20160531 - Awards

20160531 - Up and ready in the am. A guy showed up to measure our countertops. L got the boys up and started on their daily lists. I got some things done at the desk before heading into work with a stop to get a haircut on the way. The fam ended up at the pool all day. I worked, left a bit early to stop by an auction house and pick up stuff for the boys to sell. Home and ate quick, then D&I headed to the high school for the Spring Awards Banquet. It was interesting to hear all of the awards won by this huge school. After the big meeting we broke off into individual sports where the players were recognized individually. D's coach announced each player by position and D was last. He announced D as his 'Jack of all trades that plays any position on the field, and plays them well'. There were a ton awards passed out, Joe Wolf and I passed out the 4 year athletic awards for boys that had played baseball all 4 years of their high school career. Some of the boys won district and state recognition. pretty impressive. D&I swung by Kroger and Burger King on the way home for supplies. Up late watching the 'Admiral', a true story of a Dutch hero.

20160530 + Relaxing Day


20160530 + Up in the morning and at the desk getting things done. L and the boys up and ready. We all piled into D's car and he drove us to the Cole's for a cookout. Gma&paB were there. It was a beautiful day to hang out on their back porch and watch the kids play in the backyard. On the way home we stopped at Best Buy to check out TVs. Home in the evening and we all suited up and headed to the pool for the first time this year. G had to take a swim test and he did just fine. Home and everyone had leftovers as we watched The 300.

20160529 - Beat and AC ON

20160529 - Up in the am and not such a hurry today. I got some things done at the desk and then the whole fam headed to Dublin to see G's game. We played a team from Indiana and had to wait 2 hours for our game to start... We got the crap knocked out of us :-( we were in the last inning, our last at bat and the thunder rolled and they called the game. I was not happy, we had just started a hitting streak... oh well. Gma&paW had come down for the game and we all went to dinner afterwards in Dublin. We then split off the boys went with Gma&paW to Dick's and various outher places... L&I headed home with a stop at BWs for a beer with some of the coaches. We all got back home and D&I got the AC running to cool us down from a hot day at the ballfield. We settled in and watched 'Robot Overlords'.

20160528 - Grad Parties

20160528 - Up WAY TO EARLY for a Saturday... G&I headed to Dublin to get ready for his game. We met the team there, warmed up and then got our butts kicked :-( After the game G&I rushed down to Grove City to meet up with L and watch D play his 1st game with his summer travel team, he is starting catcher :-o He did great and they won! LG&I then left D there for his second game. We ran to Target to get a college starter kit for Katie (Twister, red solo cups, ping pong balls, 'Get out of jail free' cards, a deck of cards and a big bottle of aspirin). We swung by the Cole's and got J on the way North. We got to Katie's graduation party and it was great to see all of the Loughman clan together again. We visited for a while, checked out the cicadas that were humming loudly and then headed South for another party in Newark. We got to Erin's party and checked out their house, we had never been there before, nice big old place. We had some food and chatted for a bit and then headed home. D was home, they won their second game too. DG&I headed out to an auction house to pick up our winnings and then on to another grad party. When we got to Are's grad party we decided to give him what we won at the auction, a 18" tall statue of Moses with the 10 commandments. A perfect gift for a young Jewish man to put on his dresser ;-) We hung out and played some cornhole with him and then headed home.

20160527 - Big Win

20160527 - Up in the am and hit a double rush hour today...  1st to pick up my phone in Dublin and 2nd to get to work...  Gma&paB were in town and L and the boys went out to eat with them. J went home with the Cole's for the night to escape baseball for another night. I finished up work early and headed home to get the fam. We swung by a neighbor boy's garage sale that was raising $ for a trip to Europe with the school band next year to buys some stuff and then headed to Dublin. We dropped D off at the HS Regional Final game and LG&I went on to G's game, also in Dublin. G's team had a big win against the Licking County Outlaws. The Varsity team lost their game and D caught a ride home with a friend. We headed home to get G to bed because he has an early game tomorrow.

20160526 - Lost Phone :-o

20160526 - Up in the am and in to work. Not as many visitors today, just the customer. More time studies were done, but good results, our #s are good! Left a couple min early to pick up stuff at the auction house. One of the items was a 'traveler guitar' that sells for around $200 on ebay, that I got for $38. The plan was to get D hooked on making a lot of $ on ebay with this... When they brought me the box I said there is no way there is a guitar in here unless it went through a shredder... I opened the box and it was a LAMP }:-( Disappointed I headed to Dublin for the Gahanna High School Varsity Baseball Regional semi-final game. J went to his buddy Evan's house and LD&G met me at the game. It was a great game and we won. LDG&I headed to Jason's Deli for dinner after the game and it was very good. Home and everyone cleaned up and settled. I looked all over the house for my phone and GONE!!! Called Jason's Deli and they have it...

