<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2900911901465825462</id><updated>2011-07-28T15:35:28.273-07:00</updated><category term='joys'/><category term='adventure'/><category term='fly'/><category term='duty'/><category term='Tears'/><category term='Nashville'/><category term='love'/><category term='Leadership Conference'/><category term='fears'/><category term='Jury'/><title type='text'>D and L Arms</title><subtitle type='html'>The life and times of Dawn and Larry.</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default?max-results=100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>D and  L Armstrong</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18191329208248200960</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SVcj6oLLxZI/AAAAAAAAACY/YWarF57jO14/S220/At+dinner1.jpg'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>26</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>100</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2900911901465825462.post-5360823071506270435</id><published>2010-08-08T20:36:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2010-08-08T20:46:30.795-07:00</updated><title type='text'></title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/TF95FjrbX9I/AAAAAAAAAFA/crFYd-CY9Yk/s1600/Tahoe2.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 158px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/TF95FjrbX9I/AAAAAAAAAFA/crFYd-CY9Yk/s200/Tahoe2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503250406053732306" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Summer 2010 has been great. Dawn and I enjoyed a fabulous vacation for nine days in South Lake Tahoe. We returned to the location of our honeymoon 30 years ago. We stayed at a Diamond Resort Time Share at the base of Ski Run Blvd. from Sunday through Saturday. Jessica and David joined us in Lake Tahoe on Friday night. On Saturday we moved to a Best Western down the street. On Sunday, July 4, my sister and her family arrived with reservations at the Marriott time share. We spent most of that holiday Sunday poolside as guests of Pamela and Gary at the Marriott . We saw a great fireworks display over the lake that evening timed to music broadcast by a local radio station. It was a wonderful week.&lt;br /&gt;I also spent most of the summer taking Microsoft and Google computer courses. I learned a great deal about using a PC and Google to improve instruction in my computer literacy course. Dawn interviewed for positions as a special ed teacher at the start of the summer, as the district eliminated the position she has been in for the previous nine years. We are both looking forward to the start of school this week.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2900911901465825462-5360823071506270435?l=dlarms.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/feeds/5360823071506270435/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2900911901465825462&amp;postID=5360823071506270435' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/5360823071506270435'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/5360823071506270435'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/2010/08/summer-2010-has-been-great.html' title=''/><author><name>D and  L Armstrong</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18191329208248200960</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SVcj6oLLxZI/AAAAAAAAACY/YWarF57jO14/S220/At+dinner1.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/TF95FjrbX9I/AAAAAAAAAFA/crFYd-CY9Yk/s72-c/Tahoe2.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2900911901465825462.post-2602332966745698431</id><published>2009-05-24T20:22:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2009-05-24T20:38:30.534-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Memorial Day</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/ShoSlCJqtnI/AAAAAAAAAE0/ixHR6oePnNk/s1600-h/us_flag_1.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/ShoSlCJqtnI/AAAAAAAAAE0/ixHR6oePnNk/s200/us_flag_1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339600735643022962" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;We have enjoyed a wonderful holiday weekend. I am thankful to live in a nation where my children can pursue their dreams. Whether those dreams are an advanced college degree or a life working to entertain, in the USA we are free to do what we dream and aspire to become what we want. We gather freely with family from anywhere in the country, without intrusion by the government. In hard economic times even, we are still free citizens.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This is possible in no small part to the fact that so many people have served in our nation's military forces to keep our nation free. Our holiday weekend of family, food, and drink is only possible because of the sacrifices of so many others. For these things I am truly thankful!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2900911901465825462-2602332966745698431?l=dlarms.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/feeds/2602332966745698431/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2900911901465825462&amp;postID=2602332966745698431' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/2602332966745698431'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/2602332966745698431'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/2009/05/memorial-day.html' title='Memorial Day'/><author><name>D and  L Armstrong</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18191329208248200960</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SVcj6oLLxZI/AAAAAAAAACY/YWarF57jO14/S220/At+dinner1.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/ShoSlCJqtnI/AAAAAAAAAE0/ixHR6oePnNk/s72-c/us_flag_1.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2900911901465825462.post-3766018681659985276</id><published>2009-04-05T17:06:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2009-04-05T17:17:06.905-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Spring Break at last</title><content type='html'>The month of &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;March&lt;/span&gt; was extraordinarily busy for us. Dawn had several shows with her business, we adopted two rescued dogs, and I worked late more days than not. I helped for five nights at the sixth grade registration at &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"&gt;Computech&lt;/span&gt; to start the month. Then I was working late many days dealing with fund raisers and planning events. I need to take Dawn's suggestions and begin keeping a written calendar of my schedule.&lt;br /&gt;I ended up with a &lt;span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"&gt;Jamba&lt;/span&gt; Juice fund raiser (advance ticket sales for two days first), sponsored the school Spring dance (advance ticket sales for a week), and our first ever all school pep rally in the same week! It seemed like I was spending all my waking time at school for over a week. I survived, and everything went well. But I never want to be in charge of that many events in one school week again, &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;ever&lt;/span&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Thank you to the Leadership students. I could not have been successful in any of these activities without your work, effort, patience, and skills. Those kids made it possible to pull all those things off.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2900911901465825462-3766018681659985276?l=dlarms.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/feeds/3766018681659985276/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2900911901465825462&amp;postID=3766018681659985276' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/3766018681659985276'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/3766018681659985276'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/2009/04/spring-break-at-last.html' title='Spring Break at last'/><author><name>D and  L Armstrong</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18191329208248200960</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SVcj6oLLxZI/AAAAAAAAACY/YWarF57jO14/S220/At+dinner1.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2900911901465825462.post-8011757995364728226</id><published>2009-03-15T20:27:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2009-03-15T20:49:18.677-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Dawn the Dog Rescuer</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/Sb3K5xoveoI/AAAAAAAAAEs/r0r61w8_qfE/s1600-h/PICT0059.