Spur of the Moment Things can be Fun...

At least that's what the Cialis commercials say. Darla and I didn't end up in two separate bathtubs in the wilds of Montana, but we did end up making a last minute trip up to Lake Tahoe to see Kim Wilson and the Fabulous Thunderbirds at Harrah's South Shore Showroom on Saturday night. The timing was really tight because I had arranged a golf road trip up to La Contenta in Valley Springs an hour east of Sacramento in the foothills above Lodi.

What happened is that Darla wanted me to pick her up Friday morning at AAmco in Roseville and drive her to work. her transmission has been giving her fits and she wanted to get it diagnosed. More on that later. I slept in until 7:00 AM and was listening to the radio in the morning while Darla was getting ready and I heard the radio deejay announce "the things to do" that weekend. He mentioned that the Fabulous Thunderbirds, a blues inspired rock band, was playing up at Harrah's Saturday night. Kim Wilson has always been one of my favorite performers and I asked Darla if she'd like to go. She was "in" immediately.

I had slept wrong that night and woke up with a terrible neck ache. When I was making the bed I tripped on one of the infernal stuffed animals that go onto our bed along with pillows and other riff raff. I fell backward onto the pile of pillows piled up by the wall. That was a good thing, but I also crashed into the wall, banging my head and also skinning my elbow as I slid down the textured surface of the wallboard. I landed in a heap. I lay there shaking my head for a few minutes to get my head cleared. Darla heard the crash, but didn't investigate. I recall a similar accident in Canada at Al and Sherry's a few years ago when Darla fell and I was soundly chastised. I didn't bring it up, but I did think of it.
I got to work and got online to check for tickets and they had third row seats available for $38. I jumped on the buy and started looking for lodging. I ended up booking us at Rodeway Inn, an inexpensive motel, but clean and close to the casinos. The forecast was for some light snow flurries Saturday night, with an accumulation of one inch of wet snow.

I played golf Saturday with the guys. Darla had a party to attend and would be home about 4:30. My tee time was 10:15 and I would hopefully be home close to the same time. We packed Friday night to be ready to go Saturday. The course up at La Contenta is beautiful and very hilly with holes going uphill, downhill and sidehill. I shot 43+45=88, Boyd struggled to 86, Matt had 85 and Bob shot a splendid 78 with a chip in on the final 454 yard par four for birdie. After golf I gathered the troops together quickly, got in the car and we headed back home, leaving the gas station in Valley Springs at 3:00 PM on the dot. I had to drop Matt off in downtown Sacramento and then take the boys back to their cars at the Park-n-Ride in Roseville. I got home about 4:15, showered, had a quick Angus Burger compliments of Miss Darla and we were on the road.

We arrived at Harrah's at about 7:05 after leaving the house at 5:00 PM. We had to cross town to the 50 freeway and up to Tahoe. The show was incredible and the seats were even better. Kim Wilson is a performer from Goleta near Santa Barbara and a protege of Muddy Waters on the harmonica. At one point during the show, his band all got up and left the stage as Kim started a harmonica solo that lasted 15 minutes. It was incredible, he never seemed to stop for air. I'll look for a You-Tube video of Kim on the harmonica and post it here. Darla and I made it to Will Call and in our seats by 7:15 and I was able to get us drinks and settle in for the 90 minute show. The showroom at Harrah's is an intimate 750 seat showroom with three sections of seats surrounding the stage and two bars. The back section of theater has booths and couches set up to relax and watch the show. I was able to get the latest CD of the Fabulous Thunderbirds. They have been in show business for over 25 years and the band was founded by Kim Wilson and Jimmy Vaughn (Stevie ray's brother). Vaughn left the group in the early nineties.

Darla and I went and checked into the hotel and then headed over to our favorite hangout in Tahoe, the Lakeside Inn. We sat down to play some nickle poker and I told her we'd break for a late snack as soon as one of us hit a four-of-a-kind. Luck was with me as I hit four threes for a 600 coin payout in the first twenty minutes. We headed into the lounge and split a salad and a french dip. After dinner we headed back out to the casino and played until after 1:00 AM. During that span, I hit the Royal shown above with a 25 cent bet. I was dealt the jack-queen-king and ace of diamonds along with the 5 of diamonds for a flush. It was an easy decision to dump the 5 and go for the Royal and as Darla watched next to me, the ten of diamonds came up for the 4000 coin payout ($200). All told, we played video slots, bought a CD, ate a late dinner and gambled for three hours on $100 and came away with almost $300. Our gambling paid off for us and paid for the trip.

