Making Up for Lost Time

Holy cow, it's been over a week since I posted. Wow. My problem is that I think about stuff to blog about, make mental note, and then when it's time to sit down in front of the computer, I've forgotten all that clever stuff that I intended on blogging about. A quick survey of blogs shows that I'm somewhat in the middle when it comes to this behavioral pattern: The grandaddy of bloggers, Jeff, has blogged every day this week, including multiple entries on Tuesday; over in Xangaland, Steve's been pretty regular this week, too; Scott's busy spewing new vocab words and routinely gets all historical/metaphysical/Greek-Roman-Pantheological and way over my undergraduate head. OTOH, Wally's blogged exactly twice since June 3 (wifie Jules comes in a bit ahead with 3 June entries), and fellow-Cubs fan Brent has apparently had some chick steal either his heart or his keyboard, I'm not sure which. I probably should be working at this very moment, but oh well--I have loyal blog readers to address. Instead of blogging several different topics, one after another, I'll just roll it all up into one big entry, separated by topic.

Microsoft (Throw it Out One of the) Windows
At risk of sounding like a techno-geek, a small network has existed in our home for about a year and a half. That is, one internet connection and two computers (a desktop and a laptop) require some cool technology that allow them to share the likes of internet connections, files, and printers. Haven't ever really had any issues--I got it set up and it's been more-or-less trouble-free since. The laptop is normally connected wirelessly, but last week, I sat down beside the connection and actually plugged it in using an ethernet cable. Nothing. "A cable is unplugged," it told me. No, it isn't. The wireless still worked (which defies all logic--usually the hard-wired version works, and wireless screws up), and I discovered that I hadn't done any Windows updates in quite some time. So I did them (including XP Service Pack 2). Guess which ones worked AFTER the updates? NEITHER!!! So I took the laptop to work and plugged into the network there. Still nothing. So I decided to undo all those necessary changes and go back (hopefully) to where I started. Whew!! So now, I'm just wireless with the laptop, and it bugs the crap out of me as to why I can't actually plug into a connection somwhere. The jury is still out, but I guess I'll just have to deal with it.

TB Scare
My brother is flying into Memphis on Saturday, to spend a week with Mom, celebrate his birthday, and probably realize all over again why he left in the first place. The trip was actually orchestrated by our step-brother Tony, who is currently in the U.S. Army, serving in Iraq (more on that later), and is coming home for a 15-day leave. Brad calls me last week and says, "I REALLY need to talk to Mom--do you know where she is? I really need to talk to her.......I might have a small problem." Uh oh. A million things went through my head, and I had no idea what kind of thing I would hear from him or Mom (whoever gave up the info first). As it turns out, one of Brad's coworkers had just found out that her sister has tuberculosis. This meant that the co-worker was exposed to it, and if she had a positive test, then all of Brad's office was exposed, and thus they would have to be tested. If Brad did in fact have it, then he'd have to be quarantined for 2 weeks and thus unable to make the trip. Basically, he was just giving us a "heads up" so that he wouldn't look like some lame, inconsiderate fool by cancelling his trip at the last minute. Turns out, the coworker's test was negative, so everybody was in the clear.

Victim of the Infomercial
A short time ago, Leah and I became perplexed by an infomercial. We were quite familiar with the basic product, but had never seen the feature-ridden variation that they were presenting. Supposedly, it's been sold for many years at fairs and trade shows, but I don't think I've ever run across it (and an off-brand one is sold at Home Depot). I thought it was pretty cool, and then, unsolicited, Leah says, "I think we should order that--I'd feel better with you using that."
The product: The Little Giant Ladder. Basically, it's an adjustable stepladder, A-frame ladder, extension ladder, and everything in-between. It can be used on stairs, and can be put at a 90 degree angle (to get closer to a wall, for example). It even separates into to "sawhorse" type things that can be used to make a scaffold (with their platform or a 2 x 12). Heck, when I first moved into my house, I had to buy a 7 or 8 foot ladder because our living room and master bedroom have 14 ft ceilings. And plant ledges. When it comes time to hang Christmas lights, I have to find and borrow an extension ladder that is usually pretty worn, and deal with the hassle of getting it transported to and from its location.

Anyway, we haven't ordered it yet, but probably will soon. It looks like it'll pretty much take care of every possible ladder-based need for the rest of my life. And when the spouse gives you license to spend money on a cool new Tim Allen-type toy, you gotta take it.

