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October 9th, 2006

2nd Half of Vacation

Posted by Toni in Everyday Stuff, Kat Vixen, Travel News

***Sitting in the Sea-Tac waiting for our flight, 10/2/06

Lets see, where did I leave off…….Oh yes, Torn pulled me from taking a nap and we went and did some sightseeing. The day before we walked a few of the local city blocks checking out the local shops. This day we wanted to go to Washington Park.

We first stopped at the Japanese Gardens. I believe it is one of the largest Japanese Gardens in the nation. It was beautiful. It was so soothing and relaxing. I’ll try and remember to post pics once I get the opportunity.

We then headed to another part of the park called the Rose Gardens. Absolutely stunning! I love roses and to see all the different kinds and smells…..I was in heaven. I wanted to take a pic of just about every single flower……lol

I didn’t know that Portland was called the city of roses. Even when walking by some of the more worn down houses you can see and smell roses. It was really cool.

The last thing we went and saw in the park of the Oregon ‘Nam Memorial. Of course, I cried, I always do. The set up was called the Garden Of Solace. I liked how they divided up their war dead by the years, gave the history for that year, both locally and for the war. It was a really good display on how life goes on even in such rough times.

By this time we were about to crash. So we didn’t go to the zoo, so that will have to wait until either our next trip or for when we move out.

***At home just before work…….10/7/06

We got back to our friend’s and ended up chilling out to the point that when we went to lay down for about an hour we all crashed for 3 hrs!!! Next thing we know it is about 7:30! We really did need our sleep. =)

Lincoln made some tender chicken for dinner and then the guys went to chill out while I attacked our luggage. Took me a few hours, but I got it all reorganized & packed up since we were leaving after breakfast the next day.

Our next destination was just north of Seattle. We went and stayed with our friends who run thethrillhammer.com , Allan & his wife.

That evening we went out to a great Italian restaurant that they go to. I’ve never eaten so much garlic! =) We then had to walk it all off as they gave a small tour of the area and a beautiful local park.

The next day, our hostess gave us a small tour of Seattle. We visited Pikes Place Market, Seattle Aquarium, & the Space Needle. It was another stunning day out.

***Out on the patio, trying to finish up……….lol 10/8/06

The next day was football. We watched Purdue get killed at Norte Dame. =( So not cool.

But we did have plans for the night. Our friend, Farrell, from homegrownvideo.com and his girlfriend had us over for dinner with a few other web folks and non web folks. Our friends from the thethrillhammer.com were there, Furrygirl, Trixie & Tucker, and Lincoln came on up. It had it all, great food, great company and great conversation. I love small gatherings like that.

The next day it was time for us head for Seattle for our last night. We had booked a room downtown just so we could get a feel for the city. It was a Sunday so it wasn’t nearly as crowded as it normally would be. We walked it, I don’t know if we were in the wrong part of the city, but we couldn’t find any real place to eat that didn’t require a dress code and everything else was closed due to it being Sunday. Hell, I was just looking for a sports bar, I love eating in those places.

So we ate at the restaurant next to the hotel. It wasn’t bad, it was mediocre. Especially after this past week of food we had. Everyone we stayed with were great cooks and/or they took us to mind blowing restaurants. So we were a little spoiled. =)

The flight out was the normal annoying stressful thing it always is………lol Nothing new there. But our trip ended way too soon and left us craving that part of the country.

It is beautiful out today, here in Florida. I had put myself on the patio to get some work done. It had cooled to the low 80s for the height of the day, so it was hot enough to jump into the pool when the heat got to me. It is evening now so the temps have become even nicer. It is a relief to be able to open out doors to our screen and let air circulate.

Torn made his fabulous soup today. The only thing missing, that he pointed out, was the chilly weather to fully enjoy it.

I got the majority of my emails done, a post done at pichunter.com up, private messages answered, descriptions for the shots we took and I’m now finishing this post up that I started in the airport almost a week ago. So I think I did good today. =)

For my next day off, my goal is to get the vacation pictures edited. We haven’t even started those and we have about 1000 easily. =) And one day, I will program my phone………lol

Ps……I forgot to mention, if you ever head to Portland and you want some excellent Mexican you have got to eat at Taqueria Nueve here is one link to a review : http://portland.citysearch.com/profile/11435148 But just put the name into google and see all the other reviews. Torn & I loved the food there. Thanks Lincoln for taking us there.

