Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Day Thirteen - Salt Lake City, Utah

Today we went to the zoo here in Salt Lake City. It was fun, we actually made it through 3 hours of sightseeing without a meltdown from Aiden. My mom took some pictures....

Here are Aiden and I in front of the elephants.


Aiden sitting on a tiger statue - getting him to look in the general direction of the camera took a lot of effort.

Mommy and Jack in the monkey house.
Aiden riding on the carousel. I suggested that maybe Grandma could take him on the carousel and I got an evil look from her. Turns out she feels the same way about carousels that I feel about clowns.... :-)


Aiden eating his bribe for good behavior. Yes, I bribed him with ice cream, but hey - it worked for once!

And finally Jack's answer to the whole day....


After the zoo we stopped quickly at the Hard Rock Cafe for souvenirs. Good thing we did, cause it's closing in December and this would have been my one and only chance! I think I have about 20 Hard Rock shot glasses now...have to count them when we finally unpack. Speaking of that - I got a call from Fort Irwin Transportation saying that they had received our household goods and they will be waiting in storage until we arrive! Yay!! Tomorrow we head out West again, we are planning on stopping in Winnemucca, Nevada. It's the last stop before a whole lot of nothing so we figured we'd better stop there. Check back tomorrow night!

Monday, September 29, 2008

Day Twelve - Salt Lake City, Utah

We left Wyoming this morning and made it Utah. We crossed the Continental Divide...and then we crossed it again. Apparently we were in the Great Basin or something, and there are actually TWO Continental Divides. I know, I don't really get it either. My dad told us this, and I just have to say that people think I know too much random information - you should talk to my Dad....Most of the day we were driving across the ugliest part of Wyoming. It's just flat and really boring. There are mountains and prettier sections of the state, but we didn't get to see those parts. Once we entered Utah we started getting into some more mountainous terrain, and the landscape definitely improved. Lots of pretty orange, pink and yellow trees covering the mountains.

Once again Aiden refused to sleep, but Jack seems to be getting better and better at tuning out his noisy older brother and he slept for a good portion of the drive today. We are getting closer and closer and I think we are all feeling the stress of this trip. Aiden is really acting up, he has 2 or 3 major meltdowns a day, and it's getting really tiring. I know he's just confused and tired (I wish he would just give it up and SLEEP already), but dealing with a cranky two-year old in addition to everything else really wears on you after a while! I swear he has multiple personalities though. Sometimes he can go from angry and screaming to laughing and playing and back again in the blink of an eye. I seldom know what exactly he's upset about, or what is going to trigger his good mood/bad mood, so it's a guessing game each day. Sometimes he's really good and a joy to be around, and then other times I want to strap him to the top of the car. Just keeping me on my toes, I guess!

We are staying in Salt Lake City for 2 days, tomorrow we are taking a break from driving and visiting the zoo. It's supposed to be a really big, nice zoo, so I'm hoping that Aiden will enjoy the diversion. Maybe we'll take an elephant ride or something. Keep your fingers crossed that the Good Aiden decides to accompany us tomorrow, and leaves the Heathen Aiden behind! Anyway, here are today's stats:

Miles traveled: 290

Number of times Aiden said, " I want Jerry, I want Jerry," before Mommy finally gave in and put on Tom and Jerry: 41

Number of pieces that Aiden managed to crumble his banana bread into in his carseat this morning: 4 million

Number of naps that Jack managed to take in spite of Aiden's loudness: 3

Number of different hotel keys that have somehow managed to end up in Jennifer's wallet so far: 4

I'll try to take some pictures at the zoo tomorrow!

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Day Eleven - Rawlins, Wyoming

We ended up in Wyoming today. I've never been to Wyoming, so I was kind of looking forward to it. There is a lot of open land, and a lot of nothing else. Not a Starbucks in sight, although we did see some Buffalo. We even saw a sign at Terry's Bison Ranch that advertised "buffalo hunts"! I'll bet PETA loves Terry. We also saw some odd rock formations that were kind of interesting. And these weird fence like things all along the side of the road. They weren't connected, so they weren't keeping anything in (or out), they were just these long, straight rows of wooden fences. Anybody have any idea what they are for? They were all along the interstate for miles and miles, and we don't have a clue.

