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| Mark & Kennedy, December 2011 |
“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.” – Charles Dickens
So, it’s 2011 and another year has flown by in the Fowle household. The holiday season here is no different, and we are running at a breakneck speed toward Christmas with no brakes! We hope this Christmas newsletter finds you all happy and healthy and preparing to host (or travel to) family for the 25th! Our house will be full, as every one of our children (including two “significant others”) will be with us this year!
To recap 2011, Mark is still enjoying his work at IBM as a product field support engineer, and it looks like they will roll him from contractor status to permanent gig in 2012. He still helps people with computer issues on a freelance basis, and has just started a partnership with a local computer repair business to handle their OpenSource clients. Mark is still a Mason, although his commute often precludes being able to make lodge meetings.
I am still loving my job at the Fuquay-Varina Chamber of Commerce. About 90% of what I do is event management, and we run 8 major events every year ~ a 5K race, a street festival, a business expo, the Christmas parade, an annual banquet, two golf tournaments, and several other member-only events. I love the fact that I meet so many people and help them promote their businesses. Business owners are working very hard to stay afloat in this economy, and their energy and commitment to success is very contagious!
So, it’s 2011 and another year has flown by in the Fowle household. The holiday season here is no different, and we are running at a breakneck speed toward Christmas with no brakes! We hope this Christmas newsletter finds you all happy and healthy and preparing to host (or travel to) family for the 25th! Our house will be full, as every one of our children (including two “significant others”) will be with us this year!
To recap 2011, Mark is still enjoying his work at IBM as a product field support engineer, and it looks like they will roll him from contractor status to permanent gig in 2012. He still helps people with computer issues on a freelance basis, and has just started a partnership with a local computer repair business to handle their OpenSource clients. Mark is still a Mason, although his commute often precludes being able to make lodge meetings.
I am still loving my job at the Fuquay-Varina Chamber of Commerce. About 90% of what I do is event management, and we run 8 major events every year ~ a 5K race, a street festival, a business expo, the Christmas parade, an annual banquet, two golf tournaments, and several other member-only events. I love the fact that I meet so many people and help them promote their businesses. Business owners are working very hard to stay afloat in this economy, and their energy and commitment to success is very contagious!
I still edit and write on a part-time basis as well. The full-length play I co-wrote is being produced in February! I’ve also submitted several short stories to contests and I am ghost-writing a novel about Elvis coming back from Heaven (longgg story). Starting in January, I’ll be co-writing a full length stage play with a couple of women from the Cary Playwright’s Lab. My goal is to work on a novel of my own in 2012, but time will tell. I am still very active in Rotary ~ I was President of my club until June, but I am still enjoing my second year of service as an Assistant District Governor in my district. Both Mark and I discovered Dr. Mark Hyman this year, and after modifying the way we eat, we have both lost a significant amount of weight. I've lost 35 pounds and he has lost almost that much. We continue to work at it and hope to lose even more in 2012!
In 2012, we took our first “real” vacation since 2003 ~ we rented a cabin on Bow Lake in New Hampshire over July 4th week, and spent the week hanging out with family and friends in the area. Serena and Cassie both flew in to spend the week with us, and Sam drove up from Massachussetts with his girlfriend Colleen for a couple of days, so our family and friends got to see the kids for the first time in YEARS! We went to Canobie Lake Park (a trip in the Way-Back Machine for Mark and I), survived a hike of Mt. Major (Serena’s idea), and spent a day in the historic section of Boston (Faneuil Hall, the North End, etc.). It was a great week, and my family even survived the living accommodations (lake camp was a tad rustic for them).
Prior to that trip, Kennedy and I flew to Galveston to see Serena in May. It was Kennedy’s first trip on an airplane, and she is ready to do it again! We saw all of Serena’s hangouts plus checked out the aquarium at Moody Gardens, the Kemah boardwalk, and historic Galveston neighborhoods. We visited the gymnastics center where Serena coaches, as well as the lab where she works. It was a fun 5-day girls weekend!
In 2012, we took our first “real” vacation since 2003 ~ we rented a cabin on Bow Lake in New Hampshire over July 4th week, and spent the week hanging out with family and friends in the area. Serena and Cassie both flew in to spend the week with us, and Sam drove up from Massachussetts with his girlfriend Colleen for a couple of days, so our family and friends got to see the kids for the first time in YEARS! We went to Canobie Lake Park (a trip in the Way-Back Machine for Mark and I), survived a hike of Mt. Major (Serena’s idea), and spent a day in the historic section of Boston (Faneuil Hall, the North End, etc.). It was a great week, and my family even survived the living accommodations (lake camp was a tad rustic for them).
