2 posts in 1! "frog & toads wild ride" & "if i dont laugh, i'll never stop crying"

"frog & toads wild ride" or "our trip to big bear":

i took a half day off on friday and N had the whole day off to get stuff ready. at 1pm we went to pick-up our rental car. (whenever we have a strenuous drive ahead, we like to rent a car instead of relying on mine...more on that in post 2) that went smoothly after we found out they changed their pick-up procedure so N had to go to baggage claim to sign in instead of at the drop off in the garage -how we usually do it. he came rollin' back with a sick-ass dodge charger! so nice and we got an excellent rate too! we went to pick-up chains due to the winter storm warning for big bear and headed off. right into....traffic...and more.....traffic. basically we left HB about 2:30p and got to the cabin at 9:30pm. it's only about 150 miles. we made it to the HWY18 turn off about 7:30pm.

then we started moving pretty well, until we headed up the hill past the mitsubishi cement plant and there the fun began. the snow started. sometimes it's better when that happens at nite so you can't see how bad it really is. when we were almost to the top it was super icy and there was a turn-out with a state trooper and a bunch of folks putting on chains. keep in mind it is now 8pm at nite. it's windy out and a giant cluster fuck. so we tried to get the "ezy chains" on for about a half hour. poor N was getting so frustrated and it was super windy and cold and hard to think. we had work gloves and headlamps so we were better off then some. then we decided we were close and we were going to go for it. so we did and made it to big bear city. then we tried to drive up the street we had to turn on. no go...sheet of ice uphill!

slowly we backed down the hill and managed to make it back to the main drag and to a vallero. the guy inside said we could chill there and get the chains on. it was much easier there without the stress of other drivers and traffic. it took about a half hour but we got the hang of it eventually. now N is expert chain guy. then we tried it again, made it up the hill, and up the next street and up the next block. the streets where the cabin is were all covered in snow. without chains, there's NO WAY we could have gotten to the cabin on friday nite.

N & charger in front of cabinme & charger in front of cabin

the cabin was great! there's an excellent heater. once we found the hidden key, turned the water on and the gas...we were set. they even have more cable channels then we do down here! it's a 2 bedroom but we shut those doors and used the futon mattress in the living room so we didn't have to heat everything. there was a little trick to the toilet but we managed ok.

saturday we went to snow valley. it was the BEST day to be there i think. it took about an hour since we still had the chains on (just in case) so the top speed was 25 on the road. i skied for about 3.5 hrs and N for about 4. i made it off the bunny chair (6) and worked my way up to chair 13! i was proud of that. we skied a little together and a little separate. i wanted N to get in as much as he could and i don't mind skiing alone when i'm just chillin. my new oakley pants and gloves worked great too! THANK YOU A for the gift cert for N's bday! they totally accepted in no problems and it was the best day skiing i've had since whistler!

me @ snow valleyN @ snow valley

N was going to ski on sunday if the conditions were good, but it rained all nite so it was mushy, warm and crappy. we left about 10 and it took only about 2.5 hours to get back. there was a lot of rain on the 15 & 91 but at least we didn't have more snow going down the mountain! returned the car and things were good....until

big bear lake--frozen

we drove down the mountian under this awesome rainbow

"if i don't laugh, i'll never stop crying" or "car fixing fun":

i drove to go pick N up from the car place. a brief history is my car has been having overheating issues of late. i religiously check the coolant before i drive to or from work everyday. the past couple weeks things have gotten worse. and on the way from our house to the airport, the car started heating again-after only 7 miles going 30-45! i got N ok and barely made it home. called work and left messages since i can't drive it and the other car we have doesn't drive on the freeway. took the car in today and i just got "the call".

result: new water pump (that's where my coolant has been going) and the kicker--new timing belt. about $800 total. gotta do it. i need to get to work. these are the times i miss not living in seattle. the busing system was so easy there. another reason to work on finding a closer job. they hope to have it done today. so do i. silly me, i thought i'd get to use my tax return for my next tooth on schedule but i get to use that plus $500 for the car.

donations accepted. :)