Big Ole Hairy Black Friday

Yes it is once again that time of the week that we all look foreword to, when we can take time to cease the labors for the week and take a little bit of needed time out to enjoy the fruits of those labors. It is once again the dawn of another weekend, and a Big Ole Hairy Black Friday.

Let the madness begin, as if it has not already started last night. This is the biggest shopping day of the year in the United States. Stores offer their black Friday deals as it marks the official start of the Christmas Shopping Season for everyone.

Needless to say that neither Michelle or I will be out participating in that madness. I've went once and she has went a couple of times, but that is about it. It was total mayhem the one time that I went and that was enough for me. Michelle likes to go with her Sisters and they all coordinate as a team, but Dani has to work this year so she did not make it in for Thanksgiving.

Our weekend plans include putting up at the very least, one Christmas Tree tomorrow, other than that once again no big plans this weekend. We'll travel in a couple of weeks for the Ohio Christmas that happens every year, but no major plans until then.

Have yourselves a great day and if you are out shopping, be careful not ton get trampled.

Goggle till you Wobble

Today is a Holiday in the United States. One where families get together and give thanks to all of the wonderful things in our lives. It's a day where Tryptophan takes over and we all need a  good nap while watching Football and stuffing ourselves with some very good food.

Today is also a day of Parades, they will be on TV this morning on all the networks. I think my favorite has always been the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, one that I have very fond memories as a child watching with my Grandparents growing up as my Grandmother was preparing the Thanksgiving Day Feast.

Today Michelle and I will be at the Cassville Firehall with her family, many have traveled a few hours just to be there today. Those of us in Morgantown will return the favor next month when we all gather for their Christmas get together.

Have a great day, try not to overdose on Tryptophan and Gobble till you Wobble.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Happy Birthday Valarie Nicholson

I would like to take this opportunity to wish my wonderful niece Valarie a very happy Birthday today.

It has been an honor and a pleasure watching her grow up, I remember the first time that I ever saw her, just like it was yesterday. I remember being so happy to be an Uncle, I even went out and bought her her first pair of Nike tennis Shoes, but she probably didn't grow into them for a year or so.

Being that it is Turkey Day I'm not too sure what Val's plans are for the day, I think she will be going down to her Mom's for dinner, but that is just an educated guess and not based on anything factual.

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

Happy Birthday Val.

Turkey Day Eve

Today is Wednesday to the rest of the world, here in the United States it's Thanksgiving Eve and two days before Black Friday. This is the end of the work week for many Americans, and just the day before a day off for others who do not work in retail.

Tonight after work Michelle and I will head over to the Cassville Firehall where her side of the family always gathers and does a big Thanksgiving Feast. We'll all gather and do a lot of preparation work for tomorrow, potatoes will be peeled, noodles will be made (yes home made noodles), Pies will be baked, tables will be set up, Turkey's will be brine'd and everything that needs to happen before tomorrow will happen.

I have to say Michelle's family does Thanksgiving right. The food is a plentiful, the people are amazing and it's a great time had by all. We all bring an item to Thanksgiving to be auctioned off that day. The money raised from that auction pays for the Firehall rental and much of the food that is prepared for the next year (this years was financed by last years auction).

On Friday Michelle will be working and I probably will as well. No Black Friday shopping for us this year, it's a madhouse out there. I've taken the last few "day after thanksgiving" off, but with Michelle working this year and no plans, I'll probably just go into the office on Friday.

Have yourselves a Great day

Get ready to Gobble till you Wobble.

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Well that dreaded day we all hate so much is now behind us, the work week is started and we are staring straight down the barrel of a Tuesday as so many deer in WV did yesterday. Can't think of a better reason to do a tidbits.

* It has been an amazing 18,986 days since my birth, that's 21 years if you use the proper calendar having 905 days a year rather than that other one that only has 365.

* It has been 4,209 days since I graduated from West Virginia University. A very proud moment in my life.

* It was 2,810 days ago that my life changed forever, I took this recently widowed woman out on a date and I was hooked.

