20120930 - Cool Slow Start

20120930 - Up and cold, loooong delay on bfast...   had bfst, packed up, church service, carried things to car, J&I took hike, made clay balls.  Home through Newark, stopped at garage sale ate at Wendy's.  Home, J changed and off to football scrimmage.  Home relaxing, dinner SOS.  Bed in good time.

20120829 + More Games

20120829 + UP, boys to school, L to Zumba.  All home and to the ball fields, Gma&paW down.  G had a great game but they lost, D had an ok game and they won.  We all went for pizza afterwards and then icecream.  Home and tired grumps to bed, i watched some movies and did some work.

20120929 - Baseball & Scouts Again

20120929 - Up and to G's game.  It was a good game and our last so we got our pics taken as a team.  Home and J&I quick out to camping, stopped at 2 garage sales on way :-)  I was responsible for the games so we did some teamwork kind of games, getting untangled, hopping co-op, 3 legged races.  IT was a lot of fun!  I also had to do the campfire program and forced them all to sing the button song :-) and we told knock knock jokes.  We had a flag retirement ceremony, always very touching, to end the evening.

20120928 - Fairies or Butterflies?

20120928 - G had a butterfly parade at school today.  L went to see him as she has the last 2 boys.  She waited and G's class came out but no G...  his teacher had no clue where he was...  NICE!!!!!  He survived, sang his little song and had a good time with his buddies.

20120927 - Pattern

20120927 - Up to the bank and then into work.  Got a lot done, done with the process mapping for now.  Home for dinner with the fam and then we watched the rest of Oliver.  All boys cleaned up and to bed.  Up late working on stuff.

20120926 - Still Setting Up

20120926 - Up and in to work earlier than usual for an all day meeting.  It was productive and we made a lot of headway.Home and had dinner with D and helped him with his homework.  Then I built LEGO guys with J&G.  L went to zumba and we had a snack, played Stratego and watched the first half of 'Oliver' before the all boys to bed call.  L&I up watching the a documentary about the White family in Boone WV :-o  We have the health insurance paperwork ready and I got the HSA set up, so constant progress....

20120925 + Practice Makes me Tired

20120925 + UP in the am and in to work.  Home and grabbed J and headed to his football practice.  L to zumba and DJG&I had a snack and watched Storage Wars and colored pictures of Star Wars guys.  L&I up late opening and IRA and filling out health insurance application.

20120924 - Loss & Scouts

20120924 - G had a game and we lost:-(.  Had a Den Meeting after the game with J.  Bible Bangers.  Monday's are insane...

20120923 + Wandering

20120923 - Up and read the paper. L&J got groceries. L headed out with Nicole and Lena and JG&I went looking for more garage sales. Had lunch at choc fountain place.


More sales, home played catch and kickball. I went and got D from hunter's safety camp; he passed an has his card now. Then to a coaches meeting, where we argued if outfielders were aloud to stepping to the infield, and one guy wanted to advance all th base runners one base if the crossed the line from the grass to the dirt... 33 min on this subject. I sat there and thought of all the other really important stuff I wasn't getting done while this argument was taking place... Dropped a video off on the way home. Home and finished watching 'Annie' with the fam. All boys to bed, singing about 'Tomorrow' on the way, and L and I went over all the things on my todo list. She took some of them to help out, and helped me reprioritize the list.

20120922 - Some Sort of Order...

20120922 - Up and L to zumba, JG&I to McD's for brunch and hit a couple of garage sales on the way to G's game.  They had a great game and were winning until the last inning :-(  L&G headed home and J&I headed out to the Strawberry Fields community garage sale.  We are on the hunt for products we can sell in our new ebay store we are setting up (www.OhioOddities.com).  J&I had a lot of fun looking for stuff, he said 'It is like dad and me day all over again!'.  Home and we hung out for a bit then to the Gahanna Grill for dinner.  We picked up one of J's buddies to spend the night and we watched 'The Hunger games'.  I stayed up late trying to get all the things I am/want to work on in some sort of order/priority.

20120921 - Racin around

20120921 - Up and back to see G at the 'Jog for Jefferson'. He was going full stalemate and on lap 13 when I left him. Back to the desk getting some work done. Ran to the post office, to the bank and then back to see J jogging. He was on lap 11 and picked up the pace when I told him G had at least 13...

Back to the desk, let the guy inspect the gas meter, then ran to get D and take him to the eye Dr to get his contacts checked, all good. Home to a tired couple boys: J ended up doing 22 laps (5.5 miles) and G did 16 (4.5 miles). We had dinner and I took D to the church for an all weekend campout. Home and played catch with G. Now trying to get caught up on paper work.

20120920 + Tall Straight Flame

20120920 + UP in to work, home a bit early for dinner and then all out for G's baseball game.  G had some awesome plays and they WON!  Gma&paW came down, I was busy coaching and then ran off with J&D to a Scout meeting that I only had a couple min to say hi, moving too fast today...  To the Scout meeting, had another new scout join my den.  It was a good meeting.  Home with L and sitting on the couch watchin tv.