A Flash in the Pan
Anybody else ever watch, and enjoy, the T.V. show Ed? It used to be an NBC show, and I never really watched it religously........But when I did watch it, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't really know how to describe it--the writing was hilarious, the small-town feel of fictitious Stuckeyville, OH was sure to connect with folks, and the characters just seemed so "regular." Not to mention, Julie Bowen was absolutely adorable as Carol Vessey. Anyway, my friend Robert told me that TBS was playing it everyday at 11:00AM--it just started in January. I figured, heck, 4 seasons worth.....that's a great opportunity for my TiVo to work its magic and I can catch all the episodes that I didn't get to watch once a week from 2000-2004. So I've been enjoying it for about 3 weeks. Until some brain-dead person at TBS sold his soul to the devil, and the network has, effective tomorrow, yanked Ed and Carol and Molly and Warren Cheswick, for Becker. Becker?! Are you kidding me?! Maybe there's a reason, but I really, really enjoyed that show. Oh well, my only hope now is another network for syndication or the now-famous Complete Season X on DVD. Neither of which is on the horizon, I believe.

I Love My Big Brother
Speaking of television, CBS's Big Brother 6 gets started next week, and I can hardly wait. To me, this is the most realistic reality show possible. Let's face it, as much as I love Survivor (and I do!), it's pretty much the camping trip from hell. But everyone can identify--going on a church or school retreat, having a roommate in college, etc.--no matter how much you liked them, the practical side of living with them for whatever period of time no doubt changed how you felt about them (good or bad). I actually didn't start watching BB until last season....for some reason, I never really found the motive (or the friends/co-workers urging me) to watch it until I started tuning in last year. And I think it's cool that it's going on NOW and some stuff is LIVE--no Survivor-esque feelings that it happened 4 months ago and the finalists have already been determined (just sworn to secrecy). I hate that I missed the season where the exes were brought in as a surprise--I can only imagine how that went over. Something akin to a Baby Ruth in a swimming pool. I doubt that I will have the time, patience, or resources to offer detailed synopses here like Jeff did on the Amazing Race, but if you're into Big Brother, I'm sure I'll be posting on it and you can feel free to comment.

I wonder what happened to Drew and Diane (she was a cutie). And if I never hear or see that Holly bimbo again, I'll be happy.

Big Brother VI - Tuesdays (9:00P), Thursdays (8:00P), and Saturdays (8:00P). EDT.

We're Gonna See Red(birds)

Tonight Leah and I are gonna take in a night at the ole ballpark. Weeknight games are fun to go to, cause you generally don't have the same amount of crowd there, which cuts down on the possiblity of bumping unexpectedly into some rude, inconsiderate patron who makes you spill your $5 Pepsi.

The local board of Realtors got the idea a few months ago to create an "interest group" of sorts of Realtors under the age of 40 (the average age right now of agents is about 53, I think) and have certain events so that all of us young-uns could get together and not have to be overrun by AARP members. So tonight's game tickets get us in the game, and we get these "I'm special" wristbands that get us a (hopefully) big spread of buffet dinner. The cost per ticket was a bit more (I guess we had to pay to rent tablecloths and such), but I guess it evens out because we'd probably be eating overpriced ballpark food anyway. So this way, we just more selection. At least, that's how I'm justifying it.

It was kinda cloudy at times yesterday, and Leah was hoping that it would be the same today, so that it wouldn't be that hot tonight (being prego and all, what with raging hormone activity, makes her "I'm hot" condition much more and frequently attainable), but as luck would have it, we get mostly sunny skies with a high of 91. And of course, being the first day of summer, that means the the single most daylight of the year occurs........you guessed it........today. So hopefully it won't be that uncomfortable. Otherwise, we'll be making an early exit.

