What's New...Happy Anniversary John!

11/22/2005: Happy Anniversary to the world's best husband. Today marks our 8th anniversary. We are still crazy about each other! Unfortunately, John has come down with some kind of bug and isn't feeling too well.

Also, a Happy Thanksgiving to our American friends (Canada celebrated in October). Thanksgiving is Thursday of this week. With a couple of extra days off work, I get to spend almost the whole week with my sweetie!

Many things have happened over the last several months. Serenity was released the day after my birthday so we made that part of the birthday celebration. And it was quite swell. If you haven't seen the television show that the movie was made about, Firefly, then you need to get the DVD. And if you missed Serenity while it was in the theatre, look for the Christmas DVD release.

I am slow in getting the hockey updates. I apologize. But it's hard to say "so long" to the team that I loved even though I haven't seen the St. John's Maple Leafs play in a long time. I am sad to say goodbye to the St. John's Maple Leafs but I am sure that it will be good for the farm team to be closer to the home team. And St. John's now has the new team called the St. John's Fog Devils. This new team is part of the Quebec Major Junior hockey league. Good luck to the Fog Devils!

Take care and I will talk to you all soon!

What's New...Crazy busy...sorry it's been a while!

6/27/2005: It's been crazy busy for both John and I on the work front. Check out his website if you want to see which projects he's been working on. In my work, we just had our auditors in for a couple of weeks. They are gone but not totally finished so there could still be some questions. Needless to say, I have been stressed!

We have both recently become members of DeviantART. It's a great community of artists and art appreciators. I don't considter myself an artist but I have submitted some of my photos and now I am eager to get out and take more. Hopefully, that will mean new photos for my website also.

I have not been updating my page as much as I wanted lately due to lack of time. In fact, I wanted to have it all spiffed up and fixed before I updated here but it's been over 2 months so I wanted you all to know I was okay. I still need to make a lot of changes due to the move of the St. John's Maple Leafs. The Toronto Maple Leafs farm team has moved closer to Toronto and the new name is the Toronto Marlies. St. John's has a new team called the St. John's Fog Devils. This new team is part of the Quebec Major Junior hockey league. Good luck to the new team. I will be revising bits of my site as time allows, especially the hockey page.

Keep in touch and I will be back soon, although most of it will be behind the scene work!

What's New...nothing much!

4/23/2005: John and I have been doing our normal browsing book stores, visiting Central Market and whatever else strikes our fancy. There isn't much in the way of news.

My sister, Kim, is currently in Sweden working on her doctorate. She is alone over there for another week before her boyfriend can join her so I have been trying to email as much as time allows. At least it gives her something to read.

John's been extremely busy with work. He has so many projects happening right now that I don't know how he knows which one he is writing when he is working. There is a method but it eludes me.

We have been watching the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy British TV shows lately, to get ready for the film release next week. John is a huge fan and I have read the first book. I am re-reading it now to prepare for the film release as well.

So what's up in your world? Drop me a line if you have any comments or questions.

What's New...Austin shows off!

3/18/2005: Spring has sprung (well in Austin anyways) and Austin does the season that it does best!! This week is Spring Break so many musicians, film fans and students have fled their jobs or colleges to come to Austin for the SXSW Festival. They may have also come for the Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo. Or maybe even just to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in our nice city. Unfortunately, Moter Nature forgot to cooperate this week...the temperatures last Sunday were in the 80's so everyone thought we were off to a good start but then dropped by Tuesday into the 50's and there was even a Freeze warning Thursday morning in some of the Hill Country. However, by afternoon St. Paddy's day, the temperatures finally rose to a more comfortable temperature and downtown Austin was swarming with people, many wearing green! Austin is a great place to be this time of year!

Recently, John and I went to visit two grand reopenings here in Austin. On March 3rd, both Half Price Books and Whole Foods opened newer, larger locations and had tons of people visit to see their new locations. Well, I was off work that day anyway so we were amongst the crowds (and I do mean crowds). The line at Half Price Books was so larget that they had an employee bring a tray of nibblies along the line so people wouldn't starve. Whole Foods was much less organized, or at least from my perspective. There were so many people by early evening that I couldn't even tell if they had lines. It was just crazy. However, we went back to both about a week or so later when things were a little calmer to look around. They both have much bigger store. Whole Foods store is much fancier and more of a "show-off" store. But it was nice to visit.

