20190831 - 2 PRs and College Football

20190831 - Up in the am earlier than I would have chosen... L&I headed to Hilliard to watch J run. We met up with JGF3 and watched J run a new personal record of 19:20! J's team came in second for the day. L&I left them there and headed all the way over to Granville to watch G run and G had an awesome race of 13:03, a new PR for him and his points counted to the overall team for the first time. G's team won the meet! 



We headed back home, swung through KFC and landed on the back porch where we settled in to watch the first OSU football game of the season. I had to take one break to go pick G up from school. We watched the game, D was there and had a blast with his friends. Spent the rest of the day getting things done around the house and watching more college football for the rest of the day.


20190830 - Photo Op

20190830 - Up in the am and got J off to school. The roads were empty today so flew in to work and got a fast quiet start. Got a bunch done today and fixed an ancient filing cabinet lock. Headed out a bit early as I thought I would have to pick shirts up for the football game, but that didn't work out so home early and hung out with L for a bit. J took off iwth JGF3 and LG&I headed to Cane's for dinner. After we ate we went to the football game. I checked in with the Booster tent and then headed for the stands. We ran into J & JGF3 posing for photos and interrupted them :-) We found seats whit the Mallonns to watch the game. It was a good game and we have a lot of potential but got spanked by the team from Cincinnati. Home after the game and D is home, he came home so he could join some of his friends at the OSU Football home opener tomorrow. We chatted for a bit and then got the boys to bed for a very busy Saturday.

20190829 - Clear Skies

20190829 - UP in the am and dropped J off at school. Drove through the construction on the way to work and things moved quite nicely. In to the office a bit earlier than normal and getting things done in the early morning quiet. Jumped into two big projects that needed attention today. Lonie and I spent most of the day hurting our heads tyring to come up with solutions. Finally it came to me and Lonie confirmed. We reviewed it with others and Lonie is going to build it in the next 48 hrs. Headed home and Tom was holding baseball practice by himself so I swung by and was present, but not much help... Home with G and dug right in to the Insurance project. Designed a sheet to review the options easily  so a good decision can be made this year. Finished that up about 2:45am.

20190828 - 100%

20190828 - up in the am and in to work. At the desk most of the day. Walked to he French restaurant next door for lunch with Jason and then finished the day at the desk and a couple meetings. J talking his last in car driving today and L&G at G's XC meet. I drove over to G's Xc meet and talked to a local printer guy the whole way, we are going to try to get some business together.  Got to the meet just as it started and G was right out front at the gun. Watched him run around a couple times and he came in 16th out of 4 schools, ran a 14:14. I headed home as soon as the race was over, caught up with J on how his driving went and then hung out for a min before G was back at the school and J drove me to pick up G and he told me about his girlfriend's photo receiving a perfect 100% in the Professional Photographers of America photo competition. Home and we ate and soon Penn showed up. Penn and I hung out on the back porch and did some Boosters work. We got ticking and ads working and his set up with access to pretty much everything. Took a call from eh Team App team in Australia and we finished the night about 10pm. In and to bed and fell asleep with the TV on and laptop on my lap. 

20190827 - Bat 2 Done

20190827 - Up in the am and exhausted. Got J to school and in to the office in the drizzle and trying to get things done. L went to G's XC meet today and it got rained out. Home.  L&I worked on D's bat so I could take it to the guy that bought it. Up late working on websites and cleaning things up.

20190826 - Happy 20th Birth_ay

20190826 - Up in the am and dropped J off at school and in to work. Got on the phone right away to do some cleanup on a program I wrote and hung up 3 hours later :-o Finished the day in spreadsheets and headed home. L had picked J up from Xc and they ran in the rain, he was soaked head to toe. J got cleaned up and went out for his 3rd driving lesson. G was picked up by a friend for a volleyball game at the middle school. That left L&I home and we ate and then called D to see if he was having a good birthday. This is the 1st time in 20 years we have not been with him on this day... So proud of the man he is becoming. Can't say much more without being overcome by emotions...


G got home and L ran him to Scouts as I was dead asleep in the chair... J home and I managed to get up and head to Scouts to pick G up and check in with the guys. Home for a min and J and JGF3 were here. I called Doc and told him I would right out. I was on the way out and JGF3 had backed out, Doc thought it was me and was trying to get in her car :-) I got Doc and we went to Bible Bangers for a good quick check in and a bit of study. Home and in the office until 3am trying to get ahead of everything. To bed and incredibly uncomfortable, last time I looked at the clock it was 4:20...

