Awww ...

Another week draws to a close. It has been interesting and very relaxing at the same time. The Refinance was closed my days of being in debt except for the mortgage came to an end. All that remains in getting the checks mailed. Believe me, it feels nice. I wouldn't be suprised if the blood pressure wasn't 50 points lower because the lowering of the stress level.

I would be neglect if I didn't acknowledge who made this possible. A month back I sat there one evening and had a heart to heart talk with God and asked for help and in turn made a promise. God was faithful and within his will, he made things happen. Actually he did more than I asked. Perhaps he wants to see if I step up even more. I will if at all possible. Sorry for the religious advertisement but I felt I must at least publically acknowledge his greatness and faithfulness.

Wild Mom - waiting patiently for me to get her Craft Web page done. So in my free time I will ......

#1 - The days are slowly going by as we prepare for his journey to Colorado around the 13th. We are sending him off with the cavalier. So that means I must find something for Lady. But it is the least we can do to help him start his life there.

#2 - waiting for the new job to tell him to start.

Jessi - would be nice to see her but we also have to wait for a weekend to go there. We tried last weekend but work dictated that we remain here. I can't wait to see her and TELL her how proud I am. It is easy to write it but to look someone in the eyes and say it means more.

Lew - any one have a containment kit for a little 3 year old dynamo? It is fun to be with him but at the same time exhausting. He nows says things that just make us laugh. Kind of like the "Kids say the Darndest Things" show. You never know what is next.

Princess - "hamster - puppy - car" The ususal sequence of I want and then it replays. Next Tuesday is looming ahead as it is the last court date standing between us and her being a permanent family. Not that it hasn't felt or been like that now but on Tuesday it is legally binding. Yes, she has learned the eye-batting trick and "I love you" as she tries to get what she wants. Though not completely effective yet she tries. We love you Princess and it is forever.

***** ***** ******

I am saddened about the Landis situation. Even if he is proven innocent, the mud has been slung and he won't be seen the same way.

Hey, MLB take a look at what the Cyclying Federation is doing. They are taking action against athletes who break the rules. MLB could use a lesson and follow suit. As the HBO commentator said, call it cheating, which is what it is plain and simple. If Juicer Bonds was a cyclist, he would already be banned and his record cleared of the wrongful records. But he is in Baseball and the Dollar rules so he plays and is cheating his way up the ladder of records. How can I teach my grandson honesty when the cheaters get glorified?

Bravo Israel for standing up for yourself and those captured men. Saddly if they were American they would be beheaded by now. Beat the Terrorists (Hezbollah) into the earth and stand for your principles. I wish more Countries would.

The Little Wire Wheel Turns some more

Well, the weekend is over and I survived. I didn't get all the rest I wanted to get but I got enough. They weekend was shortened by a bit since I had to go in for a few hours Saturday morning. I did treat myself a bit by doing a little car shopping on the way home. It seems the hours working equaled the hours car shopping. Yes, I did find one but I haven't completely sold myself on it yet. But it is pretty ... 2003 Jaguar XJ8. I guess time will tell this week if I get it.

Wild mom is doing fine. She is crafting again and even conning me into setting up her a website to show them all on.

#1 - The days grow shorter till his departure. Lady and I have many mixed feelings on this. Time will sort things out and we hope he is very successful in his plans.

#2 - He is here and there, coming and going. It looks like he has a job at a local grocery store. He is excited and we are too. Of course, the talk of a car has immediately surfaced. Also very shortly he is planning to be baptized at the church he has been attending. While we wish it would b at our church, we are just glad it is anywhere.

Jessi - just got older this weekend. We wanted to surprise her and drop in but we got sidetracked on Saturday. So we just find another time and it might be a good breaking in run for a new car. The wedding plans continue and preparations proceed. I am walking her down the aisle and that brings many happy and mixed feelings. Do I really want to give her away or do I want to keep her as my little girl forever? No, don't worry I will do what I should. She has even talked me into putting my uniform back on for the wedding. After trying the old one on after 14 years, I have decided I will need to get another one.