September 30th, 2006

The 1st Half

Posted by Toni in Everyday Stuff, Kat Vixen, Travel News

**Started 9/26/06

We are down here in Portland. The party will be starting in a few hours. So I figured I can try and start an entry. =)

We spent the week in Surrey, BC so we could visit Torn’s Navy brother and his family. It is right outside of Vancouver. We haven’t seen them in a few years since their wedding.

***Restarted 9/28/06

Alright, let’s get back into it. =)

We spent some time with our extra family in Vancouver and had a great time. The kids are growing like weeds and are as cute as hell.

We spent some time at Bear Creek Park. It is a gorgeous park and it was a beautiful day. Canadians seem to take a lot of pride in their parks and conservation, which is really cool. We spent several hours there taken pictures of it, even got a few with a bird on my hand, which was wild.

We left there Sunday and headed on down to Deception Pass Park, there at Whidbey Island. We didn’t realize that a town over was having a major biker rally. Holy cow, there was the roar of bikes every where but we got to see some really neat looking bikes. Unfortunately, we went to the wrong entrance of the park so we didn’t get to visit the area that we traditionally go to. It was beautiful just the same.

We took the ferry over to visit Tasty Trixie and her guy, Houseboy. We had a great little visit, exchange info we have about our online business connections & acquaintances. So that was fun. They were so nice and took us to the quaint little downtown they have for dinner and breakfast the next day. It is beautiful area and it very active in keeping the large box stores out to maintain the dignity and beauty of the area.

When we left there we took a very scenic drive down the peninsula, going by Olympic National Forest, doing a lot of stops along the way to take some pictures of the area. It was stunning. I felt right at home.

We have lucked out and the weather has been perfect….knock on wood. So we took a chance and stopped by the closes Mt. St. Helens visitors’ center. They have three of them, one 5miles in, second one 47miles in, and the third 60some miles in from I-5. The last time we were here a few years ago, that was the day it decided to become overcast and you could barely make out the mountain. But that Monday it was crystal clear and we got some great pictures of it.

When we got to Portland, we missed our turn and ended up in the heart of down town on the phone with our friend as he tries to get us where we need to go. Downtown was pretty with having a park right there in the middle of it.

We had a great time hanging with our friend Lincoln. He knows about 90% of the folks in Portland……….lol, it helps that he has been there for about 20yrs. We meet some really cool folks, hung out a lot at Sassy’s Bar & Grill.

During the day Tuesday, we headed to some of the local spots and checked the area out. We were in the NE quadrant of the city and for us (after being in the Midwest so long), it remind me of how “free” an area is around a college. It is more of an alternative and free way of living and thinking. Portland is very big on their parks, conservation, supporting their artist & music community. The people are very friendly and seem to have a live and let live attitude. All which makes us consider that area for ourselves.

The party was on Tuesday night. There was about 60-80 people there. What I liked about it was that even though there were so many folks there they all seemed very respectful of Lincoln’s space. That was cool.

There was a guy there with a 12ft long albino Burma’s python and a scorpion. I got to hold the python! I’ve held them before, but it is so rare that I get the chance that I love it when I do. When we get time, I’ll post the pics. I did not hold the scorpion, there was no way. I don’t what species it was, but the handler said it would be the one you would want because its sting is no worst then a bee sting, unless you’re allergic to those.

Lincoln also arranged to have a fire eater there. She put on a really cool show and his ceiling has the scorched mark to prove it………….lol She got the crowd involved, having them help her put out little fires and putting members in the crowd on fire. Unfortunately, we didn’t want to miss any of it and didn’t grab the cameras. =( If any of our friends post the pics, I’ll see if they will let me post them here.

The majority of the party started to clear out by 3am. We crashed between 4:30-5am……I’m use to being in bed by midnight, so it was a stretch. The core members that were left didn’t crash until about 6am.

We didn’t get much sleep we had a 9am breakfast date with [info]drjeff & [info]sistermaryeris. They took us to the Kennedy School. It use to be an abandoned school house that was redone into a couple of different themed restaurants and bars. The breakfast was great, the Kennedy School was amazing and the company was excellent. We had a great visit and [info]drjeff was so kind and great on giving a small tour of his part of town. Thanks [info]drjeff!! It was greatly appreciated.

I really don’t know how to describe it, but it is beautiful. Portland is a city, but really doesn’t have the “city” feel in the majority of the areas. It kind of reminds me of one big spread out town on the feel of it.

