DAY 3

So far so good.
The place looks great and the management team looks strong enough. We have been received with open arms so that helps towards achieving our goals. The place opens in about 3 weeks so we have a lot of training to do.
The more time I spend with my co-workers the more I learn about them. These are people that I have been working with for the last two years without them knowing me or me knowing them. It is all in passing. we know faces but not our names. Yet while we are all stuck with each other here, we are "forced" to deal with each other, whether we want to or not. The exception are the "snubs" who get in their little groups and end up doing their own thing day in and day out. Then again, maybe they feel left out because we do not ask them to go with "us". Not that I'm invited either but I just tag along. I think I have more of a bond or attachments with the "back of the house" staff than the "front of the house" staff.

Detroit is quite a unique town. We are staying in a hotel in downtown and everything around us is empty and "dead" It seems as though the plague went through town and left all these old and new buildings completely empty. There are some where on their roofs, there are trees growing on top of them. They almost look like Italian Terrazzos, with plants and trees growing on top of their roofs, but they just have been abandoned for a long time. There are signs of construction and improvement, which is the reason why we are here, but I think it still is going to be a while before this whole areas comes back to look like Manhattan or downtown Chicago.

Till then, enjoy the pictures.

Day 2

This morning I was woken up by a furious tapping on the window, which initially I thought it was a ghost typing on my laptop. It turned out to be rain. Rain of the kind that you don't see in Las Vegas.

It was a cool day 7o's average. What a difference that makes for someone who's been dealing with 100+ for the last 2-3 months.
I met some noew people today at work and aside from the ones I am working with, I ran into someone I used to work and knew about 22 years ago. There was an awkard silences as we looked at each other and tried to figure out who this persaon was. I was first to remember his name. He had to get my help. All I had to mention was Westin Bonaventure, Skiing and Palm Springs, since we used to hang out together. This was before I had even gone back to school, when I was just living "La Vida Loca" Now it turns out that he is a VP of a company that consults with our company.- Definitely a small world.

See you!

DETROIT ROCK CITY

So I find myself in a new strange land without my family.
I am in Detroit, Michigan. A mere 4 hours from home and yet so far away. I am on work assignment and will be here for a "few" days. I rather look at it like that as opposed to weeks or months. My little family was left behind but it's all for the good of the family.

I will be taking pictures and posting about the working trip so stay tuned.

Family......I love you and miss you already.

UPDATE

So much going on around the world and even here in our own little part of the world. A couple of nights ago we had such thunderstorms with lots of rain throughout the valley, that it seemed we were in another part of the country all together. This happened in the middle of the night to the point that people got up and watched from their windows. I got home at about 3:00AM and Melissa was up, so we just sat outside for a while just watching the lightning. Eventually she got too scared and went back inside.
Of course there was some flooding around the strip area, which is the lowest part of our valley.
Now we are back to our normal weather pattern-Hot, Hot, Hot. However, soon the hot weather will subside and welcome the cool weather.

BACK FROM VACATION

The day has come to return to work.

It's been a wonderful week. The kids had a great time in Disneyland as much as I did. I may not have sounded too happy before leaving, but once you get there, what do you do. Make the best of it and have as much fun as possible.

To begin with, as soon as we got there and after riding our first ride (Pirates of the Caribean) we were handed a set of "fastpass" lanyards. These were for the most popular rides and to use whenever we wanted for that day. No waiting in line, just straight to the front. They were handing these out at random, so we were very lucky since I did not see that many people with them.


The worst part of the day was waiting an hour and a half to ride the new Finding Nemo ride, the old submarine ride. Pretty much the same as before with the added new graphics and computer images underwater, otherwise same ride. We rode the traditional; Star Tours, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Thunder Railroad, etc. Some of them more than two or three times, including the kiddie rides.



There were a lot of people throughout the days we were there. Friday was probably the best day. There did not seem to be as many people people as Thursday or Saturday. The family had fun. By Saturday, I think we've all had it and ended up leaving early. The kids hang out by the pool and later in the evening we drove to Huntington Beach for dinner.

On Sunday we stopped by the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena before heading for home. The trip was an outstanding success.



See my flickr page for more pictures of the trip, including some "people watching" pictures.

Olivia Singing, Again.