We wanted to stop for lunch in Cheyenne, but we took the main exit for the town (and yes, even though Cheyenne is the capital - its a town and not a city, only fifty thousand people...) expecting to see some fast food restaurants we could do a quick stop at, and...nada. There was nothing! Not a McDonalds or a BK anywhere that we could find, and we drove quite a ways into Cheyenne. I guess cowboys don't eat fast food. We ended up at a Wendy's in Laramie instead. After leaving Laramie we drove to Rawlins. Not that we had much choice, since there is literally nothing between Laramie and Rawlins except for about a 100 miles of open land. Who says we are overpopulating the earth? Just stick all those extra people in Wyoming, there is plenty of room!

After getting to the hotel I decided to see if I could find a grocery store to pick up some stuff for dinner. I hopped in the car and drove down the main street of Rawlins, and WOW, this is one happenin' town. Everything closes at like 6 o'clock! I did manage to find a grocery store, which was filled with lots of very polite and attentive cowboys. I think they need to get some more women in this town....

Today's stats:

Miles traveled: 330

Number of Starbucks we saw before leaving Colorado: one at every exit.

Number of Starbucks we've seen since entering Wyoming: ZERO.

Number of different colors of bug blood spattered on the windshield of the truck: 4 (purple, blue, yellow and brown)

Number of times Aiden said, "I want a nack (snack)" over and over and over and over....:12

Number of wet wipes it took to clean up Aiden after he squished his strawberry nutrigrain bar all over his hands, face, shirt and carseat: 37

Tomorrow we head out to Salt Lake City!

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Days Nine and Ten - Colorado Springs, CO

The last two days we have been hanging out here in Colorado Springs. A beautiful city, I might add. Yesterday we went out to Manitou Springs and the Garden of the Gods. Absolutely beautiful scenery, and a place I would definitely consider retiring! We ate crepes at a little European cafe that Christa works at and then wandered around the little town for a while. Then last night Heidi and I went out to the movies and then hit the hotel bar. I honestly can't remember the last time I went to a bar. It doesn't happen very often. I do remember a night out at the Vilseck bowling alley with all of my girlfriends which consisted of several shots of Jose Cuervo and ended rather badly. Last night all I had was half a glass of white wine and a good night's sleep. Oh how things change when the kids come along!

Today the boys and I went over to Heidi's to hang out and do laundry. It's amazing how quickly the dirty clothes pile up when you have two gross boys. Grandma and Christa did some more exploring in the city. Tomorrow we are heading out again, hoping to get somewhere in Wyoming. These three days of rest have flown by way too quickly! Onward we go....

PS - I just want to mention how incredibly sad I am at the passing of Paul Newman. He has been my favorite actor for a long time and he will be missed. Hollywood is sadly lacking in class these days, but Paul Newman was one of the greats. :-(

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Day Eight - Colorado Springs, Colorado

We made it to Colorado Springs! After a fairly short day of driving we have arrived at the foot of the Rockies. We've already had dinner with my old friend Heidi and her son Brian (whom I haven't seen in 6 years) and my sister Christa who just moved here a few months ago. We will be here for 3 days, leaving on Sunday. It will be so nice to have a decent break in traveling, I think Aiden is on the verge of a major meltdown, not to mention Mommy and Grandma. It feels like we are finally making progress, we seemed to be in Kansas forever. We are over halfway there, closer to the end than the beginning.

We finally found a Starbucks this morning when we left the hotel in Colby, they are not as common in the Midwest as they are everywhere else. I guess the hearty Midwesterners prefer their coffee strong and black, and Starbucks doesn't hold that much appeal. Personally I can't think of a better way to start the day than a white chocolate mocha with a shot of peppermint, but I AM from California....

