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!!!!!

Tuesday's Tidbits

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

* It was a mere 18,748 days ago that my Mother went into the delivery room and gave birth to this blogger.

* It was 3,971 days ago that I actually fulfilled a lifetime dream and graduated from West Virginia University. I was much older than the average Freshman at age 35, but I've never regretted it.

* 2,572 days ago I took Michelle out on out first date,

* 1,796 days ago I got down on one knee and proposed marriage to this wonderful woman who would later become my wife.

* 1,333 days ago, in front of our closest family and friends, Michelle and I exchanged our wedding vows.

* I have about 6,089 more days to go, give or take a few hundred here or there until I enter into the world of retirement.

* In 275 more days my Goodbye 2015 Blog will post here.

* If you haven't started your Christmas Shopping yet, you still have 269 more shopping days left to go until it's too late.

* I've got 245 days to go until my birthday, or should I say the anniversary of my Birthday. =)

* In 166 more days Michelle and I will be setting sail yet once again on our cruise. I did get lucky enough to get a Faster to the Fun pass again yesterday, we had one last year and it was worth it.

* We have 128 days to go until Michelle and I celebrate our Fourth Wedding Anniversary this Summer.

* The big family picnic is a mere 89 days away. I'm looking forward to celebrating this day once again this year, it was definitely a highlight of last year.

* Summer is only 82 days away. YES!!!!!!!!! (and I STILL Hate Snow)

* There are only 47 more days until Brittany's Graduation, I'm excited to see her do her walk and receive her Degree.

* There are only 16 more days left until Michelle and I leave for Niagara Falls. Neither one of us has ever been there and we are both really excited about this trip.

* This is my 4,006th Blog that I have written for George's Journal in the 10 1/2 years that I have been writing this. I've seen some milestones and life events come and go, that is for sure.

* With this coming weekend being Easter, Michelle and I will have to get our Sunday Chores doen of Saturday. We're planning on doing a small meal at home for the two of us. Her family will be meeting in Monaca, but we are staying home and will be puppy sitting a couple of cute and lovable doggies for the week.

* My niece Amy traveled to Amish Country in Ohio over the weekend, with the pictures that she put she looks like she had a really good time.

* The WVU Women's Basketball team will be playing in the NIT Semi-Finals tomorrow. The game will be held at the WVU Coliseum if you are looking for something to do and need someone to cheer one.

* Michelle will be off today, she has a Doctors Appointment this morning where they are going to check for problems from her surgery and see how everything is flowing. She does appear to be feeling much better, but she has her moments after a meal when she doesn't feel the best.

* Hayley started her new Job yesterday, it's an office job for her and a change of pace from what she was previously used to doing. Hopefully she likes it.

* No news on the Brother search yet, it's we're still waiting on someone to get back to us before we move any further forward.

* The Hall Family Tree sits idle yet once again this week, it's just that time of the year when nothing really gets done to it.

* Have a Great Day

* Hi ho hi ho

Monday

All those good times that we have on those fun filled things called weekends have to come to an end. We have reached that point and it is time to head back to our jobs for another fun filled week of working and doing what we do for a living. The Weekend is over.

Michelle is going back in to the hospital tomorrow, but it's not a surgical procedure and I don't need to be with her. They are going to basically do an Upper GI to see how things look and how they are working. Should be a simple in and back out kind of thing.

In case you have not noticed, the WVU students are back in town from their Spring Break. The school aged kids get their break next week, but everyone is back in the classrooms this week. We're not too far from the University students taking off for the Summer and Graduation. I think it will take that long to properly fix all of the potholes around town.

I did buy a nice portable speaker yesterday. I had my eye on a Bose Soundlink and after reading review after review on this speaker, I decided to invest in one. It has a great sound and hooks up through Blue Tooth, it holds a nice 8 hour charge, so that is big portable sound that we now have. It's going to be great to use in the backyard or on one of our picnics that we like to get away and do.

