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Monday, November 30, 2015

Sammy Kind of Monday

Well that fabtabulous thing we call the weekend, and in many cases an extended weekend is now over with. Now it's time to stick our collective noses back on the grindstone for another fun filled week of doing what it is we do for a living. It's time to get back to work.

Sammy was up early this morning, he found one of the conk shells we brought back from the Bahamas a few years ago and was trying to figure out how to blow it like a horn. I showed him how to do it, but he is just not getting the hang of it. Sammy said that he will pop by time to time between now and Christmas, I'm just curious what he is going to get himself into this week.

I have to say that I had a pretty productive break from work, last week just flew by and we got to spend Thanksgiving with Michelle's side of the family and my Mom on Saturday evening while setting her tree up.

Now looking at our week ahead, nothing major coming up. We are planning on going and getting our 2015 Christmas Tree on Saturday and maybe even do a little bit of Christmas Cookie baking. The following weekend we will be traveling, so time is starting to close in on Christmas and we have a number of things to do before then.

Have a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday, November 29, 2015

Sunday Morning Ramblings

Well here I sit yet once again in a quiet household, I'm the first one to recover from that losing battle with the dreaded Sand Man last night and I'm up early watching the Kingsmen on HBO, but not really paying attention, and of course collecting my thoughts for the day.

Yesterday turned out pretty well, we managed to put Mom and Gerald's Christmas Tree up for 2015 and had a great time doing it.

Kim and Terri were both already there and waiting for me and Michelle when we got there, it was a real nice evening and everyone was a huge help in getting the 2015 tree up and ready for the season. It is a tradition that hopefully can continue to grow and grow more and more with each and every passing year.

Our plans for today are just to do our grocery shopping this morning. The Steelers play the late afternoon game today, so there may be a football game on tap for today. I watched the Mountaineers defeat Iowa State 30-6 yesterday afternoon. So it has been a pretty good football weekend for me so far.

Have yourselves a great day today and Go Steelers.

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Saturday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit yet once again in a quiet household, only me, Fin and Sammy are up. Sammy decided he wants some coffee and has found the white chocolate sauce and wants some in his coffee. Good thing we have more of it, it would be a sad day in this household if Michelle couldn't have her white chocolate when she re-wakes up.

I have seen that a couple of my nieces have already set their Christmas Trees up for the season. This afternoon we are going to take a little bit of time out and set up and decorate Mom and Geralds Tree for the season. This will be the third year that we have put up their tree since they moved to their current residence, the tree gets more life every year. It looks like it's going to be a good turn out this year.

The WVU Basketball team won the Las Vegas Invitational last night with a 72-50 win over San Diego State. Richmond, the team WVU beat in the Semi-Finals beat #14th ranked Cal in the consolation game for 3rd place.

The WVU Seniors get to play one last game at Mylan Puskar Stadium as today is Senior day, the last home game of the season. Today's opponent will be Iowa State but we still have Kansas State to play next weekend and our bowl game, so this is not their last game, it's just the last time they will play in Morgantown. Thank you to all the Seniors for your commitment and helping this team transition into the Big XII.

Have yourselves a great day.

Friday, November 27, 2015

Big Ole Hairy Black Friday

Yes it is once again that time of the week that we all look foreword to, when we can take time to cease the labors for the week and take a little bit of needed time out to enjoy the fruits of those labors. It is once again the dawn of another weekend, and a Big Ole Hairy Black Friday.

Let the madness begin, as if it has not already started last night. This is the biggest shopping day of the year in the United States. Stores offer their black Friday deals as it marks the official start of the Christmas Shopping Season for everyone.

Needless to say that neither Michelle or I will be out participating in that madness. I've went once and she has went a couple of times, but that is about it. It was total mayhem the one time that I went and that was enough for me. Michelle likes to go with her Sisters and they all coordinate as a team, but Dani has to work this year so she did not make it in for Thanksgiving.

Our weekend plans include putting up at the very least, one Christmas Tree tomorrow, other than that once again no big plans this weekend. We'll travel in a couple of weeks for the Ohio Christmas that happens every year, but no major plans until then.

Have yourselves a great day and if you are out shopping, be careful not ton get trampled.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Goggle till you Wobble

Today is a Holiday in the United States. One where families get together and give thanks to all of the wonderful things in our lives. It's a day where Tryptophan takes over and we all need a  good nap while watching Football and stuffing ourselves with some very good food.

Today is also a day of Parades, they will be on TV this morning on all the networks. I think my favorite has always been the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, one that I have very fond memories as a child watching with my Grandparents growing up as my Grandmother was preparing the Thanksgiving Day Feast.

Today Michelle and I will be at the Cassville Firehall with her family, many have traveled a few hours just to be there today. Those of us in Morgantown will return the favor next month when we all gather for their Christmas get together.

