Testing

Friday night January 22, 2010

And I am installing Linux on the other computer up in the living room. Why? cuz I can. Showed Ashley how easy it is. Not sure if she was impressed or not :)

Looks like we will be getting another vehicle soon. The new(er) Dodge Durango 2006 model. Yes it will have a HEMI!!!! The reason? I can pull the boat, and it shuts off 4 cylinders when cruising down the highway :) My favorite thing? Butt warmers for the driver and passenger seat. Small things :)

Hopefully it will all be here before Mom and Dad get here Saturday......

I fly to Jacksonville FL next week. Hopefully it will be warm! Then back here for a couple of days then out to Redondo Beach California. Kelly is flying to her hotel the same week, so for the first time, she and I will be traveling to the same state at the same time - and be an hour away from each other. How convenient! This is also why Grandma and Grandpa are flying out :)

I really need to get better at posting, but sometimes, after working on computers for a while, the last thing I want to do is type on a computer s'more......

What do you get when 2' of snow is melted by rain?

A backyard swamp! I saw the big dogs sink in a little as they were out this morning doing their thing. The snow was prettier. Weird that it took 24 hours to fall, 24 hours to disappear. They say we may get s'more snow this week, but they are weather people - what do they know?

Eddie and Lallie are in Pittsburgh for the Ravens game today......should have some interesting stories from there. Pittsburgh fans are not known for their "hospitality" unless that word can also mean "that is where you end up".... If the Ravens win out the rest of the season - we are gauranteed playoff berth. If they lose one, we are still in the lead, just makes it more difficult.

Well, Ashley is out at her mother's house. She left last night from Newark NJ. It was the only place with a straight through flight. Kinda weird. If we could have found one from Philly or BWI, we would have paid the extra $, but there isn't one. She was excited and a little apprehensive all at the same time. I really hope her mother doesn't try to do something stupid and have Tory around. Ashley (hopefully) has enough sense to do what we discussed if that happens. I have a couple of friends out there to get Ashley if need be. One of my old soldiers is in the Special Forces unit our there, he has agreed to do "whatever it takes" to help Ash if need be - so that is good :) Another friend lives in Portland, so Ash could stay there until I arrive.

Looks like New Years is at our house- so if you don't have other plans, stop on by! :)

December 2009!

Well, in two days, we received more snow than all of last year (and probly the three years prior all combined). 2' of snow fell in 24 hours. Schools closed for the two days they were supposed to be open this week.....early Christmas for all the youths. Here are some pictures!



Kelly (aka domestic goddess) making cookies :)

Aww - the three girls...






Sammi playing on the swingset. Funny, doesn't play with it much when there ISN'T snow on it...






Thought the dark picture was pretty....




Sammi Friday night - the snow hasn't stopped falling yet.....

Ashley, Dewey, and I are okay

We were rear-ended yesterday. I am sore today - Ashely seems fine. We both took a ride in an ambulance to the hospital as a precaution. I was on a back board and stretcher. Ashley got to sit. She had to get out of the ambulance to chase Dewey down. One of the firefighter peeps tried to get him out. If anyone knows Dewey, he doesn't handle strangers well. Kinda funny actually :)

Anyway, the van that caused it all, eviently side-swiped another car, then hammered the little BMW that got slammed in to us. It never hit the brakes. Not sure if the older gentleman in the van had a heart attack, stroke or what, but he and his wife were taken in an ambulance first. The poor guy with the little Z3 BMW, only had the car for three weeks. I feel bad for him. I believe everyone involved in the accident is okay physically. Although, if the poor dude in the beamer is like everyone else, he was upside down in his car. Going to be short paying it off.

That brings me to the question, and maybe even a solution. When you get in a wreck and owe more on a car that what the insurace company will pay, why are you stuck with paying the difference AND finding a new car? I don't know if my truck is totalled or not, so I don't know what is going to happen with it. The dude in the beamer and the van are both totalled (without a doubt). Since the van is truely at fault, their insurance should cover the payoff of the loans on the cars involved. Unless someone can exolain why that wouldn't be fair?

