Life in general

Giving thanks

2010-11-27T09:10:00.000-06:00

I will give you one guess what I am thankful for . . .

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Happy 4th of July

2010-07-06T06:01:00.001-05:00

We spent the 4th at our friends Susan and Kathy. Willow got to revisit her beloved pool. The day was cloudy and rainy but we all had a great time. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday as well!

My first 4th of July

Really another picture

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Willows First Swim

2010-05-30T20:29:00.004-05:00

Last weekend E and I bought Willow her first 2 bathing suits as the time for swimming is rapidly approaching.

Well thanks to Susan and Kathy we were able to take Willow for her first swim today. The water was nice and warm and the day was sunny and beautiful. Willow loved the water and is sleeping very well right now. :)

Daddy taking his little girl for her first swim

I love my new bathing suit :)

5 weeks

2010-05-30T20:14:00.003-05:00

Here are some of Willow's 5 week pictures. She is working on her smiles which is fantastic! It is amazing how quickly she is growing.

Hello everyone!

Just hanging around

Say What?

Daddy's three girls

One of Willow's new outfits says cute as a bug. Are bugs really cute? Willow is definitely a cutie!

What a difference a month makes

2010-05-16T11:41:00.004-05:00

One month! Time really flys when you are having fun! It is amazing how much things have changed (for the better) in the past month. Here is a quick catchup since my last post. After my last post little Willow's heart rate was decreasing with the Pitocin. So Friday morning she was born via cesarean section.

Here is a picture daddy Esteban took of her right after she was born. He also took a video on his phone of her crying which is fantastic because when he said her name she calmed down for a while. Currently I can't find this clip but if/when I do I will post it.

Willow, Esteban and I were in the hospital until Monday. While we were there Willow had many visitors. She is one loved little girl! The hospital was great with teaching us about how to take care of our little bundle of joy, but when the time came I was ready to go home.

Our smiling little girl!

Proud Papa and his daughter

Mommy and baby

Our beautiful Willow

Once we returned home our friends and coworkers organized a schedule to bring us dinners for the first 2 weeks which was fantastic! We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends!

After returning home we were visited by Esteban's Father and my Mother and Father and Gidget. It was wonderful getting to spend time with them and having them meet and bond with Willow. It was also very special to get to spend my first Mother's Day with my Mother and my special little Willow!

Willow is one fantastic little girl! It is amazing to me how much she has grown in this first month. Don't worry there will be more pictures of our sweet little girl!

Phase 2

2010-04-15T06:07:00.000-05:00

The nurse just came in and started the Pitocin. It will be increased every 30 min.

Feeling pretty good. Slept some last night. Esteban, I think rested better than I did. Having little contractions and Willow's heart rate is doing good. Hopefully we meet her today!

Induction

2010-04-14T22:42:00.001-05:00

Just got the first part of the induction. The second part starts at 6 am tomorrow.

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At the hospital

2010-04-14T20:26:00.000-05:00

We arrived at North Kansas City Hospital at 6 pm to get induced for little Willow. So far they are monitoring me and getting ready to give me my first dose of medicine. We should meet Willow tomorrow or Friday. Let's hope for tomorrow. ;)

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T09:33:00.004-05:00

Hope everyone is having a wonderful day with their loved ones. Esteban and I are going to spend a quiet day at home getting ready for our little Willow. I have at most 13 days to go so she could be here any day now! I am feeling good but having a harder time getting around and doing things with my big tummy and my swollen hands and feet. Willow is also doing well. She has the hiccups right now which may be her way of wishing you all a Happy Easter as well. :)

Here is a pic E took of me last weekend. It is a pretty good angle cause I don't look as gigantic as I actually am. We may get another one today to show the progression as both Willow and her mommy have become much bigger. :)

Iditarod Top Ten Finishers

2010-03-20T09:22:00.002-05:00

It has been a while since my last Iditarod post. I was waiting for all the mushers to finish but there are still 7 on the trail and 15 mushers have had to withdraw from the race.

The top ten finishers are as follows:

1. Lance Mackey
2. Hans Gatt
3. Jeff King
4. Ken Anderson
5. John Baker
6. Ramey Smyth
7. Sebastian Schnuelle
8. Dallas Seavey
9. Hugh Neff
10. Mitch Seavey

So far 49 mushers have made it to Nome. Hopefully the last 7 will make it there safely.

Lance Mackey Wins the Iditarod

2010-03-16T18:25:00.002-05:00

Well sports fans we have a winner. Lance Mackey became the first musher to win four consecutive Iditarods. Since my last post he raced from Elim to Golovin 28 miles, to White Mountain 18 miles, Safety 55 miles and then Nome 22 miles.

Currently Lance is the only rider to have arrived in Nome.

The rest of the standings are as follows:

2. Hans Gatt out of Safety 11 dogs 8.46 mph
3. Jeff King out of Safety 12 dogs 7.6 mph
4. Ken Anderson out of White Mountain 10 dogs 6.13 mph
5. John Baker out of White Mountain 9 dogs 7.04 mph
6. Hugh Neff out of White Mountain 9 dogs 5.4 mph
7. Ramey Smyth out of White Mountain 12 dogs 6.54 mph
8. Sebastian Schnuelle out of White Mountain 13 dogs 6.9 mph
9. Dallas Seavey in White Mountain 8 dogs
10. Mitch Seavey in White Mountain 9 dogs

For those of you who are wondering yes Dallas and Mitch are related. Dallas is Mitch's 22 year old son. :) It will be interesting to see how the rest of the field finishes!

Iditarod Day 10

2010-03-15T20:24:00.002-05:00

Since yesterday the mushers have traveled from Unalakleet to Shaktoolik 42 miles, to Koyuk 48 miles, and to Elim 48 miles.

The leaders are as follows

1. Lance Mackey out of Elim with 11 dogs 6.97 mph
2. Hans Gatt out of Elim with 12 dogs 7.70 mph
3. Jeff King out of Elim with 12 dogs 7.09 mph
4. Ken Anderson out of Koyuk with 12 dogs 6.49 mph
5. Hugh Neff out of Koyuk with 10 dogs 5.5 mph
6. John Baker out of Koyuk with 10 dogs 5.57 mph
7. Mitch Seavey out of Koyuk with 10 dogs 5.67 mph
8. Ramey Smyth out of Koyuk with 12 dogs 6.76 mph
9. Sebastian Schnuelle out of Koyuk with 13 dogs 6.68 mph
10. Dallas Seavey in Koyuk with 10 dogs

Well there are about 123 miles remaining in the race. It is going by quickly.

Willow's Room

2010-03-14T17:06:00.001-05:00

Esteban has been hard at work this weekend putting up more decorations for Willow. She won't be lacking in the visual stimulation department! :)

Here are her butterflys. Note her new quilt made by my Mom.

Willow's tree and name on the wall. Mellannie came up with the letter formation and we love it!!!

Close up of Willow's name ;)

We can't wait for her arrival!!!

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Iditarod Early Day 9

2010-03-14T10:15:00.002-05:00

Sorry sports fans had a long day yesterday and didn't get to my computer (for shame huh?). Don't worry though I have been following the race on my phone. :)

The mushers travelled from Galena to Nulato (52 miles), Kaltag (42 miles), and Unalakleet (90 miles). The current temp is -27 degrees F.

Since my last post there is a new race leader!

Current standings are as follows:

1. Lance Mackey in Unalakleet with 12 dogs
2. Jeff King in Unalakleet with 13 dogs
3. Hans Gatt out of Kaltag with 12 dogs
4. Hugh Neff out of Kaltag with 13 dogs
5. Mitch Seavey out of Kaltag with 12 dogs
6. Ken Anderson out of Kaltag with 12 dogs
7. Sebastian Schnuelle out of Kaltag with 13 dogs
8. Ramey Smyth out of Kaltag with 13 dogs
9. John Baker out of Kaltag with 10 dogs
10. Ally Zirkle out of Kaltag with 12 dogs

Lance Mackey passed Jeff King and was the first to arrive at Unalakleet for which he won the Wells Fargo Gold Coast Award. The award includes a gold cup and $2,500 in gold nuggets.

Still a lot more race to come sports fans!

Iditarod News Articles

2010-03-14T09:56:00.003-05:00

Hey there! I will catch up on the race news but first I thought I would share these articles with you.

The first is about a 25 year old medical student from Belgium who is racing this year. He should get an award for sportmanship as he has helped out several other riders along the trail. It is a really great story and details how dangerous the race really is.

http://www.adn.com/2010/03/11/1179817/at-back-of-the-iditarod-pack-problems.html

The other article tells about what the mushers are eating along the trail. Some go for healthy foods while others favor "fast" foods. No pun intended. :)

http://www.adn.com/2010/03/11/1179995/iditarod-racers-go-gourmet-on.html

Iditarod Day 7

2010-03-12T21:30:00.002-06:00

So sports fans. Today the mushers went from Cripple to Ruby which is 112 miles and one musher has made it to Galena which is another 52 miles.

The current standings are as follows:

1. Jeff King in Galena with 14 dogs completed 24 and 8 hour layovers
2. Lance Mackey out of Ruby with 12 dogs completed 24 and 8 hour layovers
3. Hugh Neff out of Ruby with 13 dogs completed 24 and 8 hour layovers
4. Mitch Seavey out of Ruby with 13 dogs completed 24 and 8 hour layovers
5. Hans Gatt out of Ruby with 12 dogs completed 24 and 8 hour layovers
6. Sonny Lindner out of Ruby with 14 dogs completed 24 hour layover
7. Sebastian Schnuelle out of Ruby with 14 dogs completed 24 and 8 hour layover
8. Ken Anderson out of Ruby with 12 dogs completed 24 and 8 hour layover
9. John Baker out of Ruby with 12 dogs completed 24 hour layover
10. Sven Haltmann in Ruby with 14 dogs completed 24 hour layover

From Ruby to Nome is 497 miles. So there is still a lot of race ahead for the mushers.

Sorry I wrote this on Friday 3/12/10 and didn't post it.

Iditarod Day 6

2010-03-11T18:50:00.002-06:00

Since yesterday the leading mushers have travled 59 miles from Ophir to Cripple.

The leaders are as follows

1. Dallas Seavey in Cripple with 13 dogs
2. John baker in Cripple with 14 dogs
3. Martin Buser in Cripple with 14 dogs
4. Bruce Linton in Cripple with 14 dogs
5. Michelle Phillips in Cripple with 14 dogs
6. Robert Nelson in Cripple with 14 dogs
7. Jeff King in Cripple with 15 dogs and completed 24 hour break
8. Hugh Neff in Cripple with 14 dogs and completed 24 hour break
9. Mitch Seavey in Cripple with 14 dogs and completed 24 hour break
10. Lance Mackey in Cripple with 13 dogs and completed 24 hour break

Dallas Seavey was the first musher into Cripple and won the Dorothy Page Halfway Award! Congrats Dallas 1/2 way there!

Eclipse Trailer

2010-03-11T18:31:00.005-06:00

So what pray tell would interrupt my coverage of the Iditarod. . . Well it is Twilight related.

The new trailer is out for Eclipse!!!

For those interested parties you can go to

http://www.eclipsethemovie.com/

Enjoy Twilighters!

Iditarod Day 5

2010-03-10T19:56:00.001-06:00

Since yesterday the riders traveled from Nikolai to McGrath 54 miles. McGrath to Taknota 18 miles and then to Ophir 25 miles.

