7 Kids, 2 grandkids, 1 on-the-way, 2 cats, Mom, and Dad

Simply Wine or This show is really cool if you like wine!

If you are new to wine then this is the show for you. If you've been enjoying wine for a while and want to learn something new then this is the show for you. The host of Simply Wine is Andrea Immer and she is not only knowledgeable, she is very cute too!

I have a season pass for this show, on TiVo, and I've seen some of the wineries listed in the Wine Expo list and will be checking them out when we're there.

TiVo update or Yeah, I'm the cool daddy!

I think the kids are starting to understand the ramifications of having a TiVo in the house. I was looking this morning to see what had been recorded and Youngest Daughter was there when I did. She saw Who's Line is it Anyway, which we all enjoy watching, and wanted to know what I had to do in order for the shows to be recorded. I told her I set it up once and then it automatically records it each time it is on.

A direct quote of what Youngest Daughter had to say, "I love TiVo!"

Home Improvements or Hey honey, can you do this instead.

The basement is pretty much finished now from an insulating, electrical, sheetrock perspective so now it is time to start staining and painting. I'm staining the pine trim that surrounds the doors with a honey pine stain that looks really nice. There is a 6+ hour lag between applying the stain, sanding it with steel wool (steeling?), and applying the second coat. All the rest of the basement now needs to be vacummed again and washed to get all the dust up from the sheetrock work. I still have a few doorways to do and then I need to work on the box that hides/covers the oil tank.

The problem is that once I start on a project it gets Beautiful Wife in the mood to work and she starts projects too. Most of her projects need my involvement so I have to pause the one I'm doing to work on hers and then get back into doing mine. It's a wonder I get anything done.

Of course she's so thankful when I've helped her that it makes it very hard to say no.

I need a drink of water or Hey, pause that program!

I bought an 80 hour TiVo Series 2 yesterday. It was incredibly easy to connect and setup as well as connecting it to my wireless network for updates.

I've setup some season pass shows and I'm waiting for them to start showing up so that I can watch them. It has been fun to watch TV and be able to pause it in the middle of a program.

I'm sure that I don't have things setup optimally with my TiVo, DVD/VCR/Sound system, cable box and TV but it all works for now so I'm content.

Tried a new wine or Your sister has great taste!

Beautiful Wife and I stopped by to visit Good Friends tonight at their new digs. The Wife's (his) boss was there and we had a great dinner, chatted, and watched TV.

Good Friend's Good Looking Younger Sister had given them a bottle of wine for a house warming gift and it was absolutely wonderful. The wine she gave them was the 2000 Clos du Val Ariadne Napa Valley.

I knew we were in for a treat after I saw that the wine is a blend of 70% Sémillon and 30% Sauvignon Blanc. The tasting notes mentioned that this had been aged in oak and I wasn't so sure how I would like that but it ended up being just fine. The wine exhibited all the tartness and crisply acidic tendencies I like in Sauvignon Blanc but had a nice smooth finish because of the oak that gave it a surprisingly light vanilla toastiness. The Semillon is in the wine for blending purposes and because it marries well with the oak. The Sauvignon Blanc is what gives this wine all of its character.

This wine was smooth but had plenty going on with it in the classic Bordeaux style. I would highly recommend this wine to anyone looking for something with style but that is easy to drink and will go well with many dishes.

Dinner at CCB or We love you for your muscles.

I think I got the better end of the deal on this one though. I joined Good Friends and his Good Looking Younger Sister at the CCB for dinner last night. Beautiful Wife was otherwise engaged at one of those women parties where you get a couple of dainty cookies and then write a check for $50 for some product that you're sure you need at the time but usually ends up in the trash or at the next yard sale.

It had to be one of our shortest trips there ever and all of us were still feeling pain because Good Friend and I only had one drink each! We needed to be sober so that we could pack up the new LCD panel TV without dropping it on our feet, a cat, or in some other way breaking it.

Copper pipe on foundation or Even I know that is a bad idea.

They've cut down half a wall and a two foot wide section of the ceiling in the basement to expose the pipe that burst. When they installed that pipe they laid it directly on top of the cement foundation which is just like installing it outdoors. I guess it wouldn't be bad if you knew that area would always be exposed and heated but they put sheetrock right over it when they built the basement.

The people who owned this house before us were idiots and had idiots work for them.

A week ago we were in paradise or Frozen and bursting pipes are not fun.

There's going to be bursting?!?! (a line from the movie City Slickers)

We're having much work done in the basement to repair what happened from our small fire and to make things better. One thing we asked the contractor to do was sheetrock the entire ceiling. We should have asked if the pipes had been wrapped and protected before they did.