Not going to get this week completed until we get it started, so have a great day and

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday

Here I sit once again in a quiet household, I have just recovered from that losing battle with the dreaded Sandman last night and I'm up collecting my thoughts for the day and surfing the net. I don't even have the TV on yet so I am literally in total silence other than hearing my fingers tap the keys on my keyboard writing this blog.

We had an adventurous day yesterday, we headed out Route 7 to New Martinsville, West Virginia. The picture you see here is the Mason Dixon Line market indicating the point where it stops right before the Ohio River, just south of Marshall County and edge of Wetzel. It is at its Southwest corner.

Our road trip yesterday also included a stop at DiCarlos Pizza, as it is something Michelle has been craving and the most enjoyable thing she has eaten since her initial surgery this past November. I'm happy to report she did really well with it and no difficulties, we even brought one home,  separated it out and froze it so she can have it as lunches for work. Small manageable portions will make quite a few nice lunches for her.

No plans today other than our grocery shopping and laundry. We were not going to let yesterdays horrible weather keep us down as we were out and about. Michelle knows when I can get out on Saturdays that I am much less cranky than I am during the winter months when daylight is only something I read about as there are no windows in my office...lol

Have a great day.

Saturday Morning Grumblings

"Hot" Rod Hundley

Here I sit once again in a quiet household, I'm the first one to recover from a losing battle with that dreaded Sandman once again and I'm up early collecting my thoughts for the day and surfing the internet. I'm not sure what is playing on TV as I'm honestly not even paying attention.

The West Virginia University community lost one of our all time great legend athletes yesterday. Before there was Jerry West, there was "Hot" Rod Hundley. The basketball star that my father would tell endless stories about as being the clown prince of basketball. He was the first pick in the NBA draft when he was done with college if that tells you how highly he was regarded. but would do some of the craziest antics on the floor.

I remember my Dad telling me once they were playing a game and Hot Rod stole the ball and went in for a layup. Hot Rod immediately went to the concession stand and grabbed a hot dog and a soda and sat down beside the Athletic Director and asked him how he liked the game, all while he was in the game.

Dad would go on and on about this man, but he said when he was serious and wanted to play, he was the best player in the country, hence why his number along with Jerry Wests are the only two retired numbers from WVU Basketball.

I wish I could have seen him play, I know he gave my Dad numerous memories.

RIP "Hot" Rod.

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.

No plans for the weekend yet for us, of course that can always change at the drop of a hat. The past few weekends we've decided what to do at the last possible moment and just went and did it. More spontaneous than planned, so maybe Michelle and I will talk tonight and find something to do tomorrow. The weather looks to be less than cooperative, but that's never stopped us before. I guess it all depends on how Michelle feels tomorrow.

She did take in a couple of large totes of old clothes to her co-workers, there is another tote that should go in today and then she will have cleaned up all of her old clothes that are now way too big for her.

Have a Great Day

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.

This weeks picture goes back almost nine years, back to when the Koon family reunion was held at Uncle Junior's Church. They hold this get together yearly, but I've only made it to this one.

This is a picture of my sister and brother in law, my Mom and my cousin Paul and his wife Vickie. It was taken at the church, but out in the playground area. I had stopped by for a while as this was the last picnic that they were going to have at the church while Junior was still the pastor.

I'm pretty sure that they have semi-permanently moved it closer to Morgantown at Dorsey's Knob and the facilities that they have there.

Have a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

4,000

I have hit a Blogging Milestone. I started to write this blog 10 1/2 years ago with a simple first post on September 11, 2004. It was something new that I heard about, this blogging this and wanted to try it and see how it worked out for me.

This blog has seen the Career of Josh Judy, it has seen my changer jobs a few times, the entire romance and marriage of my wife Michelle. International travel, birthdays, TV shows, WVU sports, 2 Steelers Super Bowl Championships, births, deaths, picnics, trips, gossip, news on family, Opinion, information about the area, and about every other significant event in my life over the last ten and one half years.

That takes one heck of a commitment believe it or not. I've developed themes for days of the week to help with content. The look and feel of the blog however, hasn't changed much other than a few small bells and whistles on the side for reference.

