Plasma

Because money is tight, the kids need clothes and holidays are coming, I thought I would try donating plasma. There were a bunch of thugs in the waiting room, it took 4 hrs, and then they basically vein-raped me and told me i have to wait 8 weeks.

An American Haunting

Thesesia and I watched this movie tonight and it was one of the better thriller-horror movies I have seen recently. I would say that I should have seen it in the theater. Definately worth watching this Halloween season. Sutherland is worth watching.

Excel 2003 Level 2 Intermediate Training

I had this two-day training course for Microsoft Excel 2003. It was not the basic level, but the 2nd intermediate level, and I think a lot of that was even pretty basic stuff. Some people were having a really hard time keeping up with even the very easy sections like Creating and Applying Templates, Creating and Modifying Charts and Working with Graphic Objects, but I found it very easy (mostly I was beyond this). They were not offering Level 3 at this time though, and my boss Jennifer decided we'd better take this and not wait for Level 3 which will not be offered until next year.

Ferrel

This is my half-brother Don and his wife Ferrel. My brother Mike just called me last night to tell me that Ferrel passed away yesterday from a heart-attack. The visitation is Sunday from 1-6pm and the funeral is 1pm Monday. My budget is so tight right now I don't know if I can make it to Marion Indiana but I really wish I could be there for Don.

Dire Straits

I listened to Dire Straits on the way to work this morning, among other things.

"Dr. Parkinson declared, "I'm not surprised to see you here. You've got smoker's cough from smoking, brewer's croup from drinking beer. I don't know how you've come to get that Bette Davis wheeze, but worst of all young man, you've got industrial disease!"

New haircut

Today I decided to give myself a new haircut. I was looking for something easy, plus I wanted to do this for a halloween costume. Also, I'm trying to save money on expensive shampoos and conditioners. Ok really it was a grooming accident this morn...

Halloween Party

Theresia and her sister Elizabeth invited me and the kids over to Elizabeth's house for a halloween party last night. They served supper, which was lasagne and steak. They played games, bobbed for apples and we had a great time. I helped decorate with the fake cobwebs (I am good at that). We broke up into teams and they gave out prizes. The one that I thought was really fun was where they handed out rolls of paper towels to each team and we had to "mummify" someone. Our team decided to mummify Theresia's brother Peter. I like Peter, he seems like a really good guy and I like how he is with his kids. Theresia's brother Michael was down from Indy. His little boy was Robin (from Batman and Robin) and I swear he looked like he just stepped out of a comic book! His little girl was Pipi Longstockings and her mom had put this wire around her head and braided her hair through it. She had temporary red in her hair and little makeup freckles. I was surprised that a kid her age (like 4 or 5) watched Pipi Longstockings enough to want to be that for Halloween! Michael is a real great guy too. He told us a couple jokes (just us guys) and they were really funny. Generally speaking, I like Theresia's family. They are a good bunch of people.

POS dryer

Well, I decided to try and save some time again by going to the apartment's laundry room. I am never coming back here again! The washers are always setting with wet clothes in them. Half the damn dryers set with dry clothes. The other half either don't spin or don't heat! Of course, you still have to put your money into the bloody thing to find out! Now I'm tired, feet hurt, and its 6pm. Just time to put the clothes up, fix supper, and go to bed. I wanted to go visit either my sister Patti, or Joe and Dana, but I guess we're not doing THAT! *grumble*

Bardstown Boofest

Here's Rachael the cowgirl, Logan the ghoul, and Lexie the Charmed girl. We went to Bardstown Bound Boofest last night. They had lots of fun, and today we're going to a Halloween party from 4-8.

Happy early Halloween

I'll post pictures of the kids asap. Got this at wal-mart a couple years ago.

Costume

I decided to try to make the shirt portion of my costume. I have never really sewed anything before... It was a challenge just getting the crap cut out. I found material at Wal-Mart for $0.99 a yard and I needed like 5 yards so if I totally screw it up, I don't have to feel too bad about it. I mean part of me says "how hard can it be?" and the other part looks at the stuff I've cut out and thinks "man, what the hell have you gotten yourself into!" Unless I did something completely wrong, I did manage to use the amount of cloth and get all the required pieces cut out, and have a little left over. I cut a bit of leeway around the pattern because I was afraid of cutting into it. This may screw up the sizing, but hopefully will only make it a little bigger and not do something like totally screw it up when it comes to putting it all together. My sister Bonnie said that she would help me by getting the same pattern and following along, but I haven't heard back from her on email and I've sent about three.

Brushoff

My girlfriend just gave me the brush-off on the phone. She does it all the time. Hmmph. Some people just kick you to the curb when they have something else like work to do.... Ok, I'm just being silly, but we had a talk last night and she informs me that when she always seemed like she was jealous, she never was and that she was just playing around. I should have never been so flattered. Oh well, I knew it was too good to be true. After all, what woman in her right mind could get jealous over me? That woman does not exist.

The geek in me

I know this is going to totally out me to everyone (both of you) who read this, but I am running a fantasy role-playing game on the internet. Its an old game system that a friend in jr high introduced me to. There is a pretty good cult following on the net for this game. It is simple to learn and fun to play. The game is called In The Labyrinth (The Fantasy Trip) and the rules consist of only three books. Today's games (like the whole Dungeons and Dragons conglomerate) have 50 lbs of books, dice, figures, and every supplimental add-on piece of revenue-building product you can think of. This game was designed by Steve Jackson and (most agree) was his experiment that formed into the later G.U.R.P.S. system (which was very successful). Anyway, this is the game that got me started into the role-playing thing. I was in theater in school also...some of us just never grow out of some form of make-believe I guess.

