One Day, the kid is going to hate me for posting this...

Shelly went to a dinner seminar with her Dad tonight, so I was left in charge of the boys. I did some quick maneuvering, and dropped Jonathan off with her Mom, and I brought Matthew home. The thought being that when the seminar was over, Shelly would be going back to her parents house to get her truck anyway, so Jonathan might as well hand out there with Nana to wait for her. I also have trouble multi-tasking to attend to the needs of a 4 month old and a 4 yr old at the same time, especially the dinner, bath, and bedtime routine for both at once.

Anyway, after dinner, I helped Matthew with his homework. He had to trace a page of capital and lower-case "S" and trace 2 sets of the numbers 6-10. While he was working on his homework, he was recounting the day to me. He told me that at school today, he "took a dump". I said "You did what?" He repeated, "I took a dump, I tee-tee'd and poo-poo'd in the bathroom." Ok, the kid is potty trained and has been for over a year, it's just funny to hear him say he "took a dump." I had to tell him that although Daddy has joked about that, it's best that we not say that anymore. I can only imagine that the teacher will have a double length conference scheduled for us when we get to parent teacher conferences.

If that wasn't bad enough, he is a little boy and has noticed his little boy part... Bath time was one of the funniest things I've ever witnessed, and I'm trying to figure out how best to direct future similar situations...

When he got in the tub, the boy had serious wood going on. He pointed it out to me "My naked is big, Daddy" (he refers to it as his naked).. I said "Yeah, sometimes that happens", praying he wouldn't press with wanting to know "why" it happens. That's another conversations for another day, hopefully a long way off. Bath time continues, he turns his attention to his boats, and things return to normal.

Normal until bath time is over. I start draining the water, turn around to get his towel, and turn back around to see him pulling straight out on the end of his little tally whacker, like he's trying to stretch it. I said "What are you doing?" to which he replied "I'm trying to make it bigger." Oh, boy. How do you address this? I told him that you can't make it bigger, that's not how it works, now get out of the tub. Then, the kid pulls it up one more time, leans over as far as he can and blows at it. Thankfully he can't reach, or we'd have an entirely new problem. I said "C'mon, man, stop that. What are you doing?" He said, "Trying to blow it up, like a balloon ." Ok, I've decided, Shelly is in charge of bath time from now on... I told him "It doesn't work that way, and besides, it's not nice to play with your naked, now get out of the tub."

Now, clearly stalling, not wanting to get out of the tub yet, he rolled onto his side and said "I can't get out, it's drinking the water." As patiently as I could, I told him that it doesn't drink, that's not what it does. He argued that it does indeed drink and he couldn't get out until it drank ALL of the water in the tub.

Luckily the kid has a short attention span. I changed the subject and reminded him that he needed to get out of the tub right now so I could tell him the story of the 3 little piggies and the big, bad, wolf. That did the trick, and nothing more on that subject was mentioned again.

Geez, what a night. I basically ignored and re-directed my way through the events of the evening. The question is, is this a phase all little boys go through in discovering themselves?

Piggy's Bottom...

Since we have another holiday weekend, I decided I wanted to smoke another pork butt to make some more pulled pork. The night before putting the meat on to smoke, I coat the meat with a quite generous helping of a dry rub, making sure to get it into all of the little nooks and crannies of the meat. After coating, I wrap the meat tightly in a couple of layers of Saran Wrap then put it in the fridge to get happy with that dry rub.

While I was unwrapping the meat from the butcher paper to get ready to season it, Matthew asked me what that was. I told him it was a Pig's bottom. Of course, every story we've read and every DVD he has watched lately it seems has talked about "piggies", so Matthew wanted to see the piggy. Not much to see, but he made several comment's about the poor piggy missing his bottom, and how I came to be in possession of the piggy's bottom. The meat market I like to use is near the in-law's house, and I had my father-in-law pick the butt up for me yesterday, so of course, I blamed it on Doc.

I wonder what Matthew will tell Doc next time he sees him? Should be interesting.

Even funnier, Matthew walked into the living room as I'm typing this entry and informed me that he doesn't like piggy hiney, hamburgers, or deer. Sounds like the kid is going to be a little hungry...

Can't take me anywhere...

Shelly asked me a little while ago if I had blogged about what happened at dinner last night. I guess now I have to tell the story.

We were having dinner last night at Macaroni Grill. I suppose they are everywhere, but for those not familiar, it's a decent Italian chain restaurant. Their grilled pork chops with rosemary balsamic graze are excellent, especially served with the mushroom risotto. Anyway, that's what we ordered.

Just after our food arrived, I started to sneeze. I couldn't stop sneezing. I was trying to sort of hold them back, but after 3 or 4 stifled sneezes, all hell broke loose. The last sneeze wouldn't be stifled. It was a big one, so big that the pressure caused another pressure leak. Folks, that was one of the biggest, loudest farts I have let go in a long time, and it happened simultaneously with the big sneeze. Of course, I didn't hear anything but the sneeze, Shelly heard it all. I'm sure everyone around us heard it all.

Of course, Shelly and I couldn't stop laughing. We couldn't even look at each other for the rest of dinner without cracking up.

Sort of embarrassing, but pretty funny as well.

At least it didn't smell....

Already? GEEZ...

I got home from work this evening and cooked dinner. A big pan of chicken enchiladas and some pinto beans. Don't get all excited, I cheated a little. The enchiladas were Stouffer's from the freezer section. They were actually pretty good. The beans were the canned variety. Let me say that the new fangled can openers SUCK. Shelly just HAD to have the kind of can opener that cuts the can on the side, leaving no sharp edges. The advertisements are correct. There are no sharp edges, partly because the darn lid doesn't come off.

Seriously, the stupid thing only opens 1 of 3 cans I try with it. I end up having to get out the old style can opener that cuts from the top and actually does what it is supposed to. Sharp edges? Maybe, but unless you are a complete idiot, that shouldn't be a problem.

What is the title of this post about? After dinner, I had to help Matthew with his homework. Yes, I said homework. This is a 4 year old. What's the deal with homework for a kid in daycare? The kid can barely hold a pencil, and he's already got homework? I guess it's not bad. He had to trace the numbers 1 thru 5, three times each. Then he had a page filled with the letter "f". He had to trace a page full of capital and lower-case f's. I started him with a brand new pencil, but that's a little to hard for a 4 yr old to use. I ended up breaking the pencil in half and sharpening what was left. Much better. The kid did a pretty good job.

Still, isn't 4 yrs old a little young for having to do homework?

NOT AGAIN? DAMN!!!!!

I just got finished with a LONG weekend. After work Friday, I mowed, edged, weed-eated, and swept up in the yard. After finishing, I cooked dinner. Don't ask why I did it all myself, it's a sore subject, but apparently my fault.

I volunteered for 2 different service projects on Saturday, so I was gone from 6am until 4pm Saturday. After I got home, something else was apparently my fault again. Can't win for losing around here. When I got cleaned up, we took the kids to see my parents for a little while, and while they kept them, we had a date night. You know you are an old married couple when your date night is dinner out followed by shopping for kids clothes at the Carter's store and then doing some grocery shopping.

Work is really busy lately. After leaving the office at 6:30 or so this evening, I stopped by the hair cut place on the way home to get a long overdue shearing. When I walked in the door at home, completely beat, I heard it. From somewhere deep in the house, it was a familiar, but dreaded sound. BEEP! You've got to be kidding me... Well, I know which one it isn't. I just replaced the battery in the smoke detector in the office. I guess I'll get busy with the rest of them. I headed upstairs and wandered around in search of the beeping smoke detector.

After checking all of them, I discover that it's the same darn one. It's the one in the office again. I got my chair out and took it off the ceiling, then removed the battery. Surely the battery can't be dead already. I remembered a way to test the battery that I learned as a kid... YOW, there is nothing wrong with this battery. While grouching about the smoke detector, unplugged, and battery free, of course, it beeps again. This thing is possessed. I start thinking that the batteries in these things aren't lasting very long lately. These are hard wired with battery back-ups, so they should last a while as the battery only powers the thing if the electricity goes off. I actually removed the one from Matthew's room a couple of weeks ago when it literally ruined a battery. Made the 9v battery look like a football. I haven't been overly concerned about that one since we have a battery powered alarm outside his bedroom.

