Mindless Juices

So, I realized that I never mentioned our NY trip. We're getting pretty good at renting a car and going on road trips. We've had to take a few for different reasons, but most often, it's simply cheaper even after paying for gas and parking. $300+ for a ticket from NC to NY and then you don't have any way to get around unless you rent a car, pay for taxis or take the subway! We paid $88 for the car for four days. We spent about $50 in gas. Sabrina's dad covered our parking which would have been $60 for the two times we had to park it in the city while we walked around. So, $200 and 18 hours of driving with the luxuries of Slyvester and wireless internet... not a bad deal. OK, so on the way up, we start talking about how I like to have answers to questions that kids ask, like, "Why is the sky blue?" Well, one of those questions I thought I want to know the answer to is what is heat shimmer (you know, the wavy lines above a fire or your car on a hot day). My wonderful wife looked it up and gave me the anwer along with why the road looks wet up ahead on a hot day. I love the internet. Also, special thanks to Nick for helping us find the info. And, Sabrina's family, is a little... crazy. Don't get me wrong, they are wonderful people and, by far, some of the best in-laws ever. I love them and I think they love me. But, like any family, they have their quirks. I've heard something like, when you're really in love, you even love the person's defects. I guess that's how they are. And, this weekend in particular, they were all a little weirder as they were dealing with the grief. The memorial was good and I understand why the family loves the Father who performed the ceremony. He's was very good... loving AND realistic... the way clergy should be, IMO. On to a lighter note, staying at Slava's and Yura's place was SO nice. It was nice to escape "The Family in the City" (new sitcom airing next season on Fox) and still feel... I don't know... at home? If it wasn't that feeling, it was a good one. They were wonderful hosts and I wish we could have spent more time with them. It felt a little like we were using them and I hope they don't feel that way. The ballet was interesting. I am SURE that I would prefer a ballet with a full orchestra. I would certainly appreciate the talent of live music with live performance. I liked it, but I didn't love it. But, the seats were amazing! Seriously, front row of the second section of the mezzanine... so, not the first section (where the front row could easily fall off the front of the mezzanine), but behind the first section where there's a walkway... the row on the walkway with all the legroom anyone could desire and no one for 6 feet to obstruct your view. Slava rocks!... huh... literally... interesting. So, the last stop was Ikea. I think it was probably our best visit to Ikea. I have a solid understanding of what Sabrina is trying to do in each room and I like all of them, so I felt much more encouraging to her. There were many things I told her she could get and she decided not to. Still, despite looking at other stuff, we found what we were "hunting" for (women shop, men hunt). We got in and out in 2 hours. I have now spent the past week putting things together and they look great. I'm going to take pictures and post them.