20190825 - D Bday and Fall Ball

20190825 - Up late and getting some things posted and done around the house. D came home and we had him open his presents and then we got around to go to G's baseball game. J bailed out for the day with JGF3 and D stayed home to turn a bat he got an order for. G's game was good, they won and we headed to Roosters with some of the baseball families after the game. Home and D was gone, I cleaned up the garage and we settled in for the night.

20190824 - Hills and Friends

20190824 - L up early and took G to meet the xc team at his school to ride bus to their meet. Up and J headed out with his driver. L&I to G's xc meet, the one with the big hill, know lots of folks there. G did really good ran a 13:13. We headed home and L ran to pick G up from xc and then took him to a bday party. J home and helped do some stuff around the house a bit while I was listing things on ebay. I got to meet J's girlfriend (JGF3) and wow she is pretty.  We had the McClains over for dinner and relaxed on the backporch. When J got home he J introduced JGF3 to everyone. We hung out until late having a good time.

20190823 + Shirt Making

20190823 + Up in the am and dropped J at school. Day 2 of the road changing colors as I got on... Made it to work, turned the music up, started annoying people and hit the ground running! Put in a full day and left a bit late. Home and L&I worked on making a shirt for D for his bday of his bat company logo. J headed off to a XC dinner and we just hung out preparing for a busy weekend.


20190822 + Some Done

20190822 + Up in the am and dropped J off at school, let him know on the way I'm not putting up with his disrespectful attitude any longer. Roads heavy on way in, got to do some aggressive driving. At the desk lining morning up for a clear afternoon. Day went ok, got some done. Headed home and got a new Booster task on the way. L dropped G at baseball practice, J went to the girls volleyball games with some girl he just met this we, she picked him up ;-D  L home and we had dinner on the back porch as I was setting up a new app. Boys home, hung out and watched the ball drop game and Ellen's game. To bed, watched some TV and finished some stuff up.

20190821 - Worn Out

20190821 - Up slow in the am. Barely got J to school on time and then through thick traffic all the way to work. Place is a bit empty this morning so it is very quiet and I am getting things done. Had a productive day and headed home, L had boys at the dentist. All home and ate. Boys vanished  so I go things posted on ebay. In and watched some TV, fell asleep in chair, to bed.

20190820 - All Over Town

20190820 - Up in the morning, bad headache, Got J to school and thought it would be fun to drive through the construction on 270 to see the progress, pretty amazing how they build these huge road and keep everyone moving, even if it is a bit slower. In the office annoying as many people as possible on the way to my desk and getting things fired up and rolling. Got a ton done and headed out on time today. Home and L reported the garage door wasn't working so when I got home I fixed it. L&G home soon from G's xc practice. G changed quick, burned his hand on the cast iron skillet and then I ran him to baseball practice. I swung by the house, Tiff & Amaya were there so L could braid Amaya's hair for her first day of school tomorrow. I grabbed a bite to eat and headed to the high school to host a Team App training. Home and hung out with with everyone watching America's Got Talent. We called D this evening, he is doing ok and settling in.

20190819 - First Official Run 4G

20190819 - Up in the am and got J to school. Roads a mess all over this morning so it took a while to get in. In and up and rolling, need this to be a slower and more productive week than last week. Was at the desk ALL DAY and got a bunch done, not sure it is what needed done... Home and L at G's first XC meet today. G was disappointed with his performance, ran a 15:26 almost 2 minutes slower than normal. I got home and J showed up shortly after. We ate and got trash together and I cleaned out some things from the office. L&G home and chatted with them for a minute before heading out to a Booster meeting.  L ran J to Scouts. The meeting was good, getting some more board members, that should help. After the meeting I headed to Scouts and checked in with folks. Home for only a minute and then got Doc and we headed to Bible Bangers. Doc is moving real slow and repeating things a lot... Home and I was up late working on the actions from tonight's meetings.