Well, I ended up reading the small print at the bottom of the alarm. It seems that you are supposed to replace these things every 10 years. As the house is now 9 years old, I guess it's about time. Problem solved. I got online and ordered 6 new detectors from a company out in California that had newer versions that were direct plug-in replacements for the ones we currently have. Tomorrow, I should have a UPS tracking number to busy myself with. After counting, we've got 6 hard wired smoke detectors in the house, 2 carbon monoxide detectors, and 3 extra battery operated smoke detectors for "just in case" - sort of a belt & suspenders sort of deal.

Did any of the rest of you know that these things only last about 10 years?

It's getting to be that time of year...

Yes, I know it is about time for college football to start. We chose not to renew out Texas A&M season tickets this year. With 2 kids and an 80 mile each way drive to the games, we decided we just couldn't make enough games to make it worthwhile. Especially when you have to pay several hundred dollars worth of "donation" per seat to have the privilege to pay face value for tickets. Still, we do have a moderate feeling of loss about not having "our" seats. Hopefully we can work it out to leave the kids with one of the grandparents and get some tickets from eBay or Stub Hub and go watch the Aggies play. If not, TV is the best seat in the house (I prefer to watch on TV because those crazy Aggies STAND the ENTIRE game.)

I think most of my readers are college football fans (not sure how many, but I think there are a few of you). I think I have a couple of Aggie fans, some LSU fans, at least one Crimson Tide fan, and an Appalachian State fan. Let me know if I forgot anyone... I've even got a couple of t.u. fans that read from London on occasion. (it's 10:53 PM in Houston and t.u. still sucks).

But, as big as football season is, there is one season that is more important to me. Deer season. It's that time again. Sure, rifle season doesn't start until the 1st Saturday in November, but there is quite a bit of preparation that goes into deer season. Doc & Ron will be out at the ranch this weekend to start working on the food plots. They need to be mowed, plowed, fertilized, plowed again, and then planted. Bro-in-law will head up Labor Day weekend to cut down the grass and weeds in the feeder pens, and I'll head up late September / early October to fill the feeders and check the stands.

In addition to getting the ranch ready, I'll take at least one trip to the range and shoot the guns to make sure that they are ready. Once they are sighted in, they go into the cases and aren't touched again. A serious hunter has more than one rifle. I have my primary gun and a back-up gun. I also have a second back-up that I take when Shelly hunts with me. That way, we each have one and there is a spare in case something happens to one of them. The second back-up needs a minor repair, so I need to take it to the gunsmith in the next week or so in order to have it back in time.

About a month before season opens, I pull out all of the hunting clothes and make sure they all still fit, and replace as needed. License tags are also picked up. A week or two before opening weekend, the clothes get washed in scent free UV killer soap, and get packed in the duffel bag. I also pull out the hunting bags and make sure everything is in them that needs to be in them. Walkmans and flashlights get fresh batteries, knives get sharpened. License tags are also put in the bags. I'm not kidding when I say I worry myself to death about making sure I have everything. I'm always scared to death that I'll get all the way out to the ranch and not have bullets, license, or something else important.

Can you tell I get a little excited about hunting? I'm actually sitting on the sofa right now watching a hunting show on the Outdoor Channel. Hey, it's my sport. When I was a kid, hunting was the big thing with my dad and grandfather. We all hunted together until just a few years ago when the land we had hunted was sold. Now, we don't hunt together often, but my Dad and I usually make sure to have one weekend hunting together, and we text message back and forth when we are hunting at our respective ranches.

As we get a little closer, there will be more posts. Who knows, I might also post about football. Maybe there will even be some smack talk in the next week or so between Reggie (Appalachian State fan) and Tommy & Joanna (LSU fans)

Olympic Sports...

I've watched a few Olympic events over the last week or so. I have to tell you, there are some interesting ones out there.

Fencing... Not the construction of a privacy structure, this is sword fighting. Interesting sport. It would be more fun if the competitors either dressed in pirate costumes or started every match with the phrase "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

kayaking... Cruising down a man-made river of sorts going through green or red gates (green heading downstream, red gates headed upstream). Forget the man-made river, put these jokers in some serious rapids. Keep sending them down. Last one standing that hasn't destroyed either their boat or themselves wins... To make it more interesting, put some rednecks with banjos into the mix...

Women's Trampoline... I watched some of this. Strangely, not quite as exciting as one might think it would be... (not quite the same as "Girls on Trampolines" like they used to have on "The Man Show")

Speed Walking... I'm not sure I see the point in this one. Watching a bunch of men in the little shorty-shorts prancing like that... Things such as that are disturbing to the Ladies Man...

Rowing... This is actually a decent sport. The funny part was pointed out by Tommy's wife, Joanna. When watching, notice the coaches and trainers (maybe judges also?) all riding bicycles along the side of the channel. All of them are looking to their right watching the boats, NONE of them are looking where they are going. Sadly, there was never a huge pile-up to laugh at...

Suggestions for new sports...

Men's Cannonball... You have the traditional diving competition, where the plan is to do a trick or two, then make the smallest possible splash. Put a couple of big guys on the high dive, and let us do our tricks and then make the biggest splash possible. I wonder if they make a Speedo in my size?

Lumberjack competition... You've seen this on one of the sports channels. It is guys doing their thing with chainsaws, axes, and saws. Why not put this into the Olympics?

Bass fishing... This sure would increase participation from the folks in the Southeast...

Are there any other sports you guys can think of? Maybe the IOC will find this blog and decide to incorporate your suggestions into the 2012 games in London...

EDIT: Joanna commented on the beach volleyball. I'm adding this so everyone can be in on the story. I had made a comment on Facebook last night about the Brazilian Beach Volleyball team. They had the letters BRA across their chests. I thought it was hilarious, and thought they needed UNDERWEAR written across their behinds.

I'm living in a Seinfeld episode...

Last night, I stayed up pretty late. I was changing the battery in my mother-in-law's car and missed "Ice Road Truckers", so I had to catch the re-air at midnight. Incidentally, did you know that the battery is under the backseat in a Buick LeSabre? You literally have to remove the rear cushion of the seat to get to the batter. In a grandma car, that means remove 2 car seats, remove the seat, change the battery, and reinstall all of the crap again. GM's engineering department was out to lunch on this one... My father-in-law must have me pegged for a sucker because I was changing the battery for him.

Anyway, since Ice Road Truckers wasn't over until 1AM, and I still had a little picking up to do to get ready for bed, it was pretty late by the time I finally hit the rack. I was deep into dreamland around 3Am, when I was aroused from my sleep by a "BEEP" from somewhere in the house. I laid there a little while thinking that maybe it would just be one beep, then I heard it again. "BEEP!" Crap, this thing isn't going to stop. I was so tired, I could barely see strait, but I got out of bed and went in search of the dead smoke detector. I tracked it down to the one in the office. I stood on a chair and removed the battery, then headed back to bed.

No sooner than I had closed my eyes, I heard it again. "BEEP!" CRAP!!! Another one? I got up and stumbled into the darkness again to find the offending smoke detector, thinking, "Tomorrow, I'm changing all of the batteries, but I've got to stop this damn beeping now so I can get to sleep." I walk around the house, and figure out it's the same stupid smoke detector. It's the one in the office I had just removed the battery from. I stood on the chair again, twisted the detector from it's holder, and unplugged it (hardwired with battery back-ups). Problem solved, I headed back to bed.

Ahhh, back in bed, head on the pillow, and eyes closed, sleep was coming quickly. "BEEP!" What the hell?!?!? I thought I must be hearing things, so I stayed in bed. A couple of minutes later, "BEEP!" Ok, this is nuts. I'm so tired I'm getting desperate. I went back into the office and picked up the smoke detector. Unplugged and battery removed. I held it looking at it thinking "Surely this isn't the one..." A red light blinked and "BEEP!" "How in the...?!?!?"