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/Sb3K5xoveoI/AAAAAAAAAEs/r0r61w8_qfE/s200/PICT0059.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313626229292628610" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This weekend Dawn took the initiative to move on something we have only talked about up to now. She accepted offers from the parents of two of her students to take unwanted dogs from their homes.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;First, on Saturday, we picked up Buddy. He is a 2 and one-half year old Peek a poo. That is a mixed breed pooch with one poodle parent and the other parent a Pekinese. He is black coated and tiny. He has a great personality, and is very active, yet docile. His former master said she felt bad that she did not and could not give the dog enough atttention. She has gotten to know Dawn over the past few years while Dawn worked in her home with her son. She wanted Buddy to go to a good home where he would be cared for and loved. Well we love him already!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Dog number two comes from a different family. His heritage is unknown as the family picked him up as a stray. Now they realize that they cannot care for the dog. So instead of releasing him onto the street, Dawn adopted this unnamed pooch. He too is adorable. Tan colored, we think he is part Chihuahua and part Dachshund, but who knows. A nice lady, Debbie, at the PetsMart in Clovis guessed his age at about 3 - 4 months based on his teeth. Unfortunately, dog two has fleas. Dawn followed the tips from Debbie and bathed both dogs. They smell better, are softer to the touch and unnamed #2 has fewer fleas.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So our family has grown again. We now own two adorable dogs. They are learning to get along. It was touch and go there for awhile this afternoon. Buddy did not like the strange dog in his new home.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;They both need shots and to see a vet. If you have any suggestions in that area, we would appreciate sound advice. It was a good weekend!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2900911901465825462-8011757995364728226?l=dlarms.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/feeds/8011757995364728226/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2900911901465825462&amp;postID=8011757995364728226' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/8011757995364728226'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/8011757995364728226'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/2009/03/dawn-dog-rescuer.html' title='Dawn the Dog Rescuer'/><author><name>D and  L Armstrong</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18191329208248200960</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SVcj6oLLxZI/AAAAAAAAACY/YWarF57jO14/S220/At+dinner1.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/Sb3K5xoveoI/AAAAAAAAAEs/r0r61w8_qfE/s72-c/PICT0059.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2900911901465825462.post-3902238156116699650</id><published>2009-03-01T17:36:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2009-03-01T17:51:35.704-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Party Dawn</title><content type='html'>We celebrated Dawn's birthday on Saturday night. We had a fun time with many friends, old and new, sharing fun, drink, music, and laughs. We are both so blessed to have many wonderful people as friends and family. Thank you, Jessica, David, Eric, and Scott with all the pre-party preparations. I think everyone had a good time. We got to see friends from around town and out of town. I even met a childhood friend of Dawn for the first time. People came from San Francisco,  Sacramento, and Merced to the north, and Tulare and even Las Vegas to our south.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;You know it was a great party because red wine was spilled on the carpet (we cleaned it up, no problem),  a bottle was broken in the kitchen (a beer bottle was knocked to the tile floor), a small fire was accidentally started in the kitchen, people danced and laughed. Saturday night was a reminder that our life is good because we have people we love in our lives. Thank you all for reminding Dawn that she and I are loved and cared for by so many wonderful people.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We hope to see more of you at future gatherings for any and all reasons.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2900911901465825462-3902238156116699650?l=dlarms.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/feeds/3902238156116699650/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2900911901465825462&amp;postID=3902238156116699650' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/3902238156116699650'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/3902238156116699650'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/2009/03/party-dawn.html' title='Party Dawn'/><author><name>D and  L Armstrong</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18191329208248200960</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SVcj6oLLxZI/AAAAAAAAACY/YWarF57jO14/S220/At+dinner1.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2900911901465825462.post-45430162386479799</id><published>2009-02-21T11:59:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2010-08-08T20:56:01.131-07:00</updated><title type='text'>My Wife &amp; Me</title><content type='html'>To do yours: Copy and paste to your notes/new note. Highlight these answers and replace with your own.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;♥ What are your middle names?&lt;br /&gt;Wesley and Denise&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;♥ How long have you been together?&lt;br /&gt;32 years, 30 Married&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating?&lt;br /&gt;About a month.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;♥ Who asked who out?&lt;br /&gt;I eventually worked up the courage to ask her.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;♥ How old are each of you?&lt;br /&gt;52 and 51 &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;♥ Whose siblings do/did you see the most?&lt;br /&gt;We see my sister and her family regularly and Dawn's brother regularly.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;♥ Do you have any children together?&lt;br /&gt;Yes, a matched set. 1 daughter with her husband, and 1 son.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;♥ What about pets?&lt;br /&gt;Two designer dogs my wife rescued.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;♥ Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?&lt;br /&gt;Uhm, I do not know. Let's focus on the positive.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;♥ Did you go to the same school?&lt;br /&gt;Not the same high school. But we both went to Fresno State together.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;♥ Are you from the same home town?&lt;br /&gt;No. I grew up all over the world as an Air Force brat. Dawn grew up in Merced.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;♥ Who is the smartest?&lt;br /&gt;I think we compliment each other.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;♥ Who is the most sensitive?&lt;br /&gt;Probably Dawn.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple?&lt;br /&gt;We loved Fugazzi's, but they fled town. So now we frequent Chipotle.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?&lt;br /&gt;We cruised the Volga River in Russia for 11 days.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;♥ Who has the Craziest ex's?&lt;br /&gt;Neither of us have X’s&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;♥ Who has the worst temper?&lt;br /&gt;That is probably me, Arrgh!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;♥ Who does the cooking?&lt;br /&gt;Dawn is our master chef!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;♥ Who is more social?&lt;br /&gt;We both know our way around a conversation. I probably interact with new people more easily while she is better at deeper friendships.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;♥ Who is the neat-freak?&lt;br /&gt;Me, unless she is expecting guests.&lt;br /&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;♥ Who is the more stubborn?&lt;br /&gt;Me, " I want it my way." Although she wins more arguments.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;♥ Who hogs the bed?&lt;br /&gt;Share and share alike, but she is the space taker.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;♥ Who wakes up earlier?&lt;br /&gt;Normally me.