Goodbye July

It's with a figurative tear in my eye that I say goodbye to July. Tomorrow begins August and with August come thoughts of (ugh!) school. The summer has gone so fast. With all the rainy weather early in the summer, I feel a little bit cheated. But alas all good things must come to an end and so too does my summer vacation. All too soon I will be back in the trenches dealing with the daily stress of trying to teach youngsters who have no interest in being educated. It's time to start year 26 of teaching. Look out 4th graders... here I come!

Oral Surgery

Abby had some fairly extensive oral surgery today. She received a gingival graft. Simply put, she had seriously receding gums on her her lower front teeth. Tissue was removed from the roof of her mouth and grafted onto her gum line. The doctor said the receding gums were even worse since Abby's last visit and required an even more extensive graft. She came through the surgery fine, but is still groggy. She is in considerable pain and is expected to have several days of major discomfort. She's on hydrocodone... hopefully that will kill most of the pain. She's being a real trooper, but you can tell the pain is pretty bad. Poor thing! I'd take her place in a split second if I could.

Vegetables

This is how you know you've been on a diet for a long time. It really does start to mess with your head.

Pool

I have really enjoyed my pool this week. The air temperature has been hot and the water temperature has been just perfect. Refreshingly cool, but by no means cold. All the hard work is worth it when I take a dip after being so hot.
This is probably what I'd do if I didn't have a pool. This kid's got it figured out.

Mickey -vs- Luke

Mickey Mouse meets Luke Skywalker. You knew this was bound to happen. A while back Disney purchased the Star Wars franchise. I don't know how the whole business thing is set up. I'm guessing George Lucas is still involved, but Disney is making the 7th Star Wars movie. There have been two trilogies and this seventh movie is the beginning of a third. Many have speculated that the Disney influence would ruin Star Wars. Honestly, we won't really know until the 7th movie opens in December. However, there is already evidence of the Disney influence in the new movie. Once you see the photo below, it cannot be unseen. Sorry. loyal blog readers. I wonder if Disney will have the audacity to place hidden Mickeys in the new Star Wars movie. I'm not a true Star Wars fan, but I'm guessing the Star Wars junkies will have a fit if that ends up happening.

Here's the photo. You be the judge:

Wine Kick

I've been on a wine kick lately. For some reason I've just been really enjoying a glass of the fruit of the vine. In the next two days Tami and I will be taking a trip to Buck Creek Winery and Ertel Cellars. We are looking forward to sampling the best of what they have to offer. Yum!

The Beach

Many people love going to the beach in the summer. I am not one of those people. Which is strange because I dearly love the water. I enjoy being around the water and in the water (Fishing, boating, water skiing, swimming, sight seeing, cruising). So what's the problem with the beach? Several things actually...

It's too hot! Sitting out and baking on the sand is not my idea of a good time. The ocean water is hardly refreshing either. For some reason the salt water just doesn't seem to cool you down like freshwater does.

It's crowded! Hustling and bustling for a good spot for my umbrella is not my idea of a good time. Why do you think people pay good money to go to private beaches? To avoid the crowds and more specifically to avoid the idiots that always come with being in big crowds.

It's messy! This is embarrassing to admit. I just don't like having sand all over me and everything I own. No matter how much you try to shake things out and rinse things off... you can never get rid of all of it.

It can be painful! I know the chance of being attacked by a shark is about a gazillion to one, but I don't like swimming when something could eat me for lunch. There is also the problem of jellyfish. I had friends who took a trip to the beach two weeks ago. There were so many jellyfish that swimming without getting stung was nearly impossible. Most of their family members stayed out of the water and those who braved a swim got stung... A LOT!

Does all this mean I hate the beach? Not by any stretch of the imagination. Despite the things listed above, I can go to the beach and enjoy myself. I just have to go for short periods of time. I can't go and stay all day and I can't go for days on end. A couple of short days at the beach is plenty for me. I always say a little of the beach goes a long way.

I love walking on the beach. This is especially so early in the morning or at night. There are always fewer people at the beach during these times and in my opinion, the scenery is prettier too.

