Dumb Ass Moment #1

I tend to find myself in somewhat precarious and compromising situations which can be amusing, but for the most part, completely humiliating. Therefore I will blog my "Dumb Ass Moments" (DAM) as they occur. Take today for instance........

So after leaving the office this afternoon, I went about with the usual routine of heading out to the gym for my run. I was still dressed in my office clothes and so obviously I had go to the women's changing room to change into my running clothes. Nonetheless, I get changed into my running gear and as I was leaving the changing room, this guy walked by me, glanced my way and kept walking. I turned right and followed him, thinking that he was heading out to the gym area. When I did this, he glanced back and gave me this really strange look. Well, it turned out I followed him into the men's changing room.

I

Am

Such

A

DUMB

ASS.

He #2

He is trying
to wreak havoc
on my mind.

I won't let him.

"Revelations of a Single Woman"

As I look in the mirror over the last few months, staring back at me is a Picassoesque portrait; multiple, fragmented facets of the same face. I am reminded of Picasso's painting, Girl Before a Mirror. In my case, I see who I've become in the last few years: urban youth worker, alien in a foreign country, social worker, and lover of the outdoors. I ask of myself, "Will the real self please stand up?"

I've been reading this book by Connally Gilliam called "Revelations of A Single Woman". No, it's not your typical chick-lit. And it's not one of your "feel good" books about singleness. Connally's book delves into the struggles of making sense of our fragmented selves and the feeling single people have, that we're "the leftovers" in a couples world. Normally I don't read these type of books, however two good friends highly recommended this book, and since one of them is friends with the author, it obviosly piqued my curiosity. I was pleasantlly surprised. Connally tackles the issue of unintentional singleness with something so fresh and true. Although I just started reading this book, I have found Connally to be insightful, raw, full of humor, and refreshing.

What has struck me with this book was how she described some of the experiences that I have felt but have never been able to put down with words. I can identify with her experiences because they have been my own experiences. The realization that I am not alone with my feelings of fragmentation and disconnecteness made me want to break down and cry. I am a fragmented girl living in a fragmented world and the scary thing is, I am taking on a scary resemblance to the girl before th emirror in Picasso's painting. I can almost see it. Maybe this splintering would no be a problem if I had people and friends around me who were constant, but as life would have it, things change. People move, friends marry, and others busily spin into other circles. Of course I try to keep in touch with some of the scattered ones, but still I need to make new connections in order to fill the gaps. This gets exhausting and I only have so much energy to pour out. And of course, the cycle inevitably begins. Connally poses the questions perfectly: How is God's desire for his children's wholeness connect with the world of scattered friends and fragmented lives in which so many of us live? Well, I think that God wants to lead me through this chaos and for me to trust that He wants to lead me and is capable of leading me.

Scary, this trust thing.

What also struck me, and although I know this deep down in my heart, is it's the Father who knows every part of my fragmented self. It's HIM who knows that committed communities fracture. It's HIM who knows when relationships change. It's HIM who knows that there are others like me, wandering around, sometimes lost, sometimes found, sometimes in circles. I need to continue to remind myself of this truth and believe that God is REAL, and like the Father in the story of the Prodigal Son, is compassionately running out to meet me to where I am. More to come.......

Will You Please Find Me A Prom Date????

So remember my dear, lovable cousin, Hormone Happy Boy (HHB)? Yes, the one I spent time with over the Christmas holidays in San Diego. Well, I spent a better part of this evening on the phone with him, talking about his girl issues. For some odd reason, this boy likes to call me in order to lament over his love life. This poor boy has been in teen angst this past year over a girl he has been in love with for God knows how long. HHB and this girl (let's call her Sanrio Girl) are both high school seniors and he has been trying the get up the nerve to ask her out and to their senior prom this coming spring. During our high-spirited conversation tonight he kept telling me that he was over her. Our conversation went like this:

HHB: I'm really over Sanrio Girl. Seriously. I met someone else at my friend's party a few weeks ago.

Me: Sure.

HHB: Seriously.

Me: By the end of our conversation you'll end up saying "Oh, I still really like Sanrio Girl. She's so hot."

HHB: Really, I'm over her. This girl I met at the party, she's also hot. But the thing is, she's younger than me.

Me: How much younger?

HHB: She's a freshman. But she's a really hot freshman.

Me: So what's her name?

HHB: I don't know yet.

