Things that are new: Junior Mints: Peppermint Crunch

I found these and thought they looked interesting. They have a very slight crunch to them, less than expected. They are not that much different from regular junior mints, although the peppermint does seem a little stronger, which is fine. Overall 7/10 since they aren't too original.

A Racket Burrito

Most mornings when we come downstairs, we find Racket hidden in her blanket. She somehow gets herself all wrapped up and warm. Most of the time she is snuggled up against the air vent so that when the heat comes on she's extra warm.

Things that are new: Pringles Select - Cinnamon Sweet Potato Chips

These chips are pretty good, but not nearly as good as the Sweet Thai Chili. These get a 6/10. They are made from "sweet potato pieces" that are pressed (in true Pringles fashion) into discs. They are sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar to give them a nice sweet flavor. So, overall good, but not execllent.

Things that are new: Sweet Thai Chili Chips

I got hooked on this flavor when I was in England... now it's avaiable in the US. They are tasty and sweet with just a little bit of spice. I have to say they are one of the best flavored chips I've ever had. I found them at a local Safeway. I highly recommend giving them a try. If you like them, leave me a comment!

Black Friday 2007

So... what did you get today?? Anything good?

I woke up at 4:10a this morning to head to Circuit City to grab a deal on an LCD TV. I was about 500th in line, but managed to get the TV I was looking for. It's a Sharp Aquos 46" LCD 1080p. If you don't know what any of that means, don't worry about it... it's a good TV :)

I took the TV back home, then headed to Office Depot, Radio Shack, Kmart, Lowe's, Best Buy, Walmart, Little Caesar's (for a snack), then back home. It's now 8:50p and I'm a bit tired. I managed to get 90% of my unfinished Christmas shopping done today.

It's been a very long day... I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Hawaii Snapshot - Sept 2007

We took a trip to the Big Island of Hawaii in September... and I didn't post anything (big surprise). I'm catching up now. Below is a picture of some happy kitties outside of the timeshare we stayed at. We fed them fish, which they loved. We then gave them a big plate with some milk on it. At one point we had 8 or 9 of them begging for food.

US AFA Football

Here's a picture of the field during half-time of the Air Force vs. Army football game 2 weeks ago.

Italy Posts... Finally!

Okay... so I finally uploaded everything I've written for our trip to Italy. It only took 6 months, but it's done :) There are 2 more days that are not completely written (Day 12 and 13). These two days include our second day in Venice and the trip back to Rome for a final day. We didn't write these because on the last day, while we were in Rome, is when we got the phone call telling us that Bug had died. That was rough and took the wind out of our sails for Rome. About all we could do after that was walk back to the bus and go back to the hotel. If you want to read all of the Italy posts in one place, follow this link: http://bolish.blogspot.com/search/label/Italy.

Italy Day 11 - Venice (02 May 2007)

The day started at the hotel for breakfast. The process for getting ready took a little longer than usual since the room was so small (you had to in outside just to change your mind.) Seriously, the bathroom barely had room for one person. After breakfast, we walked to San Marco square and got in line for the basilica. It looked to be a long wait, but we found a guide that would give us a tour of the museum and church for €10 (the museum normally costs €3) which let up jump to the front of the line. Our tour took about an hour. Afterwards, we saw the Pala de Oro (Altar of Gold) which cost €1.50 each. Next we went into the treasury (€2 each.) We left the basilica and found a pizza place for lunch. After eating, we wandered all over Venice. During one shopping stop, it started raining. It varyed between a light sprinkle and a total downpour. We donned our ponchos and continued. We eventually made our way to Campo Santa Margarita. We'd been told there was a place for the best gelato. We found Il Doge, which turned out to be excellent. The gelato was good and very well priced. Another strong recommendation. We dropped into a market across from Il Doge and bought some olives and water (water was €0.34 per 1.5 liter bottle.) We splashed our way back to our hotel and dropped off the ton of water, them headed out for more shopping.

