Smiles

“Life is not a journey to the grave with intentions of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming

... WOW! What a ride!”

Wonders of it All

Well, I came in early and still didn't manage to get out before HOV restrictions ... so I will write a bit before I join the rat race out of Washington DC. Adjusting to life after the cruise has not been easy this time. By the second week following previous cruises ... I was back to normal and in the grind. This time it is taking a major effort to even get started. Both bowling leagues are winding down and will be done by the 15th of March. We seem to be in the middle of the pack on both leagues though the potential to finish higher is more possible on the Youth League. About a month until I head to Las Vegas for a brief respite from work. Right now there is one open seat in the car for someone with aspirations of a Vegas holiday. I have mixed emotions about this year. While this year of bowling is better than last years, I still have some apprehension. Also, this time last year, George and I were planning this trip ... and now he is gone. I can still vividly recall that trip. This year will be my 19th year ... 6 more to go. Wild Mom is offline as her computer went on vacation. Well, more work for me. She will be here on the 16th of March. The plan is to drive down to Pigeon Forge and pick her up. My sister will get her there from Nashville, and Gung Ho Jen will get her from Florida to Nashville. She is being passed around like a worn football on Thanksgiving day. So hang on Old Mill Resturant and Apple Barn, we are coming soon. $$$$ Also Wild Mom's health is fine and she is in serious packing mode. Lady is looking forward to the trip also but there is one cloud in the sky. AJ is scheduled for heart surgery sometime soon and that will impact our plans a lot. Peanut is fine just having so much fun working. Pssst, #1 had an interview ... could that mean the great job freeze is done with? Imagine Grumpy with money in his pockets! Of course, #2 isn't so lucky ... but the Bible does say there will be miracles and wondrous happenings in the end times. Lew and Lil Princess are great and a pure joy to be with ... well, for the most part ... as with any 2 and 5 year old ... they will be kids. Starr is working but I don't have a lot of information ... we play phone tag a lot. Work is the same ... it sucks for the most part. It seems when they pass out the VP titles ... they also collect any common sense to be returned only upon their retirement or death. If I had to rate anything, I would say work is my biggest stress generator.

On The Treadmill Once Again

Well, our first week back from the cruise has passed. Can we go back and get off the merry go round? Work is the same and morale is pretty low after we were given the chance to help the company with a pay cut. Yeah Right. The project is late but not because of engineering. That's right ... operators, you know the prima donnas that never make a mistake. It is Saturday and Lew and Lil Princess will be here ... the first we have seen them in a couple of weeks. Our cruising buddies headed back to South Carolina to spend a week with her mother. So our normal activities will change this weekend. It is amazing how close you can get with another couple and then miss the little things when they are gone. Lil-Bit got groomed this week and now he can see once again. No word yet from Starr on her new job. Hopefully she is working so much she hasn't had time to update her blogspot. I guess it is time to get the taxes started. Another one of those life events you just grow to hate. The new dishwasher was installed yesterday so the cabinets are now reasonably clean. For a while even the sink was empty. Wild Mom is doing fine and planning her next three upcoming trips (Vegas, Germany, Pigeon Forge). Looks like AJ will need surgery but we won't now anything more for about a couple of weeks. Peanut is fine. Just worrying about AJ and working all the time. I sure do miss the times we could just goof off but that is life with a job.

The blood says it his and the residue says its steroids but Juicer Bonds continue to say he didn't. Just change the name to Clemens and you have a repeat. Give up guys and be honest ... you got caught cheating, so pay the piper like everyone else does.

How could I live on $500,000 a year if I were forced to do that. Let me count the ways I would be happy to do it. Hey, Obama, fire the CEO and hire me at $250,000. I would struggle but manage it.

Need to run and visit someone in the Hospital ... see you later.

