Tuesday's Tidbits

* Well my work week has started and my lovely wifes stay at Ruby memorial is now over with, good time to do a tidbits.

* I am not sure if I have ever mentioned this before, but I Hate Snow.

* I know you guys have missed this count, it has been 19,420 wonderful days since my birth. Still going strong looking ahead and still hating snow.

* There have been 4,643 days that have gone by since I Graduated from WVU, it's amazing how quickly time goes by and I still hate snow.

* It was 3,244 days ago that Michelle and I went out on our very first date together, she's still around so I must be doing something right for the first time.

* It has been 2,468 days since I proposed marriage to my wonderful wife, I enjoy each and every day that I get to spend with her, even if it is for only a few minutes.

* We are in day 2,005 of Marriage, Woo Hoo we made it over 2,000 days!!!!!

* I have about 5,417 or so days to go until my retirement giving the current rules for retirement give or take a few hundred here or there and depending on how I feel.

* There are only 2,055 days to go until the Backyard Brawl in football takes the field once again. I was hoping for a WVU Pitt Bowl matchup, but I'm patient.

* I have 334 more days to go until my Goodbye 2017 blog is written, that is my annual recall the year by what is posted in my blog blog.

* There are 328 more shopping days left to go until Christmas 2017, it may be a little early but hey, someone has to do the countdown.

* There are but a mere 304 more days to go until I celebrate yet another anniversary of my 21st Birthday.

* There are 249 more days to go until we once again attend the Springs Festival, I'm itching to go up there again soon if not to the other Amish Country.

* Our next cruise is 222 days away, hopefully all goes better than planned unlike last year when we missed a port.

* There are only 187 more days to go until Michelle and I celebrate our Sixth Wedding Anniversary together. I am the luckiest man in the world.

* There are 152 more days to go until our 2017 Friends and Family Picnic.

* There are 144 more days to go until Calvin and Jeanetta's Wedding next June, she has put together this very informative website for everyone to use. Michelle and I need to get around to booking our hotel room before long.

* My favorite season of the year is a mere 48 days away when Spring 2017 finally arrives. I'm ready for the warm weather, the birds a singing and and the smells of springtime.I Hate Snow in case no one ever noticed.

* My buddy Phil the Groundhog takes center stage in 2 more days when he forecasts the weather on Ground Hogs Day. I think I need to send him a few cases of liquor and a few female groundhogs to keep him company.

* This is my 4,747th blog that I have written for George's Journal in the now 12+ years that I have been writing it. One has to question sometimes if the redundancy is starting to wear on me.

* No work yest this year on the Hall Family Tree, I have been slacking on keeping up with it this year I will readily admit.

* Once again nothing new on the brother search, the DNA tests returned a few second cousins and beyond, but nothing close to a brother. I'm beginning to give up any sense of hope that he is alive or if he is that he is looking.

* Yesterday was the first real snowfall of the season here, traffic and road conditions were horrific yesterday morning traveling to work.

* Like I said Michelle is finally home from the hospital, she has been missed in the household and I for one am glad she is at home with me.

* Josh started his new job yesterday, he did sleep in a little and was late, not a good first impression but I'm sure he'll look back and laugh about this one day.

* All the animals are glad to see Michelle home as well. They really missed her.

* Have I ever mentioned before that I Hate Snow!!!!!....A Lot.

* Have yourselves a great day, Beat Kansas!!!

* Hi ho hi ho

Monday

Well the weekend is now behind us and now we are looking at another fun filled week of work ahead of us. Now it's time to stick our collective noses back on the grindstone for another fun filled week of work.

Update on Michelle, she is still in the hospital. We passed the 72 hour mark for her observation, and as soon as she ate something her numbers went through the roof to the point where they have never been before. I have no further updates and do not know a plan of action at this time. It has been a weekend and we have been working with a limited staff. I'm sure we will find out more today.

I have a very busy day ahead of me, things I can not get out of on both of my jobs. We have no idea what is going on and it may be bad news to be honest, hence why I can't miss these meetings and have to work both jobs today. Ten timing of all of this is less than favorable but this is what I am facing right now.

Have yourselves a great day.

Hi ho hi ho.

Sunday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit in a quiet and lonely household as Michelle is still in the hospital. I'm up early and watching Risky Business on HBO and grabbing my collective thoughts for the day as I contemplate a game plan for today.

Michelle's blood sugars have been within the normal range and it has taken 64 hours of fasting (of the 72) to get her blood sugar to drop below 60. They need it to drop to below 45 to conduct the series of tests that they need to run to rule out insulinoma. She is on the very back end of this test and observation, so hopefully she gets to come home and sleep in her own bed this evening.

I've been holding down the fort as well as spending time at the hospital, so I have had a busy weekend to say the least. I've been doing the shopping and laundry and the house chores so that we can find out a few answers about Michelle. It's been a few years since I have done my own laundry, but I can still remember what I am doing for the most part. Hopefully the boss will approve of my performance.

Have yourselves a great day.

