call as it moves through house.
Happy Birthday Alex!!!
Happy Birthday My Baby Girl!!
Now Fourteen!
All images are self-potraits, she is pretty handy with a camera.
This is killing me some, she is now full teenager, ready to enter High School in the fall
and growing into a beautiful young lady.
All images are self-potraits, she is pretty handy with a camera.
This is killing me some, she is now full teenager, ready to enter High School in the fall
and growing into a beautiful young lady.
Alex spent her birthday at the High School Cheerleading tryouts, I attended at 7:30 for a meeting, as the 'rules' of tryouts and the alike were being told to us parents, I now know I am no longer in the easy going culture of soccer, this is going to be interesting.
Promptly after the meeting, we headed off to Olive Garden for dinner, Kelsey's boyfriend, his sister (also Alex's best friend) and their mother joined us. It was a late night, Alex was happy and I went straight to bed, it was still hard sitting for to long and my poor belly, still bloated and burned let me know it wasn't particularly happy as well.
Promptly after the meeting, we headed off to Olive Garden for dinner, Kelsey's boyfriend, his sister (also Alex's best friend) and their mother joined us. It was a late night, Alex was happy and I went straight to bed, it was still hard sitting for to long and my poor belly, still bloated and burned let me know it wasn't particularly happy as well.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
I hate when I am right....
As predicted Monday, the week went downhill from there. Still not feeling 100%, I went and dealt with work (yes dealt), ran the kids and came home and died. I got out Wednesday night, but was home pretty early. Up early and working on Thursday, my day to work from home, I was accomplishing lots, but that pain in my abdomen was making me take notice, pop some ibuprofen and on I go.
Had a lunch date and by the time I got home, the pain was really starting to kick in. Okay, on to the next drug in the cabinet so I can at least finish the day's work. At the stroke of 4:30pm, I was down, in pain and raiding all pain killers from my cabinet and a heating pad just to get some relief. Friday, I did attempt to go to work, drugs in system and heating pad in hand, it didn't work, I was so dizzy and feverish I left after 4 hours and talk to my parents all the way home just to keep me focused so I could make it there. It was from this point I proceeded through the weekend in and out of a waking state, sweating and mostly sleeping.
The girls, bless them, handles their schedules, transportation, laundry, cleaned and more. I did take Alex to her last indoor game on Saturday wearing the biggest clothes I have, by now I added burns to my belly from using the heating pad so much. The game was good, Alex played really well but we ended up losing in the end by 2, it would of been nice to have won since it was against her old team, but they had to really work for it and the girls played a good game, they just got a couple of breaks.
The other kicker to all this out of world experience, it was an absolutely beautiful weekend, high in the 80s and I should of been out in the gardens cleaning, weeding and getting them ready for their spring displays, and I still have those plants from the garden show to get in. Except Saturday, I never saw much of the light of day.
Now feeling only slightly better, the pain is manageable I have to start some things to get ready for the week ahead. First priority, Alex's birthday is tomorrow, I will now be a proud parent of a 14 year old.
Had a lunch date and by the time I got home, the pain was really starting to kick in. Okay, on to the next drug in the cabinet so I can at least finish the day's work. At the stroke of 4:30pm, I was down, in pain and raiding all pain killers from my cabinet and a heating pad just to get some relief. Friday, I did attempt to go to work, drugs in system and heating pad in hand, it didn't work, I was so dizzy and feverish I left after 4 hours and talk to my parents all the way home just to keep me focused so I could make it there. It was from this point I proceeded through the weekend in and out of a waking state, sweating and mostly sleeping.
The girls, bless them, handles their schedules, transportation, laundry, cleaned and more. I did take Alex to her last indoor game on Saturday wearing the biggest clothes I have, by now I added burns to my belly from using the heating pad so much. The game was good, Alex played really well but we ended up losing in the end by 2, it would of been nice to have won since it was against her old team, but they had to really work for it and the girls played a good game, they just got a couple of breaks.
The other kicker to all this out of world experience, it was an absolutely beautiful weekend, high in the 80s and I should of been out in the gardens cleaning, weeding and getting them ready for their spring displays, and I still have those plants from the garden show to get in. Except Saturday, I never saw much of the light of day.
Now feeling only slightly better, the pain is manageable I have to start some things to get ready for the week ahead. First priority, Alex's birthday is tomorrow, I will now be a proud parent of a 14 year old.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Drama Llama rears its head....
Watch out it may get you too.....
Wednesday evening brought on some poker drama at the bar, 'ya see, we play games (gin rummy, euchre, more hold-em, russia poker) after we are off the regular game, there is sometimes $$ associated with these games. If caught, the bar would be in trouble, that whole illegal gambling thing and all. For this, no money is ever brought out while at the table, and no one is supposed to be seen exchanging money. This went well until what I understand about a month ago, the owner caught money on the table and declared no more card playing after the regular game, I was not there so the next time I was there, it was like nothing happened other than no gambling was being done, no problem, I am there for the cards and friends anyway.
Well, this evening we were not gambling we were playing cards. The owner had been unhappy of late of these after games, especially when a certain friend of ours was involved, well this evening he went ballistic, testosterone laden comments fell all around, people walking out, etc....and here we sit going (kinda embarrassed) - what brought this all on? We left and were all chatting out front, well out comes the guy that runs the league at this bar followed by the owner and then 2 bouncers, comments of suck something and the alike ensued. The owner, a little hothead anyway, muttering to himself thinking he took care of him....