20190818 + 1st Day of 14th

20190818 + Up in the am and D was loading his car up. L made J&G help him. We got all his stuff loaded up and D said goodbye to his brothers as they ran up the steps to get on their Xboxes... L&I followed him back to school, L drove so I could try to get caught up on some things. We got there and D had his key and was checking out the room. His roommate, 'Burnsy' (Arron Burns) played baseball with D last year at WC and all summer, was there and the room was a bit moldy, so we waited around until the Housing folks showed up. As we waited everyone enrolled in Wilmington College walked through the building we were in, said hello to D and he hugged them. Guess he fits in here... Eventually we got a new room assigned and moved his stuff in up there. The new room was fine, except it is in the freshman dorm, on the 4rth floor and hotter than the sun. But there was no mold so we are ok with it. All moved in and LD&I ran to McD's for some lunch and then Kroger for only a couple supplies and Lowe's to get a little rug. Back to the dorm and helped carry the supplies in and D after a quick hug vanished and was ready to roll and get on with his 2nd year. MUCH easier to say goodbye this year than last year... L&I took our time and stopped in the school bookstore and got ourselves some things and a bday present for D before heading home.


I drove and we got home and forced the boys out of the house, J went riding with some friends, G hung out with L and I was on the back porch doing Booster stuff. Gma&paW stopped by. I helped GpaW with his phone a bit and then they took G shopping. The parents of the new neighbors were at Jim & Vicki's so I introduced myself to them. G back and L ran him to basketball practice. J back from riding around with his friends and LJ Gma&paW & I headed to O'Charley's for a nice dinner. I have to eat fast and go pick G up from basketball and then drive him through Cane's for his dinner... Home and Gma&paW dropped off presents for D's bday and headed home. We all hung out in the living room a bit watching some TV. I was up late doing Booster stuff.

20190817 - One Last Game

20190817 - Up in the am and doing some things in my office. J finally got around and we went to the BMV to get his permit replaced. 1 hour and 6 minutes it took us. How's it even possible the BMV is that SLOW? We then headed to the bank where we cancelled his old debit card and ordered a new one, this only took a couple minutes, shouldn't the BMV be that easy? Home and all of us headed over to Jim and Vicki's to say goodbye. 17 years they have been our neighbors. Very sad to see them go... Back in the office and I finished up at the desk, finally starting to feel a bit caught up from vacation and L not feeling well... L&I headed downtown to Coldstone for an ice cream treat and to watch all the folks run around Creekside playing some new augmented reality game. We then headed home the long way walking out around the golf course and across the new bridge, had to walk off the ice cream :-)  Home and I set up in the backyard and started listing stuff on ebay. I was out there until D got home from work. We all loaded up and headed to Buffalo Wings for D's last supper with us for a while. It was a good meal and the boys didn't argue too much... Home and L&I hung out as the boys strung out power cords to the backyard to plug in the lights so they could have one last wiffleball game. It looked like they were having fun and it made us happy to see them playing.  Don't get many opportunities for that anymore...

20190816 - GLHS Soccer

20190816 - Up in the am and dropped J off at school and headed to work through the new construction on 270. I thought I would take a chance and see how the new bridges and roads look. Traffic moved a long quicker than I expected and the construction looks great. I think they are opening up one of the new sections that will bypass a couple exits this weekend. On in the work and hit the ground running, knocking things out. Had an ok day, didn't get done as much as I wanted to... Home and LJG&I headed out. We stopped at Wendy;s and got some dinner and delivered some of it to D at work and then on to the high school for the first soccer games of the season. They had a new sound system and we could actually hear what was going on! We saw a lot of folks we knew and had a good time. Home and hung out until bed time, worked on Booster stuff for a bit.

20190815 - 1st day of 10th

20190815 - Up in the am and J down with seconds to spare to get to his first day as a sophomore. We got a pic outside and zoomed to school. This got me in to work early and off to a good start. D got his eyes checked today and made a bat for someone in just a couple hours. I ran out of gas towards the end of the day... Home and everyone in the living room chatting and getting along. We sat down for dinner and everyone told about there day, new teachers and classes and who was in their study hall and what their friends did over the summer... I then headed downtown to Signatures and met a couple of the Booster Board members there for a meeting and a couple beers. It was a good meeting and I got home about 9:30. Sat with folks in the living room and chatted. All to bed in good time. I stayed up too late working on Booster stuff for Wilmington College and Gahanna... YAWN

20190814 - 1st day of 7th

20190814 - Up in the am and 1st day of School for G! He looks ready! I went a not normal way to work so I could follow and bug him as he walked to the bus stop and decided I would go drive until I saw traffic and then turn whatever direction I was farther from work. 