Current standings are as follows

1. John Baker out of Ophir 14 dogs
2. Dallas Seavey out of Ophir 13 dogs
3. Hans Gatt in Ophir 14 dogs
4. Cim Smyth in Ophir 14 dogs
5. Ramey Smyth in Ophir 15 dogs
6. Martin Buser in Ophir 14 dogs
7. Bruce Linton in Ophir 14 dogs
8. Michelle Phillips in Ophir 14 dogs
9. Robert Nelson out of Takotna 15 dogs
10. Jeff King in Takotna 16 dogs

2 more mushers have withdrawn since yesterday. Some of the mushers are playing out their strategies and taking their 24 hour break and others are continuing to run their teams. Will see what happens in the days to come.

Iditarod Sponsorship

2010-03-10T09:08:00.002-06:00

I guess the economy is also having an effect on the Greatest Race on Earth. Oh No! I guess the sponsorship has fallen for the race this year.

Please read this CNN article it is fantastic! Shows that the runners do the race for the love of it and not the money. Plus Jeff King one of the past winners donated $50,000 which he won from a previous race. His money went into the winners purse for this year.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/03/09/iditarod.sponsors/

Iditarod Day 4

2010-03-09T20:04:00.002-06:00

Sorry sports fans. Had some computer issues last night and did not get to update my info. I could have on my phone but that would have taken me forever.

To catch up the riders left Willow and have traveled to Nikolai. On the way they have gone through multiple check points.

From Willow they traveled to Yentna which is 52 miles.
Skwentna 34 miles
Finger Lake 45 miles
Rainy Pass 30 miles
Rohn 48 miles
Nikolai 75 miles

Current standing are as follows.

1. Jeff King out of Nikolai 16 dogs
2. Sebastian Schnuelle out of Nikolai 16 dogs
3. John Baker out of Nikolai 14 dogs
4. Mitch Seavy out of Nikolai 14 dogs
5. Hans Gatt in Nikolai with 15 dogs
6. Sven Haltmann in Nikolai with 16 dogs
7. Hugh Neff in Nikolai with 15 dogs
8. Lance Mackey in Nikolai with 15 dogs
9. Gerry Willomitzer with 16 dogs
10. Ally Zirkle in Nikolai with 15 dogs

These riders have traveled 347 miles and have 765 to go. The riders are currently heading to McGrath which can be some very challenging terrain. Hope everyone is safe out there!

So far only 4 teams have scratched.

Iditarod Day 2

2010-03-07T20:14:00.003-06:00

So the mushers have all left Willow for the restart today. They have not reached the next check point yet.

Current standings are as follows.

1. Linwood Fielder out of Willow with 16 dogs
2. Cim Smyth out of Willow with 16 dogs
3. Wattie McDonald out of Willow with 16 dogs (rookie from Scotland)
4. Zoya DeNure out of Willow with 16 dogs
5. Jessie Royer out of Willow with 16 dogs
6. Paul Gebhardt out of Willow with 16 dogs
7. John Baker out of Willow with 16 dogs
8. Ray Redington Jr out of Willow with 16 dogs
9. Justin Savidis out of Willow with 16 dogs (rookie)
10. Blake Freking out of willow with 16 dogs

Good luck to all the mushers! Hopefully it is a good safe race for everyone this year!

2010 Mushers

2010-03-07T12:39:00.002-06:00

Well sports fans looks like we have 71 mushers this year. For more information on them you can follow the link to http://www.iditarod.com/race/musherlisting.html.

Some interesting stats:

46 of the mushers are from Alaska
13 are from the lower 48 (other US states)
12 are from other countries

The other countries represented include Canada, United Kingdom, Belgium, and Jamaica. Jamaica really surprised me! Never been there personally but not the climate I would think of for training for this race. :)

So yesterday was the ceremonial start for the race in Anchorage and today the racers are restarting the race in Willow. Willow I really like that name and for those curious minds out there no she is not named after the town but it is an interesting conincidence. :)

The racers are taking the Northern Route this year and the total distance to Nome is 1112 miles.

For more info on the Route you can check out http://www.iditarod.com/race/route.html.

The Race Is On Sports Fans!!!

2010-03-07T12:25:00.003-06:00

IDITAROD!!! One of my favorite times of year! One cause I absolutely love the race and two cause this means winter is coming to an end! :)

To put you in the mood. I would like to share Hobo Jim's Iditarod song. I have been singing it this week in preparation.

Hobo Jim's: I did, I did, I did the Iditarod Trail

Away up in Alaska
The state that stands alone
There's a dog race run from Anchorage into Nome
And it's a grueling race with a lightning pace
Where chilly winds do wail.
Beneath the northern lights, across snow and ice
It's called the Iditarod Trail.

Chorus:Well, give me a team and a good lead dog and a sled that's built so fine,
And let me race those miles to Nome, one thousand forty-nine
Then when I get back to my home
Hey I can tell my tale
I did, I did I did the Iditarod Trail.

Well the race it won't be easy
For the masters of the trail
And some of them will make it and some of them will fail
But just to run that race takes a tough and hardy breed,
And a lot of work done by the dogs that run across snow with whistling speed.

Repeat chorus

I just pulled out of Safety
And I'm on the trail alone
I'm doin' fine and I'm pickin' up time
And headin' on in to Nome.
There's no sled tracks in front of me
And no one's on my tail
I did, I did, I did the Iditarod Trail!

Basement Build Out

2010-03-07T11:37:00.009-06:00

So as promised here are the pics of the build out of our basement. We had a long unfinished space down there where we stored all our "valuables". Actually, the boxes of stuff we never went through with our move. :)

With our upcoming new addition we decided we needed more space in the house. Prior to this project we were running our company OEA Brochures out of one of the bedrooms. http://www.oeabrochures.com/ So at the first of the year the construction began. Below is a starting pic and then the finished product. Now we just need to finish moving in and reorganizing.

Post declutter but Pre Build Out

Unfortunately we took these at night so you can't see the view

Looking back the other direction

New Decorations for Willow

2010-02-21T13:50:00.003-06:00

Esteban continues to work his creative magic on our little Willow's room! Here is an updated picture. I hope she gets some of his creative/artistic ability!

This has been a busy week as well. I had a baby shower yesterday and our new office and bathroom build out in the basement is FINISHED!!!! Whew! More pics of those to follow.

7 months and counting

2010-02-13T11:15:00.001-06:00

So tomorrow will be 31 weeks. Little Willow has been swimming around and honing her soccer skills. I have been feeling pretty good except for the occasional heart burn. Next week is my shower and I really need to work on her room and the house this week!!!

The 29 week belly!!

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More decorations for Willow

2010-01-02T15:57:00.005-06:00

Hello from freezing cold Kansas City! Either I am getting older or this weather is much colder here this year. (Must be the second huh?) So Esteban and I have been hard at work getting Willow's room together. We are also having a portion of our basement built out right now as well. Just one more thing to keep us busy and out of trouble! :) Here are the updated pics of Willow's room. We have not yet taken a new pic of my stomach. That will come tomorrow and we will see whether or not I will put it up here. What a difference a month makes. :)

Getting Ready for Willow

2009-12-27T10:20:00.003-06:00

So yesterday E and I started working on Willow's room. We unpacked some of the items we bought, arranged her furniture and started decorating of course. Here are some pics of the early stages of our work. She is going to have oodles and oodles of butterflies in her room!! There will be more pics to come of course so stay tuned. :)

Merry Christmas!!!

2009-12-24T18:20:00.003-06:00

Winter Solstice

2009-12-21T21:09:00.002-06:00

Today is the shortest day of the year or as some people remind me the LONGEST NIGHT. Kind of a glass 1/2 empty or 1/2 full scenerio huh?

However, today is also my parents 43rd Anniversary! What were you doing 43 years ago today? As I am a little younger than that my memory is a little hazy . . .

Congratulations Mom and Dad. Your marriage and relationship are an inspiration to both of us.

I looked online to see what the present is for 43 years of marrige and it says Travel. I think this is approprate as looking into your future I see some upcoming travel in April of next year. So I think you will get to celebrate in style. I also looked forward to the gift for 44 years of marriage (planning ahead). According to the website I was on you buy groceries to celebrate 44 years of marriage. Groceries for 44 years of marriage am I wrong or does this seem like the worst gift ever? I am thinking it is good I looked ahead cause we need a year to plan something more special and exciting than buying groceries. :)

Congrats! Love you both!!!

PS. I included a link to the site in case you think I am making this stuff up. Note I am not that creative. :)

http://marriage.about.com/cs/anniversaries/a/wedannivideas_5.htm

It's a girl!

2009-12-05T10:05:00.004-06:00

We had our 20 week ultrasound this week and found out the wonderfully fantastic news that we are going to have a little girl!!! She was very photogenic during our appointment and at one point turned toward us and kept opening and closing her mouth. She was swallowing but it looked just like she was talking to us. Below are some pics of my baby bump and our little Willow!

The 5 month bump
Willow trying to find her thumb

Willow striking a pose

More Willow

One happy little girl!

I have been Mooned!

2009-11-22T16:18:00.003-06:00

The Rowdy Bunch
Myself, Nancy, Lisa, Kiera

If you have had any contact with the media (newspapers, magazines, TV) I think you may have heard about the release of the second movie in the Twilight saga, New Moon!

Again this year we attended the midnight showing for the movie. We had 14 people in total for our group! It was a wonderful time! I thought it was hilarious that the teenagers were hushing this group of 30 year olds as we were being too noisy during the movie (you know who you are Nancy and Lisa). :)

Some of my favorite parts for the evening

1. Lisa screaming "I love Jacob" at the opening credits
2. Nancy's reactions through the entire movie (especially when Jacob had his shirt off)
3. Edward saying "Marry Me" and someone (not in our group) yelling "YES"

I am not sure but I think that this will be my last midnight show for a while. I can foresee that I may be a little busy next year at this time. :)

No Whining

2009-11-22T15:54:00.003-06:00

So last Friday we had a wine tasting party as a Thank You for the three students that we have had at our clinic. Tori and Dawn will finish their clinical rotation next week after 14 weeks with Modern PT. Justin will finish his 9 week rotation the first week of December.

The food for the evening was Italian including Chicken Spedini from Garozzos and Chicken Diavolo from Accurso's. However, the guests also brought wonderful appetizers, salads, and deserts. No one went away hungry. :)

We also had chardonay, syrah, merlot, and cabarnet grape juices to taste for those like myself who didn't partake in the wine tasting.

There were about 40 people in total at the party and it went into the wee hours of the morning. I had to turn in early however. Myself and my little baby need our sleep.

Unfortunately in the hustle and bustle of the evening I did not get pics. However, here are some pics we took before the festivities began. :) I would like to Thank Bellini for graciously posing for the pics! What a ham!

Happy BDay Daddy-o

2009-10-25T14:25:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday to one of the greatest men I know (I would have said the greatest but E is reading this d-oh)! Hope your day is filled with laughter, love, happiness, and most importantly lots of good food! Sorry I could not be there in person but myself and little bean (the baby) are thinking of you. :)

Here are some things I just learned about you via your zodiac sign Scorpio.

You have a sensitive and imaginative nature. Sensitive is a definite as you are one of the most caring people I know. Imaginative also definite as you make up some of the craziest stories/jokes ever!
There is an ageless quality about scorpios. Well you did just get one year older today, but you are still goofy, young and vibrant in my eyes. I would say affirmative to the agelessness as well!
They need to be vigilant about their eating habits if they want to stay slim (no kidding it really says this!?!). Well Dad is vigilant about his eating. He loves to eat! All kidding aside he has always lived a very healthy lifestyle and he looks fantastic!
They don't believe in doing anything the easy way and will make sacrifices to make their dreams come true. Absolutely. He is stubborn and one heck of a fighter (in the noblest sense of course)!

Best wishes for today and many wonderful birthdays to come!

Love you lots!

