G-man Vacation

The end is here...

2006-07-30T18:25:00.000-04:00

6pm –So this is my last entry to my vacation blog. I didn't update the blog on Friday or Saturday so thought I would wrap it up here today on Sunday. And I'll apologize right now for this very long blog...but I've got three days and a finale to do here.

We had a really good time on Friday. We got up around 8am and took off to Austin to visit Liz’s good friend and Emmy’s God-mom. They had a pool so the kiddos were able to swim to their heart’s content! I sat around the pool and did my best life guard impression (notice I'm in my Hawaiian shirt) for about an hour then took off to Frys Electronic Superstore.

It’s like Best Buy, Circuit City and Altex Electronics all rolled into one huge store! I was able to walk down every isle and spotted the new Apple 30” inch Cinema display hooked up to a Mac G5. I don't know what attracted me to that display...but I think it was that heavenly beam of light illuminating it that caught my eye...like a moth attracted to the flame, I fluttered over to it and I think I even genuflected before I touched the keyboard. Man the display is huge and gorgeous! I really want one but can’t afford that and a new Mac too - which I hope to get next year. Finally after the third salesperson asked if they could help me...I walked away and just meandered down each isle of the store - you know, window shopping for geeks. After 2 hours I got back to Liz and the kids and watched as Emmy and Joaquin proudly showed me how well they did canon balls into the pool.

Emmy doing her best...

Big Brother showing her how it's done!

We had a relaxing dinner and at 9pm we drove home. Everyone kind of dozed but at San Marcus I stopped for some gas and then Liz and I just talked and talked while the kids slept in the back seat. It felt good not to wonder what day it was or not worry what time we got home. Finally at 11pm we pulled into our driveway. Joaquin was a trooper and walked in himself while I carried my daughter to her bed. What a great day...thank you (Big) Emma and Janet. Maddie...I'm glad you're doing better.

Saturday was another busted day. I slept in late (why is it that NOW I'm able to sleep in late?) and then just watched some TV. At 1:30pm Liz took the kids to a birthday party while I folded 5 loads of laundry. Just can’t get away from that. Liz got home around 5pm and we decided to grill again. I grilled some steaks, chicken with some veggies and we had a great dinner. We even BBQ’d some pineapple slices. We modified the recipe we found online and then ate them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top – yum.

Sunday was another lazy day. Except for the raccoon we saw in the Crape Myrtle tree in our neighbor’s back yard next to our fence. Max had cornered a raccoon up the tree so I asked Joaquin to take Max for a walk and I got a long pole and started poking him. My intention was not to knock him down but show him that it was not a good location to be. As I was "coaxing him" to come down, my Spidey senses started to tingle and I thought, "could he be rabid?" That scene from Saving Silverman briefly flashed into my mind, you know...Steve Zahn's exterminator character fights off the raccoon that jumped on his face? So I let him be and walked into the house. He finally figured it was time to vamoos so from the window I watched him climb down and dart off behind our green belt. Another of God's animals saved...I am speaking of me of course :-) Oh and Max is not doing his impression of Popeye as much anymore - the medicine is working.

Later in the day we went to our friends home that moved from SA to Boerne. What a nice home and neighborhood they live in. They are close to the river and have a greenbelt behind their yard too! I’m happy for them. We left and picked up some stuff at Lowes to kills Wasps and Crabgrass.

So – I come to the end of my vacation (blog) and I begin to reflect on my two week sabbatical. I know that most of the stuff I’ve mentioned on my blog can be done without being on vacation but it just seems harder. It's easy to make more excuses when you're tired from a long day of work - the kids being in sports, laundry to do, grass to cut and even more chores to do - it just seems to do more, means more work. But I hope that being on vacation for 2 weeks has jumpstarted my life so that I will continue to do the things I love…like sitting on the sofa with my kids laughing hysterically as we watched Americas Funniest Home Videos, the kids using Daddy as the big pillow….or doing an honest days work with your hands…trying new restaurants without worrying about the money…appreciate different kinds of music recommended by friends...talking (without interruption) with the one you fell in love with...or walking into your kids room at night to check on them and notice how peaceful they look as they sleep. Yes…I am going to continue to do the things I love and even though I started this blog as a jab to my friends…I hope you consider doing the “2 week vacation” thing as well. Trust me, you won't regret it. Take the time off of work to enjoy life...no one will die at work (unless of course you are some sort of doctor) while you're gone...things will get done.