These last 4,000 posts have been a whole lot of fun, here is to the next 4,000 posts.

Thank you for reading.

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Well that dreaded thing called Monday is once again behind us and we are staring once again straight down the barrel of a Tuesday. Can't think of a better reason to do a tidbits.

* 18,741 days ago I was born. That makes me about 21+ years old.

* 3.964 days ago I fulfilled a dream of mine and Graduated from West Virginia University.

* 2,565 days ago I took Michelle out on our first date, she forgave me for the bad movie and all BTW.

* 1,789 days ago I got down on one knee and proposed marriage to Michelle.

* 1,326 days ago at the Marilla Center in front of our closest family and friends we exchanged our wedding vows.

* I only have about 6,096 more days to go until I retire, give or take a few hundred here or there.

* 282 more days until my Goodbye 2015 Blog post where I recall the previous year based on my Blog.

* 276 more shopping days left until Christmas. I did ask the question last week about a big family Christmas and only received two replies and they were both preferred other plans. So I'll let that idea die on the vine.

* In 252 more days it will once again be my 21st Birthday.

* There are only 173 more days to go until we set out on our 2015 Cruise. Michelle's sister Dani and her Husband Roy will be joining us this year on our cruise.

* 135 more days to go until mine and Michelle's fourth Wedding Anniversary.

* We only have 96 more days to go until the 2015 Picnic. I'm getting pretty excited about this.

* Only 89 more days to go until Summertime!!!

* In only 54 more days my niece Brittany will get her Degree and Graduate from West Virginia University.

* In only 23 more days, Michelle and I will leave for Niagara Falls.

* This is the 3,999th Blog post I have written for George's Journal in the 10 1/2 years I have been writing it. Tomorrow's blog will achieve a Milestone for me.

* The WVU Men's Basketball Team has once again advanced to the NCAA Basketball Tournament's Sweet 16. We play #1 ranked and the first and only NCAA Basketball team to go 36-0 in a season when we take on the University of Kentucky this Thursday at 9:45 PM on CBS.

* No work this week on the Family Tree, with Springtime upon us this may mean that this project will be shelved again until this fall when the days get shorter. I did make significant progress through the winter months, but unless I hear anything on the Brother Search which I am still actively pursuing there won't be any new content for a while.

* Still no word on if Jimmy Buffett is coming to Pittsburgh in 2015, I still have my fingers crossed but I'm starting to be a little bit doubtful.

* We are still waiting to hear from KDKA about the Steelers Trivia Tournament for this year. All of us on our team are in, now we are just waiting on the official OK from KDKA.

* The local Baseball Park is just about done, I'm ready to go see the Mountaineers and Black Bears play their 2015 Home Schedules here.

* The price of our cruise dropped yesterday and I was on top of it. WE now have $140.00 of onboard credit already.

* What's with all this White Stuff on the ground? It's Springtime so go away. I Hate Snow.

* Have a Great Day

* Hi ho hi ho

Monday

It's time to stop all the fun that we are having and put our collective noses back on the grindstone for another fun filled week of working. We do this so we can afford to do the things we love to do when we are not in the office. Back at it, no complaining.

It was a pretty good weekend for us, productive to say the least as we got a few things done around the house and ran around a little on Saturday.

You might notice that there is not as much traffic around town this week, the students are on Spring Break and won't be back until next week, so enjoy the time when they are not here. It's only few more weeks until they are all gone for the Summer and we get a few months of them not being here. The bad news is this winter has been rough on the roads so we can probably expect a lot of road repair going on this summer.

Have a Great Day

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday Morning Rambling

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 I'm up watching Sin City on one of the TV stations and collecting my thoughts for yet another day.

Well yesterday we ended up taking another road trip, but one not that far this week as we headed up North to Tanger Outlets and then to Sarris Candies to do a little bit of shopping. I did manage to find one of my childhood favorite candies there in a BB Bat. Inflation is killing us, they used to be 2 for 1¢ I was a kid and now they are 20¢ each. Oh the humanity and inflated prices. It's pretty sad when penny candy is now 20¢.

