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Today we added about 6000lbs to our family.  No, we did not all spend the day at Golden Coral.  Linda finally got a new SUV.  She has been driving a 1998 Ford Expedition for quite a while, it has been a trusty steed taking us all over the US in reliable comfort (except for that one incident on the Colorado mountain side but everyone is entitled to one bad day in 12 years).  It was time to get her a vehicle from the 21st century.

We didn’t have to look far.  Although we considered the GM full size SUVs, we couldn’t resist the latest Texas sized offering from Ford.  Linda settled on a well equipped dark blue pearl Eddie Bauer edition.  We went downtown to see our old friend and ultimate Aggie - Tommy Vaughn.  Tommy was an all American Fighten Texas Aggie and part of the Texas A&M national championship of 1939.  OK, we never met Tommy and he is dead now but we did go to the dealership with his name on it.  Our sales guy was a man named David and he was easy to work with – no muss no fuss.

It wasn’t until we got home that we realized just how much bigger this new big brother was than his older sibling.  It barely fit in the garage, we had less than an inch to spare as the roof rack slid under the garage door.  If the gas tank would have been empty instead of full we may not have made it.  See Yao Ming standing next to our blue beast as a point of reference.

Yes, it scares small children from California and they cry when they look up from their Prius and see it, and I had to tell the banker that I was going to medical school so he would give me a loan big enough to appease Ford credit, but we can pull a small house behind it, call you on the integrated bluetooth speakerphone and if we ever have another hurricane, we will have a place to stay.

We came to Texas from Florida in a Honda.  Not long after we got here Linda was sitting at a red light when she realized the trailer hitch on the truck in front of her was pretty much at eye level.  She looked to her left and saw a running board the size of a surfboard.  They called them vehicles.  At that moment she knew she wanted to sit up high.  She started with a minivan or two then got into the hard stuff.  And that's how we got to where we are today.  Hey, the next vehicle we get will be one of those Mini Coopers, no really! I’m totally serious, we can quit any time we want.

# posted by theChristys @ 12:26 AM 10 comments

Often said, often meant.  This time, truly meant.  For some reason, this  Christmas is a little extra joyful.  I don’t know why and I am not going to question it.  We have everything we need and almost everything we want (I believe that “almost” is one of the keys to being happy).  Our kids are in college learning to be college kids.  My sister had some medical issues but came out smelling like a rose (the sauerkraut smell is completely gone) and Linda and I are still able to put our socks on in the morning by ourselves.

Unlike bonuses and entitlements, Christmas cheer isn’t a zero sum game.  Our cheer does not require someone else to loose out.  With this in mind, I can whole heartedly promote as much cheer as possible because it isn’t going to cost me anything.  So go ahead, grab a bag full and pass some on.

On a related topic, this Christmas was the year of the Amazon.  I am glad I am not in bricks and mortar retail.  Driving down congested streets with distracted and frustrated shoppers, negotiating demolition derby style parking lots and traversing the rows and racks of a store without a search function does not increase my cheer index.  On the other hand, my favorite online retailers know who I am, make me feel like i am the only one in the store, unless I want to know what other shoppers think of my perspective purchase, and allow me to check out in less time it takes for a clerk to ask me if i want to sign up for yet another credit card.  I’m not saying the UPS guy comes to the house a lot but the last time a UPS truck passed by our house without stopping was sometime in October (he later realized his mistake and stopped on the way back - rookie).

We used to send out Christmas cards, maybe we would through in a “hope everyone is doing well” handwritten message, then we sent Christmas letters done on the computer with a whole year recap of the good things we did or that happened to us, we included pictures an printed it in comic sans.  Now your mailbox is empty, you have to come here to get your Christmas wishes.  Instead of a page or two of bite size updates you have to wade through a menagerie of random posts.  But you and us, we are still here.  We are still friends and family and we wish you a merry Christmas.

# posted by theChristys @ 1:14 PM 1 comments

The gaming bug has bit me hard this fall.  First there was Left 4 Dead 2, and The World of Goo, then COD Modern Warfare 2 and now Borderlands.  All those games have the ability to create time travel – you know,  you sit down and pop open a game for a little R&R and then in a blink of a bleary eye you fall through a black hole or something and you tumble out the other side 7 hours older, hungry and with a bladder that is stretched so thin it’s probably transparent by now.  You know . . .  time travel.

Borderlands is part Fall Out 3, part Diablo 2 and part Quake.  If these names mean nothing to you, I apologize – translated – This game is swell and a lot of fun, and perhaps an excellent Christmas present for that whippersnapper in the family.

I recently had the opportunity to experience the multiplayer co-op version of the game when Greg-the-Dominator came by for a visit.  And I can tell you, once we add Katie-the-Devistator to the mix, no Bandit, Skag or Psycho will be left alive.  Even the mighty Skagzilla will be defeated.  I would bet my Jacobs Fearsome Thunder on it!

# posted by theChristys @ 5:30 PM 6 comments

Our poor weathermen had to go the whole hurricane season without one real threat.  That must be as painful as a gossip magazine going a whole month without a dying celebrity.  Global warming failed to produce even an average storm season this year.

BUT!  Finally! The spotlight deprived atmospheric prognosticators got to take center stage on the nightly news in Houston.  It wasn’t quite “Day After Tomorrow” stile apocalypse but damm it, there was going to be snow in Houston.

For days we were shown storm projections, historical statistics and arms waving frantically in front of a blue screen.  Then . . . Christmas came early for the weather departments.  It was real snow, not just the sleet and ice chips we usually get.  This picture was taken in Pearland, a little SW of Houston.  It snowed most of the day were we live but it didn’t really accumulate.  Farther south of us, the perfect storm erupted, they got close to 4 inches.  Dennis Quaid and Jake Gyllenhaal, were standing by but we were able to make it through the event without them.

# posted by theChristys @ 10:01 PM 2 comments

The Internet crashed

I was walking home from a friends house where we had been working all night on some unbelievable blog entries, and these two guys, maybe there were three, jumped me and stole my posts!

I posted them, it’s not my fault you didn’t see them.

I was about to post a really witty story when . . . this kid was drowning, I had to save him.  By the time I got back to my computer, someone had stolen my ideas.

I thought YOU were going to do it!

# posted by theChristys @ 10:26 AM 3 comments