Princess - what can you say! Always busy and always on the go. She has been with us for over 60 days now and it has been fun. Her bowling is improving. It is fun watching her move in an attempt to try and guide the ball down the lanes. We have managed to scratch our way into 3rd place just 1 game back of 1st place. She has learned what the downfalls are of having the dog sleep with you. Those little wet puddles are an eye opener when you roll over half asleep. How can one person accumulate so much stuff in so short a time? Clothes, clothes, clothes ... and now she wants more for the new school year. With all the clothes she could wear them in layers and make sure every part of her body is covered. But no, she still manages to show a little skin. In true tradition, first started by jessi, Princess hair is a little redder. Clairol must love us.

Brother #1 - still getting the full story as to his health. The latest tells us he unable to see, his speech is really slurred, and he has a lot of trouble walking. There is a plan to put him in a rehab place to try and work with him with the goal of someday getting him back to normal and able to work.

Quick Note 3

This week has been hot but everything is progressing well. We are refinancing the house and so far their have been no hurdles to trip us up. Fingers crossed and if everything holds we will be debt free with only a mortgage and the utilities. That will be a nice feeling after all these years.

Wild Mom is dancing in the streets. The VA came through and she will get a nice check from them since they classified Dad's death as service related. What he was medically discharged for so many years ago was determined to have caused or contributed to his death. She is breathing a sigh of relief at this great news. I heard on the news lately that there has been a massive demand on mail order catalogs from Florida.

#1 - heads for Colorado on August 10th. We have mixed emotions but wish him all the luck we can muster.

#2 - No change.

Princess - maybe she will learn that the sun burns. Twice now in this first part of the summer she has gotten a good sunburn. Wearing a bikini does have its drawbacks. Just wait till she burns her hiney .. hehehe! Her work has slowed down and the hours have decreased. That part I like for I hope she can enjoy these years and just be a kid for a while and let us grown-ups worry about everything else. 12 days to the next Court date and Liberation.

Jessi - getting prettier and prettier. Maybe that is what success does to a young Lady when everything starts going right for her. She has made us proud even though others find time to tear her down. My few words to her ... Go girl ... tell them to watch your butt for you are leaving them in your dust.

Brother #1 health is really messed up and there are many questions remaining on what is next to come.

********** ********** **********

Well, Juicer Bonds is feeling the heat not from MLB but the Court System.

The Tour De France is getting interesting now but I am torn because the British Open has started. Good thing for TV remotes.

Quick Note 2

Well, another weekend is here and there is more to do than time allows. But the little bit of rest will be nice. Saturday included a brief workout at friends helping him set the trusses on his new house addition. As usual the weather didn't help as it managed to get sunny and hot just as we got to work. At least the food we had later at the Olive Garden was good but way to filling.

Tomorrow brings another day at the bowling alley as we face the #1 team. This will be a fun time as the other team is good friends and we always have a good time. The girls are doing well and it will take their best tomorrow to pull off a win.

Wild Mom continues to be on the go with this weekend taking in a craft show. Everything is fine on her end though she is dealing with one son with major health problems and one grandson heading for Utah.

#1 is partying with friends as one of them leaves for Iraq again.

#2 is also staying with friends again this weekend.

Lou is talking up a storm. He found a pair of gloves and then runs around telling us it is "Bowling time." Is there a button to turn him off? Or at least a volume control.

Jessi - no words from her, a bit unusual but nothing to worry about. Knowing her she is planning and having some fun.

Princess - having some friends over so things in her world are really hopping. Of course the puppy request continues but has to this point fallen on deaf ears.

Brother #1 - read a few pages on what has happened to him and it can be summed up as "he is in bad shape."

Soap Box 8

Well, the week is half over just as the year is over halfway done and I am still alive, just kidding. Today was a hot one, mid 90's and tons of humidity. After the short week last week, this week seems to take forever to end.

#1 - Who knows, maybe I will just setup an automatic text insertion here to save me time. He did cut the grass this week so I must cut him some slack.