After breakfast, I was going to lay down for a nap……..after 2hrs of sleep, I really needed it. But we were so torn between our need for sleep and wanting to do some sightseeing; because once we crashed we would waste the day.

***Closing for now, we have entered the very congested City of Seattle.

September 23rd, 2006

Trip Update

Posted by Toni in Everyday Stuff, Kat Vixen, Travel News

**Finally got time and found connection

**Written in flight.

It has been a crazy the last 10 days.

My boss had her vacation last week, we are short at work and then I spend a day in a company meeting in my boss’ place.  So, of course, we fell behind and everyone was stressed.  We did end better then we had started and in fact we started this week much better then the last one, so that was cool.

At the company meeting I had turned off my phone for it, well when I went to turn it back on it stated “requires service, call 1-866……..”  and none of my buttons worked.  Took forever to figure it out, but a few weeks ago I had dropped my phone while opening it to make a call.  Well the hinge didn’t appreciate that and partly snapped out of place.  My phone continued to work and I figured we would wait until we got back from vacation before having it replaced.  Wrong, didn’t happen.  Once I shut it down, it was all over.

My meeting was 90 miles from home, so I like to let Torn know when I’m on my way home.  I had gotten a hold of sprint and fact testing things out the lady was kind enough to call him and let him know that I was on my way.  That was really cool.

When I got home, I had to deal with getting a new phone before we left, I even tried to get the express and have it delivered by Monday.  Some one screwed that up and we didn’t get it until Tues.  My old phone still received power so we hoped that they would still be able to transfer my numbers and stuff.  WRONG….gggrrr…  I lost everything.  Of course, we didn’t think about downloading Torn’s info, which would’ve been too easy…….doh

Right now I have an old phone bill with all the numbers I’ve called in my back pack, copy a bunch off of Torn’s phone, so when I get time I’ll try re program my phone.  I’m so not looking forward to it.

Before my boss left for her vacation, our boss told her to tell me to “behave” myself at the meeting.  I have an outgoing personality when I’m in my element.  Even though I do not change who I am, I do conduct myself differently when the occasion calls for it.  So I had to laugh when my boss relayed the message.  I did tell her that I’m not afraid to ask questions, even the ones they don’t want asked.  =)

When my boss came back from vacation and spoke to our boss, our boss was impressed on how I handled myself.  And I told her, in my office with the people I know it is different then with people I don’t know.

I’ve been going nuts trying to make sure we had everything packed and with the 50# limit.  Hopefully I didn’t miss anything.  Even though one baggage’s was 2# over….gggrrr  We had to bust the zip tie off and move stuff from that one bag to another, annoying.

I did finally get a hold of one of my sisters and catch up with her while packing.  She didn’t know that my phone had died.  My god daughter then hit me up for her school fundraiser………….lol  At least they are catching up with the times, it is all online.  I told her that her timing is horrible due to us traveling.  But I’ll try to get something from her so I did my godmother part.  =)

I was able to answer most of my private messages, responses on pichunter, and do my football picks last night.  I really should respond to my emails, and then they will be saved into the outgoing box.  As soon as I get internet they can take off.  Just not sure how much “privacy” I have on the plane with out anyone looking over my shoulder.

Today we will be driving to Vancouver to visit a few of Torn’s Navy family and some of our web friends.  I’m so looking forward to the mountains.  =)

I had a few more thoughts to write out the other day, but don’t remember what they are…..lol….no surprise there.  Hopefully we will have internet connection tonight so I can get this posted.  Keep your fingers cross.

**Written during drive to Vancouver from Seattle.

Took us forever to get our luggage, but the Seattle airport always seems good for that.

We just hit Mount Vernon; still have about 2 hours before we get to the hotel.

I’ve been watching the scenery go by.  It is great to see hills, thick forests with towering pine trees, it is 62 degrees and we are encountering some fall colors.  It is pretty.

Until we started to consider moving from Indiana to Florida, I had to think if I could handle the vegetation in that state.  I love seeing and experiencing different areas, but I’ve always had some thick woods nearby.  After being in Florida for two years, I’ve finally figured out why I have a draw to actual wooded areas.

I had spent the first 7yrs of my life in Germany.  My dad was a sgt./ssgt, it was the 70s with the oil embargo, and he had a wife and 2 kids to support.  We couldn’t afford to do a lot of the things that families could do.