Have a great day, try not to overdose on Tryptophan and Gobble till you Wobble.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Happy Birthday Valarie Nicholson

I would like to take this opportunity to wish my wonderful niece Valarie a very happy Birthday today.

It has been an honor and a pleasure watching her grow up, I remember the first time that I ever saw her, just like it was yesterday. I remember being so happy to be an Uncle, I even went out and bought her her first pair of Nike tennis Shoes, but she probably didn't grow into them for a year or so.

Being that it is Turkey Day I'm not too sure what Val's plans are for the day, I think she will be going down to her Mom's for dinner, but that is just an educated guess and not based on anything factual.

If you happen to see this lovely young woman today, make sure that you take a little bit og time out and wish her a very Happy Birthday today.

Happy Birthday Val.


Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Turkey Day Eve

Today is Wednesday to the rest of the world, here in the United States it's Thanksgiving Eve and two days before Black Friday. This is the end of the work week for many Americans, and just the day before a day off for others who do not work in retail.

Tonight after work Michelle and I will head over to the Cassville Firehall where her side of the family always gathers and does a big Thanksgiving Feast. We'll all gather and do a lot of preparation work for tomorrow, potatoes will be peeled, noodles will be made (yes home made noodles), Pies will be baked, tables will be set up, Turkey's will be brine'd and everything that needs to happen before tomorrow will happen.

I have to say Michelle's family does Thanksgiving right. The food is a plentiful, the people are amazing and it's a great time had by all. We all bring an item to Thanksgiving to be auctioned off that day. The money raised from that auction pays for the Firehall rental and much of the food that is prepared for the next year (this years was financed by last years auction).

On Friday Michelle will be working and I probably will as well. No Black Friday shopping for us this year, it's a madhouse out there. I've taken the last few "day after thanksgiving" off, but with Michelle working this year and no plans, I'll probably just go into the office on Friday.

Have yourselves a Great day

Get ready to Gobble till you Wobble.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Well that dreaded day we all hate so much is now behind us, the work week is started and we are staring straight down the barrel of a Tuesday as so many deer in WV did yesterday. Can't think of a better reason to do a tidbits.

* It has been an amazing 18,986 days since my birth, that's 21 years if you use the proper calendar having 905 days a year rather than that other one that only has 365.

* It has been 4,209 days since I graduated from West Virginia University. A very proud moment in my life.

* It was 2,810 days ago that my life changed forever, I took this recently widowed woman out on a date and I was hooked.

* 2,034 days ago I asked my wonderful wife if she would Marry me. She knew it was coming, so it was no real surprise, but it was still a very special day for both her and I

* It was 1,571 days ago in front of our closest friends and family that Michelle and I had or wedding, it was a non traditional wedding with a Caribbean Theme, but that's just us.

* I have about 5,851 days to go until I retire, give or take a few hundred here or there of course.

* In 2,489 more days the Backyard Brawl of a Football game between WVU vs Pitt will take place. I am eagerly waiting on kicking some Panther butt.

* There are 292 days to go until Cruise 2016, same cruise as the last four years, we love the port, the ports of call and the ship. We're pretty comfortable with it for now.

* Michelle and I will be celebrating our Fifth Wedding Anniversary in just 256 more days. These have been the happiest years of my life.

* There are only 117 more days to go until Spring 2016, my favorite season of the year.

* In 37 more days my Goodbye 2015 blog, the blog that reflects the previous year based on what I have written in my blog, will appear.

* There are only 31 more shopping days left until Christmas.

* There are only 7 more days to go until another Anniversary of my 21st Birthday, depending on if you use the 365 day or the 905 days calendar.

* In 4 Days we will set up  Mom and Gerald's Christmas Tree for 2015. This will be the third year for this event and the tree grows more and more life every year. AS we populate the tree this year we will take a little time out to reflect on each and every ornament, new and old.

* I have written a grand total of 4,271 Blogs since I first started writing George's Journal a little over 11 years ago.

* Not too much work on the Hall Family Tree this past week other than making all my siblings site administrators. 

* Nothing new on the Brother search yet again, it;s a dead end with no more real leads. Maybe it's just time to cross your fingers and pray for a miracle.

* It's nice in town, with the students on Fall Break this week, traffic has not been too bad at all. A couple more weeks and they will be done for the semester and start Christmas Break. Arguably the emptiest time of the year in Morgantown as most of the Grad Students even return home during this break.

* The Dixie Chicks are on Groupon for their Pittsburgh Concert. Groupon is a great site to find discounted items.

* Michelle's niece and Nephew Laura and Jon made an announcement as to the gender of their baby due next year.

* Sunday Morning Michelle tied me down and cut off all my hair, "Take that you Hippy" is what she kept screaming at me. Well as everyone knows, it seems like every time I cut my hair it snows. I went out to warm the car up and guess what, snow flurries. I Hate Snow!!!

* If you like Christmas Movies, check out the Family Channels schedule until Christmas, although I think the best all time Christmas Movie is Christmas Story.

