January 2006

Raptors Basketball: Game 2

Well, the good times from Game 1 ended today, with the Raptors going down 20-24 against the B-Ballers. Karl had his worst game ever, 0/9 shots! Actually, everyone had a poor game. No shots were going down today, even simple layups were missed. The other team was much better prepared and had 2 excellent point guards that gave us fits on the pick n' roll.

I think we need to work on fundamentals this coming practice, and forget about the fancy plays set up for the top players; it is, after all, a TEAM sport, and we (as coaches) need to involve everyone.

For the first time, I brought the camera and tried to shoot some pictures with my new high-speed lense. I had some settings wrong this game, but a few pictures came out ok. Next week, it will be better, I promise!

Atlanta, Computer, and Doctors, OH MY!

Just got back from my sales meeting in Atlanta. What a draining, boring affair! The good news? My bonus potential has been increased by 30% (I guess the $$ are coming from the savings realized after the layoffs). The bad news? We will be evermore scrutinized by the Company, FDA, and the DEA. The hotel (Mariott Marquis) was very cool; I was on the 41st floor, and had a birds-eye view of Atlanta, Mid-town, and Buckhead. My roommate was some weenie from Dallas, and quickly pissed me off with his hyper-health-freak attitude and myriad creams, pills and specialized H2O! Enjoyed the quick trip on MARTA from the airport; way better than a cab ($1.75) and faster. Everyone should use it, if they can.

I came home to find BOTH John and Henry with serious computer issues. My suggestion to both of you is to by a book on Windows XP and read it thoroughly. Secondly, understand that computers, over time, become clogged with detritus from opening and closing files, downloading of same, and installing/uninstalling of programs. every now and then, you will have to start fresh and reinstall WinXP, after wiping the hard drive. In Henry's case, the computer is simply near the end of its life, and really cannot be upgraded sufficiently. Best to wipe it clean, reinstall WinXP, and use it for the girls.

My best client, an GYN in Bradenton, has had his license suspended by the State of Florida for having "inappropriate sexual contact" with a patient. Because of this, I will potentially be in the hole $100,000 before I even close the books on January. What an idiot! He is no "Don Juan" and already has a decent-looking wife. I guess he got bored...

Game 1 vs. The Celtics

In YMCA basketball action today, Karl's team, The Raptors, took on the Celtics, and showed they are a team to be reckoned with, as they went on to win, 33 - 24. Karl had a pretty good game, pulling down 6 rebounds, scoring 4 points (he was power forward), and 1 assist. The team has 2 excellent shooters in Wilson and Jordan, who both scored 12 points.

The team needs to work on baseline defense, as the Celtics ran a nice guard-cross under the basket, resulting in easy scores. Passing was OK, and our weakest players need to work on the basics; dribbling, passing, rebounding. The Coach told me he is moving Karl to point guard, as he is ambidextrous and can really push the ball up the floor, left or right, on the fly! We shall see! Go Raptors!

Michaela's B-Day Celebration Plans!

This is my first moment to connect with ya'll. Happy Friday! It pays to blog while commuting home - or rather, escaping home from work. What a week. Thanks to the Hegwein and Scheider for your lovely bday gifts to Michaela. She was thrilled! This is a girl who knows how to celebrate. I think she is part Martha Stewart, part Dolce & Gabbana and part just plain diva muse. She has her "passion for fashion" sleepover planned to 't'. There is a red carpet, hair and makeup and design your own denium Purse project. The ladies will feast on frito casserole, crudite and pigs in blankets. Trifle cake for dessert. And then 12 of em sleep over.

Not to be confused with the nitrate and sugar filled sleep OUT at Camp Hoover last weekend that Sabrina and I attended! Samantha will be talent director tomorrow night. As for tonight, the tribe is moving thru Westfield. She is starring in her class (conceived, written, produced & performed) Opera next Monday night. I believe she told me she is a donkey that consults. (Hey - I worked with someone that fits that description!!)

Almost home, so bonsoir.

Love,

Deb

How to use a blog

I put this blog together in hopes of keeping everyone up to date with each other. You should post important events such as; swim meet outcomes(!), school accolades, workplace issues, pictures, sporting events, complaints, recipes, vacations, etc. I think you get the picture!

To further stimulate conversation, use the "comment" box and post a brief comment about the blog entry. Within the comment pop-up box is a little "?" that allows you to post a smilie or 2!! Give iit a try!

I will be in Atlanta next Monday-Wed (Downtown Marriott Marquis), so I hope to see some action here! Remember to email me your post, and use the word "post" without the "" in the subject header. Happy blogging!

Natalie the Writer!

Natalie came home today with a short story she wrote in class (on the computer).

Computer Madness

by Natalie Hegwein

Once upon a time...

There lived a document named Lost. She got lost because her hard drive misplaced her. She put her in another persons document. Suddenly another hard drive came along.