Amy

Frosty

2009-10-18T08:55:00.003-05:00

Good Morning to all from chilly Kansas City! I was up early this morning doing some cleaning when I looked outside and noticed the frost and steam rising from the pond. It was beautiful so I snapped some quick pics. Sorry there a little shaky/blurry it was COLD outside!!! I am not sure whether or not this was the first frost for us this Fall, but it is the first one I have been up early enough to witness. I thought I would share my pics with you. Hope you are all enjoying some beautiful Fall weather as well.

Hello Baby

2009-10-14T06:59:00.004-05:00

Wonderful news from the Azevedo family. We are going to have a little bundle of joy around mid April. Gender to be announced in the weeks to come . . .

Here are the first and second bunch of ultra sound pics we have of our little one.

8 weeks - Our little one is hanging upside down like a bat. Very appropriate for Halloween.

8 weeks- Still upside down. The little round object beside the baby is the yolk sac.

12 weeks - The placenta is at the top of the screen and our little one is laying on the bottom on their side. The head is at the left side of the screen. The arms are to the right at the top and bottom of the abdomen and at the far right the legs.

12 weeks - Same view as above. Just with a little more arm and leg movement.

12 weeks - The face (eyes, nose and mouth)

The official and fancy ultrasound will be in 3 more weeks. So more pics to come.

American Royal BBQ

2009-10-05T20:03:00.004-05:00

So this is my favorite time of year! Fall. The time when the trees are changing colors and the weather is getting cooler. Here in KC this is also the time for barbecue. There is a wonderful smoky aroma in the air at night. It is wonderful! This is definitely not the time of year for vegetarians. :)

So Modern PT sponsored a local BBQ team this year! They are "Howlin Wolfe's BBQ". Last Friday night we went out to support them (or more accurately sample their food). From what everyone told me the barbecue was great! Here are some pics of their set up and our logo on their banner. The pics were taken on Tony's blackberry at night so the quality is a little less than Esteban's normal but it is enough to get the picture (literally). Happy Fall to all!

Howlin Wolfe's BBQ Central

Lisa and myself posing as usual :)

Coop's photo shoot

2009-09-12T11:50:00.004-05:00

So Cooper had his first official Uncle E photo shoot last weekend. There are tons of good pics from the weekend but in the interest of brevity I selected a few of my favs. Hope you all enjoy!

Hey Daddy What'cha Laughing At?

The Milk Block

Striking a pose with Aunt A

Momma and baby

Ready for the road

Coop singing opera

The opera was a tragedy. He really gets into his work.

Look at all that hair! :)

Guess Who Came for Dinner

2009-09-04T10:19:00.004-05:00

So to end a great day yesterday Jessica, Steve and Cooper joined us for dinner last night. The meal was delicious (the best thin crust pizza Dominos has to offer), but the company was even better. :)

Deep Brain Stimulators and Punk Rock Hair

2009-09-04T09:01:00.002-05:00

That is my theme for the day yesterday! :) Mom had her surgery yesterday to implant a new generator for her deep brain stimulators. This is the latest and greatest model that Medtronic has to offer so maybe Bionic Brain should be now added to the "theme". :) Mom, Dad, Steve, and I all arrived at the hospital in the wee hours of the morning (5 am anyone?) . . . She met with her doctors and nurses and then went in for surgery. She came through the surgery with flying colors (of course) with only a 6 inch incision on the right side of her head and another incision on her chest. This whole brain surgery thing is definitely not for sissys. With the betadine on her hair/sclap and blood from her incision she had streaks of red and yellow in her hair. A very punk rock look if you ask me. Kind of a rebel with a cause. They did turn her stimulator on very low, but by the time she got home she was moving better than she has been in months. Next week she gets her stimulator reprogrammed so stay tuned for more exciting updates. Thanks all for all the well wishes and positive thoughts!

Totally Tubular

2009-08-30T10:08:00.004-05:00

Hello all! I have been a little lazy lately with the posts! It has been a beautiful August here in Kansas City! E and I are preparing to make a trip to Phoenix next week so watch for the upcoming posts and pics from that trip. :) I do need to catch you all up on the latest crop formations as their have been some very cool new ones. However, today I am attaching a picture of Morning Glory clouds. These cloud formations can grow to 600 miles long! I have never seen anything like them! Spectacular! For more information you can check out the link at http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/08/morninggloryclouds/

New Pics

2009-08-16T09:16:00.012-05:00

Hello to all! It has been a while since I posted. I have not yet traveled to Arizona to see cute little Cooper but I do have some new pics! So of course I have to share them with you all! E and I will be in Arizona the first weekend in September and we are very excited to meet our new nephew and of course see the rest of the family as well! :)

Can't stay awake

What's up?

Grandma Tish and Cooper

Steve and Cooper

Da Boys! I love this pic!

Grandma Jean and Cooper

Jessica and Cooper

Momma and baby

Grandpa Bruce and Cooper

Cali and Cooper :)

SHHH Baby Sleeping

2009-08-06T05:27:00.004-05:00

Here is a picture of Cooper after his first bath! That bath stuff is some pretty hard work! Looks like he is resting very well! What a cute little burrito baby!

Coopers first picture

2009-08-06T04:58:00.002-05:00

Stop the press the first pic of Cooper is just in! When my dad came and took the first pic of me I think I started crying and then the nurse got mad at him and kicked him out of the nursery. Not so with Cooper! I think he is striking a pose already! More to pics to come!

Cooper

2009-08-06T04:45:00.002-05:00

Baby Cooper made his appearance in the world last night! No pictures yet but many to follow don't worry. I have been told mother and baby are doing well. I think his stats were 19 1/2 inches and 7 pounds 6 oz. Congratulations Jessica and Steve! And welcome to the world little Coop!

New Kachina Doll

2009-08-02T15:47:00.003-05:00

Never fails I upload tons of pics from Canada and forgot to put one of the most important ones. E and I found this cool store in Canada with Native American art. We purchased this amazing modern katchina doll and had it shipped to us in KC. It just arrived Friday and I have already put it in our display case.

Here is a quick pic I took of him. I know when Esteban gets home there will be more pics and better quality of course. Anyway he is absolutely amazing in my opinion! I need to think of a name for him. Any suggestions?

Toronto

2009-08-02T15:19:00.015-05:00

I told you July was busy!! Esteban, Laura, and I went to Toronto for a conference thin an attempt to sell brochures for our company OEA. We had a great time with the trip but were not so successful in the selling department.

Some things I learned about Toronto. It is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world. It has the most skyscrapers I have ever seen. The buildings are mostly made of glass as glass is more energy efficient. It is a very green city. Instead of billboards they have advertisements along the road made from different colored flowers that are strategically planted. Finally, it is touted as one of the cleanest cities. However, when we were there they sanitation engineers were on strike and had been for about 5-6 weeks. I found this fascinating and therefore took many pictures of trash. I got a great one of a garbage truck with its logo on the side "Making the City Better" driving away from a huge bunch of trash, but it was too dark and didn't turn out. I am going to have Esteban try his photoshop magic on it later.

Our new OEA booth

View from our hotel room

Laura and Esteban

Got Trash?

Biker art

Graffiti

The Toronto Skyline

E and I standing next to the sign displaying the vendors for the conference. Our company logo is on the second row from the bottom and two over from the left. :)

Goodbye Jerry

2009-08-02T13:41:00.007-05:00

July also marked the end of an era for Esteban and myself.

Jerry our friend and coworker moved back to Arizona. We met him when we were in PT school and he helped to teach us rib mobs, bursal massage, neck mobilizations, etc. Then when Esteban and I moved to Alaska, Jerry and his family came about one year later. Then when E and I moved to Kansas City Jerry and his family also came. He helped us build Modern PT and has worked tirelessly there for the past 5 years. However, home is where the heart is and he just moved back to Tucson to be with his family.

We have always called Jerry magic hands as he is truly a gifted healer. I am very proud to know him and to have been able to work with him for the past 9 or so years. Below are some memories I have of Jerry over the years.

Esteban and Jerry laughing hysterically in the office or anywhere really.

In Alaska Jerry would often buy and bring me a Diet Coke to drink when he came into work. (When I drank soda) Not because I asked just because that is the kind of guy he is

Jerry, E, and I were on the same bowling team in Alaska. We won our league (not due to my skills however). However Jerry's name was spelled wrong and that is where he got his nickname "Kasquez".

Jerry and E invented break dance bowling. This is where you have to do a break dance move after you bowl. We have had the robot (always a favorite), catepillar, and Mexican hat dance.

Jerry managing our Final Four Basketball brackets every year and having to deal with all the trash talking I did. :)

This one is kind of gross but I am going to say it anyway. I had a patients kid throw up in my room on my birthday this year. Jerry worked on it for about one hour before his lunch time getting it cleaned up for me. Again not because I asked but just because it needed to be done.

Jerry's wife Elva is a wonderful cook and I will miss all the delicious lunches and dinners she made us as well as her fantastic pico de gallo and salsa. My mouth is watering just thinking of them.

Thanks guys so much for all the great memories and we will be sure to visit on our travels to Arizona.

We love you guys!

Jerry's going away cake. We had the picture on the cake in the clinic up in the clinic for years. Esteban and Jerry jokingly would tell patients that it was the two of them when they were younger. It is shocking how much they look like Napoleon and Pedro/ Esteban and Jerry. :)

Modern PT
John, Ashlee, Dio, Shabri, Mellannie
Me, Nancy, Court and Lisa
We will miss you Jerry

It's tough to get us all in one location.
John, Ashlee, Dio, Shabri, Mellannie
Esteban, Me, Court, Lisa
We will miss you Jerry

Modern PT at Emily's Wedding
Amy, Cheri, Jerry, Elva, Kelly
Lisa, Esteban, Courtney

Catching up

2009-08-02T09:38:00.012-05:00

It is a beautiful morning in Kansas City and I am currently sitting outside enjoying the beautiful morning and thinking over the past month. I took a quick pic of my view this morning so you can all share it with me.

The month of July was extremely busy which you may have noticed by the shortage of posts by yours truly. There were many momentous events that happened in July which deserve to be documented however.

The first of these was a baby shower for a good friend of ours Kathy. We have known Kathy and Susan for more than 8 years now and we are the unofficial Aunt A and Uncle E for their son Jake and now their daughter Hunter.

Their baby shower happened early in the July and now their beautiful bundle of joy has arrived so I am going to combine both the events in this post. For their baby shower we played the string game where we each cut a piece of string estimating how big around Kathy was. Always a nice politically correct game for a pregnant lady (because none of them ever mind the weight gain that accompanies pregnancy right?). We also played a taste and identify the baby food game. Myself and my friend Courtney felt like we were at a distinct disadvantage for this game as we have not had children and had no idea there was Mac and Cheese baby food. Which by the way tastes hideous. :( Finally we played a game to see what team could braid a bunch of string the fastest. Unfortunately I did about as well with this as the baby food game. :) It was a wonderful party and below are some pics of the festivities.

Proud parents to be Susan and Kathy

String around the belly game

Courtney modeling some of Hunters new outfits

The end of July welcomed the arrival of little Hunter. She is absolutely beautiful. It was difficult for me to choose which pics to put on here as they are all so cute. :)

Susan, Kathy, and Hunter

Susan and Hunter

Hunter smiles (As a proud Aunt I have to brag that I was holding her when she smiled) :)

Dreaming of milk

Hunter and Esteban holding hands

Congratulations! Kathy, Susan and Jake! We are so happy for you.

Another month of Crop Circles

2009-07-26T13:46:00.019-05:00

More Crop Circles

2009-06-27T19:38:00.010-05:00

Well the fun continues. More pictures have been taken of formations in fields in the United Kingdom.