At church this past Sunday. I was able to at least record this. I had just come home from working all night and instead of going to bed when I got home, I just got in the shower, made coffee and got ready for church. by the tmie we got home, it was already 11:30, so I had a "two hour" nap before heading for work again at 2:00.
It has been a sleepless weekend, but I am looking forward to leaving town tomorrow.


"CISCO, IN THE LAST 48 HOURS YOU HAVE JUST SLEPT FOR FOUR HOURS, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO NEXT?...."


I AM GOING TO DISNEYLAND!

A QUICK ROADTRIP

So, no kids on Thursday (my only day off) and what to do.
Melissa spoke of driving up north into Utah and I thought about driving to L.A. Instead we took the road south into Arizona. We started by going over Hoover Dam (Lots of traffic there due to TRANSFORMERS being filmed there, tourists and all that) Once we got over the dam, we continued driving south, no hurries no destination. The initial idea was to drive and find roads that would take us into old mining towns. Along the way we saw some thunderstorms that were too far to get us or the car wet.
We did veer into a road that lead to Chloride, an old mining town founded back in the 1860's. Mellisa did not want to have anything to do with this town, it did look deserted and silent. We were looking for "Yesterday's restaurant", but it turned out that they were on vacation. We turned around and left the town quickly and back onto the highway. The next stop was Kingman AZ. This was no small mining town. We had lunch at a place we'd rather not mention except that on its wall there was a note form their health department which had placed them on a "Needs Improvement" status.
From Kingman the choices widened. Go into the Grand Canyon a mere 2 hours away, Further south into Sedona (about 4 hours) or West towards L.A. Given that it was already about 3:00PM, we decided to go west along the famous Route 66.
From Kingman it quickly headed towards the mountains. Mountains on this side of the country are nothing but giant boulders of rocks. There are no pine trees or other large trees growing here. Only sage bushes, saguaros and plenty of dessert grass and flowers. A beautiful site considering the minimal rain that has fallen in this part of the dessert.

The road turned into a two lane road with very sharp turns into the hills. Surprisingly there were a lot of homes (mobile, trailers and such)throughout the road. It did not take too long to reach the top. On the way we stopped a few times to take pictures. Once we began to descend, the road was the same; colorful and still with dizzying sharp turns. At some spots, you could see signs of old mines as well as some that seemed operational.
The highlight of the trip was a town called Oatman. Right along the center of the road, there were donkeys meandering around as if they owned the town. There were plenty of tourists (Of course we were tourists at that point too) feeding carrots to the donkeys, some seem a bit aggressive, while some others just laid on the ground.






Once we left this town, we headed towards Bullhead City. By this time it was already about 6:30PM and since we had nothing else to do at home, we decided to spend the night in Laughlin.


Melissa and I had come full circle.
One of our first outings as a dating couple was here in Laughlin and we actually stayed at the same place.

RAIN

It's been raining most of the morning here. What a difference from yesterday to today. The heat has this way of getting to you where you feel hot and just miserable so waking up to thunder and lightning is a blessing. It is now about noon and it is sprinkling still.
Olivia is in San Francisco with her "auntie." Anthony is in Southern California with his grandmother and family, so this week Melissa and I are without the kids this week. It is very strange not to have them here and hear their voices, singing or playfulness's around. When they get back, we are all going to Disneyland for a few days. Not my favorite place, but it will be very nice to be there with them. I must admit I am kind of looking forward to it, perhaps just to get away from work(ers).

Love Affair

Not the kind that you're thinking of.

I began my love affair with computers back in 94-95. This was during college where if you did not have your own computer, you had to rely on the computer lab at school and hope that it was not full when you got there to type your final paper, prior to turning it in two hours later.

Way back in 1990, i had already been introduced to and playing with the old game of "Where is Carmen San Diego" in the old 5" discs, remember the big square ones? No graphics there, only the black screen with green letters. a few squares, rectangles and funky green graphics to stare at.

So I bought an Macintosh Performa. The kind that has the monitor and the hard rive integrated in one unit. It came with only 80 megs of memory, which at that time was enough for writing college papers and other minimal stuff. The great thing about the computer then, it came with a free connection to the school's Internet portal. The old BOL, or Bruin On Line. Of course at hat time the basic connection was with a phone line, which would disconnect each time a call came through (you could also disable call waiting).