Why all this talk about the beach? Well, Tami and I were contemplating a last hurrah trip to the beach before school starts. For a multitude of reasons we decided against it. None of the reasons for deciding against a last minute trip to the beach are the ones listed above. The main barriers were financial and schedule related. In the end we decided to save our pennies for some sort of trip next year.

Looks like fun, huh?

Welcome to Cleveland!

This is TOTALLY something I would do.

Can't you just picture airline passengers looking out the window of the plane expecting to land in Milwaukee?

Hey! We're almost there! Look on that roof! It says "Welcome to Cleveland!" Wait... what? We're supposed to land in Milwaukee... Did the pilot get lost?

Fire

There was a fire at a Las Vegas hotel and casino today. The Cosmopolitan, as its name implies, is an upscale, swanky joint. I know because we were in the place twice last week and I paid $5.80 for a Coke. It was in a glass that held no more than 8 or 10 ounces. Factor in the ice and I paid nearly $6 for about 6 ounces of Coca Cola. Granted the place is absolutely gorgeous and it's clear it caters to the rich crowd. How strange to see it up in flames and in the news. Reports say the fire was in the pool area and cabanas and trees burned. No injuries were reported. The photos say it all. WOW!

The truth about Vegas

Before our trip last week, Tami and I were last in Las Vegas about 17 or 18 years ago. To say it has changed would be a gross understatement. We knew it had changed, but didn’t know HOW MUCH until we got there. During our stay in Vegas, we observed certain truths about the place. Here a just a few…

They don’t call it Sin City for nothing. You can’t take two steps without seeing some form of debauchery. Whether it is drunkenness, excessive gambling, people walking around almost naked or sex for sale in the streets. It’s all there. However, Tami and I proved it is possible to take a trip to such a place and not participate in all that stuff. There ARE ways to enjoy Vegas yet stay out of the gutter as well.

The opulence is RIDICULOUS! The hotels are huge and absolutely decked out to the max! No expense was spared in their construction. However, the money used to build these palaces did not come from the companies that own them. The dollars came from gamblers who left their hard-earned money in the casino.

If you gamble long enough, YOU… WILL... LOSE! The aforementioned hotels/palaces are living proof of that. This is one of the reasons Tami and I gambled very, very little. 10¢ video poker was as far as we went. After winning a few bucks on the last day, we broke even. We considered ourselves ahead of the game and quit then. These hotels/casinos/palaces were built on human greed. It would have been so easy to put those few bucks back into the machine in search of the jackpot (which we almost surely would not have won).

Once you’ve seen one hotel/casino/palace, you’ve seen them all… well almost. Although these places have different themes (Venice, Medieval Castle, Pirate Ship, Paris, New York, The Circus, Egyptian Pyramid etc…) they all start to look alike after a while. They have beautiful themed exteriors, gorgeous interiors and a casino that looks like every other casino.

Casinos feel the need to advertise they have slot machines. OH REALLY? Now there’s a surprise. Considering there are slot machines in the airport, in stores and bars, why would a casino need to tell us they have slots? Slots are the lifeblood of every casino. That’s like a hotel advertising they have guest rooms and water in their pool.

Las Vegas has been invaded. Joking aside, the Asians and Latinos have taken over Las Vegas. These cultural groups travel in large packs (presumably families) and there are lots of them. One late night in a very large (and very crowded) restaurant, Tami and I were one of only two white couples in the whole place. And it was like that everywhere we went. It seems the tourists and the service staff is made up of nothing but Asians and Latinos. This is not a complaint, but simply an observation. In fact, we met some very nice Asian and Latino waiters/waitresses/bartenders (ask me about Ismael, Joel or Li Li). The Latinos in particular are a very warm, friendly people. This change in cultural make up is certainly different than it was the last time we were there.

God’s glory is evident even in a place accurately dubbed “Sin City”. We needed to look no further than the Fountains of Bellagio to see it. We marveled at the God- given creativity and artistic ability required to create such beauty (both the fountains and accompanying music). It’s difficult to believe that a Holy God would be present in such a place, but He most definitely is.