All in All

Well, as you can guess ... the vacation is over with and life is back to normal. We are starting to plan the road trip to Las Vegas in March and then Lady's and Wild Mom's road trip in May. I am really leaning towards driving to Las Vegas. We could even manage to have one rider. I am thinking of the 23 March to 01 April time frame for the fun. The final decision will be made hopefully this week after I do some final investigating. I would really like to see Blue Man Group again because it has been a while since I last saw them. Work is the same which is no surprise . My first piece of news was that we all got a 5% cut in pay effective last Friday. Welcome Back ... I had to tell about the trip numerous times to those interested. It only made me want to go back more especially after the first bit of news. I hope the next 11 months go fast. We will get a bit of nostalgia this weekend as we take the van back to Lake Anna where it belongs. Wild Mom made it back home safe and sound ... though her luggage decided to take a little bit longer vacation. Lady is back into the routine but she managed to get her nails done yesterday so she could start work in the gorgeous mode ... as if she needed any help. Yesterday, we ate dinner with our cruising buddies as a closeout to the whole excursion. Earlier in the day we replaced the dishwasher that had died on us a couple of days prior to us leaving. The house was still standing and in relatively good repair ... so we assume #1, #2, and Peanut managed to be civil. AJ apparently kept them busy keeping up with him. Ever see a 9 month control so many adults? He is growing like a weed. He is a lot heavier than when we left ... a result of too many pizza crusts. He is moving about better and faster and even takes spells of standing by himself ... that is until he thinks about it. He has become proficient in clapping his hands and blowing on a whistle. On the southern scene ... Star is hoping for the new job after her interview today. We have our fingers cross that things will start going good for her. Who knows ... if things go bad up here ... we will move down there and let her support us for the foreseeable future.

Blonde has a flat tire while driving down the freeway. She pulls over and then goes to the trunk to remove two life size cardboard cutouts of naked men. A Police cruiser stops and asks her what is going on. "Well, duh" the blonde replies, "I have a flat tire!" The Police officer says, "No, what are those (pointing at the cutouts)." "Oh, she replies, they are my emergency flashers."

Dumbest Cruise Questions

The are some of the dumb questions asked on the ship by a guest to a crew member:

1. Which elevator takes me to the front of the ship?
2. Does the ship make its own electricity?
3. Does this stairway go up or down?
4. When I go to the Photo gallery to pick up my photos ... how will I know which one is mine?
5. Will I get wet on the snorkeling excursion?
6. Which floor is Deck 7 on?
7. What do I push to get the elevator to go to the 16th deck? (Ship only had 14)
8. How often do you clean the poop deck?
   
9. Does the Crew and Staff spend the night on the ship?
10. As the ship sails past the outer buoy in Miami Bay heading South ... When will we get to board the ship?
11. What do you do with the Ice Sculptures after they melt?
    

Surprise ... these people weren't all blonde's!

Paradise - Ended

Our last night (Saturday) on the ship was great and very memorable. Dinner and the show were the highlights. Barry John, Joe Yanetty and the Cats Pajamas managed to created a super farewell show. We didn't stay up late because we had to pack and get the bags ready for pickup by Midnight. So there was no final night karaoke for Lady and Wild Mom to sing to after a few Pina Coladas. The packing, actually going through all the souvenirs and papers of the cruise, was hard to do ... we never want the fun things to end ... but alas! We did manage to do some last minute souvenir hunting. I spent a good part of the day taking pictures around the ship. I even managed to win the raffle and won a bag of goodies worth about $200. Hey, maybe I will get lucky some more. Sunday was a quiet day as we waited for our color to be called to disembark the ship. We all sat about the stateroom and reflected and dreamed of the next cruise and what we would do differently. By the way, the next on is official now ... January 10, 2010 and we will do the Western Caribbean out of Miami on the same ship (MS Jewel). We even got to see the rooms we will have and they are awesome. It is a balcony suite on the stern of the ship and it even has a tub in it. We are excited, only 11 months to go and we wish the time would go faster.

Lady is anxious to get home but at the same time wishing this would never end. Our cozy little dinner at Cagney's turned out to be the absolute highlight of the trip.

Wild Mom made it off the ship safe and sound and should be home Sunday Night. Let me tell you, a week long trip with your mom is something never to be forgotten and I am so glad we did.

Even the tug of work can be felt .... uggggh!