Now in the garage

That is when I was truly introduced to the Internet. Apart from researching for school and other stuff, I began surfing for mundane information. Eventually I signed up with AOL. Then came all the chat rooms, pop ups, profiles, then yahoo and the rest is history.

My second computer was a Presario Laptop, which I still use form time to time. On my desk sits a Sony Vaio, which hold most of my music, pictures and work files.

My favorite toy though is my Dell Inspiron, which I use mostly for work. If there is one aspect of the Internet that I could have lived without, it had to be AOL.

Now computers are so much more common and mundane that they are like house phones ten years ago. Everyone had one in their rooms.

Kids are so adept to using them and they see them as something that has always been there, along with the TV and cable box.

The love affair is still going strong, though it is not like at the begining, when every waking moment was spent on the computer....

That is a good thing.

NIGHTCLUB

On Friday and Saturday nights, our restaurant turns into a night club. Here are some shots of the place.

What's Important in LIfe

For the last two weeks, I haven't been blogging much. I have been working and doing stuff with family. My Mom is here again after going back to Mexico for a few months. I guess she must like it here since she came back so quickly, maybe she just wanted to get away from my brother....

She was in L.A. for about three weeks and now she is here in Vegas, of course she is staying at my brother's, who is right now in Mexico with all his family.

The kids are out of school and will not be going back till the begining of the new school year.

Is this all a routine?..

Am I getting bored with my rutine?

Is Melissa?

How much of what we do everyday is just routine?

How do you tackle what is routine and mundane or just "the same thing everyday"?

Melissa mentioned it this morning:

Get up, shower, get dressed, brush your teeth, blow dry your hair, get your shoes on, kiss your boyfriend good bye.---That is supposedly her routine, well

I kind of broke it by walking her downstairs and to the door naked.

"Have a great day at work"

SHORTHAND TRANSLATED

Is that what it was called?.
When "bosses" dictated to their secretaries?..... Bunch of lines, squigles, etc. If that was short hand, what do you call this?....

From somewhere in the blogworld.....

" i no no1 reads dis but im gunna say stuf anyway on da uva hand if peeps red dis den i most prob wudnt write in it! im so clever i no wot im not guna do, loli dont mean al da stuff i say but im gona say it anyway.anyway, b4 i get 2 random... da girls in skoo, r obsesd wit boys. its a ll dey eva talk about.ma frend bex fancy dis boy curtis who is a real beep i cant stand da guy. hes seriously anoyin. jemz has even gon 2 hit him loads of time but he dus his stupid laf nd runs away like a little kid.jemz is no beta. she fancys a bucktooth freak cald kyle. hes been a proper beep to her but she still likes him! im meen, common sense dat a 17 yr old only wants 1 fing, and i aint gona let my 14 yr old bff giv it 2 him. no beep treats ma friend like beep. i rekon hes cheatin on her anyways, cos he lives miles away from us.anyway, if u woz bord enuf 2 read dis i feel sorry 4 u. "

SENSATIONSALISM

I thought the dramatic graphics and sensationalism was only for TV. Now you also find it on the Internet.

On today's main yahoo page, you have this news that there was a shooting at a casino in Las Vegas. The latest news is that the people who were shot are OK. the shooter is under custody and will more than likely be going to jail. This post though is about the pictures and graphics that are intended to catch your attention so you can be "hooked" to read or at least look at it.
They have them every year and for every disaster imaginable:
"THE CHALLENGER DISASTER"
"THE FLOODS OF 2007"
"KATRINA AND KILLER TORNADOES"
"THE SUMMER FIRES OF 05"

They actually almost make it all seem and sound like a movie title. I think they are obnoxious and pathetic. Notice the cross hairs (or telescopic sight) added as to the picture? The picture also shows where the shooting took place, but in real life, the place does not look that Orange/red dramatic color.
Get ready next year for:

"2008 THE YEAR BUSH ABOLISHED THE CONSTITUTION"

Sunrise

Sunrise
Originally uploaded by Ciscokid1

One of the great things about working an overnight shift is driving home while the sun is coming up. This picture was taken last Sunday morning instead of going home to sleep and since I had my camera in the car, I decided to take some pictures. For more pictures go to my flickr page.

Enjoy!

UPDATE

All is well in my little world.