Saturday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit in a quiet household once again, I'm up early collecting my thoughts and watching My Cousin Vinny on HBO and collecting my thoughts for the day.

First an update on Michelle, she has been hospitalized for a couple days, mainly for observation. Her blood sugars have been very sporadic the past few days, dropping very low and also going very high for her to a level that we have never seen her reach.

She went to Med Express on Thursday Morning due to them dropping pretty low, they immediately sent her to the Emergency Room at Ruby. She saw an Endocrinologist who wants to check her for Insulinoma. They have her under a 72 hour NPO to drop her blood sugars so they can run a series of tests.

The good news is she is going on 40 hours as of the time I am writing this without any food and her blood sugars have been fluctuating within the normal range. I think her lowest reading was 62 and it's went as high as 90 during the time they have been monitoring this. Usually without food the blood sugars drop, hers are maintaining a normal level.

Obviously I was going to go out and do field work today, but my attentions are required elsewhere. Michelle is doing fine, IMHO I think they are just doing an observation, her body is being normal. Her sugars fluctuate after eating food, so I think they are just trying to eliminate certain possibilities.

Have yourselves a great day. I'm off from both jobs today as my concern is my lovely wife.

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.

Well I was off from working with RTI last night and I'm going to be off once again this evening. Nice little couple day break from two jobs as we move into the weekend. I'll be out doing field work once again tomorrow, but I'm planning on being off this Friday as my workload has been worked down for this quarter. It's been a very busy month to say the least.

Tomorrow should be a busy one here in Morgantown, Texas A&M is coming to town for the Big XII v SEC Challenge. Hopefully the momentum from beating #2 AP and #1 Coaches Poll Kansas earlier this week will carry over. Hard to say though, we went 1-2 in between beating #1 Baylor and Kansas and neither of those teams were ranked. Hopefully we play up to our level instead of down to the opponents level so we can bring this one home with a W.

Have yourselves a great day today and live life to its absolute fullest.

Photo Flashback Thursday

Once a week I like to take a little bit of time out and look through some of the pictures that I have either taken, scanned or stolen off of the internet through the years and find one special picture that stands out. Little lost moments in time from yesterday caught with a Cameras lens and relived right here in my blog. Sometimes it's pretty easy to find that one special picture and sometimes it's not that easy, one thing it consistently is however is a whole lot of fun.

This weeks pic goes back quite a few years, so many in fact that I honestly can not place an accurate time frame on it. It is a picture of my Dad, and as you might have guessed he was a coal miner and worked in the coal mines for about 25-30 years or so up until the time of his passing. I can remember him starting in the mines, I know where we lived but I can't place anymore of a time frame on it than that. I do remember I was living with my Grandparents I think beside the church, so we are talking the 1969-192 time frame from when he started there up until his passing in 1999.

This is a picture of my Dad eating his lunch, being he had a round dinner bucket I'm thinking this is probably from some time in the 1970's. He does look kind of young there and that dinner bucket was the one he used during that time period. He used it for a while until he started using the igloo lunch box.

Have yourselves a great day today, I'm back out in the field this evening.

Hi ho hi ho

Hump Day

Well here we are again, we have two work days down this week, two more ahead of us after today and now all we have to do is get up and over this noon time hump and it will be all downhill as we work towards another fun filled weekend (or another weekend I work for me).

Here I am once again struggling for content. Maybe it's just that time of the year where the weather is uncooperative and the sunlight is at a minimum. I do have to say that my creative mind is not working 100% today and I'm once again trying to come up with something creative and entertaining to say.

We did watch an episode of Shark Tank last week and saw the Product Mango Mango as a sales pitch. I ordered a couple of their products so that Michelle and I can try in the near future. There are a lot of recipes, it's just to us to decide which one we want to try.

I will leave you with a funny video that I saw yesterday. A cab driver in Pittsburgh picked up a fare and they were talking about Super Bowl QB's. He had John Elway on the top of his list, and did not realize John Elway was in his cab. It's worth a smile and a good laugh.

Have yourselves a great day today.

Hi ho hi ho

Tuesday's Tidbits

* One day in, it was a long one and now it is time to concentrate on a Tuesday, good time for a tidbits.

* I know you guys have missed this count, it has been 19,413 wonderful days since my birth. Still going strong looking ahead.

* There have been 4,636 days that have gone by since I Graduated from WVU, it's amazing how quickly time goes by. It will be 13 years since I graduated this May.

* It was 3,237 days ago that Michelle and I went out on our very first date together, she's still around so I must be doing something right for the first time.

* It has been 2,461 days since I proposed marriage to my wonderful wife, I enjoy each and every day that I get to spend with her, even if it is for only a few minutes.

* We are in day 1,998 of Marriage, I am one lucky guy and I thank my lucky stars each and every day to have had such a wonderful person come into my life. Here is to my wife as we get ready to enter 2,000+ days.

* I have about 5,424 or so days to go until my retirement giving the current rules for retirement give or take a few hundred here or there and depending on how I feel.

* There are only 2,062 days to go until the Backyard Brawl in football takes the field once again. I was hoping for a WVU Pitt Bowl matchup, but I'm patient.