* The University Towne Center is due to open a few new stores in the near future. AC Moore, Kirklands, ULTA, and Five Below are some of the stores that will be opening up here soon.

* I continue to wish all the hunters luck, success and a safe and happy return home.

* Have yourselves a great day

* Hi ho hi ho

Monday, November 23, 2015

Introducing Sammy,the Elf on a Shelf

I would like to introduce everyone to a new member of our family who just happened to show up yesterday out of no where. Sammy, the Elf on a Shelf has showed up at our household and made a promise to both Michelle and Me that he would not get into any mischief this year at our home. Not sure if I believe him, but he's here until after Christmas.

Sammy actually works for Santa Clause and reports directly back to Santa, and he needed a place to stay for a while so he can watch all the little boys and girls and give his local report back to Santa. He directly effects Santa's naughty and nice list, so with him having such an important roll he will be shacking up with us, it's the least we can do for Santa.

Stay tuned this Christmas season and we'll see what kind of mischief can find his way into over the next month or so. He has that all so innocent look, but something tells me that he's going to be having as much fun as he can before he has to report back to Santa for the season.

Today is the first day of Deer Season (Rifle) in West Virginia and it's arguably the most missed day of work in the state. I'm not a hunter so I'll be going into the office to hold down the Fort for a few guys who actually are avid hunters. I would like to wish that all hunters have a great season, hope they all nail that big buck but more importantly I hope that they all return home safe to their families tonight and that there are no on accidents or incidents where anyone gets hurt. I'm also hoping that no hunter accidentally shoots a reindeer as Sammy will not tell me where Blitzen is hiding.

Have yourselves a great day, Hunters good luck and for the rest of us...

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Sunday

Well here I sit yet once again on a quiet Sunday Morning, I'm up early watching Shallow Hal on HBO and collecting my thoughts for the day and surfing the internet.

Well the Mountaineer Football team had a great game yesterday, beating Kansas 49-0 as the Mountaineers had three runners run for over 100 yards, a feat that has not been 3 players rush for 100 yards in a game for us since I think they said 1938 against Texas Tech during the broadcast. I would say it was one of the better complete games we have played in some time.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are off this week with their Bye week, so we are probably not watching any football today as it is an NFL day.

Well thanks to my niece Brittany for putting a fire under my butt yesterday, we have come up with a date that we are going to put Mom and Gerald's Christmas Tree up for 2015. This coming Saturday afternoon is when we will all assemble for this year and put up their tree for this year. Same as in years past for everyone, make or buy something personal to add to the tree. This is the third year we are doing the tree, and with each and every passing year it gains more life.

Have yourselves a great day today.

Saturday, November 21, 2015

Saturday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit yet once again in a quiet household,  it's just me and Fin that are up as she is running around the house playing. I'm up collecting my thoughts for the day and watching Bad Grandpa on Amazon.

We have absolutely no plans for the day believe it or not. I'm still battling this little bit of a chest cold /sinus infection that I just can not seem to shake. It's unreal how long this thing has been lingering on and on.

The Mountaineers played Stetson in Basketball last night and won 103-62. They are now 3-0 on the season. Women's Soccer played in the second round of the NCAA Tournament and beat Northwestern 4-0. Northwestern had only allowed 4 goals all season and the Women scored 4 last night. The Man's Football team travels to the Kansas today to take on the 0-10 Kansas Jayhawks, hopefully we can help them continue their losing streak.

Other than that no plans for today, traffic last night was absolutely crazy all over town with the Men's basketball game, Women's soccer and the students doing their best to get the heck out of town for Thanksgiving break. The good news is that there is not going to be anywhere near the traffic around town as we have been used to seeing the past few months. It'll be a nice little break for all of us residents.

Have yourselves a great day, Fin is wanting Fed so my duties call.

Friday, November 20, 2015

Big Ole Hairy Friday

Yes it is once again that time of the week that we all look foreword to, when we can take time to cease the labors for the week and take a little bit of needed time out to enjoy the fruits of those labors. It is once again the dawn of another weekend, and a Big Ole Hairy Friday.

Well there is no more High School Football in Monongalia County this year. Morgantown lost last week ending their season and they were the only team from Mon County to qualify for post season play this year.

The Mountaineers travel to Kansas tomorrow for a noon kickoff. A win here will put us as Bowl Eligible and secure a spot in some post season bowl game. This is a game that we should win since Kansas is 0-10 on the season.

No plans for Michelle and I, with Thanksgiving coming up and it just being that time of the year, we are probably not going to get into anything this weekend. No road trips or excursions planned like last weekend. Maybe a little house cleaning as we start to prepare and get ready for the Christmas Season that is coming up upon us.