20160525 + Lineup Planning

20160525 + Up in the am and in to work.  We had the Board, Sales Team and a customers in today doing time studies and it was quite stressful...  After work I headed home and G&I to baseball practice.  Home and the coaches stopped over for a beer and some pizza and to discuss the upcoming weekend full of baseball.  Up late bidding.

20160524 - Adam's Wife :-(

20160524 - UP in the am and in to work.  We had the Board of Directors, Sales Team and a customer on site today, so very busy.  I ducked out a couple min early to pick up some things we won on an online auction and set up an account with them.  L reported all 3 boys passed school and are now done for the year.  Grant got some awards, 'Most Giving' and something else.  Hard to tell which were official awards as he found blank ones on the recycle bin at school, took them and filled them out for himself ;-)  D had baseball practice tonight.  I headed up to Mansfield to go to Adam Shambre's wife's calling hours.  Very sad story, cancer took her very fast.  Great to see Adam.  on the way out I found Adam's boys and told them a story of when we were young and while Adam and I were on a double date at a movie theater he went into the women's bathroom by mistake and was too embarrassed to come out...  Across the road for a nice dinner with Gma&paW and then down the road home.  Stayed up late getting things set up on the PC for more auction purchases.

20160523 - Lots of Practice

20160523 - Up in to work and getting the place ready for a bunch of visitors tomorrow. Headed home and got G. We stopped at an auction pickup place in Gahanna to get some things we had won online. On to practice and the boys did good. D had baseball practice tonight. Home and helped Doc with his garage door and then on to Bible Bangers. Small crowd tonight so it was short and sweet. Home and up late working on OhiOOddities.

20160522 + Auction Time

20160522 + UP in the am and all to church. Home and I got some stuff done at the desk. We had lunch and then D headed out for baseball practice and to a teammate from last year's graduation party. L hung around the house to get some yard work done and JG&I headed to Johnstown to an auction. It was an ok auction and we got a couple things to sell and G loaded up on baseball cards. One box an older guy G had been talking to bought for him, his new buddy :-) we stopped at Whits for ice cream on the way home and tried to hit a couple of garage sales, but everything was closed. We tried to get the VW washed but all the car washes were closed... So we swung by City Barbecue and got dinner and headed home to listen to some of the old records on the old record player we got at the sale. JG&I with Doc met Adam, the new neighbor, then I threw the football to J&G for a while, then ran to Dave's warehouse to get more stuff for the boys to list. Home and watched Fear the Walking Dead, D strolled in about 10 and gave us the update that the practice was very long and the party was good. Up late buying things on auction sites to get the online store ramping up $ for D.

20160521 - Marshmallow Stick?

20160521 - Up in the am and dropped off a package at the post office and stopped at the bank.  headed to J's game and there were soo many people there I gave up and headed home.  L&J stayed for 2 games in the pouring rain, 1 loss and 1 tie, so soccer is over for J this season.  We all gathered back home for lunch and then cleaned up the leftovers of the party in the rain...  All practices and games cancelled for the D&G, so DG&I headed out and hit a bunch of garage sales while L&J got warmed up.  We got a couple things but not a lot.  Home and I chained myself to the desk to get my biweekly paperwork done and then LJG&I headed to the McClain's for a fun night.  The boys wanted to cook smores so we sent them after sticks to cook marshmallows on.  That didn't work out so well...

20160520 - Bday Party 4 Jack

20160520 - Up and in to work, getting things done. Headed to the Isuzu dealership around lunchtime and signed over the title to the Rodeo and got a check :-) Then a quick stop at the Apple store to pick up my phone and one more stop at the Gahanna BMV to pick up the title to the Acura. The liine was too long to wait to get plates so I headed back to work for a meeting and to walk the floor and make sure everything is looking good for next week. Ran out to the Grove City BMV where there was no line and got plates for the Acura and then a stop at Dairy Queen for a couple footlong coneys and a small blizzard. Back to work wrapping up the week.  Headed home in good time and helped L get the final touches done for J's party tonight.  D helped me get the projector set up and then headed out to stay with a friend for the night.  J had a 12 friends show up and 2 girls, one of which is his 'girlfriend' (the furthest on the right below).  They jumped on the trampoline, watched some videos in the garage as it was raining and we couldn't use the big screen we made, and they ran around playing games in the rain...  Everyone survived and all left by 11. 