It was starting to lightly snow when we got to the casino after ten o'clock. When we finished up and headed back to the motel, it was coming down in fat flakes and it was a swirling gust that carried the snow almost sideways. The motels in Tahoe all have restricted parking this time of year due to the snow. They clear the lots, but often push the snow into the corner of the lot and take up four or five spots. When we got back, there was no parking available. I parked down the street at a space that was horizontal to the street and near an apartment complex within a comfortable walk of the motel. We watched the Weather Channel before going to sleep, because the snow looked a lot heavier than an inch and certainly not of the wet variety. The forecast still showed light snow flurries with no more than an inch forecast.

We woke up this morning to a Winter Wonderland with six inches of snow blanketing the streets, cars and parking lot. I dressed and checked the Cal Trans Road Information. Sure enough all the mountain passes had chain controls in effect. It wasn't snowing in the morning, but it was brisk. I headed to the car, found a brush that I clean my spikes with in the trunk and began digging my car out. One thing I noticed immediately was that my sun roof was open in the pop up stage (not slid open) and the snow was packed around the opening. I must have opened it earlier in the week and hadn't noticed it. Somehow, the snow didn't seep into the car or on the roof padding. My car was a chunk of snow and I had to brush off all of the windows, the roof, hood and trunk of the car. It took me almost fifteen minutes and I nearly froze my bare hands in the process.

Darla and I headed back over to the Lakeside Inn for breakfast. We didn't even look at a slot machines as we were happy with our haul from the night before and wanted to get it home. All of the passes around the lake were still requiring chains at 11:00 AM when we finished breakfast, but 50 and 80 were back open. I would have preferred to take 80 back, but couldn't get around the lake and don't have chains for my 22 inch wheels on the 300. We left Lakeside at 11:30 and got home this afternoon at 3:30. It took four hours, but that included a stop in Placerville for lunch at Mel's Diner. It took us 90 minutes to get from Lake Tahoe to Myers, a drive that normally takes 30 minutes. People were flooding out of Tahoe now that the pass was open. There was a huge line of traffic from the Y in Tahoe up to the ag inspection station in Myers. I was afraid that controls would go back up as the snow started as we pulled into Myers and it was thick and covering the roadway. I wouldn't be surprised if controls went back up shortly after we passed as it was slow going and treacherous. I was lucky enough to be four cars behind the snow plow during part of the trip up the hill (before he pulled off) and it helped. By the time I got up to Sierra Ski Ranch in Twin Bridges the traffic had thinned out and it was smooth sailing, Darla was so worried about the conditions and my driving that she fell asleep before we started up the pass and missed all of the tension.

It was so pretty after the snowfall that I wanted to get a picture of the Truckee River which is on the opposite side of the road from west bound 50. I saw a pullout and with a guy on my tail and one coming in the opposite direction, I swerved across the road to the turnout. Darla was awake by then and thought I'd gone crazy and was pulling into oncoming traffic. I think pictures 4 and 5 above were worth it, don't you? We had a great weekend, a lot of fun and some laughs along the way. ALMOST as fun as a Cialis commercial.

As to Darla's Explorer. Those that think I'm lucky because I don't have a car payment, forget that I have a 2002 Explorer with 160,000 miles on it. In the last four months, we have spent over $1800 in repairs on the car with a transmission solenoid that went out, new brakes, new tires, fuel system service, and an air conditioning repair this past Summer. Now the transmission needs to be rebuilt. A Belt has come loose and caused damage to the transmission. AAmco wants $2,500 for the repair. We are taking the car into a shop recommended to us tomorrow that will hopefully do the job for closer to $1500. I'll let you know the final tally next week.

Well, this has been a mad and crazy weekend and I've enjoyed every minute of it. I hope you are all well and living a life of health, happiness and devotion to The Lord. Ciao.

