Thanksgiving getaway...

PICTURES OF THANKSGIVING ARE POSTED...


Well this Thanksgiving we decided to do the same thing as we did last year. Each of the kids came to me and asked "are we going back to Deep Creek for Thanksgiving"? I wasn't sure about it this year, but after they asked I immediately made the call for a reservation.

We are staying at a place that is right on the lake calle Will O' the Wisp. The room is a 3-level condo with a loft. Each level has big windows overlooking the lake. It's great as we have space to get apart from one another at the same time it's small enough that we're still close.

When we arrived on Wednesday we unpacked and then went to dinner at the resort's restaurant Four Seasons and had the Pasta Mania all you can eat made to order pasta. Just like last year!

Thanksgiving morning the kids all slept in. I got up early and went for coffee at the local coffee shop Trader's Coffer House It was quiet and not many people there that morning. I read the paper and went back to wait for the kids.

Thanksgiving afternoon we went to Swallow Falls State Park. The weather was cold but very sunny and nice. They had about a foot of snow on Tuesday and it's still here. It's a lot like upstate NY where I grew up. Snow from November to April! We walked through the park to all of the sights that we have seen in the past during our summer visits. It was totally different in the winter with snow everywhere. Just breathtaking.

We had dinner in the Four Seasons and it was excellent. We had a little bit of everything and then some more!!! We all walked away stuffed and barely able to walk! The boys went to the pool early in the evening and then we all crammed on the couch and watched a movie together on my laptop. No DVD in the room!

Friday we spent the day driving around the area. Spent about 4 hours looking at places that we have not been before. We were in WV for 1/2 the time as well. We did a little shopping in the old section of Oakland. We went to the antique store that Chris was in back in Aug 2007. She bought a plant stand that she really loved. We bought a plant hanger that goes on the wall that matched it this time! She would be proud of us I'm sure...

Later that night we went and got a pizza for dinner and brought it back to eat. We lounged around for awhile. The boys want to see the new 007 movie so we took them there and then Alex and I did a little shopping in the Christmas Store. We were exhausted by day's end for sure.

We finally left Saturday morning and just made a bee line for home. We were home around 1pm. Alex was not feeling well and actually had a 104 temperature when we got home. She slept most of the rest of the day. The boys and I put up our 2 Christmas trees later in the day. There is one in the foyer and family room. There is now a new one in the basement too.

Sunday, Alex left for school around 1 and the boys and I struggled through getting more Christmas decorations up. NOT an easy task but we are trying very hard. Last year was very sparse and we are all working on doing better this year.

Been a busy week

Well it's certainly been a busy week. I spent a great deal of time working on an RFP (request for proposal) for work this week. It is finally done. It's a lot of work and a big reward if won. Stinks if you don't. Anyhow it's over.

Tyler is spending the weekend in Ocean City, MD at a retreat for church. He's been pretty active in church and is preparing to lead a confirmation retreat in January. It's a lot of work and he's been really involved.

Michael is at a neighbors house tonight for a birthday party. I walked him over and and on the way over he said "I bet you like it when Ty and I are both gone, you get some peace and quiet." Not really, in fact as I explained to him, I hate it when no ones home. It's the worst thing that happens to me. I deal with it, but still stinks. I work from home all day alone and that is no problem. That's what I do. Being alone in the evenings or weekends is NOT what I do and that's what I need to work on.

The picture you see is a picture that was taken of Chrissy and I in August 1984 right after I met her. She's had this picture on her desk since then. It's been in the living room and I just wet and got a new mat and frame for it. It's funny what time will do to you!

Next week is Thanksgiving. Another holiday that we are all trying to cope with. Each of the kids came to me and asked if we could go back to deep creek lake again. So I made a reservation and we'll be heading out next Wed through Saturday. Hopefully, it will help us to move ahead.

Little problem with the printer today

Grey skies

Kind of a gloomy, rainy weekend. This picture came yesterday evening when the sun started to fight it's way through the clouds. It was still pretty ominous in the distance.

Neuro Update

Okay so I'm back from the neurologist. I initially went there for headaches caused by neuralgia. I went last week for an MRI and we looked at the films today. The films showed a narrowing of the area around one of my disks. Nothing too major, but something to watch.

He performed a nerve test today. Interesting little test. Wasn't painful but a little uncomfortable for a couple of the tests. Basically they move a bunch or electrodes around and check your muscles and nerves to see if they carry the electrical current they way they are supposed to. Sort of like putting your tongue on a 9-volt battery! The nerve test didn't show anything abnormal.

