Day Three Hundred Sixty Five

Dear Readers,
     Only two days left. I can't believe I am almost at the end of this facial hair journey. Not to mention all the typing I have done. I wonder how many pages it would all add up to if I were to put it all together and print it all out. It is probably more then I typed up through my entire high school years. Especially since I didn't know how to type back then. I didn't learn until late in my senior year and into college. Now I can type on the computer, on the laptop, on my phone and I can speak it and it can be transformed into typed words. So many options. It's amazing what technology has changed. Everything is so much more immediate and creates impatience in us. We are so used to getting everything now. I can get my current events and sports updates to the second. No more waiting for the next days newspaper or listening to the radio for updates. Just amazing to see the breakneck speed at how technology is advancing. Makes you wonder where we are going to be even ten or fifteen years from now.
      It was another day of Christmas in the Ortega household. Celebrating with Kailee and watching her open all her gifts. She spent Christmas with her mom and didn't get to spend it with all of us this year. So we set aside this day to spend it with her. A feast of enchiladas, rice and beans. Even ceviche as an appetizer. A Mexican Christmas. Top it all off with some of Raina's wonderful coffee cake and it was another wonderful family evening. Only one day left of this 2012 and family and friends are exactly who I want to spend that time with. Them and my beard. Only one full day left of my winter coat. It's going to be cold after that. I have decided to go ahead and trim it down. Shave the beard and bring the goatee out of retirement. I have to take a passport photo soon and I definitely don't want to have it during our trip to Europe. I don't want to get "randomly" selected for a screening every time we get on a plane or train. I will probably get treated differently in that part of the world then I do here. I have a feeling they don't have as much love for the beard out there. So, I am sad to see it go, but I think it is going to have to be a necessity. If it weren't for our trip, I might have just forced my way and kept it. I think Raina may have planned that way without me realizing. Tricky wife.

This Day In History: 1916
Rasputin, the "mad monk," is assassinated by two relatives of Czar Nickolas II. Rasputin, who had exercised considerable influence over Czarina, was shot and beaten after poison failed to kill him.

Born This Day: 1865
Rudyard Kipling - Nobel Prize winning Indian born English author and poet. (The Jungle Book)

"Take everything you like seriously, except yourself."

-Rudyard Kipling

Yup, this is what they told me too.

Day Three Hundred Sixty Four

Dear Readers,
     Wow, what a day. It started out as a lazy day. The rain changed our plans and made both Raina and I crave for a day curled up under the blankets with a good book. We had planned to go for a run, but as soon as we were about ready to go, the downpour showed up. It was perfect timing for Raina, because she was trying to convince me to stay in bed with her. She wasn't ready to leave the warmth just yet. So, she got her wish. I changed back into pajamas and curled up. It didn't last long though. Between Raina wanting breakfast and my two nephews being over the house, I didn't get much rest. I made a Mexican American breakfast of potatoes and refried beans. With a stack of tortillas of course. Just the way Raina and I like it. After breakfast and getting the kids playing something to keep them occupied, I though I would finally get my chance to warm up under the blankets and bust out my kindle to finish The Hobbit. Just as I started to warm up, Raina was getting ready to leave, to take Micah to get a haircut. It has been forever since his last one and my sister, Yoli, had been dreading taking him, because it is a huge ordeal to take him without him having a meltdown. So Raina agreed to go with her. I liked his long hair and didn't want them to cut it. They hated it though. Now he hardly has any hair. Like he just finished his basic training for the Marines or something. Poor kid. Back to my point though. Raina ditched me just when I thought it was going to be a nice lazy day at home together. Brandon timed his phone call to me just right too. He had called to ask if I wanted to go with him and Brooke to visit her grandfather. You see he has an awesome wooodshop in his garage and I have been wanting to check it out. If Brandon had called about twenty minutes earlier, I might have said no, but since I was getting ditched, I figured why not. So I got out of the warmth of my bed to get ready in the cold world. Then waited for my ride.
      Brooke's grandfather is an awesome woodsmith. I was not disappointed with my trip over there. He is an old man but still putts around in the woodshop. I think they said 93. That's pretty amazing in and of itself. Then I got to see some of his works of art. Beautiful wood jars and bowls and an assortment of furniture items. End tables and cabinets and even grandmother clocks. Everything was so precise and detailed and finished beautifully. My favorite pieces had to be his boxes he made for jewelry and mail and other things. Some of the wood was spectacular and was finished so nicely you could almost mistake it for polished marble. It was awesome. The best part about touring his house was the stories. Everything had a story to it and was done by himself. And this is just a hobby for him. I love that all the furniture had a story to it. It means so much more then when you go pick it up at your local department store. I had a great time. I thank Brooke for sharing her grandfather with me even though it is just a little bit of him. It was even great to hear him give Brooke a hard time about things too. She had a habit of asking how old everything was and eventually he told her he can't remember how old everything was. Telling her "What kind of a question is that?". It was awesome. Brandon and I weren't the only ones picking on her. It just earned him an even more special place in my heart.
      So, even though I had to get out of my comfortable bed and see the light of day when I didn't want to, I'm glad I did. It turned into a pretty great day.