The landscape has definitely improved, lots of mountains and trees and green. I can't wait to see more of Colorado, I think it's going to be beautiful. Hopefully tomorrow I can get some pictures to share. Here are today's stats:

Miles traveled: 240

Number of times Aiden had to be taken out of a restaurant for a discussion on appropriate behavior: 2

Number of times Jennifer got her hotels mixed up and couldn't remember her room number: 4

Number of times Aiden forgot what he was doing at dinner and dipped his crayons in ranch dressing: 5

Number of times the ice maker down the hall has spontaneously spit out ice: 3

Number of times Grandma accidentally put her room key next to her cell phone and demagnatized it so she couldn't get into the room: 2

Exploring Colorado Springs tomorrow, we'll see what the day brings....

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Day Seven - Colby, Kansas

We left Junction City today and have arrived in Colby, Kansas. We had an easy day today, only one temper tantrum in the car. Of course, he more than made up for that once we got to the hotel. We probably could have gone a little farther, but decided not to push it. We got to the Holiday Inn Express at around 3:30 or so, and decided to spend some of that extra time we had in the afternoon in the pool. Aiden is an absolute fish with no fear of the water at all and he just jumps right in. I took Jack in the pool for the first time today, too. Yes, you read that right, "I" took him in the pool. I'm not a water person, it tends to freak me out, but I felt bad seeing Jack get so upset that he couldn't go play, so I gave in and took him in the water. He LOVED it. He was kicking his legs and splashing and just having a grand time. He wanted to take off, I had to really hold onto him. In that respect he is exactly like his brother.

The swimming wore out both the boys and they are now snoring away in their bed. There is nothing better than 2 sleeping boys after a day of traveling. Especially since Aiden is still refusing to nap in the car. Half-way across the country, and Aiden has been awake for all of it. I'm just shaking my head at the stubborness of this kid....

Here are today's stats:

Miles traveled - 240

Number of times Aiden watched Cars - 1 (plus 3 the other day for a total of 4)

Number of times Aiden lost Lightning McQueen only to have Mommy "find" him at Walmart - 2

Number of times we thought, "Are we STILL in Kansas?" - 3

Number of times Grandma had to carry Aiden kicking and screaming through the hotel - at least 4. After that it all kind of blurs together....

Number of times Grandma asked, "Are we in a dry county? Is there any beer? PLEASE??" - at least 4 (see above).

Number of times both Mommy and Grandma had visions of Aiden bungee-corded to the top of the Explorer - 67

Tomorrow we hit Colorado Springs...hopefully in one piece....:-)

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Day Six - Junction City, Kansas

We are still in Junction City today. As mentioned yesterday, we decided to take an extra day and rest. The boys and I spent the day at Brandy's house and Grandma got a much needed "time-out" from all this craziness.

The highlight of the day today was watching Aiden and Maddy play together. Maddy is only six weeks younger than Aiden and she is such a little cutie. She's much more articulate than Aiden and speaks in full sentences and everything. Here's an example of a conversation that went on between Aiden and Maddy today:

I tell Aiden to take his shoes off, which he sits down and attempts to do. He finally gets them off.

Maddy: "Oh Aiden, I LOVE your socks!"

Aiden: Looking down at his feet, "Socks."

Maddy: "I like them very much."

Aiden: "Socks. Lightning McQueen."

Maddy: "Come up to my room and play with me, I have lots of toys."

Aiden: "Okay. Lightning McQueen."

The boy has one thing on his brain most of the time. Thankfully it's still Cars at this point, a fact I am sure will change when he hits puberty. When that happens, being invited up to a girl's bedroom will mean something entirely different...

