Deck Doings

UPDATE TIME!!! As I mentioned in a previous blog, our deck was finally being built! Here's the beginning of the skeleton of it.






While some guys were doing the 'hard' work outside, a couple of guys were inside finishing the frame of the openeing created between the dining room and living room.




Here's the door going out onto the deck. Sure glad they got the deck done, cuz after the put the door in before they built the deck, that was quite a first step! :)








Here's the topside view of the deck. 16'x16' with plenty of room for chairs, a grill and great place to enjoy a cool Tennessee summer night.






The backside of the house now looks complete with a door and a deck. Now onto other work that's got to get done around here! :)






When we moved in, the previous family had a black dishwasher. (Not pictured, it's under the counter on the right.) So we decided to get a black stove, black hood, black refrigerator and replace our white microwave - given to us at our wedding over 13 years ago and dying) with a black one. They all look really nice and match each other. Not to mention, they're pretty easy to keep clean! :)

Funky Colored Collars

This last week, I was teamed up with a driver that was majorly unhappy. This is about the 2nd or 3rd driver I've gone with that had these same challenges.

He's looking for something else. He's tired of being 'blue collar.' He wants to go out, have more time at home and make more money doing something 'easier.' The entire trip he's belly-aching about this that and the other. I just listen to him and try to change the conversation because what he's complaining about - I enjoy. Odd isn't it? He doesn't think we make enough money, I'm more than happy with my income. He feels he doesn't have enough time at home with his family. I ran 3 trips last week and I'll be home Sat, Mon, Thur, Fri, Sat & Sunday. That's a WHOLE heck of a lot more time than I was getting before. He says this job is filled with stress, What backing up a truck, blindside? Counting cases of cookies? What is the stress? Shifting 10 times? What??? :)

Now, I don't know if it's because I do have my college education, or because I had a 'white collar' job once or twice that I just can't understand where these guys are coming from.

This guy things he can get a 2 year degree at a State College then go get an entry level job that pays $30+ bucks and hour, plus extremely nice benefits.

Maybe those jobs are out there, but I haven't found them.

If someone knows of one of those jobs with an opening, give me a hollar!

Anyway, I wish these guys the best of luck as they search for these endavors. I'll continue to work where I'm at, have more time at home, make more money and have virtually no stress!!! I'll also wish I don't ever have to run with them again cuz I don't want to listen to their bellyachin!

Hey, y'all have a GREAT weekend!

I HATE MOVING!!!

Oh yeah, I hate, HATE moving!

Doreen and I worked with United Van Lines for a little over 3 years and didn't mind moving other people's stuff. Of course we got paid for it too!

I typically don't mind helping move friends. If I have a choice between getting an ice pick stuck under my toe nails or helping a friend move, I'll choose the latter! :)

But I HATE moving my own stuff. I ABSOLUTELY HATE, WITH A PASSION, MOVING MY OWN GARBAGE!!!

Hate it, hate it, hate it!

Friday, we got most of our stuff moved. We've still got a bunch of little things at the previous residence, but we're in and can function here along with all of our big things. But I hated, hated moving it!

Anway, the back deck is almost done and we'll have to touch some things up with paint, etc! But it is good to be in - even though I hated the moving experience.

I'll post some updated pics - soon maybe!

Meanwhile, I plan to stay here a long, LONG time because I hate, HATE moving our stuff!!! :)

NY, NY

This last week for work I had to take a trip to Hackensack, NJ with is just across the water from New York City, NY. I'd not been back by NYC since fall of '99, pre Sept 11 attack.

I saw the skyline at night, a beautifully clear night of course. It was odd seeing it without the twin towers.

But I could still see the Empire state building beautifully aglo. It is also a pretty awesome experience to be driving south on the New Jersey Turnpike right by the Newark Liberty airport and having an airplane, like 747 in size, land within a few hundered feet of ya. Awesome!

Anyway - that was a long trip, but it had interesting stuff like that to fill my thoughts and time for quite a while! :)

Tax Return to Sender

We went to get our taxes done today. We went to a tax professional because we had so many things to consider in the mix. We sold our Illinois property, our Vonore property and our Madisonville home. I changed jobs and a number other things to consider.

Turns out we made a nice profit on one place, had a huge loss on another and kinda broke even on the third, when all was said and done. So the loss helped to balance our Capital Gains on the even and profit.

By the time everything was added up, we get a cash return. I hate giving the government a interest free loan every year, but I'd prefer that than owe money every April 15th, especially when the amount can vary!

So with all said and done we're praising the Lord that we get a return this year. Both of us were pretty much sure we were gonna have to pay in, but thankfully - NOT!

Other things are returning to normal. Sorry I don't have any pics, but the house is getting done. They got the one opening cased in and the prep work for the deck done. That'll be started tomorrow.

Can't wait for it all to get done so we can get movedand really return to normal.

HA!

More Caching!!!

This Sabbath, our friends invited us over for lunch - yummy food. Then we went out to show them the activity of Geocaching - oh what fun we had. We found 5 caches and had a TON of fun while doing it.

Y'all oughta try it sometime! Oh yeah!

FOUND IT!

A real coverup! ;)

Joelle's been beggin me to make them some masks. So we did and here they are wearing them. Precious!

"Oscar" Thoughts

Doreen's (I'm keeping an eye on 'em too! **grin**) watching the Oscars tonight.

So, a theme that has been running through tonight, and mentioned again and again and AGAIN! In fact, the President of the 'Academy' made a huge point of this during his speech. They've had two or three montages trying to bring this point home.

They want us to pass on the DVD's and go to the theater. They want us to spend the big bucks to see every movie. You know what, I got kids and it's a pain to get 'em a baby sitter. It's just easier to pop in a DVD at home after they're already in bed etc!

I can't believe the number of times they've mentioned that tonight. I read and article a few months back of how ticket sales have been down this year, big time, and I guess they're worried.

Well - make better movies! Then I might go to the theater to see em. (Not likely!!!) :)

(Of course I still won't go. I love being able to pause it and go to the bathroom. To be able to really relax. To be able to watch the DVD with the extras and to watch it when I want, not only at 5:15, 7:30 or 9:45. He, he, he!)

Ok so what's your preference. Home or Theater? DVD or Bigscreen?

Of course - they've got the whole outfit thing. What are some of those people thinking. I see some of those outfits and realize that 'normal' people wouldn't be caught dead in 'em. I mean, Charleze Theron's got a bow on her shoulder the size of a car. JLo's puke green dress, and some other lady's dress looks like they took lace just cut it completely randomly and glued it on. Weird man, very, VERY weird!!!

Then why do they have such a hard time picking movies and music that people really enjoy?

They just gave the Oscar for best original music to a rap group with the song, "It's hard out here for a pimp." Hello? For starters rap 'hardly' rates as music and it beat everything else out? Come on people get real. GET REAL!

I could rant on and on and will probably do so in my mind after they pick the 'Best Movie' cuz it obviously won't be this years best movie out there - but the 'Academy' deems it so. UGH!