I pushed the "test" button, and it let out one more, but this time sick sounding beep about half the volume of the other beeps, then silence... "Thank you, sweet Jesus..." Back to bed...

My head hit the pillow, still not believing that the stupid detector, unplugged and battery removed could still beep. Exhausted, I drifted back to sleep. "BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP...!!!!" "C'MON!!!!" This time, it was my 7AM alarm clock....

I found all of the 9volt batteries I bought a couple of months ago to freshen up all of the smoke detectors. Maybe tomorrow I'll put them in... (as the detectors are hardwired, the batteries last quite a while, but I do TRY to replace them once a year or so.)

After thinking about this later today, wasn't this a Seinfeld episode?

Losing my mind...

I had another post all worked out in my head, and I remember it was a good one... Now that I have the time to post, I can't for the life of me remember what it was...

I'll think of it sooner or later, and I promise I'll post it.

Grandaddy Update...

Apologies for the delay in giving an update. Grandaddy's surgery last week went really well. All of the blockage was cleared out and he got to go home the next day. I talked to him over the weekend, and he sounded pretty good, just a little tired.

I'm thinking that we might try to make the 2.5 hour run out to see him over the Labor Day weekend.

Thanks again to all who said a little prayer for him.

This just breaks your heart...

It happened again today, and it just breaks my heart. I'm still at the office and I turned on the TV to hear the local news, and I hear that it happened again. What's the matter with these people? It's a child. A helpless child. How could you? How do you forget about a child?

What happened? Someone "forgot" their child in the car when they went to work. Yesterday it was a 3 yr old boy left in the car 10 hours. Today it is another 3 yr old boy, just discovered a short while ago. This person was an employee at a local hospital. According to the news, it was obvious the little boy struggled to get out but wasn't able to.

Both children are dead. Not a chance of surviving locked in a hot car with outside temps in the 90's.

I'm speechless. So many people would trade their souls to have a baby of their own, and the ones that have their own leave them in the car to die. Alone.

Denny's vs. IHOP...

Every time I opened Internet Explorer yesterday, msn.com had a little deal about breakfast wars going on between Denny's & IHOP. This must have stuck in my mind because when I headed out to lunch, something drew me to IHOP. After browsing the menu, I chose an omelet with ham, cheese, onions, and filled with hash browns. All of that goodness was served with 3 buttermilk pancakes. Not bad, eh?

Well, while I was enjoying my lunch, Shelly called. When I told her where I was eating, she told me that she was planning for us to eat dinner at Denny's. There is a Denny's right next to where Matthew is taking swimming lessons in the evenings, and kids eat free on Tuesdays. I chose the omelet with bacon, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes, etc, served with a side of hash browns and a biscuit with gravy.

The verdict? It was VERY close. Almost too close to call. Neither one is exactly "first tier" dining, but both are consistently decent (or at least consistently average). In the end, I think the pancakes at IHOP tilted the verdict in their favor.

In the end, I think Cracker Barrel is just slightly better than the others. I'll have to go there soon.

That being said, I think my breakfasts are better, although I can't seem to make a decent pancake to save my life. I can make some damn good eggs, and I make a mean omelet with smoked deer sausage, grilled onions, and whatever else is available to throw in them. Well, it's sort of an omelet. I'm still working on the folding technique, but the taste is top notch.

On a more serious note...

Those of you who have been reading for a while will remember my grandfather. He is known to everyone as Grandaddy. Grandaddy will be 83 this month, and is still going quite strong for a guy his age. In addition to all of the weddings, graduations, etc that you would expect him to attend, it means alot to me that he was here for the birth of both of our boys and he has made all 4 of Matthew's birthday parties. This guy has done everything you would hope a grandfather to do, plus some. I killed my first deer sitting in the stand with him.

Grandaddy needs some prayers this week. A couple of months ago, he fell getting out of a chair at his favorite little lunch counter (plastic lawn chair broke). He was hurting enough to go to the ER later that day, and figured out nothing was broken, just sore. When he kept hurting, he went to see an orthopedist, who told him that he needed rotator cuff surgery. The surgeon told him that in order to do the surgery, he would need clearance from all of the doctors he sees on a regular basis (heart, diabetes, etc). That Dr doesn't know it yet, but it looks like he might have saved Grandaddy's bacon for another little while.

Long story short, the cardiologist "heard something" in the carotid artery. Several tests and a week later, the word was 90% blockage on one side, 70% blockage on the other. They are going to do surgery on Thursday to clear the blockage. Everyone says it is a fairly routine surgery, but at almost 83, nothing is risk-free. When you have a free minute, say a quick prayer to the Big Guy for the big guy...

Exercise...

Once upon a time, I was a pretty active fellow. In Jr high and high school, I mowed grass for spending money. I generally had 7 or 6 yards on a regular basis and did others on a random basis when people went out of town or were short on time. I high school, I threw in the occasional gym workout into the mix.

Later in high school, Tommy and I would go to Red's in Lafayette and work out before school. Well, we worked out a couple of times. We would generally work out for 30 or 45 minutes, hit the hot tubs, eat breakfast, and go to school. After a week or so, we just hit the hot tubs and ate breakfast before heading to school. We told everyone we went to Red's before school, and everyone assumed you worked out when you went there. Screw that. I got enough of a workout mowing and trimming yards that I ate everything I could fit in my mouth and never weighed more than about 150.

I gained a little weight, but was still fairly healthy at 190. The summer after my sophomore year, I worked for a plumbing company. We're talking 60+ hours a week as a grunt. I drove a shovel like nobodies business, and ended up a pretty buff 175. I was probably in the best shape of my life. Those were the days. An office job isn't exactly conducive to being buff.

Anyway, Katie was talking about being in shape and the fact that in her mid-30's, she was finally able to outrun her dad on one of their recent runs. The topic of sit-ups and push-ups came up. I was challenged to see how many I could do. Well, when the rest of the family was safely upstairs, I decided to see what I could do. Here's the blow-by-blow...

I started with the push-ups first.

1st push-up: Hey, this isn't so bad... I would swear my arms used to be longer, my belly isn't very far from the ground...

2nd push-up: Not bad, I could probably do a few more...

3rd push-up: Crap, I'm heavy, it feels like Shelly and the kids must have jumped on my back.

4th push-up: Your kidding, right? Does it count as 4 if I was able to get up from the floor after this?

Now for the sit-ups. I cleared a spot on the living room floor, laid on my back, and put my feet under the edge of the coffee table:

1st sit-up: Hey, this isn't so bad. I just did one more than a certain someone I know...

2nd sit-up: I seem to remember that you are supposed to touch your knees with your elbows...

3rd sit-up: No, it's physically impossible for me to touch my knees with my elbows.

4th sit-up: Come to think of it, It's been a while since I've seen my knees. Hey, guys...

5th sit-up: Man, that's some strange popping coming from my back...

6th sit-up: Crap, this is hard...

7th sit up: FART... (sweet relief, was sick yesterday, would have been a SHART had I tried this insanity a day earlier)

8th sit-up: WHAT is that popping sound. That can't be natural...

9th sit-up: I can't believe I made it this far, thinking about how sore I'm going to be tomorrow...

10th sit-up: I determined I'd try to reach my knees with my elbows if it killed me... It almost did...

So, the total is 3 push-ups and 10 sit-ups. I'll post tomorrow to tell about the serious pain I'm in...

Dissed by a fortune cookie...

The weather was crappy today, and my boss and I along with the receptionist (who live about a mile from the office) were the only ones that braved TS Edouard to come to work. I drew the short straw and had to make the lunch run to the local Chinese joint for some takeout.

All was going well, until I got my fortune cookie. Most have happy, encouraging fortunes to make you feel good about yourself. I've got quite a collection in my desk drawer. This one I'm throwing away:

"Today, your mouth might be moving, but no one is listening."

Well, that explains alot...

Riding horses... Or not.

