Our Race Day Party was great! Even WE had fun! The food was special, and the race exciting, but the best part was that we had a very cool mix of guests. Oh, and Michael's grilling went superbly, too. We got our beef filet this year from a new place called the Butcher's Block. We told them we wanted the best, and they gave us the best! The chicken from there was extra good too.

Yesterday I spent the whole day just like today.. trying to get caught up with the email and student postings. That's a good kind of busy. I love my classes this session, and, with Joanne and John working with me, it's sheer fun!

Good news from Dave! The agent he contacted loves his book, but.. how could he not? It's fantastic!! The agent was extremely complimentary, telling Dave that it is very rare for someone to put out a first novel when they're his age and have it be any good, but that Dave breaks that rule! I just can't wait till it's on the shelves and I can buy it for people who like to read great things.

Gym membership is going well. We still have not missed a day! Michael is doing recumbent and upright bike and also doing some arm stuff. I'm working on the elliptical mainly, but I also enjoy the treadmill and the recumbent bike. Maddy wishes that it would cool down some so that she could go walking with me!

Oh! and the AC is now fixed. It went OUT for our party (how convenient) but it was covered under warranty and is now kicking the proverbial butt again.

Happy Birthday, Dave!
I guess I am a day late to write that, but I was thinking it all day yesterday! We got up and went to Cardinal Fitness first thing ydy morning. I did 10 minutes on the elliptical and 30 on the recumbent bike, while Michael spent the whole 40 minutes on the bike. I got lots done ydy, working on student stuff and writing my very exciting first lesson of Fix Your Photos!

Michael was off in the afternoon ydy and so we went together to run some errands, getting set for our Race Party tomorrow. I went walking with Maddy, too. :)

Today we got up at the crack of dawn and did our workout. I did half on the elliptical and half on the bike. Then we set off into action! We went to Sam's, Target, Marsh North, and Marsh West, putting together all the stuff that we needed for our party.

We came home and I worked in the garage, we took the trash and stuff to recycling, and then I worked a bit more in the garage. Then we did a little picking up and scrubbing, and now we're just resting. I vow to start wholeheartedly into the Flylady program right after Memorial Day, now that we're getting caught up with things.

I opted to do all the class preparations and so we didn't get out to do anything exciting on Tuesday. I really wish that I could impress upon myself that procrastination is NOT GOOD when it comes to my class preparations. What happens is that, during the course of the 6 weeks, students and the other teachers give me feedback on things that could be stated better, screenshots that need to be added, and the occasional typo.

Then, at the last minute before the class starts, I realize that I need to implement these changes in the lessons before they go out to the students. I have to then save my lessons as PDFs, add the header/footers, implement the security, and resave for each lesson of each class. I guess it doesn't sound like much, but when I'm trying to get the Classroom Forums opened, send out welcome posts, and check in new students, it's just something else that I don't need to be doing at the last minute.

Anyway, things are going well on that front! Students are checking in and I'm happy about that. I made a movie today!

The fitness front is good. Here's our gym -- Cardinal Fitness. The machines in the foreground are the ellipticals. Actually, I think that our gym is not this large.

We went ydy and today early in the morning. Michael actually had this morning off from work, bc they were able to arrange some things. So we went to the gym and did our thing (bike and elliptical for me, and bike for M) and then went to the Bakehouse and brought breakfast goodies home!

Michael's knees are doing much better. Today's the last day of his Medrol. He's getting around and doing stuff just like normal. It's just the walking that has turned into recumbent bike for 2 weeks. When we're done with this recovery time, we're going to be doing the gym half the time and walk half the time. Or at least that's the current plan.

When we go on our month to the east, I'm not sure how things will shake out, but maybe Michael can do it with somewhat slower walking. And then when we go to Tucson, there are lots of gyms. We may get back into bicycling, too!

In addition to the gym, I've been taking a 15 minute walk with Maddy every day. She really loves to walk and needs the exercise.

Michael has today off from work again because, when they found out about his injury, they blocked him off for the 2 days. He'll be back there tomorrow though.

So we took this opportunity to go early, try out the stuff at Cardinal Fitness, and then we joined! It's a spotlessly clean and friendly place. Plenty of machines and this morning there were just a few other people, none of whom were sweating, merely glowing. ;) I think that college kids shower BEFORE they work out. Makes sense; I always did!

My Photoshop class Summer Session starts tomorrow, so if you are planning to sign up and have not done it yet, DO. This page has all the links to tell you about the classes and to sign up.

We're talking about doing something today, but ... not sure what I'm going to be able to do with all the get-ready stuff that I have to do for my classes. Hrmm...

Michael's appointment with the Dr. went well today... except that Michael can't walk for 2 weeks! After that, he will be limited to walking 3 or 4 days per week.

That's ok though. The doc said that bicycling, swimming, or elliptical exercising is fine, and we figure that any of these is close enough to walking to count for our streak (almost 4 1/2 years, without missing a day!).

What happened is that Michael's kneecap was pulled off-center, creating inflammation and roughness under the kneecap. The inflammation was resolved quickly with the Medrol dosepack, and so he's feeling lots better.

So... we don't want our streak to end, so we're working today on alternatives.

We looked all over the net at various pieces of fitness equipment, including recumbent bikes and elliptical trainers. Prices for what looked good to us hovered at around $1500. [gulp] The doc said that Nordic Track is out – too much impact!

Then we decided… we are going to join a gym – Cardinal Fitness. It's downtown right off the square. They have lots of ellipticals they assured us. They open at 5am so we can go and work out.. and then hit the Bakehouse for breakfast! ;) They have a month-to-month plan, and maybe the college girls will encourage both of us to work harder!