Being on this 2 week vacation was (and I hope to continue) a wonderful experience that I highly recommend. For me, it put things in perspective and as most people know of me...this was my "cracker of life."

Quick explanation about the cracker - if you've ever been to a food tasting party - they give you a cracker to reset your pallet before you try another food.

So thanks for reading and letting me share. I hope it helps you as much as it did me.
Now...where the heck is my briefcase?

G-man

11th Day July 27th - Cut the yard...now my hair and shaved!

2006-07-27T21:30:00.000-04:00

9:30pm - So today was another blow off day.

We had breakfast with Liz's Dad at a nice little Mexican restaurant near our home. Afterwards he came over and Liz proudly displayed our landscaping. Joaquin was not feeling well so he took a nap while Liz and Emmy went to finish up the school supply shopping around 10:30am. I was working on the computer and then went to check on Joaquin around 11am. He looked so comfortable that I crawled into bed with him and took a nap myself! He woke up around noon and I woke up around 1pm. Liz took our kids and the neighbor's kids to see Monster House. She said it was pretty good...but scary.

(I'm finally getting the hang of setting up links on my blog - you can tell by the blue underlined links on the pages. Always learning...I am.)

Around 2:30pm, I headed to the comic book shop and then got my haircut. For those of you comic book geeks out there...Thor is back! And for those of you not geeks...yes...The Might God of Thunder had been killed off! But pick up Marvel's Civil War #3 and look for the surprise...okay so I've ruined it for the geeks. Sorry.

I got home around 4:30pm and headed straight for the shower. I got all that nasty hair clippings out and then then shaved.

I used the new Gillette Fusion shaver. Man...what a great shave. I was skeptical because I thought it was alot of money for a shaver...but it was worth it. I know you really can't tell but I did have a growth...my wife said I looked "scruffy." And really...I did get my hair cut.

Oh and if you're interested...I got inspired and built a page on my shaving experience. Click on the picture below. Most people that loved 70's TV will appreciate it.

So - we ordered Chinese food and ate while watching The Incredibles. I'd forgotten how much I liked that movie, I hope they make another one like they did with the Toy Story movies... Later I spread out the soaker hose and turned it on the front lawn. Tomorrow we head to Austin to visit "M-e's" God Mom "M". I call my daughter Emmy and her God mom is Emma.

I'll post more tomorrow but it will probably be late.

G-man

10th day July 26th - Finally mowed the yard...sort of.

2006-07-26T19:44:00.000-04:00

7pm - winding down the day.

I got up this morning around 9am to the sound of a lawnmower. As I sat up from my nice comfortable, warm, bed and while rubbing my eyes, I reached over for Liz - but just patted an empty bed. I then turned my head to look out the window and there was my wife...mowing the backyard. So I dragged my a$$ out of bed, put on a cap and then went outside to mow the front yard. Yuck. Then I edged both lawns and I am glad I did. The yard looks great. Afterwards I walked to the backyard to put away the mower and saw Liz clipping at one of our bushes in the back. We had pulled up two of the four a while back and they just looked overgrown. She had been watching those darn HGTV Gardening shows and had seen how these bushes were supposed to look. She explained to me they were to look like ice cream cones ...okay....

So she started and then I got "Zen" inspired and started clipping. 1 hour later this is what I came up with. Not bad. I'm surprised that they are supposed to look that good. But leave it to my wife to tell me how to create a masterpiece! Later I scrubbed the outside of my grill - lots of bird poop. Plus I may grill later this week.

I can't believe my second week of vacation is halfway through...

Later we all showered and then we took off to Milbergers Nursery and then Gardenville. We needed to find something to keep our dog Max out of the garden planter I built. You could tell he was in there because of the big paw prints. I thought Liz was going to kill him. I was not too impressed with Gardenville but Milbergers...oh my...you could buy alot of stuff there. But then there would be a whole lot of digging!

After we got home Liz and the kiddos took off to buy school supplies. She came back $140 less and still didn't get everything! She'll finish up tomorrow. And Joaquin needs Floppy disks! What the heck kinda of school am I sending my kids to!? But I digress...while they were shopping I made an appointment to get my haircut and I'll probably shave. I've got an idea of how to show you that so keep reading my posts.

So tonight we'll just have some sandwiches and some other libations. I'm doing some laundry and will finally watch some of those movies I rented. I returned The Interpertor (with Shawn Penn and Nicole Kidman) - I didn't even get to watch it. Oh well. Got Flightplan and Syriana showed up today in the mail. So I'll leave you all with our evening activity.

