Megan is 21

We took Megan to Maggiano's for her 21st birthday, and yes she ordered her first drink(s). We had a very nice meal, great service, and an enjoyable evening. Here are the pictures.

Veronica is 15

Veronica turned 15 this week. It was a quiet birthday. We took her out for dinner at the Bone Fish Grill, and then we went to see "Over the Hedge." Here are the pictures from the event, which include a few rowdy pictures from the dogs. View VeronicaBday2006

Memorial Day

We’ve decided to just enjoy Memorial Day. It has been a busy weekend for Debie and I. Saturday, we both worked at the track. We were there at 5:30am to open the stand our booster club got. It was a long day. We were home at about 6:30pm. Debie worked again yesterday, Race Day, and it was BUSY! They arrived at 5am to open and Deb said they were busy from the time they opened. Debie didn’t get home until around 8pm. So, needless to say, she is completely exhausted. So, we’re just chilling out today at home, watching movies, and getting some needed rest.

And if you are interested, here’s all the track coverage from the local paper.

For sale

Tyler and Cherie have put their home up for sale. Oh! and they are looking to build a new one! Cherie said she'll post more details later, but gave me permission to share their great news with the family! Woohoo!

Frustrated with the system.

Deb and I got Megan’s GQE scores back today.
Subject/MegScore/Passing Score
Math/411/486
Eng/392/466
We are frustrated. So is Megan. Deb’s got her on all kinds of waiting lists, but GEEZ, the system moves slow. Ugghh!

New Mexico Trip

Debie and I returned from our vacation Wednesday. We went to New Mexico. We didn’t really have an agenda, which was nice, so there wasn’t a set schedule each day. We visited a lake one day, just drove the desert another, and did a balloon ride one morning. All in all, we had a great time.
Pictures are here: We drove around and waited for the sunset one evening. These pictures won’t win awards, but the better ones are posted. One picture might just be the title for a new section on my personal blog - maybe for pictures? Can you guess what the title of it might be? Then the balloon ride, oh yeah! That was a rush! Pictures from ground crew.
Huge thanks to Cherie and Latrice for helping out with the girls!

Mike's new job

I've done more in the first 3 days than I did in the last 3 weeks at the last job. There is plenty to do and it appears to be a good fit. So, hopefully, this job will last!

Megan is now Post-OP

Megan is home safe and sound. We took her in at about 7:30am. They let her go at 12:30pm. It was one of the best outpatient experiences we've ever had. The staff at the center was great! We're sure Megan will sleep alot for the next day or so. Then, it's lots of movie watching for the rest of the week.

Happy Birthday Colin!

The Indianapolis contigent of the Reno Transplants would like to wish Colin a Happy Birthday! We love you! We want pictures on the blog later! :-)

Luke's B-Day

Mike got better photos, but this is what I got on my camera. Luke's Birthday Pictures

Luke is 1 now!

Cherie will post a summary of the party proceedings with her pictures soon. In the meantime, here are the pictures I took: View Luke's 1st Birthday

And for more amusement, see this post on when Megan was younger: Mega-moo

Pacers Vs Magic

Megan treated me to a ball game tonight. She bought us tickets to the Pacer game tonight. It was a lot of fun, and the Pacers pulled out a win. Strangely, the Pacers haven't done well against the teams at the bottom of their divisions, so we were biting our nails until there were 2 minutes left in the game. They had it wrapped up pretty well by then. Enjoy the pictures here. Thanks Megan!

More news from this front

Okay, I said I would post some more later - well, it's later. So, most of you know that I have been sick: I am better now. It was a doozie; had me in bed for 3 days straight. I hope none of you get this. I am still sitting back in wonder at how you all managed to "get" me. I have had time to reflect on all the goings on over the past week, and I just want to thank you all, once again. You see, I have learned a lesson through all of this. I truly am a control freak, and I apologize for that. What's worse is that I never really realized that I was, I just saw myself as "motherly". The 'aha' moment has come to me. So, I thank you. I hope that somehow I can find the art of relaxation on a daily basis. Perhaps I will have more years added to my life with its success. Also, just to keep you all informed - Megan is having her tonsils removed on the 27th (she'll never look at her uncle's birthday the same again). She has had a lot of trouble with uvulitis and sore throats for a long time, so I am happy that this is finally happening. Veronica is a bit under the weather today. She has all the symptoms of the flu I had, so we are trying to head it off with lots of rest this weekend. The other "children" are presently sleeping with us in our room. Mr. Champion has really made himself right at home. He is a burrowing dog (he likes to root under the covers and hide when he sleeps). Ms. Pepper just likes being on the bed. Missy is, as always, never far from her quarters/safety from the dogs. Welcome to our funny farm. Until next time ~ hugs for all!

