I spent this past weekend on Oahu picking Gavin up from his short week with Granny. Saturday was my only full day on island. We started off slow and lazy. Just the way a day should start. On the down side, my knee was getting worse. It had been hurting me for about a week at that point and then as I headed out to go to the airport Holly wished me a safe trip, and I immediately slipped on the top stair and braced myself 3 steps down with my bum leg. That didn’t help any.

Knowing the beer store closed at 3, we finally started to get serious about the day somewhere around noon. Unfortunately for me, this meant being productive. That made it time to put the saddle bags on the motorcycle. It wasn’t a hard task and really only should have taken 20 minutes, except it involved a small number of tools. And for some reason, no matter what the project is, we always have every tool but the one we need. So after a few improvisations and a little too much time, we got the bags on and admired their beauty. They really make the Rebel look more complete and proper. The final touch will be a sissy bar. Anyhow, as I put the tools away, I looked at my watch (I don’t really have a watch, so thank goodness an iPod can tell time) and realized the beer store closed in 10 minutes. Oh well. It kind of frustrated me that we didn’t get to the beer store. Now that I think about it though, it doesn’t really make a difference. Now that the airport charges for luggage, it won’t cost me any less to buy it in store that if I order it online and have it shipped to me. It might even cost less to order it online. So that is what I will do.

Not having to go to the beer store, we headed to the mall where we could go to T-Mobile . Our cell phone mysteriously disappeared (good job Leif) and we can’t even call it to find it because it’s battery is dead. Now we’re on the search for a new cell phone that will make us happier than we were owning our crap free phone. Haven’t found one yet.

Po eagerly awaits my return

Mary had a buy 1, get 1 free coupon for Ruby Tuesdays. Guess where we went for dinner? And leave it to us to order the most expensive thing on the menu. For me, a 9-ounce Cowboy Sirloin with secret seasonings, seared to perfection then topped with blue cheese crumbles, onion straws, and our house-made Boston barbecue sauce. For Mary, a 9-ounce Peppercorn Mushroom Sirloin topped with sautéed baby portabella mushrooms, black pepper, and Parmesan cream sauce. And lastly, for Gavin, fried shrimp with fries. That was a delicious dinner. And of course they came with the all-you-can-eat salad bar. Yeah, we took home leftovers. I wanted to finish it, I really did. So good.

We’re back at home now and all is well. Holly is back to work, Gavin is back ti school, Leif is happy to have his family back, and I’m back to being a working house husband*.
* Being a house husband is not a job. I actually have a job as a web developer and graphic artist. Therfore I am a house husband who works.

It’s 10:10 pm new years eve. I’m lying on the couch myself New Years Eve watching The Taking of Pelham 123. Leif woke up for the second time looking for Holly to nurse him back to sleep. She may not be back out. No biggie though. I celebrate my new years at 7pm anyway. That’s when the ball drops in NY, and we all know that is when the real new year begins.

I called my mom 4 minutes before midnight ( NY time) and wished her a Happy New Years. We’ll be going to NY in 2 months, but I don’t think that is soon enough. I miss my mom and I know she misses me. Mom, we’ll be there soon.

Gavin is over on Oahu with Granny. I think they will be watching fireworks if they can stay awake long enough. I’ll find out in the morning. Until then I have a cat at my side, John Travolta and Denzel Washington on tv, and a beautiful Leif and Holly waiting in bed. it’s been a good day and a decent year. So charge your glasses for a toast. May 2010 bring happiness, laughter, and joy to everyone and their loved ones. Happy New Years one and all.

11:10PM

Holly came back out to lie on the couch with me and we finished watching the movie. With only 50 minutes left, we snuggled on the couch watching Kathy Griffin tell funnies about Whitney Houston and Miley Cyrus until 11:55. Now only a few minutes away, we flip over to FOX to watch the ball drop “Live” from NYC. I got to snog Holly for the first time on New Years in 4 years. We ran out onto the porch to kiss under the full blue moon with the sound of fireworks and showering neighbors off in the distance. How romantic.

