I recently came to the conclusion that life is just smoke and mirrors!  It’s all an illusion really.  When we see people we think one thing, then we get to know them and see a different side and change what we thought.  Everybody is putting on a different face for different people in their lives.   At work they are one person, at home another, alone they are another person, etc. etc.   I had a conversation with my friend Laura the other day and we were talking about weird fetishes that some people have.  The conversation became flat out raunchy and made me think that you never really know someone on the inside, even if you think you do.  I recently had some people I know exhibit behavior nothing short of bizarre.  When I tried to make sense of it, I came up empty.  I usually pride myself on being a good judge of character, but I am now giving up my crown and claim to not know anything about what in the world is going on inside someone’s head.  It has also made me want to keep people I know to a surface-level friendship.  I love getting to know people and find the differences in people fascinating, but I am going to try to change that for fear of getting hurt.  Letting people into my life only to have them act like a bunch of weirdos eventually is hard to take for me.  Having said that, I am sticking by my theory that it’s all just smoke and mirrors!

Happy birthday to me!

Last Sunday was such a nice and pleasant day.  I bopped around with the kids all day.  They started the day by going on a long hike with Andy and the dog while I went grocery shopping (that’s a big treat to do that without kids lemme tell ya!)  Then I took them over to the pool.  It has a huge spraying play area for the kids (slide, water spewing in all directions, huge buckets that dump water, etc.).  It is ridiculously crowded and crazy cold, but they didn’t seem to mind at all.  Their favorite part is going into the whirlpool.  It’s a little scary watching them because it gets faster toward the middle (like most vortexes).  Well, little ryan can swim but he still is just a little guy (5 years old) and it’s scary to see him floundering around in the middle of that thing every so often someone bumping into him and causing him to go under as they get sucked into the center too.    They also like the lazy river area that has a current.  They practiced their swimming skills.  It was cute to watch them.  We then went to our favorite Mexican restaurant where I have a friend that works there.  We filled up on yumminess and headed over to the “Mexican Park.”   We call it the Mexican part because the majority of people are Mexican and latino in general.  We went to the other side of the lake to “the beach.”  They played and played until it was time for dessert.  Back on the other side, they sell yummy things like elote (corn which they dip in butter, cream, and put chili pepper on it).  So unbelievably good.  We didn’t get that this time but instead had fruit.  Nico and I had fresas con crema (which is a giant cup of cream and fresh strawberries.  It’s a lot of fruit!).  Ryan had a giant fruit cup that consisted of mango, watermelon, and pineapple.  He loves fruit!  We then took lots of pictures because it was such a pretty day.  Ryan is a so hilarious when taking a photo.  He likes to pretend like he is a master photographer and likes to get the perfect shot.  He mumbles things like, “Okay now I have to move a little to the left so I can get the mountains in the picture….”  The kids then played in the lake for a while and on the playground equipment too.  Then it was time again for another snack.  They indulged in ice cream!  However, the Mexican ice cream sold here is totally different from the processed American crap we sell our kids.  They basically take real fruit and mix it with ice, etc. and then freeze it on a stick.  The boys had a Mexican flag ice cream but nobody was a big fan of the white part (coconut).  Oh well, can’t win them all!  Afterwards, we headed over to the fine arts center for a little education.  We took more pictures in front of the murals.  Afterwards, we went to pick out new flowers and flower pots for our new deck.  They look great!  We concluded the evening with an Indian Jones movie.  All in all, it was a nice day.

I am going to Virginia next week for Laura’s baby shower and the baptism of Melissa’s baby.  I love going to Virginia because 1.  my best friends are there, 2. the food, and 3.  they always have the latest trends in clothes, music, etc. 

I heard about this salon in Alexandria, Virginia and just had to share it.  It’s called Yvonne Hair and Nails salon and they have put a new twist on pedicures.  You put your feet in a tub of water full of tiny carp fish called garra rufa (better known as doctor fish).  The fish then nibble at the dead skin on your toes and feet!  Apparently these fish were first used in Turkey and have become popular in some Asian countries.