The first one was reported June 21st.

http://www.cropcircleconnector.com/2009/milkhill3/milkhill2009c.html

The next one was also reported on June 21st. A little yin yang anyone?

http://www.cropcircleconnector.com/2009/westkennett/westkennett2009.html

The next formation was reported June 23rd and is just a wee little crop circle.

http://www.cropcircleconnector.com/2009/milkhill4/milkhill2009d.html

The crop circle from June 24th kind of has an Alice in Wonderland or Super Mario Brothers theme. :)

http://www.cropcircleconnector.com/2009/roughhill/roughhill2009.html

June 25th another formation was reported. I am starting to see a jellyfish trend here.

http://www.cropcircleconnector.com/2009/MartinsellHill/MartinsellHill2009.html

June 27th another jellyfish looking formation was found.

http://www.cropcircleconnector.com/2009/southfield2/southfield2009b.html

One last formation from June 27th. Not sure how to describe this one but impressive nonetheless.

http://www.cropcircleconnector.com/2009/milkhill5/milkhill2009e.html

To the World's Greatest Dad!

2009-06-21T10:37:00.006-05:00

Happy Father's Day Dad!

Thanks for being such a wonderful father! Your love, compassion, sense of humor and selflessness are a shining example of the kind of person I strive to be.

I know that being a father is not an easy job. I am sure you worry about your children and hope they grow up ok and then when the grow up you continue to worry about them.

Well being an adult now (most of the time) I can look back and appreciate all the hard and wonderful work you have done over the years.

Thank you for standing out in the heat and being the starter at my swim meets. You were phenomenal! I will always remember those bermuda shorts with the mummies on the surf boards that you wore. Very nice! :)
Thank you for playing catch, jogging, and going bike riding with me. I know the bike riding was a full contact sport when it came to the speed bumps in the Wigwam!
Thank you for playing games with us in the pool and launching Steve and I into the air off your shoulders. What fun!
Thank you for the summer vacations to San Diego! Those were the best!
Thank you for gifting me with your love of the beach!
Thank you for gifting me with your love of animals!
Thank you for showing my mother and your entire family what true love, compassion and dedication look like with taking care of Mom day after day!
Thank you for telling me on Sister's Day that if you ever had a sister you would want her to be just like me. I have always remembered that and treasured that!
Thank you for your wonderful sense of humor. Esteban still laughs about that turtle story you told the first day he met you. :)
Thank you for your positive attitude and the zest with which you approach life.
Thank you for looking so much like Mick Jagger. (see below)

Dad! I love you so much and wish you a wonderful day today and every day!

You are the GREATEST!!!

June the month of crop circles!

2009-06-20T13:06:00.011-05:00

Hello again circle watchers! June has been one active month. So much that my little fingers are tired from all the typing an uploading. :) All of the below formations were found in the United Kingdom. I am thinking of creating a contest and having people vote for their favorite. Of course I would have to choose a favorite as well and that would be very difficult!

So our first circle for today was reported June 8th and is in Bishop Cannings. http://www.cropcircleconnector.com/2009/bishopcanning/bishopcannings2009b.html

The next circle "The Phoenix" was reported June 12th in Yatesbury. http://www.cropcircleconnector.com/2009/yatesbury2/yatesbury2009b.html

June 12th had another reported formation.
http://www.cropcircleconnector.com/2009/waylandsmithy2/waylandsmithy2009b.html

Another formation was reported June 13th below Milk Hill. http://www.cropcircleconnector.com/2009/milkhill2/milkhill2009b.html

June13 was also an active day as another circle was reported at Tawsmead Copse, West Stowell, Wiltshire. http://www.cropcircleconnector.com/2009/southfield/southfield2009.html

June must be going to the birds because on the 14th another bird like formation has been found. http://www.cropcircleconnector.com/2009/baburycastle/barburycastle2009.html

June 17th another formation was noted this formation evolved over a 3 day period and the finished product is seen below. http://www.cropcircleconnector.com/2009/westkennettavenue/westkennettavenue2009.html

I find the beauty and mystery behind these formations to be fascinating!

Family

2009-06-14T11:08:00.006-05:00

So I made a surprise trip home for Mom's birthday. It has been a wonderful visit getting to catch up with my family. Yesterday we made a trip to Steve and Jessica's new house. They recently moved and are continuing to move in. The house is beautiful and they are already doing a great job getting everything put together. They also have some amazing plans for changes they are going to make to the house over time. However, they currently have one big change to prepare for . . . can you say baby. :)

So I took some pics when I was at their house. However, I have realized some things.

1. Esteban is a much better photographer (well I always knew that one). Just preparing you for the quality of my pics.

2. I forgot to take pics of the front of the house. So you will just have to use your imagination until I return for another visit.

3. I did take one of the backyard. Please notice the blue sky. The weather here has been great! Sorry to those who are still "enjoying" some more rain in Kansas City.

Here is a pic of the family in Steve and Jessica's living room. Aren't they a great looking bunch? And the house looks great too!

Here is the baby's room. It is a work in progress. Steve just got the crib assembled and he is preparing for the next steps of decorating and assembling the room. I have seen what they are planning and it will be one of the most fun/cool baby rooms ever. :)

Part of the backyard. Lovely Arizona. Blue sky and mountains. Gotta love it!

New Moon Posters

2009-06-13T13:15:00.004-05:00

So the fever, frenzy, obsession, excitement continues! While being hard at work a couple of weeks ago I "stumbled" upon a fan made poster of New Moon. As protocol requires I immediately had to compare this poster with the official New Moon poster. I think that they are both fantastic and thought I should share them with all those Twilighters out there.

Official poster below.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedishrag/2009/05/official-new-moon-poster-finally-released-.html

Unofficial poster for Team Edward (sorry Carrie)

http://twilightersanonymous.com/fan-made-new-moon-movie-posters-bella-and-edward.html

Happy Birthday Mom!

2009-06-10T20:56:00.003-05:00

There are good things at work today. First, Mom is currently heading home from the hospital. Second we are rapidly approaching a very important day! Tomorrow is Mom's birthday! I just spoke to her and found out the exact age she is going to be but I made a decision not to write it here. Not that she or I am ashamed of her age. Just thought I would leave a little mystery for those of you who are reading. :)

For those of you who don't know my mother she is a very little pixie like woman. However, looks are deceiving. She is the strongest woman I know. When I was in high school she fought the board to allow me to be able to buy a boys letter jacket (at the time they would only let girls get the "girls" jacket). Of course she won! Over the years she has been presented with many challenges. I think that you always learn about a person's character when they have to deal with the curve ball that life can and does throw at us. Do they curse their luck and sink into a depression or do they accept their lot in life and continue to live, love, and connect with those around them? Mom has chosen the latter. This is the more difficult path to take. However, in doing so she daily demonstrates her strength of character. I hope in my life when I have to deal with difficult situations I can do so with as much grace and love as she does!

Happy Birthday Mom! I love you very much and wish you all the best! You deserve it!!!

Head in the clouds

2009-06-10T06:37:00.002-05:00

A mysterious new cloud formation has been noted and labeled an "asperatus" cloud. The unusual choppy underside surface of the clouds is believed to be due to strong winds.

Please go to this website and check out the pictures and write up.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/06/photogalleries/new-cloud-pictures/photo2.html

I especially like the picture from New Zealand it looks like something out of a Sci Fi movie. I have seen clouds that look like the picture taken in Iowa when Esteban and I were walking Bellini here in Kansas City about 2 years ago. I remember because I had never seen clouds look like that before, but hey I am from Arizona I didn't see too many clouds growing up anyway. :)

Enjoy

Take care of yourself

2009-06-07T19:19:00.004-05:00

So I have had a very introspective Sunday. To explain this let me start with a story. About three weeks ago my mother had surgery to replace her leads, battery, and stimulator for her deep brain stimulators which treat the symptoms of her Parkinson's Disease. Last Thursday she noticed her eye was swelling shut and her incision was red. My father took her to the ER immediately. They examined her and said that swelling is normal after surgery and sent her home. Then Saturday she developed a fever of 102. My father did an excellent job of giving her Tylenol and trying to cool her down. When my dad called the neurologist on call he said that it sounded like she had the flu. Later that night my dad decided to take her to the ER. She was very weak by this time and my brother, Steve, and my father had to all work together to get her out of bed and to the ER. When she arrived and they looked at her incisions they diagnosed her as having an infection. She went in for surgery this afternoon and they removed her stimulator and battery and she is currently resting in ICU.

So I have been thinking a lot about this process. I went through my stages of grief. Starting with shock, but that happened on Thursday when we were all relatively sure she had an infection. Then we all shared the feeling of guilt. Was there something we could have done to get this taken care of sooner? Then the anger. Really doctors, my family and most of you reading this probably could figure out she had an infection before she became so sick and so weak. (On a side note I have to thank the boxing component of the Wii for helping me through some of the anger) :) I have been working on reflection and acceptance for the rest of the day today.

I work in the medical system and therefore know that no one in that system should be put on a pedestal. We are all human and therefore fallible. The plumber does not always find the source of the leak the first time and the mechanic does not always find what is making that knocking sound in your car the first time. So why do we think that doctors should be able to do this with an incredibly complicated human body? Because they are doctors? They have always been put on a pedestal and in someways they should be highly regarded. But they can make mistakes and we need to remember that. Did they do this on purpose to hurt my mother? No they did not. Was this a mistake that any human could make? Yes it is. Unfortunately two different humans made the same mistake. :) What are the odds of that?

If there is something to learn from this situation it is BE YOUR OWN ADVOCATE! I always tell my patients they have an advantage I don't. They know their bodies better than I do. If you think something is wrong and you are told once, twice or more that nothing is wrong search for help and challenge the accepted wisdom. I think my father did an excellent job! Had he listened to the doctor on call and left her at home she would have deteriorated further.

I am so proud of you Dad! I love you very much Mom! Take care!!!

Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Go Back In The Cornfield

2009-06-05T21:12:00.009-05:00

Well hello circle watchers! Despite my post last week I have been a little off my game watching the crop circles lately. Here are the latest I am aware of.

Geometric in barley field at New Farm
near Chiseldon, Wiltshire, England, reported June 5, 2009.
Aerial image © 2009 by Russell Stannard.
Images and information by: Cropcircleconnector.

“Dragonfly” reported June 3, 2009, in field at Little London
near Yatesbury, Wiltshire, U. K. Aerial image © 2009 by John Montgomery.
Images and information by: Cropcircleconnector.

Reported June 2, 2009, seven sides highlighted
by seven small circles at each corner and a “comet” of seven circles
in descending diameters at outer spiral. In foreground, several tramlines from
main formation, is a small, flattened circle. Aerial image © 2009 by

Jack Turner. Images and information by: Cropcircleconnector

4-fold circular geometry reported on June 1, 2009, at Knoll Down
near Beckhampton and Avebury stone circles, Wiltshire, England. Aerial image
© 2009 by Lucy Pringle. Images and information by: Cropcircleconnector.

May 29, 2009, reported formation resembling jelly fish near Waylands Smithy
and Kingstone Coombs, Oxfordshire, U. K., lines up with sunset on July 7, 2009,
at 308 degrees, the date of a penumbral lunar eclipse, according to Australian
scientist. Images and information by: Cropcircleconnector. Aerial image © 2009
by Steve Alexander; graphic comparison 2009 by Australian scientist.

If you would like to check out the originals you can go to www.cropcircleconnector.com or www.earthfiles.com.

New Moon Trailer

2009-06-01T19:47:00.002-05:00

So the frenzy is starting to whip up again. Twilight or more specifically now New Moon. The trailer was released yesterday and I have watched it a couple of times. :)

For those who are interested you can find it on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSFMmkMfQ5Q

Happy viewing Twilighters.

Crop Circles and Corpse Flowers Oh My!

