Tomorrow is Father’s Day. This will only be my 2nd official father’s day; but I am already a dad many times over and a grand father once and soon to be twice. Considering my 38th birthday is still 2 months away; I guess I’m doing okay in the “growing the family” department. Mom, Dad, you said you wanted grandkids; I don’t like to waste time once I get started on a project. I may take a while to get started, but once i start....

So, tomorrow will be a day for me to celebrate Fatherhood. I have much to celebrate too. Courtney and the rest of my step-children really are wonderful and the past few years I’ve spent helping to rear Courtney I wouldn’t trade for all the MacBook Pros in the world. For me, that’s saying something. Tomorrow I also get to celebrate Father’s Day with Kristie. She hasn’t even been placed with us officially, so I don’t want to get ahead of myself; but by Father’s Day next year we will have an official holiday together.

We don’t have big plans for tomorrow, but most of the local family will be here. Tracy and I love having everyone over, it’s one of the reasons we bough the size of house we did. One day we will have more of a back patio; but for now we do have the wonderful front porch. If not for the horrible Texas heat we could probably make use of it on Father’s day. I may sit on the porch though in the morning while I enjoy my coffee and watch the sun come up.

While I am drinking my coffee I’m sure Brian will still be in dreamland, but this year he will celebrate his first Father’s Day. I would say he “only has the baby,” but to say “only” and “baby” is to make it sound SO SIMPLE. While their hands are completely fully yet, they will be by Father’s Day 2009. I remember with my grandson, year one he just laid there and smiled... year two he was doing his best to get some serious attention. So Brion, enjoy this Father’s Day because the next one may not be as relaxing.

The photo above wasn’t taken on FAther’s Day, it dates from just after Father’s Day 1975 though. It is a photo of Dad, Brion (the one in the diaper) and me. Dad was enjoying being a father for the second time, this year will be sort of that way for me. Only Courtney lives at home, but Kristie is joining us making her simillar to a second child for me. When it comes to children my life has become slightly complicated; but I LOVE IT!

Tags: Holidays

Well, today a new version of Rapidweaver was released. For those of you that don’t know, RapidWeaver is what I use to build my websites. It is the program that really got me to think long and hard about moving back to Macintosh. RapidWeaver makes creating a website, stupid easy. So does Apple’s iWeb, but the difference between them is that you can grow with RapidWeaver.

Anyway, today version 4.0 was released. While they haven’t added any major new features, they have rebuilt the entire interface and it’s gorgeous. It also seems easier to use. I really can’t pass final judgement as the Gold released was only today, but I was using the beta for the past few weeks.

In the past with each new version of RapidWeaver I have made some big to major changes on my website. The current version of the webside debuted a few weeks after 3.6; the last major upgrade. I believe that this current version of the site would be KellysWorld V3, or as software developers have begun to do --- KellysWorld ’06.

So, does this mean it is time for a KellysWorld ’08. Not sure. I have to say that when I do a new version I have a tendancy to update the site more for awhile; but eventually that comes to a hault. I’ve stopped storing photos on my website and have started using different sites in the past several months. Most recently posting my photos to my .Mac gallery. It’s the photos folks come to see anyway.

I don’t know. The fun is in the designing of the site, the graphics, layout and any new tools I can throw at the site. Of course after a month or two I go back to a minimilst approach as you see with KellysWorld in its current state.

Well, I’m sure wild horses couldn’t keep me from making at least some changes; and heck, why not. Change doesn’t always have to serve a high and powerful service, sometimes change can just be about trying on a new outfit; or a new layout.

Tags: KellysWorld, Rapidweaver, Mac OS

Tomorrow I will be chaperoning a small gaggle of teenagers on a high school outing to the Scarborough Renaissance Festival here in the Dallas area. It's a pretty standard renaissance festival with jousting, dancing, games, sword fights and of course TURKEY LEGS! While I have been to renaissance festivals in other states I've never been to the one here in Dallas. I've meant to go for years, but never got around to it. Last month my daughter asked if I would like to be a chaperon for the school field trip to Scarborough, and I just had to said yes.