The health department has been concerned with the use of razors to scrape off dead skin so Ho, the owner of this salon, wanted to find an alternative.  He has been doing it for four months now and over 5,000 people in  the metro DC area have tried it.  I’m going to check it out when I’m there.  I’ll keep ya posted!

- Ireland took the lead in Europe, taxing plastic bags in 2002 and have now reduced plastic bag consumption by 90%.

- In 2005 Rwanda banned plastic bags.

- Bangladesh has banned plastic bags

- China has banned free plastic bags.

- On March 27th 2007, San Francisco became first U.S. city to ban plastic bags in large supermarkets.  Other U.S. cities are considering similar actions.

Things you can do: 

1. Carry your own grocery bag.  It’s cool to carry your own bag!  Check out   http://www.reusablebags.com.

2. If you forget your own bag then:
      a. Make sure the grocery store bagger only uses the necessary amount of bags and doesn’t try to use one bag for each different item. 

     b. Recycle your bags.  Most grocery stores offer recycling of their bags.  Many do not advertise it, but if you go to customer service they can tell you were to take them.

3. Spread the word! 

‘Car problems’ seems like an understatement after this weekend!  Let me start with about a week and a half ago.  I dressed my little guys in the wrong clothes for the ever-changing Colorado weather so I dropped by their school with additional clothes.  When I tried to leave, the Mercedes didn’t start.  Hmmm…I then had to find jumper cables from someone in the school, a building full of women.  I eventually found some.  Next I had to figure out how to open the hood on my car as it isn’t your typical pop the latch and feel around under the hood for the latch.  After several attempts of trying to start the car with the jumper cables, I gave up and called someone from work to come and get me.  We had the car towed and fixed.  $100 tow and $700 for new alternator and battery. 

This past weekend we took the minivan in to have the breaks checked on Saturday. We left the car and all headed back home in the Mercedes.  On the way back Ryan wanted to hear a certain song so insisted on us changing the cd.  We did, and then couldn’t eject it afterwards!  It will have to be serviced to get it removed.  More $$.  We then go home and Andy packs the Bronco (aka The OJ) with camping gear, two kids, and the dog and heads out for one night of camping.  I get a call 15 minutes later, “The car broke down.”  I tell him not to worry I am on the way.  I unload all of the random junk from the trunk of the Mercedes and head out to the highway where he is.  Now, Colorado highways are 75 mph.  I was a little nervous about stopping and even more nervous getting out.  We then unpack the Bronco and load up the other car with the camping gear, two kids, and giant dog.  He drops me off at the mall and I caught a ride back home.  We had the Bronco towed back to the house.  Sunday morning I get a call.  He says with a heavy sigh, “The car broke down.”  I said (half laughing), “What?  Are you kidding?”    “Does it SOUND like I’m kidding?!!  STOP LAUGHING!  It’s not funny!!!!!!!” he screamed although I did find it slightly amusing.  The car was spewing gas all over the highway.  Of course it was immediately AFTER he filled it up with $4.90 diesel fuel ($100 for full tank)!  He said it was smoking because of the fuel hitting the hot engine.  He says he is just going to keep going and try to make it home.  I’m thinking, “Great, my entire family is in that car (including the dog) and it’s spilling fuel.”  That didn’t sound too safe to me.  He almost made it home and ran out of gas less than a mile from the house.  They walked the rest of the way home…two kids in jammies, a big dog, and a crabby dad!  So, we went from 3 cars to none in less than a 24-hour period!   Crazy!

I heard about this site on the radio and just had to check it out. They sell high heels for babies! Heelarious.com. What a great idea…let’s start dressing little girls like trollops at age 6 months! Genius! What’s next…thong diapers??!!!