Italy Day 10 - Florence to Venice (01 May 2007)

** Historical Post **
The day started well enough. We had a light breakfast at the hotel and lugged our bags down four flights of stairs to the street. We made our way back to the train station, stopping to buy some water and pins. We got to the station and to the ticket counter. When we asked for tickets, the agent said, "No tickets to Venice today." Our stomachs sank. I asked if there was a later train. The computer said, "No." I asked if there was a bus or any other way to get to Venice. Finally the agent told up to just get on the train and to find a seat. We'd have to pay €8 extra since we did not have a reservation. It sounded risky, but we really didn't have much choice. We stood around for half an hour waiting to find out what track the train would come in on. About 10 minutes before the train arrived, we found out the track. We headed that direction, along with about 100 other people. We managed to get on the train, but then had to search for seats. We eventually found 2 seats together and with luck, were able to keep them. After that, the train ride was quiet and smooth. We made it to Venice and immediately made reservations for our train back to Rome. We them debated buying a three day pass for the vaporetto (the Venice bus system.) We finally decided to get it for €30. A single ride normally costs €6. We hopped on line 1 and were at the San Angelo stop in about 20 minutes. Our hotel was about a 5 minute walk from there. We again found ourselves climbing a ton of stairs to the lobby, them more to the room. The room itself was very small, but clean and nicely decorated. We dropped off our bags and set out to see some of Venice. We walked to Piazza San Marco, them took a tour of the islands using the vaporetto system. The 3 day pass paid for itself very quickly. Venice is a series of islands in a large lagoon. A lot of the islands are connected by bridges, while others are farther away and can only be reached by boat. We rode out to Lido, the resort island, then took a vaporetto around the northern parts of the lagoon. From the boat we could see a good number of the other islands. We rode up and down the grand canal and took more than enough pictures to fully document everything. We had dinner at a restaurant near our hotel in Campo San Stefano. The pasta was good, but the meat was not the best. The pork was under cooked and the chicken was over cooked. The gelato was good though. After dinner. We called it a day.

Italy Day 9 - Pisa and more Florence (30 April 2007)

** Historical Post **
Ring ring went the bells again. We had our light breakfast at the hotel, then walked to the train station. We had a short wait for the train to Pisa, then about an hour to get there. As has been the pattern, it started raining after we got to Pisa. We threw on our ponchos and kept walking. We wandered through the square around the famous leaning tower, then started looking for lunch. After an attempt to go to a restaurant recommended by the tourist office (it was closed for a private mafia party), we ended up at a pizza place near the tower. The food was terrible and the service was worse. If you are ever in Pisa, avoid the touristy areas for lunch. After our bad lunch, we walked back to the train station by way of the shopping district. Overall, Pisa is rather disappointing. We were told to plan a half day and not to waste too much time... This turned out to be good advice. The train ride back to Florence was interesting. We were visited by two Japanese that didn't speak, then by a man from Niger. He was friendly, however we both felt like he was about to ask up to help him get money from his "rich uncle" back home. He jumped off at the first stop for Florence (probably to go to his job selling fake Prada). Once we got back to the main station for Florence, we walked past the Piazza Republica to a gelato shop that was listed in Lonely Planet. Fiesta del Gelato is said to have almost every flavor available. Although this may be true, it was very overpriced, was not very good, and did not provide much quantity. By far, the worst gelato experience to date. To improve our spirits, we headed over to the duomo and got in line. We were headed to the top of the coupola (dome). 463 arduous steps later, we made it to the top. Anyone with heart issues or a fear of tight spaces should not attempt to go up. If you can make the trek, the view is well worth it. While we were at the top, I say a guy trying to carve something into the marble of the coupola. I walked up to him and smacked him on the back. He was totally shocked that anyone would stop him. He looked like he was writting something in Korean. I kept an eye on him for a few minutes. He kept looking over at me guiltily. We left as the dome was closing. We decided that after our bad experiences with food that we would just go back to the same restaurant from the night before. Again, the food was great. After dinner, we walked up to the Piazza de Santa Croce where there was a public market. For dessert, we got a piece of fresh baked apple strudel that was very yummy. After finally having some good food, we called it a day.

