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 that opening statement is true about one job, I have a new quarter starting tomorrow for the other one so I will be occupied here for the next month or better. The break was nice, but it is time to get back out and start doing field work again. The break had perfect timing and now that Michelle is a MEPCO employee it's time for me to get back at it.

The weather for this coming weekend looks like it is going to be a wet one, but that doesn't bother me. Last year when I worked this section I had days where it was windy and snowing, not exactly the ideal conditions for where I was working.

Sunday there is the Bowl-A-Thon at Suburban Lanes. Shoe rentals are free and games are just $2.00 each. All the proceeds go to the Johnny Koon Brain Tumor Research Fund at WVU Children's Hospital. It's a good cause and a lot of fun with a great group of people if you have a little spare time.

Have 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 pic goes back to a Jimmy Buffet Concert a few years ago, this was actually taken the year before Michelle and I were married. This was not the last concert we went to prior to getting married, but was the one about a year before we did.

I'm not sure if Jimmy is coming to Pittsburgh this year, he has never waited this long to make a decision on the Pittsburgh show, although last year he waited until mid March before he made his announcement. We're about ready to head into April and still no announcement for Pittsburgh. Hopefully we will get an announcement soon and be able to see him again in 2017.

Have yourselves a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Hump Day

Well two days down, a couple ahead of us and now all we have to do is get up and over this noon time hump today and it will be all down hill towards another fun filled weekend.

Me however I am starting a new Quarter so my days off are going to be non-existent until Easter. We had our kickoff meeting yesterday, and we are all just about ready to to head out. Hopefully we will have some good weather, the days are going to be longer so I will have more daylight hours. I think that really inhibited us last quarter, we're ready to go though.

Opioid overdoses in West Virginia have been on a rise, and that is a scary thought. This is one of the reasons I give up my free time to work on the NSDUH, what we are doing is trying to make a difference.

Michelle is loving the new job, I think that she is very happy now with her career and is loving MEPCO. Her office is much bigger than it was with her previous office and she is in seventh heaven. It warms my heart to know that she is finally being appreciated for what she does.

Have a great day today

Hi ho hi ho

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Michelle has now finished her first official day of employment with Mepco, sounds like a great time to do a tidbits.

* I know you guys have missed this count, it has been 19,476 wonderful days since my birth, I sometimes feel older than 21.

* There have been 4,699 days that have gone by since I Graduated from WVU, second best decision I have ever made in my life.

* It was 3,300 days ago that Michelle and I went out on our very first date together, it's amazing how far we have both come since that first fateful night.

* It has been 2,524 days since I proposed marriage to a very wonderful woman, did it at 4:00 AM out on the back yard.

* We are in day 2,061 of Marriage, she must like me as she has kept me around.

* I have about 5,361 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 1,999 days to go until the Backyard Brawl in football takes the field once again. I want to kick some Panther butt!!!!!

* My buddy Phil the Groundhog takes center stage in 311 more days when he forecasts the weather on Ground Hogs Day. I think Mother Nature however is inserting her will as we speak.

* I have 278 more days to go until my Goodbye 2017 blog is written. That is the blog that I do at the end of the year that is based upon what I write here on this blog.

* There are 271 more shopping days left to go until Christmas 2017, never too early to start planning.

* There are but a mere 248 more days to go until I celebrate yet another anniversary of my 21st Birthday, or something close to that. I think my ages rounds out to about 21.

* There are 193 more days to go until we once again attend the Springs Festival, weather permitting of course.

* Our next cruise is 166 days away, we just booked our hotel for the trip. We'll be staying at the same one we stayed at last year. We determined which hotel by simply asking ourselves if we wanted to eat at Bubba Gump's or Guy Fieri's Restaurant. Guy won as we are staying beside Caesars in Baltimore. Hopefully I can actually win a little money this year.

* There are only 131 more days to go until Michelle and I celebrate our Sixth Wedding Anniversary together.

* In 114 more days Michelle and I will be attending WV Mountainfest. Already have our tickets for this years events. Going to go see George Thorogood and maybe even Hank Williams Jr.

* There are 103 more days to go until our 2017 Friends and Family Picnic.

* There are 88 more days to go until Calvin and Jeanetta's Wedding next June, I really need to get my RSVP in and book our hotel for that. Their very informative website.

* It's just a mere 85 days away when Summer 2017 arrives.

* This is my 4,806th blog that I have written for George's Journal in the now 12 1/2 +  years that I have been writing it. That is a lot of thoughts, a lot of history and a lot of me.

* No work yest this year on the Hall Family Tree. This has not been a productive year for it at all on my end.