Considering his obesession with Lightning McQueen, you will all hopefully understand my actions concerning this next part. Aiden lost Lightning McQueen. Now, my kid is smart. We have several other Lightnings but they are all slightly different - one has bugs in his teeth, one is the "Dirt Track McQueen" with dirt on the sides, several are smaller, but none of them will do at bedtime except for the original. I tried to pass off one of the other ones to him but he immediately gave it back to me and said "No Mommy, not this one".I searched all over and couldn't find it at which point I had no choice but to make a mad dash for the Walmart up the street. Actually, two mad dashes to Walmart since I was so flustered and panicked at the thought of not having Lightning at bedtime that I left my wallet in the hotel room and had to come back for it. I even scuffed it up in the parking lot to make it look as, ummm, well-loved as the other one. Thankfully, it worked and he is now sleeping peacefully with his Lightning.

Tomorrow we are headed out again, pray we find something that will knock Aiden out for a while!

Monday, September 22, 2008

Day Five - Junction City, Kansas

Well, we made it to Kansas. And let me just say that yesterday we gave Aiden a half a tablet of Dramamine and after 3 hours he slept for a whole whopping 30 minutes. Today I gave him the same amount and he didn't sleep at all. What is WITH this kid?? In 5 days of traveling he has slept for a half an hour of it.

We originally had plans to stay here for one night, but we have decided for the sake of our sanity to stay 2 nights. We just really need a break from traveling, so we are spending the day tomorrow with my friend Brandy and her daughter Maddy who is Aiden's age - they just moved here to Fort Riley, so it will be fun to catch up.

Kansas is an interesting place. I now understand how it was possible for Dorothy to make it to Oz. It's WINDY here! Also, they have museums for just about everything. The "Museum of Fashion" would have been interesting, but somehow I don't think Aiden would have been amused. Oh well. And you know what else? We saw gas for $2.95! And it was about 15 minutes after we filled up the tank....:-)

I stopped into Walmart this evening after dinner to pick up some diapers for Jack. I was in the check out line when I suddenly realized I was channeling white trash - I was actually buying diapers and beer. How awful is that? And this is really weird - when I was leaving the store I heard a "Jennifer? Right?" come from behind me. I turned around and saw a guy that Chris was in Korea with 8 years ago! Talk about a small world, huh?

Here are the stats for Day Five:

Miles traveled: 200

Number of times Aiden was carried kicking and screaming out of a public place: 2

Number of times Aiden watched Tom and Jerry: 4 ( you can only take so much of CARS)

Number of unique and unusual museums (that my Dad would love to go through) we saw advertised on the side of the road in Kansas: 5

Number of times that Jennifer crammed Jack's pacifier into his mouth so he would shut up only to discover that he actually had a poopy diaper: 12 (he didn't really have 12 poopy diapers, that's just how many times I tried to give him his binky when he didn't want it...)

Tomorrow we chill, and then on Wednesday we take off in the general direction of Colorado - stay tuned!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Day Four - Stillwater, Oklahoma

Just a quick update tonight to let you all know that we made it to Stillwater, OK. We are staying tonight with an old friend - Roxanne. Should be fun to catch up with her! More tomorrow on our travels out of Arkansas.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Day Three - Van Buren, Arkansas

So here we are at the end of Day Three, we've stopped for the night in Van Buren, Arkansas. The only thing I know about this place is that apparently Prohibition is still in effect here, because it's a dry county and NO BEER. And just so you know, when you go to ask about where to buy beer in a dry county, they look at you like you're a delinquent. Especially if you happen to have a 5 month old baby with you at the time. As the lady behind me in Walmart said when she heard me ask - "We don't believe in alcohol here in Crawford County." Okay.....

We passed some interesting places today. Toad Suck Park, anyone? Seriously, that's the name of it.

Anyway, here are the stats for Day Three:

Miles traveled: 280.

Number of hours Aiden was knocked out from Benedryl - ZERO.

Number of times Aiden screeched at the top of his lungs and scared his brother half to death - 27.

Number of A*hole drivers who gunned by us only to get pulled over a few miles ahead - 1.