20120919 - No time to think

20120919 - Up into work, worked all day.  Drove straight to the ball field, D's team pulled out a tie.  D was last batter up and struck out :-(  Home all boys cleaned up, snacked, and to bed.  Up late doing paperwork.

20120918 - Gas & Pickles

20120918 - Up in to office.  Rushed home to Gs game.  He did GREAT!  but they lost again by 1...  Over to watch D's game, saw him get a hit, but they lost by 1 also...  Not a great baseball night.  J&I to get gas and pickles.  Home for showers and snacks.  All boys to bed, up late watching TV w/ L working on PC.

20120917 - Not Bad, But not Great

20120917 - Up, walked to school with the boys.  In to the office, good 1st day.  Home and had dinner with the family.  Played football catch with boys, then D&I to Boy Scouts.  Home, got Doc and headed to bible Bangers for a quick meeting.  Home early to watch Revolution, the new end of the world show, not bad, but not great...

20120916 - Long Walk

20120916 - Up, L to church.  I ran to get J and D&G were still upstairs. All home for lunch then to the Gahanna Flea Market and J&G got some junk. We then dropped G off for baseball practice and the rest of us went to the grocery and gas station. Home, L unloaded the groceries while DJ&I took a bike rise to a garage sale and stop for a chat with a neighbor.   Home and D&J made lemonade.

20120915 + Si Buckeyes!

20120915 + Up, d to game, Gma&paW there to be with the boys.  L&I to the buckeye game.  D won his game, boys played and had a good time.  Buckeyes won.  All out to Mexican place for dinner.  Home watched 'Golden Child' on Netflix, J to buddy Conor's b-day party.

20120914 + Puny Plumber

20120914 + Grant helped me with some plumbing today.  He is a big help.  He fits in places I can't get to.

20120913 - Head Examined & Contacts

20120913 - Up doing office things, calls, teeth cleaned, back to desk more office work. L to the Dr. I ran and got J&G and the D to get eyes checked, wrong Dr office...  exams, D got contacts.  ran home, got L, boys changed off to baseball games.  G got a triple at his game tonight but they still lost., but all the boys hit tonight.  Over to D's game and watched him get a BIG hit, double.  D's team won!  Home, boys cleaned up, homework, snacks and boys to bed.  L&I watched D take his contacts out.  Up late catching up.

20120912 - Slow Reflexes

20120912 - Up in the am and at the desk doing 'find work' stuff...  Went to lunch with Chris at the OBBA meeting, it was very interesting and there was another fella there I knew, small world.  Home for a con call with a job prospect.  After the call I accepted some work to help a business get organized.  I now need to form an consulting company...  I start Monday.  Out of the office for dinner and then right to G's game.  He did good but they lost again...  Home and boys cleaned up, finished watching a movie, snack and off to bed.  Up late planning tomorrow.

20120911 + 2nd Shot

20120911 + UP doing resume and things around the house.  Second interview at 1, right up my ally
home, boys home, played catch football with J, D&G joined for a bit.  L to D's school for open house.  DJG&I to Get Marlins Shirt, found a lemon-aid stand, J VERY interested.  Home back to ball fields, chatted with friends. home, boys cleaned up, watch FaceOff, cool, all boys to bed, me too.

20120910 - Full Day

20120910 - Up coffee, Bible, walked to school with boys and then around a bit.  Back home and working on employment stuff.  Had a interview/lunch meeting, went well.  Home and worked on resume.  Played catch with G. Dinner, D mowed then played catch with JG&I.  DJ&I to scouts, had a fun time with the boys long jump, rock throw.  home bible bangers, up late.

20120909 - Heading North

20120909 - Up, Coffee and Bible and on the road.  We headed up to the Farm amd picked up Gma&paW and further North to Case Barlow Farm for a look at a farm 501...   Hale Farm and village, antique store, Ashland Perkins for dinner, farm quick break, home. prepping for the busy week ahead.

20120908 - Balls Flying

20120908 - Up and L&J out getting groceries.  To G's baseball game.  He did good, but the game was a total disaster and another huge loss.  The boys don't seem to mid yet and run the bases and have a good time no matter what.  I say let them love it, too soon it will bother them.  Receiving a lot of support from family and frined on the ongoing job situation.  Back home and we all watched the second half of the osu game.  took a break to throw the football with J&G and then D had a couple of friends over and we through the football and then L came out to join all of us for a really fun game of kickball.  If for some bumper pool and carom and pizza.  All boys to bed and the MasterMind Garage showed up for a great meeting.

20120907 + Routine?

20120907 + up, coffee and bible, finance review, HR called, went looking for insurance, friends set up recruiter help, D to game, i fixed microwave, L played games with boys, couple friends over to chat and help. D home late

20120906 - Dazed

20120906 - Budget and expense reductions in full force...  G baseball, watched videos with D, Ed over.

