Small Update

I thought I would just give everyone a small update on what is going on with the family.

Kelsey: Other than driving me nuts, she is doing well in her new school. She has fit in quite nicely and even has a new beau. She is going to the ball at her old school next weekend. (the Ball is what we call the Prom in the US except it’s much more low key) She had a dress made by one of my newest friends. Kelsey picked out the pattern and the material and she is really happy with the results. I will make sure I take pictures so everyone can see. We are in a bit of pickle on what to do about next year. It looks like we won’t be able to get residency as quickly as we thought, so now we are trying to figure out what to do with her. She is hoping to do a work sponsored program, however I don’t know if anyone is going to sponsor someone who may or may not stay in the country. We can’t send her to pastry school right away because we would have to pay International rates which are 4 times the amount of the residents fee. She does always have the option of finishing her last year of high school too. However, she is really at the end of what she can take. (well…let’s just say she is at the end of what she is willing to take) Hopefully we will get this all worked out soon. Lastly, Kelsey was outfitted with a Continuous Glucose Meter (CGM). She is wearing it for 6 days so we can get a good read on her blood sugar levels. You can read all about it on the DiabeticDuo site.

Mike is still bustin booty at his work. He has a class wrapping up production in the next 5 weeks and his newst class is moving out of the fundamentals of 3D and into production type work. He is enjoying his beer kit. He is brewing his third batch which is a Nut Brown Ale. (he has done a Porter and a Wheat) He is hoping they will be ready to taste at our housewarming party on July 3rd. He has also been busy helping me update the MedAware site. We have more changes coming next week that should make the site much more appealing.

This week I started swimming again. I want to do the ocean swim series this summer. The first race is on November 21 and it’s the Auckland Harbour race. They haven’t announced how long the race is going to be yet but hopefully by then I will be in decent shape. This is just my first week and I swam 5 times. My shoulders aren’t very happy. It’s not like I am doing a lot..but it does feel good to be back in the water. MedAware is really starting to pick up. I have some advertising opportunities coming up in a few months that should help, but what I am most excited about is that I am going to sponsor a Team MedAware. I have been talking to a young woman here who competes in triathalons and she is training to do the Iron Man (not her first) and she is a Type 1 Diabetic. I have it in my head that I want to associate MedAware with a positive message. What better than supporting diabetics training to compete? (or any disease for that matter) I haven’t quite figured out how I am going to do this financially…but I was so excited talking to this young girl . I know I am on the right path, I feel it in my heart.  Stay Tuned.

Martin just had his 11th birthday. Can’t believe it. He is starting guitar lessons again this week. The school arranges for the kids to have lessons at a reduced rate, so we are taking advantage of the opportunity. He is settling in with school as well. He is still a loner (doesn’t fall far from either tree), but he says he is making friends. I took him to the pool with me today and he blew me away. He asked if he could go do “laps”. In my head I was thinking…yeah…ok…whatever….I knew Sundays were a big play day there so I agreed and brought him with. I get there he puts on his goggles and takes off doing freestyle down to the other end. Uhm…what the hell? He left me standing there with my cap in one hand and my goggles in the other…mouth wide open. You have to understand that both of my kids are fish “under” the water but neither of them especially Marty would let me teach them how to swim. The last time I saw Marty swim he could only get one arm out of the water at a time and only lasted about 8 strokes. So as he makes his way back to me he pops his head up with a huge smile. I looked at him and said “WHERE IN THE HELL DID THAT COME FROM? WHERE DID YOU LEARN HOW TO DO FREESTYLE???” His answer hit me…”At school, Mom!?!” Then I had a flashback where I was bitching about the schools mandating that the kids take swimming lessons even if they know how to swim. Now obviously kids need to know how to swim here, it’s an Island for Pete’s sake…but what upset me was that it was mandatory and we had to pay. I felt that if it was mandatory, the schools should have paid. Well…in watching my son swim freestyle (which is something I never thought I would see) I wished I had never bitched about paying the fee. It was worth every penny.

So, the Porter’s are doing well. We absolutely love our new home and location. We are really taking a stab at moving ahead. We have had so many years of frustration and it seems like things are starting to fit together. Thank God.

No pictures this week. I will post pictures next week to include a rugby game we went to. Side Note: Those of you who were struggling with opening the pictures. Just be patient. Your computer will load up the picture and then size it to fit your screen. It might take a minute…but you will be able to see it.