Well, I just got three new players for my game. That makes a total of eleven. This is played by e-mail and requires everyone to "post" one message every day. Well, I have a couple of folks who are not posting at all, nor responding to any of my e-mails, so I'm going to have to cut them at the end of this "chapter" so I can get rid of the dead wood. Hopefully the three new people will take up that slack.

Costume for Work/Money/This Weekend

I am going to have to forgoe the costume for work. I don't think anybody will complain too much unless i'm the only person in the department who doesn't dress up. The budget is so tight right now that I don't have much leeway. It's like I went and got books for us at the Louisville Free Public Library book sale this past weekend, and now I feel bad about feeling bad about it. I hate this. I wanted to do stuff with the kids this weekend but I never seem to have enough in the budget to do things. I should be content. I got to take them camping last weekend, but I just want to do the whole autumn thing--trick or treating up and down Bardstown road on Friday night, Bernheim Forest Colorfest on Saturday... Maybe it will rain so they won't be disappointed. The other thing I want to do is keep them up late Friday and Saturday night watching "monster movies"--Abbott and Costello meet the Mummy and Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein's Monster. I think it will be fun... It does make me wonder about the child support that S is supposed to be paying. I have not seen anything yet, but I'm not going to ask her about it and I'm certainly not going to ask the court. I don't want anybody to get into trouble over it. It's not a lot, but some weeks like this I know it would really help. *sigh*

Kimmy and William

This is a picture of the kids cousin Kimmy. She sent me an e-mail wishing me a happy birthday and to tell me she got married on July 14th and moved to New York with her new husband William who is in the Army.

I hope they treat each other always with love and respect, and always try to put the other's needs and wants first.

I am going to ask her for her address so that the kids can write letters to her. They need to write more and I want to give them reasons to write.

Chrysler Sebring Convertibles

I have come to the conclusion that 99% of the Sebrings are convertibles. Does anybody know why the hell this is?

Lexie's Printing

Here’s some of Lexie’s school work. Look at the vocab page and tell me if you can read it. I had her re-do answers #9 through #11 on her math this day because you could not read them after she got done erasing and re-writing them! It was bad. I will post again in about a month and we’ll see if it looks better.

I'm blogging from Heine Bros.

Right now I'm listening to "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zepplin and drinking this coffee and blogging from Heine Brothers. I think free wi-fi is cool. It's now 5pm, and I didn't get all my housecleaning done, but I'm over here early to get another cup of this coffee. I have to meet Shellie with the kids at 630 or thereabouts so this works out good because its close. I talked to them last night on the phone and they said they had a good time trick-or-treating at the zoo. I knew they would because they always love that, and S and I feel that it's safer than door-to-door trick or treating.

Weekend with T/Booksale/Coffee

Friday night we debated on going out and doing something, but opted for the more economical "stay home and watch movies". We watched "Witchboard" an old 80's horror movie with Tawny Kitaen. Then we watched "X-men: The Last Stand". Shizue brought over pasta and we had that for supper. She didn't care for my awesome baked beans. She also brought this bread--an odd desert bread of some sort. It was like a bread version of fruitcake, but was not heavy or overly rich. Lighter dessert--it was good. We went to bed fairly early, then got up early on Saturday like about 4am and watched two more movies. "Devour" was what I thought was a vampire movie, but it was a satanic-horror flick. We both agreed that it was good, just not fantastic. Then there was this movie that we had both seen thee preview for and wanted to watch. It was called "Transamerica". I won't say I really liked it-liked it, but it was a good movie. Just not really my type. It was a drama about this guy who is weeks from his gender- switch surgery when he finds out he has a son. After soaking up the couch for a while, we went to the Louisville Free Public Library booksale. I got a couple books, then about 25 lbs of books for the kids. They always need more to read and at 2/$1 you can not pass that up. My books were $3 hardback and $1 paperback. I got this book called "Cosm" by Gregory Benford. It's heavy-sci sci-fi. Just exactly what I was in the mood for. Now, it's odd that I found this book as I had thought about reading if for years. The really odd thing is...I remember about 7-10 years ago going to a movie and seeing a PREVIEW for a movie called Microcosm. It is based on this book, but never got made. Net research tells me that FOX has optioned the rights to make the movie but I can find nothing else. After the book sale, and with both of us book-in-hand, we went for coffee at Carmichael's/ Heine Bros coffee shop on Bardstown Rd. It was really nice day and we had really good coffee outside. It is much better priced vs. Starbucks. I always though that Starbucks raped your wallet, but now I am almost certain. After that we walked down to T's favorite shop, Edenside Gallery and looked around at different places. Then headed back to the car. On the way back we went thrift shopping at a couple Goodwills, but didn't buy anything. The thing I need most is clothes for the kids and I have learned to NEVER buy them unless they are trying them on first. Today is housework day. T cut out this morning to do some of her housework, and now, being almost 3:30 in the afternoon, I'm gonna finish putting clothes away and head over for another cup of that coffee and wait with my book to get the kids.

My Chucks

I got these quite a while back on clearance sale at Shoe Carnival. I love my Chucks. They just scream Rock & Roll to me. I got 4 pairs of shoes since i lost weight. Also Adidas, Crocs, and boots. Plus one pair of brown dress shoes for work. I am set!

