Last Post Ever ... at this location

This is it - the last post at this location. From now on, you can view the online journal at http://writegirl.typepad.com/kevshel. My apologies if you got here from kevinandshel.com. I've tried to update all the links in the site, but there are a countless number and it's more than possible that I missed some.

I had an extra account at the new location. It now brings all my blogs into one behind-the-scenes tool, making it easier for me to manage. I "redecorated" the blog while I was at it as well. You'll see.

So update your bookmarks. Kevin and Shel's online journal (that's a blog) is now at http://writegirl.typepad.com/kevshel.

Spamalot

For Christmas, I gave Kevin tickets to Spamalot in Chicago for New Year's Eve. If you're unfamiliar with it, Spamalot is in its pre-Broadway run in Chicago through mid-January. It stars famous people, like Tim Curry (from Rocky Horror), David Hyde Pierce (yep, the guy from Frasier), and Hank Azaria (Agador Spartacus in the Bird Cage, or Abu in the Simpsons). It's written by Monty Python's Eric Idle and its "lovingly ripped off" of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the amazingly popular movie.
It was absolutely hilarious. I wrote all about it here.
Here's a shot from outside the theatre, New Year's Eve 2004.

2004 Holiday Letter

This is the holiday letter that appeared on the front page of kevinandshel.com throughout the month of December.

Hello everyone and happy holidays! I know this is an odd way to do a holiday note, but its also quicker and easier. This year, well, Kevin & I seem to have very little time on our hands.

My business, Write Technology, is doing better than I'd ever expected. While this isn't a bad thing at all, it has also eaten up every bit of time I once had. I had planned on having December to shop for the holidays and spend weeks baking wonderful, albeit fattening, goodies. I haven't had a moment to spare. Write Technology celebrated its one year anniversary in October.

Kevin is also very busy at Fifth-Third, where he is a java programmer. He is now a technical lead on a project. Kevin will be at Fifth-Third two years in June 2005.

We've had an entertaining year. From mundane yet exciting-to-us type things to actual, palpable exciting times,there is so much to tell. You can view our year in photos on our site by clicking here or on the Photo Albums link on each page of Kevinandshel.com.

Last January, we went to Las Vegas for my birthday. Kevin & I love Vegas, just for the fact that its so over the top and larger than life. We really don't gamble all that much. I love to shop in Vegas. They have a Chanel boutique! I can't afford to even walk into the Chanel store, but I gaze longingly in the windows and note fashion trends for the months ahead. We saw the Mac King magic show, the Imperial Palace car collection (including Marilyn Monroe's Caddy) and caught Tony Danza in concert. While Kevin & I were in Vegas, my best friend Pam, in Tampa, had her first child, Dominic.

In April we attended our third annual Maker's Mark Mile. This year, my Dad, Tom, and stepmom, Donna, as well as friends Melody & Jess, came with us. It was quite the party.

In late June/early July, we visited California. It was the first trip out west for either of us and we loved it. Kevin attended the Java One programmers conference in San Francisco. I tagged along and explored the city while he was at the conference. We extended the trip over the long July 4th weekend and visited Wine Country (Napa and Sonoma). We learned a lot about wine - in particular, what we like and what we don't. Wine country is beautiful and is probably my favorite place that we've visited. I can't wait to return.As for San Francisco, well, I've never met such nice people in my life. The city was so expansive and eclectic. I would move there in a heartbeat, given the opportunity.

We celebrated our one year wedding anniversary with a trip to Negril, Jamaica, over Labor Day weekend. It was an unbelievable experience, as we got caught about 20 miles outside of the eye of Hurricane Ivan. We were very lucky, but it was an incredibly scary experience. We were left without power and water for several days afterwards. The resort has offered us three free days for "our troubles," so it looks like we may be returning in the spring when its definitely NOT hurricane season. You can read about the whole hurricane experience here.

Finally, we're upgrading the house. These items fall in the exciting-to-us category, but may seem mundane to everyone else. We have added a new, ceramic-top oven to the kitchen, as well as rolling counters to create "instant islands" and a better use of space while cooking. We are putting down hard-wood floors this month, in time for Christmas. The floors will be laid in the living room/dining room area, and possibly the upstairs hallway. Over the summer I tore down every last remaining piece of wallpaper in the house and painted all the walls. This coming winter, time permitting, I hope to re-do the family room in a vineyard theme.

That's about everything in the world of Kevin and Shel. Keep checking back at our web site, as its updated quite frequently.

We hope everyone has a warm, safe, and incredibly joyful holiday season, no matter what holiday you celebrate.