* Once again nothing new on the brother search, I am keeping the hope and faith, but I'm not finding the first trace of his existence anywhere.

* Still no baby yet on the Giraffe Cam, I know Michelle has been eagerly awaiting its arrival. I still think April is lying to Oliver to keep him, she's not pregnant.

* We have set the dates for our 35th High School Class reunion, it will be July 28th and 29th of this year.

* I did purchase a new firearm this past weekend, I bought a Sig Sauer P320C

* Have I ever mentioned that I love Spring!!!

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

* Hi ho hi ho

Congratulations Michelle

A little over a month ago, early February, Michelle's employment ended at where she used to work at. It was not her choice, but she was underpaid, overworked and very much under appreciated. She was a dedicated employee who went above and beyond despite it being the root of some of her medical problems in the past couple of years. They burned the bridge and that bridge is now officially gone and she has moved on to a better place.

It all started a couple weeks after she was unemployed when United Talent contacted her and said they had a position for her possibly. She went in and did their testing (she typed 90 WMP) and was offered a temporary job with MEPCO through United Talent for more money than she was making per hour at her previous employer.

Prior to starting there she had two other interviews. One with UBC express scripts who did make Michelle an offer, but it was under her market value and she graciously declined the offer. She had also had another interview with Mylan Pharmaceuticals who made her a VERY lucrative offer. It was an amazing offer and she had accepted it and even went through the drug screen and was to officially begin next Monday. When she went to MEPCO, they told her they wanted to make an offer as well, that includes buying out her United Talent Contract and they actually exceeded Mylan's offer in Salary, 401K Match, Bonuses, and the health insurance plan. Both offers were pretty similar, but Mylan offered a little more PTO time and MEPCO offered her a salaried position.

Michelle had already accepted the Mylan offer when the MEPCO offer came in. She pondered it for a couple of hours and I asked her what does her gut tell her.

Well as of today, she is OFFICIALLY a salaried employee of MEPCO. She has really impressed them and they went above and beyond to retain her, they more than understood her value and more than  appreciated her.

I am very proud of my wife, she received three offers of employment and two of them were phenomenal offers. We have kept this quiet until the right time, it is now the right time.

Congratulations Michelle.

Sunday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit yet once again on a quiet Sunday Morning, I'm the first one to awaken from a losing battle with the Sandman last night and I'm up watching Spiderman (the good one with Tobey Maguire) on HBO and collecting my thoughts for the day.

Michelle spent yesterday at Amanda's Bridal shower and had a great time visiting her family. She said she had a lot of fun and had a great time, Hayley was my photographer for the day and grabbed 197 pictures of the event. The groom is a is a multi-media specialist so I have only made them available to them for the time being. Hayley did get some great shots though, good job.

Last night we all met at the Mountainview Jamboree and surprised Amy for her birthday which was last week. I have to hand it to Ralph, Amy did not suspect a thing and he actually told her that they were going to Sonic, so she had absolutely no idea that everyone was there waiting on her. Kudo's to Ralph and the entire Dalton clan for being so hospitable and pulling this off, it was quite impressive. We played Dime Bingo later on, lets just say I lost all of my money. What a really fun game, I liked that.

I hope everyone has a great day today, get out and enjoy the wonderful weather.

Saturday Morning Rambling

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

Well Michelle is going to be busy today, she will be going to her niece Amanda's Bridal shower this afternoon at the Marilla Center. She has family coming in from everywhere for this, so it's going to be a chance for her to spend a little quality time with some very special people today. A number of them met last evening at Chilli's yesterday evening to reminisce and carry on as Michelle puts it.

This is my last free weekend for a while as we are getting ready to start another quarter next Saturday. My day will be filled with basketball as I watch the Next round of the NCAA Tournament. My brackets have all been busted for sometime, but I still enjoy the excitement of the tournament.

Have yourselves a great day today, the weather should be pretty decent so get out, enjoy it and make it special. You only get one chance to live today, make the most of it.

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 this will be my last weekend of for a while, I'll start working for RTI once again next Saturday as we kick off the next quarter of our study. It was nice to have a few weeks off, but it'll be nice to get back to doing the study once again. I'll be working close to home this quarter, so that makes it pretty nice, not a whole lot of travel time this quarter. I know the last quarter of 2016 I was traveling anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes each way depending on which section I was working in.

I don't have a whole lot planned for this weekend, however Michelle will be attending her niece Amanda's Bridal Shower Saturday Afternoon. They are having the shower at the exact same place Michelle and I got married, the Marilla Center. HotRods will be catering both the wedding and the Bridal Shower. My Brother in Law Jim convinced him to go into business as he made his first batch of wings in Jim's back yard.

