A downside to katate

As anyone who knows me or has ever read my blog knows. I can not sing the praises of Shotokan karate enough. Learning and Participating in ShotoKan has helped my boys in so many ways . That being said, I ,just this morning, realized that a downside does exist.
Last night as I heard the weather forecast I asked the boys if they had enough long sleeve shirts and such as I had only bought a few new ones for school and wanted to make sure that they were set for the upcoming cold season. This is when Michael reminded me that I only bought him a few new pair of jeans and that he would like a few more pair. OK , I responded and headed to the store after dinner. I bought the customary 36-32 jeans and returned home. This morning Michael hollered down stairs that he could not get these new jeans over his thighs and needed a 38 waist. No wonder he complained that none of his pants fit as they were all 36. Here we realized that all of the working out he has been doing and all of the hours of kicking drills have caused his thigh muscles to enlarge to where his jeans will not fit. So I did the only thing I could and exchanged the jeans for the next bigger size and hope that they will fit his thighs without being grossly huge everywhere else. So yes, there is a down side to ShotoKan, it builds your muscles to the point that your clothing doesn't fit. Though this is a bit aggravating, when you compare all of the upsides I guess that this minor inconvenience is no big deal.

Oficially fall !

Fall officially came last week, though the weather service here in Ohio must not have gotten the memo as the weather remained quite nice.Until last night that is.
As Mike and I prepared to go out with a group of friends for one friends birthday I skipped the shorts and opted for a pair of Capri pants with a short sleeve shirt. Yes, I thought, a nice fall outfit. Unfortunately, I walked out only to turn around,come back and change into jeans and a hoodie.Even still I was chilly. Once at the party, I noticed that I was the only one without a jacket( except for Mike of course who wears his shorts well into January). Now I have lived in Ohio all of my life and though I do break out the long pants and sweaters, I rarely wear a coat. This has me fearing what winter will bring.
This morning I even broke down and switched the thermostat switch from central air to furnace. Though the furnace has not kicked on, this very move has me deeply depressed. I am now trying to decide whether I should fill my vitamin D pills (which I take only in winter when the natural sunlight is not enough to maintain my levels) or hold out hope for a few more nice days. Yep it is officially fall and the memo has been received.

Beautiful fall day

Yesterday's weather was simply beautiful, With temps of 68 to 70 degrees under sunny skies. We decided to spend a few afternoon hours at Cedar Point. Though most of the rides are still running, the park also adds haunted houses and other Halloween related activities this time of year. One non Halloween show that is added is the Chris Linn show. I first seen Chris Linn's show several years ago ( at Cedar Point of course) and look forward to going back every year to see his new acts. Chris Linn does a family comedy / magic show. If you ever get a chance to see one of Chris's shows, I highly recommend it. Below are some pictures .


Michael poses with Chris Linn ( while Chris's wife Brandy sells merchandise in the background)


Michael and Robby enjoy the bumper cars


Robby and Cindy ride the wild cat


I escape Cindy's attempt to give me bunny ears as Mike takes a picture



The kids pose for an evening picture

A change in plans for Cindy

It looks as though Cindy will no longer be perusing a nursing degree at this time.It seems that she is first looking to get a phlebotomy certification as this area seems to be calling her. She does plan to finish her LPN degree, just after she completes a six month phlobotomy degree so that she can secure a higher paying job sooner.I guess that now is the best time for her to figure out what she will be happy doing for the rest of her life, though as her Mother, I can't help but feel uneasy. I guess that I should remember back to when I twice changed my major in college before quitting all together to pursue a career in motherhood. It somehow seemed easier when I was the teenager with big plans, than being the Mom of such a teen. This being said, I would like to Thank my Mother who I'm sure bit her nails over some of my choices while praying that God's will be shown to me.
So here I am with bleeding fingers, praying . Please keep us in your prayers.For Cindy that she may feel and follow God's calling and for me that I may stop stressing as God guides her.

Back from the dentist

Two weeks ago Our family had our first appointment with a new dentist. Past dental experiences have made me very uneasy with any dentist so of course changing dentists was quite stressful, but the old one stopped taking our insurance and failed to tell us this until we had racked up quite a bill,so we had no choice but to move on. As if a cleaning was not bad enough, This new dentist found a crumbling filling that I got when I was a kid. I knew that he was right that it had to be replaced before it became painful though the thought of receiving Novocain( which I have a sensitivity to )had me almost in tears. Forgoing the Novocain was not an option as the metal drill bit hitting the metal filling would surely cause not only heat but electrical shocks through the root of the tooth. This was so not an option. Anyway I sucked it up and drug myself to the office this afternoon and Guess what ???? This was the easiest Novocain shot that I have ever received and the easiest work as I felt nothing. Of course my mouth is still numb and that is quite annoying but with this I can cope ! I think we will stay with this dentist, at least until he dumps our insurance too.

Me forget Precious Moments ?