Here is the Harmonica Solo for the Fabulous Thunderbirds:

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72 Degrees and Sunny on January 22nd in NorCal

Just a few leftover shots from our vacation with Jennifer and Samantha. Sam was really funny when we got home from the airport on Monday night. Their flight was delayed and they didn't get in until 11 PM and back to our house until almost 11:45. She ran into the living room and saw the Christmas presents sitting at the hearth. She said to us, "What are those presents?" We told her they were her and Mom's Christmas gifts and that we would open them in the morning. "But , what's in those presents?" She must have asked us five times before we finally got her off to bed. We wanted to visit with Jennifer, but realized that Sam wouldn't go down unless her Mom went to bed too, so we said goodnight. We had a long trip up to Tahoe the next day, so figured we could catch up on the drive, which we did.

The weather here in Roseville has been nothing short of magnificent this weekend. I had a two day golf tournament and the temperatures were 72 and sunny yesterday and high thin clouds today and 65 degrees. Heaven on Earth. The East Coast is digging out of snow and severe cold. I have a friend in Glen Falls, New York that told me it was expected to get down to minus 28 degrees tonight. Wow. I live in California because I choose to and really from the luck of having Dad move with CF to the Bay Area and my finishing high school here and choosing to stay. My first wife, Diane, was from the Bay Area and I decided to stay here when the family moved to Texas. Now my ex-wife lives in Texas. She hated the liberal politics here, but will soon find out that people of color are not considered equals by a large segment of the Texas population. It is one of the "good old boy" parts of Texas that I can't stand. Sure there are a lot of NASCAR fans there, too, and that's kind of creepy, but it is the lack of respect for your fellow man that I can't live with. Like anything else, it is changing as the old farts die off, but many have infected their children's brains too and the racism lives on. I can stand here in California and fight liberalism (comfortably housed in Pro-Republican Placer County), and visit Texas every now and then.

My team ended up shooting 66 and 63 and missed the playoff for the second qualifying team by four strokes. We hurt our selves on Saturday with net bogeys and poor putting. We were only 2 under par after 14 holes (also 2 under after five holes) and then birdied the last four holes for the 66. I shot 83 and 84 and we ended up tied for third place in the money. Disappointing, but we played well today and finished well yesterday. There is another qualifier next month and we will sign up for that as well.

I played poker on Friday night and the pendulum swung to me as loser. I lost about $80 in quarters over the course of the evening. The two battling cousins, Steve and John, have not made nice with each other yet, so John stayed home and Steve played. Steve was my partner in the qualifier this weekend. I sent John a text on Friday night and told him I'd miss him at the game and to work on the forgiveness aspect of Christianity. He texted back that he is "working on it". I guess that means he is working it out in his head first and then will put it in play.

I started working on my Facebook page this week. I somehow got signed up for Facebook and would periodically get "Friend" requests. I'd always say yes, but I didn't have a page or anything. I finally got in there and put a wall together. I work it 100% from my i-phone, so I don't have all the bells and whistles of a traditional Facebook page, but this blog is about as "techy" as I get, so deal with it. I have re-connected with a few old friends, and that is what Darla likes about it, so it does have some value to me.

I have a whirlwind week at work this week. I have three visitors coming in to town and they all want to do dinner. This seems to be the new "thing" in business. If you have dinner with someone it shows that your relationship transcends business and you are a valuable partner. I will have to work out extra hard at lunch. I also have an eye appointment Tuesday afternoon and dental appointment on Thursday. The dinners planned are at Chicago Fire Pizza, Benihana's and Morton's Steakhouse. I may literally roll into work on Friday morning. On top of all the appointments and dinners, I have salary reviews due the end of this month and have to get to the nuts and bolts of the reviews this week as well.

I have a Golf Road Trip planned for next weekend with a trip up to Valley Springs to play La Contenta golf course. We will leave here at 8:30 and tee off at 10:15. I have a $25 coupon for golf and cart for everyone in my foursome. I will play with Matt, Bob and Boyd and look forward to it. it is also Darla's Mom's birthday next week and we will drive up to Paradise on Saturday night, spend the night and go to church with them on Sunday. We will have an early dinner at the Italian Cottage restaurant in Chico on Sunday afternoon. I think as busy as this week is, the weekend may even be busier.

I talked to Darryl on the anniversary of his birth January 20th. He had Josh and some friends flying in for the weekend to do some snow boarding and was planning to try and keep up with him. After the butt cramp episode at his house when we were playing Wii Bowling, I'm worried for his health. Hopefully he survived and had a great time with his son. He is now double nickels (55) and not getting any younger.

Well, that is it for this week. The blog may be late next week depending on when we get home from Paradise. I hope you are all doing well and living a life your parents would be proud of. Ciao.