Now admittedly I may be regretting my decision if the gaggle of teenagers drives me a bit insane, but I should be okay handling 6 or 8 teenagers. How much trouble can they get in to with sword fights, jousting and mead around. OH NO!!!

I'm taking my camera and looking forward to all the possibly great photos I might be able to get. That is assuming I have the opportunity and that mother nature doesn't decide to offer Dallas another day of rain, rain and more rain. Shouldn't matter though, in the end I'm sure I will have a great time!

Tags: School, Courtney

I've posted more photos to Flickr. They are not recent photos, most are from last year. I've been very bad about doing anything with the photos I take. I get them into Aperture, but fail to do anything with them after that. That has been a bone of contention with my wife as this means she has no access to the photos I take. Since I don't use iPhoto she can pear into my computer and see the photos I have and because of the mass amounts of photos that I do have there isn't an easy way to make them available to her. So I'm exporting the photos and both uploading them to Flickr as well as moving them to her computer.

One of the tricky thing about both Music and Photos is how to share them between members of the same house. iPhoto, for those that use it, does offer a sharing method; but while I love iPhoto, I don't like the destructive way in which it edits photos. If they would move iPhoto to a similar non-destructive format as Aperture and Lightroom i might move back to it.

Never-the-less, you are interested in seeing photos and not my personal workflow. So check out the link below. Next weekend I will work on uploading more photos from 2007 and 2006.

Flickr Photos

UPDATE 5/6/08 - I've added more photos and will continue to do so over the next several weeks.

Tags: Photos

I love rain and thunder; but man Dallas has just been getting more than it's fair share of bad weather of late. From harsh rain and high winds, to flash floods and huge hail. For about a month now Dallas has been living up to the phrase, "Spring Storms." During the last storm there was so much hail in some areas it looked as though it had snowed. The time before that the weather was so bad that the whole family, dogs and all, turned our stairwell closet into a 6th bedroom; at 4:00 am in the morning.

Anyway, tonight we are going for yet another round. Not sure how bad we will get hit, there were tornadoes apparently near Fort Worth earlier; but that's not terribly unusual. So far we have been very lucky and had no real problems, either at our hours or anywhere in Wylie. I don't want to jinx us, but it shouldn't be a bad thing to acknowledge ongoing luck when it comes to bad weather in Texas.

So here we go again, and I sure we will again and again for another month or so.

Tags: Weather

Putting photos on my site is not exactly the easiest thing in the world and since I want to store my favorites on-line anyway I might as well use existing tools. I've tried this in various forms over the past few years and I feel the best way to achieve this is to go back to using SmugMug again. The trick of using SmugMug with my website is getting it to "brand" the same or at least similar to my current website. Because of the tools I use to build my website branding SmugMug the same way has turned out to be a serious challenge.

I have gotten the menu on SmugMug to mimic the functionality of the menu on KellysWorld and maybe in time I will be able to get SmugMug to the point that the only difference between KellysWorld and SmugMug will be the URL. That could be a very large MAYBE.

Tags: KellysWorld

Looks like I have failed again in updating my blog. I'm not sure why it's so hard to load a program, write a few sentences and then upload a page or two; but it seems to be bloody difficult. I'm not making excuses. I'm not saying I'm going to stop blog posting all together. I'm just saying I'm pretty lousy at regular updates. I'm not the only one out there, but then there are many who are much better than myself as well.

It's not like I'm the quiet one either or that I am without opinions. I'm sure anyone that knows me would say, "Kelly, I'm sure you can think of something annoying to say about something; you always do when I'm around." I'm sure they would say it in the most loving of ways too. Right?

Well, I again will make a promise to try harder, work longer, think broader and lots of other "ers," to make this a better blog and website. The whole site needs regular updates to be honest. I've got to find a way to get photos on-line easier too so that grandmas and grandpas as well as far flung family can more easily see the events that make up the lives of the Wylie Spores.

Again, I PROMISE!

