Roy is a Road Warrior Too!

So despite having a baby in the car, which we thought would slow us down, we made it to Kingfisher in really good time. We started our trip at exactly 7:30pm on Tuesday, and drove it straight through. We were in Kingfisher by 4pm on Wednesday.

And boy does Roy travel well. Every time we stopped at a rest stop to feed him and give him a chance to run around, he'd take a poo as well, so not once did we need to make an emergency stop to change a stinky diaper. He slept just fine in his car seat, took his meals without incident, and only cried once - when he woke up from a nap soaked in sweat because we'd tossed his blankie over him while he was asleep. So we pulled in at the next rest stop, changed his outfit, and let him crawl around a bit until he'd cooled off and 15 minutes later we were back on the road.

Flash took the trip like a champ as well and immediately made herself at home at Ron and Ivy's. Here's to a long and happy retirement for her.

Leaving on A Jet Plane

So here are the highlights from Sonny's departure ceremony:
-His grandma started crying as soon as they arrived in Winchester, which was very sad to see.
-Ben whined for a solid hour about wanting more water, before someone finally relented and retrieved some for him. This saved him a twenty foot walk.
-Thuy does not own sneakers, he was wearing black dress shoes with white socks and shorts.
-It was 95 degrees and threatening to rain, i.e., humidity around 70% and the ceremony started two hours late. It was an outdoor ceremony.
-The buses were late.
-The microphone was set to echo and kept cutting out. Most noticeably it failed during the Chaplain's closing prayer.
-Watching soldiers board buses while surrounded by throngs of crying families is fairly sobering.
-One of the speakers honestly/tackily emphasized that the unit might not come back on time.
-There was a rather incongruous musical display. Bagpipes, kilts and America the Beautiful.
-Sonny promised to buy me a present if I didn't cry. I did cry . . . a little, very elegantly if I do say so myself. I still got my present! I also got a migraine from holding back.
I'll send out the pictures later this week.

The Road Warriors

One of the hardest parts of having the kiddo was that it put an end to our road trips for over a year. But we're back, and we're badder than ever!

I get so excited before we get ready to set out on a long drive. There's something so freeing in hitting the road, with everything you need stuffed in the back of your vehicle, and plenty of time to make it to your destination. A nice long highway at 2am with a good car, good tunes, and good companions makes it my ideal mode of travel. I find the whole experience relaxing, and am of the opinion that half the fun of a trip is in the getting there and back. Why take a plane, when I have to deal with asshole security guards, sick people sharing their germs over stale piped in air, uncomfortable seats, and delays completely beyond my control? Sure, I may get there faster, but when I arrive, I'm almost always sick with something from the plane, in pain, and pissed off at whatever asinine delays I've had to deal with on the flight. And I haven't even ended up on one of the poo-flights or been one of the passengers stuck on the tarmac for over 8 hours or out and out abandonded by the airlines. I read stories like that, and I'm happy to take my chances on the road. At least if the car breaks down, I can get out of the vehicle. Not to mention that everyone hates a crying baby on a plane.

So in less than 3 hours, we'll be hitting the road again, and in my brand new car. We're geared up, I've got enough baby food fixed up to last us for days, and picked up a nifty console warmer/cooler that runs on 12volt power, so I can even heat the kiddo's food without any problems at mealtimes. Even better, it'll be two and a half weeks until I have to go back to work.

And it's over the 4th of July! Independence Day in a state that doesn't believe civilization will end if regular people are allowed to set off anything more impressive than snakes and sparklers. Mortars all the way, baby!

Looking forward to seeing all my family in Oklahoma and Dallas... we'll be there soon!

The Sexiest Station Wagon Ever!

We finally got my new car back from the dealership with the extra options we ordered, and Russ immediately installed my HD radio and the super-cool Magnaflow exhaust daddy gave us. She growls like a lioness now... "rowr!"

Here is the sexiest station wagon ever made. I can't wait for our road-trip to Oklahoma now.... vroom!