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;♥ Where was your first date?&lt;br /&gt;After an difficult time asking her out, we went to a scary movie in Merced. At the time conventional 19 year old wisdom said a girl will hold your hand at a scary movie.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;♥ Who has the bigger family?&lt;br /&gt;My family is larger.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;♥ Do you get flowers often?&lt;br /&gt;I like to get Costco flowers occasionally.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;♥ How do you spend the holidays?&lt;br /&gt;Her brother, our kids, and the two of us go to see my sister's family in Northern California.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;♥ Who is more jealous?&lt;br /&gt;Neither of us are…but probably me&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;♥ What is "your song"?&lt;br /&gt;“Wild Thing” or " Hey, Good Lookin'"&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;♥ How long did it take to get serious?&lt;br /&gt;I knew I wanted to marry her after two dates. It took awhile to bring her around.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;♥ Who eats more?&lt;br /&gt;Me. Cookie!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;♥ Who does/did the laundry?&lt;br /&gt;Usually me, but she feels free to assist or take over.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;♥ Who’s better with the computer?&lt;br /&gt;I teach that stuff.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;♥ Who drives when you are together?&lt;br /&gt;Me. I do not make a good passenger.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2900911901465825462-45430162386479799?l=dlarms.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/feeds/45430162386479799/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2900911901465825462&amp;postID=45430162386479799' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/45430162386479799'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/45430162386479799'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/2009/02/my-wife-me.html' title='My Wife &amp; Me'/><author><name>D and  L Armstrong</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18191329208248200960</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SVcj6oLLxZI/AAAAAAAAACY/YWarF57jO14/S220/At+dinner1.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2900911901465825462.post-4421376543729837334</id><published>2009-02-21T11:47:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2009-02-21T11:53:55.583-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='adventure'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Tears'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='love'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='fears'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='joys'/><title type='text'>THINGS I HAVE DONE DURING MY LIFETIME:</title><content type='html'>By Larry (read the bottom, it is unique)&lt;br /&gt;( ) Gone on a blind date&lt;br /&gt;(X ) Skipped school&lt;br /&gt;(X) Watched someone die&lt;br /&gt;(X) Been to Canada&lt;br /&gt;(X) Been to Mexico&lt;br /&gt;(X) Been to Florida&lt;br /&gt;(  ) Been to Hawaii&lt;br /&gt;(X) Been on a plane&lt;br /&gt;(X) Been on a helicopter&lt;br /&gt;(X) Been lost&lt;br /&gt;(X) Gone to Washington, DC&lt;br /&gt;(X) Swam in the ocean&lt;br /&gt;(X) Cried yourself to sleep-&lt;br /&gt;(X) Played cops and robbers&lt;br /&gt;(X) Recently colored with crayons&lt;br /&gt;(  ) Sang Karaoke&lt;br /&gt;(X) Paid for a meal with coins only&lt;br /&gt;( ) Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch&lt;br /&gt;(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't.&lt;br /&gt;(X) Made prank phone calls&lt;br /&gt;( ) Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans&lt;br /&gt;(X) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose &amp;amp; elsewhere&lt;br /&gt;(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue&lt;br /&gt;( ) Danced in the rain-naked&lt;br /&gt;(X) Written a letter to Santa Claus&lt;br /&gt;(X) Been kissed under the mistletoe&lt;br /&gt;(X) Watched the sunrise with someone&lt;br /&gt;(X) Blown bubbles&lt;br /&gt;(X) Gone ice-skating&lt;br /&gt;(X) Gone to the movies&lt;br /&gt;( ) Been deep sea fishing&lt;br /&gt;(X ) Driven across the United States&lt;br /&gt;(X) Been in a hot air balloon&lt;br /&gt;( ) Been sky diving&lt;br /&gt;(  ) Gone snowmobiling&lt;br /&gt;(X) Lived in more than one country&lt;br /&gt;(X) Lain down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets&lt;br /&gt;(X) Seen a falling star and made a wish&lt;br /&gt;( ) Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser&lt;br /&gt;(X) Seen the Statue of Liberty&lt;br /&gt;( ) Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle&lt;br /&gt;(X) Been on a cruise&lt;br /&gt;(X) Traveled by train&lt;br /&gt;(X) Traveled by motorcycle&lt;br /&gt;(X) Been horse back riding&lt;br /&gt;(X) Ridden on a San Francisco CABLE CAR&lt;br /&gt;(X) Been to Disneyland&lt;br /&gt;(X)Been to Disneyworld&lt;br /&gt;(X) Truly believe in the power of prayer&lt;br /&gt;(X) Been in a rain forest&lt;br /&gt;(X) Seen whales in the ocean&lt;br /&gt;( ) Been to Niagara Falls&lt;br /&gt;( ) Ridden on an elephant&lt;br /&gt;( ) Swam with dolphins&lt;br /&gt;( )Swam with whale sharks&lt;br /&gt;( ) Been to the Olympics&lt;br /&gt;( ) Walked on the Great Wall of China&lt;br /&gt;(X) Saw and heard a glacier calf&lt;br /&gt;( ) Been spinnaker flying&lt;br /&gt;(X) Been water-skiing&lt;br /&gt;(X) Been snow-skiing&lt;br /&gt;(X) Been to Westminster Abbey&lt;br /&gt;(  ) Been to the Louvre&lt;br /&gt;(  ) Swam in the Mediterranean&lt;br /&gt;(X) Been to a Major League Baseball game&lt;br /&gt;( ) Been to a National Football League game&lt;br /&gt;(X) Taken a ballet class&lt;br /&gt;(X) Visited Normandy&lt;br /&gt;(X) Experienced love&lt;br /&gt;(X) Been amazed by my children&lt;br /&gt;(X) Hiked in a national park&lt;br /&gt;(X) Cried while watching my kids accomplish something&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2900911901465825462-4421376543729837334?l=dlarms.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/feeds/4421376543729837334/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2900911901465825462&amp;postID=4421376543729837334' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/4421376543729837334'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/4421376543729837334'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/2009/02/things-i-have-done-during-your-lifetime.html' title='THINGS I HAVE DONE DURING MY LIFETIME:'/><author><name>D and  L Armstrong</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18191329208248200960</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SVcj6oLLxZI/AAAAAAAAACY/YWarF57jO14/S220/At+dinner1.jpg'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2900911901465825462.post-2997296736093657616</id><published>2009-02-14T18:46:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2009-02-14T18:57:14.142-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Valentine's Day</title><content type='html'>Dawn started the day with a CAbi show in our home at 1. So we cleaned the house in preparation this morning. Then I went to the gym. Eric ran errands with me after he visited Dr. D. He has a sinus infection. So does Jessica. Both are now on meds. I think I will be visiting the good doctor on Monday. I think I have an infection also. They do run in our family.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Eric visited the hardware store with me. Then we had a nice lunch at Wendy's. I like their chili. Eric goes for the spicy chicken sandwich combo. Then we toured the grocery store. The nice man in the meat department at Vons cut a special portion of New York strip steak for me when I asked a question. I think I am beginning to like Vons more. Anyway, Valentine's Day was a reason for me to prepare a special meal for Dawn. I got a recipe from Men's Health.com It has a nice spinach salad with home made dressing and pistachios. Then the steak in a reduction sauce with broiled fingerling potatoes and french style green beans. It took about an hour to prepare. It was fun. I served dinner with a nice Cabernet wine. Dawn said she loved it. This was a nice way to express my love for &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;my Valentine, Dawn&lt;/span&gt;. Later there will be a rum, banana, and ice cream dessert.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I hope you had a nice Valentine's Day, too.