Sheep Guarding Llama

It’s Thanksgiving in Frankfort!  I am very thankful for getting to spend the holiday with my girls and that I have a new job that allows me to be here with everyone.  Eight years at Citi we were very fortunate that I was able to work from home for occasions like this.  I’ve lost that but now I get the both Thanksgiving and Black Friday off completely so instead of working from Frankfort for a little longer I do a few fewer days but really get the days off that I am here.  No need to sign in and check on anything, at least not this year.  We will see what next year brings.

This morning was the family sitting around in the kitchen, as we often do, and looking through the Black Friday deals.  I think that most of American has turned to Thanksgiving being a day of shopping planning more than anything else.  There is so much special shopping that happens just before, during and immediately following the holiday that it is impossible to ignore.

My Black Friday deals are from Steam.  They have tons of awesome deals all week plus special lightning deals every eight hours.  They are brilliant making you stay logged in continuously and checking the latest deals over and over again.  I got a great haul of stuff at the beginning of the sale knocking out half of my extensive wishlist.  I have a process for this stuff and I put things into my wishlist all year long knowing that there are going to be awesome sales.  My ability to delay gratification is key here and really works in my favour.  Because I can hold out knowing that things are in my wishlist and won’t be forgotten or missed, I can wait for the awesome sales.

My big scores at the beginning of the sale included nearly all of the Assassin’s Creed collection and Skyrim: Legendary Edition for myself.  And Night of the Rabbit for Liesl and I.  After this, my wishlist is down to just about six items and all are things that are pretty new and will easily wait for next year’s sales.  I now have seventy four games in my Steam library!  That is enough to keep me busy for a long, long time (that list includes Liesl’s and Dominica’s games too.)

Before three we packed up the kids and headed across town to Joe and Barb Tocco’s where we are celebrating Thanksgiving.  Both girls spent the entire evening being very restless because they wanted to eat the cake that Dominica had baked (it was purple and pink so Liesl was going bonkers) and to open presents.

We had Thanksgiving dinner with the family, then more family came over to visit.  Once the crowds had dispersed we sang Happy Birthday to Liesl and cut into the cake which was very good.  Once the cake eating was done it was into the living room for the girls to open their presents.  Because she is only two and could not handle Liesl getting presents and her not, Luciana got the Playmobil Advent Calendar that they were getting anyway wrapped up for her to open. That kept her happy.  Good thinking Grammy.

Liesl got two Playmobil sets, Animal Clinic and the Asian Animal Park, from Dominica’s parents.  Both girls are super excited about those.  And from us she got the red Nintendo 2DS and Mario Kart 7.  When she opened the 2DS she was very excited but we asked her if she knew what it was and she said “no.”  LOL  But she was excited nonetheless.  We explained what it was and she was really interested then.  She opened the game and knew immediately what Mario Kart was, as she has played it on the Wii previously.  She was truly excited about that because she likes that game.  I opened the 2DS for her and told her that I might need to charge first (which she is used to and understands immediately) but she looked at the 2DS and turned it on immediately all by herself and just started using it.  Apparently this will be very easy for her to use.

It was pretty late when we got back to the house.    Dominica set about putting together the Playmobil animal clinic for Liesl.  Liesl is super excited, this was a perfect set for her.  I got the 2DS battery run down, then plugged in to charge up for tomorrow and the latest software update applied.

I put in a bit of time getting SGL updated this evening.  With some work tomorrow morning I think that we will be completely caught up after falling behind while in Disney World.

Five years ago we changed from being a couple into being a family 🙂  Five years seems like such a landmark age.  I just can’t believe that my little Liesl is now five years old.  She is officially school age now.

I went to work normal time today, there was nothing for me to do if I got in early so I decided that a little extra sleep, after being up so late last night, would be ideal.

Work ended up being very short today.  Just after noon we were given the all clear to head home and enjoy the holiday!  That was awesome.  The weather is not great, it has been raining downstate since yesterday around noon, and it has been snowing back home since last night.  Getting most of the drive done in daylight will help a lot.

We were worried about the snow coming down up north and looked into train options but there was nothing good.