20160519 - Everyone Busy

20160519 - UP in the am and in to work. Spent a lot of time on the floor today and had a customer in. Stayed a bit after work to get a phone case etched, looks pretty cool, but isn't the official Gahanna 'G'... Home and got some food while L gave me an update of one of her last days of school with students. L was trying to get her riding mower running, D shipped some stuff, J fixed his bike tire, G used J's new soccer kick return thingy, I had a beer. DG&I headed out for supplies: auto store to get power steering fluid for D's car, turn in a battery we got from the rental, get a new battery for L's mower, then G ran shipments in to the the post office, we hit Massey's to get a pizza box to mail D's record sale and then to Meijer to get another inner tube. Home and L watching Gray's Anatomy on the back porch, D finished shipping, J taught G how to fix a bike tire, I had a beer. Up late watching my shows and ;pinging sports folks from around the city in search of the official 'G'.

20160518 ‡+ Starting Pitcher


20160518 ‡+ Up in the am and in to work. Headed back home around lunch to pick up stuff from the accountant, got a bite to eat at home and then hit the Scout store on the way back to work. Got some more done at work and then rushed home to get G and head to Big Walnut for a baseball game. G was the starting pitcher and did a great job. They boys had a great game and won 9-3. G&I ran through McD's on the way home. Home and hung out, D at the District finals for the varsity team in Newark, they won!

20160517 - Dead Phone

20160517 - Up in the am and my iPhone is DEAD...  In to work and had the meetings and got the things done I really had to do...  Bailed out and headed to the Apple store to see what they can do about the phone.  I waited an hour...  Got a loaner and they sent my phone off to a depot for a repair return.  Out to the ball field to get things set up for the game tonight.  I got the concession stand set up and the first round of dogs and burgers cooked, D helped and then stayed behind to hang out with some of the other players.  Home and no one was home; L&G were picking J up from his first night of baseball conditioning :-o  then had dinner with LJ&G.  After dinner J&I headed out to work on his bike tire.  G joined us and we ended up playing catch with a football to help with his newly required skills.  D got home and joined us in the backyard catching everything.  All in and D&G downstairs to watch baseball.  LJ&I hung out and watched Archie Bunker until G came up and made us all ice cream.  All boys to bed and I stayed up and got caught up on some stuff.

20160516 - Jack is a Teenager!

20160516 - Up in the am and J opened his presents :-) Everyone off to school and work. L headed to her great aunt Marcelene's funeral, she said it was and good to see al the family again. I headed to the ball field in mid-afternoon to help with the state district tournament. Had to make a quick stop at home as my phone is using power faster than I can charge it... To the fields and got the concession stand set up and running. There were a lot of players there to help, including D. I left about halfway through to meet LJ, Gma&paB, and the Cole's for a bday dinner with J at Longhorn Steakhouse. J got a huge steak, ate it all and looked a bit over full :-) We watched G's game on online, they won 20-7. Home and D&J out back playing with J's new lacrosse stick. G home, told us about the game. All boys to bed. i got Doc and we went to Bible Bangers. Home and couldn't sleep.

20160515 + Yard Work

20160515 + Up late and got a couple of things done at the desk.  DG&I loaded up and headed to Lowe's to meet Tom, get some mulch and supplies and order a countertop for L's kitchen.  We loaded up the white car with as much mulch as we could but couldn't get it all.  Home with a heavy load.  Gma&paW were there, they had brought some gifts for J's bday.  D&G headed back to Lowe's to get the rest of the mulch.  I built a frame for J's movie screen then worked on the bricks on the East side of the patio  :-s  L&D spread mulch until D left to pick up J from his overnight bday party and then for youth group.  L&I finished up what our old bodies could and headed in for the night.  L had a friend stop over for a chat.  I got cleaned up and crashed after watching Fear the Walking Dead.

20160514 + Freezing Tie?

20160514 + Up in the am and got some stuff done. D&I headed out to Meijer to get a gift for his girlfriend's bday and pick up a couple of gifts for J.  Then we headed to Grove City to meet with D's summer travel baseball team, they will be representing the Grove City American Legion Post 164.  After the meeting I got D some gas and paid him back for his teams hat I got for myself.  We swung by my office and got some paper.  D then drove me to meet L&G at J's game.  D went on to his girlfriend's bday party while we froze watching J's game, and it ended in a damn tie.  What sport ends in a tie?  Home to grab more stuff for J and his sleep over and got him delivered for his buddy Evan's bday.  LG&I swung by 5 Guys for a burger before heading to the McClain's for a night of fun with friends.

