Cruising to Vacation - Summer 2010

As many of you are probably aware a milestone birthday awaits me this summer. I won't say my age, but let's just say that Nixon was still in office when I entered this world. Come on, you can do the the math! Anyway, to celebrate this most momentous birthday the wife decided that we should celebrate by taking a cruise. Earlier this year we began to look into different cruising options. While we want to take a cruise, we didn't want to break the bank in the process. Let's face it, if taking a vacation is seldom an inexpensive event; then taking a cruise most definitely isn't. Luckily though since we live in Texas, we are only a few short hours away from Galveston. While not a busy sea port, two cruise lines do operate a total of three ships. We found one that we liked, even found a cabin that would offer us most of what we were looking for and BANG, we have  a summer cruise vacation.

So what are the details? We are taking the Carnival Cruise Line's Conquest on a 7 day journey to the Western Caribbean. Our cruise will take us to Montego Bay in Jamaica, Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands and Cozumel Mexico. All of the ports look like they offer a good assortment of activities, either sponsored by the ship or planned totally by us. We both love to explore, so even if we don't do the typical excursions we will definitely find a way to keep ourselves occupied.

Best of all, several days at sea. That's what I'm really looking for in a cruise. For me, that's why you go on a cruise. The ship we are taking, Conquest, isn't a new ship but isn't exactly old and recently had a total makeover. She is only about 10 years old, so by ship standards she isn't old. When she was built she was one of the biggest in the world. Because we booked early, we were even able to get one of the coveted cabins with a wrap around balcony.

As we get closer to the trip, I will write more about what we plan to do. Until then, check out this video from CuriseNow.com. It's all about our ship, the vary same one that we will take us on our summer vacation.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa1mYddWqO8 (iPhone Friendly)

Kelly's Birthday Photos

A few photos from my birthday have been posted to MobileMe and to FaceBook. The link to the MobileMe gallery is <Here>. We didn't do much. The family gave me a few gifts. Before hand we enjoyed a wonderful family meal. I didn't want anything special, just time with the family. I'm a lucky man.

It's My Birthday

Yes, for those of you that don't know today is my birthday. It is my 39th birthday. When you first glance at that statement it's short and sweet. What does it mean? It simply means I'm 39 years old. Alas there is more embedded in that statement than one might first realize. It means my 30's are coming to an end. It means that by tradition and popular belief middle age is right around the corner. 39 isn't a big deal on its own, but it is a gateway to a huge milestone birthday - 40. When I think of it that way, wow... I turn 40 next year.

I should say right here and now this is more of a academic statement than one of heart pounding worry. So what, I turn 40 next year. It's not like an anvil is going to fall out of the sky and hit me on the head or something. Right now I'm 39 and I have 5 kids, 2 grandkids, a wife, 2 dogs and I'm on my second house. I managed to pull all that off between the ages of 34 and 38. When I turned 33 I had none of that and no prospect of having any of that either.

Of course I can also look at it like this... every year since I was 34 something major has happened, in a few of those years multiple major events have happened. At 34 I met the woman that would be my wife. At 35 I was engaged. At 36 I was married with 4 kids, my first grandkid, had a new job and moved into a bigger house. While 37 I started the process of adopting a child. At 38 I adopted a daughter. So in some ways, I'm not concerned about 40 I'm wondering what's going to big for 39.

Yet, with 40 on it's way and entering that mid-life point the annual "looking back" does seem to be more poignant than usual. Not only do you ask "in the past year what have I done," but also you ask "what have I done with my life so far." For me, I have to say I'm very proud.

I have a loving wife, great kids, a good paying job, good close friends and an extended family any man would be happy to call his own. It's really hard to see any negatives and looking forward continues to be a treat.

If I look back 10 years to the day as I turned 29, my life was incredibly different and my future while seemingly bright was incased in a thick fog of uncertainty. Only a year back from Korea I was still a fresh fish in the very big pond of Dallas. I had little direction and was still living life as though I were 20. While not a bad thing, I hadn't transitioned to thinking terms of years, I was still thinking of days and months. My life up till then was easily contained in small annual chunks; sometimes smaller. I hadn't lived in one city for more than 4 years, or one place for more than year. So when I look back to 29 from my perch at 39, much has changed and I can't see 40 bringing any where near that amount of change. That being said, life knows how to throw fast balls from time to time.

40 will see me sending a child to college and having another entering year 2 of high school; those may be the big events. If that be true, that's more than enough. I'm sitting pretty in life. I don't see me having a mid-life crises any time soon; if ever. I don't feel like i'm one year from entering middle age. I'm not sure what middle age is supposed to feel like.

It may be as simple as knowing that while I'm not the same man I was when I turned 29, I'm not that much different either. The events of our lives do shape our destiny but they don't change who we are inside. Those events just shine a light on our soul and give us the opportunity to be either the worst or the best that we can be; hopefully over my 39 years I've shown the best more than I've shown the worst.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Javier's 21st Birthday

Tracy’s youngest son celebrated his 21st birthday yesterday. For 21 years he has done everything in his power to make his mom go as crazy as possible, but then that’s the job of a son. Of course now he is married and doing everthing in his power to drive his wife, Leslie, crazy. On both counts I can relate, as a son and a husband I’ve done both.

Last night we all got together with Javier and his closest friends for some dinner and fun at Kelly’s East Side, a restaraunt owned and operated by Javier’s best friend’s family. A restaraunt Javier knows well since he helped to decorate it many years ago. We all had a great time, but unfortunetly the family and I had to leave early to insure that Courtney go t a good night’s sleep so she could get up for work today.

Before we left though we got a chance to see Javier’s big 21st birthday present, a racing harness. Javier is not only into fixing cars, but also racing them; legally of course. I could tell that no other present would have been as well recieved as this one. He was smiling the same way I would be if someone gave me a shiny new lens for my camera.

Happy Birtday Javier!

Check out the Photos - Javier’s 21st Birthday or Just link to them form the Gallery.

Best Friend's Birthday - Celebrating a New Year

This past weekend we celebrated my best friend's birthday. I actually "planned" the event which basically consisted of making the reservations and sending out the e-mails inviting some 20 people to the party. Jess already knew where she wanted to go and what she wanted to do, but wanted someone to put the pieces together. Afterall, the birthday celebratee shouldn't have to actually plan their own birthday party. That's just WRONG.

It wasn't difficult and I was honored to actually make the arrangements, simple though they may have been. Tracy and I did take Jess out to dinner prior to the party and Tracy had gotten her a small gift. Mostly though we just had the pleasure of spending the evening with her and the rest of our "group." Some of whom had joined us for Memorial Day this past summer.

The next day Jess invited us over to her mother's house to have dinner with her family and celebrate not only her birthday but also her sister's. The added bonus was that they all got to meet Tracy for the first time. Jess' mom's cooking is usually fantastic and she didn't dissapoint.

All-in-all Jess seemed to have had a great birthday and we got to enjoy a pretty relaxful weekend to boot and end it feeling pretty good about helping a close friend ring in a new year. Birthday's can be hard at times, but when you have some friends to share the event with and family to share it with, no matter what the previous 12 months may have brought, it gives you the feeling that the next 12 months will be that much better. I know that's how I felt back in August and I think Jess felt the same way.

Bob Hope Turns 100 Next Month

I saw the link to this story on another blog and thought I would include the link and the text. Bob Hope is one of my favorite comedians and his movies are timeless. What follows is a really nice article about his upcoming birthday with remarks from friends and celebrity admirers. It was lifted from the Voice Of America web site.

Link to the article on VOA

Hollywood Legend Bob Hope, Honored and Celebrated
Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles
16 Apr 2003, 12:47 UTC

The legendary entertainer Bob Hope will turn 100 next month, and friends and fans gathered in Hollywood Tuesday to celebrate his career. The comedian was named Hollywood's "Citizen of the Century" for his work as an entertainer, and his work entertaining U.S. troops overseas.

Bob Hope has been making people laugh since 1909, when the six-year-old immigrant from England mimicked comedian Charlie Chaplin in front of a Cleveland firehouse. As a teenager, he entered talent contests, where he honed his skills as a song-and-dance man. He went on to the Broadway stage, where he found his calling as a comic, and later gained fame on radio, in movies and television.

To mark his 100th birthday, friends and admirers gathered on Hollywood Boulevard to recall his career. Bob Hope has already received four plaques on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, and this time received another proclaiming him "Citizen of the Century"

The entertainer is frail and did not attend, but many who know him did. Comedienne Phyllis Diller is a friend who sometimes worked with him on television and in movies.

"We are all indebted to this wonderful man whose body of work will never be touched - 200 movies, 60 years in television, all the way back to vaudeville. What a guy, what a guy. And he's lived to be a century old, and any honor isn't big enough for him," she said.

Phyllis Diller was part of Bob Hope's troupe of entertainers who travelled to southeast Asia during the Vietnam War to boost the morale of U.S. troops. That was an annual Christmas tradition begun in the Second World War, which continued through wartime and peacetime for nearly six decades. Bob Hope's last trip overseas was at Christmas, 1990, when he entertained the troops of Operation Desert Storm stationed in Saudi Arabia.

Comedian Kelsey Grammer said he attended the tribute because of Bob Hope's work in bringing the country laughter. "And for my own sense of admiration that he did the job so well, laughter that has helped us through some very difficult days and has helped us to relish the good ones. Bob Hope's contribution to this country and to our society is invaluable," Mr. Grammer said.

Actress Eva Marie Saint is one of many performers who has appeared with Bob Hope on the screen, most notably in the 1956 film That Certain Feeling. An admirer of his comedy skills, she said his work in cheering the troops is what was really important.

"And through this war of late, I thought what those boys really need is Bob Hope. Happy Birthday, Bob," Ms. Saint said.

Dennis Miller is a popular comedian who has never met Bob Hope but has admired him since his childhood. He recalled Bob Hope's theme song, Thanks for the Memory.

"I want to thank Mr. Hope for the memories. I know he'll be here in 2103. I hope the rest of us are, so that we can sing his praises once again," Mr. Miller said.

The U.S. Congress has honored Bob Hope five times, including once when it named him an honorary veteran of the U.S. military. He is the only person in history given that tribute. He has also received an honorary British knighthood.

The NBC television network will offer its own tribute later this month with a two-hour special called 100 years of Hope and Humor. Bob Hope will turn 100 May 29.