Italy Day 8 - Florence (29 April 2007)

**Historical Post **
The day started with the cathedral bells ringing at 7:00a. We had planned to get up, but that made sure we were awake. We had an extremely light breakfast at the hotel (we got spoiled at the Hilton), then set off for the Uffizi gallery. Our book said to expect long lines. We arrived at 8:45. The line stretched all the way around the piazza. After an hour, we'd made some progress and figured it would be another 2 hours. Finally after 4 and a half hours, we got in. One person behind up said, "For this long a wait, the statues better move!" Well, they didn't. There are some amazing pieces of art, but not worth the pain. After our painful gallery visit, we walked across the river and up the hill across from the city. The view was worth the effort. The area is officially called Piazzale Michelangelo. After relaxing for a bit, we headed back down the hill for dinner. After dinner, we walked across the famous bridge, Ponte Vecchio. It currently houses mostly goldsmiths and guys selling fake Prada bags. On our way back to the hotel, we saw a police car come around the corner by the bridge. In about 5 seconds, all the bag vendors had scooped up their goods and started walking away as if they'd never been there.

We had dinner at Le Colonnine located at 6 Via Dei Benci. The food was outstanding! Totally 5 stars. To find the restaurant, go south from Piazza Santa Croce. The place is in the pie wedge on the corner.

Long time... no posts... again

It's been months again since I've posted anything. I won't say that I will post more, but I will try. I'm looking into some software for my phone that will help post from there... if I can snap a picture and drop it to the blog from my phone, I'll be a lot more likely to do it. If I find something that works, I'll share!

Take care!!

Not an every day sight...

Again in Huntsville... as you drive along the highway, you suddenly see rockets! Very neat. They have a space shuttle, several rockets, an SR-71, and look to be building an Apollo mission museum.

 

 

Terminal Hotel

In Huntsville, there's a hotel. People go there and check in... but NEVER check out!

It's the Terminal Hotel! Read the shocking new novel by Stephen King!

George Forman Grilling... well, something

I saw this display at Linen's and Things and thought it looked a bit odd. I'm not exactly sure what he's grilling... or pointing to. You make up your own mind!

Italy Day 7 - Rome to Florence (28 April 2007)

** HISTORICAL POST** Been sitting in draft for months...
The day started by sleeping in a little. We had breakfast at the lounge overlooking the city. We took the shuttle to the metro station at Piazza Barbarini them took the metro to Roma Termini. We ended up making a reservation on the Eurostar train for €15 each. The ride to Florence was quick and comfortable. Once we arrived, we walked from the station across town to the hotel. When we found it (Hotel Bavaria) we discovered that we had to climb up 2 long flights of stairs to reach the lobby, them another flight to the room. We later counted about 90 steps from the street to the room. After we stopped sweating, we headed back out to see some of Florence. We made our way around the famous duomo and up to the Galeria de Academia where the famous sculpture of David stands in all his glory. The rest of the gallery has some interesting icons and a collection of plaster works used as models for other works of art. We walked back toward the hotel and had dinner at a restaurant near the duomo. The food was okay, but nothing special.

Italy Day 6 - More Rome (27 April 2007)

** HISTORICAL POST** Been sitting in draft for months...
Another day started in the luxury of the Hilton. After a light breakfast, we set out on "mission impossible"... to see the rest of Rome in one day. There was a plan and some amount of will power. We started by having the shuttle drop us at piazza del Popolo. We saw two amazing churches and then headed south. We visited several monuments and went back to Trevi fountain. From there, it was off to the Pantheon. Just south of there is the piazza of Minerva with another amazing church. The next stop on the tour was Piazza Novana where we had lunch. It is not recommended since the quality isn't the best and the prices are higher than other areas. After lunch, we headed to campo de Fiori, a fruit market. While there, we picked up a fake Prada bag for €10. Our tour continued to teatro marcello and then to Campidoglio. We then walked to the church built on the site where St. Peter was imprisoned. The hole in the ground is right next to the roman forum. As we meandered through the forum, we were hit with another brief rain shower. We finished seeing the forum and made a lap around the colosseum. We then walked a half mile to the piazza bocca with the large stone mouth were romans were said to deposit complaints about each other. From there, we took a high speed walk (with a few wrong turns) to the hard rock cafe for dinner. After dinner, we took a very slow walk back down to the shuttle stop. According to the pedometer, we walked 26837 steps. That translates to about 10 miles or more! It's time for a foot massage!! So far on this this, we've walked an estimated 43 miles. Once back at the hotel, we did a load of laundry in the sink. No wonder man invented washing machines! Drying clothes with a hair dryer is also quite the adventure.

