Solving The World's Problems!

Well actually I haven't solved any problems actually, but I do like to sit out on the patio at night under the stars with our propane table heater to keep me warm.

Nice on a chilly night!

While sitting outside, I can contemplate my day, week and year, while watching for shooting stars, which normally are just planes flying overhead in route to Sky Harbor Airport.

Not as nice as sitting around the campfire with s'mores, but it will do until our next camping trip, which is scheduled over New Year's.

Not much to report for this week so far, just busy at work and trying to recover from all my chores last weekend.

Tracy and I were off to Yoga again tonight, the instructor had us work on Chaturanga in slow motion, because she wanted to make sure our form was correct.  I could have told her that mine wasn't and she really didn't need to have us go through the torture of doing it in slow motion, I just would have admitted it and we could have moved on. :)

I want to welcome Paul Barton as our latest follower.  According to Paul's profile, he lives in Chula Vista California which is close to where I grew up in La Mesa and has one of our favorite spots, the Chula Vista RV Resort.

If you ever get a chance to stay there, do it, you won't be sorry.  Thanks for joining us Paul on our little adventure.  And thanks to all of you for the visit and I hope you are having a great week!

A Whirlwind Weekend!

I look forward to long weekends because I can get alot of the chores that have been on the back burner done and this long weekend was no exception.

It started off with a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at my In-Laws and the installation of the new soft top on the Suzuki. 

Then Tracy and I were looking through the Black Friday ads and found a 7.5 foot artificial Christmas tree at Home Depot that was pre-lit for $59.00. I told Tracy that if I happened to get up early I would head down there and see if there were any left.  So at 6:30am my eyes were wide open and I could not get back to sleep, so off to Home Depot I went. When I arrived, there was an employee who was helping to load the trees in people's carts and there were three left.  So I had him load one up for me and I asked him if they had a display, which they didn't.  So I took a chance at an unseen tree and headed home. Below is the tree, we are pretty happy with our $59.00 purchase.

A shot without decorations

Shot with decorations

After my big BF purchase, it was time to put up the outside Christmas lights, since my neighbor Gary had already put his up three days earlier.  Here is a shot of the front of the house with the reindeer that purchased at Big Lots right after getting the tree. 

Once that was done, it was time to wash Tracy and Sarah's cars and change the oil in the Suzuki.

Once the oil was changed, I decided to degrease the engine and detail it.  I always forget to take the before picture, but here is the after, not bad huh?

I finished the day by mowing the lawn and cleaning up the lawn.

Today was housecleaning and wash in-between the college football games because Tracy was out with her Mom to see the three tenors at a dinner show. 

So Sunday will be church and a trip to Sarah's house in Tempe repair a flat tire on her bike so that she is ready for class next week. 

Boy I am tired and that is enough for this weekend, I hope yours was great and thanks for stopping by!

Flipped My Lid!

Well I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, ours was great and we ate way too much as you can see.

Prior to going to my in-laws for a great afternoon of visiting and eating, I decided that I had time to install the soft top that I purchased on eBay for our new to us Suzuki Sidekick. 

So flipping the lid on the Suzuki was not an easy job, I let it sit out in the sun for a few days and that helped to stretch the material a little.  The old soft top was white vinyl and the windows had fogged up and the zipper in the rear window had broken, so it was time for an update.

Old White Vinyl Top

Half Way There

New Top Installed

The new soft top is made of a denim material rather than vinyl and once I got it installed, it looked great.

Well I have about five or six more projects this weekend including getting the Christmas lights and decorations up for this year. So I will sign off for now and I hope your long weekend is great.  Thanks for the visit!

Tracy, Sarah and I

Happy Thanksgiving!

It is hard to believe that Thanksgiving is here already, the days and weeks have been flying by and Christmas will be here before we know it.

Here are some pictures from the Gaylord National Hotel from my time in Washington DC last week.

Christmas Tree at the Gaylord National

View of the Potomac

View from our room

There are lots of projects on tap this long weekend and I will share those with you as the days progress.

I want to welcome Rod and Loyce Ivers of Retired Rod as our most recent followers.  I have enjoyed following Rod's Blog for many months and I would encourage you to visit his Blog as well.

I want to wish you and yours a very safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving Holiday and thanks for the visit.

Visiting Family In Charlottesville!

Meetings were finished in DC so I headed to the airport for a rental car and it was down the road to visit Tracy's brother and family in Virginia.