This Day In History: 1607
After listening to the pleas of his daughter, Pocahontas, Chief Powhatan of Virginia spares the life of English settler John Smith.

Born This Day: 1800
Charles Goodyear - American inventor of vulcanized rubber.

"It's very hard in the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners.  Eventually you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants you to quit."

-George Sheehan

Preach it Calvin!

Day Three Hundred Sixty Three

Dear Readers,
      Day two of working over my vacation. It is a rough one today. Sitting in my truck, planning out our trip to London and trying to finish The Hobbit. Now I can even get some work done on my blog. These are hard days. Okay, you and I both know that isn't true, but I'm going to make the most of it before I go back to real work and having to live out of a dufflebag for a week. I'm really not looking forward to that. So, easy overtime today and time spent with my wife tonight and tomorrow. I hear it is pot roast night. Looking forward to that. Picking up the meat on my way home.  
      Okay, I have already had dinner now and it was fabulous. I should have taken a picture of the finished product, but I was too excited and forgot about it. A pile of mashed potatoes topped off with beef pot roast and then smothered with a sauce Raina makes from the pot roast juices and vegetables.  Delicious. I have only had the pleasure of the pot roast twice now since I bought her the Dutch oven.  I can't wait until she finds another recipe to try out. It probably won't happen until we get our house. Just a little incentive to hurry up and get our own home. Hopefully it will bring out the cook in my wife again. It might help if she wasn't working so much too.
      Our dinner date in turned into a family event. First, my mom ended up babysitting my two nephews, Joseph and Joshua. They are staying the night. Then, Yoli found out that Raina was busting out a little Julia Child in herself and decided she wanted in on it. So, Matt and Yoli and Micah also made the trek over here. Making it one full house. Thankfully, there was enough food for everyone and even enough for leftovers. It transformed our night together into a hectic mess of kids and food and a little bit of Lego's. All great fun. I had a blast playing Lego's with Joseph. Even though it was mostly me just building his toy for him so that he could play it. Taking me back to my childhood. Also making me wish I had my Lego's so I could build again. It isn't playing with, it is building. Being an architect. Design and construction. Adults don't play Lego's. At least that is my way of justifying what I do. I think there are plenty others out there who would agree.
This Day In History: 1945
The U.S. Pledge of Allegiance is officially recognized by Congress.

Born This Day: 1954
Denzel Washington - Academy Award winning American actor.
2006 - Janie Garrard - One of the kids Raina has babysat for since birth pretty much.

"Insanity is hereditary--you get it from your children."

-Sam Levenson

Man I wanted to be an archeologist when I was a kid. If this were real I just might have.

Day Three Hundred Sixty Two

Dear Readers,
      Okay, our European vacation is becoming even more of a reality.  The hotel rooms are booked for London and Paris.  Next on the agenda, is to book our hotel for our one night excursion to the beaches of Normandy and to book our rental car.  Yes, we will be driving around in France for a day.  Trying to figure out how to drive around the country a little bit.  I have heard that France drives on the same side of the street as us here in America.  I didn't know that.  I am pretty sure that the cars may still have the drivers drive on the opposite side of the car though.  I won't know for sure until we get out there.  Just another adventure we will be working through.  It just adds to the excitement and fun, even though it looks like we may end up driving around a tiny Fiat.  As long as it gets us from point A to point B.  Right?
      I went back to work today for a little bit of overtime.  It was probably one of my easiest days at work in a really long time.  Working basically as an inspector while the contractor does all the hard work.  I had to keep them in line.  Not really, I just had to make sure they got the proper parts and shut the water off for them to be able to do their work.  Pretty boring stuff, but it gave me a chance to read some of my book, The Hobbit.  Just trying to take advantage of any free time I can find.  Including trying to get this blog done without falling asleep.  Which I have already done a couple of times tonight.  My point is, I spent some time sitting in the work truck today and I get more of the same tomorrow.  Taking my book with me.  Maybe I will even start my blog up while sitting there.  I am hoping for an early day, so that I can come home to Raina quickly.  Get to spend a little time with her.  She says she wants to make dinner tomorrow, and I am all for it.  She's gonna pull out the Dutch Oven and cook up a pot roast.  Yum.  Looking forward to a wonderful night in with my beautiful bride.

This Day In History: 1968
U.S. Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon, returns safely to Earth after a historic six day journey.

Born This Day: 1822
Louis Pasteur - French scientist who discovered that most diseases are caused by germs and who developed the pasteurization process.

"Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another."

-Walter Elliot

How cool is that?  Droids in Egyptian history.

