Happy Halloween!

Somehow Halloween doesn't have the same feel as it used to when we were kids. I'm no longer influenced by the piles of candy, because I'm aware of the consequences in my waist line. We didn't have a costume party to attend this year. Plus we won't even be home this evening to pass out candy. It's league bowling Wednesday, and it doesn't pause for Halloween. In my mind, I'm holding out for Thanksgiving, mostly because of the yummy food, but more importantly, it will be about 4 days away from the office! But in keeping with the spirit of Halloween, we were in Target and passed by this cute ladybug costume for Millie. Eventhough she won't be collecting doggy treats tonight, she still got her picture taken. She hates to wear clothes, I mean hates it. I think she's secretly hoping Mailman Dan sees her picture here and will leave her an extra treat in the mailbox today!

A Day at the Racetrack

So, as I promised, I did document our day at the race. The racetrack is in Millington, home of Justin Timberlake, but it didn't have the feel of world pop star. We arrive at the track, and follow the road course to find our parking spot. As we are pulling in, our first photo opportunity presented itself.

Yep, this was the first mullet of the day. But since we hadn't been here long, there was more to see. So, we are all walking in, and pass by this motor vehicle. Please don't be confused by this former school bus. No, this isn't the Ghost from our Starkville Academy days, but it's a close cousin. This my friends is a bus converted into an RV. We all find this funny because this side of the family owns an RV dealership.

As we walk by, they've got their music playing, and have the grill going. I'm sure a beer cooler is just around the corner.

So, we get closer to the race, and the styles improve! Next year, I'm going to set up a booth, and hire a hairdresser or two. Believe me, there is plenty of business available!

So, here are two pictures of the actual race. Since Chris isn't a Busch Series fan, we don't know many of the drivers, but this race set a track record for most cautions. I believe the final count was 25, so the race ended up lasting forever, but we still had fun and Karan had a great time.

I don't know why Chris didn't want to have his picture taken with this rabbit! I try every now and then to embarrass Chris...it doesn't take much.

Upcoming weekend events

So, Chris's knee is falling apart, and I've fallen subject the wonderful environmental conditions of Memphis requiring round 2 of weekly allergy shots, we are taking a break from the doctor's offices and going with Chris's family to the Memphis Motorsports Park for the Saturday Busch race. We will be going to celebrate Karan's (Chris's aunt) birthday, and this is what she requested. I've only had the experience of Nascar one other time, and it was the real deal....Talledega in October 2005. Granted, it is much more interesting to watch a race in person, and over the years of dating/marriage, I've learned so much more about racing. Who knew there was so much strategy in making a continual left turn for 500 miles? Who knew there was a following much like Elvis fans for Dale Earnhardt? (FYI, he's been dead for about 10 years.) Who knew it was so risky to be a Jeff Gordan fan at Talledega? It's like another culture of fans, with their tank tops, cut off denim shorts, 'interesting' haircuts, and Bud heavy always in an arms reach. With all this said, people watching doesn't get any better than at a race, so I'll be entertained no matter what. I'll be sure to take my camera and document my entertainment. I'll also pick out the cutest car and pull for them to win!

The Knee..

We I got my MRI results back on Monday. Total knee replacement is on order... Okay, not exactly. Torn Meniscus. I was happy to hear that there was not any major damage that would require a lengthy recovery process. The Dr. said that it was totally up to me to decide whether or not to have a scope done. We are going to see how the knee holds up over the next few weeks and then decide where to go next.

Bowling is on the menu for tonight. Hopefully I can rebound from the previous 5 embarrassing weeks. Wish Jessica and I luck. Check back tomorrow for the updated dashboard.

Weekly Bowling Dashboard

In case you didn't know, Jessica and I are in a bowling league sponsored by International Paper. When McLovin (AKA McCager Garner) moved up to the Memphis area we invited him to join in. Being competitive as they come Cager thought it would be a good idea to keep a spreadsheet of basic trends. Game average, Pin Series and handicap were just a few. Switching gears a little... One of my main job responsibilities at FedEx is to develop and maintain Business Intelligence related Dashboards. Without getting in to deep.. A dashboard is a summary screen with components that allow executives and other management to make decisions about how well the company is doing in various areas. I thought it would be a great chance for me to expand on what Cager had already put together. You can take a look at it by clicking on the thumbnail below.

You can see that there is more information than you could ever want to know about our bowling abilities.. or in my case inabilities. Jessica continues to impress with continued improvement. If you are interested in keeping up with it I usually update it every Thursday morning. Keep track.. Talk Trash.. I guarantee we can handle it.

Getting Started

Well, I'm giving this a try and working on the layout and design. Hopefully over the next week or so I'll get it looking like it is worthy to be viewed.

Tonight, my mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law came up to Memphis from Columbus to visit. Like the "good daughter-in-law" that I am, I prepared a home cooked meal which fueled us for an evening of shopping at Target. I love Target, but limit my shopping sprees because I usually come back with non-essential items that I could have gone without. Tonight's purchase consisted of non other than a Halloween costume for our dog, Millie. Now I have to convince her that the red and black ladybug costume isn't a straight jacket, and she is capable of walking in it. (She believes it's a medieval torture device!)

Blogging??

So to help my wonderful wife out I decided to set up a blog for us to share things that are going on in our life. We are kind of new to this kind of stuff, so I imagine we will try and keep everyone updated at least one time a week. Have a good one and enjoy!

We also have a picasaweb site so that you can view some of our pictures. We have many more that we need to update. http://picasaweb.google.com/chrisnichols