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Larry&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2900911901465825462-2997296736093657616?l=dlarms.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/feeds/2997296736093657616/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2900911901465825462&amp;postID=2997296736093657616' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/2997296736093657616'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/2997296736093657616'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/2009/02/valentines-day.html' title='Valentine&apos;s Day'/><author><name>D and  L Armstrong</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18191329208248200960</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SVcj6oLLxZI/AAAAAAAAACY/YWarF57jO14/S220/At+dinner1.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2900911901465825462.post-1030175874494524333</id><published>2009-01-21T16:33:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2009-01-21T16:57:19.841-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Jury'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Nashville'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='fly'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='duty'/><title type='text'>Jury Duty &amp; Fly Away</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SXfD3JdfmoI/AAAAAAAAAEc/uKfxZvzw-4E/s1600-h/md80-2.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 191px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SXfD3JdfmoI/AAAAAAAAAEc/uKfxZvzw-4E/s200/md80-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293915239197153922" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I am sure the people behind the planning of jury duty have a system that works for the courts, but wow does that system seem wasteful from this side. I was summoned to Fresno County Superior Court today for said duty. I arrived on time, after ensuring that my substitute teacher was ready to go at school. I was seated in the Jury Assembly room for the clerk to go over instructions at 8:30. She said her piece, explaining the process and paper work. Next, she took roll. Then she said we could have a twenty minute break.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After a twenty minute break, I read a few chapter in &lt;span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"&gt;Of Mice and Men&lt;/span&gt;, we were instructed to watch a video about jury duty. I read a few more chapters. Shortly after the movie ended, they announced that any one who had their name called is dismissed and has fulfilled their civic duty. Mine was the first name called. I was finished with Jury Duty by 9:35. I did meet some nice people inn the assembly room and walking to the Civil Court. Reyna and Ray were citizens trying to be responsible members of society, too. It was nice to meet them and visit a little. Other than that Jury Duty was a bust!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I did get to have a brief meeting with two administrators at my school when I got back. That was a nice benefit. I also had time to see my wife off at the airport as she left on her first great &lt;span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"&gt;CAbi&lt;/span&gt; adventure in Nashville, Tennessee. I hope she has a good time and learns a great deal. Eric and I will put the house back together before she gets home.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Larry&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2900911901465825462-1030175874494524333?l=dlarms.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/feeds/1030175874494524333/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2900911901465825462&amp;postID=1030175874494524333' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/1030175874494524333'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/1030175874494524333'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/2009/01/jury-duty-fly-away.html' title='Jury Duty &amp; Fly Away'/><author><name>D and  L Armstrong</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18191329208248200960</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SVcj6oLLxZI/AAAAAAAAACY/YWarF57jO14/S220/At+dinner1.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SXfD3JdfmoI/AAAAAAAAAEc/uKfxZvzw-4E/s72-c/md80-2.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2900911901465825462.post-4352660279421475277</id><published>2009-01-17T13:21:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2009-01-17T13:29:11.350-08:00</updated><title type='text'>The Weekend</title><content type='html'>It was a long week back to work. Meetings, planning, grading, assisting students, purchasing materials, supporting student efforts; it was all exhausting. Plus Dawn was busy with her social calendar every night. It was one of those crazy weeks. Friday night was finally time for a breather. We had time alone together for the evening.  (Eric worked a late shift.) I enjoyed trying take out from a new Pizza Fusion restaurant in our neighborhood. We took a short walk; had an adult beverage; watched a television program; enjoyed conversation, and each others company. It was a stay at home romantic evening and get away. Life is good.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Tonight we get to join 5 other couples to play bunko. We always have a good time at couples bunko.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Are you planning anything fun this weekend?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Larry&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2900911901465825462-4352660279421475277?l=dlarms.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/feeds/4352660279421475277/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2900911901465825462&amp;postID=4352660279421475277' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/4352660279421475277'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/4352660279421475277'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/2009/01/weekend.html' title='The Weekend'/><author><name>D and  L Armstrong</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18191329208248200960</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SVcj6oLLxZI/AAAAAAAAACY/YWarF57jO14/S220/At+dinner1.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2900911901465825462.post-6991922350420828603</id><published>2009-01-12T21:06:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2009-01-12T21:17:27.105-08:00</updated><title type='text'>First 2009 Day of School</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SWwj1vZjXXI/AAAAAAAAAEE/K_2s1jpLN9Q/s1600-h/pork_chops.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 167px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SWwj1vZjXXI/AAAAAAAAAEE/K_2s1jpLN9Q/s200/pork_chops.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290643068417170802" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Today was a good first day back to work day. My students were pleasant and easy going, though a little sleepy early in the day. We all need to get up very early to make it to school by 7:30. I feel tired from the day, especially since I talked more today than I did in a week during vacation. My throat is sore and I have a bit of a headache.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After school I went straight to the gym. After 20 minutes on the stationary bike, my trainer put me through his paces for 60 minutes. I will be sore. Then I got home, took a quick shower, and my wonderful wife had home made dinner ready. Jessica and David joined us for a nice meal. Dawn made some dishes from scratch that included a tasty coleslaw and pork chops. This was a real treat for a weeknight. Then David took the lead on doing the dishes. I only needed to help him. Wow, I have a great family. Life is good!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Did you have a good day?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Larry&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2900911901465825462-6991922350420828603?l=dlarms.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/feeds/6991922350420828603/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2900911901465825462&amp;postID=6991922350420828603' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/6991922350420828603'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/6991922350420828603'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/2009/01/first-2009-day-of-school.html' title='First 2009 Day of School'/><author><name>D and  L Armstrong</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18191329208248200960</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SVcj6oLLxZI/AAAAAAAAACY/YWarF57jO14/S220/At+dinner1.