12:12AM

We consider having one final drink (first drink?) before heading off to bed. Our sweet comfy bed. With the new 3″ memory foam mattress topper. I hear it calling. Time for sleeps. Good night and happy new year (with no “s”).

Thanksgiving was full of deliciousness. We had a small-sized turkey with a few casseroles, pumpkin pie, and booze. Oh yes, and birthday cake and presents. Yup. This year Holly’s birthday fell on Thanksgiving. Nothing wrong with a little cake on Thanksgiving right? Besides, she got to eat her most favoritest breakfast made my me (eggs benedict), a beautiful shiny new tea kettle and we all got cake. Mmmm. So good.

Gavin’s birthday has come and gone. He is seven now and with that, the privilege of riding on my motorcycle with me. He’s been talking about that for months now. We threw him his first ever friends-over birthday party. There were a total of 10 kids, thereabouts, and about 4 or 5 parents. We had cupcakes, a candy cane shaped piñata, home-made pizza, balloons, and presents. It was rather successful. The kids all went home with bags of candy from the piñata and smiles on their faces.

The piñata was harder to destroy than we expected. Of course that might have something to do with the fact that we filled it (max-load: 3 pounds) with 7 pounds of candy and goodies. The kids went through about 3 rounds and one wooden stick before letting the grown ups have a go. We went about 2 rounds before the owner of the second piñata stick finally made the candy pour out in an explosion of sweetness. The kids all swarmed in and gathered candy for the winter. It was great.

I keep intending to write an entry here and for one excuse or another, I just don’t. Now here it is two months later. So much has happened since then and I don’t know how to write it all in a short post. So I’ll start by just blabbing then I’ll move on to life later.

The holidays are over and with them the wait gain. It’s time now to deflate. Lose those 5 pounds (give or take) that I’ve gained. It also means that we can finally  clean up the house a bit. It’s been getting to me having a messy house. It’s just one of those things that come along with holidays. But we can fix that now.

I also have some inspiration for cleaning. We bought a new computer desk this past weekend. A real one. Not a coffee table. So we’ve taken down the tree and christmas lights tonight. It took me two days and I’ve finished assembling the desk. It looks verra  nice. I can’t wait to put the computer on it. I must finish cleaning though so everything is in place first. It will be nice though. It will solve the issue of having wires spread all over. I can move the phone the modem and the computer back to a localized spot. Good deal.

So with the house cleaner, the chocolate all piled together, the toys consolidated, the new desk in place, the tree put away, and the couch being so warm and comfy, I will enjoy my evening, watch more “Peep Show” and maybe enjoy a nice cold beer.

‘Til next time …

Why does it seem that the rough days are what bring about fun things. This is how it was a few days back. Leif was being unbearable and Gavin was bored and needing to do something. I was frustrated because the car was broken after running over a rock the size of a coconut (still in it’s husk). I hadn’t been out of the house in a few days, the house was a mess and I needed to do something. So I decided to take Gavin and Leif for a walk.

Gavin said that if was going to go for a walk, maybe we could go to the lava tubes. What a great idea. I didn’t know if we could go in them due to lack of funds, but we can certainly walk down there and see where they are and what not. So that is what we did.

What a great idea that was. As it turns out, I had $13 in my wallet for some reason, and it cost us $12.50 for the three of us to go into the caves. We packed our flashlights and helmets (provided by the scrub who took our $12.50) and headed down into the lava tube.

Rock stairs led down the entrance to the tube. When you get to the bottom and look back it is the most beautiful sight. The sun shining in and through the leaves of all the foliage surrounding the entrance stairs. I pulled out my camera to take a picture only to discover that the batteries were dead. Oh well.

Leif, Gavin and I walked our way through 1/2 mile of lava tubes, shining our lights at every nook and cranny. We spotted strange hammer-head worms, cow bones, stalagmites, stalactites, boulders, and even a first aid kit (just next to the bones. hmmm ). It was very fascinating and Gavin and Leif had a great time.

We shall have to go back some time to get some pictures with our good camera and to take Holly with us. I couldn’t believe how that trip to the lava tubes turned the week around. It just seemed to make everything better. And why shouldn’t it? It was quite beautiful and amazing.