Leslie McAlister

New Blog

2009-08-05T16:06:00.003-05:00

See new blog at http://kevinandlesliemcalister.blogspot.com/
Two main reasons for the new blog:

My life is no longer only about me...I know hard to believe but I have grown up and stopped being so self centered :)
This blog is out of memory on the "free" server and I'm not paying for space when I can create a new account.

So please continue to follow my growning family at our new home.

Council Bluff Lake Hike

2009-06-18T08:58:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago Kevin and I got on this big hiking kick...or rather Kevin did. We planned this elaborate trip to Colorado hiking in July. But before I wanted to commite to this "vacation" I wanted to have a trial run with carrying 40 lbs on my back. So using a great website we found and book from the library we planned a 2 day hike for Council Bluff Lake. The lake trail is a 11.6 mile loop that goes along the lake's coast line. There are a lot of challenging points, hills, curves, bridges, ect. That make this an exciting trail.

The website we used was: http://www.ozarktrail.com/planner/index.php

and the book was: 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles St. Louis By Steve Henry

Our packs taking a break from breaking our backs!

We packed up our newly purchased packs with all of our light backpacking gear and headed for the Mark Twain National Forest on Saturday morning. Jake begged and pleaded to come so we let him tag along too. We arrived around noon at the Council Bluff Boat Launch and headed southwest (counter-clock-wise) around the lake trail. We hiked for about 5 hours and took approximately 19,000 steps till we decided to camp. We passed the Enough Boat Launch about 1-2 hours before we decided to set up camp. The Enough Boat Launch is a premative boat launch with free parking.

We meet multiple people out clearing the trail. With the recent storms and ice over the winter there were a lot of trees downed. There were also a few mountain bikers. I'm not sure how they got around some of the trees but I'm sure they did some how.

We set up camp at this clearing near the Lake. We have a cute little two person back packing tent and light sleeping bags with termarests. We cooked dinner using a back packing stove. We had pine nut couscous and peas. We decided to take a swim in the evening which was very refreshing. The ticks were out like crazy!!! So we had a country song moment checking for ticks.

Jake at our campsite

Around 7-8 we started playing War until finally we feel asleep. The croking of the frogs was very sothing. There were actually fishermen out all night long, so that kept Jake occupied trying to protect us!

We woke up at 7-8am the next morning and had breakfast before packing up camp and starting on our way again. We took a short break at the beach. It's really nice with a snack shop and everything! From the beach it was a short 45 minute walk back to the truck. We hit the road and had an amazing lunch at Hardees! I think the second day we walked 14,000 steps (??). The first day we did about 7 miles and the second about 5.

Kevin and Jake on the dam

It was a fun trip...I think my legs are finally not sore anymore. I have some pictures posted at the following link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=262078&id=508090617&l=5912c219ab

Reimer's Wedding!

2009-04-28T19:27:00.002-05:00

What a weekend!! We headed to Iowa (me from Indiana and Kevin from Missouri) for the BIG Matt and Libby wedding. Friday night was the rehearsal and dinner....Matt graciously invited us so we got to spend a little extra time with the crew. Aaron got a trophy for getting Matt home safely from the bachelor party.

After the dinner we headed out on the town...had a drink at Pete's then over to the Pearl. I was up bright and early for a pedicure with Jen at the Muscatine Mall. It was actually my worst experience that pedicure! The woman cut my leg twice...using a scower brush!! Probably won't be going there again!

The wedding was beautiful...the church was amazing! the whole wedding party looked amazing! The wedding was from 2 - 3:30ish. Then we headed to the cocktail hour...then to the reception. Everyone had a great time!

Sunday was my birthday, Kevin surpized me with a cake at the mexican restaurant in town. Then it was a LONG drive back!! I'm in Indiana this week and next...then home for a while...be sure to check out pictures linked to the right!

Flying Solo

2009-04-20T19:03:00.002-05:00

I'm in Indiana for the next three weeks, "Flying Solo" as I'm the only person on the team. But I won't get too lonely as I'm staying at the Freemans (my sister-in-law and brother-in-law). I finally get to spend some quality time with two of my nephew's Gabe and Nathan. Nathan is battling a cold and Gabe is busy getting ready for is birthday next week. So there's lots of fun going around!

Friday I'm driving over to Iowa for Matt and Libby's wedding. Can't belive this day is finally here!!! We are going to have so much fun in Muscatine :)

Aaden Ray Shaw

2009-04-08T22:03:00.002-05:00

April 8, 2009

Born 3:14pm

6 pounds 13.7 ounces

19.5 inches

Andrew and Kayla are doing great, tired but great. Aaden on the other hand was alert and happy being passed around from Aunt to Aunt, Grandma to Grandpa. Whole family is doing great.

Tired and getting sick

2009-04-02T21:30:00.002-05:00

I think I have ran myself so hard these last two weeks that I'm starting to get sick. I haven't had time to share my Vegas experience with you yet and I'm sorry.

Kevin came to California 2 weekends ago to meet me while I was there on business. We decided to drive to Vegas from just west of LA. Not the smartest thing we have ever thought of doing. It ended up taking us from 2 in the afternoon till 10 pm to get there (with a short detour to see the Hollywood sign).
We stayed at the MGM and headed out on the town as soon as we arrived. We caught a 10:30 show at the Crazy Horse Saloon. Then walked around the hotel and casino. We made it back to the room around 3am. Quite a day for me.
Saturday morning we didn't get up till around noon. We went and picked up our show tickets for that night then had lunch. We walked around the New York, New York hotel and casino before heading back to the MGM. I took a couple hour nap in the afternoon while Kevin gambled.
We saw the Cirque show Zoomanity. It was amazing. We set front row and enjoyed every minute of it! I was disappointed when the show was over. Probably one of the best shows we have ever been to!
We had some supper then more gambling. After we lost our budgeted amount we headed back to the room around midnight. Check out was at 11am on Sunday. After we left Vegas we took a detour to see the Hoover Dam. It was big, but man....the dam traffic was horrible!! The detour took around 1.5 hours. Then we were headed back for LA.
The drive back was crazy. There was 70 mph winds, sand storms in the desert, blizzards in the mountaings!!! Crazy...it took around 10 hours to get back! Our poor rental car was tired when we rolled into town.
Monday was back to work for me and Kevin left LA at 5:45pm. I left LA on Wednesday after a 3 hour delay thanks to the snow and thunderstorms in the mid-west. I arrived home after 1am on Thursday morning. This weekend was all about cleaning the house and relaxing. It's great to be home!!!

Tomorrow I leave for Muscatine. It's Libby's bachelorette party on Saturday...going to Iowa City. Can't wait!!

California

2009-03-16T23:24:00.002-05:00

So I arrived in LA last night and made it to my hotel about an hour and half away from the airport around 9pm. Spent a busy day at the site today and plan to be here for two weeks. I'm super exhausted from everything, I think the jet lag has caught up with me from Australia.

This weekend was Kayla's shower. Laura and I threw them a shower at the Rose. We had a great turn out! lots of friends and family in attendance. Kayla and Andrew, or rather Aaden (or Aden, or Aiden which ever spelling they decide on) received a ton of great presents!! Kevin came with and helped Andrew and dad work on the house. They only had a few little things to finish up. I think they actually moved in today, so I'm sure it was very exciting for them!! Saturday night the whole family went to Porky's in Mexico. It was a lot of fun.

Lots of drama playing out in the Vandalia area. For any of those interested "Farmers reap loss of trust." One woman and her company have managed to force 100+ farmers in the Audrain county area face financial disaster...some of which may never come out of this. I hope and pray that some way, some how the good people win, or at least come out of this with something left--be it friends and family and hopefully a business.

Kevin is heading out here on Wednesday, and then we'll be road tripping it to Vegas this weekend. More later...

Home!

2009-03-10T21:51:00.002-05:00

We made it home! With no luggage, but safe and sound catching up on some TV. Safe...except for Jake. He hit a car while we were gone...yeah, you read that right. He didn't get hit by a car, he hit the car. He ran right into the side of Dave and Elaine's neighbor's truck. After a night at the vet and a few stitches he's about as good as new. Hopefully with a bit of a fear of vehicles. He sure does miss Betsy (their yellow lab) but seems to be right at home already.

We'll catch up with everyone soon...hope you all loved the massive update that happened the last few days!

Day 10—March 9th

2009-03-09T00:21:00.001-05:00

We are all packed and ready to go, except our flight doesn’t leave for another 6 hours! Technically speaking we can’t fly till after 2 pm anyways because of the dives yesterday. So I’m just sitting in the airport waiting for the flight!
We arrive after 8pm in Sydney then leave again tomorrow at 2pm. So it’ll be a quick last day of vacation. Miss everyone!!!

Day 9—March 8th

2009-03-09T00:20:00.001-05:00

Today we decided to try to make up some of our lost dives by going on a day trip to the reef. We booked with Silverswift, a sister company to Prodive. They took us out to Flynn Reef which is only 3.7km from the continental shelf. The ride out only took 1 ½ hours. Their boat was super fast!

We did two dives before lunch then had lunch and another dive in the afternoon. I used a lot more air than Kevin but our dives were still all over 30 minutes long. On our second dive we saw turtles, sharks, and lots of really big fish and really small fish. The coral was amazing!! I’m so glad that we did these extra dives!!

I snorkeled after the last dive cause the rest of the group had enough air so they stayed down. The water was so clear I got great shots of the reef. After we got back, we had supper in town then headed back to the resort. I think we were in bed at 8:30…gotta love vacation!!

Day 8 – March 7th

2009-03-09T00:03:00.002-05:00

Kevin and I on Ellis Beach

Daintree Rainforest

Rex Look out

Kevin driving on the "wrong" side
The Coconut

After we returned from a night out we had a good nights sleep. Adam, Amy, Kevin and I decided to rent a car and drive up north. We got a car and drove up the coast toward the rainforest along the Captain Cook Highway. We made lots of stops along the way first at Trinity Beach for Adam and Amy and for lunch.

Then we drove along to the different beaches…first at Ellis Beach then at Rex Lookout. We saw all the other beaches along the way too. It was a great, relaxing drive…that is except for having to remember to stay to the left.

They drive on the “wrong” side of the road here, but Kevin did really well.

We then went to Mossman Gorge. It’s the Daintree National Park (rainforest) and has great walking trails throughout. Plus a great swimming hole, under a water fall where no crocs live. It’s freshwater river so they can’t survive.

After a walk through the rainforest we continued north to Wonga beach. There Kevin and Adam spent about 30 minutes trying to get the milk out of the coconut!! Theres great pictures and Amy even has a video. We eventually did get into it.

Afterwards we headed back south and tried to make it to a winery, but in Kuranda found that everything closes at 4pm! So all that was remaining open was the Barron Falls. It’s rainy season, so the Barron River was flowing really well.

We just headed back to the hotel and turned in early. Kevin and I made some amazing pasta and seafood. Before turning early we confirmed our diving expedition for Sunday morning.

Day 7 continued...

2009-03-08T23:26:00.004-05:00

Leaving the GBR due to the Cyclone

It was raining so hard it created this mist fog...

Part of the group in Rattle 'n' Hum

The dive group...

The rain coming into Rattle...notice the umbrellas

LINE THEM UP!!! 44 Yager Bombs...check out the video to the right

Day 7—March 6th

2009-03-08T22:55:00.003-05:00

"A Swell Morning" thanks to the cyclone
They typical lunch line in the ships saloon

Dave Feldman - our instructor

the bow of the ship, looking out to the continental shelf

When you go into the water, they check you in and out on a "wet sheet"

Getting ready for our first dive of the day

Our bunk in the ship

Kevin entertaining the crowd

Cleaning off your plate after a meal

Kevin and I going on our first dive as certified divers

Sleeping on the boat was different. There was a nice rocking motion early in the night but by early morning it had turned into massive jerking motion more. The swells were getting stronger from the storm. We had our first dive at 7am which again, was all skills. The visibility in the water was only 2 meters or so, very difficult to see and made me feel very closterphopic. We headed back up after only 20 minutes. When we surfaced and boarded the boat the skipper had a talk with Dave and we heard that we were going to have to cut the trip short and head back to Cairns due to the cyclone headed straight for us.

We had breakfast and weren’t quite sure if we’d stay for the next dive or not. But conditions stayed the same so we had our last training dive. Again it was all skills…and surfaced pretty soon after we were done. Visibility was even worse than earlier in the morning.

After lunch we got a surprise. The sun came out and they decided to stay for one more dive. So we had an early afternoon dive as certified divers. We still went out as a group because the visibility was so bad. But at least we got another dive! As soon as we surfaced we headed back toward Cairns. We arrived back at 5:30 and in the port learned that we were going to be given a refund for the unused portion of the trip. That was very generous of them, something we almost didn’t expect.
We ended up back at the Lakes, but as they didn’t have any single rooms available they gave us a double. So we asked the other American couple if they wanted to split it and they did. So we had someone else to split the extra room costs with. We got ready and headed out to Rattle and Hum for a night with the whole group.

Day 6—March 5th

2009-03-08T22:31:00.003-05:00

People sunbathing on our ride out to the GBR

Getting ready for our first dive! You can see Kevin in the middle of the photo getting his BCD ready.

They picked us up at 6am! And we headed out to the boat. With in an hour everyone was loaded up and we were headed on our way to the reef. There was a total of 32 passengers, 20 open water students like Kevin and I, and the rest were certified divers and a snorkeler.

The ride out wasn’t too bad, but I can see a lot of people I know getting sea sick (Laura). Kevin and I took motion sickness tablets before we left just in case. We just sat around and sun bathed after they fed us breakfast.

Once we arrived at the reef, we got our gear together and went for our first dive. We didn’t do many skills on the first dive just got to go down and see the reef. We did surface skills like towing in our tired buddy, dropping weights, signaling to the boat, and switching to our snorkel…but those are mostly skills that you have to use anyways.

After lunch we had our second dive which was mostly all skills. Filling the mask with water and clearing it, sharing air with buddy and those kinds of nasty stuff. There wasn’t much time for fun on that dive.

After cake we got a chance to go snorkeling. Kevin and I got some great pictures. But by the time we got back it was getting pretty cloudy and choppy. A cyclone was developing north of us and was headed in our direction. But at the time no one really thought much about it. We enjoyed supper and relaxed the night away.

Kevin skin diving during our snorkel trip

***I will put a link up in a later posting with all pictures underwater at the GBR. ***

Day 5 – March 4th

2009-03-08T22:27:00.003-05:00

We spent the morning in the pool trying out different gear and practicing our skills. Nothing too crazy, just filling your mask with water and clearing it underwater, pretending that we ran out of air, dropping the regulator and putting it back into our mouths, sharing air with our buddies, learning how to achieve natural buoyancy, descending and ascending, and equalizing our ears. All in all a fun morning in the pool…oh, and it was raining. But I guess it didn’t matter as we were under water most of the time anyways.

Then they took us into town for lunch and we went to the dive shop. We got our gear together to leave for the trip. Kevin and I also purchased our own snorkel, mask, boots, fins, and wet suit tops. Lots of fun! Then the afternoon was spent in the classroom finishing the last two modules. It was mostly all about figuring residual nitrogen levels and no decompression dive limits.

Day 4 –March 3rd

2009-03-08T22:26:00.000-05:00

Today was the start of our dive course. We got picked up from Dave our instructor in the ProDive van and sped away to the training center. There was a very quick check in process, very smooth. They just asked for a copy of the voucher and off we went to the fresh coffee and biscuits waiting in the class room. There were 19 people in the English speaking class and 2 in the German speaking class. There were 4 Irish, 7 English, 2 Polish, 2 Dutch, and 4 Americans (counting Kevin and I). Most of the people in the class have been traveling for months and plan to only travel for months. The other American couple were from Cincinnati and were on their honeymoon.

