well, it is a new month, so that means another poker game, which means another wonderful showing by Abi. As per usual she easily made it to the final table, then made it to the final three, then made it to head's up action against Peter (who had a huge chip stack when i went out). after a few tough calls and bad breaks, Abi was finally able to take him down and win first place--again! $130 in prize money (would have been more but we are putting $20 of each round into the championship pot). she has the highest ranking of anyone in the tournement, and consistently is a money winner (first, second and third take home money).

 

as for me...I had a better showing than usual, but just missed out making the final table. oh well, i got to play Madden 06 after we combined down to one table, and if Abi keeps winning all the money, i'm ok with that.

 

ddv

I just got word that Abi has been offered (and accepted) a position as an assistant bookkeeper for Goldfinch Brothers, Inc., a glass and door manufacturer and seller. (http://www.goldfinchbros.com/). She will get all sorts of Accounting exeperience to supplement her studies. the position is in downtown Everett, so each morning we will leave the house and head in opposite directions, me about 15 miles to the south and Abi about 20 miles to the north. Her first day will be Monday, Jan 30. CONGRATS ABI!!

 

ddv

so Seattle is nearing the record books with 26 consecutive days of measurable rain. the whole area is in flood warnings, mudslides have ruined houses, closed roads, and destroyed commuter train tracks. and i still like it better than Fargo blizzards!

 

honestly, i haven't noticed the straight rain all that much. I did get new windshield wipers a few days ago which helped immensly, but other than that it is just life as usual. the temperature has been stuck in the mid-40's, so it hasn't been that bad, just wet.

 

speaking of water and temperatures, we finally got our new dishwasher installed. i love my new toy (and actually don't mind doing the dishes now). it has lots of bells and whistles, and is black so it matches our microwave and stove. now we just have to get rid of that fridge...but alas that is a major purchase and our existing fridge works great, just looks like it is 20 years old.

 

Today is Ollie's third birthday. we have an outing to Petsmart planned so he can pick out his birthday present and get some wet canned food for the birthday dinner. Hopefully we can find some wet food that won't upset Edgrr and his allergies. he is on anti-histemines and some medicated "wipes" to topically take care of his skin. He seems to be responding, so hopefully we can lick this problem before we have to shell out any more $60+ trips to the vet.

 

ddv

well we safely made it to and from Montana for the holidays. We dealt with a lot of rain and some not-so-nice mountain passes, but survived with no scratches, bumps, bruises, dings or dents.

 

It was great to see so many family members. Living in Fargo put us too far away to see a lot of the Western MT family, so it was great to spend two nights in Missoula.

 

We had a really good time hanging out with my parents. We played a lot of games, watched some movies, just sat around and talked, and of course ate. :)

 

We also spent a lot of time with our good friend Jer. Unfortunately we had to leave town the day before his girlfriend got back from her family visit in the Twin Cities (MN). Had we had one more day, we would have been there to say congratulations in person as on New Years Eve Jer proposed to Megan when he picked her up at the airport! Of course she said yes. Way to go Jer and Megan!!

 

It is tough to be back at work, i really liked the just hanging about aspect of vacation. but alas bills need to be paid so Abi and I both went back to work on Tuesday.

 

Abi also has officially started her second accounting class. Looks like she will record a perfect 4.0 for a grade in the first class. That is my smarty pants wife!

 

ddv