Day Three Hundred Sixty One

Dear Readers,
     Here I am, finally catching up.  I have been trying to do this for what seems like forever.  It is 10:30PM at night and Raina is watching one of her shows.  So I am not distracted by the TV.  Although, some of the meals on Top Chef can be distracting to me, even though I am not hungry at all right now.  I guess I could have done this so much earlier today, but it was just one of those lazy days for me after the hectic four of five days we have had.  Even though my poor wife had to go back to work today.  I am sure she was just a little bit jealous of me for it.  That's okay though, because I go back to work tomorrow, by choice.  I didn't have to, but I decided to make a little extra money by working the next couple of days.  Have to save up for our trip.  The plan is in motion.  The plane tickets are purchased.  We have our luggage now and possibly a nice carry on for the plane.  I just have to double check the carry on size to make sure it isn't too big.  Next is the purchase of our train tickets and then booking hotels.  Yup, it will be three nights in London and then a train through the chunnel into Paris.  Then immediately to a town near Normandy beaches so we can stay the night and get an early start to check out all the historical sites of the most intriguing part of history.  At least to me.  Probably near the top of my list, if not the top of the list, for things I want to see on our trip.  If I could, I would take a tour of nothing but World War II sites.  Unfortunately, I would bore my wife to tears on the first day.  That's alright though, because there are plenty of things we both want to see and do together.  I'm very excited and am so very looking forward to it.  We have our travel books now.  I bought them for Raina for Christmas and they are already being marked up with sticky notes.  One book for London.  One for Paris.  And one for all of France.  Raina also got a small book of all the best pastry shops in Paris.  I think there is a chance we come back just a few pounds heavier.  It's gonna be a vacation.  Might as well try everything.  You don't know if you will ever be back, so make the most of it.  Carpe Diem!  I can't wait.

This Day In History: 1941
Winston Churchill becomes the first British prime minister to address the U.S. Congress.  He urged the legislative body to back President Franklin D. Roosevelt's proposal that America become the "great arsenal of democracy."

Born This Day: 1893
Mao Zedong - Chinese communist revolutionary and founding father of the People's Republic of China.

"The will to win means nothing if you haven't the will to prepare."

-Juma Ikangaa

Ha ha. Where do I get a tree like that?

Day Three Hundred Sixty

Dear Readers,
     Merry Christmas everybody! It is day number three of our Christmas marathon. Getting up early in the morning and loading up all the gifts into the car and heading over to Raina's mom's house. This time it started with the unwrapping station. Gifts and gifts and more gifts. Of course I got some more of my favorite gifts. Books!  One about the assassination of Lincoln and another about the Kennedy assassination. Both things that interest me. I got some sweet new Star Wars t-shirts. An awesome comic book and an even more awesome drawing of Darth Vader. It is a one of a kind vintage art work. Okay, it isn't vintage, but it is one of a kind and it was done by my sister in law, Brooke, as my Christmas gift. I am going to get it framed and ready for my mancave when Raina and I finally get our house. I also have another special gift on its way. It is a personalized bobble head. It will be me as a bobble head. How cool is that? I think it was just the year of personalized gifts, because I got a personalized Spartan book from Brent and Yvonne. A picture book of our adventures as Spartans in Malibu. All kinds of pictures that I didn't even know about along with captions. It was funny and special. Another great year of gifts.
      My brother in law, Brent, has been all about buying things that are made in America. Supporting his country. So Raina and I decided that we needed to get him stuff that was made in this great country of ours. To the point of making a little booklet of all the things we would have liked to have gotten him but couldn't because they weren't made in America. Including a pair of Vans, a Callaway driver, and a Porsche. All made outside of the good old U S of A. So we resorted to a shirt and a cup from the Made In America store. And a Home Depot gift card so he could make something himself in America. Have to support our country.
      It was a wonderful day with family and games. Playing Apples to Apples and watching some Indiana Jones. Raina doesn't like when the TV is on while we are playing games though. She says that I always get distracted. I don't get distracted easily. At least I don't think I do. So sue me for trying to multitask. It was a fun three days and it is a little sad that it is all over. One of our favorite times of the year and it is already over. Only one week left of my vacation from work. Not looking forward to going back and right into another week of standby. Just trying to enjoy my vacation and maybe get a few workouts in.

This Day In History:1776
During the American Revolutionary War, General George Washington crosses the Delaware River with 2,400 troops.

Born This Day: 1642
Sir Isaac Newton - English mathematician who discovered the binomial theorem, the method of fluxions and the law of gravitation.

"The pain of discipline is far less then the pain of regret."

-Sarah Bombell

Christmas pictures.

Ready for presents.

Now we are ready for our trip.

Awesome tools and my new shirt. My sister didn't like it so much.

Thanks Brooke for the sweet picture.

My Spartan Book.

My favorite page in the book.

