Winter

Winter has arrived in Western Pennsylvania. This past week has been full of snow, and ice, the first real bit of winter this season. All of December, and most of January were very mild this year, almost like an extended autumn. We didn't get the severe winter that a lot of the mid-west got with the ice storms and heavy snow falls, but still enough to throw a couple of snowballs, and if I really wanted to I could probably make a snowman. I have family in the north west side of the state of Missouri and I got an Email from them a few weeks ago telling everyone that they were without power, and that they were sending the Email with the laptop's battery reserve. They said that the storm was so bad, that many stores ran out of product, and fuel stations were sold out, and they had been heating their home with portable kerosene heaters. So far, that kind of weather hasn't hit here, and I am being selfish, and hoping it doesn't in the future either! I will update you when I hear from them again. This past weekend my son, Josh, went to a Boy Scout function that was a two and a half hour drive up into the "mountains" of western PA to a small place called Heritage Reservation in Farmington, PA. Of course this little adventure of his also happened to be the weekend of the worst of our winter weather. I made it there and back both times (drop off/pick up) ok, and I only got stuck once. It happened when I went to pick him up on Sunday. I drove into the camping area, and to get to the spot we agreed to meet, I had to go over a small hill that ended in a small dead end parking area. As soon as I started down the slope I realized I had made a big mistake, but it was too late. I had passed the point of no return. At the bottom of the slope in the parking area, I got turned around with the help of the camp ranger pushing the front of my car while I backed into an empty parking spot. Josh met me and I began back up the slope, and only made it half way. I backed back down the slope and tried a second run, but only made it to the same spot. I believe I was an amusing specticle to watch, and when I stopped trying a group of young scouts jumped out of a nearby truck and pushed my car the rest of the way up the hill. Maybe I should consider winter tires? My new HHR came with "All Season" tires, and although it handles pretty well in the wet and slushy roads, it just doesn't have enough grip to get up an snow and ice covered hill... unless I get enough momentum going first. I guess I should stop calling my HHR "new"... I have had it for 6 months, and it definitatly has "wear" marks. :-) I will tell you more about those in a future post.

YMCA

Well... I did it... I am so far, succeeding at keeping my new year resolutions... The most important resolution I made, was to live a more healthy life. I need to eat better, take my vitamins and medicine, and excercise more. Well, here it is 26 days into 2007, I have started one of the three parts of one of my resolutions! I joined the YMCA and I have gone 6 out of the last 8 days since I joined. I have swam laps in their pool, lifted weights, ran on the eliptical machines, and walked the track. So now I am tired, but I am feeling a little better. I don't know if it's related, but I like to think it is, but my first night bowling since I started the YMCA and I bowled one of my best nights in a long time. Now all I need to do is start the other two parts of the resolution, and not give up on the exercise, and hopefully by the end of the year, I will be able to walk up and down a flight of stairs without taking a break half way... (I know, I am exaggerating... but I really am out of shape!) I made other resolutions as well, but that's for another post!

St. Valentine's Day (again)

Today is the 23rd of January. It's a good 22 days until St. Valentine's Day... that's over 3 weeks away. Yet people have already started to decorate for the holiday. When did we start decorating for St. Valentine's Day? I thought all we did was buy some chocolate, flowers or maybe just a card. Now we have to get window decorations, pink and white lights, and inflatable yard balloons. I haven't even taken the Christmas wreath down from my front door yet! I guess I need to be more "in touch" with the world, and go buy some decorations... How else will those retail outlets keep their doors open?

New Year Goal

It's a new year... 2007... 42 years after the year I was born... Yeah I am getting old, but I am not there yet! When it's 110 years after I was born, then I will be old... I am hoping that some new drug will be invented between now and then, and not only will I be old, but living as well! When I was about 11 or 12 I, like most people, used the start of a new year as a way of starting over and doing new things or stopping old things that they want to change... When I was young, my new year goals were things like: Talk to a girl, or at least make eye contact, and if I couldn't do either of those things, then at least do my best to not be noticed as a geek/nerd. Which was hard to do since I was (some think I still am) a geek/nerd. Now that I am and adult I have completely different set of new year goals... I am now trying to avoid making eye contact with a woman (ex-wife), trying to get a girl to talk to me (either of my eldest daughters), and trying to avoid being noticed as a geek/nerd by my girlfriend (I think she knows). See how much things change in 30+ years! Imagine how different they will be in 30 more years. What's your new year goal?

Happy New Year 2007

I just wanted to take a brief second to wish everyone a great, fun, and memorable new year. May this year be better for you and your family than any other year so far! Later Lou