Although the weather was beautiful, it was a hard weekend for Tracy and I. Our oldest daughter and her husband have been contemplating moving to Oregon to be closer to his family and to pursue new career/schooling opportunities. Stephanie has been hinting around that they would be moving, but she told us Saturday that they have decided to move at the end of May.
Tracy and I certainly understand their need to build their own life and future, but neither of them have jobs and will be new to the community, which greatly concerns us. May will definitely be a challenging month as they prepare to move and we attempt to get comfortable with the idea.
If that wasn't challenging enough, we received a call this morning saying that Tracy's 97 year old grandmother was not doing well and was not expected to live through the day. After church, we headed out to be with her and Tracy's parents. At about 9:30pm this evening, we received a call that she had passed away.
Although she had a strong faith, lived a great life and is certainly in a much better place now, it is still difficult to say goodbye and let go.
We will spend the day with Tracy's family tomorrow and although it will be sad, we will be there to support one another the way that granny would have wanted us to.
Sorry for the downer post today, but that is how this weekend turned out. Hopefully the coming week will be better!
Take care and thanks for stopping by.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Stripper Pole....Really?
Our youngest daughter Sarah is just finishing her freshman year at ASU and has been bringing her stuff home from her dorm over the last few visits.
Dorm life has been alright, her roommate turned out to be a party girl, but respected Sarah's space and her desire to work hard and get good grades.
We heard stories about the guys down the hall that smoked and sold marijuana and were finally arrested by campus police. We also heard about the two girls who had a cat in their dorm all semester long and were finally caught and fined $500. And there was the students who had a George Foreman grill to cook steaks in their rooms, which was totally against the rules. But last night Sarah topped it all when she told us about a student who lived by herself in a handicapped dorm room down the hall.
Sarah said that none of the students that she knows ever saw this girl and no one was ever seen anyone coming or going from that room. After the final floor meeting on Sunday, it was time for the preliminary room inspections by the floor monitor. Sarah said that their room passed with no problem, just some bathroom cleaning and vacuuming next week. But the big surprise came from the mystery room down the hall when the inspection revealed a stripper pole which had been bolted into the floor and ceiling along with a disco ball that was hanging in the corner of the room.
I read an article not to long ago that a stripper pole can be used for exercise, but I can't quite figure this one out. I would imagine that someone had to come install the pole and drilling into concrete would have made a racket, so how did this student get past everyone's detection?
I would imagine that ASU won't publish this in their housing guide for incoming freshman and they most likely won't take the parent tours past this dorm room in the future.
San Diego State where Tracy and I went to school was always billed as a "party school" but I can't say that I ever heard of a student with a stripper pole in their dorm room.
Sarah has decided to move off campus next year and I can't say that I am opposed to that change. Tracy and I had concerns that Sarah might be negatively influenced by her peers when she moved away from home to go to school, but we never imagined that a student five doors down would have a stripper pole.
Oh well, Sarah did a great job this year, she figured out her course of study and is off to a great start with top grades and many new friends. Next year will be a new adventure off campus and we can't wait to see what the future holds for her.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope that your weekend is great!
Dorm life has been alright, her roommate turned out to be a party girl, but respected Sarah's space and her desire to work hard and get good grades.
We heard stories about the guys down the hall that smoked and sold marijuana and were finally arrested by campus police. We also heard about the two girls who had a cat in their dorm all semester long and were finally caught and fined $500. And there was the students who had a George Foreman grill to cook steaks in their rooms, which was totally against the rules. But last night Sarah topped it all when she told us about a student who lived by herself in a handicapped dorm room down the hall.
Sarah said that none of the students that she knows ever saw this girl and no one was ever seen anyone coming or going from that room. After the final floor meeting on Sunday, it was time for the preliminary room inspections by the floor monitor. Sarah said that their room passed with no problem, just some bathroom cleaning and vacuuming next week. But the big surprise came from the mystery room down the hall when the inspection revealed a stripper pole which had been bolted into the floor and ceiling along with a disco ball that was hanging in the corner of the room.
I read an article not to long ago that a stripper pole can be used for exercise, but I can't quite figure this one out. I would imagine that someone had to come install the pole and drilling into concrete would have made a racket, so how did this student get past everyone's detection?
I would imagine that ASU won't publish this in their housing guide for incoming freshman and they most likely won't take the parent tours past this dorm room in the future.
