Thursday, September 21, 2006

Alrighty then...

After a couple hours of franticness and an unbelievable amount of stress on my part (I am the Boo Kitty....), I have booked the tickets. Ethan and Tobias will leave the morning of the 6th, and return the 19th (Tobias is also the Boo Kitty, and insisted on coming home a day earlier). They fly into London/Heathrow, arriving at the crack of dawn (well, crack of dawn London time......late evening here in Seattle). Then they will mosey their way through England, over to Amsterdam for a bit, jaunt down to gay Parieee (Paris), then wine their way through Italy, ending up in Rome, where they will fly out on the 19th. Should be an awesome time!!!

I did the booking mostly because I wanted to, and Ethan is working and Tobias is.....well, I am not sure exactly why HE was okay with me doing the booking, but he was. My attempt to butt in and live vicariously throu them.

I am still jealous. SOOOO jealous. But, I love Ethan more than anything, and this is a trip of a lifetime for him, and how could I possibly begrudge his good fortune of going on this trip by being bitter if I love him so much?? So I am cool with it. I am trying to get the 20th off from work so I can pick them up at the airport (at 930pm) and stay up to hear all the stories of their travels.

As far as people coming up to see me, the more the merrier!! Mi casa es Su casa. I am working 6am to 230pm Monday through Friday, but if anyone wants to hang out and get hissed at by my cats while I work in the mornings, you are more than welcome! We could hang out in the afternoons and have a nice visit.

It is Officially Tentative

'he's leaving...on a jet plane......'

Ethan is off to Europe. They are hoping to leave October 6 and return October 20, for a full two week expedition (yes, he will miss my birthday......but what an awesome opportunity for him!! Well worth the miss!). They are trying to get in contact with some guys Tobias met at the Tour de France a couple years ago, who live in Scotland. If they get ahold of them, they will fly into Scotland and stay there a couple days to start. If that doesn't work, they will fly into London and start there. They want to leave from Rome at the end, so there will be some good travelling going on!
Yes, I am jealous. But, mostly I will miss Ethan. Two whole weeks! That's a really long time! I am inviting Mom up for an extended weekend, if she can make it, but at least I have the car and can get out and not be stuck in the house.

So........Good luck to Ethan!! This will totally be the trip of a lifetime (until he takes a trip with ME somewhere even more awesome---his lifetime trip MUST be with ME. It is a rule. I guess this means we will make it to Greece someday, afterall!!)

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Wouldn't this look nice on our deck?? (the big grey thing is the hot tub cover) Posted by Picasa
Look what WE'RE gonna get.............(maybe....if the price is right.....) Posted by Picasa
Sabrina pregnant with Kael (Yes, I got her permission before posting this.....I don't do nekkid pictures with the intent of making people uncomfortable. But let's face it--Pregnant nekkid pictures are beautiful) Anyway, I like the sort of graphic look to this one. I borrowed from a sketch I found on the'net. It is hard to tell, but it says "Serenity" on the bottom. Whaddya think??
 Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

 Posted by Picasa
Unless I hear a loud chorus of dissent, this is where we are staying for Christmas this year, Tuesday December5 through Saturday December 9. It will be $275 per couple at most, I am negotiating to have the price dropped a bit because I don't thinkg Kael and Payton, at the very least, should count as people (sorry guys, but they don't. THey aren't even KIDS yet. Seriously, they won't even be awake most of the time).

Sound okay?




http://www.a1beachrentals.com/site/Overview/PropertyID__
18418/RequestID__18418/sd1__12-05-2006/sd2__12-09-2006/3545/default.aspx

Monday, September 11, 2006

Do you remember??

Where were you 5 years ago?? Do you remember? I am sure you do. We all do. I was driving to work on my second day ever as a registered nurse. We had orientation all day, talking about benefits and retirement and sick leave......I missed most of it.
I was driving, and had sports radio on. THere is a goofball that does the morning show, and they were talking about something awful happening, a plane hitting the world trade center. I had heard about when in the 1950's or so a small plane hit one of the buildings. I thought that was it, or that they were doing some sort of skit or something. I grabbed my cell phone, and called Ethan. I woke him up, got him to turn the tv on. I said I was not sure, but I thought something was going on. I wasn't sure if it was a joke or something real. He turned the tv on. It was real. He watched as the second plane slammed into the tower.
I got to work. I went to the auditorium. No one listened to anything that was being said. A TV was set up in a room nearby, and we kept leaving to go see what was happening. So many rumors--there are 8 planes unaccounted for.........a plane is over Pennsylvania, we worried about it hitting a landmark there.....so many things. The silence in the skies overhead was deafening. Only the Medic One choppers landing at Harborview. Even some military helicopters landing there, flying in traumas from the bases or other parts of the state.

We were all so new, we didn't have badges yet, and the hospital was locked down. There is a tunnel leading from the research and training building to the actual hospital, and we were led down there and escorted into the hospital. No one without a badge was allowed to enter. I am sure people in the ER freaked.

At home, I watched the news. I bought a newspaper, one of the Times and one of the PI and I put them into my cedar chest still intact. I need to remember this. I bought more on the 12th. I watched the news. I watched from the time I got home until the time I went to sleep.

I bought the Time and People special edition magazines that documented the fall of the buildings and everything leading up to that. I watched more news stories.

A week or so later, the city of Seattle wanted to do SOMETHING, and they filled the international fountain and part of the Seattle Center with flowers. I bought two bouquets at Pike Street and went to the Center, along with thousands of other people. So many flowers!! An unbelievable outpouring. I took pictures of fire trucks, with flags reflected in their windows.

People put little flags onto their car antennaes. Flags were everywhere. I felt so patriotic! US Legislators sang 'God save America', we all learned a new song. I still cry whenever I hear it.

Slowly, this outpouring of grief nationwide became one of suspicion and mistrust, and a tragedy became a political point. I took the flag off of my car. I turned my back on the flag during the national anthem at Sonics games. I did not agree with the decisions being made in MY NAME by those in power in the government. I was ashamed to be an American. I felt bad about being so wholeheartedly against what my country was doing.

I will never forget. I have several beautiful photo books chronicling the events of 9/11. I have a book telling the account of one surviving burn victim. Hearing 'God Bless America' still brings a tear to my eye. That was a day the world changed. MY world changed.