Next Trip

So last night I got a wild hair to start looking at our next trip. Yes, I know we're on our way to Disney World in June and I'm excited about that, but that doesn't mean I can't think about the next one, right? So the big theories right now are:

1. Cruise from Florida to Northern Europe - Spain, France, England, Norway, Denmark, etc...

2. Cruise through the Panama Canal and hit a few countries in South America (maybe Brazil or Argentina).

3. Austraila and New Zealand - we'll hit this one eventually, just not sure if it'll be next.

So - there is a poll over on the left - vote for one (or two or three) and help us figure it out!!!!

Apres

So we finally went on a long ski trip this season! Actually we rarely go on "long" ski trips - which I define as anything longer than a 2 days. I mean, if you live that close to the mountains, it's rare that you actually stay there instead of just head home, but every now and then it's fun. This was awesome, even with slush & ice instead of "snow". We went with the Gallivans and we all rented a condo that was literally 100 yards from the mountain. We didn't ski every day, but that was even better! We hung out around the condo, went to a bunch of restaurants, saw "enfuego" (a fire show with fireworks at the bottom of the mountain), hot tubbing, steam room, etc... it was fun. Even found out "Don Julio" is pretty good and VERY different from normal. There's a bunch of pictures and videos up on Facebook, so I've got to figure out how to get them to post on both FB and our website (or at least link to it), hmmm... Madison and McKaiden had lessons (the last of their series this season) and Ryan & Terren had snowboard lessons - all of them did awesome. There is a short video of Ryan and one that is a bit longer of McKaiden, but since I took it skiing backwards and looking over my shoulder it isn't always on "target", but at least I got it!!!!

Overall the week was fantastic. The kids became addicted to Nintindeo DS and Mario Bros (yes, you can download it for the Wii and still play 20 year old video games!!!!) It cracks me up that they love the same video games - apparently graphics aren't the only thing that makes a good game. The kids all did great, not just on the snow, but hanging out as well. I mean staying up late, getting up early, skiing all day, even makes adults cranky, but they held together pretty good!

Jennifer and Dane took some snowboard lessons - Jennifer's first time and Dane, well, he's been boarding for at least a few years, so I'm not sure what he was doing other than being good and going along with Jennifer - who apparently does NOT like boarding and went back to to skiing the next day. I don't blame her - skiing is of course the best. I got a helmet this year, something I've thought about for a few years. Funny, since I've about entered old man skiing where I go down green and blue runs and just have fun. Micauley on the other hand doesn't think it's fun unless the chance of injury has spiked over the 50% mark - though I think he over-did it (though he's not admitting it yet) as he got stuck in an out of bound area for about an hour. Tiffany seemed to have fun, but still resists using a helment - though she looks awefully cute doing it...

30 Questions

Answer these 30 Things You Wouldn't Think To Ask.

1. Have you ever been searched by the cops?
Sort of - but it was part of a training.

2. Do you close your eyes on roller coasters?
No - I want to see the world spin!

3. When's the last time you've been sledding?
Last year

4. Would you rather sleep with someone else, or alone
someone else...

5. Do you believe in ghosts?
Yes and they freak me out

6. Do you consider yourself creative?
At some things

7. Do you think O.J. killed his wife?
Duh...

8. Jennifer Aniston or Angelina Jolie?
Jennifer Aniston. I can see the appeal to Angelina, but SO prefer Jennifer

9. Can you honestly say you know ANYTHING about politics?
Yes, now stop voting so I can have my way!!! :-)

10. Do you know how to play poker?
Yes - love it!

11. Have you ever been awake for 48 hours straight?
Hmmm, I don't think so. Definitely have missed a night, but don't think two in a row.

12. What's your favorite commercial
Currently it's one where a woman says "I'm not judgmental, I'm just generous with my knowledge of what you are doing wrong." (Hey, Tiffany, I'm not judgmental...)

13. Who was your first love?
Uhhhh, how the hell would I know that? This is a very odd question - I would say Tiffany, though there were others after her... (try figuring that one out).

14. If you're driving in the middle of the night, and no one is around you, do you run a red light?
Not even a consideration

15. Do you have a secret that no one knows but you?
I don't think so

16. Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees?
Neither. In fact none of baseball.