San Diego State where Tracy and I went to school was always billed as a "party school" but I can't say that I ever heard of a student with a stripper pole in their dorm room.
Sarah has decided to move off campus next year and I can't say that I am opposed to that change. Tracy and I had concerns that Sarah might be negatively influenced by her peers when she moved away from home to go to school, but we never imagined that a student five doors down would have a stripper pole.
Oh well, Sarah did a great job this year, she figured out her course of study and is off to a great start with top grades and many new friends. Next year will be a new adventure off campus and we can't wait to see what the future holds for her.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope that your weekend is great!
Friday, April 27, 2012
Survived The Big C!
Well after what seemed like days of prep, which is truly the worst part of the process, it was time for the big procedure. Thankfully Motorhome magazine had just arrived, so with that and my iPad to get up to date on the blogs I follow, the time passed pretty quickly.
The outpatient clinic was close to home and they were right on time.The doctor met with me for a few minutes and said that he had done over 4000 colonoscopies without any issues, so that made me much more confident to proceed.
Once I got into my wonderful gown, it was off to the recovery area for the IV and then into the procedure room. The nurse asked me my name and why I was there, and although I came up with a couple of what I thought would be funny responses, I thought better of it because this was a pretty regimented group.
The next thing I knew, Tracy was in the recovery room with the doctor and he explained that all went well and that he would be back in touch with the results of the biopsy.
So all in all, the process wasn't as bad as many people that I spoke with made it out to be and now I can pitch in with my story the next time someone says they are having the Big C.
The good news is that the doctor told me to take it easy this weekend, so I am sure that I can find some good baseball and golf on the TV and just enjoy some rest and relaxation. I hope your weekend is restful and relaxing as well. Thanks for stopping by.
The outpatient clinic was close to home and they were right on time.The doctor met with me for a few minutes and said that he had done over 4000 colonoscopies without any issues, so that made me much more confident to proceed.
Once I got into my wonderful gown, it was off to the recovery area for the IV and then into the procedure room. The nurse asked me my name and why I was there, and although I came up with a couple of what I thought would be funny responses, I thought better of it because this was a pretty regimented group.
The next thing I knew, Tracy was in the recovery room with the doctor and he explained that all went well and that he would be back in touch with the results of the biopsy.
So all in all, the process wasn't as bad as many people that I spoke with made it out to be and now I can pitch in with my story the next time someone says they are having the Big C.
The good news is that the doctor told me to take it easy this weekend, so I am sure that I can find some good baseball and golf on the TV and just enjoy some rest and relaxation. I hope your weekend is restful and relaxing as well. Thanks for stopping by.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
The Big C!
Well as many of you know, I treated myself to a physical exam shortly after my 50th Birthday. Many of you who are reading this blog know that when you reach half a century, they reward you with a Colonoscopy to recognize your great accomplishment.
Mine is scheduled for this Friday and I will start the process of preparing for my exam tomorrow evening. The gallon of wonderful prescription liquid is chilling in the refrigerator like a fine wine, along with my jello and Vitamin Water, which will be my meal replacements along with chicken broth for the next two days.
Scheduling of this wonderful event could not have been better since March was National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and as a result, every other commercial on the radio had to do with the importance of going through this process.
I'm sure that I will be rather busy starting at 6:00pm tomorrow night, but will certainly let you know how things went Friday evening.
With that, I will wish you all well and hope that your weekend will be more enjoyable than mine! Take care and be safe out there.
Mine is scheduled for this Friday and I will start the process of preparing for my exam tomorrow evening. The gallon of wonderful prescription liquid is chilling in the refrigerator like a fine wine, along with my jello and Vitamin Water, which will be my meal replacements along with chicken broth for the next two days.
Scheduling of this wonderful event could not have been better since March was National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and as a result, every other commercial on the radio had to do with the importance of going through this process.
I'm sure that I will be rather busy starting at 6:00pm tomorrow night, but will certainly let you know how things went Friday evening.
With that, I will wish you all well and hope that your weekend will be more enjoyable than mine! Take care and be safe out there.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Crossing Of The Rubicon!
I entitled this post "Crossing Of The Rubicon" because that is what this weekend felt like for me in many ways. The weekend has been busy with dinners, parties and neighborhood get-togethers.
