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Ok folks, the Holidays are over and it’s time to look in the mirror and lament your “Budda-Belly”. When female’s gain weight, it tends to spread over their hips, buttocks & arms. I on the other hand start to look about 5 months preggo as the rest of me stays exactly the same.

So Wendy & I are now on a strict calorie counting diet and exercising regularly! For the last month, I have drank nothing but water & Starbucks coffee (no cream, no sugar). I’ve not eaten a single candy bar, and I get carefully measured portions at mealtime. I miss my Coca-Cola and Milky Ways so very much!

The effort has not been without it rewards though, between the two of us, we’ve shed 25 pounds. That’s like two bags of ice and a sack of potatoes!

I remember a time when I could eat whatever I wanted and always thought of myself as too skinny, growing old sure sux!

It’s a typical day, 6:30 a.m. and I’m getting ready to go to work. Shower, shave, hair, contacts, slacks, shirt, undies, socks, shoes, belt, watch, wallet, money, change, pocket knife, name badge, car keys, work keys & cell phone. Ok, I’m out the door and lugging this stuff around for the next 9 hours while walking miles back and forth at the store.

Whew!! I’m finally home and now it’s time to relax and unwind. Gotta unload those pockets, get out of the restrictive clothing and into something comfy, something baggy. Ahhh!! that’s better, now I can get myself a tall glass of ice water and check my email… Oh No, wait! Wendy’s coming, she HATES these pants, I can certainly see why… six day old road-kill is more attractive than these things, but that’s not the point, they’re comfortable! so what if they make me look like I’m wearing a droopy diaper. Who cares if there are a few holes in the backside? I LIKE my comfy pants and now I have to spend many a day worrying that she will slip them into the garbage can while I’m away.

When I was a little boy, Hurricane Agnes blew through Virginia causing massive flooding and we lost our home. I remember bits and pieces of the event (I was like 4 years old), mainly scrambling for higher ground. When I was a teenager, we were on a cross country trip and driving through Oklahoma when a small tornado dropped out of the sky on top of our car. The wind, chunks of hail, flying debris, etc… scared us stiff.

I then graduated from High school, Married, and took a job in California. It was there that Wendy & I experienced our first earthquake. It was the Northridge “Quake” of 1992 and it killed 60 people, injured another 7,000 and destroyed over 20,000 homes. Another event California treated me to that year was the Rodney King Riots which wasn’t very fun at all. I won’t even go into the Mud Slides, or Wild Fires that were ever present. Nor will I even talk about being around for the “Birth” of high speed police pursuits televised nightly at the dinner table.

Now that I’ve made it back to the East Coast, Mother Nature has been much nicer to me. Tonight, something happened here on my little mountain that I’ve only had the opportunity to witness on one other occasion during my lifetime. There was Thunder-Snow. Huh? What the heck is Thunder Snow you ask? It was snowing outside and there was also lightning and thunder. It’s a very strange phenomenon and not very common but I must say the effect is beautiful, especially at night when a lightning bolt streaks across the sky and illuminates against the falling snow. The sound of the thunder then reverberates off the snow causing a very low rumble that shakes the house.

You don’t believe me? Google it!

Wendy and I have had this little “system” going for the past 19 years in regards to our vehicles. We don’t want more than 1 car payment so we take turns. It works out to each of us getting a new vehicle every 8 or 10 years depending upon the terms of financing. Since it will be my turn next, I’ve been doing a bit of browsing.

Fifteen years ago, and BC (Before Children), Wendy and I went to Hawaii for a two week vacation. I recall a spur of the moment decision to rent a Jeep, put the top down, and cruise up the coast. Man did we have a blast, some very fond memories. Since then, it’s always been in the back of my mind that one day, I’d like to own a Jeep. Just look at it, does it not look like fun?

A Hummer is perhaps the epitome of a “Man-Car”. In the past, I’ve always looked at them and thought… “very cool but too wide, guzzles gas & can’t touch one for less than 50k”. Apparently, the auto maker has been reading my mind with the release of the new Hummer-3 (Baby Hummer). It has the classic look, it’s about the same size as your typical S.U.V. and comparable gas mileage. The icing on the cake is prices start at under 30k.

Whichever vehicle I choose, I do know it will be the color black. I’m not sure why, but I’ve developed a fetish for black cars. Also, Wendy’s Rendezvous has gotten me hooked on heated seats. Nothing like toasty buns on a frigid commute to work!

So… tell me what you think. Am I crazy? Got any better ideas?

I finally got around to getting the pix off my camera from Christmas and I thought I share a few…

The Christmas Tree
My nerdy Star Trek ornament #1
My nerdy Star Trek ornament #2
The mantle above the fireplace
View of the living room
Our niece Sharon celebrating her first Christmas
CheeWee is sharing his bed
Me (With “Bed-Head”) getting ready to clobber Wendy
Tim rushes to her defense

Here’s a vid I put together from Erick’s last Birthday. It’s sort of a tradition in the Family to give the Birthday Boy swats. One each for the number of years in which he’s celebrating. On this particular occasion, Erick had sealed himself away in his room and Me and Wendy’s Brothers dragged him out for the “Administering”.

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