My Jealous Girlfriend

When I got to work today, this girl I work with (her name is Carrie) asked me to take her to Wal-Mart and KFC at lunch. We have two girls who are quitting, and today is their last day. Carrie volunteered to get a cake and the food for our pitch-in, but then her car broke down. I said I would help out. So we just got done picking up the stuff and we were headed back when my girlfriend called. She said "What are you doing, and where are you at???" I told her that I had to go out and get the stuff for the party and I was just coming out of KFC. She said "Alone?" I told her no that Carrie was with me and she totally went off. I mean she went off so much and yelled that I was not sure if she was joking or not!! It was kinda scary, but also I think she does it sort of complimentary--like there would be someone in the world besides her that would find me attractive. Regardless, she is familiar with Carrie, so she said "Give the phone to Carrie!" and then yelled at her "You keep your hands off my boyfriend!" but then she kept Carrie on the phone the whole rest of the way back to work. Like she was playing it off as a joke, but making sure by keeping her on the phone that nothing was going to happen. I have never cheated on any woman that I have been in a relationship with. I'm not about to relax my morals now at the age of 38 and 51 weeks old.

Ok, this is in the same vein...I just got a card from her--here at work. Why didn't she send it home? That's so everyone (all the girls I work with) will see it and ask about it. She's staking her claim again. Flattering me, but still sometimes I think she's nuts. Not necessarily in a bad way. The only thing that bothers me is the underlying lack of trust. I will show it to all the girls though. Even though it's a little personal, they will think it is so sweet. I do too, of course.

Butterick - B4574 - MEN'S COSTUME - 4574

This is the pattern I bought today online. It comes in my size, and they are going to have a halloween costume party at work and I (still damnit) can't find a costume to fit me. Tried one on today and it fit, but was tight where it shouldn't be on someone with my ample physique. check it out if you want....Butterick - B4574 - MEN'S COSTUME - 4574

Baked Beans

I'm cooking baked beans over night in the crock pot. We have a pot luck tomorrow to celebrate two gals who are leaving Louisville Ladder. They are both glad to get out of there, discontent and b*tching all the time since our boss promoted this older woman who used to be their co-worker (and happens to have very little company seniority)to be their supervisor. I think it was a mistake to make her a supervisor, but I really like my boss and I will support her decisions. Anyway, I put in the baked beans, added onion, black strap molasses, and a little Crown Royal. That ought to be good. I wonder if I should cook them with the lid off because right now they are too soupy.

Parent/Teacher Conference with Ms. Caswell/Pants

We had our parent/teacher conference with Ms. Caswell, Lexie's 3rd grade teacher. She says that she's moved Lex to the front row of the class. She says that Lex is very well behaved, participates well, gets along perfectly with the other kids, and shows that she is putting forth a lot of effort in class. The only thing now that remains as a slight negative is her printing and writing. It has gotten so much better that Ms. Caswell is sure there will be no real problem in the future. She still writes too big, but is much more legible now. She said Lexie will naturally evolve to better handwriting if we keep making her do it over when its too messy. My worries are all put to rest.

Now if I could just find her and Logan more pants for winter. She went to school today in shorts and a polo shirt and the two of them were shivering when the bus came (it got to them late today--they said they have a new driver). I am working on compiling a list of consignment, thrift, and discount stores, but these two are so hard to fit. Cooler weather is here RIGHT NOW and Lex only has two pair of pants she can wear to school. Logan only has 3. I know I can just have them wearing the same pants every day of the week, but that really goes against my grain. Not to mention that I need to get them some non-school cooler weather clothes... If anybody has any information on where to find clothes discounted or otherwise cheap, please let me know. I have not seen anything from the child support office yet and I was kind of wanting that to use for clothing because we run a pretty close budget. I guess I could have told them "no" about camping, but when that's the only vacation they're getting this year, I hated to do that.

Foul Mood

I don't know what the hell was wrong with me tonight. I got home and was ready to get my laundry done when all of a sudden I started feeling weak and shaky. I know it probably has something to do with my blood sugar, the gastric bypass or whatever. It is when I eat something, or when I don't eat for a while. No real pattern. But then I started feeling bad because I had all this laundry to do and I was feeling like I might not be able to do it because I just felt weak. This made me really mad. My girlfriend was over dropping off my laundry detergent and I was being very cross. I could hardly stand myself, so I told her she just needed to scoot and that I wasn't fit company. Usually she stands by me and is supportive and understanding. Not this time. She bolted. This bothered me even more. Plus I had just bought a new laundry basket and destroyed it when I picked it up. Ok, I really didn't destroy it, the handle broke, but at the time I was feeling like everything was going to sh*t and nothing was working out right. I feel a little better now, but I still miss Theresia.

My Hands

Ms. Pass gave me this that Logan made. She waited to hand it to me during conference because she didn't want it messed up. It is definately keepsake material.

Reading & Writing Tips

Logan's teacher had tips handouts for parents. I think they would apply to Lexie also because she is having a challenge with her writing. Some of the things we can do:

1. Read to them so they get the idea that reading is a neat thing to do.
2. Reread books if they want it so they can feel like they are "reading".
3. Let them see me read so they understand that we do what we think is important.
4. Talk about ideas that I write so that communication skills are linked.
5. Encourage them to write. Put a chalkboard in their room and encourage them to write messages.
6. Encourage storytelling (they do quite a bit of this).
7. Keep reading and writing materials around (I always do this)
8. Get them library cards (I have one for Lexie and he was sharing that but I'm getting Logan his own.)
9. Monitor how much time the -family- spends in front of the TV.
10. Praise their efforts in writing and emphasize successes instead of criticizing mistakes.
11. Provide a suitable place for them to write.
12. Give him gifts associated with writing--pens pencils, paper, stationary, stamps, etc.
13. Encourage them to write away for information, free samples, travel brochures, etc.
14. Be alert for times when they can be involved in writing because writing for real purposes is rewarding.

