This boy can dance

Many eons ago I worked doing accounts receivable in Greenwich & Wilton CT for a video game distributor. Soon after I joined them they ventured into the video game magazine business, the first of its kind at the time. I was some how suckered into writing articles, primarily about impending game releases or industry pr and news. Let's just say I was not a natural fit for the video gamer crowd. It was all men and quite frankly they were all a little nerdy. These were guys who played video games all day and waited with baited breath for the release of the next big Mortal Combat or Halo. Because they worked for the magazine they were the Gods of the industry...testing out games and reviewing them with the design teams at Nintendo, Activision etc. I managed to survive and even became friends with the gamers. One of my most favorite co-workers was Matt Harding. He started working at 15 and quickly became one of our best writers and reviews. His career did so well he put off college to keep on working in the field. Matt was quirky, innocent, game obsessed, brilliant and had the best dry sense of humor in the office. He had joie de vivre that clearly became more apparent as he grew older. I have followed him on utube for the past few years. Here is his latest video...I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I am green with envy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlfKdbWwruY&feature=user

Blackwelder Luck

I am convinced this is a story only a Blackwelder can tell. It contains some of the worst of luck mixed with the triumph of incredible luck.

It begins like this: We decide to celebrate my birthday (37! eek) with a relaxing ride on the chair lift up Sundance Mountain. Our best friends the Kelly's join us on the chair behind us (they are immune to such Blackwelder luck and instead have just plain old good luck).

It is a beautiful day, the mountains are as green and lush as we've ever seen them. The girls are loving the adventure and we are all feeling a tad inspired by all the beauty around us.


As we approach the final ascent there is a pretty steep part that bounces the chair just a tad. As we bounce we hear the familar sound " clinkty-clink" Then SPLAT...hmmm we thought, "Was that really our car keys?" Sure enough there they were a good hundred feet down or so lost in the bushes of Sundance Mountain. The keys had managed to slip out of Ben's pocket and into the bush. Suddenly our plans to enjoy the ride then meet up with the Kelly's at the Foundry Grill at 6:00 for dinner were changing quickly. BUT (and this is where the Blackwelder luck comes in) then we remembered that riding just two or three chairs ahead of us was the engineer that Ben had worked with on our pool and some houses. He had plans to enjoy one last bike ride down the mountain. Man did we have plans to change that! As we approached the top of the mountain we immediately began to scream "ADAM!" Luckily he heard us and stopped to hear our pleas. We told him that Ben had dropped his car keys at pole 16 and they were somewhere near a "horizontal log!" About 5 minutes later as we began our descent down the mountain there was Adam climbing up the through the bushes in search of our keys! Between the Kelly's & Ben's directions they were able to tell him where to look in that vast field of chaos.

And wouldn't you know it he found them! Just like that our luck had changed. So there it is Blackwelder luck...Nothing comes easy but with a little luck everything turns out all right.

OUCH!

Yesterday was a right of passage day for Brooke. She and her best buddy Callie celebrated their impending 8th birthday with an ear piercing extravaganza! Oh man were they nervous but they handled it all with grace and their usual smiles triumphed in the end. I was a tad nervous taking Brooke because she has such a crazy aversion to shots. I thought for sure she would end up in the corner of the store in the fetal position screaming but she handled it like a champ and even comforted Callie when it was her turn. She says it never hurt just throbbed a bit and I know it could not have been too bad because they headed straight for Orange Julius and shopping afterwards.

6 hours later

6 hours. 5 men. 300 plants. 4 trees. 96 degrees.
phew.
Our yard is begining to take shape!

another shot

There is so much more fine tuning to go but already it looks amazing.

Barren Yard

Thought I would share some shots of Ben's latest OCD project. He has been working his butt off, spending all of his free time as of late getting the backyard ready for the landscaping. All 325 plants are due to arrive today (although, we were prepared last night but the truck got delayed!) I told the Landscape Designer that I wanted a lush, green Connecticut feel with a touch of English garden. I can't wait to see of he pulled it out! We have spent hours trying to get oriented with all of the plants and what they will look like and I am excited to see it all done. One more project to check off our list and start enjoying, just in time for our Connecticut guests! Hopefully by the time they get here I will be able to walk a bit. I am scheduled for a Epidural of corticosteroids in my back to day. I am sure hoping it will offer some relief. I would love to help with the planting tonight! HA. I'll post the "after pictures" tomorrow.

Picc Free!

106 Days later I am finally picc line free.

As much as I am grateful that I was able heal at home and enjoy the independence of not having to be in the hospital, I am SO much more grateful not to have tubes hanging out of my arm. Tubes that get stuck in the laundry machine, awkwardly hang out of clothes, must be covered with plastic wraps to shower, that keep you up worrying about infections and forbid me to jump in the pool. The list could go on. My arm is molting, a little (well alot) flabby but ready to face the summer. I really am grateful for the nurses who visited me every week, calmed my crazy worries (can I kill myself if air gets in my line? why is there blood in the tubes?!) and for the husband who woke up in stupors in the middle of the night to help me with my medicine and make sure I never missed a dose. I am grateful for nurse Cherie who kept me company at every bandage pull and of course the final exit of the purple picc. Ick. I am grateful for children who had to learn to think having a mom with tubes hanging out of her arm is actually cool and not so scary. All in all having a mom like me may teach them compassion, service and unconditional love. Sure wish I didn't have to teach them those strengths in such a way but I am sure it will make them the strongest, most amazing women. There has to be an upside to all this right?
So, if you ever know anyone with a picc who needs help injecting some drugs or just a hand to hold though the crazy process just call me, I am the picc princess!

Happy Birthday Ellie!

Happy 5th Birthday Ellie!

Yesterday we celebrated Ellie's 5th birthday with a zebra party!
Oh my goodness does this girl love zebra's!
So we went all out with zebras. Zebra's everywhere, on the invitation, the porch, the balloons, in the flower arrangement, on the cupcakes, even her bathing suit.
She enjoyed the day with all the other 5 year olds on the block and swam away. The mom's enjoyed the day relaxing by the pool and catching up with one another. I have to say this was the easiest birthday party I have ever hosted. My neighbors Wendy & Heather were so awesome, helping me pick up the treats and set up. I may have enjoyed the day even more then the Ellie! There is nothing that makes me happier then relaxing with friends and I am lucky enough to count my neighbors as my best friends. Oh wait, this is supposed to be about Ellie. Back to the star of the day! She woke up at her usual bight and early time of 9:30 with a room filled with balloons and a pair of zebra pj's waiting. She was so excited to get the party going I wasn't so sure how we were going to make it to 1. Luckily time flew, phew and before we knew it there were 10 little 5 years swimming around like fishes. Most of them took a quick break for cupcakes and snacks and jumped right back in th pool! After the guest left we enjoyed a dinner with the Kelly's at Ellie's favorite Tepanyaki followed by the fine film "Kung-Fo Panda". All said and done it was a day of Ellie favorites that we all enjoyed. We especially love watching Ellie grow up, she is such a joy to us and I am sure will continue to blossom in in her 5th year. Happy day Ellie Belly!