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SWwj1vZjXXI/AAAAAAAAAEE/K_2s1jpLN9Q/s72-c/pork_chops.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2900911901465825462.post-6631865183170118351</id><published>2009-01-10T21:06:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2009-01-10T21:20:11.997-08:00</updated><title type='text'>A FInal Saturday of Freedom</title><content type='html'>Today is the final Saturday of our Winter Vacation. I started the day by going to GB 3 for a workout. I am trying to follow one of the  poster workouts from Men's Health magazine. I have a goal to meet with my trainer two days per week, do two days of cardio, and one day of this twelve station workout. Mike, the trainer, tells me that if I achieve that goal and push myself a little, it will be body changing. One week down so far and I went to the gym 5 days. It will be a little tougher to manage when work starts back next week.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Today is my dad's &lt;span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"&gt;73rd&lt;/span&gt; birthday. I wish I could spend the day with him, but he live in Arizona. I called him this evening. He sounds like he is in good spirits. I told him to look for the UPS truck on Monday. &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Happy Birthday, Papa.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SWmBczdG6_I/AAAAAAAAAD8/V5ASSpfJ0Ig/s1600-h/Gtorino.jpeg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 94px; height: 140px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SWmBczdG6_I/AAAAAAAAAD8/V5ASSpfJ0Ig/s200/Gtorino.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289901569171975154" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Eric and I went to see a matinee of the Clint Eastwood film, Gran Torino. It was a good flick. It seemed like typical Eastwood fare, until the surprise ending. It is a film worth paying the matinee price at the theater. Dawn used today as a school work day to see some of her students. Then she did a few hours of shopping.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2900911901465825462-6631865183170118351?l=dlarms.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/feeds/6631865183170118351/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2900911901465825462&amp;postID=6631865183170118351' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/6631865183170118351'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/6631865183170118351'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/2009/01/final-saturday-of-freedom.html' title='A FInal Saturday of Freedom'/><author><name>D and  L Armstrong</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18191329208248200960</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SVcj6oLLxZI/AAAAAAAAACY/YWarF57jO14/S220/At+dinner1.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SWmBczdG6_I/AAAAAAAAAD8/V5ASSpfJ0Ig/s72-c/Gtorino.jpeg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2900911901465825462.post-2641458413017304496</id><published>2009-01-05T21:52:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2009-01-05T22:50:46.587-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Honor to a Navy Veteran</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SWL7EOpd23I/AAAAAAAAADs/covaXleU0fI/s1600-h/flag1-1.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 150px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SWL7EOpd23I/AAAAAAAAADs/covaXleU0fI/s200/flag1-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288064962556451698" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Larry and I had an afternoon full of emotion and admiration.  Larry drove with me to Visalia to attend the Celebration of Life for Jerry Groh, the uncle of my best friend Sue and her sister, Lori, my quilting buddy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I have had the pleasure of two occasions and Larry had one occasion to spend with "Uncle Jerry".  He was immediately one of my favorite people in the world.  After his service today, we feel honored to have spent even that short time with him.  Larry and I both were moved to tears as his family unfolded the virtues that made Jerry Groh such a special husband, father, grandfather, uncle and friend.  When they finished with the military volley of gun shots, playing of taps and the flag folding ceremony I was overwhelmed.  I tried to imagine how my dear quilting friends, Jeannette and Amy (Jerry's wife and daughter), and the rest of the family must be feeling when the officer handed Jeanette the folded flag "On behalf of a grateful nation...".&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Before I knew it, I was sobbing as I thought of my mother recieving the American flag at my father's funeral 50 years ago.    I knew my mother was a brave woman to raise two children by herself, but for the first time I got a sense of what it must have been like for her back in Germany when she lost her husband in an airplane crash.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I was so impressed with the Groh family for their strength and love today.  It is obvious this honorable man was greatly loved and admired by many.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Who do you greatly admire?&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2900911901465825462-2641458413017304496?l=dlarms.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/feeds/2641458413017304496/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2900911901465825462&amp;postID=2641458413017304496' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/2641458413017304496'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/2641458413017304496'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/2009/01/honor-to-navy-veteran.html' title='Honor to a Navy Veteran'/><author><name>D and  L Armstrong</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18191329208248200960</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SVcj6oLLxZI/AAAAAAAAACY/YWarF57jO14/S220/At+dinner1.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SWL7EOpd23I/AAAAAAAAADs/covaXleU0fI/s72-c/flag1-1.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2900911901465825462.post-5319172660064513197</id><published>2009-01-04T21:47:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2009-01-04T22:02:00.677-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Family DInner</title><content type='html'>Today we went to church. After the service Dawn and I treated ourselves to lunch at the Elephant Bar Restaurant. Then it was home to more organizing and storing. I think we are almost finished.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Dawn went to paying the bills, so it was my turn to make the family dinner. I made pasta with meat sauce, spinach salad, Italian Wedding soup, garlic bread and cookies. I made chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies. I made the cookies for David and Jessica in honor of their first wedding anniversary tomorrow. The idea that I would make peanut butter anything for my daughter was out of this world. It was so unexpected that David ran to the back door, pointed to the sky and shouted "Yep, there goes a flying pig!"&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I wanted to surprise Jessica by doing something completely unexpected for her. She and David of course know that I despise, even fear peanut butter. But I am so happy for them on this eve of their first year as a married couple, it was worth the effort to surprise them. &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Happy Anniversary Jessica and David!&lt;/span&gt; They took all of the cookies home at our urging. Thank you.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It was a great way to start 2009. Plus we get to see &lt;span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"&gt;Eric&lt;/span&gt; tomorrow. We look forward to hearing of his adventures with &lt;span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"&gt;Darli&lt;/span&gt;, her family, and DisneyWorld.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2900911901465825462-5319172660064513197?l=dlarms.