Found in Fishers

A New Set of Wheels

Since Liz crashed her car last September she reminds us almost daily that she needs a new set of wheels. That got me to thinking, what kind of vehicle would be a good replacement for her Cavalier? It would have to be something that gets great mileage, would not increase insurance payments by much. But what? Well, Well, found it. The perfect set of wheels for Liz and she can even have her own passenger. Liz takes Gramps for a ride! What fun that was. Too bad there are not enough sidewalks between our house and school to make these wheels a reality.
This reminds me that in about 6 weeks I should be hearing about my possible upcoming trip to China. I applied last fall to be a Fulbright Scholar this summer and study in China. After a very long application process, I should hear about the trip sometime in March.
I look forward to the possibility of learning about the Chinese culture and language acquisition. It is a perfect fit for one of the curriculum projects we have at Hamilton Southeastern. This year we started a new language program for first graders. They are learning to speak Chinese! We currently are hosting a teacher from Taiwan as part of the State's Teacher Exchange program. I am really gearing up to go. I think Juan is too. He is making arrangements to find summer homes for the kids. hmmmm.

Lots of Laughs this weekend

What a great time we had this weekend. Mom, Dad, Sarah, Pat, Liam, and Nick took a road trip to Fishers. Although it was quite cold outside this week before the big game, there was no chill in the house even between Colts and Bears Fans. Pat even drank a Coke with a Colts logo on it. There was no way Liam was going to allow us to talk about how great the Colts were this weekend.
Off we went on Saturday morning to start on the infamous list of things we wanted to do in Indianapolis. Today...the Children's Museum. Clifford the Big Red Dog was at the museum. Even though Dad got quite the razzing from Colts fans for wearing a Bears hat in Indy territory, he escaped without harm from the museum. The Children's Museum is one of the best around for children under the age of 12. What a great experience.


In the evening, Pat did not want to just sit around and watch TV, after all he took a road trip to Indy. But with kids in tow, we decided to have a family round of Pictionary. It was a hoot. We found that many family members do not exactly have the best drawing skills, but with Pat and Sarah, as captains teams were evenly divided. I was on Pat's team, Mom on Sarah's. After this drawing we had to take a laugh break. I actually guessed it once the timer went off. Your turn. What is Mom drawing? (Click on photo to enlarge)

On to Miami!

There was only one place to be tonight in Indy...and I was there! It's a good thing the Circle City is building a new domed stadium because the Colts' blue-faced

The Colts and their fans celebrate an AFC Championship.

fans blew the lid off the RCA Dome in a stunning come-from-behind victory over the Patriots. I've been at most of this season's home games, not as a ticket holder, but as a volunteer worker in Stand 303. The HSE band boosters along with many other non-profits work concession stands selling brew and brats for 9% of the gross. Hats off to the folks at Centerplate who make it possible.

In any event, when Peyton Manning and the Colts offense took possession 3 points down with 2:17 left the noise inside the Dome reached epic levels. Pity the nay-sayers who wandered haplessly from their seats just seconds earlier thinking it was all over for yet another season. Good thing Miami has sun, sand, and beaches. It's a little something the Bears and their faithful can enjoy...while the Colts savor a Super Bowl victory!

One too many

Poor Sally. As you last heard, Sally had a pretty significant seizure on New Year's Eve. It really scared us so much we were on the way to the Doggie Emergency Room when she woke from it and we celebrated the new year on I69. Since it was only the second seizure we were aware of since moving to Fishers, we were not too worried. Then came week two. Another seizure.
After another visit to the vet, we decided it was time to put Sally on medication. It is common for her breed to have seizures starting at about age 4. Well she's 4. We put her on medication that requires constant attention to making sure we give it to her as a missed dosage could cause a seizure. It was also suggested that she go on a doggie diet ASAP. Her food was changed to an adult weight control formula as a side effect of the meds is weight gain.
Three days down and she appears to be doing well on the meds. No side effects as of yet and she and Buddy actually love their new food. I think it smells like dead fish.
Now the dogs have joined me on their own weight loss journey on what I call Doggie Weight Watchers.
By the way, one week down for Weight Watchers for me. I am hoping 3's a charm and I keep the weight off that I will lose this year!