Tracy had been there since Thursday, having a great time. So I was headed down the road amongst the beautiful fall colors listening to Christmas carols on the radio.

The drive took over two hours, but I didn't care because the surroundings were great and the music got me into the season, even if a bit early.

My reward for the drive was to have a great lunch at one of my BIL's Baja Bean Company restaurants, boy was it good!

We are sadly heading home tomorrow morning, but it was great to spend time with our east coast family, boy are the kids growing up fast!

Hope you are having a great weekend, thanks for the visit and here are some pictures from our visit.

Up On The Hill Today!

I am President of a large Human Resources Association in Phoenix and each year HR leaders from all over the World gather for training and networking.

Part of that process includes a visit to Capitol Hill and to the offices of our respective Senators and Congressmen to talk about HR related issues. Today was that day, and about 300 of us visited the Hill.

The weather was overcast and cold, but thankfully there wasn't any wind or rain like last year.

What was like last year was that none of our State Representatives were available, so we met with their staffers. Surprise!

Below are some pictures of my day, hope yours was great and thanks for the visit!

My MVD Experience!

It was time to head down to the Motor Vehicle Department (MVD) to register our, new to us, Toad and I have to admit that I was really dreading it.  Yesterday was the observation of the Veteran's Day holiday and the office was closed, so I figured today would be absolutely crazy.  

People Making A Run For The Door!

Even though I had fear and trepidation, I bravely headed down to the MVD Office in Scottsdale, arriving at 8:45am.  The women at the counter, who looked like her best friend had just passed away asked me why I was there.  I thought for two seconds that I should maybe say something witty like I had nothing better to do, or I stopped by to see your smiling face and experience your engaging personality, but I thought better of it and just said I was there to register a car.

I went and took a seat amongst the sea of other people who looked like they would much rather be getting a Colonoscopy than waiting for their number to be called out on the big red board.  

Waiting For My Number To Be Called!

It was fun to see the dads and moms with their young (they really do look very, very young, the older I get) sons and daughters waiting nervously for their driving tests. Some of those parents looked like they had actually had a Colonoscopy and had not yet came out of the anesthesia. Could just be a reaction to their new insurance rates now that they have a 16 year old driver.

Anyway, I sat mesmerized by the flashing numbers and the computer generated voice that appeared to come from the heavens.  I kept looking at my little scrap of paper each time a number was called out and held back shouting out BINGO on a couple of occasions.    

Come On J995!

I had packed my mid morning snack, a thermos of coffee and my lunch, remembering the days of old at the MVD.  My number was J995 and as I watched and listened, I heard I, S, O, A, etc., etc., etc., but no J's.  Could the lady who so warmly greeted me have read my mind and gave me a number that would never be called?  Would I eat through all of my survival supplies and still be here with no dinner to consume?

But then it happened, J989 was called and flashed on the big red board, the tension grew and I held back a scream of excitement.  Then almost immediately following, I heard J990, J991, J992, I couldn't believe it, I was only half way through my box of Krispy Creme Donuts and then it happened, J995...BINGO!

I jumped up, gathering my cooler and supplies and headed to window 18 with a big smile on my face and a "good morning" to the women who appeared to be the twin sister of the greeter at the front door.  As good morning was partially out of my mouth, she said your number?  J995 of course and I held it up in self defense, so that she didn't leap over the desk and choke me into unconsciousness.  

She then said, why are you here?  I learned from my earlier experience with her twin at the front desk to only give her a very brief and precise response, which I did.  She said Title and Driver's License, which she very efficiently ripped from my hands and then she was off to the races.  

Her hands were flying all different directions, she was keying stuff into the computer, stamping papers, running things through her printer, all while talking to her co-worker on the telephone and then she said, that will be $24.68 and your registration is good for 15 months.  Hot dog, no emissions test until February 2014, shiny new AZ License Plates, Registration and Sticker, Title and we were out the door at 9:15am!

Wow, only 30 minutes out of my life and I was free to go.  I didn't even get time to start in on my lunch or play the electronic trivia game next to the big red board, but maybe next time...NOT!

No Time For Trivia!

I want to welcome Joe and Betty of Joe and Betty's Adventures as our most recent followers.  Stop on by and visit their blog to catch up on what they are up to. Welcome aboard you two, it is great to have you along for the ride!

Well I am off to Washington DC for meetings tomorrow and I hope to have some pictures to share with you later this week.  Until then, be safe out there and thanks for the visit.