Have yourselves a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Photo Flashback Thursday



Once a week I like to take a little bit of time out, time to look at some of the 30,000+ images that I have either captured with a Camera, Scanned or just simply stolen off the internet. Little lost moments in time that I post up and relive tight here for everyone while I try to recall the moments around that image. Sometimes it's pretty easy to find that image and sometimes it's a challenge, although one thing it always is is a whole lot of fun for me.

Let's go waaaaaay back for this picture, so far back that it predates about anyone who is reading this. The little boy with the had on in the middle of the picture is my Grandpa Hall and the man with a little girl on his lap would be my Great-Grandfather Lee Hall. My guess is the little girl is either my Grandfather's sister Hazel or Eva and the other two boys being his Brothers Lincoln and Russell. I have no clue as to the identity to the man on the left hand side of the picture.

I'm guessing that this picture based on my Grandfather's age at the time was the possibly the late 1890's or more likely the early 1900's. He was born in 1893, so a guestimate on his age will get you pretty close to the year that this picture was taken. My guess is that this picture was taken in Jeanette Pennsylvania where he was originally from.

Have yourselves a Great Day

Hi ho hi ho


Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Happy GIS Day

Every profession seems to have a day that is set aside to honor what they do. In my field, I'm a GIS Analyst  as my degree is in Geography with an emphasis in Geographical Informational Science or GIS. Today is International GIS Day around the world.

I have been fortunate to have worked my entire post collegiate career and for 4 years in college in my chosen profession and discipline.

In my field their is a professional certification called a GISP which I do not have, I've completed all the hard requirements for it. Education, Work Experience, continuing education, I just lack the easy part of it all and that is the public service credits which are probably the easiest credits to obtain. If we paid for us to go to the ESRI Convention I would have had it years ago, but I'm not footing that bill for a week in Sand Diego out of my own pocket...lol

Have yourselves a Great Day

Hi ho hi ho

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Well that horrendous thing we refer to as Monday is now once again behind us and we are staring straight down the barrel of a Tuesday. Still can't think of a better reason to do a tidbits.

* It was 18,979 days ago that my Mother gave birth to a legendary blogger.

* I graduated from West Virginia University 4,202 short days ago. I was talking to Brittany this weekend and told her I still have dreams of missing finals or being late on a project.

* It was 2,803 days ago that I took a very special lady out for a date, pizza and a bad movie were on our agenda for the evening.

* 2,026 days ago I made up for the bad movie choice and proposed marriage to my wonderful wife.

* It was a short 1,564 days ago that Michelle and I had our Wedding in front of our closest friends and family at the Marilla Center.

* I have around 5,858 days to go until I retire, give or take a few hundred here or there one way or the other of course.

* There are only 2,496 more days to go until the renewal of the Backyard Brawl of  WVU vs Pitt in Football takes place. I'm hoping for a possible Bowl match up against them this year.

* There are only 299 more days to go until we head out on Cruise 2016, which will be our fifth cruise on Carnival.

* There are only 263 more days to go until Michelle and I celebrate our Fifth Wedding Anniversary.

* Yes I am still counting, there are 124 days to go until Spring 2016.

* I have 44 more days of content to write before my Goodbye 2015 blog is posted at the end of the year. It has been a full and eventful year this year, I'm kind of anxious to write it.

* There are 38 more shopping days left until Christmas, I have to start thinking about getting ready to put our tree up.

* There are only 14 more days to go until another Anniversary of my 21st  Birthday will come to pass.

* I have written a total of 4,264 blogs for this Journal in the 11+ years that I have been writing it.

* There was no work to the Hall Family Website this week, I have some more information to input but need to get around to doing it.

* Nothing new on the brother search this week, the entire thing is on hiatus for a while due to some extenuating circumstances.

* Speaking of Christmas Trees, I have to come up with a workable time for everyone to once again set up Mom and Gerald's 2015 Christmas Tree. This is last years event which we did on a Saturday. Any thoughts from anyone? Same theme, just everyone make or buy a special ornament from themselves this year and add it to the tree and watch it continue to grow and get life.

* I've been under the weather the past few days, nothing to keep me down but I have been battling a bit of a head cold.

* Amish Country was a lot of fun this past weekend, it's always a pleasure to head that way.

* Speaking of Amish Country, the other one, I hear the Sight and Sound Theater in Lancaster PA is something to see from a number of different people.

* Tomorrow is GIS Day.

* Not sure if I have ever mentioned it before on this blog, but I Hate Snow.

* Have yourselves a great day

* Hi ho hi ho

Monday, November 16, 2015

Monday

Well that wonderfully enjoyable couple of days that we have at the end of every work week are over with and it's time to stick our noses back on the grindstone for another fun filled week of doing what we all do for a living. It's Monday.

Today is my sixth year work anniversary working for Sextant Technical Services, the best company I have ever worked for, I could never imagine working for a better company. I'm thankful every day that I have and do have the opportunity to work for such a great company.