Day Three Hundred Fifty Nine

Dear Readers,
     Merry Christmas Eve everybody. It was a celebration day with my side of the family today. Starting out with a late breakfast that was enough food to feed twice as many people as we actually had there. When I say we had a late breakfast, I mean we basically had breakfast for lunch. Chorizo and eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes and lots of tortillas. You can't have a breakfast like we had and not want a bunch of tortillas to chow down on. It was a bit hectic getting it all done, but it was all worth it. It was probably one of the best breakfasts I have had in a long time. It was a feast. There was also waffles and a fruit mixture of blueberries, strawberries and raspberries. It was an embarrassment of riches and I thoroughly enjoyed every bite of it. It was also good fun telling my sisters what to do and weaseling them into helping out. It also helps that Raina and I went to the gym this morning. So I don't feel as bad about gorging as much as I did. I wish we could do that more often then we do. Especially considering how much Raina and I love breakfast.
      I always love spending time with my nephews. It can be hectic and exhausting, but it's always a blast and leaves me looking forward to the next time I get to see them. I was able to finish watching Star Wars A New Hope with Joseph and Joshua, which was awesome. Even though they asked a million questions during the movie, which would normally drive me crazy. It was really cool to see how excited they were about it and neat to see their reactions to different things. I can't wait to show them the rest of the movies. Especially when Micah is old enough to inderstand what is going on and can sit through a movie in one sitting. Makes me look forward to the possibility of having my own son to share those moments with. Just another special Christmas with the family.
      One of the special moments about this year is when we found out that my nephew, Joseph, decided to use the money be was saving for a specific toy to buy Christmas gifts for the people he loves. Giving up the opportunity to get his toy. When Raina and I heard about that, we decided to find out what toy it was he wanted to get it for him as a special surprise. Specifically explaining to him that the reason he was getting blessed with it was because of his display of unselfishness. It was spoiled a little by him showing some selfish was earlier in the day. Just part of being a kid with a brother though. Not condoning it, just saying that those things seem to go hand in hand. All I all, a great Christmas and am looking forward to more family time with Raina's side of the family.

This Day In History: 1851
A fire devastated the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, destroying about 35,000 volumes.

Born This Day: 1905
Howard Hughes - Eccentric aviator

"The tooth fairy teaches children that they can sell body parts for money."

-David Richerby

Now that is a Christmas tree!

Day Three Hundred Fifty Eight

Dear Readers,
      Wouldn't you know that I am catching up again.  Hopefully I will get two done in one day to finally catch up once and for all.  It was another hectic day yesterday.  Getting up early in the morning to take Chuck and Lisa to the airport.  It left some free time for Raina and I to go to breakfast before church.  Trying out a new place in Huntington Beach called Sunnyside.  Just a little coffeeshop next to the Hobby Lobby.  A little place for Raina and I to sit and relax a little bit while filling up our tummies.
      After breakfast, it was a Christmas service with a story about the birth of Jesus.  Then it was off to the hectic shopping centers.  Trying to find a gift for my dad and also to pick one up for Raina.  Originally, Raina was supposed to work and I figured I would have time to pick up her gift while she was working.  She ended up taking it off to go to church with me.  Which was great to actually be able to go to church with her, but I now needed to find a time to get her gift without her seeing it.  So, I dropped her off to do some shopping at the Westminster Mall while I went to pick her gift up. I had to stuff it under the seat along with the bag it came in.  We had to battle mild crowds to find something for my dad.  We got him something from Sears.  I can tell you that much because he doesn't read the blog.  I can also tell you that the Sears at Westminster Mall did not carry what we were looking for.  It was the only one in the area that didn't carry it.  So we had to either go to the Cerritos Mall or the Sears in Long Beach.  Thankfully, we decided to head to Long Beach, because we later found out that the Cerritos Mall was so busy that Police officers were directing traffic from a half a mile away.  We saw a taste of it while driving by on the freeway.  The entire parking lot was completely full of cars and there was cars lined up down the street.  Long Beach was considerably less busy and we were in and out. 
      Our busy day didn't stop there.  We then went to Raina's dad's house to celebrate Christmas.  Dinner and drinks and presents.  Hanging out with Mark and Nancy and Raina's brothers and their families.  It was another night of laughing and joking and fun family time.  I got a sweet Yoda doll for Christmas.  It even talks.  Including my favorite Yoda line, "Do, or do not. There is no try."  A perfect gift for me.  It was an awesome start to our three day Christmas tour.  Starting with Raina's dad's house, then on to my families and then to Raina's mom's house.  Three days of Christmas.  The more the better, right?

This Day In History: 1888
Following a quarrel with Paul Gauguin, Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh cut off part of his own earlobe.

Born This Day: 1964
Eddie Vedder - Pearl Jam

"Laughing at our own mistakes can lengthen our own life. Laughing at someone else's can shorten it."

-Cullen Hightower

So sad.

