Happy Birthday Merry

Today is Merry Aeschelman's birthday (Chris' lovely mom). She is the most beautiful and sweet woman I know. And is a real hottie! Kim hopes to be just like her when she grows up. Merry, happy birthday to you. Wish we could be there to spend it with you. But in your honor, I will be making a cake tonight and celebrating you. Safe travels to Florida. Looking forward to seeing you down there soon.

Yes, Ron is a lucky man.

Chris and Merry on our Wedding Day in Salt Lake City.

Snow Days!

So far in the last two days we have gotten 11 inches of snow in Indianapolis, plus some rain & sleet to add to the fun. Kim has been working from home during this time as the road conditions are treacherous. There are some counties around Indiana without power and at level 3 storm warnings which means that only emergenecy vehicles can be on the road in those counties. Thinking about making a snow man, but... its still only 19 degrees out. Help us pray for warmer weather to come!

Not exactly the right time to be using the swimming pool.

Pictures of the side street next to our house. Not a lot of traffic!

It does look pretty, but don't let it deceive you. Its mighty cold.

Hope the weather is treating you better than its treating us. Miss you all.

Chicago Weekend

We were very lucky to get to spend the weekend in Chicago with Karli & Jodi this weekend. We had a fantastic time shopping, eating and just hanging out. While it appears sunny in many of these pictures below, don't let that deceive you. It was about 9 degrees Farenheit out. Thus all the hats and scarves you see. But we didn't let the cold weather deter us. Karli found some great clothes at bargain prices. And Jodi and I found some great deals as well. Poor Chris just got to carry the bags.

The Windy City from the River

Chris, Jodi & Karli (nice smile Chris!)

Water Tower on Michigan Ave

Chris, Jodi and Karli in front of the Oriental Theatre

Queens, NY

This weekend Kim got the opportunity to ride along with one of her truck drivers to a delivery in Queens, NY (on the island very near Manhattan). We delivered 3 truckloads of stretchers and had to return 3 truckloads of faulty stretchers to return to Indiana. We left on Friday morning at 6am (temperature = -4 degrees farenheit) and drove to Hershey, PA. The driver dropped me off at a hotel and then made his way to a truck stop (the drivers sleep in their trucks which are very nice by the way). Next morning we got up at 3:30am and headed into New York City so we could avoid the traffic. We worked all day unloading stretchers and reloading them (temperature = 9 degrees). Moving them from the trucks through the halls of the hospitals. No breaks, no lunch, no food... and we didn't get done until about 4pm. I thought I was going to either starve or freeze to death. Pushing 500 lb stretchers around all day was a workout even for me, especially without food. Saturday night we stopped in New Jersey to sleep for about 8 hrs, then got up early again (4:30 am) and departed for home. Crossing over the Poconos area we encountered about 12 inches of new snow and a lot of cars that had wrecked off the side of the road. We finally got back to Batesville, IN about 4pm. It was definitely a great experience. For all of you who think about cutting off a truck driver in the future.... I strongly encourage you to avoid it. It takes some work to slow those big trucks down.

Brrrr....

Rain ok, snow not so bad, negative temperatures... not so great. My car themometer read 1 degree this morning. Yes, thats 1 degree Farenheit. With wind chill, its negative. Kim's off to New York this weekend. Riding along with one of the truck drivers that works for her to deliver hospital beds to a hospital in Queens, NY. Chris will be heading to his sisters Jodi's to hang for the weekend. Should be a cold (but interesting) weekend. Someone please send heat!

Bathroom updates

Everyday seems to get a little closer, we can start to see the end product come together.  We still have about two more weeks as we are waiting on cabinets, tub and the coordination of drywall people, painters, tilers and electricians.  It will be nice to be back in our own bedroom and use our new bathroom.  The pictures below now start to show some design where everything before was demolition.  I think by the end of this week we will be painted and drywall will be done.  Next week will be tub, tile and electrical completion.

The Shower Floor

The Shower Wall

The Vanity wall

Bathroom floor

Winter Wonderland

Sounds like the weather has been crazy all over the U.S. It was a tough week in Indiana as well. Couldn't make it to work on Tuesday. I saw four wrecks on the highway over 10 miles and decided that it was more than I wanted to handle. The rest of the week was a little dicey, but the salt trucks were on overtime so that helped. The problem is that its all ice and freezing rain. I can handle snow, but this "wintery mix" as they call it is for the birds.

Chris starts physical therapy today to see if that will help his back. We are hoping this helps him avoid another surgery. Keep your fingers crossed for him. I'm looking forward to him being able to sit more than 30 minutes so we can fly places. It's been too long since we've been able to take mini vacations.

Our master bathroom remodel is still plugging along. Longer than we planned as they are still waiting for the cabinets to get in. Hopefully that will be done soon so we can move back into our master bedroom. Good thing we have nice guest bedrooms.

Hope everything is great for all of you.

Ramblings

Oh the weather outside is frightful,

the snow is falling lightful

but my wife is gotta drive back home

no more snow, no more snow, no more snow

Seriously, all is well here.  Kim had this crazy idea to set me free and let me write.  Actually she has been begging me to because I always talk about how much I always wanted to write, so I will be enrolling in a class for fiction writing.  Now you may say that our life has been better than fiction and with all the bizarre stories we come back with when we travel I should be able to come up with some better drivel than what we have been renting for movies lately.  Well that has been what I have been thinking for years.

Story options, yes you can post a comment and request me to tell any of the following stories:

1. changing my first tire in Canyon Lands National park

2. Turning the plane around on 9/11

3. going to the wrong wedding

There are more options and they will be part of later posts.

Speaking of travel, my back is getting better and I am starting physical therapy Friday.  This should work me in shape for my first flight coming in March.  It does seem cliche to be going to Florida for spring break but looking out the window I think  little warm sunshine would be nice.  I might even have a fruity rum runner.

Happy Birthday Chris!

Today is Chris' 36th Birthday. He is looking good for a man of 36. We are going out for breakfast at his favorite breakfast spot. Then tonight its steak dinner at one of the good steakhouses in town. Maybe even a movie sometime. Then football tonight at 8. And for his birthday... he got a chess game for his computer. I'm going to try and make sure he has a wonderful day. Its been a tough couple months for him and he deserves a great day.

Happy New Year!

We are definitely looking forward to a new and improved new year. 2008 was a little rough, but we are definitely optimistic that 2009 will be much better. Chris' back is showing signs of improvement. He will be avoiding surgery #3 for now while he attends physical therapy. And he can actually sit for more than 2 minutes now. Still not ready for a plane ride, but definitely improved.

New Years Eve was pretty exciting for us. We were in bed by 10pm and didn't get up until 8am. hee.hee. We did go out to eat, if you count the early bird special. Actually it was a very nice, calm evening. Its Indiana cold today, but we hear its not as cold as Illinois. Back to work tomorrow, but just for the day. Kim's home from Mexico and Chris' home from Illinois. Looking forward to some quality time together this weekend.

Attaching a picture of our Christmas tree before we take it down today.