Nothing really eventful for Michelle and I this coming week, no scheduled Dr's appointments or things we are planning to do, but knowing us that can always change at the drop of a hat. The again I guess sometimes no plans are a good thing, it allows you to finally sit back and rest a little bit from months and months of running.

I'm still battling a little bit of a head cold, but it has been nothing that has kept me down or stopped me from really doing anything. I have been keeping Kleenex in business the past few days, good thing we buy a lot of our stuff at the house in bulk, tissues included.

Have yourselves a great day and make it memorable and special.

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Sunday

Well here I sit once again in a semi-quiet household. Fin is up playing around and I'm up watching the Longest Yard on Amazon and collecting my thoughts for the day.

Michelle, Brittany and I had a great day yesterday in Amish Country. This was Brittany's first trip to the Ohio Amish Country, she had been to Lancaster Amish Country, but never to the more modernized Ohio Amish Country where we always go. I think she had a great time and it was a very memorable day for all of us. I was able to watch a lot of the WVU vs Texas game on my ESPN Go ap as they girls shopped to their little hearts were content.

I mentioned a couple of nights ago that an old classmate of mine was on Real Time with Bill Mahar Friday night. Asra was on the main show as a special guest and on Overtime with everyone else after the show was over. It was nice to see it went well, she responded with a nice letter after the show to me and a few other classmates telling us about her experience and a few old stories growing up. It's worth the watch.

Our plans fort the day are doing our grocery shopping, running to Phoenix Bakery and watching the Pittsburgh Steelers whip up on the Cleveland Browns. It's been a great weekend son far, hopefully a Steelers win today will be the cherry on top.

Have a great day, it's a home made beef stew kind of day.

Saturday, November 14, 2015

Saturday Morning Rambling

Here I sit yet once again in a quiet household, collecting my thoughts for the day and surfing the net. I'm up watching Real Time with Bill Maher that I DVR'd last night. Asra Nomani whom I graduated High School with was one of his special guests so I recorded it to to watch it, strange timing after the Terrorist attack in Paris last night.

Today, Michelle, my niece Brittany and myself will be heading West on a road trip to Amish Country in Ohio for a day trip. We have an agenda full of places that we are intending on hitting today, I know the one place Michelle really wants to go to is Tis the Season, a year round Christmas Store that she absolutely loves. I'm sure Breitenbach winery, Heini's  and you can bet your bottom dollar lunch will be at Der Dutchman as well as a few other places that we intend on hitting today.

Should be a great day, Morgantown should be crazy with the University of Texas coming to town today for a Football game at Noon. I think we have picked a real good day to get the heck out of Morgantown. We are favored to beat Texas, so there may be a whole lot of celebrating in Morgantown if that happens.

Have yourselves a great day.


Friday, November 13, 2015

Big Ole Hairy Friday

Yes it is once again that time of the week that we all look foreword to, when we can take time to cease the labors for the week and take a little bit of needed time out to enjoy the fruits of those labors. It is once again the dawn of another weekend, and a Big Ole Hairy Friday.

Don't forget to wear your purple today, it is World Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Day. Please wear purple to bring awareness to this very ugly disease.

If you are looking for a little bit of High School Football action tonight, it's the start of the Do or Die portion of the season, better known as the Playoffs. Morgantown High plays host to Brooke this evening and is the only local team to make the State playoffs this season. Morgantown beat Brooke 27-14 the last time these two teams met this season, let's hope the Mohigans can move on to next week and represent Monongalia County well in the playoffs.

Our weekend plans are a day trip to Amish Country in Ohio tomorrow. We are talking about leaving early and returning in the early evening and making it a day trip to Amish Country. Michelle has Michelle asked everyone from the Taste of Home cooking show about going, Terri and Kim have expressed interest in going as well, Kim is also buying a new car and that may take precedent to going if they get the deal they want. Should be a great day.

Have yourselves a great Friday.

Hi ho hi ho

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Photo Flashback Thursday



Once a week I like to take a little bit of time out, time to look at some of the 30,000+ images that I have either captured with a Camera, Scanned or just simply stolen off the internet. Little lost moments in time that I post up and relive tight here for everyone while I try to recall the moments around that image. Sometimes it's pretty easy to find that image and sometimes it's a challenge, although one thing it always is is a whole lot of fun for me.

This weeks picture goes back to a very special and magical Christmas. My Dad and Jean had split up for a number of years although they were still legally married. Christmas Eve was a big deal with them and many of their traditions that they started have carried on for us today like the Hot Sausage. They always had Hot Sausage that was prepared Christmas Eve and me and my siblings would always fight for left overs Christmas Morning.

For a number of years, there was no Christmas Eve at Dad's house. Jean was gone and all of the kids had all moved on to doing their own thing, but in 1998 Gary and I were both living back home and with the whole lot of help from my Siblings, we pulled off a Christmas as in days gone by. My Dad did not want to do it, but the Day of Christmas Eve he did a complete 180, called off from work where he was going to work and went full steam ahead on the planning and execution of this special night.