Many years ago when Mike first started my Precious Moments collection,the third figurine that he gave me was one of the original seven, entitled "Love one another"
Though my collection has grown to five curio cabinets, I remember the day that I got this one as if it were yesterday. This is why I didn't rush right out a month ago when Cindy seen this one of the original seven and told me that since it was 1/2 off,I should add it to my collection. I didn't think any more about it until I was in a nearby store yesterday and realized that it was still there at 50% off. Since I was sure that I had it I walked past but when I got home, I was determined to find it. Though I didn't take any out of the curios( so I could have missed it in the back), I didn't see this particular one. I did not have time to search any further and somehow and image of one of the kids breaking this figurine, tossing it and then telling me that I should get it filled my mind.I decided that I should go and get this figurine as it was 50% off,just in case. I figure that if I do find time to search the curios and I do find my original,I can always find someone to give my extra a home. And if my intuition is correct, I will have the piece.
After my purchase, I asked Cindy, if my intuition was right,however she maintains that she never seen this one in my collection and that maybe I am getting old and forgetful. If it were anything else, I would have to agree that yes I am starting to forget some things but nothing as important as the third Precious Moments figurine that my husband ever gave me. Gee that would be like forgetting our anniversary !

Happy Birthday Sensei Fields

This past weekend was Mid America's ISKF fall camp at Ohio State University. Many from our Dojo,including Michael and Robby attended one or more of the three trainings. Our Guest instructor, Sensei James Fields, came from Los Angeles California,where he resides.As if the trip wasn't enough on a normal day, Sensei Fields came here to teach on his Birthday. Happy Birthday Sensei, and Thank you !


Sensei Fields poses with the group

Cindy is stressed

Update
Cindy did very well at administering her flu shots though her HS teacher had something come up and did not make it. As a matter of fact since there were vaccine left over from the clinic,Cindy was asked to be one of only a couple to administer injections to her classmates tomorrow. Way to go Cindy !

Cindy is one of the nursing students assigned to give flu shots at a clinic tomorrow. This is in itself not too big of a deal as she is well trained to give these injections. However on her way home from clinicals today she got a call from her old High school medical occupations teacher who asked for more information on the clinic. This teacher then informed Cindy that she would be in and would be requesting Cindy to administer her flu shot. Though Cindy is confident of her abilities, knowing that she will be injecting this teacher has her a bit nervous. It doesn't help that this teacher is teasing Cindy, by saying things like " What is the pain of a flu shot compared to the pain of teaching you for two years." Poor Cindy, I know you'll do just fine and I would even come and get my shot from you except that I already have a doctor's appointment and well, ummmmmmmmm, it would be plain rude to cancel.But rest assured, if it weren't for being rude, I would be there and get my shot from you !

Wow I haven't posted anything in how long ???????

Sorry about the long time without a post. I know that many of my readers must be going through Diane withdrawal. You know that disease that self centered people like me think that people like you get when you don't hear from me. OK OK, no need to be mean now :-)
Anyway things here are busy busy busy. Cindy is back in Nursing school with clinicals three days a week and working weekends so we have not seen much of her but her car appears in the driveway now and then and her favorite foods and the plate that I put into the fridge every night when she misses dinner end up being eat so I am pretty sure that she is doing fine. The boys are also back in school and are preparing for the ISKF nationals coming in November. As for Mike, he is working twelve to twenty hours a day as we all know that the overtime won't last and we can always use the money. As for me, I am keeping up. Here is a look at a day earlier this week
1:30 AM Alarm goes off,I get up and get Mike up.I go downstairs,half asleep, cook him an omelet, pack his lunch, make him a 32oz cup of espresso (Once he tried to buy this at Starbucks and was told that it would cost well over fifty dollars because it was $4 per shot not to mention that even if he paid their asking price that they could not ethically sell it as such a large amount of caffeine could kill the average person.BTW I don't think that Mike has ever been referred to as average, but that is another post)
2:30 AM Mike departs and I talk to him on the phone until he arrives at work
3:10 AM Mike is at work so I say good bye and crawl back in bed.
4:00 AM the alarm goes off.I wake Cindy as she has to leave for clinicals between 5:00 and 5:30. I cook her an omelet and wait for her to get ready so I can fix her hair (she is not allowed to have any hair touching her shoulders while in clinicals) 5:30 Cindy's hair is done and she leaves. I get Michael up for school and cook him an omelet.
6:45 AM Michael leaves and Robby gets up, I cook him an omelet and then check my E mails as he gets ready and watches TV until time to leave.
8:10AM Robby catches his bus.I think about sleeping for an hour but do this and that and end up not having time.
10:00 AM I start to get ready for a doctor's appointment
11:30 AM I leave for my appointment
12:15 PM still in a crowded waiting room
12:50 PM my name is called
1:55 PM I walk out of doctor's office after discussing options and explaining that there is no way that I can have a surgery that would take me six weeks to recover from anytime soon. Finally the doctor and I agree that we will revisit this issue in three months
2:10 PM I stop at the store to pick up a few things
2:50 PM back in my car headed home
3:00 PM planning dinner and start to cook
3:24 PM Michael gets home and tells me he needs this and that. I half listen as Mike gets off work and calls to talk to me on his way home
4:30 PM dinner is on the table.we eat clear the table, load the dishwasher, throw a load of laundry in, and the boys get ready for karate
6:00 PM Take the boys to karate, Make one stop after dropping them off.
On the way back notice three fire trucks at the club where they boys take karate. Pull in and see everyone outside stop and see that boys are OK, wait to see if they are going to get back in or if I need to take them home.
7:20 PM Firemen confirm that someone accidental pulled an alarm. Boys go back in and I come home
8:15 PM leave to get the boys when they are done about 8:30
8:55 get home with boys refusing to get them ice cream even though Dairy Queen has $1 cupcakes on their value menu
9:20 PM remind Mike,while he is on the phone, that he has to get up at 1:30 and we should probably think about going to bed soon
10:20 PM go to bed
1:30 AM can it be the alarm already ?