If, however, you are an adult and like to wear heels, you can now sport your athletic ability in the Regis and Kelly High Heel-a-thon in NY on June 9th to support the March of Dimes. It’s a 100-yard dash in 3 inch heels and should prove to be fairly entertaining at that hour of the morning. First place gets $25,000!! However, Kelly has won it every year so I wouldn’t count on takin home the cash. Check it out: Heel-a-Thon

Yesterday, my parents celebrated their 50 year anniversary!  Happy anniversary mom and dad!  Here is the letter my dad wrote to the family email group:

My Dearest Family, 

It was on this day in 1958 that a very young man who had not yet seen his 18th birthday took an even younger woman just 3 months past her 17th birthday across the Tennessee line into Mississippi to the little town of Cornith, a town best known for its role in the Civil War more than performing wedding ceremonies.  It was in this small town that they swore their vows to one another.  That for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health they would remain together until death do them part.  In the intervening years since that day Peggy and I have known both the good times and the hard times.  It is my firm conviction that one cannot fully appreciate the good times without knowing the bad times.  I wish this was not true but unfortunately it is.  We buried our first son when we were just 19 .  We lived in small one bedroom apartments with rented furniture for the first years of our marriage.  We lived in places where the snow was axle deep to a Ferris wheel and in places where 20 below was the high of the day.  When we first set up house keeping my pay was $32 every two weeks and Peggy got a $92 a month allotment check.  We ate our share of meatless meals in those days.  Beans and cornbread suited us just fine.  The military did not pay nearly as good as it does now. 
Our second son, Michael was born on the island of Okinawa, far away from family and friends.  Michele was born in Nashville, Tennessee while I was away on another overseas tour.  As time went on and I got higher in rank and Peggy got better jobs we were able to enjoy life a little more.  Although our children never had the luxury of having anything they wanted, they always had everything they needed.  Peggy and I saw to that.

Well, somehow the years have slipped by.  The noise and confusion of little kids running in and out, then young teenagers getting ready for their dates, has been replaced with the quiet solitude of reading or watching a little television, and going to bed at 8 o’clock.  Most think that 50 years is a long time.  Trust me, it is not.  It seems like only last week when Peggy and I were worrying about where we were going to get the $15 to make our monthly furniture rental payment.  However, I probably love Peggy more today than I did when we were first married.  At the young age of 17 it is not love you have, but emotion.  Love comes with sharing a lifetime of dreams together,   sharing the good times and the bad,  and of not being able to imagine life without being together.  Love is indeed the “tie that binds.”  Again, you trust me folks, 50 years is not that long.  I am looking forward to the next 50. 

In Love, 
Ernest

Have you seen them?  Super gross!  The clear, liquid, so-called bandaids basically allow the world to see your pussing, oozing, bloody nasty wounds!  YUCK!  Why would you use such a product?  I guess if you’re into horror movies and such you might find this method of bandaging cool.  Every time I see one of these on someone’s oozing flesh, I have to ask, “Why?”  Ick!  It’s ugly and nasty and believe me others around you are completely grossed out….so please…for pete’s sake….cover that thing with something opaque!

If you haven’t ever been to our nation’s capital then I highly suggest you go in the spring. I was there with my lil guys a few weeks ago visiting my fam for Spring Break. The weather was fantastic—sunny, little humidity, and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. Perfect!

I’ve never taken them into the city before (other than the zoo) so I wanted to spend the week showing them the sights. We even bought a children’s book on Washington DC so that I could read it to them and then they could actually go to the places in the book. They had a blast! They saw the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. They ate astronaut ice cream with their Uncle Fran at the Air and Space Museum (you buy it in the gift shop.). Ryan set the alarms off in the American Indian Museum for getting too close to the clothing. We went to the Natural History Museum and checked out the Orchid display, the largest elephant that walked the earth, the dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures of the sea, the largest diamond in the world, the Hope diamond (it’s a blue diamond). A week after we were there now there is an even larger diamond (yellow) that was discovered and is on display there . We ate hot dogs and the kids played ball with their Uncle Fran on the national mall. We walked around the Korean Memorial and talked about the soldiers that died for our country. We went to Arlington National Cemetery and saw the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown . The great thing about DC is that all of the tourist attractions are free, however, I spent a small fortune on parking and taxis (lil Ry got tired from walking!). All in all we had a great time and can’t wait to do it again.