Dia de los Padres

No, I'm not referring to a particular baseball team from San Diego. Today is Father's Day. While it certainly is easy to get caught up in sending Dad a card, or taking Leah's dad out to lunch after church, I sometimes think about folks who have lost their dad, particular those who might've had it come recently. Jennifer Rushing comes to mind, whose father died only a couple of weeks ago. Or Steve and Kristi; Uncle Mike left us in '96, about 6 months before Steve's 21st birthday, and when a 17-year old Kristi was a month or two from graduating high school. My mom lost her father at age 59--I was in 3rd grade at the time, and thought that grandparents were old and were supposed to die, but later realized that he too was taken way too early. To these folks, I say that today must be extremely hard, but I'm sure that there are tons of memories that you have to cherish today and for many more Father's Days. And it was because of your father that you are here, allowing you to have children and most likely teach them the things that your dad taught you (whether it's discipline or money advice or how to bait a hook!). You will see your father again, and next time, he'll be in much better condition than when you saw him last.

Of course, today brings a bit more meaning to our household, too. Sure, our baby isn't here yet, but in a sense, I am already a father, because there is a child that, even though has no name and as is an undetermined sex, I absolutely adore. I think about holding, falling asleep with, or coming home to that childish smile. To use the pet/child analogy, our puppy Calle is so excited when I walk in the door--that burst of energy, that innocent zeal to let me know in her own way that she's glad to see me. I can only imagine that it'll be 10 times that when our little tike gets old enough (and ten times LESS than that once they become a teenager!).

In honor of father's day, Leah requested that I take yesterday off from Kroger so that we'd have some time to spend together. She wanted me to go play golf, and she would accompany me. We made a bright and early tee time of 6:00AM, and I returned to Audubon (the place of my previous personal record-setting 84) to see if the good karma was still there. There wasn't any other folks teeing off, so it was just me and my one-woman gallery setting off from the teebox. I played the 18 holes in 3 hours, and shot a 91. Not too bad (for my skill level), and I was happy with it. Throw in 2 lost-ball penalties, and a few missed putts, and I would've been in the 80's, proving that maybe I've tweaked my game to the point that 105's and 110's are in the past. Only time will tell. We then came home, took a nap, and then went and grabbed a bite of lunch at Roly Poly, went to Bass Pro Shops to get a gift card for Leah's dad (shhhh....heck, he doesn't read this because he's scared of computers and has the "why do I need to mess with them?" mentale), shopped for maternity clothes and browsed baby stuff at Sears and SuperTarget, and then came home briefly before having a nice little casual dinner at El Porton.

Leah doesn't blog (her name's on it, she has an ID, but leaves it up to me to be the author and technical engineer of our online presence), so here are pictures of our dads when they were both well-dressed and well-behaved--at our wedding. We love you guys--thanks for everything you've given us and taught us, and for making sacrifices that probably started before we were ever born. Hopefully as new parents, we'll make you proud, because we're gonna strive very hard to duplicate your success in child-raising.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, Dad and Mike!!

Anybody Smell a Skunk?

It sure is tough being a Cubbies fan.......and that really has nothing to do with it being 157 years since they won a World Series. The problem is this: the recent years that they've had awesome pitchers, we didn't seem to have the offense to score runs. The years that we had a great hitting lineup, our pitching staff was medicore. About 3 years ago, the powers-that-be started making some good moves, and we actually had BOTH.

2002, we all know what happened--the infamous "5 outs from the World Series" fiasco. Last year, we pretty much spotted the whole division several games because Prior and Wood started the year hurt. Even with that, we had a chance to gain the wild card until we lost something like 6 or 7 out of the last 10 games. This year seems to be on track for a repeat performance.

Last night, I was ecstatic--we put a football score up by beating the Marlins 14-0. Today, we put up another football score, but this time we're on the losing end, 15-5. (OK, so you'd have to have a missed PAT or two, plus a couple of safeties--work with me here!). Right now we're looking up at the Cardinals, and would be a good 3 games back of the wild card. But the season is still young, and there's still plenty of baseball. But I ain't optimistic. Derek Lee is having himself one fine year, and I'd love for him to chase the triple crown. But I'm afraid that this might be yet another year of heartbreak. Yep, I won't get to experience Jeff's elation from last year for quite awhile, I'm afraid.......

Low Quality.....Guaranteed.

Gee, Wal-Mart is recalling cheap stuff made in China? I'm shocked, I tell you.....shocked!! Of course, the catch is that these poor folks now have to go stand in the "Your Wait is 45 minutes from this point" return line at their local Wal-Mart, and hope that the person behind the counter knows enough about the recall to process the refund.

Remembering 1999

Good luck with the baby. There's nothing like being a father.