20160513 - Gahanna Grill Girl

20160513 - Up in to work, trying to stay ahead of the curve on some things...  Headed home after a full day and L was reducing the size of her garden.  I helped out by watching, offering advice and having a beer.  We didn't have plans for dinner so decided to walk downtown to come up with some ideas.  We passed our neighbors and the parents of one of D's friends that had the same idea.  We ended up at Gahanna Grill where we had a nice meal on the patio.  J&G wanted to go play at the school so we sent them on ahead and took our time.  We walked home and stopped at the neighbors, Jim & Vicki, who earlier told us they were going home to make a homemade berry tart.  Se we invited ourselves over and had some :-)  J&G finally home from the school playground and then a couple of little neighbor boys stopped.  D called frantically, said his car alarm would not shut off and he needed my help.  Shortly after we heard a horn get closer and closer and D pulled in tot eh driveway with the car alarm honking :-)  I got him squared away and he decided not to head back over to his friends house and stay home and watch 'Deadpool' with J&I.  It was a good movie.

20160512 - Gray Band

20160512 - Up in the am and home for the morning waiting on the TV repairman to show up. He had a 8-12 window and showed up at 11... Took him about 4 seconds to diagnose the gray band across the screen of the TV and declare it scrap and we need a new one (thank God I bought the warranty!). In to work for a short super busy day. Home and had dinner with LJ&G, D at some game with some girl. After dinner G&I headed to his baseball practice. The boys were a little wound up today and hard to control. Home and did some work, watched 'The 100', then at the desk till 2am...

20160511 + Jack Kicks It

20160511 + Up and took D to school, No car for him today...
Price increase went well
stayed late getting presentation ready
J's soccer game, J had an awesome assist, they lost
home with D&G.  Had leftovers
Up late finishing password cleanup.

20160510 - Smidge

20160510 - Up, Work, Home, missed them by a smidge, headed to J's game.  Was only at J's game fo a bit before heading out to a Scouts Board of Review.  Home, exhausted, to bed.

20160509 - No Tooting

20160509 - Up in the am and the VW was completely dead... Got it started and to the dealership. They 40k mile recommended service was only $975... :-o I had received a $500 dealer gift card from VW for the whole VW diesel debacle and let them know that this car, only 1500 miles out of warranty would NOT cost me more than the $500 for the 40K service and to figure out why it was completely dead... Kevin picked me up and took me to work. Quick day lining things up for the rest of the week. Kevin ran me to the dealership to pick the car up. It cost exactly $500 ;-) Home and L made us omelettes for dinner. D was at a varsity baseball game, L took J to his band concert. G&I worked on his 'Cow' report, then we went to J's concert. J had the same dare that D had when he was in band, to blurt out some notes when the band director is talking to the parents at the rate of $20/note... Nuttin... G is my only hope... The concert was ok, the 6th graders went last which meant we had to sit through the whole things (YAWN). Concert over and all home. I grabbed Doc and we headed to Bible Bangers.

20160508 + Mother's Day Sink Trip

20160508 + PU in the am and J&G got L coffee and a doughnut in bed. L up getting ready, I hit the office to get some things done. All the boys up and gave L her gifts. We hit the road south to Ikea near Cincinnati to get her a sink for the kitchen. We walked and walked and G talked and talked, 'Mom, look at ..., Mom, look at...", over and again... He loved this stuff... all the boys did. Halfway through the sore we stopped at the cafeteria for lunch, it saw so so... Downstairs to finish the maze and the boys were getting slap happy by this point so we rush through the rest of the store. Our purchases loaded and we headed home and hit traffic jam. So we took a detour through Fort Ancient and found a relic store buried on this old that was jammed packed with old stuff and many out buildings that they boys loved climbing through. We stopped at Fort Ancient but they were ready to close so continued North. We stopped at the outlet mall to get D a pair of shoes and hit a barbecue place on the way out. It was an ok meal and we then finished our trip getting home about 9pm. D&I watched Fear the Walking Dead while the little boys headed to bed.

