Derek in 2011

Where oh where does the time go?!?!!! I know, the answer is sitting in a car driving 160ish miles a day just to and from work. Hoping that will be changing before year's end in one capacity or another. In any case, my little boy is growing up so fast. He has really started to talk a lot over the past month. Derek's a regular chatterbox these days. Some of his favorite words are (the dogs) Darth & Mimi (as he lovingly refers to Leia) and other words like cookie, pizza, popcorn, candy corn, etc.

On 3.19.11 I also took Derek for his 1st trip to a playground. As you can see from this photo he was totally digging the swings!

At the beginning of March Derek also got to experience his first plane rides and a cruise. He did ok all things considered but suffice it to say it was no vacation for mommy. Been a busy 2011 thus far. More to come, I'm sure.

Officially Introducing *Derek*

It's been a LONG time and this is very overdue...


Hello everyone! As most of you are well aware, Mike and I welcomed a new addition to our family in June 2009 with the birth of our son, Derek (first name) Niessen (middle name.)


Mike selected the name 'Derek' after one of our favorite bands/his favorite guitarists, Derek Frigo (RIP) from Enuff Z'Nuff. We selected 'Niessen' as it was my maiden name and we wanted our little 'D-man' to carry on my name also.

I got to thinking that I never officially blogged to announce our little man's arrival so I wanted to share with everyone. Derek is overall such a great baby though he has his grumpy moments. (Not always quite the 'tough guy' as the outfit falsely advertised.)

But overall he is a very happy little guy.

He got to be a dragon for his first Halloween. We even went and visited Daddy at work in the Dragon costume and Derek posed next to the Dragon Age poster. Quite cute if I do say so myself.

For Christmas he was fascinated with the tree. You can tell in this photo that he's plotting his attack on the tree for next year.

The dogs absolutely adore Derek. I can only imagine them all getting in trouble together as Derek starts to crawl, walk, and talk. He already thinks it is absolutely side-splitting hilarious when the dogs bark and act up. I know many more fun times are ahead with this little guy. Aunt Cindi and I are already planning our first zoo outing!

So, there's the very much overdue quick little introduction to our little blessing.

Happy 2010 to all of you!

Trans-Siberian Orchestra 12/20/08 - Columbus, Ohio

As I expected, Trans-Siberian Orchestra was nothing short of spectacular last night! And, our seats were killer - second row, floor, center stage! Here's a shot of Alex Skolnick (of Testament) with Chris Caffrey (of Savatage) up close and personal.


There were some changes in line-up, but none that seriously affected the show. It was about 2-1/2 hours of straight rocking Christmas cheer. TSO never ceases to put on a fabulous show for the entire audience. They even played a couple new songs which was a treat. The light show was also superb as usual.


This was TSO's 10th anniversary. It was our 6th year in attendance, but certainly not our last. The only "downer" to the evening were the terrible roads on the way home. An hour drive turned into a very long 3 hour + adventure. But, in the end, it was worth it to see this show. Thank you Trans-Siberian Orchestra for officially getting us into the Christmas spirit once again. God bless us...everyone!

Love & Holiday Cheer!
Christiana

Merry Christmas!

This is by far my favorite time of the year. I love everything about the Christmas/holiday season. So, before the government tries to make it illegal to say so, I wish you ALL a very Merry Christmas! Ho Ho Ho!!

That being said, one of my favorite Christmas traditions has become the attending of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra show. If you have not yet experienced this, GO! Don't miss another year. This will be, I believe, our 6th year in a row. And, I am excited to report, we have our BEST seats yet - 2nd row, floor, center stage. I can hardly wait! Mike & I are going this Sunday, 12/20, in Columbus.

Here's a picture of the one and only Alex Skolnick (yes, of Testament fame) at the 11/15/07 TSO show in Dayton:

Seriously, don't miss this show. It gets me 100% in the Christmas spirit every year. There is not a bad seat in the house. Even if you have nose bleeds, you get the full picture of the amazing laser and lights show. I prefer to sit close because I like to watch the musicians faces as they interact with one another. Don't miss Trans-Siberian Orchestra. This is truly an amazing show for ALL ages!

Again, Merry Christmas my dear friends.

