Trapper

His body just gave out.

The old man left Ed and I today, but we know he's in a better place, and he's playing with k.d. and Molly. Those three were quite the sight around the condo at one time.

Trapper and I had our moments, but I really loved that dog. The last couple of years he and I actually bonded and came to an understanding. Every time I greeted him or picked him up to take him outside I'd say either "C'mon old man" or "C'mon little man."

He was Ed's buddy. Ed rescued him from a PetSmart back in 1994 or early 1995. Those two made it through a near-winter in Buffalo and a cold winter in New Hampshire. And he was the apple of Ed's grandparents' eyes. He was pretty much loved by everybody. Even some of the assistants at the vet's office came in to say goodbye to him.

I'm going to miss him. He turned into a wanderer the last couple of years, and barked at who knows what. But it's going to be a lot quieter around the house now.

Ed says goodbye here. Check out the Rainbow Bridge. It's pretty neat too.

There's a picture of Trapper on the right side of my blog.

See ya dude.

Amazing Race All-Stars

Give them credit -- Mirna and Chymrna are two tough cookies. For the second week in a row the two cousins from Maryland came in first to retain their lead.

I haven't liked them too much this season -- they're pretty whiny. But they've definitely outsmarted the pack in the last two legs and could be the team to beat (I can't believe I'm saying that).

My favorites -- Oswald and Danny -- were a close second.

Terry and Ian were eliminated -- thank God. They were in a close battle with Team Guido, who barely beat them to the pit stop and survived another week.

Uchenna and Joyce, who were marked for elimination last week, finished third despite the 30-minute penalty. And my favorite homophobes, Eric and Danielle, argued their way into surviving another week. I really hope they are the next to go.

Six teams remain. Who will be eliminated next?

Charla and Mirna photo courtesy CBS

Seriously, how much did these people drink?

2 recovered alive after falling from cruise ship in Gulf of Mexico

GALVESTON, Texas (AP) — A man and woman fell overboard from a cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico early Sunday, but both were rescued after a four-hour search and appeared to be in good condition, a cruise line spokeswoman said.

The 22-year-old man and 20-year-old woman fell 50-60 feet from a cabin balcony, said Julie Benson, spokeswoman for Princess Cruises. She said the cruise line did not know how they fell overboard. Their ship, Princess Cruise’s Grand Princess, was about 150 miles off the coast of Galveston, Texas, at the time.

The captain turned the ship around after friends of the man and woman notified the crew at about 1:30 a.m. CT that they had gone overboard, Benson said. The ship’s crew used high-powered spotlights and rescue boats in the search. One passenger was rescued by the ship’s boats at 5:30 a.m. and the other at 6 a.m., according to a statement by the cruise line.

The search was aided by the Coast Guard, said Lt. j.g. Jillian Lamb at the District 8 Command Center. A nearby cruise ship also offered assistance, she said.

The man and woman, whom the cruise line declined to name, were examined by the ship’s medical staff. "They appear to be in satisfactory condition and we hope that no further medical attention will be needed," Benson said.

Grand Princess was carrying 2,783 passengers on a seven-day tour of the western Caribbean.

Back to reality

Now that the vacation is over and Josh has gone home, it's full-bore back to the gym.

Had another nice workout today. Stepped on the scale when I got home and I'm now at 171. I've lost 18 pounds since Jan. 16. Pretty proud of that. Especially since we ate like pigs on the cruise. I'm aiming for another 5-10 so I can be between 160-165 by the time softball starts April 21.

Speaking of Josh -- it was really nice to see him and get him out of Arkansas for a while. I think he really enjoyed watching the dogs while we were gone, especially Zoe -- Zoe was actually named Origami when Josh and Brenda had him. I felt bad for him though because he was sick a couple of days. He's got a skin condition called cellulitis that really knocks him out when it hits. He was feeling pretty good, though, by the time he left, and he was able to see some sights in D.C. while he was here.

He's talking about coming back and possibly even moving here. We'll see.

Cruise wrapup ... for now

Ed had a wonderful recap of our last day of vacation -- namely, the trip off the boat. He hit the nail on the head on everything. Click here

My run-in with the Broward County (Fla.) idiots went something like this: I was carrying two heavy bags and a back pack. I stopped for a moment to switch hands/arms and was greeted by an "official" woman who said: "You can't stop there. You'll have to move along and take that stuff with you."

To which I stopped, looked at her and said: "Sure. As soon as I grow another arm." She glared at me as I did what I stopped to do and then walked away.

The people on the boat: Wonderful.
The people you see immediately upon leaving the boat: Rude and unfriendly.
The majority of the people we dealt with at Fort Lauderdale International Airport: See directly above.

It'd be nice if somebody from Celebrity Cruises, American Airlines and Broward County actually read our blogs. They might learn something.