G-man

P.S. I know it's Diet Coke...but I've got to start cutting back!

9th Day - Fiesta Texas!

2006-07-25T21:25:00.001-04:00

What a great day! We woke up around 8:30am , had some breakfast, packed and then took off to Fiesta Texas. We pulled in just as the park opened at 10am. We had a blast! We did the Water Park first and the entire familia did the Texas Tumbler? This is the water ride where four people sit in a large inner tube sort of thing and then you go down the tube shoot? OH MY GOD - a couple of times we banked so high off the walls that I thought we were going to flip over! My Emmy, she was hanging on but once I had to grab here and push her back down (or up since we were banking pretty severly) to the tube, I was panicked...but she was just laughing away! Both Liz and I laughed nervously as we exited the ride...you know the laugh...the one that escapes your mouth because if you don't laugh...you'll run over and beat the living crap out of the poor defensless kid working the rides? "MY KID ALMOST FLEW OUT OF THE TUBE!"

We only stayed at the Water park for 2 hours because "Blanco Boy" here was blinding the other patrons. So at around 1pm we explored the rest of the park. We had never taken Joaquin and Emmy to Fiesta Texas and they really wanted to do the do the Scooby-Doo ride then we splurged on the picture! It is great, everyone is shooting in one direction except for Mom! She told me later that "she had our backs..." It was a fun ride. I was so surprised at Emma...she was a trooper. She wanted to get on all of the rides! And it wasn't too hot either. High was around 88 with lots of cloud cover. We spotted the Justice League and since Flash wasn't around...I gladly substituted for him in the group photo. Remember - you can click on the pictures for larger ones.

But then guess who showed up just as we took the first picture? Flash...boy...he does move fast! Said he was at a potty break.
Wonder Woman was pretty hot though...

As I was saying...Joaquin and Emmy were fearless...they even tried the Superman roller coaster!

Not really...we took pictures of them sitting in the "test seat" and I just Photoshop'em into a pic! Makes me laugh though. We ended the stay at Fiesta Texas by going on that Log ride! Emmy did it too!

Gosh - we are so tired. We got home around 6:30pm and cooked a spaghetti dinner. We'll probably crash early tonight. But again...what a great day.

So tomorrow, we haven't got much planned. I hope it rains because then I won't have to mow the yards! :-)

G-man

8th Day - last week!

2006-07-24T15:07:00.000-04:00

So today I had my dental appointment. I had my teeth cleaned, filled in a cavity and they even put a sealant on my eight molars. I'm sure everyone thinks I'm a baby but I just hate going to these appointments. I get all tense and stuff but it's because of the anticipation of the pain when they are cleaning - not the pain itself that gets me all tense! But I do have one thing to calm me down - I think I'm going to use my gift certificate of a full body massage Liz and the kids gave me for my birthday. I'll probably do it on Thursday...

I was supposed to mow the yards this morning but I'll probably do it later today. Liz has to run some errands and I'm going to watch the kids and the neighbor's kids too. They'll just stick to themselves and I'll either do laundry or some more photoshop work on my Mac. Afterwards I'm gonna grill up those steaks for tonight. Pictures to come later...:-)

Grilled up the steaks and some shrimp - yummy. We all sat down and had a good dinner. Afterwards, Liz and I took a walk then just stood outside and talked with ourn neighbors from across the street and three houses down. It wasn't hot and the mosquitos even stayed away! I set up the sprinklers and we stayed outside until 9:45pm. At 10pm we sat down to watch the news and decided we're going to Fiesta Texas tomorrow. I hope I don't get too sunburned!

G-man

Half way done!

2006-07-23T23:33:00.000-04:00

10:28pm - Just got back from a great BBQ at one of Liz's friends homes. Good burgers and fajitas.

This was a good weekend. On Saturday we basically stayed home and watched some TV. Then at 3pm we had a birthday party at the neighbor's house. We stayed until 5pm then walked back home and got ready for Joaquin's baseball party. The party was a success! I showed the DVD and had the coach all choked up. He even had to give himself a moment before presenting the trophies. I handed out the other DVDs to the rest of the team. The kids went wild...they loved it too. After the party ended the coach said that the DVD was something he would cherish and would probably watch it over and over again. I'm glad I did it. We got home around 10pm and actually went to bed.