* I have 341 more days to go until my Goodbye 2017 blog is written, that is my annual recall the year by what is posted in my blog blog.

* There are 335 more shopping days left to go until Christmas 2017, it may be a little early but hey, someone has to do the countdown.

* There are but a mere 311 more days to go until I celebrate yet another anniversary of my 21st Birthday.

* There are 256 more days to go until we once again attend the Springs Festival, I'm itching to go up there again soon if not to the other Amish Country.

* Our next cruise is 229 days away, hopefully all goes better than planned unlike last year when we missed a port.

* There are only 194 more days to go until Michelle and I celebrate our Sixth Wedding Anniversary together. I am the luckiest man in the world.

* There are 159 more days to go until our 2017 Friends and Family Picnic.

* There are 151 more days to go until Calvin and Jeanetta's Wedding next June, she has put together this very informative website for everyone to use. Michelle and I need to get around to booking ourt hotel room before long.

* My favorite season of the year is a mere 55 days away when Spring 2017 finally arrives. I'm ready for the warm weather, the birds a singing and and the smells of springtime.

* My buddy Phil the Groundhog takes center stage in 9 more days when he forecasts the weather on Ground Hogs Day. I think I need to send him a few cases of liquor and a few female groundhogs to keep him company.

* This is my 4,740th blog that I have written for George's Journal in the now 12+ years that I have been writing it. One has to question sometimes if the redundancy is starting to wear on me.

* No work yest this year on the Hall Family Tree, I have been slacking on keeping up with it this year I will readily admit.

* Once again nothing new on the brother search, the DNA tests returned a few second cousins and beyond, but nothing close to a brother. I'm beginning to give up any sense of hope that he is alive or if he is that he is looking.

* I'll be out in the field one again this afternoon for RTI, I'm back to working both jobs today.

* Bob Huggin's Mountaineer Basketball team will try to end a two game losing streak tonight as they host the #1 ranked in the Coaches Poll Kansas Jayhawks.

* It's amazing how a household of two dogs and two cats can get along, Peanut loves to play with Gracie and May, but Sophie is an old cat who is set in her ways and kind of likes to stay perched and away from the other three animals. She is the Queen cat.

* Anyone notice the work that is being done to the new round-a-bout at the bottom of Easton Hill? They are really starting to make progress now and you can start to see how it is going ton develop. Hopefully this will help with traffic flow going out of town.

* Have I ever mentioned before that I Hate Snow!!!!!....A Lot.

* Have yourselves a great day, Beat Kansas!!!

* Hi ho hi ho

Monday

Well that short but fun filled weekend is now over with, now it's time for us to put our noses back on the grindstone for another fun filled week of doing what it is that we do for a living.

I should have another pretty busy week ahead, from one job or the other. I'll be working both jobs this week like last week so my free time will be extremely limited as we move forward. I think our recent run of nice weather is about to come to an end as the temperatures look to be dropping during the upcoming week.

This week Michelle is going to start to pack her office up, they will be moving into their new corporate headquarters in March. She has ten years worth of stuff that she is going to need to pack up and prepare to move to their new Cheat Lake Office. It'll be a little bit further of a drive for her to get back and forth to work, but not as much of a traffic headache as she can change her route to get around it all. The new Corporate office will be located behind the BFS in Cheat Lake and beside the Chestnut Ridge Church.

Have yourselves a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday

Here I sit in a quiet household, I'm up early watching the Boss on HBO and grabbing my collective thoughts for the day.

Hopefully we can finally have my Mom's Birthday breakfast this morning, we have postponed it the past two Sundays due to illness, hopefully we can get together this morning.

There was an historic march yesterday around the country, a day after the Presidential Inauguration there was a Woman's March on Washington that turned out to be much bigger than most anticipated as it took place in many cites around the country.

The WVU Men's Basketball team dropped their second straight road game last night as they lost a 79-75 battle against Kansas State. The loss drops the Mountaineers to 15-4 on the season.

The Superbowl participants will be determined later today. In the NFC the Green Bay Packers will visit the Atlanta Falcons to play for the George Halas Trophy and in the NFC my beloved Pittsburgh Steelers will travel to the New England Patriots to compete for the Lamar Hunt Trophy. The two winners of todays games will compete in two weeks in Super Bowl LI.

Have yourselves a great day today.

Saturday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit once again on an early Saturday Morning, for some reason I woke up this morning earlier than I have been the past week or so. It's like my body knows Monday - Friday and lately has said I want to sleep. Weekends though, I'm up early again, go figure.

The WVU men's basketball team will try to bounce back from this weeks loss to Oklahoma on the road at Kansas State. They tip off this evening at 6:00 and we are going to have our hands full with the Wildcats. As everyone will recall coach Huggins left Kansas State to return to Morgantown years ago, so they have a little bit of added inspiration in playing us.

I'm out in the field today once again, it's been tough finding things at night so I am going to take advantage of the daylight hours and hopefully have a great day out in the field.

