Adventures of Aaron

For the last 6 months, Aaron has been fascinated more than ever with electronics and making things and taking things apart. For as long as I can remember, he was always the kid who took apart the toys instead of playing with them. I was so happy when HE finally figured out how to put things back together and make them work again. My Dad is an engineer and our last 2 visits to him have taught Aaron a lot of new, fun things including learning to solder. We've added a "work table" to his room and he has all kinds of parts, tools and supplies. He even made me a great ipod video stand for watching video podcasts at work. He also recently put together an auto door opener/closer for his room. Too funny.

Another new venture of his is starting his own blog. It's at PopularGadgetBlog.com I am really excited that he is taking an interesting in technology and a blog is a GREAT way for anyone to express themselves about whatever they are passionate about. And at 12 years old, it's not too early to get started! He is interested in making money and we've put some Google Ad Sense ads on there and he's also going to start doing more videos. There is one on there where he demonstrates how to take apart a 9volt battery to get to the AA like ones inside. If you listen to what the SAYS, it's hilarious.

Recently, one of our favorite podcasters Dawn and Drew started a video contest where you film yourselves finding someone or something dead. This is a for Halloween of course and as soon as I heard about it, I knew Aaron and I had to do one. Watch the video here. I did finally also get our wedding video up, it's here.

Wedding

I realized I couldn't blog until I posted the promised update about the wedding. So, I'm going to buckle down on this cloudy almost rainy day and "just do it". First, all the pics are here.

We picked the Oregon Coast for our wedding spot because it was the first place we ever went to together and neither of us had been before. We had a great weekend in 2001 and an even better one in 2007 for our wedding over Labor Day.

We arranged for Aaron to fly to his Dad's for the long weekend and Jeff went to Aunt Paula's since his Mom was going to McCall. Dave and I flew out of Boise Friday morning at 7am and landed in Portland where we rented a Volvo SUV with navigation. It was great, we got to test out the system and see what we liked, didn't like and things to look for on the one that comes with the MDX that Dave wants to buy.

We found Nelscott Manor in Lincoln City and got checked in and found our room very lovely with silk rose petals scattered around the jetted tub (with huge window to the beach) and the bed which also included two nice fluffy robes.

Saturday morning we set out to get ready for the wedding. First we picked up Dave's pressed clothes, then the flowers and then down to Newport where I got my hair done. Then onto the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse where Mary Crook met us with her nephew who we had arranged ahead of time to take pictures for us. I had also borrowed another camera and a nice girl that was working at the lighthouse did the video for us. I brought the items for the sand ceremony which we did. The sand looked cool when we put it in, but unfortunately by the time we got home, it was all mixed up. I guess it's just a metaphor for our lives being now so integrated there's no separation.

After the wedding and taking some pictures on the beach we went to the drug store where we took a picture off the camera and printed copies to mail with our announcements. I mailed them on Saturday the 1st but they didn't make it to anyone's mailboxes until Thursday of the next week, but it was still fun to send from there.

For our wedding night dinner, I had made reservations at The Bay House which is a lovely restaurant in Lincoln City famous for it's extensive wine collection. It was the most expensive dinner I've ever had, but a wonderful 2 hour long experience. We had a great table with decorations and a corner window view. For dessert, they brought a special "double" creme brulee with port which is my favorite.

On Sunday we went back to the Spanish Head Inn where we stayed the first time and had a wonderful buffet brunch in the restaurant on the top floor where the view is breathtaking. We didn't drink as much or stay as long as we did the first time (that was quite the story) but we did eat a lot of great food. That night we went to a restaurant that we remembered being wonderful in 2001 but had horrible service and ended up leaving. So we drove south to Depoe Bay and ended up eating in the noisy but wonderful Sea Hag. Dave had a huge crab and was quite happy.

After we checked out, we headed north to Tillamook where we went to the cheese factory and sampled cheese and had their delicious (Dave's favorite) ice cream. Then we used the navigation to find the nearest Fry's where we checked out TV's and home theater stuff and then onto the Portland airport and then home.

