I got back from my week-long trip late Friday. Been spending the weekend remembering how to be a husband and daddy. Blogging has taken a back seat as a result.

Went to a dinner party that my friends and I occasionally throw. I don’t think I’ve had that kind of fun in a long, long time. It was a great way to recharge my batteries. My parents did the kid-sitting for us. It was nice to see them, too.

Yesterday was the anniversary of my grandmother’s death. She had been on my mind yesterday (and many days before, to be truthful). She’s still missed, that’s for sure. At the end of this week, we travel to Delaware for the service for Kelly’s grandmother, who died several days ago.

We had a fun afternoon spent playing Christmas music together. Kelly broke out her flute, I played guitar and piano (though not simultaneously), Hallie played harmonica and Travis sang. It was a blast! We hope to make a regular thing of it.

Time to update a few more blogs, then off to bed to face yet another week of work.

I’m wrapping up day three on the road. Spent the first two in Mississippi (or traveling there). It was a successful trip business-wise, and I appreciated being around Southerners again. I forget how different Raleigh is from more Southern cities and towns, but it definitely shows on a visit. Being that I’m a Southerner, I’m not used to feeling like the only Yankee in the room, but that’s how some of these places make me feel sometimes. I catch myself slipping into a drawl after a little while, too. I’m a bit of a chameleon when it comes to accents.

Mississippi was colder than a gravedigger in January this morning, with an icy, 26 degree drive to the airport before dawn. This was after I stayed up to midnight finishing a work project, which followed four hours of the day spent just driving to customer sites. Not to mention the work actually done at the customer sites. It’s been a challenging week already, and now I’m spending the rest of the week in California.

My day began at 4:30 AM. I ate breakfast at the airport at 5:30 before a 6:45 flight to Phoenix (by way of Houston). Then I spent three hours in the Phoenix airport waiting for my connecting flight to Orange County. I raced through heavy traffic to get to my hotel, where I promptly conducted a one-hour demo on the phone. Busy, busy, busy! I’m running from one thing to another!

I might have pulled my remaining hair out during a three hour layover at any other airport, but the new Southwest terminal inPhoenix Sky Harbor airport is beautiful. Tall windows and soaring ceilings complement the view of the desert. The color schemes and designs reflect the southwestern culture. (Unfortunatly, the airport’s beauty isn’t shared by its ugly-ass website.) It was even quiet in the airport! I couldn’t figure out why until I realized there were no TVs blasting the annoying CNN-Airport channel. Every airport should pull the plug on that irritating channel!

I’ve got lots to do before my return flight leaves Friday. Look for more captivating posts soon!

Uh, yeah. Right.

I’m on the road this week for bidness: Mi’sippi for the first half and Cali for the second. Got off the plane for the layover in Chicago and was met with winter: it was 25 degrees there. Mississippi has 45 degrees and a wind that slices through my fleece jacket. By Friday I’ll be enjoying sun and 70 degrees in Southern California.

The family had a hard time saying goodbye today, and so did I. The last thing I saw was Kelly and Hallie waving goodbye from the front porch. Travis would have been there, too, had he not been still anchored to his booster seat at the table. I used to travel quite a bit at the last job. I actually enjoyed it from time to time. At this point in my life, though, it has lost its appeal. There’s just too much to look forward to when I get home from work every day.

I’m reading Compromised by Terry Reed now. After I got the book from the library, I procrastinated in reading it. Part of me considered it old news. Part of me didn’t want to feed my conspiratorial bent any more than I already do. Still, I needed reading material for my travels so I packed it. Now I can’t put it down! I’ve long suspected Clinton is a Company man, and this book bears that out. How else could you explain his now chummy relationship with George H.W. Bush, who is a Company man himself?

The book also provides some insight into what is going on at Aero Contractors, too.

Off to bed now, as the real fun begins early tomorrow.

I was surfing the next this evening when I heard an unusual sound. Outside a fast-moving storm was developing, dropping some heavy rain before vanishing minutes later. It wasn’t a minute or two later that Kelly came home. Not only was it raining, she said, but it was hailing, too. I walked outside to find pea-sized hail on the front porch.

Hail in December from a stealthy storm. Quite unusual.

[Update]: The NWS has set me straight. It was sleet (which I find almost as hard to believe, considering its suddenness):

A BAND OF SHOWERS WILL MOVE EAST AT 35 MPH ACROSS THE NORTHERN COASTAL PLAIN AND NORTH EAST PIEDMONT OF CENTRAL NORTH CAROLINA. THE AIR IS COOL ENOUGH ALOFT THAT WHERE THE ISOLATED HEAVIER RAIN SHOWERS OCCUR…A LITTLE SLEET WILL BE MIXED IN WITH THE RAIN. THERE HAVE BEEN A COUPLE OF REPORTS OF SLEET IN NORTHERN WAKE COUNTY. THE RAIN WILL END IN THE RALEIGH BY 1030 PM…AND AROUND WILSON…NASHVILLE AND ROCKY MOUNT BY 12 MIDNIGHT.