Any - this pimp is out! :)

Doin' Some Cachin

Our weather has been so incredibly nice the last few days. Highs in the 70's, low's in the 50's. Very, VERY nice. In fact on my last trip for work, I ended up putting shorts on it was so warm. (I haven't done that since mid Oct.)

Anyway, today we wanted to get out and about. Doreen asked - where should we go? My answer,
GEOCACHING!!! Yeah Baby. Going out to find something someone's hidden somewhere! Man it was cool finding the two we did. Both of them were around cemeteries. (Wouldn't want to hit these caches at night. Spooky! He, he, he!)

But we did have a lot of fun!

Have a GREAT weekend all!!!

Remodeling Day Arriveth!

We were super excited to head over to our new home today and find our carpenter actually there actually working and getting started on remodeling our new house, just a bit. <--This window is gonna be taken out and a french door installed in it's place.




Here's one shot--> of a wall of the room that's gonna be opened up to the living room to give us a feel of a 'wide open space!' (To quote the Dixie Chicks.)





Here's the <--outside in the back before demolition. (Note the far left window on the upper level.) You're outta here!







Here's the result of the remodel. -->(Sweet) Now picture, if you will, a 16'x16'deck back there to enjoy on those cool evenings. Oh yeah!






Here's the <-- skeleton of the offending wall that is being removed.








Ahh --> now that's space! Can't wait to see it finished!!!





Can't wait to move in! :)

SE TN Way of Fishin! :)

Doreen and the girls are fishin for Sting Rays at the Tennessee Aquarium. (Look at the apprehension on Doreen's and Natalie's faces - CUTE! Joelle would'a dived in there to grab one had we let her!) We had a ball at the Aquarium that day! :)

Are You Normal???

Are You Normal?

Your Normalcy Quotient is: 64 out of 100.

Your quiz results make you a Quirky Character

You've found yourself mostly in the middle of the road, but you have enough quirky habits to not be entirely normal. You're probably glad to be more than ordinary, but you're normal enough to fit in. Sounds like a perfect balance.

Take this free personality test by or going to www.chatterbean.com/runormal/

Seein Angels Everywhere!!!

After seeing the musical the other night, Joelle was incredibly impressed with all the angels!

Impressed so much - she's been playing an 'angel' regularly! :)

Last night when I was driving on my trip home, I called to say good night to the girls and let them know I'd be home for breakfast etc. Joelle had to make sure to tell me at the beginning, the end and the end of the phone call that she'd be an angel for me today!

Cute! :)

Two from Galilee

Tonight we took the girls to their first 'Community Theatre' type play. (They'd been to a couple of church plays before, but this is the first amatuer/semi-pro type production.) It was called Two from Galilee - basically it's the story of Mary and Joseph, expanded. In fact here's...

The Synopsis:

Mary and Joseph, two young people in love from the village of Nazareth, fight against the Jewish tradition of prearranged marriage for the chance to be together. But just as they are betrothed, God reveals His plan for the birth of the Messiah. Mary will be the chosen one to fulfill the ancient prophecy: "A virgin will conceive and bear a Son."

Joseph struggles to accept this turn of events as truly being from God, while Mary continues to believe in God and her love for Joseph, even in the face of her family's unbelief.

At his father's deathbed, Joseph begins to understand and accept his part in God's plan. He and Mary journey to Bethlehem and, against difficult odds, struggle to see God's plan accomplished: the birth of God's Son, Jesus, in a tiny stable in Bethlehem. At His birth, Joseph and Mary finally realize fulfillment much greater than they had ever dreamed.

It was a very good musical play (With a full orchestra that was exceptional) and some great moments of humor, and the girls really enjoyed it. Joelle more so than Natalie, but that's basically due to the age thing. Joelle was 'enthralled' during the entire thing and kept whispering things to me she noticed. Very precious! We had two good friends Pilgrim & Trailady who were actors in the play and enjoyed seeing them and their kids take part!

They're excited to go to their next play - and frankly we can't wait to take them.

Anyway, Hope things are good with you. Just found out tonight that I'm scheduled for 2 runs that will have me back home at a pretty decent hour Monday night. I'll run about 1000+ miles and unload two trucks of product in KY and SC/GA. Should be interesting.

Monday our carpenter starts putting holes in our new house walls and building a deck. Hope he gets it done soon! Can't wait to move in! Gotta go - probably on Sunday eve or Tuesday am to pick up our new refrig and range for the house. Yeee haw!

Have a great weekend y'all! I'm'a going to bed.

Spelling OR Violations OR Score

Hey, hey, hey - whadda ya say??!!! :)

So, the other day visiting Grandma March in the hospital, Joelle had a little rubber bat (as in the flying animal) with her she'd gotten in Sabbath School. She kept talking about it, and then said, "Hey - I know how to spell bat." Then she proceeded to sound out and spell the word - all on her own with no prompting. Dude that is awesome!! I have such a smart daughter!!!

I'm no longer a 'Probie' at work. It's good to be past that 4 month period. Anyway, part of my final evaluation was a look at my logbook violations during my time here. I only had three violations - one, my partner and I showed driving at the same time. (His gaffe!) The other showed me driving as a partner was off duty. (Didn't count because I'd run back to back trips with different partners and so when I was returning from a trip he was off duty. The final one, and the one that was an actual violation by company policy, I logged 72 mph one day. (Our trucks are governed at 70. - Oops) They seemed pretty happy with my work though. I'll take that! :)

Doreen and I just got letters with our credit score in them. I guess they're required to disclose them to us because we applied for a home loan for our house. The scores range between 300 to 850. With 850 being the best. We're both closer to the top score, but not quite, with Doreen's being 8 points higher than mine! Dooh! :)

Have a happy day!

Color? Who the freak cares!!!

Why does someone always have to bring color into play in life? Why can't we enjoy things colorblind and just enjoy things for what they are? Why did Gumble have to take it to this level? Eh??? It's just disgusting when people have to bring down a good thing. Instead of criticizing - he ought to be encouraging other kids like S Davis (Speed Skater) to get into winter games insead of being down on it just because of color. That just perpetuates the problem instead of helping to fix it! On Olympics and color, Gumbel should know better

...We'll leave the light on!

Man, it is SOOOOO nice. I've been with my new company for 4 months now. (Yeah, no longer a probie!) During the majority of my return home from trips, it's well past everyones bedtime. But everytime I get home (Like this morning at 2:45a) the porchlight is on. My precious wife is very faithful at leaving the light on so I can see my way in without stumbling over things and banging my gear bags on everything. What a blessing, to have a light and to have it turned on for me every time I come home!

Home sweet home!

I'm 'a going to bed now! :)

Later!

Full Freaky Fridays

So - how are y'all?

Good I hope. I'm tired. Had a very, VERY busy week at work so I'm kinda wore out. (I took 4 trips this past week (The typical trip load is 2) and in the voice mail this afternoon, orders are even higher this week - so I may be busier!!! Great for finances, hard on the body!)

So, yesterday, we just took it easy. Since I'd been gone most of the week, after breakfast and Doreen left for school, I just laid on the floor of the girls room for almost 2 hours playing with them. It was nice. Then cleaned things up and headed to the mall to the indoor playplace, where Doreen met us after classes and we had Taco Bell.