We started out the day in the class room and completed 3 out of 5 of the training modules in the PADI training manual. Kevin and I learned a lot from our training time in Jamaica but the refresher was good. Then we had lunch and a medical exam. After we finished eating we jumped in the pool for our fitness test. We had to swim 16 laps in the pool, 200 meters. It was hard!!! A lot harder than I thought it would be. But we had too many people in the pool so that contributed to the difficulty. Everyone kept swimming into each other or kicking each other. It was a mess. Then after that we had to tread water for 10 minutes. We played this game to go around and re-introduce ourselves while treading water. It was difficult but made the time worth it.

Everyone passed the fitness test so it was time to get back out of the pool and set up our gear. Then we spent the next 3 hours in the pool practicing the skills that we learned in the class room. Kevin and I were so tired at the end of the day that we just grabbed a bite to eat down town and crashed to sleep after we spent 30 minutes working on our homework!

Day 3 – March 2nd

2009-03-08T22:09:00.003-05:00

Me at the harbor in Cairns

The Lakes
We flew to Cairns today to begin the adventure portion of our vacation. We have an apartment rented at the Lake’s Resort about 5 minutes from the airport and 5 minutes from downtown. Today we checked in then went and picked up groceries and fresh seafood from the local markets down the street for supper. Since we have our own kitchen we figured it was a great way to safe a bit of money. We relaxed in the resort swimming pool in the afternoon then went down town on their shuttle service. I was pretty bummed when I learned that it cost $3.50 for a ride into town ‘cause I though it was free. We walked around down on their street called the Esplanade which runs along Trinity Bay in Cairns. There are a ton of different shops and restaurants, also hotels and backpacker’s hotels.

In between the Bay and the Port there is this free swimming area for locals and visitors. It’s called the Lagoon and is a series of pools with sand bottoms and water fountains. The Lagoon is right on the bay so it overlooks the ocean. The beach in Cairns leaves a lot to be desired so it seems like the city has done something to fix that!

There is a night market right in the middle of the Esplanade which opens at 5pm. So we had a bear at Rattle and Hum to wait for it to open. Rattle and Hum is a bar and Grill that caters to backpackers and travelers. It is rated as one of the best places to go to in Cairns in Lonely Planet. So we had a few! Then we walked through the market. Kevin wouldn’t let me buy anything, except for a magnet yet…but I’m sure we’ll be back, at least for the boomerang. The Lagoon

We grilled out fish and sautéed veggies on the grill with a pasta salad for supper and called it an early night.

Fruit bats flying around town

Day 2 – March 1st

2009-03-08T21:40:00.004-05:00

Kevin and I outside the Coldstream Hills Winery

The grape vines were starting to get covered as the grapes were just about ripe

Me at the Yeiring Station Winery

We made trip reservations for the local wine area, Yara Valley. Our driver picked us up at 9:30am and informed us that we were the only people with the wine trip reservations. We went to 4 different wineries and one dairy farm.

The first winery, De Bortoli, we enjoyed a private tasting with a delicious cheese tray. We tasted around 10 different wines and tried 3 different cheeses. Next, we went to the oldest winery in the Yarra Valley region, Yering Station. And we tried 3 different wines there and looked around their shop and grounds. Next we went to the Domaine Chandon winery where they make sparkly white and red wine. We had an amazing lunch and tasted 4 wines. The conversation with our guide was great too! Kevin also had his first red sparkly wine and we liked it so much we purchased one. The vineyard is owned by Louis Vuitton. Apparently he also owns one in Napa Valley.

Our last vineyard was Coldstream Hills. It was cute and a lot smaller. We tried around 8 of their wines where they walked us through their three different tiers of two of the wines so we could taste the differences in prices. It was really interesting!

Our last stop was to the Yarra Valley Dairy. We tasted 4 different cheeses and had a coffee and ice cream. It was a great day to end the day.

We did see a lot of the fire damage from the recent fires in the region. It was really sad to see the damage to homes and wineries. Fires are crazy, they just came over the hills and jumped around. Some things were burnt but others just fine. Our thoughts and prayers are with all the people dealing with situations like this!

Day 1 – February 28th

2009-03-08T20:53:00.003-05:00

Kevin and I in the windy Melbourne waiting on the City Tram

"Eat more pork!"

The Victoria Market

We arrived in Melbourne this morning. I arrived first in the airport at 6am after flying in from Singapore. Kevin arrived in at 10am and we headed out of the airport via the city shuttle bus called the sky link. It was really busy but a quick ride to the Central station. Our hotel, the Atlantis Best Western was a short walk down the street. We got settled in then headed out to the Victoria Market for lunch and some shopping.
After shopping we took the free city circle tram around the city to see the sites. Around 4pm we couldn’t take it anymore and needed to take a nap. We had dinner reservations at Rare, a steak house recommended by fellow auditors. So after a short nap we headed back out for supper. The steak was amazing! So it was a great recommendation.

Last week in Philippines

2009-02-27T14:59:00.005-06:00

Sooner than promised, but the Melbourne airport offers free WiFi and I have 3 hours to wait for Kevin. (Although it's free, it's too slow for me to post any pictures)

We went to Cebu for our last weekend in the Philippines. It was a different island from the island that Manila is located on. South if my memory serves me right. We stayed in the Hilton in Cebu, sharing a deluxe twin room. The hotel was very nice although it looked like Paris herself designed it because it was all pink.
Friday night we enjoyed dinner at their fancy "Sea" seafood restaurant. It ended up being way overpriced and with only decent food. But we enjoyed the night anyways and they ended up kicking us out at 11:30. Surprisingly Lu and I have a lot in common, despite growing up much differently. Lu is from Brazil but has done extensive travel including a foreign exchange trip her senior year of high school to the US.
She also enjoys the Gilmore Girls show so I was able to share my lent DVD season 1 with her (Thanks sis!). We watched GG till the wee hours in the morning on Saturday, slept in then got up to enjoy the sunshine. We enjoyed our free breakfast before parking ourselves on the small but adequate beach in front of the hotel. I lathered on the sun screen but apparently missed a few places. After being in and out of the water and in and out of the shade, we both realized that we were getting red and sore. We retreated in doors at about 3 but the damage had already been done.
After a nice lunch-supper at the Tapas bar we decided to stay in for the night and pick up where we left off with the GG dvd's. After some late night room service it was bed time again and our weekend was pretty much over. Sunday morning we both woke up really red and really sore. Even the thought of the sun made us both hurt more so we stayed in. I had a quick work out and then we watched more GG before heading back to Manila on an early evening flight. When we checked back into the Manila hotel, we were both given smoking rooms which we immediately switched to non-smoking and called it an early evening.

Monday-Thursday it was all work and no play. Well, we had the site dinner on Wednesday night. Not being Catholic I didn't know it was Ash Wednesday so we kind of inconvienced some of the team members and only had three people show up to a 11 person reservation...oh, well. Then Thursday was our closing meeting and the Finance lead made reservations for Lu and I at this really cool Indian restaurant in Makati (the nice city part of Manila). The country lead lent us his driver for the night and we really enjoyed ourselves.

Friday morning Lu left the hotel at 6am, taking with her one of my bags. It is really nice that I don't have to lug around all my work stuff on my vacation!! Oh, my vacation has started. Where I get free internet I'll be checking email and following up on the audit but I plan to spend most of my time relaxing.

Kevin should be here in a couple more hours then we'll be discovering the city together today and taking a regional wine tour tomorrow. Monday we'll head to Cairns and start our dive course on Tuesday. Monday we'll head to Sydney and be on a flight home on Tuesday. Then we both have a busy week, I will work for three days in the office in STL before heading to California on Sunday. Kevin will be working in Boone, IA all week. So I'll get some bonding time with Jake before leaving again. Saturday is Kayla's baby shower, so she'll be free to have Aiden any time after that. I know she's ready now, but she has to wait till the shower!

I'll be in California for two weeks only, with Kevin joining me on for 5 days. Over the weekend we are going to drive to Vegas. We've never been and thought it would be the perfect opportunity to check it out. After that I'll be home for three whole weeks!!! I'm really excited. I imagine I'll have a new nephew somewhere in those three weeks. If I'm lucky :)

May the vacation commence

2009-02-27T05:43:00.001-06:00

I am in the boarding line in Singapore headed to Melbourne to meet with Kevin. It has been a really long and busy week. I promise a full update after my vacation.

We will be in Australia till March 11th. Talk to everyone soon!!

Kevin and Jake's V-day

2009-02-17T00:23:00.002-06:00

Kevin, Dave, and Jake joined Chris, Christa, and Newman for the St. Louis Boat Show Dock Jumpers competition. Where you see who's dog can jump the farthest! See below for the play by play (thanks Christa for the pictures):

Newman Chancellor and Jake McAlister post jumping

Kevin had tossed the ball for Jake's jump (the splash is Jake hitting the water not the ball)

Jake's big jump, official measurement was 9'9'' but it looks like 10' to me!!

Jake emerging triumphantly with his ball and 1st place in his division!!

Valentine's Day

2009-02-16T02:07:00.002-06:00

Me and Luciana

Luciana and I celebrated Valentine's Day together in the Philippines. Saturday morning we woke up late and had brunch at the hotel (another day with Sushi for breakfast). Then we each went back to our hotel rooms for some work time. I got some contracts read and some other work done when I realized the sun was out and it was an awesome day. So we meet at the pool. Only instead of being able to relax they were setting up for a Valentine's Day BBQ. So we left after only being there for 30 minutes. We had lunch then went to relax again.

We went to the ATC (Alabang Town Center) Mall and had supper at Tony Roma's. I'm getting pretty tired of Chinease food!! Then did some shopping before our movie started. We watched Push. It was actually really good. I liked it a lot. And called it a night around 11pm.

Manila Shopping

2009-02-16T01:55:00.005-06:00

We had a wonderful Sunday shopping in Manila. Two site employees (Noemi and Gang) took us (along with Noemi's daughter) for a day of shopping. We first went to this outdoor market. It was great! Tons of cool hand made items, dirt cheap. I actually felt bad barganing with them because their prices were already cheap. But I ended up with some handbags, table runner, and wind chime. Oh and a pair of Havaianas Sandals for $4 (normally they are around $20-25)!!!

We did a little shopping in the morning then stopped for lunch at this Seafood market. It was awesome! All the fish was fresh and/or alive. We got to pick out the exact fish and seafood that we wanted to eat. Gang picked out some fish heads and Luciana and I are like what are we doing with those? But they made this really great soup with them and some fresh veggies (that they also picked out). We had a huge spread of food: clams, grilled tuna, steamed veggies, and buttered prawns (shrimp) with rice and the soup. We also had coconut juice, out of the coconut! It was delicious.

After lunch we did some more shopping at the market before heading out to downtown Manila to see the Greenbelt mall. It's so big it's labled Greenbelt 1, Greenbelt 2, all the way up to Greenbelt 5. Each the size of a normal mall in the US.

Since it was Sunday there were alot of Catholic Masses going on. They said that in every mall and market there is at least two masses. That's cause the people go there to shop and stop by for Mass. It's a great idea!

We had dessert at Greenbelt 5, a little shop that was yellow. I had a really bad headache, probalby from the heat and humidity. So after we all headed back. Gang's driver dropped us all off. It was a wonderfully fun day!

Now we are back at work for week 2 of the audit! Things are going pretty smoothly. I'm also getting excited about my vacation after the audit with Kevin in Australia. We are meeting in Melbourne on Saturday morning, 12 days away!

Sushi day, even for breakfast

2009-02-12T20:52:00.001-06:00

I have been eating sushi every day since I have arrived here (sometimes even twice a day)!! Breakfast is great, it's all this Chinese and Japanese food. I had Luciana take my picture this morning while enjoying my daily sushi. Don't get worried people, it's not Rob's kind of sushi, I won't be getting sick, it's all cooked :)

Don't mess with Texas!

2009-02-10T19:56:00.000-06:00

See the licence plate above the tire!!

Picture of the day - Jeepney

2009-02-09T19:25:00.000-06:00

Welcome to Manila

2009-02-08T06:58:00.003-06:00

Looking out to the pool at our hotel

We arrived in Manila last night at around 11pm. It was a long travel to get her, 1 1/2 hours to Dallas, 14 hours to Tokyo, then 4 hours to Manila and only one delay of 1 1/2 hours in Dallas. Total transit time of 19 1/2 hours plus 6 hours of layovers = fun day!!!

Our hotel is about 20 minutes from the airport and is really nice. It's called the Bellevue Manila. They have a ton of ammenities and great rooms. I'll share pictures soon :) Today (Sunday) we spent the day outside by the pool after having a great $10 massage and $5 pedicure. Then this afternoon we worked and went to the mall. The mall was huge!!! we probably didn't even see 25% of it either.

Instead or rather in addition to normal busses the Philippines sponsors the "Jeepney." They are these really cool, brightly colored stretch jeeps. A ride of around 4 kilometers will cost only 7.50 pesos (or about $0.15)!!! I'll get my own picture of these awesome vehicles later this week.

This picture is posted for Jen's enjoyment...On my Japan Airline's flight the inflight entertainment center was called Jen. The advertisement was the letters "J," "E," and "N" flying into the screen. Then it said "Jen entertainment..."J"..."E"..."N"...Jen!!!" I had to replay it again just for another laugh! ..."J"..."E"..."N"...Jen

SNOW DAY!!!

2009-01-29T13:04:00.000-06:00

Lesedi

2009-01-22T01:54:00.002-06:00

We went to the Lesedi village last night, it was a great time!! We got to enjoy their culture and experience their life. They danced and sang nearly all night for us. Here's a few pictures and I'll have a video posted soon.

Off to our preclose meeting (yes, that's a meeting about the Meeting before the Meeting)...

Shane Ryan Brown

2009-01-22T01:48:00.002-06:00

Darrick and April Brown had their baby yesterday morning, at 10:29 am (would have been 4:29pm if they were in South Africa). The little boy, Shane Ryan, weighed 8 lbs, 4ozs and was 21 inches long. The family is doing great. I'm sure I'll get a picture of all the new baby's together soon!

Inauguration in South Africa

2009-01-21T05:28:00.003-06:00

Alex, Rob and I waiting for the Inauguration
All the people watching the Inauguration

We decided to eat outside in the court yard last night so we could watch Obama get inaugurated. It was neat seeing how excited everyone else was, there was cheering and clapping from all the people in the court yard. Every one was really into it and was really excited! The coolest part to me was seeing how South African residents were so into the American political process.

The jumbo screen which we watched

Me, Rob, and Alex while Obama was taking oath.

Tonight we are going to Lesedi Village for a cultural experience. In Lesedi we will get the opportunity to see traditional homesteads of the Zulu, Xhosa, Pedi, Basotho, and Ndebele people. We will see the song and dances and get to try some traditional food from each tribe. Stay tuned for additional pictures and comments from that experience.

Last and final week

2009-01-20T08:23:00.003-06:00

Rob chillin' in the hospital...before he knew it would be a week long stay!!

We had our safari this weekend. We stayed in Sun City. I would highly recommend it to anyone in the area! We had a great time staying in the Vacation Club section. The place was amazing, 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths was more than enough space for the 6 of us! We were able to eat out for not very much money and also eat in by using the BBQ grills that they had.

We went on the safari on Sunday morning at 5:30am. It was early but worth it. We saw all kinds of animals. Be sure to click on the right link to see the pictures! Here's a couple of my favorites:

Headed back in a few days!!! YEAH!

Working...on a Sunday

2009-01-18T05:38:00.003-06:00

Now this is how you work on a Sunday...from the pool in South Africa...after your early morning safari!