Prior to that trip, Kennedy and I flew to Galveston to see Serena in May. It was Kennedy’s first trip on an airplane, and she is ready to do it again! We saw all of Serena’s hangouts plus checked out the aquarium at Moody Gardens, the Kemah boardwalk, and historic Galveston neighborhoods. We visited the gymnastics center where Serena coaches, as well as the lab where she works. It was a fun 5-day girls weekend!
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| Charlie & Serena 2011 |
Serena is in her third year of graduate school out in Galveston, TX. She is officially a PhD candidate, having passed her qualifying exam on the first try and getting her research proposal approved by her supervising committee in October. She has submitted her grant proposal for funding and she will know by March if it gets approved. In addition to her research, Serena still coaches gymnastics part-time in Kemah. She, her boyfriend Charlie, and Tucker the Dog moved into their own house on the island in October. Serena came home for Thanksgiving and both she and Charlie will be joining us for Christmas!
Sammy is still in Massachussetts, struggling with the poor job market there. His girlfriend, Colleen, is a registered Medical Assistant, and they are both in the process of finding jobs in North Carolina so they can move here. Colleen is working on a second certification in medical claims processing, and Sam is hoping to put his forklift training to use. Sam did enroll in a criminal justice training program back in September until we all realized that the program was a scam, so he is waiting to start school until they relocate to the Carolinas. They both will be flying down for Christmas this year!
Sammy is still in Massachussetts, struggling with the poor job market there. His girlfriend, Colleen, is a registered Medical Assistant, and they are both in the process of finding jobs in North Carolina so they can move here. Colleen is working on a second certification in medical claims processing, and Sam is hoping to put his forklift training to use. Sam did enroll in a criminal justice training program back in September until we all realized that the program was a scam, so he is waiting to start school until they relocate to the Carolinas. They both will be flying down for Christmas this year!
Danny
spent 8 weeks with us this past summer after saving up the train fare
all year so he could get here. He spent time with his sister after
school and generally just “chilled” before heading back to Florida to
work full-time with his stepdad. He will be flying up to spend Christmas
with us as well!
Cassie is still working at Banana Republic in Durham, and has been sharing an apartment with a good friend all year. She will be moving into her own place at the end of December and is contemplating a move OUT of retail work and into something else in 2012.
Kennedy started 8th grade in July (can you believe it?!) and almost overwhelmed herself with activities this Fall. She tried out for (and made) Show Choir, Dance Company, and the girls soccer team at her middle school. She was inducted into the school’s honor society (which has a service component). Then she tried out for (and made) the dance company at Center Stage Dance where she takes classes. All that, PLUS the increased work load of 8th grade, was a deadly combination. She stuck it all out, but learned valuable lessons about spreading herself too thin and realized that it’s better to pick several things and do them well rather than try to do EVERYTHING. We select her high school courses in February ~ hard to believe she’s almost there!
Cassie is still working at Banana Republic in Durham, and has been sharing an apartment with a good friend all year. She will be moving into her own place at the end of December and is contemplating a move OUT of retail work and into something else in 2012.
Kennedy started 8th grade in July (can you believe it?!) and almost overwhelmed herself with activities this Fall. She tried out for (and made) Show Choir, Dance Company, and the girls soccer team at her middle school. She was inducted into the school’s honor society (which has a service component). Then she tried out for (and made) the dance company at Center Stage Dance where she takes classes. All that, PLUS the increased work load of 8th grade, was a deadly combination. She stuck it all out, but learned valuable lessons about spreading herself too thin and realized that it’s better to pick several things and do them well rather than try to do EVERYTHING. We select her high school courses in February ~ hard to believe she’s almost there!
We are still huge Carolina Hurricanes (hockey) fans, even though they are having an awful season so far. We bought our first mini season ticket package this year, and really enjoy going to the games, win or lose! Cassie and Kennedy often accompany us, and the whole family will be going to a game together on Dec. 26th!
Well, our house will be filled to overflowing this year! My parents will be joining us, too, although we have arranged for a luxury room at the new hotel in town for them, since there's no more room at the Fowle Inn! :) Have a wonderful Christmas and a productive and healthy New Year! ~ The Fowle Family (Mark, Lynanne, Serena, Cassie, Sammy, Danny, and Kennedy)
"The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree is the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other." ~ Burton Hillis
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