A welcome storm

Last week we decided to get up to the snow. Last Tuesday there was to be a great storm that would bring some snow to the local mountains. We also figured since it is two-fer Tuesdays at Mountain High ski resort that we would get our ski clothes and get up that mountain!

Well we found out quite quickly that I had a major issue with operator error....those silly turnstyles. I sure as heck did not know how to work them properly. The first few times I was going way too fast and nearly broke my own legs off, then when I tried to be a bit easier I wasn't applying equal force. So one damn leg and ski got through while the other one did not. I had to take a ski off to get through!

I swear this was the ski lift to the end of the earth. See the yellow very tiny rope behind me? Attached to that was the sign of a picture of someone falling off a cliff, implying do not go this way or you will die. This was only a blue run (intermediate) and I was scared out of my skin. I decided this photo could be for my obituary if I did not make it down the run alive.

It was so cold.....so we bought the masks to keep the snow and cold off your face and out of your mouth. A bit scary looking, but SOOO worth the money!

Just taking a break and having a bite to eat. It was a GREAT day on the mountain. It snowed most of the day, but made for great powder on the runs. A lot easier landing when you fall. OK here's to the next Tuesday I am off work! TWO-fer Tuesday here I come!

A couple more of Miss Munchkin

A few more photo's of lil miss lady.

She loves to be in a ring sling, or swaddled up tight. I made this pink ring sling for her to be worn in. She was in it for less than five minutes and she fell right to sleep.

Puppies and babies should always stay little.....I better enjoy her while she is tiny, she is going to grow all too fast!

Look who's 3

Look who is 3 months old! Ms. Lady....... she has earrings now too! What an adorable smile.....I cannot wait until she starts to have that baby belly laugh.

So much catching up to do

Just returned (a few days ago) from San Francisco. I booked our flights initially on Southwest....and then I got a sale message via Twitter. Virgin America was having a sale on flights for 39 dollars each way with tax and fees already included. I knew you had to pay to check bags, but I also knew that we would be taking carry on only. I quickly changed our flight plans and was so glad that I did. Virgin America ROCKS! If you ever have a chance to fly them DO IT!

We checked into our hotel that I captured on Priceline. It was a little boutique hotel. Boutique hotel means a historic building that has been updated and remodeled into a hotel. I would venture to say that this hotel was probably a hotel in it's original life as well based on the layout etc. It might have been what they referred to in days of old as "Workman's Hotel". I got a bit of a laugh as we settled into our room.
It appears as though they are on a Q-Tip rationing schedule. I figured if we each used only one side of the Q-tip per day we could get two full days of Q-tip usage, and the third day we would just have to go without.

The city was beautifully decorated for Christmas. San Francisco has such a fantastic public transit system that we did not rent a car, and had no need for a taxi. You can buy a MUNI pass from the city, and with that pass you can ride anything the city owns. For 18 a piece we rode anything with wheels, including the cable car, the buses the MUNI and the retro trolley cars.

This is the hotel lobby of the Hyatt in the financial district. It was quite breath taking. Here is a little hint to all you travellers. If you are out and about in town while traveling and find that you need to use the "facilities" you can darn near always find a public available bathroom in a hotel lobby. Ok great, now that you know that I have to use the bathroom all the time! (I drink alot of soda and water ok)

We ventured from one end of the city to the next the very first night we were in town. Here is a view of Grace Cathedral.
Challenging to take a photo at night, in a church. I would have been a heathen and taken a photo with a flash.....however they did appear to be a couple of folks that we having a private church moment. I did the best I could, but the ceiling in the cathedral is awe inspiring. This beautiful mural was on part of the wall of the cathedral.

Like I mentioned we went from one end of town to the other. In our travels we also saw the Castro district. For those of you not familiar with the city, the Castro tends to be the part of town where folks with an alternate lifestyle socialize, live etc. There are many parts of town with their own "area name" Haight Ashbury = Hippy and Earthy, the Tenderloin, Union Square, Pacific Heights, Marina, China Town, Financial District, North Beach, etc. Anyway, you needed to know the beginning of the story to truly appreciate this nail salon.
What a play on words huh? Hey I am figuring that was a smart, enterprising individual that thought up the name.

Last but not least as we made our way through North Beach (Italian side of town) We found a small Italian restaurant that stayed open for us (though they were to close in twenty minutes) I had the absolute best lasagna of my life!


Ok, so that catches up a teeny bit. So much more to tell you! I have to get busy finishing up cleaning the house as I have house guests tomorrow for TEN DAYS!

A few days at work

A few photos of work.....these were of my second fire.

Day After

HAPPY THANKSGIVING a day late! I worked the holiday (what's new), though it was not awful. We had a holiday dinner of our own. It was decided that we didn't want to have turkey since we all would have turkey dinner's with our families later. So, we had a non-traditional thanksgiving dinner of ribs, mashed potatoes, rolls, and we snacked all day leading up to the "meal".

Today the Christmas tree went up here at home. I was going to try and get the outside lights done as well, but I ran out of day light. I mowed lawns, and cut the head off of one of my sprinklers. MAN that makes me mad when I break those! Well in the midst of repairing my sprinkler I was using my pick headed axe/ditch digging tool. I had my hands full and decided to carry it swung over my shoulder. Well...when I swung it back off my shoulder to set it down I wacked the back of my head with the blade. Now three hours later I have a knot on the back of my head the size of a super bounce ball, and headache to beat the band! I swear there is not one day of work that passes by, or a day of working on my house that I do not hurt myself in some manner. Goodness!

So I am still in the crazy Christmas making phase. I think perhaps tomorrow I will get a couple photos of the projects in the works so you can have a gander.....I can't tell you who is for what....but who cares right?

I hope you had a wonderful time on your Thanksgiving with you and your's.

Peace

Christmas is coming, Christmas is coming....

I am not ready! I presented my family with an email some weeks ago that said...Presence alone is present enough. I suggested that we make this a NON buying Christmas. I proposed that we have a recycled, up-cycled, re-gifted, re-used, handmade Christmas. Well, i am doing a little bit of everything, and BOY do I have my work cut out for me!

I would like to include you all in this Christmas adventure. I am a TERRIBLE secret keeper, so maybe I could put some sneak peeks of all the goodies and you could just keep in secret for me? Of course I will not be able to tell you what is for who....but you can enjoy seeing what is being made.

Next post, more pictures of the woman of the hour. Kyleigh, she is well on her way to TWO months old!

More pictures of our newest family member

More photos of Ms. Kyleigh who is One month old today! How come babies and puppies cannot stay and small and cute like this?

Disney makes you tired

We had to see Disney again all spruced up for Halloween.

It was a LOOOOOOONG day
Don't you wish you could be little again? People push you around in the scooter all day, you can fall asleep on a whim, you were forced to take naps. You could sleep like this? You could fall asleep and someone else would carry you to bed and change your clothes and tuck you in? BUT NOOOOOOOO, we all want to grow up and be big people!

Proof!

Ok here are my credentials.....(of course I have edited out some crucial info....who cares where I work or what my name is)


I am an Engineer Medic now, a complete change from my old life. It is an adjustment as I have been a paramedic for thirteen years and a firefighter for almost eleven. Change is sometimes hard, I guess that is what makes us grow and learn new things.