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/feeds/5319172660064513197/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2900911901465825462&amp;postID=5319172660064513197' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/5319172660064513197'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/5319172660064513197'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/2009/01/family-dinner.html' title='Family DInner'/><author><name>D and  L Armstrong</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18191329208248200960</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SVcj6oLLxZI/AAAAAAAAACY/YWarF57jO14/S220/At+dinner1.jpg'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2900911901465825462.post-3474168642325291574</id><published>2009-01-03T11:37:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2009-01-06T23:08:23.895-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Marley and Me</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SWRUx9RnEvI/AAAAAAAAAD0/i3-SDx05Klw/s1600-h/64971_aa.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 127px; height: 190px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SWRUx9RnEvI/AAAAAAAAAD0/i3-SDx05Klw/s200/64971_aa.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288445079678554866" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We spent the second day of 2009 cleaning and organizing. My amazing wife spent hours reorganizing and consolidating stuff we store in our closets and garage. I cleaned the house and helped her too. It was a real feeling of satisfaction to see our home a bit more tidy and organized at the end of the day. Then she made an amazing dinner of talapia, sweet potatoes and a spinach dish. I never liked sweet potatoes before. These were baked, nothing fancy. Just baked sweet potato. Like that guy on t.v. says, mmm its so good!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Last evening, after dinner I starting watching the Sugar Bowl. I was pulling for &lt;span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"&gt;Utah&lt;/span&gt;, just because they get no respect from the media. &lt;span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"&gt;Utah&lt;/span&gt; did it! They proved not only to be worthy, but also proved that the BCS is bull----!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I set the DVR to record the second half because we wanted to see a movie together. We used passes to buy tickets for the Brad Pitt flick. It was too full, so we went to see &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;Marley and Me&lt;/span&gt;. I do not like Owen Wilson as an actor. I wish there were more scenes with Jennifer Anniston, and less of him. But darn it, that movie was good. I actually cried a little at the end. It made me regret the loss of every dog I ever owned. Rusty and Sinatra, you were good dogs. I miss you dearly. Putting them down was hard to do.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Have you ever lost a pet?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Larry&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2900911901465825462-3474168642325291574?l=dlarms.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/feeds/3474168642325291574/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2900911901465825462&amp;postID=3474168642325291574' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/3474168642325291574'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/3474168642325291574'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/2009/01/marley-and-me.html' title='Marley and Me'/><author><name>D and  L Armstrong</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18191329208248200960</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SVcj6oLLxZI/AAAAAAAAACY/YWarF57jO14/S220/At+dinner1.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SWRUx9RnEvI/AAAAAAAAAD0/i3-SDx05Klw/s72-c/64971_aa.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2900911901465825462.post-1115292846760281476</id><published>2009-01-01T18:56:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2009-01-01T19:06:22.861-08:00</updated><title type='text'>New Years Day 2009</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SV2EnWa8-vI/AAAAAAAAADk/iQ-TMD3mAo0/s1600-h/NewYear09.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SV2EnWa8-vI/AAAAAAAAADk/iQ-TMD3mAo0/s200/NewYear09.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286527349171223282" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We enjoyed a fun evening with our friends Marshall and Karen for New Year's Eve. They are great cooks, fabulous hosts, and dear friends. Visiting with long time friends is always a treat. And their food is always so tasty.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;On New Years Day, Dawn &amp;amp; I watched the Rose Parade in High Definition together to start. Then, while I paid some attention to football games, we teamed up to put away our Christmas decorations. We even reorganized our storage systems and garage as we went along.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Next, while Dawn prepped some dishes, I walked down to the Save Mart to get a few items, including lobster for dinner. When I returned, I kept Eric up to date with the USC victory over Penn State in the Rose Bowl game via text messages. Then Dawn and I sat down to a scrumptious lobster dinner to celebrate 2009.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;What did you do on the first holiday of the new year?&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2900911901465825462-1115292846760281476?l=dlarms.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/feeds/1115292846760281476/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2900911901465825462&amp;postID=1115292846760281476' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/1115292846760281476'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/1115292846760281476'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/2009/01/new-years-day-2009.html' title='New Years Day 2009'/><author><name>D and  L Armstrong</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18191329208248200960</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SVcj6oLLxZI/AAAAAAAAACY/YWarF57jO14/S220/At+dinner1.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SV2EnWa8-vI/AAAAAAAAADk/iQ-TMD3mAo0/s72-c/NewYear09.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2900911901465825462.post-1878340684550370606</id><published>2008-12-30T09:18:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-12-30T09:24:35.533-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Smog tests</title><content type='html'>Today is all about the smog tests. Two of our cars need to registered in February. We were notified by the not so great state of California that they both must pass smog tests to be registered. So this morning, I left the house at 6:40 to get my monthly allergy shot at Doctor Dayton's office. From there I went to the gym to do my interval training on the stationary bike and my abs workout. Then I dropped off the Tercel at a Smog Test Only place in downtown Clovis. It was a 40 minute, 3 mile walk home form there. Later I will take the Avalon to the same place for it's smog test.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;It is great to have time off from work to take care of essential business forced on us by the state. Happy New Year!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2900911901465825462-1878340684550370606?l=dlarms.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/feeds/1878340684550370606/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2900911901465825462&amp;postID=1878340684550370606' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/1878340684550370606'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/1878340684550370606'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/2008/12/smog-tests.html' title='Smog tests'/><author><name>D and  L Armstrong</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18191329208248200960</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SVcj6oLLxZI/AAAAAAAAACY/YWarF57jO14/S220/At+dinner1.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2900911901465825462.post-2262743884888011425</id><published>2008-12-29T19:17:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-12-29T19:26:21.454-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Eric Away &amp; Cell questions</title><content type='html'>Eric is happy today I believe. He flew to the east coast to be with his one true love last night. We bid him farewell at FAT around 7:15. We heard from him by text at 6:15 A.M. this morning that he had arrived safely. Hurray!