Earlier in the year, Shelly and I took Matthew for a weekend getaway at the Hyatt Lost Pines resort outside of Austin. I have to say that although it's not cheap, that is a really nice place. We think it's quite a bit nicer than the Hyatt Hill Country resort in San Antonio. They have all sorts of neat things to do. The pool is top notch with a water slide and a lazy river, the golf course is supposedly quite good, and Shelly gave the spa a thumbs-up. They also have horseback riding.

We didn't have time to ride the horses that particular weekend, but I thought that would be a neat thing to look into on a future trip...until I read the fine print. The horses have a weight limit of 250 lbs. Man, how bad is it when you weigh too much to ride a stinkin' horse. I'll admit, I'm a big guy. I need to lose weight, but horses are BIG animals. Surely they could handle my 270 lbs without that much trouble.

Of course, this is near Austin, which is basically the Texas version of San Francisco. Maybe those horses are not quite as tough as you think...

Bright idea by a dim bulb...

Ever have an idea that you think is pretty slick and have it not work out so well? I do every now and then. Today was one of those times.

I shave with an electric razor. Usually I shave in the car, but today I shaved while sitting on the couch while watching the NASCAR race. I needed to clean the "crumbs" out of the razor. Normally, I tap the razor on the bottom of my shoe onto the floor mat of the car. When in the house, I tap it on the edge of the bathroom sink and then rinse the sink afterwards. Today, I had a stroke of brilliance (be afraid). I decided to tap it on the edge of the commode, with the thought that I could just flush it and not have to rinse the sink. Can you see where this is headed...

One of the taps hit the little button that releases the top of the razor, giving access to the blades. Before I could catch it, the top fell on the water. Thankfully, the toilet was clean and recently flushed, or it would have been a bad situation..

I'm happy to report that all parts have been cleaned and dried, and it still works fine. Mark that down as another bright idea that wasn't quite as bright as I thought.

Hurricane Preparedness...

Living in the South, there is a chance of encountering hurricanes during the summer and fall months. Being a responsible husband and father (ok, nobody laugh, I'm being serious here), it falls on my shoulders to make sure my family is prepared in the event a storm hits this area.

Each spring and early summer, I go out and pick up our standard hurricane supplies. With the cost of gas, some of these are getting a little expensive. Here is a basic list:

Gasoline. During hurricane season, we make it a point to keep our vehicles at least half full. In addition to the cars, I have six 5 gallon gas cans, in addition to the 2.5 gallon can I use for my lawnmower. I don't have to tell anyone that purchasing 30 extra gallons of gas for "just in case" is not cheap, but it is cheap insurance. Gas does not keep indefinitely, so you need to use it in your car over the winter and re-fill in the spring for next hurricane season. I use our hurricane gas during deer season to offset the cost of extra trips out to the ranch to go hunting.

Drinking Water. We always have a steady supply of bottled water, but just for hurricane season, I have six 1 gallon jugs of drinking water and a couple of the 2.5 gallon containers with the handle and spigot on them. The gallon jugs come in cardboard boxes with 3 gallons per box. Keep them closed up and store in a dark place and they theoretically keep quite a while. I'll switch ours out after this year just to make sure it stays fresh. We like camping, and the 2.5 gallon containers with the spigots are perfect for taking camping.

Other use water. In addition to drinking, you also need water for other things like bathing and flushing the toilet. The night before Rita was supposed to make landfall, we took one last bath and then filled all of the bath tubs with water. We also filled Matthew's swimming pool on the back patio. In a pinch, you could also boil it and use for cooking (I don't cook with water we have bathed in...)

Batteries: Self explanatory. I buy a mega pack of D and AA batteries. Most of our flashlights are AA size, but we do have a couple of bigger ones and also a lantern that runs on D batteries. When you have kids, the bonus is that you have plenty of batteries for all of the Christmas toys.

Charcoal / Propane. I generally buy 2 big bags of charcoal and keep about 6 of the small propane canisters. If the power goes out and looks like it will be out for a while, we're having a heck of a cook-out at our house. Being hunters, we have a decent amount of meat that we would need to do something with. I know how to smoke meat and make Jerky on the charcoal grill, so we would be able to use most of it (and share with neighbors). The propane cylinders are for the camp stove if for some reason the gas service at home is not still on. I can't imagine having that problem, but I would feel stupid having a camp stove and not being able to use it if we had to.

Non Perishables. We generally have a decent amount of dried pasta, canned goods, and peanut butter type stuff hanging around. I'd say we could eat for most of a week without any major problems. We have a gas stove / oven, and a back-up camp stove, so cooking a few things shouldn't be a problem.

Paper Products. You have enough to worry about, and possibly a sparse water supply. You don't want to have to worry about washing dishes. Also, with a baby, make sure to have enough diapers and wipes, etc on hand for a few days.

Cards, games, etc, etc. No electricity means no TV and no Wi-Fi. Make sure you have something to do to pass the time.

Cash. No electricity means no ATMs and no stores will be able to take a credit card. Have enough cash to get you by until things are running normally again.

Home defense. Everyone has their own opinions and comfort levels, but there will always be people that don't prepare. Desperate times make people do desperate things. use your imagination. Share with people as you can, but be prepared to protect yourself if you need to. I make sure to keep 2 or 3 boxes of the proper type and calibers handy at all time.

I might have missed some staples, but you get the idea. Most of this stuff is stuff you would use throughout the year, just stock up at the beginning of the season and use it the rest of the year.

Getting the house ready...

We're on the far northwest side of Houston, so I'm not overly concerned about major wind damage. I don't board up the windows, but I do have wood and plastic to seal up a couple of windows if for whatever reason a window broke. That being said, it is important to pick up and loose items from outside your house. We put patio furniture in our breakfast area or in the storage building. Garbage cans go in the garage, etc. Also put a lock or piece of wire through the gate latch to keep it from blowing open. Anything that could get blown around should be secured. Before Rita, I also took all of the screens off our windows. I don't know if that was necessary, but I didn't want any of them to blow away.

Evacuate...

When Rita came this way, we had planned to evacuate before the storm took it's last minute turn to the East. Out thought was "plan to leave, but prepare to stay." Being the father of a 4 yr old and an infant, I'm not planning to be a daredevil and put my family in harms way. We're not going to ride out any major storms. We're fortunate that we have the ranch to go to north of Austin, so it's not too far away. If we stay for a minor storm and lose all services, as soon as practical, we'll probably leave town until services are restored. If a major storm, we'll leave ahead of time and be able to gather supplies (generator, etc) from outside the storm zone where they would still be available.

Future plans: I keep saying that I'm going to get a window unit A/C (can be bought for less than $150) and a generator to power the A/C and our fridge and freezer. I hope I'm not disappointed that I didn't spring for it this year, but with medical bills, a new baby, and unpaid maternity leave, I didn't want to spend the money from our savings. Maybe next year.

MOST IMPORTANT: Now that you have all of the supplies and are prepared, make sure you have the most important thing. Homeowners (or renters) insurance. Check your coverage and deductibles, and make sure you know where a copy of your policy is to you will know what to do if you need to file a claim.

I'm not an expert, so if I left anything out or have potentially led anyone astray, leave me a comment.

Completely random photos... (explanations below the photos)

on edit: Clicking on the photos makes a REALLY large photo. I'll try to figure out how to correct this problem. Drop me a line if you already know how...

I was going through some of the photos on the computer to put on my facebook page, and I came across a few that I thought were pretty random, and most of them pretty funny.

I saw this billboard and make an illegal U-turn to go back and take a picture of it. Why? Because Reggie always talks about Cruzan Rum. I thought it would be fun to send a pic of a billboard in rural Texas to a guy in North Carolina that I've never actually met, but read his blog every day.

This is my grandfather, my mother, and my niece. I'm sure there are a million stories for this one. Feel free to leave a suggested tag line in comments.

This is a little shelf type deal above the front door in the entryway of our house. Once a year or so, it is necessary to get up there and vacuum the corners, etc to keep it looking clean. The plywood is to help spread the weight so my fat butt doesn't go crashing through...

That's my boy. Safety first when using power tools...

Not sure what this was all about... Matthew calls the hose on the vacuum cleaner his gun, so it was funny when we heard him in the office with the vacuum cleaner making shooting sounds and walked in to find this...