* 2,034 days ago I asked my wonderful wife if she would Marry me. She knew it was coming, so it was no real surprise, but it was still a very special day for both her and I

* It was 1,571 days ago in front of our closest friends and family that Michelle and I had or wedding, it was a non traditional wedding with a Caribbean Theme, but that's just us.

* I have about 5,851 days to go until I retire, give or take a few hundred here or there of course.

* In 2,489 more days the Backyard Brawl of a Football game between WVU vs Pitt will take place. I am eagerly waiting on kicking some Panther butt.

* There are 292 days to go until Cruise 2016, same cruise as the last four years, we love the port, the ports of call and the ship. We're pretty comfortable with it for now.

* Michelle and I will be celebrating our Fifth Wedding Anniversary in just 256 more days. These have been the happiest years of my life.

* There are only 117 more days to go until Spring 2016, my favorite season of the year.

* In 37 more days my Goodbye 2015 blog, the blog that reflects the previous year based on what I have written in my blog, will appear.

* There are only 31 more shopping days left until Christmas.

* There are only 7 more days to go until another Anniversary of my 21st Birthday, depending on if you use the 365 day or the 905 days calendar.

* In 4 Days we will set up  Mom and Gerald's Christmas Tree for 2015. This will be the third year for this event and the tree grows more and more life every year. AS we populate the tree this year we will take a little time out to reflect on each and every ornament, new and old.

* I have written a grand total of 4,271 Blogs since I first started writing George's Journal a little over 11 years ago.

* Not too much work on the Hall Family Tree this past week other than making all my siblings site administrators. 

* Nothing new on the Brother search yet again, it;s a dead end with no more real leads. Maybe it's just time to cross your fingers and pray for a miracle.

* It's nice in town, with the students on Fall Break this week, traffic has not been too bad at all. A couple more weeks and they will be done for the semester and start Christmas Break. Arguably the emptiest time of the year in Morgantown as most of the Grad Students even return home during this break.

* The Dixie Chicks are on Groupon for their Pittsburgh Concert. Groupon is a great site to find discounted items.

* Michelle's niece and Nephew Laura and Jon made an announcement as to the gender of their baby due next year.

* Sunday Morning Michelle tied me down and cut off all my hair, "Take that you Hippy" is what she kept screaming at me. Well as everyone knows, it seems like every time I cut my hair it snows. I went out to warm the car up and guess what, snow flurries. I Hate Snow!!!

* If you like Christmas Movies, check out the Family Channels schedule until Christmas, although I think the best all time Christmas Movie is Christmas Story.

* The University Towne Center is due to open a few new stores in the near future. AC Moore, Kirklands, ULTA, and Five Below are some of the stores that will be opening up here soon.

* I continue to wish all the hunters luck, success and a safe and happy return home.

* Have yourselves a great day

* Hi ho hi ho

Introducing Sammy,the Elf on a Shelf

I would like to introduce everyone to a new member of our family who just happened to show up yesterday out of no where. Sammy, the Elf on a Shelf has showed up at our household and made a promise to both Michelle and Me that he would not get into any mischief this year at our home. Not sure if I believe him, but he's here until after Christmas.

Sammy actually works for Santa Clause and reports directly back to Santa, and he needed a place to stay for a while so he can watch all the little boys and girls and give his local report back to Santa. He directly effects Santa's naughty and nice list, so with him having such an important roll he will be shacking up with us, it's the least we can do for Santa.

Stay tuned this Christmas season and we'll see what kind of mischief can find his way into over the next month or so. He has that all so innocent look, but something tells me that he's going to be having as much fun as he can before he has to report back to Santa for the season.

Today is the first day of Deer Season (Rifle) in West Virginia and it's arguably the most missed day of work in the state. I'm not a hunter so I'll be going into the office to hold down the Fort for a few guys who actually are avid hunters. I would like to wish that all hunters have a great season, hope they all nail that big buck but more importantly I hope that they all return home safe to their families tonight and that there are no on accidents or incidents where anyone gets hurt. I'm also hoping that no hunter accidentally shoots a reindeer as Sammy will not tell me where Blitzen is hiding.

Have yourselves a great day, Hunters good luck and for the rest of us...

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday

Well here I sit yet once again on a quiet Sunday Morning, I'm up early watching Shallow Hal on HBO and collecting my thoughts for the day and surfing the internet.

Well the Mountaineer Football team had a great game yesterday, beating Kansas 49-0 as the Mountaineers had three runners run for over 100 yards, a feat that has not been 3 players rush for 100 yards in a game for us since I think they said 1938 against Texas Tech during the broadcast. I would say it was one of the better complete games we have played in some time.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are off this week with their Bye week, so we are probably not watching any football today as it is an NFL day.

Well thanks to my niece Brittany for putting a fire under my butt yesterday, we have come up with a date that we are going to put Mom and Gerald's Christmas Tree up for 2015. This coming Saturday afternoon is when we will all assemble for this year and put up their tree for this year. Same as in years past for everyone, make or buy something personal to add to the tree. This is the third year we are doing the tree, and with each and every passing year it gains more life.

Have yourselves a great day today.

Saturday Morning Ramblings

Here I sit yet once again in a quiet household,  it's just me and Fin that are up as she is running around the house playing. I'm up collecting my thoughts for the day and watching Bad Grandpa on Amazon.

We have absolutely no plans for the day believe it or not. I'm still battling this little bit of a chest cold /sinus infection that I just can not seem to shake. It's unreal how long this thing has been lingering on and on.

The Mountaineers played Stetson in Basketball last night and won 103-62. They are now 3-0 on the season. Women's Soccer played in the second round of the NCAA Tournament and beat Northwestern 4-0. Northwestern had only allowed 4 goals all season and the Women scored 4 last night. The Man's Football team travels to the Kansas today to take on the 0-10 Kansas Jayhawks, hopefully we can help them continue their losing streak.

Other than that no plans for today, traffic last night was absolutely crazy all over town with the Men's basketball game, Women's soccer and the students doing their best to get the heck out of town for Thanksgiving break. The good news is that there is not going to be anywhere near the traffic around town as we have been used to seeing the past few months. It'll be a nice little break for all of us residents.

Have yourselves a great day, Fin is wanting Fed so my duties call.

Big Ole Hairy Friday

Yes it is once again that time of the week that we all look foreword to, when we can take time to cease the labors for the week and take a little bit of needed time out to enjoy the fruits of those labors. It is once again the dawn of another weekend, and a Big Ole Hairy Friday.

Well there is no more High School Football in Monongalia County this year. Morgantown lost last week ending their season and they were the only team from Mon County to qualify for post season play this year.

The Mountaineers travel to Kansas tomorrow for a noon kickoff. A win here will put us as Bowl Eligible and secure a spot in some post season bowl game. This is a game that we should win since Kansas is 0-10 on the season.

No plans for Michelle and I, with Thanksgiving coming up and it just being that time of the year, we are probably not going to get into anything this weekend. No road trips or excursions planned like last weekend. Maybe a little house cleaning as we start to prepare and get ready for the Christmas Season that is coming up upon us.

Have yourselves a great day.

Hi ho hi ho

Photo Flashback Thursday

Once a week I like to take a little bit of time out, time to look at some of the 30,000+ images that I have either captured with a Camera, Scanned or just simply stolen off the internet. Little lost moments in time that I post up and relive tight here for everyone while I try to recall the moments around that image. Sometimes it's pretty easy to find that image and sometimes it's a challenge, although one thing it always is is a whole lot of fun for me.

Let's go waaaaaay back for this picture, so far back that it predates about anyone who is reading this. The little boy with the had on in the middle of the picture is my Grandpa Hall and the man with a little girl on his lap would be my Great-Grandfather Lee Hall. My guess is the little girl is either my Grandfather's sister Hazel or Eva and the other two boys being his Brothers Lincoln and Russell. I have no clue as to the identity to the man on the left hand side of the picture.

I'm guessing that this picture based on my Grandfather's age at the time was the possibly the late 1890's or more likely the early 1900's. He was born in 1893, so a guestimate on his age will get you pretty close to the year that this picture was taken. My guess is that this picture was taken in Jeanette Pennsylvania where he was originally from.

Have yourselves a Great Day

Hi ho hi ho

Happy GIS Day

Every profession seems to have a day that is set aside to honor what they do. In my field, I'm a GIS Analyst  as my degree is in Geography with an emphasis in Geographical Informational Science or GIS. Today is International GIS Day around the world.

I have been fortunate to have worked my entire post collegiate career and for 4 years in college in my chosen profession and discipline.

In my field their is a professional certification called a GISP which I do not have, I've completed all the hard requirements for it. Education, Work Experience, continuing education, I just lack the easy part of it all and that is the public service credits which are probably the easiest credits to obtain. If we paid for us to go to the ESRI Convention I would have had it years ago, but I'm not footing that bill for a week in Sand Diego out of my own pocket...lol

Have yourselves a Great Day

Hi ho hi ho

Tuesday's Tidbits

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

* It was 18,979 days ago that my Mother gave birth to a legendary blogger.

* I graduated from West Virginia University 4,202 short days ago. I was talking to Brittany this weekend and told her I still have dreams of missing finals or being late on a project.

* It was 2,803 days ago that I took a very special lady out for a date, pizza and a bad movie were on our agenda for the evening.

* 2,026 days ago I made up for the bad movie choice and proposed marriage to my wonderful wife.

* It was a short 1,564 days ago that Michelle and I had our Wedding in front of our closest friends and family at the Marilla Center.

* I have around 5,858 days to go until I retire, give or take a few hundred here or there one way or the other of course.

* There are only 2,496 more days to go until the renewal of the Backyard Brawl of  WVU vs Pitt in Football takes place. I'm hoping for a possible Bowl match up against them this year.

* There are only 299 more days to go until we head out on Cruise 2016, which will be our fifth cruise on Carnival.

* There are only 263 more days to go until Michelle and I celebrate our Fifth Wedding Anniversary.

* Yes I am still counting, there are 124 days to go until Spring 2016.

* I have 44 more days of content to write before my Goodbye 2015 blog is posted at the end of the year. It has been a full and eventful year this year, I'm kind of anxious to write it.

* There are 38 more shopping days left until Christmas, I have to start thinking about getting ready to put our tree up.

* There are only 14 more days to go until another Anniversary of my 21st  Birthday will come to pass.

* I have written a total of 4,264 blogs for this Journal in the 11+ years that I have been writing it.

* There was no work to the Hall Family Website this week, I have some more information to input but need to get around to doing it.

* Nothing new on the brother search this week, the entire thing is on hiatus for a while due to some extenuating circumstances.

* Speaking of Christmas Trees, I have to come up with a workable time for everyone to once again set up Mom and Gerald's 2015 Christmas Tree. This is last years event which we did on a Saturday. Any thoughts from anyone? Same theme, just everyone make or buy a special ornament from themselves this year and add it to the tree and watch it continue to grow and get life.

* I've been under the weather the past few days, nothing to keep me down but I have been battling a bit of a head cold.

* Amish Country was a lot of fun this past weekend, it's always a pleasure to head that way.

* Speaking of Amish Country, the other one, I hear the Sight and Sound Theater in Lancaster PA is something to see from a number of different people.

* Tomorrow is GIS Day.

* Not sure if I have ever mentioned it before on this blog, but I Hate Snow.

* Have yourselves a great day

* Hi ho hi ho

Monday

Well that wonderfully enjoyable couple of days that we have at the end of every work week are over with and it's time to stick our noses back on the grindstone for another fun filled week of doing what we all do for a living. It's Monday.

Today is my sixth year work anniversary working for Sextant Technical Services, the best company I have ever worked for, I could never imagine working for a better company. I'm thankful every day that I have and do have the opportunity to work for such a great company.

Nothing really eventful for Michelle and I this coming week, no scheduled Dr's appointments or things we are planning to do, but knowing us that can always change at the drop of a hat. The again I guess sometimes no plans are a good thing, it allows you to finally sit back and rest a little bit from months and months of running.

I'm still battling a little bit of a head cold, but it has been nothing that has kept me down or stopped me from really doing anything. I have been keeping Kleenex in business the past few days, good thing we buy a lot of our stuff at the house in bulk, tissues included.

Have yourselves a great day and make it memorable and special.

Hi ho hi ho

Sunday

Well here I sit once again in a semi-quiet household. Fin is up playing around and I'm up watching the Longest Yard on Amazon and collecting my thoughts for the day.

Michelle, Brittany and I had a great day yesterday in Amish Country. This was Brittany's first trip to the Ohio Amish Country, she had been to Lancaster Amish Country, but never to the more modernized Ohio Amish Country where we always go. I think she had a great time and it was a very memorable day for all of us. I was able to watch a lot of the WVU vs Texas game on my ESPN Go ap as they girls shopped to their little hearts were content.

I mentioned a couple of nights ago that an old classmate of mine was on Real Time with Bill Mahar Friday night. Asra was on the main show as a special guest and on Overtime with everyone else after the show was over. It was nice to see it went well, she responded with a nice letter after the show to me and a few other classmates telling us about her experience and a few old stories growing up. It's worth the watch.

Our plans fort the day are doing our grocery shopping, running to Phoenix Bakery and watching the Pittsburgh Steelers whip up on the Cleveland Browns. It's been a great weekend son far, hopefully a Steelers win today will be the cherry on top.

Have a great day, it's a home made beef stew kind of day.

Saturday Morning Rambling

Here I sit yet once again in a quiet household, collecting my thoughts for the day and surfing the net. I'm up watching Real Time with Bill Maher that I DVR'd last night. Asra Nomani whom I graduated High School with was one of his special guests so I recorded it to to watch it, strange timing after the Terrorist attack in Paris last night.

Today, Michelle, my niece Brittany and myself will be heading West on a road trip to Amish Country in Ohio for a day trip. We have an agenda full of places that we are intending on hitting today, I know the one place Michelle really wants to go to is Tis the Season, a year round Christmas Store that she absolutely loves. I'm sure Breitenbach winery, Heini's  and you can bet your bottom dollar lunch will be at Der Dutchman as well as a few other places that we intend on hitting today.

Should be a great day, Morgantown should be crazy with the University of Texas coming to town today for a Football game at Noon. I think we have picked a real good day to get the heck out of Morgantown. We are favored to beat Texas, so there may be a whole lot of celebrating in Morgantown if that happens.

Have yourselves a great day.

Big Ole Hairy Friday

Yes it is once again that time of the week that we all look foreword to, when we can take time to cease the labors for the week and take a little bit of needed time out to enjoy the fruits of those labors. It is once again the dawn of another weekend, and a Big Ole Hairy Friday.

Don't forget to wear your purple today, it is World Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Day. Please wear purple to bring awareness to this very ugly disease.

If you are looking for a little bit of High School Football action tonight, it's the start of the Do or Die portion of the season, better known as the Playoffs. Morgantown High plays host to Brooke this evening and is the only local team to make the State playoffs this season. Morgantown beat Brooke 27-14 the last time these two teams met this season, let's hope the Mohigans can move on to next week and represent Monongalia County well in the playoffs.

Our weekend plans are a day trip to Amish Country in Ohio tomorrow. We are talking about leaving early and returning in the early evening and making it a day trip to Amish Country. Michelle has Michelle asked everyone from the Taste of Home cooking show about going, Terri and Kim have expressed interest in going as well, Kim is also buying a new car and that may take precedent to going if they get the deal they want. Should be a great day.

Have yourselves a great Friday.

Hi ho hi ho

Photo Flashback Thursday

Once a week I like to take a little bit of time out, time to look at some of the 30,000+ images that I have either captured with a Camera, Scanned or just simply stolen off the internet. Little lost moments in time that I post up and relive tight here for everyone while I try to recall the moments around that image. Sometimes it's pretty easy to find that image and sometimes it's a challenge, although one thing it always is is a whole lot of fun for me.

This weeks picture goes back to a very special and magical Christmas. My Dad and Jean had split up for a number of years although they were still legally married. Christmas Eve was a big deal with them and many of their traditions that they started have carried on for us today like the Hot Sausage. They always had Hot Sausage that was prepared Christmas Eve and me and my siblings would always fight for left overs Christmas Morning.