I think Michelle is going to do our weekly grocery shopping once again, trying to clear up my tomorrow morning so that we can make it to my Mom's birthday breakfast which has been rescheduled the past two weeks.

Have yourselves a great day today

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.

Today is a very special day in our nation, it is a day when we say Goodbye to our 44th President and inaugurate our 45th Donald Trump as he takes his oath of office this morning in Washington DC. Me personally I would like to thank President Obama for his eight years of service, I voted for him twice and supported him his entire Presidency. As we move forward I would like to wish President Donald Trump a very successful administration, he did not garner my vote this past fall but we are all Americans and we flourish as our leaders flourish. Congratulations to both of these men as they are in a very small and exclusive club with only only five members.

A big congratulations to Hayley's Fiancée Josh as he starts a new job with a new Company. He had his interview yesterday and and was offered the job which pays him significantly more than he previous job.

I'll be heading into the office today and will be off from doing field work tonight as I went out last night. I'll be heading out tomorrow morning once again to work in the field, it can be a little tedious at times but I do enjoy it.

Have yourselves a great day today.

Hi ho hi ho

Photo Flashback Thursday

Once a week I like to take a little bit of time out and look through some of the pictures that I have either taken, scanned or stolen off of the internet through the years and find one special picture that stands out. Little lost moments in time from yesterday caught with a Cameras lens and relived right here in my blog. Sometimes it's pretty easy to find that one special picture and sometimes it's not that easy, one thing it consistently is however is a whole lot of fun.

This weeks picture is once again a dual purpose this week. This is my Brother from Another Mother Nick. Today is Nick's Birthday so we'll include him in this weeks Photo Flashback in honor of today being his Birthday Happy Birthday Nick.

This picture was taken last year at Nick's house, they were hosting an Easter Egg Hunt and Michelle and I helped hide all the eggs and Nick did all of the grilling. It was a pretty good day.

Have yourselves a great day today.

Hi ho hi ho

Hump Day

Two days down this week, a couple of more ahead of us, that must mean that once we get over this noon time hump it's going to be all downhill working towards another fun filled weekend.

I'm actually only working one job today, I like a little bit of a midweek break from the field work, that way I don't have too many days in a row where I am working both jobs and get a little bit of a mental break as I ready myself for the back end of the work week.

I do have to say that I'm starting to get to the point in blogging where doing this on a daily basis is starting to get a little tedious. Too many things on my mind and I have forgotten to write a couple of these this week as my mind has been on other work related things.

I'll get back into the swing of it soon, maybe it has just been the weather and shorter days. It seems like I'm in my hibernation phase right now when I'm not working. I'm usually the one with cabin fever and wanting to get out and around where right now I'm just enjoying sleeping. I must be suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder, or I Hate Winter in other more simpler terminology.

Have yourselves a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Long weekend is over, time for tidbits.

* I know you guys have missed this count, it has been 19,406 wonderful days since my birth. Still going strong looking ahead.

* There have been 4,629 days that have gone by since I Graduated from WVU, it's amazing how quickly time goes by. It will be 13 years since I graduated this May.

* It was 3,230 days ago that Michelle and I went out on our very first date together, she's still around so I must be doing something right for the first time.

* It has been 2,454 days since I proposed marriage to my wonderful wife, I enjoy each and every day that I get to spend with her, even if it is for only a few minutes.

* We are in day 1,991 of Marriage, I am one lucky guy and I thank my lucky stas each and every day to have had such a wonderful person come into my life.

* I have about 5,431 or so days to go until my retirement giving the current rules for retirement give or take a few hundred here or there and depending on how I feel.

* There are only 2,069 days to go until the Backyard Brawl in football takes the field once again. I was hoping for a WVU Pitt Bowl matchup, but I'm patient.

* I have 348 more days to go until my Goodbye 2017 blog is written, that is my annual recall the year by what is posted in my blog blog.

* There are 342 more shopping days left to go until Christmas 2017, it may be a little early but hey, someone has to do the countdown.

* There are but a mere 318 more days to go until I celebrate yet another anniversary of my 21st Birthday.

* There are 263 more days to go until we once again attend the Springs Festival, I'm itching to go up there again soon if not to the other Amish Country.

* Our next cruise is 236 days away. It killed me to watch John Heild broadcast live from the Pride at Grand Turk as I was sitting in St Louis.

* There are only 201 more days to go until Michelle and I celebrate our Sixth Wedding Anniversary together. I am the luckiest man in the world.

* There are 166 more days to go until our 2017 Friends and Family Picnic.

* There are 159 more days to go until Calvin and Jeanetta's Wedding next June, she has put together this very informative website for everyone to use. Michelle and I need to get around to booking ourt hotel room before long.

* My favorite season of the year is a mere 62 days away when Spring 2017 finally arrives. I'm ready for the warm weather, the birds a singing and and the smells of springtime.

* My buddy Phil the Groundhog takes center stage in 16 more days when he forecasts the weather on Ground Hogs Day. I think I need to send him a few cases of liquor and a few female groundhogs to keep him company.