20120905 - Finances in Line

20120905 - $ reduction analysis day.  Reviewed all of our finances to find place to reduce spending.  This is not so easy to do ass every 6 months I have been doing this and things are under tight control.  Made more calls today, filled out unemployment stuff online, dreaming of what to do as next income path.  All boys home from school, we ran some errands to ship my laptop back, return some things, pick up the last of the emergency kit supplies (previously paid for).  home and watched some 'How to be a Superstar Student' videos with D.  Up late trying to make sense of all the 'packages' for cell phone, cable, phone, internet.  Someone should simplify this...  Stopped contributions to boys college funds.  Anyone want to pick this up let me know i'll send some paperwork :-)

20120904 - Am I Now a Statistic?

20120904 - So up and had coffee, read today's devotional, saw the boys off to school and waiting for my first call from an invitation my boss' boss sent me late last night.  I made the call and here is sort of how it went:

Me - Hey hows it going this morning?
Boss' boss - Well not so good, we are going through a reorg today and unfortunately you are affected...  blah blah blah... today is your last day...  here is HR with some info.... blah blah blah...
So we ended the call and my career with Kewill as well...

SO I grabbed the phone, headed to the back porch with Lilly and went down through my contact list and called my work contacts, trying to convince them I was not kidding them, thanking them for the fun travels and experiences, and all the help throughout the years.  The offers for references, links to sites where they had an 'in', and potential offers were a bit overwhelming for only 3 hours into unemployment...

L came home, I told her :-o, shocked...  She had to run J to Children's hospital for a checkup and I hung out and went back to walk G home from school.  We had a nice chat on the way back home, I got him a snack and went to work cleaning my personal stuff off my work PC.

All boys home from school now, and JG&I headed to the ball fields to let any of G's team that may show up know that they game was cancelled due to the rain.  It wasn't raining while we were there so we threw the ball around.  Back home for dinner and I let the boys know my job was 'downsized' and we talked about what that means.

L off to zumba and I headed out back to throw the football with the boys.  After we had enough we headed in to get cleaned up and for a couple games of Stratego.  L home and getting the boys cleaned up and I took a call from my boss, that was out on vacation last week and was just as surprised this morning that I was let go as I was. We had a nice chat and I was assured I had done nothing wrong, I had done everything ever asked of me and given 110% on every task.  I headed up and tucked the boys in.

L and I up talking about the day and the plans for what lies ahead.  I told her about the responses and support I received today and she told me that when she tried to cancel her gym membership tonight, the owner stopped her, thanked her for bringing in new members, always being there and giving her all, as well as letting her know her account would be, 'taken care of', through October... Someone is watching over us...

So today I had a not so great phone call to start the day, talked to a lot of friends all over the world, got support and comments I never dreamed of, spent time with the people I love that could care less what I 'do' for a living, and know that I / we will figure it out.

I refuse to be a statistic...  

I've been through worse...

20120903 - Monumentous

20120903 - Up in the am and DJG&I hit the road. We got bfast at McD's and then headed N to Marion. We got to Uncle Roger's and loaded up the Shop Smith, the boys explored the house a bit and Jeanne served us up a nice lunch. This Shop Smith is special as it was used by Grampa Winger (my Grandpa, the boys Great Grandpa) to fashion the cabinets in the Farmhouse kitchen. There was a receipt from 1950 in the manual. Some history there... We then headed out to the High School football field where we played some football in front o the stands. Roger had picked up Brad and we had a nice chat on the field. Then we all headed to the big cemetery next door and introduced Roger and Brad to geocaching, and dropped a travel bug. Next we searched out one of the Roadside America's items, a mysterious 1 ton granite ball on a tombstone the magically rotates while no one is looking.


It was cool. Them across the road to the tomb of President Harding.


Back on the road with a frosty for everyone and home in no time. I had a couple friends come over to help me unload and put some wheels on the Shop Smith. We tested it put and it still works! It will need some TLC, but a good tool to have and D is already making plans to make his baseball bats himself...


In for dinner and boys to bed. I headed to Bible Bangers and then home, worried about a meeting invite I got late tonight from my boss' boss... :-s

20120902 - Swappers

20120902 - Up and all to church and sunday school.  We then headed to the Johnstown swappers day.  But we first stooped at Gary and Marlene's and bought all the strudel they had.  We got to the swappers meet and walked and shopped.  We then swung up to the Farm for some fun and dinner.  We drove home and the boys watched 'Ferris Burler's Day Off'.  Home and all boys to bed.

20120901 - Jim Picks

20120901 - Up to G's baseball game. Got started and then got rained out. Home fixed the fence in the backyard with Jim the neighbor, cleaned up the shop, fixed a drawer, fixed an easel for L's school. Seth and kids here gmaw&paW her tonD and friend to go to Indians game tomorrow. Out to eat at Chinese place. Home and to bed