Unfortunately, John was pretty sick last weekend. He caught some kind of bug late the week before and he still isn't feeling quite right. But he is feeling a whole lot better and getting back to work and walking a little.

Behind the scenes, I have done some link checking and added a couple of new or changed links.

Well, not much more news so take care and see you soon!!

What's New...new photos

2/19/2005: I finally figured out our scanner...er...well, I finally remembered to ask John to show me how to use it! Anyhow, I have a couple of new photos of my older niece and nephew on my pictures page. I don't get as many of them as I do of the younger two so now you can see how much older they look.

There isn't much news lately. John and I did spend a really nice Valentine's Day together. I took the day off work and we did a lot of walking and hanging out at some of our fabourite places.

Take care and see you soon!!

What's New...many movies

1/23/2005: John and I have seen a lot of new movies lately. Our local H-E-B supermarket has a new machine that rents all DVD's for $1.00 per day, including new releases. They don't have a huge selection but they have had quite a few movies that we wouldn't mind seeing for only $1.00. We also got out during the holidays to see a few in the theatres. We almost always go to the movies on Christmas Day. We went to see The Aviator this past Christmas.Right around then, we also went to see Oceans Twelve and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. I think they were all pretty good (especially Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and George Clooney all in one movie)! :)

Well, the weather in Austin is doing it's normal unpredictable thing this winter. We had a week of really cold tems around Christmas. Then it warmed up enough to wear shorts by New Years. The cold fronts keep coming but not all of them bring freezing temps. It's just enough to keep you on your toes. Two days ago, it was plenty warm and sunny. This morning, freezing again. And I thought Newfoundland had the strangest weather around! :)

I have added a couple of new photos and as soon as I figure out our new scanner, I can add some more. There aren't any new ones of John or I because I haven't found my camera since we moved last February. However, someday...meanwhile the new ones are of our nieces and nephews.

Take care and see you soon!!

What's New...Belated Happy Holidays

1/10/2005: Happy New Year, oops...Merry Christmas too...and Happy any other holiday to you and yours! Wow, time flies. I guess I have had one of the worse years ever for updates. 2004 was very busy for John and I with our respective work. There were some days that by the time I got home, the last thing I wanted to do was look at a computer.Most of those days, I just fell exhausted into bed and tried to get some sleep. However, not matter how tired I was, that wasn't always possible either. Even when I woke up at 1, 2 or 3 in the morning, updates were not what I was thinking of...more like computer games to help take my mind off work.

Well, I promise I will try to do better but who knows what 2005 will bring! I do have some new links I have tested and I will add them, as time allows. I do have some new photos of my nieces and nephews that I will be adding soon. I have plans, just not much time! :)

Well, that's about it for now. Take care and see you soon!!

What's New...no news is good news?!?!

10/21/04: They say "no news is good news". Well, that pretty well sums it up. Nothing bad has happened so there is no bad news. I have been busier than ever at work due to personnel changes. I have been putting in a lot of extra hours there so my extra time for the website has been cut to zilch.

I couldn't believe that the last time I updated was July...I often remember to come do updates but forget before I get here. I have had a few link suggestions which I plan to do sometime. However, don't give up hope on me. I just don't seem to have time to do anything immediately. But I thought I better say something so certain friends and family that read our websites know that I am still alive.

Well, that's about it for now. Take care and see you soon!!

What's New...Busy times!!

7/25/04: John and I have both been busy with work so not much news.

I finally got a chance to make changes to some of the broken links and add a few new ones. I feel really bad though! I had an email from someone who loves Austin and gave me suggestions of some great sites. However, I accidentally lost the email this morning when I was working on updates. I guess I hit delete by acciden and then my email program froze. When I got it working again, her email was gone...boohoo! If you are reading this, please write again! I think you called yourself "another Austin lover!".

Well, that's about it for now. Take care and see you soon!!

What's New...Happy Canada Day (July 1st) and Happy Independence Day (July 4th)!!

6/28/04: Happy Canada Day...Canada celebrates it's 137th birthday on July 1st of this year! John and I will be trying to get to a Canada celbration being put off by the "Canadians in Austin" group. And happy Independence Day here in the USA! The United States is celebrating it's 228th birthday on July 4th of this year.