The last time I was there I was taking antibiotics for a bad sinus infection and they were not working. I went back to the primary Dr. and they gave me a much stronger regiment. That seems to have helped some as my sinuses are clearing up. About 75% better than before. Along with that the headaches have dropped considerably in severity.

So the diagnosis..... Sinus problems caused pressure on the head and spine. Since I have Occipital Neuralgia it was aggravated by the pressure and caused the nerve to react hence causing headaches. This in turn made my entire left side of my body unresponsive. 3 weeks ago the Dr. did a test where I put my arms out and he pushed down on them one at a time. My right arm was able to hold him off completely. My left could barely offer any resistance. Weird. This time my left and right were pretty close.

He did say to keep an eye on things but that hopefully it should continue getting better. Also, he said that I did not have to have the nerve block unless I wanted to. I opted not to have a needle shoved into my neck at this time.

I'm feeling better, but not the greatest. Life is much better than 3 weeks ago. Thanks to everyone for keeping an eye on me!

Now back to business!

Say goodbye to Ramsey...

It is with great sadness that I tell you all that we had to put our cat Ramsey to sleep tonight. Most likely he was hit by a car and it broke his back and pelvis. He dragged himself home to the back door and could not sit or walk. X-rays at the emergency vet were pretty conclusive. There was not a lot we could do for him and I had to make the incredibly difficult decision to put him down.

We got Ramsey at the pound about 5 years ago. I remember it because I was in California on travel and Chris and the kids called me from the pound. The people there would not let them take him home unless I gave the okay. Alex named him after Patrick Ramsey of the Washington Redskins at that time.

He was a pretty good cat and got along very well with the dog. The last year he has been by my side at night sleeping in Chris's spot trying to keep me warm. We will all miss him very much as he has been a part of our family for 5 years.

Cold one!

Well this picture tells you how chilly it was last night!!!

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.....

This picture of Tyler popped up on my screen saver and I just had to show everyone!!! It was taken in 2000 so he was all of 6 or 7 years old!

Halloween

Just a quick picture from Halloween. Alex bought the Dog a Lycoming shirt and of course for safety sake she wore a glow stick !!!

MRI

Well this past WednesdayI went to get my MRI. It was done on my upper spine in hopes that the dr. can find why I'm having problems with headaches. I am very claustrophobic and this time I actually did better than I had in the past. It was an open mri but that really didn't seem to be of too much help. The main difficulty I have is not with the enclosure, but being secured and not able to move while in there. That's the tough part. I woke up at 3am before the test and could not go back to sleep. That actually helped me to relax.

Next week results and nerve test....

Tyler caught a keeper!

CLICK HERE TO HEAR WHAT TY HAS TO SAY!

Tyler went fishing at the Linganore dam today with his friend Tanner. Within 5 minutes Tyler pulled in a 14" Large Mouth Bass!!! It was pretty big I must say.

The 2 of them brought it home and then looked up on YouTube on how to clean it. Too funny. They took it in the back of the house and cleaned it and then built a fire in our fire ring and proceeded to cook it over open flame. Then they stood around and ate the whole thing!! It was a sight to see that's for sure!

More drugs!

Well went to the neurologist on Thursday. He did a bunch of tests and such. Found out that my left side (arm and neck) is no where near as strong as my right. I would put my arms straight out and he would push down with most of his weight on my left arm and I could give a lot of resistance. Doing this with my left would require very little effort on his part to push my arm down. Interesting. I've been having problems in my elbow on my left arm so they are related.

Next, 2 weeks I go back for a Nerve test. Something they shoot electricity through a nerve and see how well it travels. I also have to get a c-spine MRI. I'm going to an open MRI but I'm very claustrophobic. I freeked out at the last real MRI I had 2 years ago and even was uneasy about the open one I had. Maybe I can get one of the boys to go with me. They'll like that.

I then went back to my primary Dr. on Friday and she prescribed Levaquin to try and knock out my sinus infection. It's worse than before. I cannot breath at all through my nose. The neurologist said that it may be causing the occipital nerve to get pinched.

So there we are. I'm sick and trying to get better. I'll keep you posted.

Alex home...

Yesterday I drove up to Lycoming and picked up Alex and a couple of friends. Friday is a day off for them and they all had no classes on Thursday. It gives them a nice chance to get home for a few days. It was a long day, 3 hours up and 3 hours back but it was worth it. I'll have to take her back on Sunday afternoon so that'll be long too.