* This is my 4,733rd blog that I have written for George's Journal in the now 12+ years that I have been writing it. That is a lot of thoughts as well as a lot of words that I have typed in for everyone to read.

* No work yest this fall on the Hall Family Tree, as soon as things slow down a little bit I'm going to start working on that again, I know I have been slacking since working two jobs this year.

* Once again nothing new on the brother search, the DNA tests returned a few second cousins and beyond, but nothing close to a brother.....yet. I still have faith that something, sometime and someday will turn up.

* I'll be out in the field one again this afternoon for RTI, I'm back to working both jobs today.

* The WVU Men's basketball team has risen to #7 in the latest AP Poll. This is the second time this year we have been ranked #7.

* Anyone up to attempt to get together as a group and take on the Escape Room here in Morgantown? We need a group of 10 people.I haven't heard any positive responses yet.

* Anyone ready for Spring yet? Especially after the frigid temps that we have been experiencing the past few days.

* Have I ever mentioned before that I Hate Snow!!!!!....A Lot.

* Have yourselves a great day and make the very most of it and live it to the fullest.

* Hi ho hi ho

Federal Holiday

Well my weekend gets to extend one more day today, it is Martin Luther King Jr's birthday and  a Federal Holiday, but have no fear I will be out doing field work today.

Yesterday was a pretty special day, I took Michelle and Josh and Hayley out for breakfast at Golden Coral, this was when we were supposed to go and meet for my Mom's birthday and I have to say everything sucked, the food and the waitress.

Last night I took Michelle, Chad and Laiah, Hayley and Josh out for dinner to the new iHop as it is close to where Chad lives and Michelle wanted iHop so we went to iHop.

Other than that it was a pretty lazy day for us and for me, now I start another long stretch of consecutive days worked as this quarter is a couple of weeks old and I need to take advantage of as many daylight hours as possible,.

Have yourselves a great day today, make the most of it.

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday Morning Rambling

Here I sit on a quiet Sunday Morning, I'm up a little later than usual and watching something on HBO as I collect my thoughts for the day.

Today is a special day for a couple of reasons, first of all it is the love of my life's birthday but it is also Michelle's sister Chris's birthday as well. They are not twins and are few years apart, but they are both a couple of special ladies in my life and they just happened to be born on the same day.

Our plans for the day have changed once again from what I found out last night, we were all planning on taking my Mother out for a birthday breakfast, but this week my Sister Terri is sick and we will have to reschedule. Michelle and I will go out and do something today to celebrate her birthday together.

I'm off from both jobs today and all of our chores for the week are completed, so I'm going to let my lovely wife sleep in this morning and get plenty of rest for her birthday.

Have a great day.

Happy Birthday Michelle Dawn Hall

I would like to take this opportunity to wish my wonderful wife Michelle a very Happy Birthday today.

Michelle is my best friend, my soulmate and the absolute love of my life and she has given me so much love and happiness that I never thought that I would ever experience.

We had some plans later this morning, but I come to find out that they have changed once again last night, but now we may go do something special on our own to celebrate the day of birth of the most wonderful woman who ever entered my life.

Michelle I love you from the very bottom of my heart and eagerly anticipate each and every new day that we get to spend together,

Happy Birthday sweetie, I Love You.

Saturday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit yet once again in a quiet household, the sound of a crackling fireplace behind me is the audible sensation that is tickling my ear drums and I'm here grabbing my collective thoughts for the day.

Well my Saturday is going to consist of doing some field work this morning and Michelle is going to once again do our grocery shopping for the day. Tomorrow his her birthday and we have a breakfast tomorrow morning at 10:00, so rather than wake her up early on her birthday I'm going to let her sleep in. She works her butt off and deserves it.

It is calling for icy conditions today, so you might need to be careful when driving around town, I'll be up in elevated areas today and may run across these conditions this morning. The things that we do for important projects.

You know my mind is usually the most productive in the early morning hours, I have to confess that this morning does not meet those anticipated parameters, I'm hopping back in bed for a few hours.

Have a great day today and make the most of it.

Big Ole Hairy Friday the 13th

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 3 day weekend.

Monday is Martin Luther King Jr's Birthday which means that it is a Federal Holiday. I'll be off from one job and probably out in the field working the other job on Monday. So I guess we can call that a three day weekend.

It is also Friday the 13th today. This is a day that many people consider to be unlucky for one reason or another. If you suffer from fear of today, Friday the 13th you suffer from a disease called "Paraskevidekatriaphobia". This word will be on everyones spelling test next week...lol

My plans for the weekend is to work. WVU after whipping the #1 Baylor Bears on Tuesday night are on the road at the University of Texas. Meaning when I go out to work tomorrow, I will probably have more luck than I did last week as there is no home game in town.

Michelle and I are starting to throw some ideas around for the picnic. My sister Kim had a very good suggestion to address a small issue that probably needs addressed this year. Trying to get everyone involved as a group this year and less satellite groups breaking off. We're thinking possibly an auction, door prizes, maybe some bingo games, a scavenger hunt where people work in teams and possibly a group 360° picture since I now have that capability.

