Long time, No blog.....

Now, seems like a good time for a long overdue post. Much has happened since my last entry in May. Summer came and was a busy time around the Fast household. Aaron graduated and was set to go to KU. He spent the summer earning the almighty dollar doing outside work during one of the hottest summers on record. Brett played a little baseball and Greg and I tried to keep our sanity.

Aaron is now settling in nicely at Battenfeld Hall at KU. He is adjusting to 3 new room mates and hopefully they are adjusting to him.


I think Brett is missing his brother a bit but enjoying being an "only child" for a while. He wasted no time in moving in to his brother's old room.

Now, seems like a good time for a long overdue post. Much has happened since my last entry in May. Summer came and was a busy time around the Fast household. Aaron graduated and was set to go to KU. He spent the summer earning the almighty dollar doing outside work during one of the hottest summers on record. Brett played a little baseball and Greg and I tried to keep our sanity.

Aaron is now settling in nicely at Battenfeld Hall at KU. He is adjusting to 3 new room mates and hopefully they are adjusting to him.

I think Brett is missing his brother a bit but enjoying being an "only child" for a while. He wasted no time in moving in to his brother's old room.

Murphy is as crazy as ever but Austi seems to be mellowing in her old age.

I think maybe the dogs are missing Aaron a bit also.

New York, New York

After reviewing this post, it is an absolute mess. But when it takes you over an hour to make a tiny little post, it's time to surrender. I'll try again tomorrow....maybe.


Well, it is taking waaayyy too long to upload photos but I'll keep trying. We got here yesterday about 3pm. We had a delay because of FUEL PUMP PROBLEM on the airplane. They fixed it, yes, I felt comfortable with that....right. Then "traffic" problems in the sky! not only lots of traffic in the streets of New York but apparently lots of traffic in the sky above new york. Anyway, we finally got here and I had forgotten how small rooms are here (at least if you don't want to sign over your first born - wait a minute, that wasn't an option...) We are 4 blocks from the conference center which isn't a big deal if it doesn't rain, which it is supposed to only Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We went to see "Wicked" last night. That was terrific. Then this morning we went to Chinatown. Ask Deb Bether about that. It was kinda fun having clandestine meetings in little back rooms of abandoned buildings to buy knock off or stolen purses. Now I'm not into trafficking stolen merchandise but I don't speak Chinese and couldn't really get a clear idea about the true source of the goods......

Oh well, another new adventure to put in the memory banks. It was kinda fun living on the edge and all. : )








This is their idea of car parking, a big lift kinda thing, very odd, can't explain it.

The pre-conference started at 1 and went until 5. Good stuff. I hope my brain doesn't become too saturated before it's over.







Tonight we walked all over and went to Times Square and ate at Bubba Gumps Shrimp. Fun, Festive and great tasting! Sat by the window and looked in the ABC studios. They weren't doing anything so it kinda lost it's appeal pretty fast. And the naked singing cowboy wasn't out so it was busy, but calm. Did a little shopping, and saw where our after-hours party is tomorrow night.

We thought it was a good sign when they placed the office mascot up on one of the jumbo tron thingys.



Now we are back in our room,.....ha, ha, ha, makes me laugh to even call it that. I slept with my suitcase on my bed, because if I put it on the floor, we wouldn't be able to get to the bathroom. We aren't in here much anyway, it's fine, just funny.

This is the outside of our hotel.

Easter Weekend

this is my easter weekend stuff

Practice

GOING TO NEW YORK!!!!

Well, It's official. I have been given the permission to attend the MacLive Conference in New York City in May. WOOO HOOOO. This is the same conference I attended last year in Tampa and it was wonderful. The people that actually write the books on different applications are the presenters and boy do they impart knowledge. You come away with your brain absolutely saturated with "stuff". This year they have strands about podcasting. Which I hope to attend. I will be attending with web/video person, Deb. Her and I attended together last year and had a good time. We will be staying at the New Yorker hotel, which will be close to the conference. It was very difficult to find a hotel because I am so unfamiliar with the area and everything seemed so expensive.

I wish they had some sort of class that would give you confidence and no fear - that's what I need most.

I don't know why I freak out so much when speaking in front of people. It's definately a negative.


I think if someone were to just give me a script and say "here teach this" specifically, I would be fine. I just have trouble organizing my thoughts into a box. I guess I should have never thrown the "proverbial" (sp?) box away.

Maybe I'll come back pumped up enough the fear will be overtaken with excitement. Yeah, right. Fear always wins. Darn fear.






Anyway - should be an interesting few weeks. Conference in New York, next week graduation, two weeks off then the big Kan-ed conference in Wichita. Then I will probably sleep. A few weeks of catching up and then getting Aaron off to college. Where has the time gone. Seems like just yesterday he was a little baby and throwing a fit. Oh wait- that was yesterday. ....

