the Los Angeles Auto Show

We avoided the malls and hit up the L.A. Convention Center for the annual auto show on Black Friday. Although there were a few cool concept vehicles on display, it was pretty obvious why the automobile industry is in such big trouble.... boring cars!! All the "new" cars seemed like they were taken from the spare parts boxes of other cars. A side panel here, a hood and grill here, and a trunk from here, and voila! a "new" car! However, despite the generally poor offerings from most manufacturers, we still had fun!

Michael is in heaven here... while sitting in his dream car, the Subaru Impreza STI! If you look closely, you can see that he is actually drooling!

In case anyone hasn't bought our Christmas present yet, please consider getting us the above car. One in orange for Debbie and one in yellow for Michael. Thanks in advance!

Who knew? Michael actually fits in the FIT! The Honda Fit is surprisingly spacious and has a lot more cargo room than many larger cars. Now if only Honda could improve its mpgs...

One theme was clear - there were plenty of ghetto-mobiles to go around. Ford seemed especially enthusiastic to embrace the gangsta market with the low-riding, big-wheeled Flex! (see above for the rapper version and below for street art version of the same vehicle.)

Finally, we saw GM's sad display of trucks and other over-sized vehicles, interrupted only by their Swedish subsidiary Saab.

Until next year...

p.s. if anyone has any tickets for the C.E.S. please let us know!

Thanksgiving 2008

We headed across the street to our neighbors Allison and Loran's house for Thanksgiving dinner.
We had some delicious food - all the traditional dishes including turkey, potatoes, cranberries and green beans, and for dessert, everyone else enjoyed pumpkin and apple pies while Debbie ate her crustless gluten-free pumpkin "pie."

We burned off the dinner calories by playing a round of Wii Rockband. Michael rocked the guitar while Allison pounded out the drums and Ollie gave a rousing rendition of Roxanne!
Missing from the band was Allison and Loran's dog Tucker. Tucker was unfortunately a little shy and did not participate. We are hoping that next time we play, he will put some paws to the drums and get the beat going!

Michael is multi-talented and treated the room to his abilities in the vocal department!


Debbie also gave the microphone a shot....which might explain Tucker's unwillingness to come downstairs... I bet doggie earplugs are hard to find!

Everyone in our family has been very busy

My sister Heather has a new baby named Aavary.
My cousin Monica has a baby named Rylee.
Debbie and I are absolutely swamped taking care of three needy animals: Stanley, Mr Bear, and Rocky!

A day at Balboa Park, visiting the Air and Space museum

Debbie and I spent the afternoon walking around Balboa park. On tuesdays, locals and active duty military can get into all of the museums on a rotating schedule. One of the free locations yesterday was the Air and Space museum. It could best be described as average. I think that there are some periods of aviation history that are represented very well and some that are just glossed over. There is a rather large display of WWI and previous aircraft, while there is almost nothing about modern aircraft. As with most of these types of museums, there is also a large section devoted to the beginning of the commerical airline industry. At some points it comes off as an an infomercial for Delta airlines. The Star Trek exibit was not free, and we were not about to spend any money on it.

After we were done in the museum we went for a walk around the park and Debbie, as usual, outdid me in the posing for funny pictures department. I will try and work on this in the future.


I have posted the schedule for the free admissions below:

Free Tuesday--Complete Schedule

As a public service Park organizations offer free admission on a rotating basis throughout the month. *

First Tuesday

Reuben H. Fleet Science Center,

Centro Cultural de la Raza

Model Railroad Museum***

Natural History Museum***

*** Free to San Diego County Residents and Active Military only

Second Tuesday

Museum of Photographic Arts,

Museum of San Diego History

Veterans’ Museum and Memorial Center

Third Tuesday

San Diego Art Institute

San Diego Museum of Art

San Diego Museum of Man

Japanese Friendship Garden ***

*** Free to San Diego County Residents and Active Military only

Mingei International Museum

Fourth Tuesday

San Diego Air & Space Museum*** (See Special Information following museum listings)

San Diego Automotive Museum (last admission 3:45pm) **

San Diego Hall of Champions***

House of Pacific Relations International Cottages

*** Free to San Diego County Residents and Active Military only

Fifth Tuesday

Normal museum prices in effect.

The Timken Museum of Art is always free.

The perks of living in San Diego

We spent part of Saturday afternoon drinking tea and sitting outside of the Hotel Del Coronado reading and talking.  The hotel is great for people watching and just enjoying the natural scenery that is Coronado.

Sailing on the Black Swan

Michael and I went sailing with ten other people on a 40 foot sailboat called the Black Swan. We left from Shelter Island harbor in Point Loma.
This is us before we got on the boat. It was a beautiful day and everyone including little Grey (see the small bear to the right of Michael above) was excited to get out on the water.

This is the "before" photo....

Debbie is the Queen of the World!:)


This is Debbie and Nacira. We met Nacira and her husband Brian on the boat, and we are looking forward to getting together with them soon.

Behind Michael is the tallship, the Surprise, a full-size replica of a battle ship from the 1700s.
This is the "after" photo. I think we made it back with everyone!:)

A Windy Day at the Beach

We spent part of our day off at Coronado beach reading and relaxing in the sun. We took Neptune the Flamingo with us, and he had a great time playing in the sand.

It was just a tad windy out there. We came home covered in sand but we still had a good time.

Sushi with Jeff and Abby

We enjoyed sushi in Point Loma with Jeff and Abby. Jeff, Abby and Michael were far more adventurous with their sushi and ate Dragons and Fire while Debbie stuck with the simpler rolls.

Debbie and Rocky tried to climb the bamboo outside of the restaurant. Rocky looked like he made some good progress!

Debbie's Photoshoot

In preparation for her business card headshot, Debbie practices posing for the camera.

She dances to the beat of her own music.

She runs towards.... well, we are not sure.

She tests her ears to make sure they are still attached and unknowingly imitates a monkey.

She works on her high-diving technique.


And then she's off to Sears to get her portrait done for real!

Debbie and Michael play board games with friends

Michael does his best impression of a sea lion. I think the resemblance is uncanny!

Michael and Kyle practice their dance moves after watching their favorite show: "Dancing with the Stars!"

Michael prepares to turn Kyle.

Kyle resists the turn. A good dance partner knows when to let his partner take the lead. Kyle will learn this lesson eventually.

Here, Michael and Kyle practice their sidestepping! This is clearly their best move!


Actually, all these moves were for a game of Cranium Turbo that we played with our friends: Christina, Kyle, and Aleks. It was girls against guys so Christina and I whopped the boys... well, maybe not, but we tried! They had the advantage since there were three of them and only two of us.

Michael's Dream Car

He pretends he's into performance cars but his heart belongs to the PT Cruiser!

A Day at Balboa Park with Auburn Alums

Auburn is known to sometimes lower its academic standards in order to win football games. Here is their latest recruit - he is going to be a wide receiver.
Michael wins a blanket in the raffle. Now Michael can sleep soundly wrapped in his Alma mater.


Michael hangs out with friend and fellow alum: Aleks Kruza. They both wear name tags so as not to forget each other's name.


Michael tries to catch the Auburn flag but it seems like the wind has the better of the school today.

Michael plays with frisbee, but he cheats - I don't think you are supposed to walk with it - you are supposed to throw it!

Michael operates with a tail these days.... who knew? Maybe it helps with balance.

He also relives his glory days... when he was a cheerleader.


It was a big day at the park for Michael! Debbie, not an Auburn alum, humbly served as the photographer for the day.