Everyone has asked to see my ring, but we didn't change it, it's the same as it was. Dave did get a cool ring made of titanium with a ring of Mokume. Here are our rings.

We had a great weekend of eating out, site seeing and just relaxing. It was wonderful and I am so happy to be Mrs. Dave Williams :)

Trip to CA

I see another month has gone by since I last posted. I've thought about it quite a few times but there never seems to be a "good" time. I guess a good time is when I expect to sit down and not be interrupted. Not too many of those opportunities at home or work.

Trip to CA photo album on Webshots

So, shortly after Aaron got back from his 7 month stay in Reno with his Dad, we headed to CA for our annual family/friends visiting vacation. We spent 12 days amongst the various places and it was definitely nicer to only stay at 4 places instead of 6 or 7. I did miss opportunities to share a meal with 2 long time friends, but with the traffic so bad between Sacramento and the Bay Area, changing towns during the day is imperative.

We headed out the day after Dave and Matt left for U of I for Matt's junior year. This year he moved out of the dorms and into an apartment so we had a truck full of stuff to send up so Dave took the truck up on Friday. Aaron and I left Saturday morning and first stopped in Reno to assess how much stuff Aaron had to bring back so I would know how much room to leave in the car. Since we were a bit ahead of schedule, we took the opportunity to sort through and pack all the crap he had in his room and closet. There was quite a bit of stuff, so we set off to our first destination which was my Mom's. We stayed there until Tuesday and spent days helping her pack and sort through items as she will be selling her place later this year and moving into a smaller place. We did get to see Dad for breakfast on Sunday and I played some dice and had a drink with him on Monday.

On Tuesday we left Mom's and went to Rayleen's. I called as I decided to travel during the day and not wait in Sacramento to have dinner with Jen as I was afraid of the traffic and very anxious to have a shower after being at Mom's for 4 days. She was able to get a hold of Thomas and he was there when we arrived. Rayleen ended up being able to take off work for our stay and it was Thomas' birthday on Thursday so we ended our stay with a great breakfast at a Crepe place in Santa Cruz.

From Rayleen's we headed to Dave's Mom's in Saratoga. This was Thursday. Dave flew down and met us early Friday morning. His truck had given him problems on the trip north, so he was interested in looking at the Acura MDX in the Bay Area since there is much more selection of nicer vehicles than here in Boise. We ate wonderful meals and sat on the covered patio day and night and just relaxed and read. Aaron spent his days in the pool. The Sunday before Dave flew and Aaron and I drove back to Idaho, we drove up to Belmont and had lunch with Nanney. Randy and Nancy met us there and it was great to see them! Because my trip was cut short because of work, I didn't get to go to their houses and stay because of the timing of Dave being in the Bay Area over the weekend.

Dave flew out of San Jose on Monday night and we headed up to Dad's. I was supposed to meet Tricia at this point in the trip for dinner, but again, if I would have left later, the traffic from the Bay Area to Sac would have been gross. So, we went straight to Dad's and spent the night. Aaron and Dad got heavy into some electronics stuff which went over my head after the first few minutes.

Early Tuesday we left Dad's and headed back to Sparks to get Aaron's things. At this point, the car was dragging ass. I had taken a bunch of stuff from Mom's as well as all the stuff we had for 12 days worth of travel. The electronics alone was staggering :) We only went to 3 Fry's during the vacation, LOL Dave brought empty suitcases so I sent him back with a bunch of stuff, but the car was still full. At Aaron's Dad's we were able to get everything but a few clothes and some things he said he didn't need or was going to leave there. We even managed to get the dreaded electric scooter. The car was packed to the roof. This pic is Aaron trying to get something from the back and he's sitting atop all the boxes and his back is parallel with the roof of the car. He was a bit upset with me for taking the pic and demonstrating his Reno behavior. It was funny.

On the trip, I gave MyMileMarker a try. Usually Dave wants to know my gas mileage and I hate figuring it out so I setup this site before I left and emailed him my info so he could check it. I don't think he has looked at it to this day, but at least I didn't have to do any math. I just wish I could figure out how to send it the fillup info from Twitter. Just not sure of the format.

