GAhhhh. Busy busy busy.
Work yesterday, today and tomorrow. Then BACK to Houston for an eye doctor appointment and ACLS, PALS, BLS training for work. Then back here for two more days work and then back to Houston to pick up Sarah and the kids.
Eventually this will settle down. Of course we knew that any Texas contract will be this way. Just deal with it.
Of course, today Sarah and I decided we would go ahead with the cruise nursing thing. Then we found a regulation in the books saying that kids older than 4 can't cruise with their parents more than 60 days in a calendar year because of school. If that is the case, we are trading Michael in on a nice new three year old.
Just kidding Michael. Of course, by the time you read this I hope you will already know that.
So we sent a message to the guy with the cruise line and asked for a clarification because that would be a problem for us. We will see. I am excited at the prospect of taking the Adventure Nickel international, but it would surely be easier if this didn't work out. Of course, easier isn't always better.
Time for sleep. 0530 comes early.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Sunday, November 11, 2012
11/11/12
Happy Veteran's Day!
Back in Tyler. We spent the weekend in Houston where Brian and Barb treated us like celebrity guests. Much good food was consumed along with fine libations. On my birthday they took me to a hibachi grill restaurant. It was excellent. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday.
Got anew member to the AFO forums too. And people are posting challenge entries for the month. Things are looking up. Back to work tomorrow and back to being busy. There is so much that needs to be done this month that I am sure it will be a blur and I won't get as much done as I would like. Oh well.
Got to run with Sarah today, which is nice. Then I logged it on Fitocracy (www.fitocracy.com) and it told me that I have logged over 200 miles since I started tracking it with them in February. Not bad I think. I also got well under 8 min/mile. Pretty solid weekend.
Back in Tyler. We spent the weekend in Houston where Brian and Barb treated us like celebrity guests. Much good food was consumed along with fine libations. On my birthday they took me to a hibachi grill restaurant. It was excellent. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday.
Got anew member to the AFO forums too. And people are posting challenge entries for the month. Things are looking up. Back to work tomorrow and back to being busy. There is so much that needs to be done this month that I am sure it will be a blur and I won't get as much done as I would like. Oh well.
Got to run with Sarah today, which is nice. Then I logged it on Fitocracy (www.fitocracy.com) and it told me that I have logged over 200 miles since I started tracking it with them in February. Not bad I think. I also got well under 8 min/mile. Pretty solid weekend.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
11/8/12
Got home today from a hard day's work and opened the door to a dark RV. My first thought was that Sarah had the kids watching a movie or something, but the TV wasn't on. Then the kids jumped out and yelled, "Surprise!"
They had dinner, dessert and a present ready for me. What a sweet family.
Tomorrow we head down to the B&B ranch, AKA my brother's house, for some visiting time. It seems that is all we do when we are in Texas. We visit. I'm really looking forward to this one though.
Sarah told me a little story about today. Max sidles up to her and proudly announces that he and Kaden, the RV park owner's grandson who is 5, have been drinking beer. Sarah counters with an "Oh really." She inquires further and finds that they found it in a can...in the trashcan. Well, now Sarah really wants to find out about this now and tells Max that he really needs to show her what exactly that was. She follows him up to the park owner's house and Max shows her an empty can of Busch beer. AFter a quick examination, Michael, who didn't partake, announces that the can smells 'minty'. Then it dawns on Sarah...Steve, the park owner, dips. She let Max know that he didn't drink beer, he drank spit.
OK everybody...all together now....'EEEEEEWWWWWWWW'.
We think that was probably all the punishment he needs. Sigh...kids.
They had dinner, dessert and a present ready for me. What a sweet family.
Tomorrow we head down to the B&B ranch, AKA my brother's house, for some visiting time. It seems that is all we do when we are in Texas. We visit. I'm really looking forward to this one though.
Sarah told me a little story about today. Max sidles up to her and proudly announces that he and Kaden, the RV park owner's grandson who is 5, have been drinking beer. Sarah counters with an "Oh really." She inquires further and finds that they found it in a can...in the trashcan. Well, now Sarah really wants to find out about this now and tells Max that he really needs to show her what exactly that was. She follows him up to the park owner's house and Max shows her an empty can of Busch beer. AFter a quick examination, Michael, who didn't partake, announces that the can smells 'minty'. Then it dawns on Sarah...Steve, the park owner, dips. She let Max know that he didn't drink beer, he drank spit.
OK everybody...all together now....'EEEEEEWWWWWWWW'.
We think that was probably all the punishment he needs. Sigh...kids.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
11/6/12
Happy election night! I have to go to work tomorrow so I can't stay up and watch all the results come in. I'm sure though, that Obomney will win.
