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.

20181120 - Dark Miles

20181120 - UP in the am and L dressed like an Indian this morning. I dropped J off at school on the way in to work. At the desk and got a couple of things done before heading into a security training meeting. Had an afternoon filled with a call with a potential software solution vendor. Headed home on the phone talking to Mary Ellen and fixing her software issue from my last job. Home and D home updating us on all the goings on. I shipped some ebay items while J made some mac and cheese and then we loaded up a bunch of wreaths and J&I hit the road. We covered over 70 miles in the dark and I only drove a small portion of that on the highway, J is doing great. Home and made myself a bowl to smoked pork and then fell asleep on the couch with L while J&G watched a movie.

20181119 - Rainy

20181119 - Up in the am and dropped J at school and drove slowly to work through the downpour. Had a morning meeting and then trying to jam a weeks worth of work into 1.5 days. Had a pretty busy day and moved some things forward. Home late and had dinner with the fam. L rode with J, he drove himself to Scouts and L drove his car home. G vanished into the internet and I headed to a Booster meeting. After the meeting I headed home and then took J's car to pick him up so he could drive me home. Shipped a couple things then picked Doc up and headed to Bible Bangers for a quick meeting. Home and finished shipping.

20181118 - Hoops and Night Drive

20181118 - L got G&I up super early to head to Powell for G's four basketball games. We were one of the very first cars in the parking lot... Finally more folks showed up and we headed in for our games. G and his team did well and they won 3 out of 4. Talked to D in between games and walked him through getting a new battery for his car. It was a long day and we got home and J was home, cleaned up and on the Xbox. We had some time so I shipped some things and then LJ&I headed to J's Cross Country Banquet. It was a nice event and the seniors got to throw their training shoes into a tree by the football field. It was the first year for this so it was pretty cool. 

Back in and we went tot he boys ceremony, we took off just as folks started eating. I wanted to go get the wreaths and J was not to keen on that idea... Eventually J&G went with me to get the wreaths, didn't take us long. We then sorted and bagged them and then J drove me around in the dark to deliver some. his first time on the roads ever and he did pretty good. We ended up on the east side of town so I had him go Broad to 270 to get us back to Gahanna and we survived... Home and G in a bit of trouble for leaving his brand new winter coat at the basketball event... J&I watched The Walking Dead, not great this week. Up late shipping ebay things and Webelos neckerchief for kid in Africa.

20181117 ‡ Lucky Win and Great Dinner

20181117 ‡ L up and out early, dropped off Scout Class A shirts for J&G and then out with friends for bfast and to see a movie. D staying at school this weekend, he and DGF7 broke up... J&G at Webelos Day all day and will be cooking side dishes over a fire for tonight's Scout Thanksgiving dinner. I got up and around, watched the 1st half of the Buckeyes horrible performance... At halftime I ran over to Bill's to help him put on his new backboard, took J's car, it ran good. L home and we restarted watching the OSU game; she was mortified and I had to relive the agony... We packed up and headed out to the Scout's Thanksgiving Dinner and Court of Honor. We ate with J&G, no D this time. It was a GREAT meal, probably the best we've had there and they had the room sealed up and we did not freeze! After dinner Rob hosted the Court of Honor and it was a very nice program. We took G with us when we left, as he has basketball games early tomorrow. Home and G cleaned up and we sat down to watch the rest of the OSU game, we did NOT deserve to win...

20181116 - Crazy Hats & New Driver!

20181116 - Up in the morning to a tension in the house so got to work and dove in for the day. it was crazy hat day... I ran to Scout store at lunch and talked to Mary Ellen from my last job on the way, it was good to catch up. I got my pins for the Court of Honor Sat PM and headed back and finished out the day at work. L picked J up from school and took him to the BMV to take his permit test... he was in there for a LONG TIME...  HE PASSED!!! They got in another line and got his permit, so he can now drive on the streets.  Home and got the boys packed up and delivered to the church for the Scout Thanksgiving campout. L&I headed out, got gas, had a  great dinner at Barrel and Boar, swung by the post office, grocery, home and printed 120 programs, L folded them all.