Then we went to Lowes and looked at refrigerators and flat top stoves.

---Aye carumba, Doreen's talking with her sister who lives up in Minnesota and the high temp today was -13. That's dang cold!---

We did our grocery shopping, went home, put everything away, then headed over to the new house. (The carpenter didn't get to start doing his job this week - maybe Mon or Tue.) We took some measurements, and headed back to Lowes and ended up buying a new refrig and flat top stove for our new house. Yippeee!

So today, we headed to Doreen's Grandma March's house to help her with her cell phone operations and then to get some boxes from her store to assist in our move.
Then as I was packing some boxes in the vehicle, I heard a scream out of the store (which was closed at the time) and I sprinted for the door and heard a whistle, and passed Doreen who said, Grandma fell and needs help. Grandma fell down the stairwell and banged her head, back, hip and ankle. She knocked herself out - so I went down and tended to her and Doreen ran to get help.

She was out for 5 min, then came to, and help arrived and we got her to the hospital. She amazingly had NO broken bones. She's got a TON of bumps and bruses and stuff.

Luckily, during this whole ordeal, the girls were blissfully watching a movie in the van and didn't need any attention.

So we checked on her tonight - and she's doing fine. We took her glasses to Wal-mart and they fixed 'em right up.

They'll keep her in the hospital for 24 to 48 hours for observation, and then she'll be relased. It'll take a while, but before long she'll be around as good as ever.

What is it with accidents happening on Fridays lately?

Larry & Sandra's (Doreen's folks) garage burned on a Fri.
Sandra's fall and broken arms on a Fri.
Grandma's fall on a Friday.

Freaky Fridays indeed!!!

Ice Skating... In an 18-Wheeler

So that 'storm' that hit NY, Boston and pretty much the whole north east, well it hit Kentucky too! Got up there last night to the tune of about 4 inches. (The worst weather I've been in yet in my new job.)

We got the job done, got empty and I'm driving us home.

Just as you cross from Kentucky into Tennessee, you gotta go over Jellico Mountain. Well, we almost get to the top and have to stop because of traffic. Why is there traffic, because these 'snow-chasers' from the south can't handle more than a 1/8 inch of snow a season without freaking out.

Granted, the top was pretty much a sheet of ice - and I felt like I was ice-skating in our 18-wheeler, but come-on people. Others all over the world drive on snow and ice regularly without spinning around 5 times and get High-C'd on a ditch, etc.

On the southbound side, their were 4 accidents. 3 of 'em were single car. One invloved 3 cars.

On the northbound side, 3 accidents, one from a southbounder losing control and sliding across the median taking a pickup truck out before ending up in the ditch.

Aye, yai, yai!

It's good to be home, it's even better I'm leaving out for South Georgia tomorrow morning. No more snow! :)

Later! :)

Only in the South - Snow Chasers

We had quite an experience today. The last couple of days we've had very cold, dreary, rainy weather. No snow here in the Chattanooga area though.

So in Sabbath School today the teacher asked Natalie if she'd seen any snow lately. Obviously the answer was no. (She asked the other kids as well.)

Turns out, after Sabbath School, Doreen and the 'teacher' were talking and their Sabbath afternoon plans were to head up into the Smoky Mountains and go "Snow-Chasing."

Has anyone ever heard that term/phrase before??? I've heard of tornado chasers, weather chasers etc, but never snow chasers. Interesting concept.

If I didn't have to leave for a a trip tonight, we'd probably go chasing some snow! :)

Have a great weekend! :)

(PS That pic is actually of some snow in the Smoky Mountains! *grin*)

New Home!

Well, we signed the paperwork today. Once again, we are home owners. We're not gonna move in until a 2 bits of a small amount of remodeling is done. (That way we won't have to deal with all the dust and stuff. (Hole punched in the wall between the dining and living room, French door added to the back for and exit out the back and a 16x16 deck to be built.)

I thought about it today. This is essentially the 3rd home we've owned.

Our first home purchace was under $50k. Our second was under $80k and this is just over $100k. Man, inflation, bigger homes, different types of home, bigger family has required this growth of expense of homes!

Interesting.

Well - we'll be glad to be moved in. Not looking forward to the process though!!!

Y'all are invited to come visit - anytime! :)

3 Blessings - 1 Event

It was cool. Coming back from Florida, we had to stop in Valdosta to swap out trailers.

So just before Valdosta, we stopped at the Flying J in Lake City, GA to fuel. There on the islands were two other LD trucks.

So my partner decided to pull in behind one of them. I looked at the trailer number and realized that was the trailer we were supposed to swap. So we hopped out and went up and talked to the other driver.

So while he fueled my parner and I swapped all the gear, then we fueled quickly and then swapped trailers and headed on home.

It was cool for 3 reasons...

#1 - What's the chances of us pulling up the the same fuel stop with in mere moments of the other driver. We were headed to our outstation to pick up the other trailer, we probably had enough fuel to go the distance, but decided to fill up just to be safe.

#2 - What's the Chances of him having the exact trailer we were meant to swap.

#3 - What's the Chances that the timing was just perfect so we could get the work done quickly without killing any of his time or ours.

Man - that was a HUGE blessing! Very, VERY cool.

On a quick note, on our trip down to FL we made a delivery that would have cakes delivered to the Bahamas. Awesome!

Also, I just found out that I'll have two trips for this week under my belt by midnight Monday. (I've requested extra trips for this week to get some extra $$$'s to help catch our budget up.)

What a cool week of work! I Love my job! :)

70 Things

70 Things About Me

1. Initials: SSP

2. Name someone with the same birthday as you: Eric Anderson (Friend), Robbie Kenievel (Son of Evil Kenievel), Tracy Lords (Actress), Rondell Jones (Former Broncos Safety), Johnny Unitas (NFL QB), Peter Il'yich Tchaikovsky (Composer), Louis I (King of France)

3. Last thing you ate: Bagle w/ cream cheese & tomato, Yogurt.

4. For or against same sex marriage: against them but thats for God to judge

5. Are you homophobic: no

6. Do you still watch cartoons: When I can :)

7. Do you believe in God: absolutely

8. How many U.S states have you been to: 49 (Only missing Hawaii)

9. How many of the U.S states have you lived in: 7

10. Ever lived outside of the US: no

11. Name something you like physically about yourself: My perfection once we get in heaven! :)

12. Something non-physical you like about yourself: Organizational Ability

13. What is your dads name: Lawrence

14. What is your dream car: Anything Brand New! :)

15. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? Hawaii, Cancun, Bahamas (Got the theme?) :)

16. Favorite type of food: Lasagna

17. Favorite holiday: All of them

18. Do you download music: I have

19. What illegal things have you done: Shoplifted a GI Joe Braclet at age 11

20. Where would you want to go on a first date: Picnic on the beach would be cool

22. Has anyone ever sang or played for you personally: not that I remember

23. Have you ever cried for no reason: Nope - gotta have a reason

24. Do you like President Bush: Yes

25. Have you ever bungee jumped: No

26. Have you ever white-water rafted: No

27. Has anyone ten years older than you ever hit on you? No

28. Last person you hugged: My Wife

29. Have you met a real redneck: Oh yeah - I live in redneck land! :)

30. How is the weather right now: Cold

31. What song are you listening to right now: Olympic Theme! :)

32. What are your current fav songs?: Starship "Nothings Gonna Stop Us Now."

33. What was the last movie you watched: Saint (Val Kilmer & Elizabeth Shue)

34. Do you wear contacts: Not anymore thanks to Lasik

35. Where was the last place you went besides your house? Restroom in warehouse in Kendall, FL

36. What are you afraid of: hmmmm... Familiy hurting

37. Have you ever been hit-on by someone of the same sex: We moved two 'gay' couples with United and I'm sure at least one did. Aye, yai, yai!!!