I wish I was there to smack his head. So through the course of our conversation I tormented HHB over the fact that he was "cradle robbing". The funny thing was, he had no idea what cradle robbing meant until I expounded on what the phrase meant. He thought it was funny. How funny? Well, here's his expression.........

I LIKE JAIL BAIT??

And so I veered the conversation back to Sanrio Girl, HHB's true passion, which led to another amusing conversation all together.

Me: So, are you gonna ask Sanrio Girl to the prom or what?

HHB: I don't know. She's too hot.

Me: So I've heard. *Laughter ensues*

HHB: Why're you laughing at me?

Me: *Laughter continues* I'm laughing because this girl is seriously in another league. That's why it is your goal in the next few months to get her to agree to go to prom with you. *More laughter*

HHB: She IS in another league! She is SO hot.

Me: *Looks at cell phone and rolls eyes* What's the worse thing that could happen? She'll say no and you'll move on. When you look at the bigger picture this whole situation will be so minute that you'll look back on it and laugh. Trust me, you'll understand. *More laughter* I am so gonna blog this conversation!

I'M in a league of MY own!

Later on our conversation shifted a little.....

HHB: It's my 18th birthday tomorrow and my friends plan to take me to a strip club sometime this weekend.

Me: *Looks at cell phone and rolls eyes again* First of all you're underage, second of all I'm telling your parents, and lastly...how would you feel if your sister (remember TeenyBopper?) was on that stage and your buddies, along with some other sleazy, dirty old men were leering over her?

HHB: I won't think of my sister then.

Me: What would you do if Jesus were sitting right next to you?

HHB: *Silence.....*

*Side note: Sorry Uncle Andy, I really tried!*

At this point I really wished I could have smacked him a good one on the head.

Happy 18th Birthday to me.

Nonetheless, HHB was excited over the prospect of being the main attraction in one of my blog posts. Hence he preceeded to email me some recent pictures, begging me to post them. I told him that I would be asking people to find him a prom date. Either that, or give him some sound advice on how to win Sanrio Girl's heart.

And so folks, here you have it, HHB's birthday plea....

SENIOR PROM OR BUST!
WILL YOU PLEASE FIND ME A DATE FOR THE SENIOR PROM?
OR AT LEAST HELP ME GET SANRIO GIRL TO GO WITH ME?!?!

Happy 18th Birthday HHB! I love you to kibble and bits and bits. It's strange to think that I used to change your diapers. This post is your crowning glory for the day. Revel in it.

I *Heart* Barry White

I just downloaded Barry White's Greatist Hits from MSN and now I have "Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe" in my head. I'm still trying to figure out how use Castpost or else I'd download the song onto my blog. Nonetheless, the lyrics will have to do. Anyways, this is for the "we better try to get ourselves together babe" dude. You know who YOU are.

Spoken:
I've heard people say that
Too much of anything is not good for you, baby
Oh no
But I don't know about that
There's many times that we've loved
We've shared love and made love
It doesn't seem to me like it's enough
There's just not enough of it
There's just not enough
Oh oh, babe

My darling, I can't get enough of your love babe
Girl, I don't know, I don't know why
Can't get enough of your love babe
Oh, some things I can't get used to
No matter how I try
Just like the more you give, the more I want
And baby, that's no lie
Oh no, babe

Tell me, what can I say?
What am I gonna do?
How should I feel when everything is you?
What kind of love is this that you're givin' me?
Is it in your kiss or just because you're sweet?

Girl, all I know is every time you're here
I feel the change
Somethin' moves
I scream your name
Do what ya got to do

Darling, I can't get enough of your love babe
Girl, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know why
I can't get enough of your love babe
Oh no, babe

Girl, if I could only make you see
And make you understand
Girl, your love for me is all I need
And more than I can stand
Oh well, babe

How can I explain all the things I feel?
You've given me so much
Girl, you're so unreal
Still I keep loving you
More and more each time
Girl, what am I gonna do
Because you blow my mind

I get the same old feelin' every time you're here
I feel the change
Somethin' moves
I scream your name
Do what ya got to do

Darling, I can't get enough of your love babe
Oh no, babe

Spoken:
Baby, let me take all of my life to find you
But you can believe it's gonna take the rest of my life to keep you

Oh no, babe
My darling, I can't get enough of your love babe
Yeah, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know why
Can't get enough of your love babe
Oh my darling, I can't get enough of your love babe
Oh babe
I don't know, I don't know, I don't know why
I can't get enough of your love babe
Oh babe

---

Work-A-Holic Learns To Play

It's funny how certain things can really get you worked up and your view of the world becomes dismal, bleak, and even grim. The last weekend and a half was incredibly stressful and of course, most of it was work related. Apart from the fact that I was working 10-12 hour days, I was coming home at a fairly late hour, around the time when it was time for me to get ready for bed. Depressing huh?

