I don’t have a great track record with electronics. I usually lose a camera once a year, and a phone once every two years. While my family insists I do this purposefully with the intent of always upgrading to the latest model; I’m really just clumsy and absent minded. It was worse in my 20′s, but now that I’m in my mid 40′s I’m noticing a another degradation LOL. Guess I’m somewhere between 45 and Alzheimer’s! I went back to look how many times I’ve blogged about getting a new camera and it’s a little embarrassing. Nevertheless, after losing my beloved Canon Powershot SD3500 in January, I’ve been using my old G9 and waiting for a new model to be released that I’ve had my eye on. So here it is, my new baby:

I sacrificed a couple of megapixels for a faster CMOS sensor with high sensitivity. The screen is slightly smaller (3.2″ vs 3.5″), and the zoom is slightly lower (4.4x vs 5x) but it has full 1080p high definition video, High Speed Burst mode (up to 8.2 frames per second) and Av/Tv (aperture priority and shutter priority) shooting modes. It also has an neat Vivid Color setting, which makes photos look like paintings, as well as poster and miniature functionality. Take a look:

Of course, the proof’s in the pudding, so here are some photos I took this weekend:

While much of America digs out from record snowfall from a storm that originated as 6 days of rare rain here in California; we ended up having a pretty beautiful Christmas Day.  I am very glad that I did not fly anywhere for the holidays.  The rain we had most of last week was complete with mudslides, hail and the now obligatory double rainbow.  The week of crazy weather didn’t phase Santa however, and the kids in our family (including me) had a wonderful Christmas.  It was certainly better than last Christmas, when 2 of us ended up in the emergency room and 9 of us came down with the stomach flu!  Here are some images and videos from the week, including my favorite Christmas present:

To explain how the week ended with me in the back of a police car, we have to back up to the beginning.  It was another busy week at The Hotel Careyfornia.  Mike was in town on yet another stop on his trip around the world.  Darlene came home from her summer in Michigan with fresh pasties.  I took Arielle to the pumpkin patch, which has become somewhat of a tradition.  The night before Halloween was spent at Griffith Park Observatory with Sam & Charlotte.  It was an unusually clear day in Los Angeles and as the sun set into the Pacific, Halloween was upon us.  As I wondered  how I could top my outfit 2 years ago, when Sarah Palin was running for vice president and I was a moose in a bulletproof vest; and last year, when I was Balloon Boy’s dad, taking pictures with all the cute Balloon Boys; it struck me.  This year I would take the conservative route, and dress as a nice, Midwestern, pedophile priest!  It was a lot of fun.  Surprisingly, no one was offended by my costume.  Even the (real) cops asked to take my picture.  The best costume of the night for me was the BP Oil Spill.  There were lots of Chilean miners and Snookies and of course standard Lady GaGa fare.  Let the fun begin:

OK, let me rephrase that.  I officiated a wedding ceremony for my first cousin yesterday. 

The event went off without a hitch, save for me forgetting the exchange of the rings before I pronounced them husband and wife.  Minor detail.  Since I was busy performing the ceremony, there’s no viral video of the event.  (I’m usually the one video recording and snapping photos at family events.  I did threaten to attach a “preacher cam” around my neck prior to the ceremony, but in the end opted for decorum.  LOL.) 

The wedding was at Heisler Park in Laguna Beach and the whole thing took about 5 minutes.  I was warned to keep it short, as I have a tendency to be loquacious.  Even so, I did manage to work in a slight jab at Sarah Palin, by explaining to the assembled guests that because of the groom’s upper Midwest vernacular, if he said “You betcha” instead of “I do“, it was NOT a nod to Caribou Barbie.  I also managed to give Apple some free advertising by pulling out my iPod Touch for the official part of the ceremony, joking “There’s an app for that” and hoping apple would give me a free iPad once they got wind of iVows. 

I also threatened to sing “A Whole New World” from Aladdin…in Italian and quoted from “Rent” and La Boheme.  The reception was on Lake Mission Viejo and afterward the newlyweds checked into The Hotel Careyfornia for a 2 hour nap before their 5 AM flight to Cancun.  Today everyone is resting after a whirlwind few days.  I’m readying for the next wave of guests next weekend and then I’m off to Chicago for a week.  Congratulations to Darlene & Gary!  Thanks for asking me to marry you!

