20181231 - Busy Last Day

20181231 - Up in the am and in through the hard rain to the office. Had meetings solid all morning. Got the rollout of the digital handbook finished up and out of my hands for final execution. Got some other critical tasks lined up and then finished the morning with a meeting. Headed to G's basketball game at Capital University and got there for the last couple min and got to see G play a bit. They  were tied most of the game but lost right at the end... Home and D gone, he went to his roommates in Sydney OH for the night. Home and relaxed a bit and then J drove LG&I through the horrible rain to Arby's for dinner. We had a good dinner and swung by the house before heading to to the McClain's. We were there only a short while before J wanted to go home so I ran him home and tried to get him to find something to do with his friends, even though he had all day to do so but chose to play video games and not make arrangements... no one responded so I headed back to the McClains and left J at home alone for New Year's Eve, not real happy about that... Hung out at the McClain's, J called about 11:30 and wanted to know when we would be home... we played a couple games and watched the ball drop. Didn't stay too long after midnight, home and J still on the couch where I left him. All to bed late. Happy New Year!

20181230 + Winger Christmas

20181230 + Up in the am had some bfast and then we all got ready and headed to John & Mary's in Shelby for the Winger Christmas party. There were a ton of family there and we had a great time catching up with folks, visiting and just enjoying time with each other. There were fun games we tried to cheat on and we even played some UNO on the iPhone with other family members, a good time overall! We swung by the Farm on the way home to pick up Lilly, said thanks to Gma&paW for a fun weekend and all our gifts and then headed South. We got home in good time, got everything unpacked and put away and settled in to watch a A-X-L a new movie the boys wanted to see. It was a good movie and we were all tired and headed off to bed in good time.

20181229 - Cool Shades

20181229 - Up late and got things done around the house and the cars packed up. We swung by L's friend Sue's to get her new soundbar working with her TV as we headed out of town. We hit the Post office too and then headed up to the Farm. We got to he a Farm, got things unloaded, helped GpW get some food from the Farmhouse and then opened our presents. We had a fun time opening the present and we got things we loved. We then had a really good dinner followed up with some euchre before heading to bed.

20181228 - Met for Dinner

20181228 - Up in the am and got to work and cleaning things up and prepping for 2019. A nice quiet day to get things done. At the end of the day I wrapped things up late and met LJ&G at Bellacino's for dinner. We had a nice dinner and then headed home to watch a movie and get to bed in good time.

20181227 + Proclimation

20181227 + Up in the am and a nice slow start to the day. D left the house 5:33am, and J down early proclaiming his sickness. I headed in to work to get some more dev work done. Didn't get a lot of dev work done but got a lot of other things knocked out. Home and got ebay stuff shipped, L cooked us all dinner and then we hung out for a bit. D&I ran to the post office, gas station and gym for a bit. Home and watched some football on TV and destroyed G in a new Rubik's game. Got to bed in good time but couldn't sleep.

20181226 + Face Stuck

20181226 + Up late in the am and headed in to work. Reviewed my overnight ideas with Lonie, got caught up on email and routine daily activities, had a couple meetings and dove into programming. The boys (Kevin & Derek) ran to KFC and bought all the chicken they had to feed the office today, YUM! I got a lot done and had a call with the dev team for a bit of help, still not right though... Worked on it until head hurt and headed home. I shipped ebay stuff, L&G dropped it off at the post office for me on the way to pick up G's buddy Eddie to spend the night. J relinquished his Xbox to the little boys for the night and LDJ&I watched 'Await Further Instructions', not a good movie, just ehh. After the movie I beat J at a Rubik's game a couple times and headed to bed in good time.

20181225 - Merry Christmas

20181225 - Up early, but not too early this year. Boys passed out gifts and we all opened our gifts. Very nice, peaceful and enjoyable morning, the boys are getting too big, but still little on days like today. It took about 2 hours to open things and everyone was content and happy with their gifts, then we got ready for the day, Garage heaters on, food cooking, everyone cleaned up.


