Photo Flashback Thursday

It's that time of the week again, time for me to take a little bit of time out and look through all of the pictures that I have either taken, scanned or stolen off internet through the years and select one image. One little lost moment in time to post up and tell a story about and relive here on my blog. Sometimes this is a pretty easy task, and sometimes it's not that easy. One thing it always has been is a whole lot of fun.

This weeks pic actually came from Michelle and not me. Hayley had a Choir thing over at Morgantown High School. She was sitting in the seats and watching Hayley singing with the Morgantown High Choir and she looked in front of her, etched into a chair in the Morgantown High School Auditorium. My Brother Gary (who attended Morgantown in the 80's and his legacy is still stuck in the back of one of those chairs.

I was just looking through my pictures for something I have not used before and I came across this one and thought it would be nice to put up. Thank you to my lovely wife Michelle for taking the picture and to my brother Gary for being bored at Morgantown High about a quarter Century ago.

Have a great day.

Hump Day

Well that's two days down, now if you just look over this noon time hump, just on the other side of a photo flashback you can see the dawn of another fun filled weekend off in the distance.

Well actually since we are off tomorrow for Michelle's surgery, Michelle and I are already up overt that mythical hump. We'll have to be at the hospital tomorrow morning for her fourth follow up surgery, but that will be tomorrow.

Has anyone been paying attention to what has been happening in Baltimore? Wow do you believe all of the rioting and stuff that is going on over there. I did see some news footage right outside of the hotel that we stay at, which kind of hit home for me a little as I can relate to that exact spot. All of this rioting is not proving and thing and is quite counter-productive to their main objective, unless their main objective is to just create chaos for no reason. It's just an ugly situation and is getting worse. They were actually cutting fire hoses from hydrants trying to put out fires.

I'm glad I live in Morgantown where all we do is burn an occasional couch after a big win by one of the Universities Sports teams or the announcement that Osama Bin laden had been killed. Our students can get a little wild, what is happening in Baltimore is downright scary.

Have a great day.

Hi ho hi ho.

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Well that dreaded thing we all hate so much and refer to as Monday is now done and over with, now we are looking ahead to a Tuesday and other than a dozen Tibetan Monks at my front door dancing the Polka, I can't think of a better reason to do a tidbits.

* It was a mere 18,776 days ago that the world celebrated my entrance into this world, OK, maybe no one celebrated but I was born then.

* It has been 3,999 days since I graduated from West Virginia University with my degree in Geography.

* Mine and Michelle's first date was 2,600 days ago. It was Pizza and a movie on the agenda for that evening.

* It was 1,824 days ago that I got down on one knee and proposed marriage to my wonderful wife.

* 1,361 days ago we exchanged our marital vows in front of our closest family and friends at the Marilla Center.

* I have about 6,031 days or so to go, give or take a few hundred here or there, until I enter the world of retirement. You know you are starting to get old when you are a member of AARP and counting that down. I guess I'm a few days beyond my teen aged years.

* My Goodbye 2015 blog will post in 247 more days. I still have a lot of time to add content before I reflect upon my year.

* If you haven't started  Christmas shopping, you still have 241 to accomplish your goals.

* If you are counting down to your favorite blog authors birthday, it's only a mere 217 days away.

* In 138 more days Michelle and I as well as Dani and Roy will be heading out on our cruise to the Western Caribbean once again.

* In 130 more days the WVU Football team opens their 2015 season against Georgia Southern here in Morgantown.

* The day I didn't think we would see this year, there are only 107 more days to go until Jimmy Buffett actually plays Pittsburgh once again. The late announcement had everyone worrying if he was going to play the Burgh this year. We plan on being there once again this year.

* There are only 100 days to go until mine and Michelle's Fourth Wedding Anniversary.

* The big summer family picnic is only 61 days away. I'm starting to get excited for it, trying to come up with some ideas for this years picnic that will make it fun and enjoyable for everyone.

* There are only 54 more days to go until Summertime. My second favorite season of the year with Spring coming in at #1. Yes, Winter is still dead last on my list.

* In a mere 20 more days my Niece Brittany will be graduating from West Virginia University with a degree in Communications. She already has a job interview lined up at Ruby Memorial for Customer Service Representative for Dental. Good luck on the interview.

* In 6 short days, Buffett tickets go on sale  at Live Nation.

* This is the 4,034th blog post that I have written for George's Journal in a little bit over a decade of writing it.

* Once again there was no work done to the Family Site, the weather is too nice is my excuse and it's something I prefer to do when the weather is colder outside and the days are shorter.

* Nothing new to report on the Brother search for this week. I really need to start moving forward on this.

* I see my niece Amy and her Husband Ralphie have a mini-vacation planned in the near future. They are going to be heading to Amish Country by themselves to spend a little time together.

* I think my wonderful wife is getting upset with those who deliver packages. They tend to not deliver them to the address that we provide and this is happening more and more lately.