Logan's Parent/Teacher Conference

The teacher, Ms. Pass, says Logan is doing very well. At first he had trouble getting very upset when there was something he couldn't do. She said that might be because there are a lot of things that he does very well. When she asked him to read a book, his face turned red and he started to cry. Also he was getting the same way because he didn't make it into the ABC Club. That was only the first several weeks. She said now he does a lot better and she knows not to push him hard-or at least knows when to stop pushing him. It is her job to push as much as possible, but without making it a bad experience. She just praises him for trying and moves on quickly to something else. He accepts challenges a lot better now. She said his oral vocabulary is exceptional... but we already knew this, didn't we?

He needs to be reading and writing every day. She says he should be able to read these types of books: Margaret Hilliard, Biscuit books, and the books labeled: I Can Read, Early Reader, and Level One. She said to work on counting to 100, we can use dimes to help him count to 100 by tens. That way he can count past 29, because he knows 30 comes after 20, and then is 40, 50, 60, etc.

Shizue

This is a picture of my girlfriend. She woke me up in the middle of the night because she was scared the kids were going to get eaten by wolves. Sure enough, you could hear howling, but it was just coyotes, and they were far off in the distance...

At the lake

Here's the kids at the lake. We walked down to the lake, ate our picnic lunch, then around the lake and back up.

The Death March

So, we went on this 'moderate' hike. It was like .75 miles down to a small lake, then .5 miles around the lake, then back the way you came. Not too bad until you find out the trip down was 80 percent stairs! And the Nuts of Doom the whole way!!!

Logan Leaf Ear

This is Logan sticking leaves in his head...

Walnuts of Doom

Walnuts falling from the trees was the scariest party of the camping trip!

Camping at Brown County State Park

My legs are killing me from hiking. Other that that, it was all a hellofalotta fun! We heard coyotes howling Sunday night. T got freaked out and woke me up at like 3am. She was afraid they were going to eat the kids. She wouldn't let us dump any food leavings anywhere near the camp site because she was afraid of animals! The only thing we REALLY had to fear was the huge walnuts falling all over the place. You'd hear them plummeting from the tops of the trees, ripping through leaves and branches on the way down and then --WHAM-- right beside you it hits the ground and scares the crap out of you. The damn things were as big as tennis balls and heavy as hell! I just knew I was going to end up with a smashed windshield, or one of us would get a concussion!!! We went to Nashville, Indiana and poked around. Went to the Brown County Winery and bought some wine to take home. All in all it was really good, but I am so tired right now I could go back home and sleep for the rest of the day. The kids are with their mom because school is out today and she has visitation on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I gotta drag my ass to do laundry after work so we will have clothes to wear this week.

Logan's Report Card

I'm happy that Logan's first report card (ever!) is a good one.

I just wonder why they give S+'s instead of O's...

Report Card for Lexie

Lexie has a little progress to make on work habits.

Weekend

Theresia and I went to the Celtic Festival in Eminence Kentucky this weekend. That was pretty cool. She got me a handcrafted Irish cap. I love it and I'll be wearing it a lot. It was an early birthday present. We ate lunch there and she got Shepherd's pie and I got Haggis and mash. They were both served in bread bowls. I thought they were both good, but she refused to eat more than a bite of the haggis. She was worried about the type of meat it had in it. I think traditionally it's like sheep's stomach stuffed with other guts and organs, but in this case, I'm pretty sure it was just ground beef. Regardless, I liked the flavor. I got a necklace for her... nothing really expensive, but she really liked it. It was an oak leaf made of fired ceramic on a leather thong. We did that, then later we went back to her house, I did some laundry, and we went to dinner at Joe's OK Bayou Cajun restaurant. We took her granddaughter Kendall, and she behaved really well. After that we went back to my apartment and watched a horror movie that really sucked. I saw the preview when we watched another movie and it looked good, but I'm telling you, don't waste your time with "Room 6". There's another that looked goofy but I thought it would be cool because it looked like a mix between horror and sci-fi, but it was stupid also. It was called "Candy Stripers". I know what you are thinking. You are right. Ex-Playboy Playmates cannot act. It's true. I've been looking for some good horror for this season. I usually watch a lot of horror, but I really want something good to watch with Theresia during the month of October.

Please, if anybody has any ideas, LET ME KNOW! It doesn't have to be anything in the newest releases. It just has to be scary! Preferably something I haven't seen yet... We've watched Silent Hill. I thought that was good, but not so scary. That's the last halfway decent scary flick I've seen. We also saw the remake of The Hills Have Eyes. Hostel was more shocking than scary. I need some really good sleepers. I don't mind watching movies that were in the theater's a week or less, but just as long as they are frightening.

Wool Cap from Donegal Town

Here's the label from my cap.

Early birthday present

Theresia got me this wool cap at the Celtic Fest on Saturday. It comes from Donegal Town, Ireland. I really like it!

Little house

This is the little fixer upper that T and I going to buy... Not! She really just likes the looks of it because it has so much character.

Theresia at Celtic Fest

This tree looked so neat. It was bent to the side and looked like it was just growing that way! Also Theresia looked really cute so I wanted to get her picture.

The Rolling Stones at Churchill Downs

I was apathetic about the concert tonight until I found out Kim here at work was going.  She said "I don't know any songs they do!"  I was about ready to slap her when she said "Wait!  Don't they sing that song (she sings) I can't get no....satisfaction..." 

I said "Yeah, see, you know their songs."

And she said "That's because I heard the Brittney Spears remake of it!!!"  Then I DID slap her. 

I was thinking: WTF ARE YOU, TWELVE?????

That is just sick, Sick, SICK! She has no right to go to see the Stones. I know they will live for at least two more tours. In my mind, with them it's always two more tours. I heard Alice Cooper is coming. And I looked on the www.bigrockshow.com web site to see where they are playing tonight and tomorrow night, but they are taking the nights off for the Stones, and then Roger Waters from Floyd is in Indianapolis tomorrow night. I really WOULD like to see that, but I had no clue. Still, it's definitely not Floyd, but it's about as close as you could get.