Number of times Aiden watched Cars - zero. Only because I took the DVD player away because he was kicking it.

Off to Stillwater, OK tomorrow!

Friday, September 19, 2008

Day Two - Graceland

Today we went to Graceland. Jack and I took the tour while my Mom (who's already been there and done that) kept Aiden. The tour of the house is very interesting, you learn all kinds of things about Elvis that you never knew before. For instance, he was very involved in charity work and even hosted a benefit concert to raise money for the USS Arizona memorial at Pearl Harbor. The house itself is very 70's, with the green shag carpet (on the floors AND ceiling), the gigantic TV's in every room, and fabric on the walls. But what's really neat is the room with all of Elvis' gold records. The walls are covered in them from floor to ceiling, and it's not a small room. It's pretty breathtaking. Toward the end of the tour I was visiting the Meditation Garden where Elvis and his parents and grandmother are buried when all of a sudden it started to sprinkle. I made a mad dash for the the exit pavillion when the skies opened and it literally POURED. Jack and I got slightly wet. Good thing a little water never hurt anybody, right? My mom had the same thought while watching Aiden run back and forth out into the pouring rain, giggling hysterically the whole time. This kid loves water, whether it's in a pool or coming from the sky. And after the storm passed he had to make a point of jumping in every puddle we passed. Daddy would be proud.

We ate a late lunch of fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches at the Rockabilly Diner and then headed back to the hotel. And just to cap things off - yesterday we drove 400 miles, Aiden was full of Dramamine and didn't sleep a wink, while today on the way back from Graceland we drove 9 miles and BOTH the boys fell asleep. Oh sure, NOW they sleep....

Tomorrow we are headed out West again into Arkansas. We are hoping to make about 300 miles, stopping for the night in a little town called Van Buren. Check back tomorrow night to see how the day goes.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Day One - Memphis, TN

Well, we survived the first day of our cross-country trip and arrived in Memphis, TN. We are safely ensconced at the Embassy Suites - an added benefit of volunteering to be personal property of the US Government is that you get to take advantage of the Federal Government rate at places like this....We are staying 2 nights here, and tomorrow we are heading out to a place I've always wanted to visit - Graceland. I'm a big Elvis fan (young, 50's Elvis, not fat 70's Elvis), so I'm looking forward to it. The boys were pretty good considering we drove about 400 miles today, although Jack got a little upset toward the end. We drove through three states today - Alabama, Mississippi and now Tennessee. I've actually never been to Mississippi, so now I can cross that one off my list. Oh - did you know there is a town called Brilliant, Alabama? Strikes me as a contradiction in terms....Here are the stats for Day One of our trip:

Miles Traveled: 400

Number of times we "took the scenic route": 1

Number of times Aiden watched the movie Cars: 3

Number of hours Aiden was knocked out from Dramamine: ZERO

Number of times Jack tried to take a nap only to be woken up by Aiden's "singing": 4

Number of times we thought "what the HECK were we thinking??" 412

I'll try to post every day of our trip, so make sure you keep checking back!!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

The Next Chapter

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days, I've been busy with all of the moving preparations. Even though the Army pays for a moving company to come in and do all of the packing and heavy lifting, there is still a lot to do! Monday was packing day, and today was loading day. All of my worldly possessions (or...most of them) are now on a truck heading West, due to arrive at a storage facility in Fort Irwin Friday or Saturday. I took some pictures today, I'll try to upload them later - I'm just really tired right now!

As happy as I am to be getting out of here, I'm also a little bit sad. As I walked around my empty house this evening, a little bit of the melancholy came over me. While I will NOT miss the puppy-sized roaches, the 200% humidity or the fact that every road in Lee County is named "Lee Road", I will miss our home, our friends and having my parents nearby. As I was peeling off the Winnie the Pooh wall stickers from Aiden's walls I flashed back to when I put them up. The empty rooms reminded me of the day after Closing, when we walked through the house thinking, "this is OURS".