I hope everyone has 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 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 goes back to 2009, it was taken right after Amy and Ralph's Wedding at the church. We gathered he Motley looking crew all together to grab a group photo for the day and this is what we got. It's one of those rare pictures when all five siblings are in the same picture, but this time almost everyone else was there are well. I swear Calvin is a foot shorter in this picture than how he looks today.

Amy and Ralph hosted a reception at there home, but I seem to recall it was done the very next day rather than this day. This day was just the day that two souls were bound by matrimony.

Have yourselves a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Hump Day

Two days down, two more ahead of us 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.

On April 2 the Koon family will be hosting the Johnny Koon Pediatric Brain Tumor Research Fund Bowl-A-Thon from 3-5 PM at Suburban Lanes here in Morgantown. Bowling costs $2.00 a game and the shoe rental is free. The Koon family does two fund raisers a year, the other being the lantern launch later this year and the Bowl-a-Thon. Come on out, spend some of that extra money and help raise some money for Pediatric Brain Tumor Research, you'll feel better that you did.

Other than that this has been a pretty busy week for me at work. I have to say that I have been much busier than normal which is a good thing. I should be starting to get ready for my next quarter working for RTI as well in the next few days. I like these long breaks, they are refreshing at the end of a busy quarter.

Have a great day and live it to its fullest.

Hi ho hi ho

Tuesday's Tidbits

* It's Spring, I don't need any better reason to do a tidbits.

* I know you guys have missed this count, it has been 19,469 wonderful days since my birth, I'm lucky each week that that number increases.

* There have been 4,692 days that have gone by since I Graduated from WVU, second best decision I have ever made in my life.

* It was 3,293 days ago that Michelle and I went out on our very first date together, it was the movie 10,000 BC. Tomorrow will be the 9 year anniversary of that first date.

* It has been 2,517 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 2,054 of Marriage, we're still going strong, she is my everything.

* I have about 5,368 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 2,007 days to go until the Backyard Brawl in football takes the field once again. It's getting closer bit by bit.

* My buddy Phil the Groundhog takes center stage in 318 more days when he forecasts the weather on Ground Hogs Day. I think Mother Nature however is inserting her will as we speak.

* I have 285 more days to go until my Goodbye 2017 blog is written. That is the blog that I do at the end of the year that is based upon what I write here on this blog.

* There are 279 more shopping days left to go until Christmas 2017, never too early to start planning.

* There are but a mere 255 more days to go until I celebrate yet another anniversary of my 21st Birthday, or something close to that. I think my ages rounds out to about 21.

* There are 200 more days to go until we once again attend the Springs Festival, weather permitting of course.

* Our next cruise is 173 days away, hopefully all goes better than planned unlike last year when we missed a port.

* There are only 138 more days to go until Michelle and I celebrate our Sixth Wedding Anniversary together. I am the luckiest man in the world, but I think I've expressed that more than once here.

* In 121 more days Michelle and I will be attending WV Mountainfest. Already have our tickets for this years events. Going to go see George Thorogood and maybe even Hank Williams Jr

* There are 103 more days to go until our 2017 Friends and Family Picnic.

* There are 95 more days to go until Calvin and Jeanetta's Wedding next June, she has put together this very informative website for everyone to use. I need to start thinking about what hotel we will be staying in.

* It's just a mere 92 days away when Summer 2017 arrives.

* This is my 4,797th 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. I haven't done any work to it this fall.

* 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.

* Still no baby yet on the Giraffe Cam, I know Michelle has been eagerly awaiting its arrival. I still think April is lying to Oliver to keep him, she's not pregnant.

* We have set the dates for our 35th High School Class reunion, it will be July 28th and 29th of this year.

* The NCAA Basketball tournament continues this week, WVU is on to the Sweet 16 this Thursday against #1 seed and the #2 team in the country when they take on Gonzaga.

* Have I ever mentioned that I love Spring!!!

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

* Hi ho hi ho

It's SPRING!!!!!!!!!!!!

Even though today is Monday and we are starting another work week, this is also the first day of my favorite season of the year. It is the Vernal Equinox and at 10:28 this morning we are OFFICIALLY starting Spring.

I have said it numerous times, Spring is my favorite season on the year, it's a rebirth of all the plants, the pleasant smells that the flowers radiate, allowing you to have a nosegasm of pleasantry like no other time in the year. Birds are singing, the days are longer and the bright vivid colors of the foliage re-birth is just something I have always appreciated.