2009-05-31T16:46:00.004-05:00

I have been quiet in the blog world lately. I am not sure why that is. Maybe it is due to the fact that life has seemed busier than normal lately. I have been busy but I do not recall doing anything "blog worthy". So I thought I would share two articles which I read this morning and found to be very interesting.

First off those who know me know that I am a little bit of a crop circle enthusiast. This particular pattern was spotted May 25th at Windmill Hill near Devizes, Wiltshire. It is approximately 350 feet long and the region it was found in has been a hotspot for crop circles over the years.

To read the article you can go to
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1189518/Mesmeric--elaborate-creation-Wiltshires-crop-circle-capital.html

The next article I read has to do with botany. Not a subject I follow very often but interesting nonetheless. The University of Missouri has a Corpse Flower. What pray tell is a Corpse Flower? I guess it is a flower which smells like dead animals in order to attract insects to pollinate it. So would a Corpse Flower by any other name not smell as horrendous?!? Anyway I guess this plant in particular has not bloomed in about 8 years. Once it does bloom it will only be open for one day so pollinators be ready. Despite the alluring name the flower does look attractive when it does bloom (see pic below). The web site below also has a web cam so that you can check on the blooming process periodically. :)

http://www.coasttocoastam.com/article/corpse-flower-set-for-stinky-bloom

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T09:09:00.003-05:00

Happy Day to the GREATEST Mom in the world! Thanks so much for all your hard work!

Thanks for sitting up with me at night when I could not sleep and scratching my back
Thanks for reading the Giving Tree and other books to me each night before bed
Thanks for taking me to swim team every night and sitting in the bleachers or car and waiting for me to be done
Thanks for attending each and every one of my athletic events
Thanks for staying up late at night and helping me with my homework
Thanks for always believing in me
Thanks for being there for me in both good times and bad
Thanks for putting up with my sarcastic sense of humor as well as my Dad's
Thanks for allowing me to reach for the stars
Thanks for being such a strong and positive role model

Thank you Mom for all you have done and continue to do! I am who I am because of you!. I love you!

Amy

Greg and Kay's Wedding

2009-04-05T10:10:00.004-05:00

Esteban and I have been away for the weekend in glorious, exotic, and extremely windy (seriously 40-50 mph winds yesterday scary) Amarillo, Texas. We are here to celebrate the wedding of our friends Greg and Kay. Esteban was in the wedding and looked fantastic in his tux with a red vest and tie. The wedding held in the town of Groom, Texas. Which if you didn't know is home to the second largest cross in the Western Hemisphere (see below). The wedding was beautiful and the pastor was very charismatic and funny which was perfect for the fun loving couple. I did take some pictures in the wedding but I didn't have my memory card in my camera at the time. Hence you are only getting a glimpse at a napkin from the wedding which I just took a picture of to prove we were there. Good news is that I found out that my camera will save pictures on it. Bad news is I can't figure out how to get them off of there yet. :-) My camera is not smarter than I am, my camera is not smarter than I am . . Yep still on there. I had to take pictures at the wedding as there were so many jokes prior to the wedding about the height of the groomsmen. The groom is 6 foot 3 inches, his brother is 6 foot 5 inches, another groomsman is 6 feet tall, and then Esteban is 5 feet 7 inches tall. Esteban kept saying he wanted a little step to stand on during the wedding so he did not look too short. However, the day before the wedding we found out that there would be steps for the groomsmen to stand on but Esteban was on the ground level. Hence all the joking. I told Esteban if he was wearing a green vest he would have looked like a little leprechaun compared to the other groomsmen (not very supportive am I?). Anyway he looked fantastic and when I figure out how to get the pics off my camera I will attach them. It was a wonderful wedding and a great reception and I wish the bride and groom all the happiness in the world!

Earth Hour

2009-03-28T19:14:00.002-05:00

So thanks to my sister in law Jessica I have now become aware of a new special occurrence Earth Hour. This is kind of a last minute posting as it is 7:15 in KC and it begins at 8:30 but hey better late than never right? So the purpose of this hour is show that you care about energy conservation. You can do so by switching off your lights from 8:30 to 9:30 pm local time today March 28th. Sounds great to me!

This is new to me so I have to strategize and now I have questions about the whole thing.

1. Can I use my laptop if it is not plugged in. Probably, but to be true to the Earth Hour I probably shouldn't.

2. I will turn off my ceiling fans but the heat is definitely staying on. Sorry lots of snow and ice outside and I am a wimp. :-)

3. Can I talk on the phone during this time? I would think cell phones would be ok since they are already charged. But maybe this is not consistent to the point of energy conservation. The power in my battery came from somewhere.

4. Reading should be good but I will have to use candles to see. This kind of scares me after last summer when we lost power during a thunderstorm. I was at the end of a book I was reading so I could not stop. So to see I had to get really close to the candle and almost lit my book on fire. How did we do anything without electricity?

5. Other things we could do by candle light. Play games, talk, watch it snow outside, snuggle.

In addition to being beneficial to reducing and making us aware about our energy consumption maybe this earth hour also serves another function. Maybe "unplugging" for an hour is important for us to reconnect to those around us.

Happy Earth Hour to All!

March. In like a lamb out like a lion?

2009-03-28T17:59:00.007-05:00

March (my favorite month) is coming to a close. I have been so busy blogging about the Iditarod that I have not kept up on the comings and goings around the Azevedo household. So here is a quick recap of the past couple of weeks.

I had a wonderful birthday. I would have to say one of the best since I have been in KC. One of the reasons may be due to the fact that E was home for my birthday for the first time in 4 years. :-) Also all my friends and coworkers at Modern PT did a great job of making my day special. I received new fun colored socks and some shamrock socks which I donned for the special day. I also received two little green beanie babies with white shamrocks. Lisa made a wonderful vegetable soup, Ashlee made delicious cornbread, and Courtney made a great birthday cake. :-) Bellini also had a great day. She found one of my beanie babies in my gift bag after I was home for a whopping 5 min and proceeded to take it and hide it in the back yard. I caught her taking the second one out the doggie door and when I asked her where the first one was she took me directly to it in the back yard. What a smart dog, mischievous but smart. The weather was in the 80s for my birthday which was a real treat after the cold of the winter.

Speaking of weather I have been pondering the saying in like a lamb and out like a lion. Last weekend was 70 degrees and E and I had a great time spending as much time outside as possible. However so far this weekend is consumed with freezing rain and snow. Therefore, I would have to agree with the Farmers Almanac that March 2009 came in like a lamb and went out like a lion.

Here are some pics I quickly snapped out of our back door of the snow coming down.

Iditarod Day 12

2009-03-18T21:19:00.003-05:00

Well we have a winner. Lance Mackey is the first musher to make it to Nome. He arrived with 15 dogs. Congrats Lance!

Since my update yesterday Lance left Elim and travelled 28 miles to Golovin, 18 miles to White Mountain, 55 miles to Safety, and then 22 to Nome.

The standings for the rest of the pack are as follows:

2. Sebastian Schnuelle - Out of Safety - 13 dogs - 7.86 mph
3. John Baker - Out of Safety - 9 dogs - 7.43 mph
4. Aaron Burmeister - In White Mountain - 10 dogs
5. Mitch Seavey - In White Mountain - 10 dogs
6. Cim Smyth - In White Mountain - 9 dogs
7. Dallas Seavey - In White Mountain - 10 dogs
8. Jessie Royer - In White Mountain - 13 dogs
9. Ramey Smyth - In White Mountain - 11 dogs
10. Hans Gatt - In White Mountain - 13 dogs

15. DeeDee Jonrowe - Out of Elim - 13 dogs - 6.92 mph
17. Aliy Zirkle - Out of Elim - 11 dogs - 4.59 mph
27. Melissa Owens - In Koyuk - 11 dogs

Good luck to all of those still out on the trail!

Iditarod Day 11

2009-03-17T21:13:00.003-05:00

For the past two days the Iditarod has been VERY brutal due to 40 mph winds and subzero temperatures (50 below zero with the wind chill). Due to the conditions many teams are staying put and waiting for the wind to slow down. Others have had mushers suffer frostbite to their faces or have to travel very slowly and had difficulty getting to their next check point. Three teams have had to be rescued and withdraw from the race due to weather and trail conditions. One of these teams had two dogs die from unknown reasons. Let us all hope for nicer weather for all the teams tomorrow and send positive and warm thoughts to all the remaining teams out there.

Since yesterday the leaders have left Koyuk and travelled 48 miles to Elim.

The current standings are:

1. Lance Mackey - Out of Elim - 15 dogs -6.46 mph
2. Sebastian Schnuelle - Out of Elim - 14 dogs - 6.64 mph
3. John Baker - Out of Elim - 10 dogs - 6.58 mph
4. Ramey Smith - In Koyuk - 11 dogs - 8.51 mph
5. Dallas Seavey - In Koyuk - 11 dogs - 8.88 mph
6. Mitch Seavey - In Koyuk - 11 dogs - 2 mph
7. Jessie Royer - In Koyuk - 10 dogs - 9.43 mph
8. Aaron Burmeister - In Koyuk - 10 dogs - 1.98 mph
9. Cim Smyth - In Koyuk - 9 dogs - 8.97 mph
10. Jeff King - Out of Shaktoolik - 15 dogs - 6.37 mph

16. DeeDee Jonrowe - In Shaktoolik - 13 dogs - 7.04 mph
17. Aliy Zirkle - In Shaktoolik - 11 dogs - 6.49 mph
28 Melissa Owens - In Unalakleet - 11 dogs - 6.44 mph

Take care everyone! My warm thoughts and best wishes go out to everyone on the trail and all of those who have had to withdraw.

Iditarod Day 10

2009-03-16T21:03:00.002-05:00

Well the good news is it looks like there will be more than 10 days of Iditarod!!

The lead mushers left Unalakleet and travelled 40 miles to Shaktoolik. From there only one musher has made it to the Koyuk check point which is another 58 miles. Koyuk is 171 miles from the finish line in Nome. So more excitement to come sports fans.

The current standings are:

1. Lance Mackey - In Koyuk - 15 dogs - 8.25 mph
2. Sebastian Schnuelle - Out of Shaktoolik - 15 dogs - 6.23 mph
3. Aaron Burmeister - Out of Shaktoolik - 10 dogs - 6.02 mph
4. Mitch Seavey - Out of Shaktoolik - 11 dogs - 6.17 mph
5. Jeff King - Out of Shaktoolik- 15 dogs - 6.37 mph
6. John Baker - Out of Shaktoolik - 13 dogs - 6.32 mph
7. Hans Gatt - Out of Shaktoolik - 13 dogs - 6.63 mph
8. Hugh Neff - Out of Shaktoolik - 11 dogs - 6.22 mph
9. Sonny Lindner - In Shaktoolik - 13 dogs- 7.21 mph
10. Dallas Seavery - In Shaktoolik - 11 dogs - 6.09 mph

13. Aliy Zirkle - Out of Unalakleet - 13 dogs - 6.17 mph
14. DeeDee Jonrowe - Out of Unalakleet - 13 dogs - 6.35 mph
15. Jessie Royer - Out of Unalakleet - 14 dogs - 7.58 mph
40. Melissa Owens - Out of Eagle Island - 12 dogs - 6.14 mph

So far only 6 teams have dropped out of the race. Best wishes to all!

Iditarod Day 9

2009-03-15T21:46:00.002-05:00

Well its time once again for my update on the race. Today the top teams left Eagle Island and travelled 70 miles to Kaltag. From Kaltag they are currently travelling to Unalakleet (90 miles). Currently, only one muser has made it to Unalakleet. From there the next checkpoint is Shaktoolik which is 40 miles away. All of the teams have now taken their 24 hour and 8 hour layovers.