Love,

Kevin and Michelle

Wish Lists

This past year I've discovered that no one knows what to buy us when holidays or, in particular, birthdays come along. I tend to orchestrate whatever Kevin gets (Buy him this, this, and this) to ensure he'll like it and I bet he does the same with me. I'm making this slightly easier. If you want to buy us something, you can go to our Amazon Wish Lists. There is a heading on the sidebar of this journal called Material Things. If you click on either, it will take you to a "wish list" from Amazon.com that should at least give you some basic ideas. For instance, my wish list would lead you to believe I enjoy Philosophy products, old movies, Marilyn Monroe, Barbie dolls, and art deco. You would be right. Kevin's wish list, well ... I need to get him to update it. It used to have things in it but appears to be blank at the moment. We'll fix that.
Doesn't this seem horribly material of me? I know. So I will remind you again that you can go to Amazon.com and donate directly to the victims of the Tsunami via the Red Cross. Amazon has now collected over $12,316,302.00 in this method and I encourage you to help up that total. Nothing is more important than helping the victims in Thailand, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and the rest.

Tsunami

Disaster
I keep thinking of these people and how wretched and awful this is. The death toll neared 77,000 today as bodies continued to float ashore. I am aghast at the horrible tragedy.
I watched a video yesterday, and saw a wall of water rise up taller than the palm trees on the beach. I had that same terrified feeling, just watching the video, that I had when we were trapped during Hurricane Ivan. Yet the destruction and death from this combined natural disaster outstrips even that which was wrought by Ivan.
You can watch videos of the tsunami here, although they are at times both frightening and heartwrenching.
(You can learn more about tsunamis, earthquakes, relief efforts and this disaster in particular from the always fabulous Wikipedia.)

How You Can Help (and you really should)
You can contribute to the relief effort at these sites:

• American Red Cross Disaster Relief (via Amazon.com) This method, using your Amazon account information, is the quickest and easiest way to donate. There's a great post over at Instapundit on the sheer amount of donations Amazon is gathering for this specifc cause. Makes me feel a little better about the human race.

Also:

• Oxfam International SE Asia Relief Fund
• Mercy Corps, and the Tsunami Relief Blog has information as well.
• The Network for Good has a page listing organizations accepting disaster relief donations, including a personal favorite of mine (and quite important as disease will spread like wildfire in the affected regions), Doctors without Borders.

Happy Everything!

Happy Holidays - Joyeux Noel - Feliz Navidad - Happy Belated Hannukah - Happy Belated Solstice - Merry Christmas - Happy New Year - Happy Whatever Else You Might Celebrate!
It's just that time of year.
On a side note, wish Kevin well. In the process of putting in our hardwood floors, moving a piano, shoveling snow & ice, dislodging the neighbor's car from the driveway, and other things this week, he burst a capillary in his forearm. So his left arm is in a sling and a bandage right now, and he's one-handed.
Happy Everything!

Upgrading the Home

Well, the tree went up last night, but is crooked (hey, we're really tired at this point). We still have to put the train around the bottom. There are also still tools and such lying about and we haven't put everything back into the rooms yet. What's not pictured is the upstairs hallway, which no longer has pink wallpaper and has hardwood floors instead of ugly blue carpet. Prints will be hung on the walls and actual furniture will eventually be purchased. Chandeliers will be replaced. Goodness, we have the right to be tired, right?

	This is a photo of the dining room before the makeover. Notice the ugly wallpaper and blue carpet.
	This is a photo of the dining room now. No wallpaper to be seen and hardwood, rosewood floors. Pure wood - not laminate. I intend to "stripe" the dining room at some point, but I'm not in a hurry to see a paint can again anytime soon.
	This is the new living room (with the crooked tree). Tinkerbell is our treetopper! I can't find a photo of the old living room, but it had the garish wallpaper and grandma-blue carpet. It also used to have curtains that matched the garish, flowered wallpaper. How scary is that? I prefer layered sheers myself.
	This is a photo of the foyer and part of the living room before the makeover. Notice the ugly wallpaper and blue carpet. In the hallway, there is pink, yes pink, wallpaper. That wallpaper covers the entire entranceway and all the upstairs hallway. In the foyer, there is also an ugly black glass chandelier.
	Pink wallpaper, flowered wallpaper, any wallpaper actually, is completely gone. Black chandelier replaced with silver. Walls painted. Hardwood floors in the living room. Those are holiday cards you see around the entranceway.

GMail for the Holidays

By the way, is there anyone who would like a GMail email account? GMail is Google's email service that is web-based, by "invitation only," and gives you like 1 Gb of space. I have a couple of invitations to spare and, in the spirit of the season, thought I'd offer them up! Just email me if you're interested.