Ramblings...

2009-01-16T01:08:00.003-06:00

Henry braving the STL cold!

From Drop Box

Lydia looking so freakin' cute!!!

SHORT UPDATES:

We went so Soweto last night, another suburb of Johannesburg. It was neat, very clean and nice. Had dinner and came back. We saw the wall around Nelson Mandela's house...

I'm getting ready for my 2nd weekend in Africa. We are doing a game drive and relaxing, at least that's the plan now. Rob is still in the hospital, so he's not going to be able to make it with us this weekend, which is really disappointing.

Kevin is in Iowa this week and Nebraska next. Poor Jake is home battling the bitter cold. I think we are planning on going to the Cirque Du Soleil when it comes to STL in a couple of weeks. It makes me really excited!!!

More later :)

My general observations about South Africa…

2009-01-14T15:17:00.000-06:00

Arriving here I expected it to be more like India, more 3rd world and underdeveloped. But that’s not the case. I don’t really get the feeling that I’m even in Africa. The roads that we have driven on are great, always two – four lane highways, with traffic signals and people obeying the signals. Buildings are all nice and well developed. And the scenery is nothing too exciting, normal looking trees and a few palm trees.

Food and essential prices are really low for American standards. I don’t think that we’ll ever go over our $50 per meal allowance. I have stuffed myself and ordered way too much nice food and only cost $30 per person (with two bottles of nice wine). The sea food is really fresh in South Africa and is very prevalent. We also have an abundant supply of nutritious food, not a lot of junk…except for KFC.

They drive on the opposite side of the road, like in England. And their cars and vehicles are more European.

The unemployment rate is 34%, very high. So on the way to work everyday we pass hundreds of people just sitting on the side of the road (would be like them sitting on the side of I-70). They are just waiting for someone to come by and offer to hire them for the day. Some hold up signs like “Gardener” and others hold out their thumb like they are hitching a ride. There are always 3-4 tow trucks sitting in the medians too. They sit there so they can be the first to arrive at an accident so they can work. When you pull up to stop signs or stop lights people will walk around selling goods from cell phone chargers to cold cokes, sun glasses, back packs, clothes hangers, fruit, ect.

So far what I have seen isn’t pronounced poverty like what we experienced in India. But I’m sure there will be some light shed on that side of South Africa once we visit some other places this week.

Cape Town, South Africa

2009-01-14T15:00:00.003-06:00

The group at Cape Point, the most south western point in Africa.
Baby Baboons playing next to the road

Me with the Peguins!!!

The group at the water front

We arrived in Cape Town on Friday night. Our driver from the hotel shuttled us to our suite at the Best Western Cape Town. We had a very nice unit on the ground level. It was three bedrooms, two bath. Overall I’d rank this place a 2.5-3 star place. It ran us R525 for 2 nights, which was great!!! From the hotel they offered us free shuttles to a few places around town which we took complete advantage of.

Friday night we went down to the VA Waterfront for supper. We ate at a nice Greek influenced place, The Greek Fisherman. The food was wonderful. We had the most amazing oysters I have ever had!!! They were so fresh and tasty. We got to sit outside close to the ampatheater that is there. This weekend is the Jazz Festival so we had entertainment the whole time we ate. Once it started cooling down the waitress offered everyone these warm fuzzy pink blankets.

The shuttle picked us back up and we were back to the hotel ready for bed by midnight. You could tell everyone was tired after a long week’s work.

Saturday morning we had reservations to go to Table Mountain but while the weather was amazing at sea level, there was zero visibility on top of the mountain as you can see from the photos. So instead we went down to the waterfront and looked at all the shops and stores. The Jazz Festival got started back up as we were headed back to the hotel. We did have to wait almost an hour for our shuttle to pick us back up, but we didn’t make a reservation so I guess that’s to be expected.

When we got back to the room everyone just wanted to relax. I went and laid out by the pool, wanting to get a little sun, but it was way too hot in the sun and way to cold in the shade so that didn’t last but 30 minutes. I came back in and joined the rest of my crew and took a nap.

We finished out the night by eating on the waterfront again. We ate at a sushi restaurant, this decision shaped the rest of the week for Rob!! Sunday morning he woke up with food poisoning. He ended up not getting to join us for our day of tours! To date he's still in the hospital hooked up to IV's, poor Rob!

Our tour guide picked us up and we drove all around Cape Town. We saw lots of different beaches and mountains. Each one having a special story or interesting feature, although for the life of me I can’t distinguish them in the pictures!! But we did see the most south western point in Africa, the Cape of Good Hope, poisonous snakes in the wild, Baboons, ostridges, Table mountain, and different beaches and suburbs of Cape Town. All in all it was a long busy day, but at least we got to see it all.

I wrote this really, fast and sporadically so sorry if some of it doesn’t make sense. I need a relaxing weekend. I'll post more picts to the folder at the right later, now I need sleep!!!

A Meat Supper

2009-01-07T14:04:00.004-06:00

I thought this was worthy of a post.

And here's a slide show of the fountain outside my window...

Sunshine is lifting my spirits!

2009-01-07T07:10:00.002-06:00

I don't think realized how depressed I was in St. Louis before I left. I thought I was great, what with Christmas and all the fun New Year's activities but what a cloud I must have been under. I feel like a different person since I've been here in South Africa, the sunshine is so powerful!!!

We are getting lots of work accomplished, good since that's the point of being here. No major (or minor) issues discovered yet. I really hope that this audit we don't find anything, that would be wonderful.

I've been spending my nights in the hotel room preparing for my next audit in the Philippines. Tomorrow morning we are having a pre-scoping meeting. I thought it was this morning, I got up early for it and everything. But realized I'd scheduled in on January 7th, but in STL so it's technically on the 8th in this time zone. Oh, well. I got a great run in this morning. I ran for 15 minutes straight!!! To most of you runners out there you are probably thinking that's all??? but for me that's outstanding. Normally it's all I can do to run for 5 minutes without taking a walking break. It'll be my goal this year to run a 5K. I'm targeting the Vandalia Prairy Days in September. We'll see...

I'm finalizing our plans for this weekend, Cape Town. We are going to the water front, Table Mountain, Cape Point, and Boulder Beach. There's a possibility we might do a wine tour. We'll see. Look forward to more posts and pics from South Africa!!

First post from South Africa

2009-01-06T05:20:00.002-06:00

I am enjoying warm and sunny Johannesburg, South Africa. We have been working hard the last couple of days getting situated to our surroundings. Sorry this won't be a too exciting post. But I have added a video to the right of the fountain that is outside of my room. Also there are a few pictures started in the South Africa folder to the right.

I'll leave you with a picture of me in front of the office and a promise of a more exciting post to come.

Bad Customer Service

2009-01-04T07:56:00.001-06:00

***The following post is pure ranting from a very frustrated AT&T customer (me), read at your own discretion.

To whom it may concern:

I have just had truly the worst experience with customer service representatives for AT&T lately. They have royally screwed up and (if it weren't for the iPhone) could loose my service over it. In preparation for my travels when purchasing the phone I was very clear about my requirements out of a cell phone with the rep at the store. He and I discussed all my travels and how the phone would work overseas. He told me that if I didn't want to have any data charges then to call in right before the trip and ask to place my data plan on hold. So, since he seemed to (and should) know what he was talking about I followed his recommendation.

On December 31^st, I called in to AT&T's customer service to place my data plan on hold. The woman representative that I spoke with on the phone was very, very rude and condescending saying that there was no way to place the data plan on hold, she didn't care who told me what. After listening to her talk down to me for about 5 minutes I told her that she was being very, very rude and that she needed to treated people nicer before I hung up. I called back in and got in touch with a much nicer man. He informed me that also there was no way to do that with the iPhone, but in a much nicer and understandable way. We then discussed my options and what I needed to do to make sure that my phone was operational overseas.

Fast forward two days to January 2^nd, I exited the airplane in London and discovered that my cell phone could not get any service. Immediately upon arrival in the hotel room I called AT&T. I explained the situation, figuring that I had a setting messed up on my phone or something on my end was wrong. They went through various reboots and passed me along to around 5 different individuals. Finally after one guy realized that I wasn't showing up on his network listing (duh) he said, oh you need to turn on international roaming… but I can't do it 'cause your account is younger than 90 days. So he passed me on to the "provisional desk," their words. Where, since the rep didn't explain the situation, I had to re-explain the situation for the 5^th time. She then proclaimed "Oh, yes international roaming, that means that you need this world caller plan. It costs $3/month and I have just added it to your account. Thanks for calling AT&T is there anything else tonight?" I was like "ummm, yeah it still won't work…" so again multiple reboots and discussions before she passed me on to yet another tech support rep. Again, since the rep didn't explain the situation, I had to re-explain the situation now for the 6^th time. This woman knew what she was talking about (sort of) and said that they had signed me up for the wrong plan and I needed an international roaming plan, that's what it's called, not this world caller plan." The stupid rep before signed me up for what I would need if calling other countries from the USA, not calling USA from other countries…I don't know what part of "I'm in LONDON" she didn't understand.

Then the wonderful rep at the end said if I called back tomorrow during normal business hours the problem should be resolved…WHAT??? CALL BACK???? I lost it right here. I asked why they couldn't do it now and she said that the "provisional desk is now closed." I asked if I hadn't just gotten off the phone with them, and she responded that she couldn't tell who I was transferred from but assured me that the desk was closed at 5pm (central time), it was now 6pm (AKA 2am London time) and there was no way to make it work tonight. I lost it on this poor woman, telling her about every phone call and every discussion with stupid customer service representatives for her stupid country and how out of at least 10 people I have talked to no one but her knows a damn thing about the services that they provide. I asked, am I the first customer that you've ever talked to that is going overseas and just wants there damn phone to work?????? She was really nice and understanding and calmed me down. She filed an official complaint for me with the company. Not that it will do any good but at least I feel like maybe someone will read it.

The next day I patiently waited till noon to call in which would mean that the desk was open to activate the feature needed on my phone. When I finally got to talk to a customer service rep, he said "oh, it's Saturday so the office doesn't open till 10AM…" That would mean it would be 4pm London time for me, after I was at the airport. I again lost it on this guy and just yelled for about 10 minutes. He kept repeating if there was anything he could do he would. I told him I'd like to complain to someone…anyone….just transfer me. Who does he transfer me too but tech support. So I just started from the start again about every phone call and every issue and what was she going to do to make this better. She responded turn on the international roaming….what, what?!?!?!?!?!? She could do WHAT?!?!??

Yeah, she just magically turned it on and apologized said that it had to be turned on in two places and for some reason they didn't. She said that anyone could have fixed it and it should have been fixed the very first time I called in….but instead I had this huge ordeal and all the stress to go along with it!!!!!!!!

Sincerely,

A concerned customer.

December 2008

2009-01-04T07:39:00.001-06:00

So, I'm sitting in my hotel room in London. I was supposed to meet my friend Jess today and hang out but she is really sick and unable to meet me. So I'm just stuck. I know I could go out and enjoy the town but its freakin' expensive here!!!!!!! I just don't think it's worth it to spend pounds to see a city I spent so much time in. So I'm chillin' in my hotel room till 1pm, at which time I will be kicked out for check-out and return to the airport. Luckily I can rest in the BA lounge and eat and drink for free. I very much look forward to that time. Also, by then I should be able to meet up with a colleague who is also traveling through London.

I have not properly blogged about the rest of my December. There was a lot going on since April's shower. I had many different doctor's appointments as it's that time of year. My most memorable was the dentist appointment. They got this new machine that can detect decay early in teeth. This should be a great machine, but it found 4 areas of decay in my teeth, at what point is early information too early? When they didn't even have to numb me for my fillings I started to wonder. Kevin also had his 6 month check up and they found 7 on him!!!! Crazy. But hopefully it'll pay off as we get older :)

We went to Vandalia for Millard Christmas, my mom's side of the family. I hadn't seen them since Andrew's wedding so it was really nice. Grandpa and his girlfriend came along with my uncle Rusty and his son Alex. Kevin, Laura, Andrew, Kayla, and Dad fried a turkey in the shop. Mom and grandpa's girlfriend made all the other food, it was quite a spread. Very good too! My high school friends Amy and Katie were in town that night too so I was able to catch up with them. I hadn't seen Amy since her shower for her wedding almost 3 years ago and Katie since last Christmas. It's crazy to me how a person looks change but don't change at all. They both looked great, but yet still the same!!!

The next day Jennifer, Noah, and the boys got into town so we hung out with them in the evening on Sunday and Monday. Played a few good game of cards with the family. Tuesday I spent getting ready for our 4^th annual friends holiday party. (We call it holiday because it's always around Thanksgiving and the New Year to celebrate all holidays together). The party was going to be at our house on Friday so I spent a lot of time cleaning and cooking. Then Kevin went to the ball game with the guys (Dave, Noah, and Ryan). When Kevin got home we headed back to Vandalia.

Christmas Eve was with the Shaws. We got there the night before so that we could spend a full day there. I got up early and helped Dad with some chores and mom with some cooking. Dad, Andrew, and Kayla had to spend the morning working on the new house as the electrician (or someone) was there to work on it. But shortly after lunch we got started with the gift exchange. Some of the memorable / exciting gifts included a Wii for mom, row boat for Andrew, multiple gifts for the un-born baby, books for both Laura and Kayla, a home-made quilt for Kevin (from Laura), BBQ grill for Dad, and I got the picture frame system from Pottery Barn that I've wanted for years from mom and dad!!!! The gifts were all very thoughtful and great. We had enough time to play with the Wii for about an hour before we headed out to church and grandmas.

At Grandmas, I got to see the cousins and family that I haven't seen for a long time. Sara was there and I hadn't seen her for 2 years or more. We were missing Ali, she can't travel home from Chicago as she's too close to her due date. So far there will be 3 new additions to the family this year (Ali, Kayla, and Carrie). And it's not too late to have more! We got some cute pictures of the 2005 additions. There were 4 girls born that year and Kevin was added! That's the record so far! We'll see if 2009 can't surpass that!

Christmas morning Kevin and I got up and headed over to the McAlister's. We got started around 10 with the presents. Memorable /exciting gifts included clothes for me, garage door opener for Kevin, Wii accessories for Ryan, Saw for Noah, kitchen aid mixer for Jennifer, cloths and purse for Grandma Dorothy, candle and movie passes for Elaine, and Ladder for Dave. The kids got games and clothes too. We then worked on lunch. We had the usual feast around 1pm, this year with out the ham. After lunch we just chilled, the boys, Kevin and I took naps and everyone else watched a movie. We started a new card game around 7pm and when Whitney and Ryan showed up we restarted it. Whitney had to work so was unable to join the festivities till late.

All in all the two days of Christmas was great. To me it's more about the family fellowship than the presents. I wish there was more time that we could all get together and just hang out. But usually there's always something to do.

Friday was our 4^th annual holiday party. Kevin and I brined a turkey then roasted it. I made mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, rolls all homemade! Then with all the appetizers and food that others brought we had enough to feed a small army. Lisa got to come, her last day in MO before heading back to sunny Florida, unfortunately Andy didn't get to come but maybe next time. Katie and April came from Columbia, with no husbands either. Darrick was hunting (not excused) and Jason was working (excused). The Brakensiek clan came (Jill, Fred, and Henry) along with the VanSckyndel clan (Leah, Matt, Nicholas, and Lydia). Mike came and brought his "new" girlfriend (I hadn't ever met her). Then the rest of the crew, Matt (with out girlfriend Lisa), Russ, and Tim. The only other people that didn't make it were Mandy and Mike. Even Ryan and Whitney showed up.