Reply to all

Our HR lady sent a message to our whole company asking about tax information. I replied to her and asked if she needed anything from me because of my divorce being recent. Then I did the worst thing imaginable--I hit “reply to all” instead of reply. Now the whole company knows via Outlook that I am divorced. I feel like such a total jack*ss. I’m not coming out of my cubicle for a month. I’ve already had like three e-mails from different people ragging me out.

This one woman was like “Hey Kelly – now that everyone knows you are a single man……Just want to congratulate you!!!!”

Another woman said "...we gotta let all the single girls in on your secret…..there are just NOT enough single men in this world as it is!!!!!"

This guy sent "I am available for $50 a weekly session if you want to share anything else…"

Of course they ALL hit "reply to all". It went on for like an hour. I'm shooting myself in the head now.

Hand weights 12 x 3

I'm starting out with the lowest weight on these. 12 of 3 different exercises each done 3 times. When i'm done, my arms, neck and upper back sure as hell know it. The kids and I seem to be getting colds. That is going to seriously suck4 next weekend.

Mimi Defused

That psycho woman tried to get me swept up into her sh*tstorm again today. Kim was back (my usual brick wall between us) and Ricardo was there to answer any really technical questions, so I did my S.O.P. with Mimi and I ignored her.

Funny thing was our programmer, Grady came over about this same customer asking me a question that I had no way of knowing. Now that's not to say anything bad about Grady because he is one cool old dude. He even quotes Hitchhiker's Guide. And I'm not talking the movie either. So I just said "I know who we can ask to get our answer. Let's go straight to the source!" and I started dialing a number on speaker phone.

Grady says "Just whatever you do, you'd better not be calling Mimi!" I died laughing and hung up the phone. My boss and I have had extensive conversations about Mimi. We've come to the conclusion that nobody likes to work with her and they'll do anything to get out of it.

When did my little guy grow up???

Logan counted to 20 as part of his homework. He doesn't skip 15 anymore like he did when he was little. Ok, some may argue that he is still little. Some may say that he's never been little. I don't care. I love him so much I could cry. Ok, what kind of wussy example would I be setting then???

Kidding, but he is so cool...

Beat down tired

So, here's the thing...

Charlie came over, said (basically) here's how you use this exercise equipment but it is so old and sucky that you'd be best just keeping with the cardio from the elliptical. I got through my 30 minutes--this time at level 12-14 resistance instead of level 1 (which was jarring my knees because of too little resistance). Well, I was pouring sweat after about 6 minutes, but on the crack cocaine of the elliptical machine exercise and music from the soundtrack of "The Beginning of My Longer Life" I busted ass and got it done. Then, the kids weren't there yet so I went to the crappy weight machines and did a few sets. I realized that I have to do one of the machines before the others because even on the lightest weight, it's hard for me. Charlie said I'd be best with the hand weights I already have, so I might give them a try. He said he started out really small with hand weights and felt like a wuss, but it's better to start small and work up.

Ok, so I'm working out at least 3 times a week. I'm going to check my weight at Christmas time. We shall see. Now heres the big thing...how do I fit all this in my life? I work homework with the kids, cook supper, and do a bit of housework, but I never seem to get it all caught up. Nor do I have time to do everything I need to do. Please let me know if you know the secret to having enough bloody time. At this point I'm doing everything I have to do, and very little of what I want to do. Is it that I'm just not organized or effective or working smart enough? Do real adults just get 4 hours of sleep a night? What the hell? How does this work, man?

Collected works on Soy Product Toxicity

An old high school friend of mine, Valerie Horowitz sent me the link to this: Collected works on Soy Product Toxicity.

Her email started out : "I never forward panicky e-mail, much less create one, or claim a health risk where one may not exist, but a recent medical issue caused me to research a topic which led to the discovery that one of the staples of my diet - soy - could be the source of the problem. And as bad as soy may be for me, a grown woman, that is about one twentieth as bad as it is for growing children, and nothing compared to what some studies show soy formula can do to infants - particularly girls."

Needless to say, I'm not a soy-eating Californian like Val, but I have two small children and I always look at things like this closely. I think you should as well.

Parents Against Junk Food

If you're a parent and you love your kids, please check out Parents Against Junk Food. It frightens the hell out of me to think what society in general is trying to do to our kids in this country.

Dragonflies

Dragonflies is the blog of a friend of mine. She has some really good insights. I can't remember which of us got the other into blogging, but I'll bet she remembers. (All I know is I've been on blogger longer than she has...)

Coexist

I saw this bumper sticker on a car the other day and I thought the sentiment was cool.

Scout

This is a picture of my sister's cat. It acts like its on crack half of the time. Its a muted calico.

Charlie

This is Charlie the guy I work with. He's pretty cool for a gay guy. Ok, i'm joking. He's not gay. He works out a lot and he's going to come over on Tuesday and show me how to use the weight equipment at the club house. Its old equipment but its ok.