The Naked Cowboy

If I mentioned the Naked Cowboy, you'd probably think I was making a reference to something we saw in Vegas. Well, there was such a guy wandering the streets of Las Vegas, but that's not what I'm talking about here. Today, I'm talking about the photo below. This is what happens when you allow Elliott to dress himself...

Not many people could pull off a look like this, but I'm giving Elliott a pass today.

Not ready yet

Summer is quickly coming to an end, but I am not ready to let it go just yet. I just want to sit with my beautiful wife and have a glass of wine here---

Or here...

Or maybe here...

Or possibly here...

Or perhaps here...

Or here would be fine...

This would be okay too...

This would be good...

How about here?...

Or even here...

Old TV

For some reason there are no TV shows like the old TV shows. We have tried to watch some of the modern-day TV shows, but we always find ourselves feeling unfulfilled.

Thank goodness for Netflix! Because of this wonderful internet streaming service, Tami and I have been able to watch 7 seasons of Columbo. This quirky, yet brilliant detective offered some of the best entertainment the 70's had to offer. Tonight we started watching The Rockford Files. You never really realize how good these shows were until you watch them. An added bonus is watching the scenery in the background and the clothing from the 70's. It's a real hoot! With 100 episodes, The Rockford Files will offer hours of fun.

7 Little Words

If you like word games, you'll love 7 little words. (Just do a Google search, you'll find it). I play this game every day. It only takes a few minutes. I feel like it keeps my vocabulary skills sharp and I have a good time doing it. Try it out. You'll thank me later.

Busy Goppa

Had a busy day babysitting the grandchildren and Sveta is spending the night. More tomorrow.

Half my life

Today is my 24th wedding anniversary. These have been the best 24 years of my life. I have a smart, beautiful, kind, caring and loving wife. I am blessed beyond anything that I could have ever imagined.

I am 48 years old and this means I have been married exactly half my life. That's a difficult thought to wrap my mind around.

Happy Anniversary, Honey.

Birthday Boy

We went to celebrate Elliott's birthday today. The little man turned 2 on Thursday. It has been a tremendously busy day and I don't have much to report... more tomorrow.

For now, I thought this was mildly amusing.

Cloud 9

This was the view off our back deck on Saturday evening about 7:00. I have no idea what a cloud formation like this is called, but it's very cool looking. Tami is going to send the photo to Tim Hedrick. Tim loves getting stuff like this. Who knows? Maybe we'll make it on TV.

Bellagio

I'm just going to leave this here for you to watch. It's four minutes long, but worth the time. This is what brought Tami and me to tears on our trip. Beautiful. Just beautiful.

Lucky 19

I want to begin this post by saying I do not believe in luck. I do not believe in superstition. I do not believe breaking a mirror brings 7 years bad luck any more than I think 7 is a lucky number or 13 is an unlucky one. I do not believe I can toss a coin into a fountain and make a wish. I do not believe things happen simply by chance or at random. I believe in God's sovereignty. His mercy and grace do not exist as a matter of luck or happenstance.

Now that I said that, I would like to relay a funny story.

When we were getting ready to fly to Vegas our flight number was 1119. When we arrived at the airport our plane was to depart from gate A19. When we got on the plane, we found we were sitting in row 19. As the flight attendant was going over the safety instructions, we discovered the plane we were sitting in was an Airbus 319. Are you seeing the pattern here? 19! As our plane headed toward Vegas I joked to Tami that 19 must be our lucky number for the trip and I should put money on number 19 at the roulette wheel. We kind of laughed at all the 19's and sort of dismissed it. To further set up this story, you need to know we flew Frontier Airlines. Every plane in the Frontier fleet has a different animal theme. The animal is pictured on the wing tips and tail of the plane. Our plane had a fox on it. As I was contemplating all the 19's that started our trip, a thought occurred to me. There is a FOX TV station in Cincinnati. We all know the channel number, don't we? You guessed it... FOX 19. Yeah, I know it's a bit of a stretch, but it was a fun thought.