I had made games that the group was willing participant in to play. We played a Christmas Song Trivia game and Christmas family feud. All boy vs girl teams. The Girl's won the first game (trivia) with the Boy's winning the second (feud). Everyone was great sports with the games. After the boys went down and played ping pong, flippy cup, and finished with beer pong.

Saturday I got to spend some quality time with Lisa before we took her to the airport. It's nice to just get to sit around and talk!! Then we ran her to the airport and went to the mall before heading to Fast Eddie's. Mike wanted to get the St. Charles County Fair folks together. Some showed up. But we had a great time. That's an amazing place. We had 99 cent hamburgers and brats and 29 cent peel and eat shrimp. The beer is cheap too $2.50/bottle. Great place!!

Sunday we just recuperated from all the fun!! This last week we painted the kitchen, Kevin went on a hunting trip, and I tried to finish my long list of things to do before I left. I cooked 27 meals for Kevin to freeze for the time that I'm gone. He has pot pies, pizza sandwiches, turkey noodle casserole, Sicilian meat loaf, and spaghetti.

New Years was pretty uneventful. We hung out with some work friends and was home by 1:30 with a stop at the Waffle House.

2008 Summary

2009-01-01T13:49:00.004-06:00

Going into the new year, first I've been taking a look back at 2008. There has been a lot of growing that I have done both personally and professionally. I this year I have

traveled to 11 different countries (India, Argentina, France, Great Britian, Spain, Canary Islands, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands, and Czech Republic),
flown more than 60,000 miles,
been away from home more than 120 days of the year (over 34%)

Kevin and I have passed some new milestones:

We became an uncle and aunt again, with Nathan being born in February.
We celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary.
We vacationed in Argentina and attended a friends wedding in Florida.

This has been the year of the duck for Kevin. He has caught the duck hunting fever! This year he has taken 2 hunting trips in addition to the normal early morning draw-ins in the local area. Here's a picture from his most recent trip. Kevin and 5 buddies took the corporate jet to Stuttgart, Arkansas to the company duck farm. They had a great time!!

We are both looking forward to this new year. 2009 will bring on more travel (at least 5 more countries), exciting vacation (diving in Australia), new job(s), more babies, and of course lots of fun at the lake and in the pool.
Stay tuned for news from the latest trip. I leave for South Africa tomorrow morning!

Christmas vacation has started!!!!

2008-12-16T07:24:00.002-06:00

It's official, I'm on holiday. My Christmas vacation officially started yesterday at 5 pm. I'm not quite sure what I'll be doing with myself for the next three weeks but I know I'll have fun. I still have a few things to finish up with work around a big project I just completed, but other wise it'll be cleanning the house, laundry and most importantly scrapbooking!

Since I last wrote I have been busy with Jill's shower, Thanksgiving, April's shower, an nasty illness, work, work, and work. Oh, and Jill had her baby. So first off, Jill's shower. For those who don't know Jill was my roommate all through college and who I went to England with for 3 months. Her shower was in her church just down the road. Jennifer and Laura (her sister-in-laws) did all the organization and planning, I just made cup cakes :) She got lots of great gifts!! It was a big shower probably close to 30 people were there.

For Thanksgiving we went to Illinois. First we stayed with Kevin's grandma Dorothy on Wednesday night (after spending all day picking up Kevin's new truck). Then Thursday we went to Kevin's other grandparents for the day. We had our normal Thanksgiving dinner then gift exchange. We headed back to Dorothy's house that night again. Friday morning after a quick stop at Wal-Mart for some Christmas shopping we headed to the Summy's.

Friday night we spent a the Summy's and enjoyed our favorite restaurant, Salvatories. It was nice to spend some quality time with them. Getting to see Ethan and Kierstyn was really fun. Ethan was so sweet to me, napped in my lap and was fun to play with. Kierstyn is just such a happy baby. We left on Saturday as both Kevin and I had lots of work to get done.

Some where that weekend I picked up a really nasty cold. I have been sick since Thanksgiving. I missed 3 days of work, and have felt horrible. But I'm getting better now. FINALLY!!

Next was April's shower (April is also a college friend). It was smaller, as it was for just the local people. We had a great time though. We rented out a meeting room at the Drury Inn in Columbia (where our friend Katie is the GM). Our activity was decorating onesies. It was a blast. Everyone picked sayings or pictures to put on their little onesie so April went home with over 20 decorated onesies in addition to her great gifts. After the shower some of us went to Jason's restaurant. Katie's husband is the chef at Farradday's. It was nice for all of us to get together, it was Kevin and I, Katie, April and Darrick, and Jill and Fred. The food was amazing. I was sick and probably shouldn't have been there, but I couldn't miss it!

The very next day after April's shower Jill gave birth to Henry Oscar!! He decided to come about two weeks early. Kevin and I went to see him this weekend and he is so cute! Looks just like Fred. Both Mom and Dad are doing great.

I'll upload pictures soon, my computer has been broken so I'm going to focus on getting that fixed.

It's the second week of deer camp...

2008-11-22T16:14:00.002-06:00

Kevin sings this song..."it's the second week of deer camp..." and for some reason that's in my head...probably because it's the second weekend of deer season in mid-MO. I opted to stay home this weekend because I feel like I never get to be home. I have been cleaning the house though so maybe I made the wrong decision!
No, last night was a big night for me. I made the plung and got my new cell phone. I'm so excited to finally have the new iPhone. It's great. It has taken me a while to get it all set up and working but I love it. I loaded 1260 song up and a few pod cast. I will have to figure out how to load up some movies before my next trip abroad!
I have 20/20 vision now, thanks to my Lasik vision surgery. My eyes are red and bruised still but feel great. I would recommend the surgery to anyone who is thinking about it. But do note that it’s not as easy as everyone will lead you to believe. It is almost torturous…without all the details the total time is around 15 minutes and there is lots of pressure on your eyes. No real pain, just lots of pressure. The 4 hours after the surgery have to be the worst. Your eyes are so full of tears that they feel like they are going to blow up. But in the end everything is great and you can finally see without the help of contacts or glasses.
Headed to IL next week to visit friends and family. Hope everyone has a safe and filling turkey season!!

Summary post

2008-11-02T13:17:00.003-06:00

So I have posted now 4 entries today, so make sure to read below...here's a summary:

Decision 2008--my voting decision and how I got there
Halloween 2008 --pics and post about our halloween party last night
Prague--pics from my weekend in Prague

Also, this morning Kevin and I worked with getting Jake to be a hunting dog. He was scared out of his mind but he did bring the bird back. It was trial and error. He doesn't like the gun!! In fact I just went to look for him and he was hiding in the basement b/c Kevin is outside target practicing. Here are some pics though.

Decision 2008

2008-11-02T13:08:00.002-06:00

So, I'm sitting here at my computer on this beautiful, sunny Sunday morning trying to figure out who and what I'll be voting for on Tuesday. I have just finished reading my friend Matt's blog (linked to the left) and thought his synopsis was great. Here is your fair warning that you are about to enter my thought process on how I'll be voting…if you don't like it, I don't care. It's my decision…at least I'm not shoving my opinions on you by emailing you all the time! You can make the decision now or at any time to stop reading.

First of all, growing up in a Christian family, in rural Missouri, in middle class working America, I was raised Republican. I was not aware that I was republican prior to going to college. I had a very republican room mate who taught me most of what I know about party lines and took me to my first political rally. You may think this means that my vote is already spoken for. But it is not. This year is a big year. We have a lot of things going on in the political forum and in the world that needs change. Which candidate can bring that to us? I have read and researched a lot in the last months and am willing to share that with you now.

I was reminded by the bell boy in Belgium how important this election is. He told me that we are not only voting for the betterment of America but also the rest of the world and that I should not take this decision lightly. I am not. I am very serious about this election. I do not just believe the things said in the debates, the paid commercials, or the paid 30 minute TV spots. So, I don't believe everything that comes out of either party's mouth during this election. They both exaggerate and sometimes tell flat out lies trying to get the American vote.

The issues out there are what are going to make up my mind. So here's my 2,000+ word view of the candidates and their policies…

Money Talks…

There's the federal deficit, taxes, and the economy. The federal deficit will not be eliminated during anyone's 4 year term I don't care what they claim. The newest estimate has the nation's debt being at $2.3 trillion by 2018. Estimates say that both candidates tax package proposals would add debt not eliminate it. But the basics are that Obama's tax proposals will only help the low income people. I'm sorry. I have worked very, very hard to accomplish what I have in my short 25 years of life. I am not about to hand out my hard earned income to low income, less fortunate people.

I have had to work for everything that I had. I attended and finished college in order to get a great job. College wasn't easy either. I had to compete with all of these low income and "diverse" people for scholarships and places at the university. I was at a disadvantage because of being white and because my family owned a combine and tractors. I'm sorry but those combines and tractors weren't being sold to pay my college tuition! I tutored a lot of these "less advantaged" students, some which were great. But others had no appreciation, they thought they "were owed" everything they got just because of their race or because their parents couldn't afford tuition.

But I digress…the tax plans. Under Obama's plan Kevin and I would be losing more of our income than under the McCain plan. It is in black and white from a non partisan evaluation by the USA today. I'm sorry but Kevin and I are a long way from "Rich." And if that's where Obama classifies us then there is something wrong with this picture. I would consider us middle class, and I feel we are doing okay. We bought a house that we can afford and are trying to limit our debt. If all middle classers did that then we wouldn't be in such a state of economic despair. So be smart people…it's your money, your debt, and your problem if you can't handle your finances!! Obama speaks of "relief for the middle class" how about a tutorial on how to budget and figure out what kind of mortgage or debt you can afford, not hand outs for when they run into problems. I'm okay with paying a bit more in taxes if it goes for the betterment of the entire economy, such as helping to reduce the deficit. Not if it goes directly into the tax rebates given to individuals who haven't worked as hard as I have. McCain favors growing the opportunity for all Americans while Obama is concerned with spreading the wealth around and controlling who gets a piece of my "pie."

Abortion

I am very, very Pro-Life. I believe the life starts at conception and just as it is illegal to take a life after birth, it should be illegal before birth. Obama said "A woman's ability to decide how many children to have and when, without interference from the government, is one of the most fundamental rights we possess. It is not just an issue of choice, but equality and opportunity for all women." I ask then, if a woman who has 5 children decides that she only wants 3 can she then choose to only have 3?? I agree that a woman should have the choice on how many children and when, but that choice should come before sex. After, you have made you bed and should sacrifice to take care of it. McCain would prohibit public funding of abortions and public funding of organizations to promote or perform abortions.

War

I do believe we are there for a reason and we aren't finished yet. I do not think that everything has been done correctly the entire time that we have been there. But we are there, we are making a difference, and we are not finished. We need to figure out what our future is, have a plan for what the foreseeable future holds. We do not need a president whose only concern is getting out now. We need one with military background who knows a thing or two about war, someone who can design an exit strategy, one that the American people can trust when it comes to the war. I don't believe that the American public needs a step by step outline of what the exit strategy is, but I want someone I can trust to do the job.

I trust McCain's war record and his service. I think that as a military leader he'll be great for this country in this war time.

Business and Labor

Obama supports unions and the right to strike. I have a fundamental problem with unions and the effect that it has on the economy in this day in age. I do believe that there was a place for the unions in the past. But today, we are operating more in free markets, basic supply and demand. What we don't need now is a bunch of workers going on strike to demand higher pay. If the company doesn't want to pay the workers what they think they deserve then the worker should go and find employment that he believes is more fitting. This is true supply and demand. Then if the company is losing all their workers to better, higher paying jobs, then they will in turn start paying more for their labor. But a union organizing the strike it drives up the cost of goods artificially, which then hurts our economy.

McCain's plan is to focus more on education, trade barriers for US companies, and reforming the unemployment insurance system. Hand's down McCain has it right. By reducing barriers to trade there will be a more level global playing field. By focusing on education, American workers will become more competitive. The detail that McCain puts into the unemployment insurance system shows me he knows how to make it work.

Obama's tax increases would come at the wrong time for the American workforce. Small businesses just trying to make it ends meet would fall into his tax increases. To bring the term "small business" home that's my family. My family operates a small family owned farming business and Obama's tax plan would kill them, at a time when the economy is already tough. McCain is focused more on creating jobs, ensuring our nation's energy security and reigning in governments budgets and spending. This would bring relief to American consumers.

Other issues

I do not believe in either candidate's health care or energy policies but am not entirely worried because I don't think that either candidate, if elected president, could act on their plans.

Religion is another major issue for me. But with no hard core evidence about what Obama believes it's hard. He has listed his religion as both Islam and United Church of Christ but won't commit or stand up for either. Why not? I don't want a president who doesn't know what he believes in or knows but won't publically stand up for it. That is such a big part of who you are. So is Obama a Muslim or Christian?? It's anyone's guess.

As far as campaign contributions, where is Obama getting his money? That 30 minute TV commercial that he bought and paid for??? Who really paid for that? Does he or someone else need him to be president so bad that they would resort to paid infomercials? I don't need or want a president that behaves in that manner.

As for the vice-presidential nominees, what were they thinking?!? Once the vps were announced we should have all gone back to the drawing board and started over. I mean Biden and Palin?!? Biden is an idiot and Palin is a soccer mom (not that I'm against mom's being in the VP position but I don't think that the position is right for her at this point in her life). Plain and simple neither one belong in that position.

Overall Thoughts

I admit that McCain lacks in the "showiness of his message" but frankly the smooth talking Obama doesn't impress me. So what he can talk and give a great speech. But can he handle bi-partisan compromises or is it "his way or the highway"?? I have read news articles, watched commercials, read both party's websites, watched the debates and frankly, I think Obama is all show, lacking detail. If I could take Obama's charisma and put McCain's head and heart into it then I would vote for that person. But the fact is that McCain can't articulate his thoughts as well. But he can act on them and that is what really matters in a president.

Obama is definitely more socialist than I would like. Making everything "equal" for everyone completely goes against the American Dream. Instead of spreading the wealth around like Obama favors let's focus on spreading the opportunity that McCain favors. Obama speaks a good message of driving change, but I just don't think he can do it nor does he have my best interest at heart.

The next president won't have time to get used to being in office or in charge; the American public needs a president now. The lack of experience of Obama scares me. I know Palin is lacking too, but she's not running for president. I need a president now with a record I can trust and for me that's McCain. He has the record of standing up for what he believes in and getting things done. Obama doesn't.

Despite my wavering throughout this election period (yes there was a time when I thought I would vote for Obama) I will be voting for McCain and Palin in this election. But if you wish to write my name in I'll do my best to support the issues as I see them J I'd be a great president!!

Halloween 2008

2008-11-02T09:02:00.002-06:00

I've been back now for a couple of days but they have been hard. For some reason it's been hard to get used to this time change. We attended Dustin and Wendy's Halloween party Saturday night. It was a ton of fun!

Wendy had all kinds of food and fun planned for us the whole night. We played Halloween Pictionary, Name that Halloween or Scary Movie, and Wrap your Mummy!! The games were all a lot of fun. Then there was the costume contest. Every one played along and came dressed up. Kevin and I ended up winning!!

We actually left pretty early as I could hardly stay awake after 10pm. But hey that's two hours later than the past two nights!!

So I'm home for a while, YEAH!!

Pics from Prague...and my first post in the USA!!

2008-11-02T09:00:00.001-06:00

Here are some of the pics that I have from Prague. It was a great touristy city. Definitly worth seeing. Enjoy!

Quick Week

2008-10-30T03:45:00.002-05:00

We made it out of our weekend unscathed...late but ok. Prague was really amazing. The history and architecture there is really something. We got to see all the important sites in Prague over the last weekend. My only disappointment was how touristy it was. But that's probably to be expected since it is the 6th mos visited city in Europe.