Day Three Hundred Fifty Seven

Dear Readers,
     Okay, I am getting really bad at doing my blog on schedule. Here I am trying to catch up again. It is reminding me of high school all over again. Big time senioritis. I'm at the very end of my year of blogging and I am getting really lazy about it. Part of it is being really busy this Christmas season, but it's not a real excuse. There have been enough opportunities for me to get them done on time. It totally is like high school though. That last year was pretty bad for me. Not necessarily doing bad at school, but giving up any extra classes I could have had. Fully enjoying only taking five classes for one semester and finishing out with only four classes. Just enjoying the moment and not making it any harder on myself then it needed to be. I feel myself being ready to be done with this blogging on a daily basis stuff. I am pretty sure I will keep it up, but not nearly as frequently. Maybe once or twice a month. I enjoy it. On my own terms that is. Doing in when there is something interesting to talk about. Not trying to come up with something everyday. At least that way I won't be talking about complete randomness and nothingness. My blog is like Seinfeld, it's about nothing. Except not as entertaining as Seinfeld was. I just have to really be disciplined for ten more blogs. I can do this. I would hate to drop the ball when I am so close to the end. So, here I go again, fighting against my desire to give up and not work at it anymore. Thanks again to all of you who read this nothingness on a regular basis. I really appreciate all the feedback and support I have gotten through the year. It has been fun.

This Day In History: 1882
American inventor Thomas Edison's associate, Edward H. Johnson, creates the first string of Christmas lights.  Prior to this, trees were traditionally decorated with wax candles.

Born This Day: 1962
Ralph Fiennes - English actor (Schindler's List)

"The first lady is, and always has been, an unpaid public servant elected by one person, her husband."

-Lady Bird Johnson

Woohoo.

Day Three Hundred Fifty Six

Dear Readers,
      I watched a Christmas classic today. It's a Wonderful Life. I didn't catch it on television. I didn't bust out the DVD. I didn't even see a stage performance of it. I guess I technically didn't even see it. It was a live broadcast of a radio play of It's a Wonderful Life. Okay, it wasn't a real radio play. It was a performance by a local school done in the style of a radio play. Just like in the old days before there was a television set in every house. When you heard a story on the radio with saline effects and all. Micah Vargas was in a high school performance of it. If you know the movie, then you should know Micah's parts were Mr. Gower and Bert the cop. Even making his voice different for each character to make them distinctly different but done by the same person. It was very entertaining. It even had the live sound effects, a live band for music for the play, and radio commercials for the intermissions. It was fun to see something different then the usual high school plays we have gone to. Micah did a wonderful job and are looking forward to possibly some more theatrical performances from him and his drama class.
       By the way, wasn't the world supposed to end today? I guess the Mayans had it all wrong. Or they just ran out of stone to write on and couldn't keep the calender going.  Shows how much people can actually predict the future. No one knows what tomorrow may bring.  Not even the weathermen get it right. The just get lucky sometimes. Here is to not knowing the future.

This Day In History: 1937
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs debuts. The American film, created by Walt Disney's animation company, was the first feature length animated movie. It became a classic, and box office receipts recouped the film's cost of $1.5 million by the end of its first year in circulation.

 Born This Day: 1879
Joseph Stalin - Russian Soviet, dictator infamous for the numerous mass exterminations of his own people.

"No government can be long secure without a formidable opposition."

-Benjamin Disraeli

Fitting, don't you think?

Day Three Hundred Fifty Five

Dear Readers,
     Christmas is supposed to be a happy and fun spirited holiday. Full of time spent with family and time spent in good spirits. For some reason, whenever I am out shopping for gifts, I see the exact opposite. Tons of people in a rush whom only seem to care about themselves. Don't get me wrong, there are exceptions to every rule and there are joyful shoppers out there. They just don't seem to be shopping wherever I seem to be shopping. It is so bad that it has become a stigma of what to expect when shopping for Christmas in that week leading up to it. There are even movies based on this premise. Is this strictly an American thing, or is it a worldwide problem? If it is a worldwide issue, then at least I don't feel so bad about Americans living up to the bad rap we have gotten about being rude and impatient. You could almost believe it wouldn't be a problem with the forward thinking society we have, but maybe they are so forward thinking that they forget to look to the past to learn from history's mistakes. Our country is full of rude and inconsiderate people. Just drive around on the freeways for a little bit. I just hope I don't become one of those people. I know I can be at times, but as long as it isn't who I am as a persona. It is something to work for, and all the other inconsiderate people will not make it easy on me.
      Isn't it truly amazing how much a topic of conversation can lead you further and further down the rabbit hole. Changing from one topic to the next on a whim. Amazing.

This Day In History: 1920
English born comedian Leslie Downes becomes an American citizen.  He eventually became known as Bob Hope.

Born This Day: 1868
Harvey Firestone - American businessman who founded the Firestone Company

"If you choose the lesser of two evils, always remember that it is still an evil."