20181115 - Scout Cakes

20181115 - Up late in the am, Schools pushed back 2 hours and power out... Got to work late but dug right in. Busy day but felt I got nowhere. Home and met with Jason about retirement accounts, L made dinner, got to see the 2 boys for 2 minutes while they ate as fast as possible to get back to their game. I headed our solo to the Scout Cake Auction. there were some good cakes and I ended up with 3 of them. Home and had a piece of cake and then L helped ship some ebay items. Up late cleaning up the books.

20181114 + Scout Shopping

20181114 + Up slow this am, J too. We got out of the house and managed to get him to school and me to work without being late. Had an interesting conversation with some of the guys on the way to my office about records when I offered up the original Alvin & the Chipmunks Christmas song on a record from 1959. I filled in my tic-tac-toe X's and headed in to get the day underway. At the desk most of the day except for a couple con calls in the conf room. Finished the day and headed home, ate a quick bite with L, J on the Xbox, G at a school fun night. I headed out to a Landscape Board meeting, Longer than expected and we really didn't do anything except get updated on the status of other projects from other boards that are actually doing things... Ran over to Kroger after the meeting and got a coffee, J&G showed up to go shopping with their Scout Patrol for this weekend. It didn't take them long and we headed home. Home and Bill and Tom showed up to do some 2019 baseball registration and planning. L helped me ship ebay stuff and then everyone to bed. Up late thinking on TV and cable future.

20181113 - Strumming

20181113 - Up in the am and had a hair floating around in my good eye, excruciating pain trying to get it out... Eye all bloodshot and out the door to get the dead squirrel int eh trash. Dropped J at school and headed in to work. Had a nice chat with Keith this am and then dug in. Had a nice chat with CB this morning. Finished the day at the desk working on whatever came across it. Headed out a bit late. Home and L tried an experiment on us, it had bacon in it so it was pretty good (especially with queso poured over the top ;-) L&G got ready and headed to his orchestra concert, I installed an OBiTalk, now the home phone is on a totally free service, I opted to pay the $25/year for the E911, just in case. J&I headed to the Scout Board of Review, enough adults showed up so I bailed and headed to G concert. I had to park on the other side of the football field entrance and hiked forever to get tot he auditorium and walked in the door the second they were done playing... Headed home, finished up phone transfer, shipped ebay things, chatted with J when he got home, he earned his Star Rank. Sat with the fam in the living room for only a couple of minutes before everyone headed off to bed. i stayed up and investigated cable replacement options until late.

20181112 - Honoring

20181112 - Up in the am dropped J off at school on the way in to work. In to work and knocking tasks out, trying to get out early to go see G at school as part of the honor guard today. Headed out early, got home, Gma&paB here, I got something to eat quick and then we all headed to G's school. The school had a nice ceremony, G lead the Pledge Of Allegiance, introduced GpaB and was part of the Flag folding ceremony.

20181111 + Bad Passenger

20181111 + Up in the am and LJ&I headed to church. Interesting service today about prison ministry with some visiting speakers. Home and L ran to pick G up and D&J helped me take down the antenna and remount it in the attic: still get all the channels we did when it was outside on the chimney! I headed into the office for a bit then D ran me to the post office, an auction way east of town and to Lowe’s to get some supplies. It was nice to be with him one on one and I think he’s doing ok on all fronts. Home and D&J helped L rake up the leaves in the front yard, J on the Xbox and I worked on getting the home ph number moved. Chad, a coach showed up for a quick lesson on Team App. After that LDJ&I ran to MOD Pizza for dinner, G hung back and played the Xbox. It was a nice dinner and we got D a full belly before he headed down to school. LJ&I headed to some parking lots and J drove L&I around, L not a very good passenger... After a bit we headed home and J&G played on the Xboxes until Walking Dead time. One thing I didn’t do today (or last night) is send out my 11/11 letters. It is a lot of work and I was up too late experimenting with the TVs. I may send a couple tonight if I have the energy.