More pictures from the snow trip

Jennifer came through with some pictures from the trip. You can see by the icicles just how much snow and weather Tahoe has had. There are huge icicles that reach from the roof of two story homes all the way to the ground. Amazing.

I've also included a shot of Earl and Frances and their only great grandchild (Samantha) and Alicia's son, (their grandson) Lucas.

Today was MLK day here in the US of A and it was absolutely DEAD at work. I turned the staff loose at 3:00 PM and stayed until closing myself, but no phones were ringing and no e-mails were coming in. I think the few insurance offices that were open today closed at noon. I got my Facebook page updated and cleared out all of my new business quotes. It was a yawner of a workday.

I will play in an NCGA qualifier with Steve next weekend. it is two days and we proceed to Monterey in June if we qualify. There are 20 eligible teams and two will make it to Monterey. We played a practice round on Saturday and I shot a bloated 90, but we shot 66 as a team. Steve played well, so here's hoping I'm saving my best golf for Saturday and Sunday.

That's it for this week as I just wanted to get Jennifer's pictures posted. Hope you all have a great week and I'll update my success or failure in the qualifier next Sunday night. Ciao for now.

A Great Snow Trip with Jennifer and Miss Samantha!!

A really awesome time was had with Jennifer and Samantha on our short vacation up to Lake Tahoe this week. The amount of snow in the Sierra is at record levels for this early in the season and we really enjoyed the "Winter Wonderland" that is the Lake Tahoe area right now. Darla likes to take pictures of people and not of landscapes. Jennifer got a bunch of great shots of the icicles up at the Lake which have many extending all the way from the roof to the ground. I pulled off the road a couple of times to let her get pictures as the icicles are almost unbelievable, the sheer size and length of them. Jennifer has promised to forward me some of her shots and I will add them to the blog when we get them. You can get a good feeling for the extent of the snowfall in the last picture of Jennifer at the top of a snow run up at Boreal Ridge where we stopped on the way up to do some sledding.

Unfortunately, Samantha was not in the mood to put on her snow bib, mittens, boots and Winter coat when we stopped and I stayed in the car while Darla and Jennifer climbed up to the snow hill. We bought a day pass for the snow parks of California which are plowed and parking provided with restrooms and areas to eat. They played for awhile while Sam fussed. I suggested that we drive over the summit and down to Truckee and we could have lunch at Jax at the Tracks, a diner with great comfort food. We brought Samantha's snow pants into the restaurant and got her ready for our next stop. Lunch was awesome and Sam had a white cheddar macaroni that each of us tried and wished that we had ordered. Next time for sure. Dad and Shirley, you need to make a drive into Truckee on your trip and visit the small town and definitely eat at Jax. An Amtrak train came by as we were seated eating and Sam was mesmerized by the size and sound of the train as it passed by.

From there we drove Highway 89 into Tahoe City and stopped at the fish hatchery and got some pictures. Sam was a little fussy, but finally came out to see the wintery scenes of the Truckee river and a large group of geese and ducks that were along the river bed.

We drove up to the snow park on Highway 89 near Emerald Bay and finally coaxed Sam out of the car and onto the mountain. Darla and Jennifer took her sledding, while Jennifer and I helped her build a snowman. She really enjoyed herself and the snow bib and pants kept her warm and dry. Jennifer seemed to enjoy the sledding as much or more than Samantha as she took run after run, once banging into our snowman, but not knocking it over. We had hot chocolate and made a few more runs down the hill before packing up and heading to the hotel.

We stayed at the 3 Peaks Resort, a find for $79 on hotels.com. Our cost was $117 for 4 people and the room was great for Darla and I. We got a movie and all sat on the King sized bed in our room and watched "Despicable Me", an animated movie that we only made it about half way through. Sam was bushed after a full day and went to bed with Mom in the living room of the small suite on a fold out sofa bed. Jennifer later said the bed was the most uncomfortable she's ever slept on.