And he said, "What is your name?" and I said, "My name is Lost." Because the hard drive misplaced me, but of corse it wasn't you. Right? No its not me. Hey whats your name. My name is just hard drive. Why? Because I never got named.

Then what should I call you? "Well I always wanted to be called techno", said hard drive. Okay i'll call you that then. "What do you want to be called," said Hard drive. Well i've always wanted to be called David. David the Document! Now that we know what to call us lets go find that hard drive that misplaced me. Okay but, not me techno. Okay.

So they went to find that hard drive. Then, they finally found him. And they lived happily ever after.

The End!

What an imagination! I didn't do any corrections or changes...as submitted.

I-Pod accessory Site!

To all you I-Pod users, go Here for cool accessories to dress up your I-Pod! They have some of the best decorative protective cases around; very fashionable for the true cognoscenti! Another Site has an "I-Guy" protective dock that is very cool. If a dog is not your thing, there IS a kitty!

Another reason to dump AOL

Here  is another reason to not use AOL instant messenger. A nasty rootkit is being used to distribute and HIDE malware onto an AOL users computer; they are exceedingly difficult to remove (actually, nearly impossible) and usually one needs to wipe the HD clean and start anew.

Fresh Apple Cake!

Here is a recipe for Fresh Apple Cake with Rum sauce that is delicious and easy to make!

3 cups raw apples (Granny Smith is a good choice: dice them up)
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour
2-1/2 tsps. Baking soda
1 cup chopped nuts (I use walnuts)
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsps. vanilla

Stir sugar into raw apples and let mixture sit for 20 minutes. Combine with remaining ingredients and bake into a well-greased angel food cake pan at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Let cool before removing from pan. Don't use a Bundt pan as it will be hard to remove.

Rum Sauce

1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 stick butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. rum extract ( or to taste)

Boil slowly for 5 minutes. Serve warm over cake.

Hope you like it!

Added Comment system

I added a comment system so you can leave brief comments after posts. Hope it works!

Hi Peter,

Thanks for all your tech advise. I am not sure what a blog is or does? But I will try to get into this stuff soon.

Everyone is back into school work and multi activities.

Michaela is in a swim meet this weekend swimming the 100 IM and 50 Backstroke. She is good at butter fly and free style. Perhaps she will be in the top three for the 100 IM. She is taking sewing lessons and is also in a basketball league every Saturday. In addition she just signed up for a field hockey seminar and softball this spring. Sabirna dances and fences during the week and plays basketball too. She just singed up for girls softball for Spring with Manger Cavanagh's team.

Samantha is a tipple threat. She is daily rehearsal as a singer/dancer/actor for the school play "once upon a mattress" with the performance in late March. In addition she takes four dance classes at a private dance studio at night. All this in addition doing well in school work and the fullest social calendar in the family. One thing for sure these Cavanagh girls like to perform.

We had our winter thaw and back to winter by the weekend. Take care, John & his girls....

Weekend Plans!

We are on the eve of a LONG weekend - yippee - and thank you MLK.

The Cavanagh's have big plans for the weekend. Samantha has "Night Place" tonight. (It's where all the middle school kids from both Edison & Roosevelt go to dance and do whatever middle school kids do at these things!)

Tomorrow the girls all have basketball games and Michaela also has a swim meet. She's swimming the 100m IM and backstroke. Michaela has to complete her report on an explorer that includes a film she has to script, shoot & perform in.

Samantha has offered to baby-sit on Saturday night to raise money for a shopping outing she & Caitlin are planning. And, on Sunday Sabrina & I depart for the annual "Mommy & Me" Girl Scout camp out at Camp Hoover. It's timed to coincide with the cold front arriving Sunday afternoon. Lovely.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Grades!!

WOW! The kids came home today with report cards in hand, and all we can say is "well done." Natalie got straight A's, and Karl received all A's and 2 B's; both made the honor role at school.But...there is a storm brewing on the horizon called FCAT, a test that determines advancement and placement in all grades here in Florida. The 5th grade test is heavily weighted with math, while the 3rd grade test focuses on reading and writing. Both Karl and Natalie have been, in addition to regular homework, taking FCAT practice exams and studying areas of weakness. The tests are given in March, and you can bet Spring Break will be most welcome after that!

Test of new blog

Just a test of the new blog! I am unable to allow multi-user access as the Yahoo server doesn't allow for layered passwords (or you would be able to read my email, etc). And I am not about to spend $$ to maintain this site on a server that does. I have configured the blog so that you need only to send me whatever you wish to post via email, and I will upload it within your specific category (Cavanagh, Hegwein, Scheider). I have created authorship for everyone except the kids (for now).

This particular blog tool (thingamablog) is very cool, creating archives, categories, and allows for pictures to be included with text. Within the next few weeks, I will have to rearrange the pages and change the password to finalize security, otherwise web-spiders will harvest our email addresses and we'll be bombarded with spam (actually, I have had my email address "out there" for some time now, and get maybe 3-5 spam/day).

So, tell me what you think.