We did book and pay for our Niagara Falls trip yesterday. We're going up for a couple of days next month to see the falls. We have decided to stay in Canada and found a real nice deal on Groupon which really did save us a ton of money compared to what we did almost pay for the trip. About 1/3 of what we were going ton pay. We are doing it economically as we are just looking for a place to lay our heads a couple of nights. I got two nights cheaper than I got one night in DC plus a bunch of meal coupons, so I'm not complaining. Did get a bunch of advice from a few friends on Facebook, I guess Canada is the way to see the Falls and we did have our Passports since we do travel Internationally when we cruise.

Plans for the day are just to do our routine grocery shopping and finish up the laundry for the week. Michelle got most of it done last night, so there is not much more to do. The Mountaineer Basketball team plays the last game this evening when we take on the Maryland Terrapins to advance to the Sweet 16 to take on the Tournament Favorite Kentucky.

Have a great day.

Saturday Morning Rambling

Here I sit yet once again in a quiet household, I'm the first to recover from that knockout blow by that dreaded Sandman last night. I'm up watching Two for the Money on HBO and collecting my thoughts for the day.

Yesterday was a great day for WVU Sports. The Basketball survived the 5th seed jinx and were the last 5th seed standing and beat Buffalo 68-62 to move on to the NCAA Tournament's second round against the Maryland Terrapins on Sunday night at 8:40 PM. WVU Freshman Wrestler Zeke Moisey won his semi-final match at the NCAA Tournament by Pin in the 1st period to advance to the NCAA Finals this evening. WVU has not had an NCAA Wrestling Champion since Greg Jones graduated and this is our first All-American in Wrestling in quite a few years as well. I was watching the match on the computer and Michelle must have thought I was nuts when I kept slapping the table calling the pin before the referee did.

As for our plans, maybe a little geocaching, who knows since we really have nothing planned for the day yet. That doesn't mean anything however as we could easily get into something.

I know we are talking about booking our Niagara Falls trip today, we were exploring a few options about where to stay and what to do yesterday, I think we are going to finalize it all today and make our reservations. Groupon is always your friend when you are looking to head out to places like this.

Have a great day.

Big Ole Hairy SPRINGTIME!!!!!!!!

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.

OK, It is now OFFICIAL, Winter is over and we have now moved into my favorite season of the year. SPRINGTIME!!!!! I'm ready to listen to the birds a chirping, the flowers and the trees a blooming and that relaxing smell of fresh springtime foliage.

Michelle's procedure went well yesterday, they were a little behind schedule and a little cramped for space, but thanks to Ang everything went well and smooth. Michelle may have to do this again, it's hard to say but she had made monstrous strides since the first time she had this done a couple of weeks ago. We were home a little after noon time and Michelle relaxed the remainder of the day.

No immediate plans for the weekend, something tells me that we are going to do a little bit of Geocaching. but that remains to be seen. It's supposed to be nice and we got our first one last week in Point Pleasant. All I know is winter is behind us, daylight savings time is here, our cruise is booked and I'm one happy camper.

Have a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Happy Birthday Amy Dalton

I would like to take this opportunity to wish my very lovely and talented niece Amy a very Happy Birthday today.

I'm pretty sure that this is Amy's 21st Birthday (give or take or or two years or even eight) or at least that is how old I will tell everyone that she is.

Amy is a very talented photographer, she has that creative eye that you either have or you don't have. As much as I love photography, I don't have it but Amy sure as heck does. She has a world of creativity and it is an honor to see the images that she puts up.

I'm not sure what her husband Ralph has planned for the day, but if I know Ralphie it is going to be something special as they make a great couple together.

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

Happy Birthday Amy.

Photo Flashback Thursday

Once a week I like to take a little bit of time out, time to look at some of the pictures that I have either taken, scanned or stolen off of the internet through the years. 30,000+ lost moments in time ti choose from, so sometimes this is a pretty hard task, sometimes it cones right to you, but it it a time to reflect and always a whole lot of fun for me.