Molly and her "bouncers"

Well, I have complaints from extended family that I have too few pictures of my boys on this site. It seems like we take a lot pictures, I guess they just aren't in them. I will try to do better.


I was hoping they would dress up and at least shower before we went to take Molly's pictures last weekend. And since they had no interest in taking pictures of them, they weren't in very many. But here are a few.

Trying to look all tough.













Her loyal drivers.





















Her bodyguards.

Prom dress shopping

Murphy liked Molly, she just didn't want to share the couch with her.


Had a great time with Kelly and Molly. Got to experience Parrot-fa-anlia. It's a store that sells special event dresses. If you've been there, you know what I'm talking about, if not, there is just not a way to explain it in words.....


I absolutely love the dress. She looked very stunning.

The weather was really crummy but we down to the storage building and took pictures of Molly with the car.



I had fun taking the pictures and turning everything but her dress and eyes, to black and white.



She makes it easy to have a good picture, very photogenic.

NEW CAR!!!!

Here IT IS!!!!


Here is a picture of my new car!! It is a Pontiac Solstice. Greg went to Independence, MO yesterday to pick it up. We sold the Corvette. It isn't exceptionally fast but a very sweet ride.













And here is my wonderful husband. He bought me the car because he loves me. (Or at least that's the excuse he's using). Oh well, who am I to argue??? : )

Go here for another view:
http://www.pontiac.com/solstice/index.jsp


Kelly and Molly are coming to visit this weekend. Should be fun. Crummy weather expected though.
More later.

Not quite the Olympics....

Well, here we are at the State swim meet in Topeka. Although our guys had some good times, believe it or not there are actually some others from around the state that are even more amazing. It was fun to watch. The finals are tomorrow. You know what I do not like about attending a swim meet? It's like sitting in a terarium. Remember those things? They were poplular in the 70's. My grandmother had one. It's kinda like an aquarium only for plants. The pools are like that hot, enclosed in glass- my hair can be looking really good and 5 minutes in there and I look like a bad perm specimen. My throat hurts from breathing chlorine fumes and it's COLD outside. Enough grumbling. Time for bed. I'll leave you with a few pics.

Where does the time go?

Man, time seems to just fly by. I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since I posted. I keep meaning to......

Anyway- update- swimming League meets are this weekend. Aaron is still swimming, Brett is on stand-by. Their shaving party is Thursday evening - and yes, it's what it sounds like. Dinner and a shave anyone? Streamlining their bodies for quicker times or just to make them feel like they're quicker. Never the less it should be interesting.






Well, it seems Aaron has decided on KU. ROCK CHALK JAYHAWKS! We were supposed to visit KState today and Monday he told us we really didn't even need to visit, he was very comfortable in Lawrence and thought that's where he belongs. I don't care where he goes, I just want him to be successful and he needs to like where he's at for that to be possible.


Aaron is supposed to get his new state football ring today. He was very excited. I'll try to take a few pics and get them up here.






February is women's heart health month.

How to Love Your Heart:
5 Simple Ways To Love Your Heart
It’s not hard to reduce your risk for heart disease. Start today with small, simple actions like these:

•Celebrate with a checkup. Let each birthday remind you that it’s time for your yearly checkup and a talk with your doctor about how you can reduce your risk for heart disease.

•Get off the couch. Step, march or jog in place for at least 30 minutes most days of the week — you can even do it while watching TV.

•Quit smoking in four steps. Can’t go "cold turkey"? Cut the number of cigarettes you smoke each day in half; then cut that number in half; cut it in half again; finally, cut down to zero!

•Drop a pound or two. Cutting out just 200 to 300 calories a day — about one candy bar’s worth — can help you lose up to two pounds per week and gradually bring you closer to a heart-healthy weight.

•Become a salt detective. Check out the Nutrition Facts panel on packaged foods to see how much sodium (salt) they contain. Aim for a total intake of no more than 2,300 milligrams (about a teaspoon of salt) per day.

“Love yourself—accept yourself—forgive yourself—and be good to yourself, because without you the rest of us are without a source of many wonderful things.”

USA Conference

Well, this week went by quickly. A day at KU and 2 days in Wichita at the USA Conference. Working a conference (at the vendor booth) is both long and tiring but I get a certain satisfaction from the effort. I remember when I first started working at ESSDACK, almost 9 years ago, and when I said I worked at ESSDACK, no one even knew what that was. I really enjoy the way people stop by just to say how much they love ESSDACK. I know this will sound kinda sillly but I kinda think this must be what it feels like to be related to a celebrity, you don't see it the same way others do.
And that Steve Wyckoff- people seem to actually enjoy talking with him! LOL. I do like my job, it's changed over the years and I can see myself doing something else but not anywhere else. I learn, I use what I learn, I have the freedom to learn more, do more, be more. Of course we have "family" squabbles and differences, but for the most part we all get along really well.

