well. another year is coming to a close. whew! what fun it was!

michele was able to complete her college classes to become a certified teacher in the state of illinois. she worked hard and i couldn’t be more proud of her accomplishments. she wasn’t able to find a full time teaching position as the economy and the state of the school districts precluded that, for the moment. but she has been able to fill her time with sub positions, tutoring and helping her own kids.

speaking of kids. jon and devin are doing great in school. devin made honor roll again. i can’t remember a year that he hasn’t. he works hard and has gotten through some struggles that he has had with things that he found hard to do. now they seem to be easier. he is still in some advanced classes which keeps his mind going.

jon turned 16 this year and with that came drivers education. he’s still working at it and will have his drivers license sometime in 2011. reason? dad isn’t as helpful as he should be. but time just is at a premium. school wise he’s doing ok. he needs to study a little harder on some things (spanish) and stay focused. i don’t think he thought high school would be this hard. but he’s trying to improve and that’s all anyone can ask. it’s just that one class!

i have reconnected with my oldest son ian on facebook. i enjoy reading his musings. he’s a good young man. he announced his engagement this year. that’s going to be some party when it happens!

michele and i drove to arizona over the summer. took the little black car. it was a trip! we saw some great parts of the united states. listened to some books. kicked back. enjoyed a week with barb and john. swimming. dinner. just relaxing. would i do it again? hell yes!

we stayed at the grand canyon on the way home. north rim. took a lot out of both of us. i really need to stop smoking. really. what a beautiful place. i do have a complaint. most everything in the shops and stores was made in china. it would seem like a national park could find ways to make things in the nation. i know. political. but really.

work for me is going a long as normal. i enjoy the people there and have made many acquaintances. it hasn’t been without it’s trials, as with any company.

still working at making techjoe go along. not the flurry of excitement it was years ago, but still playing on the net with it. the problem is that i enjoy it a lot.

those that really know me, will know that i have never been a chevy fan. back in the old days, maybe. but. i do loves me a dodge (would love to own a challenger)! well. my lovely wife talked me into getting her a chevrolet equinox. ok. it’s not bad. has some weird quirks from my perspective, but, she drives it, not me. gets the same gas mileage as my altima coupe, so i can’t complain too much.

we lost a family member this year. lady, our 13 year old shepard passed away this summer. it has been hardest on me as she was really my dog, as my wife would say. still have mystery and snickers to keep us company.

like we don’t have enough stuff going on, michele talked me into getting a cat. when we got to the adoption, i just couldn’t let his sister stay there alone, so i made a plea for adopting her too. now we have raven and magnum. magnum reminds me very much of the maine coons that my family had in the past. he’s almost human. he loves a belly rub, which, seems weird when most cats don’t. and there isn’t much that scares him. raven? well she’s black. as with most black cats, shes a bit skid-ish. but i’m hoping that time will mellow her out.

and we still have that damn bird!

dad is still living with us. he’s an avid reader and takes the miata out, weather permitting. takes long cruises during the summer months just to shake out the cob webs!

well. that about covers it. might not seem like a lot, but it sure did feel like it!

i am so very humbled by my family. they are a strong and supportive group and i wouldn’t trade any of them in for all the riches in the world. the way i look at it, i already have them!

take care! enjoy the holidays! here’s to a great 2011! may it bring you all of the happiness that you desire!

until then… peace…