This is my friend Tommy and his son, John Thomas. We were riding the Austin Steam Train. Looks like Tommy is enjoying the train ride...

Insert sexual joke here... This was the handle on the emergency exit on the train car we were riding in.

This is probably the funniest photo I've ever taken. Matthew was potty training in June & July 2007. Yes, that's what it looks like on the floor in our downstairs hallway. Shelly was calling for me to help, but of course, I had to grab the camera first. She will kill me when the news of this photo gets back to her...

Enjoy, and feel free to leave comments or make up funny tag lines for any or all photos.

The worlds most perfect food...

I was eating lunch today at a place called Gringo's. Obviously, it was a Mexican joint. I know there are 2 or 3 of them in Houston, possibly more in other places. The place is decent. Not the best Mexican around (that would be Doneraki), but decent all the same.

As I was sitting there eating my Chimichanga, it hit me that I was eating the perfect food item. Think about it. You are basically eating a burrito. Everyone loves burritos. If you don't, you just haven't had a good one. I imagine one day years back, a couple of Mexicans were sitting around thinking about how good burritos were, when one of them, in a stroke of pure genius, decided to deep fry the burrito. Voila, the Chimichanga.

That has to go down on the list of the most important historical inventions...

Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, Henry Ford brought us the modern assembly line, and some Mexican guy brought us the Chimichanga.

Brilliant.

Losing my mind...

You know how sometimes you get sidetracked in performing a task?

Tonight I promised Shelly I would take her truck down the street and fill it with gas so she wouldn't have to do it on the way home. Of course, I got into the evening routine of cooking dinner, bathing Matthew, etc, and I forgot. Around 10:00, Shelly came in and found me sitting on the couch in my drawers watching TV and surfing the web. She asked me if I was going to put gas in her truck.

Of course, let me put some shorts on and I'll head out. I got up from the couch, picked up a few of Matthew's toys from the living room floor, and took my dessert plate into the kitchen. While I was in the kitchen, I washed the 3 or 4 dishes that were in the sink and put them in the dishwasher, then I headed out the door to get in the truck. I reached for my pocket to grab the keys... Not only are there no keys, but there is no pocket either...

I'm standing in the garage in my drawers (boxers for those interested), no keys, no wallet, no shoes, and no pants. I guess I'm losing my mind.

How funny would it have been if I had grabbed the keys off the counter and headed out, only to get to the gas station and reach for my wallet? Of course, I stopped at the store first to return a couple of DVD's we had rented the other night. I guess I could have made that stop without any real problems...

Anyone else have a similar problem?

Convenience vs. Waste...

Shelly has mentioned lately that it's pretty hot in the truck when she goes to put the boys in after running errands. Because you constantly hear about someone jumping in a running vehicle and stealing it with kids buckled in the back, she has been scared to put them into the truck with it running while she loads stuff into the back.

We solved that problem today by having a remote start deal installed on her truck. You just push a button on the remote, and that big V-8 purrs to life, unleashing the arctic blast of A/C to cool off the truck before you get in.

Maybe it is a little bit of a fuel waster, but as hot as it is, that's an option we'll probably wish we had spent the money for long ago.

Not so bad...

I learned one thing tonight. I DON"T want 5 kids. We made it through the evening just fine, but 5 kids is a bunch of kids for 2 people to keep up with. Of course, Matthew was the turd of the bunch. He got a little territorial with his toys, his baby brother, and Sweetie the Chihuahua.

Overall, it was a decent night. We ordered a couple of pizzas and rented a video.. When things wound down a little, Shelly ran the kids through the bath tub, and they played with toys until Staci & James got back.

We'll do it again sometime... But not this week.

12 Rollos Grandes / sin fragancia

I was taking care of a little business this morning, and the only thing to read nearby was the new package of Charmin on the floor by my feet.

We're reached a new low when even the TP has to have Spanish labels.

That's all I better say on that subject. Someone might get the idea that I'm somehow intolerant or insensitive...

Have I bumped my head?

Those of you with kids will understand what I mean when I say that going on dates after you have kids is a rare occurrence. It's not that you aren't willing, it's that it costs an arm and a leg. Babysitters are about $10 per hour and up, so dinner and a movie is about $50 worth of babysitter cost before you even order your appetizer. That's where grandparents and generous single friends come in handy.

My sister and bro-in-laws anniversary was last weekend, and they find themselves without anyone able to watch their 3 devil kids. OK, so they aren't really devil kids. She reads this blog, so I'm entitled to yank her chain every now and then. Based on the last several get-togethers, and noticing how well all of the kids played together, Shelly and I offered to have the kids over tomorrow night to give Staci & James a night out to enjoy dinner and a movie without worrying about the clock ticking at $10+ per hour.

If you don't hear from me for a while, you will know I didn't survive the evening... (or I'm in jail for offing one of the little suckers...)

Now, where is that Bourbon?

Facebook...

I'll be the first to admit that I've always shunned social networking sites as the hangout of kids and people that need to grow up. Until this week...

My long-time friend Tommy got on Facebook and told me that most of the people we hung out with "back in the day" were on there. I've found friends scattered across the US that I never thought I'd speak to again. I'll probably encounter some I hoped would never find me again...

We'll see how this goes...

Or, maybe I just need to grow up...

Dear Diary:

June 10th: Just moved to Texas ! Now this is a state that knows how to live!! Beautiful sunny days and warm balmy evenings. What a place! It is beautiful. I've finally found my home. I love it here.

June 14th: Really heating up. Got to 100 today. Not a problem. Live in an air-conditioned home, drive an air-conditioned car. What a pleasure to see the sun everyday like this. I'm turning into a sun worshipper.

June 30th: Had the backyard landscaped with western plants today. Lots of cactus and rocks. What a breeze to maintain. No more mowing the lawn for me. Another scorcher today, but I love it here.

July 10th: The temperature hasn't been below 100 all week. How do people get used to this kind of heat? At least, it's kind of windy though. But getting used to the heat is taking longe r than I expected.

July 15th: Fell asleep by the community pool. (Got 3rd degree burns over 60% of my body). Missed 3 days of work. What a dumb thing to do. I learned my lesson though. Got to respect the ol' sun in a climate like this.

July 20th: I missed Lomita (my cat) sneaking into the car when I left this morning. By the time I got to the hot car at noon, Lomita had died and swollen up to the size of a shopping bag, then popped like a water balloon. The car now smells like Kibbles and $hits. I learned my lesson though. No more pets in this heat. Good ol' Mr. Sun strikes again.

July 25th: The wind sucks. It feels like a giant freaking blow dryer!! And it's hot as hell. The home air-conditioner is on the fritz and the AC repairman charged $200 just to drive by and tell me he needed to order parts.

July 30th: Been sleeping outside on the pati o for 3 nights now. $225,000 house and I can't even go inside. Lomita is the lucky one. Why did I ever come here?

Aug. 4th: It's 115 degrees. Finally got the air-conditioner fixed today. It cost $500 and gets the temperature down to 85. I hate this stupid state.

Aug. 8th: If another wise a$$ cracks, 'Hot enough for you today?' I'm going to strangle him... D@mn heat. By the time I get to work, the radiator is boiling over, my clothes are soaking wet, and I smell like baked cat!!

Aug. 9th: Tried to run some errands after work. Wore shorts, and when I sat on the seats in the car, I thought my a$$ was on fire. My skin melted to the seat. I lost 2 layers of flesh and all the hair on the back of my legs and a$$ . . . Now my car smells like burnt hair, fried a$$, and baked cat.

Aug 10th: The weather report might as well be a d@mn recording. Hot and sunny...Hot and sunny...Hot and sunny...It's been too hot to do $hit for 2 d@mn months and the weatherman says it might really warm up next week. Doesn't it ever rain in this d@mn state? Water rationing will be next, so my $1700 worth of cactus will just dry up and blow over. Even the cactus can't live in this d@mn heat.