As I wrote on Friday, we had our church school auction, which was attended by about 250 people at WestWorld in Scottsdale. The first crossing of the rubicon for me was the amount of money that was spent by many of those in attendance, which did not include us.
One example during the live auction was two parking places which were offered as reserved spaces with the individual's name during the school week. These sold for $2,500 each. Principal for the day went for $1,200 and were purchased by two families. I have no idea what all of the the silent auction items went for, but I heard that a set of three of the Master's flags below went for $2,000. Phil Mickelson's caddy's kids go to our school, so Phil was gracious to donate these.
It was kind of fun to observe all of the back and forth bidding that was taking place and it all went to a great cause, but I couldn't connect with the amounts of money that were being bid. I really felt a little out of place when the couples on either side of us had a list of the bids they had won, one totaled $1400 and the other $3400...ours totaled $0.
Yesterday afternoon we had a great BBQ lunch with our kids. It was fun just hanging out with them and getting caught up on what has been happening in their lives. With our oldest daughter Stephanie and her husband Randy talking about moving to Oregon this summer, we were sad to think that these casual get-togethers will not occur so often.
Last night was a real crossing of the rubicon for both Tracy and I. Our neighbors invited us to attend a party at their house with some of their friends and coworkers. It was very nice that they invited us, but we realized right away that we were the oldest ones there by many years. I used to wonder how my parents felt when we would invite them to our parties and they would sit and smile most of the evening. Well, Tracy and I found out last night.
We spoke with many of the folks that were there and the buffet dinner was very nice, but once the jello shots and beer pong began, all bets were off. About 8:00pm, we decided it was time to cut a trail and walk the two houses into our cul-de-sac and call it a night. We really felt old then, knowing that we were leaving and the party was just getting started.
Well this afternoon, we are invited to another neighbors for drinks, appetizers and bocce ball. This is a "so long" celebration for one couple who will be headed to their Chicago
home for the summer.
I think this will be more our speed as I don't think there will be any jello shots or beer pong this afternoon, but who knows.
So we will just enjoy this afternoon as our busy weekend of socializing draws to an close and we get ready for what I'm sure will be a busy week.
I wanted to welcome heyduke50 along on our adventure. In visiting their blog, it looks like they are enjoying the many benefits of fulltiming including great times with their kids and grand kids. We are very much looking forward to that someday ourselves. Welcome aboard!
That's it for today, thanks for stopping by and take good care!
As I wrote on Friday, we had our church school auction, which was attended by about 250 people at WestWorld in Scottsdale. The first crossing of the rubicon for me was the amount of money that was spent by many of those in attendance, which did not include us.
One example during the live auction was two parking places which were offered as reserved spaces with the individual's name during the school week. These sold for $2,500 each. Principal for the day went for $1,200 and were purchased by two families. I have no idea what all of the the silent auction items went for, but I heard that a set of three of the Master's flags below went for $2,000. Phil Mickelson's caddy's kids go to our school, so Phil was gracious to donate these.
It was kind of fun to observe all of the back and forth bidding that was taking place and it all went to a great cause, but I couldn't connect with the amounts of money that were being bid. I really felt a little out of place when the couples on either side of us had a list of the bids they had won, one totaled $1400 and the other $3400...ours totaled $0.
Yesterday afternoon we had a great BBQ lunch with our kids. It was fun just hanging out with them and getting caught up on what has been happening in their lives. With our oldest daughter Stephanie and her husband Randy talking about moving to Oregon this summer, we were sad to think that these casual get-togethers will not occur so often.
Last night was a real crossing of the rubicon for both Tracy and I. Our neighbors invited us to attend a party at their house with some of their friends and coworkers. It was very nice that they invited us, but we realized right away that we were the oldest ones there by many years. I used to wonder how my parents felt when we would invite them to our parties and they would sit and smile most of the evening. Well, Tracy and I found out last night.
We spoke with many of the folks that were there and the buffet dinner was very nice, but once the jello shots and beer pong began, all bets were off. About 8:00pm, we decided it was time to cut a trail and walk the two houses into our cul-de-sac and call it a night. We really felt old then, knowing that we were leaving and the party was just getting started.
Well this afternoon, we are invited to another neighbors for drinks, appetizers and bocce ball. This is a "so long" celebration for one couple who will be headed to their Chicago
home for the summer.
I think this will be more our speed as I don't think there will be any jello shots or beer pong this afternoon, but who knows.