20181110 - Watching Football

20181110 - Up and shipped a bunch of eBay stuff. L&G our back raking leaves. I get ready, J nowhere to be seen so far this am so I headed out to the post office and to get my hair cut. Home, D home :-) and watched the OSU game and tried to figure out what internet TV service to use. Bill game and picked up G to play. At halftime D&I got the mowers running for L and then finished up the game. After the game L&I dropped G off at a buddy’s house to spend the night  we then stopped for gas, exchanges some things at Stienmart and picked up dinner at Panda Express. Home and ate watching football and making a final decision on the TVs. Started setting up the TVs and was up late figuring out how to get all this internet TV stuff working easy on all our TVs. Up too late already to start writing 11/11 letters: maybe tomorrow...

20181109 - Hogin’s Heroes

20181109 - Up in the am and somehow magically the boys do not have school again... In to work, swung by McD's for a McMuffin on the way in. Wore my umbrella hat in carrying another load of stuff from auctions to give to the kids. Chatted with Jason for a bit and Kevin presented me with a Natty Light airplane for my office. IT IS COOL!! J&G home, no school today, playing the Xbox all day... I had a couple good meetings and made some progress on closing some big projects out soon. Headed home, D not real sure what he’s doing this week.  Got home and got LJ&G and we headed to Nazareth for a good dinner. We headed home and settled in the basement to watch the new Winnie the Poo movie, Christopher Robin. It was a super cute show. After the movie L went to bed and JG&I watched a couple episodes of Hogin’s Heroes before heading to bed.  

20181108 - Grinding Day

20181108 - Up in the am and J still not feeling well enough to go to school... Guys here to grind the stump in the backyard. I headed in to the office and had an early morning meeting that went over by 1hr and 45 min... Finally got back to the desk to get the day rolling. Had a busy day and got a bunch done. Headed home a bit late and L had dinner started when I walked in. J feeling a bit better and helped me ship some things. We had dinner, boys started playing Xboxes, I feel asleep in a chair sitting up. L woke me up to take G to basketball practice and so we could go to the gym. Took it pretty easy at the gym tonight, shoulder is killing me. Ran L home, dropped things off at post office, picked up G, home, shipped more stuff and did a couple things on the computer.

20181107 + Thumbs Up

20181107 + Up in the am J not going to school again... I took my time, stopped at gas station, deposited a check at the bank and got to work and got rolling. Did a lot today but don't feel like I got a lot done... Headed out late, hung around to chat with Jason that showed up, got home and L got her ring back, all fixed now. We all had dinner together and then I finished shipping ebay stuff and then headed out to the living room where we all watched some Survivor and then played a couple rounds of rummy before heading to bed. I made a call to TracFone to get an update on porting our landline.

20181106 - WAY Too Long

20181106 - Up in the am and J not feeling well so he stayed home from school today. I headed out but went to vote on the way to work. Voted and in to work getting some things done. Got some things done + set up a OSU vs _ichigan Squares for G's baseball team (get your squares at Squares.GahannaLions.2025Baseball.com). L took J to the Dr. and they took a bunch of blood, not sure what is up with him... I finished up the day strong and headed out a bit early. Home and picked up a tired, grumpy, sick J and headed to the BMV. Got to the BMV and we got the title for J's car in a flash! I then stood in a line for 45 minutes to get his plates... J feeling worse but we pressed on towards Reynoldsburg through tons of traffic and several phone calls to ebay and the USPS. We made a quick stop at an auction house to pick up some items and then on to the insurance guys to review stuff. We sat down with the insurance guys just as the USPS took me off hold and wanted to talk... so I set J and the guy up on the right path to talk about J car insurance and had him explain it to J and then go over the available discounts. I eventually got off the phone and talked life ins. Tried to figure out why G's was different than D&J's, they had no clue even though they are the ones that sold it to me 12 years ago... Then we looked at my ins... this all took WAY longer than we planned and J was miserable. We finished up and headed home, J fell asleep in the car. Home and L cooked some bfast for J&I. J&G on the Xboxs for a bit, L helped me ship stuff and I got everything reposted. Not up too late tonight, exhausted.