20160507 - Soccer + Baseballx3

20160507 - Up in the am and getting some things done at the desk. D to his game and L took J to his soccer game. When I got things squired away G&I headed to catch the end of J's match. Gma&paW showed up and got to see some of J's game and then took G over to D's game. J went home with a buddy so L&I headed over to D's game too. Once there L&I went into the concession stand with Mick & Sara Ball. L helped run the counter and I cooked about 100 dogs and 100 burgers. We worked the entire first game which was ok as D didn't get to play at all... they called down all the underclassmen that were playing varsity... which didn't work as they hadn't been playing regularly and lost 7 - 0 in the OCC JV Championship tournament... Well that didn't work... D didn't play the second game either }:-( but we stayed in the rain with hope... D's season is over and he is more disappointed that he will miss this team, than not playing today... 



G had left after the first game and I picked him up to get ready for his game. We got home, G got changed and D took him to his game as I worked on getting music together to play at G's game. To G's game and the weather cleared, music playing and a good afternoon for baseball. G's team run-ruled the New Albany team :-) after G's game J&G went to see the 'Jungle Book' and do some shopping with Gma&paW, D headed to his girlfriend's house and L&I headed to Kim Mallonn's 50 bday party. We had a nice visit and Vinnie and I played some corn-hole. Home and D home, L to bed and Gma&paW got J&G home about 11. YAWN. All boys to bed after a long wet day.

20160506 + School Fair

20160506 + Up in the am and in to work. Had a fun meeting with Kevin writing a customer response email. Long day for a Friday... Home and L not wanting to go to the School Fair so I volunteered... JG&I headed back and went inside for about 3 seconds before I let G know I would be waiting on the bench by the playground when he was ready to go home. I got in line at the Mexican food truck and was crowded out by a lady that wanted her food fast, that ended up taking mine and knocking the next 3 people out of sequence... UGH!!! I hung out with Vinnie and Floyd talking internet businesses and checking out the scenery. 8pm rolled around and I gathered the boys and headed home. We settled in and watched the 'Three Amigos', what an awesome movie!

20160505 - J Pushed Back

20160505 - Up in the am and in to work with a long visit from the police... WE had 2 customers on site again today that kept us busy. After a long day of crunching data I headed to D's game, it was freezing. D playing left field today. He got a hit that advanced the runners but he was out at first. L and G stayed at D's game and I took J to his soccer game. J got in and was very aggressive making good plays and pushing back on guys twice his size. L&G showed up after D's game, they lost. J's team got 2 goals and won 2-0. L&G headed out early to go home and make dinner. J&I headed home after the game and saw the JV Baseball team having dinner on the patio at Chipolte. Home and ate and then settled in for the night. 

20160504 - Perfect Combination

20160505 - Up in the am and in to work. 2 customers in today. Good meetings. D had a baseball game that was rained out. I headed out to dinner with the customer and we stopped at the Microsoft Store to get a tour of the backroom and see how they do things. We then walked over to Texas de Brazil for a HUGE fantastic dinner. Perfect Combination: Texas de Brazil, Picanha, Mushrooms, Bacon and red wine. One of my favorite places to eat on the planet. Stuffed, and home and to bed.

20160503 + 2 Rain Games

20160503 + Up and in to work late. Had a customer in house today, had a working lunch with them. Meetings the rest of the day. Headed out and to D's baseball game. He scored as I walked up off a single he shot between left and center. He was playing catcher and had a good game. His buddy Drew was sick in the dugout and I tried to help out with that by contacting his parents. It was spitting rain and the boys won. I left quickly and headed to G's game that I had been watching on GameChanger while at D's game. I got there in the last inning and got to see G play a little bit. G's team run ruled them so we didn't have to stay out in the rain for long. Home and Eric from work came over for leftovers and to chat. D&I got some things shipped.

20160502 - Rainy Game

20160502 - Up in the am and in to work. A lot of preparations going on for visitors coming in this week. After work I headed to the ball field to see some of D's game, he was catching. LJ&G were there and the rain was spitting on us. After the game we headed home to get something to eat. We hung out for a bit and then I got Doc and headed to Bible Bangers for a fun evening. Home and L dead asleep.

20160501 - How to fix a water pump

20160501 - Up in the am and a day of getting things done.  L&J got groceries, D&J posted stuff on ebay. G&I fixed the water pump.  D vanished to his girlfriends, G went to a bday party.  J helped me sift the sand in the sandbox and divide up some grasses.  I installed a new door knob on the office door.  J had a buddy over to play.  Pretty busy but relaxing and satisfying day.