20140131 - Sick Day

20140131 - Up in the am and to work. I had a good time out on the floor with the folks and made good headway. That was the last good part o the day...  One missing sentence in a report and the day went to hell, had to do escalation research all day...  Even had a crap work call on the way home...  Stopped to get food on the way home. Home to feed the troops. D in the basement playing xbox with some of his friends online, J memorized by the TV and L taking care of G who came home from school sick today...  We had dinner and watched a really good movie 'Dragon Pearl'. D&I to gas station and Grocery. Home for another movie.  Up late getting things done.

20140130 + FIRE Visit

20140130 + Up and into work for a day of exhausting meeting...  Home and L had taken D to basketball practice, J was watching TV and I went upstairs and woke G up from his long tent nap.  I have dinner with J&G and then spent some time working on a puzzle with L.  G all dressed up and took him to fire station to take a tour with his Scout Den.  It is the only firehouse in Gahanna with a fire pole.  The boys wanted to try, but were not allowed.  Didn't matter to them, hanging out in the trucks we all they needed.  Home and G ran his mouth for several days about the trip while we tried to watch American idol.  When his stories were exhausted we all went to bed.

20140129 - Breakfast $ Pong

20140129 - Up way too early for a freezing huge breakfast meeting. Then in to work for an extremely looong day. No school again for the boys...  crazy house...  Home for dinner with the family and then game night. I played Jenga with J and then Carrom with J&G. D played ping pong with J&G off and on. We then settled in to watch the OSU basketball game and L brought us a s'more snack. All boys to bed and I was up late working on the Madison89.com in perpetration for our class' 25th reunioun.


20140128 - Camping In

20140128 - Up in the am and -13 on the way into work. No school today so L&boys home bound. Work was crazy, ran into some of the guys from Dell and did get to take a break for lunch with Eric. Busy until EOD and took a call on the way to the auction house. Picked up some new items and headed home. Had dinner with the fam and then G&I headed upstairs to his fort he built on the day off. He read me a couple of books and then we headed downstairs for showers and to watch Marvels. The State of the Union came on and boys to bed. I got some things done listening to the spew of our leader and then prepared for an early morning tomorrow... G slept in his tent tonight.

20140127 - Like a Good Neighbor

20140127 - UP in to work freezing cold. Another day of escalations. Home and L took J to basketball practice. I ate and then cleaned up the kitchen and got ready for the Scout evening.  My neighbor Jim loves his snow-blower and keeps the neighborhood driveways cleaned off, man I love that guy! Took D&G to Scouts, L dropped off J and picked up G. D came down and taught J's Scouts how to fold the flag while I taught a lesson I wasn't prepared to do... It went fine and the boys had a lot of fun. Home and dropped of D&J, picked up Doc and to Bible Bangers. Home and fell asleep with the laptop in bed.

20140126 + Locked In

20140126 + Up in the am and it was a super snow covered cold day to stay inside.  The boys played and played and played with things that didn't take batteries.  D listed some things on eBay, L did some sewing and I got caught up on things I haven't gotten done.  Being closed in we all got along well, several melt downs by the littlest ones, but for the mos part a great day.  L kept us fed and after dinner D went up to play with toys while the little boys watched a movie with L&I.  Up late and adding 2014 County Fairs to the Family Fun Calendar.

20140125 - White Out Bday Party

20140125 - Up working at desk a bit, D listing things on eBay, L getting groceries.  L took D&G to G's pictures and Basketball game.  I took J to his game, It was a complete white out on the way :-o  J's team didn't do so great.  I was yelling for them to get their hands up and evidently that interfered with their ability to play as J told me screamingly later at home...  All back home for a bit, skipping some activities dues to weather, but all out for D's basketball game.  It was a great fast physical close game, they lost by 1.  All of us then to Tina's 50th bday party.  We had lots of food and cake and it was a really good time just hanging out with our friends.

