Archerr

Mother Nature has been teasing me for a few weeks now. Since the weather turned cold she has been sprinkling snow flakes in my face off and on for days. Now she says she'll be giving us a bit more tomorrow and maybe some Friday morning. If that bitch doesn't come through this time and give me a day off, I'll cut her. I'll cut a bitch!

Not only do I need a day off, but I also need some measurable snow to make me believe it's actually winter. Maybe that bitch is reacting to all the talk of global warming but she's certainly making us feel it's not true with the temperatures she's been sending our way. If she wants me to believe it's winter, she better come through with the goods tomorrow and Friday morning. Then I'll believe in her again.

What is it with all these gay blogs posting these pictures of Harry Potter? Enough already. He's way too young for most of the gay men who are drooling over him. Yes, he looks hot and all but please. I think we've seen enough of these pictures. He's not my type anyway.

Last night the boyfriend's parents took us to dinner for his birthday at Kinkead's. Kinkead's is a wonderful seafood restaurant not far from the White House. We've been there several times and have been told that lots of famous people go there for dinner. One time we were there we saw some congressmen but couldn't think of their names. Each time we go we think we might see someone famous.

While we sat at the bar enjoying some beverages before out table was ready two famous people walked in. For some reason I got all excited as if it was a big deal. I guess I haven't seen many famous people in person. I was actually hoping to see Jane Fonda, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, or even Sean Penn. They were at the anti-war rally that was held downtown yesterday. But no such luck. Who did walk in? These guys:


Yep, Sam Donaldson you probably recognize but do you know the other guy? That's former Secretary of Defense William Cohen. He was the Secretary of Defense in the Clinton administration in the late 90's. They were dining together with their wives. It was kind of wild seeing someone famous but I'm not so sure how famous they are today. I don't even know what they are doing these days. There was an interesting story about them leaving the restaurant but I'll save that for the podcast. You'll have to listen to find out. Maybe next time we'll see someone more famous.

Yesterday was the boyfriend's birthday. His parents flew in from New Orleans for his birthday. Wasn't that nice of them? I had my mother and his parents over for his birthday dinner. Yes, I cooked everything. I even made his birthday cake. I think everyone had a good time and enjoyed the meal. It's amazing how well our parents get along. They were just chatting up a storm. It's a good feeling when your partner's parents get along with yours. Plus, his parents are so nice. Here are a few photos from the evening.

The boyfriend's parents on the left, my mother and the boyfriend on the right.

Time to blow out the candles! Can you tell how old he is?

Opening gifts.

I got him the Kitchen Aid Artisan Mixer

The only thing good about this picture from the State of the Union is that there is a woman speaker of the house. Not much else.

Last weekend when the boyfriend and I were visiting my father, I took some video of my father's lazy cat. Here's a short video showing my father's fat, lazy cat.

Click on the picture below to see the video.

I know you've probably seen this but after watching it and reading about it, it's time ABC fired Isaih Washington from Grey's Anatomy. Sorry for posting two YouTube videos in a row, but I couldn't help it.

I know you've probably seen this already but oh my gosh! Paula Abdul needs rehab! Who knows, this could be another media stunt to get people to watch American Idol. It started last night and she was all over the place on the show too. I will be recording tonight's show on DVR just to see if she's wacko again. I guess all the coverage of this got me to watch!

The boyfriend and I stayed with my father on Sunday night when we were in Charlottesville. He got to see just how much I'm like my father. It certainly opened his eyes to the future. My father and I both like watching home improvement shows. We both have sensitive stomachs. We both have sinus issues. We both like tinkering with technology. We both have liberal/democratic politics. The list goes on and on. The boyfriend said on more then one occasion this weekend that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. So true.

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day but did you know that just a few years ago people in Virginia celebrated Lee-Jackson Day on the same day? I wasn't even aware of Lee-Jackson Day. On Saturday the boyfriend and I went to one of the wineries we visit often. It's located in a more southern county then were I live. We were chatting with one of the tasting associates about this and that and I asked her what she was doing for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and she said, "You mean Lee-Jackson Day?" I couldn't believe my ears. I quickly asked her what that was. She informed me that Lee-Jackson Day is the day that Virginians celebrate the birthdays of Robert E. Lee (January 19th is Lee's 200th birthday) and Stonewall Jackson and for years and years they had celebrated Lee-Jackson Day instead of King Day AND they got a day off work for it. This only ended a few years ago when our governor at the time moved Lee-Jackson Day to the Friday before King Day. That means many of Virginia's State offices are closed on Friday and Monday. And from what I can find on the web, it's still celebrated on the Friday before and they still get the day off. You can find out more about it here and here.