So anyway, we arrived in Vegas and we were waiting in line to check into the hotel. The line was long, so I told Tami I needed to make a trip to the restroom after our long trip. I had to walk through the casino to get to the restroom and my route took me right by a roulette table. I decided to stop and watch one spin. The little white ball spun around the wheel, bounced around the numbers and landed directly into number... (any guesses?). THAT BALL LANDED IN NUMBER 19!!!!!!!!!! I felt the breath leave my body and I think my knees may have buckled a little. I could not believe what I was looking at. I walked away from that table shaking my head. The odds for hitting a number straight up pay 35 to 1. The minimum bet is $5. Even at the minimum, I could have won $175 if I had bet money on 19. But alas, I made no such bet and you know what they say, "You can't win if you don't play". Of course I always say, "You can't lose if you don't play".

Do I regret not betting on number 19 at the roulette wheel? Not at all. It could have just as easily landed in one of the other 37 numbers on that wheel. I will never be a gambler and I am comfortable with my decision to not gamble in Vegas (or at least not much). Tami and I had a wonderful time and we didn't have to lose money in the casino to do it. We did play a few hands of 10 cent video poker, but there's a big difference between a dime bet and $5 minimum/per spin in roulette.

I will always remember the number 19 for our Vegas trip though.

Back Home

We are back home safely. The flight was relatively smooth and there were no problems. Michael did a great job holding down the fort while we were gone.

I did come home to discover a big problem with the pool in need of immediate repair. That's priority number one tomorrow. For now I am too tired to report anything else. I will make a post tomorrow.

Good night, everyone.

Heading Home

As I type this, we are sitting at the airport in Vegas waiting for our flight. We will be home in a matter of hours. It was an awesome trip and we are sad to see it end. However, it will be good to get home.

On another happy note... Happy Birthday today to our daughter Jessi and our sweet little Elliott. Elliott turns two today and his mommy is a bit older than that. She was born in 1984. You do the math.

Happy Birthday to two special people!

Pawn Stars

Yesterday was another fun filled day. The highlight was a trip to the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop. This is the one where the TV show Pawn Stars is filmed. It is a relatively short walk from our hotel (about a mile and a half, maybe a little farther). It's not too long of a distance, but the temperature was 105 and this made the trek a little more difficult. After a few stops to rest in the shade, we made it to the shop and were able to walk right in. Our timing must have been perfect because when we left a line had formed outside. While at the shop we had a good time looking around at all the cool items for sale. None of the guys from the TV show were there (we didn't expect them to be), but we did see one man that has been on camera during the show. It was kind of cool to be where a popular show takes place.

Today is our last day and we are trying to figure out how to have our last hurrah in Vegas before flying home tomorrow. As always, it's fun to get away, but also it will be good to get home.

Trip to The Strip

We had a very busy day yesterday (hence no blog post). We took the bus to the strip and wore ourselves out looking at the massive casinos and resorts. We were in Vegas about 18 years ago and things have just gotten bigger and more opulent in that time. It's just unbelievable how massive these places are and they really spare no expense on anything. It's quite the contrast from downtown Vegas where we're staying.

There were several highlights yesterday. We had lunch at The Creperie in Paris (Tami LOVES crepes). We were both brought to tears at The Fountains of Bellagio. They played Whitney Houston's rendition of the Star Spangled Banner and a beautiful duet by Andrea Bocelli and Sara Brightman (Time to say goodbye). If you haven't heard this song... LOOK IT UP! I promise it's worth it. We loved it so much we stayed for 3 different fountain shows. We found a shady spot to sit and just enjoyed relaxing by the fountains. There are street vendors selling water and beer, so waiting for the next show was easy. Weird feeling being able to buy beer on the street. We found a good Happy Hour at a Mexican Cantina. We had a nice time talking to our Mexican waiter. It's fun to ask people about their homeland and they are usually happy to talk about themselves a little bit. Most people aren't willing to connect with service workers on a personal level. It's one of our favorite things to do. We also enjoyed a stroll next to the Grande Canal at The Venetian (this was under construction the last time we were here). It's beautiful as you can probably imagine. We wanted to end the night at the pirate show at Treasure Island, but it's closed for repairs. By this time we were tired anyway and decided to just head back to the hotel. It was a FULL day on the Vegas strip and we didn't gamble a dime. I wonder how many people can say that?