Gma&paW showed up and we got their things brought in, Cole's showed up shortly after. We had a wonderful meal in the garage on one huge table and all ate too much. There was a short break while some things got cleaned up and then we headed to the basement to open some more gifts. Things slowed down a bit as people put some of there gifts together, built gingerbread houses and hung out. We played some cards and folks left as the afternoon went on. Down to the 5 of us at home and we just relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the evening and watched 'Alpha' before bed. I was up until 4am head racing with ideas of the system I am going to build.

20181224 + Christmas Eve

20181224 + Up in the am and in to work. I wore another Christmas outfit and went around the office passing out candy canes and wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. I managed to get things done and organized for return after Christmas and headed out early to go to the Cole's for Christmas Eve lunch and gift exchange. It was a nice event with L's side of the family and always fun. The 5 of us headed home and relaxed for only a minute before we headed to our church. The service was nice, a bit loud with all the kids, but a good message and traditional songs. I love singing the traditional songs, but find it hard to sing at times as they bring up memories of family member that I remember singing with as a boy and they are not here anymore... After church we headed home and Gma&paB showed up. We hung out and visited and watched some TV. Everyone to bed in good time and Santa showed up early.

20181223 - Tisk Tisk

20181223 - Up and all to church. Home and had a very nice relaxing day at home. I ran out to get a haircut during the day. Went out for bfast and the boys made their mom stand... tisk tisk... J went to a friends for the evening. LDG&I watched another movie and got a good nights rest leading up to the busy week.

20181222 + Shopping Day

20181222 + Finished up $ for the 2 weeks, shipped ebay, DG&I headed out, post office, gas station, auction house in Reynoldsburg, Meijer, GameStop, Best Buy, video store. Home and got stuff wrapped. L&D picked up food at Panda Express, to the basement for dinner and watched 'Equalizer 2'.

20181221 + Wrapped Up

20181221 + Up in the am and dropped J off at school in to the office to find my desk wrapped... Still getting a lot done. Home and night at home and played UNO with the fam.

20181220 - Self Portrait

20181220 - Up in the middle of the night to make sure D got up and to work by 6am... Tried to go back to sleep... Up and got myself to work, no J today he has finals later and will be walking to school. In to the office and getting organized and moving forward. Had some good strategy session today and the direction is clear. Now the hard part, doing it... Home and shipped some ebay stuff, we all had dinner and then relaxed until time to go out. J drove G&I to the post office and then he dropped G off at basketball practice. J&I went the long way to get to Target where he got his Christmas shopping done. Home, J stayed and I ran to get G from practice. It was already 9pm and G has school tomorrow so we decided to not do his Christmas shopping tonight, but do it Saturday. Home and shut things down and to bed in good time.

20181219 - Tree Bomber

20181219 - Up in the am and dropped J off at school on the way in to work. Got to work and blew through a ton of email in prep for another all day meeting. Meeting went very well and we made a lot of progress. Finished up the day and headed to Easton where I met LDJ&G and Gma&paB for a nice dinner at Abuelos. We then walked over to the theater and watched Mary Poppins Returns. It was a cute movie, very well done, but not sure it was as good as the original... G rode home with me and we drove around and looked at Christmas lights for a bit before heading home and closing down for the night.

20181218 - Sick Swing

20181218 - Up in the am, G home from school again today and dropped J off at school on the way in to work. Had a contractor on site all day helping us learn a software product we have. Home and took G to baseball, Tom brought him home. G skipped basketball tonight. Home, shipped ebay, J helped for only a min, I took things to post office. Home and helped GpaB carry things in as Gma&paB here for a couple of nights to play Sanat and Mrs. Claus at L's school. D working at Victoria's Secret for his 1st day, home late, liked it, working with Jennifer.

20181217 - 2 Great Outfits

20181217 - Up in the am, G home from school and dropped J off at school on the way in to work. Got to work and dressed up to annoy everyone for the day, it was FUN! Home and L&I headed out tot he DataField Holiday party. It was a good party!Gma&paW took DJ&G out to eat and to a tuba concert. G called me at the Christmas party to let me know he was in the bathroom with diarrhea
home got G settled and all to bed.

20181216 - Got a Ribbon

20181216 - Church, shipped with J, J drove me to far away post office and gas, home LG&I to basketball won one lost one but got a ribbon. Home getting ready for another week.