The current standings are:

1. Lance Mackey - In Unalakleet - 15 dogs - 8.04 mph
2. Sebastian Schnuelle - Out of Kaltag - 15 dogs - 7.81 mph
3. Jeff King - Out of Kaltag - 15 dogs - 7.55 mph
4. Mitch Seavey - Out of Kaltag - 13 dogs - 7.88 mph
5. Hugh Neff - Out of Kaltag - 11 dogs - 7.39 mph
6. Aaron Burmeiste- Out of Kaltag - 12 dogs - 7.42 mph
7. John Baker - Out of Kaltag - 14 dogs - 7.69 mph
8. Hans Gatt - Out of Kaltag - 14 dogs - 7.58 mph
9. Paul Gebhardt - Out of Kaltag - 9 dogs - 7.82 mph
10. Dallas Seavey - Out of Kaltag - 11 dogs - 8.57 mph

12. Aliy Zirkle - Out of Kaltag - 13 dogs - 8.33 mph
14. Jessie Royer - Out of Kaltag - 14 dogs - 8.48 mph
15. DeeDee Jonrowe - Out of Kaltag - 13 dogs - 8.97 mph
35. Melissa Owens - Out of Grayling - 12 dogs - 6.75 mph

Typically the race is done in about ten days (for the leaders). We will see if this happens tomorrow but there is still well over 250 miles to cover. Go Teams!

Iditarod Day 8

2009-03-14T20:27:00.002-05:00

Lance Mackey is taking a good lead in the race today. In addition, some of the racers have taken their mandatory 8 hour layover.

The lead racers left Anvik and travelled 60 miles to Eagle Island. Currently only one musher has left Eagle Island for the next check point Kaltag which is 70 miles away.

1. Lance Mackey - Out of Eagle Island - 15 dogs - 6.23 mph - completed 8 and 24 hour layovers

2. Sebastian Schnuelle - In Eagle Island - 15 dogs - 6.32 mph - completed 24 hour layover

3. Aaron Burmeister - In Eagle Island - 12 dogs - 6.21 mph - completed 24 hour layover

4. Hugh Neff - In Eagle Island - 12 dogs - 5.95 mph - completed 8 and 24 hour layovers

5. Mitch Seavey - In Eagle Island - 14 dogs - 6.63 mph - completed 8 and 24 hour layovers

6. Jeff King - In Eagle Island - 15 dogs - 6.41 mph - completed 8 and 24 hour layovers

7. John Baker - In Eagle Island - 14 dogs - 7.13 mph - completed 8 and 24 hour layovers

8. Paul Gebhardt - Out of Grayling - 10 dogs - 6.17 mph - completed 24 hour layover

9. Ken Anderson - Out of Grayling - 11 dogs - 6.75 mph - completed 24 hour layover

10. Cim Smyth - Out of Grayling - 12 dogs - 7.66 mph- completed 8 and 24 hour layovers

11. Aliy Zirkle - Out of Grayling - 13 dogs - 6.55 mph - completed 24 hour layover

16. Jessie Royer - Out of Grayling - 14 dogs - 7.35 mph - completed 8 and 24 hour layovers

19. DeeDee Jonrowe - In Grayling - 14 dogs - 7.55 mph - completed 8 and 24 hour layovers

33. Melissa Owens - Out of Anvik - 12 dogs - 6.70 mph - completed 8 and 24 hour layovers

Currently only 3 teams are out of the race. Only a couple of days left to go teams!

What will I do when this race is all over?

Iditarod Day 7

2009-03-13T21:59:00.002-05:00

Hello Race Fans! Here is a quick recap of Day 7.

The teams left Ophir and travelled 90 miles to Iditarod. The next leg of their journey was to Shageluk 65 miles. One rider has made it to Anvik 25 miles.

1. Lance Mackey - In Anvik 16 dogs (speed 5.58)
2. Jeff King - Out of Shageluk - 15 dogs (speed 8.39)
3. Sebastian Schnuelle -Out of Shageluk- 15 dogs (speed 8.32)
4. Aaron Burmeister - Out of Shageluk - 12 dogs (speed 8.04)
5. Mitch Seavey - In Shageluk - 14 dogs (speed 8.37)
6. Hugh Neff - In Shageluk - 13 dogs (speed 7.43)
7. John Baker - In Shageluk - 14 dogs (speed 8.33)
8. Hans Gatt - In Shageluk - 14 dogs (speed 8.57)
9. Paul Gebhardt - In Shageluk - 12 dogs (speed 5.61)
10. Dallas Seavey - In Shageluk- 15 dogs (speed 8.94)

13. Aliy Zirkle - Out of Iditarod - 14 dogs (speed 4.34)
15. Jessie Royer - Out of Iditarod - 15 dogs (speed 5.32)
19. DeeDee Jonrowe - Out of Iditarod -14 dogs (speed 6.23)
29. Melissa Owens - In Iditarod - 13 dogs (speed 5.61)

From Anvik the mushers only have about 500 miles to Nome. The race is over half done. Great job everyone!

More Iditarod

2009-03-12T21:56:00.002-05:00

So on the Iditarod website I found this link to Zuma's Paw Prints (The Official Canine Iditarod Reporter). There are some very cute pics of the dogs waiting in Anchorage for their humans to come and get them. There is also some other good information on the blog as well if you are intersted.

http://iditarodblogs.com/zuma/

I also checked out why Bjornar Andersen from Norway is out of the race. Yesterday he was in the top ten. According to Anchorage Daily News he crashed his sled on Monday sustaining some serious injuries but waited until today to withdraw from the race (due to blood in his urine and excessive vomitting). Hope everything is ok Bjornar my thoughts are with you!

Iditarod Day 6

2009-03-12T21:39:00.002-05:00

Today has been a quiet day for the Iditarod. Most of the mushers have completed or are completing their 24 hour layover. Currently the teams have left Ophir and are heading toward Iditarod.

1. Aaron Burmeister - 13 dogs
2. Hugh Neff - 14 dogs
3. Lance Mackey - 16 dogs
4. Sebastian Schnuelle - 15 dogs
5. Ken Anderson - 12 dogs
6. Jeff King - 15 dogs
7. Mitch Seavey - 14 dogs
8. Paul Gebhardt - 12 dogs
9. John Baker - 15 dogs
10. Cim Smyth - 12 dogs

12. Aliy Zirkle - 15 dogs
15. Jessie Royer - 15 dogs
19. DeeDee Jonrowe - 14 dogs
29. Melissa Owens - 13 dogs

So far only 3 mushers are out of the race Bjornar Andersen, Nancy Yoskida, and Bob Hickel.

Now that the mushers have completed their 24 hour layover they only have an 8 hour layover left to use before the end of the race. More exciting times to come!

Iditarod Day 5

2009-03-11T21:22:00.002-05:00

Today has been another busy race day. The mushers left Nikolai and made it to McGrath (54 miles). Their next check point was Takotna (18 miles). Currently, only one musher has made it from Takotna to Ophir 25 miles. The next checkpoint is Iditarod which his 90 miles from Ophir.

The current standings are

1. Martin Buser - :-) In Ophir with 14 dogs
2. Aaron Burmeister - 13 dogs
3. Hugh Neff - 14 dogs
4. Sebastian Schnuelle - 15 dogs
5. Lance Mackey - 16 dogs
6. Jeff King - 15 dogs
7. Mitch Seavey - 15 dogs
8. Paul Gebhardt - 14 dogs
9. Bjornar Andersen - 15 dogs
10. John Baker - 15 dogs

12. Aliy Zirkle - 15 dogs
15. Jessie Royer - 15 dogs
18. DeeDee Jonrowe - 16 dogs
19. Melissa Owens- 14 dogs

This is a very close race and a lot of great teams are still in the running. Good luck to all!

Iditarod Day 4

2009-03-10T19:26:00.002-05:00

Hello again!

Since yesterday the mushers left Rainy Pass and made it to Rohn which was a 48 mile stretch. From Rohn the top 16 are have now made it to Nikolai which was a 75 mile leg. These mushers are now 347 miles away from the start in Anchorage.

Currently the top ten are
1. Sebastian Schnuelle
2. Hugh Neff
3. Paul Gebhardt
4. Aaron Burmeister
5. Ed Iten
6. Hans Gatt
7. Lance Mackey
8. Bjornar Andersen
9. Jeff King
10. Aliy Zirkle

No mushers have left the Nikolai check point yet. The next check point is McGrath which is in 54 miles. The trail from Nikolai to McGrath crosses many open lakes and swamps for the first 20 miles. When the wind is blowing, these areas can quickly drift in. Hopefully no mushers break through the ice this year.

Iditarod Day 3

2009-03-09T20:23:00.003-05:00

My favorite time of the year is upon us!!! IDITAROD!

For those of you who have not been glued to your computer watching the race I thought I would give you some updates.

The ceremonial start of the Iditarod was last Saturday in Anchorage. Yesterday, the race restarted out in Wasilla. The teams are going to cover over 1150 miles through some very rugged and frigid terrain.

Since leaving Willow the lead teams have travelled to Yenta Station (52 miles), Swkwenta (34 miles), Finger Lake (45 miles), and Rainy Pass (30 miles).

These top 7 teams have already left the Rainy Pass checkpoint after spending about 5-10 min each there.

1. Sebastian Schnuelle
2. Paul Gebhardt
3. Rick Swenson
4. Aaron Burmeister
5. Hugh Neff
6. Melissa Owens
7. Ed Iten

Each of these teams has 16 dogs except for Melissa who has 15.

The rest of the top 10 are still in Rainy Pass. The next check point, Rohn, is in 48 miles. Good luck mushers hope the night is better than it is here in rainy and stormy KC.

For more up to date info you can check out www.iditarod.com

Currently I am cheering for Melissa. She is 19 years old and this is her second Iditarod and she is currently the only girl in the top ten, but Ally Zirkle is in 11th place.

Happy Birthday Uncle Jim!

2009-03-08T14:48:00.004-05:00

Three posts in one day! This is a first for me. However, another very important issue was brought to my attention today via my Mom. Today is my Uncle Jim's Birthday. So I thought I would send out best wishes to him via the Internet. Unfortunately, he does not have Internet at his house, but I know that Aunt Bonnie will get this in a couple of days or so when she goes to see Eric and Alicia! I just wanted to let you know Uncle Baldy that I am thinking about you today and reminiscing about all the fun times we have had and sarcastic comments we have shared! Hope you have a wonderful birthday!

International Women's Day

2009-03-08T11:08:00.002-05:00

So as I was logging off the computer I noticed my Yahoo had a women's symbol in the O. Being the curious procrastinator I am, I clicked on it to figure out why. Imagine my surprise when I found out today, March 8th, is International Women's Day! Who knew? Granted I am not much for watching the news right now (a little too depressing for my taste) but I don't ever remember learning about this holiday to celebrate women which has been around since 1911.

For more info you can go to the official webite: http://www.internationalwomensday.com

Happy International Women's Day to all you ladies out there! I am very grateful to be born in a country and in a time where women are afforded so many rights. Thank you to all the ladies whose struggles have made this possible for all of us!

You GO GIRLS!!!

In good times and in bad

2009-03-08T09:53:00.002-05:00

It seems to be a trend that my posts are coming at longer intervals. I have had things to write about just not the time lately to do so. So for all those interested parties you get to hear about my "lovely" week last week.

I believe that you cannot have or enjoy good things in life without also having some bad times as well. However, I also wonder when you have bad things happen why do they seem to compound one upon the other? Is this really the case or is it when our thinking turns negative we can see all the problems around us? I would like to think this is the case. So as a test I am going to list all the bad issues dealt this week (eliminating most names for privacy issues) as well as the good issues.