So we will just enjoy this afternoon as our busy weekend of socializing draws to an close and we get ready for what I'm sure will be a busy week.
I wanted to welcome heyduke50 along on our adventure. In visiting their blog, it looks like they are enjoying the many benefits of fulltiming including great times with their kids and grand kids. We are very much looking forward to that someday ourselves. Welcome aboard!
That's it for today, thanks for stopping by and take good care!
Friday, April 20, 2012
Getting Hot...Way Too Soon!
You will probably get tired of hearing me whine (definition: complain peevishly) about the Arizona heat between now and October, so I will apologize in advance. I heard on the news today that they are expecting temperatures of 103 degrees this weekend, with a cooling trend in the mid 90's next week.
I have been reading posts from George and Suzie Yates and Al of the Bayfield Bunch and they have already made it home to Canada where the weather has been down right cold and rainy on many of the days. I am not sure if I am envious of the cold and rainy weather or not, especially knowing what lies ahead in just a few weeks! :(
Tracy and I are off to an auction tonight, which is held each year to support our church school. Tracy works at both the church and the school, so we are kind of on the hook, if you will, to attend the event. The tickets are $50 each and the event is held at WestWorld each year. The food is usually pretty good (buffet, hey what do you expect for $50 bucks?), the drinks are expensive, the company is good and we usually don't bid on much, or anything. Should be fun, I might even get some pictures of some neat auction items to share over the weekend, if I remember to take the pictures.
I hope your weekend ahead will be great...we were supposed to have family over for a BBQ, but that may not happen. Plans are made to be changed. Be safe and thanks for stopping by!
I have been reading posts from George and Suzie Yates and Al of the Bayfield Bunch and they have already made it home to Canada where the weather has been down right cold and rainy on many of the days. I am not sure if I am envious of the cold and rainy weather or not, especially knowing what lies ahead in just a few weeks! :(
Tracy and I are off to an auction tonight, which is held each year to support our church school. Tracy works at both the church and the school, so we are kind of on the hook, if you will, to attend the event. The tickets are $50 each and the event is held at WestWorld each year. The food is usually pretty good (buffet, hey what do you expect for $50 bucks?), the drinks are expensive, the company is good and we usually don't bid on much, or anything. Should be fun, I might even get some pictures of some neat auction items to share over the weekend, if I remember to take the pictures.
I hope your weekend ahead will be great...we were supposed to have family over for a BBQ, but that may not happen. Plans are made to be changed. Be safe and thanks for stopping by!
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Enjoying My New iPad!
In retrospect, I probably should have spent the additional $100 for the newest iPad, but there are many other things that I can spend that money on, so I am not going to think about that again.
Thanks to both Michael and Donna K for their comments regarding applications that I should use. I did download Drop Box and CloudOn, which should help me with the use of Word, Excel and PDF documents between my office and client meetings.
I still wish that I could take notes electronically on the iPad during client meetings, so I am still trying to identify an application that would work well for that purpose. If you know of one, please comment back with the name of the application and thanks.
That's about it for today...we are supposed to be nearing the 100's by Friday, which I am really not looking forward to. This is about 30 days earlier than most years, so I think we are in for a really hot summer.
I hope your week is off to a great start and be safe out there!
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Feeling Sorry For Myself!
So as you know from yesterday's post, we spent the weekend at McDowell Mountain Park and had a wild night with wind, hail and rain. Most of the day Saturday was cold, cloudy and windy, to the point that we never even removed our bikes from the rack.
We were able to get a couple of quick walks in and did get to visit briefly with some friends from church who were also camping in the park, but the rest of the day was spent in the rig and not outside.
Last evening the wind calmed down slightly to allow me to barbecue a couple of bacon wrapped fillets and to have a brief fire for a couple of quick S'mores for dessert. Then it was back into the rig and early to bed.
At about 9:30pm, the wind stopped blowing and it was a silent but cold night which was a welcomed relief from the night before. Both Tracy and I slept most of the night and awoke to a beautiful sunrise this morning.
Following coffee and breakfast, we decided to take a walk around the park on some of the walking trails that we missed out on yesterday. That's when I started feeling sorry for myself, realizing that we had to head home for what will be a busy week and leave behind what was shaping up to be an absolutely beautiful day. I couldn't help but think how great it would be if we could have stayed a week or so to make up for our not so great day indoors yesterday.
