Home Sweet Home

I am newly returned from a two week journey which quite literally took me across the country and back home again.  My trip was a mix of mostly business and a long weekend for vacation.  My journeys encompassed Mesa AZ, Vista CA, and Amarillo TX.  Along the way I had stops in the following airports:  Louisville, Dallas/ Fort Worth, Phoenix, San Diego, and Amarillo.  Racking up those frequent flyer miles.  Hotels slept in:  Hampton Inn & Suites Chandler AZ, TownePlace Suites Vista CA, Paradise Pier Hotel at Disneyland, Ramada Inn Downtown San Diego, and finally Holiday Inn Amarillo, TX.  I must say.  My bed felt AMAZING when I slept in it Thursday night. 

Highlights from the trip: Riding Tower of Terror with my brothers (see picture posted on Facebook), Dinner and drinks at Downtown Disney (I think we found a drink Aaron doesn't mind consuming!!), Cold drinks on a warm Thursday afternoon talking to a good friend who I haven't seen in a long time, Heart to heart talks, hugs from my nephew, family dinner, Dinner at On the Prado (excellent food and drink, even better conversation), and time with my brother Micah before he deploys to Afghanistan. 

Then this last week in Amarillo, Texas, I attended an EHS (Environmental, Health, and Safety) Council meeting.  3 days.  2.5 days of meetings, discussions, and an overwhelming sens of "we have a LOT of work to do."  Sustainability is the direction where business must head.  Global awareness, regulations, social responsibility . . . the list goes on.  Anyway, we did take a moment out of the hectic schedule to head to River Breaks Ranch.  A fun evening of watching horse racing (I managed to never pick a winning horse), and a wagon ride (hauled by a John Deer Tractor driven by a cowboy). 

Even got to see a mini-cattle drive.  The ranch has been in operations for 101 years.  At its largest size, it encompassed 200,000 acres cover 3 states (Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma).  Today it is still a working ranch - 2000 acres.  The dinner included:  Beef Brisket, Biscuits, salad, beans, and the best peach cobbler ever. 
 





I arrived home Thursday night.  Being gone for so many days I took a cab to and from the airport, since this was cheaper than paying parking.  I didn't want to leave my car parked out front to say to the world, "Hey, I'm gone for a whole bunch of days."  So, I parked it in the garage.  Friday morning, I get up, get ready, and go down to the basement garage to head to work.  Did I mention this?  My garage is subterranean.  I climb in and start the . . . . choke, sputter, no sound of an engine revving.  I get out and "jiggle" (yes, that is an official term) the battery cable.  Climb back in, still no engine turning over.  The lights all come on, but this tells me only the battery is okay.  I call in assistance - a  tow truck.  The tow truck driver arrives and about panics over where the car is parked.  Fortunately, Balding Civic has a tow hook.  He was able to get the wench/ cinch? connected and hauled the car out of the garage.  Slow and difficult process.  He did a great job.  I may not be parking down there again.  I'm super paranoid now :o)

So, a few asked what my home looks like, so Friday morning, while waiting for the tow truck I took this picture.

In case you wondered, Balding Civic is fine.  The Service Adviser at the dealership said it was "only" flooded.  Worked some bit of mechanic magic and in 5 minutes the car was back to me.  Sigh.  Was the $141 dollars to haul the car to the dealership REALLY necessary?????

Champaign and Martinellis

Summer road trip. Louisville to Champaign, Illinois and back again. What's in Champaign? Well, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It is the Twin Cities after all. More importantly, it was where I was meeting the Martinelli family for the weekend.

The Martinellis are friends from California. They serve in Campus Crusade for Christ. I spent Thanksgivings, dinners, game nights, Community Group, birthday parties, and countless hours with David, Diane, and their kids. I've missed them all. It was such a joy to be with them.

Memorable events: Conversation, playing school, Ms. PacMan Tournament (I ROCKED!!!), fellowship, giving winning Birthday presents (you never know with a 11 year old and 9 year old - I haven't been those ages in a LONG time!), laughter, and encouragement.

The journey home was much slower. Leaving loved ones and heading into a BUSY work week. The traffic on I-65 didn't help either - yes, there was traffic. Accident slowed us all down to a 2 mile/ hour CRAWL. Took an extra hour to get home.

Sweet memories. Champaign and Martinells.

Family Portrait

For Christmas this year, my brothers gave our Mama the gift of a family portrait. Today was the official day where we gathered together to capture a moment in time. Nine of us - 3 brothers, 2 sisters, 1 brother-in-law, 1 nephew, 1 Mama, and 1 Papa. According to the photographer, the size of our family was going to max out his studio room. So, if we add to our numbers between now and the next family portrait, we will need to move to the great outdoors. Considering our last picture was over 5 years ago and we didn't add anyone to the numbers, we might still fit :o)

Lunch ended the family outing. We went to Denny's. Someone voted down La Caseta. For those of you from Fallbrook, will know this was a terrible thing to do. La Caseta is still one of my favorite Mexican Restaurants. But, Denny's was acceptable. I got to eat breakfast for lunch. Reversing meals like that always makes me a little happy - feels like I'm breaking an unspoken rule and getting away with it :o)

So, with a little Photoshop and high quality printing, the family is captured in time. I look forward to the final version. Wonder where I will hang the portrait?