Other than that, the Men's Basketball team made it out of the first weekend of the NCAA basketball Tournament and were not one of the 52 teams that were eliminated this weekend and are one of the 16 that are still playing in March Madness. I will say that my bracket(s) have all been busted as the team I picked to win it all in all of my brackets, lost in the second round. That's OK though, my favorite team and coach are still in it to win it.

Have yourselves a great day today.

Hi ho hi ho and let's enjoy the Spring!!!!!

Sunday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit in a quiet household, I'm up early watching Key and Peele on Comedy Central and checking on April on the Giraffe Cam on Youtube as I surf the net and collect my thoughts for the day.

Well the WVU Men's Basketball team beat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 83-71 yesterday to be the first team to advance to the Sweet 16. That round will begin on Thursday and we will take on #1 seed and the nations 32 seed Gonzaga. Gonzaga has gotten the better of us the last couple of times we have played, so we have a little added inspiration other than advancing in the NCAA Tournament, if we beat them this will be thr third team that has been ranked #1 this year that we will have beaten. We're going to have our hands full, but it is a task that can be accomplished.

The WVU Women will be trying to make their mark and advance to the Sweet 16 themselves as they take on #3 seed and the #4 team in the country when they take on the University of Maryland this afternoon at 2:30. The Mountaineers have never beaten Maryland, but they have only played twice and haven't played each other since the early 1980's.

For Michelle and I, it'll be a day of doing our grocery shopping and the things that we usually do on every Sunday to prepare for another week of work ahead.

Have yourselves a great day today.

Happy Birthday Amy Dalton

I would like to take this opportunity to wish my beautiful niece Amy a very Happy Birthday today. If my math is correct as it always is, this would make her 21 today.

Amy is a wonderful Mother and she is also a pretty good outdoor rural photographer. I know that she recently put a plan in place and managed to get the job as a teachers aid that she set out to get some time ago. Amy has a very good head on her shoulders and knows how to accomplish what she sets out to do.

I'm not sure what Ralphie has planned for her today, but I know what ever it is it will be special. She got an early gift yesterday with a fitbit charge 2.

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

Happy Birthday Amy.

Saturday

Here I sit on a quiet Saturday Morning, Josh just left to go work in Ohio for a couple of weeks and I'm sitting here eating breakfast and watching Bill Mahar on HBO and surfing the net.

No plans for the day off the top of my head, West Virginia Men's and Women's Basketball teams have both advanced in the NCAA Tournament and the men will play Notre Dame today with a chance to advance to the Sweet 16 next weekend. I'm just glad we are playing the Irish a day AFTER St Patrick's Day...lol

Like I said, Josh just left to go work in Ohio for a couple of weeks, I know he was scheduled to got to Texas for a while, and I'm not sure if that is still the case or not. He did leave this morning with suitcase in hand and is heading to the pad in Ohio. I know a Thursday Night he got back after Midnight and was out the door again by 6:30 AM.

There is some very good news concerning Michelle coming up, just please hold tight as the final I's are dotted, the T's have been crossed already.

Have yourselves a great day today, it's going to be a little warmer so get out and enjoy it.

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 very Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

You know one thing I remember about St Patrick's Day as a kid growing up, it was always the day my Grandparents would always plant the first crop of our Garden and it was planting Potatoes. You could say they were a little superstitious, but it was just something I can always remember them doing.

Anyways Winter Storm Stella was a big dud and I have to give full credit to my wife Michelle who said we won't get an inch of snow. It was an amazing prediction, but it was a pretty accurate prediction as well. She is in fact an amazing woman and I have to bow down to her meteorology skills.

Have yourselves a great day today and make sure you wear your green.

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 goes back to a time when I think it was niece Valarie's Birthday, she seems like she is getting ready to blow out some candles and being that everyone appears to be dressed warm, I would say that my guess is pretty accurate. It's hard for me to put a year on this photo, but if I had to make a guess I would guess either 1991 or 92.

There is nothing really to go on that would be a dead give away, but we do have a few people in the picture that helps age the picture and also guessing by the ages of everyone in the picture.

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

Hi ho hi ho

Hump Day

With so much attention being paid to the Giraffe and the Giraffe Cam with April, it's about time that we re-direct our attention to the Camel and the fact that we are about halfway done with the work week, now all we have to do is get up and over this hump and past the snow and it will be all downhill from there.

Well today is a very special day for Michelle and I. It was nine years ago today that I took her out to see some very bad movie and fill her up on Pizza from Pizza Hut. March 15, 2008 was our first date and the start of the rest of our lives together.

I guess you never know when one event will change your life or be one you remember forever, you can't anticipate it or know when it is going to happen, it just does sometimes.