Then I realized that even though we were all cooped up yesterday, that it was a great day with Tracy, talking, blogging, surfing the net, snacking and watching Tim Allen's movie Ordinary Joe, which we had missed when it was in the theater years ago.
Additionally because it had been really cold over the weekend, the rattlesnakes were back in their holes which made walking and hiking very nice and uneventful.
So even though we couldn't stay for a few more days to really get our moneys worth, I know that someday, good Lord willing, that we will be able to stay as long as we want, so that is certainly something to look forward to!
I want to welcome the American Traveler as our 34th blog follower. The American Travelers are Peter and Beatrix and I enjoyed reading about and seeing pictures of the "Fat Lady" on their site this morning, what a beauty she is. I have to admit that if you told me we would have 34 followers and over 4000 visits to our blog in less than four months, I never would have believed it. Thanks to all of you who have made that a reality.
That's if for this Sunday. I hope your day and week will be great and be safe out there!
We were able to get a couple of quick walks in and did get to visit briefly with some friends from church who were also camping in the park, but the rest of the day was spent in the rig and not outside.
Last evening the wind calmed down slightly to allow me to barbecue a couple of bacon wrapped fillets and to have a brief fire for a couple of quick S'mores for dessert. Then it was back into the rig and early to bed.
 |
| Beautiful Sunset Last Night |
Following coffee and breakfast, we decided to take a walk around the park on some of the walking trails that we missed out on yesterday. That's when I started feeling sorry for myself, realizing that we had to head home for what will be a busy week and leave behind what was shaping up to be an absolutely beautiful day. I couldn't help but think how great it would be if we could have stayed a week or so to make up for our not so great day indoors yesterday.
Then I realized that even though we were all cooped up yesterday, that it was a great day with Tracy, talking, blogging, surfing the net, snacking and watching Tim Allen's movie Ordinary Joe, which we had missed when it was in the theater years ago.
 | ||
| The Cactus Are Flowering |
So even though we couldn't stay for a few more days to really get our moneys worth, I know that someday, good Lord willing, that we will be able to stay as long as we want, so that is certainly something to look forward to!
I want to welcome the American Traveler as our 34th blog follower. The American Travelers are Peter and Beatrix and I enjoyed reading about and seeing pictures of the "Fat Lady" on their site this morning, what a beauty she is. I have to admit that if you told me we would have 34 followers and over 4000 visits to our blog in less than four months, I never would have believed it. Thanks to all of you who have made that a reality.
That's if for this Sunday. I hope your day and week will be great and be safe out there!
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Rockin' & Rollin'
Wow...we arrived at McDowell Mountain Park yesterday afternoon around 4:00pm and got our camp set up. Had a nice dinner of leftover lentil soup and crackers and then headed out for a campfire and S'mores.
About halfway through our campfire, the wind started to pick up so we decided to make quick work of our dessert and head inside. We had heard that it was supposed to rain around midnight, so we stowed the chairs away for the night and secured the wood under the cement table.
Just about the time that we shut everything down and fell off to sleep, things started to rock and roll...literally. First the wind started rocking the motorhome from side to side and our new Cyclone Vent started spinning like a whirlybird. I figured it was only a matter of time before it took flight and ended up in Tucson.
Once the wind was in full force, then the hail came down, it sounded like we were taking on artillery rounds from above. Shortly after the hail, the rain came full force for the much of the rest of the night. Needless to say, neither of us got much sleep!
So this morning's decision is do we stay again tonight for what could be more sleep deprivation or drive the short distance to our home and batten down the hatches? The sun is out now, there has been no rain so far, but the clouds to the northeast do look ominous.
The wind is still blowing like crazy, I just saw a chihuahua fly past the window as I was writing this post...just kidding, no need to send comments about what happened to the dog.
So for now, it is coffee and blogging time, we will see what the rest of the day brings. We are hoping to get out for a walk soon to work off those S'mores from last night!
I am so pleased to welcome two new friends to our blog: Levonne who describes herself as an American woman who is transitioning to living a Canadian life and Barak who lives in Xenia, Ohio and captures his thoughts and interests on his blog. Welcome aboard and glad to have you along!
With that, I wish you all a happy and enjoyable weekend and I hope that your weather is not nearly as eventful as ours.
