Photo Flashback Thursday

Once a week I like to take a little bit of time out and look through all of my pictures that I have stored on my computer. I like to find just one special lost moment in time to use and recall that moment. Sometimes it's pretty easy, and sometimes it's not so easy, it is however always a lot of fun.

This weeks picture goes back not quite six years ago. I was playing Softball for MVPPaintball and we all decided to go up one Saturday and play. I talked to my nephew Moke and he was excited and wanted to play, so he and his room mate at the time Jamie came with me and we all played paintball on this day.

They had so much fun on this day that Moke ended up forming a team to compete with. I think they played a tournament or two, but it's been a few years and my memory is faded on that occasion.

We all did have a good day that day, even though I left the paintball park with a few more welts on m y body than I cared for. I seem to remember my buddy Chris O lighting me up from behind playing woodsball.

Hi ho hi ho

Hump Day

Well that's two down, not if we can just get over this noon time hump, we can see the dawn of yet another fun filled weekend on the other side of a photo flashback.

I had my third career meeting yesterday with Secretary Chu, he was teleconferenced in from DC this time of course. One of the big wigs in Fossil Energy is stepping down and going back to private industry and someone from, NETL is being promoted to replace him. As the meeting was winding down and everyone was joking around he did say that we are still just as committed to fossil energy as we have ever been. I'm sure if you get your news from commercial right wing talk radio hosts they are more credible than the Secretary of Energy. (end sarcasm)

Weather was really nice yesterday, so much so that I actually turned the AC one when I got home from work as it was a little warm at the home front. This is my kind of winter weather, but I know it will be short lived as my old buddy Phil may have something to say about it. If he sees his shadow this year I may just go and gouge his eyes out.

Hi ho hi ho

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Well Monday is once again in our rear view mirrors and we are looking at a Tuesday, still can't think of a better reason than that to do a tidbits.

* 1,782 days ago my life changed forever as I took Michelle out for dinner and a movie.

* It's was 1,005 days ago that I proposed marriage.

* 542 days ago at the Marilla center in front of our closest friends and family, we tied the bonds of matrimony.

* There are only 330 more shopping days left until Christmas.

* 144 more days until the Kenny Chesney Concert.

* 51 long days until string.

* I have sent a bribery package to Phil in Puxatawney, we're either going to be partying on Saturday or be eating groundhog burgers.

* I have switched up my workout at work. I had been doing nothing but building pure power and bulk over the last year and a half. It's time to move to the next step of full body and life extending type of workouts. I will not be coming out of retirement to play football this season. Torn Labrum kind of put a damper on that idea.

* The Mountaineers hosted #1 ranked Kansas Jayhawks last night in Morgantown, as of the time of me writing this, the game had not been played yet. I would not be surprised if we get not only beaten, but embarrassed. This years team just lacks the "it" factor.

* Hi ho hi ho

Back to Work

All good things must some to an end, and unfortunately that also includes our time off on the weekends that we enjoy so much. So it's time to stick those noses back on the grindstone for a few days and get back to doing what it is we do to earn our livings.

How do you like my little friend here that is just chilling out in our bathtub. It's called a Tegu and has a nasty at the very least bite. Chad described it as a vice grip with razor blades. He's a friendly little guy, but can be very dangerous for someone who does not know what they are doing.

Michelle will probably be working over a little more than usual this week, W-2's need to get out and she has volunteered to assist in getting those all out for BFS. I don't think people realize how big of a company they are, they have many divisions are products that you don't even associate with them. meaning there is a lot of employees in a five state area that they have to account for.

They are calling for a warming trend this week, so hopefully it'll melt some of if not all the snow that we have on the ground.

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday Morning Thoughts

I have always been an early morning person, I have always loved going to bed early and getting up early for some reason. I don't know if it was conditioned into me by my grandparents or that I just prefer the early morning hours. I've just always seemed to be an early riser for some reason.

Not too much to report today, we did get our filters yesterday and after listening and watching guys I worked with last week running up to the shoe store to buy multiple, and I mean like six pairs each, to run to the shoe show at the mall and buy these Merrell Barefoot Shoes that they were liquidating. I stopped in and bought a couple pairs and Michelle grabbed a pair. Normally $100.00 shoes were on sale for $20.00 to get rid of the stock. They were too good of a deal to pass up on and they feel great. I was amazed at how light these shoes are and they are shaped with the foots natural contour.

Earlier in the day we made our trip to Lowes to get some filters for the humidifier and Michelle picked up some Coffee for her Keurig at work that she has.