* I did get a chance to talk to my Mom yesterday, I share my Youtube Video Channels with her. One and even my old one so in other words both accounts.

* Have a Great Day

* Hi ho hi ho

Monday

Well it's that time of the week again, time to stop all of the fun stuff that we do on the weekends and start to put our noses back on the grindstone for another fun filled week at the office. Monday's are everyone's least favorite day of the week, so let's get this thing started off right.

Looking at our week ahead, Michelle is going to have to have her fourth follow up surgery this week. This will be the fourth time that they are going to have to go in inflate the balloon in the exit of her stomach to open it back up. To say that this is starting to get old is an understatement, they screwed up and she has to suffer through this time and time again. Maybe it's time to start talking to an attorney to see if we have any legal options.

Chad has been working at PetCo and him and Laiah are talking about moving to Morgantown this summer, he's thinking about taking all on-line classes or classses he can do here at the Morgantown Campus. I know they had talked about moving up north to Monaca after this semster, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see what they do.

Hayley and Josh are going to move to the Domain  behind Hollywood cinemas. Her and Josh and a friend of Josh's are all talking about moving in there and giving up their current apartment in South Park.

Let's get this week started.

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday Morning

Here I sit yet once again in a quiet household., I'm the first one to recover from that losing battle with the dreaded Sandman last night and I'm up early collecting my thoughts for the day and surfing the net. Some movie is playing on the TV, but I have no idea what it is, it could be Godzilla playing on HBO.

We didn't get into too much yesterday, we did go to Fairmont and have lunch at Muriales and did get a nice little surprise. We were eating our lunch in the bar as we usually do and the waiter wat down another couple at the table right beside ours. It was none other than Fairmont's own Mary Lou (Retton) Kelley and her Husband Shannon Kelley. We had to fight off the the shock and want to say hello and grab a picture, but we had to respect the fact that she was simply our to lunch with her Husband and respected her privacy.  Their daughter Shayla Kelley is a member of the National Gymnastics Championship Baylor Bears, but she was not with them nor were any of her sisters. I had seen her in person before, Michelle had not.

So much for yesterday's excitement considering I did watch the WVU Scrimmage.I can't say that I have ever been this discouraged about a team coming our of a Spring as I was about yesterdays scrimmage. This offense looks like it is going to have trouble sustaining drives, but that is just my quick observation. The defense played well, but against an anemic Offense a little league team would have played well. I have a feeling this is going to be a sub .500 year with no bowl game for the Football team. I hope they prove me wrong.

Todays plans are just our normal routine. Going shopping here this morning and getting our normal chores done for the week in preparation for the upcoming week of work.

One thing we did find yesterday is that Morgantown has a new bread store like the old wonder bread store we used to have. Schwebels has opened at The West Run Business Park on 119 on Point Marion Road. We stopped by last night, it's remind you of the old wonder bread store as they have many discounted breads and cakes.

Have a great day.

Saturday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit yet once again, up in the early AM in a quiet household. I'm up early once again collecting my thoughts for the day and watching 8 Mile on HBO and trying to wake up while surfing the net.

Michelle has an optometrist appointment early this morning and after that we have nothing planned for the day, but that can always and usually changes depending on the weather.

The WVU Spring Game is this afternoon, I used to go to these every year, but have slacked off in the past few since Oliver Luck became the Athletic Director. Not a concision protest, it's usually the weather being less than cooperative or it was on a Friday Night or it was just us not wanting to deal with the hassle.

Michelle is going to have to go in to have her stomach stretched once again this week. This is going to be the fourth time that they have had to do that. When they do it she feels fine for a while then it keeps contracting causing her a whole lot of pain and discomfort. She's getting really frustrated and discouraged despite all the weight loss she has had. Hopefully this will be the last time and she can start to live pain and discomfort free.

Have a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

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 we had talked about traveling this weekend, however it's supposed to rain tomorrow plus my wonderful wife has an optometrist appointment early tomorrow morning, so we will probably be staying close to the Morgantown area tomorrow. There is the WVU Spring Game that is taking place tomorrow and I do have an interest in watching some of it to see how we are progressing, I may just DVR it and watch it later.

If you are looking for something to do this weekend other than the Gold-Blue Game tomorrow, the WVU Baseball team is taking on Kansas in a Big XII series this weekend at the Monongalia County Ballpark. Hopefully the weather may cooperate with them.

The big news I got yesterday? Jimmy Buffett is coming to Pittsburgh!!!!!! August 13th and the tickets to the general public go on sale May 3rd.

No big plans for Michelle and I this evening, dinner and shopping at Sam's Club this evening is on our agenda for the evening just like every other Friday.

Have a Great Day

Hi ho hi ho

Photo Flashback Thursday

Once a week I like to take a little bit of time out to look through all of the pictures that I have either captured with a camera, scanned or just stolen off of the internet through the years. I like to find just one lost moment in time to post up and briefly relive here with everyone reading my blog. Sometimes this is a pretty easy task and sometimes it's not so easy, it has and always be a whole lot of fun.

