Rain, rain... go away.

I'm sitting in my hotel room. Outside, the rain is coming down again. The skies have remained grey the entire time I've been here. The air has a brisk feeling to it but its not cold and thank God there isn't any wind. The reports on the news indicate that Seattle has had a banner rainfall this season and even if I wanted to attempt to board the local mountains I couldn't get to them. Avalanches, flash floods, leaking roofs and car accidents. I don't know if I would succumb to depression under these conditions but I know I would miss the sun and the ability to drive a convertible year 'round.

By contrast, Karen finds herself in Las Vegas at this year's CHA Convention. This marks one of the first of many trips to various scrapbooking gatherings around the United States - this time around as an insider of the industry and not just a consumer. Karen continues to enjoy store ownership and so far things are good on every level. We continue to make new friends - we're definitely enjoying the journey.

I'm going to try and venture out later on tonight and get some grub, maybe I can find some kind of hip bar to get a drink and take in some local color. If I'm feeling adventurous I may wander over to the Cineplex and take in Underworld. I could use a little vampire on werewolf action right about now...

Early to bed, Early to rise.

Most everyone knows that I'm not a morning person. Why most people willingly begin work before the sun comes out is beyond me but this morning was a rare exception for me. Due to an Active Directory failover test I had to run this morning at 7:30 in the morning I was forced out of bed much too early. Everything went fine as far as work goes but I found out what my threshold for morning coffee is - needless to say I had a big cup of some really bad coffee this morning. A necessary evil, and even more necessary now that its wearing off and I'm about to fall asleep. I'm thinking that the lesson to learn here is not to stay up ultra late watching Battlestar Galactica... One a personal note - if those of you out there like the Chai Lattes from Starbucks, Costco now carries the Tazo Chai Tea mix in a handy pour box. 3 to a pack in traditional Costco style, just add milk in a 1 to 1 ration and you're good to go... Anyway, eyes are blurry and I gotta get some food...

PS For those of you who are in to happy hours - French 75 Brasserie @ the Irvine Marketplace (the former Sensasian restaurant) is top drawer. Plus, they have a half off champagne deal going on which makes things very interesting.

Cy

I keep seeing the one eyed cat on my Yahoo start page and its freakin' me out...

New Years Resolutions...

How bout getting off of these antibiotics
How bout stopping eating when I'm full up
How about them transparent dangling carrots
How about that ever elusive kudo

How about me not blaming you for everything
How about me enjoying the moment for once
How about how good it feels to finally forgive you
How about grieving it all one at a time

How about no longer being masochistic
How about remembering your divinity
How about unabashedly bawling your eyes out
How about not equating death with stopping...

2006

So, its time to start writing 2006 on my checks now - well, the few checks I do write. I can't even remember the last time I mailed a payment somewhere with a stamp... In a world where everything is done on-line I can't imagine having to pay 40 cents for the privilege of snail mail. It just seems so... 20th century.

In retrospect, 2005 has been a good year, and while I won't bore you with the details - suffice to say we're happy that we have our health and that we've had no major personal problems to contend with. Even better still, all of our friends have survived another year and are doing well with great prospects for the coming year.

We're continuing to try and have kids for our self imposed deadline is looming on the horizon and we fear that we might just miss the window of opportunity. I guess in our minds it will pan out the way it was meant to, just like everything else in our lives. If need be we'll become the surrogate aunt and uncle to our friend's children and get another dog. We'll have to see what 2006 brings...

So as we look out over the horizon and try and guess where we'll be next year there are some things that we hope for... Obviously, we hope the store does well and we hope that we continue to keep our health. We also have a fervent prayer that things continue to go well for our friends and family and that none of us will have to deal with personal loss or tragedy. Mostly, we hope that the world continues to be a decent place and somehow we'll find a way to get along with each other. The Christian in me always struggles with the cynic but I always have hope that we'll continue to evolve with the help of whoever we pray to. With all the things that we've had to deal with as a nation this past year, I think we're due for a small respite and some major improvements both abroad and domestically. If gas prices are the only thing that we have to complain about this new year I think we'll be in good shape.

In closing, I only have one pearl to impart... Make the change happen, for yourself and your sphere of influence. Together we can make a difference. Together, we can help each other become the best person possible.

Best wishes to you all!