A great way to "chill"ax

The amount of boxes in our basement was overwhelming. Each time I went down to tackle the job, it seemed I quickly stopped and went back upstairs because it was easier to "do it tomorrow".
Just as they do on "Clean Sweep" I decided to tackle the job box by box vowing to keep only a portion of what I unpacked. After all, we could not make those decisions earlier since we had to move out of the house so quickly.
It took two days of my vacation to get through all the treasures, but we were able to toss several bags full and take 4 carloads to Goodwill. I try hard not to be a pack-rat but it is in my blood. You should see what my Dad saves :)

After clearing out over 60 boxes, I created a space for Liz to "chill" ax with her friends. I found the old TV, DVD player, and stereo, went out and bought a large carpet remnant and the "chill"axing space is ready for company. Now all we need is Liz to stay home long enough to use it.

Free Delivery

The hunt for a writing table is over. We found the perfect writing table for our bedroom. After keeping an eye open for a table for my computer in our bedroom, we stumbled upon one at Costco. Costco seems to be the perfect place for great furniture finds when you are not looking. The only glitch...no delivery.

Glad we purchased a new vehicle this summer. In the last week we used it to move a boat-load of boxes to Goodwill and now it became the free furniture delivery car. The only glitch was that once Juan and Mark got all the furniture in the car, there was no room for Mark and Juan needed help changing lanes to get home. This was their creative way to get the desk and chair home. Now that's thinking!

Love my new desk. Black legs with a cherry wood top and a snappy black leather chair.
Keep posted, the "chill"axing room is coming soon.

New Year's oddities & I-69

Happy New Year! We rang in the new year with a variety of oddities and on I-69, how exciting. Let me explain.

We started out the morning with a trip to the Indiana State Museum. Mom, Dad, Mark and I wanted to explore the CSI exhibit to learn more about forensic entomology and "Crime Scence Insects." It was very interesting, but I was hoping for some gross crime scenes. Not many other people decided to visit the museum and bug us, plus we were able to park directly across from the entrance and take our time perusing things.

We returned home, had some lunch and watched a couple movies as we waited for the party to begin. Mmm...Mom's ham salad made from left over Christmas ham. As the party started we learned that Sarah was not able to attend as planned but Pete did make it with Nick. As is tradition, who ever comes to visit as a first-timer, must have their picture taken on the front porch.
My brother Pete was this weekend's first-timer, though our nephew Nick has been here before. Nevertheless, the photo was taken, is posted here for your enjoyment, and with the reminder that our door is always open.

The evening snacks and Cops re-run marathon created many laughs as the new year approached. But about 11:35, our dog Sally had a seizure. It seemed to be lasting quite a while so Juan went through the phone book to find an open animal emergency facility and we started a trek to the Castleton area for assistance. About 5 minutes into our journey, Sally vomited all over my pants and pooped in the car, but she also started to come out of the seizure. We pulled over at a gas station off I-69 and found she was much improved so Juan let her out in the grass to rest as I cleaned the car. The gas station attendant was quite interested in what I was doing, so I went in to explain before we became the next episode of Cops.

Car cleaned up, messed up blanket in the trunk, dog back to normal, off we went back home on I-69 just as the the car clock turned midnight. There were no fireworks, no pots and pans to bang together...just Juan, the dog, and I celebrating 2007 in the car. What can I say, we live an interesting life. We called it a night about 1:30 and called it a weekend by 2 this afternoon. Mom and Dad had their "official" visitor picture taken as well since this was their first visit to the house by themselves. What's up next? Wait until you see the new "chill"axing room I created over vacation.