Book Report: Kushiel's Justice

Jacqueline Carey is one of those authors who is just so damned good, that every time I read one of her books, it makes me want to go back and re-read everything else she's ever written as well. After Kushiel's Scion was released, I waited with baited breath for the year it took for Kushiel's Justice to come out. Thanks to Amazon and their ability to ignore release dates, even though Justice wasn't slated for release til the 13th, I received it last Friday, and had real difficulty putting it down over the weekend. I just finished it, and it was utterly fantastic.

Kushiel's Justice, the 5th book set in Terre d'Ange, continues Imriel's story - the adventures of a young man who is at once the son of the greatest traitors, and the foster-son to the greatest heroes in the history of his country. Third in line for the crown, living eternally under the shadow of suspicion cast by his parentage, but striving to live up to the example set by his foster-parents, Imriel is driven by one goal: try to be good. But the one law of the land in Terre d'Ange is blessed Elua's precept to 'love as thou wilt,' and when Imriel violates that precept by marrying for politics and duty, rather than following his heart, tragedy so great it threatens the existence of an entire nation strikes. Imriel is plunged into a quest for justice that takes him far from home and the people he loves, the result is an epic tale filled with adventure, intrigue and passion.

Kushiel's Scion was a coming of age novel, and a lot of people didn't like it as much as the first three Kushiel novels - I gather because it wasn't as epic in its scope, and wasn't as ... ah... dirty as the preceding three. I liked it just fine on the first read, and loved it on the second. I thought it was a wonderful bridge to Kushiel's Justice, and Justice definitely dives right back into the sort of grand adventures you came to expect reading Phedre's stories, but without as much ... ah... dirtiness.

But with regards to the smut to be found in any of the novels - Carey isn't LKH. Perhaps it's because LKH's Blake started out as a tough-as-nails, celibate heroine, who over the course of the series turns into the super-slut from hell with a menagerie the size and variety of a zoo, and the original heroine in the Kushiel series is the most famous courtesan in the history of the country who eventually settles down with her one true love. Whatever the reason, while I find LKH's books are pretty much straight smut, I just don't mind it coming from Carey - her writing doesn't seem exploitative. It is, however, pretty graphic.

And Terre d'Ange... Carey has built the most engrossing alternate history I've ever read. The idea of an entire people descended from angels... set in the era of the rise of Christianity, with the attendant split between the original children of Israel and the believers in the Messiah is grand storytelling of the first order. Unless you simply cannot handle a few X-rated scenes, lovers of historical epics should absolutely try the Kushiel series out.

5 out of 5 stars - just like everything Carey has written.

I won something!

So, I know that Heathers is a timeless classic, and that any attempt at a remake would immediately be panned by me and anyone else with taste; however when I saw this contest to recast it . . . I couldn't resist. Guess what? If you haven't already your reading comprehension skills are lacking *cough*thetitleofthepost*cough*. I won!! They picked my new cast! Go here to see who I chose.
I'm eaker, i.e., the winner.

... and one more from Florida

Rusty and Roy developed quite the symbiotic relationship during the visit, with Rusty acting as a human vacuum cleaner for all of Roy's little discards. Roy thought it was cute, so about half of the treats or snacks we gave him were handed directly over to Rusty, with Rusty doing his damnedest to extract the cookie from between chubby little baby fingers without taking any of the fingers with it. Both of the doggoes were generally very sweet and careful around Roy, they were very good boys.

Son of a Beach!

Hopefully, you can tell by the picture that Roy had a pretty good time on his vacation. Once we figured out appropriate drive times and break times for the road trip, he was a perfect little traveler, and we made it down to Florida without a hitch. Roy had a blast hanging out with Rusty and Rover and his aunt and uncle, and was so worn out with all the excitement that he went to sleep each night without any fuss. No baby sunburns. No huge breakdowns. He got to see two different beaches and the aquarium, went shopping, and spent lots of time playing with Lissa and Mike. Roy had so much going on, he didn't even notice that I had weaned him completely, and now he's been off the tit for almost two weeks.

So now he has three weeks to recover, and then it's off on the big road trip to Oklahoma/Texas. Twice as long a drive, but this time we'll be in a new Dodge Magnum R/T instead of a cheesy Toyota 4Runner rental with crappy seats, so hopefully it'll turn out to be as easy.