Italy Day 5 - Rome (26 April 2007)

** HISTORICAL POST** Been sitting in draft for months...
This day did not begin with a train ride! Instead, we had a relaxing breakfast in the Hilton lounge overlooking the Vatican. After breakfast, we caught the shuttle to town. We had to walk a few blocks (about 8) to the Vatican. When we arrived, the line was around the corner and down the street. Surprisingly, it only took an hour to get in. We spent about 5 hours wandering through the museums and saw the Sistine chapel. All very neat. When we left, it started raining again. We walked around to St Peters square and went into the basilica. Truly amazing! The scale is almost impossible to grasp. As a surprise, we walked some more. We walked to Castle Sant Angelo. On the way, we stopped for a giant gelato. At the castle we saw people selling fake prada bags by the hundreds. We made our way to piazza cavour then across the river to the spanish steps. After a short break to rest our feet, we wandered into a restaurant for some pizza for dinner. As we left, we heard some loud thunder. We walked quickly to the hotel shuttle. Just as we got to the piazza, it started to pour down rain. We hid under an eave until the shuttle arrived. Once back at the hotel, we headed for the lounge for some wine and desserts. Athena tried some Campari soda and decided that it was nasty. After some chocolate, it was time to sleep.

Italy Day 4 - Naples to Rome (25 April 2007)

** HISTORICAL POST** Been sitting in draft for months...
Another day, another train. We checked out of the hotel and made a vow never to return to Naples. We negotiated our train ride and finally got on. We sat with a woman from Seattle who was traveling Europe for two months. We arrived into Rome and made our way to the metro. A short ride to the Cipro stop and then a taxi got us to the Hilton, paradise compared to Naples. The room was at least three times bigger! We also had access to the executive lounge filled with goodies all day long! After a beverage, we set out to see Rome. The shuttle took up from the hotel to piazza Barberini. We made our way to the colosseum through numerous old buildings, ruins, and archeological sites. The line into the colosseum was very short and only took a few minutes to get tickets. We spent about an hour "documenting" the site. As we were leaving, it started to rain. We walked toward the Palatine and bought an umbrella. It rained the entire hour we were in the Palatine. We exited to the forum and walked to Trevi fountain. We grabbed some pizza, that was not good, and walked to the shuttle for the hotel. Once back, we headed for the lounge for some tasty snacks and desserts. We ended the day in a sugar coma.

Italy - Just funny

Italy may be a romantic country, but apparently there are still people who like to dress like idiots. This picture was taken as we walked down the street of Florence.

Italy Day 3 - Sorrento and Capri (24 April 2007)

Another day started with breakfast at the hotel and a walk to the train station. Again we boarded the train towards Sorrento. This time we rode to the end. We spent several hours walking around the city checking out shops, churches, and the amazing views. After a great lunch at Sant Antonino's, we browsed one of the oldest stores in Sorrento. After more walking and a gelato, we caught the ferry to Capri. We rode the funiculare up the hill to the town center (last time I had to climb up it myself.) We walked a very winding route to the south side of the island where we got some great views of the sea and cliffs. We took a more direct route back. On the way, we found the nicest hotel on the island... Best western! No kidding, it was really nice! Next to the hotel were all the expensive, big name stores you'd expect to find on Rodeo drive. A short walk brought us back to the main square for a coffee with ice cream. We rode the funiculare back down the hill and caught the ferry back to Naples. On the way, we both took a much needed nap. Once back in beautiful Naples, we hiked over to one of my favorite restaurants, Antonio y Antonio. The food was good, however the service was a bit slow. So, a 5 for food, but 3 for service. After dinner, we walked the streets so Athena could soak in the sights, sounds, and smells of Naples. She got to see a guy urinating on a building, a Naples hooker, a castle, then had her tour topped off with a ride in a Naples taxi. "No problemo, es Napoli!" We finally made it back to the hotel around midnight. What a long day!
The first picture is of gelato in Sorrento. The second is of the cliffs over the water as we were taking the ferry from Sorrento to Capri.

The following images are from Capri. The first shows a store front with Lemoncello (famous in Capri). The second is from a park overlooking a grotto on the north side of the island.