--Payne Stewart

Cue the sentimental interlude stories with piano background.....All of the media reports surrounding this week's U.S. Open golf tournament at Pinehurst will do a feature on the obvious connection: the last time the tourney was held here, Payne Stewart won in dramatic fashion over Phil Mickelson. About 4 months later, the plane he was in inexplicably lost cabin pressure, which disabled all 6 people on board and caused the plane to crash. What was supposed to be a 2-hour flight from Orlando to Dallas ended in a horrible tragedy.

I really wasn't "into" golf at that point in my life--I picked it up about a year or so later--but I knew enough to think that Payne Stewart seemed like a regular guy. Aside from the Tiger Woods's and Arnold Palmers and Jack Nicklaus's, in my opinion, golf's 'stars' seem a lot more 'regular.' That is to say, they seem like they're just regular ole folks, somebody's dad and husband, out there playing a game they love and getting paid to do it. But you know what? There aren't any "6-year contracts" or signing bonuses in golf. If you do well, you get paid a lot. If you stink, you don't. That's not to say that there aren't endorsement contracts and all that, but golf as a sport is entirely different than baseball, football, and basketball.

I love the game of golf. It kinda has a reputation of being a "rich man's sport", but I think that image is deteriorating a bit--which is a good thing. But golf is about so much more than hitting a dimpled ball into a 4" diameter hole. It's a game of honor. Of respect. Of etiquette and consideration to other players and the course. Throw in some scenic courses with spectacular holes, and you have a recipe for an incredible experience that cannot be found at the "Rolling Pin Bowling Alley" (no disrespect to bowlers).

Shortly after the tragedy, I read the authorized biography of Payne Stewart, written by his wife Tracey (and I'm thinking about reading it again). I became to miss the guy even more, and I wished I had had the chance to seem him play one time. All of his colleagues seems to say how much he loved life. He loved Memphis and our tournament because he had good friends here. He was known as a prankster. He impacted everyone's life that he touched. The above quote was one such example of how "real" Payne was. 1999--18th hole of the U.S. Open. Drama all day long. You just drain an incredible putt to win the tournament, and after hugging your caddie, you go to your competitor, Phil Mickelson (whose wife is expecting, and literally due any day), and utter those words. Amanda Mickelson was born the next day, and Phil says that Payne's words were very prophetic and he agrees whole-heartedly.

I recently bought a framed picture that captures 3 separate memorable moments of the U.S. Open. One of those moments is Payne's '99 victory. As soon as I find a fitting place for it, it will be hanging proudly. I miss you, Payne. I really, really do. And I know the golf world misses you. But I'm sure you're playing the most spectacular course of them all right now.

Weekend Update

First, I'd like to say that I fully realize that it's been almost a week since I posted. My cousin Steve used to wear me out with comments if I went more than a couple of days between posts, but if he pulled that stuff now, I'd have to introduce myself as "Kettle" and refer to him with a nickname of "Pot." Heck, based on his notable comment-absence from the likes of mine and Jeff's blogs, methinks he might have even abandoned us for the more fashionable Xanga clique that he hangs with these days. Don't worry, Jeff--just because you're not getting "eProps" or "gold coins," don't think for a minute that you're not cool.

Friday, I took the day off from work to do other types of work--sort of. I sat in a 4-hour training session at the Memphis Area Association of Realtors. This accomplishes two purposes: one, it allows me to become more knowledgeable about a certain topic, and two, it banks "continuing education" points that I must have before my next license renewal. Anyhoo, on Friday I learned about Tennessee's first time home buyer program, which offers an interest rate of 4.99% on a 30-year loan (or 5.99% if you want 4% of the purchase price for down payment and/or closing cost assistance). Now, there are income limits and purchase price maximums, but it's not really anything that forces you to be dirt-poor to take advantage of it. The state also has "target" areas--either census tracts or entire counties--where the "first time home buyer" requirement is waived. Fayette and Tipton Counties are BOTH in this category, which means that anybody who makes less than $57,300 can buy a house less than or equal to $172,632 and get a 4.99% interest rate. Not bad, huh? I'm guessing that not many people are aware of this, which makes me wish I knew a skywriting pilot or something.....