I did get a chance to meet her new coach, Erika Brown. She's pretty young and the girls seem to get along pretty well with her. I'm sure that she'll fit in pretty well.

Today I have a Dr. appointment with the neurologist. We are going to chat about what my options are to stop the headaches... Hopefully we can do away with the needle option and use that as a last resort.

Rainy Day

Saturday was an incredibly dreary day. It rained all the way until about 4pm. The boys and I were going to go and visit Alex and watch a special "pink" football game for breast cancer awareness, but the weather was just not cooperative. It's too far to go and sit in the cold and rain.

Saturday night Alex's previous coach, Kara Reber, came up to the area as she was attending a lacrosse tournament and doing some recruiting there. It was as Mount Saint Mary's which is only 25 minutes from our house. She is now the head coach at St. Mary's University in southern maryland. I had not seen her since Alex's last game last year. She's doing well and adjusting pretty well to life in Maryland.

I made dinner for Her and the boys and we actually ate in the dining room. The 1st time it has been used in over 1 year! It was really nice having a house guest for the night.

Golf

I finally had a chance to get away today. I took the afternoon off from work and played golf with some friends. I played well which makes the day even more enjoyable! Hopefully we'll get out again sometime soon before winter rolls in soon.

Tomorrow we were planning a trip up to visit Alex but the weather does not look like it is going to cooperate.

I have my own URL!!!

For future reference you can continue to get to this website using the old Blogger URL, but I just recently was able to purchase a new domain and have redirected it to this site. Please start using:

www.charliedewitt.com

Just a funny picture...

My dog is quite the studious one don't you think?

Fishing on the Bay!!!

All the pictures are located HERE. I took a bunch and it's not easy posting them all in the blog.

It was a little cold on Saturday for our fishing trip. Waves on the Chesapeake Bay were in the 6'+ range!!!! That made it a bit difficult to get around but with the boat we had it was not to difficult!

I did NOT get sea sick. Thank goodness! I am a land lubber that is for sure.

We started the day leaving the marina with 5 of us on board. My friend Danny used his dad's boat and the 5 of us went out for a day of fishing. My friend Rich came down from Rochester, Danny, Glen, and Keith were on board with me.

We first went out and and did some bottom fishing. We caught about 40 or so small 4"-7" croakers, spot, and white perch. We threw them in the live well then took off for the Bay Bridge. We dropped anchor in about 40 feet of water right by one of the bridge islands and then used the small fish to try and catch the bigger fish. We caught about 8 blue fish in the 12-15" range. Fun to catch as they really fight hard when you're bringing them in. Glen caught a toad fish. Now that is one UGLY fish.

We then tried to find some calmer water and did some more bottom fishing. After a bunch of catch and release there we finally packed it in early afternoon. It was a fun day and was a very therapeutic for me as well! The boys were with my in-laws so I had not worries, except drowning!



Saturday, Danny and Rich surprised me and came out to my house to spend the afternoon with me. We took Michael to his lacrosse game and then came back to my house to see some football in the newly remodeled basement.

A day away from home!

Looking forward to tomorrow. I'm going to my friend Danny's house tonight and we are going fishing on the bay tomorrow morning. It's the one day of the year I get to myself, or so it seems. The boys are going with Chris's parents for the evening. After this week with all the school conferences and lacrosse meetings it is going to be nice to have an evening away.

For dinner we are going to Chaps in Baltimore. It was featured on the food network. Here's the clip:

From Alex

Alex sent me this picture that she added some highlights to using picnik.com

Here are the rest of the lyrics. They pretty much wrap up how we're all feeling...

I'm alone
Yeah, I don't know if I can face the night
I'm in tears and the cryin' that I do is for you
I want your love - Let's break the walls between us
Don't make it tough - I'll put away my pride
Enough's enough I've suffered and I've seen the light

CHORUS:
Baby
You're my angel
Come and save me tonight
You're my angel
Come and make it all right

Don't know what I'm gonna do
About this feeling inside
Yes it's true - Loneliness took me for a ride
Without your love - I'm nothing but a begger
Without your love - a dog without a bone
What can I do I'm sleeping in this bed alone

CHORUS

Come and save me tonight

You're the reason I live
You're the reason I die
You're the reason I give
When I break down and cry
Don't need no reason why

Baby, Baby

CHORUS

You're my angel
Come and save me tonight
you're my angel
Come and take me allright
Come and save me tonight, Come and save me tonight, Come and save me tonight,
Come and save me tonight, Come and save me tonight

And the original music video to go with it!!!