Aug.14th: Welcome to HELL! Temperature got to 115 today. Cactus are dead. Forgot to crack the window and blew the d@mn windshield out of the car. The installer came to fix it and guess what he asked me??? 'Hot enough for you today?' My sister had to spend $1,500 to bail me out of jail. Freaking Texas ...What kind of a sick demented idiot would want to live here?? Will write later to let you know how the trial goes...

Dang, I'm ahead of the trend...

I don't really consider myself a drinker, but I do enjoy an adult beverage every now and then. I never learned to like beer, and I never was interested in trying anything else until my early 20's. Long story short, I discovered I liked Bourbon. I also like Tennessee Sipping Whiskey (Jack Daniel's). Of course, it seems that mostly old farts drink Bourbon, but I don't care.

Imagine my surprise when I read that the next generation is discovering Bourbon. Dang, All that's going to do is make the price of my favorite drink go up. I guess I'll see in 3 or 4 years when I finish the bottle I bought 2 years ago. (I told you I don't drink that often...)

Who knew I would one day be ahead of a trend (instead of woefully behind). I guess I am now officially an early adopter.

I wonder if that means now I'll have to get an i-pod?

Pics...

Shelly took the picture the other night. Jonathan was crying a little bit, so I started whistling the Andy Griffith theme song. He stared intently at me. Hey, whatever works, right?

These are the before pics of some of the meat. first is the pork roast (butt roast), and the others are the backstrap section before and after wrapping with bacon.

Finished backstrap. I would have preferred to cook it "medium", but I messed up and cooked it a little too long. Still good, but not as good as it could have been.

Sausage, ribs, and pork roast on the grill. I didn't get a pic of the roast before I wrapped it. I smoked it about 4 hours unwrapped, then wrapped it for the last couple of hours.

Dinner. Pulled pork sandwich, beef ribs, deer smoked sausage, and fresh yellow squash sauteed with Vidalia onions All washed down with a Diet Coke (or 3)

Great BUTT...

Pork butt that is.

The ribs were excellent and the deer sausage was just the way I like it - smoky and sort of crinkly looking on the outside. The backstrap was good, although a little overdone, and the pork butt came out perfect. It was a lot of work and I made a big mess, but Shelly said she thinks I need to make pulled pork every year for the 4th of July. The first try was a success.

I even worked a little in the garage. Man, even at 10 PM, it was still stifling hot outside. I came in a little while ago, drenched. After cooling off, I cleaned the kitchen while Shelly bathed Matthew and put him to bed. I think every dish in the kitchen was dirty. What didn't fit in the dishwasher got hand washed and put up, and the counters and sink are clean and sparkling. Shelly said that since the kitchen was left so clean, she would let me cook in "her" kitchen again. I told her it's a good thing she lets me cook, because her cooking isn't any good. That's a running joke around here, so I'm safe with that comment.

I took a bunch of pictures, and after I take a shower and clean up a little, I'll get them posted.

Real Men Have Gas... But they use wood and charcoal for grilling...

I've always fancied myself to be a decent cook. Nothing fancy or fru-fru, just good food. Over the years, I've become quite comfortable with the simple charcoal grill. I started grilling with a gas grill, but quickly figured out that gas grills suck. Charcoal is where it's at.

Along the way, I've grilled everything from steaks to chicken to pork chops. I regularly grill vegetables to go with the meat I'm cooking. I've even cooked bacon and pizza over a bed of coals. I like to eat, so it's only logical that I also like to cook.

Tomorrow I'm trying something new. I bought a pork butt that's about 8 lbs, and I'm going to grill / smoke that baby. I figure I'll get the coals ready, put them all on one side of the grill, add some wood chips (apple wood soaked overnight in water), and put the roast on the "cold" side of the grill for 7-9 hours, adding a few new coals to the grill every 30 or 45 minutes to maintain the temperature. If all goes well, we're having pulled pork this weekend. Of course, I can't let the grill burn all day without cooking a few other items. I have a rack of beef ribs already seasoned up and getting happy in the fridge that will also be put on the grill at some point. If that's not enough, we also pulled out about a 10 inch section of venison backstrap (the filet mignon of deer). The plan is to season it with a little salt and pepper, wrap with peppered bacon, and grill it also.

Can you tell that our 4th of July weekend is going to be centered around food?

Of course, there are other things in the works. I'm going to clean out the garage while I'm sort of stuck around the house tending the grill. It's long overdue. Hopefully I'll be able to get both cars back in there when I'm finished. Maybe I'll even manage to talk Shelly into tending the grill a little while so I can squeeze in a nap...

I'll dig out the camera tomorrow and snap a few pictures - maybe a before and after shot of both the meat and the garage.

I hope all of you guys have a great weekend and get to spend it with the folks you love.

Dang it....

I got home this evening, and the weather was actually pleasant. That's rare around here this time of the year. We've had quite a bit of rough weather lately, so that was probably the reason.

As I was sitting on the sofa perusing the e-mail, I would swear the weather guy on TV said that we were done with the rain and would be getting the heat again. Armed with that news, I headed down to the auto parts place and got a fresh jug of car wash soap. When I got home, I washed the Expedition. Matthew "helped". I even scrubbed the tires and cleaned all the little crevices on the wheels. After washing it, I dried it top to bottom, making sure to open all doors and wipe out the jambs. It looks sharp. I even put the gel stuff on the tires to make them shine.

The whole time I was working on cleaning the truck, Shelly sat in a lawn chair with Jonathan watching me clean her truck. After I finished and was about to pull it back in the garage, she said it was going to be a shame that it was going to be nasty weather all weekend and get it dirty again...

WHAT? NO!!! The weather dude said hot and sunny... Apparently I was mistaken. The 10:00 forecast just told me it would start raining tomorrow afternoon.

Isn't that just about how things work out lately? And Shelly sat there watching me the whole time knowing I was wasting my time...

More gun stuff...

Open Carry? What do you think about that?

OK, I'm the first to say that I'm in full support of gun owners rights. I may or may not even own a weapon (It's really no one else's business if I do or not). I guess I support the premise of having the right to carry whether concealed or in plain sight, but I sort of question the mind-set.

Unfortunately, I believe that some of the supporters have the "My pecker is bigger than your pecker" mentality. They want to carry the biggest, baddest weapon on their hip to show how much of a bad-ass they are. Let me be clear, I support their right to do so, but I'm also entitled to my opinions and positions on that matter.

I'm not so sure of the absolute crime deterrent of some folks carrying a gun on their hip. Criminals are the lowest common denominator, but most of them aren't completely stupid. The guy with a gun on his hip is the guy that's going to be shot first in a hold-up. Keeping it hidden (concealed carry) will not make you an obvious target and might give you options if you find yourself in a bad spot.

That's just my opinion. Feel free to disagree in a civilized manner in the comments section

Crying over spilt organic soy milk from free range cows...

Well, it happened today. Five individuals that know how to read and didn't drink the liberal kool-aid made a decision. A decision, I might add, that shouldn't have even needed to be made. What a shame that the "powers that be" have eroded our rights to the point that someone has to go to the Supreme Court to get a "once and for all" decision that this particular right was indeed a right to begin with.

Of course, I'm talking about the Supreme Court's decision that Americans in good standing have the right to own a handgun. Fortunately, here in Texas we don't have the problem of our political leaders trying to take this particular right away from us.

Of course, the libs are on every news channel crying about how society is going to descend into chaos and we'll all be shooting at each other. Sure... How many of the shootings around involved a person legally possessing a firearm. Very few. Around here, most of the shootings are either criminals shooting, or lately a few honest citizens have evened the score by shooting intruders.

A big case here locally involves a gentleman that shot 2 guys that were robbing his neighbors house. Of course, the libs are crying about these 2 guys being gunned down, but the real story is that they were both illegals from Central America and they had already been deported at least once. Clearly, not a big loss to society. OK, granted, this guy should have stayed in his house and not run out to confront these guys with his gun, but if they had not been here, robbing the house of a guy who was at work earning his living, they wouldn't have been shot. Hopefully the grand jury will no-bill Mr Horn.

I guess time will tell the effects, but I suspect that crime might actually decrease, or at lease not increase from this decision.