This weeks picture goes back nearly six years, it was Hayley's Sweet Sixteenth Birthday Party that we held at the house. We kind of surprised her that day as she did not expect it. We invited a few of her friends over and a bunch of family members and I think we pulled it off with very limited resources.

We had just moved here a few months earlier and this was really our first get together at the house since we moved. Hayley turning 16 seemed like a real good opportunity to have a number of people over.

It seems like this was just yesterday, but she's getting ready to turn 22 here in the very near future.

Have a great day

Hi ho hi ho

Hump Day

She had to have her picture taken with the big blue moose. 

Well that is two days down, now if we can just make it up over this noon time hump, you can see the dawn of another fun filled weekend off in the distance. Just on the other side of a photo flashback we can see that dawn starting to peek through the work week.

Well it looks like we are not going to be traveling this weekend, so no road trips on the agenda. Michelle is trying to schedule an optometrist appointment and I would kind of like to watch the Gold Blue Game that will be played this Saturday.

Michelle has been really busy this week at work so far, I guess taking a couple of days off to go to Canada has gotten her behind. She has approved her Notary Public Seal and should be receiving them some time in the very near future. She is going to have one at work and have one at the house just in case. Of course we'll lock it up in the safe, but if anyone needs something Notarized  Michelle could very well be your quick and handy resource to get it accomplished.

Have a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Well Monday is over with, now that we have the week started I can't think of a better reason to do a tidbits.

* It was 18,769 days ago that I was fortunate enough to come into this earth and I have been very fortunate each day that I have lived and I feel blessed for each new day I am presented.

* It was a short 3,992 days ago that I Graduated from West Virginia University with my Degree in Geography.

* 2,593 days ago my life changed for the good forever as Michelle and I went out on our first date.

* 1,817 days ago I needed t make it a little more permanent with Michelle so I  proposed marriage.

* It was 1,354 days ago in front of our closest family and friends at the Marilla Center that Michelle and I had our wedding and exchanged our vows.

* I have around 6,068 or so days, give or take a few hundred here or there until I retire.

* I have 254 more days of content to write and choose from before my Goodbye 2015 blog is posted. This is my last blog post of every year and it reflects upon the previous year based on my blog.

* There are only 248 more shopping days left to go until Christmas.

* If you are counting, there are 224 more days to go until my birthday.

* Eagerly counting down the next 145 days before we set sail on our next cruise aboard the Carnival Pride. This will be mine and Michelle's fourth straight year taking this particular cruise out of Baltimore.

* There are only 138 days to go until WVU starts their 2015 Football season with a game against Georgia Southern.

* There are only 107 days to go until Michelle and I celebrate our Fourth Wedding Anniversary

* There are only 68 more days to go until we have the big family picnic for 2015 at Krepps Park.

* There are only a mere 61 days to go until  Summer. I'm in no rush, I absolutely love the Springtime as it is my favorite season of the year.

* Counting down the final 26 days until my niece Brittany's Graduation from West Virginia University.

* This is the 4,028th blog post that I have written for George's Journal in the older than a decade strong blog.

* No work done on the Hall Family Tree this week. I do need to get out to a few graveyards and get some pictures of tombstones to add to the Find a Grave site that I am going to tie into the family tree. Weather has been too nice so it's taking a hiatus.

* Nothing new on the brother search this week, still waiting to hear back for confirmation from Carol. I may start to move ahead without confirmation and guess that it occurred in Pennsylvania.

* I have to start thinking about our next Road Trip. We are both thinking a day trip to Amish Country in Ohio, but nothing is set yet with that. Ohiopyle could be a potential trip as well as even something like the Cass Scenic Railroad or a state park somewhere in West Virginia. So many places to see and go.

* Michelle did run into a little trouble in Canada this past weekend, she is allergic to Coconut and we bought some truffles that were made with coconut oil. Her hands started swelling and itching.

* The WVU Football Gold-Blue Spring game will be held this Saturday at Mylan Puskar Stadium at Mountaineer Field.

* The Final Morgantown Winter Farmer's Market was held this past weekend, the normal Farmer's Market  will restart for the year on May 2nd meaning this coming Saturday will be the last non-market day until November. I love the farmers market.

* The WVU Men's Baseball team is playing Marshall this evening at 6:00. If you haven't gotten the chance to check out the new Stadium yet, this may be a good opportunity to watch the Mountaineers whip up on the Thundering Herd.

*  Chad started his new job at Petco this past week. He has a passion for reptiles so this is a job he can enjoy.

* Have a Great Day

* Hi ho hi ho

No More Weekend (sadness)

It's time for us to put our weekend (an extended one in mine and Michelle's case) into our memory banks and start looking ahead. Now it's that dreaded day of the week that we head back into the office and do what it is that we do for a living that allows us to live the lifestyles we live. It's time to go back to work for the week again.