And then it hit me, life a force, I had to say something, I had to force this little (place any word here) that as an owner of a bar, it maybe sometimes warranted to use this type of language and manner, but at that time it was very uncomfortable for all of us standing there. So what did I do, I called him out on it in a nice calm voice and explained to him as his customers we were not all aware of what brought any of this on and we didn't feel it was appropriate to treat us in this manner, especially since we are regulars to his establishment every Wednesday.
He had backup. Seeing me speak up, one of his bouncers decided to fluff himself behind the owner. I know what you are thinking, big strong me can take out a terrier of a man who routinely weight lifts and has arms the size of coffee cans, yeah that's right I'm bad. Well after noticing I am sorta giggling at this guy behind him, the owner whips around to see his bouncer all fluffed up and ready to take me down, he promptly told him to get inside...now that was fun watching big man on campus get scolded like a child and told to get to his room.
After talking more, I got what I wanted, an apology from the owner for how he treated the group of us when his concerns and issues was with one individual. I went home happy....
Wednesday evening brought on some poker drama at the bar, 'ya see, we play games (gin rummy, euchre, more hold-em, russia poker) after we are off the regular game, there is sometimes $$ associated with these games. If caught, the bar would be in trouble, that whole illegal gambling thing and all. For this, no money is ever brought out while at the table, and no one is supposed to be seen exchanging money. This went well until what I understand about a month ago, the owner caught money on the table and declared no more card playing after the regular game, I was not there so the next time I was there, it was like nothing happened other than no gambling was being done, no problem, I am there for the cards and friends anyway.
Well, this evening we were not gambling we were playing cards. The owner had been unhappy of late of these after games, especially when a certain friend of ours was involved, well this evening he went ballistic, testosterone laden comments fell all around, people walking out, etc....and here we sit going (kinda embarrassed) - what brought this all on? We left and were all chatting out front, well out comes the guy that runs the league at this bar followed by the owner and then 2 bouncers, comments of suck something and the alike ensued. The owner, a little hothead anyway, muttering to himself thinking he took care of him....
And then it hit me, life a force, I had to say something, I had to force this little (place any word here) that as an owner of a bar, it maybe sometimes warranted to use this type of language and manner, but at that time it was very uncomfortable for all of us standing there. So what did I do, I called him out on it in a nice calm voice and explained to him as his customers we were not all aware of what brought any of this on and we didn't feel it was appropriate to treat us in this manner, especially since we are regulars to his establishment every Wednesday.
He had backup. Seeing me speak up, one of his bouncers decided to fluff himself behind the owner. I know what you are thinking, big strong me can take out a terrier of a man who routinely weight lifts and has arms the size of coffee cans, yeah that's right I'm bad. Well after noticing I am sorta giggling at this guy behind him, the owner whips around to see his bouncer all fluffed up and ready to take me down, he promptly told him to get inside...now that was fun watching big man on campus get scolded like a child and told to get to his room.
After talking more, I got what I wanted, an apology from the owner for how he treated the group of us when his concerns and issues was with one individual. I went home happy....
Sunday, March 18, 2007
I don't like Mondays!!
A long busy weekend, I spent it driving over 350+ miles going to soccer games, events, home, etc. In between it was St. Pattys Day where it is required to celebrate right? With several invitations and the kids schedule butting up against all of them, I didn't get out until 11pm, course I did take a small moment to shower, slather lotion and nap for 20 minutes, thank god I did ~ up early again Sunday to be at a soccer game at 7am, the sun was at least out, but that is about all I can say.
Sunday was also the day the Garden Show closed meaning Marla and I needed to be at the fairgrounds at 6pm to pick up our plants and urn purchased earlier. It was NUTS, people grabbing plants from the displays, how much, how many, exhibitors trying to break down displays and the alike. I quickly thought and we started at the top of the hall, bringing 'additional' purchases down to be stacked by her urn, this worked well, the workers for the urn company ended up hauling all our stuff out to the car and load it, let's just say we managed to fill up the back end of a suburban. The plants are now awaiting their final plantings (or resting place) in my gardens, let it get just a tad warmer, they will be there.
Which brings me to this lovely Monday morning, which greeted me with a 100+ temperature, back pain and no voice. I called in to work sick and headed back to bed, it was around 3pm my fever finally broke but I was left exhausted and having some slight belly bloat, a premonition of what was to come?
As many know, when you are a single mom, life doesn't stop just cause you are sick, I got up feeling a little better and took care of their needs, promptly back into bed by 9pm and awake again at 11pm....the week isn't looking up at this point.
Sunday was also the day the Garden Show closed meaning Marla and I needed to be at the fairgrounds at 6pm to pick up our plants and urn purchased earlier. It was NUTS, people grabbing plants from the displays, how much, how many, exhibitors trying to break down displays and the alike. I quickly thought and we started at the top of the hall, bringing 'additional' purchases down to be stacked by her urn, this worked well, the workers for the urn company ended up hauling all our stuff out to the car and load it, let's just say we managed to fill up the back end of a suburban. The plants are now awaiting their final plantings (or resting place) in my gardens, let it get just a tad warmer, they will be there.