Mimi sucks

There is this woman at work named Mimi. I say she's "at work" but she works from her home in Texas. Well, her and this other guy Dan have a bad habit of throwing other people (or attempting to) under the bus to save their ass from something they did wrong. This time it was they overlooked orders coming in for three or four days then decided to try and pin it on me saying I should have known there was a problem. Well, that's not my job because I was never told the schedule of how this particular customer sends in their orders or how many orders or what. I was correctly under the impression that somebody else (Mimi and Dan) worried about that. I have like 20+ customers to handle EDI for, which amounts to hundreds of orders a week, and hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The way my job is set up is I fix problems with the orders when they come in. If there are not any orders--there are no problems!!! My boss was on the phone with them backing me up 100%. I am not worried because I know I was doing what I was supposed to do. It just pisses me off that there are unscrupulous people in the work place that will try and pin shit on anybody they can just to save their own asses. Breathe in, breathe out.... Spend some time with the kids, and on the elliptical, and have a drink at the end of the night. This is my current cure for assholes. I've been at my job almost a year and these are the first assholes I have encountered that actually had the ability to piss me off like I cared.

Elliptical

I thought the elliptical machine at the varsity club was really cool! It didn't seem like much more strenuous than a regular treadmill, but when I got done I was pouring sweat, and I could barely walk!!!! I had to hold on to the hand rails going down the steps from the work out room. I thought I was gonna have to ask the kids to help me get my left leg into the car. Sadly, I did two sets of 15 minutes with about a 3 or 4 minute break in between. I drank a full bottle of water while I was doing it and listed to my MP3s. It makes you take a faster pace to keep going at a consistant run. Everyone says its a lot better on joints and knees. It is directly above the pool so you can look out and keep an eye on the kids. I was happy about that. Today though I only stayed for about 30-45 minutes because the pool was closed and Lexie and Logan were down watching Spongebob. I didn't want them to be bored. I don't know why I was so worried because lately TV has become such a treat during the week. They hardly ever get to watch it.

Glass Half Full/Empty, Weight at 314 and holding

I got on the scale here at work, the news is completely subjective. I can look at 314 pounds as: I should have lost a lot more by now.  No matter what crap I poke in my piehole I won't get much bigger.  No matter what crap I poke in my piehole I won't get much smaller.  If I work hard and get my last pounds off, then they will stay off with probably very little effort. 

It's a hellova lot better that struggling up that weight loss cliff I've struggled up all my life. It's a great weight off my shoulders knowing that if I try, I will have a shot at succeeding!!! I even have a pal here at work, Charlie that might come over and show me how to use all the weight machines at the varsity club. 

Weight loss surgery has been atypically easy for me. I lost over 150 lbs just eating how my body has told me to eat. I have been eating whatever I want with tolerance to guide me. If I get sick I don't eat that any more. Or if I eat too much too quickly, I pay the price. I've can count the number of times I've hurled on one hand. It should not be this easy. On the other side of the coin, I should be at like 190 or 200 lbs by now. I'm shooting for a personal goal of 225. I've coasted to see how far the surgery alone was going to get me. Now I am going to start eating better and walking or exercising. We'll see where that goes.

Walking & the crappy treadmill

The apartment complex has this club house (the Varsity Club). It has a workout and weight room, a party room with pool table, bar, and big screen TV, an indoor pool, and a indoor basketball court. Well I have decided to start eating a little better cutting out any crap that is bad for me. Also since my back is about 95% better I planned to go there and use the treadmill. Well I came home from work, changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt, and went to the club house. I signed in and got the key (they keep it locked so kids don't play on it). I'm up there for about five minutes and I have my earbuds in and music from my iPAQ going. I've worked quickly up to almost 3 miles an hour (give me a break I am just starting) and I'm in a good mood. Then the power goes out. Now this little room is like a big closet and there are no windows. So I get out my phone to use it as a flashlight because I didn't bring my full set of keys (that has a penlight attached) and I am stumbling around. I get to the door and get out of the treadmill closet. I went down stairs and asked the girl what happened and she said that the treadmill is crappy (seemed fine to me) and the wiring is old. Now I'm angry because I have to either walk outside among other humans (which always makes me feel like I'm a total carnival sideshow) or just quit for today. It's only about 6pm and I get the kids back at 7:30 so I'm gonna do it. There are NO sidewalks back in the apartment complex, so I decided to walk over to the little strip mall that is close. I walked all along the front, and then behind the mall passing all the dumpsters. Its not a big deal--if I'd cared about scenery I would not have wanted to walk on a treadmill in the first place!!! So I made about 4 laps on that and then I decided to try seeing how far I could make it walking down Bardstown toward my church. Well, I only got to the bowling alley before I decided I should head back so I could get to the kids on time. Not a disaster, but it still kinda sucked. I'm gonna get some exercise again Thursday, but since I have the kids, I'm going to try the club's eliptical machine. I don't know what the hell that is but I have to be close to the kids while they play, and I know they could not keep up the pace with me.

Photos and albums on webshots

Just in case anybody is interested, I have some older pictures and photos on webshots--CLICK TO VIEW.

Lexie's desk

This is where Lexie sits. Its in the back right next to the guinea pig.

Logan's desk

This is Logan at his desk at school.

Logan's work

This is some more of Logan's work that was posted on the board in the classroom.

Read along books

This is Ms. Pass showing us the fold out books they use for weekly read alongs in class.

Shizue loves Target

Thesesia loves shopping at Target. She looked at Halloween stuff and clothes for Rachael. I looked at kitchen stuff, housewares and gadgets. I need a better way to hook Lexie's MP3 player to the stereo in the car. Right now I'm using a Belkin FM tran

Open House - Lexie

Here’s some follow-up on Lexie’s part of open house.  Her teacher seemed nice.  Not as 110% as Logan’s, but that’s ok.  I’m sure she does a good job.  Lexie showed us around the room.  She showed us the guinea pig.  Her teacher said that she has four of them—3 females at home. They are going to be getting crayfish soon.  She said they got one batch, but they all died.  Lexie’s teacher had no handouts and didn’t really speak to us as a group.  There were only two parents in the room.  It was the kids’ mother and I, and then one other woman.  This other woman had a boy who is in Logan’s classroom, and a girl who is in with Lexie.  That was kind of neat.  Their mother and I were looking through Lexie’s work and especially her journal—and couldn’t read much of it at all.  So we called her teacher over and asked her “is this normal writing for a 3^rd grader?” and she made a face which immediately said that it was not.  So I asked her “what should we do?” and she said “I don’t know, I’ve never seen writing this bad.  I will ask around and get back with you.”  That was alarming. 