Yes, I photographed my own finger in this one. I'm such a dork!

Here's Bellagio from our shaded perch on the concrete railing. Sitting up on the railing is probably not allowed. We're such rebels!

This display was beautiful! I felt kind of silly crying when I was busy being such a rebel sitting on the railing.

The Grand Canal gondola rides are cool, but I wouldn't pay $40/person for a 5 minute ride in a big, glorified canoe. I was content to watch and shoot a photo of somebody else who overpaid for a ride on a fake waterway (think Small World ride at Disney). Tami and I marveled at how expensive things were and how people just seemed to be throwing money away left and right.

It was a good, but tiring day yesterday. We weren't the typical Vegas strip visitors and we liked it that way. It doesn't cost anything to look and we did a lot of looking.

Today we are going to take it a little easier. We're still going to have fun, but we are staying in the downtown area. It's a bit more laid back than the strip and we like it better that way.

The Beatles

So we ran into one of the Beatles in Las Vegas. I'm not kidding. You can see his picture below.

This critter was on my back and was pointed out to me by some other tourists. To be accurate, I guess I should have said I ran into a "beetle" in Las Vegas. I decided to call him Ringo.

I didn't get to see him (because he was on my back), but Tami said he was about an inch long. That's pretty big for a beetle.

Arrived!

We arrived safely at what would have been about 12:30 last night. It is now after 5:00 Cincinnati time and I haven't been to bed yet. Don't believe for a moment this means we are out here going wild and partying all night. Far from it! It took us forever to get to our hotel. Traffic in Vegas on a Saturday night is a NIGHTMARE! Checking into the hotel took longer than it typically does in the midwest. By the time we got to our room it was pretty late, but we were also feeling very hungry. We went to a restaurant (waited in a long line) and had a nice meal. I was able to stay on my diet by getting a New York Strip dinner for $6.99. Eating in Vegas doesn't have to cost a fortune if you do some research ahead of time (which we did extensively!). So now it's time to get some rest. I'm just hitting the sack and you all will be getting up in a few hours. Strange!

There will be much more to report later, but as you can imagine, I'm bleary eyed by now. Good night from Las Vegas... or should I say good morning to Cincinnati?

18

Happy Birthday, Abby! My baby girl turns 18 today. I can't believe my youngest child is old enough to vote, buy cigarettes and buy lottery tickets (although I hope she only does one of those three this year... ha! ha!).

She also leaves for Mexico this morning. Big day for a little girl!

Go west, young man!

We are headed west this evening. My next post will be from The Plaza Hotel in fabulous Las Vegas. The temperatures will be in excess of 100 degrees every day. 106 on Tuesday and Wednesday. Believe it or not, that sounds inviting after the seemingly endless rains of this Cincinnati summer.

Impressing the burglars

As I prepare to go on vacation tomorrow, a question crossed my mind. Am I the only one who cleans the house before going on vacation? If I'm not the only one, why do we do this? Are we worried burglars will break in and be appalled if the house is cluttered? Do we want to impress these burglars with our immaculate housekeeping? Are we worried our relatives will pop in while we're gone to "keep an eye on things"? Is it because we can relax more on vacation knowing we left a clean house behind? Is it the fact it's depressing enough to come home from a vacation without the added stress of arriving to a messy house?

I guess you can tell I've been cleaning the house today and this question occurred to me. I have weird thoughts like this sometimes.

This isn't always true. Try loading the dishwasher incorrectly. Try shrinking your wife's favorite clothes in the dryer. Try dusting AFTER you've already vacuumed or wiping the counter with a dish towel instead of a dishrag. Not that I've ever done any of these things, but I'm just sayin'...

Headed to Vegas

Normally when I have a vacation planned, I spend weeks crowing in anticipation about the upcoming trip. This is not the case for this year's vacation.

Tomorrow night, Tami and I will be flying to Las Vegas. This is kind of comical because we don't really gamble. Not unless you call penny slot machines gambling. So... why a trip to Vegas if we don't gamble? Isn't that all there is to do in Vegas? Nope! In fact, there are lots of things to do in Las Vegas that do not involve throwing away my hard-earned money. Lots of sight seeing, people watching, and of course eating. Yes the diet will take a short vacation, but I don't plan on going hog wild either. I've worked too hard to lose 30 pounds to gain a portion of it back on a trip to Sin City.

