Christmas Morning

Christmas was fun this year. The kids were so excited to get different things, Paige kept on repeating "presents, presents". She loved all her dress up things, Tanner loved his new Optimus Prime (mom and dad don't love it as much-it is hard to transform!!!) and Jazz jersey. Kate didn't know what was going on but loved it all the same. Hope everyone else had a Merry Christmas.

More Photos

Perth Day 1 & 2

Kids arrived safely with little jet lag. Have only threatened to send Caitlin home once so far. She asked to buy a mood ring, told her not needed as she only has one mood, though we are working on that. Here are photos from the hotel and aquarium. Caitlin has promised to model her new bikini later.

Loaded January

Are we ready to rumble? Things are really starting to heat up as the last 8 days are left before super tuesday and the front loaded primaries. Who is going to come out on top for the republicans? If all goes to the polling both Romney and Guilaini will be the top two front runners. Huckabee will honestly probably only win one state. Iowa. The biggest upset could come from the democrats. Obama is now even with Clinton in the lastest polls and Edwards is a close third. This is going to be very interesting to say the least.
By the way John, you could probably sell the first valentine dog on ebay for big bucks. Just tell Ahsa that it was lost one day and then buy a new one when they officially come out. J/K. Chris if you spend that much on a house then you have too much. We all should be like Buffet and live modestly while making billions.

suprises suprises

suprise #1 i got an ipod touch for christmas.... itunes wont work. figures
suprise #2 haley mccarrell walks through my door saying she'll stay at my house for like a week (YESSSSS!!)
suprise #3 its like gusting 50 mph here...
suprise #4 im bored

Build A Bear

Asha went to Build a Bear in Singapore. After viewing all the choices for dog/bear she decided she wanted the one that was on display. Which happened to be the new Valentine dog that wasn't released yet. But the nice lady at Build a Bear got one out of the warehouse for her, so Asha now has the first and only Valentine Dog in Asia (the world?) Talk about spoiled kids....

Excitement

Well, I don't pontificate on this blog as I am sooo much wiser and smarter than all of you that I would make you feel insignificant if I added my 2 cents. So...here's some excitement. I threw a shoe at Kyrie and missed, but managed to break a window instead. How's that? The kids thought it was really funny. Wade brought home a flyer for a home for sale in Winter Haven, FL It is only 1.7 million. 5500 square feet, over an acre of land, pool, 6 bedrooms, 6 1/2 bathrooms, and lake front property with a dock and lift. Oh, and an in-law apartment so you can all come visit us whenever you want to. I would hope we could keep the cost under 1 million, but who knows.

'Twas the night before Christmas...

and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, except for this rabid fruit bat that keeps slamming into my patio window and landing on the balcony....the paper today said Santa doesnt come to Bangalore because of bad traffic, poor infrastructure and high import/excise tax. What a Christmas to remember...

Boring

this is by far one of the most boring blogs I have ever read (or created). No controversy (e.g. who's having an affair?), no intellectual thought (other then Q) , everyone just leads boring lives.

Pris and I took a pre vacation vaction to Singapore over the weekend. We think we've found a nice apartment to buy if we can get the deal to go through. I'm in the market looking for another job as have decided 1) we hate India and 2) there is more to life than working 20 hours a day and making lots of money. Pris summed it up best by saying "we have everything, yet we have nothing" No this does not mean I'm giving up my wine collection, but we are looking to move presuming the house goes through. Have a couple of good job leads in Singapore, though will most likely stay here until something firms up.

That's all from us. We're looking forward to spending time with the kids in Australia and have lots of activities planned, as well as lots of down time by the beach. Yes Dad, there are sharks in Australia (great whites) though will try to keep the kids from getting eaten. Though they could trim a bit from my stomach, i wouldn't mind....

It's now 7:00pm on Christmas Eve and it dawned on us today that we have no tree and no gifts. Just not the same not being in Idaho or Park City for Christmas, is going to take some getting used to.

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy Channukha. And make sure my kids get on those flights on time. If there are any delays call and let me know. Mobile is +91 9980 666477. I will be on a flight late evening the 26th (1030am to 3pm Idaho time) which is when the kids are meant to be flying to LA. I don't have voice mail on the mobile, but will have my blackberry so you can email as well.