Today I actually arrived home at a decent hour, around 4:00 PM. *GASP* I know. Irishgirl nearly had a heart attack when she discovered that I got home before she did. My small group from church meets in East Falls every Tuesday evenings, but I decided to play hooky. *Double GASP* What did I end up doing with my free evening instead? Irishgirl cajoled me into going to happy hour at the local Irish pub we frequent. I tell ya, there is nothing like a nice, cold pint of beer and some buffalo wings.

Maybe I'll even live a litte tomorrow and play hooky from work. I think I feel a cold coming on.....

One Year. Yay.

Happy Blog-versary to me.

Has it already been one year? Well to be specific, it's been one year and one day since I got sucked into the wonderful world of web-logs (how's that for alliteration?) ;) It's scary to think how one year flies by so quickly. I can still remember that evening when I wrote my first entry, sitting in front of my desk, trying to think of something clever and witty to write. Looking back to that first entry, one can see that was not the case. Although, I did try. Nonetheless, venturing into the world of blogs has been interesting, to say the least. I never thought that community could be built through blogs, but I've witnessed it firsthand through the various blogs I've had the privilege of reading and through the interactions that I have with my faithful readers.

In a sense, this whole experience has been somewhat therapeutic for me and looking back through various posts, I have been able to see God's hands at work in my life as He carried me through the ups and downs in this past year. I look forward to another new year of blogging, with a greater focus on God's goodness and fresh perspectives on life experiences.

And to paraphrase a good friend's quote......."I look forward to writing about a life that is not my own and pray that I will be the kind of water Jesus changes into wine."

He

So, he came tonight.
This ought to make life somewhat interesting.
He has no idea of the chaos he is wreaking in my mind.
I wish he did.

I've been tagged!

It's 1 AM and I cannot for the life of me fall asleep. So what do I end up doing? Log onto the internet and paruse through some of my favorite blogs. Thanks to Naive No More who so graciously tagged me, it's now my turn to fill out one of these "all about me" questionairres. NNM thinks I'm fun. Go figure eh? :D

Four Jobs that I have had:
1) Adoption Social Worker
2) High School Teacher
3) Family Support Worker
4) House Parent

Four Movies I could watch over and over:
1) You've Got Mail - I wanna be just like the story book lady. ;)
2) Under the Tuscan Sun - Let ME buy the villa in Tuscany!
3) Amelie - Parlez vous francais?
4) Pride and Prejudice (the A&E version) - HELLO Mr. Darcy! :D

Four places in the U.S. I like:
1) New York City - my most favorite city in this country!
2) Seattle, WA - Gotta love those flying fish guys!
3) San Francisco, CA - Fisherman's Wharf anyone?
4) The Oregon Coast - Preferably Florence

Favorite places I have vacationed: (Sadly, I haven't been to many places abroad except for Asia)
1) San Diego, CA
2) Miami, Fl.
3) Disneyland - California for course!
4) Montreal, Quebec - Je me souviens!

Four t.v. shows:
1) Lost - I'm gonna marry Jack one of these days. ;)
2) Ellen - She cracks me up!
3) The Office - 'nuff said
4) My Name is Earl - Can this guy get any dumber?

Four favorite dishes:
1) Sushi
2) Turkey Dinner
3) Mom's beef stew
4) Ice Cream and Brownies?

Four places I would rather be:
1) Hiking up a mountain
2) Living in New York City
3) Kayaking on the Indian Arm, in Vancouver, BC
4) Paris

Four sites I visit daily:
1) Email account
2) My blog and yours
3) Reuters
4) Christian Forums


Alright, the four lucky ones to be tagged are as follows:

1) Bougie - Do you dare to desecrate your blog? :P

2) Erin - My very cool friend who's been living in Israel for the last year. Check her out!

3) Zach - My soon to be fire fighter friend. He's cool. I think. ;)

4) Bill - This man is not ashamed to wear his heart on his sleeves. Awesome blog!

Worthless Wretch

"My true meaning and worth are shown to me not in my
estimate of myself, but in the eyes of the One who loves me;
and that One must love me as I am, with my faults and
limitations revealing to me the truth that these faults and
limitations cannot destroy my worth in their eyes;
and that I am therefore valuable as a person, in spite of my
shortcomings, in spite of the imperfections of my exterior package."

