Happy New Year!

So, here is my first post of the year, 24 days late. Ah, well.

The year started out with a bang - with a cruise vacation! That was just awesome! It's called a "Drum Corps Hall of Fame Cruise" but really, it's for everyone. Closing the piano bar nightly with Milby and Bucky (also known as Santa and/or Colonel Sanders) was great! Next year, Ron and I are going to try to get more friends and family to go.

Other than that, things are just plugging along. Melrose has a new horn instructor who is, thankfully, someone I've worked with before while I was in the Skyliners. Also, the Sky chorus is a lot of fun - ABBA music is great.

Also, Faith is doing well. Really enjoyed seeing her and my brother and his wife for Christmas! Surgery is scheduled for February 11th. You can read her blog entries (listed on the right) for the latest updates.

I guess nothing new or earth shattering to report. I still blame Facebook for my lack of blogging.

Definitely need to post more often...

If I have any readers left, I apologize for being so remiss in updating this that I haven't posted at all since the end of October! I guess I haven't taken much time for ramblings that require thought, and my short term goings on have been well documented on Facebook.

Facebook status is an interesting thing. It can be clever or completely mundane and yet a conversation can still be sparked by it. Suffice it to say that I still need to focus on work, bowl better and play the horn more. Amongst family and dog stuff and the holidays, of course. Upon reflection, 2008 has been a pretty good year, and I am happy and grateful for all the wonderful things I've gotten to see and do.

Happy Anniversary!

So, Ron and I have been married for one year today! :-)

It's kind of a weird thing because we've been together for seven years, but we never celebrated anniversaries before. We don't have terribly grand plans. We bought a 42" flat panel tv that we've been wanting for a while. And we're going out with my parents and grandparents tomorrow. (BTW - my grandparents have also recently celebrated their anniversary!)

Faith is coming home soon!

Great news!!! Erica and Bill will be leaving the hospital with Faith tomorrow and returning home to Connecticut.

Tonight, the new family will be staying in the Launching Pad at the hospital, which is a room where parents and baby can stay in the hospital but do not receive help or care from the nurses or staff. In the Launching Pad, parents have the opportunity to practice caring for their babies with the comfort of knowing that if a problem arises, there are competent nurses and doctors around. It will be Erica and Bill’s first experience caring for Faith totally free of wires or tubes, and the first experience they will have inserting the feeding tube and administering medicine without someone watching them.

If all goes well, Uncle Paul will pick them up tomorrow afternoon and drive them to Bethel, where Faith, Erica, and Bill will see Faith’s room for the first time. Fortunately for Faith, she has two fantastic aunts and a wonderful grammy who went over to the condo the past few weeks to get everything ready for her. J

The next big hurdle will be the next surgery in the spring….which of course Erica and Bill will keep you informed on.

We are all so excited. Erica and Bill and Faith can’t wait for you to come visit. Again, they thank you for all of your well wishes, warm thoughts, and prayers.


Love,

Karen (Billy's sister-in-law)

Hey, Grandma!

From Mobile Pictures

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I don't normally do stuff like this, but hey - why not?

I've been remiss!

I guess lately I've found it easier to keep updating my facebook status than to actually write something meaningful in here!

Ah, well.

Not much going on, really, besides my niece, which is my brother and sister-in-law's story to tell (she's doing well, btw). Working, drum corps, chorus, play rehearsal and shuffleboard at the Elk's...

Faith's Baptism

Faith is Born!

Faith's Birth

More About Faith

I'm in the Wizard of Oz!

I got a call that I will be in the ensemble - yippee!!! :-)

From the makers of Family Guy

LOL - this is great!

Auditions are over

Now we'll see what comes of it. I think I'll probably get some really small role. Looking forward to getting involved no matter what I'll be doing.

Pre call backs

Oddly, I have very little nervousness at all about the call backs tonight. I'm just so happy that I get to go - I'm just going to have fun and see what comes of it!

Wizard of Oz Part 2 - Post Audition

I got called back for tomorrow!!!!!! :-) W00t!

Wizard of Oz Part 1 - Pre-audition

Well, I won't lie - I'm definitely nervous. However, here are some reasons why I shouldn't be worried.

1. I've got nothing to lose. Even if I'm not selected for any role, I still have a group to sing in where people think I'm terrific and various other performance opportunities in drum corps.
2. I've done things that are harder. Like learning and performing that first Skyliner drill.
3. It's not me as a person they are judging. It's the current state of my abilities and whether or not they think that I will be a good fit for any of the available roles.
4. This and every other thing that I strive for is an opportunity to learn and grow.

Great article on writing reports!

This is for usability reports, however, I think that many people in many types of jobs could benefit from the concepts presented.

How to Write a Report

Totally awesome - thanks, Jules! (and Izzy!)

I will be Faith's Godmother!

My brother thrilled and surprised me in an instant message today asking me to be Faith's Godmother! I accepted, and I am crazy excited right now! I know this is a huge responsibility, and I will do my best!

September 11th Blue

It is a gorgeous day out there... There's something about September when summer begins to turn into fall... The sky is so perfectly blue... And all it reminds me of is September 11th...

But Why?

Update - Ahhh, Bach! So, it seems to be a overflow of whatever type of variable they are using. Interesting!

Okay - I found a plethora of blogs and the like pointing out how wrong this is, but can anyone tell me why such an error might occur?

Google Oops - 399999999999999-399999999999998 = 0?