20140124 + Good Start, Late End

20140124 + Up in the am to a good morning and in to work.  Had a busy morning and went to Mexican Friday with a bunch of guys.  Back for a string of con calls and meetings.  Left late and met the family at Bellacino's for dinner.  DJ&I to the movie store to return G's video games and pay the $22 late fee...  Got a couple of movies and headed home.  The movies I got were not good, so I tried to find one on Amazon, but the internet was down.  Then I had to research cold weather camping and make a couple of calls to see if we were going to let D go camping 2 hours away down by the Ohio river.... NO, too cold, too much risk...  Then I helped L learn to post calendar events on her iPad.  Down to watch a movie with the boys.

20140123 - Prepare to Freeze

20140123 - Work, No printers for receiving, Mike found 12 out of thin air :-)  Courtland got me for lunch and then a tour and to pitch his folks to our company.  More calls and a late meeting...  Home and got D&J to go get food for camping this weekend.  J&I got hot chocolate and coffee and relaxed while the the scouts gathered their food.  Home for a minute and then we picked up Seth to deliver him and D to their basketball practice. 
J&I home and L&G back from G's out of control Cub Scout meeting.  We hung out and watched American Idol.  D home and all boys to bed.

20140122 - 0 Chillin


20140122 - Up and in to work.  FREEZING COLD OUT...  Home and took J to basketball practice, D went along.  Ran into a guy in charge of travel ball and had a good talk. Home and put puzzle together with L.  Ran to get D from skiing, h froze but still had fun.  Up late messing around on OhioOrigins site and watching movies.


20140121 - Bouncy Game

20140121 - Up and in to work.  Way too cold to be out.  Stopped at the auction house on way home and got neat bouncy game.  We put it together and tested it out, pretty cool old game.  Up late reading.

20140120 - No School Sled Rides

20140120 - FREEZING COLD!
Up and in to work
Boys home from School
L took little boys sledding
D did homework he neglected over the weekend...
Home and ate with the fam
Dylan to and from Scouts
Bible Bangers, home and up late reading.

20140119 + Getting Things Done

20140119 + Up and all to church, except J still at his buddy's.  Good sermon today.  Home and L went grocery shopping and to pick up J.  D&I posted things on ebay and G played the xbox.  D&I headed out looking at the 75"tv at Costco and BestBuy, D ran next door to Sports Authority to get himself a basketball.  A quick stop at Meijer and AutoZone for blind spot mirrors for the VW, then the gas station for our first fill up of diesel.  A quick stop at the post office and then home for some left overs and movies in the basement.  Took J&G up and they red me some books.  I topped it off with a reading of 'Green Eggs and Ham'.  Up late with L.

20140118 - Ducky Left Behind

20140118 - Up and ready for a busy day of sports.  All out to G's game, they won.  Home and did some bills and planning the weekend while L got J some new basketball shoes, bright blue and yellow ones.  Next up was G again and I dropped him at the baseball clinic and took J to his game.  Gma&paW came down to join the fun.  Part way through J's game I ran and got G.  We all met back at the house for a minute and then all out to D's game.  I helped keep score.  D (#5) is playing real agressive this year (I am sure it is due to his new shoes :-) and it is fun to watch.  He got 6 of the teams 13 points tonight. 

After the game I ran J to his buddy Donovan's and met everyone at Max & Ermas for a really nice dinner.  G had 2 meals :-o  Home and when putting G to bed I noticed J's Ducky was hanging on his bed post, he is growing out of his little stuffed buddy :-(  Not to worry, Lilly made use of Duckys comapny and J's bed.  Up late watching movies with D.

20140117 - Counting

20140117 - In to work, counts still wrong...  Head going to explode...  Left for lunch by myself...  Left early...  Home and to got the fam and to FM for a sub standard expensive dinner...  Home and D&G played xbox while LJ&I watched 'The Help'.  Up late working on site, watched Spirit of St. Louis (1957) and Gallant Journey (1946), both great flying movies.

20140116 - Too Much

20140116 - Long frustrating day, left the office at 7pm.  Missed the Cub Scout Pack meeting, but from the reports I was lucky to miss the chaos...  Vinnie stopped by, he gave up and left the meeting early and L home shortly after, meeting was still going on when she left...  We watched some American idol.  I woke up in the living room in the middle of the night...

20140115 + Toothless Slestack

20140115 + UP and into work.  Was a busy day and there were a lot of team building events going on.  It was good to give the team so credit for a stressful project start up. 


Home and got to play some cards with J&G.  G lost his other front tooth and looks like a Slestack from the old 'Land of the Lost' TV show and extremely goofy :-)  L was at the highschool intorduction meeting and D was at ski club.  L home and reported the unorgainzed mess and we got the little boys to bed and worked on a Puzzle unit D called, ready to be picked up.  Watched some American idol.

20140114 - Swollen

20140114 - Up an in to work. Customer was onsite today and it went well. Swung by the Cole's on the way home to get J&G, L is watching Samer and Leaner as Rich had to go to the hospital for an abscessed tooth that is infected and developing a rash on his neck heading towards his heart :-o Got the boys home and D called ready to be picked up from the middle school basketball game. Now all boys home and I got a chance to eat while we watched a show. G lost his other top front tooth today, looks goofy.

 Little boys to bed, G upset because we didn't know where the Tooth Fairy pillow was... D stayed up and watched a couple shows with me, then to bed. I stayed up late working on the website, L home late, the Dr.s were not sure what was wrong with Rich, they had never seen this before, so they sent him home with Benadryl :-o

20140113 - Caped Dorksared

20140113 - Up in the am and the first nice ride to work in a long time...  Worked a fast day, had a nice chat with Nancy and then wrapped up and got home just after L took J to basketball practice.  Had dinner with D&G and then D&I fixed the kitchen sink faucet while G dressed up...  Ran D to scouts, L&J home, played on the xbox with J&G and then ran to pick D up.  Home and little boys to bed.  L&I went over D's school work with him.  I ran off to Bible Bangers.  Home, trying to stay ahead of the curve...

20140112 + Very Welcome Addition

20140112 + Up in the am, exhausted, and to church.  After church D&I went and picked up Penn and we headed to the car lots that were open on Sunday.  Our first stop was a Subaru dealership where we picked the Legacy that we liked and asked them to drive it over to the VW dealership to compare it side by side with the Jetta and the Passat.  D immediately found a car he wanted...  nice try...
We tested the size of the Jetta and it was too small in the back, so off the list it went.  We then compared the Legacy and the Passat and they were pretty even, until the driving test.  The Passat took everything I threw at it and was like driving on a cloud and the Legacy's engine and transmission whined and the ride was much rougher.  So the Passat it was.  I tested the base version and then looked at the loaded version.  I told the salesmen that they had 2 jobs now; 1 give me the loaded Passat at the base price and, 2 talk me out of going and buying a Ford Fusion...  They gave a good argument against the Fusion and came back with a really good price, so we finished up the paper work and headed home with a loaded Passat.
Home only for a minute and then ran to an adult Scout Pack planning meeting.  Home and exhausted from an expensive and stressful weekend.  We played xbox with D&J and all to bed early.

20140111 - Sports Frenzy

20140111 - Up in the am and at the desk getting things done, D&J taking down the Christmas light :-(   L&G to his basketball game.  I dropped the black car off to get the oil changed and find out why the 'Check Engine' light is flashing like a strobe light in a 70's disco hall...  Home got G and ran him to baseball clinic.  Home and got a couple more things done.  Tuffy called, it would be $1200 for more repairs to the 2001 Isuzu Rodeo...  L took DJ&I, dropped D&I off at Tuffy to get the black car, I told them to change the oil and forget the rest of it...  Dropped D off at baseball clinic, got G and we headed to J's basketball game.  J was doing really, I had to bail out and get dinner and D.
D ate in the car and then ran in to get ready for his basketball game.  J's team won.  D played and he played really aggressive!  D's team lost.  Home and D&I picked up a buddy and we went out looking at cars... Home, dropped off D and went to a coaches meeting for 8th grade baseball.  Got another buddy and went looking at more cars...  Home and watched movies with D.  I built a huge spreadsheet of possible cars to buy...  To bed at 5:30am, still no idea which car to get...

20140110 + Detox

20140110 + UP work, stressful meetings all day except Mexican Friday meal.  Finished the day in the blink of an eye. Home got the fam and to the video store for some entertainment.  We had dinner at Long John's that was quite loud and greasey.  A stop at the bank to get cash for baseball clinics and then to the closing Blockbuster to get a stack of movies for a buck a piece.  Home and to the basement for a couple movies with the boys.