More cruise photos ...

... Ed burned a CD/DVD of all of our cruise photos, and even put many of them online. Click here

These are just a few of my favorites -- including parasailing of course. One of the guys running the boat was one of the hottest guys I've ever seen -- after my Ed of course. Actually, both guys were hot.

Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic was beautiful, but there was just nothing to do there. We went on a "Kayak Adventure," if you want to call it that. We also found this flower, which I thought was fascinating. Before it blooms it looks like one of those pods from the movie Alien.


St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands was, as usual, the best stop on the trip. It was Ed and I's second trip there. We decided we could live there. Here's a picture of Cheryl, Val, Ed and I at Paradise Point, which overlooks the marina/harbor.



The water in the Bahamas was stunning. So blue and crystal clear. Would like to go back there when we have more time.

Until next time ...

Spring has sprung ...

... Though you wouldn't know it in Washington, D.C., where it's currently 43 degrees. Lest anyone think I've forgotten, it's 11 days, 22 hours, 50 minutes until Cubs opening day.

I can't wait.

Amazing Race All-Stars

Finally caught up on the two episodes I missed while on the cruise. And Rob & Amber are gone. Oh darn.

I actually found out about their demise at the Fort Lauderdale airport on Sunday on the way home. Picked up the weekend USA TODAY and there it was. Dammit! I didn't want to know. But I watched it anyway. It was fun seeing Rob being stupid. He lost on a spelling error -- and this after saying "I hope this isn't a spelling thing." Dumb.

And while I'm not a big fan of Myrna and Chmyrna, I was actually glad to seem them beat Rob & Amber to the finish line first, then make the pit stop first in this past Sunday night's episode.

It was the first non-elimination episode and came at a perfect time for Uchenna and Joyce, who are now marked for elimination next week.

As for Eric and Danielle, I hope these two homophobes are the next to be eliminated. While I'm not particularly happy with Team Guido, they haven't deserved the treatment they have gotten from E&D.

Maybe E&D get their commupance next week. In previews they are pulled off a plane and left behind, with Danielle screaming "I don't want to do this anymore!"

I'm still cheering for Danny & Oswald. If they can keep their sh*t together, I think they are the favorites.

Only seven teams left. It's getting good.

Oswald and Danny photo courtesy CBS

I'm back!

Sadly, the cruise is over and I'm already back at work.

But what a fantastic 8 days it was. Every stop -- Casa de Campo, San Juan, St. Thomas and Nassau -- had its own quirks and charms, but it was St. Thomas that again was the highlight of the trip. Living there would not be hard.

We parasailed for the first time. Was that fun or what? We went up about 400 feet for about 10 minutes. I could have stayed up there 10 hours. We're still going through pictures, so none to post yet, but as soon as we get them downloaded, I'll share.

The weather for the whole trip was picture perfect, though it was a bit windy in the Bahamas. The food was delicious -- our final night dinner at the Olympic Restaurant aboard the Celebrity Millennium was the best meal of the trip and well worth the added cost for a little bit of pampering.

There was a group of 15 of us -- that's all of us at left during the life boat drill. We literally turned that ship upside down. As soon as we walked on that boat, it was a gay cruise. Fun was had by all.

There was one upper and one downer after I got back. Went to wash my clothes, looked into two pants pockets and found $300! I had wondered why my cash had seemed to disappear so quickly. And I got my cellphone bill today -- for 4 minutes of calls on the trip, I was billed $64 in roaming charges. Ouch.

All in all a great trip. I'll be posting about this cruise until our next one -- which we are already planning. We'll either do a tour of European capitals or a cruise through the Panama Canal.

The picture at the top is as we were pulling out of St. Thomas. It had been a beautiful day and a little rain storm came in creating this beautiful rainbow.

Gym update

Got a nice workout in today since I probably won't be able to work out again for a few days.

Josh comes in tomorrow morning, followed by Cheryl & Val in the afternoon. On Saturday, Ed and I plan to get our hair cut and show those three around D.C. a bit -- Josh has never been here before, and I think he's really looking forward to it. Sunday we leave for the cruise, so the first day I might be able to get back in the gym would be Monday on the boat. And that would be OK since we have a full day at sea to start the trip.

When I started this awful regimen Jan. 16, I weighed 189 pounds and was probably well on my way to 200 (which I've never weighed in my life, nor will I). I now weigh 173 and can see and feel the difference. In fact yesterday I went through my closet and started pulling down all the jeans/slacks that I haven't been able to wear for a few years.

So, yes, I hate working out. But I like what I'm seeing, so I'll push on.

And thank God for the iPod Ed bought me for Christmas last year. It's much easier to do what you need to do when you can tune everybody else out.