We did watch a nice snowfall yesterday, which did cover the ground and made it very pretty, but I'm not one who likes snow and I'm ready for it to all be gone ASAP. Give me the warmer weather and the smell of fresh cut grass and a nice spring breeze and I'll be happy.

Have a great day.

Saturday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit once again in a quiet household, being the only one who has recovered from a losing battle with the sandman. I'm up early as I usually am and have the movie Anchorman: The Ron Burgundy Story playing in the background.

Morgantown got hit with a bit of a winter snowstorm yesterday, it made traveling a little bit treacherous yesterday afternoon, especially at rush hour when there were wrecks everywhere and potentially grid locking everything. Interstate 68 was shut down in both directions for a period of time and Facebook was lighting up with people issuing warnings or complaining about all the other idiot drivers on the road.

We left work early as my boss told us all to go work from home and I called Michelle and told her to be safe, but she stayed her entire shift and took her time getting home. We went out to dinner afterwards and by the time we were done and we decided to go to Sam's Club, the traffic had been slightly alleviated and made driving less of a hemorrhoidal flare up, but there were a few "Idiots" on the road.

The winter storm warning is now over with, this stuff should all be melted away by Monday when it's calling for temperatures in the 55° range. Other than a trip today to lowes to get a couple new filters for our humidifier we don't have too much planned.

Have a great day and stay safe and warm.

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.

I have to go the hospital this morning for a little bit of testing. Some of my blood work are showing signs of a problem and we are going to do an ultra sound this morning to get a good look. I was talking to my Doctor about it and he seems to believe that it could be one of my prescription drugs that I am taking that could very well be causing, it. I have been on Actos for a couple of years now and that could possibly be the culprit.

I see where they are calling for 6"-8" of snow starting this afternoon for the area. As if the cold temperatures from this week were not bad enough, now we're going to get the snow on top of it all. Yuck.

I wonder if I send Phil some booze and chocolates if he'll kind of not see his shadow. Hmmmm

Hi ho hi ho

Photo Flashback Thursday

Once a week I USUALLY like to look through all of my pictures that I have stored on my computer and select just one magical moment in time to write a blog about. Sometimes this is pretty easy, sometimes it's not so easy and then you have today's blog which was nothing short of a disaster that was avoided.

Usually I talk about a nice picture of days gone by, this weeks picture is only a few hours (and in the case of me authoring this minutes) old. I'm breaking out of the normal blog today to do a current blog.

I get a call yesterday at work, Chad called Michelle who called me. I guess we had a water pipe bust in the garage. Water was everywhere and had started to work its way downstairs and into the carpeted area of the house before Chad got home and shut off the main water to the house.

It basically flooded the garage, and worked down into our furnace room which has a drain and onto the carpet in the laundry area. Like I said, Chad came home and shut the water off before too much damage was done.

Michael shut off the secondary water line that was feeding the line that busted and we quickly restored water to the house. Fortunately we have a carpet scrubber that sucks the water back up into that that allowed us to soak the majority of the water back up.

It was a fun day to say the least, I'm just thankful that it was caught early before it did any serious damage or got into out closet.

hi ho hi ho

Hump Day

If you can manage to pop your head over the lunch time hump, make sure you keep it covered because it's cold out, you can see the dawn of another weekend on the other side of a photo flashback.

I have to say it was cold yesterday and it's colder today. I've actually had to break out my winter jacket, ironically that I never wore one time last year, for the second day in a row to drive to work. I've already had enough of this winter crap, bring on the warm weather and longer days. We're a month out of three into winter, so we'll have to bear this for a while.

Monongalia County Schools a two hour delay today for the second day in a row. You know, when I was a kid I walked 5 miles to school each day through 3' of snow in sub-zero temperatures and you ready for this, uphill both ways. These kids today don't know what rough is with their gaming systems, laptops and electronics of convenience. Toughen them up, lets send them for double school today =)

Ok So much for my ramble. Stay warm, it;s cold outside.

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr it's cold.

* There are only 58 more days left until Spring, I figured I start with a local weather report and outlook.

* Now back to our regularly scheduled BLOG. Monday is behind us and it's cold outside, can;t think of a better reason than that to do a tidbits.

* 1,775 days ago Michelle and I went out on our first date together, it was much warmer outside than it is today.

* 998 Days ago I proposed marriage, it too was much warmer out than it is right now.

* 535 days ago in the warm sun, Michelle and I exchanged our wedding vows. It was a LOT warmer than it is today.

* There are 337 shopping days left until Christmas, hopefully it'll be warmer than today.

* In 151 days Michelle and I will go and see Kenney Chesney, it's better be a lot warmer than it is now.