Sarah's parents are here, they brought back our kids. Glad to have them. My birthday is this weekend and we will be back in Houston. We don't spend much free time in Tyler. Oh well. Not getting as much writing done as I would like, but that's life in the big city.
Back to the grind tomorrow.
Sarah's parents are here, they brought back our kids. Glad to have them. My birthday is this weekend and we will be back in Houston. We don't spend much free time in Tyler. Oh well. Not getting as much writing done as I would like, but that's life in the big city.
Back to the grind tomorrow.
Friday, November 2, 2012
11/2/12
Today is a gift.
I don't mean that in a sentimental, don't forget how good you have it poster. I mean it.
I woke up at the usual 0530 and went in to work on my normally scheduled day which would have put me in overtime for the week. My charge nurse said, "That's weird, you aren't on the schedule today for some reason." I went home.
Also, it just so turns out that we left the kids with Sarah's parents this weekend. So, I get the day off to spend it with my beautiful wife today with really no commitments for the day. Sure, there are a couple of errands that need done, but nothing major.
So instead of wasting the day here on the computer. I'm leaving. Today is a gift and I am going to treat it that way.
I don't mean that in a sentimental, don't forget how good you have it poster. I mean it.
I woke up at the usual 0530 and went in to work on my normally scheduled day which would have put me in overtime for the week. My charge nurse said, "That's weird, you aren't on the schedule today for some reason." I went home.
Also, it just so turns out that we left the kids with Sarah's parents this weekend. So, I get the day off to spend it with my beautiful wife today with really no commitments for the day. Sure, there are a couple of errands that need done, but nothing major.
So instead of wasting the day here on the computer. I'm leaving. Today is a gift and I am going to treat it that way.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
10/28/12
Yesterday's theme was Guns and Roses.
Tyler Texas is probably best known for the famous Tyler Rose. And, it turns out, somewhere around 1/3 of all roses sold in the USA are produced within 50 miles of Tyler. At least if you believe the narrator in the video shown in the museum.
Ahh the museum. The gardens themselves are free, but you have to pay for the glory that is the Tyler Rose Festival museum. As soon as you enter you greeted by an arrangement of mannequins dressed in festival finery which is just waaaaaayyyyy over the top. Apparently the downtime in the agricultural season allowed enough time to go bananas with the gowns. Either that or there was some pretty significant status conferred by the size of the gown and train. Frued would have enjoyed this.
And then some of them were just strange...
Nice serial killer clown you have there Tyler Rose Festival.
The walls were decorated with pictures of past festival winners and their courts. I'm guessing that's how it works.
Then we went outside to see some of the actual roses.
Flowers, flowers, FLOWERS!
As you can see, the kids were just super excited to see all the flowers.
It was a neat place, but a little feminine. And it just so happened that there was a gun show at the convention center which was right across the street. So we went. No pictures are allowed, so it kind of ruined my photo theme of Guns -N-Roses. But it was pretty much what you would expect. Lots of guns, lots of camo, lots of beer bellies.
There were some cool WWII rifles and even a few Civil War rifles for sale. You can find guns almost anywhere, but you only get to see some of these cool things at the gun shows. The kids and Sarah seemed to enjoy the rose garden more. Over all it was a fun day.
Tyler Texas is probably best known for the famous Tyler Rose. And, it turns out, somewhere around 1/3 of all roses sold in the USA are produced within 50 miles of Tyler. At least if you believe the narrator in the video shown in the museum.
Ahh the museum. The gardens themselves are free, but you have to pay for the glory that is the Tyler Rose Festival museum. As soon as you enter you greeted by an arrangement of mannequins dressed in festival finery which is just waaaaaayyyyy over the top. Apparently the downtime in the agricultural season allowed enough time to go bananas with the gowns. Either that or there was some pretty significant status conferred by the size of the gown and train. Frued would have enjoyed this.
And then some of them were just strange...
The walls were decorated with pictures of past festival winners and their courts. I'm guessing that's how it works.
Then we went outside to see some of the actual roses.
Flowers, flowers, FLOWERS!
As you can see, the kids were just super excited to see all the flowers.
It was a neat place, but a little feminine. And it just so happened that there was a gun show at the convention center which was right across the street. So we went. No pictures are allowed, so it kind of ruined my photo theme of Guns -N-Roses. But it was pretty much what you would expect. Lots of guns, lots of camo, lots of beer bellies.
There were some cool WWII rifles and even a few Civil War rifles for sale. You can find guns almost anywhere, but you only get to see some of these cool things at the gun shows. The kids and Sarah seemed to enjoy the rose garden more. Over all it was a fun day.