38. How many pets do u have: None, yet

39. Have you ever loved someone: Yes

40. What really turns you on: Yes! :)

41. What do you usually order from Starbucks: Can't stand paying $4 on a cup of coffee!

42. Have you ever fired a gun: Oh Yes!!!

43. Are you missing someone: My Papaw (Died in '92)

44. Say something totally random about yourself: I Love Life!

46. Has anyone ever said you looked like a celeb? Yeah, Wesley Crusher on Star Trek Next Gen

47. Whats your mom's name: Jerilyn

48. Who would you like to see right now: Who I am seeing, my family - our friends in CA, Eric & Holly!

49. Are you comfortable with your height: yea, except I have for female cousins my height and taller.

50. Dogs or cats: Dogs

51. Have you ever been caught doing something you weren't supposed to? In academy can you say, "Social."

52. Favorite flower: Roses

53. Butter, plain, or salted popcorn: Yes!

54. What books are you reading: Louis Lamour

55. Have you ever ridden in a limo: Nope

56. Has anyone you were really close to passed away? Yes, Grandfather

57. Do you watch MTV: Nope - no cable

58. What's something that really annoys you: Being Late

59. What are some things you really like doing: Geocaching, watching football or sports in general

60. Do you like Michael Jackson: Like a few of his songs but not him as a person

61. Can you dance: Never really tried, goofed around a bit and freaked my family out! He, he, he!

62. Favorite basketball team: I pic a favorite for the playoffs, don't really have an NBA favorite.

63. Favorite cereal: Fruit Loops

64. Do you drive: Yes, and then some!

65. What's the latest you have ever stayed out: Waaaayyyy tooo late/early!

66. Last time you went bowling: Aug

67. Were you ever rushed by an ambulance into the emergency room: Yes, after being robbed while working at convenience store.

68. Who was your last phone call? Work voice mail.

69. Last time you were at work: This morning at 1 am.

70. Whats your favorite state to be in: Colorful Colorado

Superbowl XL Thoughts

So, this was a decent Superbowl. It wasn't 'great' because, obviously the Broncos weren't in it. I enjoyed it though.

I'm glad I got to see it! I left on a trip Sat night with 6 stops in Kentucky. We ran 'em all, plus got a decent nap and I missed getting home and seeing the kickoff by like 3 minutes. Not bad. We were running hard heading home though. Didn't even take any potty breaks! He, he, he! We had some good friends over, some yummy pizza and snacks and of course a bowl full of a bunch of different flavored snack cakes! :)

The Steelers beat the Seahawks. Cool. That's who I was hoping would win. Doreen and I like Coach Cower and the owner, Mr Rooney. These guys have stood by each other in the good and bad times. Very unusual for today's sports climate. Typically, a bad season comes along and wholesale changes are made by ownership, or the coach or players jump ship for a better situation or more money. It's good to see this kind of committment! That and, as long as it's not the Raiders playing, I'll typcially pull for the AFC team. (Broncos = AFC West *GRIN*)

The game itself definetly had it's moments, but not the best. (Which game can top the Broncos getting their 1st Superbowl win XXXII, '97, by hanging on to beat Green Bay in the last :28 sec of the game. Not many, I'll tell you that! *GRIN*)

I was a little bit perturbed by some of the officiating in the game, but then I read this ESPN article by Gene Wojciechowski - Sorry conspiracy buffs, a loss sometimes is just a loss, and this is a guy I rarely ever agree with. (He kinda reminds me of the Denver Post Columnist, Mark Kiszla, the same attitude - negative about almost EVERYTHING, who I don't enjoy reading either.) He was right on here!

The commercials, as usual, were pretty good. The group we had here at our place, laughed heartily at: Ameriquest's 2 Ads, 'Doctor' & 'Fly the Friendly Skies,' (he, he, he), Bud Light's 2 commercials, 'Secret Fridge' & 'On the Roof.' We awed at Bud Light's 'Clydesdale American Dream' and were wowed by Bud Lights 'The Wave.'

Overall, it was a good Superbowl!

Most Amazing Ad

So, since the Broncos didn't make the Superbowl this year - but ohhhh sooo close - I've been giving some thought to the game. It should be a good one and I'm gonna pull for the Steelers to win. But I've also been giving some thought to the Ads that are going to air this year. I don't know how much they'll cost the company for airtime, but you can bet it'll be a pretty penny! :)

That line of thought also jogged a memory of a GREAT car commercial - never seen over here in the US. It aired only in the UK and on the internet - where I saw it.

So this evening I did a quick Google search on it and wanted to list it here for you to check out if you've got a moment!

Honda Cog Commercial

Some interesting facts...

Remember the popular children’s board game, Mousetrap? The game centered on the ability of an assembly of levers, chutes and ramps to send a plastic trap over a toy mouse.

Segue to a $1 million commercial produced by Wieden+Kennedy UK for Honda. The spot, dubbed "Cog”, features 85 car parts linked in a mesmerizing symphony that culminates with the introduction of Honda's new Accord. No product shots; no Celine Dion; no warnings about professional drivers on closed courses. Just a collection of ball bearings, wiper blades, tires and mufflers seamlessly “interacting” with one another to form a true piece of art.

“Cog” took five months of production and design work before it was ready to be shot. And after 605 takes, the dominos fell as they were meant to.

Work, work, work

The last three weeks have been very busy for me. The nice thing about where I work - is they allow, no, they encourage us to get overtime when orders are up and they need to get product out.

So, I've been taking an extra trip every week for the last three weeks and I'm wore out!

It's great to have, but I've got to pace myself as well. So I'll still be taking extra trips, but on a more regular basis with breaks in between to allow for rest and recovery! :)

Although it's wonderful - I took a trip last night. Left out at 7 and back home, in bed, by 3:30am. If I figured things right, for that trip I averaged $43 per hour. I'll take that anyday! :)

Work has been a joy lately, and it's gettin better. A brother of a guy I went to college works at the same place, and we're going to run together as a team for a while to see if it works out. (I told Doreen I feel like I've gone back to 'dating' again.) It's actually a good way to partner people together - it just feels so 'high-school.' He, he, he!

Things are good, Guuuuuuuuuuuud! As Bruce Almighty would say!

Home Sweet Home

We just got a call from our mortgage company, everything looks great. We should be going to closing next Friday. P!T!L!