About halfway through our campfire, the wind started to pick up so we decided to make quick work of our dessert and head inside. We had heard that it was supposed to rain around midnight, so we stowed the chairs away for the night and secured the wood under the cement table.
Just about the time that we shut everything down and fell off to sleep, things started to rock and roll...literally. First the wind started rocking the motorhome from side to side and our new Cyclone Vent started spinning like a whirlybird. I figured it was only a matter of time before it took flight and ended up in Tucson.
Once the wind was in full force, then the hail came down, it sounded like we were taking on artillery rounds from above. Shortly after the hail, the rain came full force for the much of the rest of the night. Needless to say, neither of us got much sleep!
So this morning's decision is do we stay again tonight for what could be more sleep deprivation or drive the short distance to our home and batten down the hatches? The sun is out now, there has been no rain so far, but the clouds to the northeast do look ominous.
 |
| Dark clouds blowing our way! |
The wind is still blowing like crazy, I just saw a chihuahua fly past the window as I was writing this post...just kidding, no need to send comments about what happened to the dog.
 |
| Our nice space, looks calm... |
I am so pleased to welcome two new friends to our blog: Levonne who describes herself as an American woman who is transitioning to living a Canadian life and Barak who lives in Xenia, Ohio and captures his thoughts and interests on his blog. Welcome aboard and glad to have you along!
With that, I wish you all a happy and enjoyable weekend and I hope that your weather is not nearly as eventful as ours.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
New iPad!
I would not say that I am a technology geek and I have never had the latest and greatest when it comes to computers, but as you know from earlier posts, I am really liking these Apple gadgets.
In more and more meetings that I am in, people are using iPads. So not to be outdone, I had some Birthday money and a Target Giftcard from my Blackbery that I turned in (don't tell my daughter Sarah because I think she planned to use the card) so I took the plunge and bought the iPad2 16GB for the reduced $399 price.
Ideally, I would like to use it for client presentations and to take meeting notes, but I haven't figured out how to save documents and I am not real affective with typing on the keyboard.
Because I am cheap, I didn't want to spend the extra money for the Verizon version of this unit, so I am test driving using my iPhone as a hotspot for $20 per month. So far it works great, I'm just not sure how fast I will get to my 2GB usage limit. It will be nice to always have the ability to connect when WiFi is not available.
I also have not figured out how to insert pictures using Picasa like I do on the laptop, so tonight's post is a little boring...sorry!
I am hoping some of the more technical experts who follow this blog like Rick or Michael might read this post and provide me with some helpful instruction...thanks in advance for your help! (I had to actually go to my laptop to post the links to these two guy's blogs, so that is another challenge that I face with using my iPad)
Well we are off for what will probably and sadly be our last local camping trip and we are supposed to have both wind and rain after a beautiful week...go figure that. But no matter, We will go and have a great time.
I will take some pictures to share...hopefully not of rattlesnakes like our last time out. I can almost guarantee you that Tracy will not be hiking off trail this weekend after our little unfriendly encounter.
That's it for tonight, I had better get this posted and get to bed as this was an early day for me. Diamondbacks just beat the Padres...I hope they continue their great forward momentum...go D'Backs! I hope you all have a safe and enjoyable weekend and be safe out there!
In more and more meetings that I am in, people are using iPads. So not to be outdone, I had some Birthday money and a Target Giftcard from my Blackbery that I turned in (don't tell my daughter Sarah because I think she planned to use the card) so I took the plunge and bought the iPad2 16GB for the reduced $399 price.
Ideally, I would like to use it for client presentations and to take meeting notes, but I haven't figured out how to save documents and I am not real affective with typing on the keyboard.
Because I am cheap, I didn't want to spend the extra money for the Verizon version of this unit, so I am test driving using my iPhone as a hotspot for $20 per month. So far it works great, I'm just not sure how fast I will get to my 2GB usage limit. It will be nice to always have the ability to connect when WiFi is not available.
I also have not figured out how to insert pictures using Picasa like I do on the laptop, so tonight's post is a little boring...sorry!
I am hoping some of the more technical experts who follow this blog like Rick or Michael might read this post and provide me with some helpful instruction...thanks in advance for your help! (I had to actually go to my laptop to post the links to these two guy's blogs, so that is another challenge that I face with using my iPad)
Well we are off for what will probably and sadly be our last local camping trip and we are supposed to have both wind and rain after a beautiful week...go figure that. But no matter, We will go and have a great time.
