As is the case with the final months of the year, it becomes insanely busy for me and I just couldn't find the time to get the content together.  But I've found a cozy yet windy December afternoon sans holiday madness to get caught up for the last update in 2006.

Final Thoughts about 2006:  This has been a very good year for me.  I've made many accomplishments in my personal and professional life of which I feel very good about.  The highlights would include these milestones: 

• A new special woman in my life - Virginia has brought me new found happiness.  From outdoor adventures to simple dinners at home - life is better with her!
   
• I'm really pleased each time I look at my newly installed mahogany French door in the bedroom.  There was a time during the project where I was doubting that I could finish it properly. But I did and it rocks!
   
• I enjoyed many outdoor trips and adventures this year. From the Desert to Griffith Park to the Sierra's, many excellent memories where created with some excellent friends.
   
• Learning and Deploying new Technology - Webmasters and Web Designers constantly have to be in a mode of learning and trying. I made a major leap forward in beginning to learn the new .NET development platform and the C# development language as well as SQL, and Microsoft SharePoint Services.
   
• I rode a horse for the first time this year.  Virginia's "KK" is mild, sweet and knows which pocket I keep the carrots.

So, moving forward, I'm excited to begin 2007.  Happy New Year to everyone!

And now to see what was going on the end of this year:

October 23rd 2006 - Oak Glen is Apple Crazy

Oak Glen CA sits at about 5000 ft elevation on the foothills of the San Bernardino mountains.  It's famous for it's apple orchards, pick-your-own apple places, home-made apple pies, apple butter, apple trinkets, apple this, apple that, apple everything. Apple apple apple! Ok you get the idea.

Its actually a very scenic area, with lots of beautiful Oak groves and old fashioned farms and stands.  We stopped at the diner for an apple pie breakfast, picked some apples, bought some specialty apples, found a nice oak lined park and generally had a great day. 

Pictures HERE.

October 29th 2006 - The Four Horseman (And Women)

After riding a horse only once EVER, I found myself on a group ride with friends Lyz and Phil and of course - Virginia. 

We headed up into Griffith Park on a beautiful clear sunny Sunday with a visit to our favorite Mexican place afterwards.

Thanks to Virginia's friend Lois for letting us borrow her horse "Ricky".

Not so flattering pictures HERE.

November 23rd 2006 - Thanksgiving Weekend

The famed day of massive ingestion.  This year I joined Virginia at her brother Tommy's house in the Toluca Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles.  Tom and his wife Song-Yuan are excellent hosts! The food was fantastic - and we enjoyed watching the action packed Mission Impossible III on his massive pull down projection screen with super ka-boom sound.  A fun night.

December 2nd 2006 - Party Down at the Ritz Carton

The only Ritz I'm normally familiar with is a cracker foundation supporting a slice of cheddar. 

But Virginia and I had a fun time at her company's holiday party at the Ritz Carlton in Marina Del Ray.  Live music,  multi course meal,  lots of wine and a Christmas gifts on the way out.

Virginia gave me some nice compliments on my suite, tie and fancy shoes. We had a fun night. 

December 4th-5th 2006 - Microsoft Training

2 intense days learning about Office 2007, it's ability to be extended via the .NET development platform and sharing company data via SharePoint Services. To regular folks it's a big so-what.  But to IT Pro's this is very cool stuff indeed.

December 16th 2006 - Winter Visit to Sacramento

Virginia and I made a trip up to West Sac to visit Lisa and Laura - who were eager to meet Virginia.  We had a very good visit including the exchange of some nice Christmas gifts. I was happy to know Lisa had many more visitors soon to come.  See Laura's comments over at  www.lisastarrett.com.

December 24th-25th 2006 - Christmas...Finally

With the coming of Christmas also comes the end of the seasonal insanity.  I was ready for the Christmas craze to be over and the calm after the storm to begin.

On Christmas eve we headed to Virginia's sisters house in the Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles.  I'm beginning to get to know her family better - they are all really nice people.  Everyone brought a dish for dinner - and there was a ton of excellent food.  Afterwards - the shredding of the gifts ensued. It was a fun night.

Christmas morning was slow paced and relaxed for Virginia and I.   After a leisurely breakfast,  we opened our gifts.  We received lots of nice stuff!  We took a walk with KK - it was so warm and sunny!  Later that evening we visited our friends Christmas "Open House" for food and drinks.   We've not seen Drew, Kathy or Danielle in months!  We had a great time.