This weeks picture goes back to the early 80's I'm guessing around the 1984 time frame. This is a picture of my niece Val and my Dad behind her. It's obviously sometime around Christmas, based on all of the decorations in the background. Jean had her nativity scene set up on top of that old television that used to sit in the living room.

I did notice that there are only three stockings hung over the fireplace and I don't have one, so I think I can safely say that I was probably living on Brockway Avenue about the time that this picture had been taken.

This picture is a scan from all the images Jean gave me this fall to archive. Lost magic was retrieved and shared here with everyone else.

Have a great day, Michelle has here surgery this morning so keep her in your thoughts.

Hump Day

Well we are there, the day of the week that we stop doing the uphill and start going over the crest and back downhill towards another fun filled weekend that is still off into the horizon. It's Hump Day!!!!

Not much excitement to report, kind of a boring week so far to tell you the truth. We did manage to have our third dinner on the grill for the season last night. I'm already declaring spring even though it is a couple of days away from being officially spring. Close enough for me though.

Michelle goes in tomorrow to have another same day surgery, same as the one a couple of weeks ago, they are just trying to open the bottom part of her stomach up a little bit more and relieve the pain she has been having. They said it may take two or three times going through this and this is the second time, so let's hope that this is it.

She is down over 80 lbs since last May and doing great. I've put a few pounds back on, but winter is over and I'm starting to hit the trails at lunch time, so it't time for me to start losing that weight again and move beyond where I got to previously. I'm hoping the ability to get out and around will prevent any more bouts of Seasonal Affective Disorder and be able to get back on track. It's that time of the year when it gets easy for me to shed a few extra pounds.

Have a Great Day

Hi ho hi ho

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Well that dreaded thing we all refer to as Monday is now once again behind us and we have a good start to the work week. I still can't think of a better reason to do a tidbits.

* It was a mere 18,734 days ago that I was born. I swear the older I get, the quicker those numbers seem to add up.

* 3,957 days ago I fulfilled a dream of mine as I celebrated my College Graduation from West Virginia University.

* It was only 2,558 days ago that Michelle and I went out on our first date together. The movie was horrible, but I told her that was because she had stood me up a couple of months earlier and I was paying her back.

* 1,782 days ago Michelle and I became engaged. I got down on one knee in the back yard and proposed marriage.

* It was 1,319 days ago that we all partied down and celebrated Michelle and my wedding. It was a feast of food to say the very least.

* I have around 6,103 days to go until I retire, give or take a few hundred here or there.

* I have 298 more days of content to write before my Goodbye 2015 Blog post is published.

* If you are waiting on doing you Christmas Shopping, you still have 283 days left to complete it. Plenty of time.

* I only have 259 more days to go until I lie about having another Birthday.

* 180 days to go until we once again set sail on our Cruise. This will be our fourth cruise aboard the Carnival Pride out of Baltimore.

* In 142 more days we will be celebrating our Fourth Wedding Anniversary.

* The second annual family picnic is only 103 days away. I'm looking forward to this growing and being bigger than last years event.

* In 61 more days my niece Brittany will celebrate her graduation from WVU as well.

* There are only 3 days left until SPRINGTIME!!!!!!!!!!

* I have written 3,991 Blog posts for George's Journal in the 10 1/2 years I have been writing this Blog. Talk about living your life on the internet.

* No work done this week to the Family Tree, although we did update Michelle's Grandfathers information on Findagrave. I have some family who I need to get pictures for to update their information as well.

* Nothing to report on the brother search for this past week, I kind of slacked on it a little over the past few days. Time to pick up the pace again.

* No updates on the Jimmy Buffett Tour for 2015. This will be the first time he has missed playing Pittsburgh since 1990. Lot's of Parrot-Heads are saddened by this. Follow this thread for updates.

* The WVU Basketball team plays Buffalo on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

* Don't forget that today is St Patricks Day!!!!! Don't forget to wear your green.

* The West Virginia State Legislature wrapped up their 60 day session over the weekend, her is Hoppy's Commentary recapping it all.

