the great 48... part two

So, I posted the first 27 tasks to accomplish this year, 2014... here are the remaining 21 out of The Great 48... things to do this year:

And in no particular order...

(28) Love more.  Kinda spelled this out in my "finding my pike place" post earlier. 

(29)  Learn how to spell certain words that always screw me up... notably, "occasionally" and "itinerary"  (these words are only spelled right at this point because I used spellcheck).

Did you hear that Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey are gone from American Idol?  Its gone from a decent show back in the day to a guilty pleasure by now, but I think we might (30) take another crack at American Idol this year.  Maybe.

(31) Give grace before its asked of me.  (32) Ask for grace before its required.

This is a big deal for those who know me personally... but I'd like to (33) take a weekend vacation trip this year somewhere besides Walt Disney World.   Yes, I'm d$, and no, no one has taken over my mind.  Just something different.



If the sight of Mickey Waffles doesn't get you excited
about your Disney Vacation, then you're dead inside.

Speaking of Disney... to promote the fact I'm a Disney Travel Planner, I had planned to (34) do a Disney Open House at my home last fall, and was unable to get it together... so this year?  I'd like to do at least two.  And that goes along with my plan to (35) be certified for Universal Parks as well.

Oh, and of course, (36) plan a lot more magic for a lot more people. 

Ah, our home.  The Cabana.  We love our home, yet like many of you who have children, we've let it get away from us here and there.  My fellow blogger and friend Jamie Harper wrote an excellent piece on "simplifying life" and much of it is all about her home.  And in fact, I was emailing The Lovely Steph Leann today about (37) our plans for a clean sweep of our house.

Let's just get rid of stuff. Sure, there is stuff we can sell, and yeah, there is stuff we can donate... but some of it?  Let's just chunk it.  If I don't miss it until I come across it, then I won't miss it when its gone.  Get 'er done.

Two main things to focus on, two main goals, with the first being (38) getting some pictures on our wall... secondly, I really want to (39) get to our garage, and a large part of that are the pictures I have in binders on shelves in our garage.  Not just any pictures, but pics from my childhood, albums I grabbed from back home after my grandmother--the woman who raised me, that is--passed on.  My goal is (40) to scan these pics, then send them to the appropriate family members so that they can do what they will with them... some of these pictures are 30, 40, even 50 years old, so I want to make sure they are preserved with me, and then passed off correctly.

(41) Do something extraordinary.  Like what? I have no idea.  But something. 

(42) Take Campbell to the park on a regular basis.  Not now, of course, but soon, when its warmer.

(43) Pay off the car.  My car.  Red Robin.  We were debt free before we signed the purchasing papers in November of 2011, and we'll be debt free again (aside from the house) as soon as we get it paid.

(44) Hand write some letters to people.  Not just email, or sign my name to a card, but hand write.  Who does that anymore?

(45) Find a few days here and there throughout 2014, and just unplug from everything, especially social media.  This dude had a remarkable 25 day fast from media... not sure I could do that... but maybe a few days? 

My tenth wedding anniversary is this year, in February.  The Lovely Steph Leann, let's (46) do something fun.  Doesn't have to be expensive, but lets make it memorable.  Whaddaya say?

And hey, (47) the podcast is coming back!  We took December off, to retool a bit, step back, reassess and all that... and if you have never heard it, and most of you haven't, its a great chance to jump onboard.  We call it The Movie Picture Show, and its three guys who love and watch movies, and we talk about them.  Sounds boring?  Nah, I think its pretty funny.  www.thedeucecast.com for info.

The Deucecast Studios, home of the Movie Picture Show

And finally... something I've always wanted to do, but just never have...

(48) I'd like to buy lunch for someone in the military.  You know, seeing someone in uniform sitting across a restaurant and tell the server, "I'd like to get theirs, but please don't tell them who.  Just tell them someone said thank you."

So there you go.  I initially said 38 things... but I found 48 things I wanted to make sure that I got done in 2014.  You are welcome to ask me about them and see where I am...

(20K words in January... total of 2,856 words down, 17,144 to go...)

saluting dad

On this Memorial Day, as another reminder that its not all BBQ and Mythbusters Marathons on Discovery Channel (not that there is anything wrong with either of those, though I'm glad that  Travel Channel isn't having a Samantha Brown marathon--I wouldn't move for 12 straight hours), I thought I'd post a couple of pictures I came across...

When visiting my Mama over Easter weekend, I went through several boxes of things that pictures that belonged to me, yet I had forgotten I had... and I thought it was awesome that I found a few pictures of my Dad.  Well, he's my grandfather, if you read this post you'll understand, but I grew up calling him Dad, and that's how he shall be remembered.

He served our country in World War II and Korea as an airplane mechanic.  Not sure he saw a whole lot of combat, but anyone who served in WWII is someone I consider part of a group that "saved the world".  Saved the world from the Germans, saved the world from tyranny, saved the world from the bad guys.  Saved the world.

I do believe John Dollar retired a Sergeant Major in the Air Force,
with a full military funeral when he passed in August of 2000

In a picture I had never seen before, this is Dad working
on one of the many airplanes he fixed.  Handy, that
one was.  On the back is written "In my work clothes"

Thought this was a hoot... the back of the picture, in his
messy scrawl, says "the chow hound".  I can only assume
that is a bottle of Coke he's holding, and in the 40s, I'm
guessing that is a fantastic bottle of cola.

Caption on the back writes, "Me under the nose of an attack plane".  Can't
help but think of Brad Pitt in "Inglorious Basterds" wanting him some
Nah-zi scalps

Caption on back says, "A few of the planes here for Air Force Day, 1947". 
Not sure where "here" is.

"My squadron in flight.  The 41st".  Yes, it took me a few minutes to figure out that the plane formation said "41".   How great is this?

And finally, no date or caption written on this one.  But
I thought it was still a great shot.

So that's my Dad, back in the day.  And like all the rest who serve, he was a hero.  No, he didn't die in a gunfight, or a roadside bomb, or saving the lives of his fellow Air Force countrymen, or in some dramatic fashion... he died of old age from many of the problems that plague older gentlemen.  But he was still a hero.

Thanks to my younger brother Shawn who was/is a Marine, to my cousins Steven and John, thanks to The Big Wasyluka, thanks to Gemini & Heather King, thanks to Joey the Marine Husband, thanks to Kirk (Tiff Abbott's boo), and thanks to all the service men and women who do what you do, voluntarily.  And thanks to the families who give them up and let them serve, who sit by the phone and stare at pictures missing their loved ones and constantly pray for safety. 

U-S-A!  U-S-A!