Setup for your very own voip extension.

Go here and download xlite. http://storage.counterpath.com/downloads/X-Lite_Win32_1011s_41150.exe

Install it. You may need to reboot. Start xlite. If the sip accounts window is not shown open it by clicking the down triangle at the top of the softphone.




Push the add button. Open the Account tab.



In the "Display Name" put what you want on the phone display. "User name" is your provided user name. "Password" is your provided password. "Authorization user name" is your username. "Domain" is sfmidaho.com. Leave Register with domain and receive incoming calls checked. Select target domain.



Hit the apply button, hit the close button. If you have problems with registering to the server you may have network issues. The can be solved by installing openvpn, which is another topic that will have to be covered later if necessary.

You need a microphone to talk to others and speakers to hear them.
To make calls to Idaho just dial the Idaho phone number. If you know the extension of another user on the system you can just dial the extension. Another way to call people is to call the Security First Mortgage main number 2084787587 and dial the extension.

The extension for the mission setup phone is 401 and the phone number is 2082397798.
Another cool feature that is setup is that voice mails will be sent to your email.

Dan's exten is 402.
Chet's work exten in 101.
My work exten is 102.

If you have questions let me know and I will try and address them.

Mission laptop setup and free calls to Idaho and each other.

I have just finished initially setting up the laptop for the parents when they are in the Ukraine. I set up a phone extension for them so they can call home for no money as long as they have access to high speed internet. If any one wants the phone number let me know. I'll email it to you. Now I only need to train them on how to use it.

Also if anyone wants to be able to call Idaho for free and has access to high speed internet let me know and I will post on how you can get setup. And anyone setup can call others that are setup.

COME ON DOWN!!!

So, I've reserved 2 tickets for the Feb 11th taping of the Price Is Right. It isn't a guarantee that you get in, so you have to get there early to get a priority #, but who is coming down to go with me?

Travel IQ

Level 11
453k
Beat That!!!!

American Politics and the Elites who run.

Wow! I can honestly say that there is really no one to vote for next year for the office of President. All are elitist, and all have grownup in wealthy families. Maybe Mitt or Fred, but that is really it.
All of the candidates have had moral issues that are making it hard to decide who to vote for. Mitt was for abortion and now has changed, which is good, but will he support any new pro-life bills or will he let them slid under the table. Giuliani has so many moral blockers that I don't have time to go into. This also can be said for McCain, Huckabee, and Ron Paul. Truly, Fred is the only one with the best answer to the abortion issue, "let the states decide", or let the people make their own choices and then let's put that to law. Would this happen, no, the media and evangelical Christians don't like the idea that Fred has put forth, why, probably because the "people" will be split down the middle. Easterners and Californians will be for abortion and the west and mid-west will be against. Heck all moral issues should go to the "people" and then government should create the laws that the "people" either voted for or against. This goes for, gay rights, abortion, capital punishment, etc. Government should not make these decisions for the people, the people should make these decisions for themselves. As the BofM says let the people destroy themselves and then the wrath of God will come down upon them.
Has this been the policy for the government, no, and this is where government has definitely gone astray. Instead of representation of the people for the people, we now have representation of the elite for the elite. Government policy should not be in the hands of the few, but in the hands of the masses.
What irks me the most is when the elitists, both republican and democrat, go out and say we represent the people and we believe in the people and want to listen to the people, when in fact their pockets are being filled from the coffers of elite lobbying groups. I am for lobbying, but lobbying should be curtailed and limited in what it can do. Wouldn't it be nice if the politicians acted upon their true natures and showed themselves as they really are? Then we would really know who to trust and to vote for.
Now campaign promises, here is an issue I love to discuss. When was the last time a President actually did what he promised to do during the election. I know of just one Ronald Regan. He followed through with his campaign promises, by cutting taxes, ending tyranny, and helping the economy get out of the hole. Yes, Bush 2 has done very well, but you get the feeling that he is manipulating the system behind the scenes and helping the NWO to come about more quickly. In the end what this country needs is a president that grew-up poor and fought his/her way to survive, who believes in freedom for the masses, and understands that government should be small, and that freedom and rights were God given. We need a Captain Moroni! What elitist best fits this, NONE. So I guess we vote for the second best. Again this is either Fred or Mitt, in my opinion.
Q

Forget the Elves, Bah Humbug

Wade' s the scrooge Mcgrooge

http://www.scroogeyourself.com/?id=1510316704

Chris is pretty mean too just ask the kids

http://www.scroogeyourself.com/?id=1510532482

but Jake is really cute

http://www.scroogeyourself.com/?id=1510627282

Mom and Dad spread the Cheer

copy and paste if it doesn't work.
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1473190062

Bangalore Marathon - not quite right

A traffic cops inadvertantly letting traffic through the race route lead to a 10 minute delay when runners couldn't cross the road due to traffic. Though the winning time wasn't too bad, as the winner said "you always tend to run faster when there are dogs chasing you...."

Filming for Sex and the City

We just saw Kim Catrell and the girls filming at Escada (think Rodeo Dr., but actually it's on the corner of Wilshire/El Camino kitty korner from Rodeo). I'm assuming they were filming a scene for the new movie coming out, but of course could be wrong. "Sam" was dressed in a white skirt, yellow shirt, with a blue purse and shoes.

Travel Quiz

Try this. My best so far is level 10 for a score of 358,000

http://www.travelpod.com/traveler-iq/game1?0b3e=f474

Just Go Elf Yourself!!!!

Shake it Bowb!!!


http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1401549058

Think about it?

Does God and healthcare mix? When most of us say our prayers we usually pray for the sick and being able to provide for our family by being successful at work, but where does the line get drawn. When I pray for success at work am I also praying for people to get sick? Because the only way for me to get O2 orders is for people to get sick. So should I continue to pray for the sick that they get well or do I pray for being sucessful at work and hope that people get sick for just a short period of time?

Q

Corporate America

Finally into the swing at work and learning that politics don't run corporate America, system failure does. For instance, where would you see a company release a new software program and train everyone on it just to remove it within one week; only in corporate America. (Microsoft excluded. They're the only company who would release useless software to the masses and still charge $500+). System failure I can assume costs companies million's of dollars per year. System failure is prevalent in communication errors where if someone would just repeat themselves twice you wouldn't receive ten cases of an item but just the 10 individual units that you wanted originally. System failures are also rampant in antiquated technology that corporate America insist that my 686 PC can run Windows XP. My favorite system failure has to be purchasing your own product, that you sold to another competitor, back at a premium.

On the bright side I love my job, not just the benefits. I love that I am no longer at the will of others and their schedules. I am now able to be at home at night. I love not being tied to a desk. I also like that fact that I get a salary. I also love that I am now able to return to school for that all elusive college degree.

Until next time Q.

What's so great about STARBUCKS?

So for Wade's office party everyone got a Christmas bonus...except for Wade. Go figure. But we did get the cute little Starbucks thermas and gift card that were on the table. Since I had it I figured I might as well use it.

Have you ever noticed how many Starbucks are around? I mean, I can now think of 5 all within 2 miles of each other and there is one in the front part of the parking lot at the grocery store I go to all of the time and I have never noticed it before. Does America really need a coffee fix that badly? Besides, the atmosphere is just okay, right now there is Christmas music playing. But who really wants to spend $4 or more on a cup of joe? even if it has been whipped, frapped, syruped, frothed, and blasted into outerspace (which by the way would more than justify the cost, Space Coffee)? Not to mention the calories and fat content of said drinks. Anyone for a Peppermint Mocha, only 280 calories for 16 fluid oz. and 3 grams of fat, or how about an Eggnog Latte 450 calories and a whopping 18 grams of fat for the same size? And that is only their medium, the venti, or large to those who don't know SB lingo, is even better. So I've tried their hot chocolate and pastries. They actually have small sandwiches and salads, and a few of the locations even had Egg McMuffin looking things for breakfast. The problem is, who wants to pay what they are asking? I'm surprised that each place I've stopped there has 1: been a line at every place 2: seating is limited as there are always too many people milling around, reading the paper, drinking their jolt for the day 3: been no parking but hey it is LA and 4: Daniel always wants to sit down in a seat and join in with the masses. What is up with that?

not quite right....

my daily commute... http://flickr.com/photos/37134561@N00/296185325/ quite funny to see four guys lined up taking a whizz....one of the walls actually collapsed from all the acid.....or the time I saw two guys strip down to their skivvies and take a shower from a water tank...in the middle of the airport runway while I was taxiing for take off.....incredible India....