Sadly a few weeks later Dad started to get sick and it ended up leading to his passing about seven months later. We did have that one final Christmas Eve with him and this picture was taken from that night.

Enjoy the video I created from that night.



Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Veterans Day

Today is Veterans Day, a Federal Holiday that I am fortunate enough to get to observe thanks to the efforts and of our armed services personnel who are being honored today.

Many Restaurants are honoring Veterans with free meals today. Of course there are rules and restrictions on some of these, if you are a Veteran follow up beforehand to any restaurant may want to visit to make it a pleasurable experience.

Although I never served, my Father, Grandfather, and my Nephew are all Veterans. My Grandfather fought in WWI and my nephew Moke fought in Operation Iraqi Freedom where he was deployed to Iraq for a while. I also have some cousins on my Mom's side who also served in this conflict.

To all Military Veterans I express a heart felt thank you to each and everyone of you. For it was your sacrifices that allowed us to live the freedom we do.

Honor the day and thank a Vet.

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Well that dreaded and dreary day that starts the week is once again over with, now we are staring straight down the barrel of a Tuesday and I still can't think of a better reason to do a tidbits.

* It has been 18,972 days since my birth, that is only 21 years if you are doing the math. If you come up with a different number you're using the wrong number to divide by.

* It has been 4,195 days since I graduated from West Virginia University.

* It was 2,796 days ago that Michelle and I had our very first date.

* 2,020 days ago I proposed to Michelle. Best decision that I have ever made in my life.

* It was 1,557 days ago that Michelle and I entered into a world of marital bliss.

* I have around 5,865 days to go until I retire, give or take a few hundred here or there obviously.

* There are only 2,503 days until the Backyard Brawl,  WVU vs Pitt in football, is renewed.

* Counting down, there are only 306 more days to go until Cruise 2016.

* In 270 days Michelle and I will celebrate our  Fifth Wedding Anniversary.

* There are only 131  days to go until Spring 2016, yes I am eagerly waiting its return.

* There are only 51 more days until we say Goodbye to 2015.

* There are 45 shopping days left until Christmas.

* I have 21 days to go until another anniversary of my 21st  Birthday

* Today is the Taste Of Home Cooking Show that all of my sisters will be attending together, seems like it was just yesterday when we bought the tickets.

* I have written 4,257 Blogs in my 11 years that I have been writing this particular blog.

* Yes the rumors are in fact true, I Hate Snow.

*  We have a couple of house guests for a couple of days. Rocky and Lilly have come down to visit as Mommy is away on business.

* No work done to the Hall Family website. I'll start again on it soon.

* Nothing new on the brother search this week.

* I wonder how long it will  take my readers to realize that I am rushing through this blog, I got real busy yesterday at work with the office move.

* By The Way, I got a new office, it's quite awesome. I've been working the past week or so getting it ready.

* Michelle ran home yesterday afternoon to pay her final respects to her Uncle Ron who had passed away over the weekend.

* We are thinking about a road trip to Amish Country in Ohio this Saturday.

* Have yourselves a great day.

* Hi ho hi ho

Monday, November 09, 2015

Monday

Well all good things must come to an end, and that includes those fun filled things that we all call Weekends. Now it's time to stick our noses back on the grindstone and get back to doing what it is we do for a living.

Michelle will be heading back home today, we received news over the weekend that her Uncle Ron had passed away after a long and courageous battle with cancer. She had taken some time out a couple of weeks ago to go and visit him, she knew it was something that she had to do, but now she will returning to pay her final respects. Please keep my wife and her family in your thoughts and prayers today as they say their final goodbyes to a loved one.

The week ahead is eventful for us, as tomorrow is the Taste of Home Cooking Show that all my sisters and my niece will all attend together as VIP's. The VIP package is something the Jean wanted to do this year, this is just the fulfillment of that a dream they all had last year.

Have a Great Day.

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday, November 08, 2015

Steelers Kind of Sunday

Here I sit once again on a quiet Sunday Morning, I'm up early but something tells me I will lay back down after writing this and watch a little bit of stupid TV. Good Burger is on the TV now and I have to get a little rest for today.

Well we have finally reached that day, after winning the Pittsburgh Steelers Trivia game show earlier this year, it is now time to collect our Grand Prize, a Pittsburgh Steelers game against the Oakland Raiders.

We'll be leaving Morgantown early this morning and meeting up with the rest of the Pudgy Polamalus in Pittsburgh. We will once again have field passes for todays game, but I'm not sure how much time we will spend down on the field as that thrill is kind of gone after doing it a couple of times already.

The first year we were allowed to basically go anywhere, last year we were all bunched in like cattle in one small area.

It should be a great day today, I'll post a few pics from the field for everyone.

Have a great day and let's go Steelers.