Well I pre-wrote a number of blogs last week and missed a big work announcement about our contract. The team we were teamed with did not win the contract and Lockheed Martin did. Now we know who won, now it's just a waiting game on to see how all the cards fall when it comes to employment. My company is going to try to team with them, but there are no guarantees and I honestly don't know what is going to happen at this point. It's in the early stages of the announcement and the transition period needs to happen quickly to meet the new contract start date. I'll keep everyone updated obviously.

Yesterday was just a simple day of relaxation from all the travel and preparing to head back into work. Looking at my calender for the week it looks to be pretty open and nothing planned as of yet, but we all know that can change rather quickly.lol

Now we start the planning on what we are going to get into this coming weekend. I know Michelle and I have talked about heading out to Amish Country in Ohio in the very near future.

Have a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

We're Back

Here I am once again in a quiet household, I'm the first one to recover from getting knocked out by that dreaded Sandman last night and I'm up early watching The Longest Yard on Netflix and collecting my thoughts for the day.

Well yesterday was a long one to say the least, three states, two countries and I don't know how many pictures from our trip that needed uploaded. Not to mention that we did our Sam's shopping, washed two dirty cars, unpacked and got everything back to normal around the house.

We had a great trip, we really enjoyed ourselves and this is in fact my first live blog in a while. The internet connection was horrible and and inconsistent everywhere we went. It was like going back into the stone age of dialup for a connection. I had to turn my phones cellular service off while we were in Canada because AT&T knew I was no longer in the United States and wanted to bill me astronomically for usage.

One of the highlights other than seeing the falls and riding the Skywheel was going through Louis Tussaud’s Wax Museum and seeing all of the wax figures of so many celebrities and political figures. If anyone ever goes has the opportunity I highly advise it.

Everyone suggested and asked if we rode the Maid of the Mist, I honestly did not see the first boat from either the US side or the Canadian side out in the Niagara River or anywhere near the falls. So the answer is no we did not ride on any of those boats during our trip as no one was riding any of those boats. It might have been because such big chunks of ice were still present and they did not want to risk anyone's safety.

Now it's back to normal for us, grocery shopping and getting ready to go back to work tomorrow. It has been a busy extended weekend to say the least, fun filled as well. '

Have a great day.

We're Coming Home

We have had a great time here at Niagara Falls, I'll probably go into a little more detail in another blog as well as post up a number of stories and pictures to share.

I usually do my weekend blogs live, but I will confess that this one is one that I have pre-written just in case we have had internet troubles.

We'll be heading back out on the road this morning and heading on down the highway back to the Country Roads that we call home in West Virginia.

We have made some memories together and we will share all of them with everyone once we actually get home and know I have a solid internet connection. '

Wish us safe travels, it's back to the good ole U S of A and West Virginia.

It's a Big Ole Niagara Falls Kind of Day

Well it's a different kind of Friday for Michelle and I as we are on a mini-vacation. We are here at Niagara Falls and we are staying on the Canadian side for this trip.

We traveled up yesterday and plan on returning home tomorrow, but for today it is going to be a day of seeing one of natures most marvelous beauties for Michelle and I as we explore Niagara Fall for the first time together up close.

This is the first time either one of us has been here and we are both pretty excited about being here. We may take a trip on Maid of the Mist or one of the other charters, but something tells me whether it be by rain or mist from the falls that we are not going to stay completely dry today.

I'll be sure to share my pictures if I am able to with everyone, depending on what kind of an internet connection that we have.

Enjoy your day at work and prepare for your weekend as we are already enjoying ours.

Photo Flashback Thursday

The siblings through the years

Once a week I like to take a little bit of time out, time to reflect through all of my pictures that I have either captured with a camera, scanned or stolen off of the internet through the years. One little lost moment in time to post up and reflect upon for all to share. Sometimes this is a pretty easy task and sometimes it's not that easy, it has and always will be a whole lot if fun however.

I think of all the Photo Flashbacks I have ever done, this is the first time that I actually edited pictures to make another one. This one is quite special to me as it has only happened four time before, and that is when all of my siblings have gotten together to pose for a picture. The one in the upper left is from 1978 and a picnic at my Grandmothers house. The one on the top right happened at my Sister Pam's wedding in I think 1987. The lower left was the day of my Dad's funeral in 1999 and the one on the lower right was from Christmas 2007.

Four different pictures, four different decades, four different places. Hopefully this Summer we will have yet another chance to take another one of these pictures and even in the fifth consecutive different decade...lol (Hint hint)

Last week there was a siblings day and I had this picture joining application on my phone that I decided to put to good use. This will be the first place that this particular picture is presented as it ws not uploaded to facebook...yet.

Have a Great Day ans wish us safe travels.

Hump Day...kind of

Well for everyone else this is Hump day, the day of the week when you get up over that hump and start looking to another fun filled weekend. For Michelle and I however this is our Friday as we are off the rest of the week as we prepare and pack for our trip to Niagara Falls tomorrow.

