The Gonyea Gazette

When I opened the window to write a blog post I had no idea what I was going to write then out spilled from the keys "Giving Thanks". Probably because we are hitting the road in a few hours to visit my folks in Daytona Beach for Thanksgiving. Should be a fun trip and hopefully Abby won't be too bored in the car for such a long trip. We are gonna meet up with Dana & Aria and caravan until about half way there where Dana will break off and head on down the west coast to Tampa to enjoy her holiday with Nikki. Jenn, Abby and I will continue across the top of Florida to the east coast. 

There are a few things on the agenda; Jenn is bringing papers to grade which will give Abby some Grandma and Grandpa time. For me, a few fun things are loosely scheduled: dinner with Jenn sans daughter, an evening of poker at the Dog track poker room (very nice after last year's renovation), and a round of golf with my Dad Friday morning. I'm bringing the 'good' camera and the Flip Mino so hopefully there will be some pics and videos to post afterward.

So what do I give thanks about in 2009?

This is an easy one... the two most important women in my life who provide the spark that ignites my launch into each day, Jennifer and Abigail. I have never loved two people more in my life - or felt as loved than I do now. I am a better person because of the inspiration and courage I am blessed to experience through them every single day. For the first time in a very long time I look forward to what tomorrow brings because I know it'll bring with it a smile, or laugh, or moment of teary-eyed pride.

Life is good... and I give thanks. 

It took over a year, but my bride finally took the plunge and decided to join the rest of us degenerates who have exchanged short leg-stretching breaks from the keyboard for logging in to see who has commented on our pithy status update d'jour. 

For the longest time she was concerned about how much of a waste of her day it would be - and it truly is for many. But as long as you keep a level head and just commit to a couple short visits each day of only a handful of minutes then it can become a very valuable tool in not only staying in touch with family and friends but also providing that conduit of access for them into your own life. 

In fact, just today I started a Group on facebook for my high school graduating class so there could be one place to start dumping information related to our upcoming 25th reunion next summer. I hope someone else picks up the ball and runs with it because I won't have a lot of time to manage the group as the main admin - plus I live in GA and graduated H.S. from Upstate NY so it's tough to be in touch with the area for planning logistics.

I missed my 20th reunion and I regret not making the trip so I hope there will be a good turnout. I guess that's me just being selfish...

After what is literally years of talking about it, I am finally going to start a recurring home poker game and I am really looking forward to playing the role of host. Maybe it's tapping into the side of me that craves 'tradition' or the side that grew up traveling to a friend's house and falling asleep on the couch (in footsie pajamas btw) as my parents and their best friends played "31" late into the night. I still remember watching through drooping eyelids the glow from the dining room at the other end of the house, the laughter, gags and guffaws shared between adult best friends. It was a fun time, a safe time and that was some of the best sleep I remember as a kid as the accidental eavesdropper into the grownup world.

So here I sit. In a fully finished, and furnished, home office that is the far corner of my otherwise unfinished basement. The basement has barely been touched in a couple years, well let's say right about 21 months (since Abby was born) and now I am tasked with cleaning the entire studded cluster-bomb of somewhat semi-organized debris within the next 8 days. 

There is heat and AC, and there is power and bare bulb lighting throughout, so we won't be playing in the dark ages - but the entirety is studded 2x4's, wiring, exposed insulation backing and truss-threaded HVAC ductwork. I have one foldable hold'em table that seats 8 comfortably, 9 uncomfortably and it looks like this inaugural event will require a second table (YAY!). I'm debating spending the $150 I have to invest in getting this off the ground on a mini under-the-counter fridge or buying another folding poker table. I suppose I can use a cooler or two to start with...

I also plan on starting a friendly poker league out of the group of regulars and will have a blast getting into the role of tournament director and league manager. Hopefully, this will lead to hosting events that become satellites into Gulf Coast poker tourneys and ultimately a path to one of the smaller $1500 buy-in tourneys at each years' WSOP in Vegas. 

Time will tell... oh, the name of the league is the "Kudzu Poker Tour". Catchy, I think and I have a great idea for a logo where the leaves of the vine are the suits from cards. 

First thing I noticed is that the keyboard doesn't change to landscpe mode in the squarespace app. My phone is lying on the desk an I'm trying to type as fast as I can to push the limits of the auto correct... looking back over text, not too shabby.

Lots to look at with the app. Very robust and has received rave reviews. Gonna try to take a pic and insert it next.

Not sure about alignment... Here goes the post...

Abby's footprint is the scary ghost - Thanks, Crystal!Come and gone. I swear it crept up on me faster than I expected. Been losing track of time, even days for a long while now and I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I was pretty excited to learn that my birthday would be on a Saturday this year and my first thought was "Parrrrteeeee"... which is exactly what happened but not in the context it might have been meant. 

Our party became a toddlers dream day out. In costume, out of the house, making messes and having fun. Who wouldn't crave days like that gain, huh? We had 14 kids (10 of which under 3 years old) as well as their corresponding adult supervision for a total of 24 big kids. About 75% of the showed up on all accounts and we enjoyed a houseful thanks to the rain. 

The rain gave up after awhile and left a wet deck and lawn in its wake. We still ventured onto the deck for the messy stuff, pumpkin painting, etc. Dana set up an obstacle course for the older kids but it only had a few takers then fizzled. 

Abby was supposed to be a pirate and managed to keep about half of her costume on before deciding that she really, really liked wearing the 3T orange pumpkin shirt we found in the Halloween decorations. But even with the torn pants and bandana wrapped around her head that was enough to seal the deal on her cute factor for the day. She later wore about 3 different fancy summer dresses which she likewise enjoyed wearing while playing on the deck.  I'll get some pics on flickr soon with all the costumes from both young and old kids.