Saturday, November 07, 2015

Saturday Morning Rambling

Here I sit yet once again in a semi-quiet household, the cats are frolicking around and having a grand ole time and I'm up watching The Ladies Man on HBO. I'm collecting my thoughts for the day, starting to plan out the days agenda and just surfing around the World Wide Web to see what I missed last night. Michelle's even already up preparing her morning cup o Java.

We are going to try to get up and out early this morning to do all of our running around that we would usually do on Sunday morning do to us going to the Steelers game tomorrow. Traffic around Morgantown is going to be noon time game day traffic, hence why we want to get up and out as early as possible and get everything done.

We did buy a new Vacuum Sealer a couple of nights ago. Hayley and Josh just got a new deep freezer from his Grandfather and they found a very good deal for meat from a butcher up in Ohio, so they wanted to borrow ours. We were looking into buying a new one, so we gave them ours and purchased the new one for the home. We already have a number of attachments and containers, we just purchased a new sealer.

WVU is playing Texas Tech here in football this afternoon at noon. Allow yourselves a little extra time to get get around this portion of town both this morning and this evening. With the nice Indian Summer we have been having, I look for there to be a decent crowd today.

Have yourselves a great day.

Friday, November 06, 2015

Big Ole Hairy Friday

Yes it is once again that time of the week that we all look foreword to, when we can take time to cease the labors for the week and take a little bit of needed time out to enjoy the fruits of those labors. It is once again the dawn of another weekend, and a Big Ole Hairy Friday.

Well High School Football season is about over with, Morgantown and University are idle this week, Morgantown will play in the playoffs next week where University High's season is completed. Clay Battelle is playing host to Madonna this evening in Blacksville if you are up for a little high school football action.

Michelle and I will be attending the Steelers vs Raiders game on Sunday, which means that tomorrow will be a busy day for us doing all of our grocery shopping and laundry tomorrow as opposed to Sunday. It'll be nice to get together again with the rest of the Pudgy Polamalus this Sunday and get a few pictures taken with all three trophies that we have won through the years.

Have a great day and lets get this weekend started.

Hi ho hi ho

Thursday, November 05, 2015

Photo Flashback Thursday



Once a week I like to take a little bit of time out, time to look at some of the 30,000+ images that I have either captured with a Camera, Scanned or just simply stolen off the internet. Little lost moments in time that I post up and relive tight here for everyone while I try to recall the moments around that image. Sometimes it's pretty easy to find that image and sometimes it's a challenge, although one thing it always is is a whole lot of fun for me.

With Michelle and I going to this weekends Steelers Game and once again having field passes, I thought I would share a picture from last years game from the field. This is Michelle and Jenny Ostien on the field before the players came out to warm up. Jenny is my Team Mate Chris's wife and I grabbed this picture of the two of them as soon as we got down on the field.

We will once again have field passes this weekend, but I'm not sure how much time we will actually spend down on the field. We've been down there twice before plus had VIP passes to training camp one year, so this is not really going to be something we have not done before and the newness or excitement may not be to the level as it was in 2008 or last year.

Have yourselves a great day

Hi ho hi ho

Wednesday, November 04, 2015

Hump Day

Well that is two days down, we have a couple more ahead of us now all we have to do is get up and over this dreaded noon time hump and it will be all downhill as we work towards another fun filled weekend for all of us to enjoy.

Being that this is once again Wednesday and it's hard to come up with content on a Wednesday, maybe I should do a partial wisdom or personal development blog.

Coursera is an online training site that I have mentioned here previously. There are a number of professional categories to choose from as well as personal development classes a user can choose to take. It is never a bad thing to sharpen up skill sets that you don't use all the time or just to simply learn a new skill set. Many of these courses are timed, graded and taught for free of charge by established University Professors.

Looking to see what traffic is like around Morgantown, West Virginia 511 is the site you will want to use. They even offer live cameras in some locations so you can look and see how messed up traffic is at times in our quaint little town.

Looking to find out what is going on around town with incidents, Safetown is an Ap Michelle likes to use when we hear sirens around us to see what is going on and where they are running off to.

That's a little bit of wisdom for you, enjoy.

Have a great day

Hi ho hi ho


Tuesday, November 03, 2015

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Well that dreaded and dreary day we refer to as Monday is now once again behind us and we are looking ahead at a Tuesday, still can't think of a better reason to do a tidbits.

* It was 18,695 days ago that I was born, my Mom tells me I was born in Georgia but there are reasons to believe that I was actually born in Hawaii since we are believing in Conspiracy theories. You've read it on the internet, must be true.

* It has been 4,188 days since I Graduated from West Virginia University.

* It has been 2,789 days since Michelle and I went out on our very first date, it was dinner at Pizza Hut and the movie 10,000 BC which kind of sucked. Horrible movie.

* It has been 2,013 days since I  proposed marriage to Michelle. I would say that I woke her up at 4:00 AM, but she knew it was coming and was already up and waiting...lol

* 1,550 days ago in front of our closest friends and family Michelle and I had our wedding at the Marilla Center.