* I'm putting this out early just to see what kind of a response it generates. Christmas Eve 2014 was a very sad one, we lost not one but two people in the family on that dreaded night. Christmas Eve 2015 I think has to be different in some way. It's time to put the hurt of 2014 behind us and start concentrating on 2015 and the future. Just wondering among the family if everyone might be interested in everyone getting together at one location this year (I suggest renting some place) and celebrating rather than mourning the events of the year prior. This could happen, but only if we act quick and decisively and not wait till the last minute. Thoughts?

* I got a text yesterday, we have been asked to defend our KDKA McDonald's Pittsburgh Steelers Trivia Championship. Waiting to hear back from one team mate, but we may be in again. We are the only two time Champions, could we be the only three time Champions and the only team to ever repeat in back to back years?

* Have a great day

* Hi ho hi ho

Monday

It's time to stop having all the fun we were having over the weekend and put our collective noses back on the grindstone for another week of doing what it is we do for a living. Monday is here and the weekend is now merely a product of our memories and dreams of another one.

Looks like Michelle will once again have another surgery this week to expand the lower portion of her stomach and open it up a little bit. She had the procedure a couple of weeks ago and is going to have it again this Thursday. Hopefully this time it will open it up sufficiently enough that she won't have any more problems. The first surgery was really effective, but not completely effective and they need to go in at least one more time, hopefully this is the last she has problems with it.

Well grilling season is off to a flying start this year, with the beautiful weather that we had yesterday, we once again grilled a couple of steaks on the charcoal grill as well as some delicious Lobster Claws that we steamed. Spring is not "Officially" here yet, but as far as I'm concerned it is and I am more than ready for it!!!!

Have a Great Day and lets start this work week off right.

Hi ho hi ho

Seven Years Ago Today

Yes here I sit once again in a quiet household, I'm the first one to recover from that losing battle with the Sandman but that's nothing new. I'm up early watching Neighbors on HBO and collecting my thoughts for the day.

Today is a very special day, it is the seventh anniversary of my first date with a woman who would later become my wife. Yes it was seven years ago today that I took Michelle out for pizza and a horrible movie, we've come a long way since that first night.

Yesterday we kind of had a change of plans due to the weather. We headed South to Letart Falls Ohio and a chance for Michelle to visit her Grandfathers Grave. She has not been there since she was a kid, so I said let's pack up and head out for the day. We did manage to get a quite a few photos of the site that was pretty easy to find.

Another thing Michelle had wanted to do was head to Point Pleasant West Virginia to see the Mothman statue. It was a nice little town and we stopped and had lunch before heading back to Morgantown.

We did stop off in Fairmont and have dinner at Muriales  for dinner, I figured it was about dinner time and we were passing through the area, so as soon as I mentioned it to Michelle (who was driving at that time) she quickly liked the idea and we were on our way.

The day was a long one, one where we did put 357 miles on Pearl as we ran out an entire tank of gas. It was well worth it as we were both feeling a little bit of that winter cabin fever. We did get our first Geocache of the year in Point Pleasant.

Have a great day.

Saturday Morning Rambling

Here I sit yet once again in a quiet household, I was the first one to get knocked out last night by that dreaded Sandman and I'm the first one to recover from that losing battle once again. I'm up early watching For Richer or Poorer on HBO and collecting my thoughts for the day and by that I mean collecting my Facebook games bonuses for logging in.

It looks like our local Baseball park that is being built is getting closer and closer to completion. It was initially scheduled to open this coming Tuesday, but that has been pushed back a few weeks due to the recent in-climate weather and the inability to get anything done. We are getting closer though, so the opening is not that far away and I'm getting ready to watch some Mountaineer Baseball soon followed by some professional baseball when the West Virginia Black Bears begin their season.

Now for Michelle and I today, we're talking about running around and maybe heading to Ohiopyle for the day, just to have something to do and get out of the house for a few hours. It may be the best way to battle that terrible disease called Cabin Fever. We made no trips up there last year, so we are long overdue. I think Michelle wants to stop at the Christmas Shoppe up on Route 40 and maybe one or two other places along the way. Just something to do to get out of the house.

Have a great day.