We met up with Chad, Erin, and Cyeria for a fun filled weekend. It was really cold in Prague so we had to drink the hot mulled wine from the street vendors to stay warm. I also had to invest in a scarf and gloves. Saturday we went on a tour. The tour wasn't great at all, but at least we got to see everything. Then Saturday night we went to a concert. It was in this historic concert hall and was mainly violins but other string instruments too playing Mozart. We all had a great time. Sunday we did more sight seeing and shopping before heading back to the airport.

We all got loaded on the planes and then they announced that our flight was canceled due to fog. So we all went to the transfer desk where the crowd just got larger and larger. Stacey and I got put on the first flight out on Monday and free hotel voucher. Chad, Cyeria, and Erin booked theirs through Monsanto (probably what we should have done). Everyone was pushing and shoving and butting in line. The raise in our blood sugar was not worth it!! Then the free hotel they gave us was, surprise, surprise, disgusting!! So we move to the hotel with the others at the airport.

The next morning (Monday) our flight out was at 7am so the airport was packed at 5:30. But our flight was delayed another hour to ensure that people made it on the plane because of the lines. We arrived at the office later that morning and completed the audit. We then worked on our report late into the night and the whole next day (Tuesday). But we closed the audit yesterday and are headed home now.

I am in the British Airways lounge in the Brussels airport. Our flight leaves in one more hour. I'll be home tonight by 5pm hopefully!! I know I have received a ton of emails lately from everyone, sorry I haven't responded or posted earlier but it's been a hectic week!! I'll post the pictures soon from Prague.

So long to Europe, for a while at least!!

CHEESE

2008-10-23T04:12:00.003-05:00

FROMAGE, QUESO, KAAS, KASE, FORMAGGIO, QUEIJO...CHEESE...

So it seems that ever since I have started on this most recent trip to Europe I can't get enough cheese. It tastes so good here. They have all kinds of special cheese that I don't get at home. Sure you can easily get good mozzarella, but not the amazing Buffalo Mozzarella with amazing pesto drizzled on top.

For breakfast every morning I get ready by telling myself, "You don't need the cheese sandwich this morning, it'll be there tomorrow if you need it then..."

But inevitably I get to the buffet breakfast and realize that there are 5 different kinds of cheeses and that I need to try them just incase they aren't here tomorrow...

I have cheese salads, cheese and baguette sandwiches, cheese appitizers, everything cheese!!! But amazingly enought with all this cheese I don't think I'm doing too bad on the diet. I got on the scale at the gym (yes there is time for the gym amongst all this cheese) and it took me a minute to register that it was telling me my weight in Kilograms but after a quick google search i was pleasently surprised!

So here's to Cheese, Fromage, Queso, Kaas, Kase, Formaggio, Queijo or what ever other language you know how to say cheese in!!

Weekend in Zurich

2008-10-21T14:30:00.002-05:00

We had a great time in Zurich!! We got to stay with one of Stacey's friend's Erin. She very gratiously opened her apartment to the both of us and took us out with her friends. Friday night we got in and then went out. We headed out to a "new" bar (everything was really new to us, but this was even new to them) but not before having the worlds best bratweirst at a little outside stand.

We arrived back "home" around 3:30AM. It's been quite a while since I've been out that late, but it was fun. The next morning Stacey and I split up. She went to the mountains while I went into the city. After a short nap we got ready to go out again that evening.

We had one of the best meals that I have had so far this trip. It was at a spanish themed restaurant. After which we went out to a "favorite" bar of the group. It was this 25 and up club that's only open on Saturdays. It was a fun place, but seeing as we were out so late the night before we were dog tired! So Stacey and I headed out early.

Sunday it was travel, travel, travel. We headed south to Geneva via a 3 1/2 hour train then took a 2 hour flight and arrived in Barcelona. On Monday we realized that there was a larger need for us to be in Brussels, so we left this afternoon. Stacey and I have arrived in Brussels where we'll work for till Thursday. This weekend we will be in Prague. Very exciting!

Thanks all for reading!!

Our week in Morges...

2008-10-17T01:36:00.006-05:00

We had a great week in Morges. We have had great weather and have gotten to see a lot! First I did mention a little about out hotel in the last post, but it is situated right along the promenade by the lake. We are overlooking a very old yacht club that was built in the 17th century. We have a great view of the lake and the Savoy Alps. The rooms are the tiniest that I have ever been in. a small twin bed and desk that you can bearly walk in-between. In the bathroom you actually have to put your feet in the shower to sit on the potty. But it was very nice and around 150 CFS (which is around $125) per night.

Along our walk to work everyday, 250 steps total they tell us, we walk past the Morges Castle which was built in 1286 and is nicely restored to house several military museums. The walk also takes us through a very well kept park along a creek that trickles along back to the lake. This place is duck heaven. There are ducks everywhere!! I have been able to sleep at night with my window open and they keep me awake every night. I know I could close the window but how often to you get to go to sleep to ducks??

Also the office is along the same rode as a winery. We are located in one of the largest wine producing cantons (states) of Switzerland, Morges is the capital of Vaud wines. So everytime we walk out of the office we see tractors with wagons of grapes taking them in to the winery. Even sitting in a windowless conference room I can hear them driving down the road, it's quite a sight to see!

We have had a pretty relaxing week most nights, it's hard to find some place to eat or anything to do at night because everything closes down at 6 or 7. Since we didn't leave work till around 7 we ended up eating at the hotel 3 nights this week.

Wednesday was a pretty eventful day. There were a bunch of VIP's in the office so we got to attend a town hall. Then Stacey and I ran out for lunch. We walked just down from the office where the "old town" is (pedestrian streets). There was a market set up, apparently every Wednesday and Saturday. It was really cute!

We ate lunch at this little outdoor cafe. None of the waitresses spoke English so we thought we'd just point to what we wanted on the menue (also in French). I have gotten okay with reading french menues--at least the veggies. So I pointed at the salad that the girl next to me had and said "Coke-lite" (their version of a diet coke). Stacey pointed to an item on the menu and said "tea." The poor waitress then started asking us all kinds of questions, in french...which we had no idea what she was saying so we just said "yeah-sure?!?" Pretty soon she brings me out this little tiny salad that looked nothing like the girl next to me and both of us a raspberry tea ??!!?? We had no idea what happened...so I eat it and just thought I'd order something else. Then she brings Stacey's salad and a sandwich for me...it was on thick bread (like texas toast) with melted white cheese, ham and pinneapple. Apparently I had ordered the special some how?? After lunch we thought we'd walk down the other street and try to find some chocolate. We found some! so each had a trouffle for dessert, then it was back to the office.

That night Annemie, a financial analyst in the office here, took us to Laussanne (about a 10 minute train/car ride away). Laussanne is where she lives so she showed us her appartment then took us down town. We went to her favorate bar for a drink before heading to the beautiful church (Cathedral of Laussanne) then to supper. She also took us to her favorite restaurante which was Italian. we had really great food! Then she pointed us in the direction of the train station and we got back to Morges around 11:30.

Laussanne was quite a bit bigger than Morges so there was more people out and about and more restaurants open. It was cool getting to see how the "locals" live. Annemie is actually an ex-pat from Belgium but she's more local than we are.

This morning the sun rise was beautiful out my window. I have tried to capture it in some photos as I walked to work this morning. Tonight after work Stacey and I are headed to Zurich, about a 3 hour train ride away. We are going to stay with Stacey's old coworker from KPMG. I think our plans will be to head to the Alps on Saturday, if we get good weather. So hopefully I'll have some more breathtaking pictures to pass along come Monday!

Everyone have a safe and fun weekend, enjoy the fall weather since I'm not there to do it!

Arriving in Morges

2008-10-12T14:36:00.004-05:00

Our flight left Saturday afternoon for Switzerland. We stopped in Chicago and London first though. After 12 hours on airplanes and 5 hours in the airport lounges we finally made it with not much sleep!

From 2008 October Europe Trip

We arrived in Morges this afternoon. After checking into our hotel we took short naps and then headed out to walk around. We are situated right on the Lake Geneva. It's so beautiful. Here are a few pics...

From 2008 October Europe Trip

That's our hotel from a little down.

From 2008 October Europe Trip

and finally...

From 2008 October Europe Trip

This is the bug spray that comes standard with the hotel room!! No screens on the windows probably do contribute to a bug problem. More posts to come soon :)

Shaw Farms Trip

2008-10-10T11:04:00.002-05:00

My entire team got the opportunity to take a trip out to Shaw Family farms yesterday. We had a great time! I think everyone learned a lot. My parents, brother and Kevin did a wonderful job informing everyone and keeping the day running smoothly. We had a few bug bites (Stacey got "bit" by a corn boar, or so she says) but a very safe and fun time.

The long day started out with the group arriving via a people mover. They played games on the bus so arrived ready! Then we broke up into two different groups and half stayed at the shop to listen to Dad and I present about farming decisions and financial information while the other half when to Gary's for a combine show and ride. Kevin also showed how grain get's into the bins and is stored.

Now I'm trying to get myself ready to leave. I leave on Saturday at 3pm for Switzerland. So the travel posts will continue soon.

For the love of Bacon!!!!

2008-10-05T18:58:00.003-05:00

Kevin and I were slightly concerned with what to do with the 1/2 hog that we just purchased from one of the Bailey boy's. Oh, but don't worry...we didn't have to worry for long, I found a great site. Check it out if you are ever at a loss for what to do with the pork in your freezer...

http://blog.theotherwhitemeat.com/2008/08/100-fun-ways-to.html

PORK....THE OTHER WHITE MEAT!!

Summy-McAlister Reunion

2008-10-05T18:24:00.000-05:00

We meet up with the Summy's and one Reimer's at the Lake this weekend. We had a great time just hanging out. Friday night we were so excited to get together that we went out after they got into town (after 10pm) at Pecker's the duling piano bar. Then Saturday morning the boys started early fishing. Caught a little but not too many. Jen and I went shopping and bummed around during the day. Then we all got ready to go out and had a great night, except for Reimer's tummy problems :(

It was nice to have a relaxing weekend with friends!

2009 (Sept 08 - Aug 09) Audit Travel Schedule

2008-10-05T18:12:00.002-05:00

13 Oct - 31 Oct Switzerland, Spain, Czeck Republic, Belgium

1 Nov - 31 Dec HOME

01 Jan - 23 Jan South Africa

24 Jan - 7 Feb HOME

09 Feb - 27 Feb Philippines

27 Feb - 10 Mar Australia (with Kevin)

11 Mar - 19 Apr HOME

20 Apr - 8 May Brazil

9 May - 30 June HOME

30 Jun - 18 July Farmer City, IL

19 July - 31 Aug HOME

*** This is mearly ment as a rough outline of my trips exact dates have not been finalized. Return at a later date for exact travel arrangements!!***

How to keep an idiot busy...

2008-09-29T19:43:00.004-05:00

Well, if you clicked on the link above it is a lot easier then one would think!! But this idiot has been busy lately, too busy to update her blog...so here's another two weeks wrapped up in one post...

I got to go to MU's business career fair to recruite last Friday. There was lots of great recruites interested in our company. I can hardly wait to find out what happens after the interviews!! But I won't be able to be there since I'll be in Europe.
After the career fair, Jake and Kevin picked me up to head to the lake. We wanted one more weekend (or day in this case) that we could go and hang out. It was nice and piecefull. We took a boat ride down to C&C's place. Jake had lots of fun chasing the ducks and tennis balls.

We had Leah's baby shower on the 20th. I have some great pictures from that event.

Darrick and April graciously opened up their house to the group and we had quite the crowd. In attendance: Leah, Matt, Nicholas, Katie, Mandy, Jill, Fred, Matt S, Kevin, Me, Darrick, April, Brook, and Perry (and their son who's name I can't remember). It was a great crowd. The boys played with their guns outside while us girls had lots of baby discussions!! That night we stayed at the Farm in Mexico so that Kevin could work on his deer stand on Sunday. Oh, and Sunday night we got to go see Dark Knight which was great.

Last week was crazy busy for me and Kevin at work. He has spent almost 3 weeks in Iowa now so not too much time together, but his projects are almost finished up there so soon he'll be home. I had a presentation to give, audit to complete, and plane tickets to purchase. I booked over 25 flights last week (no I haven't purchased them all yet but they are on hold).

This weekend was great. Kevin got home at 5 o'clock on Friday night. Just in time for us both to get some well deserved massages. We went to Massage Envy for a couples massage then home for a pop corn supper and movies. I made it till about 11 o'clock while Kevin stayed up working till around 1:30 AM. Saturday we got up and went to Vandalia to spend time with the family for Dad's birthday.
We got to see an update on the new house, it looks great. Andrew and Kayla (and Dad) are doing a great job on it!! Kayla's looking more and more preggers every time I see her, but still beautiful! Chris got to show off his new truck, even though it is a Dodge it is really, really nice! Laura caught me up on school and quilting.

Saturday night we finished up another movie then sat in the hot tub for a little while before bed. Sunday we got up and decided that we wanted to go to Six Flags. We called Ma and Pa McAlister to join us and they came over so we could all go to Six Flags. We drive the 45 min drive over there only to find out that the park was closed for a Private Event...AB family day...

After much negotiation, they wouldn't let us in, so we went home. Now they are at the top of my list to right a bad letter to, right behind American Airlines and the Tan Co (all other stories).
So we just spent the day swimming in the pool and playing badmitten. Oh and Red Lobster!

Today consisted of a great day of working from home, taking Jake to the Vet, and keeping turtles out of the pool.

long time no post....

2008-09-08T21:22:00.005-05:00

Since the last post life has been really crazy. Work, driving, having fun! The last week in August was the Audit Seminar with work. We all got together as a group and learned a lot (and had fun). After the golf tournament Kevin and I headed down to the Lake for Labor Day weekend. Then Sunday we headed to Vandalia to hang out with my family. Monday we ended up taking their boat out to Mark Twain Lake.
We had that boat loaded down, 7 people, 2 coolers, 5 skiis, and twice as many life jackets as we needed! But it was a great time!! Here's some great shots...

Tuesday Kevin and I headed north for Iowa. Kevin went to work and I stayed with the Summy's. I finally got to see "Sissy." She is adorable. And E-man is growing like crazy!! Jen is back to her normal self and was great company. I spent some time with my Monsanto people then Jen picked me up and it was Summy time. We did a lot of nothing...but it was great! On Wendesday night Kevin made it out to supper with the gang. We went to Salvatories for pizza. It was a great ending to my trip. I can't stop smiling about how great my Summy time was, long waited, long needed.

Then after some peach canning, cooking, baking, and cleaning we headed back to the lake again this past weekend. Jake has had a blast there. He loves to chase the ducks and run around on the docks. LOVES it! Saturday we hung out with the Chancelors then they came over for supper and a game of Risk. No one ended up winning Risk, it lasted 4 hours before we called it a night. Now it's a full week of work before we either head to the Lake again or stay here and hang with friends and family.

Jake and Newman wanting into the camper (too tired after all the swimming).

Another amazing weekend

2008-08-25T21:49:00.003-05:00

Once again we had a great weekend. We started out by going down to our "new" place at the Lake of the Ozarks. Kevin and I just bought a camper that's on a leased lot at the 28 mile marker of the Lake. We went down on Thursday night and got things situated for Labor day weekend.

From the Lake we went to Van Buren for a float down the Current River. We had a total of 28 people attend, Russ did a great job planning! It was a little far away but a nice float! Jake got to go and he loved it. He's still trying to recover!! Here are some of the highlights:

Kierstyn Jennifer Summy

2008-08-15T14:32:00.000-05:00

Kierstyn Jennifer Summy
Born August 5, 2008
7lbs 13oz and 20inches

The happy Summy family (of 4!!!)