I am probably going to pre-write a few blogs as Michelle and I take a little mini-vacation over the next few days. Not sure about my internet service, but I imagine that I will have it. I would just rather be ready and have something posting and then maybe post a live blog that day if I get around to it talking about the day. I think pre-writing them is in my plans for right now however just to cover my tracks.

This evening Michelle and I will be packing and getting ready to head out sometime tomorrow morning. We're planning on taking our time and not rushing as it will be a nice long drive of a little over 300 miles to get there or about 5 hours of driving time not including time for restroom breaks and to grab a bite to eat for lunch as to not rush ourselves. I know we are both ready for this mini-vacation.

Have a great day and lets get this party started.

Hi ho hi ho

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Well that dreaded thing we all refer to as Monday is now behind us and we are staring straight down the barrel of a beautiful Tuesday. Can't think of a better reason than that to do a tidbits.

* It has been a remarkable 18,762 days since my birth, I count each and every one of them as a blessing and am thankful every morning that that total continues to grow.

* It was 3,985 days ago that I had my Graduation my WVU. It was an honor to me and an accomplishment that I started late on, but did finish.

* It was 2,586 days ago that Michelle and I went out on our First Date.

* It has been 1,810 days since I got down on one knee and proposed marriage to a woman who would later become my wife.

* It was only 1,347 days ago that we partied down and feasted at our Wedding, a magical day in my life for sure.

* I have about 6,075 days to go until I enter the world of Retirement, give or take a few hundred here or there.

* There are 261 more days left for content for me to fill up my Goodbye 2015 with.

* If you haven't started yet, you still have 255 more shopping days left until Christmas.

* 231 more days to go until my Birthday.

* There are only 152 more days to go until we go on our 2015 Cruise. We will be joined by Michelle's sister Dani and her Husband Roy on this years trip.

* There are only 114 days to go until mine and Michelle's Fourth Wedding Anniversary.

* 75 days to go and counting for the 2015 family picnic at Krepps Park. Do you believe it has been 63 days since I reserved it? Time is flying pretty quickly.

* There are only 68 more days to go until the official start of Summer.

* There are only 33 days to go until my niece Brittany Graduates from WVU joining me as an Alumnus.

* Niagara Falls is only 2 days away, it's time to start pre-writing some blogs and planning out our activities. I'm really excited to make this trip.

* I have written a total of 4,021 Blogs for George's Journal since it first appeared over 10 1/2 years ago.

* I did find a tidbit of information out this past week, my nephew Calvin and his Girlfriend are engaged to be married. He stopped by last Thursday for a visit and let me know that as well as he is kicking butt this semester in College pulling some crazy credit hours.

* Nothing new on the Brother Search, still waiting to hear back from Carol about confirmation of the state everything took place in. I'm about 99% sure it was in Pennsylvania, but I want confirmation first. I do know all the relevant information.

* No work done on the Hall Family Tree this week. I do need to get out to a few graveyards and get some pictures of tombstones to add to the Find a Grave site that I am going to tie into the family tree.

* My niece Amy is still trying to sell tickets to a fundraiser dinner for this weekend.

* Val did tell me that the kids birthday party this year was going to June 13th this year at her house.

* The WVU Baseball team is taking on Penn State this evening at 6:00 at Monongalia County Ballpark if you're needing something to do this evening.

* Anyone have any additional ideas for group get togethers this summer? Maybe a night at the ballpark one Saturday evening to watch a Baseball game. Blackbears? Pirates? Smaller picnic at some place like Ohiopyle?

* Have a great day

* Hi ho hi ho

Monday

It's gone again, that wonderful thing that we enjoy so much and work towards every week, the time when you take off from work and enjoy the fruits of your labors a little is now over. Yes I am referring to that wonderful thing that we refer to as the weekend. It's now in our recent memories as we look ahead towards getting back to the office and back to work for the week.

I can't say this weekend wasn't fun, because it was both fun and we got a number of things down around the house as well. We ended our weekend by cooking a few Brats on the grill and enjoying the evening. We did go to Lowes and get a new bag of Cowboy Charcoal as well as a couple 20 lb bags of kingsford for our regular BBQing. The Cowboy Charcoal we use when we make steaks and need to seer in the flavor, we use the other stuff for pretty much everything else including when we do our smoking.

The week ahead is going to be a short one for both Michelle and I as we are only working three days this week before we head out to Niagara Falls on Thursday morning. Nothing eventful on my calender other than we are making the switch from Groupwise to Office 365 at work, so there will be some acclimating and getting used to another client this week. I've used both before, I just haven't used Outlook for about six years. I imagine it will be just like riding a bike.

Have a Great Day.

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit once again in a quiet household, I'm the first one to recover from a losing battle with that dreaded Sandman and I'm up early watching some X-Men movie on HBO and collecting my thoughts for the day.