So we got back from the trip to CA and had one weekend before we left for the Oregon Coast for the wedding. To be continued...

Aaron's Back!

Well, I wondered how long it had been since I had posted and alas, my last past says "Happy Father's Day" so I guess it's been a while! Well, I may work backwards here because the biggest thing that's happened lately is that Aaron came back home last Thursday the 26th. It is wonderful to have him home. He's been at his Dad's for 7 month's and since July was such a busy month, I held off on having him come back until my big project at work was done and then I had a week after. So he got home last week and we went to the dentist and then spent the afternoon at Roaring Springs, which was a lot of fun. We also got him a haircut, which he desperately needed!

Since June, we had our big garage sale which was a huge hit. We sold tons of stuff and made close to $500. The rest of the stuff we donated. As soon as Dave leaves with all the stuff I have for Matt next week and heads back up to U of I, our garage will almost be livable again!

Since the end of April when my gym closed, I've been wanting to go somewhere else and since Aaron was interested in the Y we signed up on Monday and I went for our first workout last night. I went to a Yoga class while Aaron did the machines. It was a great teacher, small class and a good workout. Next week, Aaron is signed up for a 2 hour a day training which will teach him how to safely use weights and all the gym equipment, then he'll be able to do whatever he wants there. It should be fun and I'm so glad I can bike there like I did with the old gym to even further enhance my workout.

The other big news is our upcoming wedding! Dave finally decided to set a date and I said, let's make it happen! So we are headed to the Oregon Coast where we took our first vacation together in August of 2001. We are staying in Lincoln City and getting married at the Yaquina Bay lighthouse in Newport. I've been busy shopping for a dress and getting together all the little details. It's a destination wedding, no guests or even kids and we'll be sending announcements from there. I can hardly wait!!

Happy Father's Day!

Today is Father's Day, so happy Father's Day to Dave, My Dad and all the other Dad's out there! Since we are all going to PF Changs for lunch today, I actually made Dave a Father's Day breakfast yesterday. Recently on America's Test Kitchen they made this wonderful "family" omelet which is what I made for Dave and I yesterday. It was delicious! The key to making it great was to cook all the ingredients (I used tomatoes, broccoli-slaw, bacon and a red pepper) first to get all the liquid out. Then after the eggs have set up, add the ingredients, top with cheese, lower the heat and cover. The eggs were cooked perfectly and the ingredients were integrated into the omelet wonderfully. We also went to dinner out at the Caldwell Elks Club as a Middleton High School fund raiser for a fire they experienced earlier this year. My friend Michelle's daughters go there and Traci was selling tickets so I bought them for us and Heather and Randy. Heather was out of town at a dog show and I'm not sure why Michelle and Gregg weren't there, but it was fun to go out and have dinner for a good cause. Tammy was there working so there was at least one familiar face. After dinner, we came home and watched Comic Relief 2006 and Dane Cook's Viscous Circle that we had on the Tivo.

Last week I finally braved the bus for the first time. I live close enough (5 minutes) to a stop and with the price of gas, my driving record (4 tickets/3 years) and trying to save on the environment I finally gave it a try. It was kinda fun and I hope to ride on any day that I don't need my car for other things. I got to work in only about 10 minutes longer and I was able to watch my video podcasts so that was cool.

Things are really gearing up at work for the reimaging and changeover next month and I'm doing everything I can to be prepared and organized so things go smoothly. I can just hardly wait until it's over. As a bonus, as soon as it is, Aaron will be flying home and spending the month of August with us. I'm also hoping we will take a 2 week trip to CA to visit friends and family and maybe spend another day in the city like we have 2 times before. Dave may even fly down to his Mom's and meet us there for a long weekend.

This week, my friend Wendy emailed me and asked me if I could fly up to WA in two weeks for an "appointment". I explained to her how crazy work was and asked her what was up. Well, she's getting married of all things! Of course, I'm going to do my best to be there for her on her special day.