Italy Day 2 - Pompeii (23 Apr 2007)

The morning started a little slow as we tried to adjust to the new timezone. Italy is at GMT+1 (6 hours ahead of the East Coast of the USA). We had breakfast at the hotel, which included croissants and strong Italian coffee. We walked to the train station once again and got on the train toward Sorrento. In the station we met a couple of newly graduated medical students from Texas. It took about 40 minutes to get to Pompeii. Once there, we used our passes to get our tickets. Normal price is €10. They recommend at least 3 hours, however, we spent 7 and still didn't see everything. We had to stop since we'd both lost all feeling in our feet. The pain was well worth it though. The ruins are amazing and they continue to find more all the time. A lot of the buildings are in very good condition. They still have many of the mosaics and paintings intact. There are tons of intact pottery everywhere. In several locations, they have plaster casts of people that were found among the ashes. After all day hike through Pompeii, we took the train back to Naples. We had dinner at a great pizza place 3 blocks from our hotel. We shared a margarita pizza that was about as big as the table. Afterwards, we walked up the street and got a piece of tiramisu. Pizza was a 5 tiramisu was a 3. We walked back to the hotel through the trash filled streets of Naples. After such a long day, it was easy to fall to sleep!

The pictures below are of some of the remains of people in Pompeii. They actually found the remains as a hollow area in the ash. They would fill the volume with plaster and then remove the ash to give them a mold of the body that was once there. The second picture shows one of the most well preserved houses in the area. The mosaics and paintings are in near perfect condition.

Italy Day 1 - Arrival into Naples (22 Apr 07)

NOTE: Sorry for the LONG delay... This is the first post documenting our travels through Italy. The entire trip took about 14 days from start to finish. I kept a daily log that I will post here with pictures over the next week or so. Enjoy!

The day before our flight, we stayed in Denver. This saved us the drive up on the day of our flight and allowed us to park at the hotel at no charge for our stay (a good savings). Our flight departed from Denver around 11:00a. We flew to Washington DC (actually Dulles Airport in Virginia). We had a few hours to wander the airport where we ate some lunch. We got on another plane around 6:30p for the 8 1/2 hour flight to Rome. On our flight, we met a gentleman from Italy that was traveling with his 5 year old son. When dinner was served, I got the pasta while Athena had the chicken. The Italians both had chicken. Athena and the boy both learned that the chicken was spicy. The father asked a flight attendant if they could have a different meal. I think he was told they would have to wait (they spoke Italian). After a while, they still had not been given a replacement... he then asked if he could have a bottle of water for his son. The flight attendant told him they could not give him the bottle. He then asked for several glasses of water so that his son could eat his meal. The flight attendant responded, "Well, aren't you a piece of work." VERY rude! Eventually the head flight attendant came over to speak to him. I told her what I had seen and heard and explained how that was NOT the way to treat customers. She tried to defend the other's actions because apparently the father had said something to another flight attendant. I told her that he was EXTREMELY polite in his interaction about the water and that the rude response was completely unjustified. Anyway, needless to say, the treatment by United was not very friendly. If we can help it, we will avoid them in the future. Unfortunately, this time, they were the best option for flights.

After a nap and several hours of reading, watching movies, etc, we arrived in Rome. At the airport, we got tickets for our trip to Naples. We first got on the train from the airport to Roma Termini (the main station in Rome). In the station we ate a light lunch of sandwiches and coke light. From there, it was a 2 hour ride to Naples. We joined the locals in napping on the ride down. Once in good old Napoli, we bought a multi day travel kit. It included a 3 day travel pass and access to 2 historic sites. We walked over to our hotel and got checked in to our shoe box of a room. We quickly discovered that our bathroom was missing a key feature, a toilet seat! For anyone traveling to Italy, make sure to reserve a room with a bathroom... And pack a spare toilet seat :) After dropping our bags off, we set out for the national archaeological museum. After a short walk back to the train station, we jumped on the metro. The museum is one stop away from Piazza Garibaldi at Cavour and then a 2 block walk up the street. Admission is normally €9. The bookstore sells a useful book for Naples for €3. The museum has a lot of artifacts from Pompeii including the "secret room" that has a collection of ancient porn. It also has numerous statues and mosaics. After several hours, we managed to see most of the displays. We took the metro back to Garibaldi, then walked back to the hotel to rest before dinner. We ate dinner at the hotel, which was reasonable (3 out of 5 stars). After dinner, we both crashed.