Tags: KellysWorld

On Friday morning Tracy and I began our day in the usual way, great reluctance to actually get out of bed. Typically Tracy is the first one up during the week. She gets up, lets out the dogs and makes her first cup of "joe." On Friday though, she slowly retuned to our room with head hung low and tears nearly in her eyes speaking softly, "it's dead." I didn't understand what she was trying to tell me. "I think the coffee maker is broken," she said to me with sullen eyes. I then understood the situation, and if you know Tracy well at all you know how serious a situation this could be for her. Coffee is Tracy's life force in the morning; without it, she moves more slowly.

I immediately went into the kitchen and entered, "Husband Fix-It" mode, where I immediately repeat every step I'm sure my wife has taken, but I'm taking again just to say I did. I'm lifting the levers, pressing buttons, unplugging it and even turning it nearly upside down. Why? Well, because that's what a husband does in a critical situation like the one I found myself. I quickly came to the same conclusion Tracy came to, during the night our coffee maker passed. The heating lamp comes on, but nobody is home. Our fancy-smancy coffee maker, a wedding gift from friends had moved on to a better place; leaving me with a wife that wanted coffee and none was to be had. Click Here to Read More...

Tags: Tracy, Shopping

Yeah, I know... Yet another long period of time has passed since my last entry. I've been involved in many different events and activities since Dec. 9. There was a little holiday called Christmas, then New Year's and of course working towards adopting a child. Lots of paperwork, classes and other necessary work that has to be done before we can even begin the process of adopting. More on that in a future entry.

I've also had my time consumed by a little device called the iPhone. Yes, for Christmas my wife got me that one gift I just had to have but wasn't going to buy for myself. Apple Inc.'s well known iPhone. You've seen the ads. You've heard the hype. You've seen the news and maybe read a review or two. I'm here to tell you.... BELIEVE EVERY POSITIVE WORD. It isn't a perfect phone, but it is far more perfect than any mobile phone I've ever used or owned. It's actually better than any phone I've every used before. More on the iPhone to come later as well.

I've been busy, VERY BUSY, at work. I arrive each day around 8:00 and leave each day around 6:00 or 6:30. Long days that go at an incredibly fast pace. My company operates in 33 markets now, crossing every time zone in the country. Since most of our major clients are either medical or financial, our clients are fast paced operations as well. Since I am the Manager of Customer Service as well as one of the chief operation managers, I stay busy answering questions, researching problems and approving actions. I love every minute, even if I'm often exhausted by days end. I don't blog much about work, and I don't see that changing. Work is work, all that needs to really be known is that I enjoy my job and the responsibilities that come with my position.

This post is short and a bit "all over the place," but I promise to try and make at least one entry a week. That's not much is it, one post a week?

Tags: Adoption, iPhone

This weekend Tracy and I both had a mountain of work to do. We both enjoy our jobs a great deal, but when you have to not only bring your work home during the week, but also on the weekend it does become a bit much. All things being equal though it could be a much tougher life for us both; and as I mentioned we do enjoy our jobs and know that if we don't do the things we have to do, others in our company will pay the price. For me, it's insuring that the company isn't spending more or doing less to keep everyone of our clients happy and content with our services. For Tracy, annual reviews of all her employees; some 170 of them.

While Tracy has had management roles in the past, this is the first time I have had a management role. While I only have a small team that reports directly to me, my team and myself are indirectly responsible for keeping an eye on our operations and our clients insuring that everyone is doing what they are tasked to do. At times it is a large and seemingly impossible task; but it is not. More importantly it has to be done. I still have a great deal to learn and have a lot of growing to do in my managerial role; but I do feel I am getting the hang of it, although maybe a little slower than I would like. I have a great team and work for a great company; and I have fun doing it. That's what really counts when all is said and done.

This is a cool feature that Picasa offers. I can embed a slideshow of photos right into this blog or any other web page I want. You can see the results below.

Another cool feature of Picasa is a visual link to the photo album. As seen below.

Carlos Jr. - Favorites

Tags: Photos, Picasa

I'm testing out two different photo sharing services. I've used both and recently started using Flickr again; but thought I would take a look at Picasa Web again and have been pleasently suprised. The sites do the exact same thing, but no surprise Google has done a great job with Picasa; although as with all Google sites it does lack a certain "splash" quality; but the same is true of Flickr.