Holidays are supposed to be a time to relax. Mine are chances to catch up on things that I’ve been neglecting.

I spent a good bit of time Wednesday tidying up my home office desk. I was facing a long wait at DMV to get a duplicate title for our Volvo. I decided if I’m going to waste an hour, I might as well do it searching for the original title. Sure enough it turned up, only Kelly found it, having been inspired by my searching.

We spent Thanksgiving morning playing in Durant Nature Park. The afternoon was spent giving the house a much-needed cleaning, top to bottom. After the kids napped, we headed over to my parents’ house for Thanksgiving proper.

The house was just as we imagined it to be: full of joyfully noisy kids! My sister’s family was there as was my Aunt Nancy, visiting from Tallahassee. Travis and Hallie were gleefully spinning around the whole night. It was a hoot!

After the kids’ bedtime, I headed back over to get in a game of Hearts with the boys. Reid was the reigning champion and it was time for a rematch! Scott was there suddenly got sleepy after I socked him with the queen of spades. Hmm! It was fun playing, though.

The next day, we returned in the late morning for more visiting. After a terrific lunch of red beans and rice, the men suited up and spent the next 90 minutes spreading a vapor barrier under my parents’ house. It turned out to be pretty fun as far as those things go. We did a super job.

Saturday morning, Aunt Nancy spent a few hours at our house for a little one-on-four time. Hallie wowed Aunt Nancy with her amazing mind while Travis gleefully marched all around the house, cackling as he went. It was quite a show for Aunt Nancy – one she really appreciated.

N.C. State began their game against Maryland around noon, so we had that tuned in on the radio. I was quite happy when State won the game, as it clears the way for a bowl game.

Aunt Nancy left in time to watch the FSU-Florida game at my parents’ house. Unfortunately, it was not a good game for the Seminoles. FSU barely avoided a shutout in the suprisingly lopsided game. The Noles don’t stay down for long, though, so don’t worry.

Sunday, Kelly came up to me with a gleam in her eye. “Do you know what I really want for my birthday?” she asked.

“What’s that, honey?”

“I’d love to get some rooms painted!”

I couldn’t resist a pitch like that. So it was off to Lowe’s to buy paint and supplies. By 4 PM, we had a newly-painted fireplace wall in our den. Only took us a year to make up our minds, but it looks great!

There was no stopping Kelly’s ambition, however. She immediately began work on painting our downstairs bathroom. I helped with taking fixtures off the walls, but she did the patching, sanding, and painting. It just got finished tonight. Like the other paint job, it looks fantastic.

I had an early appointment this morning which got me out of the house before the kids woke. I got a phone call from Hallie a bit later that reminded me of the powerful role I play as Daddy. I posted a quick account on the Hallie and Travis page.

I’m in need of some quality sleep, so I’ll stop blabbering now. Thanks for reading!

I’m appreciating all that I’ve got this Thanksgiving. We’re out for a walk on this beautiful day. Then after naps we’re headed over to my parents’ house to visit family. It should be a most delightfully noisy Thanksgiving.

We had the great confluence of a few tickets to the North Carolina Zoo and a wonderful sunny Saturday with nothing planned, so we loaded up the Oddity and headed to Asheboro for the day.

The zoo is best when it’s not crowded. By that measure, our timing was perfect. We hit all the highlights and had a blast. I especially enjoyed the new Australia Walkabout exhibit as I’ve never seen kangaroos or wallabies before. My only visit to Australia was spent looking for the next bar, but I digress!

Travis did almost the whole zoo trip without a nap. He enjoyed seeing everything but went especially nuts when we got to the elephants and rhinos. I’d say he enjoyed his first zoo visit.

Hallie is an old pro at the zoo. She enjoyed the sea lions the most. We also had fun reminiscing about her first zoo visit when she was only nine months old. What a long way she’s come!

I only wish the zoo was closer as those two hours each way in the car can take a toll. For an occasional fun trip, though, its worth it.

Well, we figured out today why the mouse trap in the garage remains empty.

We’ve finished our Halloween routine here. Things went pretty well, for the most part. Hallie and Travis were notably excited about the costumes and trick or treating. It was great seeing them so psyched.

I got home and skipped dinner to work on the new decoration this year: the see-through ghost. It was a big hit! Look for a more detailed description tomorrow.

Time to usher in November.