American Idol

I have just two words: Melinda Doolittle. That girl can sing. The boys don't stand a chance against the girls this year, though Chris Richardson and Blake Lewis are nice eye candy.

That was more than two words wasn't it?

A kink in the cruise II

Well, it definitely looks like Ed will have to pull an overnighter on Saturday. But he's arranged for somebody to come in at 6 a.m., which means he can hop on the train and meet us at the airport Sunday morning. We'll take him to work Saturday night so he doesn't have to worry about his car being at the hotel for 8 days.

So, all in all, a definitely workable situation. LaGuardia hopefully will be a breeze. Ed's concern is getting the luggage on the boat.

Me? I don't care as long as I'm on the boat. American Airlines can deliver my luggage in the Dominican Republic or San Juan for all I care.

I just need a vacation and some warm temperatures ... especially after the 2 inches of snow we got yesterday.

A kink in the cruise ...

It's just never easy, is it?

Here we are about 4 days away and the first problem has popped up. Ed might have to work overnight Saturday, and our plane leaves at 7:50 a.m. Sunday morning, which means we have to be at Reagan National by at least 6:30.

Sunday's going to be hectic enough as it is. We have 45 minutes to catch our flight to Fort Lauderdale once we get to New York. I checked, and we arrive and depart at the same terminal, so making our connection won't be a problem. Once we make that flight, I think we're good to go because the port in Fort Lauderdale is only about 5 minutes from the airport. We arrive at 1 and the boat leaves at 4:30.

Hopefully, something can be worked out so Ed doesn't have to rush to the airport Sunday. We've been looking forward to this for a year.

We'll figure something out.

Amazing Race All-Stars, Episode 3

I really hate Rob & Amber. But, I would hope that if Ed and I or Cheryl and I had ever got on the show, we would play the game like they are playing it now.

Once again, R&A showed up at the pit stop first. That's three in a row, with a home gym added to the trip and motorcycles they won previously. At this point I don't see anybody who is going to be able to beat them. Maybe Oswald & Danny or Uchenna & Joyce.

And finally, mercifully, David & Mary are gone. Elmininated. Ousted. Dust. One for the books. Very likeable, the Kentucky Coal Miners. But not very bright.

As for the other teams Sunday night? Team Guido, the Beauty Queens and Myrna & Chmyrna are lucky to still be in the race. Poor Danielle -- Eric's pretty to look at, but geez, that elevator doesn't go to the top floor. Ian and Terry are still annoying.

The highlights of the night:
1. Watching as several struggled with the Roadblock, which had one team member transporting giant fish -- 80 of them -- from one tank to another. Some people really don't like fish. And Eric? What a jerk he was to Danielle.
2. Wishing I was on that rapids ride in the Detour. That looked like fun. And how funny was it when Terry fell off her raft? She was a trooper though. Got right back on.

Now I won't be able to catch up on AR for two weeks. We'll be traveling to and from our cruise.

I think that's OK.

Rob & Amber photo courtesy CBS

Gym update

Isn't this a lovely picture? And before anybody asks, NO, neither one is me.

Have I have said how much I hate the gym? I really do despise it. But you can't argue with results.

When I started this trek Jan. 16, I weighed 189 pounds. Today, I'm down to 174. My ultimate goal is between 160 and 165, which is what I've weighed most of my life (except for high school, when I weighed about 180. I called it baby fat, but I digress).

Seriously, if there was another way to do this without having to go to the gym or workout, I'd do it.

But I'll keep at it. The cruise is only a week away and softball is right behind.

And as far as looking like Charles Atlas? Umm, sure. Like that's going to happen. IF I did everything the trainer said I MIGHT look like Charles Atlas.

I'll do my thing and be happy with the results. Or not.

Thank God our dogs aren't this stupid

Packing day

Today Ed and I are going to get the majority of our packing done for the cruise, which is now only 8 days away. It's going to take forever to get here, then it's going to be gone in a flash. Anyway ... we're doing most of the packing today because by the end of the week, when Josh, Cheryl and Val get here, it'll be too busy around the house to get anything done.

Our plan is to take two individual bags, a hanging bag, Ed's computer and my backpack. I found two Reebok bags at Target (don't you just love Target?) yesterday for $24.99 each. Perfect size and great price. The hanging bag is for our formal night clothing. The backpack will come in handy when we're out on our excursions. The computer is coming for one main reason -- so we can get our NCAA Tournament pools in on time. And to recharge our iPods. And who travels anywhere without a computer anymore?

We just have to remember to leave a little space in one of the bags for any souvenirs we might bring back. And I know of several coming back from the Bacardi Rum distillery in San Juan.

I just had a "discussion" about this with Ed, who didn't see the need to take a hanging bag. First, wrinkles. Second, see above.