Wade in the water

So earlier this week the wife and I went on down to San Diego to soak up some cooler weather for a few days. Living in such close proximity you might think that this was not the first time I ever went to a beach, right? Well, you'd be wrong. It was also the first time I ever swam in the ocean. And, thanks to my wife being the crazy person she is, it was the first time I ever went body boarding. I might add that before the day was over I actually caught a wave that took me all the way up to the shore. I do have to say I have two complaints about San Diego. First, the size of the place. I come from a town that it only takes about 10 minutes to get anywhere, 15 to 20 if it is someplace on the outskirts and traffic is bad. In San Diego it might only take that long, but you have to hop on and off interstates to get there. Ugggh, I prefer regular city streets any day of the week. Second complaint, you can't find 10 pound blocks of ice ANYWHERE!! We wanted to go ice blocking the first day we were there, I even picked out a park that was recommended for it. We went to wal-mart, albertsons, 7-11, AM/PM, and at least two other places, and no one had blocks of ice, or knew of a place to get some. I guess everything worked out for the best because we still had fun, and the weather was awesome. Maybe next time we will pack some blocks and take them with us. On the other hand, after a 3 hour journey from a town with a temp of over 100, a couple of 10 pound blocks might shrink down to about 5 pounds. If you live in the San Diego area, please contact me next year at the beginning of summer to tell me where you hide all your blocks of ice, I will be returning.

Finished with TV (sorta)

After obtaining a DTV converter box, a new antenna, wire, and spending time on 3 different weekends to try to get a signal, I am proud to announce that I have given up on trying to get DTV. When the switchover happened, our TV fell silent, and has been ever since with the exception of movies and the Wii. Wendy is able to find stuff online that she likes, and when all else fails we spend time together (gasp!). People keep telling us "get cable or satellite." Lets say at a basic rate of about $40 a month, over the course of a year that adds up to $480. That is a nice little piece of change that we have decided will be better off in a bank account, or anything necessary for the house. I know there are people out there who point and say how "cheap" we are, but you have to draw the line somewhere in this economy. Yes, we shop at wal-mart for most of our food and stuff, check out thrift stores like Goodwill, and have even been known to buy a box of food from the food bank. We try to get the most value for our dollar and avoid getting stuff that is unnecessary. People want to make fun, I let them. I find it funny when those same people complain about their paycheck not being enough to cover the mortgage payment on their fancy house, their car that is bigger than what they need, the credit card bills for stuff that they just had to have right now instead of saving up for it, their out of town shopping trips, their new iPhone, their overpriced designer clothing, their 1000 channels of cable, and dining out several times a month. Yeah, I think I can live with being labeled as "cheap". Better that than "broke".