-Max Lerner

He he.

Day Three Hundred Fifty Four

Dear Readers,
      Okay, the reason my blog was not done last night as it should have been, was because the dog ate my homework.  No, just kidding.  The power went out.  Seriously, the power went out.  Which meant I had no internet for my computer.  Ergo, no blog uploaded.  We got home from our festival of lights and my dad started talking to Raina.  Asking if we had a flashlight handy, because the power had gone out a couple of times while we were gone.  No sooner did he finish saying that sentence, then the power went out in the house.  It must have been the strong winds we were having last night.  Possibly knocking over a power pole or something.  So, instead of turning on my laptop, I put myself and my nauseated stomach in bed.  Looking to read a chapter of The Hobbit before falling asleep.  The power ended up turning back on, but by the time it did, I was already warm in bed, just about ready to fall asleep.  Otherwise it would have been done last night.  Thankfully, no power outages today. 
      After finally normalizing after about noon, I did some Christmas shopping.  Hoping to beat some of the crowds by going in the middle of the day during the week.  Unfortunately I was not able to find anything for the people I was looking for.  I walked the mall back and forth and couldn't figure out anything.  I picked up a couple of items we had specifically picked out somewhere else, but nothing at the mall for almost two hours.  Usually our first choice for people we don't know what to get, is a gift card.  This year we are anti gift card though.  Tired of the same boring gift every year.  We are forcing ourselves to find something for just about everyone.  If we are getting someone a gift card, it is for a specific reason and it isn't the only thing we are getting them.  It has made it a bit frustrating and sometimes an adventure to find a gift that is right for each person.  Hoping to finish all our shopping by Friday.  Only two days left.  Then we have to wrap everything.  Christmas can be so much work.  Hopefully the faces of the gift receivers when the open them will make it all worth it.  Hopefully.

This Day In History: 1905
The first motorized ambulance service for traffic victims is created in London, England.

Born This Day: 1790
Sir William Parry - English Admiral and arctic explorer.

"The trouble with being punctual is that nobody's there to appreciate it."

-Franklin P. Jones

Seriously!

Day Three Hundred Fifty Three

Dear Readers,
      It was Christmas lights viewing tonight.  I also got myself sick tonight.  We made it a night in the cold, looking at houses that are more expensive than I will ever be able to afford and their fancy light decorations.  Originally, we were supposed to have our guys study tonight.  The one we have been doing on a weekly basis to work on improving our marriages, but people started canceling.  My brother in law, Matt, wasn't going to make it.  Our friend Chas had some of his wife's family in town, so he was out.  Then Brandon told us that he was going back to work after being out sick and wanted to get to bed early to get a good nights sleep.  Since apparently he hasn't been going to bed early all those days off from work.  The funny thing about two of those guys, was that their excuses for not going seemed to be a little wishy washy.  Raina and I stopped over at Matt and Yoli's house to pick up something, and that is when we found out the real reason Matt wasn't going to our guys study.  They were planning on going to see the Christmas lights in Naples, because it was the only night they could go with my niece Kailee.  Granted, it was a good reason, but Matt could have been straight forward and told us in the beginning.  The funny thing was that Yoli had just told us that they were staying home to make Kailee work on her science project and how important it was to get it done.  Then in the next breath tell us about how they wanted to go see the lights.  It was quite comical.  So that is when we decided to switch our plans from going on Wednesday, to going a day early to go with them. 
      The next step in our mad scheme, was to convince the rest of the clan that was supposed to go with us on Wednesday, to now switch to Tuesday.  Chris and Liz had to make some minor adjustments, but they were in.  Brandon had given us a reason that I expected would keep him out of going to see the lights as well.  For some reason it was a good enough reason to not go to the guys study, but then would allow him to go out to Naples.  Even though he would get home about the same time from either one.  So, that meant Brandon and Brooke were in.  Chris and Kelly were not going to make it.  They had already gone.  So, we made it a night of the festival of lights.
      Naples is fantastic to see if you love seeing all kinds of Christmas lights and decorations.  Pretty much the whole neighborhood gets together and decorates in a theme.  This year, a salute to the local Long Beach Olympians.  Olympic rings on all kinds of houses.  All different styles of lights.  Even a Captain Morgan Statue with a Santa hat on.  A couple of Leg Lamps from A Christmas Story.  And a house that decorates in the style of the Griswold's from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.  Tons of lights covering the house.  I think the best part was sitting and watching Christmas movies on a projector in front of a house and sipping on the hot chocolate they were selling outside.  Not a bad idea on such a cold night.  I think we picked the coldest night, not to mention a windy night, of the year.  I am not normally a cold person, but it was cold last night.  Even with my thermals on and warm jacket.  I had a blast.  Even if the In and Out I ate made me sick.  I can't believe it.  I had to suffer through stomach pains and nausea through the night.  It was worth it.  We had a blast.

