Hiking at Mission Trails Park in San Diego

We spent a sunny Saturday hiking at Mission Trails Park. The park has lots of peaks and great views!

Debbie navigates her way across a small stream. She harnesses her inner ballet dancer to make it safely to other side.

Michael bonds with a tree and makes a bold fashion statement - check out those rolled pants!!!.

Driving a moving truck down to San Diego for Debbie's parents

We drove a 26 foot Penske truck from Seattle down to San Diego!

Debbie had never driven such a large truck but she had a lot of fun!

Michael is a natural.

Obamicon semi-art

I found a pretty cool website HERE. They let you turn pretty much any picture into an Obamican.

Christmas Day 2008

We spent Christmas Day 2008 with our good friends and neighbors Allison and Loran.


Everyone got some great presents including Tucker the dog!

Tucker is a very smart dog and lives by the X-files motto: "Trust No-One."

After opening presents we played Wii Fit where Michael practiced his lunges and Debbie found out that her Wii Fit age is 55 based solely on her balance skills! Debbie will now send Mr. Bear over to destroy the Wii since it is clearly an evil machine!

Watching the Parade of Lights

On a chilly night by San Diego standards (think 40-50 degrees), we drove down to Harbor Island to watch the annual parade of lights.

People stand at various points along the shoreline to watch the many decorated boats pass by.

Our favorite boat was lit brightly with Christmas lights and had a big screen where they had set up a game of Rockband.

Celebrating Allison's Birthday at Buca di Beppo

We had lots of fun last night celebrating Allison's birthday at Buca di Beppo. We gave Allison some kids' board games that she claims are for underprivileged kids in Mexico.... We will recruit their dog Tucker as a spy to see who really plays with those games!:)

Michael enjoyed the delicious chocolate cake while Debbie looked longingly at the red velvet cake... time for Debbie to make some more gluten-free cupcakes!

Instant streaming of Netflix to Tivo HD...unlimited...as if you needed an excuse to ditch your sorry COX DVR

Tivo was already pretty much perfect. The interface is intuitive and simple. The season pass and wishlist recording works great. And best of all the Tivo suggestions option will fill up your hard drive with things that are eerily accurate to your preferences. And it has been that way for at least the last eight years. But recently Tivo has stepped it up a couple of notches. First came the ability to link up with your computer for streaming music and photos. Then came the ability to order movie tickets from Fandango. I saw the other day that I could even order pizza from dominoes without even getting off the couch (although I would still have to get up and answer the door). Now I can stream movies in 720p from my tivo from neflix. As many as I want for free. The library does not cover all of the netflix titles, but it contains many favorites. Pretty awesome.

Netflix HD streaming comes to TiVo

by Darren Murph, posted Dec 8th 2008 at 12:01AM

Man, if we aren't careful, Netflix is going to turn into a behemoth right before our very eyes. The company once known for taking physical discs right to your mailbox is now getting all sorts of attention for its workings in the online delivery space, and if you thought hooking up with Microsoft was hot stuff, have a listen at this. Starting today, Series 3, TiVo HD and TiVo HD XL owners can access thousands of Netflix movies on their set-top-box, and better still, these same owners can access a growing library of high-def titles. Of course, this new functionality comes at no additional cost, though you will need a Netflix account to take advantage. So Netflix, what's next? Infiltrating DirecTV / DISH Network boxes? Seeping inside of our actual TV sets? Breathing new life into the Atari Jaguar? Full release is after the break.

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION! MOVIES AND TV EPISODES FROM NETFLIX DIRECTLY TO THE TV THROUGH TIVO DVRs AVAILABLE TODAY

Just in Time for the Holidays, Offering Brings Budget Conscious Entertainment to Consumers

ALVISO, Calif. - December 8, 2008 - After announcing a groundbreaking partnership in October with Netflix Inc., TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO), the creator of and a leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVRs), today announced that subscribers to both Netflix and TiVo® Series3, TiVo HD, or TiVo HD XL can now access thousands of movies and TV episodes instantly streamed from Netflix directly to their TVs.

The service is being offered at no additional charge to customers who subscribe to both services. This morning subscribers can browse through an expanding library of more than 12,000 movies and TV episodes at www.netflix.com, add them to their Netflix instant Queue, and then watch them on TV with just a click of the TiVo remote. The library includes titles from every genre, with a modest selection of HD content available as well. Both standard and HD titles are expected to grow in the weeks and months ahead.

"With so much talk focusing on the economy these days, this partnership makes more sense than ever because it brings people more movies at home, offering substantially more entertainment options than cable or satellite," said Tara Maitra, GM and Vice President of Content Services at TiVo Inc. "TiVo offers consumers everything they need from just one box. Not only great content from Netflix, but also movies from The Walt Disney Studios and Amazon, music from Rhapsody, videos from YouTube and even pictures from Picasa Web Albums and Photobucket. And that's all in addition to TiVo's core functionality that made us a favorite in the first place. It adds up to a one-of-a-kind value."

"Netflix offers an unbeatable combination of convenience, selection, and value, which now extends to TiVo customers," said Netflix Chief Marketing Officer Leslie Kilgore. This partnership is a win-win-win for Netflix, TiVo, and consumers alike."

Movies are streamed from Netflix through TiVo DVRs via wired or wireless broadband connection and a Netflix Queue-based user interface. Members visit the Netflix Web site to add movies and TV episodes to their individual instant Queues. Those choices will automatically be displayed on subscribers' TVs and are available to watch instantly through the TiVo service. With the TiVo remote control users can browse their instant Queue, make selections right on the TV screen, as well as read synopses and rate movies. In addition, they have the option of pausing, fast-forwarding, rewinding and re-starting whenever they wish.

For more information on how to have movies instantly streamed from Netflix via your TiVo DVR visit www.tivo.com/netflix.

Balboa Park Holiday Festival

Last night we went with our friends Kyle and Christina to Balboa Park for the annual holiday festival. Although there were unfortunately way more people there than Christmas lights, we still managed to have some fun. Above is us taking advantage of the green lights.

Here we are in the Arts Village Plaza.

This is Michael interacting with his hero, the mosaic man-thing.

Here is Debbie with one of Mr. Bear's friends.

And Debbie gives a giraffe a kiss!

The Ugly Sweater Party

Last night we went to Kate's condo for her Ugly Sweater Holiday Party. Unfortunately we don't actually possess ugly sweaters - all of our sweaters are stunning and stylish!:) Therefore, in an effort to fit in, we donned ribbon bows on our tops.

Kenny (far right) clearly had the best ugly sweater.


The four of us were the pariahs at the party due to our not-so-festive attire. Just kidding! Everyone was very gracious and talked to us despite our social faux pas.

Hiking at Daley Ranch

Last Sunday we went hiking at Daley Ranch in Escondido. While we were there, Michael helped out with the chores by bailing some hay!

Debbie found a friendly rock on which to rest.

Michael tried to keep his balance and not go over the edge.

Debbie sought shade under a canopy of leaves.

And Michael emerged from the ranch with all of his limbs! It was a successful hike. Hopefully we will go again soon!

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!:)