20181215 + Long Dribble

20181215 + UP EARLY got boys from Scout Lock-in back to bed, up shipped stuff and then headed to Granville for g's 3 basketball games... LONG DAY

20181214 + Winking Lizard

20181214 + Up in the morning and in to the office and getting things done. D headed up to Northern Ohio and J&G dropped off at Scout lock-in. L&I to dinner at Winking Lizard and then home and watched a couple Christmas movies and wrapped presents.

20181213 - Hands Up

20181213 - Up in the am and J moving very slow. Dropped J off at school and headed in to a quiet office this morning. Got a lot of things done today that weren't really the direction I need to be going, but still going... Headed home and got ebay things shipped as G yelled at the Xbox from the basement. Got everything shipped and ran to pick up J, get gas and deliver the packages. Home and we had dinner, D is working for a couple of hours at D-Bats, J helped me install a new modem for the house. On the phone with the cable co trying to get things working and headed to G's game, it was not pleasant with the cable co. they got my order wrong... Finally got things straightened out with the cable co, J's internet working again and scored G's game in a slippery LOUD gym. G's team got pretty much crushed and it was a very physical game and G got pretty beat up... After the game we headed home, chatted with D and headed to bed.

20181212 + Bang My Head

20181212 + Up in the am, dropped J off on the way to work. In to the office for a busy morning. Took a break and headed downtown to get Scout things. Talked to a couple folks from the last job on the drive to and from the Scout Store. Back to the desk and good discussions on process mapping. Finished out the day and headed home. L had a nice dinner for us, D got up at 11:30 and didn't find a job today... J had track until late, ran another 5 miles in this cold today... G had a Dr. visit for a follow up shot. After dinner Bill & Tom stopped by and we got a bunch of admin stuff done for the baseball team and caught up a bit. When they left D&I headed to the post office and gym, apparently D did not close original gym membership correctly and his account has been sent out for collections and it will cost $107 to clear his account so he can go to the gym by himself... memberships are only $10/mo... (bang my head)... We worked out for a bit and then headed home. Little boys already in bed and I followed suit.

20181211 - 40K Not Enough?

20181211 - Up in the am and dropped J off at school and headed in to work. Discovered D was up watching movies all night and even though I pay for multiple movie on demand services that offer over 40k movies, D decided that at 3:30 am he would buy a movie to watch using the credit card attached to my Amazon account... Day went fast at work, home and ate. After dinner D took G to batting practice so he could work out a bit too. While he was there he called to let me know he broke his $400 baseball bat... I headed to the Scout Board of Review, we had one kid and discussed being the committee for a girls troop... Home and up late.

20181210 - D Home

20181210 - Up in the am and got J dropped off at school and in to a quiet office this morning.  Got a bunch done in the am and headed home to talk to L about the boys and my frustration level with them. Boys home from school, we discussed some changes that need to take place at dinner. J drove us to Scouts, I checked in with the guys and then headed home for a bit. D home from school and he went to pick his brothers up. I got Doc and we headed to Bible Bangers for a quick catch-up session.

20181209 - Double Dribble

20181209 - Up in the am and we all, including J's friend, headed to church. After church we got gas and dropped Bryce off and headed home. Home, JG&I nuclear explosion about boy scout fitness test... I shipped ebay, took G to basketball games: 1st game unfair, 2nd game G did great. Home and realized G lost his practice jersey. L&Gma&paW to J's concert this afternoon and we all had dinner with them. Home,  L got J and I shipped things.

20181208 - Organized and 2 Games

20181208 - I got pretty organized this weekend. J&I shipped stuff and J drove me to post office and bank. G had 2 basketball games... Home and J had a buddy Bryce over, G played on xbox in basement, L&I watched a movie.

20181207 - Tie Help

20181207 - Up in the morning and the remote start on the car is working again! Helped J with his tie and then got J to the gas station and watched as he almost was turned into a pancake by a big box truck. In to work and honing in to get a lot of things done today. Home got LJ&G and headed to El Vaquero for a nice dinner. Ran into Jim Ryan there and chatted about his son and D. Headed home and J&G on the Xboxes. Up late.

20181206 - Tazed!

