Hi Everyone!

I want to welcome all of you to the inaugeral session on my new blog. My name is Steve Tardy and currently live in Southern California with my wife, Wanda, two dogs, Connor and Dufus. Yes, his name is really Dufus for obvious reasons. But he is getting better, becoming mature. We have two cats, a brown Siamese, Delilah and a mixed tiger named Bella. Delilah is a chunky terror and gives Bella a run for her money. Thank God, Bella has an amazing vertical leaping ability.

We live in the San Jacinto/Hemet Valley for 21 years. Our community has approximately 70,000 population, spread over the whole valley. We do not feel the congestion. During the summer, the temperature can rise to 110 degrees with 80% humidity. In the winter, we can experience cold temperatures to freezing with only 60% humidity. The hot weather is not like Palm Springs at 120 degrees nor cold like the Idyllwild Mountains at 18 degrees.

Our busy schedule is centered around our work, after hours school, occasional short weekend trips, and interactions with family and friends. We have a blended family, with five children between us. As a full-time RN with a home health agency, I enjoy my wound care abilities as I interact with patients. On the weekends, I enjoy part-time work as a phlebotomy/IV instructor for my wife's company, Complete Phlebotomy Training, Inc. They offer phlebotomy, BLS CPR, ACLS, IV programs as well as a home bloodwithdrawal serivce for homebound patients. Wanda's company has an outstanding student pass rate on the National Phlebotomy Board Exams and solidly prepares all students with an extensive clinical rotation in an acute care hospital setting.

Why the title "Mahalo Mania: Speed of Light? My happy place, when all heck is hitting the fan, I calmly withdraw in my mind to the warm beaches of Hawaii, with my Hawaiian shirt and shorts on, listening to Brother Iz's soothing version of "Over the Rainbow", and drinking a Bahama Mama. I am also a student pilot trying to get my Private Pilot's License. I enjoy being up there at 8 to 10 thousand feet, amazed on how I'm able to keep 2300 pounds of aluminum in the sky at 90 MPH. I love an airshow and try to make as many of them each year. This year I saw two great ones that I shared with my family in Sacramento, Mather Field, and San Diego, Miramar Marine Corp Air Base. I saw the Air Force Thunderbirds at one and the Blue Angels in San Diego. Flipping Amazing!!! If you get the chance, watch the F-22 fighter demonstration. How a plane can fall from the sky doing a flat spin and be able to recover, now that's a ride!!!
My wife and I are always busy with work or home projects. We both wish that we could move at the Speed of Light to get them all done. But if we could, our clothes would burn off with the friction. Boy, that would be embarassing at the grocery store :) Enough for now, see you all later. And, MAHALO!!!