This Day In History: 1732
Benjamin Franklin began publishing "Poor Richard's Almanac."

Born This Day: 1961
Reggie White - Hall of Fame NFL Defensive End.

"If the human mind was simple enough to understand, we'd be too simple to understand it."

-Emerson Pugh

Festival of lights.

Now that is a beard!

So awesome.

Jewish Christmas.

You can barely see Chris and I "Kevining" in the background.

Got a little of the Captain in you?

One of our dream houses.

Day Three Hundred Fifty Two

Dear Readers,
      Last night we celebrated my sister in law, Yvonne's, birthday. For those of you who don't know her, she is married to Raina's brother, Brent. For Raina, yesterday was a full day. Working at Buffalo Wild Wing's in the morning, heading home to change real quick and head to a birthday party for my bearded brother's daughter's birthday party. It is my co worker Josh. He also rocks an awesome beard. We stopped by there for a couple of hours to hang out, wish a happy birthday, give a gift and eat some cake. Then it was off to San Dimas for dinner for Yvonne. A big family dinner at Cask and Cleaver. It is always entertaining when you get Raina's family together. You also get to catch up on all the current events for everyone. Including our niece Brenna becoming the Head Cheerleading Coach at my alma mater. Hearing about Jeremiah finishing up his first semester at Point Loma. Even McKenna telling us about the fire that just happened at her school on Friday. Yup, a fire. Apparently they had an electrical fire at the school that caused some damage and took out the electricity on the high school campus side. They had to send all the kids home. Including my other niece, Kailee. Nieces and a nephew from both sides of our family going or have gone to my old alma mater. I thought I would be rid of that place by now, but all these family members still going there keeps me with ties to that school. I can't shake that place. Well, at least for another ten years or so. Here I go again getting off subject. I guess I never really had a subject. I was just trying to show how busy my wife was yesterday. She sounded pretty tired last night. Why wouldn't she be after the day she had. Nonstop all day. If it keeps up being this bad for her, I may force her to take some days off pretty soon. At least get a little break every once and a while. Poor thing. I just love her.
      I also happen to have my last class of the semester tonight. Final time. Hopefully my non studying all week was enough studying to help me out. I love finals though. Just go in and take your test. Then walk out when you're done. Awesome. No chance for me to fall asleep in class this week. I'll just have to spen that hour before getting a little cramming in. Only about two hours or so left.

This Day In History: 1903
Near Kitty Hark, North Carolina, American inventors Orville and Wilbur Wright make the first successful flight of a self propelled, heavier than air aircraft.

Born This Day: 1807
John Greenleaf Whittier - American Quaker and antislavery activist and poet.

"I think we have a need to know what we do not need to know."

-William Safire

Ha ha.

Day Three Hundred Fifty One

Dear Readers,
      This year, I got an early Christmas present from work. I had been debating talking about it, because I didn't want to sound like a tool talking about myself in this manner. Then I realized, all I do is talk about myself. It's pretty much the point of this blog. Most people are more apprised to what is going on with me because of this thing. Which has actually had me considering keeping up the blog even after the year is up. Not every day though. It is a lot of work to keep this up on a daily basis. Makes me glad I never decided I wanted to become a journalist or something like that. Back to my point. I have been working at getting myself in better position for a promotion at work for a little over a year and a half. Almost two years actually. The position has been open for that long. They delayed and delayed for one excuse after another to fill that position. Finally they delayed so long that the economy really started hurting the city to the point of them having to freeze the position. So then they couldn't even hire now that they were ready to. It was pretty frustrating for myself and for a couple of other guys I'm sure, because in the meantime you had guys doing the work that this position would be hired for and not getting paid for it. It can be frustrating and a little discouraging. This has gone on for almost two years. They had a way to increase your pay on a daily basis, but there were certain requirements that had to be met each day you get it. Making it difficult to accomplish on your own. It was a matter of getting the boss to have you do a certain job on a daily basis. Pretty much a luck of the draw each day. Unfortunately for me, it has only happened a handful of times in the last nine months or so. Now comes the good part though. Without my knowledge, my boss had put in for me to get Acting Pay in the meantime, until the position can be filled. Apparently he put in for it back in October. I ended up finding out about it because of another position had become available. I didn't go in saying that they needed to give me a raise or I was gone. I went in to see how realistic an opening for the position I wanted would be happening in the relative future. The position that did open would still have been an increase for me, so I was definitely considering it. It wasn't what I particularly wanted to do, but with Raina and I getting ready to buy a house and planning a trip to Paris, every little bit helps. When I had gone in to see my boss about it, that is when they told me the form had been turned in and were waiting on Human Resources for the okay. That was enough for me to drop the idea of applying for that other position. I could get a raise and still do the work that I enjoy, it was a win win for me. It didn't take long after that. They notified me a few days later that it had gone through and now I got my semi promotion. It is a great feeling after almost two years of chasing that carrot. It's more responsibility, but I am looking forward to it. Maybe it will even improve my situation of certain guys I have to work with on a daily basis. Things are going to change for the new year. Only one week of work left and then the Christmas break. Looking forward to all of it.

