When we were in Florida, we went to the alligator farm in St. Augustine. I was really cool. We got to see reptiles from all over the world. One of the best was the swamp were there were hundreds of alligators right under the bridge we were walking on, can anyone say lunch?
This is my first tattoo. I got this before I went Florida in November. These are pictures of the actual process. The artist name is Shaugn, he works at High Rank Tattoo in Barstow, CA. He has done most of our work; he is a great artist. This is on my right calf. It is a Greenman (google it if you are unsure; wikipedia scroll down to Wicca!) And yes it hurt like HELL! 
So sorry for the state of my blog, I have no good excuses. But instead of dwelling, I am just going to pick it up again. School started last week and I love it. My classes are everyday at 8:00 am. It is nice to get up an go in the morning again. I really like my Microbiology classes, it is fun working in the lab. This picture is from our Florida trip. This is the two of us at the alligator farm in St. Augustine, it was great.
January 20th James celebrated his birthday. We went to our favorite Korean restaurant and stuffed ourselves with the all you can BBQ! Soo good!
Today is my niece Tarra's Birthday! Here she is silly stringing her uncle Steve. Have a great day and I'll see ya soon!
We took an overnight trip to Laughlin Nevada a few days ago. We stayed at the Riverside Resort. The hotel is on the Colorado river and we had a nice room with a great view of the river rushing by. James shopped and I played a little craps. Over all it was fun but cold and windy outside!
I have not posted in a while, sorry. My back pay finally came through and we have been busy making up for 3 years of poverty! This is a shot with our new camera, a Canon Powershot SD950 IS. We bought it at Costco and it is a great camera. Here we are at the pistachio festival in Newberry Springs, 30 miles east of Barstow.
James and I are now enrolled in Barstow Community College (home of the Vikings!). We have both registered for our Spring 2008 classes. I took 13 units and James signed up for 12. We start January 14th. I have often talked about going back to school; that's usually as far as it went - talk. This time I did it. I want my nursing degree and I am going to get it! I transferred in (have already completed) 52 units, and James has his Associate Of Arts degree. He is going for his second and a transfer to a 4 year; I just want my Associate Of Science in Nursing (for now, maybe a bachelor's degree later?). I have several classes I need, so I will have to go Summer and Fall before I can apply to the program at Victor Valley College (Barstow's sister college 30 miles away). In January I am taking Microbiology (5 units), Developmental Psychology (3 units), Elementary Algebra (4 units), and an Adaptive PE class (they teach you how to strengthen a disabled body!) (1 unit). Wow! I was not sure about going full time, but oh well. I can't remember James' classes, I will post them later. Wish us luck! 
Today is the 125th birthday of Bela Lugosi. I am an ardent vampire fan and Bela was a childhood idol. He was immensely proud of his roles as Dracula. He even requested to be buried in his vampire cape! Happy Birthday Bela, the undead can keep celebrating year after year! 
We did it! We bought a new car yesterday. This is our new 2006 Mustang! We love it. We had been searching for several months for the exact car we wanted. We had already allowed two cars to be sold out from underneath us. I wanted a large down payment, but thanks to the government, I have not received my back pay yet. I wanted specific things on the car (Grey, blue, light green or black color, v6, manual transmission, leather interior, Shaker 500 stereo system, an MP3 player jack, low mileage and a reasonable price) Over the last two months, I have found 2 cars that have had all or most of these things within Southern California. I had already been approved for a loan, but I wanted to put something down. Well, those other two cars came and went. When I found this one (It has all the things I wanted except the mp3 jack) I could not wait any longer. So we bought it! We got it for almost $4,000 less than they wanted and it is great. We are very happy. I have always wanted a Mustang and here it is!!
It has been a little over one month since we started this new eating habit. I started out at 216 (one week before my first post, I started to diet), and James started out at 223. The results are in! Steve weighed in at 196 this morning. That's a cool 20 lbs. James weighed in at 205, a very respectable 18 pounds. We owe it all to the South Beach Diet and our new love of walking (Thanx Laura and Gordon!). We have reached a happy medium on the walks, twice a day 2.0 and 1 1/2 miles respectively. I did not have time to do a third. My goal is 31 more pounds, I know I can do it.
Today is my brother in law Joe's Birthday. We wish him all the best and many happy returns. Take it easy today Joe, you deserve it!! Have a great day! 
A lot has changed for James and I during the last 3 weeks. We did weigh ourselves after 2 weeks was up; only to be shocked by the results. I had lost only 1 pound, down to 203; James actually gained 1 pound, up to 214. I was shocked and a little disheartened. We followed the eating plan to the tee. The only difference is that we became addicted to walking. And when I say addicted, I mean ADDICTED! We decided we had put on the weight through the build up of muscle mass. We now walk 2 times daily. We walk 2 miles in the morning and 1 1/2 miles in the afternoon. James wants to start walking a third time after dinner, that would be another 1 1/2 miles for us. I am hesitant, I think we should take it slower but he is raring to go. This new found love of walking was inspired by Uncle Gordon and Aunt Laura on one of their visits to Barstow, thanks so much for the inspiration. I have never seen James like this. All of a sudden he is a diet and exercise fanatic. I know I am loosing fat though, my clothes fit much better. Shorts I stopped wearing because I could not button them are now loose on me! Here we go...... 
My nephew Daniel is graduating from Marine boot camp today. It is hard to believe it has been three months, but today is the day. My family has made the trip to South Carolina to be there for the big event. Daniel has wrote about how he has really found his niche in life. He has really excelled in the environment. I wish him all the best. Stay safe. We love you.
After the first week on the South Beach diet the results are in! James went from 223 to 213. That's a 10 pound loss in just 1 week! Yea!! Steve went from 211 to 204. That's a 7 pound loss in just one week! I'm very happy with the results. I feel better. I have more energy. We have also started walking 1 1/2 miles a day. This is not much, but for two people whose main activity was changing channels, it's a good start. I really like the food on this new eating plan. 98% of the recipes are ones I would have over and over (the other 2%; not so much!). We are going to keep it up, this is more of a new way of eating than a diet. We will be changing our habits from now on. 
On September 10, my parents cat Pretty Boy Hannibal, passed away. They loved him very much and he will be sorely missed. James and I send our condolences. My uncle Tito wrote this poem for him:
