Well - I just got back this morning from my longest trip yet. I left Tuesday morning at 7a and got back this morning (Thur) at 10a. The great thing is - I'm done. Ain't gotta work anymore this week! Where did I go - well, let me list some 'songs' and see if you can figure it out! :)
Amarillo by Morning - George Strait (also a movie, which I didn't know)
If you're Gonna Play in Texas, You Gotta Have a Fiddle in the Band - Alabama
La Grange - ZZTop
Yellow Rose of Texas
Deep in the Heart of Texas
San Antonio Stroll - Tanya Tucker
San Antonio Rose - Willie Nelson
That's Right (You're not from Texas) - Lyle Lovett
"T" For Texas - Jimmie Rodgers
Texas Flood - Stevie Ray Vaughan
Waltz Across Texas - Ernest Tubb
Dallas - The Flatlanders
Heaven, Hell Or Houston - ZZ Top
Galveston - Glen Campbell
El Paso - Marty Robbins
Amarillo - Emmylou Harris
Streets Of Laredo - Buck Owens
Just Like a Texan - Laurie York
Lone Star State of Mind - Nanci Griffith
All My Exes Live in Texas - George Strait
Price of San Jacinto - Reverend Horton Heat
Texas Rock-a-billy Rebel - Reverend Horton Heat
People in Dallas Got Hair - Waylon Jennings
Abilene - Waylon Jennings
T for Texas (also called Blue Yodel No. 1) - Waylon Jennings
Amarillo - Sideways Forest
San Antonio - Frank Black and the Catholics
Houston (Means that I'm one day closer to you) - The Gatlin Brothers is actually the city that we delivered to. It was a good trip. Two trucks ran together there, then we split up, they got drops on the west side and ours were on the east. We met back at Beaumont - had lunch then convoyed back to the bakery.
It was a good trip - all in all - except after a rest period in the bunk - I woke up with a sore throat and throughout the rest of the trip I kept feeling sicker and sicker. Glad to be home to recoup! :)
Hey - I need your help. We, my temp partner, and I were 'communicating' with the other truck as we were traveling and everyone - except me - had a 'CB' handle. There was 'Tater-tot,' 'Smarty-pants,' and 'Paw-paw.' In the different times of my transportation career, I've been around 'Engine kicker,' 'Mad-medic,' ummmm, man - I've forgotten many of them.
Anyway - my partner said to the other 'truck,' "Steve's handle is 'Steve.'" That was kinda akward.
So I need some suggestions from ya on a 'handle' I can use when I'm on the CB after I've 'Hit the Road, Jack." So y'all come back with some suggestions and I'll let ya know what I end up going with! :) Can't wait to see 'em! HE, he, he!!!
If I don't get a chance to write between now and then - (Confetti gets thrown into the air, noise makers start making noise, a big beach ball is bounced around the group...) "Happy New Year!!!"
Friday, December 30, 2005
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Football stuff
Well - this week I watched the last Monday Night Football on ABC. After 35 years they're giving it to ESPN. How sad, very, very sad that this strong tradition and game time has been given away. I'm gonna miss it. Really, REALLY bad! It's like a pick-me-up on a Monday evening that helps maybe after having a rough beginning of a week.
It's sad too - they're turning their backs on the loyal regular Broadcast fans that have supported it, by watching for years and years and even more years. Oh well. This too shall pass.
So this is the last weekend for the NFL regular season. What a great season it has been. Lots of fun games!
The beloved Denver Broncos have made it into the playoffs this year. GREAT. Now just as long as they can keep from getting 'blown out' of them like they have the last couple of years and win a couple of games, they have a better than average chance of making it to the Superbowl. It'll be interesting to see! GO BRONCOS!!!!
Our families annual Pig Skin pick-em will crown a champion at the end of Sunday. Guess who it's gonna be? Unless I blow my 5 point lead over my wife or the 7 point lead over my dad - I am looking to be the Nelson/Pester family back to back to back to back Pig Skin pick-em challenge! Dude - that just rocks! :) Of course to put it in perspective - on ESPN's Pick-skin Pick 'em challenge overall leader-board page, I rank 11,365th. Ok - I pretty much suck at this compared to the other 11,364 others in front of me.
Anyway - Long live the NFL.
It's sad too - they're turning their backs on the loyal regular Broadcast fans that have supported it, by watching for years and years and even more years. Oh well. This too shall pass.
So this is the last weekend for the NFL regular season. What a great season it has been. Lots of fun games!
The beloved Denver Broncos have made it into the playoffs this year. GREAT. Now just as long as they can keep from getting 'blown out' of them like they have the last couple of years and win a couple of games, they have a better than average chance of making it to the Superbowl. It'll be interesting to see! GO BRONCOS!!!!
Our families annual Pig Skin pick-em will crown a champion at the end of Sunday. Guess who it's gonna be? Unless I blow my 5 point lead over my wife or the 7 point lead over my dad - I am looking to be the Nelson/Pester family back to back to back to back Pig Skin pick-em challenge! Dude - that just rocks! :) Of course to put it in perspective - on ESPN's Pick-skin Pick 'em challenge overall leader-board page, I rank 11,365th. Ok - I pretty much suck at this compared to the other 11,364 others in front of me.
Anyway - Long live the NFL.
Monday, December 26, 2005
Merry Christmas is Over - Now Happy New Year
Man - what an awesome weekend!
Friday, the in-laws came down with their FedEx truck and we cleaned out the storage unit. Dang - all of us were suprised how much we had jammed into that little room. We were all too pooped and lazy to unload it - so we just left the truck sitting in front of the garage and did other things. I had to run to the store for some last minute Christmas stuff. I tell ya - they had ALL their registers open and no line was shorter than 5 people in it. So finally I got checked out and had to stop and get some gas before getting home - had to wait in line there too. I tell ya, next year, the week before Christmas - I am NOT going out to do or get anything! :)
Sabbath was a beautiful Church service with music and reading etc. I was blessed.
We got home - whipped up lunch - my in-laws arrived and we ate and ate and ate. Then had a piece of cherry and pumpkin pie for dessert. Yummy.
We chilled a bit to let lunch settle, then headed over to some friends house that we're taking care of their critters. While we were there, Doreen snagged a 'fireball' outta the candy jar and I was laughing as she continually was holding the thing in her teeth wheezing as she breathed cuz of the hot. Waaa ha ha ha! I suppose I'll have to eat one to show her how it's done! ;)
When we finished up there - back home, piddled around until after sundown and then started the maddess of opening presents. The girls went NUTS tearing into everything. Very - VERY cute.
They cleaned house with a ton of cool things from us, the grandparents (on both sides) and aunts and uncles. Doreen got some neat things and I cleaned up with 3 Garfield books to add to my collection, 2 geocaching t-shirts that rock, a football shirt and 2 escape hammers. (They help ya bust through windshields/windows and cut through seatbelts in the event of an accident.) Doreen got me one for our pickup and one to haul with me on the truck. Awesome.
We assembled everything and the girls went wild playing with everything. They couldn't figure out what to play with there was so much stuff! Course it took a while to get it all out and assembled! :)
Off to bed with the girls, then we watched 'Greenfingers.' A great movie inspired by actual events. The language was a little rough, but a great little flick.
Then off to bed with us!
The next morning after breakfast and the kids opening their stockings, we headed out to the garage to empty the storage unit stuff into it. We finally got it all done with only one mishap. The 2nd from the last item was a huge, heavy (even though it was empty) filing cabinet, going up the step into the door fell and the thing landed on him. He was ok - so we finished up and chilled.
The in-laws left later that afternoon, the girls played with their toys. Doreen and I watched some football. And then day over. Girls to bed, Doreen and I watched "As Good As It Gets." Then to bed.
I just finished reading the book, "Sweet Success." A biography of O.D. McKee - the founder of the bakery I drive for. Man, he went though a bunch of tough stuff to get it started. But he was persistant and creative and look where it is today. Amazing!!!
As I look back over this weekend - it was a blessed Christmas weekend!
Don't know when my trips go out this week, and really don't care - just thankful to be able to enjoy good quality family time!
Hope your Christmas was greatly blessed!
Out!
Friday, the in-laws came down with their FedEx truck and we cleaned out the storage unit. Dang - all of us were suprised how much we had jammed into that little room. We were all too pooped and lazy to unload it - so we just left the truck sitting in front of the garage and did other things. I had to run to the store for some last minute Christmas stuff. I tell ya - they had ALL their registers open and no line was shorter than 5 people in it. So finally I got checked out and had to stop and get some gas before getting home - had to wait in line there too. I tell ya, next year, the week before Christmas - I am NOT going out to do or get anything! :)
Sabbath was a beautiful Church service with music and reading etc. I was blessed.
We got home - whipped up lunch - my in-laws arrived and we ate and ate and ate. Then had a piece of cherry and pumpkin pie for dessert. Yummy.
We chilled a bit to let lunch settle, then headed over to some friends house that we're taking care of their critters. While we were there, Doreen snagged a 'fireball' outta the candy jar and I was laughing as she continually was holding the thing in her teeth wheezing as she breathed cuz of the hot. Waaa ha ha ha! I suppose I'll have to eat one to show her how it's done! ;)
When we finished up there - back home, piddled around until after sundown and then started the maddess of opening presents. The girls went NUTS tearing into everything. Very - VERY cute.
They cleaned house with a ton of cool things from us, the grandparents (on both sides) and aunts and uncles. Doreen got some neat things and I cleaned up with 3 Garfield books to add to my collection, 2 geocaching t-shirts that rock, a football shirt and 2 escape hammers. (They help ya bust through windshields/windows and cut through seatbelts in the event of an accident.) Doreen got me one for our pickup and one to haul with me on the truck. Awesome.
We assembled everything and the girls went wild playing with everything. They couldn't figure out what to play with there was so much stuff! Course it took a while to get it all out and assembled! :)
Off to bed with the girls, then we watched 'Greenfingers.' A great movie inspired by actual events. The language was a little rough, but a great little flick.
Then off to bed with us!
The next morning after breakfast and the kids opening their stockings, we headed out to the garage to empty the storage unit stuff into it. We finally got it all done with only one mishap. The 2nd from the last item was a huge, heavy (even though it was empty) filing cabinet, going up the step into the door fell and the thing landed on him. He was ok - so we finished up and chilled.
The in-laws left later that afternoon, the girls played with their toys. Doreen and I watched some football. And then day over. Girls to bed, Doreen and I watched "As Good As It Gets." Then to bed.
I just finished reading the book, "Sweet Success." A biography of O.D. McKee - the founder of the bakery I drive for. Man, he went though a bunch of tough stuff to get it started. But he was persistant and creative and look where it is today. Amazing!!!
As I look back over this weekend - it was a blessed Christmas weekend!
Don't know when my trips go out this week, and really don't care - just thankful to be able to enjoy good quality family time!
Hope your Christmas was greatly blessed!
Out!
Friday, December 23, 2005
Zoom, Zoom, ZOOOOooooommmm
Hey y'all,
We are cookin now!!! After talking with some friends, we've decided to go with a VoIP for a home phone. We can have high-speed internet service, free long distance, 3 way calling, call waiting etc, etc for the same price as we were paying for dial-up and a normal phone line.
Oh man - it is so sweet to have high speed at home now. For the last two months Doreen and we've been surfing at 19.9 on an old dial up and boy was it torture to wait for pages to load.
Now, WOW. 100 meg and we're just zoomin. AWESOME!
We've also updated and added a cell phone. Doreen didn't have one, per-se, so we updated and made mine a family plan and added a phone for Doreen so we can keep in better touch when I'm on the road and she's out and about. Helps both of us feel a bit more secure when I'm away from home.
Doreen spent a lot of time pulling all this stuff together while I was on a trip to Georgia yesterday.
Another 'great' Christmas present!
Have a happy Holiday Weekend!
We are cookin now!!! After talking with some friends, we've decided to go with a VoIP for a home phone. We can have high-speed internet service, free long distance, 3 way calling, call waiting etc, etc for the same price as we were paying for dial-up and a normal phone line.
Oh man - it is so sweet to have high speed at home now. For the last two months Doreen and we've been surfing at 19.9 on an old dial up and boy was it torture to wait for pages to load.
Now, WOW. 100 meg and we're just zoomin. AWESOME!
We've also updated and added a cell phone. Doreen didn't have one, per-se, so we updated and made mine a family plan and added a phone for Doreen so we can keep in better touch when I'm on the road and she's out and about. Helps both of us feel a bit more secure when I'm away from home.
Doreen spent a lot of time pulling all this stuff together while I was on a trip to Georgia yesterday.
Another 'great' Christmas present!
Have a happy Holiday Weekend!
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Whirlwind Pt 2
Well - it's Sunday and the Broncos won yesterday evening. That makes it a GREAT Sunday! :) That and I get most of today at home. Makes for a great weekend.
I leave out tonight at 10p for St Petersburgh, FL and I'll be back late, late Mon night. Then I leave Tue evening for Columbus, GA and I'll be back Wed evening sometime and then I'll be done with any trips until the next Monday. How awesome is that??!!!
This afternoon we're going to an Adventurers & Family Christmas party. Should be lots and LOTs of fun.
After the party I've got to get all my ducks in a row for our Christmas Presents to those we send 'em to, so Doreen can send it all out on Monday while I'm gone and hopefully everyone will get it by Christmas! :) Yeah - we got a late start this year, with the job stress and job change, closing on properties and helping my in-laws get things done on the property here - well - Pre Planning for Christmas got put on the back burner and now we're struggling to get it done. YUCK! Gotta plan better next year! Much, MUCH better!
Right now as I write this journal, I'm going through and making a copy of all the 'information,' credit cards, membership cards and personal stuff that I carry in my wallet. I've heard somewhere, that is a very good thing to do incase of a stolen or lost wallet. Since I'm all over the country - I figured it'd be a 'safe' thing to do in case I left it somewhere - so... voila!
We closed on our Illinois property after 4 years - HALLELUJAH! I can't believe it's finally done. We've waited so long and prayed that it would close and it finally has. WOW!
So we left at 6a on Thur - drove 6 hours to Benton, IL - ate a quick lunch, signed a bunch of papers - got the check, (VERY Important) and headed back down to an appointment in Nashville. The drive between Benton & Nashville (3 hours) took longer, it seemed, than the whole morning trip! Aye yai, yai! We made our appointment we had there, then ate at Taco Bell and headed over to the Grand Ole Opry Hotel and convention Ctr to see the Christmas lights. Beautiful. Amazing! Wowzers!
The hotel has a 15 story atrium (I think they said it covers 4 or 5 acres) Through it they have a 2 1/2 foot 'river' with 450,000 gallons of water snaking through it.
It's $12 bucks to park in the Hotel parking lot and so we circled 4 times trying to figure out where to park, then saw some people walking through the trees on a sidewalk and realized - they're parking in the Opreyland Mall parking area - so we drove over there and saved that dough, then decided to spend it on the boat ride around the atrium - definetly worth it!
It was amazing how they had this place decked out. It was flat out beautiful. They had a HUGE Christmas tree that I don't think anyone could have squeezed another light on it. They have a fountain at one end and every hour they have it do a 'dance' to some awe-inspiring Christmas music.
We walked around seeing more of the sights, then headed back to our motel to crash for the night.
Got up the next morning - had a great continental breakfast with 'fresh' waffles, cereal and stuff then drove back to Grandma March's place to get her to sign some paperwork and to put our 'check' in our account and then stop by home to do a couple of things then up to Larry & Sandra's for Sabbath. It was a long day and it seemed like we were running behind the whole time - but we got just about everything done.
Sabbath was a beautiful day with a wonderful music Christmas service.
Hope you had a great weekend. Blog ya before Christmas sometime. Doreen finishing wrapping some Christmas presents and I've gotta change for the party. Then watch some football this afternoon!
Have a 'great' week y'all!
I leave out tonight at 10p for St Petersburgh, FL and I'll be back late, late Mon night. Then I leave Tue evening for Columbus, GA and I'll be back Wed evening sometime and then I'll be done with any trips until the next Monday. How awesome is that??!!!
This afternoon we're going to an Adventurers & Family Christmas party. Should be lots and LOTs of fun.
After the party I've got to get all my ducks in a row for our Christmas Presents to those we send 'em to, so Doreen can send it all out on Monday while I'm gone and hopefully everyone will get it by Christmas! :) Yeah - we got a late start this year, with the job stress and job change, closing on properties and helping my in-laws get things done on the property here - well - Pre Planning for Christmas got put on the back burner and now we're struggling to get it done. YUCK! Gotta plan better next year! Much, MUCH better!
Right now as I write this journal, I'm going through and making a copy of all the 'information,' credit cards, membership cards and personal stuff that I carry in my wallet. I've heard somewhere, that is a very good thing to do incase of a stolen or lost wallet. Since I'm all over the country - I figured it'd be a 'safe' thing to do in case I left it somewhere - so... voila!
We closed on our Illinois property after 4 years - HALLELUJAH! I can't believe it's finally done. We've waited so long and prayed that it would close and it finally has. WOW!
So we left at 6a on Thur - drove 6 hours to Benton, IL - ate a quick lunch, signed a bunch of papers - got the check, (VERY Important) and headed back down to an appointment in Nashville. The drive between Benton & Nashville (3 hours) took longer, it seemed, than the whole morning trip! Aye yai, yai! We made our appointment we had there, then ate at Taco Bell and headed over to the Grand Ole Opry Hotel and convention Ctr to see the Christmas lights. Beautiful. Amazing! Wowzers!
The hotel has a 15 story atrium (I think they said it covers 4 or 5 acres) Through it they have a 2 1/2 foot 'river' with 450,000 gallons of water snaking through it.
It's $12 bucks to park in the Hotel parking lot and so we circled 4 times trying to figure out where to park, then saw some people walking through the trees on a sidewalk and realized - they're parking in the Opreyland Mall parking area - so we drove over there and saved that dough, then decided to spend it on the boat ride around the atrium - definetly worth it!
It was amazing how they had this place decked out. It was flat out beautiful. They had a HUGE Christmas tree that I don't think anyone could have squeezed another light on it. They have a fountain at one end and every hour they have it do a 'dance' to some awe-inspiring Christmas music.
We walked around seeing more of the sights, then headed back to our motel to crash for the night.
Got up the next morning - had a great continental breakfast with 'fresh' waffles, cereal and stuff then drove back to Grandma March's place to get her to sign some paperwork and to put our 'check' in our account and then stop by home to do a couple of things then up to Larry & Sandra's for Sabbath. It was a long day and it seemed like we were running behind the whole time - but we got just about everything done.
Sabbath was a beautiful day with a wonderful music Christmas service.
Hope you had a great weekend. Blog ya before Christmas sometime. Doreen finishing wrapping some Christmas presents and I've gotta change for the party. Then watch some football this afternoon!
Have a 'great' week y'all!
Thursday, December 15, 2005
What a Whirlwind OR WOW!!!
Well - it's 1am and I just got back from a working trip. It was a busy one! :) Good to be home once again - for oh 6 hours. :) At 6am, we hop in the van and head North to Southern Illinois. The guy who we've held the contract for 4 years on the property up there is gonna pay us off. Yeee haw. PTL! So - Tue I talked with the Lawyer drawing up all the paperwork for us and he wanted the closing at 1p Thur. Right after talking with the Lawyer, I called my trip box at work and found out I was headed to New Orleans, LA and wouldn't be getting back until 11a on Thur. OUCH! So I talked with some folks there and they kindly worked a couple of things around so we could leave early and get back in time for me to go to IL with the family.
Needless to say - things are a whirlwind right now! I had to get on the computer to finalize a couple of things before we leave, so I wanted to leave a post.
I tell you all - the situation in New Orleans is amazing. I drove right through the city (New part, not the French Quarter - couldn't fit the truck there! He, he) The devastation down there is still very, VERY apparant. Houses with tarps over the roofs, downed trees everywhere. (Although it is interesting to note all the HUGE trees that are still standing tall and stately - even though they're looking a bit 'weathered'.) We passed sections of town that they're just tearing everything down, other sections have things being completely gutted and rebuilt. There is trash EVERYWHERE you look. We saw a couple of dealerships with cars that were obviously completely covered with water and probably destroyed.
At one location we saw rows and rows of TV's lined up to be carefully disposed of. Thousands of them.
My partner running this trip with me - I was driving and having a hard time of it because I was trying to take it all in, and not run anyone over! *GRIN* - was tired and wanted to crash, but he wanted to see the city as we passed through. We both couldn't stop pointing things out to each other as we were amazed by what we were seeing. This hurricane set this city back years! It is amazing the resiliency and how fast it is getting back to normal though. They still have a ways to go - but I hope to have a number of trips down there to watch the progress!
Well - I gotta get to bed and at least a few moments of rest before running again. Say a quick prayer for the families in New Orleans who don't have homes to go to. I will be!
Needless to say - things are a whirlwind right now! I had to get on the computer to finalize a couple of things before we leave, so I wanted to leave a post.
I tell you all - the situation in New Orleans is amazing. I drove right through the city (New part, not the French Quarter - couldn't fit the truck there! He, he) The devastation down there is still very, VERY apparant. Houses with tarps over the roofs, downed trees everywhere. (Although it is interesting to note all the HUGE trees that are still standing tall and stately - even though they're looking a bit 'weathered'.) We passed sections of town that they're just tearing everything down, other sections have things being completely gutted and rebuilt. There is trash EVERYWHERE you look. We saw a couple of dealerships with cars that were obviously completely covered with water and probably destroyed.
At one location we saw rows and rows of TV's lined up to be carefully disposed of. Thousands of them.
My partner running this trip with me - I was driving and having a hard time of it because I was trying to take it all in, and not run anyone over! *GRIN* - was tired and wanted to crash, but he wanted to see the city as we passed through. We both couldn't stop pointing things out to each other as we were amazed by what we were seeing. This hurricane set this city back years! It is amazing the resiliency and how fast it is getting back to normal though. They still have a ways to go - but I hope to have a number of trips down there to watch the progress!
Well - I gotta get to bed and at least a few moments of rest before running again. Say a quick prayer for the families in New Orleans who don't have homes to go to. I will be!
Friday, December 09, 2005
Home
Home is such a cool place. It's warm in the winter, cool in the summer - great for opening windows in the spring and fall. It's good to be home.
I had a "long" trip Wed leaving out a 5p and I got back home Friday at 3a. Long trip. But good - very good. Traveled to Homestead, FL. Had rain ALL the way down and ALL the way back - but while unloading Thur morning, it was Mostly Sunny and 70. Felt great. I'd love to have that run permanetly in the winter! :) Not so much in the summer.
I'm kinda tired, but wanted to post something since it's been a bit. So --- "Hi"
More later Alligator.
I had a "long" trip Wed leaving out a 5p and I got back home Friday at 3a. Long trip. But good - very good. Traveled to Homestead, FL. Had rain ALL the way down and ALL the way back - but while unloading Thur morning, it was Mostly Sunny and 70. Felt great. I'd love to have that run permanetly in the winter! :) Not so much in the summer.
I'm kinda tired, but wanted to post something since it's been a bit. So --- "Hi"
More later Alligator.
Saturday, December 03, 2005
LD Driver Transportation Banquet
So tonight, we're going to the LD Transportation Banquet.
Actually, Mrs M started this banquet to say 'thanks' to the spouses of the drivers and transportation office staff for putting up with all that they have to with the weird hours we work.
They provide a 'great' meal and then the Cumberland Playhouse will present "A Sanders Family Christmas." Doreen and I are really looking forward to that performance.
The setting is Christmas Eve 1941 at the Mt Pleasant Baptist Church with the play including Christmas carols in the form of bluegrass and gospel music!
We've got some friends babysitting the kids for the night - should be lots and lots of fun! I'll have to tell ya about it later!
Actually, Mrs M started this banquet to say 'thanks' to the spouses of the drivers and transportation office staff for putting up with all that they have to with the weird hours we work.
They provide a 'great' meal and then the Cumberland Playhouse will present "A Sanders Family Christmas." Doreen and I are really looking forward to that performance.
The setting is Christmas Eve 1941 at the Mt Pleasant Baptist Church with the play including Christmas carols in the form of bluegrass and gospel music!
We've got some friends babysitting the kids for the night - should be lots and lots of fun! I'll have to tell ya about it later!
Theory of Kids and Sleeping In.
So I have a theory - it correlates to parents being able to sleep in with the direct porportion of the automatic waking time of kids.
Here's the restults of the study I conducted this week.
On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday (got home about 5a and jumped into bed for a short rest), I was off and we had the 'opportunity' to sleep in. Each of those mornings, my daughters woke up at 6:30a - or earlier.
Then on Thursday I had to leave for the Bakery at 8:15a - they did not get up until I was ready to leave.
So my theory is - if parents get to sleep in, kids wake up early. If parents have to get up early, the kids sleep late.
YUCK! :)
Here's the restults of the study I conducted this week.
On Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday (got home about 5a and jumped into bed for a short rest), I was off and we had the 'opportunity' to sleep in. Each of those mornings, my daughters woke up at 6:30a - or earlier.
Then on Thursday I had to leave for the Bakery at 8:15a - they did not get up until I was ready to leave.
So my theory is - if parents get to sleep in, kids wake up early. If parents have to get up early, the kids sleep late.
YUCK! :)
A Walk through Bethlehem
Last night we had a couple of friends call to see if we wanted to go to an outdoor "Walk through Bethlehem" at a church in Ringgold, GA.
It was aweome! Absolutely awesome! When we got there we got 'herded' into the sanctuary, that was absolutely packed - standing room only, and got to enjoy some great 'live' music while we waited.
During the time we waited, a black choir from a nearby Baptist church performed - and they were awesome. They were singing and Joelle was really getting into the music. One of the choir memebers noticed and stopped to say "hi" to her on the way out after they finished their 'set.' It was cool.
Then our group was finally called up - and we got in line and went on a 45 minute walk through Bethlehem. It takes 225 people to put this event on. We went though the 'gate' into Bethlehem - and had to pay a tax (A shilling they gave us as we gave them our ticket) and then through the shops of the period and then on into the Inn where there was "no room." And into the field where the shepherds were keeping watch on their sheep (Actual sheep) and we got visited by some angels who sang to us and then to the stable where 'Jesus' was born, we ran into the wisemen with camels as we left the stable and then we 'time-warped' into the future with Jesus talking to the disciples and then to the cross and then the empty tomb.
It was just really cool and a great way for our girls to actually experience the Christmas story live - rather than just hear it.
Most definetly cool!!!
It was aweome! Absolutely awesome! When we got there we got 'herded' into the sanctuary, that was absolutely packed - standing room only, and got to enjoy some great 'live' music while we waited.
During the time we waited, a black choir from a nearby Baptist church performed - and they were awesome. They were singing and Joelle was really getting into the music. One of the choir memebers noticed and stopped to say "hi" to her on the way out after they finished their 'set.' It was cool.
Then our group was finally called up - and we got in line and went on a 45 minute walk through Bethlehem. It takes 225 people to put this event on. We went though the 'gate' into Bethlehem - and had to pay a tax (A shilling they gave us as we gave them our ticket) and then through the shops of the period and then on into the Inn where there was "no room." And into the field where the shepherds were keeping watch on their sheep (Actual sheep) and we got visited by some angels who sang to us and then to the stable where 'Jesus' was born, we ran into the wisemen with camels as we left the stable and then we 'time-warped' into the future with Jesus talking to the disciples and then to the cross and then the empty tomb.
It was just really cool and a great way for our girls to actually experience the Christmas story live - rather than just hear it.
Most definetly cool!!!
Home More
Man, this job is great. No stress, no pressure (except trying to get a big-rig turned around when my lead driver gives me bum directions - he, he, he) and get in get it done and get home. Not to mention - I get all the LD cookies I want to eat free. (Gotta be careful with that one though - wink, wink, wink)
The best thing about it though, is that I'm home much, MUCH more while the girls (and Doreen) is awake. It has made a huge difference in how they relate to me. They're much more lovie dovie with me. They're much more likely now to let me comfort them when they accidently get hurt. They just seem to enjoy having me around more and I love that!
This job change has been a good thing, a very, VERY good thing!!!
The best thing about it though, is that I'm home much, MUCH more while the girls (and Doreen) is awake. It has made a huge difference in how they relate to me. They're much more lovie dovie with me. They're much more likely now to let me comfort them when they accidently get hurt. They just seem to enjoy having me around more and I love that!
This job change has been a good thing, a very, VERY good thing!!!
Calling In All Our Notes
So Friday was a nutty day talking with a real estate agent, lawyer and the buyer of our Illinois Property. Turns out that our closing for our Vonore, TN property is going to happen this coming Tuesday. Because the newness of my job - I can't be guaranteed - yet - to be here to sign the papers - so they're going to send us the closing papers, I'm going to sign them and if I can't be home for the signing Doreen'll take the papers with her - sign them there and get our money. YES!!!
Then the guy that we've been holding the 'note' on the property in Illinois called and wants to pay off early. So we called the lawyer in Illinois and he's getting the paperwork started and once he gets that done, we'll take a quickie trip up to Illinois (6 hours) and sign the paperwork and get a check. Woooo hooooo!
Now we get started on getting things together to get financing and permits and material to get 'our' house built.
Talk about an early Christmas. Awesome! Just what we needed!
Then the guy that we've been holding the 'note' on the property in Illinois called and wants to pay off early. So we called the lawyer in Illinois and he's getting the paperwork started and once he gets that done, we'll take a quickie trip up to Illinois (6 hours) and sign the paperwork and get a check. Woooo hooooo!
Now we get started on getting things together to get financing and permits and material to get 'our' house built.
Talk about an early Christmas. Awesome! Just what we needed!
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Web-blog Problems OR Days at Home
How are ya?!!
I've been doing GREAT! I had a run out Sat night with a great driver. We got the job done and home by bathtime Sunday night. Put the girls to bed - enjoyed an evening with Doreen and crashed myself. I've been home ever since. I'll probably be headed out tonight, but it's been great being home - helping to get errands done, getting small things done at home etc. I'm gonna like'a this'a new job! :)
My mother-in-law, got her casts off yesterday. It is a HUGE relief for her. She's got a little more movement and independence now. She's got splints on both arms - but they're removeable - so she can shower completely now.
Took the girls to Chuck 'E Cheeze last night. They'd been wanting to go and it has been quite a while - so we all went there after the Dr appointment. They had a blast - and so did the adults as well! :)
I don't know if you all are having a problem seeing my web-blog. Every time I pull the page up all I see is the background. Odd!
I've not changed anything - I hope it still works!
Have a Wonderful Wednesday!
I've been doing GREAT! I had a run out Sat night with a great driver. We got the job done and home by bathtime Sunday night. Put the girls to bed - enjoyed an evening with Doreen and crashed myself. I've been home ever since. I'll probably be headed out tonight, but it's been great being home - helping to get errands done, getting small things done at home etc. I'm gonna like'a this'a new job! :)
My mother-in-law, got her casts off yesterday. It is a HUGE relief for her. She's got a little more movement and independence now. She's got splints on both arms - but they're removeable - so she can shower completely now.
Took the girls to Chuck 'E Cheeze last night. They'd been wanting to go and it has been quite a while - so we all went there after the Dr appointment. They had a blast - and so did the adults as well! :)
I don't know if you all are having a problem seeing my web-blog. Every time I pull the page up all I see is the background. Odd!
I've not changed anything - I hope it still works!
Have a Wonderful Wednesday!
Friday, November 25, 2005
Truly Thankful and Stuff
Well - Thanksgiving has come and gone once again. My how time flies. Interesting - I just skimmed through my journal pages from a year ago. Wow - lots going on, our first Geocache found, the beginning of 'hatred' of my former job, a fun family visit and dealing with colds. I probably wouldn't have remembered a quarter of what I journaled. It's nice to be able to go back and read through that stuff and remember the good and the bad.
This year we had a GREAT thanksgiving. We had my in-laws and Doreen's great grandma over for a meal and everyone pitched in so one person didn't have to do it all - that's truly nice! It was delicious (2 pumpkin pies, one apple pie, [fake] turkey and stuffing dish, peas, cranberry sauce, real mashed potatoes and cider - I'm getting hungry again thinking about it! **GRIN**) and the company was great.
Got to watch some football - Go Broncos - beating Dallas in overtime, barely. But a win is a win! :) Just got to be a bit sharper!
Today we lazed around a bit. We put up our Christmas stuff. Ate at our favorite restaurant in Collegedale, Raphaels. (They make a mean pizza and some great sandwiches and stuff. Good grub for a very fair price. It ain't Taco Bell $$$'s - but it ain't TGI Friday's $$$'s either.)
Got back and Doreen and her Dad began painting a primer coat on the garage interior. The sheetrock is hung and the mud dried and sanded - we're trying to get the place done. I stayed outside with the blower and pushed leaves out of the flowerbeds and driveway into a pile and outta the way. Got a LOT more to do - but it's looking better. Much, MUCH better. We actually have a driveway now, that's visible!
In our prayer at our Thanksgiving meal we all went around and said what we were Thankful for. It was cute, Joelle said, "And Jesus I'm thankful that it's Christmas time." She just LOVES this season and thoroughly enjoyed putting up our tree today. She loves it all!
I am extremely thankful for my new job. It's been a challenge to learn - but I'm getting the hang of it and love having NO stress. My last trip out was not the best - but compared to what I was dealing with before - well - this is just a snack cake! :)
I thoroughly enjoyed driving out Tuesday night. I mean after the fireworks. I had called in at 3pm and the voice express said I was headed out at 6:30a on Wed. to Georgia. Cool I thought. Then while making my lunch for the next day, I decide to catch my log book up in prep for the next day and so at 8:20p I call voicemail to get all the info on the voicemail and hear that my load leaves out Tuesday at 9p headed for Hickory, NC. WHAT??!!! (Later on I found out the key for not letting that happen again! GRIN) So I rush around get stuff together and hustle to work to get there with a bit of time to spare.
As I was headed out of Atlanta on highway 85 and getting out into nowheresville, GA I was watching the stars a bit as I drove - got to see about 6 shooting stars. Very AWESOME!
When we got back Thursday morning - it was 3 am and we were the last truck, and I do mean last truck in before the entire Bakery shut down for the holiday. We had a mechanic and a coordinator waiting our arrival so we and they could wrap everything up. I hated being the last in - especially since we could have been in much, MUCH earlier, but that's another story for another time. :) But I guess someone's got to be last in. It was cool seing the entire trucking lot full to overflowing. Tractors were parked 4 deep in the lot. Every trailer parking space was filled - all the docks had trailers. They're gonna have to get some more space if they intend to continue to expand the fleet! :) It's mondo crowded.
Found out one other bit of .news that's interesting. Little Debbie is teaming up with the Wood Brothers in NASCAR to sponser 19 races as the primary sponsor of the #21 Ford. (I'm disappointed it's a Ford, but beggers can't be choosers.) That is just awesome to me. I wish I could drive the Transport - but that's probably out. Oh well - I just have to pull for Kenny Schrader to win some races with Little Debbie on the hood.
Well, I head out Saturday night at 11:30p for a 650 mile KY run. On stop in TN, 3 in VA and one in KY before getting back home. Looking foward to it.
You all have a "Happy Thanksgiving" weekend!
Blessings all!!!
This year we had a GREAT thanksgiving. We had my in-laws and Doreen's great grandma over for a meal and everyone pitched in so one person didn't have to do it all - that's truly nice! It was delicious (2 pumpkin pies, one apple pie, [fake] turkey and stuffing dish, peas, cranberry sauce, real mashed potatoes and cider - I'm getting hungry again thinking about it! **GRIN**) and the company was great.
Got to watch some football - Go Broncos - beating Dallas in overtime, barely. But a win is a win! :) Just got to be a bit sharper!
Today we lazed around a bit. We put up our Christmas stuff. Ate at our favorite restaurant in Collegedale, Raphaels. (They make a mean pizza and some great sandwiches and stuff. Good grub for a very fair price. It ain't Taco Bell $$$'s - but it ain't TGI Friday's $$$'s either.)
Got back and Doreen and her Dad began painting a primer coat on the garage interior. The sheetrock is hung and the mud dried and sanded - we're trying to get the place done. I stayed outside with the blower and pushed leaves out of the flowerbeds and driveway into a pile and outta the way. Got a LOT more to do - but it's looking better. Much, MUCH better. We actually have a driveway now, that's visible!
In our prayer at our Thanksgiving meal we all went around and said what we were Thankful for. It was cute, Joelle said, "And Jesus I'm thankful that it's Christmas time." She just LOVES this season and thoroughly enjoyed putting up our tree today. She loves it all!
I am extremely thankful for my new job. It's been a challenge to learn - but I'm getting the hang of it and love having NO stress. My last trip out was not the best - but compared to what I was dealing with before - well - this is just a snack cake! :)
I thoroughly enjoyed driving out Tuesday night. I mean after the fireworks. I had called in at 3pm and the voice express said I was headed out at 6:30a on Wed. to Georgia. Cool I thought. Then while making my lunch for the next day, I decide to catch my log book up in prep for the next day and so at 8:20p I call voicemail to get all the info on the voicemail and hear that my load leaves out Tuesday at 9p headed for Hickory, NC. WHAT??!!! (Later on I found out the key for not letting that happen again! GRIN) So I rush around get stuff together and hustle to work to get there with a bit of time to spare.
As I was headed out of Atlanta on highway 85 and getting out into nowheresville, GA I was watching the stars a bit as I drove - got to see about 6 shooting stars. Very AWESOME!
When we got back Thursday morning - it was 3 am and we were the last truck, and I do mean last truck in before the entire Bakery shut down for the holiday. We had a mechanic and a coordinator waiting our arrival so we and they could wrap everything up. I hated being the last in - especially since we could have been in much, MUCH earlier, but that's another story for another time. :) But I guess someone's got to be last in. It was cool seing the entire trucking lot full to overflowing. Tractors were parked 4 deep in the lot. Every trailer parking space was filled - all the docks had trailers. They're gonna have to get some more space if they intend to continue to expand the fleet! :) It's mondo crowded.
Found out one other bit of .news that's interesting. Little Debbie is teaming up with the Wood Brothers in NASCAR to sponser 19 races as the primary sponsor of the #21 Ford. (I'm disappointed it's a Ford, but beggers can't be choosers.) That is just awesome to me. I wish I could drive the Transport - but that's probably out. Oh well - I just have to pull for Kenny Schrader to win some races with Little Debbie on the hood.Well, I head out Saturday night at 11:30p for a 650 mile KY run. On stop in TN, 3 in VA and one in KY before getting back home. Looking foward to it.
You all have a "Happy Thanksgiving" weekend!
Blessings all!!!
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Introducing...
Here's the latest 'Pester-vehicle' family memeber. :) Goldie! Gotta take it in to the shop for a few small things - but it'll be a good replacement for Iggy! :)
Yeeee Haawwwww
In a recent "Bubbie Box" Joelle found this pair of boots and she absolutely loves them. She's my little cowgirl and very, VERY precious! :)
Friday, November 18, 2005
Latest Pester News Flash...
A TRAINEE NO MORE...
As of Thursday morning at 5am (my last time at work) I have been released to the fleet. I am no longer in training and I'm ready to rock and roll. Or just drive and toss cookies - whichever! :) The interesting thing is that I ran into the other 'trainee' coming back from a trip at the exact same time. We both pulled up to the fuel islands and unloaded our rollers, fueled and cleaned the trucks simultaneously and chatted. He's headed out with another trainer next week. I wished him well! (Didn't tell him I'd been released from training.)
So I called in at 5p tonight and my first official trip as a full-fledged (but still gots lots and lots and lots to learn) LD driver is to Lima, OH. 1,100 mile round-trip run with 4 stops (cities), and a bunch of cases of snack cakes to toss, and a back haul to bring back to the bakery. I leave out at 8am Sunday. Should be good - I hope! :)
IGGY PUT OUT TO PASTURE (OR UP FOR SALE)...
So this afternoon the family and I drive up to Madisonville to meet with the in-laws for a bit and to pick up a new pick up. (Sorry no photos yet.) Iggy has some serious things going wrong with it and it'll take some serious money to just keep it running in the near future - so we decided to try and sell it. Well, since our land sold (hoping to close before Thanksgiving, but if not definetly after!!!) we're paying off our car and our loan and a couple of other small things, we had enough left to get a nice used vehicle. Larry found a great 1999 Ford Ranger with the extended cab - so the girls 'can' sit in the back for short trips! :) It's even got the 1/2 doors on it to get in and out thatta way. It's gold and in very, VERY good shape with the 6 cyl and auto tranny. We picked it up for a steal - cuz of the high gas prices people are sellin their big SUV's and these little things are becoming in much more high demand. We made an offer yesterday and last night the owner when to another auction and came back and Larry overheard this morning, while he was having them get the paperwork together for us to come up and sign, him saying to a salesman that if this little gold pickup deal falls through to raise the price cuz he can't get them for the price he used to get 'em.
Cool - talk about timing! :)
3 YEAR OLD PICS...
Took Natalie to the photo place to get her three year old pics today. It didn't go very bad - but it didn't go good either. We couldn't get the girls to 'smile pretty." Either Natalie didn't feel like smiling or she'd put this face smile one that looked more like a grimace. Joelle was trying but the smile she'd put on just looked fake - so we labored our way through 7 poses and picked out the best. Ahh - to have that done! :) I'll post a couple when we get 'em back the first part of Dec.
THANKSGIVING PLANS...
Every driver (300+) in at the Collegedale Bakery will be home for Thanksgiving. For that I am thankful! :) I may get in late Wed or early Thur morning but no matter because no one will have to go out again until Sat night after Thanksgiving. Pretty cool.
We're going to have my in-laws down from Madisonville and Doreen's grandma up from Wildwood. Should be an enjoyable time! What are your Thanksgiving plans?
TURNED COLD...
Last Mon on a trip I was on, I was in shorts and t-shirt. Thur Morning when I was getting home from my 2nd trip of the week we got out at the fuel islands and it was COLD. 30 something. COLD I tell ya! (I had long pants and a jacket on.) Aye, yai yai. Today was cold and I've got a feeling that it's just gonna stay cold. Old Man winter has come to stay!
It feels good though cuz this summer was a SCORCHER - so a bit of cold to off set it does feel good. Just as long as it doesn't get tooooo cold! :)
FORGOTTEN TOPIC...
Awww shucks - I had one more topic I was gonna write about, but forgot what it is. Dagnabbit! Oh well - it'll give me another reason to write another page another time!
Have a great weekend.
As of Thursday morning at 5am (my last time at work) I have been released to the fleet. I am no longer in training and I'm ready to rock and roll. Or just drive and toss cookies - whichever! :) The interesting thing is that I ran into the other 'trainee' coming back from a trip at the exact same time. We both pulled up to the fuel islands and unloaded our rollers, fueled and cleaned the trucks simultaneously and chatted. He's headed out with another trainer next week. I wished him well! (Didn't tell him I'd been released from training.)
So I called in at 5p tonight and my first official trip as a full-fledged (but still gots lots and lots and lots to learn) LD driver is to Lima, OH. 1,100 mile round-trip run with 4 stops (cities), and a bunch of cases of snack cakes to toss, and a back haul to bring back to the bakery. I leave out at 8am Sunday. Should be good - I hope! :)
IGGY PUT OUT TO PASTURE (OR UP FOR SALE)...
So this afternoon the family and I drive up to Madisonville to meet with the in-laws for a bit and to pick up a new pick up. (Sorry no photos yet.) Iggy has some serious things going wrong with it and it'll take some serious money to just keep it running in the near future - so we decided to try and sell it. Well, since our land sold (hoping to close before Thanksgiving, but if not definetly after!!!) we're paying off our car and our loan and a couple of other small things, we had enough left to get a nice used vehicle. Larry found a great 1999 Ford Ranger with the extended cab - so the girls 'can' sit in the back for short trips! :) It's even got the 1/2 doors on it to get in and out thatta way. It's gold and in very, VERY good shape with the 6 cyl and auto tranny. We picked it up for a steal - cuz of the high gas prices people are sellin their big SUV's and these little things are becoming in much more high demand. We made an offer yesterday and last night the owner when to another auction and came back and Larry overheard this morning, while he was having them get the paperwork together for us to come up and sign, him saying to a salesman that if this little gold pickup deal falls through to raise the price cuz he can't get them for the price he used to get 'em.
Cool - talk about timing! :)
3 YEAR OLD PICS...
Took Natalie to the photo place to get her three year old pics today. It didn't go very bad - but it didn't go good either. We couldn't get the girls to 'smile pretty." Either Natalie didn't feel like smiling or she'd put this face smile one that looked more like a grimace. Joelle was trying but the smile she'd put on just looked fake - so we labored our way through 7 poses and picked out the best. Ahh - to have that done! :) I'll post a couple when we get 'em back the first part of Dec.
THANKSGIVING PLANS...
Every driver (300+) in at the Collegedale Bakery will be home for Thanksgiving. For that I am thankful! :) I may get in late Wed or early Thur morning but no matter because no one will have to go out again until Sat night after Thanksgiving. Pretty cool.
We're going to have my in-laws down from Madisonville and Doreen's grandma up from Wildwood. Should be an enjoyable time! What are your Thanksgiving plans?
TURNED COLD...
Last Mon on a trip I was on, I was in shorts and t-shirt. Thur Morning when I was getting home from my 2nd trip of the week we got out at the fuel islands and it was COLD. 30 something. COLD I tell ya! (I had long pants and a jacket on.) Aye, yai yai. Today was cold and I've got a feeling that it's just gonna stay cold. Old Man winter has come to stay!
It feels good though cuz this summer was a SCORCHER - so a bit of cold to off set it does feel good. Just as long as it doesn't get tooooo cold! :)
FORGOTTEN TOPIC...
Awww shucks - I had one more topic I was gonna write about, but forgot what it is. Dagnabbit! Oh well - it'll give me another reason to write another page another time!
Have a great weekend.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
3 Yr Check-up OR Going... Going... Gone!!!
Doreen took Natalie to her 3 year old check-up today. She is a perfect specimine of health! :) Not to mention she's cute as a button as well. At the last checkup she was growing like a weed, this check-up has her growing at an average rate. Which is good. I don't want her growing up to fast because except for 
some very whining moments - she's incredibly cute! She did great today at the Ped. He 'stuck' her finger for a blood test, she was brave and didn't even cry. Precious! She and Joelle are growing up so fast - I can hardly believe it. I'll have to post a photo soon, but in the most recent Bubbie-Box (A box my grandma sends with all sorts of clothes, shoes and goodies) Joelle found a pair of cowgirl boots that fit her perfect. She's been wearing those things everywhere!
Friday while were headed up to Dollywood, we got a call from our realitor who has been trying to sell our 3 acres in Vonore. We'd gotten an offer. He offered nearly $5,000 under our asking price. NO WAY. So we countered and faxed the offer that evening. Monday I called to find out what happened with our counter offer. Turns out I ended up talking with the owner of the realistate company and she tells me
that she told the realitor to hold off on the counter offer for the moment because someone else has entered the bidding fray. Hallelujah - two someones are interested in our property. The 1st countered to $3,000 of the asking price - but the 2nd person offers to pay full price if we'll pay all closing costs. So we counter with $1,000 less than the original asking price offer and they cover their own closing costs. They accept and put down $1,000 earnest money. Oh yeah! Now we can pay off that land and our car and then dig our vehicle maintenance column in our budget out of the hole. Thank the Lord!
So my two runs this week were/are leave out Mon night at 7p and deliver to 11 doors in 4 cities and then back home by 11a on Tue, then leave out at 1p on Wed run to SC and E GA and then back home by early, early morning on Thur. That's my week. Turns out every week I'll handle almost almost 80,000 lbs of product and rollers per week. No worries though mate - no stress, no stupid boss, just drive, relocate snack cakes and sleep and home with family! Ahhh - now this is the life! :)
C Ya Later!
How Much is this Blog Worth???
My blog is worth $1,693.62.
How much is your blog worth?
Dang - that's pittance! :) I've got a friend, Jerry, who's blog is worth almost $12k.
Interesting thing to try anyway! I bet Scott's is worth a bundle!
Monday, November 14, 2005
Aaaaaahhhhh....
...what a great LONG weekend.
We started it on Friday going up to Dollywood to enjoy the Von Trapp grandkids. (These are the grandkids of the 'boy - Kurt' in the Sound of Music movie. They did all right. Nothing awesome - and we probably wouldn't have been interested if it weren't for their heritage - but it was still fun and very relaxing.
Dollywood has the entire theme park decked out in its Christmas best and Joelle was amazed at every little Christmas thing she saw. Very precious.
We hung out at and with Larry & Sandra's this weekend. Went to church at Athens. Enjoyed a great potluck, watched 'A Lot Like Love' with Amanda Peet and Ashton Kutcher. Not bad.
Dollywood has the entire theme park decked out in its Christmas best and Joelle was amazed at every little Christmas thing she saw. Very precious.
We hung out at and with Larry & Sandra's this weekend. Went to church at Athens. Enjoyed a great potluck, watched 'A Lot Like Love' with Amanda Peet and Ashton Kutcher. Not bad.
At home we filled up when we saw that gas was $1.96. Suprised it was under $2 I couldn't help but stop and fill the tank that was about 1/4 full. Now the question in my mind becomes, how far down are they gonna let it get? Can't be too far. Although if you ask me, the farther below the $2 mark the better!
Helped a friend in Madisonville move this weekend. Originally her e-mail said it was a packing party. That to me says we're packing things in boxes. But my assumption was really, REALLY wrong. It was a 'loading' party. You know where you load furniture, boxes and junk in a truck to move it. Guess what job I got stuck with? That's right - loading the truck. In fact the son told me that Sandy said that nobody was to 'touch' anything until I arrived. Aaarrggghh. I thought I was out of the moving business! :) I really like my job now of UNLOADING boxes that average 18lbs. We can #1 - use rollers and #2 don't have to load it, #3 have to worry about things getting damaged etc. Oh well, we were done by noon and got fed pizza and those cool new Pringles chips with the fun trivia questions imprinted on each chip and some excellent Keebler cookies! She did end up giving us a 'grill' she didn't want to move to SC - so I guess it was a fair trade! :)
So what is it about our 'church' leaders shipping 'crap' leaders/pastors off to different assignments in the denomination??? You know I can see giving these guys one maybe two and possibly three chances to get in the right situation - but dang, it's like an unwritten code in our denomination to never fire anyone 
Even complete losers. They just "PASS THE BUCK" to another church or ministry or conference or position. I mean come on people, if these people can't cut it - GET RID OF THEM. I heard at least 3 stories about my former boss. And these weren't flattering stories. These stories came from 3 different sources on two different days with many hours between each story. This guy should have been washed out of the denomination, as it turns out, YEARS ago. This also explains how he got shipped to the former place of my employement from being a Conf Prez. My experience working under him (and the wifey) also explains why so many positions were 'open' at that Conference.
Darn it - I wish our denomination would pull it together and use common sense in handling many, many things and not just bumble along blindly. I love the church I'm in, but come on people, get your ducks in line!!!
We started it on Friday going up to Dollywood to enjoy the Von Trapp grandkids. (These are the grandkids of the 'boy - Kurt' in the Sound of Music movie. They did all right. Nothing awesome - and we probably wouldn't have been interested if it weren't for their heritage - but it was still fun and very relaxing.
Dollywood has the entire theme park decked out in its Christmas best and Joelle was amazed at every little Christmas thing she saw. Very precious.
We hung out at and with Larry & Sandra's this weekend. Went to church at Athens. Enjoyed a great potluck, watched 'A Lot Like Love' with Amanda Peet and Ashton Kutcher. Not bad.
Dollywood has the entire theme park decked out in its Christmas best and Joelle was amazed at every little Christmas thing she saw. Very precious.We hung out at and with Larry & Sandra's this weekend. Went to church at Athens. Enjoyed a great potluck, watched 'A Lot Like Love' with Amanda Peet and Ashton Kutcher. Not bad.
At home we filled up when we saw that gas was $1.96. Suprised it was under $2 I couldn't help but stop and fill the tank that was about 1/4 full. Now the question in my mind becomes, how far down are they gonna let it get? Can't be too far. Although if you ask me, the farther below the $2 mark the better!
Helped a friend in Madisonville move this weekend. Originally her e-mail said it was a packing party. That to me says we're packing things in boxes. But my assumption was really, REALLY wrong. It was a 'loading' party. You know where you load furniture, boxes and junk in a truck to move it. Guess what job I got stuck with? That's right - loading the truck. In fact the son told me that Sandy said that nobody was to 'touch' anything until I arrived. Aaarrggghh. I thought I was out of the moving business! :) I really like my job now of UNLOADING boxes that average 18lbs. We can #1 - use rollers and #2 don't have to load it, #3 have to worry about things getting damaged etc. Oh well, we were done by noon and got fed pizza and those cool new Pringles chips with the fun trivia questions imprinted on each chip and some excellent Keebler cookies! She did end up giving us a 'grill' she didn't want to move to SC - so I guess it was a fair trade! :) So what is it about our 'church' leaders shipping 'crap' leaders/pastors off to different assignments in the denomination??? You know I can see giving these guys one maybe two and possibly three chances to get in the right situation - but dang, it's like an unwritten code in our denomination to never fire anyone Even complete losers. They just "PASS THE BUCK" to another church or ministry or conference or position. I mean come on people, if these people can't cut it - GET RID OF THEM. I heard at least 3 stories about my former boss. And these weren't flattering stories. These stories came from 3 different sources on two different days with many hours between each story. This guy should have been washed out of the denomination, as it turns out, YEARS ago. This also explains how he got shipped to the former place of my employement from being a Conf Prez. My experience working under him (and the wifey) also explains why so many positions were 'open' at that Conference. Darn it - I wish our denomination would pull it together and use common sense in handling many, many things and not just bumble along blindly. I love the church I'm in, but come on people, get your ducks in line!!!
Saturday, November 12, 2005
WOW! Gas in Collegedale is
WOW! Gas in Collegedale is down to $2.00. The big question is will it dip below that amount? Things that make you go hummm!
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Bull,s...,oney
Man, I really, REALLY cannot stand these Oil CEOs defend soaring profits!! They are so full of horse puckey - it really ain't funny!!! :)
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
1st Dental Visit
Natalie had her first visit with the denist today and she did GREAT. She lay there with her mouth open super-wide and was a little angel. It was so incredibly cute!
All 20 teeth were in perfect shape!
Cool!
Ride 'em Cow-Kids
Joelle and Natalie with their cousin Colby were having fun at a park this morning playing like crazy. Here' they're ridin' a set of bronkin tires! Yeeee haaawwww!
Monday, November 07, 2005
Jedi Test Part 2
| Jedi Watchman You scored 36 variable 1 and 12 variable 2! |
| You chose the way of the Jedi Sentinel. The watchmen are masters among Jedi and basically the balance between Force strength, and Lightsaber abilities. Not too strong or too weak on either side. You tend to be good at negotiations and you know what is right and just in the universe. You'll never be able the strongest of Jedi in the universe, but you can hold your own against almost anything. |
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My test tracked 2 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
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| Link: The Jedi Test written by Swimstud on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test |
Jedi Fun
"One of a kind my friend! Many people try to have that equal balance like you! Just the right about of good, and the right amount of being bad. You are most likely to help an old woman cross the road but drive off and leave no note to a car that you just hit."
True Jedi Test By Ocean-Saurian and PrincessLeia2
www.princessleia.com
Correction
I just have to correct a comment by my brother-in-law Scott. He mentioned that I'm home 3 of 7 days per week in my new job. Well... sorry man, you were wrong. I was home Friday, Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday in this 7 day stretch. He, he, he - hate to correct ya man.
I tell ya though - when I'm out, it's driving nights and tossing cookies and I tell ya - when I work, I really, REALLY work my 'arse' off! :) They gotta give us the time off to recoup to run again. :)
I tell ya though - when I'm out, it's driving nights and tossing cookies and I tell ya - when I work, I really, REALLY work my 'arse' off! :) They gotta give us the time off to recoup to run again. :)
Post Fire Cleanup
Here's the 'garage pad' with everything cleaned up nice and pretty. Well - it's still black and icky in places where things burned pretty hot. I'll get some photos of the back of the house now that it's been fixed and what Larry did to the garage pad.
:)
Broken Wrist & Torn Ligament
Thought you'd like to see the dock that Sandra fell off. There was no safety chain to warn her or maybe keep her (or anyone) from falling. It's about 4 feet tall and the landing is nothing but concrete. OUCH!
Here's my mother-in-law, Sandra, after we picked her up in Hattiesburg, MS getting ready to bring her home. The trip went well and she was dopped up enough the bumps in the road didn't hurt that much. That and we had all sorts of pillows packed around her to help her be comfortable. 
Here's the after photo with her arms in casts. The left one (Pink) is broken at the wrist just before the thumb. The right arm (purple) has a torn ligament that needs to be immoblie - so that's why the cast. She'll be in those things for 5 weeks.
Friday, November 04, 2005
The Force was with Me OR I HATE VEHICLES
Hey all - what up?
Got lots going on. Mainly, they're happy enough with me at work that after next week I might be 'released' from training 2 weeks early and be put in the regular rotation. I guess we'll see.
Took two trips this week. One to Battle Creek, MI and the other to Thompson, GA. On the Georgia run, I left at 2am. As I was driving down the road, it came to my mind to give Doreen a call and tell her good night. (She'd been up in Madisonville visiting with her sister and parents - so I'd not talked with her in person for 2 days.) As I reached for my phone I looked at the clock on the dash and realize it was 20 min after 2am and if I call I'm gonna have some unhappy in-laws and an unhappy wife. (Hopefully she'd feel loved though! **GRIN**) He, he, he.
So I'm really hating my car right now. We just put an engine in it. Which seems to be running great by the way - even better than the old one. I must have been getting bad for some time. I went to pass a little old lady driver who was doing 30 in a 40 mph zone and when I stuck my foot in it with the other engine - it would kinda hick-up. This engine just zoomed around that little old lady. Cool. But I digress...
This afternoon after getting gas and driving home - I went to roll the window up and heard this huge "POP" and I watched the window slide down into the door. It was gone. So when I got home I took the door apart and found one of the plastic slides that holds the window and goes up and down in a track broke and so I got the window back up into place and we'll have to take it in to get it fixed this week. Aaaarrrgghhhhh!
Took the girls into Wal-mart this evening for an errand and ended up getting Joelle the DVD of Toy Story, Natalie came away with Princess Stories 3 (They've already got 1 & 2) and the 'Force' was with me and I was victorious and came out with Star Wars episode 3! Yeah baby! :)
This next week I head out for KY Sat night and North Central IL on Tuesday. I'll be done with work either late Wed or Early Thur Morning. Should be a great week.
Hope you have a good one! :)
Out!
Got lots going on. Mainly, they're happy enough with me at work that after next week I might be 'released' from training 2 weeks early and be put in the regular rotation. I guess we'll see.
Took two trips this week. One to Battle Creek, MI and the other to Thompson, GA. On the Georgia run, I left at 2am. As I was driving down the road, it came to my mind to give Doreen a call and tell her good night. (She'd been up in Madisonville visiting with her sister and parents - so I'd not talked with her in person for 2 days.) As I reached for my phone I looked at the clock on the dash and realize it was 20 min after 2am and if I call I'm gonna have some unhappy in-laws and an unhappy wife. (Hopefully she'd feel loved though! **GRIN**) He, he, he.
So I'm really hating my car right now. We just put an engine in it. Which seems to be running great by the way - even better than the old one. I must have been getting bad for some time. I went to pass a little old lady driver who was doing 30 in a 40 mph zone and when I stuck my foot in it with the other engine - it would kinda hick-up. This engine just zoomed around that little old lady. Cool. But I digress...
This afternoon after getting gas and driving home - I went to roll the window up and heard this huge "POP" and I watched the window slide down into the door. It was gone. So when I got home I took the door apart and found one of the plastic slides that holds the window and goes up and down in a track broke and so I got the window back up into place and we'll have to take it in to get it fixed this week. Aaaarrrgghhhhh!
Took the girls into Wal-mart this evening for an errand and ended up getting Joelle the DVD of Toy Story, Natalie came away with Princess Stories 3 (They've already got 1 & 2) and the 'Force' was with me and I was victorious and came out with Star Wars episode 3! Yeah baby! :)
This next week I head out for KY Sat night and North Central IL on Tuesday. I'll be done with work either late Wed or Early Thur Morning. Should be a great week.
Hope you have a good one! :)
Out!
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Unloaded in Battle Creek, MI
Unloaded in Battle Creek, MI yesterday. 4 Stops (cites) 7 Drops and a bunch of cases of cookies 1st load w/ just me & a co-driver. Touched 'em all Full day!
The day started rainy but
The day started rainy but cleared to be gorgeous.And the beautiful fall colors on the trees were AWSOME!
Old habits, last night after
Old habits, last night after parking in the truck stop 2 hours later I jump in the drivers seat feeling late only 2 find its still sleep time ARGH
Sunday, October 30, 2005
We're at the chattanooga airshow
We're at the chattanooga airshow today The Blue Angels fly soon We climed in a KC-135 Supertanker I'm right next to an A-10 waitin 4 nachos cool.
Saturday, October 29, 2005
No more pacification apparati in
No more pacification apparati in our house! Today Natalie gave her binkie to a lady at church and got big girl stuff. She's growing up. :) & :(
Friday, October 28, 2005
DARN IT!!!
I wish these guys would focus on making a profit but at the same time be fair!
What they've done to us recently is only making a profit and the American public be damned!
Aaaarrrgghhhh!
Check this story out. Exxon Mobil Profit, Sales Soar to Records
If you don't have time to read the whole thing, a couple of quotes...
"Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) rewrote the corporate record books Thursday as the oil company's third-quarter earnings soared to almost $10 billion and it became the first public company ever with quarterly sales topping $100 billion. Anglo-Dutch competitor Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) wasn't far behind, posting a profit of $9 billion for the quarter."
"Thursday's outsized earnings are a result of surging oil and natural gas prices that pushed pump prices to record territory after Hurricane Katrina. They come on the heels of similar eye-popping gains reported this week by BP PLC (BP), ConocoPhillips Inc. and Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) Chevron Corp. (CVX) reports its earnings on Friday."
"Exxon is a good corporate citizen but it does not work for the welfare of the country," said oil analyst Fadel Gheit at Oppenheimer & Co. in New York. (B!S! They've been screwing us all!!!)
"Exxon Chairman and Chief Executive Lee R. Raymond did not mention of the record results in the company's earnings release. Instead, he noted that the world's largest publicly traded oil company "acted responsibly in pricing at our company operated service stations, and we also encouraged our independent retailers and distributors to do the same." (That man is so full of BS he wouldn't know if it hit him in the face... acted responsibly my eye!!!)
Again... AAARRRRGGGHHHHHH!!!!
What they've done to us recently is only making a profit and the American public be damned!
Aaaarrrgghhhh!
Check this story out. Exxon Mobil Profit, Sales Soar to Records
If you don't have time to read the whole thing, a couple of quotes...
"Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) rewrote the corporate record books Thursday as the oil company's third-quarter earnings soared to almost $10 billion and it became the first public company ever with quarterly sales topping $100 billion. Anglo-Dutch competitor Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) wasn't far behind, posting a profit of $9 billion for the quarter."
"Thursday's outsized earnings are a result of surging oil and natural gas prices that pushed pump prices to record territory after Hurricane Katrina. They come on the heels of similar eye-popping gains reported this week by BP PLC (BP), ConocoPhillips Inc. and Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) Chevron Corp. (CVX) reports its earnings on Friday."
"Exxon is a good corporate citizen but it does not work for the welfare of the country," said oil analyst Fadel Gheit at Oppenheimer & Co. in New York. (B!S! They've been screwing us all!!!)
"Exxon Chairman and Chief Executive Lee R. Raymond did not mention of the record results in the company's earnings release. Instead, he noted that the world's largest publicly traded oil company "acted responsibly in pricing at our company operated service stations, and we also encouraged our independent retailers and distributors to do the same." (That man is so full of BS he wouldn't know if it hit him in the face... acted responsibly my eye!!!)
Again... AAARRRRGGGHHHHHH!!!!
The Goings On
So - My first week of road training is complete. I like, really, REALLY like my new schedule. I left Sun at 10p and got back Mon at 9p. Then I had Tue and Wed free. I took a nap most of Wed afternoon and left at 10p and was home by 4p on Thur. I don't have to go back to work until 4p on Monday. (Trip to Battle Creek, MI and back) While I'm at work I work hard - but when I'm home I can get things done or just relax or whatever. It is SO much better than before.
I just heard from someone who was associated with a ministry my former boss called and turns out he called an yelled and berated an employee that doesn't even work for him. Sad, sad, sad! I am thankful to be out of there.
My mother-in-law is doing better. Turns out she didn't need surgery on her wrist. Her left wrist is broken, they set it and put it in a cast. Her right wrist has a badly, badly pulled tendon - so they wanted to imobilize it - so they put it in a half cast. So she has two casts like Joelle did! :) You ought to see Joelle being a little 'nurse' to Sandra when they're around. It's so cute.
So cuz of her arms - my sister-in-law and her youngest son is coming down from Minnesota for the next couple of weeks to help out. It'll be good having them around. In fact they'll be here this afternoon. We're driving up to Madisonville to spend the weekend with everyone.
Tried uploading some pics but it kept erroring out - so I'll to try 'em another time.
Have a great weekend y'all!
I just heard from someone who was associated with a ministry my former boss called and turns out he called an yelled and berated an employee that doesn't even work for him. Sad, sad, sad! I am thankful to be out of there.
My mother-in-law is doing better. Turns out she didn't need surgery on her wrist. Her left wrist is broken, they set it and put it in a cast. Her right wrist has a badly, badly pulled tendon - so they wanted to imobilize it - so they put it in a half cast. So she has two casts like Joelle did! :) You ought to see Joelle being a little 'nurse' to Sandra when they're around. It's so cute.
So cuz of her arms - my sister-in-law and her youngest son is coming down from Minnesota for the next couple of weeks to help out. It'll be good having them around. In fact they'll be here this afternoon. We're driving up to Madisonville to spend the weekend with everyone.
Tried uploading some pics but it kept erroring out - so I'll to try 'em another time.
Have a great weekend y'all!
Monday, October 24, 2005
Break in trip. It was
Break in trip. It was a doozie We were to leave at 10p & bcuz shipping put half our order the wrong trailer we didnt leave until 1:30a What a day!
Sunday, October 23, 2005
1st Trip Out
So in about an hour and a half, I leave for work for my first trip out. It's a 4 hour trip to Greenville, SC to deliver 2745 cases of cakes to 7 drops. Should keep us very, VERY busy! :)
After unloading we head for Piedmont, SC for a backhaul of the thin cardboard for the individual boxes to hold a pack of cookies - then back to the yard by supper time on Monday.
I'm feeling a bit anxious - I've done this stuff before - but you know, a new job, learning a new system, wanting to do a very good job and do it right.
Should be interesting.
Yoooo! (Quote: Johnny Five - Short Circuit)
After unloading we head for Piedmont, SC for a backhaul of the thin cardboard for the individual boxes to hold a pack of cookies - then back to the yard by supper time on Monday.
I'm feeling a bit anxious - I've done this stuff before - but you know, a new job, learning a new system, wanting to do a very good job and do it right.
Should be interesting.
Yoooo! (Quote: Johnny Five - Short Circuit)
Saturday, October 22, 2005
Wow, driving around Hattiesburg MS
Wow, driving around Hattiesburg MS we're seeing some of the damage from Hurricane Katrina. Road signs & trees down, roofs with holes tarped Wow.
We're in Hattiesburg, MS to
We're in Hattiesburg, MS to pick up Sandra and bring her home she's feelin better-saw the dock she took a header off. Ouch. We'll head home soon.
Friday, October 21, 2005
Broken Wrist OR Chrysler Ambulance
Quick story - I've gotta get to bed. Today, my father-in-law calls Doreen with some painful news. The short of it was they are in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and Sandra fell of a dock (in a hospital) while they were getting ready to pick up a piece of equipment to take to Pennsylvania. She fell about 4 feet and definetly broke her left wrist, cracked a left rib on the left, brused her shoulder and has a cut on her face. Her right arm may be broken - we're waiting for the results of the MRI to get back on that one.
So tomorrow morning at 5am We're loading up in the van and all 4 of us are headed 7 hours down to Hattiesburg, MS to pick Sandra up and bring her home. She can't climb into their FedEx truck - so we're gonna go down and get her so she can have the surgery that her left wrist is going to require to be set and heal, here in TN. 14 hours round trip. All I can say is I'm thankful for a built in DVD player in the van. (We tried a number of different avenues to find someplace for the girls - but just couldn't get anyone! Oh well)
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Cookie Hauler OR Snack Cake Relocation Specialist
Whichever you think is best! :)
Whichever it is - it is hard work. Today 5 of us (2 trainers and 3 trainees) unloaded a 90% full 48' semi trailer of Little Debbie Snack Cakes into 5 warehouses for independent distributors to pop the cases open and then deliver to local stores. 2388 cases. After we got things figured out - even the trainers had a couple of things to get figured out - we 'blew' those cakes off the truck!!! It'll be a lot harder when it's just me and a co-driver! :) I'm up for the task though - albeit as long as it is next week. I am SORE from today's work. Almost 6 years at a desk job has let me get soft, very soft! Pansy soft! :)
I am sore in like a hundred and twenty places. Ouch!
Oh well - it felt good to have a new outlook on work. It was nice getting out of the training room and actually do the job I was hired to do.
Once I get in the flow of it - I believe I will really enjoy this position. Of course getting out in -20 degree weather in Michigan will be tough - but I'm gonna smile and say "I Love My Job" even with chattering teeth! :)
Tomorrow is my last day of training. Log books - and an update on the 'freaky' new hours of service and some last little things they want us to remember out there. Then I'll be a 'real' Snack Cake Relocation Specialist with McKee Foods Corp. Cool. Found out the info on my first run. I leave Sunday night at 9p run to Greensboro, SC and empty a trailer full of snack cakes, then run to Atlanta, GA for a back-haul of some snack cake ingredient then back home in time for supper on Monday. (I'm going out with one of the other trainees and 3 trainers. Should be a fun time!)
Gotta go to bed and let my body relax and recoup!
Later y'all!
Whichever it is - it is hard work. Today 5 of us (2 trainers and 3 trainees) unloaded a 90% full 48' semi trailer of Little Debbie Snack Cakes into 5 warehouses for independent distributors to pop the cases open and then deliver to local stores. 2388 cases. After we got things figured out - even the trainers had a couple of things to get figured out - we 'blew' those cakes off the truck!!! It'll be a lot harder when it's just me and a co-driver! :) I'm up for the task though - albeit as long as it is next week. I am SORE from today's work. Almost 6 years at a desk job has let me get soft, very soft! Pansy soft! :)
I am sore in like a hundred and twenty places. Ouch!
Oh well - it felt good to have a new outlook on work. It was nice getting out of the training room and actually do the job I was hired to do.
Once I get in the flow of it - I believe I will really enjoy this position. Of course getting out in -20 degree weather in Michigan will be tough - but I'm gonna smile and say "I Love My Job" even with chattering teeth! :)
Tomorrow is my last day of training. Log books - and an update on the 'freaky' new hours of service and some last little things they want us to remember out there. Then I'll be a 'real' Snack Cake Relocation Specialist with McKee Foods Corp. Cool. Found out the info on my first run. I leave Sunday night at 9p run to Greensboro, SC and empty a trailer full of snack cakes, then run to Atlanta, GA for a back-haul of some snack cake ingredient then back home in time for supper on Monday. (I'm going out with one of the other trainees and 3 trainers. Should be a fun time!)
Gotta go to bed and let my body relax and recoup!
Later y'all!
States I've Visited Map...
Got this from Cheryl.
The only state I haven't been in is Hawaii. Doreen did the same 'google blog-thing' and the only state she hasn't been in is Alaska. So it's a race, I'm trying to figure out how to get to Hawaii before she get's to Alaska and vice-versa. It should be interesting. If and when we ever get a winner - I'll be sure to let you know! :)
create your own visited states map
or check out these Google Hacks.
The only state I haven't been in is Hawaii. Doreen did the same 'google blog-thing' and the only state she hasn't been in is Alaska. So it's a race, I'm trying to figure out how to get to Hawaii before she get's to Alaska and vice-versa. It should be interesting. If and when we ever get a winner - I'll be sure to let you know! :)
create your own visited states map
or check out these Google Hacks.
Monday, October 17, 2005
Information Overload
Ok - So I LOVE my new job - however, on this first day of orientation - 8+ hours of classes - my brain is full to overflowing. Wow - so much to know about a trucking job. :)
Actually - I've learned a ton about McKee Food Corp and what they stand for. I learned about Insurance and Benefits and blah, blah, blah. But the most important thing is that they want employees to be happy at work. I believe I will be!
Yeah baby!
Now I gotta get some sleep to let this stuff trickle outta my head so I can assimilate more tomorrow! :)
Sunday, October 16, 2005
A Great Family Day
Today we had a very nice day at home. We mowed, weed wacked, did a bit of landscaping, hung a swing rope for the girls. Had a delicious breakfast and lunch, took a short nap. Ran an errand, picked up two pumpkins and just thoroughly enjoyed the day.
Joelle and Natalie are cleaning out their pumpkins to make jack-o-lanterns and to get us some pumpkin seeds to roast and eat. Yummy, yummy!
Saturday, October 15, 2005
Fun Find
Here we are at one of the four finds we found while canoeing and geocaching today. We had a blast with our friends.
Wading to a find
We had to 'park' our canoes across the way from the island where the geocache was hidden. Then we piled out and walked across a sandbar to where we needed to go. What a GREAT experience.
Perfect Picnic
On one of our cache stops, we found a perfect place to have a picnic. It had shade, beautiful view of the lake and a comfy bed of pine needles on the ground to put our blankets and food and to have a delicious feast!
Getting back.
Joelle working hard getting us back home while I relax in the back!! **GRIN**
Actually, the battery on our little Minn Kota motor ran out. Got to a get a new one. So for now our friends towed us back so we didn't have to row the entire way. It was great just laying back relaxing!!! :) What a fun day. 6 1/2 miles on the water, 4 successful caches, 1 could not find, a great picnic and a ton of fun!!!
Tuckered at the end of the day!
What a GREAT day. Natalie sacked out on the ride back to the cars. This was so cute - we couldn't pass up this photo.
Friday, October 14, 2005
Sore Racquetball Shoulder OR Canoein' & Cachin'
Thursday (my first -real- day of freedom) my wife and girls went to a friends house for a play-date for all the kids. And from what I hear they had a ball and the girls had quite a 'chat-fest.' So I did some much needed work on the computer here at home and then at 6p met two friends at one of the three racquetball courts here at Southern. We played for an hour. And sometimes we even played hard! It was a blast and I added it up and it's been almost 10 years since I last played a racquetball game. That is sad - but I'm getting back into it now! We had a ball - but boy, I'm paying for it now. It's known as sore racquetball shoulder. I've not used those particular muscles in years and - ouwie! :) But I'll have to say, its a good, very good ouwie! :)
Tomorrow is gonna be a great day, we're mixing two of our favorite activities. Canoeing on Hunter Lake and Geocaching. Someone has placed 4 caches on islands in this lake that can only be reached by boat - or so it claims - and so three families are gonna go canoeing. Like pirates we're going to 'raid' those caches! Arrrgh matey!
Have a great weekend all!
Tomorrow is gonna be a great day, we're mixing two of our favorite activities. Canoeing on Hunter Lake and Geocaching. Someone has placed 4 caches on islands in this lake that can only be reached by boat - or so it claims - and so three families are gonna go canoeing. Like pirates we're going to 'raid' those caches! Arrrgh matey!
Have a great weekend all!
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Unemployment
Doreen and I have this running (good humor) disagreement. Am I or aren't I employed. I say I'm not employed - technically and and Doreen says I'm technically on vacation. Either way - I'm enjoying this day off!!! :) It's good to be between jobs. Very good! :)
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Airport or Hair Port
So which is it? When I was a little boy, one of the things we used to do was to drive to the outside of the airport in Denver and watch planes take off and land. Dad used to stand me on top of of the car and love each time a plane took off and landed. It was awesome. So my folks would ask me where we were and I'd say, "Hair port." They'd then say, "No, say Airport." I'd then say "Hair Port." My mom would then say, "Steven, say air." I'd say, "Air." Then she say, "Now say Port." Then I'd say "Port." "Now Steven, put them together and say airpot." Out of my mouth would pop, "Hair Port." He, he, he.
When I saw this sign over this hair cutting place - I remembered those experiences and had to take this photo, as a great memory. :)
Freedom! Finally Tonight we're relaxing
Freedom! Finally Tonight we're relaxing @ a mall while the girls r playin knowin I dont have 2 go 2 that unhappy work place tomorrow or ever! YES!
What Your Birthdate Means
Your Birthdate: May 7
Born on the 7th day of month gives you a tendency to be something of a perfectionist and makes you more individualistic in many ways. Your mind is good at deep mental analysis and complicated reasoning. You are very psychic and sensitive, and you should usually follow your hunches. You may not take orders too well, so you may want to work alone or in a situation where you can be the boss. This birthday gives a tendency to be somewhat self-centered and a little stubborn.
He, he - this is really pretty accurate, except for the point of of deep mental analysis and complicated reasoning or that I'm very psychic. My hunches of late haven't been that accurate either. Oh well! The rest isn't far off though! :)
Give this Birthday thing a try and see what your birthday means! :)
Born on the 7th day of month gives you a tendency to be something of a perfectionist and makes you more individualistic in many ways. Your mind is good at deep mental analysis and complicated reasoning. You are very psychic and sensitive, and you should usually follow your hunches. You may not take orders too well, so you may want to work alone or in a situation where you can be the boss. This birthday gives a tendency to be somewhat self-centered and a little stubborn.
He, he - this is really pretty accurate, except for the point of of deep mental analysis and complicated reasoning or that I'm very psychic. My hunches of late haven't been that accurate either. Oh well! The rest isn't far off though! :)
Give this Birthday thing a try and see what your birthday means! :)
8 Hours
That's all I've got left here, 8 hours of work at LifeTalk.
I have NO idea of what I'm going to do today - this is a HUGE lame-duck situation! Nothing to do nothing to schedule nothing to plan. Nothing to clean-up, did that already!
Anyway - so I'm just biding my time to finish out here.
Hallelujah! :) I'm ready for a new chapter in our lives!
Write to ya from 'freedom' tomorrow!
He, he, he!
I have NO idea of what I'm going to do today - this is a HUGE lame-duck situation! Nothing to do nothing to schedule nothing to plan. Nothing to clean-up, did that already!
Anyway - so I'm just biding my time to finish out here.
Hallelujah! :) I'm ready for a new chapter in our lives!
Write to ya from 'freedom' tomorrow!
He, he, he!
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
What Does Your Name Mean?
STEVE
S is for Smooth
T is for Thoughtful
E is for Edgy
V is for Vivatious
E is for Easy
What Does Your Name Mean?
S is for Smooth
T is for Thoughtful
E is for Edgy
V is for Vivatious
E is for Easy
What Does Your Name Mean?
Countdown - 48 hours
Oh man - I cannot wait. 48 hours left of my time here. And it's definetly time to go.
My soon to be boss came upstairs yesterday and dropped two bombs on my guys. I couldn't believe it. I feel bad for them - but happy that I'm outta here.
Later!
My soon to be boss came upstairs yesterday and dropped two bombs on my guys. I couldn't believe it. I feel bad for them - but happy that I'm outta here.
Later!
Monday, October 10, 2005
3 days or Moves into 1st Place
Three more days, then I'm awayyyyy! Oh yeah!
Mon, Tue & Wed are the last days I've gotta work at my old job. I can't wait! Seriously - I cannot wait! This has been coming for a while and I don't need to deal with the junk that's flowing around here anymore. I mean - one of my guys asked how things will be handled around here now and my soon to be former boss said, we'll have to think about it. He's known for 2 weeks and should have a plan - don't wait until next Monday to start thinking about it. But, I guarantee you - that is exactly what will happen.
Oh well - such is life - I feel bad for my guys, but happy for me!
My picks of yesterday's NFL games moved me into first place in the family's ESPN's Pig-skin-pick'em game. Oh yeah. :) Going for a 4th straight family championship. (Hopefully!!! *grin*)
You all have a very, VERY good week!
Out!
Mon, Tue & Wed are the last days I've gotta work at my old job. I can't wait! Seriously - I cannot wait! This has been coming for a while and I don't need to deal with the junk that's flowing around here anymore. I mean - one of my guys asked how things will be handled around here now and my soon to be former boss said, we'll have to think about it. He's known for 2 weeks and should have a plan - don't wait until next Monday to start thinking about it. But, I guarantee you - that is exactly what will happen.
Oh well - such is life - I feel bad for my guys, but happy for me!
My picks of yesterday's NFL games moved me into first place in the family's ESPN's Pig-skin-pick'em game. Oh yeah. :) Going for a 4th straight family championship. (Hopefully!!! *grin*)
You all have a very, VERY good week!
Out!
Match a Celebrity Music Taste - BlogThing
Check this out! :) Not sure if I quite agree with it - but the computer says so! :)
| Your Musical Tastes Match: Nicole Kidman |
 See her whole playlist here (iTunes required) |
Sunday, October 09, 2005
A Sunday Out
We didn't feel like hanging around the house this morning - so we grabbed our gps, some waypoints and went Geocaching. This was a find in a very peaceful cemetery. It had a beautiful view too!
Tonight we're going to the fall orchestra concert at Southern Adventist University. We had a sample of it yesterday and church and the girls seemed to enjoy it - so we'll take their Sabbath bag and enjoy some beautiful music tonight.
Have a great weekend yourself!
Former Professor & Friends
This weekend we had a Southwestern Adventist University Alumni Reunion Potluck here in TN. It's a thing they do, going around to different areas having alumni meetings trying to keep the University in the mind of the alumni - mostly for donations, but also just to keep in touch. Bob Mendenhall - my former Broadcasting professor - was one of the represenatives here and so it was fun catching up with him along with two other guys who graduated with the Broadcasting degree that I work with. It was a LOT of fun visiting!
Friday, October 07, 2005
Adventurers OR Being Inconsiderate
Hey, hey, hey - what do ya say?!!
IT'S FRIDAYYYYYY! Oh yeah.
Today I did my last radio show. No more radio for me - probably for a very long time. How sad that conditions have forced me to resign from a place where I have the potential to do what I love. Sad, sad, sad. Oh well - moving on...
Tonight Joelle was invested into her first Adventurers club. It was a precious service and she was a saint sitting up front. I was extremely suprised and proud how well she did - especially with a couple of kids around here not behaving as they should. One boy was making so many faces, it was quite humorous - but I'm glad it wasn't my daughter. She was perfect. (Check out the pics - further down this page - of her in the cute little uniform.)
A great end to a busy week. Trying to get everything done I need to at work to leave a clean break. 3 days left. PTL!!!
So what is it with people being so blasted inconsiderate lately? I just don't understand it. Case(s) in point...
#1 - This week my family and I went up to a 'park,' for a day to get away. Joelle's been begging, I had a day coming and we just needed to get away. So while we're there - we have to take the girls to the restroom a number of times. When I take them, I obviously have to take them into the stall. What is the deal with guys leaving the seat down and making a HUGE mess?? Hello - it takes all of half a sec to lift the lid. Uh DUH!! And what part of "If you sprinkle when you tinkle, be a sweetie and clean the seatie" is so hard to do. Not to mention it is really, REALLY gross. Come'on guys who leave a mess - be considerate and clean it up.
#2 - Yesterday, we went to the grocery store to do our weekly shopping. Get into the store and start down the main isle with Joelle in the cart. 4 People just standing, in such a way to block the entire isle, are doing nothing but talking and being in the way. This is a MAIN isle - hello. Two other people besides me get 'behind' them and can't get through because they're being so incredibly inconsiderate. Uh - MOVE IT! A polite 'excuse me' was uttered - and NO response - so we had to go around. And that was just the beginning. Three other times last night - people would just 'stop' right in the middle of whatever isle we were in and leave me no way around while they looked for whatever they were looking for. Aaarrgghhhh! Have we become such a self-centered socieity that we no longer care about those around it - even in the super simple things of just stepping out of the way so people can get through?
And I'll stop here - after this one.
#3 - When we got to the grocery store, it was raining lightly, and Doreen started down a row to park so we could go shopping. We sat waiting for about 3 minutes while someone - who was 'waiting for a front-row' parking spot. Finally we backed up, went down a couple of other rows and finally found a spot. As we walked inside - the same car was sitting waiting for the same spot - meanwhile blocking up the entire row so that other vehicles wanting to get through were blocked in behind it. That is flat out pure, unadulterated inconsiderateness.
Sad - sad - SAD!
Tomorrow we have a reunion of sorts. Our college almamater is having a SAU potluck reunion of alumni after church. So we'll be there - to visit with my college counselor and wife and others, just for the fun of it!
Have a GREAT weekend!
IT'S FRIDAYYYYYY! Oh yeah.
Today I did my last radio show. No more radio for me - probably for a very long time. How sad that conditions have forced me to resign from a place where I have the potential to do what I love. Sad, sad, sad. Oh well - moving on...
Tonight Joelle was invested into her first Adventurers club. It was a precious service and she was a saint sitting up front. I was extremely suprised and proud how well she did - especially with a couple of kids around here not behaving as they should. One boy was making so many faces, it was quite humorous - but I'm glad it wasn't my daughter. She was perfect. (Check out the pics - further down this page - of her in the cute little uniform.)
A great end to a busy week. Trying to get everything done I need to at work to leave a clean break. 3 days left. PTL!!!
So what is it with people being so blasted inconsiderate lately? I just don't understand it. Case(s) in point...
#1 - This week my family and I went up to a 'park,' for a day to get away. Joelle's been begging, I had a day coming and we just needed to get away. So while we're there - we have to take the girls to the restroom a number of times. When I take them, I obviously have to take them into the stall. What is the deal with guys leaving the seat down and making a HUGE mess?? Hello - it takes all of half a sec to lift the lid. Uh DUH!! And what part of "If you sprinkle when you tinkle, be a sweetie and clean the seatie" is so hard to do. Not to mention it is really, REALLY gross. Come'on guys who leave a mess - be considerate and clean it up.
#2 - Yesterday, we went to the grocery store to do our weekly shopping. Get into the store and start down the main isle with Joelle in the cart. 4 People just standing, in such a way to block the entire isle, are doing nothing but talking and being in the way. This is a MAIN isle - hello. Two other people besides me get 'behind' them and can't get through because they're being so incredibly inconsiderate. Uh - MOVE IT! A polite 'excuse me' was uttered - and NO response - so we had to go around. And that was just the beginning. Three other times last night - people would just 'stop' right in the middle of whatever isle we were in and leave me no way around while they looked for whatever they were looking for. Aaarrgghhhh! Have we become such a self-centered socieity that we no longer care about those around it - even in the super simple things of just stepping out of the way so people can get through?
And I'll stop here - after this one.
#3 - When we got to the grocery store, it was raining lightly, and Doreen started down a row to park so we could go shopping. We sat waiting for about 3 minutes while someone - who was 'waiting for a front-row' parking spot. Finally we backed up, went down a couple of other rows and finally found a spot. As we walked inside - the same car was sitting waiting for the same spot - meanwhile blocking up the entire row so that other vehicles wanting to get through were blocked in behind it. That is flat out pure, unadulterated inconsiderateness.
Sad - sad - SAD!
Tomorrow we have a reunion of sorts. Our college almamater is having a SAU potluck reunion of alumni after church. So we'll be there - to visit with my college counselor and wife and others, just for the fun of it!
Have a GREAT weekend!
"Ten-Hut!!!"
Tonight Joelle was invested into 'Adventurers,' the pre-curser to Pathfinders. It was very precious as she got all decked out in her uniform at home and then later waited in the room with all the other Adventurers to march in to the sanctuary. Boy, it's been forever since I was in Pathfinders - I really miss it. It was part of my life for so long, with my folks being leaders and then getting into it myself when I was old enough, then helping out by becoming a junior counselor. Gonna have to get involved with my daughter! :) (I pulled out my JMV and AJY scarves and sash with all my honors on it. Can't wait until Natalie's old enough and the 4 of us can work on it together.)
Investiture Candle
During the investiture, the kids put their names on an altar, then were giving a candle to bring to the parents as a reimder of us all, to daily commit our selves to God and to keep an eye on the Fire of our lives. It was a very precious service. I can't believe my little girl is growing up so quickly!
Monday, October 03, 2005
The Change... The Story
<--- This is going to be my new boss! :) Well in a sense, but I'm not kidding. I have resigned from my current place of employment. I used to LOVE going to work, but over the last year, things have just gone into the pits. It is extremely sad some of the things that are going on there and where it is being taken.
So, last February, I decided to put in an application at McKee Foods, Little Debbie's parent company, as one of their drivers. When I put the application in, my prayer was that if they called it was meant for me to accept the job. At the beginning of Aug, they called for an interview. Then a week later I was given a road Test and passed with flying colors. After we got back from Colorado they called for a 2nd interview, then I took a drug screen, which DHL promptly shipped to the wrong state and was lost. So I had to go back in for a second drug screen test, passed and was offered a job Friday morning. So Friday afternoon I handed in my resignation.
I tell ya what - it was like a HUGE Gorilla jumped off my back. So, if I can survive during the next 7 days, I will be free!
Anyway, Mon Oct 17 is my first day of orientation. I've got a week of orientation, 5 weeks of training and a 4 month probationary period. Shouldn't be a problem though.
So I'm in the same boat - basically - as Cheryl.
To a happy life!!!
OUT!
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