**Started 9/26/06

We are down here in Portland. The party will be starting in a few hours. So I figured I can try and start an entry. =)

We spent the week in Surrey, BC so we could visit Torn’s Navy brother and his family. It is right outside of Vancouver. We haven’t seen them in a few years since their wedding.

***Restarted 9/28/06

Alright, let’s get back into it. =)

We spent some time with our extra family in Vancouver and had a great time. The kids are growing like weeds and are as cute as hell.

We spent some time at Bear Creek Park. It is a gorgeous park and it was a beautiful day. Canadians seem to take a lot of pride in their parks and conservation, which is really cool. We spent several hours there taken pictures of it, even got a few with a bird on my hand, which was wild.

We left there Sunday and headed on down to Deception Pass Park, there at Whidbey Island. We didn’t realize that a town over was having a major biker rally. Holy cow, there was the roar of bikes every where but we got to see some really neat looking bikes. Unfortunately, we went to the wrong entrance of the park so we didn’t get to visit the area that we traditionally go to. It was beautiful just the same.

We took the ferry over to visit Tasty Trixie and her guy, Houseboy. We had a great little visit, exchange info we have about our online business connections & acquaintances. So that was fun. They were so nice and took us to the quaint little downtown they have for dinner and breakfast the next day. It is beautiful area and it very active in keeping the large box stores out to maintain the dignity and beauty of the area.

When we left there we took a very scenic drive down the peninsula, going by Olympic National Forest, doing a lot of stops along the way to take some pictures of the area. It was stunning. I felt right at home.

We have lucked out and the weather has been perfect….knock on wood. So we took a chance and stopped by the closes Mt. St. Helens visitors’ center. They have three of them, one 5miles in, second one 47miles in, and the third 60some miles in from I-5. The last time we were here a few years ago, that was the day it decided to become overcast and you could barely make out the mountain. But that Monday it was crystal clear and we got some great pictures of it.

When we got to Portland, we missed our turn and ended up in the heart of down town on the phone with our friend as he tries to get us where we need to go. Downtown was pretty with having a park right there in the middle of it.

We had a great time hanging with our friend Lincoln. He knows about 90% of the folks in Portland……….lol, it helps that he has been there for about 20yrs. We meet some really cool folks, hung out a lot at Sassy’s Bar & Grill.

During the day Tuesday, we headed to some of the local spots and checked the area out. We were in the NE quadrant of the city and for us (after being in the Midwest so long), it remind me of how “free” an area is around a college. It is more of an alternative and free way of living and thinking. Portland is very big on their parks, conservation, supporting their artist & music community. The people are very friendly and seem to have a live and let live attitude. All which makes us consider that area for ourselves.

The party was on Tuesday night. There was about 60-80 people there. What I liked about it was that even though there were so many folks there they all seemed very respectful of Lincoln’s space. That was cool.

There was a guy there with a 12ft long albino Burma’s python and a scorpion. I got to hold the python! I’ve held them before, but it is so rare that I get the chance that I love it when I do. When we get time, I’ll post the pics. I did not hold the scorpion, there was no way. I don’t what species it was, but the handler said it would be the one you would want because its sting is no worst then a bee sting, unless you’re allergic to those.

Lincoln also arranged to have a fire eater there. She put on a really cool show and his ceiling has the scorched mark to prove it………….lol She got the crowd involved, having them help her put out little fires and putting members in the crowd on fire. Unfortunately, we didn’t want to miss any of it and didn’t grab the cameras. =( If any of our friends post the pics, I’ll see if they will let me post them here.

The majority of the party started to clear out by 3am. We crashed between 4:30-5am……I’m use to being in bed by midnight, so it was a stretch. The core members that were left didn’t crash until about 6am.

We didn’t get much sleep we had a 9am breakfast date with drjeff & sistermaryeris. They took us to the Kennedy School. It use to be an abandoned school house that was redone into a couple of different themed restaurants and bars. The breakfast was great, the Kennedy School was amazing and the company was excellent. We had a great visit and drjeff was so kind and great on giving a small tour of his part of town. Thanks drjeff!! It was greatly appreciated.

I really don’t know how to describe it, but it is beautiful. Portland is a city, but really doesn’t have the “city” feel in the majority of the areas. It kind of reminds me of one big spread out town on the feel of it.

After breakfast, I was going to lay down for a nap……..after 2hrs of sleep, I really needed it. But we were so torn between our need for sleep and wanting to do some sightseeing; because once we crashed we would waste the day.