I will take some pictures to share...hopefully not of rattlesnakes like our last time out. I can almost guarantee you that Tracy will not be hiking off trail this weekend after our little unfriendly encounter.
That's it for tonight, I had better get this posted and get to bed as this was an early day for me. Diamondbacks just beat the Padres...I hope they continue their great forward momentum...go D'Backs! I hope you all have a safe and enjoyable weekend and be safe out there!
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Fastest Physical In The Southwest!
Well today was the day for my annual physical exam. I arrived at my doctor's office 15 minutes early, paid my co-pay and had a seat in the waiting room. In the time I took my iPhone out to check my email, my name was called.
It was time to take my temperature, weight and blood pressure. As you know from earlier posts, I have been trying to lose 20 pounds before this day and was only able to get down 15. So it was off to wait in the exam room.
Then everything slowed down, I waited 20 minutes until the door opened and my doctor appeared with a doctor in training. So off with everything and another 10 minute wait until the doctor came back after ordering labs.
Less than 10 minutes later the doctor left the exam room and I was done. This was a 5 minute time improvement from my last physical at age 49. Well I have to wonder if my doctor is just getting prepared should "Obama Care" become law. I am wondering if my physical next year will only be 5 minutes?
I want to welcome aboard RV PAINTER J. RICHARD SECOR as our latest follower. Welcome aboard and thanks for joining us.
I hope your week is going great and be safe out there!
It was time to take my temperature, weight and blood pressure. As you know from earlier posts, I have been trying to lose 20 pounds before this day and was only able to get down 15. So it was off to wait in the exam room.
Then everything slowed down, I waited 20 minutes until the door opened and my doctor appeared with a doctor in training. So off with everything and another 10 minute wait until the doctor came back after ordering labs.
Less than 10 minutes later the doctor left the exam room and I was done. This was a 5 minute time improvement from my last physical at age 49. Well I have to wonder if my doctor is just getting prepared should "Obama Care" become law. I am wondering if my physical next year will only be 5 minutes?
I want to welcome aboard RV PAINTER J. RICHARD SECOR as our latest follower. Welcome aboard and thanks for joining us.
I hope your week is going great and be safe out there!
Monday, April 9, 2012
A Great Day!
We had such a great Easter Sunday for all of the following reasons...
- Our church service was crowded but very nice.
- The music was beautiful and the message was great. Our pastor assured everyone that there would be plenty of available seats next Sunday, how many do you think will be back?
- My In-laws decided to do Easter brunch at their house.
- We got to eat out on the patio.
- The eggs, hashed browns, ham, coffee cake and fruit were delicious!
- Visiting with family and friends was very enjoyable.
- The Diamondbacks swept the Giants.
- Bubba Watson won the Masters in sudden death.
- The weather was great.
- I got to spent time with those I love.
It really doesn't get much better than this...we are truly blessed!
I want to welcome Rick and Paulette and Merikay as our most recent followers. Both of these individuals have great Blogs that you should visit and Rick has some of the best and most detailed technical information that I have ever seen. Thanks for joining us and welcome!
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend, have a great week and be safe out there!
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Warm Easter Welcome!
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| Happy Easter |
They went on to say that a 2010 survey was conducted which asked if people attended church regularly and regularly was defined as twice per month. Forty percent of the respondents said they attended regularly, but when they checked with the churches regarding their attendance, the percentage dropped to 21%.
I got a little smile on my face when they said that neither of the hosts attended church regularly because they liked to sleep in on Sunday and watch football. One of hosts said that he believed in God and that on judgment day it was his hope that the few times he attended church on Christmas and Easter would give him extra points.
They said that people who only attend church on Christmas and Easter were fakes and they should not go tomorrow because they won’t know what they are doing and they will most likely embarrass themselves.
The reason for my smile is that I have grown up in the church and it feels like a second home to me. I certainly don’t go to church for points and I hate to think that anyone would. I go for the relationship with my Savior, fellowship with my fellow Christians and I can’t imagine not being there.
Easter is a perfect time to go to church, whether you are used to it or not. But so are all of the other Sundays each year. I hope that no one feels that they have to go to services tomorrow, but if they do go, I hope they will find a warm Easter welcome that will cause them to come back again and again!
I want to welcome Erik of Erik's RV Blog as our latest follower. Welcome aboard Erik and thanks for joining us.