Here is an old picture but I'll replace it later with a newer one.


Well, enough glowing reports about ESSDACK. Now to get ready for the Hutch High Basketball game.

Visit to KU

Yesterday was a whirlwind. We toured the campus, then Aaron and Phil toured some Frat houses. Monday night they also visited a house.

Before we left, we got a brief tour of one of the Schol halls. Not sure what side of the fence Aaron will fall on. Personally I hope the schol hall. It seemed like it mirrored reality pretty well.


We visited with a financial counselor while we were there. We may be able to eat more than rice and beans while he's there.

We are still going to visit KSU, then we will be able to make a comparison. It seems like that would be more apples to apples.


I have to admit., when we were watching the video at the beginning of the tour and they showed pictures of graduation, I got a bit misty-eyed.

Off to KU

Here is a pic from the swim meet at WSU. It is Aaron diving in for backstroke.











Well, we're off to KU this afternoon to for a tour and visit. Aaron and Phil will be going to dinner with some frat friends tonight and different frat friends tomorrow evening. Hopefully Greg and I can find enough stuff to keep us busy.






Greg has found a way to let people see all the pics he's been taking of the different sports teams. Unfortunately it didn't get started until after football season was over, but some good ones of swimming. He was going to work with a couple of other people that take a lot of pics but they are hesitant. Any money he makes from them goes back to the sport the picture is from, so we won't be getting rich, but at least we will be able to share with others. Here is the link to that site. If someone wants something but doesn't want to order it, if they will email him with the photo number he'll work with them. Because not every picture is worthy of a "package" which is the way the site is set up to work and you have to use their certain photolabs.

http://www.hhs.photoreflect.com

Exciting times at Westbrook

Here's an invitation to come to Westbrook, however the really exciting things will be happening as we have an open house this Saturday for Venue 302. That is a non-traditional arm/meeting place of Westbrook located on 30th next to Penwell-Gable funeral home (the old Big A/Teleperformance bldg). Non-traditional in the way of hours, music, atmosphere, and presentation style. I am very excited and invite anyone thinking they might want to check it out to come on by on February 4 at 6:30 pm.

I've signed up to help in the coffee shop. Yep, you heard right. A COFFEE SHOP IN A "CHURCH"! I know, crazy huh? Although I've never actually mixed up a concoction (when I drink coffee, it's usually black or on Tuesdays- a sugar-free caramel breve) I think I can do it, I mean honestly, I am a fairly sharp individual. We had a conference at ESSDACK with a "coffee theme" last week. Here are a few things I thought funny to include in our schedule book;








So, come join us for Jesus and a cup 'o Joe (is that wrong to say that?
I don't mean anything sacrilegious).



Swimming tomorrow at WSU for the boys. Both are feeling a bit sickly so I hope they don't overdo it.

GO HUTCH!

All Yield

Getting to know the Fast Family

Well, I'm finally attempting to have my very own blog. Exciting, yet kinda scary, lots of responsibility. Almost like getting a new pet, you have to remember to feed, water and clean up after it. Here's the most recent picture of our family. Parents- Greg and Lori, Aaron-18, Brett-15, and our dogs Murphy-the blonde and Austi- the black one (and no she's not dead, I'm sure she is extremely tired, we demand alot from her).


Both Brett and Aaron are on the HHS swim team. It is Aaron's second year, however, last year he only got to swim in one meet before finding out his knee cap was broken. Here is a picture of Brett swimming the butterfly, his favorite (not really).







HHS had a great football season. They were 6A state champions for the second year in a row. Aaron got to have the last play of the game, season and his high school career, a sack- it was fun!







We went to Florida to visit my mother and her husband over Christmas break. My step-sister Kelly and her daughters MacKenzie and Molly joined us and we spent a few days at Universal studios in Orlando. Good times. AAAHHH, to be young and fearless. I guess when you have to worry about supporting a family it takes all the fun out of being crazy. When you are afraid you'll sprain, strain, break, pull, tear, bruise, or otherwise mess up important parts of your body, you start to like things like little rides that don't leave the ground or cause massive hemorrhaging. Although I still had to close my eyes on some of the virtual rides because of stupid motion sickness. Lori + rides with lots of motion = throw up. Not fun.

The kids all got along really well, which made being around 4 teenagers for a week pretty easy. We all laughed ALOT! Some days I was actually glad I didn't eat them when they were young.

In this picture it's Molly-15, Brett-15, MacKenzie-18 and Aaron- 18.
Yeah, it's weird they are the same ages, only I have the boys and she has the girls.



Once again, the fantastic four.












Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa Fast's.
Aaron & Grant










Brett & Grant