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 the 13th.

For those of you who are superstitious, it is Friday the 13th but to me it's just another date on the calender. It is Friday however, the day that we work all week to get to. Our favorite work day of the week.

Well Michelle and I finally finished House of Cards Season 3 last night. The 13th and final episode of the season the 39th episode of the series does not leave anyone disappointed. It does leave us once again on the edge of our seats wondering what will happen next, but I guess that is why there will most likely be a season 4. Now with House of Cards out of the Way, now it's time to wait for Orange is the New Black when it debuts its 3rd season sometime this late Spring or early Summer. These are two of our favorite dramas that we look forward to.

Weather looks like it might be pretty nice this weekend and there is significantly more daylight to do things in the evening, hopefully Michelle is feeling up to doing something this weekend. Cabin Fever is getting the best of me, especially during this time of the year so I would like to get out and around a little bit. If nothing else, it could be a good weekend to start our Geocaching for the year. That's always something to do that gets us out of the house, exploring new places and occupied.

Have a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Photo Flashback Thursaday

Rocky

Once a week I like to taker a little bit of time out and look through the tens of thousands of pictures that I have either taken, scanned or stolen off of the internet through the years. Little lost moments in time that were briefly captured with a camera and shared here for you all to see and hear about. Sometimes this is a pretty easy task and sometimes it is not that easy, it is however always a whole lot of fun and one of m,y favorite blogs of the week.

There are certain pet names that always seem to stick with you and certain pets that you never forget. This was my first dog, I wanted a dog for a number of years and my Grandmother finally agreed to allow me to have one. So I think it was my Uncle Ralph who drove me over to the Mon County Dog Pound to find a dog to adopt.

There was one dog who just had to have my attention over all dogs and that was this one. My Dog Rocky. My Buddy from the late 70's-early 80's that I had when I lived with Grandma Hall.

Rocky is not a unique name, there was also a dog that my sister Kim had that was named Roki (different spelling) and Michael and Ashley's dog who always comes to visit and is my little buddy Rocky. This Rocky was the first Rocky in my life. There is always a story of a boy and his dog, this was my dog.

Funny though that my Rocky, my Dad's dog who was named Brownie and my sister Terri's dog Tucker all were basically the same breed and same color, although none of them lived during the same time periods.

This was my Buddy.

Have a Great Day

Hi ho hi ho

Hump Day

Well once again we have reached that point of the week when the uphill battle of the work week meets it peak and we start going down hill and straight towards another weekend.

I was debating on making this a Wednesday Wisdom blog, but my I guess the only bit of Wisdom that I can come up with is represented my my Minions.

Monday night we officially declared screw you winter it's BBQ season as I fired up the grille after work. Did I fire up the big gas grill? Not a chance, I love our Weber Kettle Grill and that is what we fired up to cook a couple of steaks on. Fortunately Michelle was able to hold it down with no problem, so I feel as though she is now making a lot of progress with the problem she was having after surgery. She is an amazing woman to say the very least.

Michelle did resend out her paperwork again this week (used old form the first time even though it came from Secretary of State's Website) to become a Notary Public, it should just be a short period of time until she has her paperwork to order her stamp and be official. It is something she has been thinking about doing for a while, so she approached her employer about it to see if they would pay all of the expenses and they agreed. I'll let everyone know when it becomes official.

Have a great day

Hi ho hi ho

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Well that dreaded thing that we refer to as Monday is now once again behind us. We're facing a Tuesday up next and I still can't think of a better reason to do a tidbits.

* 18,727 days ago I entered this world and sustained life on my own outside of my Mother's body for the first time. I am fortunate each and every day as that number can and does grow.

* 3,950 days ago I fulfilled a dream of mine that I had. It was a little bit of a late stat to get there, but I Graduated from West Virginia University.

* 2,551 days ago Michelle and I went out on our first date together. It will have been 7 years ago this coming Sunday.

* It was 1,775 days ago that I got down on one knee and proposed marriage to Michelle, I just count my lucky stars that she agreed.