Friday, October 26, 2012
10/26/12
Busy busy busy.
Houston for two days, home and working for two days then driving back to Houston for another night and then driving home the next day then working for two days and finally...off today. Not a ton of blogging or writing time at all.
Haven't been sleeping much lately, a lot on my mind. As we sat down in the truck and Grandma and Papa's driveway getting ready to drive home on...what day was that...Tuesday I guess, we got a call.
I am thinking about taking a full time position again for the first time in a few years. The call was the scheduling manager saying they wanted me to start orientation on January 5th.
Did I mention that the company is Holland America Cruise lines and this would mean we would be taking the Adventure Nickel international?
Like a black hole, these type of changes have an event horizon beyond which there is no turning back. We haven't reached that point yet, but I can see it from here. The circumstances are aligning which make it possible.
We already have a scaled down life possessions wise. The kids are young enough that they don't really mind the idea of sharing a bed and aren't so large that it would be prohibitive. Sarah's friend Victoria, who used to full time in an RV and has land 2-3 hours from Houston, has agreed to let us put our RV and truck on her land. She has even said she will periodically start up the truck and open up the house. Aunt Miche has agreed to watch the pets while we are gone. Financially it looks like we won't be saving money or knocking chunks of car or RV payment out, but we can cover everything.
Still, the thought makes my stomach hurt a little. Back when we started all of this, hell before. Back when we were reading bumfuzzle.com and dreaming of sailing around the world on a catamaran, we used to buy some of those sailing magazines. We found a small article in there that had a phrase we grew to love.
Adventure = discomfort. If you are comfortable, it isn't an adventure. It might be fun it might be vacation it might be exciting, but if it is adventure, it almost always will be at least a little uncomfortable. Well, this would be uncomfortable in many ways. We would be going from a lifestyle where we are free to do what we want, when we want and how we want most of the time. We choose where we live, which park, what our daily schedule is, what we wear and even, to some extent, what schedule I work. On the ship we would lose control of almost all of those things.
But the perks...damn. Just go on Holland America's website and look at the cruise routes. Go ahead, this will still be here when you get back.
So the final decision is still up in the air, but we are leaning that way. Perhaps I should say we are heeled over to that side, or maybe listing that way. There is still some information to come from the cruise line that will factor heavily into the final decision. I would ask if we were crazy, but I already know that answer.
More updates as events warrant.
Houston for two days, home and working for two days then driving back to Houston for another night and then driving home the next day then working for two days and finally...off today. Not a ton of blogging or writing time at all.
Haven't been sleeping much lately, a lot on my mind. As we sat down in the truck and Grandma and Papa's driveway getting ready to drive home on...what day was that...Tuesday I guess, we got a call.
I am thinking about taking a full time position again for the first time in a few years. The call was the scheduling manager saying they wanted me to start orientation on January 5th.
Did I mention that the company is Holland America Cruise lines and this would mean we would be taking the Adventure Nickel international?
Like a black hole, these type of changes have an event horizon beyond which there is no turning back. We haven't reached that point yet, but I can see it from here. The circumstances are aligning which make it possible.
We already have a scaled down life possessions wise. The kids are young enough that they don't really mind the idea of sharing a bed and aren't so large that it would be prohibitive. Sarah's friend Victoria, who used to full time in an RV and has land 2-3 hours from Houston, has agreed to let us put our RV and truck on her land. She has even said she will periodically start up the truck and open up the house. Aunt Miche has agreed to watch the pets while we are gone. Financially it looks like we won't be saving money or knocking chunks of car or RV payment out, but we can cover everything.
Still, the thought makes my stomach hurt a little. Back when we started all of this, hell before. Back when we were reading bumfuzzle.com and dreaming of sailing around the world on a catamaran, we used to buy some of those sailing magazines. We found a small article in there that had a phrase we grew to love.
Adventure = discomfort. If you are comfortable, it isn't an adventure. It might be fun it might be vacation it might be exciting, but if it is adventure, it almost always will be at least a little uncomfortable. Well, this would be uncomfortable in many ways. We would be going from a lifestyle where we are free to do what we want, when we want and how we want most of the time. We choose where we live, which park, what our daily schedule is, what we wear and even, to some extent, what schedule I work. On the ship we would lose control of almost all of those things.
But the perks...damn. Just go on Holland America's website and look at the cruise routes. Go ahead, this will still be here when you get back.
So the final decision is still up in the air, but we are leaning that way. Perhaps I should say we are heeled over to that side, or maybe listing that way. There is still some information to come from the cruise line that will factor heavily into the final decision. I would ask if we were crazy, but I already know that answer.
More updates as events warrant.
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