Have yourselves a great day today.

Hi ho hi ho

Photo Flashback Thursday / Announcement

Once a week I like to take a little bit of time out and look through some of the pictures that I have either taken, scanned or stolen off of the internet through the years and find one special picture that stands out. Little lost moments in time from yesterday caught with a Cameras lens and relived right here in my blog. Sometimes it's pretty easy to find that one special picture and sometimes it's not that easy, one thing it consistently is however is a whole lot of fun. This weeks flashback though has a duel purpose.

This picture right here is the food trays that were set up for the Third Annual Friends and Family Picnic from mast year. We had the event at Krepps Park and this was the rird year we have hosted the event. I guess you can say that leads into the next part of my duel purpose.

The Fourth Annual Friends and Family Picnic has been set, Krepps Pavilion is rented once again and ours on July 2 of this year. This is a Sunday and a couple of days before the 4th of July (meaning everyone is going to be off work on Monday ..lol). This date is in the middle of the summer, a time when families are starting vacations and traveling and works best for everyone.

Have a great day, now I have something else to add to my tidbits. =)

Hi ho hi ho

Hump Day

Well two regular days down and two more regular days ahead of us, not all I have to do is get up and over this noon time hump and it'll be all downhill towards another fun filled weekend.

I am actually taking the evening off from my secondary job, I've got a great start on this quarter and I do like a few days during the week to just come home after work and not be rushed out the door to do field work.

It does look like we are going to get a little bit of a break from the frigid temperatures that we have been dealing with for the last week or so, I do have to say that that does not bother me in the slightest. I'm not a winter kind of guy, I'm ready for the springtime.

Trying to think of some kind of family events for the next few months, it was something that we did last year and would be nice to continue. It started out as a good idea but kind slacked off the latter part of the year with the notable exception of the Christmas Bulb Decoration Party that Kim hosted. Anyone have any unique and original ideas?

Have yourselves a great day today.

Hi hi ho hi

Happy Birthday Sandra Irene Bell

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful person who gave birth to this blog author, a very Happy Birthday today.

My Mom is a very special person in my life, if it were not for her and my Dad going out on a date and fooling around, this blog would have never came into existence. So we definitely have her to thank for the content on this blog.

The picture that I found is one from the days that she used to live in Hawaii, all I can ask is why did she come back. I could be living in Hawaii...lol

We were going to do a birthday get together this past weekend for Mom, but we have rescheduled it to this coming Sunday due to some illnesses in the family. So we will all be meeting at Golden Coral to celebrate her birthday with her.

If you happen to see Sandra Irene today, interrupt her midget porn viewing and wish her a very Happy Birthday.

Happy Birthday Mom.

Tuesdays Tidbits

* Well that back to work after the St Louis trip is now over with, can't think of a better reason to do a tidbits. I bet you missed these

* I know you guys have missed this count, it has been 19,399 wonderful days since my birth. Still going strong looking ahead.

* There have been 4,622 days that have gone by since I Graduated from WVU, it's amazing how quickly time goes by. It will be 13 years since I graduated this May.

* It was 3,223 days ago that Michelle and I went out on our very first date together, she's still around so I must be doing something right for the first time.

* It has been 2,447 days since I proposed marriage to my wonderful wife, I enjoy each and every day that I get to spend with her, even if it is for only a few minutes.

* We are in day 1,984 of Marriage, I am one lucky guy and I thank my lucky stas each and every day to have had such a wonderful person come into my life.

* I have about 5,438 or so days to go until my retirement giving the current rules for retirement give or take a few hundred here or there and depending on how I feel.

* There are only 2,076 days to go until the Backyard Brawl in football takes the field once again. I was hoping for a WVU Pitt Bowl matchup, but I'm patient.

* I have 355 more days to go until my Goodbye 2017 blog is written, that is my annual recall the year by what is posted in my blog blog.

* There are 349 more shopping days left to go until Christmas 2017, it may be a little early but hey, someone has to do the countdown.

* There are but a mere 325 more days to go until I celebrate yet another anniversary of my 21st Birthday.

* There are 270 more days to go until we once again attend the Springs Festival, I'm itching to go up there again soon if not to the other Amish Country.

* Our next cruise is 243 days away. It killed me to watch John Heild broadcast live from the Pride at Grand Turk as I was sitting in St Louis.

* There are only 208 more days to go until Michelle and I celebrate our Sixth Wedding Anniversary together. I am the luckiest man in the world.

* There are 165 more days to go until Calvin and Jeanetta's Wedding next June, she has put together this very informative website for everyone to use. Michelle and I need to get around to booking ourt hotel room before long.

* My favorite season of the year is a mere 69 days away when Spring 2017 finally arrives. I'm ready for the warm weather, the birds a singing and and the smells of springtime.

* My buddy Phil the Groundhog takes center stage in 23 more days when he forecasts the weather on Ground Hogs Day. I think I need to send him a few cases of liquor and a few female groundhogs to keep him company.

* This is my 4,724th blog that I have written for George's Journal in the now 12+ years that I have been writing it. That is a lot of thoughts as well as a lot of words that I have typed in for everyone to read.