Which brings me to this lovely Monday morning, which greeted me with a 100+ temperature, back pain and no voice. I called in to work sick and headed back to bed, it was around 3pm my fever finally broke but I was left exhausted and having some slight belly bloat, a premonition of what was to come?
As many know, when you are a single mom, life doesn't stop just cause you are sick, I got up feeling a little better and took care of their needs, promptly back into bed by 9pm and awake again at 11pm....the week isn't looking up at this point.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Kelsey Inducted to National Honor Society
Tonight my mom and I joined Kelsey in attending her induction ceremonies for the National Honor Society, I was a proud momma. She doesn't think its a big deal, but I am sure she will soon when it helps on those college and scholarship applications. 72 juniors were inducted this evening.
Here is Kelsey on stage....she had a little hard time walking since she was wearing my pants (too long) and my shoes (too big).
Pictures afterwards.
Here is Kelsey on stage....she had a little hard time walking since she was wearing my pants (too long) and my shoes (too big).
Pictures afterwards.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
The best man in my life...
He's always greets me at the door tail wagging
Excited I am home ~ What's not to love!
Excited I am home ~ What's not to love!
And he gives me comic relief.
I received one of those laser pointers, knowing my brother's cats like to chase it I thought I would give it a try on ours. The cats weren't interested.
But Patches ~ he 'sees the light'
I received one of those laser pointers, knowing my brother's cats like to chase it I thought I would give it a try on ours. The cats weren't interested.
But Patches ~ he 'sees the light'
I have created a monster
He now sits in my room, on the ready, panting and watching the floor every evening wagging his tail awaiting the little red dot. He now catches any reflective light from mirrors, watches, jewelry and more ~ so every morning as I put on my makeup, he is there waiting!
I do play a mean trick on him, he gets so involved following the little red dot he fails to think about the cats hiding just under the edge of the bed. As the light moves closer , a cat paw comes striking out....he backs off but is right back if the light goes there...I will never understand how a dog can be so smart, but yet so stupid at the same time, come to think of it, I guess I have met some people like this in my life.
And what else did I discover? He chases the dust flakes in the trails of sunlight that streams into the windows late in the afternoon. It took me a minute to figure out what the heck he was doing, but when I caught a hold of a drifting piece and he went up and ate it! And where is this dust coming from, that as well became evident when I watch as he wagged his tail in that same stream of light ~ dust, grass and hair was flying off.
How can you not love or have a good pet in your life, they are always happy to see you, the are there through thick and thin (at least if you keep feeding them), they don't judge and it is a know fact they reduce stress, well I would take exception with that one if I had to discuss the cats right now, but that is for another time.
Looks like a bath is next up for Patches..
He now sits in my room, on the ready, panting and watching the floor every evening wagging his tail awaiting the little red dot. He now catches any reflective light from mirrors, watches, jewelry and more ~ so every morning as I put on my makeup, he is there waiting!
I do play a mean trick on him, he gets so involved following the little red dot he fails to think about the cats hiding just under the edge of the bed. As the light moves closer , a cat paw comes striking out....he backs off but is right back if the light goes there...I will never understand how a dog can be so smart, but yet so stupid at the same time, come to think of it, I guess I have met some people like this in my life.
And what else did I discover? He chases the dust flakes in the trails of sunlight that streams into the windows late in the afternoon. It took me a minute to figure out what the heck he was doing, but when I caught a hold of a drifting piece and he went up and ate it! And where is this dust coming from, that as well became evident when I watch as he wagged his tail in that same stream of light ~ dust, grass and hair was flying off.
How can you not love or have a good pet in your life, they are always happy to see you, the are there through thick and thin (at least if you keep feeding them), they don't judge and it is a know fact they reduce stress, well I would take exception with that one if I had to discuss the cats right now, but that is for another time.
Looks like a bath is next up for Patches..
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Alex Cheerleading
Cheer season is over, here is a video and stills of Alex cheering!
She is by the 'O' in Trojan
Here are some stills from the same game..
Next up.....soccer
She is by the 'O' in Trojan
Here are some stills from the same game..
Next up.....soccer
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Snow...again
The panic was on, everyone, including myself rushed to the grocery store to 'stock up' or get missing items in preparation for the snow. Now in reality driving would be possible, it wasn't suggested.
My brother and his wife brought home baby Jade (see post below) and I was there to assist getting them settled. I encouraged my brother to 'stock up' as well since neither of them had been home for a few days, he was skeptical, he believes its a scam between the weathermen and the stores to sell out thier products since the weathermen always mis-predict the weather, no one is the wiser...hmmm, but I truly thought this one was not going to be nice. April settled for a bit, Chris and I headed off to the store. It was packed, the stores were still stocked and the cashier's not looking to weary, but they said it had been steady all day.
So, this morning I awoke to the tingling of snow/sleet against my window. The predicted weather had come with us with the south receiving more rain mix leaving the snow under a hard packed crust. Patches of course needed to go out, he was not amused.
Update 2/14: We all managed to get out on Wednesday, my driveway was horrible had to dig myself out a few times just to get into the court which was no better. Left a message for my girls on their mirror - Happy Valentines Day ~ Please shovel drive - they did, bless them.