* Have I ever mentioned I hate snow? I might like it a little more if it happened in warmer weather.

* No rumors yet on a Jimmy Buffet Tour in Pittsburgh, It may be another month or two before he announces that date. Hopefully it's a lot warmer than it is today.

* We're starting to plan our 2013 vacation. We spoke with our Cruise Director Sunday Night and will be planning on booking within the next month or so. We're planning on doing the same cruise, same port and same dates. We loved our last years cruise and knew it was only the first of possibly many. I'm sure it'll be much warmer in the Carribean.

* Hi ho hi brrrrrrrrrrr

Monday

I am fortunate today, it's Martin Luther King Jr's birthday, which means that it is a Federal Holiday and I get to stay home all day and watch the inauguration and movies on television.

Michelle has to work today, but I'm enjoying the last of my four day weekend. Today will probably have a nap involved in it and maybe even another nap if I get too tired. Call it a planned lazy day.

Not too much else to say, nothing planned and the weekend for the most part was pretty uneventful.

Have a great day and stay warm.

Sunday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit once again in a quiet household, being the only one who has recovered from a losing battle with the sandman last night. I'm up early playing in the internet and have some movie on in the background, not even sure what's playing.

Any plans that we had yesterday kind of got sidetracked. Michelle has been hit with the flu and it hit her hard yesterday morning, so much to the point that we really did nothing all day long other than household chores and relax.

Not sure if today will be much different than yesterday, it is my Sister in Law Danni's birthday and Chad's girlfriend Laiah's birthday well. This will wind of the short stretch of all the birthdays we have had the last ten or so days. So a happy Birthday to Danni and Laiah today.

Prepare to stay warm this week as old man winter is about to his his ugly head. The thermostat will even be taking shelter this week as the temps will be dropping this week. It was a nice little warm trend, but now I think things are getting back to normal.

Stay warm and watch some football today. We'l know who plays in the Super Bowl after today.

Saturday Morning Rumblings

Here I sit early in the AM as the only person that has recovered from a long hard fought battle with the sandman. I'm up early watching some documentary on Netflix as there really isn't much on today.

If you are looking for an Auction, my brother on law Jim is having his January Special Auction this evening at 6:00 at the Cassville Firehall. A Lit of items being auctioned today is available HERE, so if you are looking for a deal, this is the place to be. Michelle's sister Danni is coming into town as tomorrow is her birthday. (I swear there are 8 birthdays in a 9 day stretch in both Mine and Michelle's life).

The only bad thing about today is Michelle was starting to get a touch of the flu last night. As we were coming home last night her throat was starting to get sore. I'm hoping she is feeling better by the time she gets up.

Have a great day.

Happy Birthday Nick Rehmani

I would like to take this opportunity to wish my Brother in Law Nick a very Happy Birthday today.

Nick is one of the best brother in laws that you could ever ask for, or even hope for. He's wanting to become a blogger to help his business out, so you blog readers may soon see Nick's blog linked to this blog in the near future.

If you happen to see Nick Today, make sure that you take a  little bit of time out and wish the man a very Happy Birthday today.

Not sure what his plans are today, but we're talking about getting together today if we have time.

Happy Birthday Nick.

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 and a four day holiday weekend for yours truly.

I would also like to take this opportunity to with one Layla Marie a very Happy 5th Birthday. It seems like just yesterday that she blessed the world with her presence, but it has been five wonderful and fun filled years for Layla Marie.

I'm off today as well as Monday for Martin Luther King Day, so for me it's going to be a nice four day weekend. I'll be going in this morning to do some blood work for my Doctor.

Have a great day, In plan on it.

Photo Flashback Thursday

Once a week I like to take a little bit of time out and look through all of my old pictures that I have stored on my computer and come up with just one picture to post up and tell a little story about. Sometimes it's pretty easy to find that picture and sometimes I do struggle to find that one lost moment in time to reflect upon. One thing I can always say is that it is always a lot of fun.

This weeks pic goes back almost five years. Back to a time "Poised to Strike" was dominating the KDKA Steelers Trivia show and never falling behind the entire tournament and winning the while thing. I lucked into a great team to say the least.

We considered defending our title the next season, but chose to retire as Champions and "Go out like Bettis" as Chris so put it. We retired never trailing and undefeated. It was a great few days and we had the best cheering section of any team, Jenny (Chris's Wife) and Michelle were right there cheering us on. It was definitely a fun time

One has to wonder how good we were, say compared to all the past Champions of the Steelers Trivia Show. I guess we'll never know.........or will we.