Have a blessed Easter wherever you are and whatever you are doing!
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Retirement in 15 years?
This post is not meant to be political or to create controversy....this is just a question that keeps rolling around in my head. What will retirement look like for us in 15, 20, 25 years and will it even be a possibility?
I read all these great RV blogs about the wonderful adventures that many of you have undertaken and I can't help but be a little envious of what might never be for us.
With the stock market downturn, gas at $5.00 per gallon and the unknown future that lies ahead, I wonder if people who are 50 today will ever be able to actually retire?
I wonder if we will just continue to work until we can't work anymore? I wonder if we will just work until the time we have to move in with our kids (I hope they read this post and make sure to prepare our room...you know, a nice large one, preferably with an ocean view). Or will we just pack up our motorhome and drive off into the sunset, paying $27.00 per gallon for gas and $75.00 per night to boondock at WalMart?
Well no one knows, so we will just keep enjoying life based on what we know today and putting as much as we can away for the future and just hope for the best!
I do hope your week has been great and that your Easter weekend will be blessed!
I read all these great RV blogs about the wonderful adventures that many of you have undertaken and I can't help but be a little envious of what might never be for us.
With the stock market downturn, gas at $5.00 per gallon and the unknown future that lies ahead, I wonder if people who are 50 today will ever be able to actually retire?
I wonder if we will just continue to work until we can't work anymore? I wonder if we will just work until the time we have to move in with our kids (I hope they read this post and make sure to prepare our room...you know, a nice large one, preferably with an ocean view). Or will we just pack up our motorhome and drive off into the sunset, paying $27.00 per gallon for gas and $75.00 per night to boondock at WalMart?
Well no one knows, so we will just keep enjoying life based on what we know today and putting as much as we can away for the future and just hope for the best!
I do hope your week has been great and that your Easter weekend will be blessed!
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
We Need A Spare Bedroom...
Well as you know from my post earlier this week that we had a houseful of family and fun times together. When we were trying to figure out where everyone was going to sleep we were short space for two people...then I remembered, we have a great spare bedroom parked on the side of the house.
When we sold our trailer a few years ago, we fell out of touch with having that extra space available for various things. It was always the place that were we hid the girl's Christmas gifts (shh...don't let them know). Where we wrapped presents, built bikes and doll houses and used for guests to spend the night.
Well we decided to use our motorhome for a couple of our family members to stay. My brother-in-law Ron and his son Josh wanted to stay out in there, with the only problem being that Ron's feet hung about 6 inches off the end of our queen bed. He said that it was not a problem and that they found it to be very comfortable.
So, our home away from home served as a home at our home for our family and worked perfectly!
I hope that your week has been great and that your Easter weekend will be special!
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| Our Spare Bedroom! |
Well we decided to use our motorhome for a couple of our family members to stay. My brother-in-law Ron and his son Josh wanted to stay out in there, with the only problem being that Ron's feet hung about 6 inches off the end of our queen bed. He said that it was not a problem and that they found it to be very comfortable.
So, our home away from home served as a home at our home for our family and worked perfectly!
I hope that your week has been great and that your Easter weekend will be special!
Monday, April 2, 2012
Really Great Birthday and Easter Eggs?
I had a great 50th Birthday celebration over the weekend. The weather was just as advertised, hot on Saturday and cold and windy on Sunday when we were having the party....go figure!
After the Birthday festivities, including a great meal of BBQ Beef sandwiches that my mother-in-law made for all of us to enjoy, it was time to dye Easter Eggs because the Morse kids will be in Denver for Easter. Once the eggs were dyed, the older "kids" hid plastic eggs with candy and quarters throughout the yard for the younger ones to find. Our cat Midnight even got into the act...
As you can see from the pictures, the Morse kids from Virginia had a great time playing volleyball with no net and Josh even went swimming in our pool at 68 degrees...burr. I forgot to snap any shots of the him diving into the pool, so I only have a volleyball game shot to share...
Here are some shots of the Birthday Party...the first one is of the cane that my mother-in-law gave me to help navigate in my old age. Has a horn, magnifying glass, pill bottle, a set of false teeth and a sign to warn people that I am coming their way...
A great weekend was had by all and the Morse's headed off to the Grand Canyon early this morning. It is always sad to see them go and we hope to see them all again very soon!
I hope your weekend was enjoyable and have a safe and productive week!
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