Thomas Merton, Love and Living

On those days when I feel so wretched and unworthy, I am somehow reminded of this particular quote by Merton. Today was one of those days.

Quick Peek

I peer into the lives of individuals from my past.

Just a quick glimpse;

Discovering that I am once again drawn

to the same pattern of comparison.

And there find my own inadequacies

rear their ugly heads.

What the.....???

I am a bona-fide news junkie. Tonight as I was reading through my current issue of Newsweek, I ran into this quote by Mayor Ray Nagin on rebuilding New Orleans.

"This city will be a majority African-American city. It's the way God wants it to be... This city will be chocolate at the end of the day."

First of all, how the hell was this guy elected as mayor? And secondly, are you kidding me? Sure, New Orleans' racial makeup is predominantly African American, granted, I myself live in a neighborhood that is predominantly Latino and African American. However, I am disgusted by Nagin's statement and the underlying message that it conveys. My initial interpretation of Nagin's statement was this: "Black people only. Other races, stay out." I loathe racism and it is so sad to see a country as progressive as the USA continue to struggle with this cancer.

It turns out, at the end of the day, Nagin apologized and said that people of ALL races were welcome to return.

Gee, we should all feel so privileged.

Weekend with the Girls

This will be short and to the point, as it's very late and I am suffering from near exhaustion. Well, maybe not from near exhaustion, but I am pretty tired.

The weekend was full. I Went on a spontaneous mini-weekend trip up to north Jersey with Irishgirl to visit a good friend (since she works as a chaplain at a hospital, we'll call her The Rev) who just moved up there this past summer from Atlanta. She was feeling pretty lonely and a little depressed when I talked to her on early Friday evening and so I decided to drive up there for part of the weekend to cheer her up. I was able to cajole Irishgirl to drive up with me early Saturday morning for a girly mini-weekend. We arrived at The Rev's place with a nice bottle of shiraz on hand to enjoy later on in the evening, ready for a day of girliness. We ate.... shopped.....we ate some more...... watched a chick flick..........gorged on chocolate fondue.........and enjoyed the myriad of libations. By the time Saturday came to an end, we were three very "happy" and content women. Good times.

(BTW, an added note......I will be away for a work conference starting tomorrow and will be gone until Wednesday evening. Just thought I'd give you all the heads up in case y'all start wondering where on the blogosphere I've disappeared off to.)

I EMBARRASS MYSELF

My roommates and I have this weekly rotation of household chores and this week I'm on trash duty. Lovely. So tonight as I was taking the trash out, I made the biggest fool out of myself in front of our new neighbor who is of the male persuasion. And of course, I was looking so hot in my ratty old J. Crew sweatshirt and a pair of white shrunken jersey pants that I bought at a Phillies baseball game this past fall. So picture me in my little "hot" get up, clinging onto two full trash bags with both hands, walking towards the little alcove on the side of our house where we keep the trash cans. I see new neighbor boy next door trying to unlock his door look up and so of course I decided to be neighborly. I smiled at him and was about to say "How's it going?" when unbeknownst to me, one of the trash lids had flown off the trash can during the wind storm last night and was on the ground right in front of me. So in the midst of my attempt of friendly flirtation (is there such thing?) I tripped over this stupid lid, with arms flailing, nearly falling flat on my face.

New neighbor boy saw the WHOLE ENTIRE THING!

I

WAS

MORTIFIED.

At this point I knew there was no way I could salvage my dignity and so I quickly stuffed the trash, tried to buy some time by placing the lid on the trash can, praying that new neighbor was already inside his house. After all that, I nonchalantly walked out of the alcove and of course, just as luck would have it, neighbor boy was STILL standing on his porch, in front of his door, looking over at me with this amused look on his face. And so with that, I beelined it towards our front door. I can only imagine what new neighbor boy was thinking. I ran upstairs, burst into Iowagirl's bedroom and relayed to her what transpired outside. I was laughing so hard that I could hardly breath. Iowagirl's response? "You're so embarrassing." And you know what? She's right.

Sometimes I can be so embarrassing that I don't even know what to do with myself.

Hazy Anger

This week has kind of been like a haze for me...like walking around an art museum for about three hours and you come out feeling like sensory overload. I have lived, breathed, and slept work this week. And to top it all off, this was also the week that I decided to cut down on carbs. So yeah, I've been a tad bit crabby and somewhat fatigued.