Our little Houseguests have went back home, Michael and Ashley made it back from Cacun last night and both puppies were very happy to seer them. They will be missed but something tells me that they will be down for their morning treats here in the very near future.

I was playing with a picture joiner app yesterday and grabbed this picture of Michelle from when we started our weight loss journey until yesterday. She is down I think she said 84 pounds since last May and looks absolutely fabulous. I need to get back on my weight loss and calorie tracking as this past Winter I've backslid considerably.

No plans for today other than our normal Sunday shopping and getting ready for the short work week we have in front of us. We'll be heading out on another Road Trip later this week as we head to Niagara Falls for a couple of days.

I hope everyone has a great Sunday.

Saturday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit in the early morning, the household is very quiet as we were all up late last at the Monongalia Ballpark watching the Mountaineers defeat Butler 6-5 in 13 innings. It was a Great Night to Be a Mountaineer.

If you have not had the chance to partake in the new BallPark yet, fear not you will have many opportunities in the coming months. For those of us that were there last night we got our first look at the dream we have been hearing about. The stadium is very nicely laid out, the bathrooms are huge, there are a couple of concession stands, replay TV's and even places to plug your phone in to let it charge. The view is absolutely majestic and even though it is not completed yet, the place has that baseball feel.

Game two of the series is this afternoon at 4:00 then followed by a game Sunday at 1:00 to finish out the three game series. Tuesday night at 7:00 we will be taking on Penn State before opening up Big XII home play next weekend against Oklahoma. If you get the chance, you should go and check it out, baseball is alive and well in Morgantown thanks to a few dreamers and a great coach.

We have no plans as of yet today, I promised Michelle that I would not wake her up early today and there are no road trips this weekend. She had a long day yesterday and was right by my side the entire time, so she has more than earned the right to sleep in this morning.

Road trip coming up this week though when we head to Niagara Falls.

Have a Great day and go watch some baseball.

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 it is finally here, the day that we have all been talking about for a couple of years now when discussions of a new Baseball Park for Monongalia County were first being discussed. The facility has now been completed to the point where we can play in it and that all starts this evening at 6:00 when the West Virginia Mountaineers take on Butler with the official opening of Monongalia County Ballpark.

Tickets are $6.00 each for along the baselines and $7.00 each for tickets behind home plate. I'm hoping to make it to the game tonight, but I if I don't I would at least like to attend one of the games. I've been going to Mountaineer Baseball games for years and this is like Christmas for me. Hopefully we can get a great turnout for the entire weekends worth of games.

I'll also be attending a few minor league games there this summer when the West Virginia Blackbears open their season.

Have a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Photo Flashback Thursday

Here we are once again, at a day where I take a little bit of time out and go through all of the pictures that I have either taken, scanned or stolen of the internet through the years and kept. Little precious lost moments in time that I post and relive briefly for all to share. Sometimes finding that one special picture is pretty easy, and sometimes it is a real challenge. One thing however that it always seems to be is a whole lot of fun.

With our 2015 Spring trip coming up next weekend, I thought I would relive out 2014 Spring Trip to Washington DC last year when Michelle and I went down and hit the Cherry Blossom Festival just perfect.

Ironically, these are not Cherry Blossoms and this is not the Tidal Basin, this is at the opposite end of the National Mall and at the US Capital Building. I can't remember the name of the trees (Michelle could tell you as she is quit versed on tree species) but it smelled great and it was absolutely beautiful, so I grabbed a picture of them.

We had just finished walking the National Mall and had visited two of the Smithsonian Museums (National Archives and Air and Space Museum) and we on our way back to Union Station a few blocks from the Capital when we grabbed this shot.

DC has been our spring trip the past two years and there is still plenty to see, but we're changing it up a little this year.

Have a Great Day.

Hi ho hi ho

Hump Day

Well that is two days that we now have down, now if we can just get up over this noon time hump and look just on the other side of a Photo Flashback, we can see the dawn of another fun filled weekend off in the distance.

I have actually contemplated about making today's blog a Wisdom Wednesday, but have decided that I would just do a normal blog today. The only real excitement that we know of right now is that Pearl is going in for Service and an Oil Change today. The car is 44 months old and only has about 33,000 miles on it, I guess you can say when we trade it in it will be considered low milage..lol

Michelle has ordered some very useful things for our cruise this week. A nice surge suppressor with two USB ports to charge our iPhones. A Luggage carrier so that we can put most of the luggage onto one dolly for embarkation and debarkation and these little wired luggage tags to put our luggage tags into instead of just taping them up. She has really been on top of things, plus she got Danni and Roy a Faster to the Fun so check in, tendering and getting off the ship will be much easier for us.

Have a great Day

Hi ho hi ho

Tuesday's Tidbits

* That dreaded day of the week that we all don't like (Monday) is now behind us ans we are staring straight down the barrel of a Tuesday. Can't think of a better reason that that to do a tidbits.

* It was 18,755 days ago that I entered this world for the first time. My mom evicted me from my home from the previous 9 months and said get living. 

