Mike Ryan "The Original"

Hey everyone,

I haven't posted on here in awhile, haven't really had much to share. My dad sent me an email tonight that I thought I would share with everyone. As most of you know my dad is quite the musician and the link that I am providing below has a few mp3s from his college band "The Other Five". In both mp3s in the link below my dad is the lead singer. The picture on the left is of the band, my dad is the second from the left, pretty wild.

Apparently this guy researches and blogs old 60's garage and teen bands, here is the link.

Also if you want to check out his current band "The Souled Out Band" go to this address.

Anyway, just thought I would share. Enjoy!

Bruised Knees and Lay-Offs

Sorry it has taken so long to write.... It's been quite a week, well...of nothing. I was laid off (along with 5 others) from my job this week. At first, I was in a state of shock and the first two days at home alone, I felt so useless.

I am doing a bit better now - getting things done around the house that we normally wouldn't get done at night when we got home from work because we are tired. I cleaned out the garage today and finally finished a photo collage of the wedding I have been putting off. Lots of time to puppy train Miller as well. Just consider me a stay at home (puppy) mom.

Mike is liking it too because the house is always clean and dinner is always ready...I bet he could get used to that.

Anyways, not only did that happen, so did my bruised kneecaps from ice skating with the girls on Sunday during the First Hobby Ho's event. Check out the pics below.....


The Group - Ashlie, Julie, Jeni, Kate, Becky, Angela, and Me (Angie was taking the pic)













Becky Kirby at her finest!!!


















Before I busted my....


















Amanda and Becky














My knees 4 days later, lol

My baby boy Miller, I am one of those people.....

Hello everyone:

Wanted to show you who makes the perfect Christmas Elf, Miller Ryan!!!

Cold weather and Xmas lights really chap my....

Ah, so here were are - December. It's cold as heck out there and the night before last I drug Mike outside to help me hang lighted garland on the fence and the porch. He was not happy. Anyways, we get it all up only to realize there is a strand of lights that are out. Of course there is... So I spent the next 30 minutes in the 30 degree weather trying to find the evil culprit, the dead lightbulb...

Long story short, (without all the curse words and snot running down my face) I gave up and just put another string of lights on over the ones that didn't work. I am such a redneck.

After all the mess ups, we sat back and drank some yummy hot cocoa to reward ourselves for the hard work.......Enjoy!

The outside where you can see where I added the extra lights -tee hee. I have my faults.

The mantle with all our stockings.

My .25 cent ornaments I bought at a sidewalk sale last summer.

My gold and silver tree!

My $2.00 sled with wreath on front porch-bargain!

Our first X-mas ornament. I received it as a bridal shower gift from my great aunt and uncle.

Eat me, I'm a Turkey.....

So this weekend Mike and I went down to Southern Indiana to have Thanksgiving with my family. We did it a little early since we are going to Muncie this Thursday and staying till Sunday for Mike's 10-year class reunion.

My mother is the most amazing cook (which I am the exact opposite), but she reassures me she wasn't that great of cook when she was my age either. We had turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, apple pie, pecan pie and rolls. so delicious!

I also have a wonderful idea for anyone trying to think of something to bring to pitch-ins, etc. O'Charleys sells their rolls by the dozen, frozen. You just put them in a warm area to rise for a few hours then pop them in the oven for 10 minutes. And they are only $4 bucks and dozen. so easy....

Anyways, it was so nice to have a relaxing time in quiet Salem without the kids (Max and Miller, the dogs, went to Grandma and Grandpa Ryan's). Sometimes it's so relaxing there I want to continue to be totally lazy when I get back. Thank goodness for hot tea keeping me awake this a.m.

Stay warm....

Carry on my wayward son...

Well, since life has slowed down for us, we have decided to keep this blog up and running. This will be the place where you can catch all our latest news, pictures and daily thoughts ( I know you can't wait! ). I don't know how often we will get on here to blog, but we are going to put forth the effort!
Stay tuned......

The Ryan's

Back in the U.S.A.

Well, we are in Philly, PA, waiting on our plane back to Indy! We had the most amazing time... from sightseeing to eating and relaxing. It was all so fun and was definitely the trip of a lifetime.