I have the same sets of photos on both sites. Take a look at the public galleries of Carlos jr and tell me what you think. You can e-mail me at my primary address.

Picasa - Carlos Jr. Flickr - Carlos Jr.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts, and if you would suggest some other service. One of the main reasons for looking at either one of these sites is that there are plugins for Aperture 1.5 that allow me to post directly to their sites without the use of a secondary program or doing web-uploads.

Tags: Photos, Flickr, Picasa

While I don't have photos of every part of the house, these photos should give you a good idea of what our new home looks like. The photos are not in full color for two reasons: 1) I like the look, 2) the color versions had a red tint to them that I couldn't remove. I've also tried something new, I'm linking to Flickr direclty. So if you click on the photos you will be taken to Flickr; from there you will be able to see a slide show of the photos are select the ones you like. Flickr also allows you to order photos.
You will find these photos a few different ways. One, click on the photo to the left, click on the text in the left column that states "New Photos of Da Vinci House in Wylie" or click on the link below.

Photos of Da Vinci House

Tags: Photos, Flickr

Today is the day. The day that my current house stops being "my" house and becomes someone else's house. Yes it is only a structure of wood and bricks, but it was the first house I ever bought. A house I bought on my own. I worked with the builder, made all the selections and signed all the paperwork. It was a great deal of fun, and not much stress. Of course back then I wasn't trying to sell a house to move into a house.

So, today at 10:00 this morning I will again be signing documents; only this time I will be saying good-bye to my home since January of 2003. It's hard to imagine how much has changed in my life since then. When I moved in, I was single and working for Fujitsu. By the time my first payment was due I was unemployed and looking for a new job, hoping I wouldn't lose the home I had just moved into. Here I am 4 1/2 years later, I'm married, have a step-daughter living with us, in my second job since buying the house; in short my life is radically different. Moving into a different house does seem to be the ulitmate end to all of the change I've experienced.

The change has been good to me though. I love my life. I will miss this house, but I've met the new couple moving in and I believe they will be good to her. It doesn't mean I won't shed a tear or two, and well, it's my house and I can cry if I want to. They will be more tears of joy and sweet memories, than anything else. Joy for the years I've spent here, single and married. Joy for the years yet to come, shared in a newer, larger home. A home that Tracy and I chose together. So tears I may shed, but a smile will still be on my face.

Tags: New House, Tracy

Recently I took up playing the game World of Warcraft. There are many games like it and they are all referred to as a MMORPG or Massive Multi-Player On-Line Role Playing Game. But what does that mean? Well, typically it means a game that is simultaneously played by thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of people at the exact same time. World of Warcraft has over 7 million players currently signed up. The game resides on your personal computer, in my case my PowerBook, and talks to servers around the world over the internet. Each player takes on a character role, similar to the character types in Lord of the Rings or any other fantasy story, and plays as that character attempting to accomplish missions and raise their skill levels. Click Here to Read More...

Tags: Games

Yes, it probably looks like I've been gone forever; but I haven't. I've just been absent. Since returning from our honeymoon I've been busy with the life of being married. Not that a lot hasn't happened; there has been Thanksgiving, Christmas and even New Year's. All of which were fun filled and interesting. This Christmas I enjoyed doing the "family rounds" as I call them. First down to Houston to spend the days before Christmas with Javier, then over to The Colony to spend Christmas Eve with Tracy's parents. Christmas morning we headed off to the traditional Christmas morning with Jim, Sharon and clan. Finally, we had Jim, Sharon and Tim over to our house for Christmas dinner. So, yes, very active. Just not writing much. But then, that is an ongoing problem.

I pledge to try and do better. I really do... No Really, I DO!

Tags: KellysWorld, Wedding

Today I will end my life as a single man and enter the realm of the married. It's hard for me to believe. If two years ago you would have told me that I would be married in 2006, I would have said that you are smoking something. Just didn't seem possible to me; yet here I am. In just under 6 hours, the ceremony will begin and I will be married! I won't just be married either, I will be the proud step-father of 5 kids and a grandfather to boot!