#2 - He is gone most of the time so we aren't sure what his plans are but no sign of a paycheck.

Princess - well she can finally get her panties unwadded as her car is finally fixed and ready to be picked up. Now we just have to coordinate our schedules to get over there and get it once it is paid for. The last big problem to be fixed was resetting the security code in the radio which just happened to disable the whole instrumentation cluster. And no one had saved the original number with the owner’s manual. Thanks VW! Does everyone with a 16 year old daughter go through this? Is there a pill or some magical potion to help parents survive?

Jessi - No call yesterday so we can officially say we miss hearing from her about the wedding plans. We know that she and the Maid of Honor are going dress shopping. Gee, the stores really love her.

Lou spent Monday night with us and guess what? The first thing he wanted to do was ... Bowling.

Wild Mom is slowly settling down though she too is planning on bowling in a Church league. That should prove interesting and a lot of fun for her.

Bro #1 - The day he had all the health problems (blood clot in the eye, 2 small strokes and who knows what else) managed to have three minor car accidents. What we know right now is ... he has no brain clot, no kidney problems, he is diabetic and the numbers are extremely high, he can't work for 6 weeks, he is taking a lot of medicines and is having some bad days.

Bro #2 - His son is getting married in February 2007 and the new couple is moving into their house until they can afford to be on their own. So Wild Mom will become a Great Grandmother ... will it slow her down ... not likely!

Keith - He is preparing to move to Utah this week. Keith and his wife are moving to be nearer her mom ... like right next door. He can't find a job in the local area even though there is a construction frenzy. Gee, I have heard that a lot here about the lack of jobs even though the unemployment rate is 2% and the papers report how owners are begging for employees. As he say's he can always work at MacDonald's in Utah. Surely one of the MacDonald's is hiring where he is at now. I honestly think this is a major league mistake but he has to learn the hard way if he chooses. Good luck.

So they want to ban credit cards use for on-line gambling websites. I believe they think this will stop the gambling and the possible addiction of many people. Then why in the blazes don't they do the same thing for Internet Pornography sites? If you want to stop or control one bad problem then do it for the others. Start with Gambling then do Pornography and then do Spam/Con Jobs. Is gambling a bigger problem than Pornography? Not from where I sit. I don't like either so take them both out and stop the perversion, sex abuse, and domination of the users of this medium.

Today is the first mountain leg of the Tour De France ... I can't wait to see the replay tonight.

Sizzle -- Sizzle

Summer is now upon us as it has managed to get hot and humid a few times. Summer bowling has returned and though the league is a short one it should prove to be interesting.

It always boggles the mind how someone will believe anything about someone, destructive or not, just to get a little bit of attention from the person spouting that crap. Perhaps someday they will wake up and see the person for whom they really are. The trouble is when they wake up it maybe too late to repair the damage they have inflicted.

Jessi - the plans for her wedding continue to roll along. Because of her high scores on the GED she will receive a scholarship to continue her education. Needless to say we are proud of her and how far she has come this last year.

Jen - is coming to spend her vacation with us. That should be a lot of fun for she is a special young lady to us. She stayed with us a few summers ago and that was an exciting time.

Lou - came to the bowling alley yesterday. He was so excited as we bowled. He was a one man cheering squad and I think everyone around was watching him and laughing at his enthusiasm.

I love the timing of the sports world. I can watch the Tour De France and The World Cup instead of that bunch of juicers they call Baseball All-stars. I am saddened that MLB has chosen profits over the tradition and integrity of the game.

Work, things remain the same only we learn more about certain people. I love how after you get the major problems fixed and you try to improve things people will obsess on the little things that they should really know how to do. If you call yourself a professional the least you could do is learn how to use your tools and do the basic requirements of your job.

In the RP world: I broke out of the writer’s doldrums and posted another part of the new series. Perhaps now that the ice is broken I will get back to writing.