But I also sensed something else. The house had changed, now that it was empty again. A house is just a collection of rooms; it's the people and the life that is lived there that make it a home. Our life is no longer in that house, it's in a bunch of boxes in the back of a truck, and it's in the two carseats in the back of my car - two items we didn't have when we moved here to the South. So tomorrow I will close the door for the last time to this chapter in our lives, and Thursday we will set off for the next. Sweet home southern California - here we come.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

9/11

Today is the anniversary of September 11. Can you believe it's been 7 years since the world turned upside down? I remember exactly where I was - in Germany. We'd been there less than 2 weeks, and so I knew absolutely no one. Chris was in the field (of course), and I was in my empty house with nothing but government furniture and a tiny TV that we had bought so I wouldn't be bored while Chris was gone. I'd arranged for the cable to be hooked up that morning (with the time difference the attacks didn't happen until the afternoon), but it wouldn't be on until around 5 or 6 in the evening. In the meantime I got one German news channel. I was sitting at the table doing a puzzle trying to pass the time, with the TV on for background noise. I remember looking up at it at one point and seeing footage of a plane smashing into the first tower. I just stared at it, that couldn't be real, right? And I couldn't figure out what was going on because everything was in German. Then they had a press conference with the President, and it was dubbed into German, so I still didn't know what was happening. After some frantic phone calls stateside I got a handle on what was going on, and then my cable came on so I was glued to the TV for the next several hours. Chris came bursting in the door at around midnight, they had brought all the guys in to pull security at the gates. He had to be near the phone at all times, and the only phone jack was downstairs, so we moved the mattress into the living room so we could watch the news and hear the phone.

The post literally went on total lockdown. The only people allowed through the gates were soldiers and family members who lived off post. And each and every car was taken apart and searched, the wait was something like 3 hours. I was really glad I lived on post and didn't have a car yet, so I couldn't really go anywhere anyway. The commissary had no fresh meat or produce for a while, because no shipments were allowed in. We didn't have mail for a few days either. And there were armed soldiers outside of every building on post. I literally had to show my ID to use the bathroom at the PX. It was a little like living in the Twilight Zone. After a while things calmed down a bit, but we were never the same. We went abruptly from a peace-time Army to gearing up for war, and everything became frighteningly real. Suddenly the possibility of my husband actually going to war became much more likely, and it was scary. Now I've been a War-Wife almost my entire married life.

It's hard to believe it's been seven years. There are soldiers in the Army now who weren't even in high school when the attacks happened, yet here they are, willingly joining up to serve their country when they know they'll be sent to war. And that right there, is why we are going to win the War on Terrorism. Terrorists may be willing to die, but we are willing to fight. General Yamamoto once said, "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve." Damn straight.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Travelin' Tuesday - The Original HRC

Chris and I collect shot glasses from the Hard Rock Cafe. We've been to quite a few, so we've built up quite a collection! So when we went to London in 2003, we had to stop at the original Hard Rock Cafe. It's got a nice assortment of Beatles memorabilia (of course) as well as Eric Clapton, and other people I can't remember cause it's been too long....

Anyway, here's the Hard Rock Cafe London -


And me in front of the Hard Rock Cafe and Store -

Weird...

Check out these vintage advertisements on Weirdomatic.com. It's strange what people think will sell products....

Monday, September 8, 2008

New Photos

It's been a while since I posted any pics of the boys, so here are a few that I took this afternoon. And YES, I realize that neither one of them are wearing pants, but it's hot here in Alabama...so sue me.... :-)

Here's Aiden and one of his beloved Lightning McQueens. I just thought his little expression was so cute. And I'm not sure if you can tell, but his hair is getting really curly.


Here is Aiden giving his baby brother a kiss. So sweet...sometimes....


Here's Jack with his big blue eyes. Also a face full of drool. Those teeth better come in soon!