Sunday - Liz got me back. Sunday I woke up and spent the early morning reading the paper on our porch and sipping my coffee. After Liz joined me and we talked about the flowerbed she's always been asking me to build. So after brunch - we took off to Home Depot to pick up some landscape timbers and dirt. 9 timbers and 10 (40lb) bags of topsoil and 2 (25lb) bags of potting soil we had finished it. But we needed more dirt. So Joaquin and I went back to get 6 more bags! Finally at 2pm we finished filling it. Liz will probably put in her plants tomorrow while I'm at my Dentist appointment for a teeth cleaning and fill in a cavity. Yuck. We had the BBQ to go to so I showered and before we went - I picked up some shrimp and steaks for later this week. Yum...

So I'll post more tomorrow when the week is planned.

G-man

5th Day - Hawaiian Shirt Friday!

2006-07-21T12:08:00.000-04:00

Yes, Hawaiian Shirt Friday has arrived! What a wonderful day! I slept until 9am and then Liz and I went to the Magnolia Pancake house for breakfast. If you've never been there, I highly recommend it. Good stuff!

So today we'll probably go see the next Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Hand movie with Johnny Depp. I'll post my review later. Then when we get home I'll fold clothes and clean up around the house.

See ya after the movie!

G-man

Well - Liz and I were not impressed. We only give it two out of five swords. Superman Returns was MUCH better. Superman Returns was the last movie we saw about two weeks ago and it beat this Pirate movie, hands down. Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Mans Hand just relied way too much on the special effects. I know...it's funny that I'm saying that. The plot was weak and it dragged at times. I had heard they were going to do a third movie and judging from how the movie ended...I can only hope they (Disney and the producers) can redeem themselves in the third movie. Johnny Depp was okay but I lost the wonderful enchantment of "Captain Jack Sparrow" I really liked in the first movie. After the movie Liz and I wandered through Bed Bath and Beyond then went and picked up the kiddos. We stopped off for dinner at Julian's New York Pizza by the Embassy theatres. Man, that was some good pizza. They've only been open since April but I want to got back. Man...I'm gonna gain some serious weight on this vacation.

So now we're home and I'm listening to Michael Buble, I'm glad I bought his album. I may post more tonight - but I may not. We've got to clean house, do more laundry and prepare for tomorrow. Max has some sort of eye infection (he looks like Popeye) so me and kids will take him to the vet tomorrow morning before all the parties.

Hopefully it's nothing serious. We'll get some eye drops? I'll post more tomorrow.

G-man

4th Day Thursday July 20th

2006-07-20T22:10:00.000-04:00

2:36pm - Sports video for my son is finally done! This morning I burned a copy and showed it to my wife. She cried at the end...just the emotion I was shooting for! So I made a quick cover and then built a little insert for the coach. He'll get the special one. I've decided to burn 10 copies and I'll sell them at the party on Saturday. If everyone starts crying I figure I can get at least $20 per DVD...ok...maybe I'll just give them away. :-( All kidding aside, I just want to share with the coaches and family how much fun the season was for the Rangers!

So today we just hung around the house until we ran errands. We dropped off the truck to get the oil changed, ran to Walmart for pictures and then I ran into KinkoFedEx to print out nice labels for the DVDs. We then picked up the truck and ate at MoMaks where we'll be having the baseball party. We also tested the DVD to make sure it works - Daddy used to be a Boy Scout you know. Afterwards Liz took off to get party favors for the kids and I came home to update the blog. I was going to dig that other hole...but believe it or not...it's raining! Whoohoo! For the grass you know? Guess I won't be digging today!

I'll post more tonight.

G-man

9:56pm - Well just got back from a wonderful dinner at the La Hacienda restaurant about a mile north of 1604 off Redland road. I felt bad that I didn't dig that last hole for the fence post because it had rained. If you don't believe me see this picture.

This is the back of my truck with water in it. I back my truck up into my slightly sloped driveway and when it rains - the bedliner collects the water. Grass ought to do good this week...but that means I'll have to mow...grhhhh...

Anyway, as I was saying. Liz called me around 5pm to tell me that her friends had invited us to have dinner at La Hacienda. I said, "Cool" and thought nothing of it. When Liz got home around 6pm with the kids she told me to take a shower, put on some khaki shorts. I'd never been to this restaurant but didn't think I'd have to dress up! And then Liz added insult to injury when she said, "...and put on your Hawaiian shirt." I almost didn't go...imagine...wearing a Hawaiian shirt on Thursdays! I opted to just wear a polo pull over and didn't shave - call me rebellious.