So I get a call from dad on one of my trips, wanting to know a bit about the house and wondering why I hadn't posted any photos here on the site yet.




Well, I've just been a bit busy! :) So now that things have slowed up, just a hair - here's our soon to be new home. It's a split level home (They LOVE those things here in the south for some reason!) that was built in 1972. 1 1/2 baths, 4 bedrooms, Living room, Eat in kitchen, family room down stairs and a one car garage. Approx 1800 sq feet. It's on a nice sized lot in a nice subdivison, 5 min from my work, 20 min from Doreen's school, 10 min from church, 15 min to the mall and kitty corner from the babysitter.


The people we are buying it from, bought it as a repo and have done a major renovation to it, new flooring, cabinets, bathrooms, windows etc. We're just going to have an 18x12 deck built on the back with a french door access through the kitchen, and have another wall between the dining room and living room removed to 'open' things up a bit - all before we move in hopefully!


Anyway, here's our new home - anyone who wants to come help us move is MORE than welcome come moving day. We'll even provide pizza as sustinance! :)

Mr Mom

Remember that movie with Michael Keaton and Terri Garr, where he loses his job, so she finds one easily to 'bring home the bacon' for the family. Funny movie.

Anyway, I've kinda taken on the part-time role of Mr. Mom. Doreen has classes on Tuesday and Thursday, so when I'm not on a trip, the girls stay home with me and we hang out together. We'll play around the house, have meals, clean up, do shopping, go swimming (right now, indoor of course), go to the mall and play at the playplace, and go geocaching. (I've taken care of them twice, no three times [???] can't remember which now.)

It's been good to have some quality Daddy, Daughters time. I've really enjoyed it and I believe they have as well. I've had to come down on them a couple of times for not eating at lunch or not getting their toys picked up. Overall, this has been, and will continue to be a very good experience for us!!!

Of course, I've got the best of both worlds, a good job with enough time off to be a Mr Mom! :)

Geocaching Milestone

I've been wanting to go Geocaching lately, but just haven't found the time.

Well, as I said in my previous post, I've had more time with the girls lately, so yesterday morning we decided to go treasure hunting. We found 3 caches, two that were extremely easy and one really, REALLY difficult one.

I stepped over the spot where this blue container was hidden under a bunch of leaves twice, then Joelle yelled, "Daddy - I found it." Sure enough, she wiped the pile of leaves on it clean and there it was. What a very, VERY cool experience!



So, with that find, we've hit a milestone. Thepesters4 has found 50 hidden caches. We've got some friends who have a bit more time on their hands and they are well over 160, but with two kids etc, I'm proud to have tracked down 50 of these buggers and can't wait to find even more! (Of course, we need to take the next step and hide a couple of caches, but one step at a time!!!) Hip hip horray!

What Kinda Car???

You Should Drive a Saturn Sky

You're sleek and smooth, and you need a car to match your hot persona. Besides, sometimes you want your top up - and sometimes you want it down.

What 2007 Car Should You Drive?

I can go for that!!! :)

Contract

Ok - so today, we visited a home For Sale By Owner not once, not twice, but three times.

At 10a we went to take our first peek inside the house and assess whether we liked it or not. We liked it, so we called Doreen's folks, (Who are still in town by the way because their truck keeps leaking Anti-freeze fluid - they're ready to get back to work now that Sandra has her medical release.) to see if they'd come down and give us an unbiased assessment.

So at mid afternoon, they arrive and we go for our second walk-through, warming up to the idea of the place and batting around some ideas of some things we'd like to do to it before we move in, and then make an offer.

Early afternoon, they flat out accept our offer.

Late afternoon, after a quick meal at El Matador, where the waiters sang "Happy B-day " to Larry (the big 60)and put a silly looking sumbrero on his head and some whipcream on his nose, He, he, he - by the way, and then we all chowed down on the huge sopapilla with honey, cinnamon, whipped cream, chocolate dribbles and a huge 'blob' of vanilla ice cream in the center, we ran back home picked up a checkbook, the out to the house to sign a contract on the place and leave some earnest money and all. (Had to get it done because they had it listed in the newspaper this weekend and we didn't want them 'giving' it away.)

As we left, the owner's wife said, "We're glad you came back by because now when people call on the place, we can say it's 'under contract' and won't get an offer for $$$'s (She mentioned the full price number.) Sounded to me like she wanted us to have it. That's kinda cool.

Anyway - Monday we finalize the whole process with our mortgage company and try to get the deal sealed!!!

This 2nd week of 3rd trips at work is kinda wearing me out. I got back this morning and crawled into bed at 5am. The last two drops my body felt like a rookie again cuz it was feeling sore. That's just because I'm tossing/catching and extra load for the week, that's an extra 40,000+ pounds of snack cakes. WOW!!!

Sure glad the weekend and Sabbath is here. Time to rest!!! :)

Have a GREAT weekend!

Steve-ology

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Steve!

1. If you break Steve, you will get seven years of bad luck!
2. Steveology is the study of Steve.
3. Wearing headphones for an hour will increase the amount of Steve in your ear 700 times.
4. Steve can sleep for three and a half years.
5. Originally, Steve could not fly!
6. In his entire life, Steve will produce only a twelfth of a teaspoon of honey.
7. The National Heart Foundation recommends eating Steve at least three times a week!
8. The eye of an ostrich is bigger than Steve.
9. More than one million stray dogs and half a million stray cats live in Steve!
10. Twenty-eight percent of Microsoft's employees are Steve.

I am interested in - do tell me aboutherhimitthem

Adventure Angels

For the Adventurers Sabbath, the Little Lambs told the children's story. Of course it was about Daniel and the Lions Den. Jannah (L) and Joelle were the Angels who were protecting Daniel (Ben) and keeping the lions mouths shut. They did a GREAT job!!!

Oh My Goodness!!!

This weekend we kid-sat for some friends. Joelle's friend brought her 'Princess Dress' and they pretty much played dress up all weekend. Of course they swapped dresses.

When Joelle put this 'white' dress and 'crown' with the 'veil' thingy on, I couldn't help but think, "Dang, she's not supposed to be getting married for at least 20 more years. What is this???"

I had to take this photo, cuz I've got a feeling that in approximately 20 years, (and preferably give another 5 - he, he) she'll have something similar on and I'll bring out this photo and all the memories that it will bring up! Hopefully it'll be a very, VERY good experience! :)

Girls

Here's my girls getting into video games. I think the were playing Galaxian together. One was steering the spaceship and the other was pushing the fire button! Cute!





Joelle & Natalie are very patiently waiting for breakfast, of course being extremely cute!!!

Thievery

A BUNCH of my stuff has been stolen lately...

...by my wife. Boy, it's gonna be bad when my girls get older.

Doreen, for Christmas, bought me this cool Geocaching long sleeve T-shirt. It's black with a silver logo on the front and silver www.geocaching.com down the left arm.

I've worn it, maybe twice since I've gotten it. She's wore 8 to 10 times. Everytime I go to get it, it's dirty or she's got it on. Ayi ayi ayi!

Then in a Bubbie box, she sent a tan colored light jacket. So I hung it up on the coat rack to use occassionally, and it's been nabbed. In fact, she had the audacity to take it off me after I'd put it on the other day so she could wear it. Ouch!

And finally, today, she was going to school and decided to leave me the car and she took my pick-up. (Although I warned her not to hit anyone else with it!!! *grin*) Oh man. She's stealin it all...

...especially my heart! :)

:)

Family Day

What a good day to spend a Monday.

Today we looked at 5 homes. One we loved, turns out, already had the beginnings of a contract on it. (We're hoping that the contract falls through, then we'll snap it up!) 3 of them were, well, junk!!! Really awful. One was great, except to, TOO small.

We ran some other errands, shopping, etc and then came home and pretty much all afternoon, my girls and I played. It was very, VERY nice.

I gave them a bath, getting them ready for bed, Doreen did some studying, then worship and beddy bye for our two precious girls.

Doreen and I talked and other things, then watched one of what is becoming quickly one of our favorite showes, How I Met Your Mother. (Yeah Scott, just catch it when it comes out on DVD, I think you'll really like it!)
Then we flipped in Four Feathers from . It was a very, VERY good movie. Both of us HATE movies that end bad, and the whole way through Doreen said, "He's gonna die - isn't he." Of course neither of us knew, cuz we hadn't seen it - but I ended up really, really liking it!

Oh yeah - work? I was on 'stand-by' (on Call.) I was scheduled to fill in for any drivers that called in sick or other emergencies that wouldn't allow them to make it to work to take the trip. But, luckily - I wasn't needed. After running 3 trips last week - an extra day at home this week is very nice. That and I get to take care of the girls tomorrow while Doreen's at school. I'm gonna try and plan an interesting day for us!

Now I'm done watching all the extra features on the movie, (And I'm glad this one did. The last one we watched "Must Love Dogs" had zilch! That is just wrong!!! What is with that? Are they just waiting to come out with the special edition, deluxe edition, collectors edition to put all that stuff on. Aye yai, yai!!! What a rip of - but I digress...) surfing the web and blogging. So since it's about 1 am eastern, I'm gonna crash!!! :)

Boooo Hoooo Hoooo

Today, the Broncos lost. Actually they got beat, and beat soundly. The Steelers offense was just too much for the defense to handle and the Steelers defense was just too much for the Broncos offense. I didn't get to watch the game. We finished unloading in Chilhowie, VA at 2:30 pm and it's about 4 1/2 hours home from there. So I listened to it on my Sirius - while I was glad to listen to it, it's just not the same as watching it.

As I listened to the game, I had 'flashbacks' to the late 80's when the Broncos made it to the Superbowl 3 times and lost all three of them. Good in regular season and even ok in the playoffs, but in the end just got man-handled by a better team.

Well - Pittsburg is my choice on who I hope will win the Superbowl. Owner Rooney and Coach Cower deserve one!

Hope y'all had a great weekend.

Now, have a GREAT week!!! :)

Comings and Goings

Hey - did y'all have a good week? Aren't ya glad it's over? I am, I really, really am!

In an effort to get a few extra dollars to catch our budget up in a couple of areas, I took a 3rd trip this week. So I left Sat night, home Sun night, Left Tue am home Wed am, left Wed at midnight and home this afternoon. So even though I worked extra, I was still home with the family, Sat, Mon, Wed and Fri. That's much, MUCH better than my old job.

I figured it up as I was driving back to TN this morning at 4:30a. (And man, that is a tough hour or two to drive in the day.) This week I handled over 120,000 pounds of sweet yummies. Dude, that is a LOT of cases and I touched every one of them!

So the owners of the house we made and offer on countered, and tomorrow night after sundown, we'll counter the counter and keep negotiating until hopefully we can strike a deal. A couple of things may be happening in the near future that it would be EXTREMELY helpful to be in our own home - but we'll see how things progress. Please keep praying for us!

Well, the "battle" for the laptop has begun. :)I told Doreen I planned to lay in bed and blog tonight, and she said "Hey - that's my laptop." So I kinda put on a guilt trip saying, "I haven't been able to purchase my Ipod yet." It worked (probably the only time. he, he, he) She's at the desk on the compter and I'm lounging in bed typing this post up. As soon as I'm done, she can have it though!!! It technically IS her laptop!

Hey, have you ever used your cell phone as a flashlight? I have a couple of times in the last couple of days. We were looking at a house with a realtor and the girls had run off with the flashlight I brought along. So I whip out my phone, flip it open and the screen put off enough light I could see what I was straining to see before. Then last night in the bunk of the truck, I was wanting to look at the a/c-heat control panel to make an adjustment, but not wanting to flip on the HUGE light and blind myself. So I grab my phone, flip it open and boom - I can see just fine, make the adjustment and quickly fall back to sleep. Cool idea eh??!! :)

So as I was driving early, early this morning, I was listening to the 80's music channel on my Sirius Satellite Radio. On comes Michael Jackson's song from 1984, "Thriller" and it brings to mind a crazy memory. We were living in Montrose, CO on Gunnison Rd. We'd all (My sisters and I) heard the song and liked it, yet it kinda freaked us out just a tad. I mean, Vincent Price's laugh at the end is just menacing. So, our folks went out for the evening and we were to get ready for bed and the actually go to bed. Well, like usual we didn't obey. We flipped on the tube and watched for a bit, then flipped it off and turned the radio on. After it got dark, each of us in turn called the local radio station and asked the DJ to play, 'Thriller.' He was kinda annoyed we all called - but ended up playing it. I remember the three of us dancing around like goons in the living room as the song played. We laughed with Vincent Price, then went to bed.

Strange how a song can trigger a memory from long ago like that eh??!! :)

This weekend is it. The NFL Conference Championship games. Goooooooo Broncos! :)

Well - my eyes are about as heavy as bowling balls, gotta get some quality sleep before I head out again tomorrow (Sat)night!

Construction or Previously Exsiting

We need to move out of my in-laws place soon and into our own home.

So, we're in the 'gathering' information stage. Do we build or do we buy?

We've got 1.1 acre in the same subdivision of my in-laws and we own it free and clear.

The problem with construction is the cost of a driveway across a pretty big ditch and the probable over-runs of the bids of the sub-contractors. Plus the headache of dealing with the mortgage company on the construction loan and their requirements, then rolling it over into a permanent home loan.

The pro to construction is, we get a new home, built to our specs, in a great location to the girls babysitter and eventual school, Doreen's school, our church and my work.

The con with buying is the price range we have to look for requires us to look at kind of older homes. The two we looked at lately need quite a bit of work to bring it up to our standards etc. We're having a bit of trouble finding one in a good location to schools, church, and work.

The pro is it keeps life much more simple. Once we find one, the move will be pretty quick. And hopefully we can find one in a good location.

What to do, what to do!!!

Well - we'll gather info, look at homes, get bids on all the work and then decide I guess! :)

Pray for us!

Back to School

Yesterday was Doreen's first day back to school, in like, 12 years! Wheeewww - can't believe its been that long since we were in school.

