You know it's cold in Arizona when ...

Bryan has to wear his down ski parka to BBQ in.

Seriously folks. It's cold here.

What up with that?

Even more seriously,

yeee-eesssss ... we own coats,

and yeee-eesssss we wear them

because it still gets cold.

Granted, I literally have to DUST them off,

but we do own them.

And wear them.

It’s been FREEZING in the morning!

No, we don't have the luxury of snow days,

no, Cameron will probably never experience

the "waking up for school at the butt-ass crack of dawn

to listen to the list of schools closed for the day
being announced on the radio."

But he does own a coat.

Because it does get cold.

Temperatures the past few mornings here have been in the 30s

and there has been frost.

Our fountain was frozen.

AND ... the temps aren’t expected to warm up much either ...

the highs range from 57-62.

Brrrrrr.

That's cold.

For us.

No, we're not running to the mailbox

eagerly waiting for

"Thinking About You In Your Cold Climate"

or

"Hoping Things Warm Up Soon"

cards,

(Does Hallmark make such a thing? Surely they do...)
especially from those of you experiencing

true winter conditions.

But we live in Arizona.

If we wanted cold weather like this,

we'd move.

Why do you think we have Snowbirds?

These temps are WELL below our normal for this time of year,

which should be in the low 70's.

And did I mention the rain?

It's been raining. A lot.

And hard.

A couple of days of it is nice.

Makes me feel like I'm back in Oregon.

But not more than two.

Because I'm not back in Oregon.

So just to recap:

It's cold. Really cold.

Now ... a little sympathy?

Tuesday Funny: Wrong Email Address

Received this as an email ... it's a good one!

A New Jersey couple decided to go to Florida to thaw out during a particularly icy winter. They planned to stay at the same hotel where they spent their honeymoon 20 years earlier. Because of hectic schedules, it was difficult to coordinate their travel schedules. So, the husband left New Jersey and flew to Florida on Thursday, with his wife flying down the following day. The husband checked into the hotel. There was a computer in his room, so he decided to send an email to his wife. However, he accidentally left out one letter in her email address, and without realizing his error, sent the email.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Houston , a widow had just returned home from her husband's funeral. He was a minister who was called home to glory following a heart attack. The widow decided to check her email expecting messages from relatives and friends. After reading the first message, she screamed and fainted. The widow's son rushed into the room, found his mother on the floor, and saw the computer screen which read:

To: My Loving Wife

Subject: I've Arrived

Date: October 16, 2007

I know you're surprised to hear from me.

They have computers here now and you are allowed to send emails to your loved ones.

I've just arrived and have been checked in.

I've seen that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow.

Looking forward to seeing you then!!!!

Hope your journey is as uneventful as mine was.

P.S. Sure is freaking hot down here!!!!

THE SPOILED UNDER-30 CROWD!

If you are 30 or older you will think this is hilarious!!!!

When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were. When they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning uphill ... barefoot ... BOTH ways ... Yadda, yadda, yadda.

And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on kids about how hard I had it was and how easy they've got it!

But now that I'm over the ripe old age of thirty, (okay, OKAY! thirty-four), I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia!

And I hate to say it but you kids today don't know how good you've got it! I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have The Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalogue. (Not sure even I would remember how to do this one!)


There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter, with a pen. Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox and it would take like a week to get there. (I'm happy to report, I still make Cameron do this ... )


There were no MP3' s or Napsters. You wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the damn record store and shoplift it yourself. Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ would usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up! (Gotta love those mix tapes - perfect for road trips and camping!)

We didn't have fancy crap like Call Waiting. If you were on the phone and somebody else called they got a busy signal, that's it. And we didn't have fancy Caller ID either. When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your mom, your boss, your Bookie, your drug dealer, a collections agent, you just didn't know. You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister! (What about those times the phone was accidentally left off the hook? Oh, the HORROR!)


We didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics. We had the Atari 2600. With games like 'Space Invaders' and 'asteroids'. Your guy was a little square. You actually had to use your Imagination. And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died. Just like LIFE. (We actually had Intellevision, and it was AWESOME! Pitfall was the best ... remember taking a picture of the screen with your high score, and sending it in for a t-shirt? Still waiting for it. So is Bryan.)

You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on.You were screwed when it came to channel surfing. You had to get off your ass and walk over to the TV to change the channel and there was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you Hear what I'm saying!?! We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little rat-"bad word here"s! (Ahh ... what about the After-school specials? :) And might I add, portable DVD players? Whatever. Even though we have them. They are a godsend. How did our parents, or us, for that matter, manage?)

And we didn't have microwaves, if we wanted to heat something up we had to use the stove ... Imagine that!

That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled. You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1980!

Regards,

The over 30 Crowd

What's Heaven?

On the outside, my little boy may appear to be tough and often nonchalant, but on the inside, he has the biggest heart and the capability of extending the most genuine sympathy or empathy towards others. This is the most obvious when someone is hurting. Tears flow, and his concern for the other person is huge. My Uncle John's mom, Gene, passed away a couple of days ago. While we haven't actually seen her in years, we kept up a close correspondence via emails, notes, letters, cards, and of course pictures of Cameron. She was more than just a close family friend, she was family to us. Cameron held a special place with her. She loved keeping up on his activities and never seemed to forget a birthday or special occasion. I had given Cameron periodic updates of her condition the last few months or so, suggesting he send a letter or picture or a nice handmade get well card. He did so with enthusiasm knowing that it "would make her smile and feel better." After hearing that she passed, I waited until later in the evening to talk to him about it. He was concerned, sad, but understood that she was no longer hurting, that the angels had taken her to heaven. The following morning, Bryan takes him to school and the floodgates opened. "Why did she have to die? Why does God have to take her away from all of us? Uncle John must be so sad that his mom is gone." After retrieving a late pass to take him to class, Bryan thought he was under control, but to no avail. He took him home, and thought maybe in an hour or two he would be okay. Needless to say, he spent the day at home with daddy. He was grieving for Gene's loss, and going about his normal daily activities was not the right method for him. Wednesdays are my day to go "into the office" and so I spoke with Cam a few times during the day. We chatted, and emphasized that while we might be sad and hurting because she's gone, SHE isn't hurting anymore. I had purchased a few books the year that my Grandpa and Bryan's Grandpa died. Their deaths were similar in situation, and were only 6 months apart. Tough for a 6 year old to handle. The "What's Heaven?" book, by Maria Shriver, was fantastic, and I highly recommend it. We read it last night, and it seemed to put Cameron (and I) at peace with what was happening.

Not that I have a degree in psychology or anything, but I felt there was more to Cam being upset than Gene's death. We found out a couple of weeks ago that his teacher from FCA (he had her for both 1st and 2nd grade) was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 Inflammatory Breast Cancer, a rare and aggressive form of cancer. (About 1/3 of newly diagnosed inflammatory breast cancers are stage IV.) This was sudden, obviously for everyone, and it hit us all pretty hard, as she was a huge part of our lives while he was attending. Still is, really. They were all family at the school. They treated us all like family, and helped us through some difficult times as well. Knowing that she had cancer, and one that was so advanced, caused even more heartache for Cam. It's hard enough as an adult to experience death and going through the motions of grieving ... I can't imagine how it is for a child. I think it has all swirled into one great sadness for him. My first experience with a death (that I truly recall) was a great-grandparent, and I was already in high school. It's a bit different for an 8 year old. It's a lot to grasp. I just wanted to express deep sympathy for Gene's passing, and for the Keene family. I'm grateful they were all there in November to spend time with her, for her to be with her grand kids, and meet her great-grandson. I'm glad Uncle John was by her side offering her comfort, and I pray that everyone has a safe trip to Alabama. We are thinking of you all.

Happy Birthday Theresa!

Enjoy the day, the year, and all the moments that fill them in between! Here's wishing you a wonderful year full of happiness and success. May every little part of your birthday have some happy in it!

Love Always, Us