*Chica Claus*

* LET THE MUSIC PLAY *

I ‘came of age’ during a time that was sooooo fun! Really since I hit junior high school my life became engulfed with the music I listen to. It became more than just a hobby, but rather an obsession. As a matter of fact, music blessed me with my most dear friends. After all, one didn’t hang out with people who didn’t like one’s music. For me, it was all about the rock n’ roll baby! I love classic rock, big-hair rock/metal, heavy metal, power metal, Goth rock, Industrial…you name it, and it’s affected my life. Metal heads are very misunderstood. My best friend and I are proud metal heads and we were also honor students who went on to get college degrees and hold respectable full time jobs. But, our music has stayed the same. We catch the occasional concert still but not as many as once upon a time. From the age of 15 when I saw my first concert and throughout my 20’s I spent countless hours at concert venues, bars, clubs, etc. I’ve seen some amazing shows, met some cool musicians, and had a blast in general. Heck, it was my love for Iced Earth that crossed my & my husbands’ paths. Music really has shaped my life and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Now don’t get me wrong, if you listen to country, rap, easy listening…I’ll still be your friend…but I sure won’t want to ride in your car as often… (My car…my stereo…) :-P

(And for the record, my friends and I hung out watching all the local bands nearly every day of the week for years, but we were NOT the type of groupies who tried to hook up with the guys...we truly were there for the music!)

\m/ - ^ - \m/

Holy Basset Hound, Batman!!

As you all know, I am indeed an English Springer Spaniel Magnet. But, I have TWO babies in my house. Mike & I are blessed to own our first Basset Hound. She's something else to say the least!

Darth (our Springer) was our first pup chosen at the pet store that dreary March afternoon...3/18/03. We tried about every puppy in 2 different stores to get a playmate for Darth. Mike wanted a bulldog real bad, but Darth hated it when we tried them in the pen together. I always liked the big droopy heads of basset hounds and since Mike was insisting the Springer would be "his boy" (yeah right...) he suggested the basset for me. Leia was so little, only about 6 pounds, and just 8 weeks old. She was the cutest! And, Darth and she started to play and drag each other by the ears immediately...so we knew our little family had been formed.

In no time at all, Leia had decided that she was superior to Darth and that she could just push him around whenever she wanted. Darth STILL doesn't know he's bigger than Leia. Leia is a Daddy's girl. After all, she's just like Mike...grumpy, ornary, mean...you get the drift. ;-) But one of Leia's favorite things to do is give her Daddy hugs...but the catch is, right when you give her a hug, she gets all wound up and starts to go crazy. See:

All in all though, owning a basset hound is pretty simple. They are LAZY. The hardest part is making her go out to go potty. Then the next hardest part is making her come in. Gotta love that big ole' (now 62 pound) basset hound girl. Just give her a bonie, and she'll eat til she can't eat no más!

Oh, and did I mention she's a MORNING dog?!?!!! Go figure! Since Leia joined our family 3+ years ago, sleeping in....well, not so much... She likes to wake everyone up so she can go back to sleep for the rest of the day. She will find the smalled ray of sunshine peeking in the house and position herself in the sun with her long ear over her eyes. She's a funny little beast girl, our Mimi...akaLei-Lei, Lei-mas, etc.

In honor of Father's Day

This past Sunday was indeed Father's Day. That used to be a very special day for me. I always liked to do something to let my dad know how much I loved and appreciated him. One year Cindi and I took our dads to the track (harness racing.) We had so much fun. And now, Father's Day is just memories for me. So, I'll share a couple things about my Dad. His favorite painting is entitled "Twilight In The Wilderness" by Frederic Edwin Church. We used to take museum days when I was on summer vacations and we'd always go to the Cleveland Museum of Art and look for Twighlight in the Wilderness. Just staring at the beautiful colors of this painting in person made it easy to escape to this serene wilderness setting mentally. It was quite serene.


And he also enjoyed reading Robert Frost poetry. In highschool, I had to memorize and recite a long poem and I chose Quandary by Frost. My dad stayed up LATE with me helping me to memorize it...of course slightly last minute which was how I rolled ;-)

Quandary

Never have I been glad or sad

That there was such a thing as bad.

There had to be, I understood,

For there to have been any good.

It was by having been contrasted

That good and bad so long had lasted.

That's why discrimination reigns.

That's why we need a lot of brains

If only to discriminate

'Twixt what to love and what to hate.

To quote the oracle at Delphi,

Love thy neighbor as thyself, aye,

And hate him as thyself thou hatest.

There quandary is at its greatest.

We learned from the forbidden fruit

For brains there is no substitute.

'Unless it's sweetbreads, ' you suggest

With innuendo I detest.

You drive me to confess in ink:

Once I was fool enough to think

That brains and sweetbreads were the same,

Till I was caught and put to shame,

First by a butcher, then a cook,

Then by a scientific book.

But ' twas by making sweetbreads do

I passed with such a high I.Q.

I miss you Daddy, every day!!