In our long-term planning, Doreen has been thinking about a part-time job for once the girls begin school themselves.

She was looking at Medical Technologist jobs, her previous degree, and not sure she wants to get back into that line of work. She didn't thoroughly enjoy the job before, plus the hours that are available for a Med Tech really don't work into that plan. So she started looking for something else to do. She decided on becoming a Dental Hygentist. Good pay, flexable hours (no weekends or nights), and a more rewarding job.

So, starting yesterday, she's back to school, part-time, for 2 years to become dental hygentist.

This sememster, she's taking Nutrition and A&P 1 plus the lab. She goes to classes on Tues and Thur, and we've got a friend who's willing to babysit when I'm not home and on a trip.

So we'll see how it goes, but I think she's going to do a 'GREAT' job!!!

Wish her luck!

LOVE driving the Truck.

So yesterday, I had a trip to Alabama. We left in the morning and it was my job to rest first, which was fine with me. I crawled into the bunk and rocked gently to sleep as we traveled from Chattanooga, through the upper tip of GA and down to the Tuscaloosa, AL area. (I practically bounced all the way through Birmingham, they've got AWEFUL roads. *grin*) The Volvos we drive are very comfortable in the back and ride nicely.

Then we got up unloaded, lunch, drove, unloaded, then my turn to drive and I had to back into a warehouse, unloaded, then drove back to the bakery in Collegedale.

As I was driving back, I kinda reflected on the day. I really missed driving those big trucks. I love sitting up high, feeling the power of a diesel engine pull 40,000+ pounds, preparing for a tight turn, backing the truck and getting it to go right where I aimed, shifting through all the gears and just the whole thing.

I'm actually glad I'm back in the trucking industry! :)

Quick Rant on Smoking...

In my new job I end up around some partners/drivers, who are smokers. Its interesting how different they all are. The most recent guy I went with was very considerate. He wouldn't make extra stops to smoke, and when we did stop, he'd walk quite a ways away to puff. One driver stopped all the time to smoke adding quite a bit of extra, and unnecessary, time to our trip. He'd smoke in the trailer and warehouse. Another driver would actually smoke in the truck while I was back in the bunk. I'd have the temp just right and all of a sudden for about 10 minutes (in 40 degree weather) both windows up front would open up and bring a COLD chill to the cab. It's hard to sleep when every 40 minutes or so the temp would dip to extremes suddenly! (Besides the fact that they are prohibited from smoking in the trucks, trailers or warehouses.)

You know, I just don't understand, in today's society why kids and others pick up smoking. What is it about that habit that is so appealing to so many? It smells bad, it makes their teeth yellow, gives 'em bad breath, bad B.O. and that's just on the outside, it can't be good for the inside.

About the only good thing about smoking is to serve as a distraction to me at night. When I'm driving the truck down the road, occassionally a smoker will chuck his/her butt out the window and it'll hit the ground and sparks will fly everywhere. That is fun to watch!!!

I guess it's just one of those things that make you go - hummmmm!!!

Reconnecting w/ Friends, The Broncos & Life

Howdy, Howdy all!

What a Mmmmmaaavvvvolus Monday! Slept in, got breakfast, hit the bank, video store, shopping, lunch, house hunting, DVD, dinner, baths, internet time and soon bedtime. Kinda cool day!

So today, I reconnected with two old friends. Not meaning that they're old in age, well - they are getting up there, just like I am, but I've known them a long time.

The first was Shawnda. The family and I had gone shopping at Wal-mart and came out and were immediately asked by a group of youngesters if we'd like to buy a 'coupon' book to help a gymnastics team raise funds. One of the people standing there was older than the rest and she was wearing a Denver Broncos hat. We declined and kept walking, but I looked back at the hat, then the face and realized I recognized it - from my high school days. Wild, very, very wild!!! We had graduated together from
Campion Academy in 1989. So we walked back, talked for a minute, introduced my family to her, and hope to get together again in the future to chat again. Cool.

In my e-mail inbox was a response to a recent blog from a dear friend from my time working at 3ABN, Bobby. This man has quite a story and we spent quite a bit of time with him. In fact, when I first got there, 3 months before I got married, Bobby, Tim and I would go to a greasy spoon restaurant late, late, late at night, order a meal and a cup 'o joe and sit and talk, and talk and talk. Then I'd have to get to work as a Master Control Operator overnights. Then after I got married, we'd get together and have game nights and various and asundry things. Very, VERY cool.

That was a nice addition to today.

So my Broncos are in the AFC Championship game. Oh yeah! After not being in the playoffs for so long and then getting back to them only to get trounced soundly twice by the Colts, it was great to see them have an awesome enough season to get a first round playoff bye then to play the first playoff game at Mile High (at Invesco Field). Then to win it - well that is just ggrrrrate!

The Broncos have a good chance to advance to the Superbowl, if they can beat the Steelers next Sunday afternoon.

Oh man, after winning two superbowls in the late 90's I wasn't sure they'd make it back in my lifetime! :)

But they might - fingers crossed. GO BRONCOS!!! (Gonna have to make sure I have the day off work if they do play at the Superbowl!)

So I've already taken one trip this week, leaving out for another one early, EARLY this morning and that'll be my week. I've requested a 3rd trip to make some extra money, to catch up on some things that have come up through this whole job change and the holidays and a car engine blowing up etc! So, I'll probably do that, but only be away from home for 3 days this week - that's better than at my previous place of employment.

Anyway - I'm gonna crash early so I can get up early and get to work.

Blessings y'all!

Ahhh - the satisfaction of

Ahhh - the satisfaction of a playoff WIN for my beloved Broncos. Yeah baby! :-D Sure makes workin 7 degrees a LOT easier!!! Now 4 AFC Champ game!

The Power of 4

This is a little meme I took from Cheryl.

4 jobs I have had in my life...
Truck Driver (Twice)
Radio Editor, Producer, Talk Show Host, DJ
TV Assistant Director, Graphics, Editor, Producer
Burger Flipper

4 movies I could see over and over
Top Gun
Italian Job
Karate Kid
Short Circut
Star Wars (Any of the 6)
National Treasure
Matrix
Dave...
Oops - it was supposed to be only 4 - He, he, he!

4 places I have lived
Montrose, CO
Alvarado, TX
Benton, IL
Chattanooga, TN

4 TV shows I love to watch
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
Amazing Race
Survivor
The Office

4 places I have vacationed
Colorado
Missouri
New York
Florida

4 websites I visit daily
All Family & Friends Blogs
ESPN.com
Drudgereport.com
NetFlix.com
eBay.com

4 of my favorite foods
Mexican
BBQ
Italian
Dessert

4 places I rather be
Colorado
Hawaii
Flagstaff, AZ
GeoCaching

4 albums I can't live without
Chicago 17
Any 80's mix
Truth - Equasion of Love
Bob & Larry's Sunday Morning Songs :)

4 people I'm tagging if they want to be caught
Trailady
Pilgrim
Sharon
Any one else who reads my blog and wants to play... (this means YOU!)

1st Crash OR Kids say the cutest things!