Pictures from our Orlando area adventure

Boston Lobster Feast... Back from trip one to the buffet



Lobster or crab ???????





Bahamian braids and princess mouse ears



The kids with the Downtown Disney Helium balloon




Waiting for our ride



Any we're up !




Inside the big balloon basket

The final two days of our vacation......The Palisades at Lake Austin in Winter Garden( orlando area) florida

If one is looking for an apartment type hotel room, this is your place. Though we found out at check in ( nobody mentioned this before nor was it written anywhere)that there is no daily housekeeping service ( unless you pay a fee equal to about half of a nights stay)it was a huge place with two bedrooms, two baths, a full kitchen,living room, a large balcony off of the living room which extended to the secondary bedroom, as well as a separate small balcony off the master bedroom. Yes this place is bigger than Mike and my first apartment. These units are even equipped with a free use washer and dryer .
I booked our stay on Hotels .com and paid a little less than the customary $100 per night budget. From what I understand, this is a resort trying to sell time shares, but renting out the unused suites. The place in addition to the apartment size suites has amenities such as beautiful surroundings ( located on a nature reserve), a nice outdoor pool ( we did not use the pool because of a huge ant problem, but this shouldn't be too hard for management to rectify) There is an indoor movie theatre ,when we were there they showed two movies , which were already available on DVD each afternoon. From what I understand this room is used in the morning and early afternoon for time share presentations. There is also a spa ( which was closed for our entire visit, though we were told that management was looking for a new company to take it over) a small gym ( three or four exercise machines) locker rooms and saunas. ( we did not even look at these). Their was a free continental breakfast but the offerings were much more limited than most.
For our purposes, the huge rooms with kitchens and the washer and dryer were the big draw . Since we were coming off of our cruise we were happy with going to the store (5 minutes away) and getting some snacks and drinks and just relaxing. Since we have been to the theme parks in the area many times, this trip was just about relaxing. We did go to close by Downtown Disney to ride the 400ft helium balloon "Characters in Flight " and shop a little and of course we went to Boston Lobster Feast (with an E coupon for $25 per person) for all you can eat Prime rib, lobster, Crab legs, and so much more, but the rest of the time was spent at this resort hotel. To our unexpected surprise( and a delayed launch), we were able to see the space shuttle launch ( some forty miles away) from our balcony. Basically it just looked like bright lights from where we were but none the less.
In the end, this place was nice for our purposes. The lack of housekeeping was eased by the washer & dryer which we used to wash our own towels. Since the place was not full at all, we didn't notice any noise, though the long halls, could probably get quite noisy during the busy season. Would I book here again ? For what I paid, yes, though I am not a time share person so that aspect is out of the question.

Bahamas pictures

Cindy and I get our hair braided by locals. It took an hour and a half for mine and just a tad longer for Cindy's who's hair is shorter but thicker than mine. This is something that I always wanted to have done so when it was available ( a lot cheaper than I could have even imagined having it done in the States)and Mike gave me the go ahead,I went for it !

Carnival Cruisline's cruise to the Bahamas

The Carnival Sensation



Michael and Cindy pose while taking pictures as the ship embarks on our four day cruise


The scenery was great


Robby is photographed while riding one of the glass elevators



Cindy ,Robby. & I relax in one of the lounge areas



Mike and I took photographs while at sea





The kids in the dining room with our awesome waiter Kulosak


An after dinner dining room picture



We play a game of mini golf on the ship ( Guess who won ??????)



Sancho made us some of the best sushi that I have ever eaten


Mike and I were chosen with two other couples for the Newlywed/ mot so newlywed game


Some of the towel sculptures left by our cabin steward

Cocoa beach pictures

Robby eats a piece of his Birthday cake in our hotel suite


The beach view from our hotel Balcony


While setting on our balcony we watched several cruise boats leave port


The kids at Cocoa Beach




Cindy and Robby dig in the sand



Michael gets hit by a wave


We walked to the pier


The kids used the hotel pool