Thanks to Mike Sr. and Cathi for the honeymoon, we loved it - and to everyone who gave us $$$$ for a wedding gift so we could spend it like crazy over there. The exchange rate sucked but we tried not to think about it. We actually came back with cash and never once used our bank account so REALLY...thank you for spoiling us rotten.

I can't believe it's all over though...I won't have anything to plan anymore. I am going to be soooo bored. I want to be a bride again :(

We are both so relaxed and ready to get back home to see our friends, family and Max the dog. We miss him so much!!! We also really miss football and American television.


Anyways, thank for joining us on our journey....you were always in our thoughts and in every "cheers" we made. We are very lucky people and so lucky to have all of you in our lives....

See you very soon!




An Irish Blessing



Always remember to forget the things that made you sad. But never forget to remember the things that made you glad.


Always remember to forget the friends that proved untrue. But never forget to remember those that have stuck by you.
Always remember to forget the troubles that passed away. But never forget to remember the blessings that come each day.





THE END :)

Check out some wedding photos!

Jim has some teasers up on his blog! Check them out!

Meyer Photography

Ireland - Day 7

Well today was our last big sight seeing day of our honeymoon. We boarded a train that took us on a 3 hour ride to Cork, Ireland at 7 am. We went to the Blarney Castle where we both got to kiss the Blarney Stone for good luck. We actually bought pictures they take that proves we did it as our pics didn't turn out the best. You have to lay down on your back then lean backwards to kiss it. We toured the amazing grounds and walked through some very pretty gardens.

After this, we got on a bus and went to Cobh (pronunced Cove) which use to be Queenstown. This is where the Lusitania sank and also the last port of call for the Titanic before it sank. We got to go inside an amazing cathedral, where Mike was told he needed to go back to church by the little old ladies. LOL

Anyways, it was a very long day and we got to see a lot of Ireland history. Our train arrived back in Dublin at 8:30 PM, we went and had some dinner and hit the sack after that.



Mike and I in front of the Blarney Castle


The Blarney Castle


Mike kissing the Blarney Stone


The exterior of the Cathedral in Cobh


The interior of the Catherdal in Cobh

Ireland Day 6

Hey Everyone!

Day six was our day of touring the two most famous Alcohol related manufacturers in Dublin, Guinness and Jameson. We first toured the Guinness factory and it was a really good time. The Storehouse tour is a self guided tour on the grounds of the Guinness brewery. At the end of the tour you get to enjoy a complementary pint of Guinness at the top of seven story Guinness exhibition. The view from the Gravity Bar is amazing. Its a 360 degree view overlooking all of Dublin.

Next it was on to the John Jameson distillery. At the beginning of the tour they ask for volunteers to participate in a Jameson tasting experiment and my awesome new wife stepped up to the plate and participated in the Whiskey tasting. Despite the fact that she hates Whiskey she did a great job. It was very interesting to learn about the difference between Irish Whiskey and Scotch and to see how the Whiskey is created. We had a really great time and Amanda learned that if she was going to drink Whiskey it would be Jameson.

Here are a few pics from our two tours.















The founder of Guinness brewery Arthur Guinness.
















Me enjoying a pint of Guinness at the Gravity Bar overlooking all of Dublin.




















The front window of the Jameson distillery
















Amanda participating in the Jameson tasting.

Ireland- Day 5 continued

Hey all! It's Amanda! Wanted to add a couple more pictures and tell you guys what a great time we are having. Ireland is much more our speed- (food, nightlife, language -lol). We love it here and have decided we aren't coming back to the US. Hope you miss us!

Anyways, we had dinner last night at Gallaghers Boxty house and it was delicious - I took a big leap and ordered a Chicken Boxty having no idea what it really was but I am glad I took the chance. It's a potato pancake filled with chicken, bacon and a creamy sauce.... ummm if anyone knows me, they know I was probably in heaven!!! Delicious! Then for dessert we had bread and butter pudding - it was a raisin bread covered with butter, chocolate and whipped cream! Yum - o. Speaking of yum-o, we are hitting a place Rachel Ray recommended for dinner tonight! I will keep you posted on more tasty eats!


Mike in front of our cute little dream home in St. Stevens Green Park. It was so cute. One of the only times the sun shined today! Perfect timing!