For those closest to me that I have known me for years, they know that this day is a day I have been looking forward to for more years than I can count; but they will also probably tell you that they too didn't know when it would happen. It all seems like a dream, a wonderful dream, a dream come true.

Tags: Wedding

Well, if you have been reading my other website, Eternalmagic.net, then you know I am getting married shortly. Yep, in just a few days I will be a married man. I've been doing well all week, but I have to say that I am slowly getting a bit nervous. Not about being a married man, just about the whole event. We have 120 folks showing up, and that is bound to make any guy a little nervous about making the event the best one possible and for a wedding, keeping it from being a total bore. Having the wedding in a pub should help keep the "bore" quotient down.

After the wedding Tracy and I are off on our honeymoon, 10 days of it. A very enjoyable vacation to be sure in a very sunny destination; although the current weather report says it won't be quite so sunny. Apparently we chose the rainy season; but if it is like most monsoon seasons.... that means it rains every day, but just for a little while. Hopefully that just means higher humidity; but then we are going to be on a beach all the time so I was expecting a little humidity anyway.

While we are there we should be posting messages and photos, maybe even a quick video or too. So check out Eternalmagic.net for more!

Tags: Wedding

Tracy and I leave in a week for St. Thomas and we are very much looking forward to it. While we are there I hope to regularly post photos to EternalMagic for each day of the trip. You can find that section of the website located here. We are also taking our video camera and if I am lucky and my knowledge of iMovie allows me to, I will post some video of our Honeymoon local as well. See you on the web!

Tags: Photos, Wedding, Honeymoon

Carlos Sr., celebrated his 21st birthday a few days ago. He celebrated that birthday in war torn Iraq. As someone that lived overseas for several years I understand the trials and tribulations of living in a foreign land, even when the warm blanket of Uncle Sam is there with you. I can even understand living in a nation on the brink of devestating war, Korea always seemed one hour from the edge all the time. I can't though understanding being in a hot zone, taking enemy fire, moving from one location to the next never knowing where the next insurgent might take a pot shot at your squad. I also can't imagine the imense heat of Iraq in Summer.
Click Here to Read More...

Tags: Children, Iraq, War

I'm a lucky man. Yes, there is just quite no other way to say it. Yes, being a bachelor has it's advantages, but by my score keeping a wife and family has far more advantages. Tracy is asks from time to time if I miss my days as a confirmed bachelor, and I tell her every time that I don't. I'm not sure she believes me each and every time; never-the-less it is true. Click Here to Read More...

Tags: Wedding, Children, Tracy

Have you heard the news.... laptop batteries currently have a bad reputation of, well, catching on fire. Now this isn't "End of the World" type stuff, but if you happen to say have your laptop in say your "lap" catching on fire could be a rather bad thing to happen. Laptops, formally referred to as notebooks, have always had a reputation for being rather warm to actually rest on your lap but catching fire puts a whole new "spark" into the issue. Sorry, just couldn't help myself. Click Here to Read More...

Tags: Apple, PowerBook

Back on June 23rd I wrote a letter to David Pogue regarding an article he wrote about Bill Gates and the charitable works Mr. Gates was planning on increasing as he steps down from the day to day activities of Microsoft. I posted that letter, with a link to the story, on the 23rd. Today I was reading an article he wrote that showed some of the responses he received and what, to my amazement, did I read... Click Here to Read More...

Tags: Bill Gates, David Pogue, Letter

onight Tracy and I along with another couple are going to take a voyage on the Texas Queen Riverboat. She takes her passengers on a 2 1/2 hour tour of Lake Ray Hubbard and offers up entertainment in the form of either a murder mystery or Jazz and Blues music. We are going to take the Friday night Murder Mystery cruise.

Click Here to Read More...

Tags: Boat, Music, Theater

This morning I read an article by David Pouge of the NY Times. It was very interesting and I encourage you to read it Article Here. I enjoyed reading it and with the power of the internet, have the ability to tell the author what I think. Below is my response.