Stay Tuned

Hump Day

If you look over that noon time hump we will be facing today, over on the other side of a photo flashback, you'll see the dawn of yet another weekend off in the distance.

I did get a call yesterday about a job in Houston Texas for as GIS Analyst. $110,000 a year, but it was more for a developer / programmer. I'm more of a Pseudo Code kind of guy rather than a developer. I did take a Python course last week, but a few days in a classroom does not make a very good programmer, especially when it comes to geospatial stuff. It was nice to know that someone contacted me about a job that paid that much, but I don't know if I would pull up stakes to take that much of a risk in an area I've never been to. Like I said, it's nice to daydream and to have been considered.

I have to be honest, I am having a little bit of a brainfart today, and I am really struggling for contact other than what I have already written. When this happens, time for a funny youtube video to close it out.

Happy Birthday Michelle Hall

I have to say that I am the luckiest man in the world, I am fortunate enough to be married to a very special lady who just happens to be celebrating her birthday today.

I want to extend a very Happy Birthday to my best friend, soul mate and beautiful Wife Michelle. She is the one person who has managed to make my life complete and the person I most like to spend my time with. Whether it be just riding in a car or sitting down to eat, my time I spend with her is the highlight of my day and for that I consider myself a very lucky man.

Michelle, I Love You are everything to me. Thank you for making me a complete person and allow me to use my BLOG to wish you a very Happy Birthday.

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Well Monday is once again behind us and we are staring straight down the barrel of a Tuesday, I can't think of a better reason than that to do a tidbits.

* 1,768 days ago I was fortunate enough to go on my first date with a very special lady. The movie was horrible, the rest was history.

* 991 days ago I got down on one knee and asked that special lady to be my wife.

* 528 magical days ago that special lady became my wife.

* There are 344 more shopping days left until Christmas 2013. Time to get started?

* In 158 days I'm taking my special lady to go see Kenny Chesney in Pittsburgh.

* There are only 65 more days until spring, I know this weekend was a little bit of a teaser, but I'm ready for spring already.

* I have a Doctors appointment scheduled for this morning, it's my routine six month checkup with my regular doctor.

* Speaking of, I probably need to schedule my annual diabetic eye exam sometime pretty soon. I had a cataract removed from my right eye a couple of years ago, and I think my left eye is starting to get a little worse. Not as bad as a couple years ago however, so I want to stay on top of it.

* Anyone notice all the traffic around town? The students are back, only 16 more weeks until they are gone for the summer. * Hi ho hi ho

Weekend Reflection

I have to say that yesterday Mornings birthday breakfast for my Mom went well overall, Kaiden was sick so Amy was only able to show up briefly, but she came bearing gifts and Michelle and I absolutely love ours and have it hanging in our living room already.

I think Mom enjoyed herself at breakfast, we really do need to do this more often as it was a good time to sit down with the family at a meal and just talk to each other. It's something Michelle and I started doing again at home recently and doing things like this helps you meet and spend quality time with the people you love without any distractions. Michelle's family here in town does it all the time, it was nice to enjoy a moment like that with mine. I am both lucky and blessed to have had the opportunity to share this time with some very special people in my life. Amy and her crew were missed, but not forgotten.

I did have a little bit of a surprise for me yesterday as I was walking into the Golden Coral. My old softball team mate turned superstar Josh Judy, who has been the subject of many of my blogs, was in town and walking out with from breakfast with Steve and Bernie. I've talked to him a few times, since the draft, but this was actually the first face to face meeting since the night before the draft when we BS's a few hours at a softball game. I kidded my niece Val about him as she and Amy used to come and watch us play some years ago.

After breakfast the rest of the adventurist day was ours, so we took a trip up to the mall and did a little bit of shopping. Bath and Body Works was having a sale on their soaps and Michelle loves their soaps. We usually stock up on them around Christmas time but for some reason didn't do that this year, which turned out to work to our advantage as their after Christmas sale is bigger than their before Christmas sale. I think we are set on bathroom and kitchen sink hand soaps for 2013.

Overall I have to say I had a great weekend. The weather was awesome for early January, I was even able to wear shorts both Saturday and Sunday. We had some great food, spent some time with some very special people, made a few sales and were even treated to a beautiful home made gift from my niece. I was able to meet up with a few old Softball team mates (Josh, his Dad Steve and I later ran into Mike Haines) and had a great weekend with my wonderful wife.

The weekend did in fact have a sad note for some old friends and an old softball team mate. Andy Wilson and Michelle Tennant lost their wonderful son Micah Wilson.

I hope you have a great day and it's a cardio day.

Hi ho hi ho