That night we had dinner at Tep's Villa Roma Italian restaurant. I didn't know how we have missed this restaurant over the years of us staying up at Tahoe. It is 100% authentic Italian cuisine with an anti pasta and salad bar that is second to none. It even included pasta and Italian peppers of various types, a huge salad bar with everything from bacon to grated Parmesan cheese and a soup station. The highlight of the restaurant for Samantha was the big fish tank near the entrance that had a Dori fish (from Finding Nemo), Samantha noticed and said something about Dori as we walked in and the maitre'd thought she said "How are you doing?" He was quite impressed with her great manners. Darla and I walked ahead of the kids from the car to make sure the restaurant was kid appropriate and left poor Jennifer stuck in the back with the kid locks on. She had to climb over the seat to get out of the car. The fish tank is two-sided as you can tell from the picture of "Dori" above. We had great meals with Darla's pesto ravioli a big hit. Jennifer had Penni pasta with sliced slivers of garlic in the sauce. It was fantastic (I had her leftovers for lunch on Thursday).

Wednesday morning Samantha and I took a walk down to the office and turned in the keys. We walked out and looked at the two level hot tub that has a waterfall cascading down from the top level into the bottom. Very nice. We brought Jennifer a cup of coffee and Darla a cup of hot cocoa. We packed up the car and headed over to our favorite breakfast restaurant, "Heidi's". That is the picture of Samantha with the wood from the booth behind her. From there we drove back through Highway 89 and stopped at the lookout over Vikingholm, the castle on shore near the island in Emerald Bay. Jennifer was able to take her camera and get a picture of the building on the island through the binoculars that are at the overlook. Again, Dad and Shirley, this is a MUST STOP for you while you are in Tahoe. The views are incredible and made even more beautiful this time of year by the snow. We had to hike in and hike out as the lot is not serviced in the Winter.

We bought Samantha a Leap Frog learning computer. It is a game station with learning games that you can insert and they teach her numbers, colors, sounds, etc. Really ingenious and she played the games non stop on our trip.

We got home about 2:30 and I decided to wash Darla's Explorer because it was filthy from the snow and road salts. Sam did not sleep on the way home (playing her Leap Frog) and was cranky. I wanted to take her over to the park across the street from our house and let her use the slides and swings. Darla and Jennifer wanted her to get a nap. I promised her if she behaved and wasn't crabby with Mommy that I'd take her to the park when I finished with the car. Darla looked at me sideways. We packed up some Teddy Grahams and some water and headed over to the park. It was a nice sunny afternoon and there were a lot of kids out playing and Sam fell right in with all of them. One family brought two dogs, one of them a puppy and Samantha asked to pet the dog. The guy gave her the leash and the little puppy dragged Samantha all over the park and she was laughing and running with him. We had company coming at 4 PM (Baby Lucas) and I tried to get Sam ready to go. She said, "No, I'm playing". I said, "Sam, Baby Lucas is coming, we have to leave." She stopped, crossed her arms and said, "No!" That didn't go over big with Papa and I scooped her up and we headed back to the house. Sam had a full on fit, kicking and yelling. I looked like a dirty old man abducting a three year old from the park. It turns out Jennifer and Darla were right, she needed a nap and got a "Time out" in her room when we got home.

We had a great time with Darla's folks, Lucas and Alicia , but they all packed up and were gone by 6 PM. Jennifer's friend Jason came by and Sara was supposed to join us, but got into an accident on her way over. Her boot got stuck under the brake and she rear ended a Volvo. Her Nissan Murrano was totaled and the Volvo barely looked like it got hit. Jason and Jennifer joined her over at the accident site and picked her up while we watched Samantha. Jennifer and I ordered pizza and gave Sam a bath and got her down at 8 PM. Jennifer, Jason and Sara went out and Jennifer came home with a new nose post. Sara talked Jennifer into it and all that I can say is it was Jennifer being Jennifer. They went to Wild Bill's Tattoo in Roseville and met Bill and he enjoyed the girls so much he gave them each an extra stud for their new nose holes. They met Sara's boyfriend later and Sara got a ride home.

Darla and I took them to the airport the next morning and we had a short, but GREAT trip with the kids. Jennifer's job is going really good and they both think they will get offered a position with the company they are temping for. Here is a picture of the huge circuit board they are working on daily:

Well, I will have a mid week update when I get the icicle pictures from Jennifer. I hope you are all doing great and enjoying the New Year. I've lost two pounds so far this year on my way to 50 pounds. eh? Ciao.

Samantha and Jennifer will be here tomorrow!!