My brother and his wife brought home baby Jade (see post below) and I was there to assist getting them settled. I encouraged my brother to 'stock up' as well since neither of them had been home for a few days, he was skeptical, he believes its a scam between the weathermen and the stores to sell out thier products since the weathermen always mis-predict the weather, no one is the wiser...hmmm, but I truly thought this one was not going to be nice. April settled for a bit, Chris and I headed off to the store. It was packed, the stores were still stocked and the cashier's not looking to weary, but they said it had been steady all day.
So, this morning I awoke to the tingling of snow/sleet against my window. The predicted weather had come with us with the south receiving more rain mix leaving the snow under a hard packed crust. Patches of course needed to go out, he was not amused.
Update 2/14: We all managed to get out on Wednesday, my driveway was horrible had to dig myself out a few times just to get into the court which was no better. Left a message for my girls on their mirror - Happy Valentines Day ~ Please shovel drive - they did, bless them.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Welcome Baby Jade!
I'm a New Aunt ~ First Time!!!
And I have had to wait awhile for this honor. My brother and his wife brought this beautiful baby girl into the world this week and we are all so excited for them and us!
Alex is doing well after last Wednesday's surgery, some jaw pain occasionally, but overall great!
We found Kelsey ~
At least for a dinner out with her, her boyfriend and his family. She is seen her with Peyton and Jaden, they just love Kelsey.
Great Week All.....Enjoy!
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Snow and Surgery
Alex is resting comfortably after having 3 teeth extracted and chains bolted to some upper teeth to pull them down. She looked so miserable afterwards, her mouth crammed full of gauze, tears and cracked lips. Hopefully she won't suffer to much swelling and will be back on her feet soon.
Yesterday we got our first snow, after driving 1.5 hrs to get home, stopping by to drop some warm dry socks off to Kelsey, I came home to the task of having to shovel my drive especially since I could hardly manage the court, it is on these days I miss my truck.
Yesterday we got our first snow, after driving 1.5 hrs to get home, stopping by to drop some warm dry socks off to Kelsey, I came home to the task of having to shovel my drive especially since I could hardly manage the court, it is on these days I miss my truck.
Monday, February 05, 2007
COLTS SUPERBOWL CHAMPIONS!!!!
We Believed!!!!
The day was bitter cold with wind blowing harshly across the Indiana plain. I had to feel so sorry for Kelsey working out in this weather at the car wash, and yes, they were busy. Alex and I hung around the house getting ready for the game. She joining Katie for a Superbowl party, I headed to 'That Place' to join my AFC game group for another celebration and Kelsey went to Jarod's after she got off work.
The game was awesome and tough on the heart! Mom, I bet you loved that call ~ yes, I had been enjoying myself. What a great time to be in Indianapolis, even with the cold.
Friday, February 02, 2007
GO COLTS ~ BELIEVE IN THE BLUE
The buzz and excitement is truly like electricity in the air ~ it is hard to find someone NOT wearing Colts Gear today! So the parties begin tonight - woo hoo! I am off on Monday as well as half the population of Indianapolis as well, they should of just closed the city down.
The city has been going crazy all week! News reports started on Monday and have continued through each day bringing new personalities either on TV or radio and thier renditions of Miami. Dammit - I want to be in Miami, would even settle for KeyWest and a large screen - lol.
The city has been going crazy all week! News reports started on Monday and have continued through each day bringing new personalities either on TV or radio and thier renditions of Miami. Dammit - I want to be in Miami, would even settle for KeyWest and a large screen - lol.
CHEER FOR THE COLTS BABY!
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Where is Kelsey?
I don't know, have you seen her?Between school, soccer, boyfriend and work the girl has gone missing.
I have to laugh, with the temperatures in the teens she is coming to understand COLD weather working at the car wash. She is worried now about next Monday when it is to get around 2 degrees - I can't wait.
Alex made honor roll and here is a picture from this week's basketball game against Center Grove North, will have video clip shortly. They beat us by 2 goals in overtime.
Soccer is picking up with more practices and of course, indoor every Saturday. If it looks like it will be over 40 degrees, I bet they will be outside practicing, thankfully for now, they are still inside.
I have had no luck in cards of late in the Wednesday's games, there is drama at our favorite place to play, our favorite bartender quit and they have replaced him with someone that isn't as nice and increased a coke to $2, which isn't bad, but with no refills or free if you have been partaking of the spirits all evening that's just a load of bull. Of course there is a slight issue with the 'after' games and monies being dispensed, many of us will be looking elsewhere to play, dang and it was so close to my house.
Have a good rest of the week - get better mom!
Sunday, January 28, 2007
A Day of Rest.....
Alex came home this morning after spending Saturday spending overnight at a church lockdown. When she was delivered to my doorstep this morning I was informed she had only 2.5 hours of sleep.School poster project due and an accident that caused more work, Alex informed me she was wide awake and ready to get it done. I was busy getting the computer setup for her to enter and print her poster text. I printed one of the sections, pulled it off the printer, turned around and here was Alex.
She slept for 5.5 hours, did the poster done and then went to bed again!
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Midweek Cat Nap
On Monday my voice was gone, thinking it was hoarse from all my screaming on Sunday - (that was a thriller) I pretty much ignored it until the next morning when I proceeded to come down with a full blow head cold, I have managed to stave off the worse suffering only from a few days of high fever and sneezing attacks, today I am feeling much better, and yes, I did go to work everyday.