This last Monday I was getting ready for work and my neck suddenly seized up leaving me with limited movement and a lot of pain. I went to work, but only for a few hours. I headed straight to the chiro and then home to bed where I watched so much TV I thought my brain would fall out. I stayed home Tuesday and well and got a massage which I think definitely helped. It's a bit better each day and I am definitely committed to walking the dogs each day and doing the 15 minute yoga show in the morning. I've also changed out my desk chair at home to use the stability ball which really helps with the posture. I'm also being very conscious of how much time I spend on the PC and taking frequent breaks. It's a hassle, but I think with the damage that has already been done, I'd better get a hold on this now before anything worse happens.

About a week ago, Adam Curry on the DSC announced he had done an interview on Bloomberg TV's Night Talk show. I immediately tried to figure out what channel Bloomberg was for us with DirectTV and since I couldn't remember the name of the show, looked around until I found the show and then picked up a season pass. Well, it aired late last week and Dave and I watched it. It was great, he talked about podcasting and explained himself very well. I then emailed Adam and asked him if he wanted me to pull the video off our Tivo and upload it somewhere. He suggested Podshow and Friday night I pulled the show off the Tivo and tried to upload it. Of course, the .TY format isn't accepted on hardly anything so I wasn't surprised that it didn't like that format. I changed it to MPEG and waited 4 hours for it to upload, only to find it failed because it couldn't be converted to flash. I then asked Dave to help me edit the file so I would be working with a smaller file. We cut out the commercials and the 2nd half the show that Adam wasn't on and then I spent Saturday trying different formats and uploading again and again. I even emailed Tom Wiles of the Trucker Tom and Finding America podcast for suggestions. I finally got it converted and uploaded this morning. Check it out here.

Vacation in AZ

Over the long Memorial Day weekend Dave and I traveled to Tucson, AZ where we vacationed for 6 days with his Dad and Barbara. They live in Green Valley, which is about a half hour drive south from Tucson and only about 20 miles north of the Mexico border. I had no idea what the town was like and had printed off some information on area shopping off the internet. I was a bit disappointed to see how dinky the town was and in fact the advertised "mall" was just a shopping strip. It's a retirement community town and VERY quiet. We relaxed, read a lot, ate, sat in the sun and did some site-seeing. We arrived on Thursday morning and Barbara took us to Trader Joe's which I absolutely love, especially since we don't have any in Idaho. We filled up on groceries and then headed to a wonderful bakery where we had delicious sandwiches for lunch.

Dave and his Dad played golf twice and even took me out to the driving range (which is in their back yard!) for a lesson. I was also able to get 2 massages while I was there and attend 1 yoga class. Dave even read 2 books and I read 3. It was great. We visited Rex Ranch for a wonderful dinner where we had to drive the car through a river. It was a very cool place with great scenery. Barbara and I drove into Tubac one day and did some shopping. Mike is a recent member to the Elk's club so on our last night there we attended a buffet dinner with a "spanish" theme with some of the ladies from the neighborhood. It was a lot of fun. Mike and Barbara's house is a really nice dual master suite home perfect for vacationing. They even rent it during the summer. I helped Barbara update the webpage, so I was able to get a tiny "online" fix during the week.

We learned during our trip to OR that Dave's Dad makes a great latte. As soon as you get up in the morning, he makes it to order. Ahhhh. Another favorite thing of mine when visiting them is their dog Jazz and cat Gigi. Jazz has a lot of character and I always enjoy taking him for walks. With their great location on the golf course, we walked along the greens every night and saw lots of bunnies, birds and other animals. We even had a scare where Jazz got into some rat "cakes" that had been left out and then moved by the creatures in the night. Luckily we were able to get most of it out of his both before too much was ingested to make him sick. The vet said those things are really powerful and can easily kill even large dogs like Jazz.

I did manage to eat pretty well while on vacation and after many days of being in skimpy summer clothes and sunbathing I came home and decided to get back to good eating and trying to exercise. This week I've walked the dogs 4 times and have ate really well. I still need to start getting up early and doing some Yoga or something but I've just been really tired this week. Maybe this weekend I can get started. I am taking golf lessons for the next 3 weeks, so I hope to get out a practice and I think that counts towards exercise also ;)

The dogs stayed with Heather and Randy and of course had a wonderful time there. They always come home obedient and well groomed, which of course, neither lasts long at our house.