* It has been 1,312 days since our wedding. Right in front of our closest friends and family we exchanged our Marital vows.

* I only have about 6,110 more days to go, give or take a few hundred here or there until I finally retire.

* There are only 296 days left in the year, which means 296 more days of content that I have to write before my Goodbye 2015 Blog is posted.

* There are 290 more shopping until Christmas, you still have plenty of time.

* In 266 more days it is once again the Anniversary of my 21st Birthday. This will be the 31st Anniversary of that magical day.

* In 187 more days Michelle and I, joined by her Sister Dani and Husband Roy will once again set sail on our cruise to the Eastern Caribbean. Grand Turk and Half Moon Cary here we come.

* There are only 149 more days to go until our fourth Wedding Anniversary.

* The 2015 Family Picnic is in 110 more days. This will be the second year in a row for this event that we hope to make an annual occurrence.

* In a mere 68 more days, my niece Brittany will Graduate from West Virginia University.

* Only 10 more days until my favorite time of the year, Springtime!!!!!!!!!!

* This is the 3,984th Blog Post that I have written for George's Journal in the 10 1/2 years that I have been writing it. I guess you can say my life has been an open book lived out on the internet and this is that book.

* No work done to the Hall Family Tree this week, however my efforts have been concentrated on finding a lost sibling recently. I've still got a whole lot of work to do on this site, it's just in its infancy stages in my opinion. I want to eventually tie it into the Find a Grave Site with everyone who may have passed away. There are a number of smart matches that I can and need to follow up on.

* Now that our cruise is booked and paid for, I need to concentrate my efforts on the Niagara Falls trip coming up in about a month.

* Congratulations to Bob Huggins for being named the Big XII Coach of the Year.

* The Brother Search is going well. I'm quite happy with the progress that has been made and the number of people now assisting on this specific search. Not only on both sides, but a number really talented people who volunteer their time, expertise and resources to find answers to these kinds of questions. Search Squad is now involved and that is a huge resource. What an amazing group with over 11,000 members and volunteers.Highly recommended for anyone looking for lost family.

* With any luck, we could find the lost sibling and have them come to the Family Picnic this June, a picture of all six siblings would be a dream. An updated one of the five would be great, but I would like to add the sixth to make it special. Magic has happened before.

* My Sister and Brother in Law Jim and Chris are going to be hosting a free Spaghetti Dinner and Game Night this Friday at the Cassville Firehall.

* Friday will once again be Friday the 13th.

* It looks like most of the snow from last weeks terrible storm, has melted. Even Michelle is ready for winter to be over with. Start doing the Sunshine Dance. One last time for this season, I Hate Snow.

* With Daylight Savings Time now in effect, I'm going to change the time my blog posts. It usually posts at 4:00 AM (5:00 during DST), so I'll push it back an hour so it still posts at 4:00 AM in real time (3:00 server time).

* Have a great day

* Hi ho hi ho

Monday

Well that fun filled thing that we refer to as the weekend has now have to be placed into our memories to only reside there as a time gone by. Now it's time to stick our collective noses back on the grindstone and get back to work so we can continue to live the way we do and do the things that we do on the weekends. Back to the office and forget the fun for a few days.

Now that Daylight Savings Time is here and the days are getting a little longer, and the fact that it looks like we are on the downhill working towards Springtime, I'm ready to see the flowers start to bloom and the buds come out on the trees. I'm done with winter and ready for the warm weather and that is what looks to appear to be ahead of us. I think that this last storm was the last blast of winter and it's all over with now. We have survived it.

We did make a stop at the new Baseball Park  that was officially due to open in 8 days when the Mountaineers take on Waynesburg, but the weather has seemed to delay the opening from happening and the official opening has been delayed until Friday April 10th. I'm just excited that we now have a ball park where I can not only watch the Mountaineers which I love to do, but also cheer on the home town West Virginia Blackbears. I'm also ready for the Pittsburgh Pirates to start their run this year, I predict a World Series Championship in Pittsburgh for 2015.

So much for daydreams about baseball, time to concentrate on going to work.

Hi ho hi ho