Alex on the other hand, has been suffering knee and joint pain, last night she put a heating pad over her knees while watching CSI, someone else decided they needed the heat as well.
It takes a picture like this for me to realize just how big a cat Scamp is......
Have a great weekend all!
Alex on the other hand, has been suffering knee and joint pain, last night she put a heating pad over her knees while watching CSI, someone else decided they needed the heat as well.
It takes a picture like this for me to realize just how big a cat Scamp is......GO COLTS!
- The town is going nuts, we are all enjoying the camaraderie that comes along with a unifying event such as the Super Bowl. The stores are frenzied with shoppers picking up the latest Super Bowl shirts and apparel which are streaming out of the stores ~ the shoppers chatting with each other like they have known each other for years. Wear the Blue and be ensured someone will strike up a conversation. The feeling is in the air and we are all prepping for a fantastic weekend on the 4th. Most people I know are off on the 5th, myself included!Have a great weekend all!
Monday, January 22, 2007
COLTS AFC CHAMPIONS!!!
We started Sunday out with snow - and a fairly good amount in a very short time period. Kelsey was in a mood, she got up early and cleaned the downstairs, did dishes and started her laundry. I think this is great and a part of her responsibilities for living in the house. She on the other hand likes to remind us all the labors and stuff she has done - um, no.....doesn't work that way for me. Alex and Amanda had stayed up until 5am taking silly pictures and movies, again, will post one here shortly. They were still crashed at noon, but I finally woke them up and encouraged them to shovel my driveway while I went out.
Gearing up for today's game - I went shopping with a friend to find a cute Colts shirt to wear, Colts stuff is getting to be slim pickins since it is towards the end of season, but there are a few. Found a cute pink girls shirt (which is also hard to find - girls NFL stuff) and felt I was ready for the game. Came home to find the girls did indeed shovel the drive, and the sideway and of course were both soaking wet from building a snowman, sliding across the lawn on cardboard and dumping/throwing tons of snow on each other.
It was getting near game time - Kelsey was going to watch the game at her boyfriends house, I was dropping Alex off at Amanda's to stay there while I was out for the game. When I showed up around 4:30pm, a few of the pepple already had a mighty fine buzz on, a few had been there since noon. With the Bear's game going on and me rooting them to victory I discovered a lot of people in the bar wanted the Saints to win so at this time I was going against popular opinion, big deal, me and Brian the huge big bears fan bouncer at the bar were alright with it.
Then it was time - the Colts game, we were ready - buckets of beer, blue shots and the agreement to do a jager bomb on each touchdown was in place. The game begins, cheering ensues - New England gets thier first points, frustration on some of the plays, more beer goes down. A few more bad plays with only 3 on the board, a lot of jello shots and a few more beers down. We weren't loosing faith, but strengthing it! ;) And then, after 1/2 time, a gleam - you could see something more on the field the way the Colts were playing. With each down, cheers arose from the bar - we were willing that ball down inch by inch. A few Jagers were consumed and everyone in the bar turned thier shirts/jersey's around to assist in 'turning around' the game. Nails were bitten, angry protests at refs and calls were heard and most of all the quietness that come across a crowd when the last play is to happen and the fat lady sings!
And she SANG!!!! Baby - cheers, drinks, hugs, high-fives and jubliation spread across the bar. I called my mom/dad and said 'can you believe it - my 2 favorite teams are in the Super Bowl' and both are from the Midwest - how great is that! I am so excited. So after a long, tense game and the Colts coming out the victor!
SUPERBOWL -
COLTS VS BEARS
How can I lose?
COLTS VS BEARS
How can I lose?
Soccer and the Sh*t
Alex had indoor game today, it was a tough one and they lost by 1 point, I have some video to put up, really enjoying my new little digital camera, it's been fun to take all types of pics and videos. Since it is small enough, I can carry it around and have it with me for all those 'special moments' now.
Alex is the blue streak running down the field.
We stopped by to see some good friends we haven't seen in a bit, their 2nd oldest was turning 19 that day (wow) and bless his heart, could't celebrate much since he has sectional wrestling this next coming weekend. He wrestles the 145 weight class and had already 'indulged' that day, he was up to 162 - he knew he would be 'dieting' this week. But he did place second in the regional - go Toni!
( Alex and Amanda)
I took thier daughter Amanda along with me and dropped her and Alex off at the HS basketball game. Kelsey along with her soccer team was being recognized at 1/2 time for being the only CG Varsity team with a combined average GPA of 3.55 - pretty impressive for 18 girls! The two younger ones came back to the house and Amanda spent the night, Kelsey came in around 1am fussing that I did not let her stay out later - State curfew is 1am for 17 year olds, she just can't get it through her head that I am keeping her to that. For me, I worry that them coming home between the hours of 2:30 - 3:30am puts them right into the highest time for drunk drivers to be on the road, so to keep it safe all the way around, she is home by 1, she doesn't like it, but it is the law!
Here is what the two of them decided to do after I went to sleep......of course, I couldn't help but giggle - we put slow motion on it which made it even funnier, well at least to us.
Alex's rendition of a crackhead, videography by Amanda
It was a semi-quiet evening home with the 2 girls there and relaxing for me.