Unfavorable situations

Friday before last Esteban and I were at work until 9:30 pm dealing with someone having a pain episode.
I switched our phone system at work to VOIP to save money. The phones transitioned perfectly, however our fax was completely nonoperational for over one week. This is the primary way we get referrals. So in an ironic twist of events my trying to save money has cost the company more money that I would like to imagine.
The mandatory government census that was due Friday got lost in the mail and had to be faxed over from our accountant and then faxed into the government.
Our fax came back up for about 1 glorious hour Tuesday and we faxed out all sorts of stuff to our referral sources saying our fax is back up. Only to have it go back down causing us to get another friendly round of calls.
Found out that despite assurances in November a VOIP system cannot support a fax. Found out that our current phone company will not allow us to keep only one line with them (6 line minimum).
Found out that due to tax increases on our building we owe a good amount of money to our landlord for 2007.
Had a patient fall in our bathroom.
Had a glitch in our billing system that erased all payments posted on Monday
Have a glitch in our documentation system that logs most users out after 20 min even if they are currently working.

Good situations

Steve and Jessica found out that they are having a BOY!!!!
Ashlee had a birthday this week. Happy Birthday to you!!!
Our fax came back up Friday afternoon!!!
We found a new company that will allow us to have only a fax line with them.
Friday afternoon, before going home, I remembered that we had not received our census and therefore we had not sent it in to the government. Thanks so much to a conversation with Lisa! :-) You rock Lisa!!
Raised money for Jerry's son's baseball team via a bowl-a-thon on Friday
I won one round of the bowling (on our lane) with a score of 126 after throwing nothing but gutter balls for the first 3 frames. Crazy huh?
I work with and am surrounded by some wonderful people!
I have an amazing family!!!

Looking back it was a stressful week. However, there were many good things that happened as well. Probably my main issue this week was that I let the problems get to me. In life there are both good and bad situations around us all the time. If we focus on the bad we will see those clearly however the same is true if we look toward the good. In these times of stress and difficult world issues let us all try to look for the good.

Seattle, Port Angeles, and Forks

2009-02-08T16:50:00.017-06:00

Well I am not caught up on my work but I had to upload these pics. These are from our weekend in Seattle. During most of this time we were actually in a billing conference. However, based on Lisa's recommendation, we took a detour to Forks via Port Angeles to get in touch with our inner Twilight. It was fantastic! This trip was one of the most fun adventures I have had in a long time. Due to time restraints ie making our flight at 1pm we had to be in Forks at 6 am and gone by 7:30 am so most of our pics are in the dark. Very fitting however since that is when the vampires are out. :-)

View of the water from Pike Place Market

The sign says it all

Lisa at Forks Outfitters (home of some awesome gluten-free cookies)

Breakin the law - not really I was very scared to stand by the Forks police car

Forks High School

Forks Physical Therapy - OK this was not in the book but I had to get my pic by this sign

Forks Hospital

Lisa blowing a kiss to Dr Cullen

So we heard that there was a Dr Cullen parking space at the hospital. We drove around it 2 times before we saw it. I was afraid we were going to get pulled over for cruising.

The Twilight Store in Forks - It was not open at 7 am on Sunday weird huh?

Lisa and myself on the beach in Port Angeles

Lisa and I standing by a totem pole outside of Port Angeles

The warm beach wind in Port Angeles

More totem poles - These were huge!

The trees outside of Forks
Our little car driving away from Forks :-(

This was a quick but a wonderful trip. I highly recommend a trip to the wettest place in the continental US. Thanks Lisa for suggesting this and coming with me I had a blast! I can't wait to go back! Hint hint Esteban!

Seattle

2009-02-08T09:57:00.003-06:00

So I have been remiss in posting my pics of my Seattle, Port Angeles, and Forks trip last weekend. Don't worry I will eventually get around to this. When I get a little more caught up on work. . . Here are some morsels of info that I learned on my trip.

1. Midwest Airlines has the most delicious cookies but the most unfriendly flight attendants. You know who you are wonder twins who would never smile at us despite our silly attempts to make you do so. You know who you are lady who said "We ran out of lunch and cookies" no sorry or can we get you anything else even though the plane was only 25% full.

2. The Grove has the best Gummy Bears, Swedish Fish, and Jelly Beans!

3. You can essentially live off Gummy Bears, Swedish Fish, and Jelly Beans for three days! Lisa and I are living proof!

4. You can get lost in the Sea-Tac Doubletree Hotel. There were too many hallways, this had nothing to do with the copious amounts of sugar we were ingesting thank you :-)

5. The buses in Seattle are hybrids. My lungs and the earth thank you!

6. Pike Place Market is AMAZING! We could have spent most of the day there.

7. I now need to add pickled green beans from Pike Place Market to #3. That was our vegetable group!

8. We might have had two of the unhappiest people in Seattle (besides our flight attendants) sitting behind us at the billing course. Nothing was acceptable to them (the information we learned, the questions asked, etc). I think they needed a little more sunshine.

9. There are parts of Seattle you don't want to get lost in . . .

10. The drive to Port Angeles and then Forks is beautiful. The trees and lakes are amazing. Hopefully the pics will do it justice.

11. Port Angeles is a charming town!

12. We did not see one car in Forks only trucks, and 90% of the trucks were pulling fishing boats!

13. They have Delicious gluten free cookies at Forks Outfitters!

14. You can actually take pictures at the Forks High School, Forks Outfitters, Forks Police Station, Forks Hospital, and the Twilight Store in one hour. We did a lot of running but we made it! We would have liked to spent more time but there was this pressing matter of a flight back to KC.

15. Stephenie Meyer and her Twilight Series are sources of endless entertainment. Thank you Stephenie!

25 Random Things

2009-01-24T19:04:00.002-06:00

25. When I was a 13 I wanted to be an astronaut
24. When I get nervous I bite or pick the skin on my left thumb
23. I have recently started a blog and love it
22. I am a vegan
21. Since reading Twilight I have started reading more young adult books. I am getting in touch with my inner "teen". Yikes
20. I never thought I would move away from Arizona
19. I miss our going to dinner and a movie at the Bear Tooth (our favorite hang out in Alaska)
18. I love the Iditarod - It starts March 2nd mark your calendars!
17. Esteban and I met in PT school in 1997 and have worked together ever since. We are together so much we can finish each others sentences.
16. I love being my own boss
15. Sometimes I think about getting my Masters in Business Administration after I finish my Doctorate of Science. Yeah I must be taking crazy pills!
14. I loved being in PT school. Not only did I meet Esteban but I had a wonderful class and we were in Flagstaff what could have been better?
13. When driving through a one mile tunnel in Alaska I found out I was mildly claustrophobic. That was one long tunnel.
12. I talk and sing to myself a lot. Usually when I am alone but I have been caught several times :-)
11. I love working with chronic pain patients
10. I get very anxious in large groups of people
9. I am finally getting used to living in Kansas City
8. My parents are my heroes
7. Esteban always makes me laugh when he starts cracking himself up at his "jokes"
6. I practice Falun Gong
5. I am a very liberal Democrat
4. I have been blessed with a wonderful family. I am who I am based on what they have taught me
3. I believe in dualism
2. I believe in equal rights for people of all races, religions, and sexual orientation.
1. I married my best friend what's better than that?

Family

2009-01-04T22:44:00.010-06:00

So this year E and I did our traveling for the holidays after the fact. It was different not being with our family during the holiday season. However, so far with this trip we have been able to spend more quality time with our family. For the past two days we have been staying with my brother Steve and his wife Jessica and their two dogs Cali and Rilo. We have had some wonderful meals, seen the sights of Gilbert, and shared a lot of laughs (many at my expense) :-). Below are some pics of the house Steve and Jessica have been doing some fabulous work restoring for us. In addition there are pics of their babies (the four legged kind).

Sorry Steve this was too much for me to pass up. Steve repainted all the doors in the house before we came. He did not have time to hang them all however. He did hang this one to provide them some privacy for their bedroom. However, after hanging the door he discovered it did not actually fit. I call this a room with a view! :-)

The view from the front door through the kitchen into the living room. Steve did all the floors! What a FANTASTIC job!

The office. Looks too pretty to work in. You will never see a picture of my office on here. Too many papers and too much clutter.

Rilo

Cali. I couldn't resist putting this pic on here. She was putting on a sad face waiting for a treat. Do they know how to manipulate us or what?

Waiting for more treats

Jess and Steve

Amy's Christmas Crafts

2008-12-26T21:00:00.003-06:00

So for the past four years I have made the presents I give out for Christmas. My items are “bath” in nature. Each year I try different recipes. It is a lot of work but also a lot of fun. Plus I like getting handmade gifts and hopefully so do those who receive my gifts. I thought this year I would “share” a picture of my items with you. On the left side are my tubes and pots of lip balm (honey, beeswax and almond oil). The jars next to the lip balm contain a eucalyptus and lavender Epsom salt soak. The Ziploc containers are a sugar scrub with a citrus spice fragrance oil. The soap is a purple/bluish color and contains canola oil, coconut oil, cocoa butter, castor oil, olive oil. Some of the bars have interesting shapes and some dents due to difficulty getting them out of the molds (That’s the fun of homemade gifts right?). Behind the soap are some heart shaped lotion bars (olive oil, beeswax, and cocoa butter). To the right of the soap in the Ziploc containers are lotion made with (cocoa butter, almond oil, avocado oil, apricot oil, palm kernel oil, jojoba). Behind those is a batch of milk and honey bath mix. I was a little late getting my stuff made this year and so I didn’t get pretty containers (hence the Ziploc containers).

Happy Holidays from the Azevedo's

2008-12-25T13:26:00.002-06:00

Well I guess it goes without saying what I am doing on Christmas Day (updating my blog). Esteban and I decided to get a family picture last night before going over to our friends Susan and Kathy’s for Christmas Eve dinner. It will go on our Christmas letter when I finally get around to writing it, but I thought it would be great to post it today and send out some happy holiday wishes to you all.

Esteban, Bellini, and I would like to wish you all Happy Holidays! May the love, peace, and joy of this holiday season fill your hearts now and during the coming year.

Midwest Spinal Pain Christmas Party

2008-12-21T11:55:00.009-06:00

So Modern PT does not have a Christmas party. Instead we do employee appreciation parties quarterly. However, the business next to us had a Christmas party this year and they invited our staff. They had a local jazz singer, Mama Ray, and her band come and play in our gym. This band is their nurse practioner's, Gretchen, favorite so it was a special treat for her. It was a great evening filled with food, music, and great friends.

Everyone listening to Mama Ray
Gretchen and Mama Ray drinking coffee

Elva and Jerry

Courtney, Gretchen, Kelly

Me and Kathy

Lisa and Wayne

Ben and Ashlee

Happy Anniversary

2008-12-21T10:31:00.003-06:00

Today, December 21st, is the winter solstice. More importantly however it is my parent's anniversary. I can't remember how many years exactly. Which is bad for me as a daughter. I should keep closer track of these things. However, maybe it they would appreciate me not putting it on here as it may give a clue to their ages. :-) Anyway I would like to take this opportunity and wish them a very Happy Anniversary. I am sorry I can't be there in Arizona to celebrate with you. However, I am and will be thinking of the two of you all day!

In these stressful and troubled times it is difficult to find longevity with marriage. I want to thank you both for setting a great example for me with your marriage as well as your approach to life. You two are both a shining example of what it takes to make a marriage work in both good and bad times. I love you both so very much!

Work

2008-12-07T12:55:00.003-06:00

I will always remember my interviews for physical therapy school and the numerous questions I had about how I dealt with change. At the time it was a mystery to me why this question was so important. However, to be fair, at this time in my life I had not experienced many changes. Since then I have moved from Alaska to Missouri, opened a business, and have expereinced so many changes that it is making my head spin thinking about them. Change truly is a constant in life. However, that does not make it any easier when it occurs. Which brings us around to today. This week we said goodbye to one of our therapists, Tara. She has only been with us a short time but will be missed by everyone in the clinic. I know that with this change Tara and Modern Physical Therapy both have wonderful futures in front of them full of new experiences, friends, and opportunities. However, today I am still coming to terms in dealing with this change and tomorrow a new adventure begins. I have attached a picture from the lunch we had for Tara on her last day of work.