MRI and Circumcision

You may be wondering what these have to do with each other. Both are great experiences at the local hospital. I had an MRI on my back today. Nothing like being crammed into a small tube for 25 minutes with a jack hammer going off inside. Not an experience that I'd like to repeat. At least it only cost $125....

So I had a kidney stone earlier and had to see a urologist. During the exam he non-chalantly picks up me privates and says " i see you've been circumcised" I said yes, to which he asked "how old where you when you were circumcised?" "is your son circumcised?" "how old was he" then he had a colleague come and check it out as well. was ready to turn my backside and ask if he wanted to examine my a-hole as well while he was at it.....

incredible india......

hn...

If only you knew how true that was.... D: so yeah people come look @ my blogggggggggggggg.

Incredible India - just not quite right

Have decided to post daily "funnies" about life in India. Two for today as I missed yesterday.

Went to the new food court near the office, which happens to have a KFC. Ordered the set meal (sandwich, fries and drink) and was waiting for my food. The girl who took my order comes over and says "sorry sir, we're out of fries what else would you like." I told her I was fine waiting for them to cook some more, to which she replied "no more fires". They were out!!! A fast food restaurant had no more fries.....my friend and I were in such shock we just laughed...only in India

And today we went out to do laundry and discovered that the dryer plug has melted. Not sure how this has happened, but worried about the rest of the wiring.

If I can will copy the front page article from yesterday's paper on the religious ceremony where they throw babies from the roof of a temple and catch them in blankets. Only one missed and landed with a dull thud.....

A Terrible Two Year Old's Daily Exploits

Here are some other formerly infamous 2 year olds...








Daniel's expoits

• put anything I can into the sink or tub when they are full of water (at least it's not the toilet)
• cut my hair, yet again, with scissors I found in sissy's room, yet again
• climb ontop of the counter and yell until I am rescued by mommy
• pinch sissy's bum that is hanging out of her jeans
• write on mommy's wall, yet again, this time with black crayon
• attempt to cut things open with a steak knife I got out of the dishwasher until I am discovered by biggest brother
• throw around the big can of hot chocolate gramma gave us for Christmas
• keep asking for drinks of water only later to show mommy that it is all getting dumped down the heat vent in the kitchen
• keep asking for juice only to spill it every time onto the floor making mommy decide that I can go thirsty from now on
• smack big brother with a toy sword, yet again
• strip down naked twice, but get caught before I can do my business on the floor
• wake mommy up at least 6 times last night for num numms
• take out cherry tomatoes and squish them on the carpet
• take my noodles into the front room, hey big brother and biggest brother are both doing it, and smear them all over the floor
• hit bigger brother again with the toy sword
• remove more ornaments off of the Christmas tree

Mommy is tired, but Danny the energizer bunny just keeps going, and going, and going...

And more pics

Okay, here are the rest.

Finally some Pictures

The boys, including Wade, and I all went to Medieval Times for the dinner/show Saturday night. It was a lot of fun and a great way to drop $300 for the evening. This place must be raking in the dough because it is always packed and adult tickets are $51 each. It was expensive, but a great thing to do once. There is also a pirates dinner show we will have to try sometime after we've recovered from the sticker shock of the other place. Daniel and I also visited the temple grounds here to look at the pretty lights. He really liked them. Now you know what a palm tree looks like with lights. (Okay, more pics to come soon, I keep getting an error message when trying to upload them and have to run. Will try again later)

Emails

Hey guys, I've changed the settings on our blog so only those who are invited can look. I'm working on giving everyone permission, just give me time.