* 3,978 days ago I Graduated from West Virginia University, a lifelong dream of mine that I had had while growing up. Better late than never is all I can say. 

* 2,579 days ago Michelle and I finally went on our first date, it was pizza and a horrible movie, but it was the company that made the night memorable.

* It was 1,803 days ago that I got down on one knee and proposed marriage to Michelle, she accepted. 

* 1,340 days ago in front of our closest friends and family we had our wedding at the Marilla Center.

* I have about 6,082 days to go until I retire, give or take a few hundred here or there. 

* There are 268 more days that I have to write content before my Goodbye 2015 Blog posts. 

* You have only 262 more shopping days left until Christmas, you still have plenty of time, but it's always nice to start planning and getting ready. 

* There are only 238 more days to go until my Birthday later this year. 

* There are only 159 more days to go until we set out on our 2015 Cruise, the price went down again so being we paid off the cruise when we booked it, we now have $250 of on board credit (They give you on board credit rather than giving you your money back right then). $50 Promotional from our booking, $150 in Price reductions and the $50.00 Michelle had previously pre-purchased for on board credits. 

* We have 121 days to go until our Fourth Wedding Anniversary later this year. 

* There are only 82 more days to go util the 2015 picnic at Krepps Park, if you haven't confirmed that you are going yet please do so we can get at least a semi-accurate head count as the date approaches. Does anyone have any ideas for games or anything? 

* In 75 more days it is going to officially be Summertime!!!!!!

* In only 40 more days we will be attending my niece Brittany's Graduation from West Virginia University. She will be joining me as an Alumnus of our hometown University. 

* There are only 9 days left until Michelle and I leave for Niagara Falls. We are both excited about this trip as it will be the first time either one us has been there. 

* This is my 4,014th blog post that I have written in my 10 1/2 years of writing George's Journal. That's a great deal of my life to expose on the internet. 

* No updates this week on the Brother Search or the Family Website. 

* Yesterday was Opening Day for Major League baseball. Go Bucs!!!!

* The NCAA Men's Basketball Championship was played last night, between that and the Women's Championship this evening that will conclude the 2014-5 College Basketball Season for both Men's and Women's. 

* The WVU Men's Baseball team opens up the new Mountaineer Baseball Park this weekend with a 3 Game Series against Butler. First game will be Friday Evening at 6:00. 

* I have to say, reflecting a little bit back to this past weekend, that you can find some really good deals in Amish Country at the Summit Country Market. One example is I usually buy these things Jimmy Dean Sausage Crumbles that you can buy from about any local grocery store. an 8 oz (half pound) package is usually between $4.00-$5.00 in price depending on where you buy them. I found a 5 lb bag of sausage crumbles in Amish Country for $7.00. Well worth the trip. 

* It's probably going to be a sty home weekend for us coming up. With the Niagara trip coming up the following week, the opening of the new ball park and us dog sitting for the weekend, it might be time for a nice relaxing weekend around home. 

* I did see someone mowing their Grass this past weekend. Seen snow up in the mountains and someone mowing their grass in Morgantown, what a day...lol

* We'll be watching the season Finale of Better Call Saul tonight, as a big Breaking Bad fan I just had to watch this spin off. I DVR'd it last night and we'll watch it this evening.

* Have a Great Day

* Hi ho hi ho 

Happy Birthday Terri Rehmani

I would like to take this opportunity out to wish my beautiful sister Terri Rehmani a very Happy Birthday today.

I'm not sure what Nick has planned for her today or even if they have any plans at all on this day, but I'm quite sure they either will have or will celebrate her birthday together this past or this coming weekend.

Terri is a special kind of sister, one who was there for me at the darkest time in my life to pick my butt up and set me back on the right track and has always been there for me unconditionally. You couldn't ask for a better sister.

If you happen to see my wonderful sister today, make sure that you take a little bit of time out and wish her the Happiest of Birthdays today.

Happy Birthday Terri.

Back to Work

Well that fun filled weekend is now over with, and it is time to stick our nosed back on those dreaded Grindstones for another week of doing what it is we do for a living.

Looking at the week ahead, Michelle will get a call today as they are going to be scheduling another surgery for her to expand the lower part of her stomach that has constricted yet once again. This will be the third time that she will have to have had this procedure, hopefully this will be the final time as she seems to keep getting better and better with each time they do it.

We're going to have Pearl taken in and serviced this week, we're going to be traveling the weekend after the one coming, heading to Niagara Falls for a few days. Pearl is due to be serviced, so we wanted to get that taken care of before we do any extensive traveling.

We had an uneventful day yesterday, just made a small delicious dinner at home and shored the time with my beautiful and wonderful wife.

Have a Great Day

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday Morning Ramlings

Here I sit once again in a semi-quiet household, Rocky and Lilly are hearing Michael and Ashley and are up and around. They are getting ready to head to the airport for vacation, hence why we are dog sitting this week. I'm up watching Taxi Cab Confessions on HBO and collecting my thoughts for the day on the Easter Sunday.

