Gabby and Dorothy - The Early Years

I thought it would be neat to share some of Gabby's oldder pictures. She is starting her 4th year of skating. Time really flys.

Got Art?

Hi Everyone,

The weather is absolutely gorgeous out here today. The weather is in the 60's...sunny and cool. Gabby is taking an art class at school and so we thought (okay, just me) it would be a great idea to head to the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. They were having an exhibit on the Cartier collection.

Sally wasn't exactly sure about the whole thing but she came along anyway. We were supposed to go on Saturday but EVERYBODY got busy. Sally and I were doing our taxes (yuck). We PERSONALLY and PAINSTAKINGLY added up every receipt we had last year to get the maximum on sales tax credit. Yeah, all 12 months. Yeeeha. Gabby, for her part, was busy doing a travel brochure on Brazil. It's actually due on Thursday but with all the skating she is doing, her only free time is on weekends. So, here we were...3 laptops going - all wireless - working on the internet. It was a great thing. :)

Well, we worked hard on Saturday so that today (Sunday) we could relax and enjoy the art. We started our morning by heading over the Grandma and Grandpa's to visit. We picked up some breakfast and came over. I was surprised to see, um, a car in the drive way - backed in and ready to head out. I was wondering to myself...what in the world? I looked through the windshield and there was a black man with sun glasses. Uh-oh. Not anyone I knew. So, I casually...with breakfast tacos in hand...walked over and tapped on the glass. Hey! Who-you? He rolled down his window and said his name was Luther or something and his wife was in the house changing mom's bandages. OH!...well, okay, that's okay. I thought I might have to hit him with my egg/bacon tortilla. :) So....mom is doing well...she looks great...has good color. Is eating better. We had a great time visiting and eating empenandas. Gabby got to raid the quarter jar and made off with a little baggie of loot.

Okay, back to the art museum. We had a blast. Gabby and I got to do some "crafts" in the Family story book tour. We made a "city" out of cardboard, some springs, craft paper, and lots of glue. I made some spring people and named them the "SPROING people". The "city" is currently upstairs sitting on her night stand. It was a great day. Maybe too much for her. It's 11:15pm...and Gabby just walked down and let Sally know she wasn't feeling good. Too much excitement for the young lass.

I didn't make it to club ice on Friday - I stayed in and watch 3 hours of SCI-FI. YES! I took the night off, but Sally and Gabby went. Afterwards, they went to dinner with the Blooms and Guptons. Ting and Jennifer made it so it was a good crowd. Me? I watched my sci-fi...had Mickey D's...and a big coke...life was good. Dorothy came by on Saturday to let us know she was going to Vegas for a ice hockey convention. She is thinking Gabby should be landing her doubles by the time we get ready for Austin in June. Woo-hoo!

That's about it...a good week.

Keep in touch!

Joe.

Christmas in Angel Fire

Some of you have been asking about our Christmas vacation. This year we were able to stay at our dear friend's Elsa and Bobby Cortez's cabin in Angel Fire, New Mexico. We had a blast and absolutely had a great time.

Gabby and Friends

Hi Everyone,

I will be posting pictures once in awhile to keep you up to date on what's going on. I am using a tool called "Hello" which makes it very easy.

This picture is of Gabby and Friends - Kitty and mongrel...aka...Misty.





Gabby and Friends

Doubles - Doubles and Troubles

Gabby has been working on her doubles lately. She has received some inspiration from watching the Nationals last week and her skating with Sara Bloom. Sara is landing her double-salchows so Gabby is excited is for her and is steadly working on getting hers down. She has the rotation but is not sticking the landing just right. It's just off enought to fall. She'll get it down.

This week, Katelyn was not able to make it to club ice. She has been a little under the weather. Sally was out of town scrapping with Kristen and friends so it was up to me to get Gabby to the rink on time. Naturally, and it must be a guy thing, we were late. :) We were not AS late as before, but still...late. Afterwards, we all went to dinner at Skeeter's and a great time. Katelyns's dad, Mike, came by and said hello.

Next week? Gabby gets her music for her program. I'm looking forward to that. You know me...I'm all about the music. And the costumes. The first competition is coming up in March. I'll be super busy as I'm in charge of transportation for the judges and the officials. Uh-oh.