The Little Wire Wheel Turns more

Well, we have returned from Florida nonetheless for worse for the wear and tear. We rented a GMC Envoy and it drove very nicely though the Lady didn't like the seats. The girls felt it was an easy car to sleep in and the interior provided sufficient sound deadness to cover-up their snoring. So scratch it off the list of potential new cars. Maybe it is time to try a Cadillac. It took us 21 hours to get home. Why? Because we played around in the Smokey Mountains for a few hours. The girls wanted to wade/swim in the mountain stream. So we did. They both managed to unceremoniously slip and deposit their bodies into the water ... clothes and all. Luckily the electronics were left on shore. Next we headed for Cades Cove and did the 11-mile nature drive around the cove. We saw a lot of wildlife and managed to get quite a few pictures. We even visited some of the homesteads and the girls figured that since there were no electronics available that they didn't care to live like that. Plus the bugs (what do you expect on a farm) didn't make them happy either.

#1 - spent the whole time with his friend home from Kuwait.
#2 - Not sure what he did .. He is still at some friends.

Princess - fidgety as overactive child while she waits for her car to get back from the mechanics. Just before we left we did get some of her personal affairs in order and hopefully next week we can finish it all so in August we can have no strings left. You know how a horse will sometimes stand there and kick at his stall. Well, before we left Princess did that but only she used the footboard of our waterbed. Needless to say the trip down there was made with a major league limp and some pain. Oh well, perhaps one day she will figure it out, foot vs. wood isn't an equal contest. She is fine now with only a small cut to show for it.

Wild Mom - she is like the energizer bunny just keeps going and going and going. I did manage to get a few things done on the sonny-do list but to wipe the list out would take a small army of workers. I got her computer back up and running so she can now get back on-line and chat - chat - chat. Looks like the Family Christmas party is November 18, so another road trip. Wahoo! Her furniture buying expedition turned out well. It looked nice and we did manage to sleep comfortably on the new bed even though others have complained.

My Prayer List:
Keith and his wife - they are struggling as a couple and really need some guidance.
Ken - after several wrecks yesterday, found out he is diabetic (dangerous level - one test was 12.4), a blood clot in one eye, and possibly a blood clot on the brain. They are testing that part today. Fast Times and Hard living will do it but right now he is hurting and needs our love.

Relaxing in the Sun

Well, the trip down here was uneventful though I did have to stop once when I thought the car was broke. I kept hearing a rumbling noise that turned out to be two snoring females in the back seat. It seems they slept 99% of the trip down here. Since we have been here it has been non-stop. Visiting, eating, swimming, and sonny-do's., they never seem to end. Tomorrow we will celebrate with burgers, dogs and homemade ice cream. Good thing we were down here when Princess pulled out her new black bikini and went to the pool. At least all her boyfriends are in Virginia and couldn't see her. I always knew poodles were full of crap ... Bubbles goes outside all the time to water and fertilize the lawn.

Wild Mom is cruising along. She keeps meeting people who’s father knew wild mom in her younger (and wilder days).

The police are just as inept as those back home. I stopped at the light when it changed to red. The car next to me ran it and turned left. When the car across from me pulled by me ... it was a police car. Either he never saw the car run the red light or he didn't care. Why? Because he was too busy chatting on the cell phone he had plastered to his ear. Now I really feel safe. No wonder we have an epidemic of cell phone drivers weaving all over the road being a general nuisance and no police to stop them. It is time to address this growing problem. There is no one so important that they must drive and talk. If the call is that important ... pull your fat bottom over to the side and talk. But don't endanger my life so you can chat with your friend over nonsense.

So, the Florida pervert may walk because his rights were violated in the timing of the reading of his rights and his confession. Well, what about the young girl's rights? Does she get another chance? What amazes me is that we (Americans) all know what our rights are. We have seen it over and over on TV. We all have taken Civics in school or studied it to get your citizenship. For those too young to know or those who are handicapped or those who are mentally challenged then keep the law as it is. But for the rest of us Americans, we can't use the excuse we don't know our rights or that we weren't informed. That is a cop out and an attempt to get out of a sticky situation. For a citizen of this country, not to know your rights is no excuse for committing a crime.

Hmm, muscles not used in a long time ... I guess that is better than an unused flat clearing.