I'm from Northern Virginia and we've NEVER celebrated Lee-Jackson Day. I had never heard of it before. I had to do some more web searches to find it. It looks like Virginia is the only state that still celebrates it. The boyfriend and I were driving back from our Charlottesville weekend and we drove through several small towns in the central part of the state and I was amazed at seeing confederate flags still being flown on people's houses and as stickers on cars and trucks. Damn, this state is so split. We have Northern Virginia which is liberal, educated, and in the 21st century and then we have the rest of the state that is still so backwards. We need to split off and create a new state and forget about the rest. I know, that won't happen but the rest of the state needs to get it together and come into the 21st century.

Today we visited one of our favorite wineries in Virginia, Gray Ghost. We took a nice lunch to enjoy with their wonderful wines. The boyfriend has been visiting this winery for several years but I’ve only been enjoying it with him for about two years. He has such a nice relationship with the owners that they have special chair for him in the loft area. Here you see him enjoying his wine while doing some work.


I used the built in iSight camera on the laptop to make a little video.

Click on the picture below to see the video.

This weekend the boyfriend and I are off to Charlottesville to visit my father and to visit a few wineries in the area. We aren’t leaving until Sunday. We thought we’d take advantage of having Monday off for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. During our trip we will think about the contributions he’s made to our countries history and to the civil rights of everyone.

We have plans to visit one of our favorite wineries, Gray Ghost, tomorrow. It will be our first winery visit in 2007. The boyfriend has some papers to grade so we plan on sitting in their loft area while enjoying some wine while the boyfriend gets some work done. I’m sure I’ll do something on the computer since I always take it with me. However, I won’t be able to connect to the internet because I know they don’t have wireless connectivity at the winery.

And what’s up with the lack of connectivity out in the country? Don’t this country people need to be connected at some point? What are they waiting for? I would like to be able to open my laptop anywhere in the country and be able to get a connection. Oh well. In time, I’m sure.

I did not watch the deciders speech last night. He is too much of a idiot for me to care what he has to say. Plus, every news organization has had the speech and highlighted the important points. All I know is that he is making a big mistake by sending more troops to Iraq. Instead of escalating this war, he needs to be scaling back.

And what’s next? A military issue with Iran? I’m scared.

Today Apple finally introduced the iPhone. It's been a long time coming but I think I'm ready for it. Unfortunately my current cell service isn't up for another year. Maybe by that time I'll be able to afford the phone and the service. It's very cool. It's go so many features...more then I can mention here but it's got a widescreen, it's an iPod, a phone, internet capability, and a mini computer basically. Check it out and when I get one in a year or so, I'll be telling you all about it. Of course by that time they will have had an update and added more features. Either way, I want the iPhone!

This is making the rounds and I thought I'd do it too.

After having a wonderful dinner at Kinceads last night, the boyfriend and I were enjoying some wine and chocolates while watching the movie Jezebel when I got the video camera out and made this silly movie. The boyfriend gets nasty and shows his bits at different points. This video should be rated X. hehehe

Click on the picture below to see the video.
P.S. I know I've been posting a lot of videos lately but I'm having fun with the new camera and consider these videos as vlogs.

With the arrival of the new Canon Elura, it was finally time to do a before and after video of my kitchen renovation. Back in November I recorded what the kitchen looked like before the renovation. And just yesterday I recorded what the kitchen looks like now, after the renovation. I think it looks pretty good. I am almost convinced that the red color is nice. I'm sticking with it.

Click on the picture below to see the video.

I know I haven't talked about it in awhile but I am once again auctioning my artwork on eBay. I took a few months off and didn't have anything on eBay but decided to get back to auctioning off the artwork I've been working on lately. Check out my artwork on eBay and if you feel like it, bid on a piece or two. Here's a sample:

The Canon Elura I ordered recently was delivered today! It's so much smaller then I thought it was. It fits nicely in my palm and all the controls seem to be easy to work. I need to figure out some of the settings but I think I should be able to figure them out. The light works really well and adds just enough when you need a bit more light. I haven't tried the microphone jack yet though. The manual says it needs a mic that has it's own power so I might need to invest in an external mic to use with the video camera. Anyone have experience with external mics for video cameras? Any suggestions would be appreciated. I can now begin to crank out more videos for the blog and for ArcherRadio.

I've been off work for the last week. Today it was time to get back to work. It was very hard. I had gotten into the routine of staying up late and then sleeping late. Last night I tried going to bed at my regular time and couldn't fall asleep. And then the alarm had to wake me up. I just couldn't wake up this morning. Eventually I dragged my ass out of bed and got to work on time. It's so hard getting back to work after being off for awhile and getting into that lazy routine. I wish I didn't have to work.

Last night the boyfriend and I had a small dinner party. It was a nice intimate affair. The boyfriend made an amazing dinner (with special foods for me because I'm a picky eater) and had wine with each course. At the end of the evening we watched the ball drop while enjoying an amazing blush champagne. 2006 was a pretty good year, especially the second half. The boyfriend made the year so much better of course. 2007 promises to be even better! Happy New Year!

Here we are enjoying dinner.

Here we are watching the ball drop.

And here's the boyfriend and I ringing in the new year.