Have a great week!

Joe.

A new competitive season starts

Gee whiz, I guess I still have a bit of the holidays in me. I've been lazy about updating the blog, but I'm getting back in the swing of things.

First of all, a big tip of the Texas hat to Katy Taylor who made it all the way to Nationals and skated against Michelle Kwan and Sasha Cohen. Katy did excellent and we are so proud of her. She placed 6th after short program but fell during the long program. RATS! Oh, well, it was Katy's first time at Senior Nationals and skating right smack between Sasha and Michelle - RIGHT THERE - it's gotta be nerve racking. I would have been in the back tossing my cookies from all the stres. Ha,ha. The camera flashed up to Tammy and Bob (Katy's parents) and I thought...gee that could be Sally and I someday...and with my luck, I'd have my finger in my nose or something. :) It's a long way to Nationals and Gabby is still just getting started even - but as Dorothy says - slow and steady. Katy, by the way, gets up at 3:15 every morning, skates, goes to school, skates again in the afternoon, and then is in bed at 8pm. Whew. Gabby, on the other hand, gets up when we drag her out of bed, complains the whole time, eats what she wants, goes to school, goes skating, fusses some more, and then maybe gets to bed at 9pm. Oh well, she needs time to be herself.

Dick Button said somethings that I didn't like during his commentating that could have been put differently. I guess when it gets up to THAT level, everything counts. From the shoulders being round, to the back being straight, to the hand and finger positions.

Okay, so back to Gabby. She is landing her axel - more consistantely now. She is also landing her double-sow...and is working on her double-toe. Woo-hoo. Grandpa and I had a rare opportunity to watch her skate last week. We went to visit mom at the hospital and on the way back we took Gabby to her skating lesson with Dorothy. It worked out great. Dad was able to sit in the viewing room and look down at the rink from the warm and cosy room. We watched Gabby go through her jumps and spins and even got to see her on the harness. She is THIS close to landing her doubles.

Anyway, we will be looking at competitions this year in Houston, Sugar Land, Austin, and Oklahoma. I still want in San Antonio so we can go down the river walk. Ha,ha. The one in Austin is great though. It is a nice facility and we always stop at Fiesta Texas on the way back. In fact, we pretty much weave a vacation around the competitions - a way to unwind after all the stress of competition. And, if things don't go well, a time to reflect.

I don't have any new information on program music or costumes yet but I'll share them once Dorothy lets us know.

Quick update on Mama Nieto - she's doing better at the hospital. She complains about the food but it (so far) eating it okay. She is undergoing PT several times a day to get her leg worked out so she can walk on her own. Thanks everyone for their thoughts and prayers.

Joe.

Update for the New Year

First of all - Happy New Year! Woo-hoo 2005 is here!

We spent 2005 in Angel Fire, New Mexico at Elsa/Bobby's cabin up in the mountains. It was a fantastic place to spend some vacation time and I really appreciate them opening their vacation home to us. It was warm and toasty - while outside it was cold and windy - and beautiful.

Gabby spent a lot of our time playing on the sleds and making snowmen. We even had time to throw snowballs around and have a blast with that. Skiing at the park was great as well. Gabby and I did the long run - Heading Home - while mom stayed on the bunny hill. Sally needed to get comfortable with the skiis before taking on the big challenge - which she did on the last day. It took a long time but she made it to the summit and made it all the way down.

We all spent time on the tubing hill which was an absolute blast. It was a good workout and a lot of fun.

If you find yourself at Angel Fire, I highly recommend the pizza joint on the main drive to the mountain - Mountain View Road I think is the road. WONDERFUL garlic rolls - fresh out of the oven. Yummy!

Well, now that we have started the new year, Gabby will start working on her program, music, and new dress. Stayed tuned for details as we get ready for the 2005 competitive season.

PS: Mom Nieto - is in the hospital right now. As you may remember (or have read) Grandma Susie Nieto was in the hospital for heart problems in July of last year. It seems that the blood thinners are causing her problems and are too strong. She is in the hospital recovering from a blood clot on her leg that she had to have surgically removed. She is looking better everyday but we'll have to see. Thanks for your prayers.

joe.