The wife and I are spending the Christmas holiday in Prague this year. I have family here and this is the only time we could make the trip over.

The weather is below freezing and our California bodies are out of their element. Sara, being most agreeable when it's above 90, is having the most trouble.

Today we saw the little town where my grandmother was born and where my mom would spend the summers. We also spent some time driving the country side.

Tomorrow we're hitting the city again and going to some Christmas concert. We've taken a bunch of pictures but you'll have to wait because I can't upload them from here.

Get a Bissell vacuum cleaner. How can you compete with the big boys when you're living with a bunch of dirt that you're current vacuum deems too insignificant to deal with? Well, you can't.

I actually just got my Bissell Healthy Home Vacuum and you can bet the wife and I tried that thing out ASAP.

At first, I was in charge of the "Finger Tip Power Control" while my wife operated the "Quick Reach, Ready to use Hose." The "Deep Down Clean and Non-Stop Suction" was very nice but my favorite was using the "Telescoping Extension Wand" with the "Crevice Tool." The "Microban Antimicrobial Protection" came in handy and we quickly filled the "Easy Empty Dirt Container."

Needless to say, the thing is a top notch vacuum cleaner. The wife couldn't believe we got it for free. I quickly reminded her of my previous post. I also asked if this meant she was going to start vacuuming. She thought I was joking.

So go ahead and live with all that "Dust mite waste," but if you want to be competitive next spring, you're going to need a Bissell.

Sorry for the off color jokes, those were for Shawn and Tyler.

No more lame excuses. When it rains I can't say, "Whatever, April won't miss this one 4 hour ride." I just have to do it.

First, I check the doppler and cuss a little bit. Then I strap on the fenders and Rain-X coat the Power Tap screen. Lastly, I put on my jacket and head out the door with only one rule, "If you get cold, go harder."

Anyway, the up side to all this suffering is that now when people say, "Dude Paul, that is so not Pro." I can say STFUA (Shut the F up Amateur) because what I do is Pro, by definition.

Spent the last week visiting every family member that lives in the Greater Seattle Area.

Highlights included; going to a mall the day after there was a shooting, Sara dressing up as a "35 year old conservative mother," and the Moore family Thanksgiving dinner on Lake Kachess, where the girl to guy ratio was 4:1. Why are there no sons?

On Black Friday Sara convinced me that we should get the "cute" silver bluetooth even though it said "Hands-Free Headset for Her" right on the box (in big letters).

We flew back early Saturday morning so I could still get some good riding in over the weekend and relax a little bit.

While I enjoy visiting the family, the whirlwind format is not really my favorite way to go about it. Of course it was a lot more pleasant than that Thanksgiving a couple years go when we had a wedding to plan.