* No work yest this fall on the Hall Family Tree, as soon as things slow down a little bit I'm going to start working on that again, I know I have been slacking since working two jobs this year.

* Once again nothing new on the brother search, the DNA tests returned a few second cousins and beyond, but nothing close to a brother.....yet. I still have faith that something, sometime and someday will turn up.

* Ryleigh's Birthday party went very well this past weekend, I posted all of the pictures HERE for everyone to see.

* I think I need to start planning the Friends and Family Picnic for this summer. This will actually be the fourth one and that makes me sit back and think, we have done something positive if we have had that many years of doing it.

* Anyone up to attempt to get together as a group and take on the Escape Room here in Morgantown? We need a group of 10 people.

* Anyone ready for Spring yet? Especially after the frigid temps that we have been experiancing the past few days.

* Have I ever mentioned before that I Hate Snow!!!!!....A Lot.

* Have yourselves a great day and make the very most of it and live it to the fullest.

* Hi ho hi ho

Monday Monday

All good things must come to an end, my extended vacation from my normal job ends today as I head back into the office for the first time in 2017. It was a nice break and an exciting one, but now it's time to get back to my career.

I was off yesterday from both jobs, so today will start another stretch of working for me, or at least six days as my case load is not an intense as it was last quarter and everything is pretty close to the house, so I don't have to travel an hour just to get there this quarter.

It's been a slow period at my regular job due to the end of the year and the holidays, so my trip to St Louis did come at a time where it was not too inhibitive on my career job. The new Suncrest Elementary School has opened up right across the street, so I will have that added school traffic getting in and out of my place of employment.

Michelle returns to work today as well with a few stories about her first ever flights and memories of what she has seen over the past week.

Have yourselves a great day today.

Hi ho hi ho

Happy Birthday Ryleigh Mae McClain

I would like to take this opportunity to wish Ryleigh Mae McClain a very Happy First Birthday today.

It was just a year ago that Michelle and I stopped to see my brother in law Jim at the Hospital, when we got off of the elevator there was Pam, George and Calvin sitting there in the waiting room. They gave us the same "what are you doing here look" as we gave them...lol\

Yesterday Ang and Moke hosted Ryleigh's first birthday party at the Core Community Center so that we could all celebrate her very special birthday with her.

If you happen to see this little bundle of joy today, make sure that you wish her a very Happy Birthday today.

Happy Birthday Ryleigh Mae.

Sunday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit on a quiet Sunday Morning, I'm up early watching Sisters on HBO and collecting the thoughts out of my empty head. I have a fire going in the fireplace and our weekly chores are done for the day so Michelle will sleep in on this frigid morning.

We were going to have my Mom's Birthday Breakfast this morning, but Kim has been a little under the weather so we have pushed that back until next Sunday, we can make it a special day next Sunday as it will be Michelle's birthday as well.

This afternoon we will be going to a Ryleigh's first birthday party at the Core Community Center. Michelle and I will be there and helping Ryleigh celebrate her first year on this rock. Hopefully we can get a good turnout for today.

The Pittsburgh Steelers play their first round playoff game this afternoon against the Miami Dolphins, the Steelers will be trying extract a little revenge on the fish after losing to them earlier in the year. Unlike playoff years in the past, the Steelers are full strength today.

Have a great day today.

Saturday Morning and Back Home

Here I sit once again on a quiet Saturday Morning at home, I'm up early as usual collecting my thoughts for the day and watching the movie Friday on HBO. Other than that everything in the household is quiet.

St Louis was a great time, it was cold and windy and I was basically in the classroom the entire time, but Michelle was exploring the city and having a blast. She saw three Museums, the St Louis City Museum, The Budweiser Factory and we both toured the National Blues Museum and was pretty interesting. We also visited the Gateway Arch obviously, but we did that on our first day to the city.

We had some really good cuisine, we found some really good smoked BBQ at Sugarfire Smokehouse which I have to say was pretty phenomenal. If you like smoked meats and you are in St Louis, this place in an absolute must. They were on BBQ Pit Masters on the Food Network and beat Bobby Flay. We did talk to a few locals about local staples, and they pointed us to Imo Pizza which we ordered and loved. Our first night there we ate at a local bar and grille called Over Under which was right across the street from the hotel. So in short we had a great time in St Louis.

Michelle is now an experienced flyer with three flights under her belt now. She really liked the flight out on Southwest for her first flight, I upgraded everything at the airport so her first trip, the one she was nervous about was a memorable one.

Today, I'm back out in the field doing a little bit of field work now that I am re-certified for 2017 officially. This quarter my initial segments are much closer to home than they were last quarter. I'll actually be working in the Morgantown area and where my Dad and Jean used to live is probably about the center point of the segment.

Have yourselves a great day and stay warm.

We're Coming Home

Well St Louis, it has been a lot of fun but we are leaving today to head back home. Hopefully we will take a peace of you home with us as we have left a peace of us with you. We got to spend an extra night here as to not put us back in Pittsburgh during the middle of the night, so we are leaving this morning.