Surfing. I totally get it.

I took a surfing lesson this morning. Totally worth the money, even though I could have figured out how to surf on my own. The teachers are firemen/fireladies/paramedics and such - so I had that going for me. If I totally wiped out, I had a chance of being rescued :) Was with a group of 15 (I think) 4 from Japan - only spoke Japanese - they had a different tent than us Engrish speakers. I was the only solo - all the rest were couples in this class.

We started out with the basics - safety (did you know that a person paddling in the water has the right of way over the person surfing? I didn't either). After that, we went to the boards on the sand. We had nice forgiving beginner boards. We practiced paddling and then "popping" up on to the board. I got used as an example. Evidently I could do this pretty well ON SAND. Making that point known. :)

So off to the water we went. We paddled out. Paddling out is the HARDEST part about surfing. My shoulders were smoked before I even got to the buoys. The instructors were out there to help us figure out what wave to use and to push us to get speed. It really helped having that push. So a wave comes along, the instructor says start paddling, and then the wave picks you up and the instructor pushes, you go scooting down the wave. Remember how I said I was good at "popping" up on the sand? Yeah - not so much on the water. First time I popped too hard and pushed myself right of the back of the board. Second, I went right and somersaulted off the side. THIRD time was the charm. I nailed it. It was a small wave and it just was "right". It was me, the board and the wave. Totally awesome and poetic all at once. Then I started wondering why the water was getting closer, then I hit it :) I think I rode or tried to ride at least 50 waves. I was totally spent. Great workout.

So back to the reason for posting "I totally get it". I was kinda resting and bs'ing with one of the instructors, when all of a sudden, a wave took me. No paddling or nothing. Just woosh. I popped up perfectly and had a total in the moment ride. Nothing else in the world was on my mind, just me and the ocean playing like long lost friends. When I was done with the ride, meaning I DIDN'T wipe out, the instructor was so Zen. I was totally stoked talking about what just happened and how I wasn't ready and things just worked and all he said was "Sometimes the wave picks you". So, I totally get it.

Hawaii is B E A UTIFUL!

So traveling has it's privleges. Going to Hawaii in November is definitely one of them. Just wish I could have taken the family, had I had more time to plan I would have, but tickets are wicked expensive from the East Coast. I am actually on Oahu - staying at the JW Marriot - where all the pictures are from. The first picture is from my balcony. Last is the hotel from 1.3 miles away. I have to admit - the hammerheads in the "tide" pool in the hotel are kinda freaky to me. Evolution or God, can't really figure out how the Hammerhead fits in? I digress - it is still a beautiful fish - one that can eat you, but still pretty to watch swim. As long as I am not in the water with it....

Took a drive around the island today. Saw the Dole plantation, North Shore - whilst there I saw numerous sea turtles eating - truely cool! Also some surfers doing their thing - one broke his board on a wave. Pretty wicked. Supposedly 20' waves later this week. I am going to take a lesson, but not daring North Shore. I'd kinda like to make it home in one piece - after seeing the surfer break his board.... The scenery is absolutely gorgeous. If I could figure out a job that would afford us to live in Hawaii, we'd move in a heartbeat! Even the highways are pretty. There is a tunnel through a bautiful mountain range.

It is nice enough at night that I sleep with the screen doors. It is extremely relaxing to listen to the ocean.....

I got up and actually ran this morning - which I haven't done since the triathlon. If you can't get motivated to run/walk/be outside in Hawaii - nothing will ever get you motivated. Quite a few people up and exerciseing at 7am on a Sunday. Planning on swimming in one or all of the 4 lagoons that are on the Marriott property.

Football starts at 8am on Sundays. Quite nice! Monday night football - 4pm I may actually stay awake to see a complete game!

I suppose I ought to concentrate on work, but it is hard to do that here :)