Back row: Me, Esteban, Jerry, Dio, Lisa, Ashlee, Cheri

Front Row: Courtney, Tara, Mellannie

Brain Coral

2008-12-07T12:44:00.005-06:00

As promised earlier here are some pics of my beloved brain coral in our display case (along with some of our other items). I also took a close up picture of the conch shell we brought back from Grand Turk. It is covered with all sorts of wonderful stuff from the ocean however it is hard to see and appreciate the detail in the picture (could be due to the photographer) but anyone wanting to see it in person is welcome to come for a visit. :-)

Day 8

2008-12-06T17:06:00.003-06:00

Today we were at Nassau Bahamas for the entire day. Esteban and I spent most of the day relaxing on the ship to prepare for our trip home the next day. We did go ashore and do some shopping. Esteban bought some more art and I got another piece of luggage so we could carry all our treasures home. :-) It was another relaxing day and a great way to end our trip. FYI - I did get my brain coral through customs as well as a cool conch shell. I will have to upload pictures of them later when we get them situated in our display case. I will also have to attach a picture of the art we bought when we get it framed and hung.

Day 7

2008-12-06T16:45:00.005-06:00

So I have been remiss in posting about the last two days of the cruise. My return to "normal" life has been a little hectic (no surprise there). :-) Our Day 7 was at sea and as it turned out it was Thanksgiving. Esteban and I did not do much this day. We spent most of the time in the spa and then went and ate with our fabulous dinner buddies. The ship did serve a Turkey dinner (which I heard was good). We all did have pumpkin pie for desert (a Thanksgiving Day must). After dinner, we all went to a comedy show. Laughter is great for the digestion. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable day. It was this day that I decided that I like the days at sea as much as the days we are at a port.

Day 6

2008-11-27T17:42:00.002-06:00

We stopped at Grand Turk today. We have visited many beautiful islands, however Grand Turk is by far the most beautiful. I have never seen water as turquoise blue as it was around this island. The water was so clear you really could see to the bottom of the ocean. We went on a snorkeling excursion today. We snorkeled in about 30 feet of water and there was a shelf that dropped off to 7000 feet. It was amazing how the turquoise blue water turned to a deep blue color when you swam past where the shelf ended. The fish were more plentiful in St Thomas but there were many different types of coral in Grand Turk. After snorkeling we were taken to a beautiful white sand beach. It was here that I found my most prized possession, a piece of brain coral. I have been told that I won’t be able to get it through customs. However, I hope I can. I included a picture of it in the blog in case I never get to see it again.

The island of Grand Turk is surprisingly small 7 miles by 1 mile. Despite its natural beauty most of the island still is devastated from Hurricane Ike. According to our ship mates, in the residential area houses are still in ruin and cars and ships are still flipped over and misplaced.

There was some good shopping in Grand Turk and we enjoyed looking at things however, maybe we had too much fun. We had to be back on the ship at 5:30. According to Esteban’s watch it was 5:25 when we were walking down the dock. However they started pulling the planks in. We quickly ran and got onto the boat and when we had our cards scanned they said, “Everyone is back on the boat now”. The time on the boat was 5:38. So long story short we sped up the time on Esteban’s watch. Grand Turk was a beautiful island but I am very thankful that we were not stranded there.

View of our boat from Grand Turk

If I only had a brain (coral) . . .

View of Grand Turk when leaving on our snorkeling excursion

Day 5

2008-11-27T08:38:00.006-06:00

Today we went to La Romana in the Dominican Republic. Esteban and I spent most of the day at the Altos de Chavon Artists Village. It was a very picturesque site. The design of the village is based on medieval Mediterranean architecture. It is located on a plateau overlooking the Chavron River. The village is dedicated to cultural exchange and enrichment. We took A LOT of cool pics here. I included some of them in my blog (note I took all of them except for the one of myself and the sunset one). The ride to and from the artists village went through Casa de Campo which was beautiful. This region has many multimillion dollar homes that were absolutely gorgeous however we were riding in a bus and were unable to take any pictures. (One cool tidbit about the artists village is that many of the walls are built from coral. I took many closeup pics of this as I found it fascinating).

Sunset leaving Dominican Republic

Artists village

Artists village

Esteban the photographer

Amphitheater at the artists village

Arriving at the Dominican Republic

Giving Thanks

2008-11-27T07:36:00.002-06:00

Sorry to interrupt my recap of the trip, however, today is Thanksgiving and I am feeling a little sentimental and homesick. This truly is one of my favorite holidays. In a world where there is too much to do and too little time, I don’t think we stop and pause and give thanks often enough to those who help us on our journey. Also with Christmas on the horizon we often think of all that we want and don’t spend the time to marvel at what we have and how lucky we are. Finally with the state of the economy and other world issues I think that it is easier to think of what is wrong with the world as compared to all those things that are right. I do not wear rose colored glasses, things could be much better for many individuals, but what visiting other countries reminds me that those of us who live in the United States are very lucky. I am thankful for the liberty I have always known. The rights I have known as a female to attend school, vote, work, etc. The safety I have experienced with daily life (ie walking to and from school, traveling, etc). I am thankful to work in a field I truly enjoy. Furthermore I appreciate how Esteban and I have been fortunate enough to own a clinic and work with some extraordinary individuals. I am thankful for Jerry, who we have worked with in Arizona, Alaska and now Missouri, he is an extremely talented healer and a loyal friend and employee. I am thankful for Cheri who has 30 years of experience and talent as a physical therapist and a bundle of positive energy. I am thankful for Courtney who is quickly learning and developing her treatment skills and is blessed with compassion and a drive to know more. I am thankful for our newest therapist Tara who is very motivated and developing into a great therapist. I am thankful for Laura for everything she does to keep our lives as organized as they can be. I am thankful for Mellannie for her creativity at work, her attention to detail, and for preparing us for our cruise. I am thankful for Dio for her good interpersonal skills, her efficient work, and her great sense of humor. I am thankful for Ashlee for amazing ability to multitask, efficient work, and for keeping me on my toes with her sarcasm. I am thankful for Lisa who carries the weight of the clinic on her shoulders especially when I am not there. She wears many hats, puts out fires more than anyone else in the clinic, and is invaluable for me. Finally, I am thankful for my family. I am thankful for my mother Jean who has gifted me with my drive for knowledge, my compassion for those in need, my organization, and my love for nature. I am thankful for my father Bruce who has gifted me with his sense of humor, love of life, and love of exercise. I am thankful for my father in law Bill who raised a wonderful son, who has been supportive of all our ventures, and who helps us to strive for balance in our lives. I am thankful for my brother Steve who has always been my best friend, my sounding board, and my twin in many ways. I am thankful for my sister in law Jessica for her thoughtfulness, her green ideals, and being a great partner for my brother. I am thankful for my husband wonderful Esteban who knows me better than anyone, loves me, and accepts me for who I am, I could not ask for anyone better. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

Day 4

2008-11-26T17:21:00.006-06:00

Today we spent the whole day on St. Thomas. According to the shopping expert on our ship this is one of the best shopping islands and there are GREAT deals on diamonds and tanzanite. So naturally we didn’t buy anything. Sorry no diamonds for Christmas (man what a scrooge I am). We did shop though, and that is when I realized I am really not a bling individual. The rest of the day we went snorkeling. It was beautiful. The waters were crystal clear and there were lots of fish and different kinds of coral. Our favorite type is brain coral which shockingly looks like a brain (not just a clever name). We were not able to go to our second snorkeling spot as the weather was too bad and the waves were too big. So we went to Water Island and walked around the beach and swam in the water for about 45 min. Esteban then went to Butterfly's Galore and took pics naturally.

Black and Red Butterfly

Ships at Water Island

Water Island

Shipwreck cove

Day 3

2008-11-26T08:37:00.007-06:00

We spent most of today at sea, so more time for E and I in the spa. We arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico at 5 pm. It took about 1 hour to get off the ship. E and I did not sign up for an excursion today as it was going to be dark the entire time we were in port. So we walked around and explored San Juan with our new friends. We went to a street fair, a street party and walked around the ocean and looked at the fort lit up at night. Funny story when we were taking pics we noted a bat in a tree. I was trying to zoom in with my camera and take a picture. Before I snapped the pic the bat quickly flew at us all and dropped some pellet like things on our heads (seeds, not guano come on now). We all screamed and laughed hysterically. We finished the night eating at a tapas restaurant. It was a beautiful town, but difficult to get pics as it was so late at night.

Day 2

2008-11-26T07:52:00.007-06:00

We spent all day at sea this day. It was a wonderful and very relaxing day. There were several things that I discovered this day. The first of which is that I don’t think I can get sea sick. For those of you that have not sailed to the Caribbean in November, the winds can be very high and the seas can be very rough. So needless to say we had a bumpy ride today. I thought it was very humorous trying to walk around. It was also tons of fun trying to exercise on the bike and on the elliptical machine today. When the boat would really go to the side it would feel like you were going to fall off or flip the machine on its side. Anyway I think that I must have burned twice the calories and strengthened my core at the same time because I didn’t fall! So this was the second thing I discovered, my balance is better than I thought. Esteban and I purchased the spa package our first day on the ship which we used this a lot today. With this package we went to the mineral baths, sauna and steam rooms. The mineral baths had these bars underwater that served like lounge chairs. So it was very comfortable to lie on the chairs and relax. The steam room and sauna had these large lounge chairs that heated up. We spent most of the day lounging and relaxing which was much needed after our frantic day of travel. This was our first formal night at dinner and the pictures below are of this. Attached are pics of Esteban and myself, Frannie and Keith, and Jeremy and Rachel (the people that sit at our table). I also attached a pic Esteban was taking of me when these inebriated guys jumped into the picture. Esteban thought this was hilarious and refers to them as my boyfriends when we see them around the ship.

Cruise Day 1

2008-11-25T17:27:00.004-06:00

So the first day of our cruise was a long one. This is primarily due to the fact that we attended the midnight showing of Twilight, returned home at 2:30 am, finished packing, and then left for the airport at 4 am. The plane trip to Fort Lauderdale went smoothly. Getting from our plane to the dock to board our ship took awhile due to the fact that 5 cruise ships were loading up. (I guess Thanksgiving is a popular cruise time, who knew?) It took about 1 ½ hours to board the ship. This is when I discovered the sheer magnitude of the number of people that would be on our boat. Our first activity on the ship was to get something to eat, of course (one of the primary cruise activities I have discovered). The food was very good and thankfully there were vegetarian dishes. Then we had to do our life vest drill, and I would have to agree with our comedian from day 3 that no one looks cool in a life vest (hence no pics of this in the blog or anywhere). When we returned to our room our luggage had arrived and we had a wonderful wine and fruit basket waiting for us from Mellannie and Mike. We continue to eat the fruit from this basket which has come in handy with our early excursions and our late dinner time, the wine however went very quickly (must have evaporated or something). This evening we met two of the couples that sit at our table. They are all about our age and have been a lot of fun to hang around with (of course you will hear and see more of them later). The only pics I have from today are the sunset as we leave Fort Lauderdale and me taking a pic of the sunset. Surprisingly enough I didn’t take any of these.

Twilight Movie Pic

2008-11-25T17:24:00.002-06:00

Success at last. Due to reasons with my pride and temper I will not disclose how long this took for me to figure out. The internet signal on the boat is very slow. Therefore, the pic needs to be very small. :-)