20181206 + Up in the am and my remote start still not working so J&I froze on the to his school. I stopped at the gas station and got myself a warm croissant to eat on the way to work. In to work and into the screen getting things done. Got a pic from my buddy in the Police Academy, it was his turn as part of his training to get tazed... Had a pretty complex frustrating day with a lot going on and little getting done... Home and L made us a nice dinner. I ran G to and from basketball, J helped me ship some ebay things. Pretty quiet night.

20181205 - Sad Friends

20181205 - Up in the am and the remote start for the car won't work due to an update in their software...  great coldest day of this winter so far and my car is FREEZING! Got J to school and headed in to work. Got a text that the Andy's mother passed away. Got some things done at the desk and ran to meet L at calling hours for the father of Maria Varney, one of our dear friends. Back to work and got more done. Headed home. L ran and got roping for the front door and put it in the bathtub... J&G on the Xboxes I shipped stuff. Hung out in the living room a bit before heading to bed and worked on Booster stuff until late.

20181204 - Volunteering and Hockey

20181204 - Up in the am and dropped G off at school for his Bible study and then J on the way in to work. Got in to work and getting things done so I can get out of here half a day. Tried to get as much done as possible before heading to the Mid-Ohio Foodbank to volunteer the rest of the day. It was a bit chaotic at first but then we started getting a lot of things done. At one point I was putting food in peoples carts and gave out lots of extras. Had a good time doing it and the time went fast. Headed home through Grove City traffic, which is still horrible... Got home and L cooked us all dinner.











We ate and then L&G headed to his hitting practice and I had J drive me down Hamilton to Broad to High St. downtown and up to Nationwide Area where we took in an exciting Blue Jackets game. They lst but it was still cool to go! J drove me home the same way we went in and is getting more comfortable behind the wheel. Home, exhausted, to bed

20181203 + Level Set

20181203 + Up in the am and dropped J off and got gas on the way in to work. We had a launch of an internal web-page that kept me busier than usual on a Monday am. Worked straight through lunch in a super fast morning and trying to slow things down to get done what I need to get done today... Had a conversation with the President of the Boosters on my level of involvement... he is ok with it. Finished up the day reasonably well and headed home. Only home a second before I had to run and pick J up from his first day of indoor track. Home and we all sat down to eat. L ran G to basketball and J and I finished up and tried to clean up the kitchen. I headed into the office and L came in to help ship. Took J to Scouts and had a talk with Rob and Jason about my level of involvement there... they are ok with it. Ran to pick G up at basketball. Back to Scouts and J&G with merit badge counselor and I sold some baseball discount cards and chatted with the guys. After Scouts J drove us to the Post Office and G ran the packages in. Home and watched some TV with L, got the boys to bed and then up almost all night, couldn't sleep, last I looked at the clock was 3:45AM...

20181202 - Rear Window

20181202 - Up in the am and all to church. Home for a bit and L went to Delaware to see GGmaK. J&I shipped ebay stuff and then he drove to the Post Office, gas station and we swung through Kroger to get some nuts and dried fruit for me to take to work. We saw Bill there and chatted a second. Home and I got some more stuff done while J&G played on the Xbox until their arguing with each other through the Xbox and I could hear them from both upstairs and downstairs yelling at each other forced me to disconnect the network for my own sanity...  I made them eat and then G&I headed to Johnstown for his basketball game. G didn't shoot much today but played very well. The boys won easily and we headed home. We all ate and then JG&I sat at the table finishing up Scout stuff. When we got to a stopping point we headed in to the living room and watched a cute Christmas movie.  All to bed in good time.

20181201 - G on the Court

20181201 - Up in the am and J helped me ship stuff in ebay. We got it all packed up and J drove to deliver them to the Post Office and then headed across town to Reynoldsburg to pick up some auction items. We headed back across town the back-way to hit Meijer so J could do some Christmas shopping. Home and got L&G's for his basketball game, J stayed home. G did good at his game and they boys won. The only excitement was someone barfed on the court...  no one admitted to it... Swung through KFC on the way home. Home and we ate, L did some laundry J&G played on the Xbox and I got some things done in the office until time to watch the OSU vs Northwestern Big 10 Championship game. D texted, he heard a hissing noise and found a piece of metal in his tire on his way into Buffalo Wings. Didn't get it fixed right away... had to put on his spare... It was a great game, except for the 3rd quarter, but not sure it is enough to get the Buckeyes into the playoffs.

