Another Good Year!

I was lucky enough to celebrate my 9th "Cancerversary" this past Saturday, the 19th of March. I remember like it was yesterday that I was told I had advanced breast cancer at the age of 34. WHAT.......ARE YOU KIDDING ME? It was 9 years ago today that I was undergoing a modified radical mastectomy. This was the first surgery in a line of many to come over that next year. Long and convoluted story short I have been one of the blessed ones and have been given a second chance to live my life. I have been able to do so much over the past 9 years and it saddens me to think I could have missed this time had I not survived. Having to consider one's mortality at 34 years old is a kick in the gut, but learning to live with an uninvited guest like cancer is adding insult to injury......That said I am proud to call myself a "Survivor". I do ponder whether my good fortune can be attributed to luck, determination, devine intervention or something unidentifiable. I will probably never know. I do know that I want another 9 years and regularly turn to my past to help me remain appreciative and humble.

Better Watch Out!!!!!!!

Older men scam

Women often receive warnings about protecting themselves at the mall and in
dark parking lots, etc. This is the first warning I have seen for men. I
wanted to pass it on in case you haven't heard about it.

A 'heads up' for those men who may be regular customers at Lowe's, Home
Depot, Costco, or even Wal-Mart. This one caught me totally by surprise.
Over the last month I became a victim of a clever scam while out shopping..
Simply going out to get supplies has turned out to be quite traumatic. Don't
be naive enough to think it couldn't happen to you or your friends.

Here's how the scam works:

Two nice-looking, college-aged girls will come over to your car or truck as
you are packing your purchases into your vehicle. They both start wiping
your windshield with a rag and Windex, with their breasts almost falling out
of their skimpy T-shirts. (It's impossible not to look).
When you thank them and offer them a tip, they say 'No' but instead ask for
a ride to McDonald's.

You agree and they climb into the vehicle. On the way, they start
undressing. Then one of them starts crawling all over you, while the other
one steals your wallet.

I had my wallet stolen Mar. 4th, 9th, 10th, twice on the 15th, 17th, 20th,
24th, & 29th. Also Apr. 1st & 4th, twice on the 8th, 16th, 23rd, 26th &
27th, and very likely again this upcoming weekend.

So tell your friends to be careful. What a horrible way to take advantage of
us older men. Warn your friends to be vigilant.

Wal-Mart has wallets on sale for $2.99 each. I found even cheaper ones for
$.99 at the dollar store and bought them out in three of their stores.

Also, you never get to eat at McDonald's. I've already lost 11 pounds just
running back and forth from Lowe's, to Home Depot, to Costco, Etc.

So please, send this on to all the older men that you know and warn them to
be on the lookout for this scam. (The best times are just before lunch and
around 4:30 in the afternoon.)


You can't be too careful, guys.

Chilean Fjords


Puerto Montt, Chile


Puerto Varas, Chile

Epic South America...

Living in South America has afforded us many opportunities for incredible travel. Ideally we would like to visit each country on the continent and when someone locates the elusive "Money Tree" please let me know. On this past trip we were able to visit lots of FABULOUS places. We flew out of Lima to the Brazil side of Iguazu Falls and landed in a city named Foz de Iguazu. We drove to our hotel just over the Argentinean boarder in Iguazu Falls. We spent a day or so exploring the falls and being in awe of the power of nature. Iguazu Falls dwarfs Niagra multiple times over. From there we moved on the Buenos Aires for a few days. We rented a 3 bedroom apartment in the Congreso neighborhood and it was great. What a beautiful city. I would love to book a Tango Tour there in the future and learn the dance the BA is famous for. We boarded a Holland American Cruise line in BA for a 12 day cruise. Along the way we visited the Falkland Islands (or Islas Malvinas if you ask an Argentinean), circled Cape Horn counterclockwise, Ushuaia, Patagonia, took in some Chilean fjords and glaciers, Punto Arenas, Puerto Montt, and Puerto Varas. The cruising crowd is decidedly older with an average age of about 80. There were about 1300 people on the cruise with a whopping 25 of those being kids. Most of these kids were Spanish speaking thus putting to test the Westcott Spanish. The kids were fantastic....they both hold their own easily. We docked in Valparaiso...boo hoo.....the life of luxury comes to an end. We rented cars in the port and drove towards Santiago through the Chilean wine country. We ended up at a very beautiful winery that served equally beautiful lunches and wine. After a splendid lunch we made our way to Santiago and spent two nights and days there exploring the city. Again a beautiful city with much more to see than we were able to accomplish. We had planned this trip for such a long time it is hard to believe it is over. Now it's time to plan the next one. Enjoy!


Iguazu Falls, Argentina


Buenos Aires

Life on the ship






Falkland Islands

Cape Horn & Ushuaia, Patagonia






Punta Arenas, Chile

I am Doing the Happy Dance....

Oh...how we have sufferred here in the southern hemisphere.....It was mid December when summer vacation began here south of the equator. In other words it has been 2.5 months of kids occupying couches, bean bags, computers, xbox stations and TV sets for hours on end. Eating everything in the fridge the day after the shopping is done, calling mom 5x a day to ask me what I am doing and inventing new ways to torment each other. I was hoping they would get bored at some point, however, they have proved very "hearty" in their ability to deal with the situation they have been dealt. I realize you northern hemisphere folks go through the same drill, but I think the farther one goes south the longer the summer vacation feels. But, just when you think the couch will never regain its shape as a result of too much lounge time the glorias month of March arrives. New uniforms check; school supplies check; new shoes check; backpacks organized check. Wednesday the 2nd will the equivelent of a big sigh of relief on the part of all the southern hemisphere parents who have been awaiting the arrival of the new school year. That said I still think Monday the 28th of February would have been more considerate start date on the part of the area schools. On Wednesday as I leave for work and my little ducklings head off for the first day of school I will give them a kiss goodbye and do a very subtle happy dance in honor of one of the greatest days of the year.