At work I've been writing this child profile on this 18 year old kid who has been in foster care for about 4 years and has had 31 placements. Yes, 31 placements. The research I've done in this kid has resulted in this enormous stack of paperwork which I have been painstakingly scrutinizing in order to put his life history together. So far I have about 15 pages typed out. I'm expecting this profile to be about 25 pages when it's completed. The various reports, psychological/psychiatric evaluations, medical reports, and court reports on this child life indicates the type of hell that he's been through since he was born. I've written many child profiles over the last four years, almost too many to count, however this one has got to be one of the worst ones that I've had to write. Why? Because of the way it has affected my spirit, especially over the last few days. Last night I even had a dream that was connected to some of this kid's experiences. Generally I am very good at separating my work from my personal life, however this week has me all out of sorts.

Inside I am so outraged by family violence and how it affects children. The neglect and physical abuse of children anger me. And I am so enraged at sick perpetrators who prey on young children to satiate their sick sexual hunger.

I am just one individual who wants to save these children from an obviously sick world. But, I am just one individual.

I'm tired. I need to go to bed.

Guard Your Heart

So here I am moving on with life, thinking that things are hunky dory (yes, hunky dory), and then bam! Something happens which throws you off kilter. Well, that's how it was for me. And also one of the reasons for my silence this past week. I honestly do not know what to make of this situation.

Of course, it's about a guy.

What else would throw me off into this state that I cannot even comprehend myself?

I was involved with this guy this past fall until we decided that it would probably be better that we “remain friends.” (Yeah, we know how that usually goes.) This outcome was rather disappointing but I was able to move on without the usual melt-down that would normally result from a failed dating relationship. Truthfully though, I think the reason why I wasn't as devastated this time around was because I was not as invested. In other words, I guarded my heart. After “parting ways” I honestly did not think that I would ever hear from him again. But nonetheless, after about two months of incommunicado with this guy, I suddenly receive an email from him the week after Christmas. It was short of course, but friendly enough. However, this email was not what put me “out of sorts” this week. It was the phone call I received from him, pretty much the day after I arrived back from California. Yep. The dude called me.

He…..called…..me…..the…..day…..after…..I....arrived.

I suppose I could say that I was shocked. We talked for a while and caught up. Dialogue was somewhat erratic with him, which was probably due to his nervousness throughout the conversation. It was easy to pick out the unease in his voice. Crazy enough, it almost gave me this sense of control, knowing his apprehension and discomfort. But I’m not one to take advantage of another individual’s unease or discomfort. I won’t go into any boring details with the conversation or analyze it till the cows come home. The conversation ended on a friendly enough note, but of course it left me somewhat confused.

I’ve been digesting this call since it transpired almost a week ago. It’s made me crabby and freaking emotional. I just need to let it go and continue to move forward with my life.

So, then, why do I feel like there might be some unfinished business between us?

I had no plans to blog this situation but maybe, just maybe, writing about this situation can be akin to purging and letting go.

Travel, Empty, and Lonely

So I'm back in the east coast. Just arrived this evening after a very long day of travel which started at 4:30 AM in San Diego and ended around 7:00 PM in Philly.

I am exhausted and feeling a myriad of emotions right now. Time spent with my family over the holidays bordered at about 10 on the intensity scale.

Tomorrow I'm back at the office and will be faced with voice mail and emails galore, along with the usual catch up with paper work after a ten day break from work.

I'm feeling so empty right now. Lonely.

Of course, in my head I know that God can fill those empty voids. But how do I believe it with my heart, which seems to be in this constant wretched state?

See, I am doing a new thing......

There appears to be a theme in the blogosphere these last two days. Individuals composing their resolutions for the new year, determined not to break them. Unfortunately the commitment factor on these resolutions are usually forgotten about halfway through January and is shoved in the back of our dressers. I know, because I am one of those individuals who've made these "half-hearted" commitments for the upcoming new year.

Nonetheless, I won't bore the blogsphere with resolutions I probably will not keep by mid-January, however I will share what my hope and expectations are for this year:

"This is what the Lord says -
He who made a way through the sea,
a path through the mighty waters.....
Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland."
Isaiah 43:16,18-19

2005 was an apathetic year for me and I am determined to move forward from a year that lacked in spirit and joy. Instead of looking back with regret, I am determined to move forward, with the hope and expectation that God will continue to move mightily in my life this year.

Breathe in me new life and I will give You all the glory.

Happy New Year to all!