Last night, I settled down in my chair and aimed my remote control at ESPN for Sunday Night Baseball. After all, the Cubbies were going for a sweep against the defending world champion Boston Red Sox. 2-0 early....no big deal. Uh oh. Never mind. There goes that game. 8-1. Can't win 'em all. I've never really understood how a knuckle-baller doesn't get roped every time he goes out. I'm sure it's a bit more difficult than hittle a wiffle ball in the back yard, but if you can kit a 95 MPH fastball, once you get used to the 65 MPH lob, shouldn't you just sit back and rope it over the fence? Apparently not. And on top of that, the Cardinals won. Stupid red birds.

Tonight I'm off to Kroger for the first of a 2-night set. And Monday is almost done. Yee-haw!

2,922 Days Gone By

June 7, 1997. A day that will live in, well, let's see...I'm not really sure how to describe it.

It was a warm Saturday, and I invited Leah to attend my company picnic. Yep, that's the day that started it all. A few months later, we deemed that day as the start of our relationship. Obviously we hadn't a clue what the future held, but hey, I'd say it turned out quite well.

The wild thing about mine and Leah's dating relationship is all the drama that happened before it got started. Leah probably started liking me in 1994--too bad I was dating somebody. In 1996, I had an engagement that was suddenly and devastatingly broken--but the day of the breakup, Leah went to senior prom thinking I was about to get married (the day was the first wedding date that was originally set, but it had long since been postponed, unknown to Miss Blaylock). Then in early '97, I had a wreck and was in the hospital for 3 days--who shows up at the hospital? You guessed it. Too bad I was pretty much liking someobody else at the time. Then I was called incessantly after I went home, offering her company and companionship if I wanted it, in case I was bored or something. Uhhhhhhhh.............No thanks.

That got her a "Please leave me alone..........You're clingy and needy and annoying, and IF I had ever thought about dating you, you've smothered me out of that consideration" speech, which earned me the silent treatment for about 3-4 months. I'm not sure that's what I really wanted, but that's how she chose to deal with it. But my phone rang less often. : )

Then there was her graduation. She actually bet her mom $20 that I wouldn't show up. Well, I was a walking 20 bucks that night, and my mom and I even made an appearance at her graduation get-together that her parents were hosting afterwards. Her boyfriend du jour was there, and I was insanely jealous. Not to mention I thought he was worthless. Not just because he had something that I wanted, but because, and Leah agrees, he was worthless.

At the time, I wasn't seeing anybody, and she was contemplating breaking it off with worthless dude. I told her, "Don't do anything because of me--I don't wanna be the sole cause of you breaking it off." As if. I later found out that her senior prom experience was less-than-stellar: dinner was McD's drive through, the 'ride' was his pickup truck, and her date talked on his CB the whole way. So I treated her to a "prom night" that she didn't have--a black limo, dinner at Landry's (overlooking the river), and a carriage ride. By that time, I already had her, but I guess I felt like I owed it to her for waiting on me for so long. She deserved that night, and I enjoyed the heck out of giving it to her. The last 2 years of my life had been mostly rain, and the sun was finally coming out.

So that's "Eric and Leah" in a nutshell.........There are certainly many more anecdotes, but they all end up with me becoming convinced that I would be a stupid moron of epic proportions if I let go of the selfless, giving love that Leah has. On January 4, 2002, we went for pizza, and then afterwards for an unplanned (at least for one of us) scavenger hunt that ended at her house with a diamond ring.

I'll close with the chorus from From Here to Eternity, my very first dance with Mrs. Eric Russell:

From here to eternity
I’m asking you to share your life with me
Now and forever I guarantee, I’ll always stay by your side
I promise my love to you
I’m willing and able and ready to
Whatever you need
I am here for you, and I’ll always be
From here to eternity

Walter, Peanut, and Jose

There is really no particular point to this post, so I'll just get that out of the way.

We were sitting around my office yesterday, talking about shows we had seen at the Orpheum--not only Broadway shows, but other types as well. I mentioned that I had seen comedian Jeff Dunham there--one of the funniest, most enjoyable nights of my life, hands down. Although his claim to fame is ventriloquism, his show is more than that--It's not really some rookie dude who kinda moves his lips and makes a voice that seems strikingly similar to his real one. You really subconciously come to percieve his show as consisting of 2 people--him and the puppet. That is, you literally forget that he's doing the voice, and most audience-driven interaction is with the puppet, not the human beside it. You might remember him doing some GMC truck commericals with his old man character named Walter.