Birthday Flowers

Here's a picture of the lovely flowers Irena sent me for my birthday. I'll be posting a thank you and summary (my version) of the birthday events in the next few days. I've been sick the last few days with flu like (maybe the flu itself) symptoms. Ick! Anyway, enjoy the flowers with me.

Thank you all - so much!

Okay peeps......you got me. I was definitely surprised. It was awkward at the beginning, as Mike, Latrice and Cherie began the day with a surprise spa! Now THAT was really a stumbling block for ever-the-control-freak-Debie. I was sooooooo nervous about some stranger seeing my body without clothing and then mushing and mashing all the "soft" spots (that would be...EVERYWHERE). LOL. However, after many glasses of wine, a pedicure, a delicious lunch (where I met a woman who thought I was turning 30 - loved her), and a hydro-massage I was much more accepting of the idea. See, it doesn't take much to losen me up (yeahhhh riiiight)! So, while I was at the spa everyone was here at my house getting things ready for a party that wasn't approved by me. They lied, they scammed, they were deceitful to an extreme, and they cleaned my filthy house! They are sooooooooooo clever. They decorated with black and silver balloons, a centerpiece in the foyer with some nonsense about a hill; there was a coffin on the table and several in miniture glasses, because, as I am sure you are all aware, someone died. Yes, you heard me right. Someone died on the day of my party (how rude)! It was Youth. She passed away today (the 7th), but we all mourned her loss on the 4th.
I really feel blessed to have so many people recognize my "big one". To be honest, I didn't want anyone to remember. I do have a difficult time embracing age, as most of you know. Thanks to your love and determination this year, I think I just might make it through with acceptance and appreciation. I mean, it could be worse ~ think of the alternative. Okay, I am out of room, so I'll finish this up and post more tomorrow. I have lots to tell! Thank you everyone for all the attention!

Deb's surprise party.

We pulled it off! Deb's surprise party was a success! Let me start by sharing my HUGE, HUMONGOUS thanks to Cherie and Latrice for their hours of planning and coordinating to make this happen. To CC and Cooper - thank you for rounding up the video greetings from the folks in the Bay Area. You guys rock! You'll see from the pictures that this was effort well spent. Also, huge thanks to our friends who made time to come and make the moment what it was. Debie will do a separate post later, from her own computer (her brand new laptop), and share her thanks.

Pictures are here.

Video of Mimi and Poppy's greeting is here. (You need Quick Time, might need to register, I did)
There was another video, from Deb's family in the Bay Area. It won't post. I'll keep working on that. It might be a later post.

The most memorable moments were: 1) The video from Deb's grandparents. 2) Tom's wish for Debie during the candle ceremony. 3) The scrapbook. Cherie and Latrice did a great job compiling this from the photos Deb's Mom sent from Reno (wish the Reno clan could have been here!)

Here's a quick summary of the day. I took Deb out for coffee early. We ran a couple of errands, like a normal Saturday morning, until I detoured us to the Spa. Latrice and Cherie met us there, where we yelled "surprise!" the first time. We left Deb at the Spa for the morning while we all did our thing to get the party ready. At 3pm we picked Megan up from work and broght Deb home to a house full of lovely friends and family, who yelled "surprise" for a second time, and made the day what it was. Again, a big thank you to all for making this such a great event.

From the newsroom...

(Deeta, deeta, deeta, deet) Deb and I had a busy Saturday. The girls have switched rooms. Of course, Deb and I did all the hard work. We even switched the ceiling fans, so the butterflies stayed with Veronica's room. The room over the garage is cooler than the other room, and Megan appears to have her father's circulation (as in poor type, one each!) Veronica is more like her Mom, always warm and wanting a fan on. So, this move makes sense. Hopefully Megan will stay warm, and Veronica won't have to close heater vents in her room to stay comfortable. We'll post some pictures later today.
On another note. Megan has uvulitis. We took her to the doctor yesterday. He gave her bedrest for the weekend and she has to follow up with an ENT next week. Poor girl can hardly talk. She sounds like a cartoon character.
On the job front. I had a dream I got laid off. I rarely dream, so Debie is alarmed. I've been alarmed. I've had a number of calls. I'm working a couple of prospects here in Indy, and I've got one working in North Carolina (this one is a GOOD one). It is a good thing I left Thomson though, they started laying off my former co-workers last week. I'll keep everyone posted.

Collage

Here is a collage of Bailey I created using The Gimp and Picasa2. See my previous post below this for more info...

Free photo software from Google

Hi gang,

Try out this software. It lets you post pictures directly to blogger. It also does a good job organizing photos and correcting levels. Oh yeah, it's also free.

When you feel like reading

I added an extra section in the links section of some blogs I think everyone might find interesting. When you have extra time, feel free to browse them. Mike