Endless Summer

I recently spent a week in Panama City Beach, Florida. We stayed in a huge condo, and had the luxury of waking up to this view each morning...

Though I was on top of the sunscreen situation, over the course of five days I still managed to get burnt. When one has the complexion of Casper the Ghost, avoiding sunburn is nearly impossible. We spent the mornings in the ocean, the afternoons in the pool, and the nights eating out and doing the tourist thing. I did lose at putt-putt, but was a champ at the arcade.

I will freely admit that trying to get back into my work routine this week has been tough. I would much rather be back in the pool, playing goofy games and drinking Corona. I can take some comfort in the fact that Michelle and I will be moving to St. Augustine in the next month or two, and I will be able to hang out at the beach, and hopefully poolside, as much as time will allow.

I would be a liar if I said I was not dreading the process of moving. We plan to get rid of some of the larger items before we move, but there are some things we simply do not want to part with. Michelle is flying down Monday morning to start looking for a new home. There really is no way to decide what to take or get rid of until we know how much space we will have. That said, I'm sure we will be downsizing, as we will have to sacrifice space to be able to afford to live right on the ocean.

I suppose it will sort itself out. But until then, I will continue to pre-worry because that it what I am best at.

Belated Trip Pics

At the bottom of this post are just a few of the photos I took while we were in St. Augustine last month. Wish I could post them all, but that would take all day, and photos never really do a place justice anyway.

Yesterday Mrs. Leslie and I drove down to Montgomery to see my bother in a show at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. He scored us box seats. I had never been in the box seats for a show before. It was freaking wonderful! As I looked down on the crowded mass of people below us, stretched out, got comfortable, and determined that I never want to sit with the masses ever again!

I have most of my Christmas shopping done. The kids wanted expensive cell phones, so they won't be getting much above that. I hate it, because I like for them to have lots to open on Christmas morning. But hey, you want a $250 phone, don't expect tons more on top of that. Both swear that they could care less. The desire they had for these phones was much like Ralphie and his Red Ryder.

Work has been nothing short of insane. We lost a few employees last week. Couldn't have come at a worse time. I am doing the work of three people until replacements are hired. However, there is no way for replacements to be hired and trained in time to help with this Christmas bombardment of work that descends on us each year. I'm trying to view it as a challenge, a marathon of sorts, that I need to complete. If I can just make it through this coming week with my sanity in tact, I come out a winner and am rewarded with several days off.

November Was Kickin' It

November has blown past me. Such is life when you are busy.

My son turned 19 years old on November 14th. Seems crazy that he is that old now.

We traveled to St. Augustine, Florida for Thanksgiving. Mrs. Leslie's mother lives there. I had never been, and really loved it. I love the ocean, but on top of that, there is so much to do. We toured the oldest house in America, went on historical, and Christmas lights tours. Took a boat tour around the harbor while drinking Heineken (too cool), visited Ripley's to see the weirdness of the world, had some good seafood, took in an art show, and went to the beach of course. I'll upload some of the pics I took later this week.

I like to have the Christmas trees up the day after Thanksgiving, but since Mrs. Leslie's son was arriving in town, and we wouldn't be home, we put them up crazy early. The neighbors probably thought we were nut jobs, but I could care less. :)

Small "Roll Tide" tree in the den...

Full size "sentimental" tree in the living room...

Football season is winding down. 'Bama finished with a respectable record, and will be going to a bowl game. My fantasy team has been less than dominant, but is still the front runner for the wild card spot in the playoffs.

Life is good, and I have nothing more than the standard complaints.