I will point out that I had asked her out a few months earlier and she ended up standing me up on Christmas Eve when I invited her to Klaer Lodge for Christmas. Stood me up cold like some artificial decorative tree being put up outdoors that everyone just ignores. She made it up to me however =)

Have a great day

Hi ho hi ho

Tuesday's Tidbits

* The first Daylight Savings time Monday has now passed, and I was one of those people who slept in because I don't use an alarm clock. Time for a Tidbits.

* I know you guys have missed this count, it has been 19,462 wonderful days since my birth, I'm lucky each week that that number increases.

* There have been 4,685 days that have gone by since I Graduated from WVU, second best decision I have ever made in my life.

* It was 3,286 days ago that Michelle and I went out on our very first date together, it was the movie 10,000 BC. Tomorrow will be the 9 year anniversary of  that first date.

* It has been 2,510 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 2,047 of Marriage, we're still going strong, she is my everything.

* I have about 5,375 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 2,013 days to go until the Backyard Brawl in football takes the field once again. It's getting closer bit by bit.

* My buddy Phil the Groundhog takes center stage in 325 more days when he forecasts the weather on Ground Hogs Day. I think Mother Nature however is inserting her will as we speak.

* I have 292 more days to go until my Goodbye 2017 blog is written. That is the blog that I do at the end of the year that is based upon what I write here on this blog.

* There are 286 more shopping days left to go until Christmas 2017, never too early to start planning.

* There are but a mere 262 more days to go until I celebrate yet another anniversary of my 21st Birthday.

* There are 207 more days to go until we once again attend the Springs Festival, weather permitting of course.

* Our next cruise is 180 days away, hopefully all goes better than planned unlike last year when we missed a port.

* There are only 145 more days to go until Michelle and I celebrate our Sixth Wedding Anniversary together. I am the luckiest man in the world, but I think I've expressed that more than once here.

* In 128 more days Michelle and I will be attending WV Mountainfest. Already have our tickets for this years events.

* There are 110 more days to go until our 2017 Friends and Family Picnic.

* There are 102 more days to go until Calvin and Jeanetta's Wedding next June, she has put together this very informative website for everyone to use. I need to start thinking about what hotel we will be staying in.

* My favorite season of the year is a mere 6 days away when Spring 2017 finally arrives. I'm ready for the warm weather, the birds a singing and and the smells of springtime.

* This is my 4,789th 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. I haven't done any work to it this fall.

* 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.

* Still no baby yet on the Giraffe Cam, I know Michelle has been eagerly awaiting its arrival. It's been a couple of weeks now since she started watching it and still no baby. There are 40,000 people streaming that camera at any time and they have raised over $50,000 for April's care from the cam.

* With longer days now upon us, now it may be time to start hitting the trails and get some of this excess weight off for the Spring ans Summer. I tend to hibernate and eat too many carbs in the winter months.

* The NCAA Basketball tournament starts this week. WVU is a #4 seed and will take on Bucknell on Thursday in their first round game.

* Have I ever mentioned that I hate snow?

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

* Hi ho hi ho

Back to Work

Well as Winter Storm Stella prepares to enter the area, we are returning back to the office for another fun filled week of doing what it is that we do for a living. It's time for the fun to stop and to stick our collective noses back on the grindstone once again.

We do have a special day coming up with week for Michelle and I, this Wednesday will be the 9 year anniversary that I took her out for Pizza and to see the god awful horrible movie 10,000 BC. The day my life changed forever. We actually had a discussion last week to see if either one of remembered what the second movie we ever say together was, neither one of us could recall it even though it was a much better movie. It was actually the movie Leatherheads, but I actually had to refer to my blog to determine that. Just another great reason that I highly recommend doing some kind of a journal of your life, we would never have known that without the blog archive.

It's been confirmed that I have down time for RTI until basically the first of the month and the start of the second quarter. It's nice to have that down time, it gives you a little bit of time to relax before you hit it hard once again at the start of a new quarter. I will once again be working in the Morgantown area, pretty close to areas that I had previously worked and one that I worked last year at this time. So I will only be working one job the next few weeks, which means I'll have my weekends up until April!!!

Have a great day today and make steps to take over the world.

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday Morning Thoughts

Here I sit in a quiet household, I'm up early adjusting to Daylight Savings time with a nice warm fire in the fireplace and watching boxing on HBO while I collect my thoughts for the day.

Well Josh is still here, he had his trip to Texas moved back to the end of the month, I guess they are not ready for their crew to be down there yet and have delayed them for a couple of weeks. He still has plenty of work up here, but I think he was a little excited about going down there and working a lot. It'll give him a chance to set back some money and maybe get a couple payments ahead on his new Jeep that he just bought.

