2008

The start of another year and this is going to be a busy one...and expensive. Lots of travel plans coming up for this year. I am going to make a trip to Ireland to visit Sarah in the late spring sometime. We are taken Erin to Vegas in July, and I hope to combine that with a trip to the Grand Canyon. We will no doubt do the annual Henderson Myrtle Beach pilgrimage. I'd love to take the girls somewhere they've never been for spring break or fall break this year, or maybe back to Washington. They were 6 the last time we took them to Washington. Emily doesn't remember anything about being there and Erin says all she remembers is eating a hotdog on the street. We should go back. I'd like to take them to Williamsburg this year, if we don't go to Washington.





Sarah is leaving soon and I will miss her tremendously. She bought a beautiful new banjo with an awesome sound. It sounds tinny like her dad's banjo, but with a strangely hollow sound that I really like. Maybe it's the skin head on it. The workmanship on it is impressive. A man in Ironton made it.

It's Friday and my van is getting new tires today. My front tires are bald and the rear tires aren't much better. With this last snow storm, I can't ignore the lack of traction any more. I'm hoping it's ready to pick up by noon so I can find somebody to give me a ride over to the garage. It's only a couple of miles to walk, but it's COLD today, and I'm a puss about the cold.

A week from tomorrow is karate testing. I will test for my advanced yellow. I am pretty confident I will pass. The hard part will be reciting the code of ethics because my memory sucks. It won't be too bad - there are 7 people testing in my group and it's a 45 minute test. I've had all my tips for several weeks now.

I haven't been running much thanks to the ice and snow. I've been trying to stay in shape at the gym, but I miss my early morning runs. It's supposed to warm back up Sunday so I will defintely be getting out there again.