Both of these images are from the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. The museum has a lot of artifacts from Pompeii.

Floor from Pompeii

Large mosaic from Pompeii

Bug's Hobbies

Bug was always playful. His idea of fun was chasing treats around the room or attacking your hand. He would grab on with his front claws, then use his back ones to take a sample of the flesh from your forearm. He enjoyed his post with the fake mouse attached (see picture). He eventually got strong enough to rip the mouse off... we didn't buy him another toy like that. Bug's other favorite hobby was hiding. No matter how small or how big he was, he would always find the good hiding places in our house. You can barely see him hiding inside the computer desk. He would actually climb in from behind by using the printer as a starting point... he would then lay down inside the desk and just peak out so he could keep an eye on everything.

What's in a name?

Initially, our new kitten was without a name. We got him shortly after a lunar eclipse, so we thought that might be a good name. It just didn't fit though. We thought long and hard, but couldn't come up with anything. He was so small and energetic, so I felt we should call him "Little

S#!t" (or L.S. for short). Athena did not approve. Eventually as his energy grew, I started referring to him as the Little Bug. He would run around and bounce around like a bug, so we decided it was a fitting name, so we started calling him Bug. We told the vet it could be short for Bugsy, but he was just Bug to everyone. As you can see, he was a very little kitty with big ears. He eventually grew into his ears.

When Bug was little...

We got Bug one night outside of the Giant Food Store in Falls Church, VA. The store is right across the street from the Skyline mall. We came out after shopping and there was an Hispanic man with a box of kittens. He said he was looking for good homes for them. Athena picked up the grey one, then the black one, then the grey one. She then decided that she would like to have the one that had the little tuxedo on him (although at the time, we weren't sure if it was a he or a she). I went back into Giant and bought some kitten food, but they didn't have litter boxes. I drove us home while Athena held the little kitten in her lap. He seemed happy enough. We got our new kitty home and gave him some food. Athena, ever mindful of germs, felt that it would be a good idea to give him a bath. If any of you have ever tried to wash a cat, you'll know that they aren't exactly fond of such things. Our kitten took it all in stride though. We washed him and fed him and he seemed happy. We prepared some newspaper for him to use and quickly learned that only dogs fall for that trick. The next day we were able to get him a litter box which made him very happy. He practically filled it up.

Bug is gone...

As some of you have heard, we lost a dear family member last week. Bug (our black and white cat) passed away sometime on Thursday. Unfortunately, Athena and I were in Italy. Russ found Bug on Friday morning and called us and took him to the vet. The vet tells us that she believes Bug suffered from a urinary tract blockage probably caused by crystals or a stone (common in cats over 5 years old). The build-up of toxins would cause a severe imbalence and eventually a heart attack. This could happen in 24-48 hours and is difficult to diagnose and treat.

Over the next few days, I will try to post some images of Bug.

As you can imagine, this came as quite a shock for us since Bug has been very healthy. He was 10 years old and was amazingly strong. His unique personality will be missed.

R2-D2 in Colorado Springs

As many of you may have heard, the US Postal Service is teaming with Lucas to exploit the masses out of money as the 30th anniversary of Star Wars approaches. They will be releasing a set of Star Wars stamps in May. To build the hype, they have wrapped 400 mail boxes in R2-D2 style. The pictures below are of the mailbox in Colorado Springs. It is located on Tejon near the corner of Bijou (just south of The Famous).

Clouds over Pike's Peak

A strange weather pattern caused rain/snow/sleet and then sun around Colorado Springs. After the mess passed, the clouds that were left decided to hug the mountains producing a very interesting view.

 

A Tight Fit...

As part of our company Gala, we had some very expensive vehicles delivered... To the right you can see a Range Rover Sport that was delivered. It had to make it through the front door of the Hilton.

In the second picture, you can see that it had barely 1/4 of an inch on either side.
 
 

Bug gets a day out

We had a nice day a couple of weeks ago, so we let Bug go out and enjoy the sun. He was happy to pose for a few pictures before finding some dirt to roll around in.

Bond, Jim, Bond

For my company's Gala, I was "volunteered" to dress up as 007. I had a couple of "Bond girls" to escort me up on stage where I gave a short speach about attending the gala. The giant martini glass was very popular,