Matt is home from school for the summer and is working full time which is great. Jeff is working but apparently doesn't like the job and will either be soon quitting for the summer or looking for something else. Last weekend we attended Kim's graduation party and it's hard to imagine in 2 years Jeff will be graduating and only 3 years after that it will be Aaron's turn. Aaron finished school yesterday and we are still in talks about where he will live for next year. He makes a good point that the schools are better here. For now, he will spend the next 2 months at his Dad's and then the month of August with us. After that, who knows. Hopefully, we will be able to take a nice long vacation visiting family and friends in CA in August.

Work is crazy busy. We are gearing up for everyone to be reimaged during a 2 week changeover to new document management system. It's going to be crazy. PC's and laptops everywhere and users complaining about every icon in a different place. I'm trying to stay calm and realize there is only so much I can do and it will be what it is regardless of my stress level.

The day before we left on vacation I went to my laptop in the morning to sync my ipod as I always do (to get a refill of podcasts for the day) only to find my Itunes library was wiped out. Gone. Nothing there. I had a backup from a few months ago, but what a mess putting all that back together. While I was on vacation the podcasts really built up and I made a decision to really wack down what I was subscribed to so I'm just now getting caught up on my "favs" and am now on the long list of 2nd priority podcasts I listen to and I imagine I will need to do some pruning there also.

Mother's Day!

The last few weeks have been really hectic. This weekend was Mother's Day and on Saturday, Dave's Mom flew in from the Bay Area for a month long visit. Then she's staying into June for Kim's graduation from Eagle High School. We all got together over at Michele's & Martin's house on Sunday for Mother's Day brunch. It was a beautiful day so we were able to sit outside and visit.

The last time Myrna was in town she used my fleece blanket to cover herself while on the couch and so I had the idea to make her one to use in Idaho when she comes to visit all her kids. So, on Friday, Deanna and I went to Hancocks over the lunch hour and I found some nice orange baseball print fleece for one side and some dark colored Aztec kind of print for the other side. I washed it, sewed 2 sides together and then cut fringe at each end and tied off the other 2 sides. She liked it so much, she even said she would take it home. I also gave her that and a TSA lock that I found online that is great for frequent travelers.

Matt also arrived back in town, down from U of I for the summer. We saw him at the brunch and then he ended up coming over yesterday to stay with us. He has a new pet, a bearded dragon he calls it, I say yucky lizard. But he says it's soft and cute and friendly, but I am reluctant to find out. Matt's girlfriend Sandy is staying home for the summer because she is working. What a bummer, but I am proud of them for making work a priority when they are not in school.

After last weekends Scrapbooking Fiesta I decided I really needed to get going on Nanney's scrapbook. I printed pictures and sorted and have emailed family members to gather what I was missing and my goal is to have it finished by her birthday in October.

My friend Heather found her dream house and made an offer last week and found out on Friday it was accepted. I am thrilled for her other than the fact it's further away from me then where she lives now.

Next week is our week long vacation to AZ to spend time with Dave's Dad and his wife. I can hardly wait! I've never been to AZ and am looking forward to relaxing in the sun, getting some reading done and trying to unplug from the laptop and blackberry. I'm sure I'll have my IPOD going, but am hoping to cut down on the screen time.

I've been talking to Aaron more and more over the past few weeks and last weekend he called me and said he had made the decision that he wants to move back with us. Since then, he's talked to his Dad and I've discussed it with Dave and I am very excited at the thought of him coming home. It's still being discussed as I think his Dad wants him to stay there, but I really believe he would be happier with us. This brings up the issue with me working full time. For a while now, I've thought if Aaron came back, that I really need to reduce my work hours. This idea couldn't come at a worse time with huge conversions going on until the end of July. Plus, without Dave and I being married, I have no health insurance for myself and Aaron unless I work full time. Hopefully God will answer my prayers and something will work out and come to light as a solution.