Busy, fun day today! Went to Soup Plantation, which we had not been to for a while. Yum. Went to Wal-Mart and got the kids a few things. Then went to the park...where it was almost too cold and windy to play. Mostly windy. Still had fun though and the kids did not want to leave even though they were shivering.
Full Moon and Southern California Edison illuminating my house and taking my money...well, the moon doesn't take my money.
For being out late last night, I feel pretty energized. We got home around 1245, asleep by 130 or so. Got up earlier than normal at about 630am. Great sunrise this morning, light mist and two hot-air balloons which you can barely make out in the picture. Yes, it's another driving photo. I spend two hours of my free time on the road every day. So it's actually a large portion of my non-working day. Lame. I need to move closer to work. Positive side? I get to see some great views. I'm still waiting for the perfect balance of morning sun and fog to get a really good shot.
Drina and I went out tonight for the first time in ages. Okay, maybe not an age, but I think it was September 2009. Seems like a long time. Anyway, we went to Yardhouse (surprise) and got our favorite salad; The New York Steak Salad. That is a realllly good salad. Of course, I got a beer with it. It's hard not to when they have what seems like well over 100 different beers, all on tap. I was going to be a little adventurous and rehash my positive fruit-beer experiences over Christmas Vacation. While Beth and Mike were visiting, we got a Sam Adams variety pack of Holiday beers and included was a Raspberry-Something-or-Other. I gave it a try and it was really good. So I ordered a Spanish Peaks Honey Raspberry Ale from Flying Dog Breweries. Just my luck. They were 'out'. Anyway, I'm glad I have a lot of other choices. I went with one of my fall-back favs. Chimay Triple. Not as good as the Blue, but awesome in it's own right because, really, it's a different beer altogether.
January 27th 2010
A picture is worth a thousand words, right? Well, I don't now how many frames are in this video, but I think I'm probably well over 100,000 words in this blog post by now! LOL cheeeeater!
Driving to work, I always get the best early-morning views coming down into this valley. This video doesn't really illustrate it, but I happened to have my camera with me this morning and decided to take a quick video. Kids, don't try operating a camera while driving at home. If that's possible.
It's been raining a lot over the last week and a half here in Southern California, so everything is green. You don't know how much you miss everything being green until you live in coastal desert. But it sure doesn't take long for everything to start growing again. After only a week of rain, everything looks alive for once.
Also featured in the video are the sounds of my first Breaks mix that i whipped up last night. I've never ventured out of standard 4/4 mixing. It's not difficult as much as it is different. I think once I get the hang of it, I'll be a lot better. I may make another one soon using some of the same songs (only 4, but they are all good!), but I can only listen to so much of the non-standard electronic (breaks, dnb, jungle etc.) before I start getting bored.
January 26th, 2010 
These are our family kitties. The boys got them for Christmas to replace the much loved (and missed) Mo. "Mosef" (as we occasionally called him), was one of the best cats I've ever owned. He was very affectionate and quite good with the kids. Anyway, the top picture is Jillian and the bottom is Sonic. They are both females and are a lot of fun so far. It's fun watching them play. They each have very definitive personalities. Sonic is a little more motherly and lets Jillian 'nurse' for comfort. I think Jillian misses her mommy. :( It's funny to watch though.
I've been drinking a little more beer than normal lately (I love beer!). Miller Lite happens to be my favorite domestic light beer. I've never seen one come out of the box quite like this before. Usually, it takes about 15 minutes of conversation and beer drinking before my label looks like this. But this little guy is unique! Seems there was a birth defect at the factory and this one got TWO top labels and no bottom label. As you can see, the second top label ended up in the wrong place. I think it adds character! :D 