This Day In History: 1915
German physicist Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity is first published.

Born This Day:  1770
Ludwig Van Beethoven - German composer and pianist.

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

-George Santayana

Huh, makes me want to stop aging.

Day Three Hundred Fifty

Dear Readers,
      What is with the violence lately?  Another shooting at a school?  It is a sad sad thing and my prayers go towards the families affected by it.  Events like this bring to light all the people who are looking for change.  Change in securities, change in how a school is run, change to what is restricted and unrestricted.  I don't want to minimize what has happened, but every time something like this happens, it brings out the people who demand for more and more gun control and more governmental control over all sorts of things.  I am of the mind that more control just means more problems.  Why do people think that making it harder to buy a gun will make it that much better at keeping these kinds of things from happening.  Just look at this scenario.  The guns were registered to the kids mother.  It was a simple matter of grabbing the guns from under his mom's nose.  I am almost of the mind to agree with what the whole state of Texas believes in.  That the more guns owned, the better.  You never hear about these kinds of things happening in Texas.  If it did, then somebody probably would have had a gun on them and put a stop to it before it got too bad.  I don't know for sure if that is how it would have happened, but I would like to think so.  Again, I am not trying to diminish the tragedy that has happened, I am just trying to lay out the facts and prepare for the uproar that follows something like this.  It is on every news channel.  It is all they want to talk about.  It continues too.  Even tonight, in Newport Beach, there was a crazy guy shooting a gun into the night sky of the parking lot at Fashion Island.  What is this world coming too?  At least no one was killed this time.  I implore you to keep  those families in prayer and to not be too hasty on jumping on the bandwagon to increase gun control and give even more power to the government.

This Day In History: 1791
Following ratification by the state of Virginia, the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, become the law of the land.

Born This Day: 1892
J. Paul Getty - American oil magnate who founded Getty Oil and was once the richest man in the world.

"There's so much pollution in the air now that if if weren't for our lungs there'd be no place to put it all."

-Robert Orben

I caught Raina playing video games with the nephews.

Day Three Hundred Forty Nine

Dear Readers,
      The Hobbit!  The Hobbit!  The Hobbit!  It is here and I already saw it.  I didn't see it at midnight, like I had planned, but it is probably good that I didn't.  Considering how tired I have been lately.  Even with the greatness that is anything Tolkien, I could feel myself about to doze off a little bit.  Sure enough, it was right about 10:00PM when it happened.  Thankfully, I snapped out of it long enough to fully enjoy the movie.  It made me want to relive the Lord of the Rings trilogy all over again.  It was awesome.  Not as good as I think it could have been, but I wasn't disappointed with it.  I might be a little blinded with Peter Jackson's work, but I don't care.  I enjoyed it.  Raina said it seemed a little "Disney" to her, but I didn't think it was that bad.  Yes, I think it could have been a little darker, but it hit the major points in the book and didn't take too many liberties.  They added a couple of things, but at least they didn't take anything away from it.  At least not yet.  If you don't want any spoilers of any kind, then stop reading.  It stopped half way through the book.  I know they were going to make another trilogy out of The Hobbit and other stories, but I thought they were going to finish the whole story and the other two movies would be something different.  It is looking like the meat of The Hobbit will be spread among two movies and the third installment being something completely different.  The only complaint I had, was that I was looking forward to seeing how they portrayed Beorn in the movie.  Sadly, that is after the halfway point and I won't find out until the next movie.  Sorry, but you have to have read the book to know what I am talking about.  My other disappointment, was with myself.  I didn't finish the book before going to see the movie, but as it turns out, I was more then half way through.  Which means I read all that was included in the movie, thankfully.  This movie just gives me an excuse to delve back into everything Tolkien.  Perhaps even read some of his books I have yet to read yet.  They aren't all easy reads, but they are worth the effort.  He just has so much detail and background in his books.  He truly did create a different and new world.  Every detail of it.  Languages, customs, lands, maps, histories, songs, rhymes, creatures, and all sorts of other details.  It has made for a wondrous story with tons of interesting details to hold my interest indefinitely.  It will be sad when there are no more stories to put onto the silver screen.  Until then, I can at least look forward to two more movies.  It all boils down to me saying, that you should go see it.  Well worth the trip to the movie theaters. 

This Day In History: 1947
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is founded at the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Born This Day: 1896
James H. Doolittle - American aviator who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for leading the first U.S. bombing raid against Japan in World War II.

"When people keep telling you that you can't do a thing, you kind of like to try it."

-Margaret Chase Smith

Merry Christmas everyone.