I broke down yesterday and bought a new office chair at Sams Club. I had been using the cheap $20.00 chairs for years and it was just time for a new chair. We were looking for a new one for Chad a couple of weeks ago, so we had already done our research and nailed it down to a couple of them that I really liked. We went to Office Depot, but they were literally twice as expensive as Sam's on their furniture. This new one is very comfortable and one you could fall asleep in...lol

Congratulations to the WVU Rifle Team, they won their 5th straight National Championship yesterday and 19th in school history. Last year they had a Freshman win the individual National Championship who went on to win the Gold Medal at the Olympics. Well we had two individual National Champions this year in the small bore and the air rifle competitions and both of them were Freshmen shooters. I would say this team is stacked for a few years.

Brace and prepare yourselves as Winter Storm Stella is about to show up in this region this week. Make sure that you are stocked up on Toilet Paper, Eggs, Milk, Bread and Beer...lol

Have yourselves a great day and have fun adjusting to the time change.

Saturday

Here I sit once again in a quiet household, the sandman knocked everyone out last night as Mother Nature tries to arrange for a final screw you before she allows for Spring to get here. I'm up watching Steve Jobs on HBO and collecting my my thoughts for the day.

We got our hand delivered Wedding invitation from Calvin and Jeannetta yesterday. I guess we need to get our RSVP out as does everyone else so that they can  give an accurate head count as they are in their final preparation for their big day. I know from a few years ago that getting those RSVP's back is like pulling teeth on a Giraffe, so if you are one of the ones they are waiting on, take a little stress off the bride and groom by responding ASAP.

Josh is leaving today to go to Texas, he's flying out but I have no clue as to the details of where he is flying out of yet, flight times or anything other than he is going to Odessa Texas or in that area to work. He's going to be our there for up to a Month working, but he is one of those work-a-holics so he will be right in his element. I hope he has a safe flight and a gets to enjoy himself there a little bit.

Not that I'm complaining, but it seems Mother Nature has waited until March to give us any winter weather this year. We have been lucky and gotten very little snow this winter, but the forecast ahead is Mother Nature's way of reminding us that she is in charge of the climate. I will point out to her that this coming Thursday will be six weeks since Ground Hogs Day, so knock it off bitch.

Have yourselves a great and relaxing day today, and don;t forget to move those clocks ahead one hour tonight.

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.

It's going to be a short weekend for everyone, taker note that we will turn the clocks ahead an hour this Sunday Morning, meaning we will lose an hour of sleep but our evenings will have more daylight hours.

Josh found out a couple of days ago that he was going to have to go to Ohio and work for a couple of weeks, then things changed and he is now having to go to Texas for a couple of weeks to work. He'll he flying out tomorrow and will be there a couple of weeks working on a drill rig. He loves his new job and now it's actually taking him places.

No set in stone plans for Michelle and I, I know we have been talking about getting together with my brother Gary and doing something for the past couple of weeks. He's been talking about coming down here, but something tells me we'll be heading up there. We were talking about going to Coleman's Fish Market for lunch or something. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what presents itself this weekend.

Have a great day

Hi ho hi ho

Video Flashback Thursday

I decided to change a few things up this week. I traditionally do a photo flashback, but for some reason I had this video specifically in mind that I wanted to share with everyone. So my Photo Flashback is a video flashback for this week.

In todays world of smart phones, videos are very prevalent especially when it comes to the world of Social Media and how readily available they make things. Just think to the first time Michelle and I visited the St. Louis arch earlier this year, I live streamed it and people were experiencing what we were experiencing as we experienced it. It's nice to see things go like like that, but what about the videos of yesterday. The long lost and forgotten VHS tapes shoved into a corner somewhere. They need a new life as well and I have that capability to convert VHS to digital format quite easily.

This week I take an old family video of from when my Dad had visited Florida back around 1993 or so. Him and Jean had went down for a couple to Naples to visit some family members and it was a time that my Dad had a VHS Camera and they liked to take movies. I wish I could have found all of those old movies, but I did find a number of them and converted them including this weeks video that always puts a smile on my face. My Dad has been gone since 1999, but he lives on here as we captured just a moment in time of him feeding some wild ducks in Florida. This video always seems to put a smile on my face.

It just goes to show that life is very short, take as many pictures and videos as you can because those little moments in time will someday be priceless to others.

Have a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Hump Day

The absolute hardest blog of the week for me to come up with any suitable content for. It sits in between two work week theme days when we are really not doing anything really worth writing about. A day where the small remains of my once creative juices show more than any other day that they are exhausted and unimaginative.