Special thanks to Jen for letting me steal these pictures (without her knowledge) from her myspace and facebook pages.

Kevin and I are supper excited for them and can't wait to get up to visit them soon! She is so cute with all that hair :)

DOLLY!!!

2008-08-15T13:06:00.000-05:00

Last night Kevin took me to see Dolly, that's right Dolly Parton. She was amazing!!! It was an unbelievable concert. Definitly ranks in my top 5. She played a good mix of oldies and new tracks.
She was in concert at the Fox theater in STL. While the venue was amazing, very historic, it didn't lend well to a country concert of one of the most successful female country music starts. I was slightly disappointed in the energy level of the audience. I expected standing ovations and cheers, cameras flashing, you know the typical excitement. But there were no cameras allowed and it seemed a more formal affair.
I loved the fact that Dolly talked to us in between songs, told stories about the songs and some of her history. She played the guitar, bass guitar, autoharp, banjo, fiddle, harmonica, pennywhistle and another instrument I'm not sure what it is.
If you wikipedia her is says she plays:
Parton plays the autoharp, banjo, drums, dulcimer, guitar, fiddle and piano.
But from her concert I'd say she actually plays more!

Getting ready for this big concert I have actually learned a lot about Dolly through research. There are a lot of Dolly fans out there with various websites devoted to her. I definitly admire her talents as well as her good natured attitude. Some trivia I'll leave you with:

"If I see something sagging, bagging, and dragging, I’m going to nip it, tuck it, and suck it!" and "It takes a lot of money to look this cheap." --Dolly Parton said during her concert

Parton has turned down several offers to pose for Playboy magazine and similar publications, although she did appear on the cover of Playboy magazine's October 1978 issue wearing a Playboy Bunny outfit, complete with ears

The association of breasts with Parton's public image is illustrated in the naming of Dolly the Sheep after her, since the sheep was cloned from a cell taken from an adult ewe's mammary gland.

Dolly Parton is mentioned in the remix of the song Lolipop by Lil' Wayne. In the song, Kanye West sings, "Lollipop lollipop breasts just like Dolly Parton" referring to Parton's rather large breasts. (on my top playlist right now!)

Dolly is the godmother of singer and actress Miley Cyrus. And appears regularly on the Disney show, Hannah Montana, as "Aunt Dolly."

Dolly has 12 brothers and sisters.

She has been married to Carl Dean for 42 years after meeting her first day in Nashville after moving there the day after her high school graduation.

And she has obtained way too many awards to even think about mentioning!

All in all I couldn't have asked for a better night with Dolly!!

McAlister Family Camping/Boating

2008-08-14T15:22:00.000-05:00

Slide show of Family Camping/Boating trips. See pictures via link to left :)

The Summy's

2008-08-05T07:32:00.000-05:00

So I've been trying to be a good friend and get my pics uploaded but I never quite get it accomplished. I know tonight will be no different with my busy schedule. So I decided to take 5 minutes and just post the pics of the Summy's. The rest of the Lake trips will have to wait till I have time to be more creative but I know Jen has been anticipating these...

Getting a water shot of the family was hard, sorry Jen but this was the best one

Ethan in our boat

Jen in Party Cove

Me and Jen in party cove

Tucker (or sucker as Ethan likes to call him) in Party Cove

Ethan in Party Cove

Casa McAlister

2008-08-04T12:51:00.000-05:00

Kevin and I have been struggling with "to RV or not to RV." We decided last night...not to RV. But look at this amazing set up we have created! Yes, that's an air conditioner in our tent. Last night, by way of some good coaching notes from this website, we made some purchases:

$99 New Coleman 7-8 man tent from Target

$97 New 5K btu A/C from Wal Mart

"High Tech Primative Camping" Priceless!!

Other addtions to our camping gear last night included the long anticipated new airmatress. We were so in the mood that we purchased a new queen size air matress with a stand, so no more sleeping on the floor. Also invested in a light for the tent and new sheets.

***Check back for a review after this weekend's camping trip with the McAlister family.***

Three weeks, Three trips to the Lake of the Ozarks

2008-08-04T12:30:00.000-05:00

Three weeks, Three trips to the Lake of the Ozarks

The last three weekends we have spend our time at the Lake of the Ozarks on various “mini” vacations as I would dub them. This will be a post combining all the fun that was those 3 trips.

First, Kevin and I went to the lake July 19th- 22nd with the Summy family from Iowa. We stayed at Sun Set Beach Resort in a two bed room unit with kitchen. It was nice and gave us lots of time together. We spent a lot of time over at the new lake house that two other couples purchased recently. The house is Rod and Deb Summy and Berry and Teri McMantus. They were busy setting up the house and getting everything the way that they wanted it. It is in Paradise Cove, a private housing association.

We started our vacation out on a bad note…Kevin and I were following Aaron and Rob to their house and got rear ended. We were pulling out of the gas station onto hwy 54 and traffic was crazy. You pretty much had to push your way out there. So after sitting and waiting for what felt like forever, we found an opportunity and pulled out. This 23 year-old girl was speeding (had to be) and thought that we were getting into the left lane so she went to zip by us on the right side (even though we were in the right lane with our right turn signal on). We couldn’t see her as she was behind our trailer hauling the boat. We proceeded to turn right as she tried to pass on the right, this pushed her car off the road and into the side walk. We all pulled off into the bank parking lot next door and she get’s out of her car saying “Why did YOU hit me????” I got out of the car and was like, “What??” She then got on her phone and called her boss to say she’d be late. Kevin checked out the damage and since it was very little he asked her if she still wanted to call the cops. She responded with something like “Hell yes, you hit me.” Whatever…the cops were called and we waited. Kevin and her were working on exchanging information and he proceeded to take pictures of the damage, claiming to her that our insurance would want it. True or not…we don’t know but she had a lot of damage…on all four corners of her car…not from this wreck either!! So she got a little angry about that. The cops came and took statements, and ended it with not placing blame. So we wasted about an hour! We were just lucky that there wasn’t any damage to the boat.

Next we checked out the new house, put the boat in, then went to check into our resort. Jen and I were on our way to Wal-Mart to get groceries when I noticed that the front bumper was pushed out and bent. I asked Kevin if that happened during our wreck, and he said No, he ran into a tree stump at the Summy’s Lake house!! But luckily it pushed back out just fine…That night no one was in the mood to cook so we went out to eat at Wobbly Boots. We were seated and who was our waitress??? The girl that HIT US!!! Crazy. But the food and service was great. The rest of the vacation was pretty non eventful. Jen and I had massages, mine was great but unfortunately the woman doing Jen’s prenatal massage talked through the whole thing. So, after 4 days with the Summy’s we had to come back to work for the Fx Conference for me and real work for Kevin.

Friday though we worked a half day and headed back to the lake for our second trip. We stayed at Tan-Tara this time with 11 other people (mainly Kevin’s co-workers and their wives). We had a blast. Friday night we all got settled in and had supper. We played all kinds of games, bean bags (corn hole), beer pong, and catch phrase. It was good times…till we got in trouble with security for being too loud. Probably due to the fact that we were playing bean bags inside and below us was the owners of the house we were staying in. Saturday we got up and headed out to Party Cove on our boat and a rental. We were in the sun for a good 6 hours. It was packed at Party Cove so we had a blast! After party cove we headed to the condo and relaxed before going out for Diana’s birthday. We went to the piano bar named “Pecker’s.” It was a blast.

Then randomly we got invited to the Chancellor’s lake house with a co-worker of Kevin and I’s. Her husband’s family have a lake house and they invited us down with another couple. It was great to get out and meet new people and have fun. We all got a long really great. We were up till 3am playing catch phrase the first night, then the second after drinking the entire cooler of beer, having a tasting competition, and playing balderdash we called it a night. They brought their dogs, a yellow lab and a goldendoodle. Both were great fun.

So finally after three trips to the Lake, I got Kevin to stop and do some outlet shopping. I came home with a brand new Coach Purse. Very exciting!!!

No rest for the wary, we head off on our camping extravaganza this weekend. We have three camping trips planned…let’s hope the rain holds off so we can have all of them. Stay tuned for the "Casa McAlister" to see the extra ordinary camping setup we have going on!!

Audit's Fun Day

2008-08-01T10:15:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we had a team building event. It was a lot of fun. We went to the Kitchen Conservatory in Clayton where we all doned aprons and sipped wine while preparing appetizers and desserts. It was nice catching up and unwinding togther but unfortunatly we had to say good bye to 4 team members.

Here is a scrapblog of our event:

Friendships

2008-07-24T14:59:00.000-05:00

This post is in response to my sister's recent post entitled "Just Been Thinking" (linked above). I always knew she was smart and insightful but for some reason she still randomly surprises me.

I have been battling with friendship lately, real friendships and the theory around friendships. I like to think that I adjust well to change but unfortunately I do not in some areas. One of those areas is friendships. I have been really close to many people through the years then have grown apart or the relationship has grown in a different direction. I don't adjust to growing pains well. I am proud to say that through the years I've probably only "lost" one or two friends. Those friendships I would have originally questioned anyways, so I'm not sure that they count. (I have a hard time believing that someone who uses my tooth brush to clean the bathroom can really be considered a friend!!)

I have friends from different times in my life, on different continents, in different states, having different occupations, of different ages, and even different civilian status' (Go Navy). But I make and maintain friendships. It's hard but I make a conscious effort to keep close to all my friends. This blog is one way that I do that. I hope that everyone continues to feel close to me since they know what I'm going through and what I'm doing all the time. But I don't adjust to changes well with the way my friendships are. Some are close, in BFF territory, and some are mainly just keeping in touch. But when one friendship starts to migrate into a different category it usually bothers me (from close to not so close).

Recently many of my friends are having major life changing events occurring. I feel left behind, but not in a jealous way...it's hard to explain. I don't envy them or covet what they are going through but get upset from the way that it changes our relationship. I am super excited that my friends are getting different jobs, getting married and having babies. But always wonder where does that leave me?? I hate feeling like I get left behind, in their past life. Like I'm the friend that they had "before." Like our friendship is moving into different territory, into a different category.

I'm glad that I have found my Best Friend, Kevin. Knowing that I have him means that I know I'll always have someone there for me. But there is no replacement for girl friends. I feel crazy but lately I feel the same way I did in junior high and high school. Like I have no friends. Everyone is just so busy in what is going on in their lives that I don't seem to fit in the same way. I hate asking, begging to be apart of their lives but I do it. What hurts the most though is when they turn me down. They don't need my help getting the babies room ready or going shopping. Or worse yet, they have other friends to help then now and don't need me.

I know that I am not loosing these friendships but it still hurts. I also know and remember times that I have probably made them feel the same way. Everyone changes and grows throughout life. It's realizing that I don't fit into someones life the same that really hurts me. I have been lucky in that I have many friendships to move myself around in and can usually find someone to shower with my attention.

I have learned to appreciate the time that I do have with friends. I appreciate getting to have those connections. I love to reminisce about past times with friends. There are times in high school with Amy and Katie, times in college with Jill, April, Katie, Lisa, Mandy and Leah that we'll never get to relive again, and times in Iowa with Jen and Libby that are so funny I almost pee myself when I think of them.

"The past is the past and can't be changed but it does have meaning and is remembered. Relationships that mean the world to you one day can change over time, but the memorizes that were made can't be erased." --Laura Shaw

This past week I got to spend some time with my "Iowa family," and to be honest it wasn't what I expected. I expected the same old Jen...but what I got was an 8 month preggers Jen. Not bad, just different. I need to learn how to adjust to every one's changes and be there for them regardless. Luckily Jen and I did get time to really connect again. Those precious hours we had solo reestablished my faith in friendships, Jen and mine but also others. Behind all the changes we are still friends, as I'm sure is the case with my other "struggling" friendships.

I should be home for the next few months and have been working hard to set up "friend days!!" I look forward to them.

Rend Lake weekend

2008-07-15T12:54:00.000-05:00

Gabe and Grace enjoying their boat ride. They really like watching their daddy's ski and have fun.

Our Caption Kevin

Noah doing the one handed ski

John had a ball skiing and knee boarding

Kevin became quite the pro at solom skiing

Adam was fun to watch knee board, fearless

Jenny was quite doubtfull that she'd be able to get up on the skiis but on her first try she skiied like a pro.

Here's me getting ready to ski. I forget that I'm usually the one with the camera so thankfully Noah grabbed some shots as I skiied.

We had a great weekend at Rend Lake despite the showers that we got all weekend every time we decided to eat. Kevin picked me up at the airport, grabbed some Lion's Choice, picked up the boat (from the work parking lot), and headed to the Lake. The drive wasn't too bad, only an hour and half. We drove through some pretty nasty rain showers though. Once we got there we sat up camp, showered and headed to bed. It was a pretty early night for me, or late depending on how you look at it.

The next morning Kevin and I were the first ones out of the tent. So we put the boat in the water and got things ready to go. Breakfast was provided by Elaine and Dave. We rounded everything together and set up on the beach for the day. We took turns skiing, knee boarding and lounging on the beach. Kevin and I provided lunch before we got a short rain shower. After lunch we did another round of skiing and knee boarding before heading back in.

John and Grace provided supper. Very good beer brats with hamburgers and the fixin's. I got to help Grace get ready for the night and she was supper cute. She asked me if I had kids, when I said no, she asked me (very seriously) if I liked kids, I said yes, she then told me that one day I'd be a good mommy to a little girl. It was really cute. We all took turns holding Nathan and playing with Gabe. I got to put Nathan to sleep for his morning nap on Sunday. He's all smiles and coos. It's nice holding him about 30 minutes after Jennifer gets done feeding. Any earlier and you are covered in spit up.

We got a chance on Sunday before lunch to take a quick ski before putting the boat away and cleaning up. It was a great time to spend with family and friends. Kevin and I are already looking forward to another weekend at Rend Lake.

Home sweet home

2008-07-15T10:33:00.000-05:00

Me in the sky car "Teleferico Casa de Campo"
Catedral Ntra. Sra. De La Almudena over the Rio Manzanares
The entry way to the 2nd floor of the office building
Gta Emilio Castelar, the plaza next to our favorite Sushi restaurant
Marc and Cody

I ended up making it back from Madrid one whole week early. I still have items to follow up on from the audit but nothing to worry about. The last week in Madrid went by really fast. I did get to see a little more of the city.

I arranged my ticket to come home on Friday. I flew business class with Iberia it was nice with a lay down bed, but not much use on a day flight. We had the worst turbulance ever!! It was like being on a roller coaster for 10 minutes coming in for our landing. The piolot actually got on the PA system and appoligised for the sloppy landing and the guy next to me said at least he didn't kill us...not funny.

Once we got on the ground and finally up to our gate I realized I had 45 minutes to make my connection, which I knew wouldn't happen in Chicago. I rushed out of the plane only to find that 2 asian flights had just landed and customs was packed. Then, of course, my bag was the last one to be unloaded. I butted in line past over 50 people or more only to find that there wasn't enought time to make my connection. No matter how much you beg and plead they won't let you.

So I go up to the counter to rebook and find out that all flights out that night are booked. So I'm on stand by...again, I look at my watch and notice that I still have 15 minutes till my flight is due to depart. I ask again are you sure my flight isn't delayed at all and there's no way I can just make it..."NO" she says. So she books my flight for later that day and sends me on my way. I go through security again where they are convenced that I have managed to try to smuggle some liquids in my bag...There are no liquids in my bag I assure them, but no they proceed to dump, dump my entire bag out and rummage through the contents, individually scan everything only to find...no liquids.