We lived off post with a heavily wooded area behind the house, so for family time and something to do we would go walking through the trails down the nearby village.  We would collect pine cones and just enjoy ourselves.  Hell, until I was much older I thought pine cones were a german thing since I had never seen them anywhere else……..lol

The room I shared with my sister had a window in the ceiling where you could see the pine trees towering over the house.  Use the scare the hell out of me when it was storming at night……lol

But over time it had grown on me, having wooded areas is what me feel at home.  Maybe that is why I really want us to move to this part of the country.  Food for thought.

August 8th, 2006

End of Good Weekend

Posted by Toni in Travel News

We are home and got nearly everything unpacked, last load in the dryer.  I have a small mess on the floor besides my desk that I need to go through.  That will be a project in of its self.  =)

It was a good weekend.

We had joined up with jaYMancash back in December, but we hadn’t meet everyone face to face.  Which is very common with in the internet community.  So it was really cool to meet everyone face to face.  I have met the president of the company and his wife a few years ago but never really got to know them.  They were great and it was so educational (which we all know is something that I love).  I’m so looking forward to the potential of working more with them.

We also got to meet our programmer face to face.  He is from the land down under, so we picked on him about speaking proper English (even though we Americans suck at it……….grin).    We hit it off very well, keep picking on each other……….grin……once he got done wrestling with me….lol

When he is able to take off from work, he travels the world and explores areas that no one thinks of for pictures, the subways and underground tunnels.  He can make something that is so dirty and ran down, look so neat and beautiful.  Here is some of his pictures that he posted on a webmaster board : http://www.gofuckyourself.com/showthread.php?t=639737

His friend, who was traveling with him, was a great guy and they were a trip and a half to watch.  They were able to keep themselves entertained.  He also does the exploring pictures, his site is www.sleepycity.net

They both do some great work.

I finally got to meet Raven of www.ravenriley.com

She is such a small thing and a real nice girl and it shows.  In this business pretty girls are a dime a dozen, so you need to have to have that something special and realness to really take off as quickly as she did.  Well, I can tell you that she genuinely has it.  Although I have to admit, with her young age she brought out some of my mothering instincts.  =) 

We actually got time to visit with Wankus of www.ksexradio.com   and his beautiful girlfriend Tyler Faith of www.tylerfaith.com

We love Wankus, but rarely get the time to visit with him.  =(  So it was a nice change.  His girlfriend was such a sweety.

What I really love about these conventions is when I get to meet girls whose personalities are as nice as they are beautiful.

We also got to see Elli of www.ellinude.com and chill out with the crew of www.Homegrownvideo.com  We’ll be seeing more of you guys in just over a month…..grin

We also got to spend some quality time with some of longtime friends of ours Saturday night.  It was great.  I can’t wait to see them again.

I’m so not looking forward to work tomorrow afternoon.  =(  I have so much to do around here that I would love to get done, so when I’m caught up I can learn some new things and move on.  I just need to be patient; I do have next Monday off.

Current Mood: happy

August 5th, 2006

Weekend In Miami

Posted by Toni in Everyday Stuff, Travel News

I’m here down in Miami @ Internext.  We are doing a combo of chilling out and trying to get some work done.  I was trying to do some email but couldn’t focus my head.  So I’m attempting to do an entry.

This was started Friday, but I didn’t get very far.  We are in another room and everyone is working.  There is 9 people and we all have laptops……..lol  It is like oxygen to us……we need the internet……….grin

I did get all my private messages caught up, never did anything with my emails……lol  I may get to them, but I’m not holding my breath.  =)

It has been 2 years since we’ve been to this one.  I love the location and the casual atmosphere, but unless AVN starts focusing and respecting the webmasters Internext will die.  This is one of the smallest conventions we’ve been too.  We haven’t seen half the people we are use to seeing.  I will say it has been the most productive business & deal wise out of all the trips we have done.  So we are very pleased.

I will have a great opportunity for getting in on the ground floor of some projects.  So I have to some how find a way to balance my life…..lol

We were going to put housecamz up in our room, but it didn’t happen for several reasons.  One, we only been in the room long enough to sleep and shower, two, we haven’t much luck with our connection and third, we have been doing work on our laptops during the meetings.  So it just didn’t happen.

Looks like I may need to get myself together.  So I’ll get this posted.  =)

Current Mood: (busy) busy