We met Liz's friends at La Hacienda around 7:15pm. It's apparently run by the same folks as Los Barrios off of Blanco and Basse Road. It's bigger though...much bigger. We sat outside (I was surprised at how crowded it was for a Thursday night because I thought I was only one on VACATION!) and had a wonderful dinner. I washed down the Crispy taco plate with Sangaritas - Man, those were good. I surrendered my keys to Liz and she drove home - I'm going to sleep good tonight. The video is done, I don't have to dig a hole and I can sleep late tomorrow - life is good. So I'll sign off tonight and leave you with a picture I snapped on the way to La Hacienda. Nice sunset with the sun streaming through the clouds...it was almost perfect...if you can get past those darn powerlines! Remember - you can click on the picture for a larger one.

So as the King of Cowboys would say, "Until we meet again, may the good Lord take a liking to you. "

G-man.

3rd Day Wednesday July 19th

2006-07-19T20:31:00.000-04:00

8:30pm - Okay, so I haven't updated my blog until late today. It's been one busy 24 hours.

Yesterday I did laundry most of the day but did get to rent two movies. I watched The Hills Have Eyes and it sucked. I remember seeing the original 70's version at a dusk till dawn moviefest at a drive-in in SA and the only thing remotely familiar was a character that I cheered for...and it wasn't the two-legged variety. I won't spoil it but those that have seen the movie will know who I'm talking about. I did manage to do four loads laundry while watching the movie but I'm going to save the other movie for me and the wifey.

I decided to go through more of the tapes of my son's game I'm supposed to have ready by Saturday. I finished three more around 4pm and then just got on a roll and began putting the sports video together. I finally had 1 hour of video done by 9pm! I was going to stop but then added music and it got me going. At 11pm I had it down to 35mins and then by 2am it was down to 26mins. I gave up and crashed. I was beat. I knew I had to wake up early since tomorrow was Apple iMovie Boot Camp for Joaquin.

Wed 7:30am - I woke up and showered then Joaquin and I took off to Micky Dees for breakfast. We got to the Apple Store around 8:45am and I watched as Joaquin got paired up with another kid and they began the iMovie Boot Camp. Basically they let them borrow a video camera and a Mac then they shoot, import, edit and burn to DVD a short movie. I watched and got involved when Mall security ( Rent-a-cop on a Segway) wouldn't allow my son and his new friend to film him on video. So Dad became the undercover cop. Movie came out good but let me tell you it was tough to sit in the Apple Store...with all those bright shiny new Apple hardware...I almost caved and walked out with some new stuff. But I made my save. Even tried to log on to the blog but it was just too distracting. The camp was cool though. Joaquin got a free T-shirt, patches, a book and even his movie burned on a DVD! Too cool. I'll post it on my web site soon so you can watch him.

After we got home Joaquin decided to stay and help me "edit" the baseball video. He gave me some good pointers and after 2 hours I got it down to 23mins. We then took off to get Emmy who was at Summer camp. We got home and I made dinner for them since Liz is working late. She is trying to get things wrapped up before she goes on vacation tomorrow! So today was my free day. Good news is that FlightPlan and Teenage Date Movie showed up from BBV rentals so I'll have something to watch tomorrow while I fold 4 loads of laundry!

Tonight I'm just burning a test copy of the baseball movie. I'll probably do some tweaking to it tomorrow as well then finish up the cover. I want to have it ready soon so I don't keep messing with it. Besides I have to dig those holes tomorrow. And Liz will be with me so who knows what list she has!

So that's it for now. I'll try to post more tomorrow.

G-man

2nd Day Tuesday July 18th

2006-07-18T13:22:00.000-04:00

10:02am - rolled out of bed today at 8:30am. Didn't have to take the kiddos to Summer Camp because my wife said she would. Last night was very relaxing - oh and dinner was good too. I won't say where I went but the chicken wings were great and there was a lot of "eye candy." I was going to work on the video but opted not to because my neighbor from across the street brought me the second album of this great classical singer Andrea Bocelli.

This guy is blind and he has such a wonderful voice. He sings in Italian, English and Spanish too. I'm looking forward to listening to the second album. I bought the album above on iTunes and we swapped CDs. Bocelli also has a website if you'd like to check it out: http://www.bocellionline.com/.