We stopped by to see some good friends we haven't seen in a bit, their 2nd oldest was turning 19 that day (wow) and bless his heart, could't celebrate much since he has sectional wrestling this next coming weekend. He wrestles the 145 weight class and had already 'indulged' that day, he was up to 162 - he knew he would be 'dieting' this week. But he did place second in the regional - go Toni!
( Alex and Amanda)
I took thier daughter Amanda along with me and dropped her and Alex off at the HS basketball game. Kelsey along with her soccer team was being recognized at 1/2 time for being the only CG Varsity team with a combined average GPA of 3.55 - pretty impressive for 18 girls! The two younger ones came back to the house and Amanda spent the night, Kelsey came in around 1am fussing that I did not let her stay out later - State curfew is 1am for 17 year olds, she just can't get it through her head that I am keeping her to that. For me, I worry that them coming home between the hours of 2:30 - 3:30am puts them right into the highest time for drunk drivers to be on the road, so to keep it safe all the way around, she is home by 1, she doesn't like it, but it is the law!
Here is what the two of them decided to do after I went to sleep......of course, I couldn't help but giggle - we put slow motion on it which made it even funnier, well at least to us.
Alex's rendition of a crackhead, videography by Amanda
It was a semi-quiet evening home with the 2 girls there and relaxing for me.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Thank you Indiana BMV....
Friday was fairly quiet until about 3:30pm, I received a call from Kelsey - mom, I have been in accident, then very quickly, I am not hurt, it was not my fault and the car isn't to bad - whew! A friend of her's rear-ended her. But wait, theres more, there is always more. The 2 girls and one adult whom stopped to assist them (a mother of a senior) exchanged information and were all set to leave.
A state trooper pulls up and states, since both girls are under 17, I must write an accident report and they will need parental release before they can go anywhere. Okay, this is where the problems began - as mr. trooper was writing the report he noticed Kelsey' license plate was expired, oh crap - I never received notice or anything - so, he proceeded to give her a ticket and impound her car. GREAT! I am off, flying down the highway I am meeting Kelsey at the BMV office to get her car tags renewed.
I meet her there and find out 2 things - 1, they should of never registered/titled the car in the manner which they did the first place - hence they couldn't find last year's registration and 2, I continued to be informed that renewal notices are 'conveience items' and we should be responsible to know when our plates expire - this last one I am going to take issue with later especially after their recent $$$ upgrades to the BMV system. Well, the nice lady at the BMV went ahead and registered her car with a firm - get that title update pronto. We tracked down where Kelsey's car was impounded (the officer failed to give her any information other than a name) and off we went to get her car. So essentially for almost $400 dollars, we paid for 2 years of registration and got her car out of the impound.
Dang it - What's next, I am tryin' to save a few $$ here......geeez!
The week was pretty routine, did fairly well last night and on Wed. at the Poker league, as always, enjoyed the evening with friends. Alex had her first opportunity to play some futsal with the High school soccer girls on Wed. without her sister being there, it was a good experience for her to be 'on her own' with this group and for them to get to know her independant of her sister, personality wise they are 2 way different people! It was interesting all the 8th grade parents that hung around this practice/play, these girls will be freshman next year, I am of the notion you drop them off and return when finished, but what do I know. (or I am not up to playing the 'political' game others tend to do.
A state trooper pulls up and states, since both girls are under 17, I must write an accident report and they will need parental release before they can go anywhere. Okay, this is where the problems began - as mr. trooper was writing the report he noticed Kelsey' license plate was expired, oh crap - I never received notice or anything - so, he proceeded to give her a ticket and impound her car. GREAT! I am off, flying down the highway I am meeting Kelsey at the BMV office to get her car tags renewed.
I meet her there and find out 2 things - 1, they should of never registered/titled the car in the manner which they did the first place - hence they couldn't find last year's registration and 2, I continued to be informed that renewal notices are 'conveience items' and we should be responsible to know when our plates expire - this last one I am going to take issue with later especially after their recent $$$ upgrades to the BMV system. Well, the nice lady at the BMV went ahead and registered her car with a firm - get that title update pronto. We tracked down where Kelsey's car was impounded (the officer failed to give her any information other than a name) and off we went to get her car. So essentially for almost $400 dollars, we paid for 2 years of registration and got her car out of the impound.
Dang it - What's next, I am tryin' to save a few $$ here......geeez!
The week was pretty routine, did fairly well last night and on Wed. at the Poker league, as always, enjoyed the evening with friends. Alex had her first opportunity to play some futsal with the High school soccer girls on Wed. without her sister being there, it was a good experience for her to be 'on her own' with this group and for them to get to know her independant of her sister, personality wise they are 2 way different people! It was interesting all the 8th grade parents that hung around this practice/play, these girls will be freshman next year, I am of the notion you drop them off and return when finished, but what do I know. (or I am not up to playing the 'political' game others tend to do.
Don't Forget GO COLTS - TAKE AFC!!!!
Monday, January 15, 2007
The Little Mermaid...
| Alex's Introduction | |
As a fund raiser, the schools have a theater group come into town and put on a play. Auditions, rehersals and the play are all done in a week. Last Monday, they audition, 190 K-8 kids for 60 parts. Alex was selected as an assistant director to work off-stage getting everyone and props on-stage. The production of The Little Mermaids (the original).