I guess sometimes your are either too busy to blog or just don't feel like it. I have actually been barely on line. I did find this new software that has allowed me to find some new (and old) songs without the restrictions of i-tunes, so that has kept me busy.
Tomorrow Melissa and I celebrate another anniversary of being together. We'll be going out tonight to celebrate since I am actually working tomorrow and of course I do nto get out until midnight.
Olivia and Anthony were at "camp" last week begining on Wednesday. Melissa was there too and they did not get back untill Sunday afternoon. I did not do much other than rest. We've had a fairly busy week at work. Speaking of work.

Do you have manners when you go out to eat?
Do you order form the menu or make up your own stuff?
Do you complain about the littlest thing?

Are you a picky eater?

TAGGED

As Tags go (Thanks Yamell) Here is another one.


Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to write their own blog with their 7 things as well as these rules. You need to tag 7 others and list their names on your blog. Remember to leave a comment for them letting them know they have been tagged and to read your blog.

1. I grew up in Mexico City 'till I was 19
2. I have now been in the states longer than I have been in Mexico.
3. I have been as fars South as New Orleans, as far north/east as Vermont. I have been northwest to Seattle and of course as far southwest as San Diego and further south.
4. I learned the hard way that to start a business, you need to cross all your T's and dot all your I's.
5. I have landed on my feet despite all set backs.
6. I have a woman whom I believe loves me.
7. I run about 4 miles (if and when I get motivated to do it)

Anyone else who stops here and would like to participate...Go ahead.

LATE NEWS

I had just posted the previous blog when I ran accross this.

Lindsay Cancels Party

"PURE" LINDSAY LOHAN

Of all people who should not have their 21th birthday in Las Vegas, is Lindsay Lohan. On July 2, she will be celebrating her birthday at PURE nightclub at Caesars Palace. There are big billboards around town advertising the big birthday. The adds are to attract perhaps the locals who frequent these clubs, However, I doubt that any regular "Joe Vegas" will get in since it is probably a private event closed to most people and only open to high rollers, The Maloofs, and the usual cadre of revelers tagging along with all the celebrities.
Since the birthday falls on the Second (Monday), the bash will probably begin over the weekend at various other locations with the grand finale at Pure.
Will anyone check her ID to get in?.....

How Times Change

Indeed.
Thanks to Jack Ohman.

THE SHIELD

Not much to blogg about.
Except that yesterday (or last night-and thank goodness for TIVO) I watched the season ending episode of The Shield It is one of those shows you either hate or love. Melissa hates it, I enjoy the show. It is about bad guys, good guys and those who are good but behave badly. There is a lot of crude language and situations which make the show more realistic than anything else in the genre.
The setting is the streets of Los Angeles and the dealings and dilemmas that rogue cops face everyday while they do their jobs. IF you get a chance to watch the show, season 7 shoudl start sometime next year (March), so you have a few months to catch up with Seasons 1 through 6.
By the way- Season 7 may be the last one..

BIRTHDAYS ARE OVER

Finally a week (practically) of celebrations is over. begining with my birthday last week on Monday, Olivia's through the weekend and Memorial Day on Monday.

My birthday was great. Melissa and I went to a great Italian restaurant at The Mirage and after dinner, we went to see Love. It was a great show. If you love The Beatles' music, you will truly enjoy the show. It is a combination of their music with clips and images of their times and history performed by acrobats, dancers, singers and including skateboarders. After the show we stoped by the Revolution lounge for a couple of drinks. Again, a great show. Maybe
Melissa will post some of the pictures from her camera.

Olivia's celebration began last Friday with a dinner to Cheescake factory with all family (Except for me since I had to work that evening). Party continued on Saturday with a round trip on a limo to a friend's house for a pool party.
Sunday it was another dinner celebration at Olivia's Grandmother's home, also attended by those who missed the Friday and Saturday celebration.

The weekend ended with Monday's celebration of Memorial day. This one also involved hot dogs and hamburgers by the pool (Thank you Doyle's).
Finally by yesterday everyone had to get back to reality and back to work.
How was your weekend?

