Thirty Five

Hello Blogland, did you miss me? Every day I log in and see the blog (Shade and Sweet Water is my homepage), note the June 2nd last entry date and remind myself I need to blog. I'll do it tomorrow, I say. Three weeks of tomorrows later it's probably a good time to actually get on my hiney and do some typing.

Let me launch things off with a quick happy birthday shout out to my old San Luis Obispo partner in crime, Tassy. Happy birthday, Tassy! Miss you.

Speaking of birthdays, as most of you are aware, mine was this past Thursday. I took my fifth and final vacation day on Thursday so that I could enjoy my birthday and get paid while I was at it (and also took Friday off for any possible recovery needs, losing my usual Saturday off. No Rock Banding for me tonight. This makes me pout a lot). As birthdays go, the day went 99% groovy and truthfully, if not for some minor annoyances at the very end of the celebratin' it would have been perfect; still it was the finest I'd had in years.

The morning started out with Alex watching the kids for us while Denise and I met with Lash's counselor to discuss his progress and how she'd like us to approach some interactions and behavior modelling with him. This was followed with a quick walk-in trip to Gearhead Barbershop and Tattoo where Denise got her very first tattoo and I set myself up with an appointment to come back later and get more ink done.

Enjoyed some great carne asada burritos from Aca Taco with Denise and Alex and then he and I returned to Gearhead while Denise went on cake and last-minute gift retrieval. In tattoo land I added another "grace" to my arm--this time the Japanese kanji. And going against all reports of what my next intended tattoo would be (an astrological chart on back), I got a chocolate ice cream cone on my left shoulder. Pictures, once I upload them, will be on my Facebook page.

Farewell to Alex, and back home Denise and I enjoyed a bit of quiet couples time, which can be a little tricky when both parties have fresh tattoos to be mindful of.

Present time with the kids: Blu-Rays of The X-Men Trilogy, Lost Season 1, and True Romance. And Region 1 DVDs of Spaced. We're hoping the move won't tax our wallet too much and I'll finally be getting an HDTV with the remainder for my late birthday present so I can fully enjoy these cinematic goodies.

Denise got Chris to make us steak for my dinner and it was perfect. Then some ice cream cake, a little play with the kids and the eventual shuffling off of them to bed. After that we began taking in some of our favorite guests for later night margaritas and Rock Banding (and more prezzies: a microphone multi-tap for Rock Band allowing up to four singers on one slot at once. Harmonizing could prove crazy difficult. Katie and Lisa came along with themselves wrapped as presents with a fun homemade card).

Recovery day was spent with a bit more kid time and me finally tackling the Endless Setlist on Rock Band 2.

Now I've got to start getting myself ready to work again.