Mr. Pogue,

I just read your article on Bill Gates. I have to admit that like many I can be extremely cynical about Mr. Gates. I don't have 80 billion, or whatever the current amount is; I don't have 80 million. So like many, I distrust those that did and wonder how they made their money. Click Here to Read More...

Tags: Bill Gates, David Pogue, Letter

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that with Tracy being sick for the past few weeks I would follow in short order, and my immune system has seen fit to make that a reality. I'm not too bad off yet, just a little dizzy when I move about and a soar throat; nothing that will keep me down. Yet, I don't feel 100% and don't expect I will for a few days.

All part of the whole "marriage" and "family" thing. As much as I hate being sick and feeling under the weather, it's a worthy trade-off for all that I have gained in the past year and will gain in the coming years. So while Tracy may have given me, whatever it is have, she has given me much, much more!

Tags: Illness

Dear BlackBerry,

I know that you are having more than your fair share of problems these days with the United States Patent Office, NTP, the United States Supreme Court and a certain judge that will remain nameless, but don't let all these problems get you down. You know as well as I do that while e-mail changed the world we live in, you my dear BlackBerry friend changed e-mail for ever. Notebooks may have freed man from the cords that bound them to their desktops at work, allowing them to travel to parts far and wide; but you my dear friend, you freed them from their 10 pounds of notebook, cables, cases and long boot-up times all in an effort to see if the important deal was done or if Johnny got a home run in the big game against the home town rival.

You my dear friend, you made it possible without cords, bags or boot-up time. Yes, as in the days of old when cowboys ruled the land, man can once again reach for his hip and snuff out a problem faster than a salesman can explain how he sat on his notebook, cracking it in two. If only he had had you by his side. Had he had you sitting in your trusty holster he would not have been caught off guard by the news that his biggest customer was leaving his firm. All because he couldn't respond to their repeated e-mails for help because he had not way to dial home and fetch his e-mail. You could have done all that, happily holding them until he landed only to gently buzz him letting him know you had his mail ready to read.

Think of it my trusted friend, you really have changed the world. You have created a loyal base of fans, second only to the followers of Steve and his jolly OS called X. A relationship so real and true, they call you by a pet name "CrackBerry." They mean no disrespect, they know what you have done for them. It isn't your fault their spouses left them and their children don't even know their names. You are simply the messenger. Civilization as we know it won't end because Tom can't stop communicating with Beijing, Moscow and Cabot Cove. In fact the world is a better place. Business can now be done 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All you need is a bar or two of strength and you can send our messages to the far corners of the globe. When the bell strikes five and we head home, we don't have to stop reading, sending, replying, responding, forwarding our many e-mails. Business doesn't have to stop at the waters edge, it can now continue on and on and on.

Don't pay attention to those nay sayers who call your creators thieves and criminals. Besides, the US Patent Office keeps ruling in your favor. The world is behind you. The world is with you my black and blue friend. Yes the judge who shall not be named doesn't seem to care that your patent case is pending. Yes NTP is asking for not just huge sums of money, but more money than most of us can even dream of seeing, much less being handed over.

So my dear friend. Don't leave me here, all alone without my e-mail or access to the web. Don't leave me to try and find a replacement for you? A friend such as you can not be replaced. Yes, I may find a friend that comes close and in time you will be but only a memory; but you will never be fully replaced. Should it come to an end though, feel strong in knowing that our time together these past few years has not just been wonderful but very fulfilling. Our friendship was worth the sleepless nights, the annoying buzzing, the sharp ringing, the constant bother, the wishing for shorter battery life, the tiny keys, the longing for silence, the demand for more and more and more... Wait.... February 24th they may pull the plug... CAN I HELP!

Tags: Mobile Phones, Letter

I'm now more than halfway into my vacation. A week from today I go back to work after two weeks of R&R. Well, the first week was filled with Christmas chores, but was fun none-the-less. Courtney and I did shopping together and went to see King Kong (3 hours and 30 minutes of fun and chills). I also did some solo shopping to find Tracy the "just right" gift, which I did. Now that Christmas is over I have been doing a bit more actual relaxing, watching a few movies, playing a few games and basically vegetating.