I had some work to do so I could not actually leave super early but I was out at two.  I had forgotten to pack my CPAP so had to run back to Peekskill to deal with that.  It was just before three when I pulled out of Peekskill to drive the little Chevy Spark up to Frankfort.

Luckily it was only a light rain coming down in our area, although we had been under flash flood warnings all morning.  It was warm hitting fifty today.

The drive went pretty well.  Traffic wasn’t horrible and the rain wasn’t a problem.

I stopped at the first New York State Thruway rest stop and grabbed some dinner at Arthur Treacher’s Fish and Chips which I can’t remember the last time that I had that.  We used to have one of those in Batavia and we used to go there a lot when I was about Liesl’s age.  I can’t remember when it closed there but so long ago that I can’t even remember exactly where it was.  It was awesome getting it again and I couldn’t help but think of mom putting vinegar on her fish and chips there.  It was at Arthur Treacher’s that she taught me to do that.  Although I still use tartar sauce and ketchup myself.

As I got farther north the snow started about forty miles south of Albany but it was not coming down too hard.  The real issue was the wind that picked up.  I was having a really hard time controlling the car for much of the drive as I was being blown all over the road.  New York does such an amazing job of keeping the road clear of snow, though, that the Thruway was not a problem.

I didn’t have to deal with snowy roads until I got off at the Herkimer exit and hopped onto 5s.  That was a slow crawl for the last few miles.

It was eight when I pulled into Frankfort, way ahead of our original schedule.  Originally we thought that I would be leaving Peekskill around six thirty not three.  So more than three hours early. Dominica didn’t tell the girls that I was coming early so that I could surprise them.

I got in the door and the birthday girl almost exploded with excitement.  She came running to hug me at the door.

I got to spend several hours with the girls tonight.  We had a nice time.  It’s rough being apart for a few days.

We are celebrating Liesl’s birthday tomorrow rather than today.  But I am very thankful that we did not have to be apart on her birthday and I made it to Frankfort only half an hour later than if I had just been coming home from work on a normal night.

I was up and out the door pretty early today.  It is easy to get moving quickly in the morning when I am the only one home.  No need to be quiet, leave lights off or whatever.   I was out the door quite early.  Traffic was light and I made it to work in good time.

Work was pretty busy for me today even though it was mostly empty.  I worked very late tonight not leaving the office until nearly seven.  No need to head home early for me.

Got home at ten after eight tonight.  Had a call with Alex for about an hour.  Then did some SGL updates and stayed up until after two in the morning working on an article for Datamation on the post Windows XP world that I need to turn in tomorrow.

Tomorrow I am off to work in the morning but off to Frankfort after work so hoping to not stay late and maybe even leave a little early.  I have to make it up tomorrow so that I can see my Liesl’s on her fifth birthday!  I cannot believe that she five now (since it is after midnight.)  She has grown up so much.

Got up on my own at six this morning, an amazing feat considering we didn’t go to bed until after midnight. I showered and was out the door before anyone else woke up. Today is the earliest that I have managed to head off to work yet. I left the house before seven thirty. I got into the car and discovered that it was nineteen degrees. This is the coldest that I can remember feeling it in years. Strange for a New Yorker. I’ve almost forgotten that the world actually gets cold. I can say it, but it is still surprising that after four years there are places that are actually cold. (Actually, Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico have been under a horrible freeze for days causing all kinds of problems.)

On the drive in this morning I finished reading “Dark Star Safari.” I’ve been reading that since I flew down to Dallas before SpiceWorld. It was pretty good and, sadly, for some reason has been removed from Audible since I got it. I am glad that I got it when I did as it is a pretty major work. The author’s other works are still there so I am curious as to why this one, one of the more important ones, has vanished. I found it very educational and certainly did a lot to change my views on the role of aid in the third world.

Somewhat busier day in the office. Dominica and the girls hit the road late this morning. Change of plans, though. Because of the weather they are going to Frankfort today rather than going to see my dad. They are going to stay in Frankfort probably until Sunday and then head to my dad’s for a few days. I got up to Frankfort on Wednesday evening to see them on Liesl’s birthday. If it wasn’t her birthday I would take the train up instead but the late train is already sold out and I can’t leave early enough to make the one before it and I am not waiting until Thursday morning when I am racing to make Liesl’s birthday.