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now I am trying to deal with the cell phone conundrum. Which provider is the best choice for our family? They all seem to have a few good points, but &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;wow&lt;/span&gt; are they &lt;span style="font-weight: bold;"&gt;expensive&lt;/span&gt;. We have &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;Verizon&lt;/span&gt; now. It has worked well, but I would like to lower our monthly bill. &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;AT&amp;amp;T&lt;/span&gt; looks comparable, but will they waive start up fees. Then there are new phones to buy. T Mobile is even in the running, with lower fees and cool features. But is &lt;span style="font-style: italic;"&gt;T -Mobile&lt;/span&gt; any good?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Does anyone have any suggestions?&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2900911901465825462-2262743884888011425?l=dlarms.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/feeds/2262743884888011425/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2900911901465825462&amp;postID=2262743884888011425' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/2262743884888011425'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/2262743884888011425'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/2008/12/eric-away-cell-questions.html' title='Eric Away &amp; Cell questions'/><author><name>D and  L Armstrong</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18191329208248200960</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SVcj6oLLxZI/AAAAAAAAACY/YWarF57jO14/S220/At+dinner1.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2900911901465825462.post-4761005891463798495</id><published>2008-12-27T23:42:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-12-28T11:44:28.093-08:00</updated><title type='text'>A Sick Day</title><content type='html'>I finally admitted to myself that I am sick. I have sinus and ear infections. I've been ill for at least a week, but refused to let it stop me from getting things done, visiting family, and enjoying Christmas. Friday I finally started taking meds. Today I stayed in my pajamas all day. I slept and watched an all day marathon of Band of Brothers. Thank you wife for encouraging me to take a day off to rest. You were right again. I hope to be on my feet Sunday.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Larry&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2900911901465825462-4761005891463798495?l=dlarms.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/feeds/4761005891463798495/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2900911901465825462&amp;postID=4761005891463798495' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/4761005891463798495'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/4761005891463798495'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/2008/12/sick-day.html' title='A Sick Day'/><author><name>D and  L Armstrong</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18191329208248200960</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SVcj6oLLxZI/AAAAAAAAACY/YWarF57jO14/S220/At+dinner1.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2900911901465825462.post-1349023452168311569</id><published>2008-12-26T21:38:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-12-26T21:51:38.061-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Christmas 2008</title><content type='html'>We tried something new this year. Our newlywed daughter and her husband wanted to have their first Christmas as a married couple together privately. We completely understood. So after dinner on Christmas eve, we gathered as a family in our living room to exchange gifts. In the past we would share one evening gift the night before Christmas, and delay the majority to Christmas morning. This year we shared all our gifts and stockings between the family on Christmas eve so that the newlyweds could enjoy a quiet Christmas morning at their apartment.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This meant we could stay up a little later, and sleep in on Christmas morning. I am happy to accommodate my daughter and her husband. They have many demands on their time with two families to visit during the holiday.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We traveled to my sister's home for the holiday on Christmas. She and her husband prepared a marvelous dinner for all of us. Jessica and David met us there after making a few stops to connect with his family too. It was heartwarming to spend time with my wife, our children (adults now), her brother, my sister and her family. Christmas is for celebrating Christ. And there is no better way to celebrate our Saviour than with family! We had a great day. We even saw a video from our exchange student son and his German family. We even made a lower quality video for Eric to share with his princess when he visits her and her family early next week.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Merry Christmas to all!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Larry&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2900911901465825462-1349023452168311569?l=dlarms.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/feeds/1349023452168311569/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2900911901465825462&amp;postID=1349023452168311569' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/1349023452168311569'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/1349023452168311569'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/2008/12/christmas-2008.html' title='Christmas 2008'/><author><name>D and  L Armstrong</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18191329208248200960</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SVcj6oLLxZI/AAAAAAAAACY/YWarF57jO14/S220/At+dinner1.jpg'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2900911901465825462.post-3231655060376621900</id><published>2008-12-26T21:25:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2008-12-26T21:38:31.645-08:00</updated><title type='text'>Christmas Eve 2008</title><content type='html'>We had a fabulous Christmas with our family. Dawn made a delicious Cioppino (fish soup) for Christmas Eve dinner. Jessica, Scott and I helped a little by prepping the fish. Dawn made the base the day before. Man was it fabulous! It was so good with sourdough bread.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Jessica worked with her mom to make stockings for her husband and herself that afternoon too. Then Scott, Dawn, and I took a little break for tacos and beer at the Red Wave Inn. This is a little college bar that Scott and I visited near Fresno State back in the mid 80s. Well, Jessica and Dave rediscovered it recently and shared that it was a great place. We agree. The beer selection was wide and cold, the music was good and the tacos were tasty. And did I mention the the prices were amazingly low.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;After our treat, we returned home to host Eric, Scott, Jessica, David, and his parents, Bill and Susan, for Christmas Eve dinner. The company was enjoyable and the food was delicious. In addition to the Cioppino we served sourdough bread, clam chowder, and spinach salad. It was a great evening.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2900911901465825462-3231655060376621900?l=dlarms.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/feeds/3231655060376621900/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2900911901465825462&amp;postID=3231655060376621900' title='1 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/3231655060376621900'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/3231655060376621900'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/2008/12/christmas-eve-2008.html' title='Christmas Eve 2008'/><author><name>D and  L Armstrong</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18191329208248200960</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SVcj6oLLxZI/AAAAAAAAACY/YWarF57jO14/S220/At+dinner1.jpg'/></author><thr:total>1</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2900911901465825462.post-4993275608512948470</id><published>2008-10-06T20:00:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-10-06T20:06:57.930-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Home Decorating</title><content type='html'>Jenn is here talking with Dawn about interior design stuff for our home. They are picking colors and window treatments. I am staying out of the way. Colors are better left to the women, as I often cannot tell what looks good together. I trust Dawn to make a good choice in that arena.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We are planning to repaint, and cover the windows in the main room. We also want to finish landscaping the backyard. It will just take money and time.