We didn't really plan on going to Vegas. It just sort of happened. We were looking to go somewhere... anywhere... as long as it was inexpensive. We found dirt cheap flights (direct from Cincy to Las Vegas) and a hotel room for $22 a night. You really can't beat that. Obviously hotels in Vegas make their money from their casinos and not from their room rentals.

So... We will be taking a trip to Vegas to do whatever we want whenever we want. We'll only go where the desert wind blows us. Does anybody know how much a million dollars in pennies weighs? Maybe I'll hit the jackpot on a penny slot machine... but I doubt it. In order to win, you have to play. I probably won't. I'm not what you'd call a high roller.

I will be blogging from Vegas (ain't the internet great?). I'm not sure how much time I'll have, but I will do my best to at least post something.

We fly back to Cincinnati on Thursday.

Viva Las Vegas!

The REST of the story

Paul Harvey used to have a daily radio segment called "The REST of the story". He would spin a yarn and then give a surprising twist at the end, concluding with his signature, "And now you know the REST of the story. Good Day!". It seems we now have the rest of the story behind Elliott's lollipop incident. It turns out he'd already had a cookie and then went in and snuck the sucker out of the drawer. I guess he doesn't have such a mean mommy after all :-)

Oh deer!

I'm only posting this because I like bad jokes and really bad plays on words. No reason... Just found this a little amusing :-)

Angel -vs- Devil

So these 2 photos seem to be in perfect contrast to each other. In one photo you have a fair skinned angel. In the other photo you have a red skinned little devil.

Mean Mommy!

So this happened...

Young Mr. Elliott snuck into the kitchen drawer where all the candy is stored and snagged a sucker. His mean ol' Mommy caught him and made him throw it away. The photo below shows his mild displeasure with her. His Goppa, Grandma and Aunt Abby all agreed he could have kept the candy if we'd been in charge. Ha! Ha!

We can all laugh because he's not OUR child... It sure is different when it's someone else's :-)

Another Milestone

At the risk of boring you, I am happy to report I have reached yet another weight loss milestone. As of yesterday I have lost 30 pounds. I continue to eat healthy foods, avoid all snacking, eat very little and exercise. The formula is working. My food intake is minimal and I walk almost every day. I am feeling good and I am fitting in clothes I haven't worn for a very long time. I'm even wearing things I thought I'd never wear again.

I now set my sights on the next target... 40 pounds. In all, I hope to lose between 50 and 60 pounds by the end of the year. After that, the plan is to maintain, maintain, maintain. Instead of looking like a lower case "b" (see the fat belly on the "b"?), I want to look like a lower case "l" (lean and thin). With dedication, will power, and sheer determination, I WILL do it. You just watch me!

Those EYES!

We did some babysitting Sunday night. As exhausting as it was, it was so much fun and well worth it! Tami snapped a few photos of the kids as they watched a movie (Grandma and Goppa needed a break and it was almost bed time). What is striking about these photos are the kids' eyes. Elliott's are blue and seem to go on forever. Sveta's are such a dark brown they almost appear black. Opposite ends of the color spectrum, but both beautiful.

This little piggy

This little piggy went to market
This little piggy stayed home
This little piggy had roast beef
This little piggy had none
And this little piggy... was delicious on the 4th of July

We had a grand time on the 4th of July. My brother learned how to roast a whole pig and that's exactly what he did. It was delicious!

Here's Porky in all his glory!

Women's World Cup

On Tuesday, the United States Women's National Team beat Germany in the semi-finals of the World Cup. Tonight they beat Japan in the finals to win all the marbles. I'm not a big soccer fan, but I am proud to see our women win the cup. You go, girls!

Father/Son Time

Michael and I had a blast at the Reds game Friday night despite a 12-1 loss. The game was a stinker, the food was good and the company was great. The evening was topped off as we watched a fireworks display from the Central Bridge. What a nice night of Father/Son time!