 

So their mother and I decided that she will re-write her home-work if it is not neat enough for us to read.  Also, I’m going to have her write one sentence a night purely for neatness.  She just needs more practice and needs to slow down and concentrate on doing a better job.  I never noticed it being this bad last year, but I’m guessing they are just giving her more volume and she is getting sloppy to get done quickly.  She gets good grades—we saw a 92% which is acceptable to us.  She just needs to put a little more effort into neatness.  She did well on her bit she wrote last night.  She wrote “My name is Lexie.  I’m eight years old.”  When she gets done, I’m going to have Logan make illustrations for the sentences and make it into a book!  Hopefully that will make it cool enough that she will keep doing it without a fuss.  I think I’ll do the same with Logan.  Anything to make learning fun and interesting…

Open House - Logan

Hope everyone liked the pictures of open house.  Here’s a bit more info:

 

Logan’s teacher had a great attitude and seemed VERY enthusiastic.  She showed us Logan’s name on the board for ABC club.  She showed the behavior chart where it was perfect.  She said she was especially very glad to have him and this one other little girl in her class because of the science portion.  They are studying animals, and right now it is red worms and earth worms.  She was happy that Logan and this little girl did all the handling of the worms for her so she didn’t have to touch them!  Also she talked about predictions.  She gave the example of reading a story, then she would stop in the middle and as the class “what do you think happens next”.  She asked several of the students “What is a prediction?”  and none of them could answer.  Then she asked Logan and in front of everybody he said “A guess!”  I was so proud of him! 

 

When they first come in, they have a Morning Message and get to go up and circle words they know.  The do some independent work that is something she’s taught the day before and she goes and checks to see if they are getting it.  They work on phonics and words.  They do shared reading in a fold-out book.  They work in learning stations and work on writing.  They work on rhyming and there is a poem of the week that they go over every day.  They also do what she calls prior knowledge and experience connections between themselves, other books, and the world—then relate it to what they are reading.  After lunch they do read-alouds and complete work.  Then the do computer, humanities, library, or PE depending on what day of the week it is.  After that, they work on Math and calendar.  Numbers zero to ten, and days, weeks, months, stuff like that.  This is one of the few areas (calendar) that I see Logan could use more work on.  I ask him what day is it and most the time he doesn’t know.  Next is Science (where they work with the worms or other critters) and social studies (her area of specialty).  The have recess and physical wellness (dancing and singing) near the end of the day and go over what needs to be done at home.  You can tell this woman busts her butt for these kids.

 

Journal

This is Lexie's journal.

Handy Work Board

Lex got a ninety two percent on this work!

Ms. Caswell

This is Lexie's teacher. Lexie's mom said she looks like Alanis Morisette.

Cat named Cookie

This was the cat in the story they were reading in Logan's class.

Ms. Pass

This is Logan's teacher.

Open House/Matchers

Today at 6-8 is the Price Elementary Open House. I am really looking
forward to that also! I hope they have information on sports, scouts,
and advanced programs (Logan needs that because he is coming home saying
"school is boring...")

I'm gonna try and get a Price t-shirt or polo tonight also. That will
be cool for Fridays so that we can all "be matchers" (that's what we
call it when we all wear the same thing) Logan is real liberal with
that like "we all have on tennis shoes today" or "we all have on blue
today" Sometimes we call it "the tennis-shoe family", or "the blue
family"

Roller Skating

Lexie brought home this flyer from school this week that had where the
rink on Preston is offering Roller Skating lessons on Tuesdays. I told
her that I would have to talk with mommy because she has them on
Tuesdays. So Shellie said she could do that and it's the next four
Tuesdays. I told her I would pay for it (it's $10 per child for the 4
"lessons"). So they start that on this coming Tuesday! I can't wait to
see if they like it and how much fun it is for them!!!!

Omelet skills

I practiced my omelet skills this morning. Cheese, and bacon omelets
for the kids, and I added a little salsa to mine as well. I am really
good with omelets thanks to Dana-she gave me the perfect non-stick pan
that is just the right size. There are a few skills I feel the need to
keep sharp. This is one of them. You never can tell when you will be
called upon to produce a wonderfully impressive breakfast. My most
awesome girlfriend really appreciates my cooking!!!

The beginning of the rest of my life

Do I look any different? I feel the same sans overwhelming stress. I hope this helps change things for the better for both of us. I never held much in the way of hatred, just sadness and frustration. Now that this is over, I hope we can all be happy.

Visit from Sue and more beans!

Last night, Sue who teaches my bible study class and another lady from
my class came by to check on me. They said they knew my final hearing
was yesterday and they wanted to make sure I was ok. I gave them both a
hug and they were happy for me. These people from Fern Creek Baptist
Church are all very kind, and they all seem very genuine. I appreciate
them. I have had like four or five visits now. They always bring me a
container of dried beans as a welcome gift. Its funny...the first time
I fixed the beans the kids absolutely loved them. I mentioned that the
next time they came to visit because they brought another container (I
was saying that they didn't have to because they brought me beans last
time) and they said that's ok. I told them thanks and how much we liked
them last time, so now, every time they visit, I always get beans!!
Well, they talked to the kids and I for just a couple minutes because I
had just got done fixing supper (and it was stir-fry pork with Chinese
vegetables, not beans) and they didn't want to keep us. I invited them
to stay and they said they couldn't. The kids told them next time to
make sure and not eat before they come over because we always have
enough-it's true. I plan my food budget on leftovers for lunches.
Sometimes we even eat them a day later as a side dish or something.
Anyway we had a prayer, and then the left. Sue is very sweet, and I
like her husband Dan too. They are both very kind and friendly.