20181105 - Feather Antenna

20181105 - Up in the am and dropped J off at school on the way in to work. At the desk getting things done right out of the gate. Had a very busy productive day. Headed home and J installed an antenna on the chimney so we can test over the air TV, G was doing homework. In and we had dinner. I ran G to basketball and then home to grab J and we ran to Scouts. I hung out there for a bit doing advancement stuff and then ran back to get G. We had to swing by home to pick up his Scout stuff and headed to Scouts. J&G had a Merit Badge Counselor there that helped them with the big 3 they were working on and they got a ton done. I hung out and talked to the guys. After Scouts we ran home, took the trash out and then I got Doc and we headed to Bible Bangers. It was a good meeting especially with the McRib! Doc and swung through Kroger so I could get some paper bags for L and something she is doing at school. Home and shipped ebay things and investigated streaming TV until late.

20181104 + On the Court

20181104 + Up in the am L dropped G off for his trip to Indiana. L&I headed to church and then picked J up afterward. Home and L headed over to the McClains to work on covering a chair, J went to bed and I got a TON of stuff done in the office. I got J up and he came down to do some Scout stuff. L home, J left with some friends, I installed an over the air antenna as an experiment to get rid of cable, so far so good... Ran to pick G up and got him home. He told us all about the trip and how cool the gym was. He fell asleep shortly after on the couch. I ran to the post office and then home as guys were showing up to watch the Walking Dead. A good last episode for Rick Grimes. Up late shipping and getting things ready for the week.

20181103 - Two of Me

20181103 - Up in the am and J&I headed out. We went to the phone store, that didn't work then we stopped at the Barnett's to show them J's new car and got a lesson on how to get the scratches out. We then swung by Chipolte for an application, have to be 17, then Kroger where we got a SIM card kit and J got info to apply for a job. We then headed to an area that has a bunch of office buildings that are empty on the weekends with large parking lots. J took over the wheel and did a bunch of driving all over the place and even up and down the side street. He did pretty good, a bit jerky still, but getting it. Home and Gma&paW down for a follow up on her eye surgery from yesterday. They stopped by with some presents for me and one was a cool bobble head of me! Hahahaha, super cool! They headed out and G had Trent over and they headed downtown to hang out. I got the SIM card account set up and started the process to port the home phone off the landline. Watched some football with L, think we both feel asleep.. Up and had some dinner, played trouble with G and his buddy, Dropped J off at a friends for the night. Up late doing things on the PC trying to get organized.

20181102 - Hoosiers

20181102 - J&I up slow and headed out. We agreed we need to get to bed earlier next week... In to the office and at the desk trying to get things done and organized to keep ahead of the curve. Finished out the day and took the back way home. Home and helped L finish setting up the garage. Before long G's basketball team started showing up. The coach showed up with pizzas and the boys ate and watched 'Hoosiers'. It was a good movie and the boys watched most of it, a lot of energy in that garage. After the movie everyone headed out and I was up late cleaning up and then on ebay.

20181101 + Mexican Cookies

20181101 + Up in the am and J&I running slow today. Got him to the BP and dropped off and pulled over to call ebay about getting selling limits raised and talked to Tony in Ireland for a good part of the drive into the office. Traffic was horrible so got in to work way later than usual. Had a busy day getting several big things done. Finished the day and headed home. L&I dropped the car back off at Tuffy to have them look at the brakes one more time... Back home and I shipped some things while J&G were on the Xboxs and we all joined for dinner. After dinner I shipped a couple more things and J&I headed out. L hung back with G to run him back and forth to basketball practice. J&I hit the post office and pizza shop to get boxes to ship records. We then headed across town to Micro Center so I could get a new video card. J was now happy that I forced him to go as he LOVED the store and said he could spend days there... L called us while we were there and wanted to unroll the carpet in the garage, knock yourself out. J&I completed our purchase and headed home. We stopped for gas and I went in and got J his own UDF points card, he liked that... On to Kroger to search high and low for some specific Mexican cookies he needs for class tomorrow, found them and headed home. Home and installed the video card, presto, worked right out of the box. G then helped me set up the projector and test out the setup for the movie night tomorrow. I stayed up WAY too late trying to sort out a mis-delivered shipment.