Remember this phrase: Those who beat their swords into plowshares will be forever ruled by those who kept their swords.

It's MY blog...

It's my blog, so I have a few rules.

1. The blog writer gets to make the rules.
2. The blog reader is free to enjoy the things written by the blog writer.
3. Political correctness will not be tolerated.
4. The blog writer gets to change the rules to suit his current whims
5. Blog Readers are free to disagree in the comments section as long as they disagree in a civilized manner.

Of course, this is my blog, which is based on my version of events in my life as they happen. If anyone has a different version, they are welcome to start their own blog.

a rant...

Ok, I'll admit I drive too fast. I don't even know what the speed limits are around here, because it really doesn't matter. I get in the car and drive. That driving style fits in well here - MOST of the time.

Occasionally, some jerk camps out in the left lane driving below the speed limit. Seriously, I understand. People are really in a bind because of fuel prices and they are driving slower to help increase fuel mileage. I get it. PLEASE, just do me a favor... Get out of the damn left lane. Slower cars to the right. The left lanes are for passing. If you are not passing anyone, keep moving to the right. I Houston, there are usually 3, and many times 4 or 5 lanes in each direction, surely you can find one of the right lanes that will suit you.

Lately, the majority of these slowpokes are driving a Prius. And to top it all off, they aren't even looking at the road, they are looking at that darn gauge on the dash telling them their efficiency. Selfish Birkenstock wearing, granola eating, tree hugging *&(%%$&^*^$'s. Typical liberal types. Only concerned about their little deals without regard for the effects on the rest of the people.

The icing on the cake was last week. I left work and drive into town to pick Matthew up from daycare. On the way back out to the suburbs, we were in the HOV lane (2 or more) and the lane was creeping along at a snail's pace. After about 30 minutes, we had made it about 6 miles and we saw the cause of the back-up. It was a hippie woman (probably hairy arm-pits) sitting stalled in her Prius, and she was ALONE. I know the Republic of Kalifornia allows you to drive alone in the HOV lane in a Hybrid, but we don't allow that in Texas. So, she thought she was entitled to ride in the HOV lane in her Prius, but instead she cause the rest of us to be significantly delayed, while belching tons more hydrocarbons than we should have while being stuck in the back-up.

She should have been arrested and as part of her bail, been made to purchase carbon offsets for all of the extra pollution she caused...

Summer Sucks...

Summer has arrived in the south. It never really left, more like it sort of just hid around the corner for a couple of weeks. From early April through late October, we see temperatures in the 90's and humidity in that range also. That means that shade provides a little relief, but not much. At we get closer to the middle of summer, the nights are quite warm also, so the morning low temperatures is generally 80 or higher.

I got up at the butt crack of dawn this morning to cut the grass before the heat hit. Ok, it was just before 8:00, but on a Sunday morning, that's early. It was already just over 80 degrees. That's not so bad, but with the sun out and no clouds, it didn't take long to hit 90. I believe it's supposed to settle in around 95 today. Add to that the downpours we get every afternoon lately, and the humidity is quite high also.

Thank God the A/C is running just fine today.

Happy Father's Day...

Last night I cooked my own Father's day meal, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Dinner was charcoal grilled baby back ribs and beef ribs. Beef ribs are pretty much ignored by most people cooking ribs, but man, they are great. Season them with salt and pepper, nothing else, then grill. Talk about good. Add some baked beans and you're set. I also diced up some tomatoes, peppers, onions, etc, mixed with black beans and some roasted corn (roast frozen corn in the oven), them add some lime juice and a few other things to make a top notch salsa.

We're about to pack up the above salsa and the family and head down to my parents house to spend the afternoon with my Dad and Grandfather. This evening we'll head to the in law's house to celebrate Father's day with them.

Shelly and I are fortunate to have great Dad's. I hope I am able to live up to their examples for my 2 boys.

Blogs I read...

Ok, after a year or so of blogging, I have 3 or 4 regular readers, and another few that stop by once in a blue moon. Actually, there are more than that. I noticed I had a reader from Sao Paulo Brazil and another from somewhere in India last week. Hopefully this provides some measure of entertainment, or at least a break from the work you should be doing...

So, the question is: What does MELackey read when he's cruising the web? Well, here are a few of the blogs and other sites I peruse on a fairly regular basis.

The Adventures of Tioga and George. I came across George on a camping website I like to read. I've been following him almost daily since late in 2004. He has an interesting story about beating the odds and surviving cancer. The day he was declared to be in remission, he bought and RV, moved out of his apartment, and hit the road in search of adventure. The proverbial "sucking the marrow out of life". George has this amazing ability to connect to locals wherever he is. He spends a good bit of time in Mexico, and is in Israel now looking for adventure in the land of his ancestors.

Our Odyssey I also found these guys on the camping website. Click the Home tab on their website and read a little of their background. Basically they travel to each corner of the US (and places beyond) in their converted Neoplan Bus. They are "full-timers". The are quite service oriented people, devoting a great deal of time and personal resources to helping the Red Cross with disaster relief. Their blog is probably one of the most complete, informative reads around about an amazing list of topics.

I'm Always Mentally on Vacation and This Makes Some Folks Mad. This guy is just a hoot. I found Reggie's blog by just randomly clicking the "Next Blog". I believe one of the first posts I read was about a little boundary dispute he was having with a redneck neighbor (Whatever happened to those mouth breathers anyway, Wreg?). Reggie (aka Wreggie) lives and works in North Carolina, but he belongs on a beach on St Croix. As a matter of fact, he's there this week.

Bumfuzzle Man, you want to talk about adventure, this is it. This couple lived in Chicago and worked as commodities traders. One day, they decided they needed to buy a boat and sail the Caribbean for a year (they weren't boat people beforehand...). Four years later they had circumnavigated the globe. Immediately after upon returning, they ran the 2007 Great American Race, winning the Rookie Division in their '65 Porche 356C. After finishing the race, they completed the outfitting of a 1958 VW Bus and hit the road. Man, the stories they will have to tell their grandchildren one of these days. Be sure to set aside a complete weekend to read their adventures from the beginning.

I need to scram now, but be sure to stay tuned for the rest of the blogs I read regularly. Also, if you don't mind, take a minute to leave me a comment with any suggestions. If you are a regular reader, drop me a note and introduce yourself.

Coming Soon...

I was just thinking about something fun to post. I think in the next day or so I'll post links to some of the blogs I read on a fairly regular basis (or at least the ones I'll admit to reading). Stay tuned to see what MELackey reads when he should be doing other stuff...

Like chocolate pudding, scraped across too much ham...

ok, I guess that tag line needs some explanation... It's from the Veggie Tales video "Lord of the Beans" Billboy used that phrase to describe that he was feeling stretched (tired).

There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Matthew's toe is healing, although it was a little strange that the dead end fell off last night while he was at the in-laws house. He didn't notice it, and he tracked blood all over their light colored carpet. The good news is that it will have a little bit of a flat leading edge, but should look close to normal when the nail grows back.

Shelly is feeling much better, which is good. She was really in pain over the weekend and Monday night, to the point she was in tears and could barely move. Not good when you have a 4 week old that is nursing... Thankfully our mothers each took a day and stayed here with her so I could go to work.

I make it a point not to mention things about my work on the blog, but lets just say that we're very busy lately and I'm feeling a little stretched trying to balance the increased attention both family and work are needing. Work needs to be done as people are depending on me, but at the same time, things at home need to be done also (and here I am blogging - Katie said I had to...).

Anyway, I just wanted to post that things look like they are going to be getting back to normal pretty soon, thanks to the prayers and support of friends and family.

I need to scram now. Maid day is tomorrow and like always, the house needs to be straight before they can clean it. With all of the craziness over the last couple of weeks, we've had to postpone them a couple of times, and the house could really use a visit by the maids.

Barring any wild happenings, I promise the next post will be more in line with what you are used to from me. There have been a few interesting things and observations that I have in mind as great blog fodder. Stay tuned...

Been a rough week...