Final Hearing for Divorce

I can not believe what happened. I had people praying, I did everything I could think of to prepare. I even prayed some myself although I don't think I'm to a point where I can ask God for anything in good consience. I got custody of my two wonderful children--the meaning for my entire existance!!! It went like this:

I showed up with my friend and lawyer Chuck. Also Joe and Dana were there as well as my sister Patti. I figured I would need all the moral support and love I could get. I knew going in there how easy it is for a court to see man, woman, and decide without any real thought--woman gets kids. I was horrified this would happen to me.

That's why I was so stunned! I heard the judge ask Shellie what she wanted and she said "joint physical custody" and he asked her "So what is joint physical custody?" She said something about half and half and then said "well Chuck drew up the paperwork..." The judge went on to explain that courts just don't award joint physical custody. One parent is primary and the other has visitation. He asked her in each phase if she understood. She just agreed to everything the judge asked her--and it was everything I wanted.

I fully expected her mother to be there. Beyond that I half expected her mother to have hired a lawyer for her. The only thing that happened that I didn't like was that they made her pay child support. It's a minimal amount, but she's trying to get back on her feet. I didn't want that, but then Chuck reminded me it is not her obligation to me that she pays child support for, but her obligation to the kids.

The most stressful, most important, and gut wrenching hurdle of my life is now done. I'm glad this turned out the way it did. The kids need their mother, but I feel like I can be a more stable and nurturing parent for them. I guess the court, God, or whatever and whoever is in control of this mad life thinks that too. I told the kids they can see and call their mother anytime they want if it is up to me.

Life is Good - Blog of my surrogate mother

Dana is an awesome woman. She is really fit company for Joe. I miss my mother and my step-dad Jack, and nobody can ever take their place, but Joe and Dana are just good people. Visit her blog. It is heartwarming, inspiring, and you can see more cool pictures of my kids! Click on this link to see...Life is Good

Chicken tonight

I baked chicken tonight and the kids really liked it. My boss called me into her office today and told me that HER boss had a lot of good things to say about me. That was pretty cool. Hopefully she will remember that later down the road... :-)

Surgeon visit cancel

My new insurance does not cover weight loss of any sort. I pay completely out of pocket, or I don’t go. Well, right now, because of how money is, I cancelled my appointment for tomorrow because I don’t have the $90 for the office visit.

This just sucks.

I asked the also about pediatricians and chiropractors. I have a list of ones in my network. Chiropractors are covered 90/10 on any treatments. So I’m going to put that off as long as I can too. I got a list of chiros close to work though so I could go at lunch. Smart, huh?

The Peds they suggested are all in the same address on Bardstown road. I guess that will work. I have to call and see hours and if they are accepting new patients.

A B C CLUB

Logan is doing Super! He made the ABC club!

Dr. Phil

So my friend and I were talking about Oprah and Dr. Phil and she said "My sister loves Oprah, but she loves Dr. Phil even more."

I said "Dr. Phil? I love...uh, internal bleeding even more."

Robin from work

This is my friend Robin from work. She's in customer service. When ever she gets bored she sings with the radio. Its so bad that people yell at her to shut up!

Cthulu on board

For some reason this struck me simotaneously as very wrong and also very funny. This has got to be the vehicle of a gamer.

Cookout at Aunt Wanda's

There was a cookout at my Aunt Wanda's Sunday. The kids had lots of fun playing with cousins.

Here was one too young to play, and he was getting trashed with his dad anyway--ah, bonding!


Had not seen Aunt Mary in a long time.

Fishing at Long Run

We went fishing today at Long Run Park...

We only caught one fish--a sunny.

World Fest, Jeff too

Jeff, Kendall's dad also went. He's a really great guy and simply adores Little Theresia and Kendall. They are lucky to have him.

Kendall at World Fest

Here's Kendall same day.

Little Theresia and Kendall

This was Little Theresia (my girlfriend's daughter) and her daughter Kendall. We met up with them for a little bit at the World Festival this past Saturday. It wasn't awesome but it was fun to look at some stuff for a while and with no admission...

Coffee

We just switched at work from John Conti coffee to Derby City vending
and their brand. I feel like I need to brush my teeth in between cups
of coffee. It almost tastes sour. Maybe someone disgruntled about the
switch peed in the coffee maker??? I don't know but it's a little foul.
I got to have my cups of joe throughout the day though, so I drink it
anyway.

The Pastor's Visit

It was a little stressful last night talking to the pastor of our
church...well the church we've been going to. I mean I know in my heart
I'm a Christian, but I don't really feel that I've accepted Christ. I
told her that. I told her I don't want to say it until I feel it in my
heart. She gave me stuff to read, a book, and scripture from the bible.
Also encouraged me to pray at home and read the bible with the kids.

I told her some of my big "hang-ups" with organized religion. She was
really good to talk to. She is a kind person and not pushy. I really
like that. The whole church wants you to be there but they're never
like "we missed you last Sunday, and Sunday night, and Wednesday night,
and Saturday afternoon. Where were you???" They are pretty low-key for
Baptists. And I've always related better to women than men...

She really wanted me to join the church choir... and with the kids too
who seemed interested. That is Wednesday nights, so I'm going to talk
to their mother about either switching days or bringing them to church
at 6:30 on Wednesdays.