I worked late tonight because there is no reason not to. This is my chance to see if the traffic improves if I work an hour later. I am sure that I will work late tomorrow too. Not working late on Wednesday though, leaving as soon as I can. I have a long way to go in the little green Spark.

I left the office at seven but declined getting dinner in the office. Maybe I will try that tomorrow night. I didn’t want to stay all night, it is still a long drive home.

After work I just went down to the basement and watched Mass Effect: Paragon Lost on Hulu Plus alone, which was incredibly sad and I do not recommend it even though I totally love the Mass Effect story, this was the tragic backstory of Commander Vega as to why he was such a mess in Mass Effect 2 so seeing what destroyed him isn’t much fun.  It was just depressing.  So that wasn’t a good choice for tonight.

It was a full length movie so between getting home around eight thirty and watching that, it was already ten thirty.  So straight off to bed for me.

Again I was up way ahead of everyone else this morning. I am stuck on my work schedule but they are used to sleeping in all morning. For the girls this works out as they see me in the evenings more. But for Dominica it doesn’t work as we miss our weekend mornings together and it is tough to go to bed at the same time because she is never tired when I go to bed.

We went out shopping as a family around two this afternoon. We decided that we just had to do something about seating in the basement so the first trip was to Big Lots in the hopes of finding some bean bag chairs. We actually did great and found all kinds of stuff. It was a good haul. Lots of kitchen supplies like cups and, the big find, a cheap toaster oven! Now we can actually heat food up with some convenience. We did find the bean bag chairs too, we got a pink one and an orange one. We needed those today because Dominica found that the Fiftieth Anniversary Episode of Doctor Who was released to Amazon Instant Video today so we have to watch it this evening. But we have nowhere to sit and the only device on which to watch it is the computer in the basement (thank goodness for a 27” monitor at least!) so we are in tough shape.

We also hit Best Buy because I needed to pick up a low cost USB joystick for the computer too. That was very quick.

We stopped at the New City Diner and had our lunch and/or early dinner there. We were one of only about four tables there having dinner so early in the day. Works very well when you have restless little girls to keep happy. New City Diner has an aquarium with three itty bitty turtles in it that they love to watch too. Such cute turtles!

We got home and it was almost straight to Doctor Who. We’ve been waiting a long time for this one. We set up the bean bags and the computer monitor in the middle of the basement. Dominica and I took the bean bags. Liesl took the office chair and sat right between us. Luciana went for daddy’s lap and snuggled. And we all watched the seventy five minute fiftieth anniversary Doctor Who special. It was awesome.

After Doctor Who we watched the cheesy new Disney made for TV movie “Teen Beach Movie” which is a modern Disney Channel attempt at an homage to the 1960s beach movies that Dominica and I once watched in excess, surprisingly, back when we lived in this house in Peekskill. How odd that of all times we decide to watch this throwback. It wasn’t very good, but it wasn’t horrible and Liesl enjoyed it. She danced all over the basement while it was on. We had seen posters for this movie while we were in Walt Disney World which is the only reason that we knew about it at all.

After that, the girls were off to bed. I read to Luciana and then put Liesl to bed. It occurred to me that because I would be off to work in the morning before the girls woke up and because they are heading out to dad’s in the morning for Thanksgiving that as I kissed Liesl goodnight tonight – this is the last time that I will see four year old Liesl. I am joining the family in Frankfort on Wednesday night in a rush from the office in the hopes of seeing Liesl on her birthday. So this is it. The last time that my baby will be four for me.

It seems like only yesterday that Liesl was crying and crying about how she was scared to turn four because she had loved being three and I had to console her that being four would be fun too. For weeks before turning four she dreaded her birthday and the thought of growing up. Now, turning five doesn’t even phase her. I’m not sure that she is really certain that her birthday is even this week. Last time it was such a huge deal and this time it is mostly like a non-event. But having to go without seeing her the last days of her being four makes me sad. Four year old Liesl was so much fun. She is growing up so fast. Turning four was just like an older three. But five makes her school aged. Even though she is home schooling, this makes her a school kid. Things are different.

After the kids were asleep and Dominica was all packed for tomorrow we went back to the basement and watched three episodes of Sleeping Hollow and then were off to bed ourselves.