So last night I was able to watch some TV. While I'm speaking of music - I was watching this show on CBS I'd never seen before - How I Met your Mother. The episode was pretty good even though my wife said everyone was trying to recreate the "Friends" genre but at the end there was this song that really captured my attention. After the show I went online to research. I love Google. The guy singing was Michael Bublé. His rendition of "You don't know me" from his album It's Time was really done well. My wife reminded me that a lot of people have done this song but I just liked the way he sang it. So I'll probablyy go get that album on iTunes as well.

So - as I was saying. I woke up around 8:30am and was watching CNN, eating my Cheerios and planning my day.

I've got to finish digging another post hole on the side of my home before Friday because my brother-in-law is coming over to help me build a gate. We want to create an enclosure for our dog Max because he gets too excited when people come over. He jumps all over them so we'll just put him in there when folks come over. He won't be in there long, I like him running around the yard because he takes his job very seriously. He will not let anything or anyone come into our yard. Snakes, Rats etc. Good dog.

I have to do some laundry today as well. Joaquin is getting excited about tomorrow! We do the Apple iMovie boot camp from 9am to 11:30am at the Apple Store in La Canteral! Okay...I'm excited too. They'll lend him a camera and computer and he'll shoot, import, edit and burn a DVD of his movie. Brings a tear to my eye...sniff.

So for now I think I'll wash up and then head on over to Blockbuster to use up my two free movie rentals. I may get "The Hills Have Eyes" and do the laundry. I"ll keep ya'll posted.

Oh..And I found another "Mystery Bug" when I went outside. It was on Max and it looks like a leech? Picture below. It was on his back (fur) and so I knocked it off with a stick and took a picture. Comments welcome...and yes...I am reading those texan4evr and sport. :-)

G-man

...and so it begins

2006-07-17T07:28:00.000-04:00

7:31am - That's the time I woke up today. Got a lot planned for today. But I'll get to that later. After my bowl of Cheerios, I'm off to drop off the kiddos to Summer Camp. I'll post after that.

10:09am - Finished my walk and before I showered, I decided I should treat my yard. Got some brown spots so I used some "medicine." Should help.

While I was watering...I saw this cool caterpillar. You can see it below - it blends into the tree but it was cool. Nice to be able to admire the insects around you. :-) You can click on the image for a larger size.

So what to do today? I've got to start editing my son's baseball season video. I've got about eight one-hour tapes I have to log and capture into my system then start editing.

I'm hoping I can have a 15min video ready by this Saturday for their baseball party. No pressure. Plus I also have to cook dinner tonight so I'll have to come up with a menu today as well. Fun...fun...fun. If I decide what I'll cook maybe I'll post. So that's on my list for today. I'll post later.
Gman

4:22pm - Wow...I've just gone through 3 of the 8 tapes! This is going to take me longer than I thought! But it's coming together. I think I've got enough but may log in about another 2 tapes - I can make it work from that.

Good news is that I won't have to cook dinner. Got plans! Whoo Hoo! So I guess I'll just update my BlockBuster movie queue and then watch some "DOG the Bounty Hunter" until 6pm!

Tomorrow will be interesting. I still have to dig a hole for a fence my brother-in-law will help me with on Friday morning. I'll edit the footage I've captured on video and then on Wed my son and I are going to the Apple Store for an Apple iMovie Bootcamp for him. I'm excited. Probably be up late tonight importing more video....guh....

G-man

G-man's vacation blog

2006-07-15T19:42:00.000-04:00

Well - this is my first attempt at blogging. I know...I know I'm kinda behind the curve here but I guess I needed something to "blog about." I thought I would start by "needling" my friends at work by showing them what I'll be doing while on my two week vacation from work. Yes...two weeks...and yes...I love it. I started this two week gig about three years ago when a good friend of mine from work (Tracy) told me she had taken two weeks off and "absolutely loved it!" I said, "Why not?"

The first time I did the two weeks - I basically just stayed at home. Later in the first week - my wife and my two kids took off to Michigan with her Dad for a wedding. I stayed behind. I got bored so I started sending pictures to my friends at work showing them what I was up to. Below are the pics:

If you can't read the alarm clock - it reads 9:56am! Here are others I sent.

So as you can see I'm going to have some fun here. Officially my vacation doesn't start until Monday but I'm just "testing the waters" on this blog thing. I hope to put a list of things and events I (then my wife when she starts her vacation on Thursday with me) later tomorrow. So stay tuned.

G-man