New Layout

So, as if you haven't noticed, but I put a new Christmas Layout on our blog. Hope you don't mind. I lost the link to Trummy's blog, so if you'll add it back on someone who knows it. Thanks

POTC 3 Quotes my favs

Captain Teague: It's not about living forever, Jackie. It's about living with yourself forever.
********
Officer: Which ship do we follow?
Lord Cutler Beckett: Signal the Dutchman to track down Sao Feng. We follow the Pearl. How soon can we have the ship ready to pursue?
Officer: [Captain looks back towards a cracking sound, and watches as the large mast falls down. He turns his head and looks on towards the Black Pearl] Do you think he plans it all out or just makes it up as he goes along?
*******
Jack Sparrow: Why would he do that? Because he's a lummox, isn't he? Well we shall have a magnificent garden party and you're not invited!
******
[Jack is about to eat a peanut when a shot is heard. He falls to the ground to reveal ANOTHER Jack Sparrow]
Jack Sparrow: [picking up the peanut] MY peanut!
*
Jack Sparrow: Gibbs, you can come, Marty, Cotton... Cotton's parrot, I'm a little iffy... At least I'll have someone to talk to... Who are you?
[to Tai Huang]
Tai Huang: Tai Huang. These are my men.
Jack Sparrow: Where does your allegiance lie?
Tai Huang: With the highest bidder.
Jack Sparrow: I have a ship.
Tai Huang: That makes you the highest bidder.
Jack Sparrow: Good man. 'Weigh anchor all hands. Prepare to make sail.
[takes out compass]
Jack Sparrow: [Cotton's parrot] 'Weigh anchor.
Barbossa: Jack... Which way ya goin' Jack?
*
Captain Ammand: [about Barbossa] Shoot him!
Captain Jocard: Cut out his tongue!
Jack Sparrow: Shoot him and cut out his tongue, then shoot his tongue! And trim that scraggly beard!
*
Lord Cutler Beckett: You can fight and all of you will die, or you can not fight... in which case only most of you will die.
*
Elizabeth Swann: I propose an exchange. Will leaves with us. And you can take Jack.
Will Turner: Done.
Jack Sparrow: Undone.
Lord Cutler Beckett: Done.
Barbossa: [to Elizabeth] Jack's one of the nine pirate lords. You have no right.
Elizabeth Swann: [with defiance] King!
*
Jack Sparrow: Now we're being followed by rocks. Never had that one before.
*
[Sao Feng holds a knife near a frightened Asian man]
Captain Sao Feng: Drop your weapons, or I kill the man!
Barbossa: Kill him, he's not our man.

Money, money, money

Bad time of year to have to pay a $1000 comprehensive deductible for hitting a fox. Brett has a broken radiator, bumper and inside casing. We still don't know the extent of it until they really get in there. Drivers beware.

Mi Siki Ook Too

I've been sick too. I blame Amanda. Had a fever and body aches yesterday. It wasn't a whole lot of fun. Yesterday was crazy busy at work too. We had six cases. A lot of people were just dropping dead. I think it was the snow. I was actually out grocery shopping with Amanda, long after my shift had ended, when I got a call from the lady, Ann, at IDS. Really nice person. She needed some help with a case. So I agreed to go back up to the Eye Bank to help out. I ended up staying for another two hours. I would like to say I did it soley out of the goodness of my heart, but truthfully, we need the money. It also snowed down here. A lot. I was so wanting to skip work and go snowboarding yesterday, but we're too poor for me to be doing that. School is also about to end. I'm so excited.

Hitting a Fox

Brett is convinced that while driving home on Friday night from the Jazz game, going 70 mph on the highway, that he crushed something. He said the buddies he was with saw it about 1 second before he did, and he saw it just in time to grip the wheel steadily. Luckily he did, otherwise, if he had tried to swerve, he probably would have flipped the car. His car is beat up. It cracked the grill on the front of the car. He said his car smelled like fried animal, plus it also starting smoking. He is afraid he cracked his radiator. He pulled up to the first stoplight and his car started shaking violently. I can't believe all this damage could be done by a fox. It will cost us a pretty penny to have it fixed. Maybe now we should just call him a "Foxy Lady".

Post to rid another

So, no one has felt the need to post for a while, and I am getting tired of looking at the old one, so I decided to put up a new post. Kate and I have had awful colds with ear infections!!! Yuck. I think that is also what Amanda had. So much family love spread around with the Holidays. Paige had her birthday yesterday and is convinced that she is 4. I have had arguments with her, to no avail. It is hard arguing with a 3 year old who is somewhat bull headed and independent. (Don't think I haven't heard what is coming next, either). We went swimming for her birthday. Indoors of course seeing how we probably got 8 inches of snow yesterday. I imagine the mountain resorts are loving it. Maybe they will be able to open up after all.