Anyhow, I haven't heard about this guy at all in the last several years, so I wondered if he had put up the dummies and called it quits. No way. Apparently he still does comedy clubs and such, in addition to corporate gigs and private stuff. Lookee here, he's gonna be in Nashville, at Zanie's at the end of July. Hmmm.........

"Honey, wanna go to Opry Mills?"

Looking Forward to Friday('s)

Tonight, Leah and I are gonna do something we haven't done in a very long time--eat at Friday's!!

You see, for some reason or another, Friday's has never really been around where I lived/worked/etc. and closed the location that was even remotely close by. For years there was one at Overton Square (and I can remember making the drive to midtown on occasion, or going there for a special event like a birthday or Mother's Day or something)--but recently it closed, I think. There's one downtown, across from AutoZone Park, but that's not a real practical decision for a dinner--heck, you'd spend more time getting there than you would eating! There's a brand new one in the super-booming Winchester/Hacks Cross corridor (on the edge of "Hickory Hood"), but we ain't goin' there without our Kevlar vests.

Which brings us to tonight. It seems that the super-intelligent developers and real estate types with Friday's decided to contribute to the already-congested Wolfchase Galleria corridor. Amazing that you can find a parcel to build on, and stay afloat, with no less than 10-15 restaurants probably within half a mile (that might be an understatement--I've never counted). But nevertheless, our household usually ignored their TV advertising because, for all intents and purposes, it didn't apply to us. But now it does. It's even got the new, "fresh" Friday's look that the company recently rolled out--we're anxious to check it out.

Yes, I'm looking forward to Friday's. They opened Monday, so hopefully they've had plenty of time to work out the kinks of rookie servers and clueless hostesses (wait, there are clueless hostesses everywhere!). I've already inquired about call-ahead seating (nope, they don't offer it), so I guess we'll have to just wait it out and take it all in. Should be fun. Good times.

I'm Confused

OK, I need help understanding something. I'm not a law expert (and don't claim to be), but I thought about something in the runaway bride case that apparently the article-writers think is a no-brainer and thus don't bother explaining.

Our little cold-footed felon was charged in Gwinnett County, GA with making false statements, filing a false report, etc. etc. Now, here's my issue--all of these 'false' things happened in New Mexico, where the authorities chose not to charge her. How are Georgia cops being allowed to charge her with making false whatevers in New Mexico?!

I'm not really trying to say that she shouldn't be charged or anything--but it SEEMS to my non-legal mind that it's akin to Tennessee Highway Patrol giving me a ticket because Kentucky cops told them I exceeded the speed limit in Bowling Green (they DO make Corvettes there, you know). The only thing I can think of is that it's allowable since the ficiticious "event" (i.e., the abduction) took place in Georgia, but even that seems like a stretch.

What am I missing?? Please, somebody.....anybody....clear this up for me.

Kentucky or Bust!

Time for a little mini-travelogue. While I don't think I have the acute attention to detail (nor the same desire to take notes) that Jeff does (e.g., his very entertaining travel diaries), I guess I should in some way make up for my lack of posting. I was out of the state from Friday morning until Monday afternoon, so I suppose I'll entertain, bore, or confuse you with stories of Eric and Leah's trek across the northern border of Tennessee.

Friday: We had decided that, even though we had taken the day off, we didn't exactly want to sleep in til 10:00A, get on the road, and arrive in Louisville just in time to eat dinner, watch the news, and go to bed. So we were up at going around 6, and pulling out of the driveway around 7. A quick zip through the Burger King drive-thru for breakfast, which is conveniently located adjacent to the Whitten Rd exit ofI-40. On the interstate by about 7:15. First stop was the Benton County/I-40 East rest stop--this one is right before the Tennessee River, probably about 85-95 miles from Nashville. Nothing major here--just to use the facilities and grab a Dr Pepper (no period, Jeff!). Leah and I swapped places in the car--I became the passenger--and we were on our way. Next logical stop would be Nashville, but we hadn't planned on stopping for any reason (sometimes we stop and play at Opry Mills for awhile) and it was too early for lunch. We ended up driving on through Bowling Green, and stopping a few miles north of there at a McDonald's that looked pretty new and had trainees out the yin-yang (you know, the sweet, meek little girls who are very nice but seem extremely clueless and don't wanna punch too hard on the register for fear of breaking a nail). I called dad from the "oops--you just lost an hour" zone (the Eastern Time Zone sign), letting him know when to expect us. I think we were arriving a little earlier than what he had in mind, but that's OK. We were there by 2:00 PM local time, which is about normal. If Kentucky would follow Tennessee's lead and make their speed limit 70 (instead of 65), we could've gotten there about 11 minutes earlier.