We will be leaving St Louis at 8:45 St Louis Time (9:45 EST) and flying to Dulles International Airport in Washington DC aboard United Airline Flight 4669 where we should land there at 11:45 (we will cross back over the time zone). From there we will have an hour and ten minute layover as we head towards our next flight to Pittsburgh at 12:55 aboard United Airlines Flight 6191 where we should arrive back in Pittsburgh around 2:00 this afternoon.

It was a direct flight out, but the return flight is a little wacky to say the least. No complaints though, we should be back at the homestead later this afternoon as we drive back from Pittsburgh.

Have a great day, we'll be traveling.

Certification Day

Well today is the day where all of yesterdays training pays off and we will do our 2017 Certification to do our field work for the following year. This is the entire reason why we have made this trip, to once again earn our certifications.

I'll be doing my certification this morning, Michelle will once again have a morning of running around St Louis and seeing new things. Hopefully she had taken a number of pictures around town.

After my certification, most of the people I have been in training with will be leaving to head home. Because we will have a layover in Dulles going home, Michelle and I will have a free night in St Louis to do what we want to do this afternoon and this evening. Maybe she can show me some of the highlights that she has seen and witnessed, I know if I have not made it to the Arch by today, I will want to see that before we leave.

Have yourselves a great day today.

Training Day

Well we have made it to St Louis, I will have a busy day in the classroom all day and Michelle will have the luxury of being here and getting the chance to run around and see St Louis. Something tells me she will be taking a trip to the Arch and a few other sites around the city.

We are in between Busch Stadium where the Baseball Cardinals play and right across the street from the Edward Jones Dome where the Rams used to play before they moved back to Los Angeles.

I'll be busy all day in the class room, going over new procedures and changes for the 2017 data collection year and if it is anything like Raleigh was, it's going to be a long intense day of training and going over things. Fortunately it is mostly going to be a review of what we are pretty much already doing and it's tweaks rather than learning all new material. I'll have to do this training every year, the city always varies. Last year it was in Columbus Ohio so it's hard to say where we will be next year. it will be nice to put some faces behind a few voices and finally meet my supervisor face to face.

Have a Great Day.

Travel Day

Well it is a travel day today, Michelle and I will be heading to the Pittsburgh Airport this morning and preparing to travel to St. Louis on Southwest Airlines Flight 2978 this morning. We'll be taking off just before noon and heading to St Louis. The flight takes 2 hours but we will also cross a time zone, so it will be 1:00 St Louis time when we land and 2:00 EST.

We will be heading to the hotel via the metro and by foot so to speak. We will be checking into and staying at the Marriott St Louis Grand and will be staying here until Friday morning when we depart to head back home.

This will be Michelle's first flight and the first time she will ever cross a time zone or the Mississippi River, so she is quite excited.

We should be checking into our hotel later today.

Monday

Well it is Monday, Michelle is doing her one day in the office this week and I'm off today and starting to pack for tomorrows trip.

I've pre-written blogs for all week so everyone can track our flights and know what we are up to. I'm sure Michelle is going to post a number of images from around the city as I'm in class.

Well the New Year started with a bang for us so to speak, I went out yesterday morning to get ready to go shopping and I noticed some moron ran over our mailbox and messed up his car pretty back from all the plastic laying around in the yard. It's amazing they didn't flip or hit the guardrail head on from the end head on and hurt someone. My guess is some drunken person woke up yesterday morning and realized they messed up their car.

Anyways we had our traditional pork and sour kraut yesterday, but we ended up throwing the sour kraut from Springs away as it seemed to be a little rancid.

Have yourselves a great day.

And We Made It

Whew that was close, Betty White is still alive and we made it past 2016 and into 2017. We're in the New Year!!! Me? I'm up early watching the boob tube and collecting my thoughts for the new year and everyone else is sleeping quietly.

We'll be doing our normal shopping schedule today, but it will be a limited list as we will be traveling the majority of this week.

On our menu today will be our traditional pork and sour kraut for good luck, Michelle and I have prepared that every year that we have been together and it has become a tradition with us. We picked up our sour kraut in Springs PA this past fall at the Springs Festival, we always freeze it and pull it out for New Years Day.

I hope everyone had a safe and happy New Years, leaving 2016 in our distant memories as we look towards the future.

Have a great day.

Happy New Year!!!!!!

Should old acquaintance be forgot,

and never brought to mind?

Should old acquaintance be forgot,

and old lang syne?

CHORUS:

For auld lang syne, my dear,

for auld lang syne,

we'll take a cup of kindness yet,

for auld lang syne.

And surely you’ll buy your pint cup!

and surely I’ll buy mine!

And we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,

for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We two have run about the slopes,

and picked the daisies fine;

But we’ve wandered many a weary foot,

since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We two have paddled in the stream,

from morning sun till dine†;

But seas between us broad have roared

since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

And there’s a hand my trusty friend!

And give me a hand o’ thine!

And we’ll take a right good-will draught,

for auld lang syne.

CHORUS