***Closing for now, we have entered the very congested City of Seattle.

**Finally got time and found connection

**Written in flight.

It has been a crazy the last 10 days.

My boss had her vacation last week, we are short at work and then I spend a day in a company meeting in my boss’ place.  So, of course, we fell behind and everyone was stressed.  We did end better then we had started and in fact we started this week much better then the last one, so that was cool.

At the company meeting I had turned off my phone for it, well when I went to turn it back on it stated “requires service, call 1-866……..”  and none of my buttons worked.  Took forever to figure it out, but a few weeks ago I had dropped my phone while opening it to make a call.  Well the hinge didn’t appreciate that and partly snapped out of place.  My phone continued to work and I figured we would wait until we got back from vacation before having it replaced.  Wrong, didn’t happen.  Once I shut it down, it was all over.

My meeting was 90 miles from home, so I like to let Torn know when I’m on my way home.  I had gotten a hold of sprint and fact testing things out the lady was kind enough to call him and let him know that I was on my way.  That was really cool.

When I got home, I had to deal with getting a new phone before we left, I even tried to get the express and have it delivered by Monday.  Some one screwed that up and we didn’t get it until Tues.  My old phone still received power so we hoped that they would still be able to transfer my numbers and stuff.  WRONG….gggrrr…  I lost everything.  Of course, we didn’t think about downloading Torn’s info, which would’ve been too easy…….doh

Right now I have an old phone bill with all the numbers I’ve called in my back pack, copy a bunch off of Torn’s phone, so when I get time I’ll try re program my phone.  I’m so not looking forward to it.

Before my boss left for her vacation, our boss told her to tell me to “behave” myself at the meeting.  I have an outgoing personality when I’m in my element.  Even though I do not change who I am, I do conduct myself differently when the occasion calls for it.  So I had to laugh when my boss relayed the message.  I did tell her that I’m not afraid to ask questions, even the ones they don’t want asked.  =)

When my boss came back from vacation and spoke to our boss, our boss was impressed on how I handled myself.  And I told her, in my office with the people I know it is different then with people I don’t know.

I’ve been going nuts trying to make sure we had everything packed and with the 50# limit.  Hopefully I didn’t miss anything.  Even though one baggage’s was 2# over….gggrrr  We had to bust the zip tie off and move stuff from that one bag to another, annoying.

I did finally get a hold of one of my sisters and catch up with her while packing.  She didn’t know that my phone had died.  My god daughter then hit me up for her school fundraiser………….lol  At least they are catching up with the times, it is all online.  I told her that her timing is horrible due to us traveling.  But I’ll try to get something from her so I did my godmother part.  =)

I was able to answer most of my private messages, responses on pichunter, and do my football picks last night.  I really should respond to my emails, and then they will be saved into the outgoing box.  As soon as I get internet they can take off.  Just not sure how much “privacy” I have on the plane with out anyone looking over my shoulder.

Today we will be driving to Vancouver to visit a few of Torn’s Navy family and some of our web friends.  I’m so looking forward to the mountains.  =)

I had a few more thoughts to write out the other day, but don’t remember what they are…..lol….no surprise there.  Hopefully we will have internet connection tonight so I can get this posted.  Keep your fingers cross.

**Written during drive to Vancouver from Seattle.

Took us forever to get our luggage, but the Seattle airport always seems good for that.

We just hit Mount Vernon; still have about 2 hours before we get to the hotel.

I’ve been watching the scenery go by.  It is great to see hills, thick forests with towering pine trees, it is 62 degrees and we are encountering some fall colors.  It is pretty.

Until we started to consider moving from Indiana to Florida, I had to think if I could handle the vegetation in that state.  I love seeing and experiencing different areas, but I’ve always had some thick woods nearby.  After being in Florida for two years, I’ve finally figured out why I have a draw to actual wooded areas.

I had spent the first 7yrs of my life in Germany.  My dad was a sgt./ssgt, it was the 70s with the oil embargo, and he had a wife and 2 kids to support.  We couldn’t afford to do a lot of the things that families could do.

We lived off post with a heavily wooded area behind the house, so for family time and something to do we would go walking through the trails down the nearby village.  We would collect pine cones and just enjoy ourselves.  Hell, until I was much older I thought pine cones were a german thing since I had never seen them anywhere else……..lol

The room I shared with my sister had a window in the ceiling where you could see the pine trees towering over the house.  Use the scare the hell out of me when it was storming at night……lol

But over time it had grown on me, having wooded areas is what me feel at home.  Maybe that is why I really want us to move to this part of the country.  Food for thought.