This took me into the depths of below 161, East of 270 no man's land. Thought I was back in Mexico City a couple of times or the Middle East, bad idea... In the the office and got folks stirred up a bit before getting some things done, having a call, running to the Scout Store and then home to go to the Dr. w/ L.  Home and L&D out school shopping. J home and discussed the coming year with him and then he bailed to ride around town with friends. L&I headed out to the Dr. and only learned that his guy is an idiot: it was clear he hadn't reviewed L's file before walking in the room, he didn't have any of the paperwork from the hospital or blood test results, didn't ask L how she felt, didn't do any of the common test that every Dr did while we were in the hospital for strength, he even said he didn't know what some of the blood tests that were ordered were and he would be able to read the results, and the kicker, his diagnosis "I don't know what's wrong with you. You're going to have to go to a specialist to figure this out". SERIOUSLY?! I suggested shingles, he said she doesn't have a rash. I asked if an antiviral pill would hurt her, he said no, do you want to try that? YES! at least it is something. We got out of there and L was LIVID. L called the neurologist on the way home and more great news... the Dr we saw in the hospital doesn't even have a file in his office on L, they had no idea who she was... Home and I got a bit of work done before we ran to pick up her prescription and then swing by MSE to get G from XC. I talked to the coaches a bit and then we headed home, G blabbering the entire way home about his new teachers, what friends he has in class... Pulled in the drive way, sat down to do some more work and J called needing picked up from XC... Ran to pick J up. Back home and heated up some leftovers, ate quick and then to City Hall for a Landscape Board meeting. The meeting was short and I ran through a drive through on the way home to pick up some Natty Light. Home and cousin Jennifer was there chatting with L. I sat down and we all chatted for a bit before Tom and Bill showed up to get the 2020 baseball season kicked off. We hung out on the back porch and got things cleaned up and ready to go. In and watched a bit of TV with L&G and then worked on Booster Programs until way too late again.

20190813 - $15 Clucker?

20190813 - Up slow in the am, Monday's wear me out... In to the office and a very busy morning. Today was Keith's bday and he just got a new house so I brought him a starter set of plastic fruit as both a bday and house warming gift.  L&G went to see the new Lion King today. G ran in XC this afternoon. L couldn't find J and had to take D with her to drive around. His 'phone was dead'... not fond of the kid he was with... Got a bunch done today and headed home. L made ribs for dinner and they were really good. D was at work and I got a notification he paid $15 for a chicken sandwich to be delivered to him from Chick Filet, $15 for a chicken sandwich, DOES HE NOT HAVE A BRAIN? OMG!!! I headed out to the Broad of review and we had 2 boys for rank advancement tonight. Hung around and chatted with the guys a bit about some potential changes in the Troop that need to be made (online payments, financial transparency...) Home and watched some America's Got Talent with L&G. D home, asked if his chicken sandwich was the best he had ever had... Headed to bed and up late doing Booster stuff.

20190812 + Hawaiian Toast

20190812 + Up and L reported that her left side was 'burning' the outside of her arm and leg, but not the inside... so weird.  I got around and headed in to the office to prepare for an early call. Had a busy day. Headed home and got D&G and we headed to Kroger to get stuff for dinner. Home and we made Hawaiian Toast and mashed potatoes. Was a pretty good meal. After dinner All the boys ran to Scouts where I dropped things off and got things squared away. Home for a bit and then back to pick up J&G, D had to run in to work. Home and got Doc and headed to a short Bible Bangers tonight, good to see everyone. Home and finished watching Pitch Perfect with L&G. To bed and up until 3am doing Booster stuff.

20190811 - Getting Things Done

20190811 - Up late in the am, apparently G was up until 5:30am with his buddies. Hung out in the back yard with L as she did various things, still feeling numb but all over the place. She gave J a haircut that enraged him... I listed some ebay things until it was time to run J to his XC pics at the high school. Home and listed more, D down and cleaned up his gun and we worked on his new site a bit WingerBats.com that I set up for him as a bday present, but wanted to work on it with him while he is home.