The pipe goes up from the boiler, across some baseboards, and then dips back down into the basement to make it around the front door before coming back up into the living room again. The part that dips down froze and during the attempted thaw process must have developed a leak in a joint or burst.

I discovered this as I gleefully went around the house to check if things were working yet and found that I had heat coursing through the pipes. I went back to the basement and found I had water coursing out from under the wall and puddling on the basement floor. Thank God we haven't put in carpet yet.

It was all pretty dry this morning but we don't have heat. I had things pretty toasty in the basement having to shut things down but it is only around 60 down there now. I should be greatful it is that warm what with the sub-zero temps outside. Upstairs I have a space heater and our oven providing the heat.

At least our hot water works so that we can shower.

She graduated or It was a dark and stormy night!

Princess Oldest Daughter graduated from high school last night. It started to rain part way through the ceremony but we were under a huge tent so it didn't matter.

Here are the Princesses, with daddy, after the ceremony was over.

It really started to thunderstorm later in the evening. I was walking Elderly Aunt out to her car when lightning hit so close that the flash and thunder were simultaneous. When that happened I was momentarily blinded and the lights went off in the house at the same time. It was so dark that I didn't know if I was dead or blinded. I heard my Elderly Aunt's not-so-dulcet voice and figured that I must be dead and ended up in hell. :)

It was a great night and the feelings of pride for Oldest Daughter and relief at dodging death were overwhelming.

Lava Flow or The best way to spend the day at the pool!

We had this drink several times while we were in Kauai:

Lava Flow
Burn, Baby, Burn

1 1/2oz. Light Rum
2 oz. Pineapple Juice
1 oz. Cream of Coconut
1/2 Banana
1/4 cup Strawberry Puree
1/2 cup crushed ice

Combine all ingredients in an electric blender with the ice. Blend 20 - 30 seconds. Pour strawberry puree into a hurricane or collins glass. Follow with the blended mixture. This creates the flow.

Garnish with a pineapple wedge.

Yep, we were in Hawaii or It is niced to be missed.

I was catching up on my blog reading and read this entry from Good Friend at Everyday News. I agree with her, there hasn't been much activity on my favorite blogs. I'm chalking it up to the holidays and hope that we'll see some updates soon.

We went on a trip to Hawaii or What a way to start the year!

Beautiful Wife and I just returned from five nights at the Hyatt Regency on the island of Kauai in the state of Hawaii.

The trip was a reward for a successful sales year (120% of quota or more) and they treated all the people who made that, and their guest, like royalty.

Every night we would return from dinner to find a present in our room. The presents ranged from personal care products contained in a beautiful woven basket to a couple of bottles of liquor with some gourmet truffles. All the meals were included and they provided some sort of entertainment each night. All events also included an open bar that helped to enhance the relaxation effect.

Beautiful Wife and I did a Hawaiian Spa treatment that included a Lomi Lomi massage (50 minutes), body scrub (50 minutes), and a facial treatment that lasted 80 minutes!

I decided to put pictures in here that show who we are because we agreed to only take pictures, for the most part, that had one of us in it rather than just random pictures of scenery.

We went on an ATV tour that was incredible. We were splattered with mud and had a great time getting dirty.

We also went on a catamaran tour that lasted five hours and showed us some of the breathtaking shoreline. The trip ended with an hour long snorkeling stop before we returned to the harbor.

Beautiful Wife joined me in a life-long dream to scuba dive during this trip. The hotel offered an intro course in the hotel's saltwater lagoon, and then we followed it up with a beach dive that afternoon. I was able to sink below the surface, descend to 25 feet or so, sit on the sandy bottom and take this picture from a few feet away. It was an incredible experience.

Finally, on our last day we walked once more to the top of the cliff at the end of Shipwreck Beach in enough time to watch the sun rise over the ocean. This cliff, by the way, was the one that was used in the movie Six Days Seven Nights. Harrison Ford pushes Anne Heche off the edge of a cliff while being chased by pirates. We didn't jump though many did during our stay there. We opted for a picture showing how relaxed and tanned we were after our days in paradise.

We arrived back in Boston to enjoy below zero temperatures. I was still in shorts and tropical shirt so it was pretty jarring. I slipped on some jeans and a coat once our luggage appeared and then braved the cold to get to the car and journey home.

It was an incredible trip. Beautiful Wife and I didn't go on a trip in August for our 20th anniversary and purchased our first home instead. This trip more than made up for that and is something we'll never forget.