Lee's love...NAKED!

As Lee took her apart, he tagged and labeled parts, to aide in putting her back together.

NAKED, engine, gas tank and seat removed.

Engine out!

Yes, I admit it...for 9 years my husband has had a lover....I like to call her the "Red Headed Bitch". Actually she is not that bad, she gets him to and from work everyday. Ok....so she is his motorcycle....he loves her! Lee got her the week he made the 15 year mark in the Coast Guard. He dotes on her.....she still looks brand new. This past couple weeks though....she is all over the garage and her engine is in the shop. After 9 years, something finally wore out on her...something to do with the transmission. To save money on labor, Lee took on the task of removing the engine himself...he did a great job and saved a couple hours work. We took the engine in.....part of it was great news...the top end looks fantastic, not at all like a 9 year old bike-a tribute to Lee's relentless maintenance....the bad news the bottom end where the transmission is wearing out...our estimate quickly doubled (Thanks Dad for the help!!). Lee and I went in to review the estimate, see the parts in question and see what we could do about the price....Lee says he likes when I get sassy with them, it meant over $100 off the bill. Yeah! The kicker to this whole thing...the engine and transmission are sealed in a casing, so you have to replace every gasket when you put it all back together....that "paper like" gasket set alone is $181!!!!

Motorcycle repair happens very slowly, it will be another 10 days or so until we can trailer the body of the bike to them for final assembly. Meanwhile, Lee has been polishing bolts, lubricating parts that need it and just giving her the TLC she deserves. I hope this takes her another few years....gas is at $4 a gallon here now, she saves us a chunk of change every month!

Elliott turns 18....

He was so excited to get Brita water filters...NOT....it was actually a Beatles CD

He wanted a cork board for his room....and I stuck enough giftcards for Gamestop on it to pay for the new Nintendo 3DS that comes out next month.

I called him from Tacoma and asked him if I should stop at Krispy Kreme....

He replied "ABSOLUTELY!!"....and he ate six by the end of the night!

He also LOVES Jones Soda....I cannot find it here, so I got him some while I was in WA....he drank this one before it was even cold!!

The drive home....

The view from above Clam Beach

Elk near Orick

I drove up to Washington last Friday....a pretty exhausting drive, especially when it was not really a pleasure trip. I made it there in 11 hours..not bad. I had given myself a nasty headache, after listening to my Ipod through the cars stereo...maybe I had it turned up too loud! I was tired and my head hurt, so I headed straight to Brandi's where I was staying (her house is really close to where Mason and Arrielle live and since I knew they wanted to join me for a lot of what was going on, it is easier to stay there)...within an hour of arriving, Mason came by with my lil' grandbabies...Bianca and Adelle. It was so nice to see him and hug him. He and Arrielle have been on Weight Watchers, and both have lost close to 40 pounds each...they look amazing!!

Brandi was having a candle party that night, and I was able to see some friends...Deana, Adam, Shawna and Elaine...it was nice. Saturday, after breakfast with my new daughter in law and picking up Megan and Shawn, I made my way to my dad's...he was doing good, just a little sad. We did our usual...paid some bills, talked about our common interests (we both adore old British sitcoms), made a quick trip to Safeway. It was nice, the normalcy of that day, let me forget why I was there. I left there and headed back to Mason and Arrielle's...to have dinner together. Sunday was Superbowl Sunday...my Dad's favorite day! We all gathered at his house to watch the game...like we always did. I loved it.

Monday, I took my dad's recommendation and spent the day visiting friends and with Mason and Arrielle. Tuesday was a hard day...we all met up at Uncle Bob and Aunt Myrna's...to discuss the services that were being planned. It was hard to see my family in pain...especially Lenny and Bobby (my Aunt Carole's boys), because I know what the loss of your mom feels like. It was nice to be together as a family though, and Aunt Myrna had piles of pictures for everyone...and in our were a couple pictures of my mom...I plan on scanning them for a future blog entry. That evening, I had to say "see ya later" to my dad...I hate that, especially now...because every moment with him, I just want to capture it and hold every memory inside.

I was able to take Mason to work the next morning, on my way out of town....I was crying before I even left the parking lot...thinking to myself, I got to hug Mason today....and my baby boy Elliott turns 18 today. I pretty much cried all the way home....I had the Ipod on shuffle and cried with every country song that came on. It was a long, hard, emotional ride home. I was eager to get home to my birthday boy. The drive is pretty dull...until the last 80 miles, when you are reminded how beautiful this area is....redwoods, an ocean that greets you in Crescent City, and the elk that come out in the morning and early evening. There are vista points where you can hop out of the car and see the expanse of the Pacific Ocean....it truly is amazing, and I feel blessed to live within 4 stop lights of her shores. Seeing the elk was a bonus....there are a couple places to see them on 101...they just hang out. I saw the few in the picture above..but down the road a little ways they had overtaken an RV park...there were young males practicing their fighting, mommas with babies and the older elf with their antlers looking like huge chandeliers on their heads. It was fun to take the moment in and just watch them.

I was greeted as I pulled up to our house, by Elliott and Lee...with hugs. I am not sure if the hug from Elliott was for me or for the two dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts I bought in Tacoma that morning. It is good to be home...but my thoughts are with my family in Washington and Texas as we make our way through this cloud of sadness.

I hope Heaven is like a cruise....

My Aunt Carole (left) and my Aunt Grace, last summer

I am making an unexpected trip home today....my Aunt Carole slipped out of our everyday lives yesterday...she passed away. We do not really know a lot of details, it went from her not feeling well to us losing her in just a couple hours.

Carole is my Dad's baby sister, so...understandably...everyone is taking this pretty hard....to be snatched up so fast, it is still all so unbelievable.

My brother Mike called me, and started the conversation with "Now, don't freak out..." and told me Carole was on her way to the hospital...that call was followed a little over an hour later with my dad calling and saying she had passed away. My first words to my dad were that I was coming up...of course he says that I do not need to. I felt torn...so I left it up to Mike and he told me to come. My dad may not need me there, but this daddy's girl needs him.

I adored my Aunt Carole when I was younger, she was a beautician....and she always gave me a new haircut when we came up on vacation. She feathered my hair for the first time as a teen, she gave me the pixie cut my mom loved when I was a kid. She had just retired last year, she had worked for JcPenney since I was very young. She and my Aunt Grace have gone on some fun adventures the last couple years...cruises to Alaska and around the Hawaiian Islands, their annual trip to Texas. I am eager to make sure my cousins are ok, Lenny and Bobby, her two sons. Lenny reached out to me at a family get together just after my mom passed away and I want to return the favor.

My dad has always called me Carole before he calls me Jeanine...just a funny slip of the tongue..it used to make me a little annoyed, but I think it is a testament to how much he loves his sisters...and now when he calls me Carole, I will remember her smile...because I bet he called her Jeanine.

I Survived.....

I survived taking an actual class at the gym! Well...sort of. Jaime and I got the time wrong for the Zumba class....and we wanted to take advantage of me actually being willing to take a class...so we went in to the Yoga class. It was a Vinyasa yoga class...Hell if I know what that means. It was dark in there...small lamps lit in one corner. I did pretty good...I knew the poses from my Wii fit. It was hotter than Hell in the room though...I felt like I sweated as much as I do on the treadmill. When it was all said and done, I actually enjoyed it...and I was glad I went. I was pretty darn relaxed the rest of the evening. One funny part though...the instructor would, every once in a while, make this kinda sensual "oooh" noise...and I almost bust out with the giggles.