17. Have you ever been Ice Skating?
Where do you think I live? Yes

18. How often do you remember your dreams?
About once a week and they are WAY cool

19. What's the one thing on your mind?
Micauley and school

20. Do you always wear your seat belt?
Yes

21. What talent do you wish you had?
To play the piano

22. Do you like Sushi?
Not until about 1 month ago

23. What do you wear to bed?
lounge pants

24. Do you truly hate anyone?
Sadly no, but I've tried

25. If you could sleep with one famous person, who would it be?
Is this possible? I'm pretty certain you can't do this. I'll play along - Yvonne Strahovski

26. Do you know anyone in jail?
Define "know"... LOL yes, lots of them

27. What food do you find disgusting?
Brussel Sprouts - that's right, still hate them!

28. Have you ever made fun of your friends behind their back?
I can't really say I "make fun" of people. I am happy to explain in detail what they do that irritates me (see question #12)

29. Have you ever been punched in the face?
Ummm, yes. The last time I actually recall was by a nice little gang in Tucson.

30. Do you believe in angels and demons?
I think so

Blackberries

Apparently they fail to tell you that 1 1/2 days later the swelling turns to bruising. I'd give you all the details, but honestly you probably don't want to hear it. If you are a bit demented, feel free to see the picture of my purple & black berries all for yourself.

Mixed Berries

So what can I say? No, really - what about this lovely procedure am I allowed to say on the website and Facebook? I'm now officially 24 hours removed from the very stressful and somewhat painful process of getting a vasectomy. Overall the procedure itself was tolerable, however I received a number of comments from others who have had it done about how simple it was and not to worry. Ok, I'll just be honest to anyone who considers this route - it hurts. I mean there is a clear reason guys spend their entire lives being protective of this area. Society even has numerous names (i.e. twig & berries, Slim Jim & the boys, etc...) - and why? Because they are easily injured. So, given a lifetime of protectiveness, there's a bit of apprehension involved with needles and scissors going at you down there. Now, given that doctors are famous for using buzz words like saying you might feel some "pressure" - which as we all know is code for tremendous pain, when one of these people actually say that this will sting and hurt for just a brief period of time, shouldn't that be a giant alarm bell? Needless to say, a needle being injected into your scrotum feels about like it sounds. However, I got through that without too much whining. The tugging and pulling wasn't a pleasant addition, but 15 to 20 minutes later we were done. That being said, there are two major oversights in their "warnings". First the shaving. I'm sorry, but I would have sworn this guy went to town with a rusted dry single razor blade, lubricated with sand. There is no reasonable way you can be done shaving that area in 15 seconds and do it in a "gentle" manner - physically impossible. The only warning I got was "this will be cold" before he poured ice cold alcohol on me - then the razor came out and before I could say "Ok, I'll talk!!!" - his mini-torture was over. I guess that's so the actual procedure doesn't seem as bad. Now, in case you had any notion that the procedure itself hurt, they planned ahead to take your mind off of that - by using some sort of 3M Duct-tape to hold "Big Jim" (penis if you can't read code) up and out of the way. Personally I'll just pretend it's just me they had to hold out of the way, only because it eases the pain... Anyway, this seems like a simple thing, until it's time to remove the tape. Really I see no easy way to explain this part, but I would have elected to have two more needles in the scrotum before having the tape yanked off. I'm not sure what my reaction looked like to Tiffany (who was in there for it) and that's probably because tears immediately came to my eyes and blurred everything - or maybe that was pain. I mean, holy crap, how about string, post-it note adhesive, an "assistant" to hold it (I'll pay for it), I mean something! Anything has got to be better! Oh, and in case you consider undergoing this pleasure yourself, a tip from me to you, get your prescription filled ahead of time. I get home, don't have Tylenol there or Vicodin prescription filled. Let's just say that 30 minutes later the local wears off and your body is pissed! So sitting there with no pain medication immediately after the local is gone, man that's just a horrible, horrible idea. Now on the plus side, once the Vicodin got home and I popped the maximum amount of those bad boys, that's entertainment. Unless of course you are one of the few people I spoke to on the phone while I was under the influence - I'm sure I sounded like an idiot, but a pain-free idiot. Today is much better aside from the occasional shot of pain that arches through your body like a lightening bolt - just to remind you of your stupidity. I'm sure in time it'll all be a memory and will be happy as a clam, but for now, pass the peas and no you won't want to eat them after I'm done...

Uncle Sam's a Mean One

So January came and I was in a hellfire hurry to get taxes going. Get them done and out of here. If we owe, pay it now and let the healing begin. So, I hurried and entered everything I could as tax forms came in. Then somewhere around January 25th I stopped caring. Of course within the next week a flood of tax forms came in. Did I jump back on the wagon? Of course not, I just sat there waiting for the tax fairy to come finish them. Oddly, no tax fairy came. So today I finally pulled out the rest of the forms, sat down and finished number crunching and e-filed everything. So I didn't get them done in any lightening fast time, but hey, they're done!

P.S. - if Obama raises taxes (aka lets tax breaks expire) next year I will clearly go ballistic as the federal government makes us pay for all the wonderful new stimulus spending. Mainly because I was less than excited about this year's crushing tax news.