They rehearsed all week 4-9pm. Show time was on Saturday 5pm - can you guess what that was smack in the middle of??? Yes, the Colts game. I had a few parties along with some cash games I could of attended, but would of missed the big production. So Jen and I (god love her) did the theater Saturday evening followed by a glass of wine, the final quarter of the Colts game and dinner. Though sad I missed the opportunity to pick up a few $$, I wouldn't of missed it for anything.
I could see Alex from my seat working with script in hand, moving little kids out on to stage and directing them to come back off - the seahorses were all K - 2nd graders and cute as all get out in their costumes. The story was good, the jokes bad but laughable and overall fun. I will admit I had people texting me the scores on my cell so I could keep up with the game.
Congrats Alex, A Job Well Done!Sunday, January 14, 2007
Computer Condom...Get Protected
Geek Stuff: MySpace Spyware, Ads & Popups Viruses
I have just spent over a 1 1/2 days workin on cleaning up malious stuff on Kelsey's laptop. It was running horribly slow, couldn't hardly use her internet browser or it would just shut down. Yes, I know being the internet geek I should of protected her system better, but hey, it was on my todo list.
These items snuck in through various downloaded fun stuff, features and instant messaging a lot of times you don't even know its there, some are coming through MySpace freebies.
We have 3 systems running, mine is protected by McAfee and regularly updated, Alex's has McAfee on it but the virus files had not been updated for awhile (didn't renew subscription), Kelsey was running unprotected.
Between the 3 systems,
Spybots Identified
Malware (Vicious popups)
There are two types of programs needed to identify these problems.
For Spyware software, I would recommend starting out with SpyBot Search and Destroy (S&D), its free and works good. There is not a single program that will capture all and since Kelsey's was SOOOO bad, I choose to use PC Tools Spyware Dr as well, the cost is relatively cheap since I need to cover (3) systems. You can read reviews/ratings of Spyware/Anti-Virus here along with pricing.
Please Note - Before doing anything to your computer - BACKUP ALL FILES, PICTURES AND MUSIC - you should be doing this regularly anyways.
You can download Spyware Dr for free and run a scan but you need to pay to clean or immunize your system. I covered 3 systems for $40 and will use it along with SpyBot S&D.
Next was the Anti-Viral software, I choose to go ahead and purchase PC Tools AntiVirus since there was a good deal with purchase of the above.
I spent the day scanning, removing programs and cleaning both Kelsey and Alex's machine. At the end of the day, Alex was clean, running a bit faster and doing well.
Kelsey, ugh! She still had several malware ad programs running, what they do is take over your internet browser and redirect you to a new website or window based on your Search or address in the browser's toolbar.
They are baddddd and take a little more patience to remove for you see, they load when your computer boots (hence your computer slows down). Once Windows opens they are up and running ready to do thier job, to hijack your computer browser. Names or ads for WinAntiVirus, gamespyarcade, yahabag.com and more. This is where things get tricky, these programs have changed Windows Registry (the brain of windows) and saved various other files and folders around on your system. And this is where I started looking for help. There are a few associations that technical people offer assistance in removing these programs from you computer, it takes patience and manual manipulation of your computer but the techs are really good about laying out step by step.
The first thing you will need is a program called HiJackThis, do not tell it to clean but save the log file, this is what any of the techs will need to begin to diagnose your prolems. After you get your logfile created, you will need to then enlist your help by posting to a forum, they will analyze your logfile and walk you through cleaning for your specifc problems. Security Cadets website offers support forum and latest news regarding adware issues. I used Dell Community Forum since I own Dell's. I am almost there in getting this done and getting her system back and running. To combat this issues in the future & make for a happy running computer, I have done the following:
I have just spent over a 1 1/2 days workin on cleaning up malious stuff on Kelsey's laptop. It was running horribly slow, couldn't hardly use her internet browser or it would just shut down. Yes, I know being the internet geek I should of protected her system better, but hey, it was on my todo list.
These items snuck in through various downloaded fun stuff, features and instant messaging a lot of times you don't even know its there, some are coming through MySpace freebies.
We have 3 systems running, mine is protected by McAfee and regularly updated, Alex's has McAfee on it but the virus files had not been updated for awhile (didn't renew subscription), Kelsey was running unprotected.
Between the 3 systems,
Spybots Identified
- Mine 114
- Alex 171
- Kelsey 352
Malware (Vicious popups)
- Mine 0
- Alex 2
- Kelsey 35
There are two types of programs needed to identify these problems.
- Spyware Indetification & Remover
- Anti-Virus Software
For Spyware software, I would recommend starting out with SpyBot Search and Destroy (S&D), its free and works good. There is not a single program that will capture all and since Kelsey's was SOOOO bad, I choose to use PC Tools Spyware Dr as well, the cost is relatively cheap since I need to cover (3) systems. You can read reviews/ratings of Spyware/Anti-Virus here along with pricing.
Please Note - Before doing anything to your computer - BACKUP ALL FILES, PICTURES AND MUSIC - you should be doing this regularly anyways.
You can download Spyware Dr for free and run a scan but you need to pay to clean or immunize your system. I covered 3 systems for $40 and will use it along with SpyBot S&D.
Next was the Anti-Viral software, I choose to go ahead and purchase PC Tools AntiVirus since there was a good deal with purchase of the above.