Although the surgery for Shelly went well last week, we're not quite up to speed yet. Shelly was feeling better Friday, but by Friday night she was having some pain. She went back to see the doctor this morning, but he doesn't seem to think it's anything other than maybe muscle strain. Whatever it is, she is in so much pain she can barely function. Let's hope this passes soon. I'm in the middle of some busy times at work and really need to be there as much as possible. With being on shuttle duty getting Matthew to and from daycare each day, I'm stretched pretty thin. Luckily, our Mothers are around and able to help out.

Matthew's toe is looking pretty rough, but it is healing. Most of the end that's not viable tissue is now hard and black, and is basically about to fall off. At least what is left will heal well enough. I don't know if I mentioned it last week, but both surgeons that looked at it expect the nail to grow back. Definitely an answered prayer on that one, if nothing than for cosmetic reasons.

Keep Shelly in the prayers this week. Taking care of a 4 week old that wants his mommy to feed him every couple of hours isn't easy when she's in so much pain.

Success!!!

The pediatrician came through today with a surgeon that was able to work us in at 2:30 this afternoon. His opinion was that it was healing well so far, but he wants to see us again in a week or so to see how the tissue at the tip of the toe is doing. He suspects that it isn't viable, but it should be left on for now as a sort of protective layer over the healthy tissue that is under it.

He did tell me that I no longer should dress it every night with ointment, gauze, and complete wrapping of the foot to keep it all covered and protected. The instructions are a couple of band-aids and a sock on the foot to keep everything in place and protected.

A friend of my parents has a son-in-law that is an orthopedist in Baton Rouge. He spoke to one of his friends here in Houston, (also an orthopedist) and that friend called me tonight. He offered to look at it either tomorrow or Friday as a second opinion if we wanted him to. I think we'll take him up on the offer just to be safe. While we're spending Cigna's money, we might as well make sure we get the best care possible.

We looked up all of the bills submitted to them over the last couple of weeks. Did you know a 4 mile ambulance ride with 2 paramedics in Houston is $1,700 while a 40 mile ride with 3 paramedics from Copperas Cove, TX to Temple, TX is only $1,200? Maybe that extra $500 here is for the honkin' ladder truck that showed up with the ambulance last week...

VERY full day...

First off, Shelly is home and feeling better. She's watching TV and eating dinner as I type. Three small incisions and a prescription for pain meds and we're good to go. Hopefully everything on that front will continue to go smoothly.

Still no appt for Matthew. I was bounced back and forth all afternoon. Just to save you guys the hassle of reading alll of the details, plastic surgeons and orthopedists apparently don't do toes, and podiatrists and general surgeons don't do anything but refer to one of the others (who don't do toes).

I'll keep trying tomorrow...

It's as if Matthew is the first child ever who had to have part of his toe reconnected.

Wow, that was quick...

The doc just came out and let me know that everything went well and that Shelly is in recovery. If all continues to go well, we should get to head home in a couple of hours.

Maddening...

I guess I shouldn't complain too much because our healthcare system has worked well for us over the last several weeks. Today I'm running into sort of a roadblock. Shelly is in surgery right now, and that part is hopefully going well. I suppose it's going well as long as no one comes out to the waiting room and looks for me.

The problem is getting Matthew in to see a surgeon about his toe. His pediatrician gave us the names of 4 doctors yesterday, 3 of which are in a practice affiliated with Texas Children's Hospital (TCH). Shelly called their office yesterday afternoon and after explaining the situation, they told her we didn't need them, we need a plastic surgeon, so we were referred to a pediatric plastic surgery practice also affiliated with TCH. It was after 4:30 when she called yesterday, and the lady that answered said everyone was gone for the day and we needed to call back today.

Well, I called them back a little while ago after Shelly was taken into surgery, and after getting the story from me about what happened, I was put on hold and eventually told that toes were not what they did, and I would need to call pediatric general surgery at a certain number - which just so happened to be the group we called yesterday. Great, now we're full-circle...

So, I called General surgery back and they listened to my story and... referred me back to plastic surgery... GRRRR. I "explained" to her that I've had about all of the fun I can stand and I'd like to get off the merry-go-round. She told me that maybe I should call the pediatrician back and ask him who I needed to call, which is when I told her he gave me a printout with their doctor's names and numbers. She put me on hold a few more minutes and said she needed to talk to their manager and would call me back. How much do we bet no one calls back?

I think I'll call the pediatrician's office and see of he will call and intervene on our behalf. Wish us luck... I really don't have time for this BS this week.

Just a short update...

It's late and I'm tired. Funny how when you take a day off work, you end up working almost the same amount of hours by clearing everything up before and after you are out. I left the office at 11:30 tonight (after a brief break to run home for dinner - Mom is here and made a pot roast...).

Anyway, Matthew's appt was ok. His toe looks better, but the doctor said we need to consult with a pediatric surgeon. Shelly called a couple today and ended up being told that what we need isn't a general surgeon, but a pediatric plastic surgeon. I've got the numbers and while Shelly is in surgery tomorrow, I'll be calling to try to get Matthew an appointment with the plastic surgeon to have his toe checked out.

The pediatrician said that more than likely they will look at it and establish a baseline, then have us return in 3-4 weeks to see what it looks like then. Hopefully the dark place on the end of the toe is just bruised tissue that will eventually heal. I guess time will tell.

The good news is that the cut is healing up well enough that Matthew was able to take a real bath tonight with the foot unwrapped and in the tub. I've been bathing him for the last week sitting on a stool in the tub with his foot on the side. That kid loves baths and he was really happy to get to play in the tub tonight.

Shelly's surgery is at 9:30 in the morning, and we have to be there at 8:00 in the morning. This is not supposed to be a major deal, but our current situation with a 4 week old baby makes logistics a little difficult. My Mom came back today to help out with Jonathan. Matthew went down to Shelly's parents house to stay at least until tomorrow night. Hopefully he will be willing to stay there until Wednesday, we'll keep our fingers crossed. Of course, with Jonathan being a breastfed baby, there are other issues to deal with. We think we're on top of it, but it's just a hassle to deal with everything.

Well, off to bed. Let's pray for an "uneventful" day tomorrow. I'll try to post tomorrow night with an update.

Remembering...

I was walking along with Matthew today and I thought back to a couple of months ago when we went to the little park in our neighborhood. The park has a lake that has a BUNCH of ducks. A few years ago we had an oriental guy come and remove a bunch of them. I'm not certain, but I'm betting they ended up plucked and hanging on one of the restaurants in the Chinatown area of Houston. He needs to come back because there is a definite overpopulation.

These are not the Mallard type ducks, these are the larger, uglier pond ducks that seem to find their way to all parks. The sort of "other side of the tracks kind of ducks". Anyway, Matthew thinks it's hilarious to follow or chase the ducks until they jump back into the water and swim away. Well, on that particular day, I told Matthew to kick the duck in the butt, with the knowledge that no duck is going to let him get close enough to kick it.

WRONG... I think the only crippled duck in the county was the closest duck to Matthew at that point, and he punted that poor duck. Before it could register in my mind what had happened, he lined up for the extra point... Luckily, I managed to stop him just before he hung his size 10 kids shoe up the ducks nether regions. Just my luck, I tell him to do the impossible, and he gets it done... Thankfully, no one else saw it. I'd hate to have to explain that one to the SPCA... Luckily, the duck didn't seem to have been injured by the butt-kicking he received...

Toe news...

We have a follow-up appt tomorrow afternoon to let the doctor check on the progress on Matthew's toe. I'm still a little concerned, but it does look a little better now than it did almost a week ago. We took a few pictures tonight, but they are kind of gross, so I'm not going to post them now (maybe later). Where the two parts are stitched together are healing up, so I know that at least part of the severed part is still "living". The very tip is still a little dark looking. I'm not sure if it is bruised or if the tissue is "dead". I guess we'll know more tomorrow.

Shelly goes in tomorrow for one last appt with the surgeon, and then we go in Tuesday morning for the gall bladder removal. It's an out-patient laproscopic (sp?) type deal, so hopefully all will go well. Keep the prayers going if you don't mind. Hopefully our little string of bad luck will be over soon.