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Troy says he is willing to assist me with roto-tilling and raking the flower beds in the backyard. I need to till in sand, top soil, and humus to improve the ability of the soil to support plants. Then We will reset the irrigation sprinklers and hire my gardener to start planting. Hopefully we can have the interior and exterior of the house done before Dawn's Feb. birthday.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2900911901465825462-4993275608512948470?l=dlarms.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/feeds/4993275608512948470/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2900911901465825462&amp;postID=4993275608512948470' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/4993275608512948470'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/4993275608512948470'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/2008/10/home-decorating.html' title='Home Decorating'/><author><name>D and  L Armstrong</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18191329208248200960</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SVcj6oLLxZI/AAAAAAAAACY/YWarF57jO14/S220/At+dinner1.jpg'/></author><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2900911901465825462.post-3557147131264108191</id><published>2008-10-06T19:54:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-10-06T19:59:57.924-07:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='Leadership Conference'/><title type='text'>A leadership day</title><content type='html'>I spent today with 27 of my Leadership students attending a CADA Youth Leadership Conference at the Tulare Farm Show facility. The kids were well behaved, but I was not impressed with the location or the event. I loved the two keynote speakers, but the breakout sessions were a little disappointing. Two of my groups reported that they shared more ideas with the presenter than they got from the presenter.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;A highlight two years ago was an excellant presentation on poster making. That session really made an impression on me and the students. This year and last year, there was no mention of effective poster making. A downer man.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The students will present their reactions to the day tomorrow in class. I hope they got more out of the day than I did.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2900911901465825462-3557147131264108191?l=dlarms.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/feeds/3557147131264108191/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2900911901465825462&amp;postID=3557147131264108191' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/3557147131264108191'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/3557147131264108191'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/2008/10/leadership-day.html' title='A leadership day'/><author><name>D and  L Armstrong</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18191329208248200960</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SVcj6oLLxZI/AAAAAAAAACY/YWarF57jO14/S220/At+dinner1.jpg'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2900911901465825462.post-291576152468334724</id><published>2008-07-26T18:13:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-07-26T18:23:41.934-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Then a Nephew</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SIvN7Z0e3YI/AAAAAAAAABU/bVH44xHdzyc/s1600-h/Peter3.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SIvN7Z0e3YI/AAAAAAAAABU/bVH44xHdzyc/s320/Peter3.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227498212920581506" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;When we took our niece back to her parents, we brought her brother to spend about 5 days with us. Peter was fun to have around. He attended a Grizzlies double header with me. He also showed us his interest in and flair for cooking. He spent time in the kitchen preparing food. For our Sunday family dinner, Peter made a yummy caramel sauce to drizzle over apple slices. It was the hit of the meal! Monday Dawn &amp;amp; Peter made California Sushi rolls. They were very good.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I also convinced Peter to try playing Tetris on the xBox 360 when we could not get Guitar Hero to work. It took some perserverance, but I think I got him hooked.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2900911901465825462-291576152468334724?l=dlarms.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/feeds/291576152468334724/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2900911901465825462&amp;postID=291576152468334724' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/291576152468334724'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/291576152468334724'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/2008/07/then-nephew.html' title='Then a Nephew'/><author><name>D and  L Armstrong</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18191329208248200960</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SVcj6oLLxZI/AAAAAAAAACY/YWarF57jO14/S220/At+dinner1.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SIvN7Z0e3YI/AAAAAAAAABU/bVH44xHdzyc/s72-c/Peter3.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2900911901465825462.post-3526971842035492070</id><published>2008-07-14T20:44:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-12-28T11:24:45.194-08:00</updated><title type='text'>A neice</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SIvPKKvrF-I/AAAAAAAAABk/uwDyK82xuYA/s1600-h/PICT0018.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SIvPKKvrF-I/AAAAAAAAABk/uwDyK82xuYA/s200/PICT0018.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227499566083545058" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We have our ten year old niece spending time with us this week. Dawn is enjoying time helping her learn to sew. Nicole is doing amazing work at the sewing table. We love having you here with us. She also enjoyed swimming with her older cousins.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2900911901465825462-3526971842035492070?l=dlarms.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/feeds/3526971842035492070/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2900911901465825462&amp;postID=3526971842035492070' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/3526971842035492070'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/3526971842035492070'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/2008/07/neice.html' title='A neice'/><author><name>D and  L Armstrong</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18191329208248200960</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SVcj6oLLxZI/AAAAAAAAACY/YWarF57jO14/S220/At+dinner1.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SIvPKKvrF-I/AAAAAAAAABk/uwDyK82xuYA/s72-c/PICT0018.JPG' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2900911901465825462.post-4882670233410073863</id><published>2008-07-14T20:41:00.000-07:00</published><updated>2008-07-20T17:17:31.723-07:00</updated><title type='text'>Intro</title><content type='html'>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SIPVfmt_VVI/AAAAAAAAAAM/g_mwQVQs5cg/s1600-h/Us+at+DW.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SIPVfmt_VVI/AAAAAAAAAAM/g_mwQVQs5cg/s400/Us+at+DW.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5225254731626009938" border="0" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We are empty nest parents enjoying this time of life. Our children are adults chasing their dreams. We love each other, our family, and  teaching.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2900911901465825462-4882670233410073863?l=dlarms.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/feeds/4882670233410073863/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=2900911901465825462&amp;postID=4882670233410073863' title='2 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/4882670233410073863'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/2900911901465825462/posts/default/4882670233410073863'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://dlarms.blogspot.com/2008/07/intro.html' title='Intro'/><author><name>D and  L Armstrong</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18191329208248200960</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SVcj6oLLxZI/AAAAAAAAACY/YWarF57jO14/S220/At+dinner1.jpg'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_FTj5I_dsXEY/SIPVfmt_VVI/AAAAAAAAAAM/g_mwQVQs5cg/s72-c/Us+at+DW.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>2</thr:total></entry></feed>