St Anne's Cathedral - so pretty.


Some killer ivy on these walls.

Day 5 Ireland

Hello again,
Today was our first day in Ireland. We went on a sightseeing tour of Dublin today. The weather here has been a bit dreery and raining on and off. When we got here last night we decided to upgrade our room to a deluxe suite, very good idea. There is a free standing bath tub in the middle of the room. This made Amanda very happy since we know how much she loves to take bathes. Here are some pics of the room and from our tour of Dublin.

The bathtub....very cool

The bed

The shower

Amanda and I walking through St. Stephen's green. Its park in the middle of Dublin.

Some of the land scaping in St. Stephen's green. The grass here is super green. Its not like anything in the US.

Germany Day 3

Hello All!
Sorry for the delay in posting. We were traveling all day yesterday and Sunday......well lets just say I tried to drink all the beer Oktoberfest had to offer and lost. Needless to say we have been having a great time. We are now in Ireland and it is great. Stay tuned for a seperate post on our first day in Ireland. Anyway, here are some pics from the rest of our time in Germany.


A huge Cathedral in Munich, Germany


Inside the Hofbrau House at Oktoberfest. It has capacity for 10,000 people, and thats just one beer tent!


Amanda and I enjoying a beer at the Hofbrau House.


Some of the people that we met at Oktoberfest.


A little later in the day. I'm starting to look a little worse for wear.

Germany - Day 2

Well Mike spent the last hour talking to some dude in our hotel bar who didn't speak a lick of English, I got tired of watching so I came back to the room. I can't really handle the in-your-face type of talking they do over here-especially if I'm stone sober. So the question is "why I am stone sober?" Basically because I am so worried I will be pulled into an alleyway or robbed because I have seen too many Americanized movies (i.e. hostel) that I am so freaked out and really trying to stay aware of my surroundings. It is fun to watch this culture, I feel I am just a little more paranoid because I have absolutely no idea what people are saying.
Anyways, we got up late today (ahhhh, I love honeymoon's) and then went on a Munich sight seeing tour. Their architecture is so beautiful and they are really light years ahead of us in transportation and energy efficiency. America, we have a long way to go.





After the tour, we headed to Oktoberfest grounds again for some yummy food-I love hot dogs and sausage and this is the place for it. We also had fried potato cakes that were so greasy they put this block of absorbant material under them so your hands don't get dirty.
Well we are about to watch a movie in our room and head to bed. Tomorrow is the big day of 9 am drinking at the Hofbrau house in the Oktoberfest gardens. Stay tuned for more pics and me freaking out because people have no personal bubble over here. Oh-and surprise, the men think my chest "is very good!"


This is for you Miss Brittnay! Muah

Welcome to Germany!

The entrance to Oktoberfest!



Amanda drinking her first German beer! Note the special of the day behind her "Chicken and Nuggets with French Fries" very exotic ;)



Me drinking my first Beer of our trip!

Germany Day 1

Hey Everybody,

Well day 1 is done and we are having a great time so far. Germany is definitely a culture shock for both of us, but we are getting used to it. Our first day consisted of walking down to Oktoberfest to check it out and get a lay of the land. We tried a bit of the local fare, Amanda had the best hot dog she has ever had in her life. After that we went to a local bar next to our hotel and had our first German beers! I had some dinner (Schweinbraten with a Potato Dumpling and Sauerkraut), my mom would be extremely jealous of the sauerkraut, it was wonderful.

We tried uploading a video and some pics for everyone but so far the size of the files is proving to be a bit of a challenge. If I can get it figured out at some point I will get it uploaded.

Reminds us of Carmel.....

Well, it's the night before our big trip and we've spent it watching as much American TV as possible. I have a feeling it's all going to be so different over there.

I kept thinking about what my sister said this weekend about the Carmel roundabouts and it reminded me of this National Lampoon's European Vacation clip below. I watched it at least 3 times and laughed harder and harder each time.

Anyways, I am getting a little nervous about this whole thing
(not the marriage, but the honeymoon) as I have never traveled further than the Bahamas, but I am sure Mike will keep me calm.

So...enjoy the clip and we will check in tomorrow!