Took another break to run and spend a gagillion dollars on a pare of running shoes for G... Home and listed more stuff. after a bit I had to run G to open gym at his school for basketball... Back home and finished listing things and worked in ebay a bit and helped L get some of the sap off my car. Ran to pick G up and he did good and had fun at basketball. We relaxed and watched some gymnastics with L until J's friends came to spend the night. D&G watched a movie in the living room and L&I headed to bed.

20190810 - Around Town Day

20190810 - Happy bday to GpaW! Up in the am and ran J to XC over by Easton. I drove through the Land Rover and Mercedes dealerships on the way home for fun. Home and rested a bit until time to go back and get J. Got J and headed home, he ran 8.5 miles this am. Home and J shipping ebay stuff and I got some stuff done on the PC. Went driving with J to the post office, gas station, picked up a couple more bat billets for D's bday, on to the auction house in Reynoldsburg and finally to the bank. J id really good driving. Home and hung out until some of G's buddies showed up to spend the night. I played cornhole with them and beat the pants off of them in Trouble before they retired to the basement for the night. L&I watched a movie and headed to bed.

20190809 - Visitors and Early Bday

20190809 - Up in the am and completely exhausted straight out of bed... D headed out to work and L&GmaB getting G to XC, he has a pool party today. I headed out a bit late, got about to 270 and turned around to go back home and get my phone and then back on the road to work... In to the office and caught up with CB & Lonie. Got things lined up and knocking them out this am. On the PC hard all day getting tons of things caught up. Home a bit late and GpaB ere to get GmaB. We all ran to Moe's for dinner. After dinner Gma&paB took off and we headed home. After a bit Gma&paW stopped by so we could give him his bday present and chat a bit. After everyone left D headed out to spend the night at a friends and the rest of us watched Alita Battle Angel, it was a great movie. Up late getting pics added to the blog.

20190808 - Family Dinner

20190808 - Up in the am and dropped J off at XC on the way in to work. In to the office and catching up with folks and open items. Put some advertising items on some folks cars today and found an ad fro some new doughnuts I want to try... Pretty busy day but sorta quiet, good for getting things in order. Chatted with a lot of folks today getting back up to speed. Power was out at our house from 9am to 12 today as the power company was cleaning up limbs on our line today. Headed out a bit late and got home. D just got home from PA, he got stuck in some bad traffic. L&GmaB went to pick up some groceries and then the boys helped carry them in. D helped grill brats for dinner and all of us sat down to eat together for the first time in weeks. It was a good meal and everyone shared what they have been doing.  After dinner I ran J to his buddies for the night and I locked myself into the computer working on Booster Program sales for the rest of the night until late.


20190807 - Waiting, Meeting, Home

20190807 - Up in the am and dropped J off at XC on the way in to the hospital. Got to L's room and the Dr. was in the room checking L out when I got there running her through the routine stroke tests. She had a good night and we chatted a bit before the Neurologist came in and ran her through some more test. He order the 2nd MRI on her neck and some blood work. We waited... nurse came in took 13 vials of blood, we waited... L helped me sort receipts from vacation... GmaB is with the Boys today and they went out to lunch and got some school supplies for the boys. Eventually a guy came up and took L down for 2nd MRI. I got set up and online and started going through work email. L back to the room and we waited and waited... GmaB picked J up from XC and got him home in time for his 1st in car with the driving school and he did really well.

I eventually got through all of my work emails and then some Booster stuff. Dr back in and he didn’t see anything in the 2nd MRI and let us know that some of the results from the blood-work wouldn't be back for a week... he said we could go home but come back if symptoms get worse... We waited... GmaB showed up as they were getting L checked out and I bailed and went straight to the high school auditorium to give a quick speech about Team App to all of the coaches and then a second meeting in the library with just the high school coaches. Meetings over and I ran to McDs on the way home and bought 2 bags of misc food and headed home. L home and we ate a bit. J&G back from the pool, J brought some of his friends with him. Sitting around relaxing and everyone to bed nice and early tonight. D called and reported his team lost again today so they have been knocked out of the tournament and will be home tomorrow. Exhausted...

20190806 - Squad Run

20190806 - Up in the am and L got J up and out to school to register for classes. I got around and headed in to work and started making noise and getting things rolling to get caught up. About 10:30 Lori called me and said her left side was numb. She went over to the neighbors and was going to have them take her to the Dr. Thinking about it I called her back and told her to call the squad, they could get her there faster and may have medicine she would need. I raced home and pulled in with the squad there as they were loading her up.