MONTH OF CELEBRATION AND BIRTHDAYS

Mother's Day was a success. I had Melissa's Mom, Olivia's Grandma and Godmother over for Sunday Brunch. We got them Roses, gifts and I made Chilaquiles Verdes. Everyone was happy and had a good time.
Monday, Melissa and I stayed up late playing poker and the loser had to do Tequila shots. At the end of the night, we were both losers.....Not a good idea to mix tequila and poker.
Now it is off to celebrate Birthdays.
Mine is on the 21 and Olivia's is on the 25th. Her Aunts are preparing a "pool" party with some of Olivia's best friends at a firend's house. They are going to get to ride a limo there and back to the house, she's always wanted to ride in one, so it should be a great birthday.
Mine is on Monday. I cannot believe I am turning 42. I do not feel 42 I feel more like mid-30's and I think that is where I am going to be stuck for a while.
Work has been fun and busy. Lots going on in the restaurant business

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Happy Mother's Day to all you Moms of the blog world. Hope that all your children have at least a good thought and more about you.
Happy Mother's Day Melissa. You deserve love today and every day of your life. And, yes, you also "have" it.
You are a Wonderful Mom.



Thsnk you for letting me use your pictures.

INSTALLING TILE

Finally, a week after I started the project, it is finished.
The picture bellow shows the bathroom after I pulled the carpet and padding out.


Now this is what it looks like.





The hallway before, in between


and after.
Thank you Melissa for your help and suggestions and for keeping the kids away and downstairs...

TOMORROW

Here she is singing the song Tomorrow.
Enjoy.

ANNIE

Here is Olivia and Casey performing Annie

CRAZY WEEKS

I am alive and kicking though a bit in pain.
Wor4k has been good-busy. On my last post I mentioned my training which is still on-going. In between we had a crowd of 16,000 people for a hughe conference, so that kept everyone busy at work.
Olivia's play turned out great. All the kids did wonderfull with their parts in Annie. I will be posting a video as well as pictures of the play. I also decided to take it upon myself and lay tile down on the upstairs bathroom/hallway while I had three days off over the last weekend. Today is Thursday and I am still not done, more about that later....

PEELING POBLANO PEPPERS IN THE KITCHEN

As part of my "Cross-training" at work, Yesterday I spent the better part of the day working in the kitchen.
Having been in the restaurant business for a long time, I have seen, heard and experienced everything that there is to experience about a working restaurant, except the kitchen part of it. I have never been a cook, a prep cook, a grill man or nothing like it, not even in my previous job, where I supervised a whole kitchen crew.
Until yesterday.
I spent at least two hours peeling Poblano peppers, which are used for Chile Rellenos. You stand at this one spot and your back aches, your fingers burn, your throat burns and you are constantly coughing, because of everything that gets released when you are peeling and de-veining peppers. I am sure that people that do this day in and day out get used to it, but what a chore. My next "assignment" was to fry 3 huge bags of tortilla chips. Sounds simple right?, just throw the chips in the hot oil and fry them, yeah, right!
The chips get hot and steamy and "heavy" with the oil they are being fried on. You have to stir them with a large slotted tool, so they don't stick, break and burn. You have to get the right crisp in them and when you are turning them, they are heavy, then you fish them out of the oil carefully
your wrists, begin to hurt, your shoulders ache from the turning and lifting. After filling about 12 large pans, I was done with my assignment and my arms were just hanging my sides limp and in pain.
Kitchen workers are hard working people.
Next week I will be working at the bar, that should be fun, untill the tickets start spewing lots of tickets with all kinds of different complicated drinks..

First Day at Work

Yesterday was my official first day at my new job.
There were plenty of faces I've seen over the past year and some new. I am still looked at as someone who is new and therefore, like an alien out of space, some keep their distance and some are not shy to introduce themselves. It is a job that I have done before so the whole thing is not new to me. Everyone is curious as to what I have done before, where I came from etc. The questions seem funny because as I had said before, I have worked with the company for over a year and a half and I have seen most of them, but they do not remember me.
That is an advantage I suppose.
Not a bad day, only a long one and they are bound to get longer because of the weekends being so much busier. The place turns into a night club after it closes for dinner.
Till then..

WEEKEND OFF!!