It is the middle of the week, but how many times does redundancy run a muck on my blog just for the sake of publishing a post on a daily basis.

There are a number of subjects that I could talk about, but I've learned through the years that maybe sometimes it's better to wait for the most opportune time to announce something or just not say anything at all in some cases. I've tried to present my blog in a positive light, one where it's refreshing to read and does not really offend anyone. I have made a very conscious effort to do that for a number of years and will continue to do this.

What I do need to do is get out of this redundant posting and this creative rut and maybe reexamine how I blog in general. For the past couple of years it has been more of a tedious task rather than a passion. I want to continue to do it, as I think it is a great tool for me and my family history and later this year I should hit my 5,000th blog post. It does make a nice reference history for me. For example, 11 years ago today I was contacted by ESRI about relocating to Tyson's Corner, Virginia to be an ESRI Instructor. I never followed through on that, but it was one heck of a compliment for me.

A blog is a great thing and I really do recommend them for everyone. They are therapeutic and they do help create a lifes history fore yourself. I mean how many other people know what happened in your life on March 8, 2006? I do.

Have yourselves a great day today, do something small that changes someone elses world in a small way. It could be contagious.

Hi ho hi ho

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Monday is now behind us and I finally had my first cookout of the season last night, can't think of a better reason to do a tidbits.

* I know you guys have missed this count, it has been 19,455 wonderful days since my birth, I'm lucky each week that that number increases.

* There have been 4,678 days that have gone by since I Graduated from WVU, now if we can just get this current class out of here like they are this week for Spring Break, I'll be happy.

* It was 3,279 days ago that Michelle and I went out on our very first date together, it was the movie 10,000 BC and there will be a quiz on this next week.

* It has been 2,503 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 2,040 of Marriage, we're still going strong, she is my everything.

* I have about 5,382 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 2,020 days to go until the Backyard Brawl in football takes the field once again. We're kicking some Panther tail.

* My buddy Phil the Groundhog takes center stage in 333 more days when he forecasts the weather on Ground Hogs Day. Damn rat did not do me any favors this year.

* I have 299 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 297 more shopping days left to go until Christmas 2017, never too early to start planning.

* There are but a mere 269 more days to go until I celebrate yet another anniversary of my 21st Birthday.

* There are 214 more days to go until we once again attend the Springs Festival, weather permitting of course.

* Our next cruise is 187 days away, hopefully all goes better than planned unlike last year when we missed a port.

* There are only 160 more days to go until Michelle and I celebrate our Sixth Wedding Anniversary together. I am the luckiest man in the world, but I think I've expressed that more than once here.

* In 135 more days Michelle and I will be attending WV Mountainfest. Already have our tickets for this years events.

* There are 117 more days to go until our 2017 Friends and Family Picnic.

* There are 109 more days to go until Calvin and Jeanetta's Wedding next June, she has put together this very informative website for everyone to use. I need to start thinking about what hotel we will be staying in.

* My favorite season of the year is a mere 13 days away when Spring 2017 finally arrives. I'm ready for the warm weather, the birds a singing and and the smells of springtime.

* In 5 more days, we will set the clocks ahead an hour as the start of Daylight Savings time will be upon us. Come on Spring.

* This is my 4,782nd 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. I haven't done any work to it this fall.

* 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.

* Still no baby yet on the Giraffe Cam, I know Michelle has been eagerly awaiting its arrival. It's been a couple of weeks now since she started watching it and still no baby.

* I'm really getting excited as my favorite season is getting closer and closer. I'm not one for short days and the cold winter months, I'm one for warm days that are longer. Days when a good softball game is always right around the corner.

* May try getting together with Gary this coming weekend, I haven't seen him in forever and would love to see him.

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

* Hi ho hi ho

Monday

All good things must once again come to an end. We've reached that time when we stop the relaxing and enjoying of the weekend and start concentrating once again on the things that we do to earn a living. It's time to start our takeover of the world, call the minions.

Hopefully the weather will be more cooperative today than it has been the past few days, I wanted to grill all weekend and never got to, now I think we are finally going to get our chance this evening as we have steaks marinating and ready to throw on the grill this evening. I'm eagerly awaiting Springtime and I can't wait no more, got to have some grilled food!!! I should be firing up the smoker some weekend soon.

I'm ready for next week already, Sunday Morning we will lose an hour of sleep as we spring the clocks forward for Daylight Savings Time extending our evening daylight time that we have. My body will have to make an adjustment, but we are at the dawn of my favorite time of the year.

Nothing big planned this week according to my calendar, but that can always change at the drop of a hat. Hopefully next week we can start getting out a little in the evenings and maybe hit the trails or something.