And finally we have Aiden and Jack playing Cars together. I think Jack just thinks that they are neat things to chew on, but at least Aiden is learning how to share with his brother!

Friday, September 5, 2008

Moving: Step One

The moving company came out today to do pre-inspection of the house. They basically just write down all the different types of furniture, see if I have any valuable or fragile items, and get an estimate of how much stuff we have so they know how much packing material they need bring on moving day. It's really nice to have other people pack up all of your crap for you, but there are a few things that I like to pack myself. It just totally grosses me out to think of strange men packing my underwear.... The guy told me if I come down to the warehouse tomorrow he'll give me as many boxes as I want so that I can pack up whatever I need to in advance.

We are going to be moving out of here and into my parent's house on Thursday or Friday of next week. Then the weekend will be spent prepping the house for the movers - everything has to be unplugged, disconnected, emptied out...etc. Then the movers will be here Monday and Tuesday, and we'll be out of here Thursday or Friday. I can't believe we're leaving in 2 weeks! I'm excited to move on, but a little bit sad. My babies were born here, after all!

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Sarah Palin

For those of you following the election news, you know that McCain has chosen Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. I'll admit that I had never heard of her, but I've been reading about her a little since. This woman is refreshing, she's definitely no Hillary Clinton, and I mean that in a good way. Check out her blog Welcome to the Palindrome. It's totally hysterical, I think the pure Alaska air may have driven her a little bit crazy....and I mean that in a good way, too!

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Travelin' Tuesday - Acropolis

I know I forgot to post last Tuesday, I'm sorry. I've got a lot on mind lately! Anyway, we are going back to Athens this week, to the Acropolis. A little Greek lesson for you - "Acropolis" does not refer specifically to the Acropolis in Athens, it simply means the highest hill or spot in a city. Usually it would have a temple on it, and the one in Athens is the most famous, but almost every large city or town in Greece has an Acropolis. The Acropolis in Athens is home to two of the most famous landmarks in Greece - the Parthenon, and the Temple of Athena Nike. It is visible looming high above the streets of the Plaka, or old town, and it's quite impressive.

When we were there, there was scaffolding all over the place, as they were doing some sort of reconstruction. Tell me this - these buildings have stood tall for 4000 years, what can we possibly do to them to make them last longer? Seems to me the ancient Greeks did a pretty good job....

Anyway...the view from the road....

The Parthenon....

and the Temple of Athena Nike....

Monday, September 1, 2008

Time to Veg...

I don't watch a lot of television, I really don't have much time for it. Plus I think most of the shows on TV are crap, but that's neither here nor there. There are a few shows I like to watch though (and I'm not talking about Buffy...). I like Bones, it's got a great mix of dark humor and good characters, plus sharply written dialogue. I also like 24, I mean who doesn't root for Jack Bauer, huh? I also love Prison Break. And I'm not going to say that I think it's the greatest show of our generation or anything, even though it is interesting. I like it for 2 reasons. One - it's addicting and fast-paced. Two - Wentworth Miller.

I'll admit it. He's hot. Even though I'm married to my wonderful, loving husband who I would follow to the ends of the earth (and often have...), I'm unable to completely turn off the female part of my brain that notices things like the fact that Wentworth Miller is really good-looking. Come on, I'm married - not dead. And I'm fully aware that men (my wonderful, loving husband included) notice when a hot woman enters their radar.

So tonight is FINALLY the premiere of Prison Break season four, after what seems like a really long wait after the writer's strike. And Wednesday is the season premiere of Bones, so I'm actually going to be watching TV this week. It's kind of ironic that 2 weeks before my stuff gets packed up is when my shows finally come back on the air. So I get to watch 2 episodes and then say bye-bye to the TV. Oh well, God bless the internet!!

So tonight after my kids go to bed, I'm settling down with a bowl of ice cream, my 65" television and 2 hours of Wentworth Miller. The only thing better would be a bowl of ice cream and my hubby....:-)