So this is what it feels like to be off on the weekends. Calm, relaxed and with plenty of time for a nap (Not that I've taken one, but Melissa did). We went to get lunch at a great Mexican place here in town, Lindo Michoacan a place that has been around for more than a decade in Vegas. Funny to walk into the restaurant and run into Senator Chris Dodd, from Connecticut. Here in Vegas?.. Of course here in Vegas,
Lately we have seen lots of politicians make their way into our state.
Over the big weekend of Cinco de Mayo during a big event in town, the likes of John McCain and other "heavy weights" of politics will be here.
Anyways, I was saying how nice it was to be off on the weekends, I just came back from getting a haircut and later, or soon, we'll be going bowling...
And we still have Sunday...
Maybe we'll go to the Logandale Fair tomorrow.
It is good to be off on the weekends!-Though I think this might be my last one...

NEW JOB

So this Monday I start my new job, same company different department. Lateral move with a small raise, not bad after only being with the company for about a year and a half.
My last day at my current place will be this Saturday.
Busy busy busy, no wonder I haven't posted for over a week. Family had fun during their trip to L.A. and San Diego over Easter. While they were away, I got to work and work and do some house cleaning...
Till next time.

A Picture from the past

The year was 1992.
Gorbachev was already out of power and was traveling the world to raise money for his foundation. There was one held were I used to work and was attended by the likes of; Oliver Stone, Barbara Streissand and some other Hollywood types. We were asked to line up in the lobby to "receive" the dignatary. It was actually quite an emotional moment to be shaking the hand of someone who held so much power during his time as Premier of the former USSR (Soviet Union) and who also steered the world into a different direction by his actions.
On the picture there is another current "celebrity chef"-Thomas Keller of
French Laundry and Per Se. At the time he was the Executive chef at the restaurant that I worked at in L.A. 14 Years ago....
How time flies...

VISUAL DNA

Fun Exercise.... Via Coco

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

WORK!

Yes, lots of work and not much play time the last couple of weeks. I have been working average of 10 to 12 hours per day. A lot going on, so I have to stay longer hours. It is a sign of spring and the upcoming summer months. I remember last year our heavy business began in March and did not let up 'till late in the fall. Of course there has been a lot going on the last few weeks.
The White house can't get a break, but I guess when you are full of secrecy and in shit up to your knees, it is hard to extricate yourself once you're in it. Next Victim-U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez.
Speaking of somewhat nicer wildlife, we have an iguana pet that has a nasty personality, even though now it enjoys an outdoor cage complete with a built in pool (Plastic container) and plenty of room to climb around, it still refuses to be friendly. Might just have to fatten it and have it for a barbecue next year.
Olivia is getting ready for her performance as "Annie" at our church. Last year she played one of the daughters in Fiddler on the Roof, so this year she auditioned and got the Annie part.
I am in the process of waiting for a "promotion"- One that I am not sure what it entails yet but beginning this week or next, I get to train my replacement.
Aside form that, just busy and busy as I am sure most everyone in Bloggworld is.

POLITICS

Scooter Libby gets found guilty of "obstruction of justice" so the White House can breathe easier for a little while now. The "Buck" stopped with Libby and it did not go higher. What a difference of Character between the current administration and another one years back that was caught with their hands in the cookie jar(Iran-Contra). At least Reagan looked into the camera and said, "The buck stops with me." End of story. Oliver North and John Poindexter were the scapegoats back then nonetheless, they found very lucrative jobs after giving their testimony to Congress. While we all just went "wow"
Once again we say "wow"
No one in this administration takes responsibility for anything. They would much rather throw the expendable "career politicians" into the fire. People like Libby or Army Maj. Gen. George W. Weightman who know when to throw in the towel and be rewarded afterwards with a great job with Haliburton or other company friendly with Bush and Co.
So, Cheney and Bush can relax for now since they will more than likely pardon Libby. His conviction may also be thrown out in appeal as it happened with Poindexter and Oliver North years ago and we are left saying, "wow"

VACATION

Yes, I need a new vacation and it is only the beginning of the year. I know I just went to L.A. a couple of weeks ago, so that should count as a vacation. I think I need more than just 4 days though. I need something like 2 weeks or so. Now, Melissa and I are thinking along the same lines because while she is planning a "Valentine's vacation" for next year, I was thinking that it would be great to go to Europe next year with the kids. They are at an age that they can appreciate a trip like that. Melissa though just wants it to be the two of us while I want it to be all 4. We'll see what that turns out to be.
Her trip involves some mystery. She does not want to tell me where she is planning on going, but rather is leaving me clues in her blog.

I like mysteries......

I like vacations better.