So - I'm on a trip to Bloomington, IN and try to call home. It is automatically forwarded to voice-mail. We only have voice-mail through our VoIP. Our answering machine is obviously no longer picking up. Interesting. So I try Doreen's cell and nothing. I call back to leave a message - nothing.

Later she calls and tells me they were out running a couple of errands and "somehow" her cell phone fell under the seat and it turns out that our old home phone number was 'ported' over to our VoIP so I've got to hook the VoIP switcher up to the cable modem. Easy enough, once I get home. (BTW - it's hooked up now, so y'all can call and say, "Howdy" any time you'd like! :)

We get done working/unloading and start to head home. I get first dibbs at the bunk - to probably get about 4 hours of much needed sleep. So I call Doreen to chat for a minute and let her know when I'll be home, blah, blah, blah. As I'm about to wrap up the call - (I got permission to tell this story by the way!) (Signed release form and all!! *grin*)

Doreen says, "So it was a crazy day today."

Steve - WARNING - RED FLAG - DANGER. My mind whirrs - what's up? What's happened?

DP - "You know Jenkin's road, that turn where you merge?"

SP - Oh my goodness, the car's been totaled. The girls are hurt, what?

DP - "Well, a SUV in front of me merged and I looked back to make sure I could go, I stepped on the gas, and 'whammo.'"

SP - Is everyone all right? Oh now - more money on the car we just had a new engine put in. Aaye yai yai!

DP - "We're all ok, I probably hit that guy doing less that 5 mph, just a few small scratches to our car and a bent bumper and wheel cover on the Mercedes SUV."

SP - Wheeeewwww - they're all right. (Big sigh of relief.) Oh my goodness a Mercedes? Ouch. Insurance isn't gonna like us! :(

DP - The guy just started merging and hit his brakes, and I hit him. Joelle said, "Mommy - that made my tummy jump." Natalie said, "Ouch my neck hurts a little bit."

They exchanged information and he said, "Well - I'm glad you stuck around cuz the last guy just took off on me. Hum - suspecious? Maybe.

But all is well - and hopefully our Ins premiums won't shoot through a roof. Just kinda freaky to hear like that and think about. It could have been so much worse and I'm just thankful it wasn't!!! So - I'm really, REALLY hoping this is the 1st and last auto accident my daughters are in! :)

Ok - kids' say the cutest things.

We skipped baths one night and the next afternoon Doreen took Natalie potty. After they were done, Doreen told the girls to clean the toys up - it was bath time - especially since Natalie had a stinky rear. So, they clean everything up and then throw their dirty close in the hamper and Natalie asks, "Daddy - can you smell it?" "Smell what pumpkin?" She turns around and shows me her naked butt and says, "My stinky rear!!" Waaaaa ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Funny, funny!

Tonight after worship we have prayer and in the middle of her prayer, Joelle says, "Thank you Jesus for bringing daddy home, I don't like it when he's away and glad to have him home. etc" That just tugged at my little heart strings.

It just goes to show - that I made the right decision for our family by changing jobs. You cannot beat a prayer like that!

Have a great weekend!

Aaahhhh - Once again

I was just reflecting on this week as I was going to sleep last night. I was home, Sun, Mon, Wed, Fri & Sat. I've been able to start to get better from being sick. I've been able to help Doreen with the girls while all 3 have been sick. I've gotten other little 'things' accomplished.

Then I got to thinking about the 'stress' before and the 'lack' of now. The only thing I stressed over lately was blind side backing out of a storage unit complex.

Then the thought went through my head - "Ahhhhh - job satisfaction - once again." Dang - that is just like awesome.

So - today was awesome as well. The girls got up 4 or 5 times last night and I was able to 'handle' the situations (potty, water, sore throat, hugs) and put them back into bed so Doreen didn't have to disturb her rest much. So we all just slept in and went to SS and back home. The girls love their SS and they just started a Men's class - so I wanted to get in on the beginning of that and see if it helps me and our family.

Then we came home and had lunch with some friends. The Doreen, Natalie and Tracy ended up napping while Derrick, Dustin, Joelle and I went geocaching. The first time out in MONTHS!! Awesome. We found 7 caches - one was a confederate graveyard where 153 of 155 men were unknown. A tent hospital was nearby and these guys didn't make it. Sad - but neat to find and think about!

Tonight we played a couple of board games. Theirs was called "Loaded Questions" and ours was "Like Minds." They were a lot alike and lots and LOTS of fun!!!

FYI - I did keep 'tabs' on the NFL Wild Card Playoff games - of course!! :)

Lately - sick and all - Aaaahhhhhhh!!!!! :)

I cannot believe how fast my girls are growing. Not long ago, we just had updated pics of them cuz Natalie turned three and, well, just look at them for yourself. Growing bigger and bigger and bigger.












Joelle occassionally has 'pains' in her legs and arms. I tell her both mommy and daddy went through that cuz we kept growing. But if you'll 'stop growing, the owie will stop.' She says, "No daddy - I'm gonna grow as big as you." Precious!

4 Down, None to go

So we've all got a bug of some sort. So, needless to say, things have been challenging around here for a day or two!

It just seemed as things were clearing up - then whammo - the sickness gets its second wind and boy, we all fell lousy.

So - hope all with be right with our health again soon.

This week, we've been to two mortgage brokers trying to find the best deal for a construction loan. Oy vay! Lots of hoops.

We'll let ya know how things progress.

Well - y'all have a blessed weekend!

Quote, "Steve sucks! He's going DOWN this year!!"

How wrong was that prediction? He, he, he!

Ok - it has become official. (Hang with me as I toot my own horn here for a bit!) I am now the 2005 Champion of the Nelson/Pester ESPN's Pigskin Pick'em contest.

You can see from the title that everyone was going to bring their 'A' game this year to bring me down. And boy did they. At the beginning of the season my Sister and Mary were leading the pack. Then for much of the middle of the season my wife, dad and I ran neck and neck. But I just outdistanced everyone again for another season. I say that because this is the 4th year running that I've taken home the Championship. Check out last year's DoJoNa Entry on the topic. I'd like to win next year and make 5 - a nice round number - but I know, once again, the Nelson/Pester contestants will bring it again.

Let's see - here are some interesting things from this seasons contest...

Scott & Sue tied for the best score of the week (13th) when they both picked 14 of the games right.

Dad, Mary and Doreen (my wife) were battling hard for 2nd place unil Mary missed making her picks for week 14 and then dissappeared after that.

My wife, Doreen, came in 2nd for the 2nd straight year.

My Dad and Scott tied for 3rd.

LeeAnne upped last seasons score of picking correctly 108 games to 128 this year. Good job!

Man - it was a good season. Lot's of fun, lots of close picks and lots of good NFL games!

Thanks for playing guys!!!

Good luck next year!

Happy New Year Y'all! Hope

Happy New Year Y'all! Hope you have a blessed 2006! BTW - ribbit ribbit! :-)

Long Trip OR I Need Your 'CB Handle' HELP!

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!!!"

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.

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!

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!

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!

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!

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.

In-Law Garage Fire Update

After




After-After and Much Better!

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!

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! :)

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!!!

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!!!

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!