Not that my days are chore free, they aren't. Beyond helping Tracy to keep the house looking respectable, I have also had to run a few errands. For example today I had to go and pick up food for the dogs (truly an exciting experience) and I had to pick-up a special as well as expensive splitter so that I can actually operate two direcTV receivers at the same time. Then at the last minute had to drive out to McKinney to pick up some needed court documents from the county seat. None of this is actually the height of excitement, but necessary and actually not that boring. Besides, during it all I picked up a few DVDs that I will use to entertain myself some before the end of my vacation.

Hard to imagine that this is the first vacation I have actually taken since the summer before I was laid off. True, I didn't go anywhere; but a vacation of just staying home is still a welcome journey away from the constant demands of my current job. I also heard today that because of my vacation and someone else having to carry the long leash (pager) there is a better understanding of what goes into carrying the leash. Good news is that I will take another vacation in late 2006 when Tracy and I go on our honeymoon. Don't know where we are going, but we will be taking a trip and I don't plan on taking my leash with me.

Tags: Vacation

I thought I had all the photos in the media room. I have about 100 or so on my desk and a few hundred more in a box under it. Well, apparently there are more... much more. Tracy was in one of our closets and noticed another box. She pulled it out only to discover that it is filled with photos. I'm not sure how many, but I am guessing upwards of 1000. I haven't even begun to sort through those yet. I have looked at every photo in the first bunch and have an idea of which I will scan, but with this whole new box the big job just go that much bigger.
I also learned that mom has several boxes of Fox family photos with her that I will get to sort through when Tracy and I get up there sometime next year. From what she says, she has many more photos than I thought she did; some going back to my great grandparents. While I love the idea of more photos... that's just a lot of scanning.

Tags: Photos, Tracy

That depends on, of course, who you speak to. DFW had its first run in with winter yesterday. A cold front from the North ran into a bit of precipitation from the South and by night fall the roads were icing over. In some parts of DFW, especially in the Fort Worth area the sleet started falling with the rising of the sun, which created a bit of panic across the entire metroplex.

I can't think of anything that illustrates that better than the mere fact the DART parking lot (the light rail system) in Garland was busier than usual with folks apparently wanting to try and beat the crazy traffic that comes with warnings of icy roads.

While the weather really didn't get bad in Dallas until late, a lot of companies and schools closed early and you can't fault them for being cautious with people's lives and vehicles. In fact my company closed down at lunch to make sure everyone could get home before the weather could get bad. We were also told that if schools were closed or running late, that we would also run late and open between 10 and noon. Tracy's firm decided to stay open, but then their operation is 24 hour in nature and international to boot. They did let people out though with plenty of time to get home before dark, when of course the roads typically get really bad.

Tracy and I met up at Mockingbird station around 4:30 and headed home. By the time we got to Garland station the sleet was beginning to fall. Luckily the weather really never got bad our our way, but the rest of Dallas apparently didn't fair so well. While Wylie and many of the other schools on this side of town were opening late, many more districts across DFW were closed for the whole day.

So today is starting off slow for us. Tracy and I are waiting to take Courtney to her bus stop then we too will head out to battle the roads and weather. It's cold outside to be sure, about 21 degrees, but we have no idea how bad the roads will be between here and Garland station. The good news is that we only have a 10 mile drive. Last year when we had similar conditions and I was driving to work, it took me nearly 2 hours to drive the 22 miles to my office and there was barely a patch of ice.

So while we won't be staying home sitting by the fire singing Christmas songs, we did get a bit of a break from the regular fast paced routine of daily life. It's nice actually, but of course when we get to our offices the paperwork will be waiting just the same. Oh, and I am taking off tomorrow, so I have that much more work to do. Come to think of it I won't miss the fast past, I will be knee deep in it; I still have half of my work from yesterday to do! Oh, the weather may not be frightful, but it sure is annoying!

Tags: Weather, Tracy, Dart