Barnes & Noble and The Bowling Queen

So yesterday I decided to go shopping with HHB and FK. Sometimes I wonder why I subject myself to such painful experiences.

We went to the mall, which wasn't all that bad. FK has been on a shoe hunt and to date has purchased 3 pairs of skater-type sneakers. He's such a girl. HHB was his usual hormonal self, requesting that I refrain from walking too close to him so as to not "ruin his game". Typical adolescent behavior I suppose.

Later on we stopped by my regular haunt, Barnes and Noble, so I could pick up the Ansel Adams calendar that I buy at 50% off every year after Christmas. And of course, it was another typical adventure with HHB. I must say, the nickname I've dubbed him with is truly befitting of him. As I was roaming around the bookstore, there was HHB with a smirk on his face, walking towards me. I knew he was up to something. Something no good that is.

HHB: ".....can you please buy me a book?"

Me: "What kind of book?"

HHB: "Here, let me show you."

HHB leads me to a stand of hard cover books and of course, the book that he wanted me to "purchase" for him was the "50th Anniversary Edition of Playboy". I gave him a good whack on the head.

Afterwards, when we arrived home, HHB informed me that he was flipping through the book until he discovered that another customer started giving him weird looks. The little perv.

Later on, FK, HHB, TB, and I decided to go bowling. Well, that was another adventure in and of itself. I think bowling is a great way to study human interplay. From my experience with bowling, the group I'm with is usually worked up at the beginning of the game but towards the end of the 9th or 10th frame, there usually appears to be a decline in the group's hyperactivity. But I digress. I don't want to bore you all with the details of our exiting game, however I'll just share with you all how much we each scored after our second game. But for the record, I'll have you all know that I became the Bowling Queen last night:

HHB: 102 points

FK: 70 points

TB: 87 points (with the bumpers' help)

Yours Truly: 122 points. Thank you. Thank you very much. Oh, please....y'all can stop with the applause now. Seriously. Really. Thank you.

Show and Tell

I normally don't post personal pictures on this blog, but I've succumbed to the likes of many other bloggers. Anyone who reads this will be subjected to *gasp* Christmas family photos *gasp*. Trust me, it's probably more painful for me as will be for you; therefore, please feel free to exit my blog anytime you want to.....even now.


So here's the family looking all bright and cheery on Christmas morning. My 17 year old cousin, Hormone Happy Boy (HHB) is the one sitting in front with a black hoodie, leaning against me. My brother, let's call him Fetish King (FK) is sitting atop the stairs, sporting the nice shiny, shaved, bald head. The 19 year old who acts like she's 15, we'll call her TeenyBopper (TB), is the one blowing her cheeks out like a fish, tilting her head. Don't we all look like one big happy family?




Let me introduce my cousins' dog, Mickey, in the midst of the Christmas morning chaos. A lovely bichon frise, but the laziest dog I've ever met. You can usually find him either laying on the floor with all four legs splayed out or lounging around like some little prince on my aunt's leather couch in the living room. An interesting fact about Mickey.....I discovered first-hand that he has a penchant for urinating in my cousin's bathroom floor, right by the toilet. Yours truly blindly stepped on his little mess on the way to do some urinating herself.




The lovely Caesar's Palace Hotel in Vegas. Excessive and incredibly cheesy.


Driving over the Hoover Dam. From this picture's point of view it doesn't look much. But trust me, it's pretty massive.



And here we reach pinnacle of our trip, The Grand Canyon. Magnificent. Spectacular. I am in awe of God's creativity and ingenious work on this place we call earth. Another trip will be made and next time I plan to hike down this canyon. Anyone care to join me? ;)



Dad found this posted at Hermit's Rest, one of the many points surrounding the GC. Quite befitting, isn't it?



One of the many crimson sandstone towers in Sedona, AZ. Absolutely breathtaking.


HHB and TB's poor attempt to imitate the sandstone structures in the background. I'd say it was an effect from ingesting too much refried beans earlier, at the Mexican Restaurant.



Lastly, we've got his highness, Mickey, perched atop his leather throne. I could only wish for a life like that.

So there you have it folks. A pictorial account of our "After Christmas Family Road Trip". For those who actually parused through this particular entry, my thanks to you. Really. From the bottom of my heart. Really.

I would love to blog some occurrences which took place earlier this evening with FK, HHB, and TB. Blogworthy experiences. However, it's 2AM and I really need to hit the sack. Don't worry, what transpired tonight is too good to pass up, so stay tuned.......