20181130 + Leave'm @ Home

20181130 + Up in the am and J moving very slooooow this morning. Got him dropped off at school and swung through McD's to grab a sausage McMuffin on the way in to work. Got to work and dove right in. It was a productive day and I believe we have selected a direction that is best for the company. Exhausted I headed home. D texted he is not coming home this weekend. I got home and J&G were buried in the Xboxes... I wasn't going to deal with the screaming that would occur by forcing them off, so L&I went to the Rusty Bucket for a nice quiet dinner. We stopped and picked up Wendy's for boys on way home. Home and settled int eh basement to watch a movie, 'Darkest Minds'.

20181129 + 2019 Discount Cards are Here!

20181129 + Up in the am and dropped J off at school and headed towards work. Passed Bill on 270 like he was in a Flintstones peddle car, he texted me to slow down... Got to work and dove in to the day. Got a text in the middle of the day that the father of one of our dear friends has suddenly passed away... praying for the Varney family. Finished the day and headed towards home with a call from the City asking if I wanted to be on the 'Appeals Board' and a stop at the high school to pick up the 2019 version of the baseball discount cards. Home and got the social media blast out about the cards to generate some buzz. L cooked dinner and J&G joined us after being pried from the Xbox. After dinner the boys worked on Scout stuff until it was time to take G to basketball. Home and gave J his first lesson on ebay shipping. I think he liked the part of seeing home much $ he was making with each shipment and learning that, nickles, dimes and quarters all stack up to dollars... Ran to get G from practice. Home and updated my resume and sent it to the City for their records. Got the boys to bed and worked on splitting the track app into boys and girls until too late.

20181128 - Magical Night

20181128 - Up in the am and dropped J at school in good time and headed in to work. Had a meeting with CB this morning and knocked out 2 huge projects I have been working on for months. Got some things organized for forward movement before heading home. Home in good time and after G had a Fortnite meltdown we got the boys dressed and headed downtown. We parked and walked back an alley to the Ringside Bar & Grill for dinner and to see if their claim to the 'Best Burger in Columbus' was true... we each got a different kind of 1/2lb burger and yeah they may have the best burgers in town! A short windy walk between the big buildings got us to the Palace Theatre and we made our way to our box seat, you know the little half circle things that stick out of the side wall right next to the stage, I had never sat in one of those before and it was lovely, a lot of space, comfortable chairs and a perfect view (minus the huge speakers hanging in front of us). The Champions of Magic show started and it was very entertaining. Good acts and a couple different styles of magic from close up, to large dangerous props and a mind reader. It was a good show. After the show we took a quick walk down one more alley to the pre-started car and zipped home to get everyone to bed.


20181127 - 70

20181127 - Up in the am and got J to school later than usual today, he was dragging... In to a very quiet work this morning and cleaning some things out. Got some things done and headed home the back-way through some snow. Gave GmaW a call on the way home for her 70th bday! She went out for lunch and has plans to go out for dinner to celebrate! Home and got L and we ran to pick up the white car from Tuffy, no charge for fixing out tire. Back home and L made dinner and then I had J drive in the snow to take G to his batting practice. We got G delivered and J did ok in the snow, a bit more timid than usual. Home and I shipped ebay things and then back out in the snow to pick up G and drop him off at basketball practice. Back home for a bit and watched some TV with L and then back out to pick G up. All back home and settled in for the night.

20181126 - Piping

20181126 - Up in the am and dropped J at school and headed to work through heavy cold rain. In to the office and getting 4 days of catch-up done. Had a pretty busy day and had some big pushes on a couple big tasks for the day. Home and L&I ran her car to Tuffy to have the tire looked at. Home and L cooked dinner and I shipped a ton of ebay stuff. LJG&I had dinner and then L&I ran J&G to Scouts where I dropped off the wreath money and pin receipts. L&I on to the Home Depot to get some pipe. We then did our Cyber Monday shopping and I ran to get J&G with J's car so he could drive in the snowy mess, but he didn't have his billfold so I drove them home, G&I took out the trash while J got his permit and then he drove me to the post office to ship stuff and back home. I got Doc and we headed to Bible Bangers for a short meeting. Worried about Chris, he's been sick a couple days and Scott H announced he received papers he is getting laid-off 12/12... Home and installed new drain pipes for the humidifier, furnace, AC and water heater.