Sorry I have been away for a while. Work has been so busy lately. I haven't felt much like looking at a computer when I get home! I promise that this will get better. I am checking behind the scenes for broken links and adding a few new ones from suggestions. If you see something wrong or think something should be added, let me know.

So hockey season is over for another year. I didn't get to see much in the playoffs except some of the 2nd round Toronto games. Dallas was still in the first round so they were the games being shown in Texas! Calgary put in a great showing on the Canadian front. Too bad they couldn't hold off to win the cup! Congratulations are in order for the Tampa Bay Lightning! Great job guys!

Check out my photos page! I haven't got a whole lot of pictures of the new baby but here is a new one!

Take care and see you all soon (sooner than last time, I promise)!

What's New...photo update!

4/1/04: Thanks to a friend of my brother, we have received a couple of photos of the new baby. Click to see our niece, Lauren Jessie!

What's New...New Family member!!

3/26/04: We would like to welcome our new niece, Lauren, to the family. She was born this morning to my brother Jeff and his wife Sharon. Lauren weighs in at a whopping 8lbs 10.5 oz. Her brother, Joshua, will have to learn how great it is to have a sister (as I am sure my 4 brothers will agree)!

We cannot wait to meet Lauren. Donations to the "send John and Sandra to Newfoundland" fund should be made at your earliest convenience! :)

As soon as I get some photos, I will put them on the pictures page! See you all soon!

What's New...Spring has Sprung!!

3/13/04: You know it's spring in Austin when everything hits at once. Right around Spring Break, people come to visit from all over the world. Why, you may ask? The reasons are plentiful:

• Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo - March 13-27, 2004
• SXSW - That's the South by Southwest Music and Media Conference (March 17 - 21, 2004) and the South by Southwest Film Conference and SXSW Interactive Festival (March 12 - 16, 2004) and the SXSW Film Festival (March 12 - 20, 2004).
• Spring Break - Sure this means many of the University of Texas at Austin students leave town, but many stay to party during the many other festivities that are always part of Austin.
• UIL Boy's State basketball Tournament - there were a lot of people visiting the Erwin Center for this basketball tournament this weekend.
• Tim is coming to visit - Our good friend Tim comes to visit often. However, we really know it's spring when he arrives as it's often a favourite time for his visit. Tim loves SXSW and has even gone to the rodeo with us. So this is a sure sign that spring has sprung.

Also, as I mentioned in my last update, we moved at the end of February. We are in the same apartment complex but in a bigger apartment. Please remember to ask if you need our new mailing address!

See you all again soon, take care!

What's New...Moving!!

2/22/04: John and I will be moving to a new apartment at the end of the month. If you haven't received an email with the new address from me, it means that I don't have your current email address. Let me know. The address is practically the same, just a couple of buildings away. The new apartment is over 100 square feet bigger...more room for John's office. We have been busy getting things packed up and trying to throw out things we don't use anymore.

It's also been very busy at work for both of us. Being an accountant always means January is crazy at work. John's new Risus Companion has been doing well in it's first couple of months of sales. He is always working on a few different projects at a time so check out Cumberland Games and Diversions to see what he's up to.

See you all again soon, take care!

What's New...Happy New Year (a few days late)!!

1/10/04: Well Happy New Year to you all. We hope you had a wonderful holiday season.

John's Mom came to visit us for Christmas. We don't get to see her often enough so it was really great to have her visit, even for a few short days. John cooked up our Christmas dinner of ham, sweet potatoes and green beans with toasted almonds (yummy)! She was quite impressed. Then of course, there was plenty of ham sandwiches to nibble over the next couple of days. We went to see In America on Christmas Day and we enjoyed it a lot. The daughters (who are sisiters in real life as well) played amazing parts, especially the oldest daughter, played by Sarah Bolger. Look for Sarah and Emma in the future.

Anyone who has visited John's page lately will already know that he recently released the Risus Companion. It's doing quite well already so check it out if you haven't already.

I have put up some new photos which were sent to Aunt Sandra and Uncle John by our nephews and niece recently.

I have been checking out some links and behind the scnenes stuff on my site lately. I sometimes don't add the requested links if they don't always fall into what I try to achieve here. I do contact anyone who sends a rejected link so they know why it wasn't added. Unfortunately, I had some very cool link requests recently but lost the email. If you have requested to be added, don't see your link and haven't heard from me, please email again. I apologize but it's been hectic both at home and work lately.

See you all again soon, take care!