Marley and Me

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!

Last evening, after dinner I starting watching the Sugar Bowl. I was pulling for Utah, just because they get no respect from the media. Utah did it! They proved not only to be worthy, but also proved that the BCS is bull----!

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 Marley and Me. 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.

Have you ever lost a pet?

Larry

New Years Day 2009

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.

On New Years Day, Dawn & 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.

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.

What did you do on the first holiday of the new year?

Smog tests

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.

It is great to have time off from work to take care of essential business forced on us by the state. Happy New Year!

Eric Away & Cell questions

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!

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 wow are they expensive. We have Verizon now. It has worked well, but I would like to lower our monthly bill. AT&T 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 T -Mobile any good?

Does anyone have any suggestions?

A Sick Day

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.

Larry

Christmas 2008

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.

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.

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.

Merry Christmas to all!

Larry

Christmas Eve 2008

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.

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.

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.