I spent the day scanning, removing programs and cleaning both Kelsey and Alex's machine. At the end of the day, Alex was clean, running a bit faster and doing well.
Kelsey, ugh! She still had several malware ad programs running, what they do is take over your internet browser and redirect you to a new website or window based on your Search or address in the browser's toolbar.
They are baddddd and take a little more patience to remove for you see, they load when your computer boots (hence your computer slows down). Once Windows opens they are up and running ready to do thier job, to hijack your computer browser. Names or ads for WinAntiVirus, gamespyarcade, yahabag.com and more. This is where things get tricky, these programs have changed Windows Registry (the brain of windows) and saved various other files and folders around on your system. And this is where I started looking for help. There are a few associations that technical people offer assistance in removing these programs from you computer, it takes patience and manual manipulation of your computer but the techs are really good about laying out step by step.
The first thing you will need is a program called HiJackThis, do not tell it to clean but save the log file, this is what any of the techs will need to begin to diagnose your prolems. After you get your logfile created, you will need to then enlist your help by posting to a forum, they will analyze your logfile and walk you through cleaning for your specifc problems. Security Cadets website offers support forum and latest news regarding adware issues. I used Dell Community Forum since I own Dell's. I am almost there in getting this done and getting her system back and running. To combat this issues in the future & make for a happy running computer, I have done the following:
- Updated all Internet Browsers and plugins (Adobe Reader. Flash. QuickTime, Java
- Update/Purchase all Anti-Viral software
- Update/Purchase all Spyware software
- Download CCLeaner (Crap Cleaner) and run - it's free
- Remove all old programs (ccleaner will allow you to do this)
- Caution - if you don't know what it is, don't remove it - ask!
- Don't accept installs for toolbars from any site accessed via MySpace, or through visiting different website unless you specifically requested it These 'toolbars' are one of the primary carriers of malware. Learn more here about how they get into your computer. Not all are bad, Only Google, Yahoo or AOL toolbars should be installed, some installs are for online gaming via the browser and are needed to run the program.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Monday, January 08, 2007
On Top of Things
Busy , Busy, Busy ~ once again cleaning, sorting and storing ~ new christmas stuff and all. I am ahead of the game in getting all that 'end of year' stuff done and out the door. I have started on my taxes as well. Ahhh, time to sit a bit, for the world's biggest procrastinator (really) I am so happy to be ahead of the game and have time to just idle the hours away for a bit.
Work is quiet and I have continued to progress in my quest for a few new features and software that will greatly reduce my actual 'hands-on' time for file, image, page management. I am attempting to move them out in the public more suggesting use of youtube, myspace and facebook, we'll see, big jump for a conservative organization.
I have started to read Mark Twain's autobiography, always love his 'quotes' I find on the web and tend to gravitate to them, might as well learn a little more about him. My mom and brother have loaded me down as well with books so now I wait for the snow to give me the ultimate excuse to huddle at home!
Hope everyone's new year is going well! Any resolutions, I am workin' on a few but not ready to be 'revealed'.
~ cheers
Work is quiet and I have continued to progress in my quest for a few new features and software that will greatly reduce my actual 'hands-on' time for file, image, page management. I am attempting to move them out in the public more suggesting use of youtube, myspace and facebook, we'll see, big jump for a conservative organization.
I have started to read Mark Twain's autobiography, always love his 'quotes' I find on the web and tend to gravitate to them, might as well learn a little more about him. My mom and brother have loaded me down as well with books so now I wait for the snow to give me the ultimate excuse to huddle at home!
Hope everyone's new year is going well! Any resolutions, I am workin' on a few but not ready to be 'revealed'.
~ cheers
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Happy New Year!!!!!!
It was a good party and a great New Year Day for me. We all met up at one of our local favorites 'That Place' to hear a rockin band and celebrate the coming of the new year with friends - it was all good.
New Years Day was the Poker Bowl, my 4th year playing and the most successful yet. After a long sit at the first table I finally topped Uncle George to earn my place at the final table, he was not particulary happy since he was at one time chip leader. I even called an all-in on 7-3 suited against his Q-J, we were playing holdem this round not a very good starting hand. Flop comes down 7-2-3, opps 2 pair for me I win the chip lead. The final hand was 5card, having a pair of 3's I mucked 3 and pulled another 3 for 3 of kind, I put George allin, he only had a pair. That's poker. I ran around for a pee, food, drink and smoke break before sitting down at the final table. I managed to hang on for 4th place and 250 in my pocket - it's all good, watch out boys, I will be back next year!
I hope all my friends and family have fun, happiness and success in the new year!
New Years Day was the Poker Bowl, my 4th year playing and the most successful yet. After a long sit at the first table I finally topped Uncle George to earn my place at the final table, he was not particulary happy since he was at one time chip leader. I even called an all-in on 7-3 suited against his Q-J, we were playing holdem this round not a very good starting hand. Flop comes down 7-2-3, opps 2 pair for me I win the chip lead. The final hand was 5card, having a pair of 3's I mucked 3 and pulled another 3 for 3 of kind, I put George allin, he only had a pair. That's poker. I ran around for a pee, food, drink and smoke break before sitting down at the final table. I managed to hang on for 4th place and 250 in my pocket - it's all good, watch out boys, I will be back next year!
I hope all my friends and family have fun, happiness and success in the new year!
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