We are taking a few days off this week and taking Jennifer and Samantha up to beautiful Lake Tahoe. The kids arrive tomorrow night at 10 PM from Vegas (Jennifer works tomorrow). We have reserved a King Junior Suite at the 3 Peaks Resort and Beach Club in Lake Tahoe for Tuesday night. We will leave mid morning Tuesday and will spend some time at a Snow Park near Truckee before driving up to Lake Tahoe. We stopped and picked up a snow disc this week and had completely outfitted Samantha with a snow bib, boots, hat, gloves, goggles and sunglasses for her birthday in December. We also got Jennifer some snow pants, gloves and snow boots. Darla and I will get soaked, but the kids will be fine.

This will be a short update as it is a little later than usual on Sunday night. I sat and watched the golf from Hawaii and it went into a two hole playoff. I will return next weekend with pictures and stories from our trip with Samantha and Jennifer.

I played golf on Friday with an agent that I have known for over thirty years. He was gone for a year on a mission trip to Muldovia and returned in the Fall of last year. Bob invited Pete and I out to his country club in Rancho Murietta. We wanted to tee off mid morning, but he was only able to get an 8:15 tee time. The cost out at RM is $60 for guests, but one of the Assistant Pro's out there used to work at Diamond Oaks and comped my round of golf. It was bitterly cold. The fog was thick and wet and the sun never did show it's face the whole day. The course was wet and marshy in a lot of spots as many of the local courses are because of the inordinate amount of rain that we've had. I managed to muck around the course for a 44+44=88. I also played golf today in the Captain and Crew scramble tournament and we struggled a bit, but put up five birdies and no bogeys for a round of 67. I was lucky enough to get in a group with Neil. I don't think we did too well as I left shortly after the round and we were in second place (only two groups were in at the time).

I met with our webmaster to discuss the job and he flipped again and now wants to stay on as the webmaster. He does an okay job, but is often late with updates and his communication is terrible. It is okay by me as I was actually looking forward to a break from the board this year. The President asked if I'd be willing to intern with the webmaster and be there as a backup if he flips again. I think I will pass and just let them figure it out.

I worked out everyday this past week and only lost one pound. Many people would be discouraged, but I'm good. I figure I'm on track to lose over 50 pounds this year and will be at the weight I carried in ninth grade when I'm done. Darla is dieting as well and fixed soups this past week. We had French Onion soup, taco soup and tonight Won Ton soup. It is nice when it is wet and cold to enjoy hot soups. Today was about 45 degrees, but the sun did break out this afternoon and Darla mentioned that I was sporting a bit of a sunburn this afternoon.

I got home from golf today and was watching the football game and fell asleep for about an hour on the couch. It was nice, but I woke up with a headache that is just now starting to subside. I think maybe I was hungry, having skipped breakfast and grabbing a hot dog at the turn today. Darla and I took down the Christmas decorations this weekend and I took down the Christmas lights on the house this afternoon after my nap and we got all of that packed up and back into the attic this evening. We were going to leave it up for Sam, but figure we will be gone and she won't really get a chance to enjoy it. Also, Darla has a meeting here at the house Thursday night and wanted everything cleaned up. We did leave Sam's stocking up and their gifts around the fireplace hearth. We also left up the jazzy Santa that plays the saxophone and Samantha runs to turn it off when I start him up. It is a little joke that she and I have and I wanted it there when she comes.

The weather looks "iffy"for our trip with snow showers due in Tuesday night and into Wednesday. We will get up and have breakfast at Heidi's in Tahoe on Wednesday morning and then head back down the hill. Hopefully chains are not required on the trip back down. We will meet Earl and Frances back at the house and have dinner with them Wednesday night. Lucas will join us as well.

Well, as warned, this is just an update. I will be back at the computer next weekend with stories and pictures of our trip to the snow with Miss Samantha. Have a great week! Ciao.

Happy New Year 2011

It is a new year and I do not have any New Year Resolutions. Instead, I have a personal plan, much like I have a Business plan at work. My personal goals for 2011 are to lose weight (I'm up about 4 pounds over the holidays and will be hitting the gym to work that off), continue to pay down debt as retirement looms in ten years, get back down to single digits in golf (I am at 10.0 as of 1/1 so don't have far to go), win my flight in the Club Championship, make the Rose Cup team, spend quality time with Darla and plenty of visits with Jennifer and Samantha in 2011, help to continue to transition the boys into true independence as their college years begin to come to a close, increase my participation and tithing at Church, and enjoy everyday and every friend as the gift that they are. Simple things and things that can easily be met.