We did have a little bit of excitement in the Valley yesterday, a BMW Ran into one of Patty's Rental Properties  yesterday afternoon, essentially shutting this portion of the Valley Down. Fortunately no one was living there at this time and no one ended up getting hurt. thankfully. Hence why Michael and Ashley are leaving this morning rather than last night for their early morning flight this morning.

We had a great day yesterday and a pretty productive one. We had Grocery shopping done, traveled to Grantsville (actually Summit PA) and had the breakfast buffet at The Casselman  and were back in West Virginia by Noon. It was a productive day to say the very least.

Today's plans are simply to prepare our Easter Dinner here at home. There is no place we need to go, nothing we need to do and are just simply going to have a relaxing day.

I hope everyone has a Great Easter Sunday, and once again for anyone traveling today, please be safe.

Have a Great Day.

A Busy Saturday

Here I sit once again in a quiet household, I'm the first one to recover from that losing battle with the Sandman last night and am up collecting my thoughts for the day and watching As Good As It Gets on TV.

Being that tomorrow is Easter Sunday, we are going to have a pretty busy day today. We're going to run out and do our Sunday Grocery shopping today, since most places will be closed tomorrow morning we're going to get those kind of things done today. This will also include a trip to New Day Bakery as we do every Sunday.

We're going to run to Maryland and Amish Country. There are some Amish Made Jellies up there that I have grown quite fond of and we are going to pick up a few and stock up. Best Jellies ever, I can't even stand to eat anything store bought anymore they are that good. When combined with the best breads ever from New Day, absolute perfection.

We will be getting a couple of house guests for the week today. Rocky and Lilly will be coming to stay with us for the week as the kids are on Spring Break. We're going to party down all week with the puppies.

The WVU Women's Basketball team is playing for the NIT Championship this afternoon in Charleston. The game will be held there because the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Regional Championships are being held at the Coliseum today if you are looking for something else to do around town.

Congratulations to WVU Basketball Coach Bob Huggins for being named the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year yesterday in Indianapolis, where the Final 4 Semi-Finals are being held today.

It's going to be a busy day, If you are traveling stay safe.

Have a great day.  

Big Ole Hairy Good 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 Good Friday.

Well as stated today is Good Friday, and starts the the holiest time of the year for those of the Christian faith culminating Easter Sunday. To all of those traveling this weekend, there is probably going to be a great deal of traffic on the roads so please allow yourself a little extra time and get there and back safely.

Michelle and I are just going to do something small at the house for the two of us this Sunday, which means most of if not all of our chores will get done today and tomorrow rather than our normal schedule as I'm sure most places will be closed on Sunday for Easter.

We are just one week away from WVU playing their first baseball game being played at the New Monongalia County Ball Park. I have been waiting for this place to open ever since it was first announced a couple of years ago that it was going to be built.

The WVU Women's Basketball team will play for the NIT Championship tomorrow afternoon in Charleston when they take on UCLA. The game is being played in Charleston because the WVU Coliseum is hosting the NCAA Regional Qualifying Championships this weekend as well. A busy weekend for women athletes at WVU to say the very least.

Have a Great Day

Hi hi ho ho

The REAL Photo Flashback Thursday

It is now that time once again (after my April Fools Prank yesterday) time for me to take a little bit of time out and really look through all of my pictures that I have ether captured with a lens, scanned or just stolen off of the internet through the years. Little lost moments in time that I like to post up and relive right here for all of you. Sometimes this is a pretty easy task and sometimes it's pretty difficult, it is however always a whole lot of fun (even on April Fools Day).

With yesterday's prank, I feel I need to do a real tribute to a Jimmy Buffet concert from days gone by. This is a picture of my Lovely Wife Michelle with Jean at her last Buffet concert that she attended. She had prepared so much food that we were feeding everyone in the parking lot who wanted to eat. That's just the way she did things.

Jean had a great time at the concerts that she did make it to, which was two of them. This one and the year prior when she and my brother Gary went. Jean never stopped dancing and lived it to the absolute fullest.

No word on Jimmy coming to Pittsburgh in 2015, it's a sad year to be a Parrot Head.

Hi ho hi ho

Photo Flashback Thursday

Once a week I like to take a little bit of time out and look through all of the pictures that I have stored on my computer. Little lost moments in time that I have either captured with a camera, scanned from an image or just plain stolen off of the internet. I like to post one up and briefly relive it here and share my memories with everyone. Sometimes this is a pretty easy task and sometimes you do struggle, one thing it always is is a whole lot of fun.

Fins up Parrot Heads, Jimmy Buffet has announced that he will be playing his annual concert in Pittsburgh this year after all. It has been announced that he will be playing June 31st at Burgettestown, the same facility that he has played for year with the exception of 2005 when it was at PNC Park.

It's time to celebrate and party with Jimmy!!!!!