I’m going to have a show on Sex Cam Central, Sunday 17th of Sept @ 8pm est.

I know we haven’t had a show in a while.  So I wanted to get one in before we left for Washington.

I was going to message everyone on my message system, but it looks as if they are working on it.  So I’m not able to get in.  I’ll try to remember to send a message tomorrow morning.

I hope to see you at my show…….grin

We did get a bike ride in today.  We’ve gone for a ride the last 3 days.  Today was a bitch for the ride.  I had worked my ass off last night and did a ton of walking, so I was sore as hell today but I made it.

I didn’t get any work done today, but we did get about half our packing done.  I’m fearful to gather the rest of the stuff…….where I am I going to put it all?!?  icks

I have a work meeting to attend tomorrow.  I have a 1-2 hr drive ahead of me, that part really doesn’t bother me, it is that I’m not familiar with the area.  I so hope that I’m not late for it.
Straight to the Heart
Battle Cries: For U.S. troops and their wives and children, the Iraq war’s invisible costs just keep on piling up

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld got a taste of this rage and frustration in August when he met with family members of the 172nd at Fort Wainwright, near Fairbanks, Alaska. In a video of the meeting obtained by NEWSWEEK, one woman asked him why the 172nd was spending most of its time clearing houses, instead of patrolling the streets in the relative safety of the big armored vehicles. “My husband hasn’t set foot in his Stryker since he arrived in Baghdad,” she said. “Over 90 percent of the house clearings are being handled by the Iraqis,” Rumsfeld responded, whereupon women in the audience began shouting “No!” and “That’s not true!” Flummoxed, Rumsfeld shot back, “No? What do you mean? Don’t say ‘No,’ that’s what I’ve been told. It’s the task of the Iraqis to go through the buildings.”

The 4-23’s soldiers say they, not the Iraqis, do 95 percent of the searches. “I’d like to punch [Rumsfeld] in the gut,” says one seasoned NCO on his second Iraq tour. “He treats us like we’re not human. He acts like he’s not destroying families.” 

***Sounds like Rumsfeld is living in a bubble and doesn’t have a clue, but we knew that.

Study: Gulf War Syndrome Doesn’t Exist.

There is no such thing as Gulf War syndrome, even though U.S. and foreign veterans of the war report more symptoms of illness than do soldiers who didn’t serve there, a federally funded study concludes. 

***I’m reposting this to pimp it out more.  Come on everyone, $800?  We can do better then that!

A LJ friend, , has a friend who is trying to raise money for Breast Cancer research. He as been pimping it out and has asked his friends to help promote & donate to it.

This is for a great cause, so please donate and pass it on to your friends.

Boobies! Science! Money! Helping! (public) (huge-ass post)

I’ve been working a lot this week.  Now I have a few days off.  Including today, I have 3 days off before we head out to Seattle.  Wow, it is right around the corner but it seems like it is farther away.  I need to start thinking of packing…..the part I hate about traveling.

We went to the beach this morning, so we could watch the shuttle take off.  We got a good look at it, even with the clouds around the cape.  Torn posted the pics in his blog, but here is the link : Shuttle Take Off 

I’m currently trying to motivate myself here to get some work done, but I really don’t want to do shit……..lol

I have a ton of private messages and emails to do, a very messy desk, bills & check book balancing……icks.  I just want to vegge out………..lol

We have the Penn St & Norte Dame game on.  We really want Penn. St. to take them down, because we believe that they are over hyped.  And we hate overhyped.

Been keeping an eye on SI site for play-play updates on the Purdue-Miami, OH game.  Lets just say we are disappointed.  =(

• Current Music: Penn St @ Norte Dame
• Current Mood: disappointed

A LJ friend, DrJeff, has a friend who is trying to raise money for Breast Cancer research. He as been pimping it out and has asked his friends to help promote & donate to it.

This is for a great cause, so please donate and pass it on to your friends.
Boobies! Science! Money! Helping! (public) (huge-ass post)

• Current Music: NCAA Football
• Current Mood: contemplative

The ‘Lifestyle’ — Real-Life Wife Swaps

For once, a news organization did decent job on reporting on our lifestyle.  They usually make it sound so sleazy and don’t even address the realtionships of the couples.

• Current Music: Sopranos
• Current Mood: contemplative