Have yourselves a great start of a new work week and a great least favorite day of the week.

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday

Here I sit in a full household one again, Josh has made it back from visiting his Grandfather in Ohio and Hayley made a rare appearance yesterday evening. She spends most of her time with her friends. Anyways I'm up watching who knows what on HBO and collecting my thoughts for the day.

Nothing out of the ordinary planned for us today, we'll do a little grocery shopping this morning and finish up the household chores as we prepare for another fun filled week of work. I guess you can call it our typical day as we do seem to do the same routine every Sunday, but I'm one who finds comfort in consistency and routine.

We watched a movie yesterday, or at least I should say Michelle watched a movie and I took a nap, it was called Life on the Line. It's not that often that a movie emotionally effects Michelle, I'm the one who usually gets emotional during movies, but this one was one of the very rare ones that touched her. If you have the ability to watch it, just based on Michelle it is highly recommended.

Have yourselves a great day.

Saturday Morning Rambings

Here I sit once again in a quiet household, I'm the first one to recover from that knockout blow from the dreaded Sandman last night and I'm up watching Back to School with Rodney Dangerfield on the Retro channel and collecting my thoughts for the day.

Mother Nature looks like she is giving us a little bit of winter weather the past couple of days, although I really can not complain as she has been very mild on us this year. Temps are about 20° right now and I'm thinking back to a couple of weeks ago when it was close to 80° and I was running around in shorts. I can't complain though, we are just a few weeks away from my favorite season of the year and a week away from moving the clocks ahead an hour.

No concrete plans today, we talked about going and seeing my brother Gary last week, but he had a couple of guys working for him and was trying to finish one job up before moving to the next one so that didn't happen. We talked about getting together this week, but we'll have to see how that goes and how busy his schedule is. We talked about going to Coleman's Fish Market as he has never been there the since he started living in that area about a year ago.

The WVU Men's basketball team finished the regular season with a 24-7 record and a #2 seed as they beat 24th ranked Iowa State 87-76 last night here in Morgantown. It was the final game to be played in the Coliseum for this years group of Seniors. Next up will be the Big XII Tournament which they are more than capable of winning.

Have yourselves a great day today.

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.

I'm not sure what if anything we will be getting into this weekend. I will once again be off from RTI as my caseload has been worked to completion and I'm just a couple of weeks from finding out where my next quarter will be located. I had a pretty good quarter, but now it is probably time to relax for a while until we start again.

I do know I would maybe like to do our first outdoor cook of the year soon. Either fire up the grill or fire up the smoker, I'm ready for some Spring time weather and some spring time foods. Maybe I'll talk to Michelle and we will talk about doing that on Sunday if the weather is nice. My body is craves carbs in the fall and winter and fruits and vegetables in the spring and summer, my cravings are starting to change and I'm ready for some outdoor activities.

Have yourselves a great day today.

Hi ho hi ho

Photo Flashback Thursday

MiHaley's 2010

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.

Well I guess one softball photo flashback just wasn't enough. Last week I used the pictures from last seasons White Tail Crossing Team, this week I moved it back to the last regular team I played for before I went into a few years of retirement. This is the old MiHaley's Softball team from the summer of 2010.

We had played together a number of years, but we were MiHaley's for two seasons as I recall. Michael had MiHaley's across the street and was our sponsor as well as our second baseman who was a big asset to the team as he was one of our better hitters.

This was my last year that I played until last year when I was talked out of retirement to play in the Senior League, so this would have been my last competitive team that I played for, but competitive was a generous statement as we no longer struck fear into the hearts of our opponents. It was a good team, but the on the field chemistry was no where near as strong as the off the field chemistry. Great group of guys, the guys I referred to as my boys of Summer and one of the funnest group of guys I ever had the pleasure of playing with.

Have a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Wednesday

Two days down, now we are looking at a couple more ahead of us after today, now all we need to do is get up and over this noon time hump so it can be all downhill working towards another fun filled weekend.

I have to say to my wife, I am very proud of you and what you have managed to get done these past few weeks. You are an exceptional woman and I am very lucky to have you by my side.

Josh may have himself a new car by this evening. His Grandfather retired from Chrysler and is going to co-sign for him as well as use his discount and financing to purchase a new car. It's going to be a new Jeep something, I'm not sure exactly what he told me it was. He should be the owner of a brand new Jeep this evening is all goes well. He's a very hard working guy and he really deserves to have a new car, he really busts his butt.

I've been working the last couple of days trying to learn a new Dashboard software for work. Power BI is a very good dashboard that is still in development, but has a lot of features that can highlight a project or two that I am working on.

Have a great day.

Hi ho hi ho