It’s a shame to have to work out INSIDE this time of year, but… well, the doc said that if you save your knees from daily stressors like fitness walking, you can have them for things that you really want to do… like hiking!! And that rang the bell for Michael.

I’ll continue walking with Maddy for at least a short walk every day, but will go with M to the gym too. :) After 2 weeks of rest (no exercise-walking for M), we’ll walk 3 or 4 days a week and do the elliptical the other days.

Well… time to think about supper! Where to go… LOL!

Michael is doing much better today, probably because of the steroid pills he started ydy. And for those of you who thought that our walking-every-day streak had ended you're WRONG! We drove over to Ivy Tech and parked. Maddy and I did our regular 3-mile Ivy Trek. Meanwhile, Michael took our Leki poles and did his own trek around the parking lot there. He went all around the building once and then several laps around the lot where we'd parked. He walked for 35 minutes and then worked out with our 5 lb dumbells for 10 minutes till Maddy and I returned.

Today we were hoping to have a friend come to get some pet things that we no longer need. We were going to just give them to her. She had told us that she'd be here first thing this morning. We had planned to do the transfer and then go for our walk. Then we were going to drive to Hagerstown.

Well... so she didn't show up. Michael called and she said that she'd be here at 2:30. So we went and did our walk and then came back and waited. And now it's nighttime and she never did come. Well... I am a nice person, but I feel like she owes us a Sunday. Tomorrow I'll call the Humane Society and see if they can use the things. [sigh]

Today started out great. Michael was going to be working all day with the Science Olympiad doing amateur radio. I was going to plant flowers and get caught up on email. But after Michael had worked for just a couple of hours walking around campus and up and down stairs, he came down on his left knee and, with a shoot of pain, it gave 'way. He caught himself with his right leg, and the pain was just excruciating.

He called me and said he was coming home and that he'd hurt his knee. Argh.

We went together to the Emergency Room where Dr. Willis examined him. He left there with crutches and a dosepack of cortisone. No swelling, no redness or bruising. He's going to his knee surgeon on Monday.

The bad thing is that he has hurt BOTH knees. Catching himself with his right knee.. hurt it! This evening he is feeling better, but still limping around and moaning a lot, because it hurts him to bear any weight on either leg.

His first concern is that he wants to keep walking. Today he'd done his walk on campus. I left with Maddy this afternoon and we walked the Clear Creek Trail. Tomorrow... we'll take as it comes. If he's hurting when he bears weight, I don't think that he should walk, even with the crutches. Instead, we'll have him do walking-type weight work with his arms. I'll keep you posted.

My yellow trucks took the Trophy in the Art Challenge! YAY! I am always surprised when I have a pure photo that wins, because I don't see my real strength as photography.

We were driving along in northern Indiana and went through a tiny town. There on the local dealer's lot ... right in front, were these 6 yellow trucks! LOL I just thought that this needed to be documented.

Let's see... other stuff... I'm getting more signups for my upcoming Summer Session classes. It's too soon to tell, but it looks like this could well be our biggest enrollment yet!

Excitement! We have sunshine finally today. The trees are all very green and the woods looks dark and mysterious. It's funny how it goes from being wide-open and bare to being a spooky place, almost overnight! There are deer in the backyard grazing and bothering Maddy. ;)

I really like being able to choose my font and color for each post. :) Now if Blogspot would just add emoticons to this interface... LOL!

Another cold and rainy day... sheesh when is it going to settle down and be summer?

Suzanne and I went to the Decorator's Showhouse in Carmel Indiana on Thursday! They decorated the Hilbert Mansion on 116th Street as a benefit for St Margaret's Hospital Guild. It was $20 to get in, but SOOO worth it. I forget how many bathrooms there were, but I'm thinking that I remember them saying 16. (I wonder if this counts powder rooms?)

Even on a rainy day, the gardens were magnificent. The house was so large that it easily accomodated the throngs of people who were there to see it. The only wait we had was to get onto the shuttle bus which took us from the parking area to the actual grounds.

Every room had been decorated by a different design firm. The prices of everything were displayed for the curious, which included us, of course! :) The furnishings were lavish and gorgeous, and the house itself was ... well, I think I could live there. I could actually live quite well in the master suite's "her closet!"

My Photoshop Classes are winding down for the Spring Session. All I have left to do is to take in the rest of the "finals," and create and send the Certificates. This is always a fun part of the classes, though. I just sent out the announcement for the Summer Session, which starts 24 May. (After this session, I'm going to be having much longer breaks in between sessions. This should help to save my sanity.)

Ok.. time to get out in the cold and do our walk!

Things progress here, albeit slowly. We worked hard on Saturday, taking 2 carloads to the dump and a full load to Goodwill.

Now I'm working on getting some of the bigger stuff (including our queen-sized brass bed) to the Historical Society for their Garage Sale. That's on June 9 and 10, but they are taking stuff now. Books too.

My tutorial index page is down now, because insightbb (our IP) is doing its "scheduled maintenance." I don't know how long my page will be down, but it does blow having it down. I just hope that I don't lose my linkages on other tutorial sites because of this. I have another page with text links and I added that link temporarily to my main myJanee.com page.

Challenge is going well with some very fun entries -- including some of mine! :)

It took me all morning to get through my email and student work. Today's the last day of this session officially, though, so my work should ease up in a few days.

Then I'll be getting to work earnestly on my Fix Your Photos in Photoshop class. This one will be ready for Fall session.