* I have about 5,872 days to go until my retirement, give or take a few hundred here or there one way or the other.

* There are only 2,510 more days until the Backyard Brawl Football game between WVU vs Pitt will be played. I'm ready.

* We will set sail on our next cruise in 313 more days.

* There are a mere 277 days to go until Michelle and I celebrate our Fifth Wedding Anniversary, we have been together 7 1/2 years now and every one of them have been a blessing.

* There are 138 more days to go until my favorite season of the year, Spring 2016 is on my countdown.

* There are 58 more days to go until Goodbye 2015 blog is posted. This is when I relived m,y previous year based on events that were written in my blog. It's a nice way of reflecting on your year and what you have written.

* There are but 52 more shopping days left until Christmas, you still have plenty of time but the clock is definitely ticking away.

* There are 28 more days to go until the next Anniversary of my 21st  Birthday.

* We are 10 days away from World Pancreatic Awareness Day. This is a day that we are encouraged to wear purple on this day to raise awareness of Pancreatic Cancer.

* There are just 7 more days until all of my sisters go to the Taste of Home Cooking show.

* I'm 6 days away from moving into my new office, I've already started moving my personal possessions and getting it ready.

* In 5 more days Michelle and I will be at the Steelers vs Raiders game, we have pre-game field passes and will be down on the field a few hours before the game starts.

* Ang's Baby shower is just a short 5 days away.

* This is the 4,250th Blog that I have written in over 11 years as a blogger writing this particular blog.

* Doing a little more information inputting on the Hall Family Tree, still at 199 people but increasing the level of information about a number of people. It still has a long way to grow.

*  Nothing new on the Brother Search once again.

* Have I ever mentioned that I Hate Snow?

* ABC Family has released their Countdown to the 25 Days Of Christmas schedule, that begins on December 1st but there are plenty of fine movies on the schedule leading up to it.

* It's Mountaineer Week at WVU.

* Have yourselves a great and productive day.

* Hi ho hi ho

Monday, November 02, 2015

Good Luck Brittany Dae Cummings

Today my niece Brittany enters a new Chapter of her life, one where she has officially finished her transitioned from being a student after she graduated this past May to starting her professional career today.

Today is her first day of working for West Virginia University Hospitals as a Console Attendant.

This will be her first Full Time non internship job, one where she is actually going to be gaining work experience in an environment that will give her the ability to grow and develop her professional skills while providing a wide array of possibilities in her future.

Here is to Brittany as she starts the first day of the rest of her life. Good luck and we are all very proud of you.

Monday Morning

All good things must unfortunately come to an end, and that includes those fun filled things we like to refer to as weekends. Now it's time to stick our noses back on the grindstone for another fun filled week of doing what it is we do for a living.

Both mine and Michelle's are going to be very busy, in addition to working we each have a number of Doctors Appointments scheduled this week. I have a diabetic eye exam scheduled for later this week, I've already had two cataracts removed so my guess is they are going to look for any damage to the nerves or anything along those lines. Michelle as well has a couple of Doctors appointments this week.

November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. This is a very deadly killer that in one calender year took someone we all loved very much. In honor of my Step Mother Jean Hall who passed away December 24, 2014 after a year long heroic battle with Pancreatic Cancer. Friday November 13th is world Pancreatic Cancer Day, wear your purple that day to draw attention to this horrible disease. 

Have yourselves a great start of a new week and a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday, November 01, 2015

Fallback Sunday

Here I sit on a once again in a semi-quiet household, Fin is up rampaging around the house chasing some imaginary object, I'm up a little earlier than I thought it was as we set our clocks back last night as Daylight Savings time ended and we get an extra hour of sleep last night.

Yesterday went well, Michelle and I went to the Christmas Spectacular, which wraps up today the final day, and did a little bit of shopping there. We bought a new wreath for the front door and some baked goods from Amish Country.

We did stop by Bed Bath and beyond and Michelle bought me a Clark Griswald Moose Mug for Christmas.

Yesterday evening we headed up to my niece Amy's to celebrate Halloween. I did manage to get a number of pictures from the evenings festivities and have placed them all on Facebook as well as a couple of the videos that we took. Ralphie was kind enough to put a wagon on the 4-wheeler and drive everyone around the neighborhood to make better time. I have to say when they all got back that all of those kids on that trailer made out like absolute bandits.

All of the kids were dressed up in home made and creative costumes using the Wizard of Oz as their theme and they looked fabulous. Arguably one of my all time favorite Halloweens, seeing all of these kids using a home made theme rather than some cheap off the rack costume no one will remember made my evening. I think these kids made some lifelong memories last night. This will be one that they all refer to when they have their children.

Thank you to Amy and Ralphie for organizing and hosting such a wonderful and memorable evening.

Have yourselves a great day.