Kathy and I have been enjoying our vacation here in Florida. The condo we are staying in sits on the Gulf. There is a pool, too, and the sun sets right outside our windows. We usually go out around sunset to enjoy the beautiful weather and the view. The sunsets haven't been grand, but they have been pleasant. And we are on the beach so I can't complain.

Yesterday we went up to Siesta Beach to join some of my relatives. The whole reason for the timing of the vacation is my step-sister's wedding this coming weekend so there are quite a few other relatives around. Fortunately we are in Venice, which is about half an hour south of Sarasota so it is easy to avoid them. We are celebrating out 10th anniversary and wanting to spend the time alone.

It's a little after noon, and we haven't been to the beach yet. Yesterday at Siesta Beach, I was out a little long and got slightly burnt. I'm taking it easy today, avoiding the mid-day sun. We'll probably go out later in the day, at least to our pool.

I'm also going to try to make a panorama of our condo. If it works out I will send a copy to my aunt. We'll see how it goes. I'll at least have a bunch of pictures of the condo, even if they don't stitch together well.


We dyed my hair today. It's about time for me to go and rinse. Hope you all are still having a wonderful week!

Vacation underway

I'm writing today from the warm, sunny beaches of Venice, FL! We combined my step-sisters wedding and our 10th anniversary into a wonderful vacation. My aunt was gracious enough to let us use her condo, which is on the 11th floor of a sea side building. Our windows overlook the best beach in the world--mostly because it's the one we are at.

My boss was gracious enough to get a smart phone which I am currently using to post this from the aforementioned beach. I'm down here posting because Kathy wanted to come down to look for sharks teeth and shells.

She had better luck this morning at Capperson Beach which is known for sharks' teeth. We spent a couple hours over there this morning sifting thru the sand and shells for anything interesting, especially sharks' teeth. She found about 20 teeth before we got too hot and headed home for showers and lunch.

Speaking of food, we are going to head back in to get ready for supper. Hope you all have a wonderfull week. I know I will!

This is Olivia. She jumped into the Pepsi box in the cooler all of her own violition.
Well, we leave for vacation tomorrow afternoon. We're really looking forward to the break.

No Surf

After work today I am heading to Cleveland, Ohio. No Surf is an Ultimate tournament that I am going to with Robot House--a team based out of Kalamazoo that I played with last fall. Should be a fun weekend! I might even get down to see my family.

Work has been ridiculously busy the last few weeks. I thought it was busy before that... It seems like I have been working later and longer. I can't complain too much since it means I get paid more, but I haven't had time to keep up on my paperwork so there are some evenings where I spend a little time working on that. I am definitely looking forward to our vacation in Florida next week.

On Friday Kathy and I are flying down to Florida to celebrate our 10th anniversary. We'll cap off the vacation with my step-sister's wedding on June 30th.

Right now, I'm working on updating a laptop which I will shortly be taking back to a client. They were having some issues with this laptop and so we decided to rebuild it. I wasn't quite able to finish before the end of the day yesterday so I will head out this morning to finish it up.

Hope you have a happy Friday!

Childhood snack

Speaking of my childhood, I recently found out that the little grocery store San Marcos up the street from where I work sells these little packets of "chocolate" and "hazelnut" candy - a box of 18 for $1.99. I did give in and buy one - they are still pretty good. The white things are little plastic sticks that you use to move the candy from the packet to your mouth.

sad orchid stem

Well, here's my sad orchid stem now that the last flower has faded and fallen. I'll probably get another plant but not until we get back from our vacation in Florida at the beginning of July.

I was foolish this weekend and ended up with a little poison ivy. I thought that I could stop weeding after I finished our small flower bed, and so I didn't change into long sleeved posion-ivy pulling clothes. I did take a shower and washed thoroughly with soap, but still ended up with a few spots on forearms and ankles. Such is life.

I also played Ultimate (frisbee football) on Thursday, Sunday, and Monday and ended up with big blisters on the bottom of each big toe, a scraped right heel, and a long sratch/scrape/bruise on my left arm (and I didn't even catch the disc on that dive!). Luckily I have until Thursday to heal up a bit.

I also discovered last night that I like Wendy's Frosty Floats when made with root beer and a chocolate frosty (I wasn't too impressed with the vanilla). When I was a kid and we'd go to an ice cream place I would normally get a float made with 7Up and chocolate ice cream. This takes me back to those day, though I think the root beer is a better choice.

I think this weekend I might can/pickle some vegetables. Craig will be out of town at an Ultimate tournament. I could have gone, but since it's an open tournament (meaning men's) and not a coed one, I decided to stay home and be "productive" instead. We'll see how that goes.

Today's random quote:
"What am I doing over there?"
-My sister Kimberly, looking across the room at me

Aforementioned orchid

Here's the lonely orchid flower mentioned in my previous post.

Tuesday Tuedsay

Here's another picture of me when I was a kid. I think that I was 4 years old when it was taken.

Well, we go up to South Bend to pick up my cousin Kelcie who will be in town for a few days (she's in a friend's wedding this weekend). Her sister Lindsy, who just moved out of our house, is now in Costa Rica (and then will be going to Nicaragua for the remainder of the summer). So at least Kelcie got to leave Kansas, where she now lives, for the excitment of Indiana!

Well, I just made an appointment to donate blood tomorrow. We'll see how it goes -- the last 2 or 3 times I tried to donate I was rejected because of low iron. I've been eating more fish lately, and taking multi-vitamen supplements when I remember, so hopefully I'll qualify this time.

My lovely orchid I've had on my desk at work for the last couple of months is finally losing its flowers. Only one lonely bloom is left. Ah, well. Hopefully it will bloom again in a year or two if I keep watering it, like others of our orchids have done.

Today's random quote: A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal. --Oscar Wilde

Rainy Monday

Here's a picture of me in my young and carefree days. I believe that it was taken in the MCC compound in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. I liked to balance on and/or climb things.

This past Memorial Day weekend I discovered that it was easier to climb trees when I was ten than now, when I'm almost 30. I now have bit more mass, and my joints aren't as forgiving when I land! On the plus side, I can now reach branches I wouldn't have been able to as a half-pint.

I had a nice relaxing Sunday yesterday after being productive and canning 25 pints of salsa on Saturday with my friend Kevin. I finished reading Dorothy Sayer's Gaudy Night and even watched some tv.

Random quote of the day:

No opera plot can be sensible, for in sensible situations people do not sing. --W H Auden

Saturday morning

It's Saturday morning! After working until almost nine last night, I'm glad it's the weekend. Kathy and Kevin are going to can some salsa today. I usually pass on helping them for the most part. I'm sure I'll find plenty of other stuff to do.

I'll probably start with a jog this morning. Well, it's getting pretty late in the morning, but running sounds like fun, especially since there is rain coming later today. Running has been more fun since I got my Nike+iPod. Now I can keep track of how far I run, my average pace, my best times, etc.

A friend of mine asked me to run in the Dances with Dirt race later this fall in Hell, MI. It is a 100km (about 60 miles) race. Five of us will be doing it relay style so we each will run about 20km (just short of a half marathon). The best part is that it is not a road race. They take you anywhere they feel like taking you. Here is a photo gallery of last years event. Like I said not a road race... Exciting!

So I am off to run. Then I have to go do a little shopping since we are almost completely out of toilet paper. Should be a busy day!