We had our annual New Years Day party and had a great time.We had twelve total and we all squeezed around the dining room table. It was tight quarters, but we had 14 last year and had to split into two tables, which wasn't as much fun. Neil and Lilly made it and it was her first foray into extended time away from the house since her surgery. We were very happy to have them. They showed up late and left early, but seemed to really enjoy themselves.Bob and Vicki made it for what may be their last time as they are putting their home up for sale and moving back to San Jose. Bob has his business in San Jose and Vicki never warmed to the Roseville area. It was bittersweet for me as Bob is a good Christian friend and I will miss him greatly. At least I have a close friend in San Jose that I can go and visit. Rick and Jan made it and Bob and Debbie who had just returned from Southern California. Steve came and his wife Brenda joined us late as she was working. John and Camille chose not to come as the feud between the cousins has not been resolved unfortunately. They need to sit down and work it out soon, because (frankly) it is ridiculous. We had a great time and went through four appetizers, two bottles of champagne, five bottles of wine and two bottles of Martinelli's Sparkling Cider. All of that on top of soda and ice water. We had prime rib, salads, rice pilaf, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, au jus, ice cream covered with hot cherries and cake for dessert. You can see from the pictures above that Darla wouldn't let me carve the Prime Rib without a bib over my white shirt. We played "Catch Phrase" after dinner and had a lot of laughs.

I took Thursday off from work and played the Morgan Creek Country Club course in Roseville for the first time. Boyd was supposed to join me along with one of my agents. Boyd fell ill and my agent managed to cut down a tree on his property that landed on top of him. I ended up with Rick, Neil and Pamas instead. It was 28 degrees when we got to the course and they had a slight frost delay. We got out about ten minutes later than our tee time, so not bad. I tore up the course ion the front side and shot a 38, but as water finds its' level, I stumbled on the back nine with a 45 for 83. It's getting frustrating and I'm pleased to say that I finally broke out of the 82-83 rut on Friday with Bob, Matt and Darren by shooting 40+39=79 at Diamond oaks. I birdied three of the first five holes and hung on for the 79. We had a half hour frost delay Friday and finally teed off on number 12 in a modified shotgun just before 10 o'clock. I should have shot lower, but after my recent meltdowns, I was happy to break 80. I will play in the Captain and Crew tournament on Sunday, which is a scramble tournament and they match up the players with handicaps in Flights A-D and have one player from each flight make up a team. I have generally avoided the Captain and Crew because I'm not a big fan of scrambles, but realize that this is a good opportunity to get to know some of the other players in the club.

Neil asked me if I would consider stepping up for the club and taking on the role as our webmaster. I know nothing about being a webmaster, but agreed to meet with our current webmaster and discuss the job. I know that the NCGA offers member clubs a chance to have a website tied to the NCGA and it is professionally handled by their web design team. This may be an opportunity to significantly upgrade our web presence and perhaps even have some new potential members driven to the club through the reach and size of the NCGA, the largest golf association in the United States.

The boys both left for Cal Poly this morning. David is heading back and doesn't even have an apartment lined up as he moved out of his apartment before he left for Italy. He will bunk in with Daniel for a week if he didn't find something today. David will only be back at Cal Poly for a quarter and then will take an unpaid intern position with an architecture firm in San Francisco. He will live in the city with about 18 of his fellow students. Four months in Italy followed shortly after by two months in San Francisco. Not a bad gig for a 23 year old. I think he'll really enjoy the pulse of the city in San Francisco and get to know the museums and hot spots in SF. I will live vicariously through him once again. All of this is set up by Cal Poly for their architecture students in their Junior year, again one of the reasons that thousands apply and only a few hundred get into the program each year.

Jennifer and Samantha will be here next Monday - Thursday and we look forward to their visit. I will write one more blog before they get here. We are hoping to make it up to Lake Tahoe while they are here. We are getting a break in the weather this week after a rainy weekend, so hopefully we don't have a storm during the time that they are here. We have had a tremendous amount of rain and snow already and some areas of the Sierra are at 287% of normal snowfall already. We are well ahead on our rain totals and I look forward to the break this week. It will likely come with some morning frost and fog, but I'm kind of done with the rain for awhile. The local golf courses are wet and soggy with all of the rain we've had.

Well, that is it for this epistle. I will add more next week. Happy New Year. I hope all of your personal goals come to fruition in 2011.