U is for Unexpected

Unexpected is right. Penny and I were unexpected...by her parents, that is. We pulled off the complete and total surprise of her parents when we showed up last night. They were really touched that we came down to spend Christmas with them. Nothing like a little positive karma for future use. ;-)

Unexpected also refers to the amount of rain we're receiving. At this time of year we can expect brief showers on & off during the day. However, we've had a rather steady downpour for the balance of the afternoon. Before the rains really hit Penny and I managed to hit the nearby pool and hot tub for some totally unseasonal Christmas Day swimming. Sure beats the Polar Bear Swim hands-down.

I hope this Christmas Day finds you well and enjoying the day wherever you are.

T is for Technical Difficulties

I'm really wanting to make some changes to this blog. I wouldn't mind looking at a different template or something really cool. However, with all the changes that the good folks at Blogger have made, they really missed the boat on adding some new, funky templates.

I was all set to try a modified version of one of the standard ones (including my banner and all that stuff) but I got so lost in the code, I gave up and reverted to this one. I think I've managed to sort out an issue with the background and how it loads at higher resolutions, so that should help a bit.

Guess I'll have to, like, bribe Kal and tap into his blogger code expertise. Wonder what he'll want for that?

S is for Surprises, Sun, Sand, Swimming, and Sex

( Edit at end of Post)

All four of those things will be had in various combinations and permutations because DW and I will be in sunny Florida for part of the Holidays. Here's how I mentioned it at work:

Me: "I got my wife a plane ticket as her Christmas present."

Smart-ass Co-worker: "Wow, that's nice of you. To where?"

Me: "Florida, to go see her folks and surprise them."

SaCw: "Really? So what will you be doing while she's gone?"

Me: "Um, I'm going with her."

SaCw: "Oh. Not much of a present then, huh?"

But seriously, ladies and germs....My poor DW has been somewhat worn to a frazzled remnant of her former self from the madness which is her workplace. This year has been a bit of a challenge for Christmas gifts between us because neither of us has any specific wants or needs. But she sent me a text message from work a little while back, telling me that if she could have it, she would love 3 consecutive days off, preferably somewhere warm. This little plan is brought to you by the fact that the Wondertwins are with their father for Christmas this year.

So off to the Scare Canada website I went, and - a few "Page Cannot be loaded" messages later, we had flights to visit her folks down at their winter place on the Gulf Coast. They are expecting to be all on their lonesome this year because the MiL's younger brother is ill and won't be able to travel down as originally planned. DW has confirmed that they will actually be at home when we arrive (although that might make for a really funny post later. Once we've actually started laughing about it, that is.)

In all honesty, I can use a little break myself. If nothing else, I can take 4 whole days off from school and work and basically put my brain on auto-pilot.

So there we have it....surprising her parents, sunny skies, sandy beaches, swimming in the nearby pool and much, much, much travel sex. Happy Holidays indeed!

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S is also for Sacrifice. I can't say enough about the sacrifices DW makes for me and for our family. More often than not she deserves better than what she gets back, but its never unnoticed at this end. I couldn't imagine being without her. Not for a minute. I love you, baby...

R is for Remorse, Recriminations and Recontacting Rosie

Before I get into the heavier stuff, give a shout out to my old High School classmate Rose. A transplanted Canadian, she's married to a US Army guy and lives in upstate NY. Rose was a year behind me in school but was taking my French class (the keener) and her brother, James, was also a classmate.

Of course, none of this would be interesting without that Six Degrees of Separation tale, right?

I had been in touch with Rose via email years ago and managed to lose her contact details. But I came across her (and her blog) while reading the comments about another classmate and bandmate and friend of long standing who was facing, well, a life-altering moment.

You see, D - a well known and well-respected middle school teacher back home - was about to plead guilty to a luring charge involving one of his own students. It almost seems like the classic case. Popular teacher, high standing in the community, award winning, active in his church, dedicated to wife and family and passionate about his job....busted for rather inappropriate online activities.

39 years old, and life -as he knows it - is over.