The squad took her to the hospital and I got the boys organized, they had just got home from XC as everything was going on... I gave them instructions and then headed to the hospital. By the time I found L's room in the ER she was gone, she was getting a CT scan. L got back to the room and we chatted a bit as Dr.s and nurses came and went. Nicole showed up and we all sat around waiting and waiting... eventually L was rolled out to get an MRI. When L got back to the room we waited and waited... They wanted to admit her overnight to observe her and moved her up to a room on the stroke floor. GmaB showed up and took care of the boys. We still didn't have many answers... eventually the nurses on the floor gave us what news they could, that the CT and MRI came back normal and there would be no new activity until tomorrow as they are still not sure why she is numb from the left eyebrow all the way down to her knee... GmaB brought G and some supplies in for L.  I wrapped things up at the hospital and headed home. Home and J went to his XC parent meeting tonight, he caught a ride with a friend and got new shoes.  I got J&G squared away with the plan for tomorrow morning and headed to bed.

20190805 - AAABA World Series

20190805 - Up early ate at hotel surrounded by Marines. We got on the road and drove and drove to get to Lilly PA in the middle of nowhere, to watch D play baseball in the All American Amateur Baseball Association World Series. We got there just as the game started and a guy sang the 3rd verse of the Nation Anthem, never heard that one before... D had a great game, laid down an awesome bunt his first at bat, got a single up the middle for his second, Struck out his 3rd, got walked and then picked off for his 4th. His defense was great at short and he made some awesome plays. 


I walked around a bit during the game and visited the huge monument dedicated to the first commercial coal miners in the US.



The game was over in 8 as they were run ruled... We hung out after the game, gave him his sweet tea and snacks and then got back on the road. We made one more quick stop at a monument for the townspeople that stood up to the KKK and stopped their Northward advancement! On the road forever.... Home about 7:30 and got the car unloaded, house straightened up and things put away. Boys on their Xboxes and L&I sitting in the living room getting boys registered for school and their fees paid while watching a movie. Got everyone to bed in good time for a busy day tomorrow. I talked to J&G before heading to bed and they said they had a good time on vacation. A bit too much driving for me at the end, but made some great memories and had a lot of fun on this vacation.

20190804 - Cool Stuff Long Drive

20190804 - Up in am got everything packed up int he car, checked out of the place and headed North. We used our maps and Waze to find alternative routes out of the tourist traffic and swung through McD's for bfast on the way. I drove the first leg out of SC and into NC ad to our first stop of the Newsboy Statue in Tabor City NC in honor of Horace Carter, who owned the newspaper and stood up to the Ku Klux Klan, and won a 1952 Pulitzer Prize for his editorials against the Klan. We left Quarters with the Newsboy for good luck! Then J drove us for a bit to the spot in Fayetteville where Babe Ruth hit his first profession home run!



L then took over driving and drove us to Snowball that was in a REALLY BAD part of town so we bailed out of there and found a Zaxby's for lunch to compare to Cane's and got D some sweet tea. We think Cane's wins! I took over the wheel and drove us up to Garysburg NC where we swung past the Q. J. Stephenson's Occoneechee Trapper's Lodge. Q. J. Stephenson was a trapper and dragline operator for forty years. While on the job he had a knack for spotting fossils and relics and began amassing quite a collection of found objects. He started working on the lodge in the 1970's and built it from all the things he found. It was pretty cool! Then since we were close we ran over to Weldon NC to visit Rocky the Giant Rockfish. Weldon is the "Rockfish Capital of the World" stakes its claim with a giant sculpted Rockfish, hung from an outdoor beam. An accompanying plaque tells the tale of a 1904 monster Rockfish that got away.


We drove and drove and the bad traffic turned our 6 hour trip into a painstaking 9 hour ride... We finally got into VA, not a great pic by L and got to our Hampton Inn and got our stuff in. The boys had a short swim in the hotel pool, said it was too cold and I got on the elliptical machine to get my hip moving, hurts from being in the car all day. We then took a short drive to the Montclair Family Restaurant for an awesome dinner. Back to room and relaxed the rest of the evening