20181125 - Decorating

20181125 - Up in the am and everyone to church. Home and D got the Christmas lights on the house for L with some help from J&G. J went way up on the ladder and cleaned the ivy off the eaves. J&I then jumped in the car and headed way out to L's friend Steph's house to deliver a wreath. It was J's first day drive and he did really good, still a bit jerky, but getting better. Home and D headed out for dinner with his buddy Drew and J&I did some work in the basement, looking for the source of water...  After we narrowed down the water options we all settled int he living room and watched a Christmas show while L finished up the tree. 


D swung by the house on his way to Springfield to pick up a baseball buddy that had a broken down car and hung an ornament before heading out. After the movie I tried to get J&G to finish up some Scout stuff, horrible problems with listening... Vinnie over and J&I to the basement to watch the mid season finale of The Walking Dead. The show was good and I was up until 2 finishing off the week and getting ready for the new one...

20181124 + Big OSU Win!

20181124 + Up in the am and trying to get caught up on ebay shipments with L's help. Tried to get D&J to help finish some things up but they are in non-responsive electro-induced coma }:-|  We headed over to the Pettit's for the annual OSU vs _ichigan game, D&J did drop off the packages on the way. To the party and I hid some Lime-o-rita cans around the house. What a Game!!! WOW!!! We were pleasantly surprised with the Buckeyes! WHAT A WIN! Home and I rested a bit and L did a ton of laundry. We headed out in the evening to Drew's, one of D's long time friends, to wish him well as he leaves for the Navy tomorrow. We swung by the McClain's on the way home and hung out for a bit before heading home and finishing up the night with some more football, a 7OT game with the highest score for a football game ever.

20181123 - Black Friday w/ L

20181123 - Up in the am and D&I looked at some bats online, then L&I headed out to do some shopping. Not as many places to go as the boys are getting bigger and harder to shop for...  We hit all the usual spots, but Toys R Us is gone and several of the places we went in and didn't get anything as shopping online is cheaper and easier. We stopped at O' Charley's for lunch and then hit an auto parts place to pick up a couple more items before heading back to the Farm. Everyone gathered back at the Farm, we packed up and left G there and the rest of us headed home. Home and unpacked, D's college buddies showed up and they headed to St' John's arena to watch the Buckeyes. L&I hung out in the living room, watched some of the game and relaxed with J on the Xbox. I headed out to get some supplies for tomorrow, the aisles are bear at Kroger... Swung through Burger King for a late night dinner. Not up too late.

20181122 - Thanksgiving @ the Farm

20181122 - Up in the am and DJ&I and for the first time with a gun G went hunting. We had about 8 of us and it was a different experience without a dog but we did pretty well scaring up about 10 pheasants, G shot at a couple of them but didn't get one. The group only got 3 in total but it was a good morning and good experience for the boys. Up to the house and DJG&I got cleaned up and headed to the Farmhouse. Roger gave grace this year and we had a full house with a huge meal with tons of family around from all over. It was a very nice time and we got to visit with lots of folks. L took a hike up to the falls, I tried an impossible puzzle and had no idea where the boys went. After everyone left we headed up to Gma&paW's where we for some reason ate more and played some fun Christmas games. Not up too late, very tired from a long day.

20181121 + Setting of the Pheasants

20181121 + Up in the am and L prepared the dip for me to take to work. In to work, no J this am and traffic was surprisingly light... In to a quiet workplace and getting things done. As it got closer to noon the place got louder and food was set out and we had a feast! It is a nice group of folks and there were some good and interesting dishes. After lunch I packed up and headed home. We got ont he road and made good time to the Farm. We met up with Gma&paW and the Halsteads at the Farmhouse and chatted for a long time. Roger showed up with pheasants and we all went out to release them. The Halstead girls were a bit shay at first about the process but gave it a try and had a good time. Back to the Farmhouse and we all chatted until they had to leave, great to see them. Up to Gma&paW's house where we got the guns ready for tomorrow and GpaW got us Chinese for dinner. We had a big dinner and then hung out a bit watching TV and looking through ads. To bed in good time.