Even after all that nonsense, I run to my gate and find my origional plane still boarding with a list of 10 people waiting standby. (All which would be ahead of me for the next available seat home). Some how I convence the girl at the counter to give me my seat back and let me board the plane. So I made it to the great STL, 1 hour delayed, but at least the same day. My bags came yet another hour later then Kevin and I were off to the family McAlister/Freeman camping trip.

My 4th

2008-07-06T06:05:00.001-05:00

You can see where I spent my 4th of July in the lower left corner of the picture above. Gran Canaria, of the Canary Islands of Spain. This is probably the closest I've ever been to Africa, yet. We got here on Friday afternoon after a long (2 1/2 hour flight) in a airplain where my knees hit the seat in front of me. We rented a car at the airport after negotiating them down to 126 Euros for 3 days. Not too bad.

With me navigating and Cody driving we made it to our hotel with only one wrong turn. To be honest we weren't quite sure what we had gotten ourselves into because the island looked mostly like baran dessert land. But once we exited the hwy to the resort things started to look better.

We stayed at the Sheraton Salobre Golf & Spa resort. It is super sweet. I have posted some of my pics below. They put me up in the on the top floor so I have amazing views and am closer to the sunset pool and cabanas. Everything is natural stone and natural colors so it really looks as though this hotel really belongs here.

Friday afternoona and Saturday I spent in the sun reading and relaxing. Also occasionaly checking my email. Saturday night we went to town to walk along the beach and see the ocean. You can see that we accidentaly walked into a nudist beach. It quickly became apparent as we walked around that we shouldn't be there. But we wanted to see the Dunes that were on the other side of all these naked people so we kept walking.

I guess we forgot that we also had to walk back...back through all those naked people. Cody mentioned the goal was to look straight ahead and just walk...well that was before two butt naked guys started walking right in front of us...we had to devise a new strategy.

We made it back in time to see the sun set from the hotel. and I spent the rest of the night relaxing in my room.

Today we are working on getting back to Madrid. Our flight isn't supposed to leave till 9:15 but we are trying to get it earlier. It would be nice to get back to Madrid before one in the morning.

Hope everyone had a nice and safe 4th.

Sheraton Salobre, Gran Canaria, Spain

2008-07-05T17:46:00.000-05:00

Playa de Maspalomas

2008-07-05T17:42:00.000-05:00

These are the Maspalomas Dunes (Dunas de Maspalomas)

This is...a nake guys butt...apparently we wondered into a nudist beach. We didn't realize it till it was too late.

More of...Sheraton Salobre, Gran Canaria, Spain

2008-07-05T17:35:00.000-05:00

Madrid – And all the excitement

2008-07-01T01:39:00.001-05:00

The team and I arrived in Madrid Sunday morning at 7:30am, after a 6 ½ hour flight from Boston. I flew business class with Iberia, which was actually Business Plus. I had a lay down bed and good food. I enjoyed a chick flick that I had wanted to watch and read my book "Kite Runner." So far so good on the book.

We arrived in and it's sweltering hot here!! Arrived at our hotel Don Pio IXX via taxi, it's nice, just not what we are used to. A little modest, but nice size room. The bed is rock hard, and the AC isn't very cold, the Internet doesn't work…as you can see the cons out weigh the pros. So we are thinking of switching hotels later this week.

We went down town to Plaza Mayor and ate some Tapas at a sidewalk restaurant. It was okay, the Sangria was nice though. We walked around some shopping areas, Cody got his city mug from Starbucks. Then headed back to the hotel where we watched the first half of the soccer match. It was the Eurocup Finals between Spain and Germany. Spain hadn't won in the last 44 years, so it was a big game. Everywhere you looked you saw people in red and yellow wearing their national flag.

We watched the second half from the pizzeria across the street. After Spain won, the noise in the street was amazing. We weren't down in the middle of the excitement, with the fireworks, or mega screen TV's but we got to watch it on TV. The party went on all night long!

I woke up at 3am for some Alive (one of the worst headaches ever) and they were still driving around honking horns and yelling outside. Monday morning came way too early for me. But the work day went by pretty fast.

We had a wonderful supper last night at Le Maria (91 359 65 07). It was really good. They didn't have English menus so it was a shot in the dark as to what we were ordering but it all turned out really tastey. They brought us out 2 extra appetizers; we ordered 1, and 2 extra desserts, again ordered 1, all on the house. The waiter really made sure that we had a nice time. I felt bad not leaving a tip, but since it's not customary here we didn't…but that's okay because our meal was 135 Euros (about $200!!). The guys both had Argentina Beef cuts and I had fish. They told us that if we watch that celebrities usually eat there, it's a favorite of the Madrid football players, but since we don't know what any of them look like we don't know if we saw any celebrities or not.

Kevin spent his weekend supporting the Cards in the series against the Royals in KC with his dad and bro. They camped outside KC and went to the Saturday game. Monday he drove to Iowa to work Monday and Tuesday before heading to Minnesota to go fishing with his dad and grandpa. Hopefully he brings home lots of fish!

Cedar Rapids' Flood of 2008

2008-06-24T14:00:00.000-05:00

Here are some of my pictures from when we drove through Cedar Rapids, IA while up in Iowa for an audit. We luckily made it through before they shut down the major roads. Our thoughts and prayers are with all the people who are living through or have their lives affected by this tragedy.

Houses and vehicles under water

Behind the train tracks you can see houses and buildings that have floated into the tracks

The Quaker building with water almost up to the tope of the garage doors.

More flood pics

Pics from the Masso-McCann Wedding

2008-06-11T21:06:00.000-05:00

The RoomMates (Mandy, April, Jill, Lisa, Me, and Katie)

Jill and Fred
Kevin and I
April and Derrick
Mike and Mandy

The whole crew (Mike, Mandy, Jill, Fred, Lisa, Andy, April, Derrick, Katie, Jason, Me and Kevin)
Andy and the Card's garder
Lisa tossing the flowers
Lisa dancing with her new sisters
Fred and Kevin getting their freak on

The Masso- McCann Wedding

2008-06-11T20:21:00.000-05:00

We just got back from Jacksonville, FL where we enjoyed the Masso McCann wedding. The group was pretty big. Kevin and I flew down on Thursday with Fred and Jill, Derrick and April, with Katie and Jason, and Mandy and Mike coming down on Friday.

Thursday we went shopping for the wedding gift then to Lisa's for a BBQ and beach time. It was nice getting to spend some time with Lisa and her family. It also gave Lisa and I time to get our wedding agenda together. Saturday brought on more sunshine. We enjoyed the pool in the hotel during the morning. During the afternoon we went to get our toes all pretty then get ready for the bachelorette party.

We met Lisa at a beachside grill. Then went out to the bars. We had a blast! Drinking lots of fun drinks and shots with Lisa was a blast. It was great to sit around and laugh with old friends. Mid way through the night the girls went on their own and left the boys at the bar with the band. We danced and drank our hearts out! Lisa didn't last till last call like she wanted, but she was a trooper before we put her in a cab for home. Katie, Jason, Kevin and I went to the Irish pub and closed it down. We got to meet the bad afterwards. Before they kicked us out. After some street food we made it back to the hotel.

Saturday we switched hotels and recuperated before heading to the rehearsal and dinner. Lisa and Andy took us to their favorite restaurant for the rehearsal dinner. The food was amazinig. We called it an early night to get ready for the big day on Sunday.

Sunday flew by so fast. The hair, getting ready, island hopper ride to the wedding, wedding, cocktail hour, pictures, and reception. Before I knew it, it was all over. The favorite parts was the sword send off after the wedding and the amazing food. She had a station buffet with seafood, roast beef, mash potatoe bar, and ice cream bar. Also had signature drinks available. The whole event was very personalized, you could tell that Lisa and Andy cared about every detail. It was probably the nicest wedding I've ever been too.

Monday we all got up and headed to eat lunch and then to the airport. After we got back to St. Louis Kevin and I repacked and headed to Iowa for work. It was so sad leaving Jake again. He was so excited to see us, I felt like we were ripping his heart out when we repacked the car and left.

I'm in Waterloo working and Kevin was in Beaman working. Waterloo and Cedar Falls are experiencing record floods right now, so it's really sad to be here taking up the hotel rooms that they need. They also need lots of sandbaggers and I feel useless not helping out.

We are only going to be here for a couple more days then I'll be home in time to host the Freeman family at our house for a pool party. Also I found out from work that I'll be in Spain from the end of June till mid July. I'll be home in time to go for the Summy family vaction at the Lake which I'm so excited about.

I feel really bad for Kevin and I cause yet again we won't be together for the 4th of July. Last year Kevin was in STL and I was in Iowa still. We've figured out that in the last four 4th of July's we have only spent one together. But I'm still going to be home for all of August and September. So I'll get lots of pool time later this summer.

Triangle of Life

2008-05-27T12:35:00.000-05:00

Please read the below article on how to survive an earthquake...

EXTRACT FROM DOUG COPP'S ARTICLE ON THE: "TRIANGLE OF LIFE"

My name is Doug Copp. I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the
American Rescue Team International (ARTI), the world's most experienced
rescue team. The information in this article will save lives in an earthquake.

I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teams
from 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several countries, and I am a
member of many rescue teams from many countries.

I was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation for two years. I
have worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for
simultaneous disasters.

The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City
during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under its desk. Every child
was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived by
lying down next to their desks in the aisles. It was obscene, unnecessary and
I wondered why the children were not in the aisles. I didn't at the time
know that the children were told to hide under something.

Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings
falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects, leaving a
space or void next to them. This space is what I call the "triangle of life".
The larger the object, the stronger, the less it will compact. The less the
object compacts, the larger the void, the greater the probability that
the person who is using this void for safety will not be injured. The next
time you watch collapsed buildings, on television, count the "triangles" you
see formed. They are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will see,
in a collapsed building.

TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY

1) Most everyone who simply "ducks and covers" WHEN BUILDINGS COLLAPSE are crushed to death. People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are crushed.

2) Cats, dogs and babies often naturally curl up in the fetal position.
You should too in an earthquake. It is a natural safety/survival instinct. You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it.

3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during
an earthquake. Wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake.
If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created.
Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brick
buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but
less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.

4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply
roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a
much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on The back of the door of every room telling occupants to lie down on the floor, next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.

5) If an earthquake happens and you cannot easily escape by getting out
the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to
a sofa, or large chair.

6) Most everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is
killed. How? If you stand under a doorway and the doorjamb falls forward or
backward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jam falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed!

7) Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different "moment of
frequency" (they swing separately from the main part of the building).
The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each
other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get
on stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads - horribly
mutilated. Even if the building doesn't collapse, stay away from the
stairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the
stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when
overloaded by fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety,
even when the rest of the building is not damaged.

8) Get Near the Outer Walls Of Buildings Or Outside Of Them If Possible
- It is much better to be near the outside of the building rather than
the interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the
building the greater the probability that your escape route will be
blocked.

9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls
in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happened
with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway. The victims of
the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were
all killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and sitting or
lying next to their vehicles. Everyone killed would have survived if they had
been able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All the
crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had
columns fall directly across them.

10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices
and other offices with a lot of paper, that paper does not compact.
Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper.

Spread the word and save someone's life... The Entire world is
experiencing natural calamities so be prepared!

"We are but angels with one wing, it takes two to fly"

In 1996 we made a film, which proved my survival methodology to be
correct. The Turkish Federal Government, City of Istanbul , University of
Istanbul Case Productions and ARTI cooperated to film this practical, scientific
test. We collapsed a school and a home with 20 mannequins inside. Ten
mannequins did "duck and cover," and ten mannequins I used in my
"triangle of life" survival method. After the simulated earthquake collapse we
crawled through the rubble and entered the building to film and document the
results. The film, in which I practiced my survival techniques under
directly observable, scientific conditions , relevant to building collapse, showed there would have been zero percent survival for those doing duck
and cover.

There would likely have been 100 percent survivability for people using
my method of the "triangle of life." This film has been seen by millions
of viewers on television in Turkey and the rest of Europe, and it was seen
in the USA , Canada and Latin America on the TV program Real TV

Life in Missouri

2008-05-26T16:44:00.000-05:00

I've been home a whole two weeks now. It's great! I've gotten to spend lots of time with Kevin, friends and family. During my first week home, we went to a great concert. Hayseed Dixie is a rockgrass band. We went with Ryan and Whitney and some other friends.

After the concert Kevin and I went to Farmington for a "free" weekend get-a-way that the radio station was giving out. Really it was one of those time share things. But we stayed in a motel, got to go to a winery and had a "free" supper. But still the most expensive meal that we have eaten in the US.

After the "free" trip we went to the Cardinal game with Dave and Elaine. It was a really great game. That we also got to enjoy with my sister and her boyfriend. They came up and went to the game on free tickets from my work. On Sunday we took the boat and Jake out to Mark Twain Lake. We all really enjoyed the cold water, but Jake the most. I did an amazing job backing the trailer down the boat ramp. I got a pic of the boat that I can share finally.

This was our weekend to host the Summy's. We had a great time with them and their son Ethan. They arrived in late on Friday night. Saturday we got up and went to Grant's farm. Ethan had a blast. We made it right in between rain storms.

The Summy Family

Ethan feeding the goats

The parents helping Ethan feed the goats

Aaron carrying Ethan out of the goat frenzy

All the friends came over on Sunday. We had a blast catching up. Dispite the storms we did get some swiming in but mostly a lot of catching up.

Hope everyone had a great weekend...more later

I'm home

2008-05-20T22:09:00.000-05:00

So, I'm home. I'm sure most of you have figured that out by now. It's summer, or spring...or what ever the missouri weather feels like at that time. Kevin has kept me extremely busy. But I've been really enjoying the time with him.

He got me a boat for my birthday...his birthday...anniversary...and Christmas...for the next 10 years. It's great. I'll post more pics as soon as I get the charger in the mail from Amazon. I ordered it today so it should be here in the next few days. Mine is somewhere in France.

Just in time for the pool party. If you want to come hang out with us on Sunday consider this your invitation. Jen and Aaron are coming all the way from Muscatine to hang out with us. That's how cool we are...ummm....yeah. There will be beer, hot dogs, tuxedo brownies...all the fixins.

All my flowers around my house are in bloom. I have strawberries. I have a hard time telling what a weed is and what a flower is so I'm watering them all. Our grape vine has baby grapes growing on it...kind of like my friends. Oh, they don't have baby grapes growing on them, just the regular kind of babies. Now three of my closest friends are preggers...I'm starting to feel a little left out. But I'm already over that feeling. And I'm looking forward to getting to hug and kiss on them then give them back for the diaper changes :)

We had a busy weekend this past weekend. Kevin and I took off work on Friday, even though work gave us a half day because of the nice weather. We went down to Farmington and stayed. We went to one of the wineries there, had a good time. Then we went out for dinner. We signed up for one of those time share things...at the time we didn't know that's what we were doing. But hey. It was a nice weekend. Then Saturday we got up and went to our presentation. Kevin pissed the woman off, then we were allowed to leave for the Cardinal's game. Dave and Elaine took us for my birthday. Laura and Christopher came down and took my tickets work gave me.

After the game we grilled out for the in-laws to celebrate Mother's day. Then on Sunday Kevin and I took the boat to the Lake. We had a blast. Jake got to go. I think he was scared when Kevin went fast, but yet so do I. He ended up swimming in the freezing cold water. Jake kept trying to bring us back a fallen tree. It took him a while to realize he wasn't going to drag any part of it back with him.

I'm in a training class the rest of this week at work. Then I have to finish up my last audit and some other manditory safety training before end of day friday. So my week is pretty busy. Like I said earlier, Jen and Aaron are coming on Saturday morning so we should have a pretty exciting weekend this weekend.