Nothing much else happened Friday--we hung out at the house, waiting on Mary to get home from work. We cooked burgers out on the grill, and then went down to the driveway to test the boat motor to see if we could get it running (ahh....note the foreshadowing!)

Saturday: Saturday was boat and lake day. First, you must hear a funny anecdote about last year's visit. Leah and I were there in early June, and we planned a day on the lake. Stocked the coolers with soft drinks, had bread and sandwich meat, etc etc. We get to the lake, back it down the ramp, and dad tries to start it. Nope. Dad keeps trying. No way. Please! We've come all this way, and we packed a lunch, and we're ready for a day in the sun. Not happening. There we were, backed into the water, trying to launch the boat. Nothing. So we conceded defeat and gave up (it was the first time that season the boat had been started, and it had winter junk in the system).

We had done our homework Friday night, so we were good to go. The ramp wasn't crowded at all, which I think took us all by surprise, being Memorial Day weekend. We spent 4-5 hours on the lake cruising, docking a time or two to eat lunch and enjoy some Leah-requested watermelon. At one point, the wind speed got up and under the bill of my Titans cap and took it for a Green River rinse cycle, but I vehemently insisted that we turn around to retrieve it, and Dad obliged. We headed back to town (about an hour and a half away), got cleaned up, and then it was off to eat Mexican food at one our our favorite local places on Bardstown Rd.

Sunday: Sunday was a nice, relaxing day--like Sundays are supposed to be, I think. All the locals in the household (Dad, Mary, and Grandmother) went to church, and when they got home, we cooked steaks out on the grill. Ribeyes....yummy! Throw in some baked beans, baked potatoes, broccoli & rice casserole, and salad, and you got some fine eatin'! We were all stuffed, so we did the next logical thing--laid around and watched TV. The Indy 500 was on, so we pretty much watched it and followed the story of Danica Patrick. Some of use took the opportunity to grab a little cat-nap, but I, um, I really wasn't paying that much attention, so I don't know who that was.

About 5 or 6, we went for a summer treat--Dad and Mary had taken us one other time to this homemade custard/ice cream type place, where you walk up and order, and either sit at the 5 tables outside the joint, on the curb, or get back in your car. It's pretty much premium custard, cause it's essentially a pricey version of a Sonic blast or Dairy Queen blizzard. But definitely yummy. Grandmother insisted on treating all of us, which was nice (and unexpected!).

About 9 or so, Leah and I decided that we were a bit hungry, so we made a late-night run to White Castle. Memphis has Krystal; everywhere else, I think, has White Castle.

Monday: The same theory about not wanting to arrive late on Friday applied to going home. Throw in the fact that it was Memorial Day and traffic would most likely be heavier, we decided to head out pretty early. Dad fixed his "world famous" waffles, so we had a good, heavy breakfast and then got ready. Zip up the bags, back the cooler, and we were off. I had filled up the gas tank Sunday night (and contributed in vain to the Kentucky Lottery while I was at it), so all we had to do was hit the road. Of course, the funny thing about driving back into Central Time Zone is this: We left dad's house at 9:15. We drive for an hour or so, and then we cross the line. Suddenly we're back to 9:15 again. We weren't hungry by Nashville, but we did stop and stretch our legs and we certainly do appreciate those fine folks at Hampton Inn let us use their restrooms. Leah said she'd just decide when she was ready to stop for lunch, and of course when she said something, we were in the middle of nowhere and decided to just stop in Jackson. Lunch on the go--back on I-40 West, and on to the final stretch. We stopped and picked up our four-legged daughter, Calle, and then back home to Estacada. It's always great to get back home, ain't it? Your stuff, your bed, your closet.

All in all, we had a great time; I think as much as Dad and Mary love Louisville, the hardest part for them is sometimes feeling isolated from everybody else. They look forward to us coming up, and we do, too. Not to mention, west Tennessee's landscape is boring and it gives us a change in scenery. We may not see them for several more months, but at least trips like this give us the chance to make some memories.