20140109 + Setting Up

20140109 + Up and in to work for a super stressful busy fast day.  G had a buddy Owen over to play.  I got home and took a call about web store with Paypal.  We ate and then I played cards with G.  Up late D doing homework I worked on site setting up google merchant and eBay links.

20140108 - Swore @

20140108 - Up to work, busy day.  Straight to City Hall for Landscape Board meeting.  The Mayor was there and swore in some of the folks, we then had our meeting.  Home for a couple minutes and played Rummy with G, then to the school to pick D up from skiing.  D&I then went to Meijer to get fuel additive for the black ca to see if we can get the 'Check Engine' light to go off...  home and got stuff put away.  Up late working on the website.

20140107 - Frozen Ghosts

20140107 - Up in the am and it is WAY BELOW FREEZING OUT....  In to work and L pinged me int he am the water in D's bathroom was not flowing... :-o  They had to get a fan running on the pipes and got it working.  The boys home from school again today and it was certainly a day to chill out.  They took one trip out to Dylan's ortho appointment and he got rubber bands he has to wear now.  I got home frozen and rough driving and chilled out the rest of the night.

20140106 - Frozen Trip

20140106 - Up and in to work early.  Didn't help, still got home late...  Had some dinner and then put some air in the tires, it was -5 on the way home and the tires were losing air...  All down o the basement to watch the college champ game.  D bored from a day off school and too cold to go outside, played with the LEGO trains.

20140105 - Bot Builder

20140105 - Up in the morning and to church, good sermon.  Home and had some lunch.  L&G went sledding, I taught D how to post on ebay so he can make some $.  Played Walking Dead on the Xbox with J then D.  J headed over to a friends house and G&I played Xbox football.  L ran and got J and dinner at BWs and we had dinner and then some Xbox LEGO Marvel Super Heroes with J.  Little boys to bed and D down to watch the Godaddy bowl with me.

20140104 - Baseball Busy Already?

20140104 - UP in the am and at the desk all morning.  LD&J went out clothes shopping.   All back for lunch and then L to the school to do some work, we wouldn't see her again until midnight as she had dinner with her friends.  DJG&I headed out and dropped D off at baseball practice.  DJ&I went to a couple music stores trying to find piano lessons for J, no luck...  D&I got our hair cut and then home for a couple minutes.  Then D&I headed out to swap for G.  I left D at baseball and G&I headed to the video store and then home to be with J.  I spent some time on the phone with Godaddy working on the new shopping cart then had to run and get D.  D&I picked up some Taco Bell for dinner and we all watched a movie as we ate.  Then we played some games on the Xbox.  Little boys to bed and D&I watched 'The Colony', pretty good.  Then D cleaned up and to bed, L home late.

20140103 - Buckeye's Lost

20140103 - Up and into work, and another LONG FAST DAY...  Home and relaxed for a minute and then over to the Mallonn's to watch the Buckeyes get beat :-(

20140102 - LONG FAST DAY

20140102 - Up and into work, LONG FAST DAY... Home and relaxed.

20140101 - Good Start

20140101 - Up in the am and ran to get D and his friend at the church. Home and D getting cleaned up, J&G playing with their new toys, L getting ready for the party, I update some of the blog. All ready and out to the party at L's cousins house. It was a big house and a nice crowd. L's Gma that is going to turn 92 on Jan 5 was there and in great spirits. If was a nice lunch and we watched some football and caught up with family.


Home and J went over to his buddy Conor's, DG&I hid in the basement am watched football, played with their new stuff and I updated more of the blog. Jack home and his buddy brought his LEGO Millennium Falcon over to show us, so cool. We had a nice dinner in the basement watching Michigan State beat Stanford.

My goal this year was to capture everyday in the blog as my memory is not good, and I think I came really close, only missing about 5 days. It isn't easy and even though I would capture a day I couldn't always update the blog and add pictures. As of now I have updated 2013 from 10/17 through today. It is one goal I will try to accomplish again next year... Not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow: it is looking to be a very challenging year from this vantage point... So here is the start of 2014: let's give it a go!

Wishing you all a Happy New Year!