Until next time...

Amsterdam and Lyon week 2 and 3

2008-05-08T03:48:00.001-05:00

So, it's been a really busy audit, hence the lack of updates to the blog. We are doing basically 3 audits with 4.66 people (our manager was here for 2 out of 3 weeks), two regular audits (one Monsanto and one Seminis) and the SOX. So we're busy to say the least.

Last week was really nice in Lyon. It did rain often but we got to spend some time with the new manager and got a lot of work done. Last weekend we went to Amsterdam. It was fun having most of the Europe audit group together (people from France and Belgium came). If you have never been to that city, it's really interesting. But they have very relaxed morals and standards. It's really quite disgusting.

We arrived at mid night after taking the train for almost 7 hours. The second you step off the train, with the nice clean air from Belgium, you get blasted with pot smoke. It's really overwhelming. I traveled in Amsterdam with Jill in college, and I don't remember it being this bad. But thanks to that trip, I lead our group (Matt, Michele and I) right to our hostel.

Oh, yeah, I said hostel. The whole group (minus two) went back in time, you know when we were poor…oh wait most of us are…on weekend allowance anyways. So we stayed in this hostel called Dirty Nelly's Inn for 32 Euros a night (about $45). It was an Irish pub that had dorm room style rooms above the pub.

The beds were pretty comfy and lockers to put your stuff in were big…but we were in a room with 16 people. And shared bathrooms with everyone on the floor, they were not very nice. But overall you can't feel very clean staying in a smoky bar anyways.

Saturday morning we got up and went to the Keukenhof gardens near Amsterdam. The drive was horrible because all the traffic of all the people trying to go there too. But it is a beautiful garden that covers 70 acres and is all bulbs. There are masses of people there so it's not as relaxing as it could be but still pretty neat. That's what all the flower pics are from below. Seeing all the different kinds of tulips was really cool. There was also the world's largest tulip…I think it was fake but they claim it to be real. The wind mill was neat, you could go up in it but the line was too long.

We didn't get back into the city till after 7pm, Dave wanted dropped off at his hotel. Not an easy task when you don't know how to get there or exactly where it's at… or what the name of it is. But we got him close after about an hour of driving around. Once we made it back to the hostel I took a power nap then joined everyone next door for some supper and drinks for Rob's birthday.

No trip to Amsterdam would be complete without a walk down the red light district. We were staying only a few blocks away so it was pretty easy to take it all in. Oh, by the way next door to our hostel was a strip club, a gay strip club and numerous porn shops…absolutely disgusting!! We walked down the red light district and it was sad but funny to see the men walking out of the girl's booths, putting on sun glasses and walking away (it was night time). We all got a good laugh at that…the walk of shame in front of hundreds of people. Also we saw one girl come running out of her booth and try to push another girl into the canal for taking a picture. They were yelling at each other in another language but that's what I gathered the fight was about since the hooker kept trying to grab the camera from her. Hair pulling and scratching along with punching and pushing. I wanted to take a picture of that!! But I didn't.

We ended up after our walk through the red light district at a bar near there. I asked the waitress about the apartments above the red light district. She said that its prime housing…that people pay as much to live there as New York City. Over all the whole experience was really sad, to see people living there lives that way. Drug dealers everywhere, come downstairs to prostitutes all the time, and have just the nasty, filth around you all the time. One short weekend was even too much for me.

I was so ready to get back to Lyon on Sunday. This week has flown by really fast. But the audit is coming to a close. And I'm more than ready to come home for a while. I really miss Kevin and Jake. I leave on Saturday afternoon from Paris. So I have one more train ride left tomorrow.

Kevin's done a lot while I've been gone, installed a solar heater for the pool, sold his motorcycle, bought a boat, and started his own welding company. Busy guy my hubby.

Remember to tell your moms how much you love and appreciate them this weekend, because that's what I'll be doing!!

Tulips in Holland

2008-05-05T14:27:00.000-05:00

Rob's Birthday in Amsterdam

2008-05-05T14:25:00.000-05:00

The redlight district

Stacey and Michele enjoying their coca shot.

Dave and Matt enjoying a beer for Rob's birthday.

Andrea, Stacey and Michele

Amsterdam

2008-05-05T14:24:00.000-05:00

Matt, Chad and Me!

Matt enjoying the shots Stacey purchased for Rob

Tulip gardens in Holland

2008-05-05T14:23:00.000-05:00

Outside my hotel room

2008-05-05T14:20:00.000-05:00

The Rone river runs outside my hotel. On the other side is this huge park with a lake in the middle.

Paris the Louvre

2008-05-05T14:18:00.001-05:00

More from Paris

2008-05-05T14:18:00.000-05:00

More from Paris

2008-05-05T14:17:00.000-05:00

The plight of the older sibling

2008-05-05T09:28:00.000-05:00

First-born kids really do have it tougher, new research finds
By Melissa Dahl
Health writer
updated 9:44 a.m. ET May 5, 2008
There are two Jones brothers, Joshua and Justin. But when something breaks — like the time a soccer ball crashed through a garage window — it’s usually Joshua who gets the lecture: You’re the oldest, his parents remind him. You need to set an example. Your younger brother is watching.

Now, a new study has confirmed what firstborns like Joshua have always suspected: The oldest kid in the family really does bear the brunt of parental strictness, while the younger brothers and sisters generally coast on through.

“The folklore is that parents punish the older child more than the younger ones,” says Lingxin Hao, a sociology professor at Johns Hopkins University and an author of the study, published in the latest issue of the Economic Journal. “But it isn’t just folklore — this is a national pattern.”

Firstborns who dropped out of school were 20 percent less likely to be getting most of their annual income from their parents than younger siblings in the same situation, Hao and her team found after reviewing annual surveys, involving more than 7,000 kids each year, conducted from 1979 to 1994 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In addition, the researchers found, firstborn daughters who got pregnant as teenagers were 30 percent less likely to be getting most of their money from their parents than younger female siblings.

“Parents have an incentive to play tough with their kids, especially the older ones, to try to establish this signal to the other children that they’re not a pushover,” says Joseph Hotz, an economics professor at Duke University and a co-author of the study.

It’s all for the sake of setting an example, a refrain firstborns know all too well. By punishing the oldest kid more severely, Hotz says, parents are hoping to essentially scare the younger brothers and sisters straight, keeping them from making a similar mistake.

Parenting a perfectionist
“We did become stricter with Joshua after Justin was born,” says Ken Jones, father to the Jones boys — Joshua is 13, and Justin is 11. “I think I was a bit rougher on Joshua. He had to do things more perfectly.”

As the Jones family, who lives in Corona, Calif., has found, and the new research confirms, being a little tougher on the oldest kid in the family often turns out a kid like Joshua — the stereotypical rule-abiding, responsible firstborn.

The study showed that older siblings were much less likely to drop out of school or, in the case of girls, get pregnant, than the youngest in the family, perhaps because they’ve had a lifetime of being held to higher standards.

That stricter parenting style often shapes the firstborn kid into a play-by-the rules perfectionist, so parents tend to rely more on their oldest child than the younger kids, says Kevin Leman, a Tucson, Ariz., psychologist and author of “The Birth Order Book.”

“When a job needs to get done, it’s the habit of the parent to call on the firstborn, because they’re the most reliable and conscientious,” Leman says. But it's no accident that the oldest has become a responsible wonder child; it's the parenting strategy that made them that way.

That’s how Ed Newman, a firstborn, describes himself as a kid. As a teenager in New Jersey in the ’60s, he would never consider breaking his 11 p.m. curfew. He even remembers ignoring a group of buddies who repeatedly rapped on his window one night, trying to get him to come out. “It just seemed … wrong,” says Newman, now 55 and living in Duluth, Minn.

Flash forward 30-odd years later, and Newman’s youngest brother, eight years his junior, hits him with this piece of information: Baby brother Robert didn’t even have a curfew growing up.

“I knew my parents had loosened up some, but I didn’t know they had loosened up completely!” says Newman.

This is the same brother, Newman adds, who once singed off his eyelashes and eyebrows after making an explosive that blew up in his face.

Younger siblings, the researchers found, really are more likely to take more risks than the oldest kid in the family. In the data Hao and her team reviewed, younger siblings were especially more likely to drop out of school — and get financial support from their parents.

When it comes to parenting the firstborn, there’s always a set of younger eyes watching the parents’ every move. But with the youngest, nobody younger is watching the consequences play out, making it harder for parents to stick to all that “tough love” talk. For the youngest kids who get into trouble, “parents are more likely to go in and bail them out,” says Hotz.

'Exhaustion takes over'
By the time the second and third kids come around, many parents lighten up, and realize that they probably overreacted a little with setting rules for their first kid, Leman says. “The firstborn’s a guinea pig; we practice on ‘em,” he says. “Once the other kids come in, we lighten up. Or exhaustion takes over.”

With her oldest daughter, Lisa Russell set down very specific rules about sweets and TV watching, and kept her little girl, Emily, to a strict schedule. Dinner was always at 6, bedtime always at 8.

“When Emily was little, she was just always my perfect little robot who did everything I wanted her to do,” Russell says. “I thought, God, I must be really good at this.”

Fourteen years and four more kids later, dinner happens when it happens, and bedtime “isn’t so much of a time, it’s more like when a meltdown occurs,” says Russell, who lives in Yakima, Wash. Her five girls range in age from 5 months to 14 years.

“I don’t make an issue of things anymore,” Russell says. “You learn to choose your battles, and you learn what matters and what doesn't matter.”

© 2008 MSNBC Interactive
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24397323/

View from the top of the Arc

2008-04-28T15:11:00.000-05:00

The Arc de Triophe

2008-04-28T15:10:00.000-05:00

Eiffel Tower

2008-04-28T15:09:00.000-05:00

IT Site dinner

2008-04-28T15:07:00.000-05:00

The whole group

Kathleen, Jose, Will

Will, Rob

Kathleen, Me

Rob and I

It's one of those days...

2008-04-28T14:33:00.000-05:00

So, after a great weekend (Thanks for all the birthday wishes), I'm having one of those days! First my camera died over the weekend, then I can't find my charger...next effing lead is such a jerk (for you Matt)...and now I find out that the Heineken Brewery is closed for renovation!!

But first about the great weekend. We left Lyon on Friday night via train headed to Paris. Our drive to the train station was eventful. Greg, one of our IT seniors, was "owning the road," or "driving like he ment it" and some jerk tried to cut him off. He didn't let him, (see owning the road comment above) so the jerk flew up next to us, while flipping us off, tried to cut us off again. Again, Greg owned the road and didn't let him. The second time he came next to us Rob gave him some obsene hand jester which really ticked the guy off because he spit clear across his passenger seat and on to our car. I was lucky my window was up other wise I'd be wearing his spit. But we all thought it was funny and laughed at him, with made him even more mad.

We get to Paris and take the underground to the hotel. Kathleen picked out the hotel and did the navigating, having lived in Paris for 4 years. The hotel was really nice. Kathleen and I ended up sharring a double room, because the hotel messed up our reservation...so we shared a double bed. but that made our over all cost cheaper.

Keep in mind that the Euro is at a all time high against the USdollar. So now's not the best time to be traveling in Europe.

Rob, Kathleen, and I got out of the hotel the first night and had dinner. It was a good supper, but we were all tired so we headed to bed. We didn't get much sleep as we had wake up calls at 12:30, 1:30, and 2:30. But Saturday we got up and meet. Rob, Stacey, Andrea and I went to the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Champs - Elysees, Notre Dame, and the Louvre. We walked the whole way...my legs are still killing me!! At Stacey's suggestion we took the stairs at the Arc de Triomphe...it was fun. NO, really it was. I think Rob counted 280...not counting the down steps only the up...It was tough but worth it.

We had supper at one of Kathleen's favorite places. Had Soufle's. They were excellent and the place was really cute. Then we went to a pub called Kitty o'Shays. Nice place. It was a great birthday, thanks to everyone for the texts, emails, calls, and posts!! I really appreciate it.

Sunday we slept in, then Stacey and I went to the Louvre and saw the Mona Lisa, among other things. Then we took a walk through tht Louvre's gardens and ran up to Baslique du Sacre' Cceur (Sacred Heart Church). It was up on a hill and we didnt' really get to see it because we are running back to the underground to catch our train.

I'm going back on May 9th and I hope to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle. We didn't time it right so we missed it! Also, I want to take more pictures and my camera batter is dead.

We made it back to Lyon last night early enough to settle in and get a good night's sleep. It's been a long day and will be a long week. I will try to post some pictures for everyone to enjoy! Love you lots and look forward to my next posting on Amsterdam.

Pictures from Lyon

2008-04-23T14:27:00.000-05:00

The view of Lyon

Rob picking up the smallest car we've ever seen!

Pics from Lyon

2008-04-23T13:02:00.000-05:00

Jess and I in the London Airport

Pea Soup??

You can see Jane in the left corner, and can you find the shifter??

I'm going 102!!! (clicks/h)

Rape seed oil

My friend Jane…

2008-04-22T01:53:00.001-05:00

I have officially made it to Lyon, France. It's really a cute city, bigger than I thought but cute. I left St. Louis on Saturday night to Chicago. In Chicago, my flight to London was oversold. American was giving away $700 vouchers and free hotel rooms to take the next available flight. Well, since they couldn't guarantee that I'd get on a flight before the next night I decided to pass. I arrived in London in the morning and my friend Jess met me at the arrivals gate.

Jess and I went to "Uni" together in Reading, England when I studied abroad. It's great that we still keep in touch because she's such a great person. We sat and talked, caught up. It was just like old times, never missed a beat. Before I knew it, it was time to head back in to catch my flight to Lyon. I'm really glad I worked in a 6 hour layover to get to spend time with her.

We arrived in Lyon, over an hour behind schedule. Upon arrival I gathered my bags and headed to the rental car company. I waited in line for around 30 minutes, then gratefully it was my turn. I handed the nice French girl my reservation sheet, she said "Oh, you reserved an automatic? Correct?" "Yes" I replied…well 30 minutes later I have keys in hand walking to the far corner of the lot with my bags, GPS (from here on out refered to as Jane), in the rain. I struggle to load the car. Noticing that there is no way 7 people and 5 bags can fit into this car they've given me. I get in, start working with Jane to find my hotel and start to turn the car on only to figure out it's a manual…not going to work.

So, I return to the office, wait in line and request the automatic that they should have given me in the first place. She promply corrects the matter but insist that I move my own bags and return the keys before getting the keys to the new car…so 45 minutes later I'm settled into my new car, easily roomy enough for 7 people and 5 bags and start to head out. But wait, how to I put it in drive?? There's no shifter. I ran back inside and requested for someone to show me the "features" of the car…like how to put it into gear. She walked me through the common features of the car so I head back out a third time. Get the car started and in "A" and it still won't budge. Oh, the parking break!! Okay, we made it and headed toward the hotel.

The first time Jane said "round-a-bout" I about freaked out. I remember round-a-bouts in Scotland…scary places that once you get in you can't get out. I'm just glad that the roads weren't crowded. I safely made it through over 10 round-a-bouts on my way home. Considering it was raining, dark, and everything was in French I think only making 2 wrong turns was really good. The roads are really weird her….there's no other way to describe it.

I ended up eating room service in the hotel as I was just too tired for a night out. I'll have to include the picture of my "pea soup" that I ordered…let's just say not my idea of pea soup. I drove to work today again. It was eventful, but we made it about the same time that the guys made it so Jane knows her stuff. Jane is British so getting to work is fun! More later. I'm extremely jet lagged and have a very busy week ahead of me. Thanks for reading!