 

Lisa, Joel and the boys moved into their new house over the weekend and our family gathered to celebrate.  The house is in Dove Canyon, but it might as well be called Hummingbird Canyon.  There were about 20 of the little buzzers lined up at the feeders to drink (as evidenced by this photo that Lisa sent last night).  They were really aggressive too, and didn’t seem to be scared of people at all.  They were no doubt celebrating the long overdue demise of the ridiculously gas guzzling Hummer.  (I had no idea how culpable Arnold Schwarzenegger was in the destruction of our planet.  What a hummer bummer!  Fascinating read though!)  I got pretty close to take these photos.  I’m still learning how to use my new little camera, but I’m pleased with the results thus far:

  
A week of rare stormy weather was capped off by a beautiful sunny weekend full of friends, flowers and food (porn).  Picasa tells me I took 224 photos this week.  Here are a few of them:

Well, boys will be boys, and this afternoon while 5 year old Andy was running around playing with all of his cousins, he slipped and hit his forehead on the edge of a chair.  It was a pretty deep cut, but luckily very straight.  He took his 10 stitches like a trooper, and was back home in time for a traditional Italian Christmas Eve dinner with pasta, turkey, ham, mashed potatoes and lots of other delicious food.  After the gift exchange, we headed back to Dar’s to await the kids in the morning for even more presents.  As soon as we got home, Grandma got very sick to her stomach and was throwing up for an hour.  (No, she didn’t get run over by a reindeer!)  So, back to the emergency room!  I wonder if they have a 2 for 1 special?  She’s currently on an IV now to help with her nausea and replenish her fluids.  Still waiting for a doctor.  It’s going to be a long night!  Merry Christmas everyone!

UPDATE:  Grandma was released from the hospital late on Christmas Day.  I drove her to Dar’s house so she could open her presents and see the kids, and then drove her back home for some much needed rest in her own bed.  She’s still weak, but on the mend.  Thanks to everyone for their concern!  She must be feeling a little better, because when she heard my poem she rolled her eyes and gave me the raised eyebrow!

UPDATE II:  I have come down with the stomach flu, as have 8 of my cousins.  We’ve all been puking our guts out the past two days.  It truly was the gift that kept on giving this Christmas.  I hope to be all better by Wednesday when I head up to Pacifica for our annual GLY NYE. 

It was a busy weekend at The Hotel Careyfornia.  Since Ryan and Chazz are out of town, Claudio and I decided to spend some “quality time” together.  It rained all day Saturday though, and the traffic was a nightmare.  No one knows what to do in L.A. when it rains, as witnessed by this truck that got stuck in my driveway yesterday morning.  So we just ordered Chinese food and watched movies all night.  It was nice.  Today was beautiful, and after an alleged Lady Gaga sighting, we walked to Tender Greens for lunch and then I drove down to my aunt’s for our pre-Christmas spaghetti dinner.  ‘Tis the season!

In August, less than 2 months before he died, my Uncle George visited his hometown of Iron Mountain, Michigan and went fishing with his brother.  To say my uncle loved to fish was an understatement.  I think the only thing he loved more, was his wife, his grandkids and his brother!  Despite a cold rain that day, my 81 year old uncle and his brother hiked more than 100 yards through the woods, carrying a heavy canoe to a secret fishing hole.  They had quite an adventure that day, and his brother wrote a story about it that was published in the local paper:

Oh, brother, can we fish …

By JIM SNOWDON, for The Daily NewsI’m staying with my aunt this week, and obviously there are reminders of Uncle George everywhere.  I smell his cologne in the bathroom when I shower.  I’m sleeping on his pillow, which I find comforting.  Tomorrow, friends and family will gather to celebrate his memory.  We’ve been trying to keep this week as normal as possible for the kids.  Last night we made caramel apples which they loved:


Obviously I can’t be with Chazz on his “special day”, so Ryan just texted me this picture of his first birthday cake: