Friday, November 27, 2009

Turkey lurkey dee (2009)

For Thanksgiving 2009 we decided to do things a bit differently. Steph and I took our family (just us, the kids, and Obi) and got out of Dodge, heading to Colorado Springs for a day of relaxation at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort. I'd found the place online on Wednesday so it was somewhat last-minute, but it worked out great! We got there with a bit of time before our buffet reservations, hit the outdoor pool and hot tub for a bit (with Obi in tow and Steph not able to join us in the water due to the cast and all) and then went for the big T-day buffet. It was great; turkey, taters, ham, bacon, salmon, trout, stuffing, salads, cheeses, soups, fruits, and plenty of dessert options. For our little family it wasn't any more expensive than if we'd thrown our own dinner, and there were tons of options with NO DISHES!! Good time. Then there was time for a bike/scooter ride, another pool (indoor this time), relaxation in the room, and pool (the kind with a table and a cue ball) in the hotel bar area to close out the night.

So Thanksgiving itself was great. I'm thankful for my family. My wife rocks, the kids are awesome, and my dog kicks ass. What more could a guy want in his life, really?

Today Steph had to head back to Denver to work, so the kids and Obi and I split off for our own quality time together. We swam some more and then hit the Cave of the Winds for a tour. Obi couldn't go on the tour obviously, but the kids and I had fun. Driving back to Denver with a 105 lb (yes, he's gained weight...) dog in the passenger seat of an Accord is a bit precarious, but it was another great day.

I'll end with a final thought...if a turkey has been bred and raised to be slaughtered, isn't pardoning it a bit anti-climactic? Does a presidentially-pardoned turkey become entitled to healthcare and hospice in its later years? And how hypocritical/cruel is it to pardon one turkey and then eat another? "You're off the hook Courage*, but by the way I'm EATING YOUR BROTHER THIS EVENING!!! Now go back to your pen and think about that." That turkey will have issues for the rest of its life.

Happy Thanksgiving!

*The name of Obama's pardoned turkey

Friday, November 13, 2009

Headache

First a fun thing from work today. We have to re-certify that we know how to ship hazardous materials safely, since we deal with biological samples and dry ice and such, which are carefully controlled. Not to the level of explosives or anything, but we have to train anyway so we don't have blood leaking onto the package from your grandma or anything. In addition to the usual training there's a new required DOT training for hazardous materials. It was humorous in weird ways. Right off the bat they mentioned 9/11 and showed pictures from the WTC, and then admitted that it had nothing to do with the transportation of hazardous materials, and what we were about to learn wouldn't have made a bit of difference in that situation. They tied it in with "We need to be vigilant!" but mostly I think somebody wanted to show 9/11 footage. Boo!

So the post I started out to write...last Sunday the Bean woke up miserable. her head hurt badly, so Steph gave her Tylenol, which she immediately threw up. She brightened a bit in the late morning, so we thought we would go skating w/ Tim and Erin, but after a trial trip out of the house (to Target) she said she wanted to go home and lay on the couch instead. This is so not normal for her. After a day of lying around she wanted a nap (also weird), slept for 2 hours, and woke up still miserable and in tears because she hurt so bad. Steph called the pediatrician who directed her to the ER, fearing meningitis. Luckily that didn't check out, so they diagnosed the Bean with her 1st migraine. Seriously. At 5 years old. I guess that's somewhat normal though for people who have migraines; most can trace their 1st back to when they were 5 or 6. It sucks to see though. After a few hours at the ER sucking on popsicles and watching The Princess Bride the Bean felt better and thought Children's was a pretty cool place to hang out. She even got a free hand-knit blanket from Project Linus. So all ended well I guess, but I hope that doesn't happen often.

One final observation- in the bathroom at my work there's a sign asking people not to throw Feminine Products in the toilets. If our toilet paper is embossed with flowers, isn't it a "feminine product" by definition?

Saturday, November 7, 2009

A preview just quoted Larry King's feelings on a movie. Would you see anything on the basis of Larry King's opinion? Why not "Gee, your grandpa liked it! Go see it!"

Friday, November 6, 2009

New banana fritos

One thing about taking a banana in your lunch...you can't leave it in there for long. I made this mistake last week and my yummy chili cheese Frito's took on the distinct banana flavor, with a hint of chili. Not so yummy.

In other news, thanks to the benevolence of friends and a nice iTunes gift card, I'm wallowing in newly acquired music for the 1st time in awhile. I have the new Muse, Flaming Lips, Jay-Z, and the Ben Folds I didn't buy last year. Good times. I've also hit the app store and have actual apps that I paid money for now! Free versions of games are fun, but some things needed to be explored further.

Life continues to be busy. Steph has been out of town a lot to meetings and such lately and I've had a lot of downtime to go wild with no wife or kids in the house. It turns out that "going wild" means working a few hours for a school board campaign and being productive later into the night. When everybody is home I have to disappear to the basement after everyone is sleeping...when it's just me I can mop at 11:30 and nobody cares! I can also take Obi for walks at midnight, which is just gorgeous under a Colorado Fall full moon. Speaking of which fall is typically crazy weather wise. A week ago we had 2 feet of snow, every school in town shut down, my office closed, and the roads were a disaster. Fast forward to today and it was 75, sunny, and I was plenty warm running in shorts and a t-shirt. I love Colorado.