shawnlavoie.com

Lauren (sister) and Kenny (brother-in-law) came down from Seattle, Adam came up from Irvine, and we all went (with Micah) to Tahoe for the weekend. Let’s just say it snowed:

Kirkwood has received over 14 FEET of NEW SNOW! The conditions are absolutely epic. The entire resort is wide open — the chutes, the bowls, the steeps, the cliffs, it’s all amazing. Here’s the breakdown; Storm One (2/8) 5.5 FEET; Storm Two (2/21) 2 FEET; Storm Three (2/25) 6.5 FEET!

It took 9 hours to get home on Sunday, 6 of which were spent traveling 4 miles. Good lord. Adam missed his flight but, on the bright side, had a chance to turn my Mercedes emblem into a snowman.

Ever watch this show on Discovery Channel? Simply incredible! Eating live fish right out of a stream, starting fires with his bare hands, building a raft to escape a deserted island; it’s all part of a day’s work for Bear Grylls. Yes, his name is Bear.

Watching reminds me why I need to take advantage of my weekends and time off. I miss the outdoors, which is why I went bike shopping today. I’m also planning to hike 220 continuous miles this August on the John Muir trail, ending at the peak of Mt. Whitney, the highest point in the lower 48 states. Want to join me?

I’ve been reading some Dilbert Blog lately. I think Scott Adams and I would get along. Like me he’s mostly silly and gets caught saying dumb things. He also likes windmills. Most of his critics are way high-strung and have too much time on their hands. Don’t read the comments, if you know what’s good for you.

… little Shawn became a bar mitzvah! Mazel tov to me

Dude! Play around with the axes for hours of entertainment. Nerdy?

Ingredients:
2 boxes TJ’s blintzes
butter (1/2 to 1 stick)
sour cream (whole container)
sugar (1/2 cup)
vanilla (1 teasp)
4 eggs

Instructions:
Put blintzes into casserole pyrex dish. Break eggs first in bowl, then add all other ingredients, stir, pour over blintzes, bake at 350-375 degrees (depending on how hot your oven gets) for about 1 hour or until top is turning golden brown.

Thanks Mom!

Thanksgiving would be incomplete without the ritual assembling-of-Ikea-furniture-for-mother. Forty-eight screws, eighteen (plywood) pieces, and two caliced hands later we have a new queen-sized guest bed.

On a less ritualistic note, I read this today during my online traffic school. Lesson #2:

“We carry our emotional state into the car. If we’re having a bad day at home or at the office we will be inclined to vent our frustration on the road. Add to that several cups of strongly caffeinated coffee or cans of soda, and you have a prescription for aggressive driving.”

So much for drivethru Starbucks.

I’m in LA with mom for Thanksgiving. We’ll be going to Cousin Sonny’s, where I’ll see the step-family, including Michael and April this time (step-bro and sis)! I then plan to see dad in the O.C., and Wayne in San Diego. I’ll let you know how it goes, dearest reader. Happy T-giving.

While I’m here I have some down time to take some online traffic school. Yippee!

Confused about how to vote on Tuesday? Try these. Want to learn about close contests around the country? The New York Times has a nifty election guide. Now stop reading and go vote, idiot!