For a number of years, there was no Christmas Eve at Dad's house. Jean was gone and all of the kids had all moved on to doing their own thing, but in 1998 Gary and I were both living back home and with the whole lot of help from my Siblings, we pulled off a Christmas as in days gone by. My Dad did not want to do it, but the Day of Christmas Eve he did a complete 180, called off from work where he was going to work and went full steam ahead on the planning and execution of this special night.

Sadly a few weeks later Dad started to get sick and it ended up leading to his passing about seven months later. We did have that one final Christmas Eve with him and this picture was taken from that night.

Enjoy the video I created from that night.

Veterans Day

Today is Veterans Day, a Federal Holiday that I am fortunate enough to get to observe thanks to the efforts and of our armed services personnel who are being honored today.

Many Restaurants are honoring Veterans with free meals today. Of course there are rules and restrictions on some of these, if you are a Veteran follow up beforehand to any restaurant may want to visit to make it a pleasurable experience.

Although I never served, my Father, Grandfather, and my Nephew are all Veterans. My Grandfather fought in WWI and my nephew Moke fought in Operation Iraqi Freedom where he was deployed to Iraq for a while. I also have some cousins on my Mom's side who also served in this conflict.

To all Military Veterans I express a heart felt thank you to each and everyone of you. For it was your sacrifices that allowed us to live the freedom we do.

Honor the day and thank a Vet.

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Well that dreaded and dreary day that starts the week is once again over with, now we are staring straight down the barrel of a Tuesday and I still can't think of a better reason to do a tidbits.

* It has been 18,972 days since my birth, that is only 21 years if you are doing the math. If you come up with a different number you're using the wrong number to divide by.

* It has been 4,195 days since I graduated from West Virginia University.

* It was 2,796 days ago that Michelle and I had our very first date.

* 2,020 days ago I proposed to Michelle. Best decision that I have ever made in my life.

* It was 1,557 days ago that Michelle and I entered into a world of marital bliss.

* I have around 5,865 days to go until I retire, give or take a few hundred here or there obviously.

* There are only 2,503 days until the Backyard Brawl,  WVU vs Pitt in football, is renewed.

* Counting down, there are only 306 more days to go until Cruise 2016.

* In 270 days Michelle and I will celebrate our  Fifth Wedding Anniversary.

* There are only 131  days to go until Spring 2016, yes I am eagerly waiting its return.

* There are only 51 more days until we say Goodbye to 2015.

* There are 45 shopping days left until Christmas.

* I have 21 days to go until another anniversary of my 21st  Birthday

* Today is the Taste Of Home Cooking Show that all of my sisters will be attending together, seems like it was just yesterday when we bought the tickets.

* I have written 4,257 Blogs in my 11 years that I have been writing this particular blog.

* Yes the rumors are in fact true, I Hate Snow.

*  We have a couple of house guests for a couple of days. Rocky and Lilly have come down to visit as Mommy is away on business.

* No work done to the Hall Family website. I'll start again on it soon.

* Nothing new on the brother search this week.

* I wonder how long it will  take my readers to realize that I am rushing through this blog, I got real busy yesterday at work with the office move.

* By The Way, I got a new office, it's quite awesome. I've been working the past week or so getting it ready.

* Michelle ran home yesterday afternoon to pay her final respects to her Uncle Ron who had passed away over the weekend.

* We are thinking about a road trip to Amish Country in Ohio this Saturday.

* Have yourselves a great day.

* Hi ho hi ho

Monday

Well all good things must come to an end, and that includes those fun filled things that we all call Weekends. Now it's time to stick our noses back on the grindstone and get back to doing what it is we do for a living.

Michelle will be heading back home today, we received news over the weekend that her Uncle Ron had passed away after a long and courageous battle with cancer. She had taken some time out a couple of weeks ago to go and visit him, she knew it was something that she had to do, but now she will returning to pay her final respects. Please keep my wife and her family in your thoughts and prayers today as they say their final goodbyes to a loved one.

The week ahead is eventful for us, as tomorrow is the Taste of Home Cooking Show that all my sisters and my niece will all attend together as VIP's. The VIP package is something the Jean wanted to do this year, this is just the fulfillment of that a dream they all had last year.

Have a Great Day.

Hi ho hi ho