Unfortunately, in our hermetically sealed little burg up North, this is major news, and, of course, everyone and his dog has an opinion. The opinions range from disbelief, to denial to righteous condemnation and absurd speculations. My sister being one of the many contented by their righteousness - "oh, I'm not surprised at all", she says. (I hear she's screening Martha to come in and re-do the ivory tower she currently calls home.)

Anyway, I'm not among those who will be calling for D's head. I just can't. While I find his actions deplorable both personally and professionally, I won't define the man by this bad act. Fortunately, there are some other bandmates who are taking the same stance. I took the time to write him a letter that said I'd stand by him no matter what. I also said that if he was wrongly accused, he should fight hard. But I also told him that if he was the man I knew him to be and if he was indeed guilty that he should face the music and spare everyone the grief of a trial.

Now some people might wonder why I'd be willing to stand by someone who will likely be known (not necessarily accurately) as a sex offender for the rest of his life...a man whose teaching career is over...a man facing a long road of personal reflection and emotional challenge.

...because he was there for me at a time when I faced guilt by association in that same small burg, and because I still believe he's a good man...although one who was clearly struggling with his identity (not to excuse his actions at all.)

Yes, he stood by me when I needed my friends, and that kind of dedication is something you never ever forget.

Q is for Quintessential Queries

As my DW has already done, it is my turn to share with you...

SIX WEIRD THINGS ABOUT MY WIFE

1. Some of you know that Penny has some rather chilly body parts. Feet. Flanks. Glutes. Its a running joke with us because I am, as someone once tagged me, The Human Hot Water Bottle. So you would think that she would appreciate being warm? Apparently not. She loathes hot feet and hot hands. Hates it. She feels all clammy, especially with her feet. We're not sure where the happy medium is. She has a pair of what she calls "Magic Socks" which alleviate the worst of the cold feet in bed, but eventually they come off.

2. Some women go nuts about shoes. Fortunately, my wife isn't one of them. Granted, she has way more in terms of footwear than I do, but she's nowhere near obsessed. However, she does have one clothing fetish: scarves. Not just any scarves. Ones she can knit. I'm very impressed with anyone who can knit, and my wife is one of the better ones at it. But she goes all giddy when she sees a scarf pattern, particularly if its some new, funky, multi-strand chunky design. Me? I don't get it. But it makes her happy.

3. There's nothing wrong with liking chocolate, but apparently if a chocolate treat involves layers, this triggers something in my wife. For example, with chocolate covered jujubes, she will eat all the chocolate off, suck the jujube clean of any remaining chocolate and then eat the jujube itself. She has to do this one at a time. Unless, of course, its a black one, and then I get it.

4. As some of you have seen, my wife is, well...um...uh...let's just say that 'June is bust-ing out all over.' As a result, if you have a body part that is likely to receive a lot of visual interest, I suppose it stands to reason that you want to make sure its presentable. This often means nipple alignments. Before she goes out anywhere, she'll often get me to make sure her "nipples are straight". If I look at this rationally, I suppose I wouldn't want one nipple pointing one way while the other is cock-eyed (so to speak) but as a guy, I just get to have free boobie looks. :)

5. Penny and I are equally bad for this one, but we often start crafts and leave them untouched for long periods of time. With Penny its needlepoint. With me, its models. We both have half-started or even untouched projects of various shades tucked away. In Penny's defence, she does complete some of them. In fact, she just completed and framed one that became a commemorative for our wedding. (Feb 5, for those of you planning to send Anniversary gifts) I'll let her tell you how that came about.

6. "There's no such thing as 'too hot'", she says. While this does not apply to feet or hands it does apply to that most exclusive of condiments: horseradish. Now, being of strong English stock I appreciate a good roast beef and horseradish, but Penny takes it up a notch. When we visit her "Aunt" for some of the Jewish holidays, she often has this wild purple horseradish which could curl nosehairs at fifty paces. That stuff became Penny's benchmark for "hot". Since then she's been on a quest for the ultimate hot horseradish. Borrowing a page from Kal, she's referred to some of the alleged "Extra Hot" offerings from the local grocery store as "Ussy-Pay". "Extra Hot, my ass", she says after biting into a roast beef sandwich in anticipation. Personally, I don't know what the right recipe is. We're still looking for the purple stuff.

There you go. She might be weird, but she's all mine and I love her to bits.